The Starry Vault

6/26/05 – 7/2/05

By C. Zaitz


It’s the first full week of summer. The Sun has reached its highest high, and the nights are short as they can be. Strange, then, I chose this time to begin our weekly observations of that Starry Vault, that ”Inverted Bowl we call the Sky.” We must make what we can with our short summer evenings. There is much to be seen and enjoyed, and there is no time like tonight. So I’d like to share with you some objects, some ideas, some stories and allusions, that connect us all to our ancient heritage of sky watching and to each other. We are perhaps the only beings on the planet who can take pleasure in the faintly tinged glow from the stars and planets of our Milky Way. Here is my attempt to translate the poetry of the night sky into the prose of a newspaper column, for the sole purpose of spreading around a little wonder. I wonder a lot. Shall we go wondering?

Let us begin with Venus, making her first shy appearance this month low in the path of the sunset. Do you wonder where she’s been? Why is she so brilliant sometimes in the evening, and then disappears from the sky, only to be spotted months later early in the morning before the sunrise? She’s out dancing…dancing around the Sun in her petite orbit. She circles the Sun, never far from it, and sometimes even her dazzling beauty is eclipsed by the Sun. She’s coming back for her evening appearance, and night after night you’ll see her growing brighter and cheekier. We’ll keep our eye on her in the coming weeks.

Following Venus, caught in his predictable habit of chasing beautiful women, is Jupiter, known as Zeus to the Greeks. Bright, bold and stark, Jupiter will show off four of his largest moons to a steady pair of binoculars. Look toward the southern sky after sunset. He will outshine his neighbors, even the bright star Arcturus. If you wonder if you’ve really found Arcturus, simply find the Big Dipper in the northwest, follow the curve or arc of the handle out from the bowl till it “arcs” you around to Arcturus.

If you're wondering where the Moon is in all this, don't wait up for her. She rises nearly an hour later every night and will be at her last quarter phase on the 28th, meaning she will rise at midnight. Night owls will enjoy her cool glow in the wee hours of morning, but here at the Starry Vault, we will forgo that pleasure.
Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view!