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James: Welcome to Star Gazers. I'm James Albury,
Director of the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium in Gainesville, Florida.
Dean: And I'm Dean Regas, Outreach Astronomer from the Cincinnati
Observatory. We're both here to help you be sure you know what
you're seeing in the night sky when you...
Both: Look up.
James: it's that time of year again when the night skies almost
yell out, "spring is here!"
Dean: That's because when Orion is low lyin' and the lion is high
flyin', winter is on its way out. Let's show you.
Dean: Now most of you know that the constellation Orion the Hunter
is one of the easiest star patterns to find in the night sky.
In fact, if you go outside in early evening during December, Orion
will be climbing up the southeastern sky as a celestial announcement
of the imminent arrival of winter.
James: And in January and February when winter is coldest, Orion
reaches his highest point in the heavens, due south in early evening
almost bragging to the world that he is master of the season.
But then, Orion slowly leaves center stage in early evening and
by the beginning of April is tipped over on his side in the southwest
almost hanging on to the sky for dear life. And it's this placement
of Orion in the southwestern sky in early evening that always
tells us winter is soon coming to an end.
Dean: Yes, and although we're always sad to see Orion's bright
stars go, nevertheless a less bright but much bigger constellation
takes his place almost over head in early evening announcing that
spring is here, the constellation Leo the Lion. If you go out
any April night in early evening, you'll see Orion slowly sinking
in the south west while Leo is crouched at the very roof of heaven
roaring that his season, spring, is here.
James: Leo's easy to find. He's reclining in kind of a sphinx
position. His head and forequarters marked by a backward question
mark or sickle, with the bright star Regulus marking his heart.
The triangle of stars to the east marks his rear.
Dean: In ancient times, lions were often associated with royalty
and Leo's brightest star Regulus means "the little king"
although you will sometimes still hear Regulus called "Cor
Leonis" which means, "The Lion's Heart." Regulus
is only about 1/2 a degree away from the ecliptic, so you'll often
see the Moon pass quite close to it. And, occasionally, the Moon
will briefly occult it, hiding it from view.
James: And the planets occasionally move very close to Regulus.
In fact, on July 7th, 1959, an extremely rare event occurred when
Regulus was actually occulted by Venus as Venus passed in front
of it, an event which won't happen again for several centuries.
Dean: Regulus is about 85 light years away, which means that we
see it not as it looks now, but how it looked 85 years ago. So
if you're 85 years old when you look at Regulus you actually see
the light that left it the year you were born.
James: And thank heavens it's that far away because it's 5 times
the diameter of our Sun and 160 times brighter! This means that
if Regulus were as close to us as our Sun, we'd all be crispy
critters.
Dean: Toasty! Let's see what the planets are doing this week.
Dean: O.K., we have our skies set up for an hour after sunset
any
night this week. If you look to the west, you'll see the two brightest
planets in the sky, Venus and Jupiter. On Monday, March 26th a
super skinny crescent moon.
James: If you pay close attention to Venus over the next few nights,
you can watch it glide silently closer and closer to the Seven
Daughters of Atlas, the Pleiades. The exciting part happens next
week on April 2nd and 3rd.
Dean: That's right James, because Venus is going to be in just
the right position that we'll see her pass extremely close to
the Pleiades. It should look spectacular, especially in a pair
of binoculars or a small telescope.
James: Yes sir. And while you're outside, look high in the eastern
sky for the red planet Mars. It's just to the left and a little
below Regulus.
Dean: And if you go outside shortly before midnight, when Mars
is at its highest, you'll see the ringed planet Saturn, high in
the southeast, forming a triangle with Arcturus and Spica.
James: So get outside after sunset for low lyin' Orion and the
high flyin' lion.
Dean: Two sure signs that winter's goin' and spring is here.
Both: Keep looking up!
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James: Dean, it's that time of year again when
the night skies almost yell out, "spring is here!"
Dean: Yep, that's because when Orion is low
lyin' and the lion is high flyin', winter is on its way out. Let's
show you.
Dean: Now most of you know that Orion the Hunter is the best celestial
sign that winter is here. But by early April, Orion slowly leaves
center stage and is tipped over on his side in the southwest,
almost hanging on to the sky for dear life. And it's this early
evening placement of Orion in the southwestern sky that tells
us winter is coming to an end.
James: Meanwhile, as Orion is leaving the sky, Leo the lion is
crouched at the very roof of heaven roaring that his season, spring,
is here.
Dean: While you're outside watching Orion and Leo, check out Venus
this week. Every night Venus will be inching closer and closer
to the Pleiades, until it passes super-close to them on April
2nd and 3rd.
James: And if you go outside shortly before midnight, you'll see
Mars high in the south, and over in the southeast, you'll see
the ringed planet Saturn, forming a triangle with Arcturus and
Spica.
Both: Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
* This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup
from Sky & Telescope.
Starry Night 6 was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer![[SmilinJack]](Web10.21.11/Demo%20HTML/jack1sm.jpg)
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