richbyers

just spent an hour looking for them!!

September To many astronomers in the Northern Hemisphere, the arrival of The Pleiades and the constellation of Orion mark the oncoming of winter. Perhaps two of the most famous sights in the sky, these will start to become more accessible now as the weeks draw on. Ask someone of a non-astronomical nature to name a constellation and chances are it would be either Ursa Major (Plough/Dipper) or Orion. It is not by pure chance that this is so. Both constellations are instantly recognisable, and cover a large amount of the visible sky. Orion, named after The Hunter, is very much a winter constellation, and holds a fantastic prize to those with a large pair of binoculars or a modest telescope, not to mention the potential of great images to be had. Certainly the most well known of Orion’s features is M42- the Orion Nebula. This large molecular cloud is rich in star formation, and is over 1000 light years away from Earth. To locate M42, you first need to find Orion’s Belt, the famous three stars that make up the asterism in the ‘centre’ of the constellation. Immediately down from this is Orion’s Sword, three fainter stars, the centre of which is actually M42. Orion is still a late riser this month, at around 3.30am in the East, however it will become more accessible as the weeks draw on. The Pleiades (or Seven Sisters/ M45) is a rare sight in the night sky. It is one of the few deep sky objects that is easily visible with the naked eye, and makes quite a spectacle through a pair of binoculars. The hot young stars that make up The Pleiades number around 400, however seven is the most that can be seen without optical aid. Within the star cluster is rich nebulosity, which can easily be recorded through a tracking telescope and a long exposure. The Pleiades rises at around 11pm in the East at the middle of the Month, and is located in the northern reaches of the bull constellation- Taurus. Finally, those with a telescope may want to seek out the Comet 103P Hartley, which is located moving from northern Pegasus into Cassiopeia during the month. At its brightest it will be no more than mag. +5, so a 4 inch telescope will be needed to make it out. Be sure however, to track it down before the end of September, as the bright moon will hamper any attempts from then on. Cumbrian Astronomy

nice report there, strange though- i think the keystone stands out pretty well- not amazingly well but enough...anyways where was i oh, are you meant to be able to get the spot in a 200mm? im really trying to squeeze all detail i can out of my 130 qt the moment i wouldnt bother about not being able to see things as well- ive literally NEVER seen the moon so bright as it was last night nice images rich

thanks for the nice comments guys

I’ve always been interested in the sky. Looking upwards as a young kid sent my mind wandering with all sorts of unanswerable questions. What’s up there? What’s the bright shape that looks like a pan? (and not a plough as it would turn out). Now however, I am able to answer many of those questions that would have baffled my mind a few years ago. Last night though, accompanied by the perfect conditions showing the bright Milky Way and its millions of stars, my mind wanted to skip back to that childhood. Sometimes I guess it’s just better, after learning the difference between globular and open, elliptical and spiral, to just sit back and wonder. Our minds can get so caught up in ‘bagging’ the Messiers or spending all night hunting a mag.12 galaxy, that we can sometimes forget what we are actually looking at. Anyway, that’s how I feel, and from now on I’m going to make sure that each session I make time just to look. Rich

cheers very much, ill post it on

Things to bear in mind -Stars will look like stars no matter what size telescope you have, even Hubble cannot make them out to be suns. -Most objects you will look at through a telescope will be faint fuzzy patches of light, only planets and the moon can be viewed in their colours without the use of expensive long-exposure photographic equipment. -If you live in the UK or somewhere with a similar climate then rain/ clouds will prevent you from doing your hobby a lot of the time, try not to let this get to you. -GOTO scopes sound great to the beginner, however if they are used with small apertures all it will point at is a patch of sky where the object is, but you wont be able to see it. You need a powerful scope to justify paying for a GOTO mount. -Reflector telescopes will make everything upside down- it is how they work. This is not a problem in astronomy as there is no true ‘orientation’ however they are no use for terrestrial viewing. Try to -Learn the sky. As I said above, GOTO is all very well, but there is no substitute to getting a sky atlas and learning what is where. There are many constellations, and this can seem a little overwhelming to the beginner, so start out with something familiar. Ursa Major (the plough/ dipper) is a good place to start and can lead you to Bootes, Leo, and many other easy to recognise shapes. -Join a society or club. Learn from others. Forums such a Stargazers Lounge is a great place to get free advice. Failing that buy magazines such as Sky at Night or Astronomy Now. - Be patient. If you stay up until 1am, get the scope out, and it starts to rain then this is all part of the hobby. Just remember, there will be that amazing ‘break through’ night where everything seems to go your way. -Lower your expectations. If you are expecting head on, colourful views of nebulae, clusters and galaxies then this is unrealistic unless you own professional equipment. Have an open mind and realize that you are privileged enough to be viewing something that few have the chance to, and in many cases viewing tens of thousands of years into the past.

As the nights become longer and true astronomical darkness more substantial, August brings back the skies for observing once again. More accessible this month is Jupiter. Previously rising in the early hours of the morning, the planet will be visible around 11pm on most south eastern horizons, allowing a more realistic chance for newcomers to observe. The show piece this month however, is without a doubt the Perseid meteor shower. Active until the 24th August, the Perseids (named after their constellation of origin- Perseus) are the finest amongst the summer showers to observe from the UK. The shower will peak on the 12/13 August and can sometimes reach over 50 meteors per hour. The Perseids are an easy target for any level of observer to view as their radiant (their apparent origin in the sky) is circumpolar meaning they will be visible all night. For those wishing to attempt a view at the Perseids, then it is recommended that you look at the space of sky just to the sides of the radiant, as they will appear at their brightest here. The shower’s peak coincides with a new moon this year, so those near a dark site would be advised to use 12/13 to its full potential. Perseus lies in the north eastern skies and can be easily located by finding Capella, the brightest star in the north, then skimming slightly to the east. With the nights drawing steadily longer, deep sky observing is becoming more and more accessible. The nights of waiting up until 3am to glimpse a faint patch of light, hardly discernable against the permanent twilight, have gone until next year. The constellation of Perseus, described above, holds one of the gems of the northern skies- the Double Cluster. Named due to the pair of rich star fields within the northern tip of the constellation, the Double Cluster is a fine place to begin deep sky observing with a modest telescope. Apertures of 5inches and above should be able to make out the vast numbers of closely placed stars against a dark enough sky. Also within the grasps of a 5inch scope is the globular cluster, Messier 13, located in Hercules in the west. Hercules, easily noticeable by its ‘keystone’, a group of four stars making a distorted square, is known as one of the most famous of the constellations. To find M13, place the viewfinder of the scope around 2/3 of the way up the eastern side of the ‘square’. Be careful not to miss the cluster though, even the brightest deep sky objects are very faint to the eye, and will need averted vision (looking out of the corner of your eye) to make them out more clearly.

welcome, have you downloaded stellarium yet? you've probably heard everyone bang on about it, but it's with good reason as its free and shows what's where in real time anyways have fun rich