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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 south 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 towards the west, outshining all the stars. To the east of Jupiter, 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 the star puts on quite a show.
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.
Just after sunset, dangling like a Christmas ornament low in the western sky, 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 evening "star", the planet Jupiter, hanging high in the west, 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're lucky, maybe even a glimpse of the Great Red Spot!
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Current Solar Flare (X-ray) activity :
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(Updated every ten minutes from the NOAA Space Environment Center through n3kl.org.) |
| Sunday, Feb 5 | Monday, Feb 6 | Tuesday, Feb 7 | Wednesday, Feb 8 | Thursday, Feb 9 | Friday, Feb 10 | Saturday, Feb 11 | |
| Sunrise | 7:08 am | 7:07 am | 7:07 am | 7:06 am | 7:05 am | 7:04 am | 7:04 am |
| Sunset | 6:00 pm | 6:01 pm | 6:02 pm | 6:03 pm | 6:04 pm | 6:04 pm | 6:05 pm |
| Moonrise | 4:05 pm | 5:06 pm | 6:09 pm | 7:13 pm | 8:17 pm | 9:21 pm | 10:27 pm |
| Moonset | 5:57 am mon | 6:38 am tue | 7:17 am wed | 7:55 am thur | 8:32 am fri | 9:10 am sat | 9:51 am sun |
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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 southwest (mag -2.9). |
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