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AstronomyThe People's Guide |
The Solar SystemAll things held captive |
The ConstellationsEverything else |
Solstice is Latin for the standing still of the Sun, and at 11:30 PM CST, Wednesday, December 21, the Sun did stand still. Just for a moment. The moment it takes to stop moving south, reverse direction, and start moving back north again. It is a brief moment, but a profound one. It is the moment of the Winter Solstice, and it is a moment that has been celebrated for just about as long as there have been people around to celebrate. What better cause for celebration than the return of the Sun, and all the good things it brings with it, like warmth, and fresh crops! Ancient celebrations reached their peak with the Romans, and their festival of Saturnalia. Modern culture keeps this solstice tradition alive with the celebration of Christmas.
As the seasons change, so do the stars. The characters of the Andromeda story are exiting stage right (west), while Orion and his entourage march towards center stage from the left (east). For star gazers the direction to face is to the southeast where a flurry of bright winter stars are taking over from the more subtle stars of autumn.
The first thing that hits you will be the planet Jupiter, high over head, outshining all the stars. Lower your gaze and you can't miss the three bright stars that make up Orion's belt. Then his entire giant form will take shape with the brilliant red giant Betelgeuse, and blazing blue-white giant Rigel, two of the biggest, brightest stars in the galaxy.
And just below them, near the horizon, the brightest star in the sky, the dog star Sirius, sparkling in an outrageous kaleidescope of colors that look like a million Christmas lights twinkling all at once. When Sirius is low in the sky, the atmosphere acts on it like a vibrating prism, and it puts on quite a show. A Christmas extravaganza!
Meanwhile, high overhead is Capella, the sixth brightest star in the sky. Not to mention the bright red Aldebaran in the "V" that marks the face of the bull, and the sparkling sisters Pleiades. And if the night is dark enough, the entire Milky Way can be seen, stretching across the sky from one horizon to the other - a glittering garland to celebrate the season.
This Christmas we have two Christmas "stars" in the night sky, to further commemorate the season. Dangling like an ornament in the western sky after sunset, the planet Venus outshines everything else in the sky. Venus sets not too long after the Sun, but only slightly less bright is our other Christmas "star", the planet Jupiter, hanging high in the east, brighter than any star. For those with telescopes, Jupiter is still close to opposition (opposite the Sun) and just about as big and beautiful as it gets. You should have a good view of the planet's four large Galilean moons, and its bands of multi-colored clouds, and if you've been good boys and girls, maybe even a glimpse of the Great Red Spot!
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Current Solar Flare (X-ray) activity :
Current Status of Solar Geomagnetic Field : |
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(Updated every ten minutes from the NOAA Space Environment Center through n3kl.org.) |
| Sunday, Jan 22 | Monday, Jan 23 | Tuesday, Jan 24 | Wednesday, Jan 25 | Thursday, Jan 26 | Friday, Jan 27 | Saturday, Jan 28 | |
| Sunrise | 7:15 am | 7:15 am | 7:14 am | 7:14 am | 7:14 am | 7:13 am | 7:13 am |
| Sunset | 5:48 pm | 5:49 pm | 5:50 pm | 5:51 pm | 5:52 pm | 5:53 pm | 5:53 pm |
| Moonrise | 6:32 am | 7:15 am | 7:54 am | 8:29 am | 9:01 am | 9:33 am | 10:04 am |
| Moonset | 5:29 pm | 6:31 pm | 7:31 pm | 8:28 pm | 9:23 pm | 10:18 pm | 11:11 pm |
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| Current Morning Star(s): | Arcturus, high overhead. (mag -0.04) | Current Evening Star(s): | The planets Venus, low in the southwest (mag -3.9), and Jupiter, high in the northeast (mag -2.9). |
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