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Wednesday, May 3, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Stars over Sisters
Hannah Ezell & Wyadd Hernandez
Correspondents
There is a variety of astro-
nomical objects to observe
during the month of May.
One of the constellations vis-
ible is Virgo, which can be
seen between April and July.
Virgo is depicted as a woman
carrying wheat and a staff
lying down with her head
toward the east.
The constellation takes up
1,294 square degrees of the
celestial sphere, making it the
second largest constellation
in the night sky (Hydra is the
largest). The brightest star in
Virgo is Spica, Latin for “ear
of corn.” Spica is also known
as Alpha Virginis. It is the
sixteenth brightest star in the
night sky and is classified as
a blue giant. East of the left
arm of Virgo is a cluster of
over three thousand galax-
ies, none of which are visible
with the naked eye.
Located some 60 million
light-years from the earth,
spiral galaxy NGC 4388
lies within this massive gal-
axy cluster and as a result
strong gravitational effects
are transforming it in a non-
standard manner. While the
galaxy’s outskirts appear
smooth and featureless, typi-
cal of an elliptical galaxy, its
center displays remarkable
dust lanes where new stars
are being formed. This con-
dition is just the opposite of
that found in normal spiral
galaxies.
In Greek and Roman
mythology, Virgo is a power-
ful female figure. Virgo is the
only zodiacal constellation
represented by a female. She
is the goddess of wheat and
agriculture. Virgo is some-
times depicted as goddess
Lusatia or Astrea holding the
scales of justice.
Adjacent to Virgo is the
relatively small and faint
constellation of Crater. Crater
means “the cup” in Latin. It
is only the 53rd largest con-
stellation in size. Additional
neighboring constellations
include Corvus, Hydra and
Leo. In Greek mythology,
Crater represents the cup
of powerful deity Apollo. It
belongs to the Hercules fam-
ily of constellations.
According to the story,
Apollo needed water to make
a sacrifice. He sends a raven
(Corvus) to go fetch water for
him in a cup (Crater). While
the raven is getting the water,
he becomes distracted by a
fig tree and spends a few days
there eating figs. When the
raven finally brings Apollo
the water, he also brings a
water snake (Hydra) as an
excuse for being late. Apollo
was quick to realize that the
raven was lying and out of
anger sends the raven, the
water snake, and the cup into
the sky.
By May, Jupiter has
already passed its maximum
brightness but still shines
prominently at nightfall. The
giant planet is visible nearly
the entire night, setting only
an hour and 25 minutes
before the sun rises at mid-
month. On May 17 Mercury
will be at its greatest western
elongation. This is the best
time to view Mercury low
in the eastern sky just before
sunrise.
On the night of May 6 and
the morning of May 7 the Eta
Aquariids Meteor shower will
occur. This shower is capable
of producing 30 meteors per
hour. Unfortunately, the light
from a waxing gibbous moon
this time around will mask
many of them.
The new moon will occur
on May 25, providing the best
time of the month to observe
faint objects like galaxies and
star clusters.
Something to keep in
mind while stargazing is
light pollution. Light pollu-
tion is a growing issue all
over the world. It is exces-
sive and unneeded use of
light that affects our ability
to see astronomical events.
Central Oregon is far from
the worst offenders compared
to big cities, but we should
always strive to minimize our
light usage. To cut down on
light pollution, only use light
where and when you need it,
using fully shielded lamps
that direct light only to the
needed areas. Do all you can
to protect our dark skies here
in Central Oregon.
On the evening of
Saturday, May 20, the Sisters
Astronomy Club will host a
public starwatch at the Sisters
Park & Recreation District
building, adjacent to Sisters
High School. After a brief
astronomy-related presenta-
tion, local amateur astrono-
mers will invite the general
public to view prominent
celestial objects through their
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PHOTO COURTESY NASA
NGC 4388 is a spiral galaxy locaded ad a disdance of 60 million lighd-
years in dhe consdelladion of Virgo.
telescopes.
Proceedings begin at 9
p.m. and the event is free.
Contact Ron Thorkildson
at 541-549-8846 for more
information.