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[...] we have posed before, worthy of a sequel to Arthur Upgreen’s alternate astronomy book Many Skies; what would Venus look like if it had a moon? As a kid, I remember a science book on the solar [...]
The Sky is Waiting.
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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.
The Algonquin Indians had names for each of the seasonal Full Moons, many of which survive today. The Full Snow Moon pictured occurs in the month of December, when the first large winter storms coat the ground with snow. This Full Moon also tends to fall near the Winter Solstice, and thus rides high in the nightly sky opposite to the Sun on long winter nights.
Every rocket launch is unique, but twilight shuttle launches where by far the most impressive. The image pictured was of the April 5th, 2010 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center at dawn. The exhaust plume caught the rising Sun overhead just right, and numerous noctilucent clouds persisted right up until sunrise. Unfortunately, space shuttle launches are now relegated to the pages of history.
Review: Many Skies by Arthur Upgreen.
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It’s a question we all find ourselves asking on occasion. What would our skies look like if things were a little bit different? It’s a fun thought experiment to play; add a Moon here or a Sun there and see what happens. While the night sky may be beautiful, it’s somewhat of a cruel joke that we live out our earthbound existence from but a single vantage point. Perhaps this mediocre position in time and space is why we’re here at all; having lots of active and exotic objects nearby such as supernovae and black holes may not bode well for life.
With Many Skies, Arthur Upgreen takes us on an entertaining journey through the realm of astronomical “what ifs.” It’s sobering to think that we’re shackled to our singular Earthly vantage point from which to view the universe. In Many Skies, the author explores different possibilities and the implications of each. What if Earth had multiple (or no) moons? What if we orbited a star system similar to Alpha Centauri? What if the Pleiades and the Hyades switched places? The author lays such a premise at the start of each chapter and then proceeds to explore the ramifications of each in a highly engaging fashion. We often marvel at the things our sky does possess, such as a Moon that can almost exactly cover our Sun during an eclipse in the present epoch. That’s a lucky break, but what wonders must alien skies exhibit? It’s especially fascinating to think how an “alternate sky” would have affected not only astronomy, but our culture and beliefs. Would the exclusive Sun-worshipping cults that later led to monotheism have ever taken root if the ancients had laid witness to several suns? How would our culture and mythos have incorporated a ring around the Earth similar to Saturn, or planets that displayed naked eye phases similar to the Moon?
One fascinating possibility to ponder would be the absence of Earth’s own Moon. How would the evolution of life played out were it not for the ceaseless tides? The complex motion of the Moon also gave early sky ponderers such as Isaac Newton a great study in the physics of gravity. Would we ever have unraveled the riddles of space travel if our planet were “moonless?” The author takes this even further, placing the Earth and Sun as sole intergalactic wanderers in between the galaxies. Do some unfortunate civilizations ponder a largely blank sky, flung far from their galactic nursery and convinced that they’re truly alone? How about those enshrouded in a large dust cloud, or at the heart of a magnificent globular cluster?
The author also takes a look at the modern artificial skies of the 20th and 21st century. Will the ring of satellite debris eventually seed an ablation cascade, breaking down into a great artificial new reef of debris encircling the Earth? What will the ultimate effects of light pollution be not only on our skies but our culture?
The author ends off the book looking at the “most terrifying sky of all” that of the Chicxulub asteroid millions of years ago before, during and after impact. These are only a few alternate sky scenarios that the author concocts. The book gets the mental juices flowing, as you are encouraged to think up your own alternate reality. The author looks at all of these scenarios with the skilled eye of one who has a true passion for night time observing… I don’t think I’ve ever read such a unique and original work of observational astronomy. We could easily think of more “what ifs” to populate Many Skies II!