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Read THE PEOPLE'S GUIDE TO THE COSMOS (a tutorial trek through the stars)
By R. Kerk-Hecker
Man must rise above the Earth,
to the top of the atmosphere and beyond...
for only then will he fully understand the world in which he lives.
Socrates, 469 - 399 BC
Map Of The Night Sky: January 18 - 24, 7:00 PM (CST)
(Latitude 29° North, Longitude 98° West)
Perspective - Which Way Is Up?
I was watching the Moon set yesterday in the middle of the day, which is always a pretty sight, seeing the pale white Moon against a bright blue daytime sky. And looking at the Moon and the Sun lined up so nicely in the sky together was a particularly graphic reminder that either our solar system was tilted on its side, or I was, depending on your perspective.
Most models or representations of our solar system depict the orbits of the planets as lying flat, or perfectly horizontal, because that seems to be the most comfortable way for us to view it - as if the the planets were seats taking us round and round on an immense cosmic carousel, or merry-go-round. But the Moon and Sun I was looking at were lined up vertically, not horizontally. This conjured up an image and sensation that was more like sitting on a giant upright Ferris-wheel, being taken up and over and down.
In order to maintain the perspective of a flat solar system, I would have to imagine myself sitting sideways, perched on the side of our planet, ready to fall off my chair, if not stuck to my seat by gravity. This is a difficult perspective, but not impossible. Because of our small size in relation to the immensity of Earth and the solar system, we instinctively see ourselves as standing perfectly upright, whether we are on the top, bottom or side of our round planet.
So which perspective is right? Which way is up? Is the solar system tilted, or am I? Is it correct and proper to envision everything from the perspective of an upright individual? As if we were the center of the Universe? Or is this the height of arrogance and folly? And if so, then on what other point do we base our perspective? One particular point on Earth, the plane of the solar system, the Sun?
Or maybe we should think bigger. Maybe we should use our Milky Way galaxy as the main reference point, because its plane is nowhere near the plane of the solar system. Individual star systems form completely independently from the forces that govern the shape of a galaxy, resulting in galaxies full of solar systems that tilt at all kinds of crazy angles.
Or should we be looking for a reference point beyond our own galaxy? Like solar systems, galaxies are all tilted at different angles. Galaxies are also part of large groups of galaxies called galactic clusters, which in turn belong to even larger groups called super clusters. Maybe we should try to find the center of the Universe and use that as our basis for determining perspective. The problem, of course, is that no-one knows where the center of the Universe is. And since we don't know where the center of the Universe is, whose to say that it isn't right here? There's no reason it should be. In the vastness of the cosmic ocean, there's no reason to think the relatively microscopic point occupied by Human Beings just happens to be the center of everything. But then again, there's so much we don't know about the Universe. It just might be possible that wherever (and whenever) an observer is located, automatically becomes the center of the Universe, a scenario supported by the wacky laws of quantum physics.
It's all part of life's rich pageant, as Inspector Clouseau would say. The "right" perspective is anyone's guess. This week's sky map shows the entire sky just after sunset. The plane of the solar system is shown in yellow, and the plane of the galaxy in purple, separated by about 60 degrees. The offset planes are also clearly shown in the infrared photo below, taken by NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). The bright horizontal band is our Milky Way galaxy, and the faint blue lines are reflections of heat generated by and lined up with the plane of our solar system. Pick a perspective, and try to imagine it. As an exercise in enlightenment, it is helpful to try to see the Universe around us from more than one perspective, if we are to have any hope of understanding it, and our place within it.
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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.) |
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Sunday, Jan 18 |
Monday, Jan 19 |
Tuesday, Jan 20 |
Wednesday, Jan 21 |
Thursday, Jan 22 |
Friday, Jan 23 |
Saturday, Jan 24 |
| Sunrise |
7:26 am |
7:26 am |
7:25 am |
7:25 am |
7:25 am |
7:24 am |
7:24 am |
| Sunset |
5:59 pm |
6:00 pm |
6:01 pm |
6:02 pm |
6:03 pm |
6:04 pm |
6:04 pm |
| Moonrise |
1:04 am |
2:02 am |
2:59 am |
3:55 am |
4:48 am |
5:37 am |
6:21 am |
| Moonset |
12:03 pm |
12:40 pm |
1:21 pm |
2:06 pm |
2:56 pm |
3:49 pm |
4:45 pm |
| Moon Phases |
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Previously in Mexican Skies...
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| Jan 4 Welcome Back, Orion |
