By Nancy and Larry Lebofsky
MARCH OBSERVING NEWS
We apologize for the delay in the March newsletter. We returned earlier this week from a wonderful trip to New Zealand, where we had several opportunities to observe the Southern Hemisphere night sky. More on that later!
Since Daylight Saving Time began today, March 9, we are no longer on the same time for our observations. Arizona remains on Mountain Standard Time (i.e., we are the same time as California until fall). Viewers in Arizona should subtract one hour from the observing times given in this newsletter. March 21 marks the spring (or vernal) equinox, 1:48 a.m. EDT.
NIGHT SKY VIEWING:
The Winter Hexagon is still prominent: large constellations, bright stars, easy to spot. The stars of the Winter Hexagon are now moving toward the southwest during evening observing hours. Back in early November, Orion and Gemini were just rising in the east between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. (depending upon your horizon!). Where will Orion, Taurus, and the other winter constellations be in May? In September? Remember the story of Orion and the scorpion? Try to predict when Scorpius will be visible on your southern horizon in the evenings!
Sky & Telescope magazine calls March the best time for viewing Gemini. Pollux is the brighter star to the south of Castor and may appear slightly yellow or orange to your eyes. Castor will appear white. While it appears dimmer, Castor is a multiple star (three double stars whose combined light we call Castor).
Facing north at about 9:00 p.m., you will see that the Big Dipper is beginning to swing up and above Polaris. At about the same time in early September, the Big Dipper was moving down the west side of Polaris and beginning its movement across the northern horizon. Where will the Big Dipper be when school lets out for the summer? Remember the story of the Never-Ending Bear Hunt? The constellation Boötes, in which several of the bird-hunters are found, and Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown, or the bear’s den) rise in the east and follow the handle of the Big Dipper (the other bird-hunters) across the sky. By early morning, these constellations are overhead and moving toward the west. The bright star Arcturus is also found in Boötes.
During the first week of March, Mars moved from Taurus toward Gemini. On March 10, using a telescope or binoculars, Mars will be 1-1/2 degrees north of M35, a star cluster located in the westernmost foot of Gemini. This pairing should be available for about a week. See the next section for more information on viewing. Saturn becomes available at dusk. Beginning on March 18, Saturn is below and left (east) of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, looking ESE. The waxing gibbous Moon will be above and right of Regulus. By March 21, the full Moon is just rising, far below Regulus and Saturn. By March 31, Saturn and Regulus are high in the southeastern sky.
TELESCOPE AND BINOCULAR VIEWING:
The planets Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars are available for telescope viewing. Mercury may also be visible low on the eastern horizon before dawn. Venus and Mercury will remain close to the horizon just before dawn during March. By March 23, Mercury will be 1 degree south of Venus, very close to the horizon, and hard to spot. At the same time, Jupiter is higher in the eastern sky to the south of the other planets and close to Sagittarius.
Saturn is available after dusk. Try looking for the planet’s shadow on the far side rings. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, should be visible in your telescope, looking like a bright background star. Titan passes south of the planet on March 17 and north of the planet on March 25. Try using binoculars to see Mars, the Moon, and M35 on the night of March 14/morning of March 15. The Moon will be 1 degree north of Mars, and Mars will be 2 degrees northeast of M35. Mars is getting smaller and its surfaces features are harder to distinguish.
As noted above, Castor (Gemini) is a multiple star. Try “splitting” Castor into two (Castor A and Castor B) or possibly three (Castor C) stars in your telescope.
EARLY MORNING VIEWING:
As noted above, several planets are visible just before dawn in the eastern sky. Jupiter is higher in the sky and to the south of Venus and Mercury. Almost directly above Venus and Mercury, and even higher in the eastern sky than Jupiter, is Altair – one of the stars of the Summer Triangle. By the end of March, the last quarter Moon will pass below Jupiter, moving from the Teapot asterism in Sagittarius in the SSE, past Jupiter, and then further toward the east.
At about 5:00 a.m. in early March, the last of the Winter Hexagon is setting. Leo is also beginning to set, head first, with Saturn setting at about the same time. Facing east, the Summer Triangle has risen. Facing south, Scorpius is high in the sky.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE SKY VIEWING:
We were both very excited to see the Southern Hemisphere sky. Our first view was from an airplane window in the middle of the night heading toward Fiji. Nancy drew what she could see on the back of her boarding pass and checked the constellations against our Southern Hemisphere planisphere the next day. The Southern Cross (Crux) and Centaurus were easily identified. To their left as we looked out the window was the top and middle of Scorpius, with the scorpion standing straight up on his tail. About a week later, we were able to see these same constellations high overhead at 6:00 a.m. from the street in front of our hotel in Christchurch.
Several nights later we were fortunate enough to be in a small town north of Christchurch. The sky was dark and the viewing was perfect! We saw the Milky Way, Southern Cross, Centaurus (especially the two bright pointer stars), Circinus (the drawing compass), Canopus, Achemar (a bright star in Eridanus), and the Large and Small Magellenic Clouds. We shared this experience with an amateur astronomer from California. Turning around, we saw Orion – standing on his head with his sword pointing upwards – and most of the rest of the Winter Hexagon. It was a challenge to trace the hexagon with everything reversed from our normal perspective!
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From Nancy and Thea’s Winter Sky Stories:
So who exactly were Castor and Pollux? According to legend, these twin brothers lived in Sparta in Greece. They loved each other very much and grew up inseparable friends. Castor and Pollux were sons of the god Zeus in Greek mythology. Both brothers loved sports. Some stories say that they even won prizes at the Olympic Games! Castor grew up to be an expert horseman, and Pollux was the best boxer in Greece.
Castor and Pollux were heroes who sailed with Jason on his famous ship, Argo. They had twin cousins, Idas and Lynceus. These twins also loved each other very much. The four cousins captured a herd of cattle from an enemy town. They decided to divide the herd among the four. But Idas proposed a contest to see who should get the largest share of the herd. Whoever ate an enormous portion at their feast would get half the herd. Whoever finished second would get the rest of the herd.
Idas at very quickly. Seeing Lynceus falling behind, he ate part of his brother’s meal. Idas and Lynceus claimed all of the cattle for themselves. The cousins got into an argument and began to fight. Lynceus and Castor were killed.
Pollux was inconsolable at the death of his beloved brother. He asked their father, Zeus, to take his own life so that Castor might live again. Zeus took pity on Pollux and declared that the two should spend half their time under the Earth and half their time in the heavens. Even now, the mortal Castor sets first with his faithful brother, the immortal Pollux, following close behind.
MAUI AND RONA
We discovered during our trip that much of the Maori star lore has been lost. However, the story of Maui and the Sun (see October newsletter) and Rona and the Moon are still available. Both stories appear in Eric and Tessa Hadley’s Legends of the Sun and Moon (Cambridge University Press, 1983, third paperback printing 1992). Peter Gossage wrote How Maui Slowed the Sun, including a translation into Maori (first published by Lansdowne Press in 1982 with a 1994 edition produced for Ashton Scholastic Ltd.). These are older books and may be hard to come by. We recently purchased Maori Myth and Legend by A. W. Reed, a prolific author of Maori lore. We also found Matariki, a Maori perspective on the legend from our December newsletter. Both books are from Reed Publishing. Below is a summary of the Rona legend.
Rona was married to a fisherman. One moonlit night he decided to take their sons to go fishing. He told Rona they would return the next day and told her to have a good meal waiting for them. The next night, before they returned, Rona prepared the meal. Soon she heard the song of the fishermen. The stones of her oven were hot and the leaves to cover the food were ready. But suddenly she realized she had no water to sprinkle over the hot stones to make steam.
Rona grabbed two calabashes and ran to the spring. The moonlight provided a clear view until a cloud drifted by and the light was cut off. Rona continued to run along the path, but she could no longer see where she was going. She stubbed her toe on a tree root, then stumbled and scraped her shin on a rock. She screamed at the Moon, angry that the Moon had put out its light. The Moon came down from the sky, picked up Rona, and carried her up into the sky. Rona grabbed the branch of a tree and tried her best to hang on. The Moon pulled harder, but still Rona hung on to the tree. At last the tree cracked and its roots came out of the ground. Rona and the tree were carried up into the sky.
When her husband and sons returned home, they found only uncooked food and cold cooking stones – no Rona! Looking up into the sky, the saw Rona on the full Moon. Rona still held onto her calabashes and the tree, and she is now the Woman in the Moon.
Remember: the perspective is different from the Southern Hemisphere, so it will be much harder for us to see Rona! Much like Orion, the Moon appears upside down to our Northern Hemisphere point of view.
