Warmer and sun

   

Good morning Augusta Maine.

This morning it is mostly cloudy with Temps reaching into the 30's. There will be light and variable winds.

Tonight it will be mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers, with sleet and freezing rain after midnight. Hence the weather advisory for Saturday morning from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. so if possible, stay home in the morning.

Lows will be in the 20's and the winds will increase to around 10 mph.

The readings outside right now are:

a relative humidity of 61% with a Dew Point of 6.5ºF.

The temperature is 17.6ºF. We have almost no wind chill that this time.

The wind velocity right now is between 1.1 mph and 1.8 mph out of the East Northeast. 

Our Barometric pressure is 30.01 and rising. The weather graphic indicates Sun. 

We had no measurable precipitation overnight.

Visibility is 10.0 miles. It is very clear and we have another great ceiling.

Here is an interesting article from the Farmer's Almanac about a set of winter Constellations.

Though not everyone loves them, there's no denying that dogs take up a lot of space in human hearts and minds. According to a survey by the American Pet Products Association, there are more than 78 million dogs pet dogs living in U.S. households.

This bond is nothing new. People have shared their lives with dogs for thousands of years. Their importance to our ancestors is apparent in the fact that the ancient Greeks named not just one, but two constellations for them: Canis Major and Canis Minor.

Canis Major and Canis Minor are two of our 88 modern constellations, and were both included among the original 48 listed by 2nd-Century astronomer Ptolemy. Their names are Latin for "greater dog" and "lesser dog," respectively. The two "dogs" were said to be the hunting dogs of Orion, the Hunter, another prominent winter constellation.

Canis Major contains 32 stars, and is notable for being home to the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius, also known as the "dog star." The star is said to be Canis Major's nose, and is also part of the popular asterism the Winter Triangle (or the Summer Triangle in the Southern Hemisphere). Other bright stars in the constellation include Adhara, Wezen, Murzim, Aludra, Furud, and Muliphen ("the dog's ear").

Canis Major is home to only one Messier Object, bright deep sky objects identified primarily by French astronomer Charles Messier during the 18th Century: the open cluster M41.

The much smaller Canis Minor contains 14 stars in total, including only two bright ones, Procyon and Gomeisa. Procyon is notable for being the seventh brightest star in the night sky, as well as one of the closest to Earth. There are no bright deep sky objects within Canis Minor.

According to mythology, the dogs tail their master, Orion, as he hunts the hare, Lepus (or perhaps Taurus, the Bull, depending on the teller) across the night sky and into the Underworld.