Star date: 02:28:99
Throughout the history of mankind, the human race has always been fascinated by the planets. These objects seem to move in relation to the so called "fixed" background stars.
The ancients, seeing the planets as just bright lights looking much like the stars themselves, did not realize the essential differences between stars and the planets. The only difference they saw was that the planets moved, and at least over the course of a human lifetime, the background stars did not. Thus, many ancient people believed that these planets were Gods, or at least magical.
The word planet itself means wanderer. There were a few exceptions to this rule. One of the most brilliant minds in the ancient world was a fellow who lived in Ionia (the islands surronding Greece) in the sixth century BC. His name was Democritus of Abdera. At the time, Abdera was considered to be much of a joke, and the people of Abdera were considered by many to be slow and dimwitted. Democritus was to prove them wrong. In an age when the motions of planets were considered the magical movement of stars, Democritus stated that the planets were other worlds much like the Earth. He also believed that stars were suns much like our own, only very far away.
If this were not enough, he further made the bold statement that some of these other suns were also surronded by planets, some of them habitable, and some not. Perhaps this was the first mention of aliens. He believed in life amongst the stars, and not as angels or Gods, but as biological beings. He became known as the "laughing philosopher" because he tried to laugh at the foblies of the human race, believing that he would cry about them otherwise.
Although we now know that the planets in our solar system (as far as we can tell) do not support life, we have evidence that at least Mars may have once supported life. However, we can still gaze at the same planets which so fascinated the laughing philosopher, knowing that he was right about the planets being not gods, but ordinary worlds, chunks of rock and ice, in many ways not unlike the Earth itself.
This week, the sky gives us a rare chance to observe four of the brightest planets within just 30 degrees of each other in the southwest sky. The planets are Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury.
If you go outside about 6pm (roughly half an hour after sunset), you will see these planets huddling together in the southwest sky. The easternmost of these wanderers is the planet Saturn. Thirty degrees south of due west, and thirty nine degrees above the horizon, Saturn glows with a warm yellow tint. Shining at magnitude 1.9, Saturn is easily visible from even the most light polluted skies.
Saturn is also now flanked on both sides by three very bright stars. Fifteen degrees east of Saturn and 6.5 degrees below the ringed planet lies the star Mira. At magnitude 2, mira is one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Eight degrees above Saturn and about 11 degrees to the west lies Sheratan, at magnitude 2.7, and four degrees from that is the brighter of the two stars, Hamal. Hamal lies about 4 degrees from Sheratan.
From Saturn, travel a total of 11 degrees to the west, and about 17 degrees closer to the horizon. This is where you will find the brightest of all the planets, Venus. Shining at magnitude -4, Venus is the third brightest object in the sky, behind only the Sun and the Moon. Often called Earths "twin" planet, Venus is, in reality, not much like earth at all except for it's mass and composition. Temperatures averaging 900 degrees F, crushing pressures, and sulfuric acid rain makes Venus very much unlike the Earth.
From Venus, turn your sights three degrees further west, and seven degrees closer to the horizon. This is the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter. Jupiter contains more mass than all the other planets in our solar system put together.
Three degrees closer to the horizon and four degrees further west brings you to the most elusive of the naked eye planets, Mercury. Mercury is a challenge to spot, despite its rather bright magnitude of -0.4. It was almost certainly the last of the planets discovered by ancient races. See if you can spot it.
Clear skies and good viewing.
"Understanding is joyous" - Carl Sagan Please visit my site for the latest update!
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