Safe Boating

Take a look at the sky when relaxing on boat

By Roy Butziger
Posted 6/8/16

On a clear night you are anchored up in a cove, ready to relax. Turn off the TV and electronic games and look up at nature's show. While the full moon is beautiful reflected on the water, a moonless night is best for viewing the sky. The first thing to

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Safe Boating

Take a look at the sky when relaxing on boat

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On a clear night you are anchored up in a cove, ready to relax. Turn off the TV and electronic games and look up at nature’s show.

While the full moon is beautiful reflected on the water, a moonless night is best for viewing the sky. The first thing to find is the North Star, your landmark for everything else. That was the ancient guide for sailors from long ago. It is easy to locate. Even if you don’t look at your compass, look up to find the Big Dipper. The two stars that form the forward part of the pan (away from the handle) point to the North Star. It should be about 45 degrees up from the horizon. A quick and easy angle measurement is to hold your arm out straight, make a fist, and set your other fist on top. Do it twice more. Each fist is about 10 degrees. So 4 1/2 fists up should be the latitude of the North Star. Actually, the North Star is always at the observer’s latitude high. Rhode Island is about 41 degrees latitude and the North Star is that elevation. At the North Pole, it is 90 degrees latitude, and the North Star would be right overhead. Now that you have north, look over to the northeast. (Facing north, east is to your right). Look for a big W. That is the constellation Casseopeia, named for a beautiful mythological queen who was placed in the sky in a tipped throne because she constantly boasted of her great beauty.

Airplanes aren’t the only moving objects in the sky. You may be able to see a satellite going over your spot. The International Space Station is visible to the naked eye and you can find out just when it is passing over your location by going to: http://www.spaceweather.com/flybys and enter your zip code, it will show all visible satellites, not just the ISS.

Tomorrow night the ISS will be sweeping overhead at 9:15 and will be visible for only four minutes with a maximum elevation of 28 degrees above the horizon from the north to the east. It will look like a fast moving airplane or star, bright because it is reflecting the Sun’s light against the night sky. It maintains a steady course and travels at five miles per second! NASA even has a program where you can sign up to receive a text a couple of hours before the ISS passes over your location if it is good viewing.

If it is near full moon, you can see the Man in the Moon “face” which is caused by the maria, the “seas” of dark basalt rock, surrounded by the brighter reflective highlands. The moon always has the same side to us. Who knows what lies on the mysterious far side? Actually the far side was photographed for the first time way back in 1959 by a Soviet space probe. It wasn’t until 1969 that the US Apollo 11 landed on the moon on one of the maria – the Sea of Tranquility, a big dark patch on the right as you view the moon. June 10 will be a waxing crescent – about 33 percent showing and gaining. Not too bright for viewing constellations and more. If you are looking for the Man in the Moon, wait until the full moon around June 20.

A telescope is great for the backyard but not so good for the boat. Not just the salt exposure, but your boat simply moves too much to keep an object in focus. Your cell phone may have an astronomy app which will name the celestial bodies for you as you point the phone towards them. With sky glow from cities, towns, airports, etc., we see only a small part of what you can see from your boat, away from land. Enjoy!

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