“The Night Sky January’s astronomy © calendar for Terrace Throughout history astronomy has had an important place in regulating people’s lives. Three great repeating events have done this: the rising of the Sun, the lunar cycle of phases, and the movement of the Earth about the Sun, These movements determined our day, month, and year, and itis from them that our Gregorian calendar evolved. It would be very convenient if the number of times the Earth rotated on its axis during a year fit evenly into the length by Allon ' Wooten of the year, the time it takes the Barth to revolve about the Sun. It - would be even better if the length of time for the Moon’s phases also fitted evenly into the year. Unfortunately, neither situation oc- curs. This presenis a problem because if a particular time on a par- ticular day begins a year, the next year cannot start at that same time — for the Earth there are 365 and 1/4 days and that extra 1/4 means that the second year should start six hours after that. So you see, if you celebrate the New Year at midnight on December 31, you may be off by quite a few hours. This year, if you saw someone welcoming 1988 at 6 p.m. January 1 it would have been very ap- propriate Lo join in; this is the time when the Earth was back at an arbitrary starting point for another journey around the Sun. January | wasn’t always the starting point for the new year. This date was standardized with the Gregorian calendar that is new used in most parts of the world. The calendar is based on the revolution of the Earth about the Sun: itis a solar calendar. While it is conven- jent to use a solar calendar, itis not necessary to do so. A calendar can be based on counting days, or much more commonly, on count- ing lunar cycles. For example, the calendar used in Moslem coun- tries is a lunar calendar that is not reset to the solar year. As a result, the 12 months of this calendar change the position at which they oc- cur from one solar year to the next. . ; Our calendar, the Gregorian calendar was introduced to Roman Catholic countries in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. It superceded the Julian calendar that was developed by the Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes and introduced by Julius Caesar. The two calendars are very similar, the difference being that the Gregorian calendar makes an allowance for the fact that the solar year is very close to, but not exactly 36514 days long, whereas the Julian calendar uses a year of exactly 36544 days. In practice, the difference between the two calendars is that the Julian calendar: specifies a leap Gregorian calendar has one every four years except for century end- ing years that are not divisible by 400. Thus 1800, 1900, and 2100 are not leap years but the year 2000 is. Leap years occur in those years that are evenly divisible by 4 so 1988 is one of these longer years. If the Julian and Gregorian calendars are compared for a few years there is very little difference between them. Over along period of time, however, the differences become quite large. As a result, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced this calendar in 1582 the date had to moved ahead 10 days to account for over 1000 years of ac- cumulated differences between a date and the Sun’s position on that date. When Pope Gregory introduced the calendar, Protestant coun- tries would have nothing to do with it. By the time England adopted it there was an 11-day difference between the two calendars, so an overnight change from September 3 to September 14 occurred with the Gregorian calendar’s introduction to England in 1752. Differences in calendars and the times of their introduction make it difficult for astronomers because they are frequently concerned with accurate dates of events and the times between them. For this reason, astronomers often use a calendar that is based on counting days. This system, called the Julian date, {named after Julius Caesar) was invented in 1583 by the French scholar Joseph Justus Scaliger. On the basis of long and relatively arbitrary calculations he chose January 1, 4713 B.C. as day one and it is from this that the Julian date is counted. To avoid the difficulty of a change of day in the middle of the night when an astronomer may be looking at stars, the Julian date changes at noon. On this basis, at noon on January 1, 1988 it will be Julian date 2,447,161. There are a number of planets visible this month. Venus will be an easy one to see. It will bein the southwest for about three hours after sunset, Take a look at it with binoculars and see if you can sce its phases. January 20-21 willbe a particularly good time to look for this planet because on those dates the waxing crescent Moon and Mercury will be nearby and these close positions of bright objects can be really beautiful. Jupiter will continue to be a bright object in an otherwise fairly - empty part of the sky. Look for it high in the sky at sunset. Jupiter will set after midnight. - Mars and Saturn will both be visible in the morning sky this month, Of the two planets, Mars will be easier to find because it will ‘tise in the east well before sunrise, and by sunrise it will be quite high in the sky, Saturn, on the other hand, will only be visible later ‘in the month and it will be near the eastern horizon at sunrise. _ L continue to hope that there will be clear weather on Tuesday _ evenings. If it is clear, I will have my telescope set up near the Ter- race Public Library after 8 p.m. Please feel welcome to come and take a look through this telescope. As well, I hope you had a great é time welcoming in the New Year — on Julian date 2,447,160.5. « - year every four years while the’. I Te re a eh ie A free skating period drew hundreds of focal residents onto the ice at the Terrace Arena following the Diamond Jubilee ceremonies Dec. 27. Those who wanted an activity a little more on the tropical side after the Dec. 27 Diamond Jubilee festivities Joined the free swim following the official cer some dedicated people and a commun e@monies and took advantage of another public facility made possible by ity that can work together. , Environment — continued from page 7 ing ahead as a first step to stopp- ing the advance of deserts and so are strategies for giving the land a break from human pressures. Satellite photography is help- ing to delineate areas for en- vironmental planning, a power- ful new global‘ environmental management tool. Perhaps the most optimistic development to date for the en- vironment comes to us from a completely unexpected quarter. It is the one I most rejoice in, At.the recent signing of the limitation of intermediate range missiles, Gorbachev said, and it is a credit to his wisdom and vi- sion and sense of global respor- sibility, that reducing the spend-. ‘ing of money on weapons of de- struction will mean that we can address other issues and he men- tions, ‘‘...the environment...’’. When the leader of the second most powerful country of the world, mentions within the same breath that he wishes to take the ‘first step to a new world order founded on peace and trust, «the environment...’’, this makes me incredibly hopeful for the future. I hope fervently that Reagan and others will feel challenged by his remarks to compete in reallocating military funds to protecting and promoting the health of this most vital arena, At last it appears that so- meone is listening, someone with ‘the political will to start a new race, the race for a healthy global life support system, for the good of all creatures, large atid small, Message from the. Stars Your Week Ahead Horoscope The social scene brings you in contact with some ARIES y Mar. 21-Apr. 19 important people who can help-you in career matters. : TAURUS Studying foreign cultures will provide insight into Apr.20-May20 the trend of world affairs. Put your artistic tal- entstogood use. GEMINI There is a magnetic pull toward one of the op- May2i-June20 posite sex. Signs point to a full blown remance. CANCER Partnership matters being out your unique mari- Sune21-July 22. nerof self expression. Don't let ego get in the way. One ina position to confer favors is quite taken with your Mair for the unusuat in dress andadorn- ment. . LEO July 23-Aug, 22 VIRGO Children area great source of pleasureand entet- Aug. 23-Sept.22 tainment, a5 you introduce them to a dramatic fanlasy world. . LIBRA Feelings of uneasiness aboul family matters bring - Sepi.23-Qct.22 about confrontations, Express a positive attitude andavoidcenflict. SCORPIO Lend assistance to a venture designed lo improve Oct.23-Nev.21 the nature and quality of the children’s educa- . tion. SAGITTARIUS The high cost of educating the young people isa Noy, 22-Dec.21 source of concern. Look for ways of improving : the financial status. ; CAPRICORN Othersseeyou asadynamic, magnetic individual Dec. 22-Jan.19 with a lively approach to the daily problems. Your selfconfiderce shows. AQUARIUS You are ptobablya litile more reserved and with- Jen. 20-Feb.18 9 drawn than usual, sort of regrouping while the Sun occupies your twelfth house. PISCES New associations and attachments are favored. Feh. 19-Mar.20 You find you are able to approach authorily figures on a more casual footing: BERT'S DELICATESSEN WE HAVE... .. larga varlety of - meats, cheases, European novalties, super . sandwiches, fresh salads. . We cater for large and small parties and picnics. 636-5440 ki 4603 Park Ave. Terrace (across from the library) -