Wednesday, January 30, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
15
Stars over Sisters
By Delsie McCrystal & Holly Werts
Correspondents
February of 2019 has
arrived, and with it comes the
prospect for beautiful starry
skies. There are new things to
observe and discover in our
immense, dark sky.
The Winter Triangle is
an especially prominent fea-
ture. This impossible-to-
miss asterism consists of the
three bright stars that mark
the points of the triangle:
Procyon, brightest star in
Canis Minor, Sirius, brightest
star in Canis Major (in fact,
the brightest star in the entire
sky), and Betelgeuse, second
brightest star in Orion. But the
triangle itself isn9t the primary
focus of interest here, except
to frame the area of sky within
the triangle where a celestial
unicorn resides.
Monoceros doesn9t date
back to antiquity, as do many
other constellations, but
arrived on the scene rela-
tively recently. This is why
very little, if any, mythology
is associated with it. The first
historical reference to this star
grouping appeared on star
charts created in 1624 where
it was listed as Unicornu.
However, it wasn9t until
1930 that the International
Astronomical Union adopted
Monoceros as one of the 88
modern constellations.
Although the constellation
is relatively inconspicuous,
containing no stars brighter
than fourth magnitude, it is
home to an extraordinarily
beautiful object known as the
Rosette Nebula. Officially
classified as an emission
nebula, this roughly spherical
cloud of interstellar gas and
dust is a hotbed of star forma-
tion. Many young, superhot
stars have formed near the
nebula9s center (an open star
cluster known as NGC 2244),
from which intense stellar
winds are creating a hole.
The Rosette Nebula
derives its name from the red
color and flower-like shape
that9s revealed using modern
techniques of astrophotogra-
phy. But don9t expect to see
this view through your back-
yard telescope, or any tele-
scope. It9s easy to locate NGC
2244, the fine star cluster at
the heart of the nebula, but it
takes a low-power telescope
with a wide field of view,
and a clear, moonless night to
even begin to detect the dim,
white glow of the gas cloud.
Despite being 5.5 times
larger than the famous Orion
Nebula, the Rosette Nebula is
about four times farther from
the earth.
Another attractive object
worth mentioning is Beta
2018 Toyota Tacoma 4x4
Backup Camera,
Adaptive CC,
4-Door Double Cab,
Only 15K Miles.
$31,900
with locally owned ...
Eyebrows
looking
rough?
PHOTO BY EVANGELOS SOUGLAKOS
The Rosette Nebula is a beautiful emission nebula where new stars are
being born, and is located at a distance of approximately 5,200 light-
years in the constellation of Monoceros.
Venus arrives on the scene
30 minutes later, followed
by Saturn at about 5:30 a.m.
The best planetary show
of the month will occur on
February 18 when Venus and
Saturn come into conjunction,
staged against a backdrop of
stars in the constellation of
Sagittarius.
The cycle of the lunar
phases is driven by the rela-
tive positions of the moon,
earth and sun, and indicates
the percentage of the moon9s
face that is illuminated by
sunlight at any given time, as
viewed from the earth. When
the moon is between the earth
and sun, its face is unlit and
we refer to it as a new moon
(NM). Roughly 15 days later
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
General, Cosmetic, Implant
and Family Dentistry
~ Your Dentist in Sisters Since 1993 ~
We are here to help you smile with confi dence!
Special
BUY
UY OR
SELL YOUR CAR
Monocerotis, the constella-
tion9s brightest star. Only by
turning a telescope on this star
is its true nature revealed4a
triple star system! And it can
be seen through all but the
smallest of backyard tele-
scopes. British astronomer
Sir William Herschel, who
discovered it in 1781, com-
mented that it is <one of the
most beautiful sights in the
heavens.=
Mercury and Mars patrol
the evening sky this month,
while Venus, Jupiter and
Saturn populate the pre-dawn
celestial canopy.
By mid-month Mercury
stands about 5 degrees above
the western horizon half an
hour after sunset. It spends
the rest of the month climb-
ing higher in the sky until on
February 26, when the small-
est planetary orb reaches its
greatest eastern elongation,
the separation with the hori-
zon has grown to 11 degrees.
Mars, on the other hand, is
still well above the horizon
by nightfall and doesn9t set
until 11 p.m. local time on
February 15.
At 4 a.m. on February 1
Jupiter is the first planet to
burst into the morning sky.
This occurs 90 minutes ear-
lier by month9s end. Brilliant
Best Price! No Hassles! CARFAX Certifi ed!
Sisters
i s t e r s C
Car
a r C
Connection
o n n e c t i o
541-815-7397
541-549-0109
|
304 W. Adams Ave.
|
Sisters
102 W. Barclay Dr., Sisters
Call
Theresa
today!
152 E. Main Ave. / 541-549-8771
The Hair Caché Jeff, Theresa,
Ann, Jamie, Shiela, Terri, Shanntyl, Brittany
SPRING ACTIVITY
REGISTRATIONS
OPEN SOON!
Upcoming Spring Activities:
Lacrosse • Fall MS Soccer
Adult Softball League
Youth Enrichment Classes
New Adult Classes
Track & Field
1750 W. McKinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091
View activities & classes and register online!
www.SistersRecreation.com
SNO CAP
MINI STORAGE
Sisters Industrial Park
157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575
www.SistersStorage.com
• State-of-the-art
Security Technology
• Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40
• Individual Gate Codes
• Long-term Discounts
• On-site Manager
the moon has traveled half-
way around the earth in its
orbit, resulting in an alignment
where the earth is between the
moon and the sun. This is a
full moon (FM), as the moon
becomes fully illuminated.
The first and last quarter
phases occur when the moon
is at right angles to a straight
line between the earth and
the sun, resulting in a half-lit
moon. The moon is said to be
waxing (increasing illumina-
tion) when it9s between the
new and full phases, and wan-
ing (decreasing illumination)
between full and new.
This month NM will
occur on February 4, FQ on
February 12, FM on February
19 and LQ on February 26.
have a
service
to
proVide?
Movers, Hair
Stylists, Laborers,
Bookkeepers,
Caterers and
more: Consider the
Nugget’s SERVICES
classifi eds to let
readers know
what you do.
They’re Sisters’
local “phone
book”
and they tell our
readers how to
fi nd you!
Just $2 per line the
fi rst week ,
$1.50 per line on
repeat weeks.
And it goes online
at no extra charge!
Placement deadline for
Nugget classifi ed ads is
Monday before noon.
Call us at 541-549-9941.