Southern Sky.Pdf

13 11 6 4 4 2 1 Sky Calendar – December 2002 27 26 23 22 19 19 17 14 All times in Universal Time (UT). Australian Eastern Summer Time = UT + 11 hours. 30 30 FREE* EACH MONTH FOR YOU TO EXPLORE, LEARN & ENJOY THE NIGHT SKY The Evening Sky Map First Quarter Moon Venus 1.5 New Moon will be visible from most parts of Africa and Australia. southern Africa to southern Australia. A partial eclipse Total Solar Eclipse. 362,288 km; angular size 33.0'). Moon at perigee skywatchers in South America. brilliant Venus (mag. –4.7) and Mars (mag. +1.5). Favors dawn crescent Moon will form a spectacular compact triangle with Moon near Venus and Mars Visible low in the west-southwest at dusk (mag. –0.5). Mercury at greatest elongation Moon near Jupiter Hemisphere and winter in the Northern Hemisphere. equator marking the start of summer in the Southern Sun reaches the point farthest south of the celestial December solstice is known as the “Moon Before Yule” in old almanacs. Full Moon Moon near Saturn awesome sight even in a small telescope! 20.7") and brightest (mag. –0.5) in 30 years. An ringed planet is at its closest (disk diameter Saturn at opposition. (distance 404,914 km; angular size 29.5'). Moon at apogee December 13–14. medium-speed meteors at its peak on the night of skywatchers in South Africa. Moon near Venus and Mars angular size 32.5'). Moon at perigee Geminid Meteor Shower. Last Quarter Moon at 19:10 UT. The full Moon of December ° at 7:34 UT. Beginning of lunation 989. from Mars (furthest from Earth) at 4h UT (closest to Earth) at 9h UT (distance (closest to Earth) at 1h UT (distance 367,902 km; at 15h UT. at 1:14 UT. The time when the at 15h UT. at 0:31 UT. at 15:49 UT. The path of totality extends from *TERMS OF USE: *TERMS Visible all night long, the at 12h UT (morning sky). printed copies by completing the copyright owner. Educators, astronomy clubs and others can apply for permission to make and distribute personal non-commercial use. No other use is authorized without the prior written permission of the Produces bright, at 11h UT (morning sky). The thin at 2h UT (morning sky). Favors dawn , 20 Visit Skymaps.com to download and print one (1) copy of this publication for your ° east of the Sun.

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And help support the production and distribution of this FREE publication n Skymaps.com/store • Save 10 to 30% on Astronomy Books & Posters y 6752 PISCES N 6397 i E T g a ANDROMEDA f H I a T R l a E a D x GRUS s N i i N e I M31 s A G s e . Alnair i H r H Fomalhaut T T A I Copyright © 2002 Kym Thalassoudis. All Rights Reserved. S N K E Y Z F E R H O T M N H E

E SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE O W R T Star Magnitudes I Z T E O h AUSTRALISCORONA Great Square . B e PISCIS 7293 of Pegasus le N AUSTRINUS a D -T C Circlet h E O i T rc w A - l r C H e o O O t r L R i DECEMBER 2002 I s te E Z a SW s R O r SA CAPRICORNUS n A N in o S A g GITTA NW m T S a C I of e JE T S s B Globular Star Cluster l A 7 RIU a O P fa ic L P in PEGASU h A E t S AQUARIUS yt I SKY MAP SHOWS HOW A THE NIGHT SKY LOOKS Open Star Cluster s T Planetary Nebula R t m ES -101234 S ar a L ON s g CE Diffuse Nebula t n C ha ti . E t en N

Variable Star O RT re es Z I (Add 1 Hour For Daylight Saving) EARLY DEC A p LATE DEC Double Star r r R IN es rep O D en 7009 n H AT ts io HE SKY MAP DRAWN FOR ES th M2 lat T e el S A LATITUDE OF 35 AN he st E I Galaxy D a on L T d o e c RC I Enif I SOUTH AND IS

f LATITUDES UP SUITABLE FOR Symbols M rg C t TO 15 ES he a la ER . TH sout s is UT E he WEST tu O OR SOUTH CE rnm Ce HE 10

N o T ° OF THIS T st 9 ER of t ND NORTH OF he two fish H) A PM T (Pisces). IT PM HE MA (ZEN P IS TH RHEAD E PAR LY OVE ° T OF THE SKY DIRECT Opposition Open Star Cluster Magnitude Light Year (ly) Globular Star Cluster Galaxy Sun as viewed from Earth. the greatest elongation occurs when they are at their most angular distance from the Elongation Ecliptic Earth (optical double). Apparent separation of stars is given in seconds of arc ("). gravity so that they orbit each other (binary star) or lying at different distances from Double Star Diffuse Nebula Constellation angular separation as viewed from Earth. Conjunction Astronomical Glossary moonless nights around either New Moon or Last Quarter. the fainter objects very difficult to see. So try to observe the evening sky on through a telescope, its light is so bright that it brightens the sky and makes many of map, cover the light bulb with red cellophane. This will preserve your dark vision. 20 minutes after you go outside. Also, if you need to use a torch to view the sky away from the light pollution that surrounds many of today’s large cities. light from street lights and other sources. If possible observe from a dark location nebulae, and galaxies, it’s always best to observe from a dark location. Avoid direct When observing the night sky, and in particular deep-sky objects such as star clusters, Tips for Observing the Night Sky the optical equipment that may be available to the star gazer. binoculars. appear more impressive when viewed through a telescope or very large telescope to be appreciated. is, without optical aid), those easily seen with binoculars, and those requiring a grouped into three categories. Those that can be easily seen with the naked eye (that visible in the evening sky this month (refer to the monthly sky map). The objects are Listed on this page are several of the brighter, more interesting celestial objects About the Celestial Objects Variable Star Standard Time (for example Sydney, Australia) is 10 hours ahead of UT. Universal Time (UT) Planetary Nebula Finally, even though the Moon is one of the most stunning objects to view You will see more stars after your eyes adapt to the darkness—usually about 10 to – A mass of up to several billion stars held together by gravity. – The path of the Sun’s center on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth. – The brightness of a celestial object as it appears in the sky. – The angular separation of two celestial bodies. For Mercury and Venus – When a celestial body is opposite the Sun in the sky. They are grouped in this way to highlight objects that can be seen using – Two stars that appear close to each other in the sky; either linked by – An alignment of two celestial bodies such that they present the least – A star that changes brightness over a period of time. – A defined area of the sky containing a star pattern. – The distance a beam of light travels at 300,000 km/sec in one year. – A cloud of gas illuminated by nearby stars. – The remnants of a shell of gas blown off by a star. – A group of tens or hu – A time system used by astronomers. Australian Eastern – A ball-shaped group of several thousand old stars. Note, all of the objects (except single stars) will ndreds of relatively young stars.

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE CELESTIAL OBJECTS DECEMBER 2002 Telescopic Objects Easily Seen with Binoculars Aur Capella Easily Seen with the Naked Eye 3 Tri Tau Pup M33 Mon M1 k Puppis σ Dor 2264 β Aqr θ 2070 γ 7293 γ Vel Vel Tuc IC 2391 Scl 2547 SMC Pup Tuc β Pup Pup 47 Tucanae Pup 253 2477 2451 M46 Pav M47 Ori L ζ Ori Mon 6752 κ Mon M42 Mon Cr 69 Gem M50 Dor 2244 Cet 2232 γ M35 Car Car LMC Car Mira And R Carinae 2808 2516 M31 Tau Tau Tau Aldebaran Per PsA Hyades Pleiades Ori Fomalhaut Ori Algol Eri Betelgeuse Rigel Achernar Car α CMi CMa β Canopus Procyon Sirius 4 CMa M41 AitsAri Arietis And Andromedae Lep Leporis 2 PoncsPhe Phoenicis EiaiEri Eridani MncrtsMon Monocerotis Tuc Tucanae Pav Pavonis Cen Centauri OinsOri Orionis Cnar Cen Centauri Pup Fine face-on spiral galaxy. Requires a large aperture telescope. Dist=2.3 million ly. Crab Nebula. Remnant from supernova which was visible in 1054. Dist=6,500 ly. Telescope easily shows two blue-white stars of almost equal brightness. Sep=9.9". Superb multiple star. 2 mag 7 stars one side, mag 9 star on other. Struve 761 triple in field. Christmas Tree Cluster. Associated with the Cone Nebula. Dist=2,450 ly. Triple star. Mags 4.6, 5.0 & 5.4. Requires telescope to view arc-shape. Sep=7.3". Striking blue-white double star. Mags 3.2 & 4.3. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=8.2". Tarantula Nebula. A bright nebula located in LMC. A star-forming region. Impressive looking double blue-white star. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=7.8". Helix Nebula. Spans nearly 1/4 deg. Requires dark sky. Dist=300 ly. Attractive double star. Bright orange star with mag 5 blue companion. Sep=9.8". Omicron Velorum Cluster. Superb object for binoculars. Dist=450 ly. Fine open cluster visible through binoculars. Dist=1,300 ly. Small Magellanic Cloud. Companion galaxy to Milky Way. Requires dark sky. Dist=210,000 ly. Complex multiple star. Binoculars show one pair. Telescope required to split primary star. Spectacular object. Telescope will reveal stars. Near edge of SMC. Dist=15,000 ly. Fine, large, cigar-shaped galaxy. Requires dark sky. Member of Sculptor Group. Very rich but distant star cluster (4,200 ly). Resembles globular through binoculars. 30+ stars in binoculars. The brightest star, c Puppis, is red. Dist=850 ly. Dist=5,400 ly. Contains planetary NGC 2438 (Mag 11, d=65") - not associated. Bright star cluster. 15+ stars in 7x binoculars. Dist=1,500 ly. Semi-regular variable. Magnitude varies between 2.6 & 6.2 over 140.42 days. Eclipsing binary star and double (mag 8). Varies between 3.9 & 4.4 over 1.667 days. One of the better globular star clusters in the sky. Dist=14,000 ly. Cepheid-type. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 4.8 over 9.088 days. The Great Orion Nebula. Spectacular bright nebula. Best with telescope. Dist=1,500 light years. Lambda Orionis Cluster. Dist=1,630 ly. Visible with binoculars. Telescope reveals indiv Surrounded by the rather faint Rosette Nebula. Dist=5,540 ly. A large scattered star cluster of 20 stars. Dist=1,300 ly. Visible with binoculars. Gold & white stars. Mags 3.6 & 6.2. Dist=30 ly. Sep=96.3". Fine open cluster located near foot of the twin Castor. Dist=2,800 ly. Large Magellanic Cloud. A neighbouring galaxy of the Milky Way. Dist=180,000 ly. Famous long period variable star. Mag varies between 3.0 & 10.1 over 332 days. Long period variable. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 10.5 over 309 days. Located 4 deg W of Nu Carinae. Visible to the naked eye on clear nights. Spectacular open star cluster of 100 stars spaning 1/2 deg. Dist=1,300 ly. First recorded observation by Aristotle in 325 BC as "cloudy spot". Dist=2,300 ly. Andromeda The Brightest star in Taurus. It is not associated with the Hyades star cluster. Dist=65 ly. Large V-shaped star cluster. Binoculars reveal many more stars. Dist=151 ly. The Seven Sisters. Spectacular cluster. Many more stars visible in binoculars. Dist=380 ly. Brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. In Arabic the "fish's mouth". Dist=25 ly. Famous eclipsing binary star. Magnitude varies between 2.1 & 3.4 over 2.867 days. One of the largest red supergiant stars known. Diameter=300 times that of Sun. Dist=430 ly. The brightest star in Orion. Blue supergiant star with mag 7 companion. Dist=770 ly. Brightest star in Eridanus, The River. Arabic name meaning "end of river". Dist=144 ly. Nearest bright star to Sun at 4.4 ly. Brilliant double star in a telescope. 80 year period. With Alpha Centauri, forms the so-called "Pointers-to-the-Cross". Dist=525 ly. Second brightest star in the sky. 14,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Dist=310 ly. Greek name meaning "before the dog" - rises before Sirius (northern latitudes). Dist=11.4 ly. The brightest star in the sky. Also known as the "Dog Star". Dist=8.6 ly. The 6th brightest star. Appears yellowish in color. Spectroscopic binary. Dist=42 ly. Galaxy. Most distant object visible to naked eye. Dist=2.93 million ly. Copyright © 2002 Kym Thalassoudis. All Rights Reserved. idual stars. Dist=3,000 ly.