A statue of W.E.B. DuBois will be unveiled in July on the steps of the Mason Library in Great Barrington. My visit to another outdoor installation shows what public art can accomplish.
While venturing out at nightfall to enjoy the asterisms, be sure to appreciate the Crow careening in the south and the full figure of the Lion striding high in the southwest.
In Greek mythology, the Crow, Apollo’s sacred bird, got into trouble that resulted in the god catapulting the offender and his companions into the sky.
As sunlight fades from Earth’s atmosphere and dusk deepens, the golden light of true star Arcturus, summer’s brightest, comes into view above Jupiter.
As described on the Astronomical Magnitude Scale, celestial objects with a negative number through 0m are visible with the naked eye even in large cities.
When clock time springs ahead an hour, not-so-early risers may look out a southwest-facing window at dawn to find star-like Jupiter rather low to the horizon.
Every morning during the span of this post, it is worth the effort to be at a location with a west-southwest view an hour before sunrise to see the pairing of Jupiter with Virgo’s brightest star, bluish Spica.
