I StorgozerI
Solstice
Gelebrations
By ArnoldMedalen
he winter solsticeoccurs on 21
Dec. atl204 UT in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Cultures the world over have celebrated the winter solstice for thousands of
years.In old Europe itwas known asYule,
from the Norse'Jnl," meaning wheel.
Ancient Romans celebrated the Saturnalia on the solstice with drinking,
grft grving, bonfires, candles, and role
reversals for slaves and masters. According to legend, Saturn (Cronus to
the Greeks) created man during the
Golden Age, a time when spring never
ended. When his son JuPiter (Zeus)
overthrew Saturn, perpetual spring
ended and the seasonsfollowed.
Mithras, an Iranian 7-ororcttan god
popular with Roman soldiers' was created by the chief deity,Ahura-Mazda,to
save the world. Mithras was born on 25
Dec., also called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or Birthday of the Lfnconquered Sun.
The ancient Greeks marked the solstice
with the holiday of Brumalia, which
they associatedwith the god Dionysus.
Brumalia comes from the Latin "bruma,"
which means winter solstice.
Hopi Indians celebrate Soyal, which
marks the appearanceof the first kachina. Soyal wears a turquoise helmet and
walks like a small child, representing
the rebirth of new life.The kachinasare
spirit beings who come to Earth to help
people through the next stages of the
year and their lives. They return to the
other side at the summer solstice and
are reborn at the winter solstice.S
P/C ArnoldMedalen,SN, of California'sDiabloSail& PowerSquadron,has
beenboatingin the CaliforniaDeltaand
San FranciscoBay sincechildhood'The
the
stargazerfirst cameto appreciate
nightsky whileboatingin the Delta,far
awayfrom city lights.Today,he boats
with his wife, Patricia,aboardShellyC
and serveson The EnsignCommittee.
12 The Ensign Nov/Dec2oo8
1 5 N o v Orion and the moon rise together and are high in the east by midnight.
The moon is halfwaybetween magnitude0.2 Gapella2Vzfist-widths
to the upper left and magnitude0.5 Procyon to the lower right.
23 Nov
Magnitude 1.2 spica is 3 finger-widthsto the moon's lower left
low in the southeasternpredawn sky. Saturn is 21/zfist-widths to
the upper right while magnitude0.2 Arcturus is 3/z fist-widths to
the upper left.
1 Dec
Only 1 finger-widthapart, magnitude-2.0 Jupiter and magnitude
-4.,1Venus are 2 finger-widthsto the lower right of the thin waxing
crescent moon at twilight.
lO Dec
Earlytonight the Pleiades is 1 finger-widthto the nearlyfull moon's
lower lefti By midnightthe moon bccults pad of the cluster.@
11 Dec
The moon passes between Capella, 2 fist-widthsto the left, and
Aldebaran, 1 fist-width to the right.
13 Dec
Washing out the Geminid meteor shower, the nearly full moon
passes between the Gemini Twins less than 1 fist-width to the
io*er left and Betelgeuse 2 fist-widths to the right. Procyon
is 2 fist-widths to the lower right.
14 Dec
Procyon is lVzfist-widths to the right, and the Gemini Twins are 1
fist-width above the moon late this evening'
16 Dec
Low in the east, Regulus is only 1 finger-widthto the moon's left
late this evening.The Big Dipper stands on its handle 5 fist-widths
farther left.
21 Dec
The winter solstice occurs at 1204 UT-
29 Dec
With a clear view of the western horizon,you can spot Mercury
just below the moon as the sky begjns to darken. Brighter Jupiter
is 1 finger-widthabove Mercury. @
3l
Dec
7 Jan
Venus is 2 finger-widthsbelow the thin waxing crescent moon.
The Pleiades Cluster is 3 finger-widthsto the moon's upper right,
Aldebaran is 1 fist-widthbelow the moon, and Orion is 3 fist-widths
below the moon.
lO Jan
The moon is at perigee, 56.05 Eafth-radiiaway.The Gemini Twins
are to the moon's left while Orion is 3Vzfist-widths to the right'
12 Jan
The moon, Regulus and Saturn form a straightline late this evening'
OO use binoculars