Written in the Stars

For stargazers, this is one of those weeks to stay up late (or get up early) for as the Leonid meteor shower is back in town. NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson, others. Nice, spiral-bound book that can lie flat for study or while you turn your attention skyward. Astronomy for Dummies by Stephen Maran. There's no shame in learning from this great series. The Dummies are always very educational and easy to follow. Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas by Roger Sinnott. Another practical spiral edition. History of Astronomy by George Forbes, Kindle edition. Get the story behind astronomy, from the ancient Chinese to modern day. And, it's free on Amazon. It's one of those impressive free shows that nature occasionally puts on. The intrepid few who are willing to get up a few hours before dawn got the best view, as they could see an average one meteor, or "shooting star," every three to four minutes in the eastern part of the sky. I'm not quite that dedicated to astronomical observation, but I did pry my family out the living room/entertainment complex long enough to go outside and take a look before bedtime. I only saw a couple of shooting stars, but we were all delighted at the clear sky, which allowed us to easily distinguish the different colors of the various stars that make up Orion (just about the only constellation I can identify with certainty). What's more, we got a magnificent example of how upper atmosphere turbulence can affect viewing as we watched two low-lying stars twinkling furiously and changing colors like a Christmas strobe. Topping off the show was an appearance by Jupiter, not far from the Moon. In looking up Jupiter, we found that this week is the last for what is called the planet's retrograde motion--that is the four months when Jupiter appears, from Earth, to move westward in the sky instead of eastward as it orbits the sun. Some of the best learning moments don't occur in classrooms.