Wednesday, August 31, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Stars over Sisters
By Rylee Funk
Correspondent
As the autumnal equinox
approaches, the nights come
sooner giving us more time
to go out and enjoy the night
sky. The sun stands directly
above the earth’s equator at
7:21 a.m. PDT on September
22 on its journey into the
southern hemisphere, mark-
ing the first day of the new
season. At this time, the axis
of Earth’s rotation is tilted
neither toward nor away from
the sun but instead is per-
pendicular to the sun’s rays.
This results in the length of
days and nights being nearly
equal at most locations on the
earth.
Fall is a great time to
look for the zodiacal light.
The zodiacal light is a cone-
shaped light source that can
be seen near the eastern and
western horizons. It is caused
by sunlight reflecting off dust
and ice particles that exist in
the plane of the ecliptic and
is best seen before sunrise
in the autumn. Look for a
dim patch of light extend-
ing upward from the eastern
horizon just before dawn.
Something else to search
for this September is the
Helix Nebula, also referred
to as NGC 7293. Located in
the constellation of Aquarius
(between Capricornus and
Pisces), this object is the
largest and nearest of a class
of bodies known as planetary
nebulae.
A planetary nebula actu-
ally has nothing to do with
planets but is, instead, a
shell of gas, usually round in
shape, that has been expelled
by a low-to-medium-mass
dying star. The term was
coined by William Herschel
who thought these dim,
ghost-like objects resembled
the planet Uranus, which he
discovered in 1781.
The Helix Nebula was
the first planetary nebula
found to have cometary
knots. Cometary knots are
structures that resemble
comets. They all seem to
extend out radially from the
nebula’s center and appear
to have “tails.” The sizes of
the knots are estimated to be
as large as our solar system,
a distance extending from
the sun to the orbit of Pluto.
These knots give NGC 7293
a look resembling a giant eye
in space that some observers
refer to as the “Eye of God.”
The Helix Nebula lies at a
distance of 695 light-years.
After lying less than 0.1 of
a degree apart in the sky on
August 27, the planets Jupiter
7
Bookkeeper
accused of
embezzling
photo Courtesy nasa
The helix Nebula is the largest and nearest planetary nebula, sometimes
referred to as the “Eye of God.”
and Venus will spend the
month of September moving
away from each other. Jupiter
continues its plunge toward
the sun, disappearing behind
our star on September 26.
Venus, meanwhile, climbs
ever higher in the western
sky. Mars and Saturn, both in
southern Ophiuchus early in
the month, still show promi-
nently in the evening sky. By
month’s end the faster-mov-
ing Mars will have entered
Sagittarius.
The dates to watch this
month to keep up with the
moon’s phases are September
1, new moon; September 16,
full moon; then a second new
moon on September 30.
To learn more about the
planets, constellations and
deep-sky objects, come out to
the Sisters Astronomy Club’s
next Stars Over Sisters
starwatch on Saturday,
September 24. A slide pre-
sentation will begin at 7:30
p.m. inside the Sisters Park &
Recreation District building
located at 1750 W. McKinney
Butte Rd. The event is free.
Honor Those Who
Protect & Serve
Friday, September 2
5 to 10 p.m.
Live music, BBQ and this
season’s release of Elysian’s
“Night Owl Pumpkin Ale”
— Everyone Welcome —
Portion of proceeds goes to police-related charity.
Outlaw Booster Club 2nd Annual
Outlaw
Hall of Fame
Dinner & Induction
Ceremony
September 3, 2016 at SHS
5:30 p.m. Social
Banquet & Ceremony
6:30 p.m. • $50 per person
2016 Inductees:
Bill Edwards (Teacher/Mentor 1940s – 1980s)
Amy Cretsinger (SHS ’03, Multi-Sport Champion)
Gene Harrison (SHS ’55, Multi-Sport Champion)
Gordon Mouser (SHS ’58, Multi-Sport Champion)
Jenny (Boswell) Melton (SHS ’06, Multi-Sport Champion)
Mary Flande (Coach/Teacher 1992-2012)
Fall 1999 SHS Football State Championship Team
Green Brothers (Jonathan – SHS ’03;
Christian and David – SHS ’04, Team and
Individual State Golf Champions)
All Proceeds Benefi t Sisters Schools Co-Curricular Activities.
www.shshalloffame.org • 541-617-0707 •
Registration, tickets, and sponsorship available at SHS,
online at www.birdeasepro.com/OBCOutlawOpenandHOF,
and by emailing obc@outlawboosterclub.org
Outlaw Booster Club is a 501(c)(3) organization.
PORTLAND (AP) —
Police arrested a Bend
woman accused of embez-
zling nearly $1 million from
her employer since 2012.
Deschutes County District
Attorney John Hummel
announced the arrest Tuesday,
August 23, saying a grand
jury indicted Sherrie Burge
the previous week on charges
of theft, identity theft, money
laundering, forgery and
fraudulent use of credit cards.
Hummel said Burge
worked as a comptroller
and bookkeeper for Dent
Instruments, which produces
power meters for commercial
and industrial buildings.
Hop & Brew | 523 E. Hwy. 20 | 541-719-1295