To readers of the Hansford County Reporter-Statesman:
Stargazer is a column for all who find beauty and wonder in the night sky. Hoping you'll find Stargazer informative and entertaining, I welcome your comments, questions and ideas for column topics, and look forward to hearing from you.
-Paul Derrick
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Astronomy in the Classroom
Many respected experts point to an alarming trend among our youth which is likely to have dire consequences for our society. They're not referring to drugs, sex and the usual litany of things we hear and read about. Rather, their concern is a declining interest and proficiency in science and mathematics.
They warn that if this trend isn't reversed, and soon, we could quickly find ourselves in the backwater of knowledge-building and technological development--important components of the foundation of our societal and economic well-being. So what, you may wonder, does this have to do with amateur astronomy and stargazing?
As a member of the Central Texas Astronomical Society, I, along with others, conduct dozens of free classes, programs and star parties for schools each year. Part of our motivation, of course, is a desire to share our passion for the night sky with anyone willing listen. For many of us, the stargazing spark was ignited long ago by an interested adult; maybe we can pass that spark along to the next generation.
But we have another motive which relates to the issue mentioned above. Astronomy is an excellent vehicle for getting kids' attention. We show images of beautiful and exotic objects in the cosmos. We talk about black holes, space-travel and other mind-bending topics. We even conjecture about life beyond Earth and discuss the many things we still don't know.
And after we get them wondering about things, we suggest that just maybe some of them will go into careers where they can help find answers to some of the intriguing questions and make discoveries to further our knowledge about the world, and indeed, the cosmos around us. Someone has to, so why not some of them?
Our aim is not to encourage youngsters to become professional astronomers. We don't even expect that a high percentage of them will pursue careers in science or math. But maybe we can increase the number who will at least consider science or math. And hopefully those who don't will become more enlightened citizens with greater respect and appreciation for science and math, and who will support them more vigorously.
If you're a teacher (or parent) perhaps you'd like to have an amateur astronomer speak to your students. Contact me and maybe we can come up with some ideas to make it happen.
• Mars Hoax. Each year since Mars' August 2003 close approach to Earth, the same emails have circulated, misleading folks into believing it's about to happen again this August. Sorry, but it isn't.
Sky Calendar* 6 Sat. early evening: Lunar occultation of Antares (see below).
* 7 Sun.: The full Moon is called the Flower Moon, Rose Moon, and Strawberry Moon.
* 13 Sat. morning: Jupiter is to the lower left of the Moon.
* 15 Mon.: The Moon is at 3rd quarter.
* 19 Fri. morning: Mars is to upper left of much brighter Venus with the crescent Moon further to their upper left, all low in the east before dawn.
• June 6 Occultation. The evening of June 6, the nearly full Moon occults (passes in front of and temporarily hides) the star Antares. The star passes behind the bottom left of the Moon about 8:50 p.m. in the twilight when the Moon is still low in the east, and emerges from the Moon's upper right about 10:05 p.m. Antares is a bright star, but due to the Moon's glare, you'll want to use at least binoculars to see the star.
Naked-eye Planets: Evening: Saturn is high in the southwest. Morning: Jupiter is the brightest object in the southeast with "morning star" Venus low in the east and much fainter Mars to Venus' lower left just before dawn; Mercury is emerging low in the east at dawn, and at its best June 13-18.
StarDate. A reader asked Stargazer to list the stations that carry the University of Texas McDonald Observatory's popular daily "StarDate" radio program. The two-minute program is carried by over 500 stations nationwide and 25 in Texas--far too many to list here. So here's how to find a station in your area. On the Internet go to www.stardate.org. Under the Radio button, select Find Affiliates, then enter your state. Up will pop a list of cities, stations (with their frequencies) and air times.
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Paul Derrick is a retired social worker and former college professor who holds M.S.W. and Ph.D. degrees in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Jane, are folk musicians. They are active members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waco.
Contact Paul at: 918 N. 30th St., Waco, TX 76707-2502; (254) 753-6920; or paulderrickwaco@aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com.
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