“There are several categories of scientists in the world; those of second or third rank do their best but never get very far. Then there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries, fundamental to scientific progress. But then there are the geniuses, like Galilei and Newton. Majorana was one of these.” -Enrico Fermi
Want to uncover the secrets to the Universe? Find out what particles and interactions there are beyond the Standard Model? The conventional approach is to take particles up to extremely high energies and smash them together, hoping that something new and exciting comes out. That’s a solid approach, but it has its limits. In particular, we haven’t seen anything new at the LHC other than the Higgs Boson, and might not even if we run it forever.
The particle tracks emanating from a high energy collision at the LHC in 2014. Although these collisions are plentiful and incredibly energetic, they have not yet yielded any compelling evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Pcharito.
But another, more subtle approach might yield heavy dividends: simply gathering a very large number of unstable atoms and looking for a special type of decay: neutrinoless double beta decay. If this decay actually occurs in nature, it would mean that neutrinos aren’t like the other particles we know of, but rather that neutrinos and antineutrinos are the same particles: Majorana particles!
If this decay, where you have double beta decay and no neutrinos emitted, is observed to occur, it implies that neutrinos are Majorana particles. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory / UT-Battelle / Department of Energy.
“There are several categories of scientists in the world; those of second or third rank do their best but never get very far. Then there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries, fundamental to scientific progress. But then there are the geniuses, like Galilei and Newton. Majorana was one of these.” -Enrico Fermi
Want to uncover the secrets to the Universe? Find out what particles and interactions there are beyond the Standard Model? The conventional approach is to take particles up to extremely high energies and smash them together, hoping that something new and exciting comes out. That’s a solid approach, but it has its limits. In particular, we haven’t seen anything new at the LHC other than the Higgs Boson, and might not even if we run it forever.
The particle tracks emanating from a high energy collision at the LHC in 2014. Although these collisions are plentiful and incredibly energetic, they have not yet yielded any compelling evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons user Pcharito.
But another, more subtle approach might yield heavy dividends: simply gathering a very large number of unstable atoms and looking for a special type of decay: neutrinoless double beta decay. If this decay actually occurs in nature, it would mean that neutrinos aren’t like the other particles we know of, but rather that neutrinos and antineutrinos are the same particles: Majorana particles!
If this decay, where you have double beta decay and no neutrinos emitted, is observed to occur, it implies that neutrinos are Majorana particles. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory / UT-Battelle / Department of Energy.
We took a rare long weekend to go to a family party for Memorial Day at my parents’ (Kate and the kids always get the day off, but I usually have to teach; this year, I’m doing a team-taught class, and the other person was willing to cover my Monday spot), thus the lack of a weekly update post. The delay, however, allows for some quality nerd-parenting content, so it’s a win all around…
SteelyKid’s third-grade class has been doing long-ish projects approximately monthly through the year, and the May project was to design and make a board game based on a book. SteelyKid picked the Bone graphic novels, which she and a bunch of her classmates tore through earlier in the year, and she finished the game early this week. She’s very proud of how it came out:
SteelyKid mugging with her board game.
This is not without justification, as she put a lot of thought into it, and it came out really nicely:
SteelyKid’s board game based on the Bone graphic novels.
(Obviously, she had a bit of help from us in finding and printing out images from the books, but the concept and general design are all her…)
We play-tested it last night, and The Pip won the first game, with SteelyKid coming in second. She’s taking it in to school today, and very excited to show it to her friends.
And so the Little Dude isn’t left out, he has also provided some quality nerd-parenting moments. SteelyKid’s work on the game pushed well past bedtime on Tuesday night, and The Pip was getting restless, so I offered to go upstairs and read with him. To my surprise, he accepted enthusiastically, mostly because we’ve started reading the Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon.
SteelyKid read these a while back, and I’ve been jokingly calling the kids “Cousin Spencer” whenever they critique my playing of video games. The Pip is old enough now to get the books, so we started the series, and he was very fired up for it. I have him read the dialogue bubbles on the comic-style pages that are scattered through the books, and I read the regular prose sections. We finished the first book last night, and he asked me to go get the second volume from SteelyKid’s room, even though we weren’t going to start it right away, just so he could see it and have it in his room for tonight.
The Pip started kindergarten at a lower reading level than SteelyKid did for a variety of reasons, chiefly that his birthday is three months later in the year than hers, so he was starting younger. He’s made remarkable progress, though, and is very smug about being a couple of reading levels past the goal for the end of the year. This has largely been driven by reading guidebooks about Pokemon and, more recently, Skylanders, which has done wonders for his reading but is not a real thrill for whichever parent has to read lists of character attacks to him at bedtime. Broadening his literary interests to some quality books with actual plot is a huge win.
So, it’s been a good week for nerd parenting. And now, I have page proofs of a couple of forthcoming things to review, so I need to go somewhere with no wi-fi for a while…
We took a rare long weekend to go to a family party for Memorial Day at my parents’ (Kate and the kids always get the day off, but I usually have to teach; this year, I’m doing a team-taught class, and the other person was willing to cover my Monday spot), thus the lack of a weekly update post. The delay, however, allows for some quality nerd-parenting content, so it’s a win all around…
SteelyKid’s third-grade class has been doing long-ish projects approximately monthly through the year, and the May project was to design and make a board game based on a book. SteelyKid picked the Bone graphic novels, which she and a bunch of her classmates tore through earlier in the year, and she finished the game early this week. She’s very proud of how it came out:
SteelyKid mugging with her board game.
This is not without justification, as she put a lot of thought into it, and it came out really nicely:
SteelyKid’s board game based on the Bone graphic novels.
(Obviously, she had a bit of help from us in finding and printing out images from the books, but the concept and general design are all her…)
We play-tested it last night, and The Pip won the first game, with SteelyKid coming in second. She’s taking it in to school today, and very excited to show it to her friends.
And so the Little Dude isn’t left out, he has also provided some quality nerd-parenting moments. SteelyKid’s work on the game pushed well past bedtime on Tuesday night, and The Pip was getting restless, so I offered to go upstairs and read with him. To my surprise, he accepted enthusiastically, mostly because we’ve started reading the Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon.
SteelyKid read these a while back, and I’ve been jokingly calling the kids “Cousin Spencer” whenever they critique my playing of video games. The Pip is old enough now to get the books, so we started the series, and he was very fired up for it. I have him read the dialogue bubbles on the comic-style pages that are scattered through the books, and I read the regular prose sections. We finished the first book last night, and he asked me to go get the second volume from SteelyKid’s room, even though we weren’t going to start it right away, just so he could see it and have it in his room for tonight.
The Pip started kindergarten at a lower reading level than SteelyKid did for a variety of reasons, chiefly that his birthday is three months later in the year than hers, so he was starting younger. He’s made remarkable progress, though, and is very smug about being a couple of reading levels past the goal for the end of the year. This has largely been driven by reading guidebooks about Pokemon and, more recently, Skylanders, which has done wonders for his reading but is not a real thrill for whichever parent has to read lists of character attacks to him at bedtime. Broadening his literary interests to some quality books with actual plot is a huge win.
So, it’s been a good week for nerd parenting. And now, I have page proofs of a couple of forthcoming things to review, so I need to go somewhere with no wi-fi for a while…
Photo via Valentyn Volkov/Shutterstock
Pearl
Unlike most gemstones that are found within the Earth, pearls have an organic origin. They are created inside the shells of certain species of oysters and clams. Some pearls are found naturally in mollusks that inhabit the sea or freshwater settings such as rivers. However, many pearls today are cultured-raised in oyster farms that sustain a thriving pearl industry. Pearls are made mostly of aragonite, a relatively soft carbonate mineral (CaCO3) that also makes up the shells of mollusks.
A pearl is created when a very small fragment of rock, a sand grain, or a parasite enters the mollusk’s shell. It irritates the oyster or clam, who responds by coating the foreign material with layer upon layer of shell material. Pearls formed on the inside of the shell are usually irregular in shape and have little commercial value. However, those formed within the tissue of the mollusk are either spherical or pear-shaped, and are highly sought out for jewelry.
Pearls possess a uniquely delicate translucence and luster that place them among the most highly valued of gemstones. The color of the pearl depends very much on the species of mollusk that produced it, and its environment. White is perhaps the best-known and most common color. However, pearls also come in delicate shades of black, cream, gray, blue, yellow, lavender, green, and mauve. Black pearls can be found in the Gulf of Mexico and waters off some islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Persian Gulf and Sri Lanka are well-known for exquisite cream-colored pearls called Orientals. Other localities for natural seawater pearls include the waters off the Celebes in Indonesia, the Gulf of California, and the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Mississippi River and forest streams of Bavaria, Germany, contain pearl-producing freshwater mussels.
Japan is famous for its cultured pearls. Everyone familiar with jewelry has heard of Mikimoto pearls, named after the creator of the industry, Kokichi Mikimoto. Cultured pearls are bred in large oyster beds in Japanese waters. An “irritant,” such as a tiny fragment of mother-of-pearl, is introduced into the fleshy part of two- to three-year-old oysters. The oysters are then grown in mesh bags submerged beneath the water and regularly fed for as long as seven to nine years before being harvested to remove their pearls. Cultured pearl industries are also carried out in Australia and equatorial islands of the Pacific.
The largest pearl in the world is believed to be about three inches long and two inches across, weighing one-third of a pound. Called the Pearl of Asia, it was a gift from Shah Jahan of India to his favorite wife, Mumtaz, for whom he also built the Taj Mahal.
La Peregrina (the Wanderer) is considered by many experts to be the most beautiful pearl. It was said to be originally found by a slave in Panama in the 1500s, who gave it up in return for his freedom. In 1570, the conquistador ruler of the area sent the pearl to King Philip II of Spain. This pear-shaped white pearl, one and a half inches in length, hangs from a platinum mount studded with diamonds. The pearl was passed to Mary I of England, then to Prince Louis Napoleon of France. He sold it to the British Marquis of Abercorn, whose family kept the pearl until 1969, when they offered it for sale at Sotheby’s. Actor Richard Burton bought it for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.
Pearls, according to South Asian mythology, were dewdrops from heaven that fell into the sea. They were caught by shellfish under the first rays of the rising sun, during a period of full moon. In India, warriors encrusted their swords with pearls to symbolize the tears and sorrow that a sword brings.
Pearls were also widely used as medicine in Europe until the 17th century. Arabs and Persians believed it was a cure for various kinds of diseases, including insanity. Pearls have also been used as medicine as early as 2000 BC in China, where they were believed to represent wealth, power and longevity. Even to this day, lowest-grade pearls are ground for use as medicine in Asia.
Moonstone. Image via Wikipedia
Moonstone
June’s second birthstone is the moonstone. Moonstones are believed to be named for the bluish white spots within them, that when held up to light project a silvery play of color very much like moonlight. When the stone is moved back and forth, the brilliant silvery rays appear to move about, like moonbeams playing over water.
This gemstone belongs to the family of minerals called feldspars, an important group of silicate minerals commonly formed in rocks. About half the Earth’s crust is composed of feldspar. This mineral occurs in many igneous and metamorphic rocks, and also constitutes a large percentage of soils and marine clays.
Rare geologic conditions produce gem varieties of feldspar such as moonstone, labradorite, amazonite, and sunstone. They appear as large clean mineral grains, found in pegmatites (coarse-grained igneous rock) and ancient deep crustal rocks. Feldspars of gem quality are aluminosilicates (minerals containing aluminum, silicon and oxygen), that are mixed with sodium and potassium. The best moonstones are from Sri Lanka. They are also found in the Alps, Madagascar, Myanmar (Burma), and India.
The ancient Roman natural historian, Pliny, said that the moonstone changed in appearance with the phases of the moon, a belief that persisted until the sixteenth century. The ancient Romans also believed that the image of Diana, goddess of the moon, was enclosed within the stone. Moonstones were believed to have the power to bring victory, health, and wisdom to those who wore it.
In India, the moonstone is considered a sacred stone and often displayed on a yellow cloth – yellow being considered a sacred color. The stone is believed to bring good fortune, brought on by a spirit that lives within the stone.
Alexandrite. Image via Wikipedia.
Alexandrite
June’s third birthstone is the alexandrite. Alexandrite possesses an enchanting chameleon-like personality. In daylight, it appears as a beautiful green, sometimes with a bluish cast or a brownish tint. However, under artificial lighting, the stone turns reddish-violet or violet.
Alexandrite belongs to the chrysoberyl family, a mineral called beryllium aluminum oxide in chemistry jargon, that contains the elements beryllium, aluminum and oxygen (BeAl2O4). It is a hard mineral, only surpassed in hardness by diamonds and corundum (sapphires and rubies). The unusual colors in alexandrite are attributed to the presence of chromium in the mineral. Chrysoberyl is found to crystallize in pegmatites (very coarse-grained igneous rock, crystallized from magma) rich in beryllium. They are also found in alluvial deposits – weathered pegmatites, containing the gemstones, that are carried by rivers and streams.
Alexandrite is an uncommon stone, and therefore very expensive. Sri Lanka is the main source of alexandrite today, and the stones have also been found in Brazil, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Myanmar (Burma). Synthetic alexandrite, resembling a reddish-hued amethyst with a tinge of green, has been manufactured but the color change seen from natural to artificial lighting cannot be reproduced. Such stones have met with only marginal market success in the United States.
The stone is named after Prince Alexander of Russia, who was to become Czar Alexander II in 1855. Discovered in 1839 on the prince’s birthday, alexandrite was found in an emerald mine in the Ural Mountains of Russia.
Because it is a relatively recent discovery, there has been little time for myth and superstition to build around this unusual stone. In Russia, the stone was also popular because it reflected the Russian national colors, green and red, and was believed to bring good luck.
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!
Find out about the birthstones for the other months of the year.
January birthstone
February birthstone
March birthstone
April birthstone
May birthstone
July birthstone
August birthstone
September birthstone
October birthstone
November birthstone
December birthstone
Bottom line: The month of June has 3 traditional birthstone: Pearl, moonstone, and Alexandrite.
Photo via Valentyn Volkov/Shutterstock
Pearl
Unlike most gemstones that are found within the Earth, pearls have an organic origin. They are created inside the shells of certain species of oysters and clams. Some pearls are found naturally in mollusks that inhabit the sea or freshwater settings such as rivers. However, many pearls today are cultured-raised in oyster farms that sustain a thriving pearl industry. Pearls are made mostly of aragonite, a relatively soft carbonate mineral (CaCO3) that also makes up the shells of mollusks.
A pearl is created when a very small fragment of rock, a sand grain, or a parasite enters the mollusk’s shell. It irritates the oyster or clam, who responds by coating the foreign material with layer upon layer of shell material. Pearls formed on the inside of the shell are usually irregular in shape and have little commercial value. However, those formed within the tissue of the mollusk are either spherical or pear-shaped, and are highly sought out for jewelry.
Pearls possess a uniquely delicate translucence and luster that place them among the most highly valued of gemstones. The color of the pearl depends very much on the species of mollusk that produced it, and its environment. White is perhaps the best-known and most common color. However, pearls also come in delicate shades of black, cream, gray, blue, yellow, lavender, green, and mauve. Black pearls can be found in the Gulf of Mexico and waters off some islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Persian Gulf and Sri Lanka are well-known for exquisite cream-colored pearls called Orientals. Other localities for natural seawater pearls include the waters off the Celebes in Indonesia, the Gulf of California, and the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Mississippi River and forest streams of Bavaria, Germany, contain pearl-producing freshwater mussels.
Japan is famous for its cultured pearls. Everyone familiar with jewelry has heard of Mikimoto pearls, named after the creator of the industry, Kokichi Mikimoto. Cultured pearls are bred in large oyster beds in Japanese waters. An “irritant,” such as a tiny fragment of mother-of-pearl, is introduced into the fleshy part of two- to three-year-old oysters. The oysters are then grown in mesh bags submerged beneath the water and regularly fed for as long as seven to nine years before being harvested to remove their pearls. Cultured pearl industries are also carried out in Australia and equatorial islands of the Pacific.
The largest pearl in the world is believed to be about three inches long and two inches across, weighing one-third of a pound. Called the Pearl of Asia, it was a gift from Shah Jahan of India to his favorite wife, Mumtaz, for whom he also built the Taj Mahal.
La Peregrina (the Wanderer) is considered by many experts to be the most beautiful pearl. It was said to be originally found by a slave in Panama in the 1500s, who gave it up in return for his freedom. In 1570, the conquistador ruler of the area sent the pearl to King Philip II of Spain. This pear-shaped white pearl, one and a half inches in length, hangs from a platinum mount studded with diamonds. The pearl was passed to Mary I of England, then to Prince Louis Napoleon of France. He sold it to the British Marquis of Abercorn, whose family kept the pearl until 1969, when they offered it for sale at Sotheby’s. Actor Richard Burton bought it for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor.
Pearls, according to South Asian mythology, were dewdrops from heaven that fell into the sea. They were caught by shellfish under the first rays of the rising sun, during a period of full moon. In India, warriors encrusted their swords with pearls to symbolize the tears and sorrow that a sword brings.
Pearls were also widely used as medicine in Europe until the 17th century. Arabs and Persians believed it was a cure for various kinds of diseases, including insanity. Pearls have also been used as medicine as early as 2000 BC in China, where they were believed to represent wealth, power and longevity. Even to this day, lowest-grade pearls are ground for use as medicine in Asia.
Moonstone. Image via Wikipedia
Moonstone
June’s second birthstone is the moonstone. Moonstones are believed to be named for the bluish white spots within them, that when held up to light project a silvery play of color very much like moonlight. When the stone is moved back and forth, the brilliant silvery rays appear to move about, like moonbeams playing over water.
This gemstone belongs to the family of minerals called feldspars, an important group of silicate minerals commonly formed in rocks. About half the Earth’s crust is composed of feldspar. This mineral occurs in many igneous and metamorphic rocks, and also constitutes a large percentage of soils and marine clays.
Rare geologic conditions produce gem varieties of feldspar such as moonstone, labradorite, amazonite, and sunstone. They appear as large clean mineral grains, found in pegmatites (coarse-grained igneous rock) and ancient deep crustal rocks. Feldspars of gem quality are aluminosilicates (minerals containing aluminum, silicon and oxygen), that are mixed with sodium and potassium. The best moonstones are from Sri Lanka. They are also found in the Alps, Madagascar, Myanmar (Burma), and India.
The ancient Roman natural historian, Pliny, said that the moonstone changed in appearance with the phases of the moon, a belief that persisted until the sixteenth century. The ancient Romans also believed that the image of Diana, goddess of the moon, was enclosed within the stone. Moonstones were believed to have the power to bring victory, health, and wisdom to those who wore it.
In India, the moonstone is considered a sacred stone and often displayed on a yellow cloth – yellow being considered a sacred color. The stone is believed to bring good fortune, brought on by a spirit that lives within the stone.
Alexandrite. Image via Wikipedia.
Alexandrite
June’s third birthstone is the alexandrite. Alexandrite possesses an enchanting chameleon-like personality. In daylight, it appears as a beautiful green, sometimes with a bluish cast or a brownish tint. However, under artificial lighting, the stone turns reddish-violet or violet.
Alexandrite belongs to the chrysoberyl family, a mineral called beryllium aluminum oxide in chemistry jargon, that contains the elements beryllium, aluminum and oxygen (BeAl2O4). It is a hard mineral, only surpassed in hardness by diamonds and corundum (sapphires and rubies). The unusual colors in alexandrite are attributed to the presence of chromium in the mineral. Chrysoberyl is found to crystallize in pegmatites (very coarse-grained igneous rock, crystallized from magma) rich in beryllium. They are also found in alluvial deposits – weathered pegmatites, containing the gemstones, that are carried by rivers and streams.
Alexandrite is an uncommon stone, and therefore very expensive. Sri Lanka is the main source of alexandrite today, and the stones have also been found in Brazil, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Myanmar (Burma). Synthetic alexandrite, resembling a reddish-hued amethyst with a tinge of green, has been manufactured but the color change seen from natural to artificial lighting cannot be reproduced. Such stones have met with only marginal market success in the United States.
The stone is named after Prince Alexander of Russia, who was to become Czar Alexander II in 1855. Discovered in 1839 on the prince’s birthday, alexandrite was found in an emerald mine in the Ural Mountains of Russia.
Because it is a relatively recent discovery, there has been little time for myth and superstition to build around this unusual stone. In Russia, the stone was also popular because it reflected the Russian national colors, green and red, and was believed to bring good luck.
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!
Find out about the birthstones for the other months of the year.
January birthstone
February birthstone
March birthstone
April birthstone
May birthstone
July birthstone
August birthstone
September birthstone
October birthstone
November birthstone
December birthstone
Bottom line: The month of June has 3 traditional birthstone: Pearl, moonstone, and Alexandrite.
Tonight – June 1, 2017 – try to imagine the ecliptic, or sun’s path, across your nighttime sky. Being able to visualize it from your favorite spot to observe the heavens is helpful, because the moon always moves approximately along this path, and so do the planets. Once you get a sense of it, you’ll know to look for certain bright stars and planets along this nighttime pathway. And indeed, on these June 2017 evenings, three bright stars and two planets – and, on June 1, the moon – can help you visualize the ecliptic crossing your sky.
So, first of all, what is the ecliptic? It’s defined by the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. But astronomers – who frequently need to think about multiple vantage points simultaneously – also speak of the ecliptic as the yearly path of the sun in our sky.
The ecliptic isn’t the same thing as the celestial equator, which is another imaginary line, above Earth’s actual equator. It isn’t, because Earth is tilted on its axis with respect to our orbit around the sun. The video below is a visual explanation of why the plane of the ecliptic is tilted with respect to the celestial sphere, the imaginary sphere of stars surrounding Earth. The animation was created to teach college and high school astronomy, and there’s no sound.
So don’t expect an explanation in the video. Just look, and think about the various planes involved.
Was that helpful in giving you a sense of the ecliptic?
Now – look below – and let’s think about some real objects you’ll find in the real sky in June, 2017. The first chart below shows the moon’s location with respect to the star Regulus on June 1. The second chart below extends the line of the ecliptic eastward, through the planet Jupiter and star Spica. The third chart below extends the line of the ecliptic still further eastward, through the stars Zubenelgenubi and red Antares, and finally to the golden planet Saturn.
On the night of June 1, 2017, the moon is located to the east of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion.
Extend the line of the ecliptic further east on June 1, 2017, and you’ll come to Jupiter, now the brightest starlike object in the evening sky. It shines close to Spica, the constellation Virgo’s brightest star. Spica and Regulus serve as “fixed” reference points to the whereabouts of the ecliptic on the sky’s dome; that is, they’re there on June evenings when the planets and moon move away.
Extend the line of the ecliptic even further east on June 1, 2017, and you’ll come to the stars Zubenelgenubi and Antares. Keep going – nearly all the way to the eastern horizon – and you’ll find the bright planet Saturn.
So there you have it, the ecliptic – marked by two bright planets and three bright stars – on June, 2017 evenings.
If you watch over the next several nights, you’ll enjoy seeing the moon move – more or less – along the ecliptic. The moon doesn’t orbit Earth in exactly the same plane that Earth orbits the sun, but nearly so. So its path across our sky is nearly the same as the sun’s path. The moon moves eastward in orbit, so, in the coming evenings, it’ll be moving eastward (toward the sunrise direction), passing each of these stars and planets we’ve just talked about.
On June 2, the moon will be to the west of Jupiter along the ecliptic.
On June 3, the moon will sweep past Jupiter and appear closest to it.
On June 4, the moon will have moved even further along the ecliptic, and appear to the east of Jupiter and near the star Spica.
After June 4, the moon will keep moving eastward along the ecliptic, to pass all of the objects shown on the charts above.
Have fun watching … wishing you clear skies!
Watch for the moon to pair up with Jupiter on June 3 and then couple up with Spica on June 4. In a dark sky, you might see the constellation Corvus the Crow, which points at Spica.
Bottom line: Use your mind’s eye to imagine the ecliptic, or sun’s path, crossing your night sky.
Tonight – June 1, 2017 – try to imagine the ecliptic, or sun’s path, across your nighttime sky. Being able to visualize it from your favorite spot to observe the heavens is helpful, because the moon always moves approximately along this path, and so do the planets. Once you get a sense of it, you’ll know to look for certain bright stars and planets along this nighttime pathway. And indeed, on these June 2017 evenings, three bright stars and two planets – and, on June 1, the moon – can help you visualize the ecliptic crossing your sky.
So, first of all, what is the ecliptic? It’s defined by the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. But astronomers – who frequently need to think about multiple vantage points simultaneously – also speak of the ecliptic as the yearly path of the sun in our sky.
The ecliptic isn’t the same thing as the celestial equator, which is another imaginary line, above Earth’s actual equator. It isn’t, because Earth is tilted on its axis with respect to our orbit around the sun. The video below is a visual explanation of why the plane of the ecliptic is tilted with respect to the celestial sphere, the imaginary sphere of stars surrounding Earth. The animation was created to teach college and high school astronomy, and there’s no sound.
So don’t expect an explanation in the video. Just look, and think about the various planes involved.
Was that helpful in giving you a sense of the ecliptic?
Now – look below – and let’s think about some real objects you’ll find in the real sky in June, 2017. The first chart below shows the moon’s location with respect to the star Regulus on June 1. The second chart below extends the line of the ecliptic eastward, through the planet Jupiter and star Spica. The third chart below extends the line of the ecliptic still further eastward, through the stars Zubenelgenubi and red Antares, and finally to the golden planet Saturn.
On the night of June 1, 2017, the moon is located to the east of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion.
Extend the line of the ecliptic further east on June 1, 2017, and you’ll come to Jupiter, now the brightest starlike object in the evening sky. It shines close to Spica, the constellation Virgo’s brightest star. Spica and Regulus serve as “fixed” reference points to the whereabouts of the ecliptic on the sky’s dome; that is, they’re there on June evenings when the planets and moon move away.
Extend the line of the ecliptic even further east on June 1, 2017, and you’ll come to the stars Zubenelgenubi and Antares. Keep going – nearly all the way to the eastern horizon – and you’ll find the bright planet Saturn.
So there you have it, the ecliptic – marked by two bright planets and three bright stars – on June, 2017 evenings.
If you watch over the next several nights, you’ll enjoy seeing the moon move – more or less – along the ecliptic. The moon doesn’t orbit Earth in exactly the same plane that Earth orbits the sun, but nearly so. So its path across our sky is nearly the same as the sun’s path. The moon moves eastward in orbit, so, in the coming evenings, it’ll be moving eastward (toward the sunrise direction), passing each of these stars and planets we’ve just talked about.
On June 2, the moon will be to the west of Jupiter along the ecliptic.
On June 3, the moon will sweep past Jupiter and appear closest to it.
On June 4, the moon will have moved even further along the ecliptic, and appear to the east of Jupiter and near the star Spica.
After June 4, the moon will keep moving eastward along the ecliptic, to pass all of the objects shown on the charts above.
Have fun watching … wishing you clear skies!
Watch for the moon to pair up with Jupiter on June 3 and then couple up with Spica on June 4. In a dark sky, you might see the constellation Corvus the Crow, which points at Spica.
Bottom line: Use your mind’s eye to imagine the ecliptic, or sun’s path, crossing your night sky.
The climate change documentary A Sea Change will be shown at the Maple Grove Library, in the Western Twin Cities, by the Northwest Minneapolis Climate Action group, this Wednesday at 7:00 PM. See you there!
Here is a trailer:
The climate change documentary A Sea Change will be shown at the Maple Grove Library, in the Western Twin Cities, by the Northwest Minneapolis Climate Action group, this Wednesday at 7:00 PM. See you there!
Here is a trailer:
