December 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on December 5^th. For December, your best viewing nights will be from December 1^st through December 11^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on December 15^th at 9 pm.

Star Associations:

Again this month, I was asked another difficult question. A recent news article stated that the first planet was found in orbit around a star from another galaxy! It is extremely difficult to find planets circling nearby stars, so how can we find a planet around a star from another galaxy? The operative word here is “from” and not “in” another galaxy. In most of the news reports of this discovery, the news article did clear up the matter by stating the that star in question was indeed in our own galaxy, but this particular star was captured billions of years ago from a galaxy outside of the Milky Way. So now the real question is how does one know that a star in our Milky Way came from another galaxy?

To answer this question, it is necessary to discuss the “proper motion” of stars. Proper motion is the change of position of a star in relation to our solar system. The general concept of our Sun and other nearby stars is that we are all spinning together around the Milky Way galaxy; somewhat like leaves floating along on a river. However, many stars have some type of angular momentum in relation to us, see image below.

Remember, all the stars in the image are spinning around the Milky Way galaxy with us, but some are also moving at various angles and speeds in relation to our solar system. The cause of this erratic motion was most likely due to gravitational interaction of these stars with other stars sometime in their lifespan.

Expanding on this concept, astronomers have found that several stars in certain regions of space sometimes have a similar speed and angle of proper motion. It was also noted that they have a similar age. These star groups are called “star associations,” and it is believed that these stars were all born in a similar region of space, and are slowly moving away from their place of birth.

A well-known star association is the Perseus Association. Simply go out this month and aim your binoculars at the main star in Perseus, Mirfak, and the stars you see around Mirfak are members of the Perseus Association. Also note if you move your binoculars slightly off in any direction, you will see much less stars in your field of view. Using the chart below, you can easily find Perseus and Mirfak by using the constellation Cassiopeia (“W”) as a guidepost. This image shows the sky in mid December facing east and looking almost straight up. Also note that Mirfak is about halfway between Cassiopeia and the Pleiades.

There is another star association that is very easy to see; just look at the Big Dipper. Five of the stars of the Big Dipper are part of a star association. Only the two end stars Alkaid and Dubhe are not part of the association. The other five stars are all moving at the same speed and in the same direction.

This means that in the distant past, the Big Dipper didn’t look like a dipper, and therefore in the distant future, it will not look like a dipper. The green arrows on the image below show the proper motion of the stars in the dipper.

So if you have been following my discussion, you are likely wondering what about the news item above, and how did they know that the star and planet were from another galaxy? Sometimes the proper motion of star associations in addition to moving in the same direction are also moving much faster than common associations and contain many more stars. This type of association is known as a “star stream.” The only explanation for a star stream is that in the distant past our Milky Way galaxy captured stars from another galaxy and we are seeing this stream of captured stars as they pass through our Milky Way. The star mentioned in the news article with a planet revolving around it was a member of a star stream. The artist’s sketch below tries to give an idea of how star streams may be associated with our galaxy.

To all my readers: Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Naked Eye Sights: Check out the Geminids meteor shower, which will peak on the evening of Dec 13^th, and into the early morning of the 14^th.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): The Perseus Association.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Jupiter is still the best target this month.

See you next month!

November 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on November 6^th. For November, your best viewing nights will be from November 1^st through November 11^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on November 15^th at 9 pm.

The Harvest Moon:

November is a little late for a Harvest Moon, however I was amazed to have three people come up to me over the last month to ask what is a Harvest Moon. Therefore, I would like to take the time to also give the answer to my readers.

The short and simple answer is that a Harvest Moon is the full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox; therefore occurring near the time that farmers harvest their fields. The rising full moon just after sunset would then allow them to extend the time of their harvesting by using the light of the full Moon.

However, there is a longer answer to this question. What few people know is that one to two days after the full Moon, the farmers can still use the Moon to extend their harvesting. This situation only occurs in the autumn, thereby extending the concept of a Harvest Moon. The reason is as follows. The Sun and all the planets are located on about the same plane. This is the reason that you always find the planets by looking in the region of the path of the Sun.

However, the plane of our Moon’s orbit is tilted versus the plane of the solar system. You know this to be true, because if the Moon’s orbit was on the same plane as the solar system, then each month we would have one solar eclipse, and one lunar eclipse. Instead, each month the Moon passes below or above the Sun, and on chance occasions, it eclipses the Sun. Now remember our Earth is tipped 23 ½ degrees, and as we circle the Sun, this effect our Earth/Sun perspective; know as the change of seasons.

Now, back to the Harvest Moon: Combining the above parameters, at any given month of the year, the angle of our Moon’s orbit versus the visible horizon will vary. This change results in an interesting effect on Moon rises. The full Moon in spring near the Vernal Equinox follows a path that results in a large angle of the Moon’s orbit to the horizon, see below.

Direct your attention to the lower left side of the image, and note how far below the horizon the Moon is located each night after the full Moon. The farther the Moon is below the horizon, the longer it will take to rise on the next night.

Now, the full Moon in the fall near the Autumnal Equinox follows a path that results in a small angle of the Moon’s orbit to the horizon, see below.

Again direct your attention to the lower left side of the image, and note how far below the horizon the Moon is located each night after the full Moon. The Moon is relatively close to the horizon on the nights following the full Moon. Therefore, on the nights following the Harvest Moon, the Moon will rise only a short time later than the previous night.

So, during Harvest, the night after the Harvest Moon, the farmer can continue harvesting in the twilight for about 20-25 minutes after Sunset, and again he will enjoy the Moonrise so he can continue his work.

After the springtime full Moon, on the next night the Sun would set, and darkness would come, and it would take about 80-90 minutes after sunset until the Moon rises.

Comet Hartley:

This was definitely not a year for comets. Remember, on most years, there are visible comets, but usually only through good wide field telescopes. For most people, we wait for comets that are visible to the naked eye, or at least visible with simple binoculars.

The only chance you will have to see a comet this year will likely be this month since Comet Hartley has just passed below the plane of the Earth’s orbit, and is now positioned to better reflect light off of its tail. Below is a telescopic view of the comet in October.

There is a great possibility that you will be able to see the comet if you go well away from the lights of the Florence area. If it does not become a naked eye sight, you should be able to follow the comet throughout November using just seven power binoculars. The image below shows the approximate path of Comet Hartley from November 1^st to December 1^st. Note, in general, you should look to the left of the easy to locate constellation Orion. There is one downside, the comet is not visible until late at night, and even better after midnight.

Naked Eye Sights: Jupiter will continue to be the brightest “star like object” this month. Jupiter has been moving “backwards,” to the west for some time. This is known as retrograde motion. On Nov 19^th, it will “stop,” and then return to its normal easterly movement through the starry background.

If we are lucky, Comet Hartley may be visible from a dark sky site.

The Leonid meteor shower will peak from Nov 16^th to 18^th, and although it is not predicted to be a great shower this year, the presence of the nearly full Moon will greatly lessen any chance for a good meteor shower.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): Attempt to locate Comet Hartley.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Jupiter remains the best target for this month high in the southern sky.

See you next month!

October 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on October 7^th. For October, your best viewing nights will be from October 1^st through October 13^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on October 15^th at 9 pm.

Clear Sky Clock:

This month as you stand under a clear starry night, you may notice that Jupiter’s bands and Messier Objects are not very clear. Your problem is that you assumed that a “clear night” reported by your local weather site also meant a clear night for amateur astronomy; this is not always true.

What an amateur astronomer needs is a weather site designed specifically for astronomers. The site of choice is called “The Clear Sky Clock.” This site gives viewing forecasts for 4048 locations, covering the entire United States (except Hawaii), all of Canada, parts of Mexico, and the Bahamas. The location closest to Florence is the Francis Marion University Clear Sky Clock; http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/FMUObSCkey.html?1. When you go the site to check out the viewing forecast, you may be perplexed. You won’t see any maps or radar, etc; instead you see only a bunch of small colored squares. Therefore, I would like to take time this month to describe how to use this astronomer’s weather site.

First of all, the times listed on the site use a 24-hour clock, the vertical red line denoting midnight. Next, notice that in the far left, the vertical bands tell you that the top four lines of little squares refer to sky conditions, and the bottom three lines of squares refer to ground conditions. These bottom three lines, wind, humidity and temperature, are there primarily there to tell you what clothing, etc. that you might need that evening. Therefore, the top four lines of squares (sky conditions) are where you focus your attention.

For all sky conditions, dark blue squares are great, and white squares are bad. Next, notice that the fourth row of squares, from the top, is for darkness. This information has the least use since you know when it is dark outside. The first row denotes cloud cover. Dark blue, no clouds; white, total cloud cover; and pale blue, partly cloudy. The next two rows supply you with the information that no other weather site will give you. The “transparency” row refers to the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Excessive moisture in the atmosphere will definitely affect your viewing. The “seeing” row refers to atmospheric turbulence due to temperature differences. Therefore, you can have a cloudless night with low atmospheric moisture, and still not be able to resolve the cloud bands on Jupiter because of poor seeing. So, go to the Francis Marion Clear Sky Clock, check the time of night that has all dark blue squares in the first three rows, and go outside and enjoy the stars.

Besides “Clear Sky Clock” basics, there is other interesting information available. If you are a visual type person, you can click on any small square and it will show you the visual map that refers to that information. Also note that you can animate the map if desired. The image below came from clicking on the cloud cover square at 1300 hours on September 28^th; note that the crosshairs denotes the Clock’s location.

Next, look to the right side of the main page of the Clear Sky Clock at a green box labeled “Other Charts.” In this box you can go to all the Clear Sky Clocks in South Carolina, or those nearby Francis Marion University. In addition, you can click on “All,” which will direct you to all 4048 locations. Now notice that you have a choice of “List” or “Map.” If you click on South Carolina List, you will go to the image shown below.

This is an interesting page. It gives a list of all the Clear Sky Clocks in South Carolina, along with comments and links for most sites. Next, under the heading, “Preview,” is a column of the actual first two rows of every site. A quick view of the image shows that the best observing site in South Carolina for this time period is at the “Dixson Lomax Memorial.”

Before leaving this page, note that there is a vertical column of colored squares in the center of this page, under a heading of light pollution. Click on the heading, and you will see an explanation of the colored squares. Note that black means no light pollution at all, and white means too much light (cities, etc.) for amateur astronomy or naked eye viewing. You will also notice that no site in South Carolina is better than a green square, with Florence having only a yellow square.

Now return to the Green Box on the main page, and click on South Carolina “Map.” Now you have a map of South Carolina with all the Clear Sky Clock locations represented as a “push pin” matching the color of the light pollution for every site in our state.

I find it fun to check state lists and maps to find where in the United States might be a good place for an astronomy vacation; check out the southwestern states.

It might be a good week to visit the Hideaway Observatory near Duncan, Arizona.

Naked Eye Sights: Venus is now leaving us, and Jupiter will continue to be the brightest “star like object” this month.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): View the double cluster in Perseus on October 9^th, and you may see a comet; 103P/Hartley.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Jupiter remains the best target for this month

September 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on September 8^th. For September, your best viewing nights will be from September 1^st through September 13^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on September 15^th at 9 pm.

Perseids Meteor Shower:

My personal observations of the August meteor shower between 1 and 2 am had a count of about 12 meteors per hour; not really enough to be called a shower. A reader of this column, who observed at a darker sky site near Charleston, reported 25 to 30 per hour between midnight and 1 am.

Jupiter:

Jupiter returns as the best planetary target for your telescopes. The two best planets for small telescope observation are Saturn and Jupiter. Saturn is usually the most impressive target because of its beautiful ring system, and Jupiter is known for its atmospheric bands, red spot (not very red), its four major moons, and its large disk size. However, for the last year, and continuing for several more months, Saturn’s rings have been tipped toward the Earth, therefore making them less impressive.

This month Jupiter moves into opposition with the Earth on September 21^st. Opposition occurs when the planet is directly opposite the Sun as seen from Earth. (Lunar opposition is called a full Moon). At opposition, the planet is also visible the entire night. In addition to being at opposition, due to variations in orbits, some years any given planet may be closer or farther away during opposition. If you are younger than 47 years old, this month is the brightest and largest you will see Jupiter since you were born. The last time that Jupiter was this close was October 1963.

As you know, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Although it can be at times over 500 million miles from Earth (460 million this month), due to its size, it is always a good telescopic target. Below is the size of Jupiter compared to our Earth.

Observing Jupiter: Jupiter is the only planet that can be enjoyed using simple seven or ten power binoculars. With low power binoculars, Jupiter will not be seen as a disk, but its four major moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io, known as the Galilean moons, will be readily visible. These moons move quickly around the planet, therefore each night they will be seen in different positions. In addition, some nights they will disappear as they move in front or in back of the planet. So on any given night, you usually see from one to four moons. If you would like to try viewing the Galilean moons through low power binoculars, try it on the night of September 24^th. Begin observing between 8 and 9 pm; Jupiter will be low in the southeastern sky. You should see the planet, and three of its moons lined up on the left side. The “missing moon is Io. As the night progresses, Io will swing out to the right side of the planet. Check every hour or so until Io becomes visible. Depending on the quality of your binoculars, and more importantly the clarity of the sky, you should see Io appear between 11 pm and 2 am.

If you use large binoculars, 25 X 100 mm, on a clear night you will also be able to see the cloud bands on Jupiter. The image below approximates what I can see through my large binoculars. Note that the cloud bands are just barely visible at 25 power.

Most telescopes will allow you to easily see the cloud bands of the planet Jupiter. However, there are many factors that affect telescopic viewing. Besides the obvious cloudy or hazy nights, atmospheric moisture and or turbulence are also a problem. On many occasions, your eyes will see a clear night with many stars visible, but atmospheric conditions not visible to the naked eye will affect clear viewing through your telescope. Therefore, if you have a decent refracting or reflecting telescope and are unable to see the bands on Jupiter, keep trying on other nights. The most likely cause is the atmosphere, and not your telescope. However, there is a way to determine if it is truly a good night for superior viewing; the Clear Sky Clock website http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/FMUObSCkey.html?1. This website offers the best viewing condition information for amateur astronomers. If you visit this site, it can be somewhat confusing at first. I will feature the Clear Sky Clock next month and describe all of its capabilities.

Now assuming you are able to view Jupiter this month on a clear night, you should note that something has changed on Jupiter. Jupiter is known to possess two obvious dark bands, know as the northern and southern equatorial belts. However, if you view Jupiter this month, you will notice that the southern belt is missing. It recently disappeared, and is expected to return in the future, but no one knows when it may return. This phenomenon has occurred before, and no one knows the cause. If you look above at the size of Jupiter versus the Earth, you can imagine that this is no “small” event. Below is an image of Jupiter last year compared to this spring.

All in all, this month “belongs” to Jupiter, so go out and enjoy the view.

Naked Eye Sights: Jupiter will be the brightest “star like object” this month.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): Jupiter and its moons. Try to observe the Io movement on September 24^th.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Jupiter and its moons. Take note of the “missing southern band."

See you next month!

August 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on August 10^th. For August, your best viewing nights will be from August 1^st through August 15^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on August 15^th at 10 pm.

Perseids Meteor Shower:

The Perseids meteor shower is a favorite for many observers because it occurs during the warmth of summer, and you don’t have to worry about getting up early for school the next day. Another nice aspect of the Perseids shower is even if you only see a small number of meteors, it is fun just sitting out late at night in August under the stars. The shower should peak on the night of August 12^th and early on the morning of August 13^th. The Perseids shower always has the potential of a good display, but the absence of the Moon this year may result in a better than normal event. Check the weather report a few days before the 12^th. If clouds and/or rain are predicted for the 12^th, you can check out the skies a few days before and after the 12^th.

For the new readers, it is important to review the subject of meteor showers. Meteoroids are small pieces of rocky or metallic debris dispersed throughout the solar system. As the Earth revolves around the Sun, we run into these meteoroids, and as they enter the atmosphere, they become meteors, and the friction causes them to quickly burn up. We see them as a short streak of light, and they are usually referred to as “shooting stars.” This misnomer is a throw back to the distant past when ancient observers really had no idea what the stars were. So on any given night of the year it is likely that you will see a few meteors streak through the sky. In addition to the meteoric debris left over from the formation of the solar system, there is another more concentrated source of meteoroids; comets.

Comets are balls of ice, gases and rocks that circle the Sun in elliptical orbits, and these orbits are usually above or below the plane of the planets in the solar system. A comet’s orbit can be as short as a few years, or as long as thousands of years. As a comet circles the Sun, gases and ice particles are released, along with the release of some of the comet’s rocks. These rocks become meteoroids, however, they do not disperse into the solar system, but instead they remain in the orbit of the comet. So after several thousand years of circling the Sun, the entire orbital path of the comet is littered with meteoric debris. Since there are hundreds of known comet orbits circling the Sun, it is logical that our Earth would pass through some of these orbits at certain times of the year.

When the Earth passes through one of these cometary orbits, we experience a large amount of meteors known as a meteor shower. On a normal night, one might see one or two meteors per hour, but during a meteor shower, one might see from twenty to one hundred meteors per hour or more.

Rules of meteor shower viewing: No binoculars, telescopes or any optical aids are needed, just use your eyes. Due to the position of the Earth and the stars during a particular entry into the meteoroid’s orbit, the meteors appear to be coming from a particular constellation, thus the name of the meteor shower. Therefore, the Perseids meteor shower is centered in the constellation of Perseus, which rises about 10 pm in the northeast on August 12^th. This brings us to another aspect of watching meteor showers; time. For most meteor showers, or for meteor viewing in general, the best viewing is after midnight. The reason is based on the positions of the Earth and you the viewer as the Earth runs into meteoroids. Before midnight, an observer would be on the side of the Earth opposite the direction of the Earth’s movement through space. From midnight onward, an observer would now be looking in the same direction that the Earth is moving through space. Therefore, we could easily see the meteoroids hit our atmosphere; a good analogy is like running through raindrops. Remember, you will still see some meteors before midnight as the graze the upper atmosphere. The sketch below may help to better explain this concept.

So lie on the ground on a blanket, or use a chaise lounge chair to view the shower, using a standard chair may result in neck pain. Look in the direction of Perseus (northeast), but be aware of your peripheral vision since meteors may also appear overhead or toward the north or south. Don’t forget to bring snacks and drinks.

A celestial gathering:

Take note that in the early evening of August 13^th (about 9 pm) you can view three planets and a crescent Moon. Quite a nice send off as Mars, Saturn, and Venus slowly fade into the western horizon this month. The image below shows the locations of the planets and the Moon.

Naked Eye Sights: The Perseids meteor shower on the night of the 12^th. The planets Venus, Mars, and Saturn “dance” with the crescent Moon early in the evening of the 13^th. The return of Jupiter late in the month.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): If you stay up late to see the meteor shower, check out Jupiter and its moons in the southeast.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): This is your last chance to view Saturn or Mars, and your first chance to view Jupiter.

See you next month!

July 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on July 11^th. For July, your best viewing nights will be from July 1^st through July 16^th. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on July 15^th at 9 pm.

The Summer Messier Objects:

Remember, if you work your way through the famous Messier List, you will easily learn the night sky. Summer is always a nice time to go out star gazing, although the humidity can sometimes interfere with clear sky viewing. This month I want to take you on a short tour of some Messier Objects of the southern summer sky. Your equipment for this journey: a pair of binoculars, seven to ten power, a lawn chair, beverages, and snacks of your choice. As you look to the south this month, you are looking into the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The fact that we are looking into the center of our galaxy in the summer is why the Milky Way is much brighter in the summer than in the winter when we are looking away from the galactic center. So let’s start our trip by referring to the map of the southern sky shown below.

The first stop is the globular cluster; M22 in Sagittarius. Many say that the globular cluster M13 in Hercules is the best globular cluster of the northern hemisphere, but I vote M22 as the best. This cluster is easy to find with binoculars because it is just to the left of the top star in the “Teapot” asterism in Sagittarius. Although M22 contains more than 70,000 stars, through binoculars, it is just a fuzzy ball, but remember, most Messiers are just fuzzy objects when viewed through simple binoculars.

Next stop is the Lagoon Nebula; M8. This time look to the right side of Sagittarius, and using the “Teapot,” look above the spout to locate M8. This Messier Object lies closest to the direction of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using binoculars on a clear night, you can see some of the nebulosity of M8 imbedded in a “rectangular” grouping of stars. I have had the wonderful experience of seeing the Lagoon Nebula with my naked eye while at a dark sky site in northern Pennsylvania.

Right above M8 are two other Messier Objects, M21, and a well-known object, the Trifid nebula, M20. I personally have never been able to resolve either of these Messiers with standard binoculars, but you are welcome to try.

Next stop: If you look directly above M22, about twice the distance of M8, you will see the Eagle Nebula. Years ago, this was just another nice Messier Object, until it became famous when the Hubble telescope took the amazing star birth “Pillars” photo in the Eagle Nebula; see below.

The last stop on our short tour is the Omega Nebula, M17, also known as the “Swan Nebula.” You can find M17 just below the Eagle Nebula. I have always been surprised how easy it is to resolve the nebulosity of this object with simple binoculars. I always see it as a side view of a swan, but with a short neck; check it out.

After locating the Messiers in our short tour, you should continue your search for other Messiers in the southern summer sky. Try to find M11, M23, and M25, all in the region above Sagittarius. Then move over to Scorpius and try to locate M6 and M7 near the scorpion’s stinger. Also M4 and M80 near the primary star of Scorpius, Antares. While you are in the constellation of Scorpius, wander with your binoculars throughout the region of the scorpion’s tail and lower body. This region is filled with groupings of stars.

A note on the above images: The small binocular images approximate the view through seven to ten power binoculars, just remember, that the actual images you see will indeed be small fuzzy objects. The images labeled “Large Telescope” actually represent the view of these Messier Objects using long time exposure astrophotography. The time exposure and the use of filters, etc. are required to see the colors of the gases in the nebulas. Therefore, if you have a large Dobsonian reflector, you would see an image similar to that shown for a large telescope, but without the color. I have personally watched amateur astronomers at star parties creating similar beautiful color photos of nebulas, however, this type of astrophotography is quite tedious and can be quite costly.

The Dance of the Planets:

This is a great month for planets lovers. Throughout the month, as you look towards the southwest, you will see three planets. The brilliant Venus will be closest to the horizon, followed by Mars and then Saturn. By mid month they will be nicely lined up, and by the end of the month, Saturn will move past Mars as it approaches Venus.

Naked Eye Sights: The summer Milky Way. Watch the “Dance of the Three Planets” in the southwestern sky.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): Follow the directions above, and take a tour of the southern sky summer Messier Objects. Then try to find the other seven Messiers listed above. If you are a dedicated Messier Object observer, there are still other Messiers to find in the southern sky. If you have 25 X 100mm binoculars, all of the Messiers will look quite impressive.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Of the Messiers mentioned above, M22 will probably look the best through a telescope. If you enjoy planet watching, you have Venus, Mars, and Saturn all in the same region of the sky.

See you next month!

June 2010

Tony Martinez

Each month I will describe sights of interest in the night skies of South Carolina. These sights will be broken down into three sections; what you can see with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a small telescope. The best time to view the night sky is at and around the times when the Moon is not visible, what is known as a New Moon; which will occur this month on June 12^th. For June, your best viewing nights will be from June 1^st through June 16^h. The Star chart below is set for Florence, SC on June 15^th at 9 pm.

For the Early Risers:

I, like many other amateur astronomers, prefer to observe in the evening hours instead of getting up early in the morning. During a nice clear sky star party, it is often no problem to stay up all night, but to wake up from a deep sleep to go outside and observe is sometimes more difficult. One thing that will make amateurs set their alarm clocks is an event that can only be seen in the early morning hours. There are two such events occurring this month.

First, concerns the planet Uranus. We now officially have only eight planets, we remove our Earth from the list, which leaves only seven planets for us to observe. Of these seven, five planets are easily visible to the naked eye, leaving only Uranus and Neptune to try to locate using optical aid. Now if you use a computer program like Starry Night, and use the method I described in my March column, both Uranus and Neptune will not be difficult targets. However, if you wish to just go outside with binoculars or your telescope and observe these two outer planets, it can be more difficult.

This month however, you can easily locate the planet Uranus, but you will have to get up in the early morning hours. On the morning of June 10^th, Neptune will be directly over the planet Jupiter in the eastern sky. The image below show the general location. However, Jupiter is so bright, you will have no problem spotting it in the east/southeast sky.

You will only need a simple 7 X 50 mm pair of binoculars to locate the planet Uranus directly above the planet Jupiter; see image below.

If you enjoyed my column last month and purchased a “Big Binocular,” at 25 power, you will easily see the pretty bluish color of Uranus. If instead you use a basic amateur telescope, you should also be able to see the blue color of Uranus sitting above Jupiter. With luck, and a clear night, the image below approximates how Uranus will look above Jupiter through a small telescope.

Next: The other reason to rise early this month, is to view a comet. For amateur astronomers, it has been awhile since we have been able to view a relatively bright comet. This month, Comet McNaught will pass through the constellation Perseus from mid to late June. The brightness of a comet is difficult to predict, but this comet is expected to peak at about magnitude 5 late in the month. If it does, it will then be visible from a dark sky location with the naked eye. Either way, Comet McNaught will be an easy binocular target. However, it may be difficult to pinpoint it in the eastern sky. The best time to locate the comet is from about the 15^th onward. Look to the northeast, and refer to the image below, set for June 15th.

Your best approach is to first locate the constellation Cassiopeia, the famous “W” asterism at about 4 am. Next look directly below Cassiopeia, and the brightest star between Cassiopeia and the horizon will be the main star in the constellation Perseus, Mirfak. As you approach 5 am, a much brighter star, Capella will appear on the horizon below and to the left of Mirfak.

Trying to locate a comet having this magnitude is quite easy to do with 7 power binoculars. What is most important, once you know the general location of the comet, is to know the approximate path the comet will take though the sky. The following image gives the approximate path of McNaught from June 14^th to June 24^th.

So on any night in that timeframe, slowly scan the sky along its pathway, and the comet should be easily seen through your low power binoculars. Once located, you can then switch to more powerful binoculars, or to a telescope.

Meteor Shower:

A little observed/noted meteor shower will arrive on the 23^rd. The Bootid meteor shower is seldom ever mentioned since it is not a very good shower. However, in 1998, it greatly improved, having about 100 meteors per hour, and since its parent comet has a six year period, it was also a good shower in 2004. So if this pattern continues, we may see a good display this month. There are two good points about this shower and one bad point.

Good points: It should peak early, between darkness and midnight, and second it is easy to locate since the Big Dipper’s handle will point to the center of the shower. The one bad point is that it will occur during a waning gibbous Moon.

Naked Eye Sights: Try to see the comet McNaught in mid June in the constellation of Perseus. Use both charts above to help your search.

Check out the Bootids meteor shower on June 23^rd.

Note the return of the prominent summer constellations Scorpius, Sagittarius and Cygnus by mid to late month.

Binocular Sights (7 to 10 power): Try to observe the planet Uranus above the planet Jupiter.

Next, if the comet is not visible with the naked eye, try to find Comet McNaught in mid June in the constellation of Perseus.

Telescope Sights (60-100mm): Aim your telescope at Jupiter on the morning of the 10^th, and try to see the “Blue Ball,” Uranus.

See you next month!