Remote Video Astronomy Group MECATX Sky Tour March 2020

(1) Chamaeleon (cuh-MEAL-ee-un), the Chameleon - March 1 (2) Leo (LEE-oh), the Lion - March 1 (3) Ursa Major (ER-suh MAY-jur), the Great Bear - March 11 (4) Crater (CRAY-ter), the Cup - March 12 (5) Hydra (HIGH-druh), the Female Water Snake - March 15 (6) Corvus (COR-vus), the Crow - March 28 (7) Crux (CROOKS), the Southern Cross - March 28 (8) Centaurus, the Centaur - March 30 (9) Musca (MUSS-cuh), the Fly - March 30

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Revised by: Alyssa Donnell 02.16.2020

March 1 Chamaeleon (cuh-MEAL-ee-un), the Chameleon Cha, Chamaeleontis (cuh-MEAL-ee-ON-tiss)

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1 Chamaeleon

Meaning: The Chameleon Pronunciation: kuh meel' ee un Abbreviation: Cha Possessive form: Chamaeleontis (kuh meel ee on' tiss) Asterisms: none

Bordering constellations: Apus, Carina, Mensa, Musca, Octans, Volans Overall brightness: 9.879 (20) Central point: RA = 10h40m Dec. = -79° Directional extremes: N = -75° S = -83° E = 13h48m W = 7h32m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 1 Mar Bright stars: none Named stars: none Near stars: none Size: 131.59 square degrees (0.319% of the sky) Rank in size: 79 Solar conjunction date: 1 Sep Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +7° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +15° Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 13 Interesting facts: (1) This is one of 11 constellations invented by Pieter Dirksz Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, during the years 1595-97.

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2 March 1 Leo (LEE-oh), the Lion Leo, Leonis (lee-OH-niss)

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3 Leo

Meaning: The Lion Pronunciation: lee' owe Abbreviation: Leo Possessive form: Leonis (lee owe' niss) Asterisms: The Diamond (of Virgo), The Sickle, The Spring Triangle

Bordering constellations: Cancer, Coma Berenices, Crater, Hydra, Leo Minor, Sextans, Ursa Major,Virgo

Overall brightness: 5.491 (70) Central point: RA = 10h37m Dec.= +13.5° Directional extremes: N = +33° 5 = —6° E = 11h56m W = 9h18m Messier objects: M65, M66, M95, M96, M105 Meteor showers: 6 Leonids (26 Feb) Leonids (17 Apr) Leonids (17 Nov) Midnight culmination date: 1 Mar Bright stars: a (21), y (41), 13(59), 6 (94), (162)

Named stars: Adhafera (c), Algieba (y), Alterf (2), Chort (0), Coxa (0), Denebola (13), Ras Elased Australis (E), Ras Elased Boraelis (O, Regulus (a), Subra (o), Zosma (6)

Near stars: Wolf 359 (4), AD Leo (37), Ross 104 (79), Wolf 358 (87), Ross 905 (144) Size: 946.96 square degrees (2.296% of the sky) Rank in size: 12 Solar conjunction date: 31 Aug

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4 Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: +84° to —57° portions visible worldwide Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 52

Non-traditional 'mythology': Although the figure of a lion is easily seen in the stars of Leo, often it is reported that a mouse (or rat) may be glimpsed. For the tip of the nose, use 13 Leo; for the pointed head connect 13 Leo to both 6 Leo and 0 Leo. A line from 0 Leo to a Leo to y Leo and back to 6 Leo traces out the body, and the curly tail is the top of the Sickle (, ji, and ). In addition, rather than the asterism of the Sickle, many observers correctly note that these stars represent a backward question mark. Interesting facts: (1) a Leo, or Regulus, is one of the four Royal Stars of the ancient Persians. The other three are Aldebaran ((x Tau), Antares ((x Sco), and Fomalhaut ((X PsA). (2) The Leonid meteor shower, which peaks each year around 17 Nov, is unusually active every 33 years. Tremendous displays were noted in 1799, 1833, 1866, and as recently as 1966. Tens of thousands of meteors per hour have been recorded on these occasions. The next great shower is expected in 1999, and as the Moon will have just passed its first quarter phase the night before, the view should be unhampered in the early morning hours when the shower is expected to peak.

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5

M65 and M66

Explanation: Nearby and bright, spiral galaxies M65 (top) and M66 stand out in this engaging cosmic snapshot. The pair are just 35 million light-years distant and around 100,000 light-years across, about the size of our own spiral Milky Way. While both exhibit prominent dust lanes sweeping along their broad spiral arms, M66 in particular is a striking contrast in red and blue hues; the telltale pinkish glow of hydrogen gas in star forming regions and young blue star clusters. M65 and M66 make up two thirds of the well-known Leo Triplet of galaxies with warps and tidal tails that offer evidence of the group's past close encounters. The larger M66 has been host to four supernovae discovered since 1973.

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Barred Spiral Galaxy M95

Explanation: Why do some spiral galaxies have a ring around the center? First and foremost, M95 is one of the closer examples of a big and beautiful barred spiral galaxy. Visible in the above recent image from the CFHT telescope in Hawaii, USA, are sprawling spiral arms delineate by open clusters of bright blue stars, lanes of dark dust, the diffuse glow of billions of faint stars, and a short bar across the galaxy center. Recent images by the Chandra X-ray Observatory have shown that X-ray light surrounding the ring is likely emission from recentsupernovas. Although the long term stability of the ring remains a topic of research, recent observations indicate its present brightness is at least enhanced by transient bursts of star formation. M95, also known as NGC 3351, spans about 50,000 light-years and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Lion (Leo)

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7 March 11 Ursa Major (ER-suh MAY-jur), the Great Bear UMa Ursae Majoris (ER-suh muh-JOR-iss)

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8 Ursa Major

Meaning: The Great Bear Pronunciation: er' suh may' jor Abbreviation: UMa Possessive form: Ursae Majoris (er' sigh muh jor' iss) Asterisms: The Arc, The Bier, The Big Dipper, The Horse and Rider, The Pointers

Bordering constellations: Boötes, Camelopardalis, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, Draco, Leo, Leo Minor, Lynx Overall brightness: 5.548 (69) Central point: RA= 11h16m Dec. = +51° Directional extremes: N = +73° S = +29° E = 14h27m W = 8h05m Messier objects: M40, M81, M82, M97, M101, M108, M109 Meteor showers: Ursids (22 Dec) Midnight culmination date: 11 Mar Bright stars: E (32), a (34), r (38), (71), 3 (77), y (84), ii (171), i (178), 1096), h (200)

Named stars: Alcor (80), Alioth (s), Alkaid (i), Alula Australis (a), Alula Borealis (v), Benetnash (ïØ, Dnoces (i), Dubhe (ct), Kaffa (s), Megrez (s), Merak (1), Mizar (c), Muscida (2), Phad (y), Phecda (y), Talitha (i), Tania Australis (GO, Tania Boraelis (2k)

Near stars: Lalande 21185 (5), BD+50°1725 (29), WX UMa A-B (44), LFT 634-635 (67), 4 Uma A-B (110), SZ UMa (126), 61 UMa (152), Groombridge 1830 (153)

Size: 1279.66 square degrees (3.102% of the sky)

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9 Rank in size: 3 Solar conjunction date: 10 Sep Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: N of —17° completely invisible from latitudes: S of —61° Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 71 Interesting facts: (1) UMa, named 'Mizar,' along with 80 UMa, called 'Alcor,' form a relatively close visual double star in the bend of the handle of the Big Dipper. Mizar itself was the first double star to be telescopically discovered. This occurred in 1650. In 1889, the primary of the Mizar pair became the first spectroscopically discovered binary star. Since then, Alcor has also been classified as a spectroscopic binary. Thus, no less than five stars comprise this magnificentstellar system. (2) For observers with moderate-sized instruments, two of the brightest galaxies in the sky may be compared and contrasted in the same field. These are M81 and M82. They lie approximately 2° to the east of the star 24 UMa. M81 is a classic spiral galaxy and M82 is an irregular. However, this object is unusual even within the irregular classification. M82 appears to have undergone a titanic explosion which has rent this galaxy asunder. Many studies, however, seem to indicate that this is merely a galaxy where a great deal of cosmic activity is occurring. In fact, some have labeled M82 a 'starburst galaxy,' a galaxy in which a tremendous amount of star formation is taking place.

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10 Bright Spiral Galaxy M81

Explanation: One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful M81. The grand spiral galaxy can be found toward the northern constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major). This superbly detailed image reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, tell tale pinkish star forming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes with a scale comparable to the Milky Way. Hinting at a disorderly past, a remarkable dust lane actually runs straight through the disk, to the left of the galactic center, contrary to M81's other prominent spiral features. The errant dust lane may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and its smaller companion galaxy, M82.

M82: Galaxy with a Supergalactic Wind

Explanation: As this irregular galaxy is also known, was stirred up by a recent pass near large spiral galaxy M81. This doesn't fully explain the source of the red-glowing outwardly expanding gas, however. This gas is being driven out by the combined emerging particle winds of many stars, together creating a galactic superwind. The featured photographic mosaic highlights a specific color of red light strongly emitted by ionized hydrogen gas, showing detailed filaments of this gas. The filaments extend for over 10,000 light years. The 12-million light-year distant Cigar Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the sky in infrared light, and can be seen in visible light with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major).

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11 M97: The Owl Nebula

Explanation: The Owl Nebula is perched in the sky about 2,600 light-years away toward the bottom of the Big Dipper's bowl. The 97th object in Messier's well-known list, its round shape along with the placement of two large, dark "eyes" do suggest the face of a staring owl. In fact, the Owl Nebula offers an example of the fate of our Sun as it runs out of fuel in another 5 billion years. As we see it, the nebula spans over 2 light-years making it roughly 2,000 times the diameter of Neptune's orbit. The composite includes images made through narrow-band filters for a total of 24 hours of exposure time.

M101: The Pinwheel Galaxy

Explanation: A striking example is M101, whose relatively close distance of about 27 million light years allows it to be studied in some detail. Gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy created waves of high mass and condensed gas which continue to orbit the galaxy center. These waves compress existing gas and cause star formation. One result is that M101, also called the Pinwheel Galaxy, has several extremely bright star-forming regions spread across its spiral arms. M101 is so large that its immense gravity distorts smaller nearby galaxies.

Messier 109

Explanation: Beautiful barred spiral galaxy M109, 109th entry in Charles Messier's famous catalog of bright Nebulae and Star Clusters, isfound just below the Big Dipper's bowl in the northern constellation Ursa Major. Of course M109 spans a very small angle in planet Earth's sky, about 7 arcminutes or 0.12 degrees. That small angle corresponds to an enormous 120,000 light-year diameter at the galaxy's estimated 60 million light-year distance. The brightest member of the now recognized Ursa Major galaxy cluster, M109 (aka NGC 3992) is joined by three spiky foreground stars strung out across this frame.

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12 March 12 Crater (CRAY-ter), the Cup Crt, Crateris (cruh-TEE-riss)

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13 Crater

Meaning: The Cup Pronunciation: kray' ter Abbreviation: Crt Possessive form: Crateris (kray ter' iss) Asterisms: none

Bordering constellations: Corvus, Hydra, Leo, Sextans, Virgo Overall brightness: 3.895 (82) Central point: RA = 11h2lm Dec. = 15.50 Directional extremes: N = 6° S = —25° E = 11h54m W = 10h48m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 12 Mar Bright stars: none Named stars: Alkes (a) Near stars: LFT 764 (189), LTT 4204 A-B (194) Size: 282.40 square degrees (0.685% of the sky) Rank in size: 53 Solar conjunction date: 11 Sep Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of 65° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +84° Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 11 Interesting facts: (1) As the only named star in the constellation, Alkes may have been brighter several hundred years ago when it was designated a Crt by Bayer. Today, ö Crt is the brightest star, with an apparent magnitude of 3.56. a Crt is more than a half magnitude fainter, shining at magnitude 4.08.

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14 March 15 Hydra (HIGH-druh), the Female Water Snake Hya, Hydrae (HIGH-dree)

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15 Hydra

Meaning: The Water Snake Pronunciation: hi' druh Abbreviation: Hya Possessive form: Hydrae (hide' rye) Asterisms: The Head

Bordering constellations: Antlia, Cancer, Canis Minor, Centaurus, Corvus, Crater, Leo, Libra, Monoceros, Puppis, Pyxis, Sextans, Virgo

Overall brightness: 5.449 (71) Central point: RA = 11h33m Dec.= —14°

Directional extremes: N = +7 S = —35° E = 14h58m W = 8h08m Messier objects: M48, M68, M83 Meteor showers: Hydrids (11 Dec) Midnight culmination date: 15 Mar Bright stars: a (46), y (169), (186), V (187) Named stars: Aiphard (a)

Near stars: LFT 661 (117), BD-1202918 A-B (151), LFT 823 A-B (166), LFT 865 (185)

Size: 1302.84 square degrees (3.158% of the sky) Rank in size: 1 Solar conjunction date: 15 Sep

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16 Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: +550 to —83° Portions visible worldwide

Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 71

Interesting facts: (1) V Hya, a variable star within this constellation, is often considered the reddest known star. At a maximum visual magnitude of 6.5, at least a small telescope is required to observe this unusual object. Another variable, U Hya, is somewhat brighter (4.7-6.2) and nearly as red. Both stars are within 5° of V Hya, with V Hya lying to the south and U Hya to the northwest. (2) On 18 September 1965, one of the most famous comets of the twentieth century was discovered near a Hya. This was the sungrazing comet Ikeya—Seki, which, on 21 October 1965, was visible in daylight when only 2° from the Sun.

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M83: The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy

Explanation: Big, bright, and beautiful, spiral galaxy M83 lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern tip of the very long constellation Hydra. Prominent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes and blue star clusters lend this galaxy its popular name, The Southern Pinwheel. But reddish star forming regions that dot the sweeping arms highlighted in this sparkling color composite also suggest another nickname, The Thousand-Ruby Galaxy. About 40,000 light-years across, M83 is a member of a group of galaxies that includes active galaxy Centaurus A. In fact, the core of M83 itself is bright at x-ray energies, showing a high concentration of neutron stars and black holes left from an intense burst of star formation. This sharp composite color image also features spiky foreground Milky Way stars and distant background galaxies. The image data was taken from the Subaru Telescope, the European Southern Observatory's Wide Field Imager camera, and the Hubble Legacy Archive.

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18 March 28 Corvus (COR-vus), the Crow Crv, Corvi (COR-vye)

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19 Corvus

Meaning: The Crow Pronunciation: kor' vus Abbreviation: Cry Possessive form: Coryi (kor' yee) Asterisms: The Sail

Bordering constellations: Crater, Hydra, Virgo Overall brightness: 5.985 (56) Central point: RA = 12h24m Dec. = -18°

Directional extremes: N = -11° 5 = -25° E = 12h54m W = 11h54m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: Coryids (26 Jun) Midnight culmination date: 28 Mar Bright stars: y (97), P (103), ö (157), E (168)

Named stars: Aichiba (a), Algorab (s), Kraz (3), Minkar (€) Near stars: Ross 695 (154)

Size: 183.80 square degrees (0.446% of the sky) Rank in size: 70 Solar conjunction date: 27 Sep

Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +65° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +790

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20 Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 11

Non-traditional 'mythology': The four brightest stars of this constellation (y, 3,6, and E) are often referred to as a sail. Also, a set of 'mini-Pointers' is present, as a line drawn from y through ö points to Spica ((x Vir). Interesting facts: (1) A very unusual object, NGC 4038-39, lies within the boundaries of this constellation. This is a pair of interacting (possibly, colliding) galaxies often called the 'Ring-tail Galaxy.' Its appearance on photographs taken with large instruments is that of a heart. Two streamers originating from the interaction point can also be seen. This object is classified as a peculiar galaxy.

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21 March 28 Crux (CROOKS), the Southern Cross Cru, Crucis (CROO-siss)

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22 Crux

Meaning: The (Southern) Cross Pronunciation: kruks Abbreviation: Cru Possessive form: Crucis (kroo' siss) Asterisms: none

Bordering constellations: Centaurus, Musca Overall brightness: 29.218 (1) Central point: RA = 12h24m Dec. = —60°

Directional extremes: N = —55° S = —65° E = 12h55m W = 11h53m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 28 Mar

Bright stars: a (13), 3 (19) y (24), 6 (127) Named stars: Acrux (a), Gacrux (y), Mimosa (3) Near stars: none

Size: 68.45 square degrees (0.166% of the sky) Rank in size: 88 Solar conjunction date: 27 Sep

Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +25° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +35°

Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 20

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Interesting facts: (1) This constellation was formed by early European explorers. The first reliable reference we have about Crux comes from a letter written by the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, in 1503. Crux was important to early navigators because a line drawn from y Cru through a Cru and extended some 25° roughly points to the south celestial pole. There is no bright star near this important directional point as exists in the northern hemisphere. (2) A famous dark nebula known as the 'Coal Sack' lies generally south of P Cru and east of a Cru, covering more than 30° of sky area. This nebula is easily seen with the unaided eye, silhouetted, as it is, against the brilliant and closely-packed stars of the southern Milky Way. (3) One of the most beautiful of all star clusters lies within the boundaries of Crux. This is NGC 4755, known either as the 'Kappa Crucis Star Cluster' or the 'Jewel Box.' This latter title was inferred by a statement made by John Herschel comparing this stellar group to a piece of multicolored jewelry.

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24 March 30 Centaurus, the Centaur Cen, Centauri

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25 Centaurus

Meaning: The Centaur Pronunciation: sen tor' us Abbreviation: Cen Possessive form: Centauri (sen tor' ee) Asterisms: The Southern Pointers

Bordering constellations: Antlia, Carina, Circinus, Crux, Hydra, Lupus, Musca, Vela Overall brightness: 9.525 (25) Central point: RA = 13hOlm Dec.= —47.5°

Directional extremes: N = —30° S = —65° E = 14h59m W = 11h03m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: a Centaurids (8 Feb) Midnight culmination date: 30 Mar Bright stars: :x (3), f3 (11), 0 (54), y (60), (73), r (75), (92), ö (98), t (118), p. (177), A (193), ic (194)

Named stars: Agena (f3), Hadar (f), Menkent (0), Proxima Centauri (a Cen C), Rigil Kentaurus (a), Toliman (cc)

Near stars: a Cen C (1), cx Cen A-B (2), LFT 930 (122), LFT 839 (123), LFT 1088 (173)

Size: 1060.42 square degrees (2.571 % of the sky) Rank insize: 9 Solar conjunction date: 7 Oct

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Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +25° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +60

Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 101

Interesting facts: (1) The nearest star system to our own is that of a Cen, or Rigil Kentaurus. Although this star has a proper name, it is almost universally referred to as Alpha Centauri. The distance to a Cen is 4.39 light years. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system, the two brighter components making a wonderful double star to observe in even small instruments. The third star in this group is commonly referred to as Proxima Centauri, as it lies slightly nearer to the Earth - about 0.1 light years - than the aforementioned pair. Visually, cc Cen is the third brightest of all nighttime stars, shining with an apparent magnitude of —0.27. (2) As cc Cen has a large proper motion around the year 6000 it will have moved near 3 Cen and they will become a fabulous double star. (3) The finest globular cluster in the sky is w Cen, the Omega Centauri cluster.The designation of this object as a star comes from ancient times, with the Greek letter omega being given it by Johannes Bayer in 1603, in his Uranometria star atlas. Today, Omega Centauri is also referred to by its official designation: NGC 5139. The total visual magnitude of w Cen is a relatively bright 3.7, but its southerly declination (-47°) makes it a difficult object to view at latitudes above 35° N.

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March 30 Musca (MUSS-cuh), the Fly Mus, Muscae (MUSS-see)

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Meaning: The Fly Pronunciation: mus' kuh Abbreviation: Mus Possessive form: Muscae (mus' kye) Asterisms: none

Bordering constellations: Apus, Carina, Centaurus, Chamaeleon, Circinus, Crux Overall brightness: 13.732(8) Central point: RA = 12h31m Dec. = —69.5° Directional extremes: N = —64° S = —75° E = 13h46m W = 11hl7m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 30 Mar Bright stars: c (110), 3 (179) Named stars: none Near stars: L 145-141 (36) Size: 138.36 square degrees (0.335% of the sky) Rank in size: 77 Solar conjunction date: 29 Sep Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +15° completely invisible from latitudes: N of +26° Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 19

Interesting facts: (1) This is one of 11 constellations invented by Pieter Dirksz Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, during the years 1595-7.

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30 MECATX RVA March 2020 - www.mecatx.ning.com – Youtube – MECATX – www.ustream.tv – dfkott

31 NOTES PAGE

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32 Remote Video Astronomy Group MECATX Sky Tour March 2018

(1) Chamaeleon, the Chameleon - March 1 (2) Leo, the Lion - March 1 (3) Ursa Major, the Great Bear - March 11 (4) Crater, the Cup - March 12 (5) Hydra, the Female Water Snake - March 15 (6) Corvus, the Crow - March 28 (7) Crux, the Southern Cross - March 28 (8) Centaurus, the Centaur - March 30 (9) Musca, the Fly - March 30

Revised by: Alyssa Donnell 02.16.2020

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