Mon Dec 1, 2025 GIOTTO AND THE STAR OF WONDER
In the year 1301, the Italian artist Giotto di Bondone saw a comet. It was bright and glorious, but it had no name; centuries later it would be called Halley’s comet. In 1305, Giotto painted a fresco called, “the Adoration of the Magi,” which can still be viewed in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy. Above the Creche, Giotto painted Halley’s comet, portraying it as the nativity star. Could the comet have been the star? This weekend Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium will investigate, in its 33rd annual presentation of “Star of Wonder.” Shows are on Friday night at 7 and 8:30 pm, and on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 and 3 pm. Call the College’s Box office at 772) 462-4750, between 11 am and 3 pm today through Friday.
Tue Dec 2, 2025 SUNRISE, SUNSET, AND SEASONS
We speak of the sunrise in the east and sunset in the west, but there are only two times during the year when this occurs – at the beginning of spring and at the beginning of autumn. After the spring equinox, the sun rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west, and after the autumnal equinox, the sun rises to the south of east and sets to the south of west. In the summer, the sun’s path across the sky is long and high, the daylight period is longer than the night, and the weather turns warm. But at winter’s beginning, the sun’s path is very short and low; the daylight period is short, the night is long. Less direct sunlight and a shorter amount of sunlit hours lead to a drop in air temperatures as the weather turns cold.
Wed Dec 3, 2025 WHY BUY A TELESCOPE?
You can spend lots of money buying a telescope and then be unhappy with the results. Before you buy one, ask yourself: what do you expect the telescope to do? Most small telescope views fall far short of the incredible images that we get from great observatories or space telescopes. So why buy a telescope? Well one of the principle joys of the telescope is the excitement of finding these objects in the sky, and knowing that they really are out there. A good starter telescope is a Newtonian reflector with a 6 inch mirror on a Dobsonian mount, which uses big one and a quarter inch eyepieces. Such a scope should cost between 200 – 400 dollars. Begin your research on the internet, or e-mail me at jbell@irsc.edu for advice.
Thu Dec 4, 2025 DECEMBER FULL MOON
Today the full moon rises out of the east at sunset. December’s full moon is known as the Big Winter Moon – that’s according to the Creek and the Seminole Indians. To the Algonquin Indians and to colonial settlers, this is the Long Night Moon, another reference to the beginning of winter, when days are short and nights are long. The Sioux call this the Moon of Popping Trees, perhaps because the cold air freezes water, causing the trees to crack and pop. The Winnebago name it the Big Bear’s Moon, and the Cheyenne say it is the Moon When the Wolves Run Together - pack hunters searching for food before the snows of winter.
Fri Dec 5, 2025 STAR OF WONDER 2
Tonight and tomorrow afternoon, Indian River State College’s Hallstrom Planetarium will feature its holiday program "Star of Wonder". In this presentation we use the planetarium to show you what the skies looked like from Judea over two thousand years ago, to see if we can discover the Nativity star, referred to in the gospel of Saint Matthew. We’ll look at sky phenomena such as comets, meteors and planets. And if skies are clear tonight, the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society will set up their telescopes in our parking lot after the shows so that we can view the planets Jupiter and Saturn. To get tickets for “Star of Wonder,” call the College’s Box office at 772) 462-4750, between 11 am and 3 pm today.
