Phoenix Mission - Mars WeatherStargazing
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Current Weather
Current Weather
20°C
Partly cloudy
| Sunrise | 5:31 |
|---|---|
| Sunset | 21:11 |
| Ceiling | 1280 m |
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BookmarkUpdated:Friday July 18 2008,14:00 PDT - Nanaimo Airport
Clear Sky Forecast
Clear
P.O.P. 0%
Wind NE 5km/h
Clear
P.O.P. 0%
Wind W 10km/h
Moon Phases
July 18
July 25
August 1
August 8
This Week in the Sky
Celestial Birdwatching - Cygnus
Look high above the eastern horizon late in the evening this week and you can catch sight of a mythical celestial bird silently roosting in the starry skies. Cygnus, the Swan, known more commonly as the Northern Cross, is a constellation that is easy to spot with the unaided eyes - even from suburban skies. Six bright stars form a distinctive lop-sided x- pattern.
According to ancient Greek mythology, this cross shaped figure was once a great warrior that was tragically killed in battle. The king of the Gods, Zeus honoured the fallen hero by transforming him into a graceful white swan, and placed him amongst the stars.
The brightest of the group, blue-white Deneb, pins down the swan's tail, while orange-hued Alberio marks the bird's head. Cygnus appears to straddle the ghostly band of the Milky Way, filled with countless number of stars that are part of our home galaxy.
