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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Southern Oregon construction industry finds subcontractors in short supply ... Death of transportation bill costs Jackson County $10 million ... Phoenix downtown in for big changes ... Southern Oregon construction industry finds subcontractors in short supply ... Death of transportation bill costs Jackson County $10 million ... Phoenix downtown in for big changes ... Looking Up: See the Great Baseball Diamond Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Oct. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM Posted Oct. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Social News By Peter Becker More Content Now Baseball lovers must love the stars on autumn evenings. After all, rising in the east is what one might imagine as a great, celestial baseball diamond. The Great Square of Pegasus is on its way up, and as seen from mid-northern latitudes, it looks something like a big baseball diamond balancing on one corner. The pitcher’s mound, in fact, is marked by a couple stars, though off-center. This "great square" is more of a large rectangle and is not an officially named constellation. It is actually an overlapping of parts of two constellations. One of the stars is in the constellation Andromeda, a mythological maiden, and three are part of Pegasus, the Flying Horse. Not that this makes any difference to the stars. The players of this celestial "baseball diamond" are definitely an all-star team. The Andromeda team is playing against the Pegasus team. Neither are from Houston. As seen rising in the east, the star at far left may as well be home plate. Up to bat is the star Alpheratz, otherwise known as Alpha Andromadae. Who’s on first? Algenib, or Gamma Pegasi. Who’s on second? Markab, or Alpha Pegasi. Who’s on third? The star Scheat, also known as Beta Pegasi. This is a night game, by the way. Just keep the field lights off so you can see the stars, please. Several stars making up the rest of Pegasus are in "in field" (star field?). The end star, in "out field" is Enif (Epsilon Pegasi). It appears Enif has missed catching the ball. Only a few degrees away from this conspicuous star is a bright globular cluster, M15, which is easily seen in binoculars. A globular cluster are described as a great ball of stars, packed near one another. The rest of Alpheratz’s team spreads out to the left from the Great Square of Pegasus. The constellation Andromeda has many interesting stars, notably the bright orange one at far left, Almach (Gamma Andromedae). In a backyard telescope, you can find where the bat boy hangs out. Almach is a double star, easily discerned with moderate magnification, and its companion star is notably fainter and greenish-blue. It is one of the finest double stars in the heavens. Mirach (Beta Andromadae) is another prominent player. One of the stars on the Andromeda team, Nu, seems distracted, with his head in the clouds. Situated just above the star Nu is the wonderful hazy patch visible with unaided eyes if you have a reasonably dark sky. This is the famed Andromeda Galaxy, M31, a giant spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way and a mere 2.2 million light years away. Definitely train your binoculars this way. So where’s the pitcher? Maybe Aquarius will step up the mound. He’s the mythological water-bearer, often referred to as carrying a pitcher (of water). This constellation is immediately right of Pegasus, rising in the southeast during the evening, this time of year. For spectators we have a strange assortment, but maybe not any more than at some big games. Equuleus the Little Horse is nearby,. the coach for our Pegasus team. So who’s the ump? Maybe Cepheus, since the king usually gives the orders. Never mind in mythology, he’s Andromeda’s dad. The two faint stars that mark our "pitcher’s mound" require a reasonably dark sky to see easily. Be sure to learn to identify the Great Square, an important celestial "landmark." A knowledge of the Great Square of Pegasus once saved the lives of Donald Baxter MacMillan (1874-1970), the arctic explorer, and his companions, when they were lost on the polar ice. Last-quarter moon is on Oct. 15. Keep looking up! MailTribune.com Writer Posted Oct. 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » 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. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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