The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Sky notes taken on the red planet’s impending star turn
A new month dawns tomorrow so it’s the right time to consult Craigie’s resident cosmological expert on December’s stargazing prospects.
According to Ken Kennedy from Dundee Astronomical Society (DAS) there’s likely to be plenty to fix interest skywards over the festive season, and he says: “The jewel in the crown during December must be the planet Mars. When it is closest to Earth approximately every two years it favours observers in the southern hemisphere and those in the north alternately.
“This year, it is our turn to see Mars at a high elevation, but although it is closest in December it is farther away than at some close approaches. Despite that, it will be bright in our skies and unmistakably orange in colour sitting high in Taurus.
“It will be interesting to compare the colour of Mars with the star which marks the eye of Taurus the Bull. Aldebaran is the nearest bright star to Mars, only eight degrees away but four times less bright.
“It is a giant star 65 light years away and cooler than our sun, which gives it a similar colour to Mars. The two moons of Mars are too small to be seen in a small telescope but if you can get access to a larger one you may see subtle areas that are darker and lighter.
“Darker areas indicate slightly higher ground but these can be obliterated by sudden and unexpected giant dust storms.
“Before the first close-up images of Mars in 1965, there was frequent discussion among DAS members about the dark markings possibly being vegetation which changed with the Martian seasons. How our
knowledge has changed with the space age and now Mars is being examined close up for any indications of previous life!
“Mars remains in Taurus throughout December but if you look a bit higher you will see the pentagon shape of stars which forms Auriga, whose brightest star is Capella – yellow rather like our own sun.
“Its colour is a fine contrast with Mars and Aldebaran. To the east of Auriga is Gemini, the heavenly twins with the brightest stars
being Castor and Pollux. Below these two constellations is the Great Hunter, Orion, which will be in prime position next month.
“Once again, moonlight interferes with one of our best meteor showers of the year. The Geminid meteors reach a peak of activity on December 14 at 8am, so the best night to view them will be the 13/14th.
“The moon rises at 10pm and will reach its highest point at 4am, so the best time to have a look for meteors will probably be between darkness setting on the 13th until perhaps an hour after the moon rises.
“The Geminids is one of the most active and reliable meteor showers of the year and, in ideal conditions, produces more than 100 meteors per hour close to maximum.
“I have noticed that the Geminids tend to produce a greater number of brighter meteors than many meteor showers, so it may be worth watching later in the evening than I have suggested. If you observe after the moon has risen, look in a direction away from it towards the darkest part of the sky.
“Mercury will be fairly close to Venus in December but will be too faint to be seen in the twilight of the setting sun on the last few days of December.
“Venus is in the same area and may be bright enough to be seen low to the southwest shortly after sunset. Mars is at its best for two years, being due south at midnight on the 8th at a healthy elevation of 57°.
“Jupiter is now heading westwards but is still in a good position for observation when
it is due south at 6pm at an elevation of 32°. Saturn is past its best time for observation but can be seen low in the south-west at about 7pm. The moon is full on the 8th, at last quarter on the 16th, new on the 23rd and at first quarter on the 30th.”
Queen’s English was baffling
A timeworn language dying out in her native city is a cause for regret, according to Dundee-raised Nancy Gallacher.
Expanding on a previous message to Craigie sparked by a Courier mention of the name Dover, which revived a memory from decades earlier of her late mother sleeping, the Ashbank Road resident says: “All languages have a common root.
“The word in Dundee for having a snooze was ‘dovered’ – to have fallen asleep or to be catnapping, as my mother was. Similarly, the word ‘tike’ was recognised in the 1930s and ’40s as meaning a mattress – on the other hand, in a bothy ballad ‘come in aboot the wandering tike’ is a shepherd commanding his sheepdog to pay attention.
“You may dismiss these words as slang or colloquialism, but ‘proper’ English in my time was more foreign to Dundee fowk.
“When Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to Dundee, the children from my area said they didn’t understand a word she said! You won’t hear these words now, they are all dead and buried as we become more international.”