“Everything happens under a fussy
 little jewel. The night's whistle-clear,
a clean shot straight out of the atmosphere….” ~ Max Roland Ekstrom, Under And Out The Red Star
(2004). 





So, here we are at the second or third (??) in our continuing series of a billion or so posts on star names. (My apologies to Stephen Colbert.) Tonight’s star is Antares (or Alpha Scorpii), a first-magnitude, red-supergiant star … the brightest of several bright stars in the constellation Scorpius, the Scorpion. Scorpius is one of twelve constellations that make up the Zodiac, and therefore, it is located roughly along the plane of the ecliptic, flanked by Libra and Sagittarius. Because Scorpius is in line with the Milky Way, it contains a variety of deep-sky objects such as globular and open star clusters.



I chose Antares (pronounced an-tare’-eez) because it is a “jewel” among stars … very bright, obviously red, easy to spot, and currently prominent in the southern sky. The illustration above shows that Antares is located near the “head” of the scorpion. Three relatively bright stars (Graffias, Dschubba, and Iclil) form an arc to the west of Antares, in the direction of Libra. “Behind” Antares (to the east) the scorpion’s body and tail curve away. The easiest way to find Antares is to look toward the south, locate the bright arc of stars pointing to the west, and then track back to the prominent reddish star behind.

In Greek mythology, Scorpius is said to correspond to a scorpion sent by Hera to kill Orion. Scorpius also figures prominently in the myth of Phaethon, mortal son of Helios, the sun. In Chinese lore, the same stars are considered part of the Azure Dragon, “a powerful but benevolent creature whose rising heralded spring.”

Read More About Scorpius

The name Antares derives from a Green word meaning “(holds) against Ares (Mars).” The name is thought to have been chosen because of the similarity between the red of Antares and the planet Mars. Many old Egyptian temples were oriented so that Antares’ light could play a role in ceremonies. In old Arabic, Antares was called Kalb al Akrab (the Scorpion’s heart), which translated into Latin becomes Cor Scorpii.

Antares is a huge star, with a diameter approximately 700 times that of the Sun. It is located approximately 600 light years away. According to wikipedia, if Antares were placed in the center of our solar system, the outer surface of the star would be somewhere between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. Antares is far more “luminous” than the sun, in the way that astronomers calculate luminosity, but considerably less massive, given their relative sizes.

Several weeks ago, we talked about the Mizar/Alcor double-star system located in the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). Antares also has a hot blue companion star, but unlike Alcor, it is hard to see, even with a telescope, unless conditions are just right.

Read More About Antares

And yes, wouldn’t you know it, there is a song to go with this, my favorite bright red star.



Mary is my bright red star
She caught the train to work in the morning
When she got up
Then she called me up
Just to wake me up

She's all right.

Mary is my bright red star
She likes to look at the pink sky
Just before the day turns dark
And then she called me up
Just to wind me up

She's all right ….

Mary is my bright red star
We just talk into the night
About nothin’ in particular
Then she'd hang up
Till she wake me up

She's all right.

~ Stereophonics (Bright Red Star)

“You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.” ~ Henry David Thoreau



Today was one of those rare days we wait for here in Southern Northern Midwest Land. The sky was a clear, true blue and without humidity, in fact, at times so richly blue that it shaded toward the violet. The clouds were light and airy, like the cotton candy we used to know before carnival vendors began stuffing it into merciless plastic bags.

This was the sky I remember from my youth. The kind of sky that you just sit back and enjoy. The kind of sky that makes you dream.

And it really did beg for this song (just the parts I like, of course).

ROWS and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way ....

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way ....

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

Oh but now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost but something's gained
In living every day ....

Joni Mitchell (Both Sides Now)

“I like to think that the moon is there even if I am not looking at it." ~ Albert Einstein



I love the natural world, weather, geology, geography, mountains, rivers, lakes, flora, fauna, and Meriwether. Or, no, wait. Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether were the three fairies in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty. Never mind.

Anyway, one thing I really love in the natural word is gemstones. When I was looking for a new blogging name, I naturally thought of Moonstone, not only because it is so beautiful, but because it is usually blue, my favorite color in most things, and because it also reflects another favorite theme of mine -- all things astronomical.



Moonstone is a form of feldspar found in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Australia, Brazil and the United States. The name obviously derives from the gemstone's natural translucence and sheen, which some say resembles moonlight. This inner glow is caused by light reflecting iwithin the stone from layer inclusions of different feldspars.



Posting about moonstones seems appropriate now because Moonstone is one of the alternative birthstones for the month of June. Moonstone is said to have cooling and healing properties and to promote longevity. "According to Indian astrology, people wear moonstone to propitiate a negative Moon in the birthchart .... Wearing a moonstone brings about peace of mind, the ability to concentrate, the fruition of love."

Read More About Moonstones In Astrology

In 1868, British author Wilkie Collins published a novel called THE MOONSTONE. This novel is considered by many to be the first true detective novel in British literature. The plot revolves around the theft and subsequent history of a huge yellow diamond that brings bad luck to those who possess it. The most popular of Collins's works, THE MOONSTONE is generally regarded as having been a precursor for fictional detectives like Sherlock Holmes.



Historically, moonstones are associated with the mystical and the exotic, which these lyrics by Cat Stevens illustrate. I don't know about that. To me, moonstones are just beautiful.

❦

Well, first I have to tell you that I'm not insane
And that once I was a famous archaeologist named
In a recent expedition in a distant land.
I just happened to be passing my hand in the sand

And then I stopped, looked, and then I was hooked.
I saw a flash, then a sparkle from a moonstone,
Then the mist started, started to clear.
I saw a face, a face in the moonstone,
And then it started to disappear

Well, I walked and walked and never talked
For many days,
And without a friend a desert is a lonely place.
I was just about to turn around and make way home
When something told me that I had to see it again.

And then I stopped, looked, and then I was hooked.
I saw a flash, then a sparkle from a moonstone,
Then the mist started, started to clear.
I saw a face, a face in the moonstone,
And then it started to disappear.

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." ~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Mars scientists are excited over what they believe to be the first conclusive evidence of ice just below the surface where the Phoenix lander has been carrying out its mission.



The lander used its robotic arm to dig down into the soil, exposing white patches and smaller white chunks which scientists believed could be either ice or salt. After a few days, however, some of the chunks disappeared, leading scientists to conclude that they must have been water evaporating. Although scientists have known all along that there is ice under the Martian surface, the Phoenix scientists had been worried that they would not find it nearby. As it turns out, however, Mars may be just one large hail stone, as I posted earlier. There appears to be ice everywhere the Phoenix looks.

Read More On Phoenix Discoveries

Now that was certainly exciting. But HERE'S THE REALLY BIG NEWS. While looking for ice, Phoenix also appears to have accidentally discovered the location of WONDERLAND, as in Lewis Carroll's stories Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. At my house, this caused some uproar, as my fantasy alter ego Red Queen has always believed that Mars might be where she's from. No one here doubts that, not one little bit.



Now that she's found out where she's really from, Red Queen may just want to go home for a visit. Where's Will Smith when you need him?

These NASA guys really do have a sense of humor. After my own foolish heart.

Long as I remember
The rain's been comin' down.
Clouds of myst'ry pouring
Confusion on the ground.
Good men throught the ages,
Try'n' to find the sun,
And I wonder, still I wonder,
Who'll stop the rain.

Because the area in which I live has been affected at least somewhat by the great floods of 2008, I've been watching carefully, and I've posted a couple of things about them here, including the house that fell into the rushing torrent and the story about the FEMA flood insurance debacle that one town in my state faces.

If you know me, you know I appreciate fine irony even better than fine wine and almost as much as ... (oh, never mind). When watching videos of the Iowa floods, one thing that struck me forcefully was the irony of how a flood can wash away a city and ruin people's lives, even on a sunny, cloudless day in June. I chose the video posted here precisely because of this irony, juxtaposed against the doubly ironic background music chosen by the film-maker ... "Who'll Stop the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. By the time the flooding took place in these images, the rain was long gone.

My heart goes out to all the folks who have suffered so much because of these floods. May the real -- and the metaphorical -- rain stop for you soon.