Messier 6 (The Butterfly Cluster) and Messier 7 (Ptolemy’S Cluster)

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Messier 6 (the Butterfly Cluster) and Messier 7 (Ptolemy’s Cluster) These two open clusters are among the most attractive in the sky, and they are wonderful sights through a telescope at low power. M6 really does have a recognizable butterfly shape, with a red star on the tip of one wing. M7 is a large cluster of many bright stars, with countless dim stars of the Milky Way in the background. They are about 1600 and 980 light years away, respectively. Start by finding first magnitude Antares, the brightest and reddest star low in the southern sky on summer evenings. To get oriented, note that Antares is about 60 degrees southwest of Altair (part of the Summer Triangle) and a similar distance southeast of Arcturus (part of the Spring Triangle). Antares represents the eye of Scorpius, and on a clear night you should be able to see the curving shape of the scorpion if you have a good view of the southern horizon. From Antares, look about 20 degrees to the east-southeast for a bright pair of stars (including Shaula, magnitude 1.6) that form the tip of the scorpion's tail. This distictive pair is easy to see as long as you have a good view of the southern sky. From Shaula, M7 is about 4 degrees to the northeast, and at magnitude 3.3 it is relatively easy to see with the naked eye. M6 is just 4 degrees northwest of M7, and at magnitude 4.2 it can also be seen with the naked eye under dark skies. Both clusters are easily seen in binoculars. Star hop from www.skyledge.net by Jim Mazur. Star charts created with Cartes du Ciel. .

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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
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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.
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OBSERVING BASICS by GUY MACKIE
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Appendix C a List of the Messier Objects
Appendix C A List of the Messier Objects DS=DoubleStar OC=OpenCluster GC=GlobularCluster EG = Elliptical Galaxy SG = Spiral Galaxy IG = Irregular Galaxy PN = Planetary Nebula DN = Diffuse Nebula SR = Supernova Remnant Object Common Name Type of Object Location mv Dist. (kly) M1 Crab Nebula SR Taurus 9.0 6.3 M2 GC Aquarius 7.5 36 M3 GC Canes Venatici 7.0 31 M4 GC Scorpius 7.5 7 M5 GC Serpens 7.0 23 M6 Butterfly Cluster OC Scorpius 4.5 2 M7 Ptolemy’s Cluster OC Scorpius 3.5 1 M8 Lagoon Nebula DN Sagittarius 5.0 6.5 M9 GC Ophiuchus 9.0 26 M10 GC Ophiuchus 7.5 13 M11 Wild Duck Cluster OC Scutum 7.0 6 M12 GC Ophiuchus 8.0 18 M13 Great Hercules Cluster GC Hercules 5.8 22 M14 GC Ophiuchus 9.5 27 M15 GC Pegasus 7.5 33 M16 Part of Eagle Nebula OC Serpens 6.5 7 M17 Horseshoe Nebula DN Sagittarius 7.0 5 M18 OC Sagittarius 8.0 6 M19 GC Ophiuchus 8.5 27 M20 Trifid Nebula DN Sagittarius 5.0 2.2 M21 OC Sagittarius 7.0 3 M22 GC Sagittarius 6.5 10 M23 OC Sagittarius 6.0 4.5 135 Object Common Name Type of Object Location mv Dist. (kly) M24 Milky Way Patch Star cloud Sagittarius 11.5 10 M25 OC Sagittarius 4.9 2 M26 OC Scutum 9.5 5 M27 Dumbbell Nebula PN Vulpecula 7.5 1.25 M28 GC Sagittarius 8.5 18 M29 OC Cygnus 9.0 7.2 M30 GC Capricornus 8.5 25 M31 Andromeda Galaxy SG Andromeda 3.5 2500 M32 Satellite galaxy of M31 EG Andromeda 10.0 2900 M33 Triangulum Galaxy SG Triangulum 7.0 2590 M34 OC Perseus 6.0 1.4 M35 OC Gemini 5.5 2.8 M36 OC Auriga 6.5 4.1 M37 OC Auriga 6.0 4.6 M38 OC Auriga 7.0 4.2 M39 OC Cygnus 5.5 0.3 M40 Winnecke 4 DS Ursa Major 9.0 M41 OC Canis
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A B C D E F 1 CENTRAL FLORIDA ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC. 2 MESSIER CERTIFICATE OBSERVING LOG 3 FOR: (Your name) 4 CONSTELLATION Messier Object Date Time Instrument Remarks 5 Andromeda 6 M31 The Andromeda Galaxy spiral galaxy (type Sb) 7 M32 Satellite galaxy of M31 elliptical galaxy (type E2 8 M110 Satellite galaxy of M31 elliptical galaxy (type E6pec) 9 10 Aquarius 11 M2 globular cluster 12 M72 globular cluster 13 M73 system or asterism of 4 stars 14 15 Auriga 16 M36 open cluster 17 M37 open cluster 18 M38 open cluster 19 20 Cancer 21 22 M44 Praesepe, the Beehive Cluster open cluster 23 M67 open cluster 24 25 Canes Venatici 26 M3 globular cluster 27 M51 The Whirlpool Galaxy spiral galaxy 28 M63 Sunflower galaxy spiral galaxy 29 M94 spiral galaxy 30 M106 spiral galaxy 31 32 Canis Major 33 M41 open cluster 34 Capricornus 35 M30 globular cluster 36 37 Cassiopeia 38 M52 open cluster A B C D E F 1 CENTRAL FLORIDA ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC. 2 MESSIER CERTIFICATE OBSERVING LOG 3 FOR: (Your name) 4 CONSTELLATION Messier Object Date Time Instrument Remarks 39 M103 open cluster 40 41 Cetus 42 M77 spiral galaxy 43 44 Coma Berenices 45 M53 globular cluster 46 M64 Blackeye galaxy spiral galaxy 47 M85 elliptical galaxy 48 M88 spiral galaxy 49 M91 spiral galaxy 50 M98 spiral galaxy 51 M99 spiral galaxy 52 M100 spiral galaxy 53 54 Cygnus 55 M29 open cluster 56 M39 open cluster 57 58 Draco 59 M102 may be NGC 5866 Spindle Galaxy , a lenticular galaxy (type S0_3) 60 Gemini 61 M35 open cluster 62 Hercules 63 M13 Great Hercules Globular Cluster globular cluster 64 M92 globular cluster 65 66 Hydra 67 M48 open cluster 68 M68 globular cluster 69 M83 spiral galaxy 70 71 72 A B C D E F 1 CENTRAL FLORIDA ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC.
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Messier Object Mapping System Messier Object Constellation Map# Messier Object Constellation Map# M1 Taurus 1-6 M56 Lyra 3 M2 Aquarius 8 M57 Lyra 3 M3 Canes Venatici 4-10 M58 Virgo IN2-5 M4 Scorpius 2 M59 Virgo IN2 M5 Scorpius 10 M60 Virgo IN2-5-9-10 M6 Scorpius 2 M61 Virgo IN2-5-8 M7 Scorpius 2 M62 Ophiuchus 2 M8 Sagittarius 2-IN1 M63 Canes Venatici 4 M9 Ophiuchus 2 M64 Coma Berenices 4-5 M10 Ophiuchus 2 M65 Leo 5 M11 Scutum 2 M66 Leo 5 M12 Ophiuchus 2 M67 Cancer 6 M13 Hercules 3 M68 Hydra 9 M14 Ophiuchus 2 M69 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M15 Pegasus 8 M70 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M16 Serpens 2-IN1 M71 Sagittarius 2 M17 Sagittarius 2-IN1 M72 Aquarius 8 M18 Sagittarius 2-IN1 M73 Aquarius 8 M19 Ophiuchus 2 M74 Pisces 11 M20 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M75 Sagittarius 8 M21 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M76 Perseus 7 M22 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M77 Cetus 11 M23 Sagittarius 2-IN1 M78 Orion 1 M24 Sagittarius 2-IN1 M79 Lepus 1 M25 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M80 Scorpius 2 M26 Scutum 2 M81 Ursa Major 4 M27 Vupecula 3 M82 Ursa Major 4 M28 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M83 Hydra 9 M29 Cygnus 3 M84 Virgo IN2-5 M30 Capricornus 8 M85 Coma Berenices 4-5 M31 Andromeda 7-11 M86 Virgo IN2-5 M32 Andromeda 7-11 M87 Virgo IN2-5 M33 Triangulum 7-11 M88 Coma Berenices IN2-5 M34 Perseus 7-11 M89 Virgo IN2 M35 Gemini 1-6 M90 Virgo IN2-5 M36 Auriga 1-6 M91 Virgo IN2-5 M37 Auriga 1-6 M92 Hercules 3 M38 Auriga 1 M93 Puppis 1-6 M39 Cygnus 3-7 M94 Canes Venatici 4-5 M40 Ursa Major 4 M95 Leo 5 M41 Canis Major 1 M96 Leo 5 M42 Orion 1 M97 Ursa Major 4 M43 Orion 1 M98 Coma Berenices IN2-4-5 M44 Sagittarius 6 M99 Coma Berenices IN2-4-5 M45 Taurus 1-11 M100 Coma Berenices IN2-4-5 M46 Puppis 1-6 M101 Ursa Major 4 M47 Puppis 1-6 M102 Draco 4 M48 Hydra 6 M103 Cassiopeia 7 M49 Virgo 2-IN1-8 M104 Virgo 5-9-10 M50 Monoceros 1-6 M105 Leo 5 M51 Canes Venatici 4-10 M106 Canes Venatici 4-5 M52 Cassiopeia 7 M107 Ophiuchus 2 M53 Coma Berenices 4-5-10 M108 Ursa Major 4 M54 Sagittarius 2-IN1-8 M109 Ursa Major 4-5 M55 Sagittarius 2-8 M110 Andromeda 7-11 Messier Object List # NGC# Constellation Type Name, If Any Mag.
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Messier Checklist and Charts
Map and Constallation Key to Messier Objects for TELRAD Finders Messier Telrad Common Distance Other Object Constallation Map #'s Name Type Light Years Data M1 Taurus Map 1, 2 Crab Nebula Supernova 6,000 M2 Aquarius Map 11 Glob. Cluster M3 Canies Venatici Map 6, 7 Glob. Cluster 30,000 44500 Stars M4 Scorpius Map 13 Glob. Cluster M5 Serpens Map 6 Glob. Cluster M6 Scorpius Map 10, 13 Butterfly Cluster Open Cluster 2,000 M7 Scorpius Map 10, 13 Open Cluster M8 Sagittarius Map 10 Lagoon Nebula Emmi. Nebula 2,500 M9 Ophiuchus Map 12,10,13 Glob. Cluster M10 Ophiuchus Map 12 Glob. Cluster M11 Scutum Map 12 Wild Duck Cluster Open Cluster M12 Ophiuchus Map 12 Glob. Cluster M13 Hercules Map 9 Glob. Cluster 25,000 M14 Ophiuchus Map 12, 10 Glob. Cluster M15 Pegasus Map 11 Glob. Cluster M16 Serpens Map 10 Star-Queen/Eagle Emmi. Nebula M17 Sagittarius Map 10 Swan/Omega Nebula Emmi. Nebula 35 Stars M18 Sagittarius Map 10 Open Cluster 6,000 M19 Ophiuchus Map 13 Glob. Cluster M20 Sagittarius Map 10 Trifid Nebula Emmi. Nebula 2,200 M21 Sagittarius Map 10 Open Cluster 3,000 M22 Sagittarius Map 10 Glob. Cluster 10,000 70,000 Stars M23 Sagittarius Map 10, 12 Open Cluster 4,500 M24 Sagittarius Map 10 Star Cloud M25 Sagittarius Map 10 Open Cluster M26 Scutum Map 10 Glob. Cluster 5,000 M27 Vupecula Map 8 Dumbell Nebula Planatary Neb. 1,250 M28 Sagittarius Map 10 Glob. Cluster 15,000 M29 Cygnus Map 8 Open Cluster 7,200 M30 Capricornus Map 11 Glob.
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Allcharts2018-08.Pdf
The Evening Sky in August 2018 Four naked-eye planets are visible in the early evening sky. Three of them are the brightest 'stars' in the sky. Silver Venus appears midway down the northwest sky soon after sunset. Golden Jupiter is north of the zenith and orange Mars is midway up the eastern sky. As the sky darkens Saturn appears roughly midway between Jupiter and Mars, more toward Mars as the month progresses. It is fainter than Jupiter and Mars but still the brightest 'star' in its part of the sky. Bright stars are widely scattered. Vega on the north skyline is balanced by Canopus low in the south. Orange Arcturus is in the northwest. The Southern Cross, Crux, and the Pointers are midway down the southwest sky. The Milky Way spans the sky from northeast to southwest. Venus sets due west more than three hours after the sun, making it a spectacular object in a dark sky. It is bright enough to see by naked eye during the day if you can focus on infinity. At noon Venus is level with the Sun and 46 degrees east (right) of the Sun. That's a bit more than two hand-spans at arm's length. It is best to be in the shade to try this sighting. In a telescope Venus looks like a first-quarter Moon. The Moon is near Venus on the 14th and 15th, near Jupiter on the 17th and 18th, close to Saturn on the 21st, and passing by Mars on the 23rd and 24th. At the beginning of August Mars is the closest it has been since 2003, 58 million km from us.
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