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Spacewatch Friday: Fact vs. Fiction: Reading Weather in the Sun, Moon and Stars
By Joe Rao
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 07:00 am ET
07 March 2003
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No Beehive tonight . . .
so prepare for unsettled weather
One stellar harbinger of
weather, referred to in ancient times, results from the limits to human vision.
High toward the south in
our late winter evening sky is the brilliant planet Jupiter, shining within
the dim constellation of Cancer, the Crab. Cancer is the least conspicuous of
the 12 zodiacal constellations. Aside from being in the Zodiac, it is probably
only noteworthy because it contains one of the brightest galactic star clusters
in the sky.
Currently the cluster appears
just a couple of degrees to the right (west) of Jupiter, appearing to the eye
as a misty patch of light. But binoculars will quickly reveal its stellar nature.
It is Praesepe, better known as the Beehive Star Cluster, containing hundreds
of small stars.
Interestingly, the Beehive
was used in medieval times as a weather forecaster. It was one of the very few
clusters that were mentioned in antiquity. Aratus (around 260 BC) and Hipparchus
(about 130 BC) called it the "Little Mist" or "Little Cloud."
But Aratus also noted that on those occasions when the sky was seemingly clear,
but the Beehive was invisible, that this meant that a storm was approaching.
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Use this map to find the Beehive Cluster in relation to Jupiter, as
of 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28.
Map created with
Starry Night software
With Starry
Night software, you can explore any sky object and map its location
as viewed from your home.
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Of course, we know today
that prior to the arrival of any unsettled weather, high, thin cirrus clouds
(composed of ice crystals) begin to appear in the sky. The clouds are thin enough
to only slightly dim the Sun, Moon and brighter stars, but apparently just opaque
enough to hide a dim patch of light like the Beehive.
Related Information
Basic Sky Guides
Joe Rao
serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium.
He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and
he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News
12 Westchester, New York. | | | |
