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Skywatch Anniversary

By Lewis McCool

Moon Phases

Then (2008) Full: Sept. 15, Oct. 14 Last Quarter: Sept. 21, Oct. 21 New: Sept. 29, Oct. 28 First Quarter: Oct. 7, Nov. 5 Now (2058) Full: Oct. 1, Oct. 31 Last Quarter: Oct. 8, Nov. 7 New: Sept. 17, Oct. 16 First Quarter: Sept. 24, Oct. 24

In History

Sept. 13, 1922 Prior to 2015, the highest air temperature ever recorded at the surface of the Earth was measured in Libya at 136 degrees. This record has been broken many times. The current U.S. record is 148 degrees, set Aug. 12, 2052. Sept. 15, 2018 Nanosolar powered car introduced at Detroit Auto Show. With electricity augmented by a fuel cell, the vehicle emits no pollutants and has virtually unlimited range. Oct. 1, 2024 The first joint mission to deflect an asteroid from a near-Earth encounter successfully altered the orbit of asteroid 2004 BX159, ensuring that it will miss the planet during the 10 remaining approaches of the century. Oct. 1, 2026 China and India become last superpowers to sign Space Launch Limitation Treaty, paving the way for the Atmospheric Integrity Restoration (AIR) pact of 2027. Under the treaty, all chemical rockets must be powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to avoid atmospheric contaminants. Launches are limited to 20 per year worldwide. Oct. 4, 1957 The USSR's Sputnik 1 becomes the first manmade object to orbit the earth. Oct. 10, 1967 Enactment of the Outer Space Treaty, which promotes international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of space. Oct. 14, 1947 Chuck Yeager Breaks Sound Barrier Nov. 2, 1917 First light for the Mt. Wilson 100-inch telescope. Nov. 4, 2028 Last Chinese taikonauts depart moon base.

DOLORES, Colorado, Sept. 12, 2058 - Finally good news. The International Clear Skies Consortium recently announced that the pollution in Earth's atmosphere has diminished significantly during the past several months. Those ubiquitous paint-on nano solar cells really seem to have made the difference. They seem to power everything nowadays.

Experts predict that in another few years visibility will return to the levels of the turn of the 21st century, quite an improvement from the '30s and '40s when ground-bound telescopes were rendered useless by the ever-present thick layers of clouds and contrails.

NASA turns 100 on Oct. 1. It was founded in 1958 by an act of Congress. It's ironic that the rocket launches that heaved telescopes into Earth and solar orbit contributed significantly to the deteriorating seeing conditions of the first half of the century at the same time those instruments were opening windows to the pubescent universe.

It took a long time for the last-ditch effort to stave off catastrophic climate change to pay off, but now the planet's ice caps are returning, and snow could be seen on the Rockies' highest peaks for a few days last winter. Fall begins this year at 12:07 p.m. on Sept. 22. Fifty years ago, it occurred at 9:46 a.m. on the 22nd. Winter, such as it is, is just three months away. Perhaps this winter will bring flakes below the historic treeline on the La Platas.

Maybe, if all goes well, humanity can resume manned spaceflights and revisit the idea of colonizing the moon and Mars. There's even talk of restoring some of the inundated coastal cities on this planet once sea level drops enough.

Over the past several months, I've been able to see more and more through my grandfather's old Celestron scope. Amazingly, its antiquated computer system still works, although I have no idea how to use the peculiar "Windows" operating system. All I know is that the system was the product of the old Microsoft company, back when the United States led the high-tech world. Too bad foreign entanglements, economic collapses, climate change and the spread of virulent contagions turned our world upside down.

Regardless, I am thrilled that the Celestron can spot Jupiter in the constellation Pisces. Using averted vision, I think I can pick out some faint cloud bands. If the consortium is correct, I should be able to see its Galilean moons before too long. Tonight, Oct. 1, 2058, the full moon is about 10 degrees west of Jupiter. In two nights, the moon will be near Saturn in Aries and then move past it toward the Pleiades asterism in Taurus, another delightful object I've been able to spot recently.

When my grandfather used the scope, back before the worldwide calamities, the night sky was truly dark. He told of seeing faint objects - galaxies and nebulae - from our backyard in Montezuma County. Now those things can be seen only from space. Fortunately, those who can afford the luxury can tap into the feed from the orbital platforms and see the images in real time on their Net-walls.

Fifty years ago, my grandfather could see Jupiter low in the southwestern sky in Sagittarius. It would have appeared to have been right on the edge of the Milky Way's "cloud." He could have seen the starglow too - with his naked eyes. What a treat that must have been!

On that night in early October 2008, he could see the Great Hercules Star Cluster, our neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy, the Ring Nebula in Lyra and the famous "double double" stars nearby, the Veil Nebula in Cygnus, even the Wild Duck Nebula in Scutum, just a few degrees above Jupiter. He wrote that he could see the tiny disks of Uranus in Aquarius and Neptune in Capricornus. I guess those were the "good old nights."

Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to benefit from the breakthroughs in cancer treatments that allowed doctors to create custom DNA-specific medicine to blast cancer cells from inside, nor was he able to get a regenerated knee, which he sorely needed. Still, he was able to travel wherever his whims took him (in his high-priced, gasoline-powered, toxin-spewing car) without being under the constant watchful eyes of Homeland Security. And, as far as he knew, the telecalls and text messages of his day were mostly unmonitored. So he thought.

But now is now. I'm shutting off the Net-wall and heading outside - radical, I know - to look up and see what I can see.