Document text
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 Since You Asked: Medford airport and city both dry places Jackson County public meetings May 25-29, 2015 Talent amateur astronomer captures the heavens with high-tech cameras Emergency services, May 24 Phoenix bans commercial growth of recreational pot Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, May 24 Emergency services, May 23 Jury will consider death penalty in double-murder case Emergency services New suspect arraigned in 2014 robbery of Ashland gas station Politics and Elections Case, Salmon leading in Central Point School Board race Lundberg, Mannenbach leading Eagle Point races Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Education Departing Ashland High principal Zundel looks to next challenge Jacksonville Elementary students on stage at Britt Case, Salmon leading in Central Point School Board race Lundberg, Mannenbach leading Eagle Point races Ashland High's Michelle Zundel heading to Medford district Environment OR-7, mate may be adding to their pack Rogue jet boat tour company eyes TouVelle for permanent home Why is Bear Creek so muddy? Blame Emigrant silt and winter storm Mt. Ashland Ski Area proposes summer adventure center Jackson County declares drought disaster State News In the Oregon Legislature: Impeachment, kicker rebate, gun control Bill would cancel 'kicker,' use money for budget reserves, education Oregon Senate passes bill keeping domestic abusers from having guns State investigates spray crew exposure to herbicide Corvallis-based Bravo company returns home from Afghanistan Nation - World Uh oh .... Apple Watch demand is weak Obituaries Warren Irving Paul Dorothy Isabelle Murphy Bayliss Bruce Michael McGregor Walter Schweiger Dawn Borns/Hagler/Huttl Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Check out top import and export for every U.S. state Patriots fan sets up GoFundMe page to help pay for team's Deflategate fine Sports Latest Stories Adrenaline boys, 96G Red girls off to hot starts Crockett wins Western Sprint Tour main North Medford's Folsom goes out with a bang Blackhawks beat Ducks in 2OT Curry, Golden State rout Houston Varsity 541 College Sports Alexander, Maguin capture NAIA titles Ducks take super regional, advance to World Series Mercado helps spark Ducks in Supers Ghelfi, Sanders secure more All-American accolades SOU's Sanders takes fourth in hammer Pro Sports Crockett wins Western Sprint Tour main Blackhawks beat Ducks in 2OT Curry, Golden State rout Houston Giovinco lifts Toronto FC past Timbers, 1-0 Na regains sole lead at Colonial Community Sports Adrenaline boys, 96G Red girls off to hot starts Business Latest Stories Liability for fraud will fall to merchants who don't adopt new credit-card chip technology The Beanery coffeehouse in Ashland closes abruptly Blog: The Gateway to Summer Allegiant Air resumes flights to Arizona Two Crown Markets planned for Talent Real Estate News Single-family home sales take off Never enough: New Starbucks proposed on Barnett Road in Medford Jackson County debt-ridden homeowners have an option People In Business People in Business Transportation Allegiant Air resumes flights to Arizona Tourism stronger than ever in Southern Oregon Medford airport still flying high with record passenger counts Agriculture 1-800Flowers.com reports $10.5 million loss in third quarter Opinion Latest Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet Letters to the Editor, May 24 Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests You want what-ifs? Here's one George Will: Kaine's quest for war legitimacy Editorials Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet Other Views: PERS ruling leaves little room to maneuver Our View: Free tuition could fly if 'fifth-year' plans reined in Our View: Josephine voters choose lawlessness again Our View: Renovating the Capitol is important but costly Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 24 Letters to the Editor, May 22 Letters to the Editor, May 21 Letters to the Editor, May 20 Letters to the Editor, May 19 Columns Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests You want what-ifs? Here's one George Will: Kaine's quest for war legitimacy Dana Milbank: My return to organized labor Michael Gerson: The Clintons' cloud of deviancy Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests Guest Opinion: Medford needs SkyPark more than it needs parking Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Guest Opinion: Oregon mothers need much more than flowers Guest Opinion: Child poverty and the Schneider Children’s Center Lifestyle Latest stories Mr. Campbell and fun with engineering Make herbs part of your plant world Tips for upping your age IQ Adopt a Pet Columnist for a Day: It's all about the thighs Food Community blog: Roasting rhubarb riffs on beet-goat cheese salad Page H. Onorato: Saturday brought treat for supper Taste of Alba Wine by the keg, growler, box and ammo can Potluck: A Gooey Butter Cake to cherish Home and Garden Make herbs part of your plant world Homeowner’s insurance: What it covers, what it excludes Monarchs are disappearing, but you can help with a wildflower garden Linda Cobb: Time to make a list of spring garden chores Dear Monty: Novice homebuyer’s first attempt disappointing Health Community blog: It�s a Shame: How to Understand and Manage It Health Watch: How to avoid the diet rut Donna Knight: How to lessen your risk Community blog: Little Free Libraries Community blog: Fasting out of Cancer Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 22 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 15 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 8 Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Milestones and Achievements Prefontaine-style running trail proposed in south Medford Bukair-Hinkle Wedding: Stephanie Anne Obad and Mark Douglass Schmor Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Drones helping create unique wedding photos Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 things to do in the Rogue Valley Live Music in Local Clubs Memorial Day celebrates veterans Rogue Rage Duo at The Point SOU presents Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' Theater SOU presents Shakespeare's 'The Winter's Tale' OSF commissioned plays tour throughout country 'Cuckoo's Nest' is a big play, well presented 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' REVIEW: Randall Theatre's 'Little Shop of Horrors' a rollicking good time Music Live Music in Local Clubs Rogue Rage Duo at The Point The Farr Side: Swift dominates Billboard Music Awards Interview: Country mainstay T. Graham Brown reflects on career Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum at The Mountain House Community Events Memorial Day celebrates veterans Third Friday: 'Into the Woods' is a must-see 5 things to see at Art in Bloom Flowers, art and music highlight Art in Bloom Hip-Hop Poetry Open Mic at OSF's Black Swan in Ashland Movies Interview: ‘Good Kill’ offers blistering look at ‘battlefields and blackjack’ of drone warfare Review: ‘Tomorrowland’ feels like another Disneyland staple — Dopey Movie review: Disney takes us to ‘Tomorrowland’ Dwayne Johnson rocks in a new way in ‘San Andreas’ Movie review: Cast keeps laughs coming in ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ Dining Upscale pub fare at The Point Wine by the keg, growler, box and ammo can 6 stars of the Rogue Valley food universe Cool down with a cold one (or two, or three) Nguyen Street Food Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Talent amateur astronomer captures the heavens with high-tech cameras ... Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet ... Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests ... Talent amateur astronomer captures the heavens with high-tech cameras ... Our View: Don't siphon off prison savings just yet ... Guest Opinion: BLM management plans fail people and forests ... Looking Up: Spica stands out in spring's sky By Peter Becker More Content Now MailTribune.com By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 22, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 22, 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" --> Do you have a favorite star in the night sky? It’s a hard question. They are all so great, each one so appealing. They need not be the most brilliant or colorful. Dim ones are full of wonder as well. Are the faint because they are so extremely distant, or do they shine with less light - or both? Some are double stars; other triple or even quadruple - either by coincidence because they happen to line up close as we see them but are at different distances, or they really are a star family. Other stars vary in output. Variable stars might be pulsating on their own or dim and brighten on a regular schedule because of another star of differing magnitude eclipsing the other as it orbits. Stars come in white, red, orange, yellow, blue and purple. I am determined to see a green one though astronomers claim there aren’t any. Ridiculous. I keep looking! We can’t tell with just our eyes or even our backyard telescopes by just looking in the eyepiece (unless you have one I definitely want to know about), but stars differ remarkably in size, spin, chemical make-up and even shape (the ones that spin quicker are more flattened on the poles). It’s an amazing and beautiful Universe of which we are a part; our Sun is one of anywhere from 100 billion to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, and an untold, unfathomable number across this Cosmos. Not that “100 billion” is any more fathomable to our everyday experience. Among the brighter stars in the evening springtime sky is Spica. This blue-white star sines at first magnitude (+1.04), the 15th brightest star in Earth’s night sky. Although not nearly as bright as the orange, 0-magnitude star Arcturus (currently high in the east in early evening), Spica stands out with no very bright star nearby. Spica is the brightest star in the large constellation Virgo the Virgin. The star is also called Alpha Virginis. You may see Spica about a third of the way up the sky in the southeast once darkness falls (as seen from the mid-northern United States). You can find Spica by first looking up high in the north at the Big Dipper. Follow the arc of the Dipper’s “handle” in a long curve first to the star Arcturus, and then to Spica. The ancient Egyptians referred to Spica as the “Star of Prosperity” and inspired them to build temples in the star’s honor. The name Spica means “ear of wheat.” In old star atlases the constellation of the Virgin is always depicted as holding a sheaf of wheat in her left hand marked by the star Spica. There are, however, numerous ways constellations have been drawn, connecting stars with imagined lines. The brilliant, late children’s author H.A. Rey also wrote a famous constellation book for all ages, “The Stars: A New Way to See Them.” He creatively redrew many constellations to better match what they represent. He reconnected the stars of Virgo to look something like a woman, but she appears to be sitting on her bright gem, Spica! Spica is close double star, whose components orbit about each other every four days. The are so close they cannot be resolved as two stars in a telescope, but the binary nature is revealed by spectroscopic studies. Spica is approximately 250 light years away- Spica-shine (as opposed to sunshine) takes that many years to reach our eyes. When you look at Spica (in 2015) you are looking back in time to 1765! First quarter Moon is on May 25th. Keep looking up! Peter Becker is managing editor at The News Eagle in Hawley, Pennsylvania. He welcomes notes at [email protected]. By Peter Becker More Content Now MailTribune.com By Peter Becker More Content Now Posted May. 22, 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 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. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501