Transcript Document

Mid Atlantic Star Party
Professor John C. Mannone
November 5, 2005
The Light of Stars is replete with stellar metaphors, but
Longfellow attempts to preserve the accuracy of the celestial
globe, a consequence of his didactic style.
Published in the Voices of the Night in 1839.
An illuminating remark, ex post facto, to his wife Fanny
Appleton Longfellow, when reflecting on the poem (October
6, 1846):
"This poem was written on a beautiful summer night. The
moon, a little strip of silver, was just setting behind the
groves of Mount Auburn, and the planet Mars blazing in the
southeast. There was a singular light in the sky; and the air
cool and still"
The original publication (The Second Psalm of Life,
Knickerbocker magazine 1838) opens with an extra stanza
Borrowed from Henry Vaughan They are all Gone into the
World of Light (Silex Scintillans, Part II 1655)
Longfellow included it since it parallels his theme and
provides corroborating stellar clues:
It glows and glitters in my cloudy breast,
Like stars upon some gloomy grove,
Or those faint beams in which this hill is drest
After the sun’s remove
The sun had set and the observation from atop the 125-ft ridge,
“this hill”, called Mount Auburn shows starry sky over the
graveyard, “stars upon some gloomy grove.”
Boston and vicinity, 1830
Mount Auburn
Adapted from a map published in 1830 by Abel Brown
A GRAVE , A GROVE
A CEMETERY, A HILL
Mount Auburn Peak
125 ft MSL
Mount Auburn Cemetery, 1847.
(From James Smillie's M ount Auburn Illustrated in Finely Drawn Line
Engravings. Courtesy of Mount Auburn Cemetery.)
Courtesy of Katarina Neef
A west southwest star field is suggested. The “faint beams”
could easily be diffuse light of stars from the Milky Way.
In late summer, the Milky Way is oriented as a vertical swath
in the southwest together with the star studded Sagittarius
and Scorpio constellations.
Milky Way : Light Pollution-Free Late Summer Night
rotation
The first two stanzas verify a sliver of silver, a crescent
moon; “the little moon” is in the process of setting.
Furthermore, the time is between 8 PM and midnight (local
time) as evidenced by “the first watch”:
The night is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky
There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.
Time
Name of Watch
Noon to 4 pm
4 pm to 6 pm
6 pm to 8 pm
8 pm to midnight
Midnight to 4 am
4 am to 8 am
8 am to noon
Afternoon watch
First dog watch
Second dog watch
First watch
Middle watch
Morning watch
Forenoon watch
(Compare these military (nautical) watches with the watches spoken of
in the Old Testament and with the Roman army/navy in the New
Testament)
8 PM Local Time in Boston is 7:37 EST
(Time Zones Established in USA by RxR in 1863)
Additional clues in the next two stanzas suggest Mars is in
the earlier part of the first watch. The “blue tent above”
and “suspended in the evening skies” hint of a time not
much past twilight. The indigo blue hue betrays the
Rayleigh scattering of light by the moisture in the air:
Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?
O no! from that blue tent above,
A hero's armor gleams.
And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,
The shield of that red star.
“The Blue Tent”
When was the astronomical landscape from Mount Auburn
painted by Longfellow’s words in 1838 observed?
Mars was not visible during nighttime hours in 1838.
Mars not in the SE during the summers 1831-1839
(not before 3 or 4 AM, well past the first watch).
Longfellow not a permanent resident of Cambridge until
December 1836 (accepted the Smith Chair of Modern
languages at Harvard College).
How are the facts reconciled with the poetic literature?
Poetic License
Typographical or Directional Errors
Misidentification
Observation/Publication at Different Times
Poetic License
Longfellow is not averse to poetic license; he has used it in The
Occultation of Orion. Anticipating criticism, Longfellow wrote,
“Astronomically speaking, this title is incorrect; as I apply to a
constellation what can properly be applied to some of its stars
only. But my observation is made from the hill of song, and not
from that of science; and will, I trust, be found sufficiently
accurate for the present purpose.”
(The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin and Company. James R. Osgood and Company. 1881, p. 290.)
On the other hand, his precision in scientific detail, as
evidenced in much of his poetry, is more often the case
than simple metaphor (e.g., The Bridge, Building of a Ship,
and The Galaxy).
There is no precedent in the use of poetic license in remarks
or statements of facts. Longfellow’s remark reads more like
an observer’s log entry, rather descriptive and factual, not
something privy to distortion.
Poetic license may be expected in his poetry, but not
in his journals concerning historical recollections.
Typographical or Directional Error: SW vs. SE
Did Longfellow mean Mars in the southwest and not in the
southeast? Then there is only one candidate in that decade; the
year 1839.
In June, Mars is high in the southwest during the first watch,
while Moon, phased as a sliver, sets. Unfortunately, there are
several objections:
a) Mars is not blazing bright (unimpressive magnitude 0.56-1.0).
b) There is no a singular light, but two, three, or four bright
planets visible throughout the entire summer during the first
watch (Jupiter, Saturn, Venus and Mercury).
c) Both views are possible from Mount Auburn, but a southeast
view makes more sense since the setting Moon could be seen
to disappear behind the groves. A southwest view has the
setting Moon directly in front of the viewer.
Therefore, the possibility of a typographical
(or directional) error is unsupported.
courtesy of Tropozone
Confusion of Mars with a Red Star
Mars, when normal in size and magnitude, could be confused
with the bright reddish star if certain necessary conditions are all
met:
a) If there was a red star is in the southeast
Antares, a red supergiant of magnitude 1.06, is the only
possible summer red star (class M1 IB). Unfortunately, it is
low in the southeast during late spring and early summer,
moving south as the summer progresses.
BRIGHTEST RED GIANT & SUPERGIANT STARS.
STAR
CLASSIFICATION
VISUAL
MAGNITUDE
(3rd) Arcturus (-Boo)
(10th) Betelgeuse (-Ori)
(13th) Aldebaran (-Tau A)
K2 III
M2 Iab
K5 III
-0.05
+0.45
+0.87
(15th) Antares
(16th) Pollux
M1 IB
K0 III
+1.06
+1.16
(-Sco)
(-Gem)
Rank among all the brightest stars
b) If the star doesn’t appear to twinkle
Stars normally twinkle since they are like point
lights. Their distant light rays suffer multiple
refraction in a turbulent upper atmosphere.
Planets are much closer and are considered
extended bodies of light, not point light sources.
The reflected sun light is coming from all over
their surface. All the refractions are averaged by
the turbulent atmosphere. Therefore, planets
don’t normally twinkle.
A stable upper atmosphere is required for slow
and little twinkling of stars, a condition not often
met in New England.
c) If Longfellow expected to see a planet in the southeast.
Since his childhood to the time of publication of Voices of
the Night, Longfellow had opportunities to witness Mars
in the southeastern sky; however, Mars does not
exclusively appear there in the first watch. Therefore, a
positional precedence cannot be firmly asserted.
d) If this star was rivaled by only one singular bright light
There are several brighter stars in the summer sky.
Arcturus, Altair, and Vega are all present and brighter.
Therefore, the “singular (bright) light” criterion is
immediately violated
These facts strongly discourage the possibility of Mars
being confused with a red star.
Observation and Publication at Different Times
The only remaining possibility that fits all the conditions is
the perihelion opposition of Mars. Every fifteen to seventeen
years, Mars approaches close to the Sun with Earth in
between. Mars will be very close (and appear relatively large)
as well as very bright. It will outshine all other planets except
Venus. Mars was in these positions in 1815, 1830, and 1845.
The 1830 Martian configuration is most likely scenario and
very defendable. A protracted investigation into Longfellow’s
letters and biographies has provided clues, but the question
may not be permanently resolved without a “smoking gun”
entry in his daily journal. It can be shown that Longfellow
had often traveled to Boston in his pre-Harvard years.
Longfellow had opportunity in September 17-21 to be in
Cambridge. Longfellow had motive to be in the area.
The Tentative Conclusion
Longfellow observed Mars in perihelion opposition
in late summer of 1830
Jupiter was the comparable singular bright light
A thin crescent moon was setting
Cool calm nights are consistent with late New England
summers
BOSTON SKY 9/21/1830
MARS IN PERIHELION OPPOSITION
OBJECT
MAGNITUDE, SIZE
Mars
-2.73, 24”
SE
121.0
21.1
Large and
blazing1
Jupiter
-2.33, 40”
SW
204.5
20.2
Singular light2
Moon
Waxing crescent, 4.4
days; nearly set,
20.5% illuminated
WSW 248.5
2.2
1.
2.
3.
AZIMUTH
ELEVATION
COMMENT
Thin setting
sliver3
Perihelion opposition September 19, 1830 (m = -2.75)
Antares sets with the Moon. Antares and other stars are not comparable to the brightness of Mars
that night. No bright objects (comets or planets) visible except for Jupiter.
Early in the first watch, the sky could appear as a “blue tent.”
An even more remarkable perihelion opposition of Mars
graced the skies over Boston the summer of 2003. As it loomed
closer than it has ever been to Earth in nearly 60,000 years.
Again, the first watch belongs to Mars blazing in the Southeast,
but it share the “lime-light” with no other object.
Perihelion Opposition of Mars 2003
Courtesy of European Space Agency/Science & Technology
CLOSEST PERIHELION OPPOSITIONS FROM 3000 BC TO 3000 AD
AU
km
DATE
0.37200418
55651033.
2729 SEP 08 04:50:40
0.37200785
55651582.
2650 SEP 03 18:00:36
0.37217270
55676243.
2934 SEP 05 03:05:19
0.37225400
55688405.
2287 AUG 28 22:26:30
0.37230224
55695623.
2808 SEP 11 15:38:05
0.37238224
55707590.
2571 AUG 30 06:21:32
0.37238878
55708568.
2366 SEP 02 08:06:43
0.37271925
55758006.
2003 AUG 27 09:52:17
0.37279352
55769117.
2208 AUG 24 09:01:12
0.37284581
55776939.
1924 AUG 22 23:49:58
0.37292055
55788120.
2887 SEP 16 00:21:59
0.37296343
55794535.
2445 SEP 05 16:44:56
0.37302110
55803163.
1845 AUG 18 11:37:30
0.37305741
55808594.
1482 AUG 03 12:14:47
0.37310445
55815632.
2855 AUG 31 18:14:59
0.37321735
55832521.
2492 AUG 24 19:26:41
0.37325251
55837780.
1561 AUG 07 00:12:01
0.37326031
55838948.
1766 AUG 13 22:57:16
OF MARS
next surpassing one
two years ago
Longfellow aware?
Boston, MA
September 21, 1830
8 PM
Sky View III
Boston, MA
September 21, 1830
8 PM
Starry Night Backyard
Mars Opposition
Mars
2003
2005
Won't Be As Close
(24% farther)
0.34 AU
0.46 AU
Won't Appear as Bright
(58% dimmer)
m -2.9
m -2.3
Won't Appear as Large
(20% smaller)
25.1"
20.2"
But Mars will appear much higher in USA skies in 2005
compared with 2003! and will not appear larger than 20 arcsec
until 2018
Chronology Mars Apparition
Sep 15, 2004
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Leo near the
border to Virgo. Earth in superior conjunction with the Sun
from Mars. Distance about 400 million km (2.67 AU) at this
aphelic conjunction; the planet's apparent diameter is only 3.5".
From Mars, this is seen as a superior conjunction of Earth with
the Sun. This conjunction, which also ends the great 2003
apparition of Mars, starts the planet's 2005 apparition.
Sep 17, 2004
Mars leaves constellation Leo and enters Virgo.
Sep 20, 2004
Northern Summer, Southern Winter solstice on Mars.
Nov 22, 2004
Mars leaves constellation Virgo and enters Libra.
Dec 31, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Libra and enters Scorpius.
Jan 1, 2005
Mars is seen in the morning sky in constellation Scorpius, still
close to the border of Libra, at a distance of 332 million km
(2.221 AU), mag +1.1 and diameter 4.2".
Jan 7, 2005
Mars passes 5deg north of Antares.
Jan 8, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Scorpius and enters Ophiuchus.
Jan 15, 2005
Mars passes the descending node of its orbit, moving to the
south of the ecliptic, thus getting southern ecliptic latitudes.
Apparent brightness of Mars exceeds +1.5 mag
Feb 2, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Ophiuchus and enters Sagittarius.
Feb 23, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 5".
Mar 20, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Sagittarius and enters Capricornus.
Mar 21, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds +1.0 mag.
Apr 27, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Capricornus and enters Aquarius.
May 10, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds +0.5 mag.
Jun 7, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Aquarius and enters Pisces.
Jun 20, 2005
Mars at southernmost heliocentric ecliptical latitude (1.85 deg).
Jun 21, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Cetus. It is going to
change between these two constellations several times for the
next few weeks.
Jun 30, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Cetus and enters Pisces.
Jul 1, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds 0.0 mag.
Jul 12, 2005
From Mars, Earth is at its greatest Eastern elongation from the
Sun at about 43 deg. From Earth, Mars phase is minimal, angle
is 43 deg. Only 84 percent of the visible Mars hemisphere is
illuminated.
Jul 13, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 10".
Jul 17, 2005
Mars in Perihel (207 million km, 1.38 AU from the Sun)
Aug 2, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Pisces and enters Cetus.
Aug 5, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -0.5 mag.
Aug 7, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Cetus and enters Aries. It will come to
opposition in this constellation in about three months.
Aug 12, 2005
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft launched to Mars
Aug 17, 2005
Northern Winter, Southern Summer solstice on Mars
Sep 2, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -1.0 mag.
Sep 8, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 15".
Sep 22, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus (just for a few days).
Oct 1, 2005
Mars becomes stationary and then starts its retrograde opposition loop,
as Earth passes between the Red Planet and the Sun.
Oct 11, 2005
Mars leaves constellation Taurus in retrograde motion and enters Aries
where it will come into opposition next month.
Oct 17, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness exceeds -2.0 mag.
Oct 23, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars exceeds 20".
Oct 30, 2005
Closest approach of Mars and Earth (0.464 AU = 69.42 million km).
Apparent diameter of Mars is 20.19".
Nov 6, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 20".
Nov 7, 2005
Mars opposition on Earth, Earth in inferior conjunction on Mars.
Apparent brightness of Mars reaches -2.3 mag in constellation Aries.
Nov 15, 2005
Mars passes the ascending node of its orbit, moving to the north of
the ecliptic, thus getting northern ecliptic latitudes.
Nov 19, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -2.0 mag.
Dec 6, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -1.5 mag.
Dec 10, 2005
Mars becomes stationary to end its retrograde opposition loop
as the Earth has passed it on its inner orbit, and proceeds in
prograde apparent motion.
Dec 15, 2005
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 15".
Dec 20, 2005
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -1.0 mag.
Jan 1, 2006
Mars is seen prominently in the evening sky in constellation
Aries, at a distance of 116 million km (0.78 AU), mag -0.6 and
12.1" diameter.
Jan 5, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than -0.5 mag.
Jan 19, 2006
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 10".
Jan 20, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than 0.0 mag.
Jan 22, 2006
Northern Spring, Southern Autumn equinox on Mars.
Feb 7, 2006
Mars leaves constellation Aries and enters Taurus.
Feb 14, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +0.5 mag.
Feb 17, 2006
Mars passes the Pleiades (M45) at 2.5 deg South.
Mar 4, 2006
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft to arrive at Mars
and to enter Mars orbit.
Mar 18, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +1.0 mag.
Apr 25, 2006
Apparent diameter of Mars decreases below 5".
May 1, 2006
Mars' apparent brightness becomes fainter than +1.5 mag.
Jun 26, 2006
Mars in its aphel (249 million km or 1.66 AU from the Sun).
Oct 1, 2006
Mars at its greatest distance from Earth: 390 million km (2.607
AU). Mars' apparent disk measures now only 3.6" in diameter.
Oct 23, 2006
Mars in conjunction with the Sun from Earth, in Virgo. Earth in
superior conjunction with the Sun as seen from Mars. Distance
388 million km (2.594 AU), apparent diameter 3.6". This
conjunction ends the 2005 apparition of Mars. It also starts the
2007 apparition of Mars.
The 2005 close approach of Mars to
Earth comes on an auspicious day—
nearly on Halloween
67th anniversary of the notorious
Sunday Oct 30, 1938
(8-9 pm) Orson Welles broadcast
about an invasion from Mars (adapted
from H.G. Wells' 1898 novel, The
War of the Worlds).
Closest Approach
2005 Oct. 30, 3h UT (Oct. 29, 11:00 p.m. EDT)
0.464 AU (69,420,000 km or 43,140,000 mi)
Opposition
2005 Nov. 07, 8h UT (Nov. 7, 3:00 a.m. EST)
0.470 AU (70,240,000 km or 43,650,000 mi)
The Light of Stars
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The night is come, but not too soon;
And sinking silently,
All silently, the little moon
Drops down behind the sky.
There is no light in earth or heaven
But the cold light of stars;
And the first watch of night is given
To the red planet Mars.
Is it the tender star of love?
The star of love and dreams?
O no! from that blue tent above,
A hero's armor gleams.
And earnest thoughts within me rise,
When I behold afar,
Suspended in the evening skies,
The shield of that red star.
O star of strength! I see thee stand
And smile upon my pain;
Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand,
And I am strong again.
Within my breast there is no light
But the cold light of stars;
I give the first watch of the night
To the red planet Mars.
The star of the unconquered will,
He rises in my breast,
Serene, and resolute, and still,
And calm, and self-possessed.
And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art,
That readest this brief psalm,
As one by one thy hopes depart,
Be resolute and calm.
O fear not in a world like this,
And thou shalt know ere long,
Know how sublime a thing it is
To suffer and be strong.