This month's star chart shows the southern
sky at 10:00 PM CDT on July 1, 2000. Our old friend Scorpius is standing
tall above the southeastern horizon. People in the northern United
States never see all of the Scorpion because the tail and much of the body
are always below the horizon. Oh, the joys of southern living!
Notice the concentration of globular
clusters in and around the Teapot (M22, 28, 54, 69, and 70) and Scorpius
(M4, 19, 62, and 80). Observing this concentration of globulars led
to the conclusion that the sun is not at the center of the galaxy.
If the globulars are distributed in a spherical halo around the plane of
the galaxy (which they are), and if we see them as though concentrated
in a particular direction (which we do), then the earth and sun cannot
be at the galactic center. We're actually in a kind of suburban location
about 2/3 of the way from the center to the edge.
Pluto is located close to Zeta Ophiuchi
(near top center), but at mag 13.7, Pluto requires a good scope and a good
eye to be seen. Nevertheless, we'll have a try at the star party. |
