In - December Terrace
residents were lucky to
have a few clear nights
and early mornings when
the planets stood out
amongst the stars. It was
exceptional to see the
rapid movement of Mars
and Jupiter, and on the
evening of Dec. 18 we
were fortunate to get a
view of those two planets
separated by: only half a
degree in the sky.

Venus and Mercury
were the morning planets
during December. Venus
was very bright and easy
to see. It was a lot harder
to see Mercury so I was ex-
cited to see it on two mor-
nings fairly early in the
month. I found a location
near McDonald’s at 7:15
am. that gave a- clear
enough south eastern
horizon.

January should be
another good month for
observing planets. . Mer-

cury will no longer be visi- "

ble, but it will be replaced

with one of my favorite
planets, Saturn. Saturn

will be low in the south-—
‘east at sunrise;

as the
month proceeds -it will
become easier to see. A
small telescope is neces-
sary to see Saturn’s rings,
and under good viewing
conditions they are mag-
nificent,

During January Venus
will still: be a beautiful
sight in the morning sky.

‘Don’t forget to look at it

with binoculars so you can
watch the changing
phases. On Jan. 15, Venus
will be fairly close to the
bright and reddish colored
star Antares, part of the
tail of the scorpion con-
stellation Scorpio. Later,
on Jan, 24, Venus and

’ Saturn will be very close

together with only 1.8
degrees separating them.
On the last day of .the
‘month Venus will pass
three degrees north of
Uranus. This close prox-
imity may give you an op-

Astronomy
Columnist

Allen Wootton

portunity to. find this

otherwise difficult-to-findg |

planet.

et. (Use binoculars,
though).

Mars and Jupiter will

continue to be visible in
the evening sky. Since the
month begins with a new
moon, the waxing crescent
moon, Jupiter, and Mars
will be close together in
the sky early in the month.

It should be a nice view.

One of the most spec-
tacular of ‘all constella-
tions will be prominent. in
the sky this month. This is
the constellation Orion.
This beautiful constella-
tion is easy to find in the
southern part of the sky
during our winter. Bete-
Igeuse, the star on the top
left of the constellation, is

oe Terrace Review — Wednesday, January. 7, 1987 4

y calendar

a red supergiant, some 520
light years (a light -year be-
ing the extremely . large
distance that light travels
in a year) distant. If you
look carefully you~ will
notice that Betelgeuse is
reddish in appearance.
Rigel, the star at the bot-
tom right of the constella-
tion, is one of the most
luminous stars in the sky,
(about 55,000 times more
luminous than the sun) so
that even though it is con-
siderably more distant
than Betelgeuse it appears
brighter than that already
very bright star,

Orion’s belt’ is un-
mistakeable. Nowhere else
in the sky do three stars
appear together in a line.
If you follow the line of
the belt to the left about
20 degrees you will come
to the brightest appearing
star in the night sky,
Sirius.-From Terrace this
exceptionally bright star is
always fairly low in the

Vandals
strike

On Sunday, Dee. 28 vandals
decorated this Terrace vehicle
in an obvious display of ‘in-
tellectual perversity. The car
was desecrated at about 1:00
a.m., in the carport of a Ter-
race home. The owners of the
vehicle said they were pleased
with the RGOMP’s quick re-
sponse in. dealing with. the
problem. Two vandals were
seen escaping on foot, but
have not yet been caught by
the police.

Bazaar a success >

A bazaar was recently held at the Happy Gang Centre, spon-
sored by the B.C. Old Age Pensioners Organization Branch
73, in Terrace. Olga Hiap displays one of the items on sale.

Daniele Berquist photo

mom

Last minute touches

Member of the BCOAPO Granch 73 of Terrace, Bernie
Goyette gets busy on last minute touches during the recent

bazaar held at the Happy Gang Centre.

Daniele Berquist photo

Bake sale, tea, bazaar y

Elsie Erickson, with daughter Charity, jook over dish-towels
made into pants by a member of the BCOAPO Branch 73, dur-
ing the racent bazaar, bake sale and tea, held al the Happy

Gang Centreln Terrace.

Danielé Berquist photo

southern part of the sky.
As a-result of this low ©

position, light from Sitius

comes to us through more |
atmosphere than stars fur-
ther overhead. Movement
of the atmosphere can
cause Sirius to flash with
color making it even more —
beautiful.

Below Orion’s belt is
the Orion nebula (cloud).-
On a dark, clear night,.
this cloud can be seen with
the unaided eye. With bin- -

oculars it is visible even.

near city lights, and more
of its structure can be —
seen. It is thought that
stars are forming from the
vast amounts of gas in this.
huge nebula. This nebula

really is a birthplace of

stars, one of many such
places in our galaxy.

I will finish by remind- -

‘ing you that [do have =.
- some copies of an easy-to- - ©:

use star map; if you would.
like a copy you can con-
tact me at Skeena Junior
Secondary School. An-
other excellent reference is

““Nightwatch’’ by Terence

Dickinson, Camden -
House Publishing Ltd.,
1983, and this book is
available at. the Terrace .
Public Library. .

Have a very happy
1987. I hope you have

ing.

Your message
from the stars...

good astronomical obsery=. a

ARIES
Mar. 21-Apr. 19

TAURUS
Apr. 20-May 20

GEMINI
May 21-June20

CANCER
* June21-July22

LEO :
- July23-Aug, 24

VIRGO

Aug, 23-Sept. 22

LIBRA
Sept. 23-Oct. 22

SCORPIO
Oct, 23-Noy, 21

Nov.22-Dec, 21

CAPRICORN
Dec, 22-Jan. 19

AQUARIUS
Jan. 20-Feb. 18

PISCES
Feb, 19-Mar. 20

4603 Park Ave. Terrace (across from the library)
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Your Week Ahead Horoscope
Forecast Period: 1/11- 1/17/87

Important issues must be resolved and others
lura to you seeking guidance from your astute
observations,

Interest in higher education or literary pursuits
should lead to a new chapter in the book of
experience,

Speculative dealings in corporate matters will
probably turn out favorably. Strange com-
munications are puzzling.

Your menial awareness is stimulated by parl-
nership matters. Quarrelsqme tendencies
should be kept undercontrol,

A confident approach to the occupational
rouline draws others to you for guidance, The
employment picture is bright.

inspirational thoughts draw youtoward literary
and dramatic types, where you can activate
your fantasies.

Important visitors to your home supply you
you with information you need to complete
your studyof a current topic.

Aspects are favorable for those involved in
communications. You are able to express
yourself with ease and clarity.

Friends and group associates have a decided
influence on your personal financial condi-
tlon, Things areonthe upswing.

Competitive behavior in personal and business
matters turns others away. Tone down the
‘Tm outtotopyou" attitude,

A strong-willed individual wants to control
your thoughts and deeds. The fixed Aquarian
cannever besubmissive. —

An unexpected honor or award comes to you,

in recognition for all your help in promoting
aprogram.

WE HAVE...

.o@ large variety of

meals, cheeses, Eurepean
novelties, super. .
sandwiches, fresh salads.

We cater far large and
smali parties and picnics.
635-5440

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