DOCSLIB.ORG

Discover the Sky's Deepest, Darkest Secrets

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Discover the Sky's Deepest, Darkest Secrets On the road with Astronomy were homeowners Adam and Tracy Clay- son. I met them in April 2005 on a tour I led to view the total solar eclipse from the South Pacific. I admit to being envi- ous of their observatory, which houses a Discover the sky’s deepest, 30-inch f/4.5 Obsession reflector. Other notables were friends Jack and Alice Newton and comet-discoverer Stu- darkest secrets art Wilson. Jack Newton is one of the world’s premier astroimagers and a long- Over three dark nights in southern Arizona, two observers track down time contributor to Astronomy. While he dozens of the sky’s most exotic objects. by Michael E. Bakich mainly uses his own impressive observa- tory to hunt for supernovae, Jack and I ’ve been an amateur astronomer for did enjoy one early evening binocular more than 40 years. When I settle hunt of dark nebulae in Aquila. I down to observe the deep sky, I expect Wilson is renowned for his discovery to have a great time. I don’t want weather of Comet 1961V (Wilson-Hubbard). He and lights to be issues. saw it near the star Tau (τ) Geminorum My boss, Astronomy Editor David J. while piloting a Pan American 707 jet Eicher, feels the same. That’s why we from Honolulu to Portland July 23, 1961. traveled to Rancho Hidalgo Astronomy Village in Animas, New Mexico, last If you’re observing in the fall, why not target Developer Eugene Turner (left) poses with The first night October. This site boasts an unbeatable NGC 1, the first object in the New General Cata- Astronomy’s Editor David J. Eicher in front of After a wonderful dinner that Turner’s combination of moderate temperatures, logue? This small spiral galaxy shines at magni- Turner’s 30-inch Starmaster Dobsonian-mounted partner, Loy Guzman, prepared, Gene, generally cloud-free weather, good eleva- tude 12.8. Another spiral, NGC 2, which lies Newtonian reflector. The 30-inch go-to tele- Dave, and I ventured outdoors. A quick below NGC 1 in this image, glows a magnitude scope is the one with which we made all the tion (4,600 feet [1,400 meters]), and a visual scan showed the transparency (sky and a half fainter. R. Jay GaBany observations in this story. Michael E. Bakich pitch-black sky. Oh, and there’s developer clarity, measured by the faintest star vis- Gene Turner’s 30-inch f/4.3 Starmaster ible) was excellent and the seeing (the reflector — the icing on the cake. With a 30-inch scope at our disposal ter’s computerized go-to drive. When the atmosphere’s steadiness) superb. I Dave and I jetted into Tucson, Ari- under pristine skies, neither of us wanted scope stopped moving, Turner climbed detected no visible twinkle in any star zona, and rented a car for the 2-hour to revisit the “same old” targets. So, we the ladder to verify the object was in the more than 30° high. The telescope, which The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946), at magnitude 8.9, was one of the brightest objects we observed drive to Animas. We then had 3 nights came up with a list that included objects field of view. Turner set up earlier, had cooled to ambi- during our 3 nights at Rancho Hidalgo in Animas, New Mexico. Although its size gives it a low surface filled with some of the most incredible we couldn’t see well through an 8-inch Throughout the 3 nights, a cadre of ent temperature and was ready to go. brightness, the 30-inch Starmaster reflector revealed all of the galaxy’s spiral arms. The galaxy’s com- observing either of us has ever had. telescope ... or a 12-inch ... or a 16 ... amateur astronomers observed with us. Before we could get to our list, Turner mon name comes from the large number of supernovae discovered in it. Dietmar Hager Some were residents of Rancho Hidalgo, aimed the scope toward several bright Let the observing begin while others lived in Turner’s other devel- deep-sky objects. His goal was to fine- Turner acted as our “driver.” As we chose opment, Arizona Sky Village, located in tune the go-to drive, but a 30-inch scope each target, he keyed it in to the Starmas- Portal, Arizona. Joining us each night pointed at any target is something I’ll NGC 404 Open cluster NGC 7789 in Cassiopeia is a moder- ately bright cluster through a small telescope. Try to ignore the bright star, and concentrate NGC 147 in Cassiopeia is a dwarf galaxy that is NGC 1491 in Perseus is a small emission nebula When we viewed it through the 30-inch telescope, on Mirach’s Ghost (NGC 404). What makes this a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), that looks like a tiny, faint fan — well, faint however, the field of view exploded with hun- 10th-magnitude elliptical galaxy a challenge although it strays nearly 7.5° from its parent. through most telescopes. What we saw was a The Gamma Cassiopeiae Nebula (IC 59 and IC 63) is more a target for cameras than for the human dreds of stars. Our eyes formed many patterns object is its proximity to Mirach (Beta [β] Normally difficult to observe because of its low vivid wedge of nebulosity streaked by dark eye. We were determined to observe both parts, however, and there they were! IC 59 is the topmost and perceived dark lanes that filled the spaces Andromedae), which shines more than 1,500 surface brightness, NGC 147 stood out well at markings and surrounded by a barely percepti- arc of nebulosity, and IC 63 is the denser wedge to the upper left of magnitude 2.5 Tsih (Gamma [γ] between lines of stars. Lee C. Coombs times brighter, at magnitude 2.0. Anthony Ayiomamitis low power through the 30-inch. Anthony Ayiomamitis ble, irregular cloud of gas. Chris Schur Cassiopeiae). We did not use a nebula filter, but one would have helped. Bernhard Hubl © 2010 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form • 56 Astronomy June 09without permission from the publisher. www.Astronomy.com www.Astronomy.com 57 Next up was the Gamma Cassiopeiae Three named planetaries that look great through a 30-inch scope Nebula, a complex of faint emission neb- ulosity. The brightest patches are IC 59 and IC 63. This region would have been easier to see if any of us had thought to bring a nebula filter. Still, 30 inches of aperture captures a lot of light, and both nebulae were apparent to all observers. The Perseus galaxy cluster followed. Turner targeted its brightest member, spiral galaxy NGC 1275. We saw it easily along with several dozen fainter galaxies. The ease with which we visually picked up so many of these faint fuzzies was a testament to the scope and the sky. The Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) in Cygnus was not a difficult catch for the 30-inch Starmaster reflector. Other well-liked targets were NGC What proved more difficult, however, was the 2°-long, 20'-wide dark lane that stretches to the west from IC 5146. I mused that it looked like a freshly paved asphalt highway covering myriad stars. Michael Stecker The Blue Flash Nebula (NGC 6905) in Del- The Fetus Nebula (NGC 7008) in Cygnus is The Saturn Nebula (NGC 7009) in Aquarius 147 and NGC 185. While these dwarf phinus lived up to its colorful name. We eas- well-named. This planetary’s ring is open, took us to a new level for planetary nebulae. galaxies lie in Cassiopeia, both are satel- ily saw features I have struggled to see irregular, and clumpy. It was also huge — Both David Eicher and I commented that it lite galaxies of the Andromeda Galaxy the color observers love — jet black. Bro- Spotting Stephan’s Quintet (NGC through 16-inch telescopes. The central star more than 1' across. The nebula glows at a was our finest view of this object ever. and the two bright disk areas east and west respectable magnitude, 10.8, but its surface Whether it be NGC 7009’s disk, its “wings,” or (M31). Planetary nebula Pease 1, which ken in thousands of places by untwin- 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC 7318B, NGC of it were easy to see. And each of us could brightness is low. We saw both the relatively the faint bulbs at the ends of the wings, we lies within the globular cluster M15, kling stars and divided by the remnants 7319, and NGC 7320) isn’t difficult. The discern the striking blue color with both bright star near its edge and the nebula’s saw it all. The nebula also shone distinctly stood out well despite our lack of a neb- of summer’s Milky Way, the sky let us challenge is to discern detail in the five direct and averted vision. Al Kelly central star. Dietmar Hager bluish-green. Daniel Verschatse/Observatorio Antilhue, Chile ula filter. Giant elliptical galaxy Maffei 1 know we were in for another great night. member galaxies, and the 30-inch Star- wasn’t bright, but just spotting it sent Dozens of faint objects crossed our master proved its mettle. From the chills down my spine. field of view, but the ones that made the brightest of the quintet, NGC 7320, to the never ignore. I climbed the ladder and ness. It didn’t appear faint through the (NGC 40) in Cepheus. This last object Bright galaxies in the constellations biggest impressions were galaxies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Arxiv:2012.09981V1 [Astro-Ph.SR] 17 Dec 2020 2 O
    Contrib. Astron. Obs. Skalnat´ePleso XX, 1 { 20, (2020) DOI: to be assigned later Flare stars in nearby Galactic open clusters based on TESS data Olga Maryeva1;2, Kamil Bicz3, Caiyun Xia4, Martina Baratella5, Patrik Cechvalaˇ 6 and Krisztian Vida7 1 Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences 251 65 Ondˇrejov,The Czech Republic(E-mail: [email protected]) 2 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Universitetsky pr. 13, 119234, Moscow, Russia 3 Astronomical Institute, University of Wroc law, Kopernika 11, 51-622 Wroc law, Poland 4 Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotl´aˇrsk´a2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic 5 Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia Galileo Galilei, Vicolo Osservatorio 3, 35122, Padova, Italy, (E-mail: [email protected]) 6 Department of Astronomy, Physics of the Earth and Meteorology, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynsk´adolina F-2, 842 48 Bratislava, Slovakia 7 Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, H-1121 Budapest, Konkoly Thege Mikl´os´ut15-17, Hungary Received: September ??, 2020; Accepted: ????????? ??, 2020 Abstract. The study is devoted to search for flare stars among confirmed members of Galactic open clusters using high-cadence photometry from TESS mission. We analyzed 957 high-cadence light curves of members from 136 open clusters. As a result, 56 flare stars were found, among them 8 hot B-A type ob- jects. Of all flares, 63 % were detected in sample of cool stars (Teff < 5000 K), and 29 % { in stars of spectral type G, while 23 % in K-type stars and ap- proximately 34% of all detected flares are in M-type stars.
    [Show full text]
  • Filter Performance Comparisons for Some Common Nebulae
    Filter Performance Comparisons For Some Common Nebulae By Dave Knisely Light Pollution and various “nebula” filters have been around since the late 1970’s, and amateurs have been using them ever since to bring out detail (and even some objects) which were difficult to impossible to see before in modest apertures. When I started using them in the early 1980’s, specific information about which filter might work on a given object (or even whether certain filters were useful at all) was often hard to come by. Even those accounts that were available often had incomplete or inaccurate information. Getting some observational experience with the Lumicon line of filters helped, but there were still some unanswered questions. I wondered how the various filters would rank on- average against each other for a large number of objects, and whether there was a “best overall” filter. In particular, I also wondered if the much-maligned H-Beta filter was useful on more objects than the two or three targets most often mentioned in publications. In the summer of 1999, I decided to begin some more comprehensive observations to try and answer these questions and determine how to best use these filters overall. I formulated a basic survey covering a moderate number of emission and planetary nebulae to obtain some statistics on filter performance to try to address the following questions: 1. How do the various filter types compare as to what (on average) they show on a given nebula? 2. Is there one overall “best” nebula filter which will work on the largest number of objects? 3.
    [Show full text]
  • A Dissertation Entitled Star Cluster Populations in the Spiral Galaxy
    A Dissertation entitled Star Cluster Populations in the Spiral Galaxy M101 by Lesley A. Simanton Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Physics Dr. Rupali Chandar, Committee Chair Dr. John-David Smith, Committee Member Dr. Steven Federman, Committee Member Dr. Bo Gao, Committee Member Dr. Bradley Whitmore, Committee Member Dr. Patricia R. Komuniecki, Dean College of Graduate Studies The University of Toledo August 2015 Copyright 2015, Lesley A. Simanton This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no parts of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. An Abstract of Star Cluster Populations in the Spiral Galaxy M101 by Lesley A. Simanton Submitted to the Graduate Faculty as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Physics The University of Toledo August 2015 Most stars form in groups and clusters. Stars clusters range in age from very young (< 3 Myr, embedded in gas clouds) to some of the most ancient objects in the universe (> 13 Gyr), providing clues to the formation and evolution of their host galaxies. Our knowledge of the diversity of star cluster populations has expanded over the last few decades, especially by being able to examine star clusters outside of the Milky Way (MW). In this dissertation, we continue this expansion of extragalactic star cluster studies by examining the star cluster system of the nearby spiral galaxy M101. We utilize photometry from Hubble Space T elescope images to assess luminosity, color, size, and spatial distributions of old star clusters, and spectroscopy from the Gemini- North telescope to determine ages, metallicities, and velocities of a subset of both young and old clusters in M101.
    [Show full text]
  • Messier Plus Marathon Text
    Messier Plus Marathon Object List by Wally Brown & Bob Buckner with additional objects by Mike Roos Object Data - Saguaro Astronomy Club Score is most numbered objects in a single night. Tiebreaker is count of un-numbered objects Observer Name Date Address Marathon Obects __________ Tiebreaker Objects ________ SEQ OBJECT TYPE CON R.A. DEC. RISE TRANSIT SET MAG SIZE NOTES TIME M 53 GLOCL COM 1312.9 +1810 7:21 14:17 21:12 7.7 13.0' NGC 5024, !B,vC,iR,vvmbM,st 12.. NGC 5272, !!,eB,vL,vsmbM,st 11.., Lord Rosse-sev dark 1 M 3 GLOCL CVN 1342.2 +2822 7:11 14:46 22:20 6.3 18.0' marks within 5' of center 2 M 5 GLOCL SER 1518.5 +0205 10:17 16:22 22:27 5.7 23.0' NGC 5904, !!,vB,L,eCM,eRi, st mags 11...;superb cluster M 94 GALXY CVN 1250.9 +4107 5:12 13:55 22:37 8.1 14.4'x12.1' NGC 4736, vB,L,iR,vsvmbM,BN,r NGC 6121, Cl,8 or 10 B* in line,rrr, Look for central bar M 4 GLOCL SCO 1623.6 -2631 12:56 17:27 21:58 5.4 36.0' structure M 80 GLOCL SCO 1617.0 -2258 12:36 17:21 22:06 7.3 10.0' NGC 6093, st 14..., Extremely rich and compressed M 62 GLOCL OPH 1701.2 -3006 13:49 18:05 22:21 6.4 15.0' NGC 6266, vB,L,gmbM,rrr, Asymmetrical M 19 GLOCL OPH 1702.6 -2615 13:34 18:06 22:38 6.8 17.0' NGC 6273, vB,L,R,vCM,rrr, One of the most oblate GC 3 M 107 GLOCL OPH 1632.5 -1303 12:17 17:36 22:55 7.8 13.0' NGC 6171, L,vRi,vmC,R,rrr, H VI 40 M 106 GALXY CVN 1218.9 +4718 3:46 13:23 22:59 8.3 18.6'x7.2' NGC 4258, !,vB,vL,vmE0,sbMBN, H V 43 M 63 GALXY CVN 1315.8 +4201 5:31 14:19 23:08 8.5 12.6'x7.2' NGC 5055, BN, vsvB stell.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae - 24 March 2020
    Dr. Eric E. Mamajek Curriculum Vitae - 24 March 2020 Jet Propulsion Laboratory Phone: (818) 354-2153 4800 Oak Grove Drive FAX: (818) 393-4950 MS 321-162 [email protected] Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 https://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/Mamajek/ Positions 2020- Discipline Program Manager - Exoplanets, Astro. & Physics Directorate, JPL/Caltech 2016- Deputy Program Chief Scientist, NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program, JPL/Caltech 2017- Professor of Physics & Astronomy (Research), University of Rochester 2016-2017 Visiting Professor, Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester 2016 Professor, Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester 2013-2016 Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester 2011-2012 Associate Astronomer, NOAO, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 2008-2013 Assistant Professor, Physics & Astronomy, University of Rochester (on leave 2011-2012) 2004-2008 Clay Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics 2000-2004 Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona, Astronomy 1999-2000 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona, Astronomy 1998-1999 J. William Fulbright Fellow, Australia, ADFA/UNSW School of Physics Languages English (native), Spanish (advanced) Education 2004 Ph.D. The University of Arizona, Astronomy 2001 M.S. The University of Arizona, Astronomy 2000 M.Sc. The University of New South Wales, ADFA, Physics 1998 B.S. The Pennsylvania State University, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Physics 1993 H.S. Bethel Park High School Research Interests Formation and Evolution
    [Show full text]
  • Planetary Nebulae
    Planetary Nebulae A planetary nebula is a kind of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from old red giant stars late in their lives. The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer that originated in the 1780s with astronomer William Herschel because when viewed through his telescope, these objects appeared to him to resemble the rounded shapes of planets. Herschel's name for these objects was popularly adopted and has not been changed. They are a relatively short-lived phenomenon, lasting a few tens of thousands of years, compared to a typical stellar lifetime of several billion years. The mechanism for formation of most planetary nebulae is thought to be the following: at the end of the star's life, during the red giant phase, the outer layers of the star are expelled by strong stellar winds. Eventually, after most of the red giant's atmosphere is dissipated, the exposed hot, luminous core emits ultraviolet radiation to ionize the ejected outer layers of the star. Absorbed ultraviolet light energizes the shell of nebulous gas around the central star, appearing as a bright colored planetary nebula at several discrete visible wavelengths. Planetary nebulae may play a crucial role in the chemical evolution of the Milky Way, returning material to the interstellar medium from stars where elements, the products of nucleosynthesis (such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and neon), have been created. Planetary nebulae are also observed in more distant galaxies, yielding useful information about their chemical abundances. In recent years, Hubble Space Telescope images have revealed many planetary nebulae to have extremely complex and varied morphologies.
    [Show full text]
  • SEPTEMBER 2014 OT H E D Ebn V E R S E R V ESEPTEMBERR 2014
    THE DENVER OBSERVER SEPTEMBER 2014 OT h e D eBn v e r S E R V ESEPTEMBERR 2014 FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT Calendar Taken on July 25th in San Luis State Park near the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, Jeff made this image of the Milky Way during an overnight camping stop on the way to Santa Fe, NM. It was taken with a Canon 2............................. First quarter moon 60D camera, an EFS 15-85 lens, using an iOptron SkyTracker. It is a single frame, with no stacking or dark/ 8.......................................... Full moon bias frames, at ISO 1600 for two minutes. Visible in this south-facing photograph is Sagittarius, and the 14............ Aldebaran 1.4˚ south of moon Dark Horse Nebula inside of the Milky Way. He processed the image in Adobe Lightroom. Image © Jeff Tropeano 15............................ Last quarter moon 22........................... Autumnal Equinox 24........................................ New moon Inside the Observer SEPTEMBER SKIES by Dennis Cochran ygnus the Swan dives onto center stage this other famous deep-sky object is the Veil Nebula, President’s Message....................... 2 C month, almost overhead. Leading the descent also known as the Cygnus Loop, a supernova rem- is the nose of the swan, the star known as nant so large that its separate arcs were known Society Directory.......................... 2 Albireo, a beautiful multi-colored double. One and named before it was found to be one wide Schedule of Events......................... 2 wonders if Albireo has any planets from which to wisp that came out of a single star. The Veil is see the pair up-close.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of Contributions
    Mapping the X-ray Sky with SRG: First Results from eROSITA and ART-XC Report of Contributions https://events.mpe.mpg.de/e/SRG2020 Mapping the X- … / Report of Contributions eROSITA discovery of a new AGN … Contribution ID : 4 Type : Oral Presentation eROSITA discovery of a new AGN state in 1H0707-495 Tuesday, 17 March 2020 17:45 (15) One of the most prominent AGNs, the ultrasoft Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H0707-495, has been observed with eROSITA as one of the first CAL/PV observations on October 13, 2019 for about 60.000 seconds. 1H 0707-495 is a highly variable AGN, with a complex, steep X-ray spectrum, which has been the subject of intense study with XMM-Newton in the past. 1H0707-495 entered an historical low hard flux state, first detected with eROSITA, never seen before in the 20 years of XMM-Newton observations. In addition ultra-soft emission with a variability factor of about 100 has been detected for the first time in the eROSITA light curves. We discuss fast spectral transitions between the cool and a hot phase of the accretion flow in the very strong GR regime as a physical model for 1H0707-495, and provide tests on previously discussed models. Presenter status Senior eROSITA consortium member Primary author(s) : Prof. BOLLER, Thomas (MPE); Prof. NANDRA, Kirpal (MPE Garching); Dr LIU, Teng (MPE Garching); MERLONI, Andrea; Dr DAUSER, Thomas (FAU Nürnberg); Dr RAU, Arne (MPE Garching); Dr BUCHNER, Johannes (MPE); Dr FREYBERG, Michael (MPE) Presenter(s) : Prof. BOLLER, Thomas (MPE) Session Classification : AGN physics, variability, clustering October 3, 2021 Page 1 Mapping the X- … / Report of Contributions X-ray emission from warm-hot int … Contribution ID : 9 Type : Poster X-ray emission from warm-hot intergalactic medium: the role of resonantly scattered cosmic X-ray background We revisit calculations of the X-ray emission from warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) with particular focus on contribution from the resonantly scattered cosmic X-ray background (CXB).
    [Show full text]
  • The MUSE View of the Planetary Nebula NGC 3132? Ana Monreal-Ibero1,2 and Jeremy R
    A&A 634, A47 (2020) Astronomy https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936845 & © ESO 2020 Astrophysics The MUSE view of the planetary nebula NGC 3132? Ana Monreal-Ibero1,2 and Jeremy R. Walsh3,?? 1 Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), 38205 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain e-mail: [email protected] 2 Universidad de La Laguna, Dpto. Astrofísica, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain 3 European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Strasse 2, 85748 Garching, Germany Received 4 October 2019 / Accepted 6 December 2019 ABSTRACT Aims. Two-dimensional spectroscopic data for the whole extent of the NGC 3132 planetary nebula have been obtained. We deliver a reduced data-cube and high-quality maps on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis for the many emission lines falling within the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectral coverage over a range in surface brightness >1000. Physical diagnostics derived from the emission line images, opening up a variety of scientific applications, are discussed. Methods. Data were obtained during MUSE commissioning on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope and reduced with the standard ESO pipeline. Emission lines were fitted by Gaussian profiles. The dust extinction, electron densities, and temperatures of the ionised gas and abundances were determined using Python and PyNeb routines. 2 Results. The delivered datacube has a spatial size of 6300 12300, corresponding to 0:26 0:51 pc for the adopted distance, and ∼ × ∼ 1 × a contiguous wavelength coverage of 4750–9300 Å at a spectral sampling of 1.25 Å pix− . The nebula presents a complex reddening structure with high values (c(Hβ) 0:4) at the rim.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy Magazine Special Issue
    γ ι ζ γ δ α κ β κ ε γ β ρ ε ζ υ α φ ψ ω χ α π χ φ γ ω ο ι δ κ α ξ υ λ τ μ β α σ θ ε β σ δ γ ψ λ ω σ η ν θ Aι must-have for all stargazers η δ μ NEW EDITION! ζ λ β ε η κ NGC 6664 NGC 6539 ε τ μ NGC 6712 α υ δ ζ M26 ν NGC 6649 ψ Struve 2325 ζ ξ ATLAS χ α NGC 6604 ξ ο ν ν SCUTUM M16 of the γ SERP β NGC 6605 γ V450 ξ η υ η NGC 6645 M17 φ θ M18 ζ ρ ρ1 π Barnard 92 ο χ σ M25 M24 STARS M23 ν β κ All-in-one introduction ALL NEW MAPS WITH: to the night sky 42,000 more stars (87,000 plotted down to magnitude 8.5) AND 150+ more deep-sky objects (more than 1,200 total) The Eagle Nebula (M16) combines a dark nebula and a star cluster. In 100+ this intense region of star formation, “pillars” form at the boundaries spectacular between hot and cold gas. You’ll find this object on Map 14, a celestial portion of which lies above. photos PLUS: How to observe star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies AS2-CV0610.indd 1 6/10/10 4:17 PM NEW EDITION! AtlAs Tour the night sky of the The staff of Astronomy magazine decided to This atlas presents produce its first star atlas in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • ASTRONOMY and ASTROPHYSICS the Elliptical Galaxy Formerly Known As the Local Group: Merging the Globular Cluster Systems
    Astron. Astrophys. 358, 471–480 (2000) ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS The elliptical galaxy formerly known as the Local Group: merging the globular cluster systems Duncan A. Forbes1,2, Karen L. Masters1, Dante Minniti3, and Pauline Barmby4 1 University of Birmingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK 2 Swinburne University of Technology, Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia 3 P. Universidad Catolica,´ Departamento de Astronom´ıa y Astrof´ısica, Casilla 104, Santiago 22, Chile 4 Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Received 5 November 1999 / Accepted 27 January 2000 Abstract. Prompted by a new catalogue of M31 globular clus- al. 1995; Minniti et al. 1996). Furthermore Hubble Space Tele- ters, we have collected together individual metallicity values for scope studies of merging disk galaxies reveal evidence for the globular clusters in the Local Group. Although we briefly de- GC systems of the progenitor galaxies (e.g. Forbes & Hau 1999; scribe the globular cluster systems of the individual Local Group Whitmore et al. 1999). Thus GCs should survive the merger of galaxies, the main thrust of our paper is to examine the collec- their parent galaxies, and will form a new GC system around tive properties. In this way we are simulating the dissipationless the newly formed elliptical galaxy. merger of the Local Group, into presumably an elliptical galaxy. The globular clusters of the Local Group are the best studied Such a merger is dominated by the Milky Way and M31, which and offer a unique opportunity to examine their collective prop- appear to be fairly typical examples of globular cluster systems erties (reviews of LG star clusters can be found in Brodie 1993 of spiral galaxies.
    [Show full text]
  • Binocular Challenge Here
    AHSP Binocular Observing Award Compiled by Phil Harrington www.philharrington.net • To qualify for the BOA pin, you must see 15 of the following 20 binocular targets. Check off each as you spot them. Seen # Object Const. Type* RA Dec Mag Size Nickname 1. M13 Her GC 16 41.7 +36 28 5.9 16' Great Hercules Globular 2. M57 Lyr PN 18 53.6 +33 02 9.7 86"x62" Ring Nebula 3. Collinder 399 Vul AS 19 25.4 +20 11 3.6 60' Coathanger/Brocchi’s Cluster 3.1 4. Albireo Cyg Dbl 19 30.7 +27 57 35” Color Contrasting Double 5.1 5. M27 Vul PN 19 59.6 +22 43 8.1 8’x6’ Dumbbell Nebula 6. NGC 6992 Cyg SNR 20 56.4 +31 43 - 60'x8 Veil Nebula (east) 7. NGC 7000 Cyg BN 20 58.8 +44 20 - 120'x100' North America Nebula 8. M15 Peg GC 21 30.0 +12 10 7.5 12’ Great Pegasus Cluster 9. M39 Cyg OC 21 32.2 +48 26 4.6 32' 10. Barnard 168 Cyg DN 21 53.2 +47 12 - 100'x10' West of Cocoon Nebula 11. IC 5146 Cyg BN/OC 21 53.5 +47 16 - 12'x12' Cocoon Nebula 12. M110 And Gx 00 40.4 +41 41 10 17’x10’ 13. M32 And Gx 00 42.8 +40 52 10 8’x6’ 14. M31 And Gx 00 42.8 +41 16 4.5 178’ Andromeda Galaxy 15. NGC 457 Cas OC 01 19.1 +58 20 6.4 13’ Owl Cluster/ET Cluster 16.
    [Show full text]