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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2020)
8 Wednesday, March 11, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Stars over Sisters By Christopher Lundgren and Jackson Parkins Correspondents At 8:50 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, the sun will lie directly above the equa- tor and the spring season will officially begin smiling upon Sisters and all of the Northern Hemisphere. Here on the ground, it can be easy to overlook the astronomi- cal clockwork responsible for the change in season, and how it affects our per- ception of the space around us. However, the motion of our fragile planet whirl- ing through space allows for the way we see the night sky to be constantly chang- ing. In addition to the prom- ise of warmer weather, the arrival of the new season will bring us a fresh perspec- tive of the heavens, and a reminder of the enormity and beauty of the universe we inhabit. Ascending into the north- eastern sky during March evenings is one of the most easily recognized spring- time stellar groupings in the northern celestial sphere. It is, of course, the Big Dipper, which is part of the con- stellation of Ursa Major, a RENTALS: Fewer short- term permits in place Continued from page 1 Regulations require opera- tor licenses for owners of short-term rental properties and a business license for each unit. Operator licenses for new STRs after the ordinances took effect do not transfer with the property when it sells. There is also a 250-foot spacing requirement between STR units. The spacing requirement in particular has rendered some properties in Sisters unable to be used as an STR. <We9ve turned away, I would say, five or six dozen,= Davenport told the council. <At some point, we just lost count.= The real number of poten- tial units that were found to be ineligible is hard to pin down, however, because there are often multiple inquiries regard- ing a single property when it goes up for sale, Davenport reported. Councilor Nancy Connolly noted that the Council had a goal of keeping the number of STRs at or below 10 percent of Sisters9 overall housing stock. As of this month, numbers are well below that threshold. Davenport also reported that, in 2019, STRs gener- ated $113,932 in room-tax revenues. Latin name meaning <the great bear.= The satisfaction that comes from finding the stars that define the out- line of the bear can often be enhanced by exploring some of the many tales invented to explain why we should see this shape. One such story comes from the ancient Greeks. In the legend, Zeus, king of the gods, has a son, named Arcas, with the beautiful nymph Callisto as a result of one of his many affairs. Hera, the wife of Zeus, is under- standably annoyed by this, and, naturally, turns his lover into a bear, to work out some of that anger. Callisto wan- ders the forest for years, and one day crosses paths with her son, now a grown young man, while he is hunting. But Arcas doesn9t recognize her (probably because she is now a bear), and prepares to attack, out of fear. Zeus sees all of this from Olympus and does not want his son to kill Callisto. The king of the gods probably thinks that the situation is already com- plicated enough, without his illegitimate son unknowingly murdering his own mother. Acting quickly, he causes a great wind to carry them up to the sky where they are now protected as con- stellations: Callisto as Ursa Major, and her son, Arcas, as Boötes, the Herdsman. There is a plethora of magnificent deep sky objects that lie within the borders of Ursa Major, most of them galaxies. One of the more photogenic of these is M101, a gorgeous face-on galaxy with well-developed arms that spiral outward from its central region. Sometimes referred to as the Pinwheel Galaxy, this object is located at a distance of about 21-mil- lion light-years. Spring is the best time of the year to look for a faint glow on the western horizon once dusk has passed. It is known as the zodiacal light and is caused by sunlight reflected by dust particles and rocky debris that orbit in the inner solar system. Now is the ideal time of the year to see the zodiacal light because the ecliptic 4 the path of the sun, moon and planets across the sky 4 is highly inclined to the western horizon in the evening. Autumn is also a good time to see the zodiacal light, only this time appear- ing just before dawn on the Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben IMAGE BY NASA, ESA The photogenic Pinwheel Galaxy lies in the constellation of Ursa Major at a distance of 21-million light-years. eastern horizon. Venus continues to lead the planetary parade, shin- ing brightly in the west- ern sky. It spends most of March in Aries, then crosses into Taurus at the end of the month. Lined up across the morning sky are Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, from west to east, respectively. But Mars is traveling eastward much faster than the two gas WE’RE FUELED BY PASSION giants and will catch up to Jupiter on March 20. By mid-month Mercury makes an appearance in the morning sky, reaching greatest western elongation (greatest angular distance from the sun) on March 23, but it will stay low in the sky because the eclip- tic makes a shallow angle with the eastern horizon this time of year. AND HAIR SPRAY! General, Cosmetic, Implant and Family Dentistry ~ Your Dentist in Sisters Since 1993 ~ We are here to help you smile with confi dence! 541-549-0109 | 304 W. Adams Ave. | Sisters Looking for fun activities for your kids over Spring Break? Check out SPRD’s Spring Break Camps Day Kids Camps (Grades K-5) • • Non-School Starshine Theater (Grades K-8) Learning STEM Camp • Sylvan Engineering & LEGO Robotics View wS SPRD P R D activities acct i v i t i es & cl classes, lasses and register online at www.SistersRecreation.com 1750 W. 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