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 WATCH THE STARS RISE AND SET
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bobmoody
 Thursday, May 29 2008 @ 01:16 pm EDT (Read 1742 times)  
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Just as the Sun and Moon rise and set from east to west, so to do the stars in a clear night sky. Remember that it is we that are moving on our rotating Earth, and NOT the stars and planets that move over the course of any hour of time. To see the stars rise or set most easily, look near the eastern or western horizons an hour or more AFTER sunset or BEFORE sunrise. Its even easier if you have a building, telephone pole, or some permanent structure to use as an immovable guide. Position yourself to place the star you picked out close to the permanent structure you're using for a reference, and remain still or seated. In as little as 5 to 10 minutes, you can notice that the star you're following has moved with reference to the permanent marker. If you're looking towards the east, the star is seen to rise, diagonally, upwards from the horizon towards the south. If you're watching towards the west, the star is seen slowly dropping closer to the western horizon. Just sitting in a comfortable chair is also a good way to notice that the stars are moving anywhere in the sky, but you'll want to take a little longer to watch the proceedings. Facing south in your chair, stars that are in the east are seen to have moved substantially in the span of one hour. Equally true, stars in the west are seen to have moved substantially westward in an hour's time. While watching for that hour of time, just paying attention to the night sky will almost always offer you 2 to 5 meteors for viewing. They aren't usually associated with any meteor showers, but are called "sporadic" meteors and can appear anywhere in the sky at any time, usually 10-per-hour or fewer.


Bob Moody
 
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