Mercury’s greatest evening elongation January 23-24
Summary: Look for Mercury in the western sky at evening the next couple of days. Mercury will be descending closer to the sun over the next few weeks, becoming less visible because of the sun’s glare.
Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, isn’t hard to see because it’s faint, but because this world is so often lost in the sun’s glare. At present, Mercury is reaching the outer edge of its orbit as seen from Earth, placing Mercury optimally high in the western evening sky. What’s more, Mercury shines more brilliantly than almost any star in the starry sky.
At present, Mercury is nearly five times brighter than the nearby star Fomalhaut, a respectable 1st-magnitude star. Most likely, if you only see one starlike object near the sunset point on the horizon as dusk ebbs into darkness, it’s Mercury. Look westward for Mercury, with either the unaided eye or binoculars, some 45 to 60 minutes after sunset.
Here’s a rough guide to Mercury’s setting time for the next several days (presuming a level horizon):
60 degrees north latitude: Mercury sets 2 hours after sunset
40 degrees north latitude: Mercury sets 1 1/2 hours after sunset
Equator (0 degrees latitude): Mercury sets 1 1/4 hours after sunset
35 degrees south latitude: Mercury sets 1 hour after sunset
We refer you to the diagram below. Mercury first entered the evening sky (at superior conjunction) on December 20, 2020, and will leave the evening sky (at inferior conjunction) on February 8, 2021. Mercury swings to its greatest eastern (evening) elongation – maximum angular distance of 18.6 degrees east of the sun – on January 24, 2021, at 02:00 UTC. At U.S. time zones, that translates to February 23, at 9 p.m EST, 8 p.m. CST, 7 p.m. MST and 6 p.m. PST.
Not to scale. Mercury’s mean distance from the sun is about 0.39 times Earth’s distance from the sun. We’re looking down at the north side of the solar system plane. In this view, Mercury and Earth circle the sun in a counterclockwise direction. Earth and Mercury also rotate counterclockwise on their axes. At its greatest eastern elongation, Mercury is seen in the west after sunset; and at its greatest western elongation, Mercury is seen in the east before sunrise.
No matter where you live worldwide, however, you have to catch Mercury after sundown but before Mercury sets. Mercury will remain 18 degrees east of the sun for about a week, from January 21 to 27. Take advantage of your golden opportunity to view Mercury while the time is at hand!
By the way, Mercury and Fomalhaut are pretty much side by side as viewed from mid-northern latitudes. At more northerly latitudes, Mercury is higher up in the sky than Fomalhaut, and you may not see Fomalhaut at all, even with binoculars. At more southerly latitudes, Fomalhaut is higher up than Mercury, and this star will still be out at southerly latitudes after Mercury has set.
Right now – January 23 and 24, 2021 – presents the best time to view Mercury during its present apparition in the evening sky. Day by day, Mercury will dim bit by bit as it falls sunward throughout the next couple of weeks. By the month’s end, Mercury will still be some 15 degrees east of the sun, yet no brighter than Fomalhaut.
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Of course, I want to participate in the #daltonaslclub’s theme this week fully. As a refresher, the challenge I gave was to look at ASL covers of songs, make sure the person signing is Deaf, and then look into one of your favorites and bring us information on the person signing. The purpose was to spread awareness and educate. So without further ado,
This is Sarah Tubert signing This Is Me. She’s my favorite ASL artist on youtube, but she’s known for much more than her covers. She went to Gaudette and participated in water polo and volleyball, earning high marks in both sports and even went on to participate in the Deaf Olympics.
Below the cut you will find two different interpretations of the song above, as signed by Sarah. The first is a literal, word for word interpretation of what Sarah is signing to show you that ASL grammar is not the same as spoken language and interpreting is never going to be relaying the exact words-- what I’m saying is, what is said in spoken word will not always translate literally into ASL. There aren’t words to translate spoken word to English sometimes. The end result of an interpretation isn’t always the same as the original work. This causes variations in interpretations, and no two people will translate the same song in the same way.
LITERAL WORD FOR WORD INTERPRETATION
Me deflated, isolated
Hide, look away, keep inside
Grow up, ashamed scars
Everyone looking, leave, no one love you, keep inside
Refuse, oppress, worthless, succeed
We glorious
Sharp, deflate,
positive positive ignore
Me brave
Me bruised
This is me (conceptual sign meaning, "these are the parts of me coming together")
Everyone look, coming
Me decide continue
Everyone look, refuse sorry
Opening chest (conceptual sign meaning, "this is who I am on the inside")
Comment, comment, comment, comment, come at me
Bring it on today, refuse shame
Hit me, proud, show, dreams, goals
Warriors, become brave
Refuse, oppress, worthless, succeed
We glorious
Sharp, deflate,
positive positive ignore
Me brave
Me bruised
This is me (conceptual sign meaning, "these are the parts of me coming together")
Everyone look, coming
Me decide continue
Everyone look, refuse sorry
This is me (conceptual sign meaning, "this is who I am on the inside")
Know deserve love
Me important worthy everything
Sharp, deflate,
positive positive ignore
Me brave
Me bruised
This is me (conceptual sign meaning, "these are the parts of me coming together")
Everyone look, coming
Me decide continue
Everyone look, refuse sorry
This is me (conceptual sign meaning, "this is who I am on the inside")
Positive, positive, ignore, ignore, love myself
This is me
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THE ACTUAL ASL INTERPRETATION AS SOMEONE THAT SPEAKS ASL WOULD SEE IT
I understand feeling isolated, alone
Hide, keep everything inside
I grew up feeling ashamed of myself
When everyone looked at me, I felt like I should run away
Was told to hide
But I won't let them make me feel less than
I will be successful
Because we are glorious
When words want to make me feel depressed
I will stay positive, I am going to ignore it
I'm brave, I'm bruised
I am who I am supposed to be
This is who I am
Here I am, I've decided to continue moving forward
I don't care if people look at me, I make no apologies
This is who I am
People make harsh comments, bring it on
I refuse to let that affect me
I'm proud, I'm going to achieve my goals and dreams
Become a warrior, very brave
I won't let them make me feel less than, worthless
I will be successful
Because we are glorious
When words want to make me feel depressed
I will stay positive, I am going to ignore it
I'm brave, I'm bruised
I am who I am supposed to be
This is me
Here I am, I've decided to continue moving forward
I don't care if people look at me, I make no apologies
This is who I am
I know that I deserve love
I'm important, I deserve everything
When words want to make me feel depressed
I will stay positive, I am going to ignore it
I'm brave, I'm bruised
I am who I am supposed to be
This is me
Here I am, I've decided to continue moving forward
I don't care if people look at me, I make no apologies
This is who I am
I love who I am
This is me
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The Mythology of Orion
The ancient Greeks saw in the nighttime sky the figure of the great hunter, Orion, from the Greek myth, which bears his name. There are several different stories about the birth of Orion. According to one version of the myth, Orion was the son of a poor shepherd called Hyrieus. Once, Zeus, Hermes, and Poseidon stopped by Hyrieus’ house. Hyrieus was so generous with his guests that he killed the only animal he had - an ox.
Hyrieus was not aware that his guests were gods. The gods wanted to reward Hyrieus’ generosity by granting him a wish. Hyrieus’ biggest desire was to have a child. The gods told him to bury the hide of the bull he had sacrificed to them and to pee on it. After nine months, a boy was born in that place. The child became a very handsome and strong man.
He was such a good hunter that he was hired by the king Oenopion to kill the ferocious beasts that were terrifying the habitants of the island Chios. Happy for his success, Orion said he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the mother of all animals, was not pleased with Orion’s intention.
Then, Gaia set an enormous scorpion on Orion. Orion soon realized that his strength and sword were useless against that mighty beast. He tried to escape, but the scorpion stung him to death. Gaia placed the scorpion in the sky as a constellation to as a reminder to be kind to animals and to respect the environment. She also placed Orion in the stars in front of the scorpion, so that he is being chased forever for not respecting the animals and the environment.
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