Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine February 2017

— Continued from previous page
Tuesday, February 28th
There is a conjunction between the Moon and Venus this evening. Riding on the
wing of Pegasus, Venus is positioned north of a thin crescent Moon.
Wednesday, March 1st
The Moon will be grouped with Mars and Uranus in the west after sunset. The trio
will be above Venus residing in the constellation Pisces.
Friday, March 3rd
The Moon will reach the closest point along its orbit to the Earth and will appear
slightly larger and brighter than at other times.
Friday, March 10th
Nearly in line with the Moon is the double star Regulus. These objects may appear
to be very close but actually Regulus is more than 79 light years beyond the Moon.
Sunday, March 12th
Today marks the Full Moon. If you are so inclined, your Full Moon party can start
at 1053. However the Moon will not actually rise above the horizon for another eight
hours. Do you still have the stamina to party that long?
Monday, March 13th
Born in Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel became a musician and composer of
symphonies. After moving to England he became interested in astronomy. He began
making his own telescopes in order to better observe the heavens. On March 13th,
1781 he discovered Uranus. Originally named the “Georgian Planet”, Uranus got its
current name to conform to the classical mythology names of the other planets. Uranus
FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3
is the ancient Greek deity of the Heavens. As an astronomer, Herschel cataloged more
than 800 double stars and 2,500 nebulae. He also discovered infrared radiation. As a
musician, he composed numerous musical works, including 24 symphonies.
Tuesday, March 14th
The Moon has shifted from the constellation Leo and now resides in Virgo. It has
progressed from its conjunction with Regulus on the tenth to another double star
Porrima on the 13th, one of the stars making up the Virgo constellation. On March
14th, the Moon will be located near Jupiter.
Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879. He is famous for his formula
E = mc 2 . His work also laid down the foundation for modern quantum mechanics.
In the News
In keeping with the satellite theme, China is the first country to develop a quantum
satellite that uses laser circuits rather than mathematical encryption to protect sensitive
information. The data is separated into two laser beams that are sent to independent
receiving stations. The beams are separate but linked. The process cannot be
cheated, tricked or reverse engineered. Personally we may never understand the science
behind manipulating quantum properties of photons or even what the phrase
means. But even if we don’t understand the process, we will accept the science behind
the technology. Advancing science is what keeps a civilization moving forward.
All times are given as Atlantic Standard Time (AST) unless otherwise noted. The
times are based on a viewing position in Grenada and may vary by only a few minutes
in different Caribbean locations,
Jim Ulik of S/V Merengue is a photographer and cruiser.
Figure 2 - NASA Earth Science Division Operating Missions
Figure 3 - A fleet of satellites performing heliophysics science investigations
Figure 4 - China launches world’s first quantum communications satellite
FEBRUARY 2017 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 35