www.chaskaherald.com | Chaska Herald
March 1, 2012 | A5
STARWATCH
Spring arrives on March 20 In March we get to watch as four planets group into two pairs. Three of the planets are in the sky and one is right under our feet. Mars reaches opposition on the 3rd, the day Earth passes it and it appears directly opposite the sun. The Red Planet will be up all night, burning its ruddy fire below the belly of Leo, the lion. The bright star west of Mars is Regulus, the brightest in Leo. On the 5th, Mars will sweep closest to Earth and shine at maximum brightness for this visit. If it seems strange that our two worlds make their closest approach after Earth has lapped Mars, remember that both orbits are noncircular, with points of perihelion and aphelion when the planets are nearest and farthest, respectively, from the sun. Earth is heading out toward aphelion while Mars, having passed its aphelion in February, is now closing in. These motions continue to bring our two planets closer until two days after Earth has left the Red Planet behind. Unfortunately, being so near aphelion means Mars won’t come nearly as close as it did in 2003, when its
opposition and perihelion fell only two days apart. This time it will be about 63 million miles away, compared to only 35 million miles in 2003. Also in Mars news, recent data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe suggests that a large ocean once covered the planet’s northern plains. The probe’s radar picked up evidence of marine-like sediments in locations already suspected to have been ancient shorelines. Researchers speculate that the ocean enjoyed a rather brief life some 3 billion years ago. The second planetary pairing happens on the 13th, when Jupiter drops past Venus on its way down into the sun’s afterglow. The king and queen of planets come within three degrees of each other, then separate as Jupiter continues its freefall. On the 25th, a thin crescent moon comes out close to Jupiter. The next night, a slightly fatter lunar crescent appears next to Venus, just as the brilliant planet reaches its highest point before beginning a dramatic fall. With the Pleiades star cluster hovering just a few degrees above Venus, this is a night to
“Researchers speculate that the ocean enjoyed a rather brief life some 3 billion years ago.” Deane Morrison
grab your binoculars. Saturn is well up in the east by midnight all month. Just southwest of the ringed planet is its companion, the bright star Spica in Virgo. Above and left of the pair is Arcturus, the brightest star in Bootes, while Mars shines high to their upper right. Algonquin tribes called the full moon of March the worm moon, for the casts of earthworms that now begin to appear on the softening earth. In more northerly areas, it was known as the crow moon, for the cawing of these feisty birds, or the crust moon, because during this season snow acquires a crust from cycles of melting and refreezing. This year it rises the night of the 7th and reaches perfect fullness at 3:39 a.m. on the 8th. High in the south during
the evening is Procyon, the brightest star in Canis Minor, the smaller of Orion’s hunting dogs. Procyon is actually a double star consisting of a star twice as wide as the sun and nearly seven times as bright and a white dwarf star that packs about 60 percent of the sun’s mass into an orb smaller than Earth. Procyon isn’t especially bright; it just looks that way because it’s only about 11.5 light-years from Earth. Procyon forms one point of the Winter Triangle of stars. The other points are Sirius — below Procyon and only 9 light-years away — and the gigantic red star Betelgeuse, which forms Orion’s northeast shoulder and burns brightly despite being some 600 light-years away. Spring arrives with the vernal equinox at 12:14 a.m. on the 20th. At that moment the sun crosses over the equator into the northern sky and the Earth — the other side of it, of course — will be lighted from pole to pole. Deane Morrison, with the University of Minnesota, can be contacted at morri029@umn. edu. Find U of M astronomers and links to the world of astronomy at www.astro.umn. edu.
Call Jerry for Great Selection and Value! 952-943-9000 • 612-747-9910 jerrychapman1@hotmail.com
Metropolitan Ford 202188
BY DEANE MORRISON
Jerry Chapman Fleet & Lease Manager New & Used Sales
• U of M Alumni • Member of Westwood Community Church
www.metropolitanford.com 20+ Years of Superior Customer Satisfaction
Go to
chaskaherald.com Read.
New stuff every day.
Register. Once. You’re done!
Remark.
Comment. Blog.
LETTERS continued from A4
will provide a centrally located, safe and convenient area for active recreation and a place for local residents to meet. Many are excited to finally have a park and playground, easily accessible by foot or bike, without having to cross either Highway 41 or the equally busy Engler Boulevard. Connected to the existing network of trails, our new park will help connect families within and between local neighborhoods. Those who have attended the first couple planning meetings are starting to see the unique opportunities and the positive outcomes. With such a large wooded area in Griep Park, residents will have access to both dense woods and open park spaces. Starting with a wooded lot provides the opportunity to create an open space with a large number of mature trees. Providing both dense woods and open spaces offers something for everyone. Children in the neighborhood are starting to get excited about having somewhere to play together and many parents about having a safe and local playground. The types of playground equipment we have been discussing are engineered for safety and beyond what most families can afford. With a neighborhood park, we will have a better chance to get kids out of their houses, off their Playstations, and building friendships. Encouraging kids to socialize and be active outside is something we need to support and neighborhood parks can do exactly that. Lastly, the development of Griep Park will provide an important asset to local homeowners. At a time when property values are distressed and the district has an excess of homes on the market, all of the published studies agree that a neighborhood park within one-quarter mile has a positive influence. Neighborhood parks not only positively influence the rate of appreciation, but also the relative home values (compared to others without parks) and the attractiveness of homes to prospective buyers. Ask someone trying to sell a home and you will see that one of the first questions young families ask is “Where is the park? ” Our chance to build a unique neighborhood park will not only be great for kids, but also help homeowners build back some equity lost over the last four years of the economic downturn. Thanks again to the Chaska Park Board for your commitment to parks development and for following through on the development of the neighborhood park in our area.
FILE PHOTO BY KARLA WENNERSTROM
Kelly Collins is pictured with her grandparents, Dave and Priscilla Cassin of Edina, after she surprised her father with the news that she was home on leave from Afghanistan. tors serving under his leadership. We appreciate the work and the energy these people have put into making Jonathan the great place to live that it was intended to be. Jonathan has so many amenities. Mr. Bostrum and his board have worked with the Gassen Company to put in place a financial plan, with a longterm outlook, that will protect the Jonathan amenities. During the past few years our informative newsletter is back. We again have activities, on special days, provided for children and for families and this opportunity to meet many neighbors is important for life in these stressful times. Our trails and open spaces are again being cared for in a planned way. We appreciate all this. Besides our often mentioned amenities, there is also the grim reality of today’s real estate market. It’s important that we maintain our property values. To be cost effective is to work together. Paying our dues and working with, not against, our Jonathan Board is our best value toward keeping our real estate values from becoming more depressed before the market improves. We urge support and clear thinking while pondering the challenges of Jonathan, or any place one might call home.
Terry and Alice O’Donnell Chaska
MILITARY
Another surprise for local soldier As grandparents of Kelly Collins, we want to thank you ever so much for your help
in making her homecoming from Afghanistan a memorable event (“Local soldier returns from Afghanistan, surprises dad,” Feb. 16). Her boyfriend was also home on leave from Afghanistan, and at Toby Keith’s restaurant after the music stopped, on bended knee on the dance f loor, he flipped open a small box, and proposed. A gala event to say the least. Happiness all around. She left for an air base in Afghanistan on Saturday, Feb. 18, and will be there until her one-year deployment is satisfied. Whereupon she then returns to Fort Hood, Texas, her home base. Her eventual goal is to be a civilian air traffic control operator, when she departs from the service, which she is currently doing in the military. Thank you again for your kindness.
Dave and Priscilla Cassin Edina
VOTER ID
Do something before it’s too late I am writing in response to the letter writer that stated that we do not have a voter fraud issue (“We do not have a voter fraud issue,” Feb. 16). He states it as if the information in his letter is fact, when in reality; it is at best only assumptions on his part! Assumption No. 1: The fact is there is no way he can “know” that we do not have a voter fraud problem anymore than I can “know” there is a problem. There is one thing we all should know and that is we have somewhere between 12
million and 20 million illegal residents and many millions more of legal non-citizen residents in the U.S. and that number continues to grow. I am sure that no U.S. citizen wants non-citizens voting and deciding who our elected representatives are at any level of government, local, state or federal. Yes, we do want and need to keep the “wrong” voters out of the process as he states, but it is the non-citizens we want kept out, not the citizens that he listed. It was not long ago that we heard nothing about identity theft, and now almost every news report has a story about it? Now the federal government and most states are trying to catch up with legislation and laws to combat that issue. Why not get ahead of this voter fraud issue instead of waiting until it is too late. Why should we wait until we have such a massive voter fraud problem that even those on the left can recognize it? Assumption No. 2: He believes the poor won’t be able to vote because they won’t invest money in a photo I.D. Lack of money will not be an issue for the poor, since the current proposed bill in Minnesota would provide “free” voter identification to those that can prove their citizenship. Assumption No. 3: Apparently he believes that all of the people he categorizes as poor, elderly and young will be “overwhelmed by the process of getting another I.D. card” and those three groups also only vote for the Democrats. I belong to one of those groups and know many people in all three, and I can tell you for sure they do not all vote Democratic. Plus, I think very few things can “overwhelm” the young people of today. As for the poor and elderly, if they do not have a photo I.D.,I would think that the same friends, family or organizations that get them to the polls would be able to assist them in obtaining their I.D. Think about this: We didn’t used to have a gang problem, now we do. We didn’t used to have a drug problem, now we do. Let us do something now about this voter fraud issue in the state of Minnesota before it gets so out of control that the left can finally see it but it is too late to fix the problem!
Robert Hoyt Chaska
Job Opportunities with these great companies and others are advertised in CLASSIFIEDS located in the back of this newspaper Find more local JOB openings in the CLASSIFIEDS. To see your company listed here, or to place your employment ad, call 952-345-3003.
Randal Giroux Chaska
HERALD
ScoƩ County Customer Service has some exciƟng news! EīecƟve March 8, 2012 we are pleased to announce a change in hours. We will now be oīering service to our customers on: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. That’s later than ever! Please remember us when you need services such as: ¾ Motor vehicle transfers & tabs ¾ Driver’s license renewals & change of address ¾ Passports & passport photos (applicaƟons accepted daily from 8 a.m. unƟl one half hour before closing) ¾ HunƟng & Įshing licenses ¾ Snowmobile, boat & atv tabs ¾ Real estate tax payments ¾ Recording of real estate documents ¾ Building permits, water & radon kits, pumping permits, copies of sepƟc as builts & lot surveys ¾ Marriage licenses, birth & death cerƟĮcates, notary services, notary registraƟon ¾ Township licenses & permits (charitable gambling, liquor, 3.2 beer, tobacco, aucƟoneer, transient merchant and precious metal) ¾ And much more!
200 Fourth Avenue West, Shakopee Located inside the ScoƩ County Government Center 952-496-8150 Thank you for your conƟnued patronage and we hope to see you soon!
SEND US YOUR … Suggestions for best kids’ books Dr. Seuss? Harry Potter? Winnie-the-Pooh? What was your favorite childhood book, and why? What book character can’t you get out of your head, decades later? And, what are today’s favorite books for your children or grandchildren? We’re looking for readers to tell us about the best children’s book they ever read – whether that was last week or 50 years ago.
Share your story about a favorite children’s book (200 words or less, please) with Chaska Herald readers. Send it to Editor Mark Olson, editor@chaskaherald.com, before noon on Friday, March 2. Include your name and city of residence. We’ll run some stories online at chaskaherald.com and the best in the March 8 Herald print edition.
JONATHAN
We urge support and clear thinking We are longtime residents of Jonathan. We are writing in support of Nate Bostrum and the Jonathan Board of Direc-
CHASKA
952-345-3003
CHASKA
HERALD