Mon Jan 13, 2025 FULL MOON IN CONJUNCTION WITH MARS
This evening the full moon is in conjunction with the planet Mars, over in the eastern sky. Mars will appear as a very bright, slightly red-tinged star slightly to the northeast of the moon. On the other side of the moon are two more stars – Pollux and Castor - which mark the heads of the twin brothers, the Gemini. January’s full moon is called the Storm Moon by the Celts, because they believed that storms raged both before and after its appearance in the sky. To the Passamaquoddy Indians, this is the Wolf Moon, a time of year when wolves that normally avoided humans, would be forced by winter famine to scavenge from the villages. Wolves were seen more frequently, especially at night when the moon was full and bright.
Tue Jan 14, 2025 ALIGNED PLANETS?
There’s been a lot of talk about some kind of alignment of the planets during the last half of this month. This isn’t so. For one thing the planets won’t be lined up the way they describe it - stacked one behind the other, lined up on one side of the sun. They will be spread across the evening sky. For another thing, it’s not just one night, but several weeks. And finally, the planets you can see in the sky will always seem to form a line. Their orbital paths around the sun are pretty well aligned with our orbit, so over the next couple of weeks, look out to the southwest at sunset and find the planet Venus, a brilliant star-like object in the evening. To the east of it is Saturn, and on the other side of the sky in the northeast are Jupiter followed by Mars – very pretty!
Wed Jan 15, 2025 NEW PLANETARIUM SHOW: DAUGHTER OF THE STARS
This weekend, Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium will present, “Daughter of the Stars,” stories about the stars as told by Native American Indians. Many constellations in the current evening sky were featured in these tales. Orion the Hunter was called Long Sash by the Tewa Pueblo Indians in the American southwest. The Praesepe star cluster in the constellation Cancer the Crab was the headdress of Long Sash. And Ursa Major, the great bear of Greek myth, was also seen as a bear – Neagwaheh - by the Iroquois, that was followed by three hunters – the stars in the handle of the Big Dipper. Shows will be on Friday night and Saturday afternoon – call 772 462 4750 for tickets.
Thu Jan 16, 2025 EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE EVENING STAR
The American writer Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 18, 1809. Some of his stories, such as, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and “The Pit and the Pendulum,” have even been made into movies. But in 1848, Poe wrote something called, Eureka, in which he discussed astronomy and the universe. While Poe was no professional astronomer, he kept up with the latest discoveries and theories, and in Eureka he suggests that the Universe is expanding, which was confirmed over 70 years after his death. And in his poem, Evening Star, he compares what he considered to be the cold, heartless light of the moon to the warm light of Venus, which even now appears high in the west at sunset.
Fri Jan 17, 2025 NEW PLANETARIUM SHOW: DAUGHTER OF THE STARS
This weekend, Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium will present, “Daughter of the Stars,” stories about the stars as told by Native American Indians. Many constellations in the current evening sky were featured in these tales. Orion the Hunter was called Long Sash by the Tewa Pueblo Indians in the American southwest. And Ursa Major, the great bear of Greek myth, was also seen as a bear – Neagwaheh - by the Iroquois, that was followed by three hunters – the stars in the handle of the Big Dipper. Shows will be on Friday night and Saturday afternoon – call 772 462 4750 for tickets. And if skies are clear tonight, the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will be able to show folks several planets in the sky – Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and maybe even Mars!