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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Ski area launching concert series Crater Lake hits record for low snow Bridge work planned on Highway 238 north of Water Gap Road Leonard Nimoy, best known for playing Spock, dies at 83 Man jailed on 32 sex abuse charges Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Man jailed on 32 sex abuse charges Emergency services Minor injuries reported in rollover crash near hospital Judge upholds Phoenix's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries Police arrest teen in Medford graffiti spree Politics and Elections Judge upholds Phoenix's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries Ballots on Jackson County marijuana tax go out Friday Brown's inauguration brings hope to local lawmakers Kate Brown sworn in as Oregon's 38th governor Gov. Kitzhaber steps down, federal investigation begins Education MSD considers adding a health center at one of the city's high schools Absenteeism in Oregon schools prompts bill that would tie funding to attendance, not enrollment Territorial Seed contribution a boost for SOU food program 200-plus Jackson County students miss vaccination deadline Medford, Ashland districts fall short of anti-bullying standards Environment Lost Creek Lake algae bloom subsides Lost Creek Lake logjam could become hazard for boaters Made in the Shade Controlled burn planned for Ashland watershed on Friday Coho salmon road trip State News Oregon official says he was questioned by FBI, IRS Hayes wants her private emails protected Oregon Senate votes unanimously to outlaw 'revenge porn' Judge: Oracle must host Oregon's Medicaid system Oregon Coast fish could be from Japanese tsunami Nation - World Obituaries Pamela Sue Banuelos Judith Ann Miller Rita Launa Stitt Ursula E. Johnson Thomas H. Smith Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Mars One attracts science fiction geeks and people who hate society This $1 million Mercedes is like an armored private jet for the road Sports Latest Stories No. 7 Arizona has little trouble with Colorado LeBron scores 42 as Cavs top Warriors Stanford too much for Beavers, 75-48 Stanford spoils OSU party LeBron unhappy over recruiting of son, 10 Varsity 541 College Sports No. 7 Arizona has little trouble with Colorado Stanford too much for Beavers, 75-48 Stanford spoils OSU party Raiders, Owls meet in '14 title rematch Oregon will take care of its athletes Pro Sports LeBron scores 42 as Cavs top Warriors LeBron unhappy over recruiting of son, 10 No word on discipline for Hamilton Herman takes first-day lead at Honda Matthews, Blazers sink Spurs Community Sports Business Latest Stories Blog: Friends Forever Ride & Drive: 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Lithia Motors scores record revenue, net earnings in 4Q and 2014 Bad fourth quarter leads to 2014 loss for Erickson Avista's 4Q earnings of $32.2 million fall short of expectations Real Estate News Housing prices climb 9 percent in Jackson County Big plans on the Butte Homes for the long haul People In Business People in Business People in Business Transportation Lodging gains bode well for travel industries Medford airport flies past January record Agriculture Warm winter has fruit growers poised for action Briefcase: Business briefs for Feb. 21 1-800-Flowers dumps Harry & David execs Opinion Latest Granlund cartoon: Leonard Nimoy dies Our View: School attendance bill could backfire Letters to the Editor, Feb. 27 Guest Opinion: Predatory banking practices bilk citizens Arthur I. Cyr: Iran nuclear accord – tough negotiations, at home and abroad Editorials Our View: School attendance bill could backfire Our View: Higher education still getting too little Our View: Adjusting for unintended consequences Our View: Homeless food proposal is the best solution yet Our View: Smell of trouble may spark marijuana limits Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Feb. 27 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 26 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 25 Letters to the Editor, Feb. 24 Feb. 23: Letters to the editor Columns Guest Opinion: Predatory banking practices bilk citizens Dana Milbank: The Homeland Security fiasco Guest Opinion: Is less education the answer? Michelle Teheux: Will we keep heading down the wrong path? Kathleen Parker: Twitter as America's conscience Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Predatory banking practices bilk citizens Guest Opinion: Is less education the answer? Guest Opinion: Bill would shore up legal aid funding Guest Opinion: Weed killers should not be sprayed on streams, homes Guest Opinion: Understanding Wes Cooley Lifestyle Latest stories 'She Stoops' rises on SOU stage Winging it Community blog: Support local CSA farms by signing up Saturday Health Watch: Sticking to your health plan when your family isn’t helping Joanna McQuillan Weeks: Cheeseburger pie is the perfect winter comfort food Food Community blog: Support local CSA farms by signing up Saturday Joanna McQuillan Weeks: Cheeseburger pie is the perfect winter comfort food Page H. Onorato: Hot dogs I have known and loved Season Stepp: Tips for roasting vegetables Tammy Kelly: Here’s to healthier Mex! Home and Garden Specialty painting adds wow to your walls Dear Monty: Home seller questions agent ethics Home Help: Low-maintenance landscaping ideas Garden Cameos: Winter is the time to prune How to install energy-efficient windows the right way Health Health Watch: Sticking to your health plan when your family isn’t helping Community blog: Finding Your Indomitable Spirit to Defeat Addiction Dr. Murray Feingold: ‘Beet’ high blood pressure with borscht Community blog: And if I Die Before I Wake Dr. Murray Feingold: Does a sedentary lifestyle make you prone to disease? Hiking Biking Faith Religion briefs, Feb. 27 Religion briefs: Friday, Feb. 20 Religion News: Pope makes surprise shantytown visit Religion briefs: Friday, Feb. 13 RELIGION BRIEFS, Feb. 6 Milestones and Achievements Anniversary: Hofer New arrivals: Sunday, Feb. 8 Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Live Music in Local Clubs HAPA plays the Historic Ashland Armory An all-new Rising Stars music competition kicks off this weekend Ronny Cox plays the Unitarian Fellowship SOU presents 'She Stoops to Conquer' Theater 'She Stoops' rises on SOU stage SOU presents 'She Stoops to Conquer' 'The Glass Menagerie' is polished and professional OSF kicks off its 2015 season SOU presents 'The Glass Menagerie' Music Rogue Valley Symphony showcases Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner Live Music in Local Clubs HAPA plays the Historic Ashland Armory An all-new Rising Stars music competition kicks off this weekend Ronny Cox plays the Unitarian Fellowship Community Events Third Fridays showcases local artists Southern Oregon Rod and Custom Show Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Jacksonville celebrates Chinese New Year Dining Great Outdoor Grill offers healthful options Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 Saigon Xich Lo Vietnamese cuisine The zwickels shall flow Soo Rah Korean Cuisine Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines/Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Ski area launching concert series ... Crater Lake hits record for low snow ... Leonard Nimoy, best known for playing Spock, dies at 83 ... Ski area launching concert series ... Crater Lake hits record for low snow ... Leonard Nimoy, best known for playing Spock, dies at 83 ... Looking Up: Shining under your feet MailTribune.com Writer Posted Feb. 27, 2015 @ 12:01 am Posted Feb. 27, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Peter Becker More Content Now The entire night sky before you - what a wonderful thought. Yet this will never be unless you are an astronaut. An entire planet blocks half the sky. Ever wonder what shines under our feet, on the other side of this planet we call our home? There was a cartoon one time about a young boy in a department store asking his mother about the escalator: “What happens when the basement fills up with steps?” Most realize that when the stars set in the west, they don’t just collect - or maybe that is where the sun comes from? All the stars of the night set in the west and pile up and make a big ball of light for the other side of the world where it’s daytime. Not exactly! The Earth beneath our feet hides stars we see at night only temporarily, as we spin around daily and night returns. A section of the sky below our feet, however, never rises in the east and is locked from our view. This is the far southern sky, observable only as we travel south down around the globe. As we do, the northern sky behind us descends, and once we reach the equator, the famous North Star is just about right on the horizon. Any further south, the North Star is not seen at all. The full sky - surrounding our planet - is referred to as the “celestial sphere.” It took thousands of years for mankind to discern that the stars are not actually fixed points of light on a literal sphere, in which our world was in the center. It appears to be that way, however, just as at first glance our world seems to be flat. That entire sphere looks like it is revolving around a point in the north, the “North Celestial Pole,” where the North Star (Polaris) happens to be very close by. This point is where the Earth’s axis of rotation points. At any given latitude, such as where I live at 42 degrees North, the North Celestial pole is that many degrees off the north horizon. At the North Pole, the North Celestial Pole is straight up, or 90 degrees from the horizon. An entire region of the sky never sets below the horizon- within that many degrees. As seen from where I live, for instance, all the stars within 42 degrees of the North Celestial Pole – including those of the Big Dipper- constantly miss the flat horizon. The stars we NEVER see from any given latitude are found within the exact opposite portion of sky, with the same amount of degrees from the opposite pole - in this case, the South Celestial Pole. Only from a flat area on the equator would you be able to see the entire celestial sphere at one time or another. Once Galileo introduced the telescope to astronomy in 1609, scientists were eager to study the skies beneath their feet. One of the first astronomers to take a telescope south of the equator was Edmond Halley, who sailed in November 1676 to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena. Here, Halley measured positions of 341 southern stars. Charting was greatly expanded by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1751, who catalogued 10,035 southern stars. Fixing southern stars charts became a priority, as celestial maps from below the equator had become chaotic, with assorted proposals for new constellations, which overlapped other claims. Just from examining southern hemisphere star charts, it is easy to see one’s early views of the sky would be confusing. While the stars of course would still rise in the east and set in the west. The sky would have seemed to have partly “turned over.” The familiar North Circumpolar stars would be gone. In the north, stars would appear to pass from right to left, as they go east to west. The orientation of constellations would be so strange you would not easily recognize them at first. Orion, for instance, would not be in the south in February, but would be in the north - upside down! Having learned all the constellations you could up north, your first visit to the south would bring you to virgin territory, looking south. The South Circumpolar stars would await your examination. Among them would be Crux the Southern Cross and Centaurus the centaur with its brightest star Alpha Centauri. Other highlights would be the brilliant southern portion of the Milky Way Band, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies of the Milky Way which are easily visible to unaided eyes on a dark night. You will note that there is no obvious “South Star” like our North Star. The brightest star close to the South Celestial Pole, about which the sky seems to revolve, is barely visible to unaided eyes, Sigma Octantis. Full moon is on March 5. From “Down Under,” by the way, the Man in the Moon looks like he’s standing on his head! Did you know, the soles of your shoes, and soles of shoes on a person on the exact other side of the world, are facing each other? And yet, as you ponder the heavens, both of you ... Keep looking up! MailTribune.com Writer Posted Feb. 27, 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 MailTribune.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 Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts 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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