Skywatcher Tricks to Explore the Skies

Skywatcher Tricks to Explore the Skies BY LISA S.T. DOSS

The night sky leads to a fascinating discovery of light. Even if a telescope isn’t available, the naked eye possesses the ability to see mythological stories presented as constellations in the heavens. Finding Ursa Minor leads to more than just one bright star. Consider the extraordinary study of the universe. You, too, can learn the stories bridging constellations and Greek Myths, Native American culture, and other skywatchers living close by who seek the knowledge of the cosmos.

Optimize Your Vision

The retina has two types of receptors that are stimulated as light enters the human eye. While the “cones” respond to color, the “rods” help clarify vision. Peering out into the darkness, it takes time for the rods in your peripheral vision to adjust to the dimness. Be patient and do not look directly at light. If you look at it from an angle, hues will appear based on the stars’ temperature. Cold stars are orange-red, yellow-orange, and yellow-white, while super-heated stars show variations of blue.

Why Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?

Have you ever wondered why starlight tends to dance and shimmer? The answer has to do with the thick layers of the atmosphere. Upon reaching turbulent layers, the light must pass through, causing the shine alternatively to diminish and grow stronger. It is not a glitch. A telescope will not help to improve visibility in this instance; instead, the image will appear cloudy.

Ursa Major Leads North to Polaris

The “Big Dipper” is the ideal place to start when scouting constellations. Face north, looking up at the horizon. You should be able to spot its orientation halfway up. It has a fourstarred handle and rectangular cup. Depending on the season, the bowl may face up, sideways, or down. Once found, you can follow the two vertical stars on the cup northward to find the North Star, Polaris and Ursa Minor’s tail. It too has a cup, although smaller in size and its handle comprises four stars.

Sky Hopping Using Ursa Major

Following the curved handle of Ursa Major, continue the arc until you reach the fourth-brightest star in the sky, Arcturus. The orange star’s light takes 36 years to extend through to our solar system. Look at the constellation leading to Arcturus. It resembles the shape of a kite.

Regulus and Leo the Lion

brightest star in the constellation, Regulus. It also marks the corner, the breast, of Leo the Lion, totaling nine stars. Look up to see the lion’s head.

The Green Flash

In the dog days of summer, start spending the evenings gazing at the sunset with a purpose. A fleeting mirage will result from the heat emanating from our atmosphere. At just the precise angle, the light will separate from white light into a spectrum of colors.

The red, yellow, and orange hues will disappear, leaving behind the green, blue, and violet light. Pay close attention; if you are at the right angle, the remaining color spectrum of the prism will flash not red, but green!

Perseids Meteor Shower

Mark your calendar for August 12th and 13th. North Carolina’s best meteor shower of the year arrives! Named after the constellation Perseus, this meteor shower can produce a volley of over 100 meteors per hour, a quality shower! If you have not witnessed the phenomenon before, the fireballs leave long trails of light and color as they streak across the sky. Don’t worry about locating the constellation before viewing. They aren’t necessarily connected! Try to view the shower in the hours after midnight.

Two additional dates to mark in 2021: • Blue Moon, August 22th • Draconids Meteor Shower, October 8th

The Man on the Moon

Fortunetellers and astrologists speak of timelines connecting the planets to upheavals on earth, with words such as “retrograde” and “alignments.” Stay away from the beach, for instance, during an alignment of planets. You’ll experience flooded roads. Is it a myth that the full moon influences behavior? Studies prove seeds germinate faster, and water rises and increases its pull during a full moon.

Perspective from Time and Person

Skywatchers go back to ancient times, with such notable names as Pythagoras, Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Nicholas Copernicus. These were men who stood and looked to the heavens and wondered, “What’s up there?” So can you!

Walk to End Alzheimers

THRIVE COMMUNITY NC An Extraordinary Place for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

BY JULIE FRITZ

Have you ever wondered how people plan for their adult children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)? The parents of these children have to think long-term. They need to put in place a plan that will care for, protect and help their children grow as people and as a part of our society. This planning can be very stressful for the parents. But what if there were a place, a community if you will, that would welcome these adults, provide them with housing, employment, programming, and social engagement as part of a long-term sustainable solution? The creators of Thrive Community NC are working towards creating a place like this right here in the Triad.

Creators Erika Mielke and Kathy Murray initiated the idea for Thrive out of a need that was close to their hearts. Both of these women are mothers to children with these needs, and are faced with long-term planning for them. Mielke said, “We both had been looking at what our options would be when planning the future for our children. There were models around the country for communities where children like ours could work and live to sustain themselves beyond the years that their parents would be able to care for them. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything like that in our community.” By working together, they were sure they could create a community in this area that could serve their children and many others. And they also believe that as parents, they could have an inside perspective that could help them create this community in a very thoughtful and serving way.

Thrive Community has taken great care to assess the needs of our community. Focus groups were held in WinstonSalem, Kernersville, and Clemmons, and the resulting report determined that the need for this type of community is strong and so is the desire to support it. They also looked at the statistics. North Carolina ranked 41st in the effort to support individuals with IDD. Only 15% of individuals in NC with IDD work in competitive employment settings, versus the national average of 19%. And only three other states have higher rates of institutionalization for individuals with IDD. This information serves to validate the need for Thrive Community.

The vision for Thrive is to build a community with three components: residential, programming, and commercial. The residential component will start with a multi unit residential building of one and two-bedroom units to provide independent living. They’re also hoping to provide a housing subsidy for at least half of the units, which would address parental concerns about how their children will afford sustained living, and the number of housing resources available. Housing is primary but longer term goals include a community center, featuring amenities like a gym, a restaurant, gathering spaces, classrooms, and a media center and partnering with community organizations to utilize the spaces for programming and vocational training. The commercial component would be adjacent to the residential section and be available for businesses to locate to. The goal would be for those businesses to participate in vocational training programs and offer employment to the residents, building bridges and breaking down stereotypes and misconceptions about adults with IDD.

Getting this fantastic vision up and running will take a community effort, and on August 7th, Thrive Community NC will be hosting its first fundraiser at Tanglewood Pizza Company. TPC will donate a portion of the revenue from that evening’s sales to Thrive Community, so come out and enjoy dinner in a family-friendly environment. There will be a cornhole tournament at 3 p.m. Two-person teams can register for $20 per person. TPC will donate all registration fees to Thrive and will provide the winning team’s prize. There will also be a silent auction which will begin online about a week before the event. By downloading the app Event.Gives, you can bid and get notified if you are outbid, so you won’t need to be at the event to participate. Finally, there will be a concert by the band Hawthorne Curve from 6-9 p.m. with raffles on the halfhour during the show. There is still a need for volunteers and donations for the raffle and silent auction items.

If you can’t make it out on August 7th, but you still want to give, you can also make donations to Thrive at their website, or Use Amazon Smile to donate a portion of your Amazon purchases to this fantastic cause.

If you would like to learn more about Thrive Community NC or see how you can help by making donations or volunteering your time, visit their website at thrivecommunitync.org. You can contact them by calling 336-485-5655 or by e-mail at info@thrivecommunity.org.

loving people.” ~ Vincent VanGogh

1Natalie Apodaca 8th Grade Hanes Magnet Middle Barbara Butryn, Art Teacher

2Kenzie Kearns 8th Grade Northwest Middle Natasha Young, Art Teacher 3 Miriam Black 10th Grade West Forsyth High School Nathan Newsome, Art Teacher

4Grayson Ellis 8th Grade Walkertown Middle Meredith Jones, Art Teacher