A2   Weekend of February 1-2, 2020
The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
February features lengthening days–and a longer year
We will really begin to see
the change in day length in
February. On Saturday, Feb.
1, sunrise will be at about
7:30 a.m., with sunset at
about 5:10 p.m. By the end of
the month, sunrise will be at
6:45 a.m., and sunset at 5:52
p.m. Day length will increase
by about an hour and a half
during the month.
In January I said I would
describe something in the
night sky you can observe
with binoculars every month.
January’s object was the
Pleiades star cluster, but
I’m not sure if anyone got a
chance to check it out given
our typical January weather.
Not much in the way of clear
skies!
This month’s object is a
bright star in the constella-
tion Orion—Betelgeuse. You
may remember it from the
movie, when it was pro-
nounced “Beetlejuice,” but
I think it is supposed to be
“Betelgeeze.” At least, that is
the way I say it. Betelgeuse is
in the familiar constellation
Orion, and is the shoulder
star on the left side of the
hunter, as we look at it.
Betelgeuse is one of the
brightest stars in the night sky
and appears distinctly orange
in color. It is a supergiant, one
In
the
Sky
Jim
White
of the largest stars we can see.
If Betelgeuse were located
where our Sun is, it would
extend out beyond Mars! It
is also a “variable” star, one
that varies a bit in brightness,
with the period of variance
being about 400 days. And
it is of current interest, as
Betelgeuse has gone from
the 10th brightest star in the
sky to about 23rd as of last
December.
It is normally much bright-
er than the star that makes
up Orion’s other shoulder—
Bellatrix. But right now the
two stars are about the same
brightness. Check it out when
skies are clear. It is predicted
that Betelgeuse will end its
life in a supernova … in about
100,000 years or so. So don’t
stay up late waiting for that!
A first-quarter Moon greets
us on Feb. 1 in the south-
west, to the right of Orion
and Taurus. On Feb. 3, the
bright Moon will lie just to
the right of the bright star
Health Plan (i.e., Medicaid)
coverage for non-pregnant
adults 21 and older.
Only some aide
• Medicaid-funded long-
programs at issue term care.
• Supplemental Nutrition
Continued from page A1 Assistance Program (SNAP)
commonly called food
stamps.
injunction. The Supreme
• Federal, state or local
Court’s decision allows the
cash-assistance programs.
rule to go into effect during
This includes:
the litigation.
• Supplemental Security
The new public charge
Income (SSI).
rule expands the list of
• Temporary Assistace for
benefits that the federal
Needy Families (TANF).
government may consider
• Section 8 rental assis-
to determine if someone is a
public charge, which would tance (i.e., housing choice
make it more difficult for
vouchers).
them to get a green card.
• Project-based Section
These benefits include:
8 housing and subsidized
• Non-emergency Oregon housing.
RULES
Aldebaran, another red-giant
star. Compare it to Betelgeuse
and see if you can detect
the orange tint. Full Moon
occurs on Feb. 9, with new
Moon following on Feb. 23.
On the morning of Feb. 18,
the waning crescent Moon
will lie just to the left of Mars,
a nice conjunction to view.
Check it out at about 5 a.m. if
skies are clear.
Venus will again be promi-
nent in the southwestern sky
after sunset. In the first half of
the month, Mercury will also
be visible below and to the
right of Venus. Mercury will
be brighter than nearby stars,
but look right after sunset, as
our innermost planet will set
soon after.
Another easily recogniz-
able constellation is rising in
the east during February—
Leo the Lion. The “head”
of the Lion resembles a
backwards question mark,
or a sickle. The brightest star,
Regulus, has a small “com-
panion” star that is visible in
binoculars. Leo will be above
the eastern horizon by 9 p.m.
in early February.
Late in 2019, I had a call
from a person who saw
something odd—a line of
white dots that appeared to
move in unison across the
sky. I think what the person
saw was a group of “Starlink”
satellites. The satellites are
part of an effort to place small
satellites in orbit for a global
broadband network.
The company behind the
project, SpaceX, initially
launched 60 satellites in the
spring, and another 60 in
November. In January, 120
were launched.
After launch, and before
they attain their full alti-
tude, they are visible as a
bright line of satellites in
the morning or evening sky.
Once they attain their full
altitude and spread out, they
are less visible. The company
intends to launch thousands
of satellites, and a few other
companies are developing
similar fleets of satellites.
Professional and amateur
astronomers are concerned
about the impact on photog-
raphy and data collection.
Companies are working with
the astronomy communi-
ty—hopefully they will not
markedly interfere with our
view of the night sky.
The public charge rule
does not apply to many
federal and state programs,
including but not limited to:
• Oregon Health Plan cov-
erage for youth younger than
21 (i.e., Medicaid and the
Children’s Health Insurance
Program, or CHIP).
• Oregon Health Plan
coverage for people who
are pregnant, including 60
days after giving birth (i.e.,
Medicaid, Citizen-Alien
Waived Emergent Medical
(CAWEM) Plus, etc.)
• Oregon MothersCare
(OMC) program.
• Emergency Oregon
Health Plan coverage for
people of all ages (i.e.,
CAWEM.)
• Oregon’s Cover All Kids
program.
• Special education
services funded by the
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) that
Medicaid covers.
• Early Head Start
and Head Start/Oregon
PreKindergarten.
• Employment Related
Day-Care child-care
reimbursement.
• School based health
services for school-aged
children.
• Free and reduced school
lunch program (exception:
the new rule would consider
this if there was a referral to
this program through SNAP.)
• Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) supplemen-
tal nutrition program.
• Commercial health in-
surance premium subsidies
through Oregon’s Health
Insurance Marketplace.
• Oregon Food Bank pro-
grams and services.
• Older Americans Act
(OAA) programs.
• State-funded pro-
grams to aid older adults
and people with disabili-
ties (e.g., Oregon Project
Independence).
• Medicare Part D Low-
Income Subsidy (LIS.)
• Many other health and
social services programs not
listed here.
The Oregon Health
Authority is the state agency
responsible for protecting
the health of all four million
people living in Oregon. In
a previous statement issued
after the original federal rule
was announced, the Oregon
Health Authority said, “This
rule is in direct conflict with
our agency’s mission, which
is to help people and com-
munities achieve optimum
physical, mental and social
well-being and improve
access to quality, affordable
health care.”
OHA encourages any-
one who has questions or
concerns about how public
charge may affect them or
members of their family to
seek counsel from a quali-
fied immigration attorney.
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