Wednesday, July 29, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Stars over Sisters
By Cami Kornowski
Correspondent
Aquila the Eagle is one of
nine constellations that rep-
resent various types of birds.
However, only it, Corvus
the Crow, and Cygnus the
Swan can be seen from
Central Oregon’s latitude.
The remaining six lie deep
in the celestial southern
hemisphere, well beyond our
view.
Aquila is bisected by
the celestial equator so that
roughly half of it is in the
northern hemisphere, half in
the southern hemisphere. It
is bordered by Sagitta to the
north, Hercules, Ophiuchus,
Serpens Cauda and Scutum
to the west, Sagittarius and
Capricornus to the south,
and Aquarius and Delphinus
to the east. The constellation
is easy to find because a por-
tion of the Milky Way runs
through it.
According to Greek
mythology, there was a battle
between the Olympian gods
and the Titans during which
an eagle carried Zeus’ thun-
derbolts. After the gods were
victorious, Zeus kept the
eagle by his side, represented
by Aquila. In Hinduism, the
constellation of Aquila is
identified with the half-eagle
half-human deity Garuda.
Aquila’s most brilliant
luminary is Altair, 12th-
brightest star in the sky. An
interesting property of this
star is its rapid spin, mak-
ing one rotation on its axis in
just nine hours. By contrast,
the equator of our sun takes
a little more than 25 days
to complete a single rota-
tion. This rapid spin causes
Altair to take on the shape
of a flattened sphere, making
ing
t
a
br
e
Cel years!
40
its equatorial diameter more
than 20 percent greater than
at the poles. Altair is one of
closest bright stars to the
earth, a mere 17 light-years
away.
Long-time sci-fi fans may
remember the 1956 movie
“Forbidden Planet,” a story
set on the fictitious planet
Altair IV, fourth planet out
from Altair. Some regard it
as one of the best science fic-
tion movies of all-time.
Owing to its proximity
to the Milky Way, there is
no lack of deep-sky objects
in Aquila. No fewer than 10
of these are planetary nebu-
lae. These things have noth-
ing to do with planets, but
are instead shells of ionized
gas cast off from medium-
to-low-mass stars near
the end of their lifespans.
Astronomers believe that in
another seven billion years
or so our dying sun will
produce a planetary nebula.
NGC 6781 may be the most
picturesque of the numerous
gas shells in Aquila. It lies
at a distance of about 2,600
light-years from the earth.
Though the annual Perseid
meteor shower occurs from
mid-July through mid-
August, this year it is pre-
dicted to peak at about 1 a.m.
PDT on August 13. The best
time to view the meteors,
therefore, will be the eve-
ning of August 12 and the
morning of August 13. This
should be a particularly good
display because the moon
is just one day from being
new (dark). Approximately
100—120 meteors per hour
are expected to streak across
the sky during this time.
Meteor-stream modeler
Jeremie Vaubaillon claims
that the earth should pass
very close to the debris trail
that comet Swift-Tuttle shed
in 1862. Because of this,
there is a chance that the
meteor count could be sig-
nificantly higher for a few
hours. If this event actually
happens, observers in Asia
have the best chance to wit-
ness the display.
Speedy Mercury joins
Jupiter in the evening sky
early in the month. On
August 6 the two planets will
be just 0.6 degrees apart low
in the west, 45 minutes after
sunset. The sun is slowly
gaining on Jupiter, but
because Venus is currently
retrograding westward, it
will leave the evening sky
before Jupiter.
Saturn appears in the
south-southwest as darkness
falls. Because the planet is at
eastern quadrature on August
21, the shadow of the globe
on the rings is at its maxi-
mum extent this month. A
telescope is necessary to
view this phenomenon.
photo by eso
NGC 6781 is an attractive planetary nebula in the constellation of aquila.
On August 20 and 21,
Mars will arrive at the out-
skirts of the Beehive Cluster
in Cancer. Use binoculars
or a telescope to see the
approach.
The month opens with
a waning gibbous moon
that fades to last quarter on
August 6. Our only natural
satellite is new on August 14
and first quarter on August
22. The full Sturgeon Moon
appears on August 29.
To learn more about the
night sky, all are invited to
attend the Stars over Sisters
Star Watch on Saturday
August 15, at the Sisters Park
& Recreation District build-
ing, beginning at 8:30 p.m.
Following a brief presenta-
tion, visitors will have the
opportunity to view celestial
objects through telescopes
provided by members of the
Sisters Astronomy Club. The
event is free.
20th Anniversary
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Here’s to
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Friday, August 7th
muried Art Sale 5pm-8pm
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Saturday, August 8th
Country Fair & Art Show 10am-3pm
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1/8 mile west of Sisters on the McKenzie Highway
541-548-2899
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Silent Auction • Good Book Sale • Animals
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Ribs • Hotdogs • Marionberry Cobbler
Country Store, Cake Walk and Much More!
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