Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph..
Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Updated: December 2, 2021 @ 6:09 pm
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. NASA
Features writer
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. NASA
WATERTOWN — The Sci-Tech Center of Northern New York invites people to look to the skies and online for some interesting astronomy and science.
On Sunday night, four celestial objects will form an almost perfect line in the sky. Jupiter will be due South, with Saturn, Venus, and our moon forming a line down to the Southwest — each about 10 degrees from the next.
“Unfortunately, here in the north country, this will be visible at 5 p.m., just at dusk, with the tiny crescent of moon right at the horizon,” Steve Karon, director of the Sci-Tech Center, 145 Stone St., Watertown, said in a news release. “So, you will need a clear view of the southwest horizon.”
If you view earlier in the evening the moon will be higher, Mr. Karon said, but remaining daylight may make it impossible to see Saturn.
Another interesting view of the celestial event will be at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10.
“At that time, a nice 40 percent crescent moon will be due south,” Mr. Karon said. “The three planets will be about 10 degrees from each other, starting about 10 degrees west and below the Moon — with Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus forming a perfect line down to the southwest. However, the moon will be slightly out of line with them.”
If the sky is overcast on both of those dates, don’t worry, Mr. Karon said.
“You can view on other nights, although the moon will not be lined up with the planets,” he said. “The three planets remain in an almost perfect line through much of December, until Venus and Saturn fade into the remaining daylight around December 23.”
TACNY programs
This month, Sci-Tech is co-hostiing an online program specifically designed for middle school students (although interesting to adults as well), and one program aimed at an adult audience (although appropriate for high-school students too).
Both programs are presented by the Technology Alliance of Central New York. TACNY was founded in 1903, and has been offering free public science and technology presentations for more than a century.
Both free online presentation require registration. Confirmation and a reminder will be emailed to participants after registration.
For older students and adults, the 5:30 p.m. Dec. 9 program is “Improving Hurricane Mitigation Using Statistics-Based Engineering.” The featured speaker is Jorge Romeu, SUNY Emeritus Professor.
The presentation discusses the application of statistics-based engineering methods in quality, reliability, logistics, industrial and systems engineering, and operations research, to the design, development and improvement of weather-related (hurricane) problems.
Mr. Romeu is a senior speaker specialist for the Fulbright Speakers Roster Program and an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University, where he teaches graduate statistics and quality engineering courses.
Registration is free but required at wdt.me/hurricanetalk.
The Dec. 18 Junior Cafe Scientifique program is: “Robots in Aerospace Manufacturing.” The free online presentation requires registration. Confirmation and a reminder will be emailed to participants after registration.
The featured speaker is Tim Monaco of Ramboll Advanced Manufacturing. He’s a mechanical engineer and the engineering program lead with Ramboll’s Advanced Manufacturing business. His work has supported many large industrial and aerospace manufacturing clients and provided a wide range of solutions, including robotic tooling components, furnace design and mechanical equipment integration.
Preregistration is free but required at wdt.me/robottalk.
Johnson Newspapers 7.1
Features writer
Multiple award-winning writer of life in the north country
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