Viewing (Nov 28-Dec 4/05)

[Estella Sinistra]

Good evening class,

I'm glad to see that some of you brought sweaters this evening. It has gotten a little cooler. Though that usually means that the nights are crisper and are viewing are better! ;D

When you can, please come up to the telescope and look through.



Now what you've seen are rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun but are too small to be considered planets. They are made of material left over from the formation of the solar system. One theory suggests that they are the remains of a planet that was destroyed in a massive collision long ago. More likely, they are material that never coalesced into a planet.

This week's viewing assignment is to tell owl me what you just saw (5 pts) and the difference is between this and a comet, which we viewed last week.

In the meantime, I thought we would go around the class and have everyone tell us, just briefly, what is your favourite heavenly body to view. (For longer conversations of the wonders of the sky, you may come visist me anytime in my office!)

Who will begin?

[Marlene Javelin]

Marlene decided to speak up first.

Well, my favorite heavenly object is Venus, she began with a smile. It's the brightest planet and it looks quite peaceful when viewed through the telescope. Actually, because of the fact that it's so close to the Sun, it has many volcanoes on it and is surrounded by dark clouds... and thunder strikes every now and then. Like the underworld itself.

She smirked and waited for someone else to speak.

[Ariake Long]

Ariake raised her hand next and spoke when given permission.

"My favourite heavenly object to watch is one of the fifteen stars of the constellation 'Scorpio'.
At the top of the long string of stars representing 'Scorpio' is the giant red star Antares, and it's that star I like to watch.
Antares is also known as Alpha Scorpii. It is one of the four Royal Stars of the ancients, along with Aldebaran, Regulus, and Fomalhaut. It glitters with an unusual metallic red while the entire region is bathed in a pale red nebula, lit from the same star.
The name Antares signifies “Rival of Mars” or “Rival of Ares”.
When the Mars appears in the constellation Scorpius, the two red colored objects are splendid rivals. Ares is, of course, the Greek god of War who is also called Mars by the Romans.
Antares is linked to the planet Mars because they are both about the same color and the same brightness. Thus, it is easy to get them confused, but always I like to search for Antares a bit.
The star always reminds me of a challenge, certainly when Mars also appears into 'Scorpio', then it is as if someone has dared to challenge the god of war and is having a battle with him."

[Estella Sinistra]

Miss Long, Miss Javelin, thank you very much for sharing with us. You each are awarded 2 pts for your participation.

[coco]

(OOC: My computer is unable to view this picture, so I will not be able to participate in this weeks lesson. Sorry.)