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Home , Arcturus, Big Dipper, Cancer (constellation), Cor Caroli, Gemini (constellation), Leo (constellation)

TAAS Fabulous Fifty

Friday April 21, 2017

19:30 MDT (7:30 pm)

Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita

All TAAS and other new and not so new astronomers are invited Evening Events

7:30 pm Meet inside church for overview of winter sky

8:30 pm View outside

9:00 pm Social session inside church

10:00 pm Optional additional viewing outside Objectives

Provide new astronomers a list of 50 night sky objects

1. Locate with the naked eye

2. Showcases the night sky for an entire

3. Beginner astronomer will remember from one observing session to the next

4. Basis for knowing the night sky well enough to perform more detailed observing Methodology

1. Divide the observing activities into the four seasons:

Winter Dec-Jan-Feb Spring Mar-Apr-May Summer Jun-Jul-Aug

Fall Sep-Oct-Nov Boötes Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita

2. Begin with the bright and easy to locate and identify and associated

3. Add the other constellations for each season

Methodology (cont.)

4. Add a few naked eye Messier Objects

5. Include planets as a separate observing activity M 44 “The Beehive” Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita 6. Include the as a separate observing activity

7. Include meteor showers as separate observing activity

Spring

Constellations Stars

Ursa Major Dubhe Merak

Leo M 44 “The Beehive”

Boötes M 3 The Spring Sky Map

Ursa Major Boötes

Leo What Are the Messier Objects (M)?

100 astronomical objects listed by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1771

Messier was a comet hunter, and frustrated by objects which resembled but were not comets

Compiled a list of them in collaboration with his assistant Pierre Mechain, to avoid wasting time on observing them

Currently 110 objects in list

First deep space objects (outside of our ) that amateur astronomers will attempt to observe after observing the moon and the planets

All visible in small telescopes

Many are observable in binoculars

Few are visible to the naked eye What Are the Messier Objects (M)?

Galaxies Globular Clusters

Double Stars

Nebulas Open Clusters Charts

Many sizes and kinds

All useful

Pick a chart

Learn to use it The Spring Sky Map

Ursa Major Boötes

Leo Sky Map Lesson Free and can be downloaded at

http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

Select observer location

New map each

Easy to use

Available in several languages Sky Map Lesson (cont.)

1. Hand out Sky Map

2. Examine Sky Map

3. Learn how to “hold” Sky Map

4. Use Sky to locate FAB 50 objects Sky Map Lesson (cont.)

When log into to the web site where you can download the program

1. Scroll down to locate the Northern Hemisphere Edition

2. Select the current month (the chart for each month becomes available about 2 – 4 days prior to the first day of the month).

3. Download the chart and save it to your computer.

3. Print the chart for your use. Sky Map Lesson (cont.)

This chart is for Northern Hemisphere

- early April at 10 PM

and/or

- late April at 9 PM

40o .

Albuquerque’s 350 north latitude

Close enough to 350 so chart is useable Sky Map Lesson (cont.)

The are are two pages to the map.

We will examine each page individually Sky Map Lesson (cont.)

Leo

Dates of celestial events Outlines of the constellations (brightness) of the stars Symbols for the various objects Magnitude (brightness)

Brightness of a star is indicated by “size” of the black dot Star Chart Lesson (cont.)

General Info Visible with naked eye

Observing Tips Visible with binoculars

Astronomical Glossary

Visible with telescope Star Chart Lesson (cont.)

How to best use the Sky Map

Begin by locating the four cardinal directions:

a. South

b. North

c. East

d. West

Hold the chart so the direction that you are looking

is at the bottom of the chart. Star hopping to find objects

1. Learning how to move from a know object to an unknown object.

2. Looking for “geometric situations” half-way between two visible stars is the object I want to view

Spring

Constellation

Ursa Major

“the Big ”

North Star “” Two bright stars

Dubhe

Merak Pointers to the North Star Two stars of the bowl always point to Polaris (north) Spring

Constellation

Ursa Major

“the Big Bear” North Star “POLARIS”

Two bright stars

Dubhe Pointers to the North Star Merak

BUT this photo is actually just an Asterism

A prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular name but smaller than a constellation.

The is NOT a constellation it is an asterism. The constellation called URSA MAJOR

The constellation is called “URSA MAJOR.” The asterism is called “THE BIG DIPPER.” Spring

Constellation Leo “the ” Bright star Regulus

This constellation actually “LOOKS LIKE” a lion. The Spring Naked Eye MESSIER OBJECT Next to Leo

M 44 called “The Beehive” M 44 The BEEHIVE

The Spring Naked Eye Messier Object is

M 44 in the constellation “the ”

Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita Star Hopping to M 44 “the BEEHIVE”

It is “near” Leo in the dim constellation Cancer Constellation

Cancer is a dim constellation between LEO and

GEMINI A winter FAB 50 constellation Star Hopping to M 44 “the BEEHIVE”

Draw a line from Regulus in LEO

to

Pollux in

M 44 is about ½ way between the two stars. Spring

Constellation

BoÖtes

(bow-OH-tease) “the herdsman”

Bright star Arcturus

Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita ARCTURUS

in Bootes

Arcturus has a visual magnitude of −0.04, making it the brightest star north of the celestial , and the fourth brightest star in the night sky. Sky Lesson 5.3 Magnitude (brightness) (cont.)

The “bigger” the dot the brighter the star Arc to Arcturus

Follow the handle of the BIG DIPPER and “arc” to Arcturus

You just “star hopped” from the Big Dipper to Arcturus Arc to Arcturus (cont.)

www.earthsky.org Spring

Arcturus

A very BIG star

A SMALL star So, how BIG is Arcturus? How many will fit into ARCTURUS?

109 EARTHS will fit into the .

17,500 will fit into ARCTURUS.

Therefore, 1,900,000 EARTHS fit into ARCTURUS. 1.9 million Arcturus is a “BIG” Star

This summer we will look at even 186 million miles BIGGER star, . The Spring MESSIER OBJECT near Boötes

M 3 Finding M 3

Cor Caroli

Go about Draw line from mid-point to Arcturus

M3 Then just a “little bit” more

Arcturus Leo TAAS Fabulous 50 (cont.)

Spring

Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita

Stars Constellations Messier

Regulus Leo M 44 (actually in Cancer) Arcturus Bootes M 3 (bow-OH-tease) Dubhe Ursa Major Merak (The Big Dipper)

Cancer M 44 The Spring Skymap

Ursa Major Leo Leo

Boötes Bootes

Hold your Skymap with EAST on the bottom and view to the EAST. Gemini Review of the Winter Sky

Canis Major

Ursa Minor

Cassiopeia

Auriga Review of Winter Sky Gemini Canis Minor

Canis Major

Orion

Looking West on Friday May 8, 2016 at 9 pm Review of the Spring Sky

Ursa Major

Boötes

Leo Photos Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita “You shall see wonders” William Shakesphere

The End TAAS Fabulous Fifty

Friday April 8, 2016

19:30 MDT (7:30 pm) Ursa Major

Photo Courtesy of Naoyuki Kurita

All TAAS and other new and not so new astronomers are invited