DOCSLIB.ORG

Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 1 Eta Cassiopeiae / Achird Double Star 3.4, 7.5 12.9" 00h 49m 57° 2 M31 / Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy 3.4 (Surface 185' x 75' 00h 42m 41° Brightness 13.6) 3 M32 Galaxy 8.1 (Surface 11' x 7.3' 00h 42m 40° Brightness 12.7) 4 NGC 457 / Owl Cluster Open Star Cluster 6.4 13' 01h 19m 58° 5 Gamma Arietis / Mesartim Double Star 4.8, 4.8 7.8" 01h 53m 19° 6 Alpha Ursae Minoris / Polaris Double Star 2.0, 8.2 18.4" 02h 31m 89° 7 NGC 869 and 884 / Double Open Star Cluster 5.3 (NGC 869), 6.1 29', 29' 02h 20m 57° Cluster (NGC 884) 8 Gamma Andromedae / Double Star 2.3, 5.5 9.8" 02h 03m 42° Almach 9 M34 Open Star Cluster 5.2 35' 02h 42m 42° 10 Melotte 20 / Alpha Persei Open Star Cluster 1.2 185' 03h 22m 49° Association 11 M45 / Pleiades Open Star Cluster 1.2 110' 03h 47m 24° 12 Kemble 1 / Kemble's Cascade Asterism 150' 04h 07m 62° Page 1 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 13 Melotte 25 / Hyades Open Star Cluster 0.5 330' 04h 27m 16° 14 M38 Open Star Cluster 6.4 21' 05h 28m 35° 15 M36 Open Star Cluster 6 12' 05h 36m 34° 16 M37 Open Star Cluster 5.6 20' 05h 52m 32° 17 Lambda Orionis / Meissa Double Star 3.5, 5.6 4.4" 05h 35m 9° 18 Collinder 70 / Orion's Belt Asterism 05h 35m -1° 19 Sigma Orionis Quadruple Star 4.0, 10.3 11.4" 05h 38m -2° 20 M42 / Orion Nebula Diffuse Nebula 4 90' 05h 35m -5° 21 M43 / De Mairan's Nebula Emission Nebula 9 20' 05h 35m -5° 22 Theta Orionis / Trapezium Quadruple Star 5.1, 6.7, 6.7, 7.9 8.8", 13.4" 05h 35m -5° 23 Iota Orionis Triple Star 2.8, 7.3 11.3" 05h 35m -5° 24 Gamma Leporis Double Star 3.7, 6.3 96.3" 05h 44m -22° Page 2 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 25 M35 Open Star Cluster 5.1 28' 06h 08m 24° 26 NGC 2264 / Christmas Tree Open Star Cluster 3.9 20' 06h 41m 9° Cluster 27 Beta Monocerotis Triple Star 4.7, 5.2, 6.1 2.8", 7.3" 06h 28m -7° 28 M41 Open Star Cluster 4.5 38' 06h 46m -20° 29 Alpha Geminorum / Castor Double Star 1.9, 2.9 4.0" 07h 34m 31° 30 M50 Open Star Cluster 5.9 16' 07h 03m -8° 31 M47 Open Star Cluster 4.4 29' 07h 36m -14° 32 M46 Open Star Cluster 6.1 27' 07h 41m -14° 33 Iota Cancri Double Star 4.2, 6.6 30.5" 08h 46m 28° 34 M44 / Beehive Cluster Open Star Cluster 3.1 95' 08h 40m 19° 35 M81 / Bode's Galaxy Galaxy 6.9 (Surface 24' x 13' 09h 55m 69° Brightness 13.0) 36 M82 / Exploding Galaxy Galaxy 8.4 (Surface 12' x 5.6' 09h 55m 69° Brightness 12.8) Page 3 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 37 Gamma Leonis / Algieba Double Star 2.2, 3.5 4.4" 10h 20m 19° 38 Alpha Canum Venaticorum / Double Star 2.9, 5.5 19.4" 12h 56m 38° Cor Caroli 39 Melotte 111 / Coma Star Open Star Cluster 1.8 275' 12h 25m 26° Cluster 40 24 Comae Berenices Double Star 5.2, 6.7 20.3" 12h 35m 18° 41 Zeta Ursae Majoris / Mizar Double Star 2.3, 4.0 14.4" 13h 23m 54° and Alcor 42 M3 Globular Star Cluster 5.9 16.2' 13h 42m 28° 43 Mu Bootis / Alkalurops Triple Star 4.3, 7.0, 7.6 108.3", 2.3" 15h 24m 37° 44 Zeta Coronae Borealis Double Star 5.1, 6.0 6.3" 15h 39m 36° 45 M5 Globular Star Cluster 5.7 17.4' 15h 18m 2° 46 M13 / Great Hercules Cluster Globular Star Cluster 5.7 16.6' 16h 41m 36° 47 Kappa Herculis / Marfak Triple Star 5.3, 6.5 28.4" 16h 08m 17° 48 Beta Scorpii / Graffias Double Star 2.6, 4.9 13.6" 16h 05m -19° Page 4 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 49 Rho Ophiuchi Double Star 5.3, 6.0 3.1" 16h 25m -23° 50 Alpha Scorpii / Antares Double Star 1.2, 5.4 2.9" 16h 29m -26° 51 Nu Draconis Double Star 4.9, 4.9 61.9" 17h 32m 55° 52 M92 Globular Star Cluster 6.4 11.2' 17h 17m 43° 53 Alpha Herculis / Rasalgethi Double and Variable 3.5, 5.4 4.7" 17h 14m 14° Star 54 IC 4665 Open Star Cluster 4.2 40' 17h 46m 5° 55 Epsilon Lyrae / Double Double Star 5.4, 6.5; 5.1, 5.3 2.6", 2.3" 18h 44m 39° Double 56 Zeta Lyrae Double Star 4.3, 6.0 43.7" 18h 44m 37° 57 Delta (1 and 2) Lyrae Double Star 5.6, 9.3; 4.5, 11.2 174.6"; 18h 54m 36° 86.2", 2.2" 58 M57 / Ring Nebula Planetary Nebula 8.8 > 1.18' 18h 53m 33° 59 Theta Serpentis / Alya Double Star 4.6, 5.0 22.3" 18h 56m 4° 60 M11 / Wild Duck Cluster Open Star Cluster 5.8 13' 18h 51m -6° Page 5 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 61 16 Cygni Double Star 5.9, 6.2 39.3" 19h 41m 50° 62 Delta Cygni Double Star 2.9, 6.3 2.5" 19h 45m 45° 63 Beta Cygni / Albireo Double Star 3.1, 5.1 34.0" 19h 30m 27° 64 M27 / Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula 7.3 5.8' 19h 59m 22° 65 Collinder 399 / Coathanger Asterism 3.6 60' 19h 25m 20° 66 Omicron Cygni Triple Star 3.6, 4.8, 6.7 107.0", 20h 13m 46° 337.5" 67 M29 / Cooling Tower Open Star Cluster 6.6 6' 20h 23m 38° 68 NGC 6871 Open Star Cluster 5.2 20' 20h 05m 35° 69 Gamma Delphini Double Star 4.3, 5.1 9.6" 20h 46m 16° 70 Alpha Capricorni / Al Giedi Double Star 3.6, 4.2 378" 20h 18m -12° (The Goat) 71 Beta Capricorni / Dabih Triple Star 3.4, 6.2 205.3" 20h 21m -14° 72 M39 Open Star Cluster 4.6 31' 21h 32m 48° Page 6 of 7 Urban Observing List for Small Telescopes Number Name Type Visual Magnitude Size or RA and Dec Comments Separation 73 M15 Globular Star Cluster 6 12.3' 21h 30m 12° 74 M2 Globular Star Cluster 6.4 12.9' 21h 33m 0° 75 Delta Cephei Double and Variable 3.48 to 4.37 in 5.4 41.0" 22h 29m 58° Star days Page 7 of 7.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • BAV Rundbrief Nr. 3 (2014)
    BAV Rundbrief 2014 | Nr. 3 | 63. Jahrgang | ISSN 0405-5497 Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Veränderliche Sterne e.V. (BAV) BAV Rundbrief 2014 | Nr. 3 | 63. Jahrgang | ISSN 0405-5497 Table of Contents G. Maintz Revised elements of AP CVn and BH Ser 137 R. Gröbel Lightcurve and period of four RR Lyrae stars in Ursa Major: AG UMa, AV UMa, BK UMa and CK UMa 139 Inhaltsverzeichnis G. Maintz Verbesserte Elemente von AP CVn und BH Ser 137 R. Gröbel Lichtkurve und Periode von vier RR-Lyrae-Sternen in Ursa Major: AG UMa, AV UMa, BK UMa und CK UMa 139 Beobachtungsberichte D. Böhme Ist MP Gem ein Bedeckungsveränderlicher? 146 E. Pollmann / Zwischenergebnisse der 28-Tau-Kampagne 149 W. Vollmann F. Vohla U Orionis - ein (B-R)-Schelm 152 K. Wenzel Visuelle Lichtkurve von S5 0716+71 für den Beobachtungszeit- raum von August 2013 bis April 2014 154 K. Bernhard / Datamining leicht gemacht: Onlinekataloge für Einsteiger 155 S. Hümmerich Aus der Literatur Uni Bonn Spektakuläre Doppelexplosion am Sternenhimmel 161 E. Wischnewski Beobachtungsaufruf für Eta Orionis 163 Aus der BAV D. Bannuscher Neuigkeiten aus dem BAV-Vereinsleben 164 BAV-Vorstand BAV-Tagung Programmpunkte 165 D. Bannuscher Veränderlichenbeobachter-Treffen 2014 in Hartha 167 J. Hübscher Die systematische Überwachung veränderlicher Sterne durch BAV-Beobachter 170 W. Braune Veränderliche Sterne in „Sterne und Weltraum“ 174 T. Lange Rudolf Obertrifter ist verstorben 175 P. Reinhard Erlebnisbericht Namibia 2014 176 Aus den Sektionen F. Walter Bericht der Sektion „Bedeckungsveränderliche“ 2012 - 2014 178 G. Maintz Bericht der Sektion RR-Lyrae-Sterne 2012 - 2014 179 G. Monninger Bericht der Sektion Delta-Scuti-Sterne 2012 - 2014 180 R.
    [Show full text]
  • Mathématiques Et Espace
    Atelier disciplinaire AD 5 Mathématiques et Espace Anne-Cécile DHERS, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Peggy THILLET, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Yann BARSAMIAN, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Olivier BONNETON, Sciences - U (mathématiques) Cahier d'activités Activité 1 : L'HORIZON TERRESTRE ET SPATIAL Activité 2 : DENOMBREMENT D'ETOILES DANS LE CIEL ET L'UNIVERS Activité 3 : D'HIPPARCOS A BENFORD Activité 4 : OBSERVATION STATISTIQUE DES CRATERES LUNAIRES Activité 5 : DIAMETRE DES CRATERES D'IMPACT Activité 6 : LOI DE TITIUS-BODE Activité 7 : MODELISER UNE CONSTELLATION EN 3D Crédits photo : NASA / CNES L'HORIZON TERRESTRE ET SPATIAL (3 ème / 2 nde ) __________________________________________________ OBJECTIF : Détermination de la ligne d'horizon à une altitude donnée. COMPETENCES : ● Utilisation du théorème de Pythagore ● Utilisation de Google Earth pour évaluer des distances à vol d'oiseau ● Recherche personnelle de données REALISATION : Il s'agit ici de mettre en application le théorème de Pythagore mais avec une vision terrestre dans un premier temps suite à un questionnement de l'élève puis dans un second temps de réutiliser la même démarche dans le cadre spatial de la visibilité d'un satellite. Fiche élève ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. Victor Hugo a écrit dans Les Châtiments : "Les horizons aux horizons succèdent […] : on avance toujours, on n’arrive jamais ". Face à la mer, vous voyez l'horizon à perte de vue. Mais "est-ce loin, l'horizon ?". D'après toi, jusqu'à quelle distance peux-tu voir si le temps est clair ? Réponse 1 : " Sans instrument, je peux voir jusqu'à .................. km " Réponse 2 : " Avec une paire de jumelles, je peux voir jusqu'à ............... km " 2. Nous allons maintenant calculer à l'aide du théorème de Pythagore la ligne d'horizon pour une hauteur H donnée.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction No. 110 January 2021
    No. 110 January 2021 Introduction Happy New Year! At the time of writing, vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus are becoming globally available and affordable. This makes me feel as though things are changing for the better, and that just maybe we’ll start to see the beginning of the end of these weird times during 2021! As most of you know, my intention here is to highlight some of the best astronomical targets for binoculars (and small telescopes!) for the coming month. Although it is primarily intended for observers in the UK, nearly all the objects can be seen from anywhere north of latitude 30°N, and many of them from anywhere in the southern hemisphere. In the Solar System, we’re losing Neptune, but gaining the brighter, and far better placed, Vesta, and have a meteor shower renowned for its fireballs. January mornings bring a return of one of my favourite bits of sky: the Virgo-Coma region of galaxies. January also brings a personal “first”: my first international Zoom talk – on binocular astronomy, of course! On the 23rd (my time; 22nd theirs) my appalling sense of humour goes transatlantic. If you would like to receive the newsletter automatically each month, please complete and submit the subscription form. You can get “between the newsletters” alerts, etc. via and . Binocular Sky Newsletter – January 2020 The Deep Sky (Hyperlinks will take you to finder charts and more information on the objects.) Two marvellous binocular targets, the Pleiades (M45) and Collinder 70 (which too few people spend time with in their haste to get to the G reat Orion Nebula) culminate in the early evening, as do the trio of open clusters in Auriga and M35 in Gemini.
    [Show full text]
  • Observing List
    day month year Epoch 2000 local clock time: 23.98 Observing List for 23 7 2019 RA DEC alt az Constellation object mag A mag B Separation description hr min deg min 20 50 Andromeda Gamma Andromedae (*266) 2.3 5.5 9.8 yellow & blue green double star 2 3.9 42 19 28 69 Andromeda Pi Andromedae 4.4 8.6 35.9 bright white & faint blue 0 36.9 33 43 30 55 Andromeda STF 79 (Struve) 6 7 7.8 bluish pair 1 0.1 44 42 16 52 Andromeda 59 Andromedae 6.5 7 16.6 neat pair, both greenish blue 2 10.9 39 2 45 67 Andromeda NGC 7662 (The Blue Snowball) planetary nebula, fairly bright & slightly elongated 23 25.9 42 32.1 31 60 Andromeda M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) large sprial arm galaxy like the Milky Way 0 42.7 41 16 31 61 Andromeda M32 satellite galaxy of Andromeda Galaxy 0 42.7 40 52 32 60 Andromeda M110 (NGC205) satellite galaxy of Andromeda Galaxy 0 40.4 41 41 17 55 Andromeda NGC752 large open cluster of 60 stars 1 57.8 37 41 17 48 Andromeda NGC891 edge on galaxy, needle-like in appearance 2 22.6 42 21 45 69 Andromeda NGC7640 elongated galaxy with mottled halo 23 22.1 40 51 46 57 Andromeda NGC7686 open cluster of 20 stars 23 30.2 49 8 30 121 Aquarius 55 Aquarii, Zeta 4.3 4.5 2.1 close, elegant pair of yellow stars 22 28.8 0 -1 12 120 Aquarius 94 Aquarii 5.3 7.3 12.7 pale rose & emerald 23 19.1 -13 28 32 152 Aquarius M72 globular cluster 20 53.5 -12 32 31 151 Aquarius M73 Y-shaped asterism of 4 stars 20 59 -12 38 16 117 Aquarius NGC7606 Galaxy 23 19.1 -8 29 32 149 Aquarius NGC7009 Saturn Neb planetary nebula, large & bright pale green oval 21 4.2 -11 21.8 38 135
    [Show full text]
  • Winter Constellations
    Winter Constellations *Orion *Canis Major *Monoceros *Canis Minor *Gemini *Auriga *Taurus *Eradinus *Lepus *Monoceros *Cancer *Lynx *Ursa Major *Ursa Minor *Draco *Camelopardalis *Cassiopeia *Cepheus *Andromeda *Perseus *Lacerta *Pegasus *Triangulum *Aries *Pisces *Cetus *Leo (rising) *Hydra (rising) *Canes Venatici (rising) Orion--Myth: Orion, the great ​ ​ hunter. In one myth, Orion boasted he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the protector of all animals, produced a gigantic scorpion, whose body was so heavily encased that Orion was unable to pierce through the armour, and was himself stung to death. His companion Artemis was greatly saddened and arranged for Orion to be immortalised among the stars. Scorpius, the scorpion, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so that Orion would never be hurt by it again. To this day, Orion is never seen in the sky at the same time as Scorpius. DSO’s ● ***M42 “Orion Nebula” (Neb) with Trapezium A stellar ​ ​ ​ nursery where new stars are being born, perhaps a thousand stars. These are immense clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse inward to form stars, mainly of ionized hydrogen which gives off the red glow so dominant, and also ionized greenish oxygen gas. The youngest stars may be less than 300,000 years old, even as young as 10,000 years old (compared to the Sun, 4.6 billion years old). 1300 ly. ​ ​ 1 ● *M43--(Neb) “De Marin’s Nebula” The star-forming ​ “comma-shaped” region connected to the Orion Nebula. ● *M78--(Neb) Hard to see. A star-forming region connected to the ​ Orion Nebula.
    [Show full text]
  • Naming the Extrasolar Planets
    Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named.
    [Show full text]
  • August 13 2016 7:00Pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho
    Snake River Skies The Newsletter of the Magic Valley Astronomical Society www.mvastro.org Membership Meeting President’s Message Saturday, August 13th 2016 7:00pm at the Herrett Center for Arts & Science College of Southern Idaho. Public Star Party Follows at the Colleagues, Centennial Observatory Club Officers It's that time of year: The City of Rocks Star Party. Set for Friday, Aug. 5th, and Saturday, Aug. 6th, the event is the gem of the MVAS year. As we've done every Robert Mayer, President year, we will hold solar viewing at the Smoky Mountain Campground, followed by a [email protected] potluck there at the campground. Again, MVAS will provide the main course and 208-312-1203 beverages. Paul McClain, Vice President After the potluck, the party moves over to the corral by the bunkhouse over at [email protected] Castle Rocks, with deep sky viewing beginning sometime after 9 p.m. This is a chance to dig into some of the darkest skies in the west. Gary Leavitt, Secretary [email protected] Some members have already reserved campsites, but for those who are thinking of 208-731-7476 dropping by at the last minute, we have room for you at the bunkhouse, and would love to have to come by. Jim Tubbs, Treasurer / ALCOR [email protected] The following Saturday will be the regular MVAS meeting. Please check E-mail or 208-404-2999 Facebook for updates on our guest speaker that day. David Olsen, Newsletter Editor Until then, clear views, [email protected] Robert Mayer Rick Widmer, Webmaster [email protected] Magic Valley Astronomical Society is a member of the Astronomical League M-51 imaged by Rick Widmer & Ken Thomason Herrett Telescope Shotwell Camera https://herrett.csi.edu/astronomy/observatory/City_of_Rocks_Star_Party_2016.asp Calendars for August Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 New Moon City Rocks City Rocks Lunation 1158 Castle Rocks Castle Rocks Star Party Star Party Almo, ID Almo, ID 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 MVAS General Mtg.
    [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]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • October 2006
    OCTOBER 2 0 0 6 �������������� http://www.universetoday.com �������������� TAMMY PLOTNER WITH JEFF BARBOUR 283 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1 In 1897, the world’s largest refractor (40”) debuted at the University of Chica- go’s Yerkes Observatory. Also today in 1958, NASA was established by an act of Congress. More? In 1962, the 300-foot radio telescope of the National Ra- dio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) went live at Green Bank, West Virginia. It held place as the world’s second largest radio scope until it collapsed in 1988. Tonight let’s visit with an old lunar favorite. Easily seen in binoculars, the hexagonal walled plain of Albategnius ap- pears near the terminator about one-third the way north of the south limb. Look north of Albategnius for even larger and more ancient Hipparchus giving an almost “figure 8” view in binoculars. Between Hipparchus and Albategnius to the east are mid-sized craters Halley and Hind. Note the curious ALBATEGNIUS AND HIPPARCHUS ON THE relationship between impact crater Klein on Albategnius’ southwestern wall and TERMINATOR CREDIT: ROGER WARNER that of crater Horrocks on the northeastern wall of Hipparchus. Now let’s power up and “crater hop”... Just northwest of Hipparchus’ wall are the beginnings of the Sinus Medii area. Look for the deep imprint of Seeliger - named for a Dutch astronomer. Due north of Hipparchus is Rhaeticus, and here’s where things really get interesting. If the terminator has progressed far enough, you might spot tiny Blagg and Bruce to its west, the rough location of the Surveyor 4 and Surveyor 6 landing area.
    [Show full text]
  • Race to the Moons
    Race to the Moons The year is 2169 and mankind has pretty much filled up the Earth. It has been 200 years since man first set foot on the Moon. Now there are cities on the Moon and Mars, and mining communities in the asteroid belt. But our Solar System is just the beginning. It might be home, but Earth is the only truly hospitable planet nearby. However, recent breakthroughs in warp travel mean that interstellar voyages are finally a reality. There are several extrasolar systems that have been discovered to have planets and moons which appear to be very Earthlike, and likely hospitable. The nearest of these is in the Gamma Leporis tri-star system, 29 light years away from Earth. A series of moons orbiting a gas giant named Yutu show breathable atmospheres, tolerable radiation levels, reasonable temperatures, liquid water, and plenty of land. Now, the race is on. Terran, Lunar, Martian, and Belter organizations are competing to be the first to send humans to one of these habitable moons and establish a permanent human colony. It will take research, determination, and a bit of luck to be the first to arrive. Do you have what it takes to drive the next great space triumph and win the Race to the Moons? Overview: Race to the Moons is a worker placement game where 2-5 players (solo variant included) are working to research the technology needed to complete an interstellar mission and be the first to found a human colony on a moon system around a gas planet in another solar system.
    [Show full text]
  • TAAS Observing Challenge, March 2016 Deep Sky Object
    TAAS Observing Challenge, March 2016 Deep Sky Object NGC 3242 (PN) Hydra ra: 10h 24m 46.2s dec: -18° 38’ 34” Magnitude (visual) = 7.7 Size = 64” Distance = approximately 2,500 light years Description: William Herschel discovered this planetary nebula on February 7, 1785, and cataloged it as H IV.27. John Herschel observed it from the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in the 1830s, and numbered it as h 3248, and included it in the 1864 General Catalogue as GC 2102; this became NGC 3242 in J.L.E. Dreyer's New General Catalogue of 1888. This planetary nebula consists of a small dense nebula of about 16" x 26" in diameter, surrounded by a fainter envelop measuring about 40 x 35 arc seconds. This central nebula is embedded in a much larger faint halo, measuring 1250" or about 20.8 arc minutes in diameter. The bright inner nebula is described as looking like an eye by Burnham, and the outer shell gave rise to its popular name, as it is of about the apparent size of Jupiter. This planetary nebula is most frequently called the Ghost of Jupiter, or Jupiter's Ghost, but it is also sometimes referred to as the Eye Nebula, or the CBS Eye. Source: http://messier.seds.org/spider/Misc/n3242.html AL: Herschel 400, Caldwell [59]; TAAS 200 Challenge Object NGC 3962 (GX) Crater ra: 11h 54m 40.0s dec: -13° 58’ 34” Magnitude (visual) = 10.7 Size = 2.6’ x 2.2’ Position angle = 10° Description: NGC3962 is a small, elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Crater.
    [Show full text]