The Sky This Week, 2012 October 30 - November 6
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Under the Hunter's Moon, awaiting "Sandy" |
The Moon starts the week among the bright stars of the Great Winter Circle. Last Quarter occurs on November 6th at 7:36 pm Eastern Standard Time. Look for the Moon halfway between the bright star Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster on Halloween night. On the evening of November 1st she rises close to the bright planet Jupiter. On the morning of the 5th Luna is perched between the bright star Procyon and the Twin Stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux. By the week's end she approaches the rising springtime constellations.
You may have noticed the word "standard" in the previous paragraph. Yes, it's time once again to adjust your clocks to go off of Daylight Time. Officially this happens at 2:00 am local time on the 5th, when we set our clocks back by one hour ("Fall back"). This will have the effect of adding daylight in the morning at the expense of earlier sunsets in the evening. The annual adjustment of our clocks has always been a contentious issue since it was first introduced in 1918. It was finally codified into Federal law in 1966 with further revisions in 1986 and 2005. Prior to 1966 the implementation of Daylight Time was a matter left to individual states unless otherwise directed by the President. The idea was originally implemented as a means to improve wartime production and to save energy, but now that most of us live and work in climate-controlled spaces the energy saving claim of Daylight Time is dubious at best. Here at the Naval Observatory we only keep one time-scale, Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. It's up to our friends in the Department of Transportation to enforce the rules on local timekeepers.
October 31st is something of a special day on the astronomical calendar. Since it is very close to the middle of the astronomical season of Autumn, it is a so-called "cross-quarter day" that was once widely celebrated in primitive calendar systems. Traditionally in feudal times serfs paid rent to their landlords on the seasonal markers of equinoxes and solstices and on the cross-quarter days in between. In many cultures these dates were celebrated with festivities of various kinds. In Celtic Europe this particular celebration was known as Samhain, a festival marking the end of the harvest and the coming of the dark days of winter. Characterized by burning bonfires and spiritual divination, it was thought that the gates of the Underworld opened to let ancestral spirits roam and partake of the feast. The advent of Christianity allied the celebration with that of All Saints' Day on November 1st, with the previous evening becoming known as "All Hallows Eve". Halloween, Groundhog Day, and May Day are three cross-quarter days that are still fairly widely observed. The fourth, known as Lammas, has less of a wide following.
You can still find the ruddy glow of Mars in the early evening as he drifts along the southwestern horizon. As evening twilight ends you'll find him just west of the "Teapot" asterism of Sagittarius, which should be easily visible if you have a clear view to the south and west. He will slowly drift eastward toward the "top" of the Teapot during the course of the week.
Jupiter now rises in the northeast as Mars sets in the southwest. You probably won't notice Old Jove until around 9:00 pm (8:00 pm after the 3rd) but once you spot him he'll be easy to follow. He rises with the bright star Aldebaran nearby, and the two objects show a striking color contrast. By the late evening various other bright stars of the Great Winter Circle are cresting the horizon, and Jupiter is high enough for a good view through the telescope.
Dazzling Venus continues to hang in the pre-dawn sky, coursing through the sprawling constellation of Virgo. You should have no trouble picking her out in the brightening twilight. She's moving in the general direction of the bright star Spica which you may just be able to glimpse half an hour before sunrise.
