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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2015)
24 Wednesday, February 25, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon CONCERT: Event culminates Song Academy for Youth Stars over Sisters By Cami Kornowski Columnist Between the constella- tions of Auriga, Gemini and Ursa Major lies a region of the celestial sphere that is completely devoid of bright stars. Many of the dim stars here were listed by Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy as lying among what he termed the “unformed” stars outside Ursa Major. Later seventeenth-century Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius laid claim to this “no-man’s land” and estab- lished a new constellation he called Lynx. It was so named because its stars are so faint that it would take someone with eyes as keen as a lynx to see it. The name may also refer to Lynceus, who, in Greek mythology, had the best eyesight in the world and could even see objects underground. For those who wish to try to find the con- stellation, it is nearly over- head in the early evenings during March. Although Alsciaukat (also known as 31 Lyncis) is only the fourth brightest star in Lynx, it is the only one with a proper name. It is an orange giant star, about twice as massive as the sun but is a relatively young 1.4 billion years old. It lies at a distance of about 390 light-years. The star 6 Lyncis is a sub- giant that is some 15 times brighter than the sun. In July 2008 a planet with at least 2.4 Jupiter masses was discovered orbiting the Continued from page 3 star, complet- weekend of music, songwrit- ing one circuit ing and community-building every 899 days. through the arts, and is open There are to all high school students. two deep-sky The Academy is held at The objects in Lynx Belfry. worthy of men- “The Song Academy for tion. The first is Youth is modeled after our globular cluster esa/hubble & nasa songwriting camp in the fall, NGC 2419, the NGC 2683, also known as the UFo galaxy, is found in the constellation of Lynx. but geared toward students. I n t e rg a l a c t i c The focus is sharing profes- Wa n d e r e r. sional insight into the craft of What is so special about this those of us in the Northern March, Venus and Mars are songwriting and being a musi- object is its distance—almost Hemisphere. At 3:45 p.m. seen relatively close together cian,” said Tisdel. “This year 300,000 light-years from the PDT the sun will cross the in the west after sunset. But we are reaching out to high center of our galaxy. That’s celestial equator going from as the month progresses, schools in Bend, Redmond, nearly twice as far away south to north, which will Mars falls toward the sun Portland and Eugene — it as the Large Magellanic begin making the hours of while Venus pulls farther really becomes community- Cloud. The Large and Small daylight exceed those of away. Rising about two and a building through music, as Magellanic Clouds are the night, at least until June 21. The new moon this month half hours before the sun these students often make Milky Way’s two satellite lifelong friends.” galaxies. The Intergalactic coincides with the vernal sets in early March, Jupiter For more information on Wanderer is the most dis- equinox on March 20. It is already well up in the east- the 2015 Sisters Folk Festival tant globular cluster that can also happens to be a super- ern sky by nightfall and well Americana Song Academy for be seen in a medium-sized moon because it turns new placed for observing with a only 14 hours after having telescope. During the early Youth and the “Celebration of telescope. Song,” or to purchase tickets Lynx’s finest galaxy, reached perigee—the closest hours of the morning, Saturn go to www.sistersfolkfestival. NGC 2683, was discovered distance to the earth. Some rises in the southeast, set- org or call the festival office by William Herschel on parts of the world will see a tling in the southern sky by at 541-549-4979. February 5, 1788. Because total solar eclipse, as the new sunrise. the galaxy is seen almost moon passes in front of the edge-on, making it appear sun. Unfortunately, this event Superior reminiscent of a classic sci- won’t be visible anywhere in Escrow ence fiction spaceship, it the United States. To com- Execution has been dubbed the UFO plete the lunar cycle, the full galaxy by the Astronaut moon will occur on March 5, Ultimate Memorial Planetarium and last quarter on March 13, and Service Observatory. This vast city of first quarter on March 27. At the beginning of stars is located at a distance of between 16 and 25 million light-years. Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. The vernal equinox 220 S. 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