Night Lights: Spring stargazing dims as daylight lengthens

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Days are getting longer and nights are getting shorter, thus this will be my last column before fall. The winter constellations, Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Canis Major and Auriga with all their bright stars, are now visible in the west, setting during the late evening.

Leo, with its bright star Regulus, is speeding across the sky, so I perceive Leo as the harbinger of spring. When it appears in the east, winter’s end will soon be here, and when it reaches the western horizon, flowers are in full bloom and deciduous will have regained their leaves. In addition, the summer triangle comprised of the bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair reappears in the Northeast.

Planets visible in the evening and all night include:

Saturn is visible all night long, forming an acute triangle with Spica and red Arcturus. Look for them near the Southeastern horizon. Saturn doesn’t stand out, as it is about as bright as the other two stars. Find them by following the Big Dipper’s handle, which curves toward red Arcturus, then beneath it find Spica on the right and Saturn on the left, completing that acute, almost right triangle. The full moon appears to Saturn’s lower right April 25.

Jupiter is visible, next to Taurus’ red giant Aldebaran and with the star cluster Pleiades nearby. It appears until late evening, moving from the south to the northwest, setting around midnight. It is joined by the waxing crescent moon April 14. Sky & Telescope’s April edition states that they “pair beautifully.”

Jupiter is the brightest wanderer in the sky. Venus is in superior conjunction (on the other side of the sun) and will not be visible again until fall of this year. Once it emerges from behind the sun (in April), it’s already late spring and the evenings are too bright for too long, so this evening planet is too close to the Alaska horizon.

All other planets — Mercury, Mars, Uranus and Neptune — appear too close to the sun, so that they can’t be seen against the bright daytime sky.

The Lyrid meteor shower can be viewed in the early morning hours of April 22. The constellation Lyra with its bright star Vega is high above the southern horizon. As the meteors seem to emanate from that spot in the sky, look all around Lyra.

Comet Panstarrs is visible after sunset in the northwest, low on the horizon. But don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t show very well. Probably binoculars are needed.

Andy Veh is an associate professor of physics, math and astronomy at Kenai Peninsula College.

Night Lights: Night sky lightens up in February

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Late in the evening, winter constellations, such as Taurus, Pegasus and Andromeda, have set already. But others show their glory — Orion with seven bright stars, among them red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel, Auriga with yellow Capella, Gemini with Castor and Pollux, and Procyon and Sirius in the Canis Minor and Major, both arching toward the horizon from the Twins.

Furthermore, Leo, a harbinger of spring, with Regulus in its front paw, appears high in the south. The Big Dipper is now virtually overhead, blue Vega and Cygnus with Deneb just above and the Little Dipper and Polaris, as always, 60 degrees above the northern horizon. And in the east, Bootes with red Arcturus appears.

Planets in the evening and all night: Mercury can be glimpsed around March 16, shortly after sunset in the southwest. Jupiter is visible, next to Taurus’ red giant Aldebaran and with the star cluster Pleiades nearby. It appears long into the night, moving from south to the northwest, setting around 3 a.m. It is joined by the waxing half moon March 17 and 18.

Jupiter is the brightest wanderer in the sky because Venus is in superior conjunction (on the other side of the sun), and will not be visible again until fall of this year because once it emerges from behind the sun, it’s already late spring and the evenings are too bright for too long.

Planets in the morning: Saturn is prominent in the morning sky all winter long, forming an acute triangle with Spica and red Arcturus. Look for them near the southeastern horizon. The waning half moon is close on Feb. 3.

All other planets, Mars, Uranus and Neptune, appear too close to the sun, so that they can’t be seen against the bright daytime sky.

Andy Veh is an associate professor of physics, math and astronomy at Kenai Peninsula College.

Night lights looking up in January

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

The starry sky is now at its best with the most prominent stars being easily visible high in the south — blue Rigel and red Betelgeuse in Orion, Sirius beneath it, Procyon to its left, Pollux and Castor higher up, Capella almost in the zenith, and Aldebaran and the Pleiades completing the splendor.

The Big Dipper starts out close on the northern horizon but Cassiopeia, Perseus and Andromeda are close to the zenith. In the west, Cygnus and Pegasus are about to set, while bright Vega, being circumpolar in Alaska, stays close to the horizon. Leo’s Regulus rises in the evening, trailing Gemini and Cancer low in the east.

Of the planets at night, only Jupiter is visible, next to Taurus’ red giant Aldebaran and with the star cluster Pleiades nearby. It appears all night long, moving from southeast to the northwest throughout the night, setting just prior to dawn.

Night Lights: December brings merry stargazing

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Rising in the east and gaining altitude throughout the next two months are the great winter constellations Orion with seven bright stars, among them red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel, and the Orion nebula stellar nursery.

Also visible are Taurus with red Aldebaran and its prominent star cluster, the Pleiades; Auriga with yellow Capella; Gemini with the twin stars Castor and Pollux; the head of Canis Major with the brightest star (aside from the sun) that we can see from Earth, Sirius; Procyon in tiny Canis Minor; and, very late in the evening, Regulus in Leo.

Because this region of the sky hosts seven of the 20 brightest stars as seen from Earth, and because it contains quite a few easily recognizable constellations, it is my favorite region of the sky.

High in the south is the Great Square of Pegasus in the shape of a diamond. Above it, close to the zenith, is Cassiopeia. Getting close to the western horizon, but never completely setting in Alaska, are the three stars that make up the summer triangle, Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra, and Altair in Aquila (that one actually does set — just barely for a few hours).

In the north are Ursa Major’s Big Dipper and Ursa Minor’s Little Dipper, the latter always really close to 60 degrees, our latitude on the Kenai.

Night Lights: Chilly views heating up

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh

Looking at the sky in the late evening around 11 p.m., prominent constellations and stars are the Big Dipper, part of Ursa Major, high in the northeast, and the Little Dipper high in the north. Cygnus with Deneb, Lyra with Vega and Aquila with Altair are now low in the northwest. These three stars form the summer triangle. It’s perhaps comforting that in Alaska we can see this summer triangle all winter along, albeit near the horizon.

Cassiopeia appears overhead, in the zenith, Pegasus’ square/diamond in the southwest. In the east, Gemini with Castor and Pollux, Cancer with the Beehive cluster and Leo have risen, following Orion with red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel, which are now quite high in the southeast (that’s why I chose the late evening for my description). Auriga with Capella and Taurus with Aldebaran, the Pleiades star cluster and currently with the very bright Jupiter appear now high in the south.

If we could only observe it, we’d see that around 5 p.m. Mars, Mercury, sun, Saturn and Venus all set at the same time. But of course, when the sun is out, our atmosphere’s brightness overpowers the planets.

Ultrabright Venus itself, though, rises in the mornings around 6 a.m. in the southeast and is visible throughout all of November and December.

Night Lights: Falling daylight means rising starlight views

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh

Compared to September, the sky shifted somewhat toward the east, with Bootes setting in the northeast. Its brightest star, Arcturus, can be seen in the early evening on the northeastern horizon.

Prominent constellations and stars are the Big Dipper low and the Little Dipper (part of Ursa Major) high in the north; and Cygnus with Deneb, Lyra with Vega and Aquila with Altair still high in the west. These three stars form the summer triangle. It’s perhaps comforting that, in Alaska, we can see this summer triangle all winter along, albeit on the horizon.

Cassiopeia appears overhead, near the zenith, and Pegasus’ square/diamond is high in the south. Late in the evening, Orion rises with Betelgeuse and Rigel in the east, following Taurus with Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster.

Neither Mercury, Mars nor Saturn are visible because they are setting at about the same time as the sun.

Jupiter rises in the east late in the evening. Due to its glaring brightness, you can’t miss it, just left of reddish Aldebaran in Taurus. Jupiter will be visible during the evening all winter long. The gibbous moon joins the giant planet Oct. 4 and 5, placing itself between the giant planet and the red giant.

Venus will be the morning planet all winter long. Look for this really bright planet during and prior to dawn in the east early in the month very close to Regulus in Leo. At that time, Jupiter shines almost as brightly high in the south. The crescent moon joins Venus on Oct. 12.

Night Lights: Return of night delights stargazers

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh

During late evenings last month, some prominent bright stars were already visible, such as Arcturus, Vega, Deneb and Altair. As it gets darker earlier in the evening this month, I hope to have clear skies for night sky viewing.

First, find the Big Dipper low in the northwest. Then take the distance between the dipper’s last two stars and extend it five times toward the zenith (the point straight up) and you get to Polaris, the North Star, which is a semibright star at the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. The North Star also marks our latitude on the Kenai Peninsula at 60 degrees above the northern horizon.

Next, find the constellation Cassiopeia, in the shape of a W, on the other side of the Little Dipper, high in the northeast. Also high in the sky, almost in the zenith, is Cygnus, the swan, which also looks like a cross. Its brightest star, Deneb, connects with two other bright stars — Vega and Altair in the constellations Lyra, the harp, and Aquila, the eagle. Together they make up the prominent summer triangle.

Just left of them is the Great Square of Pegasus, high in the southeast. Turning to the west we can see bright-red Arcturus setting, a sign that summer is over. It can also be found by following the Big Dipper’s handle’s arc. And rising in the northeast is bright yellow Capella, a corner of Auriga’s pentagon. Throughout the night, all constellations move from east to west — of course, it is Earth rotating that gives us this illusion. So the evening western constellations set while in the east Taurus, Orion, Gemini and Cancer are rising throughout the night, telling us that winter is coming up.

Night Lights: Once in a blue moon? Try once in a Venus transit

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Photo courtesy of Andy Veh. This picture shows the last Venus transit, seen June 7, 2004, in Barrow.

Tuesday, June 5, will herald an unusual event, rare enough to only happen every 120 years — Venus, from our vantage point, will pass in front of the sun.

What is a Venus transit?

Venus moves in front of the sun’s disk. Only the inner planets, Mercury and Venus, both orbiting between Earth and sun, are able to transit.

Why is this Venus transit special?

A Venus transit is extremely rare, as they happen in pairs only every 120 years. The phrase “once in a blue moon” should be replaced by “once in Venus transit.”

Johannes Kepler discovered the laws of planetary motion in the 1610s, allowing astronomers to predict the positions of planets, transits and eclipses very accurately. The invention of the telescope around the same time helped the cause, too. Hence, prior to Kepler, no transits had ever been observed. In contrast, eclipses were somewhat easier to predict, even with the knowledge of accurate planetary motions.

Mercury, on average, transits every seven years. Thirty-six such transits have been observed since 1631 (Kepler’s first prediction). Personally, I’ve observed the 1999, 2003 and 2006 Mercury transits.
There are only six Venus transits that have been observed historically, in 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882 and 2004.

This list excludes 1631, predicted by Kepler but not visible from Europe and no astronomer made the effort to book a flight from Paris to Chicago. Personally, I’ve seen this one from Barrow.

The next Venus transits after 2012 will occur in 2117 and 2125.

Night Lights: Lights still bright as darkness wanes

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh

Days are getting longer and nights are getting shorter. Thus, this will be my last column before fall.

The winter constellations Orion, Gemini, Taurus, Canis Major and Auriga with all their bright stars are now visible in the west, setting during the late evening. Leo with its bright star Regulus is speeding across the sky, which is why I perceive Leo as the harbinger of spring. When it appears in the east, winter’s end will soon be here. When it reaches the western horizon, flowers are in full bloom and deciduous plants will have regained their leaves. In addition, the summer triangle comprised of the bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair reappears in the northeast.

As it has been for most of this winter, it’s going to be another great month for planets. During March we saw superbright Venus in the west right above Jupiter. Although Jupiter is the second-brightest object in the sky ahead of even the brightest stars, the giant planet just about fades in comparison. Venus keeps moving farther left of Jupiter night after night — a really good example showing that planets move (the word “planet” means “wanderer”).

Sky high — Rating system puts northern lights in reach

By Naomi Klouda

Photo courtesy of the Homer Tribune. Northern lights sparkle high above the mountains during a recent spurt of solar flare activity.

Homer Tribune

For those who follow aurora borealis displays, all the right conditions are aligning for further exhibits of the dancing lights in the days ahead. Watch for large geomagnetic storms hitting Earth at night, and don’t forget to look straight up.

That’s just one piece of advice from famed northern lights photographer, Dennis C. Anderson, of Homer, who goes whole years without this kind of luck, when long winter months drag on  with little to no solar flare activity. When an active stretch such as this comes along, he sleeps just a few hours a day.

“We’ve had some great shows,” Anderson said Monday morning. In the rareness of his work, Anderson uses hand-built cameras he calls “Franken cams,” film and 100-year-old photography methods for slowing down exposures to capture the northern lights. Anderson was featured in the Washington Post this week along with his photos.

As for the alignment of fortuitous events, these are it: On a scale of KP 0-9, 9 being the best, Thursday offered the most impressive series of dancing lights. It came at a KP-5, Anderson calculates.

“A KP-5 is a large geomagnetic storm. It will be seen as soon as it gets dark and it might put on several shows during the night. There were at least four sub shows that night,” Anderson said. “We had aurora visible by 9 p.m. with the first storm by 9:30 and another after 11 p.m. A third one came at 2:15 a.m. and a fourth was predawn around 5:30 a.m. That’s the best we’ve had here for a number of years.”

Night Lights: Spring coming in like a lion

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh

The constellation that always catches my eye in March is Leo, its shape quite closely resembling that of a male lion lying leisurely, watching the savannah, looking west, in the direction that it will move toward during the next couple of months. Its right front paw is the bright star Regulus.

While Leo should move across the sky as gingerly as any constellation week after week, it seems to be much speedier than others. What aids or produces that perception is that sunset occurs later and later, about 20 minutes each week. Thus, with it getting darker later every evening, it seems that Leo keeps progressing across the sky faster (because we look at it later when it already has moved farther west).

As a result, I perceive Leo as the harbinger of spring. When it appears in the east, winter’s end will soon be here, and when it reaches the western horizon, flowers are in full bloom and deciduous trees will have regained their leaves. Of course, that’s hard to believe after recent snowfalls.

Night Lights: Night sky becoming nigh on spring

By Andy Veh, for the Redoubt Reporter

Graphic courtesy of Andy Veh. This chart shows the sky in late evening just before midnight.

In the late-evening sky, just before midnight, winter constellations, such as Taurus, Pegasus and Andromeda, have set already. But others show their glory: Orion with seven bright stars, among them red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel, Auriga with yellow Capella, Gemini with Castor and Pollux, and Procyon and Sirius in the Canis Minor and Major, both arching toward the horizon from the Twins.

Furthermore Leo, a harbinger of spring, with Regulus in its front paw, appears high in the south. The Big Dipper is now virtually overhead, with blue Vega and Cygnus with Deneb just above, and the Little Dipper and Polaris as always 60 degrees above the northern horizon.