« Where are the Spots? | Main | Looking Back, Looking Forward... »
Stars in the East
Observing >
'Tis the season when many Americans celebrate a special birth that took place more than 2000 years ago. Some wise men were led to the birthplace by a star in the east, what many of us call the "Star of Bethlehem."
Well, we who love the night sky will have plenty of stars in the east to watch this Christmas season. They portend nothing nearly as significant as that other star, but they give us reason to pause in wonder, nevertheless.
If you are patient - and dressed warmly enough - you can behold the rising of three planets, "stars" as they were called in days of old, rising in the east throughout the night this month.
First up is Mars. It first peers over the eastern horizon at about 6 PM. It is at its closest to us this year this week, a mere 55 million miles away. You will notice right away that even though it is "close," it is not as "big as the Full Moon" as those false internet rumors tell us annually.
It is easy to spot, a lone, bright, pinkish "star" to the left of Orion and below the Pleiades. Should you have a telescope or be getting one for the holidays, take a look. Now is the best time. You should be able to make out surface features on the Red Planet, we are that close.
Wait a few hours and the earth will have turned right into Saturn's neighborhood. Rising in the east at about 11 PM, this gas giant is not as bright as Mars, but through a telescope will make your jaw drop.
Wait until this "star" rises higher into the sky before you take a look, though. The heat from the horizon and the turbulence it brings can make a mess of seeing. If you can't stay up past midnight for that, fear not, for I bring you tidings of joy. Over the next months Saturn will keep rising earlier in the evening. By about February the Ringed One will be perfectly placed for the best evening viewing.
Now, for the faithful and stout-hearted, if you can wait until about 4 in the morning you can spot our third "star in the east," blazing Venus. She will rise in full glory before sunrise. It might be more convenient for you to just wake up early some time in the next couple weeks and see all three together in the early morning skies.
In the five o'clock hour, before sunrise, all three will be strewn across the sky in almost a straight line from east to west, like celestial Christmas lights; Venus in the east, Saturn up above, and Mars ready to set in the west.
All three will define the line astronomers call the ecliptic, the imaginary line that the planets all ride along throughout the year. By summer, Jupiter will be on this same line in our evening skies.
Here is a challenge: Be a wise man - or woman - yourself this Christmas season. Take a break in the next couple weeks from the hustle and bustle of this busy, stressful time of the year and go outside during the evening. Take a deep breath, look up at a star in the east, and peacefully reflect on the greater things in life. It'll do you a world of good.
Until next time, clear skies - and blessed holidays!
Posted by Mark Ritter at 2007.12.19 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
