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MESSIER 13 RA(2000) : 16H 41M 42S DEC(2000): +36° 27'
MESSIER 13 RA(2000) : 16h 41m 42s DEC(2000): +36° 27’ 41” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Globular Cluster CONSTELLATION: Hercules BEST VIEW: Late July DISCOVERY: Edmond Halley, 1714 DISTANCE: 25,100 ly DIAMETER: 145 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +5.8 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 20’ Starry Night FOV: 1.00 Lyra FOV: 60.00 Libra MESSIER 6 (Butterfly Cluster) RA(2000) : 17Ophiuchus h 40m 20s DEC(2000): -32° 15’ 12” M6 Sagitta Serpens Cauda Vulpecula Scutum Scorpius Aquila M6 FOV: 5.00 Telrad Delphinus Norma Sagittarius Corona Australis Ara Equuleus M6 Triangulum Australe BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster Telescopium CONSTELLATION: Scorpius Capricornus BEST VIEW: August DISCOVERY: Giovanni Batista Hodierna, c. 1654 DISTANCE: 1600 ly MicroscopiumDIAMETER: 12 – 25 ly Pavo APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +4.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 25’ – 54’ AGE: 50 – 100 million years Telrad Indus MESSIER 7 (Ptolemy’s Cluster) RA(2000) : 17h 53m 51s DEC(2000): -34° 47’ 36” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Scorpius BEST VIEW: August DISCOVERY: Claudius Ptolemy, 130 A.D. DISTANCE: 900 – 1000 ly DIAMETER: 20 – 25 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +3.3 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 80’ AGE: ~220 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Hercules Libra MESSIER 8 (THE LAGOON NEBULA) RA(2000) : 18h 03m 37s DEC(2000): -24° 23’ 12” Lyra M8 Ophiuchus Serpens Cauda Cygnus Scorpius Sagitta M8 FOV: 5.00 Scutum Telrad Vulpecula Aquila Ara Corona Australis Sagittarius Delphinus M8 BASIC INFORMATION Telescopium OBJECT TYPE: Star Forming Region CONSTELLATION: Sagittarius Equuleus BEST -
Messier Objects
Messier Objects From the Stocker Astroscience Center at Florida International University Miami Florida The Messier Project Main contributors: • Daniel Puentes • Steven Revesz • Bobby Martinez Charles Messier • Gabriel Salazar • Riya Gandhi • Dr. James Webb – Director, Stocker Astroscience center • All images reduced and combined using MIRA image processing software. (Mirametrics) What are Messier Objects? • Messier objects are a list of astronomical sources compiled by Charles Messier, an 18th and early 19th century astronomer. He created a list of distracting objects to avoid while comet hunting. This list now contains over 110 objects, many of which are the most famous astronomical bodies known. The list contains planetary nebula, star clusters, and other galaxies. - Bobby Martinez The Telescope The telescope used to take these images is an Astronomical Consultants and Equipment (ACE) 24- inch (0.61-meter) Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. It has a focal ratio of F6.2 and is supported on a structure independent of the building that houses it. It is equipped with a Finger Lakes 1kx1k CCD camera cooled to -30o C at the Cassegrain focus. It is equipped with dual filter wheels, the first containing UBVRI scientific filters and the second RGBL color filters. Messier 1 Found 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula (known as M1) is a supernova remnant. The original supernova that formed the crab nebula was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Arab astronomers in 1054 AD as an incredibly bright “Guest star” which was visible for over twenty-two months. The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula is thought to have been an evolved star roughly ten times more massive than the Sun. -
Kent Sundell Compiled the Field Logs
AAPG TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE SEMINAR FIELD GUIDE to: Impact Craters and Outcrops of the K-T Boundary Casper, Wyoming USA August 18-22, 2017 Published July 28, 2017 2 | P a g e AAPG TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE SEMINAR FIELD GUIDE CONTENTS Itinerary………………………………………………………………Page 5 Instructor Bios…………………………………………………….Page 9 Packing List Field Gear…..……………………………………Page 13 Field Safety…………………………………………………………Page 14 Casper Area Geologic Map………………………………….Page 16 Casper Area Sat. Images……………………………………..Page 17 Wyoming Stratigraphic Nomenclature Chart……….Page 19 Field Day 1- August 19, 2017………………………………Page 21 Trip Log Salt Creek, WY Cretaceous Fossils..Page 24 Trip Log Linch/Sussex, WY K/T Boundary…..Page 29 Field Day 2- August 20, 2017…………………………..….Page 31 Paleontology and Geology of the White River Formation……………………. Page 40 Trip Log Douglas, WY Impact Craters…………Page 45 Trip Log White River Fm. Fossils………………..Page 47 Star Gazing Guide……………………………………………….Page 49 Field Day 3- August 21, 2017……………………………….Page 56 Total Solar Eclipse- Isaak Walton Lodge, Casper Additional Literature on the Subjects Covered…..Page 73 3 | P a g e ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Field Guide was compiled by Doug Cook who accepts all responsibility for mistakes, errors, and omissions. Kent Sundell compiled the field logs. Special thanks to Jack Schmitt and Jim Reilly whose tireless participation and enthusiasm in AAPG Astrogeology events give us their professional perspective and expertise. We owe mountains of gratitude to Kent Sundell, Casper College, staff and students for organizing, guiding, and operating the field trips in this Seminar. Thanks to Don Clarke whose eclipse experience, ideas, and Casper connections were the catalyst for the AAPG Eclipse Seminar. -
February 2019 These Pages Are Intended to Help You Find Your Way Around the Sky
WHAT'S UP THIS MONTH – FEBRUARY 2019 THESE PAGES ARE INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY The chart above shows the night sky as it appears on 15th February at 21:00 (9 o’clock) in the evening Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). As the Earth orbits the Sun and we look out into space each night the stars will appear to have moved across the sky by a small amount. Every month Earth moves one twelfth of its circuit around the Sun, this amounts to 30 degrees each month. There are about 30 days in each month so each night the stars appear to move about 1 degree. The sky will therefore appear the same as shown on the chart above at 10 o’clock GMT at the beginning of the month and at 8 o’clock GMT at the end of the month. The stars also appear to move 15º (360º divided by 24) each hour from east to west, due to the Earth rotating once every 24 hours. The centre of the chart will be the position in the sky directly overhead, called the Zenith. First we need to find some familiar objects so we can get our bearings. The Pole Star Polaris can be easily found by first finding the familiar shape of the Great Bear ‘Ursa Major’ that is also sometimes called the Plough or even the Big Dipper by the Americans. Ursa Major is visible 1 of 13 pages throughout the year from Britain and is always easy to find. This month it is in the North East. -
A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In
Abasic requirement for studying the heavens is determining where in the sky things are. To specify sky positions, astronomers have developed several coordinate systems. Each uses a coordinate grid projected on to the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of the Earth. The coordinate systems differ only in their choice of the fundamental plane, which divides the sky into two equal hemispheres along a great circle (the fundamental plane of the geographic system is the Earth's equator) . Each coordinate system is named for its choice of fundamental plane. The equatorial coordinate system is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system. It is also the one most closely related to the geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fun damental plane and the same poles. The projection of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere is called the celestial equator. Similarly, projecting the geographic poles on to the celest ial sphere defines the north and south celestial poles. However, there is an important difference between the equatorial and geographic coordinate systems: the geographic system is fixed to the Earth; it rotates as the Earth does . The equatorial system is fixed to the stars, so it appears to rotate across the sky with the stars, but of course it's really the Earth rotating under the fixed sky. The latitudinal (latitude-like) angle of the equatorial system is called declination (Dec for short) . It measures the angle of an object above or below the celestial equator. The longitud inal angle is called the right ascension (RA for short). -
March 2021 These Pages Are Intended to Help You Find Your Way Around the Sky
WHAT'S UP THIS MONTH – MARCH 2021 THESE PAGES ARE INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY The chart above shows the whole night sky as it appears on 15th March at 21:00 (9 o’clock) Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). As the Earth orbits the Sun and we look out into space each night the stars will appear to have moved across the sky by a small amount. Every month Earth moves one twelfth of its circuit around the Sun, this amounts to 30 degrees each month. There are about 30 days in each month so each night the stars appear to move about 1 degree. The sky will therefore appear the same as shown on the chart above at 8 o’clock GMT at the beginning of the month and at 10 o’clock GMT at the end of the month. The stars also appear to move 15º (360º divided by 24) each hour from east to west, due to the Earth rotating once every 24 hours. The centre of the chart will be the position in the sky directly overhead, called the Zenith. First we need to find some familiar objects so we can get our bearings. The Pole Star Polaris can be easily found by first finding the familiar shape of the Great Bear ‘Ursa Major’ that is also sometimes called the Plough or even the Big Dipper by the Americans. Ursa Major is visible throughout the year from Britain and is always quite easy to find. This month it is high in the North East. -
OBSERVING BASICS by GUY MACKIE
OBSERVING BASICS by GUY MACKIE Observing Reports The colorful and detailed photographs we see of celestial objects are not at all like the ubiquitous "fuzzy blobs" we see at the eyepiece. Nevertheless, you are freezing your buns off and loosing much needed sleep for work, the next day so why not make a description of your observations that will make the hunt worthwhile. Here are some suggestions to fill the empty spaces in your logbook and to imprint the observing experience more deeply in your memory. The Basics Your website www.m51.ca has a downloadable log sheet template that is just super, but you can also make up one for yourself or customize the website version to your own needs. The main things to start your report should be the circumstances under which you observed: Observing Location Time (of observing session and of the observation of each object) Optics (type of instrument, eyepiece, filters, power of magnification) Transparency (page 56 of the Observers Handbook) Seeing (for me this is a subjective rating of the atmospheric stability based on Planet features and double star observations) It is good to know the field of view (FOV) of each of your eyepieces in minutes of degree, then you can estimate the approximate size of the object. The sketchpad I use has the FOV for every eyepiece I use taped to the back, a handy reference. To calculate your field of view there are websites that will punch out the both the magnification and the FOV for most eyepieces. You can do it yourself: With any motor drives turned off, place a star near the celestial equator just outside the field of view in the eyepiece so that it will drift across the middle of the field of view. -
NGC 6656 (Messier
Observing log Object: NGC 6656 Location: Kati’s Farm (33°50.9′ S, 19°57.7′ E) Xrefs: Lac I.12, M 22, h 2015, h 3753, Ben 114 Date: 2014.09.01, ± 02:00 SAST RA & Dec: 18h 36m 24.21s, −23° 54′ 12.2″ (Sgr; MSA 1391) Scope: Brian (6ʺ f/5.9) Stats: globular cluster; B=7.16, V=6.17; d = 32′ Eyepieces: Antares 2ʺ Erfle 32-mm (28 ˟) 19-mm Panoptic + 2.5 ˟ Powermate (118 ˟) Description: A beautiful large oval puff of light. The 32-mm Erfle gives a wide low-power (28 ˟) view which perfectly frames this delightful cluster and the prominent asterisms that flank it (two bright triangles, one to the north-east the other to the south-west). The cluster itself a glorious, large, oval smudge of infinitely small stars. It is only approximately round, being elongated slightly along the northeast-southwest axis. At higher power (19-mm + Barlow, 118 ˟) about two dozen stars sparkle out across the cluster’s surface. The edges are ragged with streamers of stars leaking off into space, particularly to the south-west. By diagram, the cluster is 10ʹ across. Overall conditions: Poor. Seeing: about 6ʺ (measured by Brett du Preez with Maxim). Transparency: poor (low contrast, dew). Moon: None. Light pollution: slight. Dark adaptation: good. Rough sketch: 7.3 V 6.7 V 8.1 V 5.8 V 9.53 V 10.67 VT HD 171612 (8.61V) 8.33 V 10.95 VT TYC6858-00156-1 (10.34VT) 11.13 VT 3UC 132-364318 (11.27V) 5.49 V 9.86 V –24° 00ʹ 6.8 V N 6.5 V 18h 35m 10ʹ E NGC 6656 (Messier 22) – The Arkenstone of Thrain The brightest part of the Milky Way is the cloud of steam (vapour, to be precise ) rising from the spout of the Sagittarius Teapot. -
Rules & Requirements for an SBAS Observing Certificate 1. You Must
Rules & Requirements for an SBAS Observing Certificate 1. You must be a member of the SBAS in good standing to receive a certificate. 2. No Go To or Push To aided attempts will be accepted. Reading charts and star hopping are essential skills in our hobby. (You may use these methods to confirm your findings.) 3. Honor system is in full effect. These lists benefit your knowledge of the sky. Cheating only cheats yourself and the SBAS membership. Observations will be verified against digital planetarium charts. You may be required to answer questions about the objects you observed to verify your work. You may also be asked to show one of these objects at a star party. Once a list is completed, it is assumed you are familiar with every object on that list to the point where you can find it again and describe it to another person. 4. Upon completion of a list, submit the original paper version in person to Coy Wagoner at an SBAS meeting, public star party, or informal observing at the Worley. No digital submissions will be accepted at this time. 5. No observations may overlap. If one object is on two lists, your observations must be done on separate dates/times for credit. Copies of your observing logs will be saved and later compared to additional lists to make sure nothing overlaps. No observations prior to January 1, 2015 will be accepted for credit. 6. Observations should be done on your own. If you observe an object in someone else’s telescope or binoculars, the observation does not count unless you did the work to find it. -
A Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration A Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography National Aeronautics and Space Administration A Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography A Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography Dr. Sten Odenwald NASA Space Science Education Consortium Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland Cover designs and editing by Abbey Interrante Cover illustrations Front: Aurora (Elizabeth Macdonald), moon (Spencer Collins), star trails (Donald Noor), Orion nebula (Christian Harris), solar eclipse (Christopher Jones), Milky Way (Shun-Chia Yang), satellite streaks (Stanislav Kaniansky),sunspot (Michael Seeboerger-Weichselbaum),sun dogs (Billy Heather). Back: Milky Way (Gabriel Clark) Two front cover designs are provided with this book. To conserve toner, begin document printing with the second cover. This product is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement number NNH15ZDA004C. [1] Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 5 How to use this book ..................................................................................................................................... 9 1.0 Light Pollution ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2.0 Cameras ................................................................................................................................................ -
MESSIER 15 RA(2000) : 21H 29M 58S DEC(2000): +12° 10'
MESSIER 15 RA(2000) : 21h 29m 58s DEC(2000): +12° 10’ 01” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Globular Cluster CONSTELLATION: Pegasus BEST VIEW: Late October DISCOVERY: Jean-Dominique Maraldi, 1746 DISTANCE: 33,600 ly DIAMETER: 175 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 18’ FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Vulpecula Sagitta Pegasus NGC 7009 (THE SATURN NEBULA) Delphinus NGC 7009 RA(2000) : 21h 04m 10.8s DEC(2000): -11° 21’ 48.6” Equuleus Pisces Aquila NGC 7009 FOV: 5.00 Aquarius Telrad Capricornus Sagittarius Cetus Piscis Austrinus NGC 7009 Microscopium BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Aquarius Sculptor BEST VIEW: Early November DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1782 DISTANCE: 2000 - 4000 ly DIAMETER: 0.4 - 0.8 ly Grus APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.0 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 41” x 35” Telescopium Telrad Indus NGC 7662 (THE BLUE SNOWBALL) RA(2000) : 23h 25m 53.6s DEC(2000): +42° 32’ 06” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Andromeda BEST VIEW: Late November DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1784 DISTANCE: 1800 – 6400 ly DIAMETER: 0.3 – 1.1 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.6 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 37” MESSIER 52 RA(2000) : 23h 24m 48s DEC(2000): +61° 35’ 36” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Cassiopeia BEST VIEW: December DISCOVERY: Charles Messier, 1774 DISTANCE: ~5000 ly DIAMETER: 19 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +7.3 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 13’ AGE: 50 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Auriga Cepheus Andromeda MESSIER 31 (THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY) M 31 RA(2000) : 00h 42m 44.3Cassiopeias DEC(2000): +41° 16’ 07.5” Perseus Lacerta AndromedaM 31 FOV: 5.00 Telrad Triangulum Taurus Orion Aries Andromeda M 31 Pegasus Pisces BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Galaxy CONSTELLATION: Andromeda Telrad BEST VIEW: December DISCOVERY: Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, 964 Eridanus CetusDISTANCE: 2.5 million ly DIAMETER: ~250,000 ly* APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +3.4 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 178’ x 63’ (3° x 1°) *This value represents the total diameter of the disk, based on multi-wavelength measurements. -
The Messier Catalog
The Messier Catalog Messier 1 Messier 2 Messier 3 Messier 4 Messier 5 Crab Nebula globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 6 Messier 7 Messier 8 Messier 9 Messier 10 open cluster open cluster Lagoon Nebula globular cluster globular cluster Butterfly Cluster Ptolemy's Cluster Messier 11 Messier 12 Messier 13 Messier 14 Messier 15 Wild Duck Cluster globular cluster Hercules glob luster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 16 Messier 17 Messier 18 Messier 19 Messier 20 Eagle Nebula The Omega, Swan, open cluster globular cluster Trifid Nebula or Horseshoe Nebula Messier 21 Messier 22 Messier 23 Messier 24 Messier 25 open cluster globular cluster open cluster Milky Way Patch open cluster Messier 26 Messier 27 Messier 28 Messier 29 Messier 30 open cluster Dumbbell Nebula globular cluster open cluster globular cluster Messier 31 Messier 32 Messier 33 Messier 34 Messier 35 Andromeda dwarf Andromeda Galaxy Triangulum Galaxy open cluster open cluster elliptical galaxy Messier 36 Messier 37 Messier 38 Messier 39 Messier 40 open cluster open cluster open cluster open cluster double star Winecke 4 Messier 41 Messier 42/43 Messier 44 Messier 45 Messier 46 open cluster Orion Nebula Praesepe Pleiades open cluster Beehive Cluster Suburu Messier 47 Messier 48 Messier 49 Messier 50 Messier 51 open cluster open cluster elliptical galaxy open cluster Whirlpool Galaxy Messier 52 Messier 53 Messier 54 Messier 55 Messier 56 open cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster globular cluster Messier 57 Messier