Wednesday, August 3, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
23
Stars over Sisters
Many articles written
in this column have fea-
tured various constellations,
describing the mythology and
prominent celestial objects
associated with each primary
stellar grouping.
The celestial sphere is
comprised of 88 of these
named constellations. There
are many other interesting
arrangements of stars that lie
within many constellations.
These are called asterisms.
For example, the Big Dipper
is an asterism that exists
inside the constellation of
Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
Another noteworthy and
fun asterism is found in
Vulpecula, the Little Fox.
On a clear, dark night, locate
Albireo, the head of Cygnus
the Swan, and draw an imagi-
nary line southward to the
much dimmer star Alpha
Vulpeculae.
Extending that line about
five more degrees should
lead to the vicinity of an
unresolved patch of light vis-
ible to the naked eye. So far,
no big deal. But turn a pair of
binoculars on the faint glow
and a small arrangement of
stars is revealed that looks
strikingly like a coat hanger,
viewed upside down from our
latitude. Six stars in a straight
line denote the body of the
hanger while four other stars
beneath form the “hook” (see
photo at right).
The Coathanger asterism
is also known as Brocchi’s
Cluster. Dalmiro Brocchi was
an American amateur astron-
omer who created a map of
the cluster in the 1920s for
calibrating photometers.
The annual Perseid Meteor
Shower is expected to peak
on the evening of August
11 and the early morning of
August 12. This year’s ver-
sion comes with some poten-
tial for good news which,
however, is tempered by the
certainty of some bad news.
First, the good news.
Meteor expert Bill Cooke,
head of NASA’s Meteoroid
Environment Office, believes
that there may be an outburst
this year that could yield
anywhere between 150-200
meteors per hour. The reason
for this optimism stems from
the fact that the gravitational
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Correspondent
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Full-day and half-day
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influence of Jupiter and the
other giant planets has moved
three streams of particles
from comet Swift-Tuttle
closer to the earth. If the
earth does plow through this
denser material, the height-
ened meteor rate should last
about half a day.
Now, the bad news. A
waxing gibbous moon will
wash out the fainter shoot-
ing stars and even make the
brighter ones harder to see on
the evening of August 11. But
the moon sets at about 1 a.m.
on August 12, so it’d be best
to observe from moonset to
dawn of that morning.
The Perseid Meteor
Shower derives its name from
the fact that the meteors asso-
ciated with this shower ema-
nate from the constellation of
Perseus.
When it comes to viewing
the planets this month, all the
action is in the evening sky.
Mercury, Venus and Jupiter
will stay clustered low on the
western horizon throughout
August and be visible about
30 minutes after sunset.
Mercury spends the first
half of the month distanc-
ing itself from the sun, but
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naSa iMaGe
the Coathanger asterisum in the constellation of Vulpecula bears a
striking resemblance to the real thing.
after August 16 the speedy
orb reverses its direction and
joins Jupiter as both planets
fall toward the sun.
Venus, on the other hand,
spends the entire month mov-
ing ever farther from the sun.
Approaching each other from
opposite directions, Venus
and Jupiter stand just 0.1 of
a degree apart on August 27.
After the trio of planets
low in the west has set, look
for Mars and Saturn to take
center stage in the south-
southwest. Brighter Mars lies
to the west of Saturn early
in August, but by month’s
end the swifter Red Planet
will have shot by the slower
moving and more distant
ringed sphere.
The moon is dark early in
the month, then progressively
waxes until August 18, when
it’s full. For the remainder of
the month the face of our only
natural satellite gradually
becomes less illuminated.
To learn more about view-
ing the night sky, or if you
already have this knowl-
edge and wish to share it
with others, join the Sisters
Astronomy Club on Saturday
evening, August 27 for a
starwatch at Sisters Park &
Recreation District. A pre-
starwatch presentation begins
at 8:30 p.m.
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Join SPRD for their 3rd Annual
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151 W. Main Ave., Sisters
541-549-FISH | Open 7 days a week
Presented by the Rotary Club of Sisters
Th urs., Aug. 11 • 6:30-8:30 p.m.
At Village Green City Park
$12 adult/$5 youth
Must purchase tickets in advance from SPRD
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Come In and Try Our Yummy
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SOUP OF THE DAY
Au
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Wed .................. Chicken Noodle
Thurs .............Navy Bean & Ham
Fri ....Clam Chowder & Vegetable
Sat...........Cajun Chicken Gumbo
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Sun .............. Split Pea with Ham
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Orders to go
welcome
Breakfast & lunch 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Nightly dining until 10 p.m. (21 & over)
171 W. Cascade Ave., Sisters | 541-549-2631
Hula dancers, authentic Hawaiian cuisine & music
combine to make a great community event.
Enjoy Kalua Pig, Lomi Lomi Salmon,
Hawaiian Sticky Rice & More.
Entertainment will include special guest artists
Mele’Uhane from the Big Island of Hawaii,
Halua “Huhane Hawaii,” Sisters Ukulele Club,
Halau Uhane Hawaii, Kurt Silva, and
DJ Chuck Boogie
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1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091
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