Major Sky Watching Event -- Aldebaran: The Star In The Bull's Eye On July 29

Here is a major sky watching event you must see: The star in the Bull's Eye! For those of us who are sky watchers on July 29, get ready to look up at the skies and see a major astronomic event known as the Aldebaran. The occultation of Aldebaran occurs in the dawn twilight and involves a waning gibbous moon. The occultation will be visible over western Canada and the United States, low in the east-northeast sky before sunrise. The Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and is known as the "Eye of Taurus." The name "Aldebaran" is Arabic, which means "The Follower" because it appears to follow the Hyades star cluster that forms the head of the bull. Elizabeth Howell of space.com, describes the Aldebran, "The K giant star is slightly larger than our sun, at 1.7 solar masses, and strong winds emanating from it are bleeding away its mass. Aldebaran is older and redder than the sun and preparing to fuse its lightweight core into heavier elements, which is common among stars of its type. Aldebaran has a surface temperature of about 6,760 F (3,738 C) and glows red, similar to Mars -- which occasionally passes by the star in the night sky." Aldebaran is hard to miss, given that Taurus is very visible during peak times such as July 29, when it appears. In fact, the bull is one of the oldest documented constellations with its origins stretching back to the Bronze Age. "At 65 light-years away, the star is practically a neighbor to Earth. Its apparent magnitude i...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news