> Question of the week
What astronomical object used to be called Easter Bunny?
The answer will be in next week's column.
> Last week's question
What object is also known as Barnard 33?
Answer: The Horsehead Nebula is a part of the optical nebula 1C434, and was first recorded in the year 1888 at the Harvard College Observatory. It is also known as Barnard 33 and is reminiscent of a horse's neck and head, against a glowing background. The nebula consists of a cloud of ionized gas, which is lit from within, by a number of newly formed stars. It is also observed that a dark cloud containing interstellar dust lies right in front of it. The dust absorbs light from these ionized clouds and small red spots seen at the base of the Horsehead tend to betray the presence of the hidden protostars.
The winner this week is Dave Bond of Lewiston. The winner each week receives a free sky map.
Answers may be e-mailed to starweek@lmtribune.com, dropped off at the Tribune or mailed to Lewiston Tribune, Starweek, 505 Capital St., Lewiston, ID 83501. Entries must be at the Tribune by noon Monday. Include your mailing address. The winning entry is drawn from a pool of all correct answers and will receive a sky map for the current month.
> Thursday
As soon as it gets dark, the waxing crescent moon can help you locate the small constellation Aries the Ram. Look to the west, just above the place where the sun went down. You'll see the thin crescent by the head of the constellation Aries. With clear skies, there's no way that you can miss the planet Venus right below the moon. Venus beams as the brightest celestial point of light in the early evening sky.
> Friday
When spring arrives on Saturday, the sun will be passing through the constellation Pisces. Over time, though, the sun's location at the vernal equinox slips westward. About 6,500 years ago, it was just above the head of Orion, the hunter.
> Saturday
The March equinox marks that special moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator, going from south to north. It happens today at 17:32 Universal Time, or 10:32 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The March equinox signals the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
> Sunday
The planet Saturn is putting on a good show this month. It lines up opposite the sun, so it rises at sunset and remains in view all night. It is at its brightest, too. The golden planet outshines all but a handful of other planets and stars. Saturn can be found a little southeast of Denebola the tail star of Leo the Lion.
> Monday
Aries is the Ram constellation, and some see it as the Ram's horns. Aries has very few showy stars and is one of the smallest constellations in the skies. The constellation is hard to see but you might at least see Hamal, otherwise known as Alpha Arietis, the brightest star in Aries. Aries' second-brightest star is called Sheratan, or Beta Arietis.
> Tuesday
One of the ancient myths related to Aries is that a ram led Bacchus and his entourage to water after they were wandering in the Liberian desert for a while. As a reward Bacchus set the ram under the stars. So when the sun wanders through Aries it turns things green and starts to flower on Earth, according to this ancient myth.
> Wednesday
Each star of the Pleiades is a giant star that makes its own light, like our sun, but which are much larger than our almost 1 million-mile-wide sun. Each star of the Pleiades is 3 to 10 times as wide as our sun and so far away that it takes their light over 400 years to reach us. So the light we see now is the light that left them when Galileo first turned his telescope toward the heavens.
International Space Station sightings
Thursday
Appears at 6:44 p.m. 19 degrees above NW
Disappears at 6:47 p.m. 13 degrees above NE
Friday
Appears at 7:09 p.m. 17 degrees above NW
Disappears at 7:12 p.m. 21 degrees above NE
Saturday
Appears at 7:34 p.m. 18 degrees above NW
Disappears at 7:35 p.m. 37 degrees above N
Sunday
Appears at 6:23 p.m. 17 degrees above NW
Disappears at 6:27 p.m. 11 degrees above ENE
Appears at 7:59 p.m. 25 degrees above WNW
Disappears at 8 p.m. 32 degrees above WNW
Monday
Appears at 6:48 p.m. 19 degrees above NW
Disappears at 6:51 p.m. 20 degrees above ENE
Tuesday
Appears at 7:14 p.m. 32 degrees above WNW
Disappears at 7:16 p.m. 41 degrees above ESE
Wednesday
Appears at 7:38 p.m. 22 degrees above W
Disappears at 7:40 p.m. 34 degrees above SSW
---
Niemann may be contacted at starweek@lmtribune.com. He is the editor of the newsletter of the Lewiston Astronomical Society.
