This article was contributed by community member David Baumgartner as part of a local series on astronomy. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
When living in Central California, as we do, we get used to the warm bright sun rising high in the sky each and every day. We do notice that the sun will rise somewhat higher during the summer months, and bring us warmer days, due to the fact that the sun is shining directly on our northern hemisphere. And in the same manor, during the winter months, the sun will rise somewhat lower in the sky at its maximum, due to the sun’s concentration of its rays in the southern hemisphere. But none the less, we enjoy and take our closest star for granted that it will be there every day high in the sky and keep us protected from frigid days.
So that is all well and good but what if you find yourself farther north, say Yakutat Alaska? Now it is not that unusual that this name came up, for seven friends of mine and my son’s would visit the cold that engulfs this little town in our most northern state.
There we were enjoying the most bountiful fishing in the world on the Akwe River and noticed that we were all getting hungry. That could only mean one thing; that it is “lunch time.” And as much as we like to fish, we have to respect “lunch time.” So just as we were getting ready to go back to our tiny cabin for something to eat, Steve, my good astronomy friend, points up to the sun and we both realized that here we are at high noon, and the sun is barely a hands length up from the horizon. At home it would be more like triple that length. During that day it never got any higher than the position it was in at that moment.
That discussion brought me back to 1964, whether Steve wanted to hear it or not, when in the U.S. Air force; I was transferred to Thule, Greenland, only 700 miles from the North Pole. At landing time it was three in the morning at 29 degrees. But I noticed something different; it was as bright out as day. Even though I was duly warned that the sun would greet me when I landed it was still a shock to me. And once more, the sun never did go down that day. In fact it took another month before the sun went down even for a moment.
By August the days were more like back home, twelve hour days and twelve hour nights. Feeling more comfortable with that arraignment I started to notice that the days started getting shorter and shorter, and the nights kept getting longer and longer, until one day the sun went down and never came back for three months.
The big thing then, up there, was the “big bet.” I wasn’t sure what everyone was talking about; the “big bet.” But later I found out that they were all betting on the day and time the sun would show itself once again. They actually do the same thing when the sun goes down for the last time. In fact, being up in Greenland, you got to the point where you would bet on anything, just to keep you sane.
Now let’s get back to the river Akwe. One evening, as we watched the sun slowly set behind the trees, we noticed the quarter moon rising up slightly covered by the evening mist that was rising from the river. What a beautiful sight it was. Even the non astronomers there appreciated the views. And as the half draped moon rose, following the sun’s path above the trees, the sight would change depending on the mist and fog that was present at the time. My nephew Jerry spent the whole night next to the river watching the moon, repeating over and over again allowed; “wow, I have never seen such a gorgeous view in my life.” As an amateur astronomer, I always appreciate when someone admires the views that the skies can provide, it somehow assures me that, with my hobby, I am going in the right direction.
Just to sum up our fishing trip; we all had a great time, caught a lot of fish, and are counting the days for our next return. Just got to see that view of the moon again.
March 2024
What’s up this month:
March 03: Moon passed 0.3° north of Antares
March 03: Last Quarter Moon
March 07: Moon passes 4° south of Mars
March 08: Moon passes 3°south of Venus
March 10: Moon is in perigee (221,764 miles from Earth
March 10: New Moon
March 13: Moon passes 4° north of Jupiter
March 14: Moon passes 3° north of Uranus
March 17: First Quarter Moon
March 17: Neptune is in conjunction with the sun
March 21: Venus passes 0.3° north of Saturn
March 23: Moon is at ap0gee (252,460 miles from Earth
March 25: Full moon
March 30: Moon passes 0.3° north of Antasres