Mon Feb 6, 2023 CLYDE TOMBAUGH
Clyde Tombaugh, born on February 4th, 1906, was just 24 years old in 1930, when he discovered a planet beyond Neptune, dubbed Planet X. He found it on one of thousands of photographs of starfields, in Gemini the Twins. This constellation is visible in the east after sunset tonight, but Planet X has since wandered off into the other half of the sky, and can now be found along the eastern border of the constellation Sagittarius. After Tombaugh’s discovery, Planet X was given the name Pluto - in mythology, the brother of Jupiter and god of the far-flung underworld. Tombaugh died in 1997. In 2006, the New Horizons probe was launched to Pluto. New Horizons reached Pluto in July, 2015 and sent back incredible pictures of this distant world, as well as its five moons.
Tue Feb 7, 2023 SPACE SONGS IN THE PLANETARIUM
This weekend, a new program opens at Indian River State College. “Space Songs” is a planetarium sky show, a live concert and a little karaoke all mixed together. You’ll hear such classics as, “Tumbling Asteroids,” “Moon Rovers,” “There Are Plenty of Stars,” and the ever-popular, “Constellation Barcarolle.” And just so our singing instructors don’t have all the fun, the audience will be invited to sing too, as we project the words on the planetarium dome. Shows are Friday at 7 or 8:30 PM, and on Saturday afternoon at 1 or 2:30. If skies are clear on Friday night, the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be on hand to provide guided views of outer space through their telescopes. For tickets call the IRSC box office at 772)462-4750.
Wed Feb 8, 2023 JULES VERNE
The French science fiction writer Jules Verne was born on February 8th, 1828. He wrote about traveling in outer space, "From the Earth to the Moon.” In his novel Verne envisioned the launch taking place in Florida. After rounding the moon the three space travelers splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, where a ship picked them up - all this a hundred years before we actually went to the moon. In a sense, traveling to our nearest neighbor in space has once again become an impossibility. The last manned moon mission was in 1972. In 2006, NASA’s Constellation project was established to return men, and women, to the moon by the year 2020, but in 2010 that mission was cancelled. Now, finally, it looks like we may be going back to the moon with project Artemis.
Thu Feb 9, 2023 SIRIUS
There are many bright stars in winter’s early evening sky. In the southeast, down and to the left of the constellation Orion, there’s a star called Sirius, a name derived from the Greek “seirios,” which means, scorching, or sparkling. So you could say Sirius is the star you meant when you recited “Twinkle, Twinkle” as a kid. This brilliant star does twinkle, owing to our earth’s atmosphere, which causes the star to flicker and flash. Sirius is also called the Dog Star, because it's supposed to mark the nose of the Big Dog in the sky, Canis Major. Stars have different brightnesses. Some are bright because they're close to us; others are bright because they're either hotter or bigger. With Sirius, it's a little of both - a big, white-hot star, very close to us, a mere 54 trillion miles away.
Fri Feb 10, 2023 SPACE SONGS IN THE PLANETARIUM
Tonight and tomorrow, a new program opens at Indian River State College. “Space Songs” is a planetarium sky show, a live concert and a little karaoke all mixed together. You’ll hear such classics as, “Tumbling Asteroids,” “Moon Rovers,” “There Are Plenty of Stars,” and the ever-popular, “Constellation Barcarolle.” And just so our singing instructors don’t have all the fun, the audience will be invited to sing too, as we project the words on the planetarium dome. Shows are tonight at 7 or 8:30 PM, and on Saturday afternoon at 1 or 2:30. If skies are clear tonight, the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be on hand to provide guided views of outer space through their telescopes. For tickets call the IRSC box office at 772)462-4750.