News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 1 - 6 of 6
Several recent articles and letters to the editor in The Nugget Newspaper have highlighted the problems of light pollution in Sisters. One article by Jim Cornelius was about the proper shielding of lighting on houses, and a letter from Signe L. Johnson told about the brightening light dome over Sisters and surrounding cities which is causing the night sky to become much brighter. According to the astronomers at the Pine Mountain Observatory, which is located 26 miles east of Bend, the light from the light dome over Bend is pr... Full story
One of the most interesting deep-sky objects is the supernova remnant. It is the structure that results from the explosion of a massive star that has run out of nuclear fuel at its core. Perhaps the best example of such an object is the Crab Nebula in the constellation Taurus, which rides high the sky this time of year. The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant located about 6,500 light-years from the earth. It was discovered in 1731 by the English astronomer John Bevis. The... Full story
Lying in a section of the Milky Way located between Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, and the constellation of Cassiopeia, is Lacerta, a celestial lizard. This region of the night sky was apparently not regarded as a constellation by ancient Western astronomers because of its small size and faint stars. Although not included in ancient star charts of Europe and the Near East, the stars of Lacerta, along with some in the eastern portion of Cygnus, were combined by early... Full story
Stargazers around the world were delighted by the appearance of two relatively bright comets earlier this year. Comet PANSTARRS approached to within 28 million miles of the sun on March 10, while comet Lemmon came nearest the sun on March 24 at a distance of 68 million miles. Though just a shade too dim to be seen by the naked eye, local amateur astronomers, using binoculars and telescopes, shared their views of these objects with interested spectators at public viewing... Full story
Earlier this year, sky watchers were excited by the prospect of being able to see two bright comets in 2013. The first was due by late winter/early spring and some predictions claimed it might become as bright as the planet Venus. Then, in late fall, an even brighter comet is to light up the night sky. The following is a description of what has happened so far: Comet C/2012 L4 PANSTARRS was discovered in June 2012 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System... Full story
Many years from now, when folks reminisce about significant events that have taken place in their lives, they may very well remember 2013 as "the year of the comet." Two potentially bright comets are currently headed toward the sun. The first one is due to arrive by mid-March, the other, perhaps much brighter, bursts on the scene in November. What are comets, and where do they come from? Our solar system came into existence some 4.6 billion years ago from the collapse of a... Full story
