Wednesday, May 2, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
13
Stars over Sisters
By Amy Hills
Correspondent
Spring in Central Oregon
cannot only bring bipolar
weather patterns and tourism,
but also bright and beauti-
ful night skies as the winter
hexagon begins to set and
the familiar constellations
of early summer once again
become visible.
The Eta Aquarid meteor
shower will peak on the eve-
ning of May 6 and morning of
May 7, normally producing
15-20 meteors per hour. Light
from a last-quarter moon,
however, will reduce those
numbers this year. These
“shooting stars” are caused
by debris shed from Halley’s
Comet that enter the earth’s
atmosphere and are inciner-
ated by the heat of friction.
The meteors appear to origi-
nate from a point in the sky
near Eta Aquarii, a relatively
bright star in the constellation
Aquarius. Look just above
the dark southern horizon.
Observers in the Southern
Hemisphere will get a much
better view of the event.
Most of us are familiar
with the fact that the plan-
ets in our solar system, and
even the sun, rotate, or spin,
about an axis. In the case of
the earth, the northern axis of
rotation points toward Polaris
(North Star). In the same way,
our Milky Way galaxy rotates
about an axis. The band of
light that we see on dark
nights in the summer and
winter is caused by the glow
of faraway stars in the disk of
the galaxy. This is analogous
to the equatorial region of a
spinning sphere, such as the
earth or sun. By striking a
90-degree angle to the plane
of our galactic disk, we find
that the galactic North Pole
points to the constellation of
Coma Berenices, located near
the meridian about 70 degrees
above the southern horizon in
May. More specifically, it lies
about two degrees north of
the one-armed spiral galaxy
NGC 4725.
Along the ecliptic the
zodiacal constellations of
Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo,
and Libra will be visible,
with Scorpius rising above
the southeastern horizon near
the end of the month. They
are joined by Bootes the
Herdsman and Hercules the
Strongman, familiar stellar
groupings that signal the tran-
sition from spring to summer.
Hercules contains two of the
finest globular star clusters in
the sky in M13 and M92.
Venus, the brightest planet
that can be seen from the
earth, continues to rise higher
above the western horizon
after its superior conjunction
with the sun on January 8 of
this year. The brilliant orb’s
eastward motion among the
stars will allow it to further
distance itself from the sun
until reaching greatest eastern
elongation on August 17. It
should pop into view at about
8:30 p.m. local daylight time
in mid-May, standing about
19 degrees above the horizon.
Jupiter will be at opposi-
tion on May 8, the closest it
has been to the earth since
February 2015. Located in
Libra all month, the colos-
sal gas giant will rise in the
southeast at 8:30 p.m. on
May 1, earlier as the month
progresses. It will be visible
all night long, but be highest
in the sky at about midnight;
by 10 p.m. toward the end of
May.
Saturn is next in line as
the parade of planets contin-
ues. The strikingly beautiful
ringed planet rises shortly
after midnight early in May,
reaching the meridian by
about 5 a.m. just before being
washed out by dawn. It is
slowly creeping eastward
amid the stars of Sagittarius
and will be well-placed to
put on quite a show later this
summer.
Finally, Mars will appear
above the southeastern hori-
zon just before 1:30 a.m. as
May opens. Unlike slowly
plodding Jupiter and Saturn,
the Red Planet will zip
through eastern Sagittarius
and cruise into Capricornus
by the end of the month. It
will brighten dramatically
during May and June before
reaching opposition on July
27. At that time Mars will be
closer to the earth than it’s
been since August of 2003
and outshine all but the moon
and Venus.
Our moon will be on the
wane during the first half of
the month before going dark
(new moon) on May 15. This
will produce optimal viewing
of deep-sky objects or dim
planets that would otherwise
be overlooked by the naked
eye. The moon becomes fully
illuminated again on May 29.
To learn more about the
night sky, join the Sisters
Astronomy Club for a public
starwatch on May 12. It will
begin at 9 p.m. with a presen-
tation in the Sisters Park &
Recreation District building,
located at 1750 W. McKinney
Butte Rd. in Sisters. After
PHOTO COURTESY NASA
The North Galactic Pole lies two degrees north of NGC 4725, a one-armed
spiral galaxy (pictured here) in the constellation of Coma Berenices.
the presentation, telescopes
will be made available in the
northwest corner of the high
entertainment & EVENTS
Sisters School Sports Fields
WED...MAY 2
Sisters Annual Lacrosse
Sisters Saloon Poker Night
7 p.m. Every Wednesday! $20.
For additional information call
541-549-7427 or go online to
sisterssaloon.net.
Get ready to party on
CINCO DE MAYO!
Saturday,
y , MAY 5
SPECIALS! Tacos
• Cerveza • Tequila •
8PM to 1AM
1AM, no cover
for DJ BOOGIE!
175 N. Larch St. .
17
1
541-549-6114
5
5 96 4
hardtailsoregon.com
May 3-5 / 7:30 PM
Silent Echo Theater
“Now
You’re
Talking”
Come see 7
Oregon (2 world)
premieres of 7 one-act
plays written by
8 playwrights,
led by 7 directors. .
THURS...MAY 3
The Belfry “Now You’re
Talking” One-Act Plays
7:30 p.m. Presented by Silent
Echo Theater Company. $13
online at bendticket.com
($10 students & seniors). For
additional information go
online to belfryevents.com.
Sisters Saloon Karaoke
Night 9 p.m. to midnight.
Every Thursday, no cover!
For additional information
call 541-549-7427 or go to
sisterssaloon.net.
Vaccination &
Microchip Clinic
Saturday, May 5
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Questions? Call 541-699-9149.
Dirty Revival
May 18 / Fri / 8 PM
The soulful sounds and
energetic beats of this
Portland-born 7-piece
outfi t will enrapture
any audience.
PUB OPENS 1 HR PRIOR TO SHOWS
Hosted by Sisters Feed & Supply
and Sunshine Vet Services
102 E. Main Ave. | 541-549-4151
BelfryEvents.com
541-815-9122
Invitational (SALI 2018)
14th annual event! For
additional information go
online to salilax.com or
sistersrecreation.com or call
Sisters Park & Recreation
District at 541-549-2091.
The Belfry “Now You’re
Talking” One-Act Plays
2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Presented
by Silent Echo Theater
Company. $13 online at
bendticket.com ($10 students
& seniors). For additional
information go online to
belfryevents.com.
Hardtails Bar & Grill
Karaoke Night 9 p.m.
Every Saturday, no cover!
For additional information
call 541-549-6114 or go to
hardtailsoregon.com.
FRI...MAY 4
SUN..MAY 6
Sisters Fire Hall Author
Slideshow with William
Sullivan 8 p.m. Paulina Springs
Books and Sisters Trails Alliance
present hiking guru Sullivan.
Learn about the best hikes in
Oregon! He’ll also share his
book, “Little Travelers Guide
to Europe with Kids.” Free!
For additional information call
541-549-0866 or go online to
paulinasprings.com.
The Belfry “Now You’re
Talking” One-Act Plays
7:30 p.m. Presented by Silent
Echo Theater Company. $13
online at bendticket.com
($10 students & seniors). For
additional information go
online to belfryevents.com.
Hardtails Bar & Grill
Karaoke Night 9 p.m.
Every Friday (if no live music
is scheduled), no cover! For
additional information call
541-549-6114 or go online to
hardtailsoregon.com.
Sisters School Sports Fields
Sisters Annual Lacrosse
Invitational (SALI 2018)
14th annual event! For
additional information go
online to salilax.com or
sistersrecreation.com or call
Sisters Park & Recreation
District at 541-549-2091.
SAT...MAY 5
Low-Cost Dog & Cat
school parking lot for view-
ing the night sky. The event
is free.
Sisters Saloon Live Music
with Burnin’ Moonlight
7 to 10 p.m. No cover! For
additional information call
541-549-7427 or go to
sisterssaloon.net.
Cork Cellars Live Music
with Jim Cornelius & Mike
Biggers (in sombreros!)
7 to 9 p.m. No cover! For
additional information call
541-549-2675 or go online to
corkcellarswinebistro.com.
MON...MAY 7
Hardtails Bar & Grill Open
Mic & Jam Night 7 p.m.
Every Monday, no cover! For
additional information call
541-549-6114 or go online to
hardtailsoregon.com.
Sisters Saloon Painting
Party 6 to 8 p.m. $35, every
Monday! For additional
information call 541-549-7427
or go to sisterssaloon.net.
TUES...MAY 8
Sisters Saloon Trivia Night
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sign-up is at
6:15 p.m. Free, every Tuesday!
For additional information
call 541-549-7427 or go to
sisterssaloon.net.
WED...MAY 9
Sisters Saloon Poker Night
7 p.m. Every Wednesday! $20.
For additional information call
541-549-7427 or go online to
sisterssaloon.net.
THURS...MAY 10
Sisters Saloon Karaoke
Night 9 p.m. to midnight.
Every Thursday, no cover!
For additional information
call 541-549-7427 or go to
sisterssaloon.net.
Event listings are free to advertisers. Submit items by
5 p.m. Fridays via email to teresa@nuggetnews.com