2017 Week 14: (April 2-8)

This upcoming week has some amazing sights in the sky.  I am hoping the clouds stay away to be able to glimpse some of them.  Comet 41P will be at its brightest point in the middle of the constellation Draco.  See the blog post below for more details.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/03/comet-alert-41ptuttle-giacobini-kresak.html

Jupiter will reach opposition on April 7 and be at its brightest and biggest.  Even a pair of binoculars will resolve its four Galilean Moons.  Look toward the southeast and watch it track across the southern sky throughout the evening!

Date	Event
Apr 1	Mercury at greatest elongation East (19°)
Apr 1	Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon
Apr 1	Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak at brightest
Apr 3	First Quarter
Apr 5	Saturn stationary
Apr 6	Regulus 0.7°N of Moon
Apr 7	Jupiter at opposition

This week will be the best time to see Mercury in the evening of 2017.  Mercury will be quite high on the western horizon after sunset and will seem to be the brightest object in the sky besides the Moon.
There will be two conjunctions of the Moon with two ecliptic stars -- Aldebaran and Regulus.  Saturn will begin its retrograde motion on April 5 and start cruising West compared to the background stars.  The planet will still rise quite late close to 3am but by the end of the month it will be up before 1am.

Saturn

I am hoping to get some better pictures of Saturn at its opposition in the middle of June.  The image above was taken with a cell phone on a non-tracking telescope.

The first quarter Moon will be up in the constellation of Cancer on the 3rd of April.  Unfortunately this pollutes the constellation with light and eliminates a good look at the Beehive Cluster.  However, the first quarter Moon is typically the best time to view our closest celestial neighbour.  The terminator goes through some interesting features that can be resolved in basic binoculars, and the seas with your naked eye.

Clear April skies are wonderful for viewing the stars.  It is warm enough to stay outside for an extended period of time yet still cool enough the bugs have not made their way to the land of the living.

Explore the Universe - Ursa Minor

Many people in the northern hemisphere have heard of the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.  It is important to remember that neither of them are constellations.  They are both asterisms.  This is explained thoroughly in my blog post from January 14, 2017, see below.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/01/what-are-constellations.html

The constellation of Ursa Minor is located around the North celestial pole and its brightest star is Polaris -- The North Star.  Polaris is not exactly on the North celestial pole but it is within a quarter of a degree of it.  This specificity is good enough for orienteering and navigation but not for polar aligning a mount.  Many mounts come with a polar scope that allows one to offset Polaris by the quarter degree in the correct direction.  I use a mobile application called Polaris View.  A screenshot of this application is shown below.

Polaris View

When looking through the polar alignment scope on you telescope mount you must place Polaris where indicated by the application.  This takes into account the quarter degree offset.

Ursa Minor has been known since the time of the civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia.  It was known as 'The Wagon of Heaven'.  This is likely due to its rotation around the celestial pole.  There are many Greek myths associated with Ursa Minor.  My favourite is the two bears that saved Zeus from his father by hiding him in the mountains.  Zeus rewarded them by grabbing them both by the tails and swinging them over his head to launch them into the sky.  This is the reason why Ursa Minor and Ursa Major (the two bears) have such long tails.

Another interesting fact is the Latin word for North is septentrio which is formed by combing 'septem' (seven) with 'trio' (plow ox).  This refers to the seven bright stars of Ursa Minor and the fact is looks like a plow.

Polaris, the North star, always occupies the same location in the sky throughout the year (within less than a degree).  If you measure the altitude of the star it will approximately equal your latitude.  Determining the longitude is a different beast altogether and is outside the scope of this entry.

Unfortunately, such a popular constellation is quite small and dim.  Only three stars are brighter than magnitude 4.0.  If you are looking for the constellation from the city you may only be able to see around 5 stars.  Since the city center is North of my home I was only able to see 4 stars with my naked eye at 1am.  If you look from a dark site away from light pollution you can easily make out the Little Dipper asterism.  Using binoculars I was able to find the Bayer classified stars throughout the constellation as shown below.

Ursa Minor Observation Record

Ursa Minor contains no Messier objects and has only a minor meteor shower that occurs a few days before Christmas known as the Ursids.  For a brief explanation of this shower please see the following link.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/12/2017-week-51-december-17-23.html

Messier Objects - M41

The final Messier object from my success on March 16, 2017 is an open cluster sitting right below the brightest star in the sky -- Sirius.  This is an extremely easy target to find with a telescope or binoculars.  M41 literally sits 4° below Sirius and it is fairly bright.  Under clear skies you may be able to glimpse with your naked eye.

Messier 41 may have been known to Aristotle back in 325 BC when he wrote "For a star in the thigh of the Dog had a tail, though a faint one. If you fixed your sight on it its light was dim, but if you just glanced at it, it appeared brighter."  The dog in this case refers to Canis Major and (possibly) M41 is being described as witnessed with averted vision.

I estimated the number of stars to be approximately 75 whereas it is considered to have around 100.  My size estimate was also on the low side with an approximation of 25' and the accepted value is 38'.  The observation record for this cluster is shown below.

M41 Observation Record

Messier 41 was certainly a hit at astronomy open houses.  Many people had never looked upon an open cluster before.  When I imaged it during the evening of March 19, 2017 it seems like I required my autoguider.  The stars were trailing a little and I did not have the brightness I wanted.  Hopefully when I have the time to learn how to use it I'll be able to update some of my Messier images.  My image of M41 is shown below.

M41

I am starting to get nervous that I may not be able to have a good shot at M78 above Orion's belt as the constellation is slowly being eaten by the evening twilight.  With the decent of Orion brings the rise of Virgo.  The infamous Virgo Cluster contains sixteen Messier objects all of which are galaxies.  I have not had much luck with galaxies from the backyard.  It will require many evenings driving to dark sky sites and a lot of patience.  The manual finding method of star hopping will become galaxy hopping.  I am hoping the perseverance through the cluster will teach me a lot about visually observing galaxies.  A preview of the cluster stretching across about 10° is shown below.  There are more than a thousand galaxies in this region of space, it would be a fun project to map as many as possible.  My first goal will be to find and identify one Messier object.

Virgo Cluster Preview

Whenever you get the chance you should get out an enjoy the sky, there are many great things to see with just your eyes!

Observatory Weekend Summary: March 2017

The last two nights I spent my time at two observatories located near Calgary.  On Friday night the sky was quite cloudy and there was not much opportunity to observe.  However, we did have a class on cleaning eyepieces and an in depth review of the Explore the Universe certificate.  After the class we went into the dome and used the C-14 telescope to take a good look at Jupiter.  It was still low in the sky so it was affected by bad seeing.  The Messier Marathon was hosted the next day at the Wilson Coulee Observatory.  The skies were absolutely amazing.  I'm waiting to hear feedback on the success of the event.  I'm hoping that no feedback at the time of writing means they were up all night trying to pull in as many Messier objects as possible. Update: 8" Goto telescope pulled in 100 of 110 on the list.  Manual 85mm refractor pulled in 94. 

Another event on Saturday was the monthly open house at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory.  This was a wonderful opportunity to reach out to the public and show them the sky.  I brought my 8" reflector with various eyepieces but ended up strictly relying on my 25mm for maximum field of view.

The viewing started when the Sun was still up.  We all pointed our telescopes toward Moose Mountain as Venus was just above.  Less than 16 hours prior, Venus was at inferior conjunction with the Sun.  Venus was an extremely slim waxing crescent that was at its 'New' phase earlier in the day.  It was a remarkable sight.  More remarkable was actually finding a planet on the day of its conjunction with the Sun.

As Venus set, Mercury started to appear in the sky.  At this time of year it is very easy to see; I was surprised.  Find a clear view of the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset and you will be guaranteed to see it.

Mercury

It was awhile until the skies darkened to see the stars poke out but there was an incredible iridium flare (-8.4 magnitude) that burst into view at our zenith.  The crowd was in a frenzy, they had never seen such a remarkable sight.  I'm scheduling a iridium flare photo shoot later in the week.

When the sky darkened I focused my telescope onto the Orion Nebula.  It was the first time many have actually seen a nebula through a telescope.  It did not disappoint.  Throughout the night it kept getting brighter and brighter.  M43 was easily seen above the great nebula without any filter.

M42, M43

After everyone had the opportunity to view the nebula I turned my telescope onto some famous star clusters.  M41 in Canis Major and M35 in Gemini were beautiful sights without the presence of light pollution.

M41

M35

The two open clusters were actually a big hit with the crowd, I had lineups 20 people deep at some points throughout the evening.  I must have had M35 in my eyepiece for more than an hour.

A lot of people were asking about the Little Dipper as it is not easily seen from the city.  I will endeavor to do a constellation profile on Ursa Minor this week.

When it got later in the evening, Jupiter started to make an appearance above the big domes.  Three of the four Galilean moons were visible as Io was tucked in behind.  Even with bad seeing everyone loved seeing our biggest planet.

RAO Open House

The sky looks great tonight so I would suggest getting outside to look up.  Find Mercury, see Jupiter, enjoy the warm evening looking for your favourite constellation.  The next open house at the RAO will be on April 29.  Stay tuned for details!

2017 Week 13: (March 26-April 1)

The end of March and the beginning of April have some important annual events.  Neptune will be within 18 arcseconds of the Moon on March 26 and will be occulted by the Moon in several places in Africa.  Mercury will be very close to Uranus on Monday.  The new Lunar Cycle starts the same day.  Aldebaran will once again be very close to the Moon so check it out as the Moon nearly covers the angry red eye of Taurus.

Date	Event
Mar 26	Neptune 0.005°N (18") of Moon
Mar 27	Mercury 2°N of Uranus
Mar 27	New Moon
Apr 1	Aldebaran 0.3°S of Moon
Apr 1	Mercury greatest elongation East (19°)

The most important item on the list is Mercury.  It will be at its greatest elongation East on April 1.  This means it is the furthest point away from the Sun in our sky for its current orbit.  This will be the best time to see the planet with your naked eye in the evening throughout 2017.  After the Sun sets, find a location where you can see the western horizon and look for a bright object in the sky.  That will likely be Mercury.  Star charts will be provided closer to the time.  It will be more than 6x brighter than Mars which is also near the horizon.  If you have a goal to see all the planets this year, do not miss this.  You will be able to see Mercury for perhaps a week before and after April 1 but it will be closer to the bright twilight.

Another sight available next week will be Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak.  It will continue to brighten and should easily be visible in binoculars toward the end of the week.  It will peak in brightness around April 2.  For a guide to viewing the comet please see my previous blog on this topic at:

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/03/comet-alert-41ptuttle-giacobini-kresak.html

Enjoy the last few days of the waning crescent Moon in the mornings before the new lunar cycle begins.

Waning Crescent Moon, March 23, 2017, 07:04

Tonight the weather is supposed to be cloudy.  However, I am hoping the sky clears so I can do some visual astronomy at the observatory.  I am hoping to finish with Cancer the crab and Orion the hunter before they get tucked away for the Summer.  Then it will be off to analyzing Leo with its five Messier objects that I have no experience in finding.  Who knows, maybe I'll even try to find Wolf 359, site of a major interstellar battle between the Federation and the Borg in 2367.  It sits a little southeast of Alpha Leonis (Regulus) at the very edge of my limiting magnitude.

Hope for clear skies throughout April and remember April showers don't bring observing hours!

Messier Objects - M93

A Messier object in Puppis is M93.  M93 is an open cluster located nearly 25° below the celestial equator and will only be visible at northern latitudes for a brief amount of time each year.  I initially had a bit of trouble finding the cluster.  I thought I would star hop from η Canis Majoris through L Puppis to ξ Puppis.  A side note on the Bayer designation of stars should be mentioned.  When Bayer ran out of Greek letters to designate stars he moved onto Latin letters, thus L Puppis.

I mapped out the route through the binoculars and tried through the finderscope on the telescope.  There are many stars in that region and I kept getting lost.  I then realized that I could actually see ξ Puppis with my naked eye.  After this realization I merely used the red dot finder to center the telescope on it.  M93 is a mere 1.5° away from ξ Puppis so it was just the matter of moving the telescope a field of view northwest.

There it was: M93, a small dense cluster of stars.  I measured it to be only 10' in size but the accepted value is closer to 22'.  This may be due to the fact the dimmer stars in the cluster were drowned out by the light pollution endemic to urban regions.  I estimated there to be around 100 stars whereas the accepted value is around 80.  This is counter intuitive to my argument about light pollution.  I will once again revisit this cluster and try to measure the size more accurately.  I'm hoping that knowing the true value does not bias my eyes, but I'm sure it will.

The observing record for M93 is shown below.

M93 Observing Record

The sky cleared up on another night and I was able to image the cluster.  Fortunately it was bright enough to take a lower exposure time and the stars didn't blur too much.  I am hoping to retake some of these pictures next year when I have more experience with autoguiding and with a focal reducer equipped.  My image of M93 is shown below.

M93

Keep your eyes in the sky to behold the wonders above!

Explore the Universe - M47

Last week the weather allowed for a few good days of observation.  I wanted to finish off the Messier objects in Canis Major and Puppis before they went away for the year.  M46 and M47 are open clusters that are very close to each other (1.5°) and subsequently fit into the same binocular field or wide field of view telescope setup.  M47 is the easier of the pair to see as it has several bright stars.  Just above M47 is NGC2423 which is easily observed in the same moderate field telescope setup.

M47 - Observation Record

In skies away from light pollution M47 is visible to the naked eye.  An image of the cluster I took is provided below.

M47

 It is a relatively large open cluster being about half a degree in size.  There are a lot of stars contained within it but it makes up for it in apparent magnitude.  If you are ever out with binoculars stick the brightest star in the sky -- Sirius into your view and look directly East.  This cluster should appear and be very bright.  If you look carefully try to see the fainter M46 just below.

I hope you have the opportunity to come out to the observatory this weekend.  The weather is supposed to be great and you will be able to see these clusters through a telescope.  Jupiter will also be visible with its moons.  Also, you will have the opportunity to see the Orion Nebula through a telescope.  If you have never had this experience it is definitely worth the trip.  For more information please check out the event page listed below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1643865815921397/

Enjoy the great weather and make sure you look up and say goodbye to the winter constellations.  Orion will soon be below the horizon at night not to be seen for many months.

What is a Planet?

There has always been some talk about redefining what a planet is.  The link below gives a brief summary of the debate that erupted in 2017.

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2017/03/is-it-time-to-restore-plutos-status

The word planet comes from the Greek word planan which means 'wander'.  Ancient observations showed that these objects in the sky would wander around compared to the background stars.

According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Q&A section it states in plain terms:

A planet is an object in orbit around the Sun that is large enough (massive enough) to have its self-gravity pull itself into a round (or near-spherical) shape. In addition a planet orbits in a clear path around the Sun. If any object ventures near the orbit of a planet, it will either collide with the planet, and thereby be accreted, or be ejected into another orbit.'
The exact wording of the definition is given below:

A planet is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.

 A dwarf planet is defined as the following:

'A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, (c) has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit, and (d) is not a satellite.'

This would put Pluto in the category of Dwarf Planet.  Four other recognized dwarf planets are Ceres,  Haumea, Makemake and Eris.

Pluto (Image Credit: NASA)

The planets as everyone knows are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.  Most of them have satellites which we call Moons.  Some Moons are larger than the dwarf planets but they do not fit the criterion is not a satellite and therefore remain categorized as such.  As an interesting fact, the largest Moon in the Solar System, Ganymede, is actually larger than Mercury.

All of the 8 planets are visible from your backyard.  Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and if you have really good eyesight, Uranus are visible with the naked eye.  Neptune will require optical assistance as it is fairly dim.  The image below contains some photographs I have taken of the planets and the Sun.  Uranus, Mars and the Earth are the only photographs below that I did not take.

Solar System

Ceres and Pluto can be viewed from your backyard.  Pluto requires a significant skill and effort as it is on the cusp of limiting magnitude for most amateur telescopes.

Ceres (Image Credit: NASA)

Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for updates as to when you can easily see each planet!

2017 Imaging Night #1

Last night (March 19, 2017) was a remarkably clear night and I took the opportunity to take some images.  Unfortunately the grass still had ice on it so I can to put my imaging scope on the deck.  The house blocks Polaris (The North Star) so I was unable to get perfect polar alignment and thus suffered from drift in some long exposures.  I also did not use an autoguider because I still need to learn how but it would have remedied some of the drift problems.

The basic procedure of what I did is written below.

1. Setup tripod and mount and pointed the polar axis to some point behind my house where I thought Polaris was.
2. Put the OTA (Optical Tube Assembly) onto the mount.  My 2 year old imaging supervisor ensured it was done correctly.





Supervisor



3. Installed straight through finderscope and red dot finder on top of the OTA.
4. Balanced the OTA with a 22lb weight.
5. Aligned the system using Rigel and Betelgeuse, calibrated with Sirius.
6. Installed DSLR camera using a 2" prime focus adapter in the eyepiece holder.
7. Used Sirius to obtain focus through the camera.
8. Imaged M46, M47, M93, M41, M35, M36, M37, M38, M42, M43 with exposure times between 5s-35s depending on the object

It was apparent in some of the longer exposures that correct polar aligned and autoguiding would have helped me a lot.  Shown below are some of the images taken last night.

M42 - The Orion Nebula(below) and M43 - De Mairan's Nebula(above)

Longer Exposure (M43 is more clear but stars are blurred)

M35 in Gemini

I will update the previous Messier blogs with their corresponding images.  A Topic Contents box has been added to the main page of the blog so you can check out the latest in each category.  If you are new to the blog feel free to look through some of your favourite constellations or deep sky objects.

Topic Contents

The weather is a lot cooler and cloudy today so there may not be any observing or imaging.  However, I will try to update the images on the Messier pages.  Clear skies!

Messier Objects - M46

After the major cold snap and a cloudy warm front the weather was ideal for astronomy last Thursday evening.  I spent some time in the southern constellation of Puppis.  Puppis represents the poop deck of a giant ship in the sky.  The poop deck is the highest point on a ship and it typically covers a cabin; it is not where the latrines are kept.  Carina and Vela are also constellations that create the former overlarge constellation of the Argo Navis.  From the latitude of Calgary we are unable to see the complete constellation of Puppis but the northern reaches are definitely accessible.

The Milky Way traverses Puppis and thus there are many open clusters contained therein.  Messier 46 and Messier 47 are two of the largest clusters and are easily seen through binoculars and are spectacular through a telescope.

To find M46 I put my red dot finder on the sky's brightest star: Sirius.  I then moved the telescope eastward between γ and ι Canis Majoris until I found a dense cluster with many stars.  I estimated that there are several hundred stars making up the cluster.  My estimate of the size was 22' and the accepted value is 27'.  The faint stars in the outer edge of the cluster probably caused me to underestimate the size of it with a 8" aperture telescope.

M46 Observation Record

An interesting thing about M46 is that it contains a planetary nebula and a preplanetary nebula.  The planetary nebula NGC 2438 is not part of the cluster but aligned in the sky with it.  However, the preplanetary nebula known as the Calabash Nebula or Rotten Egg Nebula (due to its high sulphur content) is likely part of the cluster.  It shares the same distance, radial velocity and proper motion as its fellow members.

At the observatory last month I took a real good look at M46 and think I may have seen NGC 2438 as a faint fuzzy patch on the outer edge of the open cluster.  I was not able to see that from the city probably due to the light pollution.  I am hoping to image this cluster with my 11" and see if I can resolve NGC 2438 with longer exposures.  Also, as I image the Messier objects I will be able to fill in the blank image spot of my observation records!

The skies are supposed to be great this week, so if the wind abates and the clouds stay away there will be plenty of great things to see.  The RAO is having an open house on March 25 and there will be telescopes setup in Fish Creek Park on April 1.  These are great events to get the family out to see some amazing sights above us!

Lunar X and Lunar V

Every lunar cycle (29.5 days) the lighting on the Moon is just right that an X and V seem to appear underneath the terminator.  This only occurs for few short hours per cycle at certain locations on the Earth.  I was looking through the dates and times it was and is supposed to happen and noticed the date November 6, 2016 was good for Calgary.  I went through my photo database and noticed I was imaging the Moon that evening.  I had accidentally muddled my way into taking a picture of them.

Lunar X and Lunar V

An external link to a paper written on this topic by a fellow RASC member in Halifax is provided below.

http://wasociety.us/Lunar-X.pdf

The Lunar X and V are visual 'objects' created by what is known as the clair-obscur effect.  It is an interplay between light and shadow creating unique effects on a surface.  There are a number of these that you can see on the Moon during a given cycle.  A list is provided at an external link below.

http://the-moon.wikispaces.com/clair-obscur

You will need a good set of binoculars as a minimum to see this effect.  If you would like to see the Lunar X or V this year a list of the 5 remaining dates and times for Calgary in 2017 is provided below.

April 3, 16:21

June 1, 15:36

July 30, 14:33

September 27, 15:25

November 26, 18:46 MDT, 17:46 MST (will the savings time law be passed?)

Good luck hunting the sky!

2017 Week 12: (March 19-25)

The weather has certainly warmed up but we've had many clouds in the night sky.  I only saw a star here and there this week and am hoping for better skies in the week that follows.  There was a very bright iridium flare last Wednesday evening that shone through the thick overcast clouds.  I found it remarkable that a satellite could shine so brightly that it could penetrate the cloudy sky.

Date	Event
Mar 20	Saturn 3°S of Moon
Mar 20	Vernal Equinox
Mar 20	Last Quarter
Mar 25	Venus at inferior conjunction

Next week has the equinox where the Sun cross the celestial equator to begin Spring.  This also happens to occur a few hours before the Moon is at last quarter.  The weather is supposed to be great for observing.  There are few clouds and warm temperatures forecast for next week.  I am hoping to use this opportunity to get the equatorial mount out to update my Messier pictures.

Venus will be at inferior conjuction on March 25.  This means it crosses the same celestial longitude (Right Ascension) as the Sun.  However, the way the orbital plane is oriented, Venus will pass approximately 7° over the Sun.  If you can catch it right you can see Venus set after the Sun and rise before the Sun the next morning.  You may even catch Venus at its new phase, similar to a New Moon.

This next week might be a good opportunity for trying to track down our Solar System's smallest planet -- Mercury.  Mercury will be visible in the western sky for a few weeks centered on April 1.  It will be at what is known as its greatest elongation East.  This means it is at its furthest distance East of the Sun in its orbit.  Mercury tends to not be visible most of the time because the Sun drowns out the light of the planet.  However, when Mercury is at its furthest point away from the Sun it gives us the opportunity to glimpse it.  If you can find Mars close after sunset look down and you should be able to see Mercury.  If you live in McKenzie Lake, I would recommend a walk to the Bow River ridge right after sunset.  Wait until the twilight clears and see if a point of light appears above the horizon.  You may have found Mercury!

Another important thing to look for in the sky is Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak.  It will be in the scoop of the Big Dipper from March 22-24 at around magnitude 7.2.  It should be able to be seen through modest binoculars.  Scan inside the scoop with your binoculars and you may see a fuzzy patch of green light.  That will be your comet!  Don't fret if you are unable to find it.  It will get brighter up until April 2.  For more information, please see my previous blog post on the comet below.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/03/comet-alert-41ptuttle-giacobini-kresak.html

In closing this post I would like to celebrate the fact the clouds parted this evening for a good thirty minutes of observation time.  It became too humid and my optics started to dew up so I had to pack it in early.  However, I was able to hunt down four Messier objects in and around Canis Major and Puppis.  Updates on these objects will be provided in blog posts next week; hopefully with pictures!

Please enjoy the weather and clear skies.  If you have any questions about anything you see please contact me and we can have a discussion!  Good luck and clear skies!

What is an Iridium Flare?

I'm sure at some time or another you have seen a satellite transit the sky above your head.  However, what would happen if the satellite was angled just right such that it reflected the Sun back down to you.  This is what is known as a satellite flare.  The satellite will brighten significantly, potentially becoming brighter than a crescent moon.

There is a group of satellites (called a constellation) that are controlled and have easily predicted satellite flares.  These satellites are the Iridium Satellites.  The original plan was to have 77 of them in orbit (77 is the atomic number for Iridium) but only 66 were necessary to be operational.

The following site is a good resource for locating iridium flares from your location.

http://www.heavens-above.com/IridiumFlares.aspx

You can also download the Heavens Above application for your mobile device that will provide you with all the information necessary to see a flare and other controlled satellites; even the space station.

Iridium flares typically occur several times an evening and they are VERY easy to see.  Using the app, find the place in the sky where it will occur and start watching a minute before it is due to flare.  You should see a dim satellite nearing the flare point all of a sudden become the brightest object in the sky.  You may think it is a plane, but it can be even brighter.  An image of a flare is shown below.

Iridium Flare

On Wednesday March 15, 2017 at 9:02pm in Calgary there will be a very bright flare between the heads of Gemini and the head of the lion of Leo.  See the map below for details.  If you miss it don't worry as these are a common occurrence.

-8.4 Iridium Flare, Calgary, AB March 15, 2017, 21:02

However, in the near future these satellites will be going offline and replaced by a newer fleet.  A news article on this is provided below.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/skywatching-iridium-flares-spacex-satellites-space-science/

I would suggest grabbing the Heavens Above application and go outside to catch one of these before they become extinct.  If you can photograph one that would be amazing.  I will try for the bright one tomorrow by placing a wide-angle between the two heads and start a long exposure.  Good luck if you attempt to see it!

Binoculars - What should I look for?

I have mentioned binoculars many times throughout these posts and I thought it would be good to discuss them more.  An introduction to telescopes was provided last month.

Telescopes - What should I look for?

I can not stress enough, binoculars are amazing for astronomy.  A telescope is not necessary to observe a lot of really amazing things in the night sky.  Binoculars are relatively cheap and very portable.  A lot of people already own a pair of binoculars and there is nothing required to adapt them for celestial viewing.  Even with the smallest 7x35 you can increase the number of stars you see by 30.

The first thing to understand about binoculars is its magnification and aperture.  Most binoculars are marketed as 7x35, 10x50 etc.  The first number represents the magnification and the second number is the aperture in millimeters.  As with telescopes, the larger the aperature, the more light you will be able to gather.  This is helpful for finding dim objects.  Also note that the higher the magnification, the higher your hand shakes are magnified, so you will want to look into tripods or mounts.

The field of view is also an important factor when purchasing a set of binoculars.  Typical binoculars can range anywhere between 3° and 8°.  Consider the target you would like to look at to determine how wide you want your field of view.  Most deep-sky objects are under 2° so you should have no trouble.  However, some common asterisms can be much wider and low power binoculars should be used.

There are many publications that can be found at your local library specifically for binocular astronomy.  Most astronomy magazine publications have a monthly article dedicated to the many wonders you can see with binoculars.  A telescope's narrow field of view can be a detriment in many cases.  You can purchase quality wide-field eyepieces for your telescope to see wider views but they can sometimes run you up $1000 a piece.

Another thing to consider is image-stablised binoculars.  You can look through your binoculars and then press a button and everything becomes still.  These are amazing.  However, these are also expensive and will chew through your wallet and batteries.  If you really want to try them out I would recommend attending an observing party or astronomy open house.

Let's talk about small binoculars (<50mm aperture)

They are very portable and can fit in your glove compartment, handbag or a small luggage compartment in your suitcase.  These are excellent to start out in astronomy and they usually have a very wide field of view.   This makes it exceptionally easy to hop from star to star in your favourite constellation.  They are also quite useful for learning the sky around a telescopic target that you might try to search for later in the evening.

7x35 Binoculars

Medium binoculars (50-100mm aperture)

I have a 15x70 set that I use every night it is clear.  With medium binoculars you are bordering on stability issues.  They may get heavy after awhile and you find yourself trembling.  You can remedy this by lying on your back and resting them against your eyes or gripping them closer to the objective lens.  Most medium binoculars can also be attached to a tripod but, of course, forces you to carry a tripod around with you.  The field of view is typically narrower so more sky experience is necessary for finding a specific target.  That being said, I've found many star clusters and nebulae with my binoculars and their sharp focus is amazing.  You can pick out individual craters and maria on the Moon and even see moons of the Jovian planets.  My set are shown below.

15x70 Binoculars (4.4° Field of View)

Large binoculars (>100mm aperature)

Stability and portability are major drawbacks of large binoculars.  You will almost definitely have to get a tripod or mount to attach your binoculars.  A 100mm set is like lifting two 4" telescopes to your eyes every time you want to see something.  The field of view is relatively narrow and closes off certain asterisms that pop out with a smaller set.  However, deep-sky objects are absolutely amazing and clusters are well defined.  Tight double stars are easily separated, cloud bands on Jupiter pop into view and you can even see the rings of Saturn.  Taking a pair of these (with a mount) to a dark site would be amazing.  I've seen some sets that are bordering on 50lbs, those would be fun to look through.

100mm Binoculars

You can even get carried away and build an observatory around binoculars as in Arizona.

Large Binocular Telescope

Messier Objects - M35

On Friday, March 3, 2017 the weather was very good for observing before the epic cold front set in.  I was able to map three constellations and one Messier object.  I had been viewing M35 for a few weeks since Gemini came back into view over the eastern horizon and decided to log it last week.  It was the first time I tried out my dual finderscope.  Previous to Friday I had only been using a mini-telescope without a diagonal on it.  This was very difficult to use as you had to be a yoga instructor just to get your head behind it.

The dual finderscope I am currently employing has a mini-telescope with a diagonal attached with a red dot finder on the other side.  The diagonal eyepiece allows you to stand like a normal person to use it.  The red dot finder is perfect to line up with a bright star with no magnification.  When both instruments are correctly aligned with the main scope it becomes easy to find objects in the night sky.  An image below shows my finderscope setup that attaches to the main scope.

Dual Finderscope Arrangement

M35 is particularly easy to find as it is just above two naked eye stars in Gemini: Eta Geminorum and 1 Geminorum.  It is a fairly bright open cluster that spanned approximately 45% of my 48' field of view in a 25mm eyepiece.  This would give it an observed angular diameter of 29' which matched closely to the officially recognized size of 28'.  I was happy with this outcome since it was the first time I tried measuring a deep-sky object.

Unfortunately the sky was not completely transparent as clouds were rolling in and I was unable to find NGC 2158 located less than half a degree away.  The observation record is provided below.

M35 Observation Record

The weather is anticipated to get better next week and I will spend some time this evening putting together an observation plan to catch some Winter sights before they are gone for the year.  Also, I am hoping to grab some photographs of the recorded Messier objects to finish off the logs and archive them.  These objects will certainly be more exciting to share with pictures attached to them!

2017 Week 11: (March 12-18)

This upcoming week has a few sights to see in the sky.  The weather is supposed to finally be fantastic and there should be plenty of opportunities to see some great things.  The Moon will be full on March 12 but it will likely still be cloudy at that time.  The zodiacal light will be strong again for the last two weeks of March.  A link to my blog post on zodiacal light from February 4 is provided below:

Zodiacal Light

Jupiter is making its presence known in the evening sky.  Look toward the east after 10pm and you will see a very bright object rising up from the horizon.  On Tuesday you can see the largest planet sitting just South of the Moon.  Jupiter will be approaching opposition on April 7 and will continue to grow larger and brighter.  If you love Saturn you're still going to have to wait until 3am for it to rise low in the southeastern sky.

Date	Event
Mar 12	Full Moon
Mar 14	Zodiacal Light visible for 2 weeks in western sky
Mar 14	Jupiter 2°S of Moon
Mar 18	Moon at Apogee

When the Moon is full you should turn your binoculars on it.  The ejecta lines from meteor impacts are typically at their best contrast during a Full Moon.  In the image below you can see the amazing impact lines emanating from the crater Tycho located at the top left.

Full Moon, September 2016

The last thing to keep an eye on is Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak which will continue to grow brighter throughout the week and month.  It will be cruising through the southern portion of Ursa Major this week heading toward the Big Dipper.

Good luck with the sky this week and enjoy the weather!

Comet Alert: 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak

This month there will be a visible comet in the skies.  41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is a comet approximately 1.5km in diameter with a period of about 5.5 years.  The last time it reached perihelion it was not visible because it was on the far side of the Sun from Earth.  Previous to that apparition it only became 10th magnitude in 2006; to be seen in telescopes.  However, this year it may become brighter than 7th magnitude.  This will allow it to be easily seen in a common set of household binoculars.

Let's discuss how to find it.  The first map shows the comet's progression from January to the end of March.  As you can see it goes right through the spoon of the Big Dipper.

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak: January 30 - March 26, 2017

The next map shows its progression when it will be closest to the Earth and at its brightest throughout April.

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak: March 26 - May 5, 2017

The easiest time to find it will be on April 2 when it will be at its brightest and about half a degree from the naked eye star Alpha Draconis (Thuban).  The comet will fit into the same field of view as Thuban using a telescope with a moderate focal length eyepiece.  Thuban and the comet will easily fit into the same field of view with a pair of binoculars from April 1-3.  Provided below are star maps for April 2, 2017.

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak: April 2, 2017, Zoomed Out

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak: April 2, 2017, Zoomed In

This area of the sky should be easy to find.  Look for the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.  The spoon end of the Little Dipper will point to the second star in the handle of the Big Dipper.  About halfway in between will be a a naked eye star.  This is Alpha Draconis -- your target.  Using binoculars or a telescope put this star into your view on April 2 and you should see the comet.  This is likely to be the brightest comet of 2017 so I hope you have the opportunity to see it.  When the weather gets better I'll give it a shot earlier in March when it is hanging around Ursa Major's back paws.  Interestingly it will be in the same telescopic field of view as two Messier Objects: M97 and M108 on March 22.  If the weather cooperates it would be an amazing view right under the spoon of the Big Dipper.

Explore the Universe - Auriga

The constellation of Auriga was relatively unknown to me until I decided to study it in the Winter of 2017.  It has been a known constellation since the first Mesopotemian civilizations that thrived several thousand years ago.  It is supposed to represent a charioteer.

Several ancient Greek myths involve charioteers throughout history.  The mythological Athenian king, Erichthonius, is recorded to be associated with the constellation.  It is said that the smith god Hephaestus had unwittingly impregnated the primordial Greek deity Gaia and she bore Erichthonius.  He was given to Athena who was to guard and protect him.  At some point she placed him in a box with a serpent and gave him to three Athenian princesses with the instructions to never open the box.  Overcome with curiosity they opened the box and were killed by the snake.  When Erichthonius grew up he overthrew the usurper king of Athens and he, himself became king.  He taught the people of Athens how to use horses to pull chariots.  He even invented the four-horse chariot and used it to race in Greek games.  His skill at chariot racing was renowned throughout the land and even impressed Zeus who raised him to be immortalized in the sky as Auriga.  An artistic depiction is shown below.  He is usually shown holding baby lambs under his arms with a whip in his free hand.

Auriga (Artist Interpretation)

The constellation, although lesser known, is fairly bright and is right overhead during Winter in the Northern Hemisphere.  Its brightest star, Capella, is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere after Vega and Arcturus.  The main body of the constellation was easy to map due to the brightness of the stars.  However, Auriga is a fairly large constellation which made finding the dimmer stars more difficult, especially the ones forming the whip.  Beta Tauri (Elnath), the lower horn of Taurus, is almost always used to join the asterism into a nice shape.  A record of my observation is shown below.

Auriga Observing Record

I spent a lot of time observing the three Messier objects contained in the constellation.  The Milky Way runs right through the middle of the constellation which shows off its many open clusters.  M36, M37 and M38 are all fairly bright open clusters quite near each other between Beta Tauri and Theta Aurigae.  Even with low transparency due to cloud cover I was able to see all three Messier objects with my 8" telescope.

You can see this constellation throughout December in the eastern sky being poked by the horns of Taurus.

Stay warm and keep looking up!

Explore the Universe - Canis Minor

Canis Minor is a sometimes overlooked constellation that hangs out in our sky during the Winter.

The myth of the Greek dog Laelaps hunting the Teumessian Fox discussed in the Canis Major blog has Canis Minor representing the Teumessian Fox.  Another Greek myth talks about Icarius of Athens who was a disciple of the Greek god Dionysus.  He fed wine to his shepherds but they thought he had poisoned them and subsequently killed him.  His daughter, Erigone, found his body and was so consumed with grief she killed herself.  Their faithful family dog, Maera, who had led the search for Icarius leaped off a cliff.  Dionysus was so saddened by the news he placed Icarius, Erigone and Maera in the sky for eternity as Bootes, Virgo and Canis Minor.  Canis Minor is placed alongside the Milky Way, a great river of stars so that Maera would never thirst.  An artistic rendering of Canis Minor is shown below.

Canis Minor (Artist Interpretation)

It was very easy to map the constellation as there are only a few Bayer stars contained therein.  It took only a few minutes to correctly identify the significant stars.  A map of the constellation is provided below.

Canis Minor Observing Record

The constellation does not contain any Messier objects and is home to one meteor shower, the Canis Minorids.  The Canis Minorids are a very minor shower occurring during the early weeks in December.  Although Canis Minor may seem like a small, insignificant constellation it contains the eighth brightest star in the sky -- Procyon.  Procyon is a relatively close star at 11.5 light years away and forms part of what is known as the Winter Hexagon.

The Winter Hexagon is Winter's version of the Summer Triangle.  It is a hexagon consisting of six very bright Winter stars from six constellations: Capella from Auriga, Aldebaran from Taurus, Rigel from Orion, Sirius from Canis Major, Procyon from Canis Minor and Pollux from Gemini.  Some astronomers refer to the approximate equilateral triangle of Procyon, Betelgeuse and Sirius as the Winter Triangle.

Winter Hexagon

If the sky is clear at this time of year, see if you can find the small dog!

Constellation Profile - Cancer

I had the opportunity to map the dim constellation Cancer on March 3, 2017.  A casual observer would absolutely hate this constellation when looking at it from the city.  It is the dimmest zodiac constellation and only a handful of stars can be seen under urban light pollution.  As far as apparent magnitude the second brightest object in the constellation is, in fact, a Messier object: M44 -- The Beehive Cluster.  Cancer is the zodiacal constellation for those born between June 22 and July 22.  My middle child is a cancer.

There are several myths associated with Cancer the crab.  It is said that while Heracles was fighting the infamous hydra, the goddess Hera sent a crab to distract him.  Heracles not missing a beat during the fight kicked the crab so hard it wound up in the sky.  Other sources have Heracles squashing the crab beneath is feet and Hera placed the crab in the sky for its courage.  Since the crab lost the fight it received no bright stars.  An artist interpretation is shown below and you can actually see the Beehive Cluster in the

Cancer (Artist Interpretation)

Cancer was particularly a difficult constellation to map due to the very few bright stars, light pollution and the partly cloudy sky on March 3.  I used M44 as a guide to hop to the stars throughout the constellation with my binoculars.  The log is provided below.

Cancer Observation Record

I hope you have a chance to find some stars in this constellation.  M44 is certainly quite beautiful in a pair of binoculars.  Also, if you have a wide-field telescope it would definitely be worth hunting it down!  If you are lucky you might be able to snag M67, a fainter open cluster just to the West of Alpha Cancri at the bottom left of the constellation.

Explore the Universe - Leo

When I first started out in astronomy Leo was my go to constellation.  It is high in the sky during the month of April and is recognizable by its many bright stars.  It is a zodiacal constellation corresponding to those born between July 23 and August 22.

Leo has been known since the earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia more than 6000 years ago.  All of the ancient records agree that it represents a great Lion.  In Greek Mythology a fearsome beast known as the Nemean Lion would capture women and hold them in his cave located on the northeastern Peloponnese.  Many warriors would fight for their freedom but the Nemean Lion legendary golden fur was immune to any attacks with weapons.  The king dismayed by this beast had Heracles participate in his first of twelve labours to rid the land of the great lion.  Heracles fought the lion in his cave with his bare hands and defeated it and freed the trapped maidens.  The goddess of wisdom and war taught Heracles to use the lion's own claws to skin it since no instrument known to man could.  Upon his triumph, Zeus placed the lion in the sky as a tribute to this great labour.  An artistic interpretation is shown below.

Leo (Artist Interpreation)

Mapping the constellation was not incredibly easy.  Leo is a fairly large constellation with broad borders both in right ascension and declination.  Some of the Bayer classified stars are in regions with very little else in the sky.  A review of the Bayer system is linked below from a previous blog entry.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/01/explore-universe-alpha-capricorni.html

An image of the binocular mapping I created is shown below.

Leo Observing Record

Leo has many deep sky objects and contains five Messier objects.  There are many NGC objects scattered around under the lion's stomach and in the hindquarters area.  I am hoping to study some of these deep sky objects in the coming weeks and months.  I had a difficult time finding them last year but lacked the expertise to regularly even find a bright star in my telescope.  Leo is home to the famous Leo Triplet, a close group of three galaxies that can easily fit in an eyepiece with an apparent field of view of 40' or above.

In mid-November there is a meteor shower that has a radiant point just above Leo's neck.  The shower is typically only around 15 meteors per hour but has known to storm in the hundreds some years.  There is a paper written on predictions for the shower during the 21st century.  A link to it is provided below:

Leonid Meteor Shower Predictions