Mon Sep 9, 2024 NAME THAT CONSTELLATION - SEPTEMBER
Can you identify the twenty-ninth largest constellation? It is bordered on the north by Serpens Caput and Virgo; on the east by Scorpius and Ophiuchus; on the south by Hydra and Lupus; and on the west by Virgo again. This constellation was invented by the Romans about 21 hundred years ago when they formed it from the claws of Scorpius, and they often portrayed it as being held by Virgo, who represented Astraea, goddess of Justice. This constellation has no bright stars or notable deep sky objects like galaxies or nebulas, but tonight the crescent moon appears to the east of it in the head of the constellation Scorpius. Can you name this star figure, the seventh constellation of the zodiac, and the only zodiacal figure that is not a person or an animal? The answer is Libra the Scales, now visible in the southwest sky after sunset.
Tue Sep 10, 2024 HALLSTROM OPEN HOUSE
On Saturday, September 14th there will be a free open house at the Hallstrom Planetarium on the Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. At 6 pm there will be star talk about the current night sky in the planetarium theater, and we’ll also play a few trailers from our upcoming shows, including one on dark matter, laser light shows in October, native American Indian sky stories, and even cosmic trips across the entire universe! We’ll also provide telescopic views of the moon, weather permitting, courtesy of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society and our student club, Hallstrom Astronomy Society. Oh, and now we have a gift shop too! I’ll see you at the Planetarium for ongoing programs between 6 pm and 9 pm on Saturday. No tickets are needed, the talk and the telescope viewing are free.
Wed Sep 11, 2024 SCUTUM
The small constellation of Scutum, the “shield of Sobieski,” has no bright, or even middling-bright stars within its borders, and as it’s wedged into the summertime Milky Way, between Aquila the Eagle, Sagittarius the Archer and the Serpent’s Tail, (Serpens Cauda,) finding it is more like a process of elimination than actual discovery. It was introduced to star charts by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius to commemorate the lifting of the siege of Vienna which had happened on September 12, 1683. King Jan Sobieski of Poland led his hussars and men gathered from England, France, Germany, Austria, and even a great many displaced Tatars who had settled in Poland, in an attack that routed the Turkish army, which had lain siege to Vienna. Scutum has a few star clusters plus a planetary nebula, and even a pulsar.
Thu Sep 12, 2024 ELEVEN DAYS MISSING!
Here in America, there was no September 12th in the year 1752. There wasn’t a 3rd through the 13th either! The Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, was inaccurate; it was behind by ten days when Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar to Catholic countries in 1582. But England and its Protestant colonies kept using the old Julian calendar, until 1752, when, in order to fix the calendar, eleven days had to be chopped out. Riots broke out in London as landlords charged their renters a full month’s rent, even though the month was just 19 days long. “Give us back our eleven days!” they shouted. But in America, Ben Franklin counseled his readers not to “regret.. the loss of so much time,” but to give thanks that one might “lie down in Peace on the second of the month and not… awake till the morning of the 14th.”
Fri Sep 13, 2024 HALLSTROM OPEN HOUSE
On Saturday, September 14th there will be a free open house at the Hallstrom Planetarium on the Fort Pierce campus of Indian River State College in Fort Pierce. At 6 pm there will be star talk about the current night sky in the planetarium theater, and we’ll also play a few trailers from our upcoming shows, including one on dark matter, laser light shows in October, native American Indian sky stories, and even cosmic trips across the entire universe! We’ll also provide telescopic views of the moon, weather permitting, courtesy of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society and our student club, Hallstrom Astronomy Society. Oh, and now we have a gift shop too! I’ll see you at the Planetarium for ongoing programs between 6 pm and 9 pm on Saturday. No tickets are needed, the talk and the telescope viewing are free.