Road Map of the Stars: Fall 2021
It can be nice to just get lost in the stars -- the wonderment that comes from staring up at the vast blackness of space, trying to make sense of the universe. But like here on Earth, there’s a certain appreciation that comes from having a map to tell you where you are so you can ponder it all with a sense of understanding and belonging. Come with me, as I give you a guided tour of our night-time sky. Learn what events are happening in the sky, how to find constellations, how they came to be, and what ones are visible all during the months of September, October, and November. Join me as I show you a Road Map of the Stars!
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Supplementary Material
Evening Sky Maps
For the most recent sky maps that include current evening constellations and astronomical events, head over to http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html
Sungrazing Comets
In this season’s Road Map of the Stars, we talked about how comets blow off material. This process could eventually lead to more famous comets, like Halley’s comet and Swift-Tuttle, eventually breaking apart someday. While this would take a very long time to happen, given the sizes of these comets (nearly 3.5-miles and 8-miles, respectively), I mentioned there had been comets that have broken apart in the past.
Image credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO/Joy NgI was able to track down the specific comet mentioned in the stream. Unfortunately, I found little information on the comet aside from the theory that it was a fragment from another, larger comet thought to have broken apart a long time ago. These particular comets are from a class of comets called “Kreutz Sungrazer” comets. Named after a German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz -- he discovered and proved the relation between these smaller comets and the hypothesized parent comets.
The Kreutz Sungrazer in this animated image appears to be colliding with the Sun. However, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), no sungrazing comet has ever been recorded to have collided with the Sun. Instead, their orbits bring them exceptionally close to the Sun. This orbit often leads them to completely sublimating (turning from solid ice directly into gaseous steam) before leaving the perihelion (its closest approach to the Sun) of its orbit.
There are many estimates out there about how much longer more massive comets, like Halley’s comet, have before they have completely sublimated — with NASA estimating another 16,000 years. Regardless, these massive comets will be around to give us meteor showers for many years to come!
