By Gladstone C. Walling, Contributor
FOUR VERSES in the Gospel of St. Matthew tell of 'the Star' seen in the east, which guided the Wise Men to the birthplace of Jesus. The question is often asked, 'do we still see the Star of Bethlehem?' The straight answer is, astronomers are unable to identify the exact star.
They are able only to theoretically advance the results of various computer models of the disposition of stars, planets and the moon, alone or in various combinations of conjunctions, for the night skies, on predicted dates of the birth of Christ. Without the 'notes' of the Magi or the historical records of the period, the identity of the Star of Bethlehem remains a mystery.
Nevertheless for those passionately interested in astronomy, for those intrigued by nature's beauty and the splendour of her jewelled, star-studded sky or those persons a little curious about Earth's position among the stars, there is room for adventure and the revelation of the mystery of the heavens.
In a dark environment, away from the light pollution of the city lights, for example in the countryside, one can enjoy the most beautiful star-studded skies of the year the December night skies.
Starting observation at the eastern horizon at about seven o'clock and moving towards the west, one observes the constellation, Gemini, the Twins, headed by two bright stars, Castor and Pollux. Ahead of Gemini is the constellation, Taurus, the Bull. Its 'red eye' being the star Aldebaran. This is also the time to view the planets as the planet Saturn is now in Taurus and the planet Jupiter is in Gemini.
A little below, and south of Taurus, is the most beautiful asterism of them all, the constellation of Orion, the Hunter, clear in the outline of "his" extremities by the stars Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Saiph and Rigel, while below the 'sword-belt' across his midriff is to be found the nursery of new stars in the marvellous Orion Nebulae. Below and southeast of Orion is the constellation Canis Major, the Great Dog, hosting Sirius, the brightest fixed star in the heavens after the Sun.
North of Taurus is the constellation Auriga with its near westerly neighbour Perseus; further westward is the very large asterism of the constellations Andromeda and the Square of Pegasus. In Andromeda is to be found the famous Andromeda Galaxy.
In the northern quandrant are to be found the constellations, the Big Dipper, Cassiopeia and Cygnus, the Swan. Note that I have only named the constellations of the sky tour and the brightest of the stars to be observed with the unaided eye. There is so much more to be discovered with a pair of binoculars or a telescope; there are myriads of beautiful deep sky objects that are to be found in these constellations, each with its mystery and unique physical properties.
- Gladstone C. Walling, Senior Electronics Engineer, University of the West Indies and immediate past
president, the Astronomical
Association of Jamaica.
