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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, May 18, 2008 STARWATCH: Mars buzzes past Beehive Cluster By Mike Lynch Special to The Herald There are three planets visible in the evening sky. Saturn, my favorite out-of-this-world planet is by far the brightest, shining brightly in the high southwestern sky toward the end of evening twilight. Without a doubt it's the brightest starlike object in that part of the sky. Currently, it's positioned just to the left of the constellation Leo. The second brightest is Mercury, featured May 10 in Starwatch. It's getting tougher and tougher to see as it starts out in the evening in the very low west-northwest sky. It quickly slips below the horizon as real darkness sets in. The third brightest is Mars, easily seen with its orange-red glow. It's not all that far away from Saturn in the southwest sky, about 25 degrees to the lower right of the ringed wonder. That's about two-and-half widths of your fist held at arm's length to the lower left of Saturn. While Saturn is a sight to behold in just about any size telescope, Mars quite honestly is disappointing. All you really see is a reddish-orange dot. This spring, Mars is a dud through even my biggest of telescopes. It's because it's only about 4,000 miles in diameter, and presently it's more than 169 million miles away. Mars is a lot more interesting when it's much closer during times of what astronomers call "opposition," which happens every two years or so. While Mars itself is underwhelming, it's going to put on a heck of a show this week as it passes in front of bright cluster of stars known most commonly as the "Beehive Cluster." It was given that name because some say it is shaped somewhat like a cosmic beehive. Anyway, as it is with Mars and all planets, they appear to us on Earth to wander from night to night among the background of stars as they orbit around the Sun. Since Mars is relatively close to the sun, as we are, it seems to "wander" among the stars fairly fast. This week it'll pass east across the Beehive. Watch the approach to it the next few nights, but the big show will be on Thursday and Friday nights when Mars actually passes in front of the great cluster. Through even a small pair of binoculars, I know you're going to like what you see, as Mars will be among a lot of stars. Large telescopes can resolve hundreds of stars, but even through a small telescope or binoculars you'll see at least dozens and dozens of stars as a backdrop for Mars. With the planet's rouge hue, it should be quite a sight. It'll be a good show even if you're looking from an area of moderate city lighting, but if you're out in the countryside, the show will be that much better. You might even be able to see some of the stars of the Beehive Cluster with your naked eye. The Beehive Cluster is one of the most beautiful clusters in the sky, even when it's not being invaded by Mars. Its hundreds of stars stretch over a diameter of 10 light-years, lying more than 570 light years away. (One light year equals just under six trillion miles.) The Beehive is so far away, the light we see from it this week left the cluster about the time Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. How's that for a pleasant historical event? The Beehive, also referred to by astronomers as Messier Object 44 or M-44 for short, is believed to be a young group of stars that were born together more than 700 million years ago. Believe it or not, that's considered young for stars. Our own sun is thought to be more than 5 billion years old. Eventually, as these stars age over the eons, gravity from surrounding stars in our Milky Way Galaxy will pull the beehive apart and the bees (or stars) will go their separate way. Don't wait up for this to happen anytime soon, but in the meantime enjoy the martian invasion of the Beehive Cluster. You'll be all abuzz over it. Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and author of the book, "Washington Starwatch," available at bookstores and at his Web site www.lynchandthestars.com The Everett Astronomical Society welcomes new members and puts on public star parties. The Web site is members.tripod.com/everett_astronomy.

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