Now I have your attention…. doughnuts are great.
Astronomy, from the Greek word ‘astron’, meaning star, only dates back to the 12th Century and it is the ‘systematic recording of astronomical observations’, everything else is stargazing. Astronomers, of which Australia has its share, dedicate their time to observing, researching and publishing their results in journals after their observations have been peer reviewed; most have tertiary qualifications, Masters or PhD’s…….this is their career, not hobby.
Traditionally there were primarily 4 fields of Astronomy, Astrophysics – applying the laws of physics in space, Astrometry – mapping of stars, Astrogeology – rocks and terrain and Astrobiology – the search for life outside Earth; although over the years derivatives of these have evolved as our understanding has grown and or the field has become so much more complex.
Astronomy is not for Astronomy sake, society has benefitted from discoveries made as well as equipment which has been ‘created’ to enable Astronomers to see, or hear or probe further and deeper into space……next time you are at a party, if you bumpy into a ‘real’ Astronomer, ask him about the papers he’s published…but be warned, make sure your glass is full first as the next hour is going to blow your mind.
This week is very light on for planets, but as usual I still recommend a trip to the beach with a takeaway or homemade picnic.
Just before 7pm, Jupiter will still be resplendent hovering above the WNW before setting in the WNW; soon it will be unobservable as it succumbs to solar conjunction – behind the Sun from Earth. While the atmosphere will make it a little fuzzy, pull out those dusty binoculars and go moon hunting.
The mornings are a hell lot more active that the evenings with Venus having made its spectacular appearance and just risen in the East by 5.30am.
However, with binoculars from Sunday, and not to be out done, watch Mars and Saturn head towards an apparent collision on Thursday, 20 deg. above the eastern horizon; of course, it’s an apparent close approach as we effectively observe 2-dimesionally when looking at the celestial sphere.
A few facts on the planets we can see to muse over while observing, why not play some spacey music like Holts “The Planets”. Some theories suggest Jupiter was the first planet to form in our solar system and was originally closer to the Sun. As a result of its movement further out, it was possibly responsible for the ‘second generation’ planets like Earth, after the originals were destroyed’, as well as the asteroid belt and water on Earth, it may also have been responsible for some of our periodic comets ….which, after all are just lumps of icy dusty rocks.
Gravity from the most massive planet in our Solar System, Saturn, may also have been responsible for the fate of our system and possibly why Uranus and Neptune are where they are now. The great thing about astronomy is that its interesting, hell 95% of the matter in the universe is where? oh, that’s right, we don’t know…but don’t worry, we’ve got a name for it 
Dr Craig Bowers MP8138
All night sky screenshots are courtesy of Stellarium planetarium
Zotti, G., Hoffmann, S. M., Wolf, A., Chéreau, F., & Chéreau, G. (2021). The Simulated Sky: Stellarium for Cultural Astronomy Research. Journal of Skyscape Archaeology, 6(2), 221–258. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.17822
Astronomy West 
Leave a comment