When historians write about the 20th century, they often emphasize the worst elements of the human spirit: two world wars, the Cold War, this war and that war. When we finally get some distance from it, I hope that the century will be best remembered as the time when we began to understand the workings of the universe. Humans have wanted that knowledge for a long time. At long last, the patient measurements of scientists over many centuries had just begun to bear fruit.
Nov 25 2012 | Posted in
Tom Burns |
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Among the great mysteries of the nighttime sky, none has captured human imagination more than the one associated with the cluster of stars called the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. Look for the cluster high in the ESE as a small, dipper-shaped collection of several stars above the bright star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus, the Bull. While you’re at it, check out bright Jupiter to the left of Aldebaran.
High in the southeast right now you’ll find the constellation Aries, the Ram. It consists of four fairly dim stars high in the southeast. Around 10 p.m. start by looking for Perseus high in the east. Then look right (toward the southwest) for Aries. The stars are faint, so it isn’t an easy find.
Nov 11 2012 | Posted in
Tom Burns |
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I must confess that I view the upcoming holiday season with a mixture of joy and dread. On one hand, I know that more telescopes get bought in December than all other months combined. Unfortunately, most of the “astronomical” telescopes purchased are, frankly, high-priced junk — unsuitable for looking at the stars and planets.
You have to love autumn. There’s a nip in the air, and practically every local radio and television station, newspaper, and coworker hanging out at the water cooler is talking OSU football. It’s hard not to notice that my beloved Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops are undefeated, as well. You did notice, didn’t you?
Oct 28 2012 | Posted in
Tom Burns |
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The morning sky right now reminds me of my misspent youth. My father, who never graduated the ninth grade, was inexplicably an opera buff. How could I forget the trips to Cleveland to see the touring company of New York’s Metropolitan Opera? I am an opera aficionado myself to this very day.
Is it any wonder that most avid stargazers hate Daylight Saving Time? When DST ends on November 4, we can get a decent view of the night and still get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Oct 14 2012 | Posted in
Tom Burns |
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Rising low in the southern sky this month is one of the most unusual of the old constellations. The oceans represented vastness and danger to the ancient Greek people. As they looked south into the great waters of the Mediterranean, they invented a pattern of stars that represented the awe and fear that they felt.
