NOVAC Star Gaze 2001

Interested in astronomy? Not sure how to get started? Plan to attend the NOVAC Star Gaze 2001, 22 September 2001, 4:00 p.m. 'til 12 midnight, at Franklin Park in Loudoun County, VA. Sponsored by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, a wide variety of activities (day and night) are planned.

Perseid Meteor Shower - August 11-12, 2001

The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks the night of Saturday, August 11th until the early morning of Sunday, August 12th. During the hour before sunrise, astronomers predict as many as 40-50 meteors may be visible under clear, dark skies.

Three "Ps" will help find the direction from which the meteors appear to radiate: Polaris - Perseus - Pleiades. The radiant (or point of origin) for the meteor shower is in the constellation Perseus, located about midway between the North Star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor, and M45, the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation Taurus, the Bull. More simply, look toward the northeastern sky.

Meteors, also known as "shooting-" or "falling stars," are streaks of light caused by small pieces of solar system debris, usually sand-sized particles, which vaporize while colliding at great speed (up to 40 miles per second, or 64 km per sec.) with the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude of approximately 40-60 miles (60-100 kilometers). Annual "meteor showers" (up to several meteors per minute) occur every year at about the same time when the Earth's orbit crosses the orbits of comets (as a comet evaporates, the orbital path of the comet becomes filled with debris from the comet's nucleus). Most annual meteor showers are named for the constellation from which the meteors appear to radiate.

The Dog Days of Summer

Ever heard the expression, "the dog days of summer?" "Dog Days is the name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of Sirius (the dog star) and the Sun." Source: Columbia Encyclopedia

Sirius is much like a Greek word meaning "scorcher." The "Dog Days of Summer" refers to the time period during the summer when Sirius--the brightest star in the night sky--is high in the daytime sky, supposedly adding to the heat of the summer Sun (Sirius is searing us).

Earliest Sunrise/Latest Sunset

Washington, D.C. - From June 10-17, the Sun rises at 5:42 a.m. EDT, the earliest time of sunrise all year. From June 20 to July 5, the Sun sets at 8:37 p.m. EDT, the latest time of sunset all year.

Event	Date(s)	Time (EST)
Earliest Sunrise	06/10/01 - 06/17/01	05:42 p.m.
Latest Sunset	06/20/01 - 07/05/01	08:37 a.m.

Earth at Aphelion

The shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun is an ellipse (although it is almost perfectly circular); the point at which the Earth is farthest from the Sun is known as aphelion. The Earth reaches aphelion on 04 July 2001--at a distance of 94,507,300 miles, the Earth is now 3,101,000 miles farther from Sun than at perihelion on 04 January 2001. Food for thought: if the Earth is farthest from the Sun, then why is it summer in the northern mid-latitudes? The answer lies in the annual cycle of change in the apparent path of the Sun across the sky (refer to June Solstice below).

The Red Planet Shines Brightly!

During late June, Mars is closest to Earth (41.8 million miles); as a result, it is also at its brightest (Apparent Magnitude -2.3). Mars rises in the east around 9 p.m.

June Solstice

The Summer Solstice occurs at 3:38 a.m. EDT on 21 June 2001. On this date, the Sun reaches the northernmost line of latitude (the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees N) where the midday Sun is at the zenith (the imaginary point directly overhead). At northern mid-latitude locations, the midday Sun reaches its maximum altitude (annually) and the duration of insolation (number of hours of daylight) is greatest. For example, in Washington, D.C. the midday Sun will reach an altitude of 74.5 degrees above the horizon and there will be nearly 15 hours of daylight (14h54m). Also, the Sun rises farthest to the north of east (to the far left of the Washington Monument in the accompanying photograph) and sets farthest to the north of west than at any other time of year.

National Lightning Safety Awareness Week

The National Weather Service has declared the week of June 18-22, 2001 as NLSW. Lightning kills an average of 87 people per year in the United States--more than the average of 82 deaths per year caused by tornadoes and 27 deaths per year caused by hurricanes. For more information about lightning safety, visit the SCSA Website of the Week (WoW!) for 28 May 2001.

By jimminy, it's time to say, "Bye, Gemini!"

Ever heard the old expression, "by jimminy?" Originally, the phrase meant something like, "with any luck," derived from the mythological association between the Gemini Twins and good luck. By the middle of June, your luck has run out as the constellation Gemini (No. 3, FCPS Starfinder) slips below the Western horizon shortly after 9 p.m.

National Hurricane Awareness Week

The National Weather Service has declared May 21-25 as National Hurricane Awareness Week. Each day of the week will have a special emphasis:

Day 1: Coastal and Marine Hazards
Day 2: Wind Hazards
Day 3: Inland Flooding
Day 4: The Forecast Process
Day 5: Disaster Prevention

"The goal of Hurricane Awareness Week is to educate you about the hazards of Hurricanes and provide you with knowledge which can be used to help protect you, your family, and your property." (Quote courtesy the NOAA/NWS Tropical Prediction Center.)

The "Morning Star" Shines Brightly!

01 May 2001 - Venus is at its greatest morning brilliancy this week--look low in the east before sunrise.

Sandburg Planetarium "Open House"

Tuesday, 01 May from 10:00 - 10:30 a.m., there will be a special "Open House" program at the Sandburg Planetarium. Among other topics, the cross-curricular Grade Level 7 English sky poetry unit and the Grade Level 8 Science astronomy unit (including upcoming class visits to the planetarium in May) will be highlighted. In addition, there will be a quick tour of the late spring/early summer night skies. Parents are invited to attend the program to see firsthand how this extraordinary resource enriches the instructional program at Sandburg Middle School (as well as the other schools in the Sandburg Planetarium Service Area).

Pas de Deux - Moon Dance with the "Morning Star"

20 April 2001 - In a delicate dance of the celestial spheres, the Waning Crescent Moon appears near the planet Venus in the east before dawn (Civil Twilight begins at 5:57 a.m.; Sunrise occurs at 6:25 a.m.). Now through early December, Venus is the "morning star."
(Graphic courtesy Sky & Telescope magazine.)

First 90-Degree Day (Well, almost!)

Monday, 09 April 2001 the high temperature at Reagan National Airport (DCA) reached 89°F--almost the first 90-degree day for the year 2001 (May 19 is the average date of the first 90-degree day at DCA; September 12 the last). For more information about summer weather in the Washington, D.C. area, visit the NWS Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office Washington National [Airport] Climate Data Web page.

Spring Forward...

Don't be fooled! At 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, 01 April set your clocks forward one hour to begin "Daylight Saving Time" (EDT). Something of a misnomer, we merely shift the increasing daylight hours from morning to evening. Daylight Saving Time begins on the first Sunday in April (spring forward...) and ends on the last Sunday in October (...fall back).

April is National Poetry Month

Celebrate National Poetry Month and increase your sky awareness by reading some of Carl Sandburg's sky-related poetry, or by reading Carl Sandburg Middle School student-authored sky-related poetry.

The Sky is Falling!

Chicken Little was right--the sky is falling! For the full story, read The End is Mir, detailing the Russian Space Agency's plans to send Mir to "a watery grave in the remote South Pacific" on 22 March 2001. At 135 tons, Mir is the heaviest man-made object orbiting the Earth!

March Equinox

The March Equinox occurs at 6:31 a.m. EST on 20 March 2001. The word equinox literally means "equal nights," referring to either of two times of the year when the Sun crosses the plane of the Earth's Equator and day and night are of equal length, that is, about March 21 and September 21. The Sun rises exactly due east (just to the right of the Washington Monument in the accompanying photograph) and sets due west. The March Equinox is the beginning of astronomical Spring in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (in the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological Spring is MAR, APR, and MAY).

March: In Like a Lion; Out Like a Lamb.

	You've probably heard the old saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."
Usually, this saying is used to describe typical March weather: in the beginning of March, the weather is often wild; by the end of March, the weather is usually mild. But this modern weather proverb actually originates from astronomy: in the late-February/early-March night skies, Leo, the Lion (No. 5, FCPS Starfinder) is rising in the East ("coming in") at the same time that Aries, the Ram (lamb) is setting in the West ("going out").

18 February 2001 - Pluto Anniversary

Pluto was discovered 71 years ago today by Clyde W. Tombaugh, February 18, 1930.

02 February 2001 - Groundhog Day/Venus Peaks

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow on February 2nd, then there will be six more weeks of winter weather; if he doesn't see his shadow, then there will be an early Spring. Hogtivities provides a list of activities for celebrating Groundhog Day with younger students.

[Editor's Note: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and we know what that means.... Sigh!]

The planet Venus is at its highest in the evening sky, setting nearly four hours after the Sun sets at 5:31 p.m.!

Cold Facts to Warm Your Heart!

At last, Winter's icy grip may be slipping! Monday, 29 January, the daily average temperature in Washington, D.C. begins increasing--yippee!!!

Space Shuttle Challenger Accident

The fifteenth anniversary of the Challenger accident, STS-51L, will take place on 28 January 2001. In memory of this anniversary, the NASA History Division has updated its STS-51L, Challenger Web site.

Quoting Roger D. Launius, NASA Chief Historian, "We hope this material will be useful in reflecting on and analyzing this significant event in the history of space flight. The Challenger accident remains the most tragic episode in the evolution of NASA and it is important to understand how and why it took place. These materials may help in this process of understanding."

Latest Sunrise/Earliest Sunset

The date(s) of latest sunrise occurs at the end of December/beginning of January; the date(s) of earliest sunset occurs in early December:

Event	Date(s)	Time (EST)
Earliest Sunset	12/01/00 - 12/12/00	04:46 p.m.
Latest Sunrise	12/31/00 - 01/10/01	07:27 a.m.

Earth at Perihelion

The shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun is an ellipse (although its orbit is almost perfectly circular); the point at which the Earth is closest to the Sun is known as perihelion. The Earth reaches perihelion on 04 January 2001 (09 h UT). Food for thought: if the Earth is closest to the Sun, then why is it Winter in the northern mid-latitudes? The answer lies in the annual cycle of change in the apparent path of the Sun across the sky (refer to December Solstice below).

A December Duo of Kodak Moments

Twice during December, the Moon and planets align for picturesque viewing. From dusk 'til dawn DEC 9th, the Waxing Gibbous Moon shines brightly below Jupiter and Saturn (apparent left and right, respectively, with the Moon centered slightly below the pair of planets). DEC 29th, the evening twilight features a close alignment of the Waxing Crescent Moon and the "Evening Star," Venus. Look toward the southwest soon after sunset at 4:55 p.m. (Civil Twilght ends 5:25 p.m.); the Moon appears to the lower-left of Venus.

Visit the Sky & Telescope magazine Astrophotography Web page for technical tips from experts in sky imaging.

Partial Solar Eclipse - 25 December 2000

Weather permitting, a partial solar eclipse will be visible from nearly all parts of North America (south of the Arctic Circle) on Christmas Day, 25 DEC 2000. Be sure to watch--the last solar eclipse on Christmas Day (visible from the U.S.) occurred in 1628, and the next will be in 2307! In Washington, D.C., as the invisible New Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, the Moon will take a "bite" out of a little more than half (54%) the Sun's disk. For more information, visit the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Eclipse Home Page (including links to several live Webcast sites).

Partial Solar Eclipse of December 25, 2000

Event	Time (EST)
First Contact	11:04 a.m.
Maximum Eclipse	12:41 p.m.
Last Contact	02:16 p.m.

Note: All times are for Washington, D.C.

NEVER look directly at the Sun, not even during a solar eclipse--blindness may result! For information regarding how to safely watch the eclipse, refer to either the FCPS Planetaria Eclipse Bulletin or The Exploratorium's How to View an Eclipse (p. 1 of 2).

December Solstice - Happy Solar New Year!

The Sun reaches the December Solstice at 13:37 UTC (08:37 a.m.) on 21 DEC 2000, marking the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere (in the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological winter is DEC, JAN, and FEB). On this date, the Sun reaches the southernmost line of latitude (the Tropic of Capricorn, 23.5°S) where the midday Sun is at the zenith (the imaginary point directly overhead). At northern mid-latitude locations, the midday Sun reaches its minimum altitude (annually) and the duration of insolation (number of hours of daylight) is least. For example, in Washington, D.C. the midday Sun will reach an altitude of 26.5 degrees above the horizon and there will be 9h17m of daylight. Also, the Sun rises farthest south of east (to the far right of the Washington Monument in the accompanying photograph) and sets farthest south of west than at any other time of year.

December's Gems

The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of December 13/14. Under ideal conditions, as many as 120 meteors per hour might be seen, however this year the Waning Gibbous Moon will be a significant source of light pollution washing out all but the brightest meteors. To find Gemini (the shower radiant), refer to the December FCPS Starfinder which shows the 9 p.m. mid-December sky; Gemini is constellation No. 3, rising above the eastern horizon [to the upper-left of Orion, the Hunter (No. 1)]. For more information, visit SKY Online's Meteor Page.

Hurricane Season Ends

Hurricane Season in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean ends November 30th. Contrary to early season predictions, the 2000 hurricane season was relatively inactive.

Leonids Meteor Shower

The annual Leonids meteor shower should peak on the mornings of November 17th and 18th. Plan to watch anytime after 11 p.m.-to-12 midnight when the constellation Leo, the Lion rises above the eastern horizon--meteors will appear radiate outward from Leo. To find Leo, refer to the January FCPS Starfinder (the 9 p.m. January sky is the same as the 1 a.m. November sky); note the bright star Regulus, the heart of the lion (Letter "M") rising above the eastern horizon. For more information, visit SKY Online's Meteor Page.

Next month, December's GEMs (the Geminids meteor shower)....

Halloween - 31 October

The name All Hallows E'en means "hallowed" or "holy evening," the eve before All Saints' Day. Before that it was an old Druid festival that began at midnight and lasted throughout the following day. The festival was in honor of Crone Hecate the Destroyer who brought death to all vegetation, returning the seed of life to sleep [a simple explanation for the change of seasons from summer to fall to winter]. To honor Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seed, people shared apples and nuts.

Archeoastronomers theorize that the Harvest Moon and Halloween pumpkins may be related. When tilted to the left just after rising, the Full Moon's markings (the "man in the Moon") look like an orange-colored jack-o-lantern's face and it is possible that the Moon, as it appears to harvesters working into the evening during early Fall, suggested the idea for the Halloween pumpkin.

Daylight Saving Time Ends

Remember the mnemonic: Spring forward; Fall back? On the last Sunday in October (2 a.m., Sunday, 29 October 2000), clocks are set back one hour to return to Standard Time. Notice how much earlier sunset seems to be! Sure sign that Winter is coming: the number of daylight hours is decreasing. By the time of the December Solstice (21 DEC 2000), there will be only nine hours and 17 minutes (9h17m) of daylight--the fewest hours of daylight all year!

First Frost?

On average, the first frost occurs during late October or early November for much of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. Wednesday morning, 01 November (right on schedule!) we observed the first widespread frost at the Sandburg Center for Sky Awareness (frozen dew was observed 11 October).

For more information about Fall weather in the Washington, D.C. area, visit the WeatherNet4 Washington Fall Statistics Web page.

With the onset of frosty cold temperatures, it won't be long 'til the first snowfall! In the meantime, make artificial snow by visiting Snowflake Designer, a very cool (pun intended) Shockwave multimedia Web site.

October Sky

According to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, October is the least cloudy month for the mid-Atlantic United States. Remember, climate is "average" weather (as well as weather extremes), so expect some clouds and precipitation during the month of October. But on average, you can expect many good skygazing opportunities during the Fall. Plan your skywatching sessions by visiting the SCSA Web page, What's up?

On a related note, if the sky is overcast then you may want to spend the evening indoors reading October Sky, the best-selling book by Homer Hickam (which inspired the movie of the same name). October Sky is the inspirational, loosely autobiographical story of a young boy from a small coal mining town in West Virginia who grew up to be a NASA engineer.

NOVA Star Party

Interested in astronomy? Not sure how to get started? Plan to attend the NOVA Star Party, 30 September 2000, 3:00 p.m. 'til 9-ish, at Franklin Park in Loudoun County, VA. Sponsored by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, a wide variety of activities (day and night) are planned.

September Equinox

The equinox occurs on 22 September at 12:27 p.m. EDT, marking the beginning of astronomical Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of astronomical Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The Sun rises exactly due east (just to the right of the Washington Monument in the accompanying photograph) and sets due west, and day and night are approximately equal in duration. Note: meteorological Fall (SEP, OCT, NOV) begins 01 SEP.

"Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon..."

The Harvest Moon, named for the Full Moon occurring closest to the September Equinox (22 SEP '00), occurs on 13 September, rising in the east approximately 20 minutes after the Sun sets in the west. The additional light late into the evening allows farmers to harvest their crops after sunset.

The Harvest Moon usually occurs in September, but occasionally falls in October, as it will next year.

Hurricane Season

Mid-September (specifically, 09 SEP) is the climatological peak of Tropical Atlantic hurricane season.

Say Goodbye to the 90s...

On average, September 12th is the last 90-degree day at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA). For more information about Fall weather in the Washington, D.C. area, visit the WeatherNet4 Washington Fall Statistics Web page. With the onset of cooler temperatures, it won't be long 'til our first freeze which, in part, triggers leaf color to change.

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