DAILY EGYPTIAN
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Nebulas Eco camp builds and knowledge viewable from Neckers BRANDA MITCHELL Daily Egyptian
On any given night, there are many planets and stars to see in the sky, however observers may soon be able to see an entirely different galaxy. “It could be now or it could be in a few months, but Andromeda is coming up,” Lecturer of physics April Hendley said of a spiral galaxy located about 2.5 million light years away. “It’s the nearest big galaxy to us.” Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away from the Milky Way, but they are predicted to collide in four billion years due to the mutual gravitational pull, according to NASA. The Department of Physics will host an astronomy viewing at 10:30 p.m. Sunday at the Neckers Observation Deck. Hendley said the moon might determine if spectators can see certain extraterrestrial bodies such as the Ring Nebula. The Hubble Space Telescope showed the true shape and colors of the Ring Nebula in May 2013, which was previously believed to be different from what it found. “The Ring Nebula looks like a tiny greyish donut in the sky,” Hendley said. “Through a telescope it appears as a grey circle. The pictures we’ve seen where it’s colorful is from cameras where the shutter is open gathering light over a period of time. When we look through our eyes, we don’t have enough time to get the color information.” Lecturer Hendley described the behavior of Ring Nebula as indicative of what will eventually happen to our Sun in billions of years. “It is pretty much how a star about the size of our sun ends its life,” Hendley said. Saturn and Mars are also anticipated to be visible at Sunday’s observation. Saturn, the fifth brightest object in our solar system, is the most distant planet that can be seen with the naked eye. The planet can be distinguished by its pale yellow color, or by its rings when looking through a telescope. Mars, known for being ‘The Red Planet’ can be recognized by distinct coloration caused from the presence of rust on the surface. Two more observations are scheduled for the summer on Aug. 10, when the moon is closest to Earth, and Aug. 17. Branda Mitchell can be reached at bmitchell@dailyegyptian.com
KETURAH TANNER · DAILY EGYPTIAN
Torrie Withrow, a senior from Wayne City studying outdoor recreation, demonstrates to Maggie Bathgatt-Duram how to build a mound fire during one of Touch of Nature’s Eco Camps Tuesday. A mound fire is built on a tarp with a dirt base so it will not burn the ground or leave marks. It is a fire technique used for the“Leave No Trace”program. Withrow is a camp leader for Camp SIBOGI, Southern Illinois Boys and Girls, which took place June 30 to July 3. The camp is named after a past Touch of Nature program.
Carbondale gets set for the fourth MARCUS GRUWELL Daily Egyptian As American flags wave in the wind and the feeling of patriotism sweeps through the city like wildfire, people of Carbondale can expect to see a slight change in celebrations Friday night. Residents from all of southern Illinois will come to watch the fireworks and celebrations that are set to take place at 9 p.m. in Carbondale’s SuperBlock located behind University Mall and North Street. Minor changes will be made to this year’s fireworks according to its sponsors, The Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau.
Changes made will consist of the direction of fireworks and installing more traffic patrol. Cinnamon Smith, Carbondale Tourism executive director, said the changes are mostly because of budget cost. “We are mostly trying to have fewer low line fireworks [this year] and more higher up ones because we know that some people like to sit higher to watch them,” Smith said. City Manager Kevin Baity said that parking will be limited in some areas but everyone should be able to enjoy the celebrations. “There will be areas you wont be able to enter but places such as Carbondale Middle School and
Carbondale Community High School will be available to park in,” he said. It is recommended that people come early for the fireworks as traffic will build up quickly and there will be some parking that will be closed off. Baity said he hopes that next year the fireworks will be moved to the new water park, which is planned to be completed in May 2015. “The entire display should last from 25-30 minutes so it should be a nice time for everyone,” he said. Marcus Gruwell can be reached at marcus.gruwell@dailyegyptian.com