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About Telescopes
The Demotion of Pluto
The year was 1930. An astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, was just 24 years old. He was studying the night sky at Lowell Observatory in Arizona when he discovered what would come to be known as Pluto…the ninth planet in our solar system. On January 23, 1930, Clyde saw a dim speck moving among the stars. It was quickly hailed as not only the ninth planet in our solar system, but the first planet discovered by an American. Americans were so proud!
There were a lot of names suggested for the new planet that Tombaugh had discovered. It was his prerogative to choose the name. Suggestions flowed in from all over the world. "Pluto" was suggested by then-11-year-old Venetia Burney from Oxford, England. She wanted to name the planet after Mickey Mouse's dog (Mickey's dog Pluto debuted that same year). Tombough liked the name and chose it. Venetia still lives in England and is quoted as having said, "It has now been satisfactorily proven that the dog was named after the planet, rather than the other way round."
Problem is, Pluto is no longer a planet. It didn't change, disintegrate, or disappear from the night sky. Rather, it fell victim to what some describe as "politics."
Pluto is no longer considered a planet thanks to votes cast by only 424 astronomers (5% of the membership) on the very last day of the meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Prague in 2006.
Mike Brown, an astronomer from CalTech (and another American), recently discovered another Pluto-sized object that will not be called a planet either, under the new guidelines.
Many of those who are in a position to know say that the decision will not stand and that textbooks should not be rewritten just yet. The vote has been taken, but the debate isn't over.
See Also:
The Planet Saturn
Galileo Galilei
The Zodiac
The zodiac is a cycle that covers a year's time. There are several versions of the zodiac system. There is a Babylonian zodiac, an Indian zodiac, a Chinese zodiac, a Western zodiac, and several others. All of the various zodiacs are basically the same. They are all based upon the constellations and they all contain 12 stations, or signs.
The Western zodiac is the one that is mostly used in the United States. Modern Western astrological signs are really just simplifications of the signs used in Hellenistic times.
In the list below are the Roman names for the signs of the zodiac, their ecliptic longitudes of their first points, the symbols that represent them, and the associated dates:
Aries: 0°, the Ram, March 21 to April 20
Taurus: 30°, the Bull, April 20 to May 21
Gemini: 60°, the Twins, May 21 to June 21
Cancer: 90°, the Crab, June 22 to July 22
Leo: 120°, the Lion, July 23 to August 22
Virgo: 150°, the Virgin, August 23 to September 22
Libra: 180°, the Scales, September 23 to October 23
Scorpio: 210°, the Scorpion, October 24 to November 22
Sagittarius: 240°, the Archer, November 22 to December 21
Capricorn: 270°, the Sea-goat, December 22 to January 19
Aquarius: 300°, the Water Carrier, January 20 to February 18
Pisces: 330°, the Fish, February 19 to March 20
Sidereal zodiac astrology (used mostly by Indian astrologists) dates are different from the tropical zodiac astrology dates. However, the tropical zodiac dates are the ones that are used primarily in the West.
Astrology is not an exact science (if you think of it as a science). All of the implications of certain signs and the position of certain planets are open to interpretation. Different astrologists will give different readings based upon the same information.
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More articles:
Amateur Astronomy Magazine
Astronomy Binoculars : Binoculars - Shop at Binoculars
History of astronomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stars
Astronomy Clubs world wide
The Planet Saturn
Planting by the Moon
Ah, the moon! The moon has been studied by astronomers (both professional and amateur) for centuries. We even reached out and touched it when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon 1969. The moon has been the subject of songs, movies, and poetry, and probably always will be. Astronomers have always been utterly fascinated by the moon, and mankind has been fascinated by how it affects the earth and earthlings since time began.
We do know without a doubt that the moon regulates the ocean tides. It is also a certainty that sleeping with moonlight on your head will not turn you into a werewolf or drive you insane. Some beliefs about the moon have been proven true while others have been proven not true.
Farmers have planted according to the moon for centuries, and more and more farmers are returning to those moon-planting axioms every year. Why? Because they work. Planting root vegetables when the moon is "waning" will produce more root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, etc. Planting vegetables when the moon is increasing will produce more vegetables that produce above ground (beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.).
Planting and gardening by the moon gets even more specific. For example, it is better to turn soil when the moon is in the last quarter. The moon tells farmers and gardeners when it is to their advantage to plant, as well as when it is to their advantage to pull weeds or turn soil.
There are many who doubt the validity of planting by the moon, but consider that the moon does have an effect on humans (you can get a lot of debate about that statement). We don't fully understand everything we know about those effects yet. You can ask any policeman, clergyman, doctor, or nurse and they will tell you that during a full moon, there are more crimes committed, more suicides, and more babies born.
Related Topics: The Stars,
Test Your Astronomy Knowledge, Deep Sky Objects
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