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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. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
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