Looking Back, Looking Forward...
Science >
Allow me to be a two-faced for a moment - in a good way. Like Janus, the ancient Italian deity who is depicted with two faces, one looking forward and one looking back, and for whom our month January is named, let's take a quick look back at 2007, and get ready for some events happening in 2008.
The last year in astronomy was not too too exciting for amateur astronomers. I mean, we didn’t have any local solar eclipses, or devastating supernovae, or spectacular meteor storms. But we did have our planet buddies to keep us company, and several nice comets. They, and the ever present starry firmament, are there every year and always making looking up well worth the effort.
It was a very good year as far as the technological side of astronomy is concerned. We touched down on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and saw for the first time its cloud-covered surface. Streams of data are still coming back from spacecraft on or around Mars and Jupiter and Saturn, all giving us unprecedented looks at these ancient planets, all helping us to refine our knowledge of our solar system, a sui generis work of art.
Astronomers also found more planets outside our solar system. Their discoveries bring joy to two groups of people: to one group who exclaims "Lots more planets means lots more chances for life!" and to those who because of the hellish nature of these new planets reason, "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..."
And after a 13-year wait, we saw first signs of life in the world's largest scientific instrument, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. This critter, we hope and pray, when fully operational will be able to simulate conditions in the universe when it was a mere babe, just billionths of a second old.
Now for this coming year, 2008, there will be all kinds of wonderful techie and cosmological stuff revealed and discovered, to be sure. But what can we backyard astronomers do in the meantime, between press releases? Here are some suggestions.
On February 20, at sunset, the full Moon will rise in the east. So what? It will be announcing the opening act of a total lunar eclipse. We in Southern California will be able to watch the whole play unfold over the next several hours. Make sure you see it. We will not have another total lunar eclipse until late 2010!
If you can get a look at Saturn through a telescope this spring, do. Next year will be disappointing. Why? Saturn, like most planets, has a tilt. This year it is still slightly tilted with respect to us, so the rings still are a thing of beauty. But next year we see the glorious rings edge-on and they, in essence, vanish. Boring!
Coincidentally, Saturn will be right next to the Moon during February's eclipse extravaganza.
Here are several things you might want to try this year, as well. One would be to commit to seeing a meteor shower; they are scattered throughout the year. Another might be to see an asteroid, like the great Ceres. Or you can attempt to see all the planets in a calendar year. Perhaps subscribe to an astronomy magazine like Astronomy or Sky and Telescope. Read newspaper articles on the latest cosmological discoveries. Have deep discussions with friends and family about the philosophical and even theological implications of all that is going on in the heavens.
Learning from the past and committing to a future of deeper understanding and appreciation of the cosmos is a win-win situation. It helps us see better our place in the whole wonderful Grand Scheme of Things.
Until next time, clear skies, and a happy 2008!
Posted by Mark Ritter at 2007.12.30 02:14 PM | Comments (0)
