Editing 2274: Stargazing 3
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{{w|Polaris}} is indeed the star over the North Pole, and is commonly called the North Star or the Pole Star. It is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, but there are about fifty other stars that are as bright as it is (magnitude 2), so it's not really remarkable apart from being the pole star, as Megan says. Despite the fact that being the pole star is "all it has going for it," it is nevertheless very important because it is used for navigation, as it appears fixed in the night sky. It hasn't always been and won't always be the pole star, however, as Earth's axis precesses in a 26,000 year cycle. | {{w|Polaris}} is indeed the star over the North Pole, and is commonly called the North Star or the Pole Star. It is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, but there are about fifty other stars that are as bright as it is (magnitude 2), so it's not really remarkable apart from being the pole star, as Megan says. Despite the fact that being the pole star is "all it has going for it," it is nevertheless very important because it is used for navigation, as it appears fixed in the night sky. It hasn't always been and won't always be the pole star, however, as Earth's axis precesses in a 26,000 year cycle. | ||
| − | {{w|Comets}} are comparatively small clumps of rock and ice, seen mostly by the long, lit 'trail' of particles the heat of the sun causes to be ejected, and the solar wind then spreads outward in thin glowing lines that ''can'' be larger and more visible even than the constellations they are seen in front of - at least during the brief phase of their closest approach to the sun. Comets generally have highly elliptical orbits around the Sun and so they are only seen for a brief period of time "every few decades" during their closest aproach. Yelling at comets is believed to be an ineffective way to make them go away{{Citation needed}} | + | {{w|Comets}} are comparatively small clumps of rock and ice, seen mostly by the long, lit 'trail' of particles the heat of the sun causes to be ejected, and the solar wind then spreads outward in thin glowing lines that ''can'' be larger and more visible even than the constellations they are seen in front of - at least during the brief phase of their closest approach to the sun. Comets generally have highly elliptical orbits around the Sun and so they are only seen for a brief period of time "every few decades" during their closest aproach. Yelling at comets is believed to be an ineffective way to make them go away.{{Citation needed}} Megan may dislike comets because of their history in superstition of being seen as a sign of doom. This provides humor because typically this superstitious fear was caused by a lack of understanding, and it would be expected that a stargazing host would be informed on and therefore unafraid of comets. No actual astronomers are bothered by comets{{Citation needed}}, but some are upset about [https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/starlink-satellites-astronomy/ satellite megaconstellations] such as {{w|SpaceX Starlink|SpaceX's Starlink}}. In that case, astronomers are not yelling at the satellites, but at the companies that launch them. |
{{w|Light pollution}} is indeed a problem with stargazing. Light pollution is the presence of artificial light in the night sky, which makes it very difficult to see stars. Stargazing in remote locations is remarkably different than in populated cities. Light pollution was previously discussed in [[2121: Light Pollution]]. Light pollution does not actually make the "sky go away", but it does affect how humans can see stars or other astronomical features in the sky. | {{w|Light pollution}} is indeed a problem with stargazing. Light pollution is the presence of artificial light in the night sky, which makes it very difficult to see stars. Stargazing in remote locations is remarkably different than in populated cities. Light pollution was previously discussed in [[2121: Light Pollution]]. Light pollution does not actually make the "sky go away", but it does affect how humans can see stars or other astronomical features in the sky. | ||
