#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC MOVIE#
#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC MANUAL#
#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC TV#

The trio frames one of the brightest, thickest segments of the Milky Way. From my latitude, Vega rises first, followed by Deneb and Altair in that order. It's also inextricably tied to the summer as the brightest star in the expansive Summer Triangle asterism. Living in Duluth, Minnesota, where winters can be tenacious, Vega brings hope. As a child, I watched it climb over the neighbor's snowy backyard from my bedroom window when I was supposed to be asleep. I love seeing it rise during my late-night walks. From my site at 47° north, it passes south of the zenith but close enough to require some serious neck-twisting at culmination.īalanced at the tip of a leaning spruce tree, Vega makes its first appearance in winter, when it rises after midnight.įor many, Vega is a harbinger of summer in the dead cold of winter, glittering between bare branches in the northeastern sky around 1 a.m. A quick look reveals several large cities share this good fortune: Topeka, Kansas Dover, Delaware Baltimore, Maryland Cincinnati, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri. With a declination of nearly +39°, it shines directly overhead for anyone living at latitude 39° north. However your say it, Vega is a white, brilliant, and radiant star.

To brush up on star names, consult this star and constellation pronunciation guide or listen to this audio version. Ellie Arroway, receives a message from sentient beings on a planet around Vega, pronounced VAY-guh (ugh!) throughout the film.

#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC MOVIE#

While we're on the topic, in the 1997 movie Contact, Jodie Foster, as Dr.

#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC TV#

The rise and fall of the Vega from happy TV commercials to infamy seared its name (and pronunciation) in the public memory. Named for the star and pronounced VAY-guh, the car was a big hit in the early 1970s until owners discovered it was prone to gas tank fires, rapid rusting, and melting engine parts. In fact, Vega is a common Spanish surname and means 'meadow' or 'fertile plain.' But I also suspect the Chevrolet Vega had something to do with the whole business. In Spanish the 'e' sound is pronounced 'ay' not 'ee.' Think Las Vegas. First, the country has a sizable Spanish-speaking population. I have a hunch that the shift to VAY-guh, at least in the U.S., occurred for several reasons.

Recognizing that language evolves, I tell newcomers to the hobby that either is correct. Nowadays, the online Merriam-Webster dictionary gives both pronunciations, while the American Heritage Dictionary lists VEE-guh. Yet somewhere along the way Vega became (mostly) VAY-guh, leaving me and my ilk in the minority.

#NASA PICTURE OF THE DAY PANORAMIC MANUAL#

As a budding amateur astronomer in 1966, I owned an Edmund planisphere that included an instruction manual with a pronunciation guide in line with AAS standards. Later, the W evolved into a V, but the pronunciation remained the same: VEE-guh. This made sense because for centuries it had been known as Wega and spoken as WE-guh, which means descending eagle in Arabic. They decided that Vega should be pronounced VEE-guh. Their final report, adopted by the AAS, appeared in Sky & Telescope for June 1943, page 12.' McHugh to consult with astronomers, educators, Arabic scholars, and planetarium lecturers and come up with a list of preferred pronunciations for common star names and constellations. 'In 1941 the American Astronomical Society (AAS) formed a committee of Samuel G. In July 2006, Sky & Telescope's Tony Flanders addressed the question: But how exactly do you say its name? Is it VEE-guh or VAY-guh? Vega, the fifth-brightest nighttime star, beams almost straight overhead early this month and may be the most important luminary in the sky after the Sun. Brilliant Vega not only dominates Lyra, the Lyre, it also shines near the zenith from mid-northern latitudes in early September at nightfall.

Nasa picture of the day panoramic