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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics 'Guitar Player' book recalls the heady days of the '70s and '80s Ashland budget proposal says solar power could attract investment Education Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics Ashland Middle School students put their Spanish-speaking skills to the test Grizzlies claim speech championship Levy backers eye final push Neal Simon: This is a test Environment Ashland publisher offers prize for environmental book Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Stopping fire in its tracks Some trails, roads remain closed due to controlled burn Earth Day: Hope for our 'pale blue dot' Business 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas Ride & Drive: 2015 BMW 428i Gran Coupe Ashland Safeway closes Thursday, to reopen as Haggen on Sunday Cars We Remember: Car enthusiast wishes new model designs were ‘more different’ Ride & Drive: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Politics and elections Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Gray's death Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved State News Lack of snow nixes ski portion of popular Central Oregon race Bill under debate in Oregon would limit livestock antibiotics Oregon lawmakers begin minimum wage debate Runners to follow historic salmon migration path Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Obituaries Kenneth Lee Nichols R. Charles "Charlie" Snyder Death Notices Harry D. Detwiler Death Notices Shareable Sports Latest Stories Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Chris Singleton: No need for a rematch Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team High school Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet Ashland boys sweep doubles, beat GP Living on the edge SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Southern Oregon University Raiders Maguin, Parks, Sanders highlight first day of CCC track meet SOU lands two on all-CCC softball team See you in August Same old Raiders Ashland softball team rolls past Springfield Voices Latest Stories Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask James Jackson: Who’s driving your fear? Landgren cartoon: What the frack? Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Editorial Our View: Forest work is a bargain Our View: What price history? Our View: Waging peace after war Our View: Rail car roulette Our View: Reading the tea leaves Letters Letters to the Editor, May 8 Letters to the Editor, May 6 Letters to the Editor, May 5 Letters to the Editor, May1 Letters to the Editor, April 30 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Guest Opinion: Restoring the Plaza's sense of place Guest Opinion: Making conservation a game Guest Opinion: A good day to act Guest Opinion: Allegations unfair to Dr. Tomashefsky Columns Guest Opinion: Ambrose spins a conservative fantasy Herb Rothschild Jr.: The courage to ask Arthur I. Cyr: Britain’s important election – in royal political context Matthew T. Mangino: Aging prisoners: An American crisis Jeffrey Gillespie: Is there a right to offend? Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Peter Rowan, Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Rootsfest Movie listings: May 8-14 Dancing People Company presents 'Salon Series' 5 picks for live entertainment Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Theater Ticket availability Ticket Availability Ticket Availability 'Arsenic and Old Lace' has killer charm Some OSF crew members seek to unionize Music The Farr Side: Mumford & Sons’ latest is full-on rock Interview: Country singer Suzy Bogguss enjoying life on the road The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Tom Hardy adapts to life as Mad Max Movie listings: May 8-14 Prepare for lots of dialogue in 'Clouds of Sils Maria' Food and Drink Taqueria Picaro takes over Tabu space Owner of Mix and Amuse to bring Flip burger joint to Ashland Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Community Blog: Inspiration is the Oxygen of our Survival Inner Peace: Satyam, shivam, sundram (truth, consciousness, joy/beauty) Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up Health Watch: Easy tips to drink more water throughout the day Orthodox Church raising funds to build new home Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Mocha Musings Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas ... Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 ... Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics ... 'Fill'er up' will mean with beer, not gas ... Ashland Creek Park opening celebration set for May 20 ... Southern Oregon University's week-long Arts & Research showcase offers a potpourri of academics ... Looking Up: Once in a while a star blows up By Peter Becker More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Venus is glowing brilliantly, high in the western sky as evening twilight deepens this spring. Venus is brighter than any star in the night sky, except on those very rare occasions. Stars are not as steady as they first appear. Constellations of stars remain our faithful friends, returning night after night or year to year. For the most part the stars never seem to change. Many stars are known to vary periodically in brightness, and it is interesting to track them and plot their estimated magnitude on a chart, with the magnitude scale on the vertical side and he dates or even hours on the horizontal line or bottom of your chart. You end up with a graph showing how the star peaked in brightness and slowly curved downward toward minimum light. There are many classifications of variable stars. Some change in brightness because they have a dimmer star revolving around it, periodically eclipsing. Others have within their nature something that causes the star to pulsate and vary in output. Resources such as Sky and Telescope Magazine and Astronomy Magazine alert you to some of these. They have finder charts which label the brightness of stars nearby by which to make your comparison estimations of the variable star. None of these, however, are as startling as a supernova. These are extremely rare events where a star literally explodes in a fury unmatched by another star you have likely ever seen. On a few occasions in history, mankind has marveled in wonder and even fear at the sight of a suddenly brilliant star where no star had been known to exist, outshining all the stars in the sky and even rivaling the moon. Just over a thousand years ago, a star blew up and shocked the world with a brightness some 15 times greater than brilliant Venus at its best. At magnitude -7.5, people actually saw it in broad daylight. Even as it faded, it remained visible at night for more than two years- in those days long before the invention of the telescope. The star appeared in the constellation Lupus the Wolf, visible on May evenings low in the southeast. It was best seen from the southern hemisphere where Lupus is high in the sky. Astronomers tell us that the supernova likely was a “type I-a” - a white dwarf star that gathered too much stellar material from a companion star, and detonated. Other brilliant supernovae occurred in 1054 in Taurus the Bull; 1572 in Cassiopeia; and 1610 in Scorpius. No one knows when the next one will occur but the Milky Way Galaxy is long overdue. Astronomers have observed many of them in other galaxies and can estimate how often they happen. A supernova becomes the brightest star in the entire galaxy and flashes its light across the Universe. They are expected to occur on average, once a century, but the last one known in the Milky Way was more than 400 years ago. If one occurs tonight, some might say it is a sign of the times, a signal of the end of the age, but it is best to remember they have occurred before, and any such “sign” must be taken in context with other events if it is one at all. After a supernova has faded away, they leave behind an expanding, nebulous cloud visible in telescopes. The Crab Nebula in Taurus is a familiar backyard telescope target and is what is left from the 1054 explosion. Last-quarter moon occurs May 11. Your notes are welcome at [email protected]. Peter Becker is managing editor of The News Eagle in Hawley, Pennsylvania. Keep looking up! By Peter Becker More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 8, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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