Planets on Full Display in Winter Night Sky

On New Year's Eve Melissa and I were invited to our friends' rural farm home to celebrate with them and others the changing of the year with food and good conversation.  We had never been there before and gratefully availed ourselves of the Waze app to know where to turn on the zigzagging way, with dirt roads presenting their own challenges as we approached our destination.  Once there, we enjoyed ourselves while soaking in the ambiance of being way out in the countryside of Gilchrist County.  The sky was cloudless and the stars shone brilliantly...as well as the planets: there were three of them (or four if you looked down and counted the Earth): Saturn, Jupiter and Mars.  I could easily make out red Mars, which was the easternmost, just below the zodiac constellation Gemini (technically it's in Cancer, but no one can make out that faint constellation).  I had to look up later which of the other two was Jupiter and which was Saturn.  Jupiter is in Taurus and Saturn, in the west part of the sky, is in Aquarius...just south of Pegasus.  I liked the fact that I could look all the way down to any horizon and see stars without noticeable interference from city lights.  Of course, out here as well as where I live, there are plenty of trees to block the view.  We enjoyed our visit, which I wouldn't have been able to be a part of had I not retired.  One door closes and many more open.  Speaking of more opportunities, I'm looking forward to seeing more of my local planetarium once its January schedule resumes after the holiday break.  It's the Kika Silva Pla Planetarium at Santa Fe College, directed by James Albury...

About Monday's Solar Eclipse

Yesterday a solar eclipse occurred, this time affecting a large section of the United States.  The path of the total eclipse was restricted to a curving belt going northeast from Texas, while here in northern Florida we were able to view a partial eclipse, all taking place in early-to-mid-afternoon. In Gainesville where it happened while I was at work, the skies were partially overcast, which didn't help.  A solar eclipse happens when the moon gets between the sun and Earth, covering up the former to the extent that blockage is more complete from our perspective.  So when you're observing a solar eclipse...hopefully through filter glasses or one of those pinhole box devices...you're not just seeing the sun, but also the "dark side" of the moon.  So is it a coincidence that Eclipse is the final track to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album?  I hardly think so.  Usually I'm the one going around talking up an eclipse to those around me, but this time I shrugged and said to myself (and others), I'll just wait for the pictures and look at them. Now I wonder what they're going to do with all those cheap filter paper-and-plastic glasses that piled up?  You know, all you people who think you want see another solar eclipse in your lifetime, it's probably a better idea to just read up on them and how folks through history reacted...usually pretty unfavorably! But if events like these spur some young people to take a more active interest in astronomy, then I'm all for it...

Constellation of the Month: Virgo (the Maiden)

 

Virgo, the maiden or virgin, is the zodiac sign between Leo and Libra as well the constellation on that celestial belt, prominent in the south in the May evening sky (from the perspective of northern latitudes).  I'm inclined to believe it's also the biggest of the zodiac constellations, taking up a large section of that sector of the sky.  Virgo has one bright, first-magnitude star in Spica, a binary star some 250 light years distant, and which stands out starkly to the naked eye against its relatively faint neighboring stars. A funny, trivial event about Spica occurred when I was in high school...if I still remember it I guess it wasn't so trivial, though.  I was in my senior year sitting in the math library doing homework when a kid a couple of years younger, who attended the same astronomy club meetings as myself, approached me holding a book.  He pointed to the star Spica and asked me how I pronounced it.  I replied "spike-uh" and he triumphally responded "You're wrong, it's "spee-kuh" and pointed to the book's pronunciation guide, which turned out to confirm my version, not his.  Flustered, he just walked away, defeated.  I think I remember that weird, random event because it exemplified the general smartass, know-it-all attitude I encountered among my classmates back then...even decades later, after I began this blog, I got hit with the same hypercompetitive type of petty one-upmanship from kids...now supposedly adults...with whom I attended that high school: I never gave a hoot about how you pronounced something as long as we both understood what we were talking about.  But back to Virgo: this constellation does contain several deep-space Messier objects in a region (see above map for the Virgo Cluster), all of them other galaxies: M49, 58, 59, 60, 61, 84, 86, 87, 89 and 90...whew, that's a lot! But then consider that not only does this cluster contain some 1300-2000 galaxies, but that astronomers regard it as being "small"...I don't know about you, but that makes me feel really, really small in the grand scheme of things...  

When I step outside this time of year to view the night sky, the first star I look for, facing east, is Arcturus in Boötes (the first constellation I wrote about, in June of 2020)...then I trace a line south and west (down and to the right) and there's my old, far-away friend Spica.  And with this article, I've now gone around the sky twice, covering 24 different interesting constellations. Next month I plan to begin Year Three...

Full Lunar Eclipse for Sunday Night/Monday Morning

Melissa brought to my attention that this Sunday night we're having a full lunar eclipse, dubbed "Blood Moon" by apparently melodramatic folks, that should be visible in Gainesville, barring overcast skies or fog.  It is set to begin at 9:32 pm with the penumbral eclipse, progressing to partial eclipse starting at 10:27 and then on to the full eclipse starting at 11:29.  The eclipse reaches its maximum point at 12:11 am Monday morning.  Then the eclipse reverses, the full eclipse ending at 12:53, the partial at 1:55, and the penumbral at 2:50.  A lunar eclipse is different from a solar in that in the latter the effect is caused by the moon blocking the sun while in the former the moon is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun, entering our planet's shadow (or penumbra) to cause the eclipse.  This particular eclipse should be visible for most of North America and South America, but not for the rest of the world.  I'm looking forward to watching it...

Constellation of the Month: Corvus (the Crow)

 

For May I picked Corvus (the Crow) as my constellation of the month, not because it has any bright stars or special deep-space objects of interest (it doesn't), but rather because it has over the years been a dependable sky marker for me during the spring evening hours.  I'm not sure how you get a "crow" out of the above configuration, but the irregular quadrilateral shape of its four brightest stars is unmistakable.  Corvus is located just south of the celestial equator and is between the Zodiac constellation Virgo to the north) and the very lengthy constellation Hydra (to the south).  If you take the top two stars in Corvus, line them up and point to the east (leftward), they point Virgo's bright first-magnitude star Spica.  Corvus is one of those constellations that don't exactly follow the loose protocol of following the Greek alphabet in order of their stars' brightness..."Alpha" isn't even a part of the quadrilateral.  Corvus and I go way back...it's one of the first constellations I remember identifying in the spring evening sky eons ago in 1964 when I was seven years old, so I have a rather soft spot in my heart for it...if one can do so with a sector of the night sky.  Next month I'll feature my second "constellation of the month" for June...in 2020 I picked Boötes for this honor: I have a couple of candidates this time around...

Constellation of the Month: Ursa Major

Ursa Major, a large northern constellation, contains perhaps the most famous "non-constellation" within itself: the asterism Big Dipper.  Ursa Major is Latin for "big bear" and it shares the far northern skies with its smaller companion Ursa Minor (or "Little Dipper"), which owns the celestial north pole with its star Polaris.  The Big Dipper...and the rest of Ursa Major (which is comprised of fainter stars) reaches its highest point in the sky...in the contiguous United States in the northern section at the meridian, around 10 in the evening during the month of April; the Big Dipper appears upside-down in this position.  I always link it with Leo, another major springtime constellation, which is at the same celestial longitude and just south with the tiny and faint Leo Minor inserting itself between the two giants.  As a kid I quickly learned the "basics" about the Big Dipper: if you set it "upright" and point its two front stars upward, they point to Polaris, while if you follow the curved path of the handle, that way ends up at the very bright Arcturus of the constellation Boötes.  And the next-to-last star in the handle from the end, Mizar, is a sort of eye test, for it is really a double star that is separable by the naked eye into itself and its fainter companion Alcor.  All of Ursa Major's brightest stars are in the Big Dipper, predominantly of the 2nd magnitude.  That asterism has always been something that I searched out on clear twilights as the brighter stars of the night sky begin to make their presence known amid the darkening, fleeing blue.  This constellation is also the site of a couple of annual meteor showers, although I've yet to observe them myself.  I'm gradually getting better at using my new reflector telescope...Ursa Major has some deep-space objects worth looking at: the galaxies M81, M82, and M101...and the Owl Nebula, M97: wish me luck in finding them...

Constellation of the Month: Hydra (the Sea Serpent)

 

It was tough for me to pick March's constellation of the month: Canis Minor, although possessing a first magnitude star in Procyon, is pretty tiny with two generally visible stars...that's still better than Cancer, loaded with very faint stars and a cluster called the Beehive.  Then there is Carina, but nearly all of it is below the horizon unless you happen to be living around the Equator or points south.  Instead I picked Hydra, which starts as an evening March constellation at its western end (right, looking south) that represents the sea serpent's small head and winds its way eastward as April and May constellations...it's just south of the Zodiac constellations of Cancer, Leo and Virgo.  One way to find dim Cancer...besides interpolating in the empty space between the brighter constellations of Leo and Gemini...is to locate Hydra's very visible head and then go straight northward. Alphard, the brightest star in Hydra, is also prominent in the evening March sky...it is a 2nd magnitude giant at about 177 light years distance.  On the other end of Hydra are two Messier objects: M68 is a globular star cluster while M83 is a spiral galaxy.  When considering a constellation as stretched out as Hydra...to me an example of celestial gerrymandering...I think they could have come up with a better way of "connecting the dots" and created constellations easier to recognize and identify.  But this is convention, and we're stuck with the current system for better or for worse.  In any event, other than those Messier objects I mentioned, the most interesting part of Hydra is its west end from Alphard to the serpent's head, this smaller segment in itself worthy of selection as my constellation of the month.  Next month's pick is much more clear cut, although my second choice is pretty prominent, too...

Constellation of the Month: Gemini (the Twins)

Gemini, the zodiac constellation that crosses the meridian during February around 9 pm, also extends further north than any of the other eleven in that group through which pass our sun, the moon, and the planets from our vantage point on Earth.  Its celestial latitude (declination) is such that at my Earth latitude of 30 degrees north it passes directly overhead.  Gemini was one of the first ever constellations I viewed, back in the early spring of 1964 when I was seven years old.  It's also the birth sign of my dear, late mother...although I never did go for that astrological stuff.  If you look at the above map I drew, imagine the left stars representing the Greek mythical twin Pollux and the right his brother Castor, their respective heads represented by the stars bearing their names.  Both are relatively near us, Castor a six-star system, nearly at first magnitude brilliance at 52 light-years while Pollux, an orange giant only 34 light-years away is a first magnitude star.  The constellation is the epicenter for the annual December Geminids meteor shower, and the M35 star cluster on Gemini's west side and the strange looking Eskimo Nebula on its east are standout objects to pursue with the telescope.  Gemini is directly to the northeast from last month's featured constellation of Orion...wonder what I'll pick for March as my constellation of the month: I'm going to have to choose among some smaller and fainter ones...

Constellation of the Month: Orion (the Hunter)

 

For January the obvious choice for constellation of the month is Orion, easily the most spectacular constellation in the night sky.  Its most visible structure is a rough rectangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel, and Saiph at the corners...with the center marked by the Belt: the three stars Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak.  Orion can be found high in the southern evening sky, crossing the meridian this month around 9:00.  South of the belt are a number of deep space objects, chief of them the Great Orion Nebula, designated as M42 and M43 from the Messier catalogue.  As a kid I was taught that if you aim Orion's belt to the right (WNW) it roughly points toward Aldebaran, the brightest star in the zodiac constellation Taurus...aim to the left (ESE) and you find Sirius, the brightest star of the night sky, from the constellation Canis Minor.  Sooner or later I'm going to get my new telescope assembled and I'm looking forward to examining Orion through it, especially that area with all the nebulae.  The Greek letters you see on my above drawing are typically assigned to a constellation's stars, usually...but not always...in general order of brightness: for Orion Rigel, the brightest star, a blue supergiant, is "beta" while Betelgeuse, a red supergiant...though designated "alpha" is slightly dimmer.  Both are more than 600 lightyears distant.  The three Belt stars, all massive, are even farther away...

I've narrowed down my choice for February's constellation of the month to two prominent candidates: can you guess which ones they are...and what would your selection be?

New Celestron Telescope

Melissa gave me a very interesting Christmas present this year: a Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ reflector telescope that promises to open up the nighttime sky in much enhanced detail for me.  I haven't yet assembled it, though. I'd like to get more backyard privacy first in order to use it without the neighbors freaking out. Putting it together shouldn't be that difficult, especially with a number of YouTube "how to" videos to assist.  January, usually marked by dry, cool weather and clear skies here in northern Florida, is the best month for star-gazing with Orion, the most spectacular constellation of all, high in the southern sky...but regardless of the time or season there should always be something interesting to see.  I greatly look forward to viewing the moon and planets in greater detail as well as nebulae, star clusters and galaxies.  Stay tuned...

The Great Conjunction of Planets Jupiter and Saturn Tomorrow Evening

Tomorrow evening...assuming there are clear skies above us...we should be treated to a rare astronomical event as the planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear the closest to each other they ever have from Earth's perspective in nearly 400 years.  This doesn't have anything to do with the two planets' distances from each other, though, and we're fortunate that both have moved eastward on their respective zodiacal paths so that when Monday's conjunction occurs they should be visible just above the southwestern horizon when the sun sets and the sky darkens.  Last night here in Gainesville the skies were overcast and the same is predicted tonight...tomorrow, though, they will be clear: alas, I'll be at work then.  Still, for the past few months I've enjoyed looking at the two largest planets in our solar system close together in the sky, in the constellation Sagittarius (just west of Capricornus, where they are now to be found).  Once you've seen them "hug" each other tomorrow evening in their celestial dance, then swing over to the high eastern sky and behold Mars, still much brighter than it is usually seen.  And, of course, the moon is right there in the middle of it all... 

Constellation of the Month: Perseus

 

For December I picked as my Constellation of the Month Perseus, prominent for much of the year in northern nighttime skies, and which crosses the meridian around 9 pm this month.  It represents the Greek mythological hero who, riding the winged horse Pegasus, rescues the fair maiden Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus at Queen Cassiopeia's behest...all are represented by nearby constellations. The 1981 movie Clash of the Titans, starring Harry Hamlin as Perseus, presented one version of the story.  Perseus, although possessing no first magnitude stars, is nevertheless loaded with many bright ones, marked by Mirfak and Algol...the latter, "only" 93 light years away from us, is actually a triple star, with its variation in brightness caused by the stars taking turns eclipsing one another.  Mirfak is much further away and bigger.  Perseus is the focus of the annual Perseids, the most spectacular meteor shower of all and which takes place in the wee morning hours around August 11-13 as the Earth rotates into a cloud of dust particles along its orbit around the sun and ignites them within the atmosphere. I can't begin to count the times, though, in which I tried to watch it but for various reasons was thwarted...often from overcast skies, my schedule, or just falling asleep: let's see if I can't catch it in 2021! I've always welcomed seeing Perseus rising up in the northeastern sky (from my Florida latitude) as it presages the coming of the most interesting part of the celestial sky, that of the wintertime.  Next month there can be only one constellation that stands out above all others for January...well, even for the entire year, for that matter: can you guess which one it is?    

Local Weather Finally Cools Down

The weather here in northern Florida in the last week or two has finally turned, it seems, toward more wintery, cool conditions...I'm not sure whether to say "thank you" or "oh, no".  Especially in the morning it's the latter choice as I simply do not like the general chill of the area and can't wait to get some hot coffee within me at the first opportunity.  Once the day is firmly underway, though, I tend to enjoy the coolness and dryness.  And with the nighttime, the stars are so much brighter...and then the cycle renews itself the next morning.  When the last cold front passed through, storms hitting my area during the dead of night, my front yard became covered with autumn leaves...guess I'll have to get the rake out before long (let's see if a few more don't come down first).  I'm also happy to see the end of this horrendous 2020 hurricane season...although Louisiana and other areas were hit hard, my own Gainesville vicinity was largely spared although Tropical Storm Eta did sweep through us a few weeks ago, again during the dead of night, knocking down a few branches.  With this colder weather the mosquito presence should subside as well...my workplace is basically situated on the edge of Paynes Prairie, a large wetlands area just south of Gainesville and as big as the city, serving as a vast mosquito incubation zone.  Now excuse me while I go get that crucial first cup of coffee...

Constellation of the Month: Cassiopeia (the Queen)

Last month I was standing out in our backyard with Melissa one clear evening, pointing out the visible planets and some stars with their constellations.  She looked around and pointed to a close group of moderately bright stars in the northern sky, roughly shaped like an "M".  I answered that it was Cassiopeia, representing the queen and mother of Andromeda in the Greek mythical tale of Perseus...several constellations from this story dominate the autumn evening sky.  I picked Cassiopeia as my constellation of the month for November for that reason: its easy visibility, at least from northern hemisphere skies.  It's not that large as constellations go, but it represents the northern seasonal counterpart to Ursa Major's asterism the Big Dipper, which dominates in the springtime.  As a kid, I always learned to draw it as a sort of upside-down chair or throne including one of the fainter stars...my above pictured drawing reflects this.  Star maps usually "connect the dots" with it looking like a "W"...or "M" when it reaches its peak above Polaris, the North Star.  As you can see, the five M or W stars of the constellation are designated by the first five letters of the Greek alphabet, something that Atlantic tropical storm followers are probably well acquainted with after this record-setting hurricane season of 2020.  The additional star I connected is Kappa, and just a few degrees from it is located the remnants of one of the greatest observed supernova explosions in recorded history.  Officially known as SN 1572 for its year of occurrence, or Tycho Brahe's supernova after the famous astronomer of that time, it was around 8-9,000 light years distant but its peak brilliance reached a magnitude of -4, making it as bright as Venus back then, 448 years ago...the remnant is now only detectable through strong optical, x-ray and radio telescopes.  There are a couple of other constellations I could have picked out for November...let's see how long I can string out this monthly blog feature: I'd like to eventually cover all 88 of them...

Four Astronauts Slated for Space Launch from Cape Canaveral Sunday Evening

Tomorrow evening (Sunday)  Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi (pictured from left to right)...the last from Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency...are scheduled to take off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida in SpaceX's Crew Dragon craft, at the top of the Falcon 9 rocket as it represents the second manned flight launched from United States soil this year, after the earlier successful May 30th launch which returned August 2nd.  Like that mission, this one will transport the astronauts to the International Space Station...the plan is for them to stay there until their return to Earth in the spring.  The launch was delayed from October 31st due to engine issues within the Falcon 9 rocket, and then again from tonight's planned launch because of concerns that high winds would interfere with booster rocket recovery...tomorrow's launch time is set for 7:27 pm Eastern Time. I'm going to try to see it from my backyard here in northern Gainesville if the weather permits.  I am gratified that America is gearing back up again for space exploration with astronauts and look forward to future missions to the moon and Mars.  Hopefully, the incoming Biden administration won't mess with our space objectives and allow a continuity of missions that has been sorely lacking in the past whenever one president left office and another stepped in.  And what about that Space Force begun under Trump? We'll see...

The above picture of the four astronauts on this flight is a public domain release by NASA that appeared in the pertinent Wikipedia article...

Constellation of the Month: Pegasus (the Winged Horse)

 

For the month of October I've selected Pegasus as my Constellation of the Month, a feature I've been doing on this blog since June.  The other night it was finally clear and dry and the stars shone bright, even in my semi-urban sky of far northern Gainesville.  Pegasus, representing the winged horse in the Perseus mythological family of autumn constellations, was practically overhead around 10:30 EDT, with its trademark "square" just east of the zenith.  In a season when the evening skies are marked by fainter constellations, at least Pegasus has its share of clearly visible second and third magnitude stars.  To discern the rough semblance of a horse you need to invert the above drawing I made...the star Enif, whose meaning from Arabic (all the brighter stars have Arabic names) is "nose", should set you right.  My main beef about Pegasus is how its hind legs are actually the constellation Andromeda, and Alpheratz, one of the "square" stars, is actually a part of that separate constellation...I tend to see Andromeda instead as part of the Great Horse.  Monday evening I showed Pegasus to Melissa and then pointed down from it eastward to a stupendously bright star...except that it wasn't a star but rather the planet Mars, considerably brighter because it is currently much, much closer than usual to Earth in the two planets' orbital cycles while in a position to reflect the Sun more fully to us.  Way back in 1964 we went through what seemed weeks of overcast evening skies in south Florida during the fall. Since that was the first year ever that I was observing stars and constellations in the night sky, as a kid just turning eight, the long delay seemed to go on forever...I wasn't all that impressed with the fall sky when I finally did get around to viewing it.  Pegasus is one of two standout October constellations, in my opinion...a year from now we'll see about the other one.  Now although the general region of the sky where Pegasus resides doesn't have bright stars, you can still look to the west where the Summer Triangle asterism of first-magnitude stars Vega, Deneb and Altair dominates that section of the sky.  And, at least now in 2020, Jupiter and Saturn are still bright in the low southwestern sky at my latitude during the early evening hours...

Constellation of the Month: Cygnus (the Swan)

 

The accompanying picture is a drawing I made of Cygnus, a northern summer constellation prominent and high in the sky from northern latitudes.  It is distinguished by its bright first magnitude star Deneb...Arabic for "tail"...and although you might be able to make out a faint resemblance to the swan which it represents, the constellation is also commonly called the Northern Cross because of its core asterism of bright stars.  Like Sagittarius (last month's featured constellation on this blog), Cygnus has the Milky Way prominently in its background. From where I live, it's more visible and impressive because unlike with more southern, low-lying Sagittarius, Cygnus is much higher and removed from the obscuring city lights that confound my star-gazing along the horizon.  Along with Deneb, the stars Vega (from Lyra) and Altair (from Aquila) constitute the Summer Triangle asterism that's visible under even urban skies on clear nights.  If you're into deeper observation of the heavens using a telescope then Cygnus is one of the great sources of interesting objects...the North America, Pelican, and Veil Nebulae are standouts along with M39, an open star cluster.  Deneb, bright as it is from Earth, is a colossal blue giant some 2,600 light years away with an absolute magnitude at higher than -8...that's awfully impressive!

It's been difficult of late for me to get out and look at the stars...even when it isn't raining the sky is usually severely overcast and the overbearing humidity tends to diminish the brightness of the stars even when it is clear.  This summer in northern Florida has to be one of the most miserable I've experienced since moving here in 1977...I'm hoping to get a little relief from it all before too long...

Constellation of the Month: Sagittarius (the Archer)

Sagittarius, representing an archer (one of two constellations depicting half-horse, half-man centaurs), is prominent in the southern sky during the month of August in the evening. Although there are no first magnitude stars in it, there are plenty of second and third magnitude...but its main feature is that the Milky Way runs strong through it and there are many Messier objects...mainly nebula and star clusters...interspersed throughout.  I picked it as my constellation of the month over a couple of others because of the striking presence of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in its northeastern corner right now.  By the way, three of the names of Sagittarius's more prominent stars, Kaus Borealis, Kaus Media and Kaus Australis, are derived from two different languages...Arabic and Latin: "kaus" is "bow" and "borealis", "media" and "australis" translate to northern, middle and southern, respectively.  Sagittarius is the last of the brighter zodiac constellations that march across the sky...at least for a few months: its followers...Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces...are pretty faint as the autumn evening sky has few bright stars of note.  The above picture I drew just shows the brighter stars along with Jupiter, Saturn and the positions of some of the Messier objects...Sagittarius contains many more stars visible to the naked eye and encompasses a much wider area in the celestial sky than what I've shown...

Managed to See Comet NEOWISE Sunday Evening

Sunday at twilight I dragged a folding chair across my backyard, bringing with me a cup of coffee, and then sat there as the blueness gradually receded and the darkness began to reveal one star after another.  My purpose in this venture was to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE, only discovered less than four months ago, and which is visible to the naked eye...if you're at the correct latitude, that is, and clouds aren't obscuring the sky.  Sunday it was wonderfully clear and I first noticed the star Arcturus high in the sky, followed by Vega in the east, the north star Polaris, and the stars of the Big Dipper, a popular asterism within the constellation Ursa Major...in which Comet NEOWISE was to be located on its western side.  As the sky darkened and more stars became visible, I was frustrated at not being able to make out the comet.  Melissa then came outside and joined me in looking for it...she found it first and eventually so did I, around 9:30 pm.  The Big Dipper was turned on its side in the northwestern sky with the pan in the bottom and the handle on top.  I went down from the Dipper about halfway to the horizon, and a little to the left...and there it was, a faint smudge in the sky trailing off to the upper right: I could see it better if I looked a little to the side, not directly at it.  Okay, good, I saw it in person...and frankly, noting how the summer skies here in northern Florida tend to get overcast lately in early evening and that I'm going to be indoors at work this time of the day until next Saturday, this may have been my final opportunity to view it...glad I did.  I first heard of this comet on a Tweet by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, whom I follow, and then kept up with it through some posts by Julie, a Facebook friend.  A few days ago it was in the constellation Auriga, then drifted eastward to Lynx and is now in that far western section of Ursa Major: its position among the starry background changes due to the comet's own motion as well as the Earth's revolution around the Sun.   By the way, the reason the name is in all capital letters is that the discovery came about under a project (NEOWISE) using the space telescope WISE, which stands for Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer...at least that's what Wikipedia said...

Constellation of the Month: Scorpius (the Scorpion)

If you happen to be a follower of that nonscientific field of soothsaying known as astrology, you already know that Scorpio is a sign of the Zodiac, representing people born October 23-November 21...guess what, I think horoscopes are a lot of hooey.  Astronomically speaking, I learned about the celestial Zodiac constellation Scorpius early in life at the age of seven...I remember that late spring night 56 years ago when I got permission to stay up late enough to watch it rise in the southeastern sky, leading with the scorpion's claws (three stars) followed by its highlight, the bright red giant star Antares.  In the United States Scorpius passes low in the southern sky during summer evenings and actually does resemble a scorpion when you connect together the dots (its stars, that is).  It also lies on the elliptic, meaning that our sun, moon, and the planets are seen from our vantage point on Earth to travel through it (and the other 11 Zodiac constellations).  Now to call Scorpius a "July" constellation only means that round 9-10 pm in the evening of that month it crosses the meridian (the imaginary line in the sky that divides east from west).  I could technically call just about any of the 88 official constellations as belonging to July since they all likewise cross that meridian line, most of them at other times of the day or night, however.  So for convention's sake I do as others do and take a mental snapshot of the sky at mid-evening during a particular month...

Although Scorpius is traditionally represented by that scorpion pattern from its brightest visible stars, the constellation is actually a sector of space projected outward from Earth to the farthest regions of the universe, comprising untold numbers of galaxies.  There are four Messier "objects" with Scorpius, all star clusters.  Scorpius lies the furthest south of all the Zodiac constellations, passing low in continental American skies.  It's usually a lot easier to notice the three prominent "claw" stars at the constellation's western end, followed by spectacular Antares.  The upper two claw stars are Graffius and Dschubba, respectively.  Other notable stars in Scorpius are Sargas in its tail and Shaula at the tip where the "stinger" is...

I have a memory from childhood of being with my family at the Golden Glades Drive-In theatre in northern Dade County, between Opa-Locka and Carol City near the Palmetto Expressway.  We were walking outside and I happened to look up toward the south and saw Scorpius in its completeness...it's one of the more spectacular constellations in the sky, definitely the highlight of the summer season...