Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Barbecue restaurant owner appeals mannequin's cover-up order
Suspect nabbed in child's death
Five years after attack, woman finds her way
Two men hurt in assaults in Kenmore
Hundreds in Canton for Tea Party
Promises look promising for Browns
New York congressman blasts Michael Jackson as 'pervert'
Blogs:
Pets:
Sunburn in canines and felines
The Heldenfiles:
Monday Notebook, New "90210" on DVD
Patrick McManamon:
Some Trevor Ariza tales
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Northern Illinois
Browns Bulletin:
Single-game ticket sales begin July 11
Tribe Matters:
Marte is IL’s Batter of the Week
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Free Agency Update: Frye in View?
All Da King's Men:
The Obligatory Palin Post
Blog of Mass Destruction:
The "Limbaugh Babies"
Akron Law Café:
The Veil and the Burqa – Constitutional to Ban or Restrict?
Varsity Letters:
Solon’s Baldwin could decide soon
See Jane Style:
Picnic Wear
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
ID My Bug
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jennifer inquires about a bus tour to Atlantic City
Sound Check:
Rundgren fans rejoice!: Second night of AWATS at The Civic added
HRLite House:
DDI One of Best Places to Work
Akron Gamer:
Hot link: Best of Nintendo at E3
You'll need binoculars for spotting some planets
By David L. Richards
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Monday, May 26, 2008
The planet Neptune makes a great appearance — and disappearance — next month.
On June 23, the waning gibbous moon will occult Neptune about 3:48 a.m. The giant gas planet will reappear from behind the moon an hour and a half later, during twilight, about 5:11 a.m. Neptune's brightness, at magnitude 7.9, is a bit beyond the limit of human vision, so you will need at least binoculars to view this rare event.
Mercury, fairly bright at magnitude 1.7, can be seen over the last week of June during morning twilight in the constellation Taurus, on the east-northeast horizon. Again, binoculars will be necessary to spot the planet against the brightening sky.
Venus remains near the sun in June, but reappears in July as an evening planet, and will remain so for the rest of 2008.
Mars continues its journey, moving from Cancer back into Leo. At midnight June 7, Mars passes within 2 degrees of the waxing crescent moon on the west-northwest horizon. Within half an hour, both the moon and Mars will drop below the horizon.
At 2:50 a.m. June 20, Jupiter stands right in the south, 30 degrees above the horizon, within 4 degrees of the waning gibbous moon.
Saturn remains near Regulus in Leo. You still have a few months to catch the ring system before it closes up this winter, and then you'll have to wait until next spring to see the rings as open as they appear right now.
June 21 marks the summer solstice, the longest day and the shortest night of the year. The peak of the Lyrid meteor shower is June 14-16. You may see up to 10 meteors per hour during these nights.
Q&A
Q: I know that the Earth rotates on its axis, and that we also revolve around the sun. Just how fast are we traveling? — S.R., Canton
A: At the equator, the Earth is spinning about 1,040 mph. The earth orbits the sun at 66,600 mph.
Beyond that, the whole solar system travels around the galactic center (once every 225 million years) about 450,000 mph, and the entire Milky Way galaxy is moving (relative to nearby galaxies) at 1,342,262 mph.
Dizzy yet?
Program
The Hoover-Price Planetarium is showing Comet Tales through July 11. Throughout history, comets have been portents of good and bad events, but are mostly just beautiful objects in the night — and sometimes day sky. We'll be looking at some of these old and very new visitors from the far reaches of the solar system.
Presentations are at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. From June 9 through Labor Day, weekday planetarium shows are at 1 p.m. The planetarium is included with admission to the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum. Call 330-455-7043.
David L. Richards is director of the Hoover-Price Planetarium at the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Drive N.W., Canton, 44708, http://www.mckinleymuseum.org. He can be reached at 330-455-7043 or e-mail hooverpriceplanetarium@hotmail.com.
The planet Neptune makes a great appearance — and disappearance — next month.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
