On the Rising of the Pleiades
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The Dunhuang Chinese Sky: a Comprehensive Study of the Oldest Known Star Atlas
25/02/09JAHH/v4 1 THE DUNHUANG CHINESE SKY: A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE OLDEST KNOWN STAR ATLAS JEAN-MARC BONNET-BIDAUD Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique ,Centre de Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France E-mail: [email protected] FRANÇOISE PRADERIE Observatoire de Paris, 61 Avenue de l’Observatoire, F- 75014 Paris, France E-mail: [email protected] and SUSAN WHITFIELD The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, UK E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the star atlas included in the medieval Chinese manuscript (Or.8210/S.3326), discovered in 1907 by the archaeologist Aurel Stein at the Silk Road town of Dunhuang and now held in the British Library. Although partially studied by a few Chinese scholars, it has never been fully displayed and discussed in the Western world. This set of sky maps (12 hour angle maps in quasi-cylindrical projection and a circumpolar map in azimuthal projection), displaying the full sky visible from the Northern hemisphere, is up to now the oldest complete preserved star atlas from any civilisation. It is also the first known pictorial representation of the quasi-totality of the Chinese constellations. This paper describes the history of the physical object – a roll of thin paper drawn with ink. We analyse the stellar content of each map (1339 stars, 257 asterisms) and the texts associated with the maps. We establish the precision with which the maps are drawn (1.5 to 4° for the brightest stars) and examine the type of projections used. -
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 -
Our Place in Space for Young Scientists Ages 6 –10 Order and Classify Some of the Objects in Our Universe
Family STEM Activity Our Place in Space For young scientists ages 6 –10 Order and classify some of the objects in our universe. Prep Time: 15 minutes • Activity Time: 15 minutes or longer Materials (printer required): • 15 printable Universe Cards containing images and information about astronomical objects (pages 3 – 9) 1 Print out the Universe Cards double-sided if possible, Object Classification or print single-sided and attach the information card Classify the objects in a variety of ways. You can even for each object on the reverse side of the image of that come up with your own categories of classification. object. Print the image card in color if you can. Here are just a few ideas: 2 Once you have assembled the cards, they can be used • Classify by object type: is the object a planet, moon, either as fact cards or for a variety of activities, including: star, galaxy, etc.? • Classify by location in the universe: is the object in our Put the Universe in Order by Distance to Earth solar system, the Milky Way Galaxy, or beyond? Organize the object cards by their distance from Earth starting with the closest object to us and continuing to • Classify by age: research the age of each object and the farthest. See page 2 for the correct order. place in order from youngest to oldest. Put the Universe in Order: Size Organize the object cards by their size starting with the smallest object and continuing to the largest. Share Your Results with Us on Social! #MOSatHome Our Place in Space ANSWER KEY Order of the objects from closest to farthest -
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. -
Frankfurt Pleiades Star Map 2
FRANKFURT PLEIADES STAR MAP 2 In investigating the Martian connection of the Pleiadian pattern of Frankfurt, one cannot avoid to address the origins at least in the propagation of this motif in the modern era and in all the financial powerhouses of today’s World Financial Oder. This is in part the Pleiades conspiracy as this modern version of the ‘Pleiadian Conspiracy’ started here in Frankfurt with the Rothschild dynasty by Amschel Moses Bauer, 1743. This critique is not meant to placate all those of the said family or those that work in such financial structures or businesses and specifically not those in Frankfurt. However the argument is that those behind the family apparatus are of a cabal that is connected to the allegiance of not the true GOD of the Universe, YHVH but to the false usurper Lucifer. It is Lucifer they worship and venerate as the ‘god of this world’ and is the God of Mammon according to Jesus’ assessment. According to research and especially based on The 13 Bloodlines of the Illuminati by Springmeier, the current financial domination of the world began in Frankfurt with Mayer Amschel. They were of Jewish extract but adhere more toward the Kabbalistic, Zohar, and ancient Babylonian secret mystery religion initiated by Nimrod after the Flood of Noah. The star Taygete corresponds to the Literaturahaus building. T he star Celaena corresponds to the Burgenamt Zentrales building. The star Merope corresponds to the area of the Timmitus und THE PLEIADES Hyperakusis Center. The star Alcyone corresponds to the Oper FINANCIAL DISTRICT The Bearing-Point building is Frankfurt or the Opera House. -
PUBLIC OBSERVING NIGHTS the William D. Mcdowell Observatory
THE WilliamPUBLIC D. OBSERVING mcDowell NIGHTS Observatory FREE PUBLIC OBSERVING NIGHTS WINTER Schedule 2019 December 2018 (7PM-10PM) 5th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 12th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 19th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 26th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Oribion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884)? January 2019 (7PM-10PM) 2nd Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 9th Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 16 Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Open Cluster (M35) 23rd, Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Orion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) 30th Moon, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Almach (double star), Pleiades (M45), Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Orion Nebula (M42), Beehive Cluster (M44), Double Cluster (NGC 869 & 884) February 2019 (7PM-10PM) 6th -
Optical Spectroscopic Monitoring Observations of a T Tauri Star V409 Tau
International Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2019, 9, 321-334 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ijaa ISSN Online: 2161-4725 ISSN Print: 2161-4717 Optical Spectroscopic Monitoring Observations of a T Tauri Star V409 Tau Hinako Akimoto, Yoichi Itoh Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory, Center for Astronomy, University of Hyogo, Hyogo, Japan How to cite this paper: Akimoto, H. and Abstract Itoh, Y. (2019) Optical Spectroscopic Mon- itoring Observations of a T Tauri Star V409 We report the results of optical spectroscopic monitoring observations of a T Tau. International Journal of Astronomy Tauri star, V409 Tau. A previous photometric study indicated that this star and Astrophysics, 9, 321-334. experienced dimming events due to the obscuration of light from the central https://doi.org/10.4236/ijaa.2019.93023 star with a distorted circumstellar disk. We conducted medium-resolution (R Received: July 24, 2019 ~10,000) spectroscopic observations with 2-m Nayuta telescope at Ni- Accepted: September 16, 2019 shi-Harima Astronomical Observatory. Spectra were obtained in 18 nights Published: September 19, 2019 between November 2015 and March 2016. Several absorption lines such as Ca Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and I and Li, and the Hα emission line were confirmed in the spectra. The Ic-band Scientific Research Publishing Inc. magnitudes of V409 Tau changed by approximately 1 magnitude during the This work is licensed under the Creative observation epoch. The equivalent widths of the five absorption lines are Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). roughly constant despite changes in the Ic-band magnitudes. We conclude http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ that the light variation of the star is caused by the obscuration of light from Open Access the central star with a distorted circumstellar disk, based on the relationship between the equivalent widths of the absorption lines and the Ic-band magni- tudes. -
Winter Observing Notes
Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory Winter Observing Notes Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Winter Tour of the Sky with the Naked Eye NGC 457 CASSIOPEIA eta Cas Look for Notice how the constellations 5 the ‘W’ swing around Polaris during shape the night Is Dubhe yellowish compared 2 Polaris to Merak? Dubhe 3 Merak URSA MINOR Kochab 1 Is Kochab orange Pherkad compared to Polaris? THE PLOUGH 4 Mizar Alcor Figure 1: Sketch of the northern sky in winter. North 1. On leaving the planetarium, turn around and look northwards over the roof of the building. To your right is a group of stars like the outline of a saucepan standing up on it’s handle. This is the Plough (also called the Big Dipper) and is part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. The top two stars are called the Pointers. Check with binoculars. Not all stars are white. The colour shows that Dubhe is cooler than Merak in the same way that red-hot is cooler than white-hot. 2. Use the Pointers to guide you to the left, to the next bright star. This is Polaris, the Pole (or North) Star. Note that it is not the brightest star in the sky, a common misconception. Below and to the right are two prominent but fainter stars. These are Kochab and Pherkad, the Guardians of the Pole. Look carefully and you will notice that Kochab is slightly orange when compared to Polaris. Check with binoculars. © Rob Peeling, CaDAS, 2007 version 2.0 Wynyard Planetarium & Observatory PUBLIC OBSERVING – Winter Polaris, Kochab and Pherkad mark the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. -
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). -
Deep-Sky Objects - Autumn Collection an Addition To: Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Third Edition RASC NW Cons Object Mag
Deep-Sky Objects - Autumn Collection An addition to: Explore the Universe Observing Certificate Third Edition RASC NW Cons Object Mag. PSA Observation Notes: Chart RA Dec Chart 1) Date Time 2 Equipment) 3) Notes # Observing Notes # Sgr M24 The Sagittarias Star Cloud 1. Mag 4.60 RA 18:16.5 Dec -18:50 Distance: 10.0 2. (kly)Star cloud, 95’ x 35’, Small Sagittarius star cloud 3. lies a little over 7 degrees north of teapot lid. Look for 7,8 dark Lanes! Wealth of stars. M24 has dark nebula 67 (interstellar dust – often visible in the infrared (cooler radiation)). Barnard 92 – near the edge northwest – oval in shape. Ref: Celestial Sampler Floating on Cloud 24, p.112 Sgr M18 - 1. RA 18 19.9, Dec -17.08 Distance: 4.9 (kly) 2. Lies less than 1deg above the northern edge of M24. 3 8 Often bypassed by showy neighbours, it is visible as a 67 small hazy patch. Note it's much closer (1/2 the distance) as compared to M24 (10kly) Sgr M17 (Swan Nebula) and M16 – HII region 1. Nebula and Open Clusters 2. 8 67 M17 Wikipedia 3. Ref: Celestial Sampler p. 113 Sct M11 Wild Duck Cluster 5.80 1. 18:51.1 -06:16 Distance: 6.0 (kly) 2. Open cluster, 13’, You can find the “wild duck” cluster, 3. as Admiral Smyth called it, nearly three degrees west of 67 8 Aquila’s beak lying in one of the densest parts of the summer Milky Way: the Scutum Star Cloud. 9 64 10 Vul M27 Dumbbell Nebula 1. -
Universe Discovery Guides: December — Crab Nebula
National Aeronautics and Space Administration UNIVERSE DISCOVERY GUIDES December CRAB NEBULA In this Hubble close-up of the Crab Nebula, various chemical elements have been detected in the expanding gas, including hydrogen (orange), nitrogen (red), sulfur (pink), and oxygen (green). Some of these elements are newly generated during the life and the explosive death of the star and now blasted back into space. These chemical elements will eventually be incorporated into new stars and planets. Credit: NASA, STScI/AURA More details: http://hubblesite.org/ newscenter/archive/releases/2000/15/ image/a/ The Crab Nebula: The remains of a star that exploded as a supernova about one thousand years ago. Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) IN THIS GUIDE » CHILDREN OF THE STARS » SKY FEATURE: CRAB NEBULA » TRY THIS! » ACTIVITY: A UNIVERSE WITHOUT SUPERNOVAE » CONNECT TO NASA SCIENCE » Acknowledgements » Appendix: December Star Map Published 2013. The universe is a place of change. NASA missions advance our understanding of the changing universe. www.nasa.gov 2 CHILDREN OF THE STARS Where did the calcium to build your bones come from? How about the iron in your blood or the oxygen in the air we breathe? You may have seen the table of the elements — these are the atoms which are the building blocks that make up everything we see, including us. Some of those atoms combine to make molecules, like water (consisting of hydrogen and oxygen) and sugars (consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) — ingredients for supporting life. The number of protons in the atom’s nucleus determine which element it is. For example, hydrogen has one proton; helium has two protons; carbon has six protons; iron has twenty-six protons. -
Why Are There Seven Sisters?
Why are there Seven Sisters? Ray P. Norris1,2 & Barnaby R. M. Norris3,4,5 1 Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, NSW 1797, Australia 2 CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science, PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia 3 Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, Physics Road, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 4 Sydney Astrophotonic Instrumentation Laboratories, Physics Road, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 5 AAO-USyd, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia Abstract of six stars arranged symmetrically around a seventh, and is There are two puzzles surrounding the therefore probably symbolic rather than a literal picture of Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. First, why are the Pleiades. the mythological stories surrounding them, In Greek mythology, the Seven Sisters are named after typically involving seven young girls be- the Pleiades, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. ing chased by a man associated with the Their father, Atlas, was forced to hold up the sky, and was constellation Orion, so similar in vastly sep- therefore unable to protect his daughters. But to save them arated cultures, such as the Australian Abo- from being raped by Orion the hunter, Zeus transformed them riginal cultures and Greek mythology? Sec- into stars. Orion was the son of Poseidon, the King of the sea, ond, why do most cultures call them “Seven and a Cretan princess. Orion first appears in ancient Greek Sisters" even though most people with good calendars (e.g. Planeaux , 2006), but by the late eighth to eyesight see only six stars? Here we show that both these puzzles may be explained by early seventh centuries BC, he is said to be making unwanted a combination of the great antiquity of the advances on the Pleiades (Hesiod, Works and Days, 618-623).