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Árbol del Sol
Thought for the Month The SunTree Traveler
I hope that last year was a good one for you, but in any case, I hope that 2008 will be better. If you wish to see a total eclipse of the sun, there is only one that will happen this year on planet Earth. You might want to think about making your reservations now to go to the path of totality and get a good hotel room. (Find more information about where to plan on traveling in Celestial News for January.
With member’s conflicting plans during the months of December and January, we did not have, nor do we plan to have club events during these holiday months.
We are hoping to get together another “Ski Event” in late February. We have received indications of interest from some club members in this event and we are currently attempting to locate a cabin or condo which has a hot tub. Normally we need to reserve a place in advance with a deposit to hold it. If you think that you are interested, contact SunTree so that an appropriate size unit can be found. You will not be asked to pay your share until you arrive by which time, we will have firm information on the number of participants. Those who want to ski can do that on Saturday while the others make their investments at one of the local casinos or gift shops. Still others may just wish to soak the day away at the cabin/condo.
As is usual with the January issue of our newsletter, we have updated the calendar of events (See What’s Happening) for the year. For the last three years, this prognostication was assembled using the input of the members sometime in late summer or autumn. For reasons beyond the control of anybody in the club, that coordination never happened. For that reason, the calendar is somewhat sparsely populated with events. The ones that are included are the result of some suggestions which SunTree received from some members and others are “guesswork” formed around the schedule of previous years. We apologize that a firmer schedule was not developed to help you with your planning, but we anticipate that club members will be proposing events and venues soon and the calendar will fill in. Stay tuned.
Plan Your Total Eclipse Travel Early to Assure a Hotel Room There is only one total eclipse of the sun this year on the whole planet. The path of totality will start in Canada at Cambridge Bay. The maximum eclipse is right outside of Nadym (just east of Yar Sale) in Siberia. If you want to be on dry land while you watch the eclipse, then about the only places will be in Siberia or along the China - Mongolian border. This eclipse will take place in August, but I would bet that you might still want to take along some warm clothing when you go. Now, this month’s sky news: Earth reaches perihelion, its annual position closest to the Sun on 2 January. This event will not be visible to those SunTree members who are viewing from the surface of the Earth. To others, the planet will be at its brightest for the year. Comet Tuttle is still screaming south across the night sky. By New Years day, it will have passed that center star in the constellation Cassiopeia. Find a sky chart and look for it south of Cassiopeia in the vicinity of Pisces. It should be at its brightest on New Years evening and will be the best time for you to find it. Morning: The Queen of the morning sky continues to be Lady Venus who is glowing in the predawn sky at magnitude -4 (remember that, as in the game of golf, the lower the number, the better or brighter. I cannot really imagine a golfer scoring any negative numbers, but Venus is able to do that this month). At the end of the month, Venus moves over to have a little chat with Jupiter. This is an interesting meeting for the early morning sky watchers. At dawn on the last day of the Month (31 January in case you do not have a calendar handy) the two bright planets will be right next to each other in the southeast. Evening: In the evening sky, ruddy Mars makes an attempt to out-shine the morning performance of Venus, but only manages to achieve a magnitude -1.5 which turns out to be his brightest of the whole year 2008. Mars will be high in the southern sky for most of the month. It will reach its highest point in the sky around midnight. Mars will be visible throughout the whole month. For a short couple of days, Mars equals the brilliance of the brightest star, Sirius. The planet and the star will shine gloriously after 8 PM with red(ish) Mars high and blue Sirius much lower. Through the month, Mars will start to lose some brilliance and by the end of the month will only be half as bright as at the beginning. Saturn, will also be somewhat bright, but it will not be up to Mars’s performance. Saturn will rise in the east around 8:30 PM. Early in the month, Saturn will be at magnitude + 0.6 and will brighten a little bit through the month (probably to only about +0.4 at the end of the month). You can find Mercury hanging out next to the thin crescent Moon on 9 January. He can best seen about 40 minutes after sunset from 12 to 28 January about 10 degrees high in the southwestern sky. Mercury should be fairly easy to see. It is predicted to be at Magnitude -0.6 in the darkening sky on the afternoon of 22 January. You probably will not see it, but a UFO will fly in to get a good look at Mercury this month. This alien spacecraft will originate from the Planet Earth. On 14 January, spacecraft Messenger will pay a courtesy visit to Mercury for the first time in 33 years.
© 2004 SunTree Travel Club - Site updated Summer 2008 |
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Seasons Greetings to all readers.