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MESSIER 15 RA(2000) : 21H 29M 58S DEC(2000): +12° 10'

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MESSIER 15 RA(2000) : 21h 29m 58s DEC(2000): +12° 10’ 01” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Globular Cluster CONSTELLATION: Pegasus BEST VIEW: Late October DISCOVERY: Jean-Dominique Maraldi, 1746 DISTANCE: 33,600 ly DIAMETER: 175 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 18’ FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Vulpecula Sagitta Pegasus NGC 7009 (THE SATURN NEBULA) Delphinus NGC 7009 RA(2000) : 21h 04m 10.8s DEC(2000): -11° 21’ 48.6” Equuleus Pisces Aquila NGC 7009 FOV: 5.00 Aquarius Telrad Capricornus Sagittarius Cetus Piscis Austrinus NGC 7009 Microscopium BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Aquarius Sculptor BEST VIEW: Early November DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1782 DISTANCE: 2000 - 4000 ly DIAMETER: 0.4 - 0.8 ly Grus APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.0 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 41” x 35” Telescopium Telrad Indus NGC 7662 (THE BLUE SNOWBALL) RA(2000) : 23h 25m 53.6s DEC(2000): +42° 32’ 06” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Andromeda BEST VIEW: Late November DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1784 DISTANCE: 1800 – 6400 ly DIAMETER: 0.3 – 1.1 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.6 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 37” MESSIER 52 RA(2000) : 23h 24m 48s DEC(2000): +61° 35’ 36” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Cassiopeia BEST VIEW: December DISCOVERY: Charles Messier, 1774 DISTANCE: ~5000 ly DIAMETER: 19 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +7.3 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 13’ AGE: 50 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Auriga Cepheus Andromeda MESSIER 31 (THE ANDROMEDA GALAXY) M 31 RA(2000) : 00h 42m 44.3Cassiopeias DEC(2000): +41° 16’ 07.5” Perseus Lacerta AndromedaM 31 FOV: 5.00 Telrad Triangulum Taurus Orion Aries Andromeda M 31 Pegasus Pisces BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Galaxy CONSTELLATION: Andromeda Telrad BEST VIEW: December DISCOVERY: Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, 964 Eridanus CetusDISTANCE: 2.5 million ly DIAMETER: ~250,000 ly* APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +3.4 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 178’ x 63’ (3° x 1°) *This value represents the total diameter of the disk, based on multi-wavelength measurements. The bright visible disk is closer to 120,000 ly. NGC 253 (THE SCULPTOR GALAXY) RA(2000) : 00h 47m 33s DEC(2000): -25° 17’ 20” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Galaxy CONSTELLATION: Sculptor BEST VIEW: December DISCOVERY: Caroline Herschel, 1783 DISTANCE: ~11 million ly DIAMETER: ~87,000 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.0 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 27’ x 6’ MESSIER 76 (THE LITTLE DUMBBELL NEBULA) RA(2000) : 01h 42m 20s DEC(2000): +51° 34’ 32” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Perseus BEST VIEW: Late December DISCOVERY: Pierre Mechain, 1780 DISTANCE: ~2400 ly DIAMETER: 0.8 ly (brightest part at 2400 ly) APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +10.1 (nebula) +16.6 (central star) APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 2.7’ x 1.8’ FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Camelopardalis Auriga NGC 457 NGC 457 RA(2000) : 01h 19m 35s DEC(2000): +58° 17’ 12” Cepheus Cassiopeia NGC 457 Perseus FOV: 5.00 Telrad BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Cassiopeia Lacerta BEST VIEW: January DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1787 DISTANCE: Approximately 8000 lyAndromeda Taurus DIAMETER: 30 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.4 Triangulum APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 13’ AGE: ~21 million years NGC 457 Aries Telrad Pegasus Pisces THE PERSEUS DOUBLE CLUSTER (NGC 869 & NGC 884) NGC 869 RA(2000): 02h 19m 00s DEC(2000): +57° 07’ 42” NGC 884 RA(2000): 02h 22m 23s DEC(2000): +57° 07’ 30” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Clusters CONSTELLATION: Perseus BEST VIEW: January DISCOVERY: Hipparchus, 130 B.C. DISTANCE: Approx. 7000 ly DIAMETER: ~200 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: 3.7 (869), 3.8 (884) APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 100’ AGE: ~13 million years MESSIER 45 (The Pleiades) RA(2000) : 03h 47m 00s DEC(2000): +24° 07’ 00” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Taurus BEST VIEW: Late January DISCOVERY: Known in Antiquity DISTANCE: 440 ly DIAMETER: 86 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +1.6 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 110’ AGE: ~100 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 Aries Auriga Lynx Taurus NGC 1535 (CLEOPATRA’S EYE) NGC 1535 RA(2000) : 04h 14m 15.8s DEC(2000): -12° 44’ 22” Gemini Orion NGC 1535 FOV: 5.00 Eridanus Telrad Cancer Canis Minor Fornax Monoceros Lepus NGC 1535 Caelum Canis Major Columba BASIC INFORMATION Horologium OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Eridanus Eridanus BEST VIEW: February DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1785 DISTANCE: 3960 – 7520 ly Telrad DIAMETER: Approximately 1 ly Pictor Reticulum APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +10.5 PuppisAPPARENT DIMENSIONS: 0.6’ FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 HIND’S CRIMSON STAR (R Lep) RA(2000) : 04h 59m 36s DEC(2000): -14° 48’ 23” Sextans Canis Minor Monoceros R Leporis Taurus Orion Hydra Canis Major R Leporis FOV: 5.00 Lepus Pyxis Telrad Puppis Eridanus Antlia Columba BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Carbon Star CONSTELLATION: Lepus BEST VIEW: FebruaryCaelum R Leporis DISCOVERY: J. R. Hind, 1845 DISTANCE: 1360 ly Vela MASS: 2.5-5 MSOLAR APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +5.5 to +11.7 Fornax Pictor Carina Dorado Telrad Horologium Reticulum MESSIER 79 RA(2000) : 05h 24m 11s DEC(2000): -24° 31’ 27” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Globular Cluster CONSTELLATION: Lepus BEST VIEW: Late February DISCOVERY: Pierre Mechain, 1780 DISTANCE: 42,000 ly DIAMETER: 115 ly MASS: 200,000 MSUN APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 9.6’ AGE: 10-12 billion years MESSIER 1 (THE CRAB NEBULA) RA(2000) : 05h 34m 31.94s DEC(2000): +22° 00’ 52.2” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Supernova Remnant CONSTELLATION: Taurus BEST VIEW: Late February DISCOVERY: John Bevis, 1731 DISTANCE: 6500 ly DIAMETER: 11 ly MASS: 4.6 MSUN APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.4 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 6’x4’ MESSIER 42 (THE ORION NEBULA) RA(2000) : 05h 35m 17.3s DEC(2000): -05° 23’ 28” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Star Forming Region CONSTELLATION: Orion BEST VIEW: Late February DISCOVERY: Peiresc, 1610 (nebula), Galileo Galilei, 1617 (Trapezium) DISTANCE: 1350 ly DIAMETER: Approximately 24 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +4.0 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 65’x60’ MESSIER 37 RA(2000) : 05h 52m 18s DEC(2000): +32° 33’ 12” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Auriga BEST VIEW: Late February DISCOVERY: Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654 DISTANCE: Approximately 4500 ly DIAMETER: 20-25 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.2 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 24’ AGE: ~500 million years MESSIER 35 RA(2000) : 06h 08m 54s DEC(2000): +24° 20’ 00” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Gemini BEST VIEW: Early March DISCOVERY: Philippe Loys de Cheseaux, 1745 DISTANCE: 2800 ly DIAMETER: 23 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +5.3 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 28’ AGE: ~150 million years MESSIER 41 RA(2000) : 06h 46m 01s DEC(2000): -20° 45’ 24” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Canis Major BEST VIEW: March DISCOVERY: Giovanni Batista Hodierna c. 1654 DISTANCE: 2300 ly DIAMETER: 25 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +4.5 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 38’ AGE: ~200-250 million years NGC 2362 (TAU CANIS MAJORIS CLUSTER) RA(2000) : 07h 18m 41s DEC(2000): -24° 574’ 18” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Canis Major BEST VIEW: March DISCOVERY: Giovanni Batista Hodierna, c. 1654 DISTANCE: 4800 ly DIAMETER: 11 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +4.1 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 8’ AGE: ~5 million years NGC 2392 (THE ESKIMO NEBULA) RA(2000) : 07h 29m 11s DEC(2000): +20° 54’ 42” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Gemini BEST VIEW: March DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1787 DISTANCE: 3000 - 5000 ly DIAMETER: 0.8 ly (brightest part at 4000 ly) APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +10.1 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 44” WINTER ALBIREO (145 CMa) RA(2000) : 07h 16m 37s DEC(2000): -23° 18’ 56” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Double Star CONSTELLATION: Canis Major BEST VIEW: March DISCOVERY: John Herschel, 1847 DISTANCE: 1420 ly ANGULAR SEPARATION: 26.8” APPARENT MAGNITUDE: 4.8 MESSIER 46 RA(2000) : 07h 41m 46s DEC(2000): -14° 48’ 36” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Puppis BEST VIEW: Late March DISCOVERY: Charles Messier, 1771 DISTANCE: 5400 ly DIAMETER: 30 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.0 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 27’ AGE: ~250 million years MESSIER 44 (The Beehive Cluster) RA(2000) : 08h 40m 24s DEC(2000): +19° 40’ 00” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Cancer BEST VIEW: Early April DISCOVERY: Known in Antiquity DISTANCE: 577 ly DIAMETER: 39 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +3.7 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 95’ AGE: ~700 million years FOV:Starry 1.00Night FOV: 60.00 MESSIER 67 RA(2000) : 08h 51m 18s DEC(2000): +11° 48’ 00” Lynx Gemini M67 Ursa Major Cancer Canis Minor Leo Minor Monoceros M67 FOV: 5.00 Canes Venatici Telrad Leo M67 BASIC INFORMATION Coma Berenices Sextans OBJECT TYPE: Open Cluster CONSTELLATION: Cancer BEST VIEW: Early April DISCOVERY: Johann Gottfried Koehler, 1779 DISTANCE: 2700 ly DIAMETER: 160 ly Pyxis APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +6.1 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 30’ Hydra AGE: ~4 billion years Telrad Crater NGC 3242 (THE GHOST OF JUPITER) RA(2000) : 10h 24m 46s DEC(2000): -18° 38’ 33” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Planetary Nebula CONSTELLATION: Hydra BEST VIEW: Early April DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1785 DISTANCE: 1400 – 3600 ly DIAMETER: 0.3 – 0.8 ly APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +8.6 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: Inner Shell = 28” x 20” Outer Shell = 46” x 40” MESSIER 81 & 82 M81 RA(2000) : 09h 55m 33.2s DEC(2000): +69° 03’ 55” M82 RA(2000) : 09h 55m 52.4s DEC(2000): +69° 40’ 47” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Interacting Galaxies CONSTELLATION: Ursa Major BEST VIEW: April DISCOVERY: Johann Elert Bode, 1774 DISTANCE: 11.8 million ly (M81) 11.5 million ly (M82) DIAMETER: ~95,000 ly (M81) ~37,000 ly (M82) APPARENT MAGNITUDE: 6.9 (M81), 8.4 (M82) APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 27’ x 14’ (M81), 11’ x 4’ (M82) NGC 2903 RA(2000) : 09h 32m 10.1s DEC(2000): +21° 30’ 03” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Galaxy CONSTELLATION: Leo BEST VIEW: April DISCOVERY: William Herschel, 1784 DISTANCE: ~31 million ly DIAMETER: ~115,000 ly* APPARENT MAGNITUDE: +9.7 APPARENT DIMENSIONS: 12.6’ x 6.0’ ALGIEBA (g LEO) RA(2000) : 10h 19m 58.4s DEC(2000): +19° 50’ 29.3” BASIC INFORMATION OBJECT TYPE: Binary Star CONSTELLATION: Leo BEST VIEW: Late April DISCOVERY: Known to Ancients DISTANCE: 131 ly BINARY SEPARATION: 4” (170 AU) ORBITAL PERIOD: ~500 yr.
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    Guide du ciel profond Olivier PETIT 8 mai 2004 2 Introduction hjjdfhgf ghjfghfd fg hdfjgdf gfdhfdk dfkgfd fghfkg fdkg fhdkg fkg kfghfhk Table des mati`eres I Objets par constellation 21 1 Androm`ede (And) Andromeda 23 1.1 Messier 31 (La grande Galaxie d'Androm`ede) . 25 1.2 Messier 32 . 27 1.3 Messier 110 . 29 1.4 NGC 404 . 31 1.5 NGC 752 . 33 1.6 NGC 891 . 35 1.7 NGC 7640 . 37 1.8 NGC 7662 (La boule de neige bleue) . 39 2 La Machine pneumatique (Ant) Antlia 41 2.1 NGC 2997 . 43 3 le Verseau (Aqr) Aquarius 45 3.1 Messier 2 . 47 3.2 Messier 72 . 49 3.3 Messier 73 . 51 3.4 NGC 7009 (La n¶ebuleuse Saturne) . 53 3.5 NGC 7293 (La n¶ebuleuse de l'h¶elice) . 56 3.6 NGC 7492 . 58 3.7 NGC 7606 . 60 3.8 Cederblad 211 (N¶ebuleuse de R Aquarii) . 62 4 l'Aigle (Aql) Aquila 63 4.1 NGC 6709 . 65 4.2 NGC 6741 . 67 4.3 NGC 6751 (La n¶ebuleuse de l’œil flou) . 69 4.4 NGC 6760 . 71 4.5 NGC 6781 (Le nid de l'Aigle ) . 73 TABLE DES MATIERES` 5 4.6 NGC 6790 . 75 4.7 NGC 6804 . 77 4.8 Barnard 142-143 (La tani`ere noire) . 79 5 le B¶elier (Ari) Aries 81 5.1 NGC 772 . 83 6 le Cocher (Aur) Auriga 85 6.1 Messier 36 . 87 6.2 Messier 37 . 89 6.3 Messier 38 .
  • What Has Hubble Learned from Star Clusters? Visual Notes

    What Has Hubble Learned from Star Clusters? Visual Notes

    Hubblecast 69: What has Hubble learned from star clusters? Visual notes 00:00 [Narrator] 1. Star clusters hang like sparkling firework displays in the sky, making them favourite observational targets for astronomers. Hubble has observed its fair share of these cosmic baubles, imaging and studying them to explore their secrets. This new image from Hubble shows a globular cluster known as Messier 15. As well as containing over 100 000 old stars, this cluster hosts something dark and mysterious at its heart. 00:39 2. Intro 01:0 [Narrator] 3. Star clusters are some of the most beautiful objects in our skies. Hubble has viewed many of these over the years — but it is not all style over substance. These clusters are incredibly useful to the astronomers studying them. What can they tell us about our Universe? 01:24 [Narrator] 4. There are two main types of star cluster: open, and globular. Most stars, including the Sun, are thought to have formed within open star clusters — groups of thousands of stars loosely bound together by gravity, destined to be spread throughout their host galaxy once the cluster matures and most of its gas disperses. Globular clusters are different; they are huge balls of old stars that orbit the centres of galaxies. Many of them were once little galaxies, cannibalised by their larger companions over the history of the Universe. 02:16 [Narrator] 5. Hubble has explored many globular clusters. The Milky Way alone has over 150 of these starry satellites, and Hubble’s sharp vision can resolve the individual stars.
  • February 2019 These Pages Are Intended to Help You Find Your Way Around the Sky

    February 2019 These Pages Are Intended to Help You Find Your Way Around the Sky

    WHAT'S UP THIS MONTH – FEBRUARY 2019 THESE PAGES ARE INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY AROUND THE SKY The chart above shows the night sky as it appears on 15th February at 21:00 (9 o’clock) in the evening Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). As the Earth orbits the Sun and we look out into space each night the stars will appear to have moved across the sky by a small amount. Every month Earth moves one twelfth of its circuit around the Sun, this amounts to 30 degrees each month. There are about 30 days in each month so each night the stars appear to move about 1 degree. The sky will therefore appear the same as shown on the chart above at 10 o’clock GMT at the beginning of the month and at 8 o’clock GMT at the end of the month. The stars also appear to move 15º (360º divided by 24) each hour from east to west, due to the Earth rotating once every 24 hours. The centre of the chart will be the position in the sky directly overhead, called the Zenith. First we need to find some familiar objects so we can get our bearings. The Pole Star Polaris can be easily found by first finding the familiar shape of the Great Bear ‘Ursa Major’ that is also sometimes called the Plough or even the Big Dipper by the Americans. Ursa Major is visible 1 of 13 pages throughout the year from Britain and is always easy to find. This month it is in the North East.
  • A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In

    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).