George Herald | Brilliant July sky allows time travel

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Brilliant July sky allows time travel
12:01 (GMT+2), Fri, 06 July 2012

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SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - Ever dreamt of being able to look back in time? How about a glimpse of something from 3000BC?

According to well-known Southern Cape astronomer extraordinaire, Case Rijsdijk of Wilderness, this is the best time of the year to have a good look at our home galaxy, the Milky Way, which stretches from Northeast to Southwest, with the centre overhead - a rich field of research for astronomers.

Says Rijsdijk, "Away from the city lights with a pair of binoculars it is a spectacular sight. You are then looking over 5 000 light years into the Milky Way and seeing it as it was in 3000BC! What a sobering thought indeed!" The dominant constellation this month, he explains, is Scorpius the Scorpion, almost overhead, with the bright star Antares at its centre.

"Known as the rival of Mars because they are similar in colour, but for different reasons. Mars reflects sunlight and appears red because of the soils on its surface. Antares is a red giant star about 1000 million km in diameter, that is nearing the end of its life. Its surface has cooled to about 3 000 degrees giving it its red appearance, but it is more than 9 000 times more luminous than our Sun and is 520 light years away."

To the Chinese it was the Heart of the Dragon, while the Romans called it Cor Scorpionis and the French call it Le Coeur de Scorpion, all of course mean the "Heart of the Scorpion."

Rijsdijk says this month the morning sky is really good with Venus as the Morning Star, visible for the whole month. There is a spectacular asterism in the East from 06:00 onwards. Venus shines unmistakably brightly in the open cluster of the Hyades, with the red giant star Aldebaran in the lower right. To the left of Venus is the giant planet Jupiter and further left is the small cluster of isiLimela, the Digging Stars, also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. To the far right of these is Orion with the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, further to the right.

"Then looking North, the Great Square of Pegasus is clearly visible with the Milky Way's twin, the Andromeda Galaxy visible as a fuzzy patch to the lower right - binoculars will clearly show the galaxy which at 2.3-million light years away is the remotest object visible to the naked eye! Another sobering thought - when light left this galaxy, Mrs Ples (now Master Ples!) was walking on Earth - we now have her skull as one of the earliest humanoids."

*Case Rijsdijk's life has been moulded by two passions - physics and astronomy. His enthusiasm for these subjects and his dedication and commitment to sharing them with people across South Africa and the world are well-known. Rijsdijk is also an honourary member of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa and the Royal Society of South Africa. He has received several awards and is the only recipient of the prestigious National Science and Technology Forum Special Award for his contributions to Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation for Science Communication and Education over a lifetime.