8 Fall 2021 Applegater
THE STARRY SIDE
Gateway to the stars
BY GREELEY WELLS
sky.  A few constellations don’t ever set.
The Little Dipper, for instance, is visible
all night in all seasons because
the far end of its handle is the
North Star. 
This simple realization
is actually quite
powerful. From Polaris,
everything else will
proceed, like a key
that unlocks the sky
for you. There it is:
Something you can
always find!  Once
you stand at a
particular place in
your yard, or even
look out a particular
northern window, and
locate Polaris, you can
always find it again from
Let me take a broad look at the
night sky with you. Generally we notice
the sweep of it all—the sun, the moon,
and the stars—from rising in the
east to setting in the west.
(Meteors go every which way, as
do our satellites!)
But  there is one star in
the north that does not
move at all. It’s the North
Star—Polaris—and it’s
the center of our northern
hemisphere. All the other
stars and constellations go
around it.
The farther a
c on s t e l l at i on i s from
Po l a r i s ,   t h e w i d e r i t s
sweep.  The closer it is to
Polaris, the shorter its sweep and
the longer it’s visible in the night
Guy Ottewell’s Astronomical Calendar
OF NOTE
Mercury is in the dusk in September
and the dawn in October and November.
Venus is in the evening all three of these
months. And nicely bright.
Mars is going to be invisible all fall.
Jupiter  is viewable each evening in
the fall. It is the brightest “star” you’ll see
all night. In early evening, it rises in the
east. By midnight, it’s in the south, and by
morning in the west. A real treat!
Saturn is another evening planet this
season, but rarely bright.
Draconid meteor shower (a medium
shower) takes place in the early evening
on October 8. Evening showers are rare
because the radiant starts high but then
drops, cutting off what few may show
up. Nonetheless, the Draconid shower is
sometimes amazing.
Taurid meteors, near Taurus the Bull,
will be visible after midnight on November
4 and before dawn on November 5. The
moon leaves the sky by midnight, so they
should still be visible in the morning
throughout this week.
Taurids  strike  again,  but  modestly,
when the  North  Taurids  overlap the
Taurids from October 12 to December
2, but only about five per hour. Typically,
the maximum occurs around midnight
when the constellation is highest in the sky.
Leonid meteors normally number
just 10-15 an hour before dawn, after the
moon has set.  November 17 is the best
morning to try for some.
that spot.  From
Greeley Wells
my deck, I have a
view of two large trees some distance apart
and some shorter ones below. I can always
find the North Star between the two tall
trees and above the short ones! Always!
So first you have to know where north
is. Stand with the place the sun rises on
your right (that’s east) and the place where
it sets on your left (that’s west), and you’re
looking north. Not rocket science.  But
if you’ve never done it, it’s a treat to be
predictably oriented any time you step
outside and look at the sky.
Here’s an insight about distances that
will help you find the North Star once
you’re facing north:  The North Star is
about halfway between the zenith (the
point directly overhead) and the horizon.
The width of your finger  is about one
degree when held out at arm’s length. Your
fist is about five degrees. Two fists are about
ten degrees, which is about the same as a
stretched-out hand at arm’s length. To find
the North Star, imagine or see the horizon
line. About two outstretched hands plus
one fist above the horizon line, you will
find Polaris.
If you’ve gotten this far, you’re well on
your way to discovering the constellations
of the night sky and already know a really
important one. Finding the Little Dipper
(Ursa Minor, or, in Native American lore,
the Little Bear) is a good start, and it’s as
easy as finding the North Star.
To find more constellations, check out
the sky map on this page.
Greeley Wells • greeley@greeley.me
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