One more day one more night12/19/2023 ![]() ![]() The brightest star (top center) is Sirius. This illustration displays the shape of the Canis Major constellation. The ancients felt that the combination of the sun during the day and the star at night was responsible for the extreme heat during mid-summer. 11, when Sirius rises in conjunction with the sun, previously reported. Today, Sirius is nicknamed the "Dog Star" because it is part of the constellation Canis Major, Latin for "the greater dog." The expression "dog days" refers to the period from July 3 through Aug. There is no accepted explanation of how this could have happened. Historical records from the Alexandrian astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (around the year 150 AD) suggest that Sirius was a red star in the past (it is very hot and white today). Are there any scientific mysteries surrounding Sirius that researchers would like to solve? That companion, referred to as Sirius B, has a mass equal to that of our sun, but it's 100 times smaller and thus a million times denser than our sun. Just as important, Sirius has the closest-known "white dwarf," a stellar "corpse," as a binary companion. Sirius is the closest star that's more massive and a lot more luminous than our sun. Why is Sirius of interest to the astronomy community? This is most easily seen by our eyes in the case of Sirius because it's so bright. The air in our atmosphere spreads out (or "disperses") different colors of light by different amounts, creating a rainbow effect for all stars. Out in airless space, stars never twinkle. Tiny differences in the amount of air every fraction of a second between us and Sirius cause the twinkling. We see Sirius through our atmosphere, which is turbulent. This combination of high intrinsic luminosity and closeness explains Sirius' brightness. Sirius is 25 times more luminous than our sun and just 8.6 light years distant. We asked Michael Shara, a curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Department of Astrophysics, a few frequently asked questions about Sirius. While some rain could linger into the evening, the sky will rapidly clear Saturday night.Curator and Professor, Department of Astrophysics, Division of Physical Sciences, at the American Museum of Natural History. The front and storms will sweep through quickly, so flooding is not a concern either with this round of rain. We do not expect any storms to rotate, so tornadoes are unlikely. Some of those storms could turn severe with gusty winds and hail. Right now we are favoring an afternoon arrival along with a line of thunderstorms. The cold front is expected to sweep through on Saturday, but the exact timing is still a little uncertain. What do I need to know about the cold front arriving this weekend? There's also a 20% chance of a passing rain shower. It will be warmer, too, which morning lows in the upper 50s and highs in the mid 70s. Clouds will thicken up even more Friday as moisture surges in on a south breeze. Sunshine filtering through the clouds will warm temperatures in the low 70s in the afternoon. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) - Another big weather change arrives this weekend, but we've got another day of nice weather to enjoy on Thursday.Ĭirrus clouds will thicken up ahead of our weekend cold front, and that could make for a pretty sunrise and sunset. ![]()
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