Andy’s Astronomy: Alhena Spotted Below Jupiter

Cool nighttime and early morning temperatures has allowed for some awesome star gazing.

The planet Jupiter remains incredibly bright. To spot Jupiter, about 10:30 pm look just north of west, or for those with a compass along a heading of 283 degrees, and about 43 degrees above the horizon, and there is Jupiter. It is difficult to miss.

Now look down and just a bit to the right and spot the star Alhena.

Alhena is located on a heading of 285 degrees and at 10:30 pm is located about 20 degrees above the horizon. Viewers will need a clear view to the west to see Alhena.

Also known as Gamma Geminorum, Alhena is the third brightest star in the Gemini constellation and is a binary star, which means there are two stars appearing very close.

The primary star is located about 109 light-years from Earth, has nearly three times the mass of our Sun, and is putting out about 200 times as much light. It is in a state of flux and is known as an evolving star. This means the star has exhausted the supply of hydrogen at its core and is now classified as a subgiant star. The secondary star is slightly larger than our Sun, but not much else has been determined.

The USS Alhena, a World War II attack cargo ship, was named for the star.

Next week this column will start highlighting planets featured in the original set of “Star Wars” movies.

Keep your eyes on the sky for passing fireballs.

Meteors can flash across the sky anytime, day or night, with extraordinarily bright meteors referred to as fireballs — and they are spotted quite often.

On Saturday, May 9, 42 people across Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia reported seeing a fireball.

The fireball was first reported at 20:20 pm Central Time by a skywatcher in Kingston Springs, KY, who reported that it was “really bright and large” and witnessed it “break into two pieces”. The fireball was seen as far north as Wilder, KY, as far east as near Charlestown, WV, as far south as Decatur, AL, and as far west as Jackson, MO. The fireball appeared to travel from northwest to southeast.

Three of the skywatchers reported hearing noise attributable to the fireball and 26 witnessed it fragment into smaller pieces. The fireball was captured in one photograph.

Anyone seeing a fireball is urged to report the sighting to https://amsmeteors.org

Going outside and looking at the night sky can be fun and educational for the entire family.

There are a number of free apps available to help identify stars and constellations, and some of the apps will show satellites.

Happy skywatching!