UFO’s for Thanksgiving at UMaine Planetarium
Contact: Alan Davenport, 581-1341
ORONO — Like the Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving feast, some people today may think they have very strange guests coming to dinner when they see lights in the November sky.
Two brilliant lights will grace the southwest sky after sunset this month, and they are moving like planets should in orbit around the sun. These lights are the brightest planets — Venus and Jupiter — that can be seen from Earth. And Venus is so close to the sun, it will move quickly, passing close by the slower and dimmer king of the planets, Jupiter. As the days of November pass, Maine skywatchers can see the separation between the two shrink until they come within 2 degrees of one another (equal to two finger-widths at arm’s length) on Nov. 30.
The alien quality of this phenomenon has prompted more than one phone call from curious observers to the University of Maine’s Jordan Planetarium, says planetarium Director Alan Davenport.
“A tiny bright light seen low in the open, dim sky may seem to drift and jump around due to a trick of the eye known as ‘auto-kinetic motion,'” he says. “Even stranger, the constant planets don’t shine steadily when seen low in the sky. Twinkling can be seen with dimmer planets. Bright planets like Venus will often appear to change color as their light is refracted through Earth’s turbulent atmosphere.”
Although these bright lights may change color and move about, Davenport says, area residents can “rest assured the only aliens coming to Thanksgiving dinner are the in-laws they have had close encounters with before.”
Venus is 16 degrees from Jupiter on Nov. 14, but will move enough daily to pass two degrees below the giant planet by Nov. 30. On that day, a slim new moon crescent will join them, but the most stunning scene will be Dec. 1. On that day, a crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter will form a group just 3 degrees across.
This bright encounter is featured in the star tours being shown at the Jordan Planetarium throughout November. On “Hubble Vision Fridays” at 7 p.m. and “Black Holes Saturdays” at 7 p.m., visitors can see exactly where to find these planets in the Maine sky and how they’ll move.
For information and reservations to Jordan Planetarium star shows, visit their web site www.GalaxyMaine.com or call 581-1341.