An early-morning appointment

I am not an early morning astronomer. It is just not in my nature. Unless there is something that is really worth looking at, like the Perseid Meteor shower last month, then I might get up.

But, there are occasions, however, when need compels that I be up and about at an early hour. Such was the case last week when I had to be out on the road by 5 am. And as I always do when outside, I looked up.

What a marvelous sight was there to behold. Orion (a winter constellation) was high in the south, bright Sirius and almost as bright Procyon (Orion's faithful dog stars) were following. Gemini was overhead with a brightening Mars in attendance with an equally bright Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull nearby.

In the east a blazing bright Venus was shining like a lighthouse beacon for all to see. It is no wonder that Venus is often mistaken for a UFO or an aircraft of some kind.

One thing, however, caught my attention. It was the close conjunction of Mars, Aldebaran, and Betelgeuse (the right shoulder star of Orion). All three objects make a nice triangle almost overhead and they are all similar in brightness.

Another interesting study of the three celestial objects was their color. All three have a reddish tinge. The coloration is obvious to any observer and closer study in binoculars (which I didn't have at the time) will bear out the similarity.

Mars, of course, is a planet, its color comes from its red soil. You may have read in recent weeks about the planet-wide dust storm on Mars which gave those controlling the two robotic rovers on the planet's surface some concern.

Aldebaran and Betelgeuse, however, are both stars, but not just any stars. Both are red giants which means they are nearing the end of their lives as stars and will -- sometime in the next one to 10,000 years -- explode with an awesome cataclysm rendering them bright enough to be seen in the daytime.

Aldebaran is the closest being 65 light years away (a light year is the distance light will travel in a year, about 6 trillion miles) and is about 360 times brighter and 45 times bigger than the sun. Betelgeuse, on the other hand, is 430 light years away with 800 times the mass of the Sun and is 15,000 times brighter. It is also the largest star within 1,000 light years of the Sun.

As I observed these three objects in the early morning hours I was reminded that the heavens are not static. We go outside at 9:30 in the evening to look at the stars and constellations. What we don't realize is that if we go back out several hours later the vista will have changed. There will be a whole other set of stars and constellations to look at.

The view is constantly changing as the Earth rotates on its axis. Sort of like being in a moving car and looking out the window. As time passes, so does the view.

The only drawback to early morning viewing is the possibility of clouds, which, if that is the case, we can always go back to bed.

SKY WATCH: First quarter Moon today, September 19. Jupiter and Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius are close in the south. Orion high in the south in the early morning about an hour before sunrise with a bright Venus dazzling in the east. Remember the Autumnal Equinox at 4:52 a.m. MDT on Sept. 23.

Next time: More astronomical blatherings.