Constellation Profile - Pictor

We are moving to another southern constellation in our tour and it is known as Pictor.  Originally named 'le Chevalet et la Palette' it was meant to represent a painter's easel and palette.  Its celestial latitude runs from 43°S to 64°S.  It is below the horizon for western Canada but you can catch it if you live below 47°N throughout Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.  It is quite easy to find if you have access to the southern skies.  It sits right between Alpha Carinae (Canopus) and the Large Magellanic Cloud.  Most of the bright stars, however, are at the southerly declinations of the constellation (between 50°S-60°S).  To help locate the constellation if you camp or vacation in the south use the map of the sky below.

Star-hop to Pictor

All artists throughout the enlightenment period carried an easel in their workshop.  Art was a major part of the enlightenment and Lacaille so honoured it by placing an easel in the sky.  It is shown on his original planisphere below.

Lacaille Pictor

This image was improved upon by Johann Bode nearly half a century later in his work the Uranographia.  This is shown below.

Uranographia Pictor

Pictor has a few interesting deep sky objects of note.  NGC 1705 is a lenticular galaxy (intermediate between spiral and elliptical) with a lot of interstellar matter conducive to very active star formation.  There have been many papers written on the star formation within this galaxy.  At 17 million light years from Earth it shines through at magnitude 12.8, within reach of moderate-large amateur telescopes.  The Hubble Space Telescope obtained a really good image of this galaxy.

NGC 1705 (Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA))

I one day hope to catch Pictor in my sights on an expedition to the southern hemisphere, say the Atacama Lodge in the desert of Northern Chile.  However, I have put together a constellation map based on my previous template as shown below.

Pictor

There are some other interesting things within the borders of Pictor.  There is a radio galaxy known as Pictor A nearly half a billion light years away.  It shoots a jet of matter close to the speed of light nearly 1 million light years away.

A star, known as Kapteyn's Star has a very high proper motion through the sky.  At 18" per year it is only second to Barnard's Star.  Ten thousand years ago it sat 7 light years from Earth, now it is almost 13.  It is also the closest known star to our solar system that sits in the galactic halo.  It may have been a member of Omega Centauri, a beautiful globular cluster in the southern sky.

Constellation Profile - Reticulum

We are almost finished with Lacaille's constellations and will continue with Reticulum.  The pattern of stars now recognized as Reticulum was once noted in the early 17th century as 'Rhombus' by another French astronomer, Isaac Habrecht II.  Reticulum is a very small constellation and is 81st out of 88 in area.  The constellation is only visible at latitudes below 37°N and fully visible at latitudes below 23°N.  Consider this your next target for your Hawaiian vacation.  It is quite simple to find.  Look halfway between Alpha Eridani (Achernar) and Alpha Carinae (Canopus), the second brightest star in the sky.  You should see an apparent rhombus shape which forms the major structure of the constellation.  The map below should help you find it.

Star-hop to Reticulum

Lacaille originally named the region, 'le reticule rhomboide' and eventually Latinized to Reticulum.  It fits with the theme of enlightenment lab equipment as it represents the 'reticle'.  A reticle is a set of lines on an optical device to aid in measurement.  In Lacaille's sense he meant an eyepiece for a telescope.  I have a reticle eyepiece that I use for measuring the drift due to poor polar alignment.  In the near future I will likely get an illuminated reticle that includes a microruler and microprotractor.  This will be useful for measuring distance and angle of multiple star systems.  Lacaille included this constellation in his planisphere below.

Lacaille Reticulum

Building upon Lacaille's work, Johann Bode popularized the constellation in his Uranographia shown below.

Uranographia Reticulum

Even though it is a small constellation, Reticulum has several worthwhile galaxies amateur astronomers can hunt for.  NGC 1313 is the brightest with an apparent magnitude around 9.0.  This galaxy is also known as the 'Topsy Turvy Galaxy'.  It is a barred spiral galaxy with an uneven shape and has been referred to as one of the southern sky's 'showpiece galaxies'.  NGC 1313 has a candidate intermediate mass black hole (IMBH).  IMBH's are a seemingly rare phenomenon and there is not currently any confirmed detection.  An article in S&T about NGC 1313 is presented below.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/new-mid-size-black-hole-2209201523/

I scaled the constellation down into my own format.  It was particularly easy since it is such a small constellation consisting of an easy shape.

Reticulum

If I have the opportunity to travel far South I will definitely stick this constellation on my bucket list.  It would be fun to follow in Lacaille's footsteps and spend a deal of time in the southern hemisphere making some great observations.

An interesting story floats around the binary star system Zeta Reticuli (pair of stars on the right side of the above image).  A couple known as Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted by aliens from the Zeta Reticuli system.  A bestselling novel and movie were created around this incident.  It is quite fantastical, reminiscent of an episode of the X-Files.  After reading the story, Zeta Reticuli seems a bit creepy now.  Much to the chagrin of conspiracy enthusiasts it currently has no detected extrasolar planets.  Or that's what they want you to think?

I am enjoying writing about these small southern constellations.  They all seem to tell a different, yet interesting story.  Even the smallest constellation may have mysteries lurking within.  Think about this the next time you enjoy the night looking at your favourite collection of stars.

2017 Week 48: (November 26-December 2)

We have reached the last week of November 2017 and the weather is above average.  A chinook has arrived and is giving room to some clear sky.  This is perfect weather to check out the open house at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory this weekend!  There are a few sights in the sky to consider this week shown in the chart below.

Date	Event
November 26	First Quarter
November 26	Neptune 1.2°N of Moon
November 28	Mercury 3°S of Saturn

The Moon will reach its first quarter phase this Monday and be visible in the sky until you are likely in bed.  This is a good time to use binoculars or a telescope.  The weather is supposed to be warm and there are always incredible sights on the terminator at first quarter.

The same evening Neptune will be very close to the Moon.  I've never really tried to find Neptune during one of these close encounters as the Moon will likely contribute far too much light pollution to allow an easy observation.  Two nights later Mercury and Saturn will be having a party in the same binocular field of view.  If the western horizon is clear on Tuesday I will be at the river valley ridge just after sunset.  Join me at the West end of 130th avenue SE for the conjunction attempt.  I honestly do not know what to expect.  I have rarely scanned the twilight horizon for celestial objects.  Maybe I'll see them, maybe I won't.

The map below shows what to expect around 4:50pm in the southwest horizon.  Saturn will be at magnitude 0.5 while Mercury will be a few times bright at -0.1.  I would recommend not looking through the binoculars until after the Sun goes down.  If you accidentally catch the Sun through the binoculars you will likely go blind.

Mercury/Saturn Conjunction - November 28, 2017

It is nearly that time of year again.  The Full Moon will be within 24 hours of its perigee(closest to Earth).  What does this mean?  It means the media will be going crazy over a great 'Supermoon' again.  Honestly, it's not as cool as it sounds.  The Moon will be imperceptibly larger than other Full Moons throughout the year.  I only really get excited when the New Moon is close to perigee and covering the Sun.  See: Eclipse 2017.  If you are on a oceanfront beach (I wish) you may notice the tides a bit larger than normal.

For more information about the RAO Open House, please see the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1951041424912940/

Get outside this week!  The weather will be warm and hopefully the evenings will be cloud free!  This could be a great chance to see the Winter constellations surrounded by relative warmth.  There aren't many days throughout the cold months like this!  Embrace the opportunity!

Constellation Profile - Telescopium

There is a telescope sitting in the night sky for those in the South to see.  The constellation is known as Telescopium and it sits just out of the reach of Albertans.  You would have to drive down to southern Montana to be able to catch a few of its stars.  This was not always the case.  The boundaries of Telescopium have changed many times over the years since its inception in 1751.  Eta Sagittarii and G Scorpii were once part of the constellation.  Messier 7, the southernmost messier object (34.75°S), was once considered to be Eta Telescopii.  The official boundaries set by the International Astronomy Union in 1930 confine Telescopium between 45°S and 57°S.  If you would like to see the entire constellation you'll have to go as far as Phoenix, Arizona and be there at the right time.  If you are down south and want to find it, just use Scorpius' tail to point you straight to it.  The map below will help.

Star-hop to Telescopium

Like most of Lacaille's constellations I certainly do not see the representation of the telescope.  However, it does make sense to immortalize the instrument that brought the universe down to the Earth.  Lacaille's original 18th century depiction is shown below.

Lacaille Telescopium

Later throughout the century other telescopes in the sky were invented.  Tubus Herchelii Major between Gemini and Auriga and Tubus Herchelii Minor between Taurus and Orion were once considered constellations for a short time.  Johann Bode referred to Lacaille's original 'Le Telescope' as Tubus Astromonicus which is depicted below.

Uranographia Telescopium

As you can see from the diagram above, the original Telescopium is stealing stars from Scorpius' Tail and the south section of Sagittarius.  Since the boundaries were shifted a lot Telescopium does not have Bayer designation Beta, Gamma and Theta among others.  I found this strange when I first studied the constellation.  Where is Beta?

Telescopium has some fairly bright stars in it regardless of its collapse throughout the centuries.  Seven stars are greater than 5th magnitude and should be fairly easy to see on a clear night.  NGC 6584 is a beautiful globular cluster that would look lovely through any backyard telescope.  There is also quite a selection of galaxies for those hunting with larger telescopes.  Telescopium even has a group of twelve galaxies with the brightest sitting just under 11th magnitude.  Grab a light bucket and suck in as many photons as you can.

The image below is an addition to my maps of all the constellations.

Telescopium

Telescopium has an interesting type of star located within its borders.  PV Telescopii is a supergiant extreme helium star.  It is almost completely lacking in hydrogen and thus likely formed in mergers and not molecular clouds.  A variable star ranging from 9.24-9.40 magnitude you'll need a telescope or a really good pair of binoculars to find it in the very southeast corner of the constellation.

If you are ever traveling south to a star party see if you can pull in some of the deep sky objects found within this homage to the instrument you will be using.

Constellation Profile - Octans

We continue our journey through the Lacaille constellations of the southern hemisphere with Octans.  This constellation certainly can not be seen from Calgary since it constitutes the South Celestial Pole much like Ursa Minor constitutes the North Celestial Pole.  If you are vacationing south of Canada below 15°N (Guatemala and South) you can glimpse some of the stars of Octans.  To find it all you have to do is look South in the sky.  If you live in Antarctica, look right over your head.

Although not significant for most people in the northern hemisphere it is critically important to those in the south.  We have Polaris as the 'North Star' which you can always use to determine where North is.  In the South, they must use Octans as a reference.  The nearest bright star to the South Celestial Pole is Sigma Octantis which sits a little over a degree away (70').  As a comparison, Polaris sits about 40' away from the pole.  Sigma Octantis is a magnitude 5.47 and thus more difficult to see than Polaris (1.97).  A map of the constellation is shown below.

Octans Map

Octans is the representation of the 18th century invention of the Octant.  An octant was a navigational device used by sailors to measure the altitude of celestial objects from the horizon.  It typically had a scale that went to 90° or just beyond.  When it became clear that the distance between two celestial objects was required, the scale had to extend beyond 90°.  This was provided by the successor to the Octant: the Sextant.  It was represented on Lacaille's planisphere below.

Lacaille Octans

Improving on the diagram several decades later, Johann Bode illustrated the following in the Uranographia.

Uranographia Octans

Octans is not really famous for its deep sky objects.  Melotte 227 is an open cluster of magnitude 5.30 that sits about halfway between Beta Octantis and Phi Octantis.  There are a few dim galaxies from the New General Catalog (NGC) that I have seen the odd astrophotographer nab throughout the years but it is not common.

My polar scope has Octans inscribed on it to polar align your telescope if you are observing or photographer far down in the south.  It looks something like the below diagram.

Polar Scope Reticle

Fortunately, I live in the North and it is fairly easy to line up Polaris for basic polar alignment.

Even though I will likely never have the opportunity to see this constellation, I have created a scale diagram of it below.  Highlighted is the brightest star (Nu Octantis) and the 'Pole Star' (Sigma Octantis).  The yellow cross indicates where the South Celestial Pole resides.

Octans

Interestingly, Alpha Octantis is the 7th brightest star in the constellation.  I have yet to determine how the Bayer letters were applied in this way.

If you are ever close to the equator or below, be sure to check out this constellation.  I know a few of my readers live in Australia and I hope to hear some Octans stories from them!

2017 Week 47: (November 19-25)

It has been quite a week with the snow followed by cold sunshine.  However, we may be in for a chinook this weekend followed by moderate November temperatures.

Date	Event
November 20	Mercury 7°S of Moon
November 20	Saturn 3°S of Moon
November 22	Neptune stationary
November 23	Mercury greatest elongation East

Mercury will be at its greatest elongation East this week which may give you the opportunity to spot it.  After the Sun goes down watch the horizon.  It may be useful to use binoculars to see if you can see our smallest planet.  If you can find the barely visible waxing crescent Moon just after sunset on the 19th you will find Mercury two binocular fields to the South.  If you are unable to find it, try again the next night.  The more visible Moon will be in the same binocular field as Saturn with Mercury two fields below.

The maps below may help you to find this inconspicuous planet.  The grey region is below the horizon.

November 19 at Sunset

The map below is sunset on the 20th where the Moon and Saturn will be in the same binocular field.

November 20 at Sunset

If you have been watching Neptune's orbital motion (yes people actually watch it, I did in 2016) throughout the night sky it will once again begin its prograde motion.  Neptune will be stationary on the 22nd and continue moving eastward through the constellations, albeit slowly.  It will spend thirteen years in the constellation of Aquarius, finally moving into Pisces sometime in 2023.  Interestingly enough, as you can see in the maps above, Saturn will move to reside in Sagittarius as of November 18.  The last time Saturn spent any quality time in Sagittarius was when Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988; I was younger than my kids.

Enjoy some of the Winter constellations in the later evening.  Orion and Taurus were absolutely beautiful the other night with their associated naked eye Messier objects (M42 and M45).  If you stay up even later, Gemini will start to appear following the Bull.

The Leonid Meteor Shower

There will be a meteor shower peaking this weekend that will be visible in the morning sky.  The best time to catch these meteors will be Friday or Saturday at around 4am.  Leo will be high in the sky with the meteors seemingly radiating from the head of the Lion.

This meteor shower is known as the 'Leonids', named after their radiant constellation.

A map below shows the best place in the sky to scout out some great flashes of light.

Leonid Radiant

The Leonid meteor shower tends to have a variable rate each year.  Some years this century have peaked around 100 while other years it has barely reached 10.  A meteor expert named Mikhail Mazlov from Russia has, in fact, published predictions of hourly rate for the entire 21st century.  For anyone wanting to read a technical paper, a link to his work can be found below.

Leonids - Mikhail Maslov

Whether it is accurate or not is another story.  However, this is science.  We can take the given predictions and match them to observed values.  The veracity of the prediction can thus be tested.

This year the paper predicts a weak traditional maximum about 10 meteors per hour.  A lower value was predicted for 2012 but that year had a rate of nearly 50 recorded.  The best thing to do is go outside and see for yourself.  The Moon will be new so there will not be any interference from that source.  If you can, get away from city lights to increase your hourly rate.  This is a shower for people who like to stay up really late or for those who like to get up really early.  A small percentage of people I am sure.  If this inspires just one person to check out the Lion's head this weekend I will be happy.

As with previous meteor showers I have created a printable, downloadable log sheet to draw your observations.  A link to the sheet is provided below.

Leonid Observation Sheet

Instructions for filling it out can be found: Explore the Universe - Meteor Showers

Good luck, and most importantly stay warm!

The Winter Hexagon

The cold is making its way into our bones and we all know that Winter is bearing down.  The Winter constellations are making their way into the sky and they are a beautiful wonder to behold.  Grab the opportunity of clear skies to see Orion and Taurus with the Pleiades sparkling brightly above with the Hyades sitting a bit lower.  The Orion Nebula, further south, will put on a magnificent show as always.  

There are six bright stars high in the sky during Winter that form a hexagon.  It sits straddling the Celestial Equator with most of its area in the North.

Rigel (Beta Orionis) - Rigel is a beautiful blue-white B class star that sits as the southwestern leg of Orion.  It is the seventh brightest star in the sky and forms a double star visible in moderate sized telescopes.  A very large star it extends to more than 100 times the radius of our own Sun.

Aldebaran (Alpha Taurii) - Aldebaran is often referred to as the angry red eye of Taurus the bull.  It is a class K star and shines through to us as an orange/red colour.  It sits in the Hyades star cluster which means put it in your binoculars and be amazed!

Capella (Alpha Aurigae) - Capella is a star that stays above the horizon for us Calgarians throughout the year.  It should appear to have a yellow hue when viewed with optical aid.  It is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga (The Charioteer) and the third brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere.

Pollux (Beta Geminorum) - Pollux is one of the twin stars of Gemini, the other being Castor.  Pollux is an orange class K star that is nearly ten times larger than the Sun.

Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris) - Procyon is south of the celestial equator and is the eighth brightest star in the sky.  It sits in the small dog constellation known as Canis Minor.  I always notice it shining brightly with Beta Canis Minoris a short distance to the North.  It is one of our solar system's closest neighbours at just over 11 light years away.

Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) - Sirius.  The brightest star in the sky with an apparent magnitude of -1.46.  It is also known as the 'Dog Star' as it shines brightly in Canis Major.  The white looking star is even closer than Procyon at just over 8 light years away.

The hexagon formed with these stars at the corners is depicted below.

Winter Hexagon

Another asterism in the Winter sky that some people like to talk about is the Winter Triangle.  I find it much less exciting but I suppose it must be discussed.  It is formed with Sirius and Procyon from the hexagon and also includes Betelgeuse, the red giant of Orion.  The triangle is shown below.

Winter Triangle

The hexagon and triangle start to come up later in the evening throughout November.  They will play a critical part of the night sky all the way through until Spring.  If you are out during the Winter and not freezing, see if you can pick out all six stars of the great hexagon!

The Summer Triangle

I have been meaning to write on this subject for some time.  I have made reference to the Summer Triangle many times through my blog postings and never took the time to adequately define it.  It stands above our heads during the Summer months and is an indicator of the season.

There is quite a curious history behind this asterism.  It is believed that the first reference to the 'Summer Triangle' in literature is by H.A. Rey in his 1954 book "Find the Constellations".  Although more famous for his Curious George series, he spent a lot of time working on astronomy books for children.  They are still a good reference today.

The Summer Triangle simply consists of three very bright northern stars forming a triangle in the sky.

Vega (Alpha Lyrae) - This is the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra the Lyre.  It is the fifth brightest star in the sky.  At a distance of 25 light years from Earth it is considered a close neighbour.  Vega is also circumpolar for observers in Calgary; it always stays above the horizon but just barely.  It is a class A star which means it generally has a white hue to it for observers.  Vega is the star that plays a significant role in the 1997 movie 'Contact'.

Deneb (Alpha Cygni) - This is the brightest star in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan.  It is a very luminous star and appears around magnitude 1.25.  However, unlike Vega, Deneb is 2600 light years away.  To be in the top 20 brightest stars in the sky at this distance is remarkable.  Also, like Vega, it is circumpolar from Calgary and will not tuck in below the horizon.  As a class A star it will seem white to the observer.

Altair (Alpha Aquilae) - The twelfth brightest star in the sky lights up the constellation of Aquila the Eagle.  Altair is, in fact, closer than Vega sitting around 17 light years away.  It is the southernmost star in the Summer Triangle and will drop below the horizon at certain times of the year.  Like its compatriots of the triad it is class A and will appear white.

The map below shows this triangle in the sky in the middle of August at 11pm.  Look directly up and a little bit to the South to see this pattern.

The Summer Triangle

I appreciate the Summer Triangle as it is usually the first thing I see during Summer twilight.  Typically the earlier in the evening I can see it the clearer the sky will be for observing.

Cygnus and Lyra are two of my favourite constellations.  Deep-sky objects throughout this region are generally quite easy to locate.  During 2017, I saw several Iridium Flares transit the triangle and once the ISS flew right through.

It is the middle of November and the triangle is still visible in the western sky in the early evening.  However, Summer is on its way out and we will soon be gazing upon the Winter Hexagon.  This will be discussed in the next post.

Constellation Profile - Horologium

We are now out of the Lacaille constellations that are visible from Calgary.  However, if you are lucky you may be able to see Horologium from Alberta as there are some stars that reach up to 39.75°S.  If you are ever south enough to see the naked eye star Alpha Horologii you can find it by star hopping by drawing a line from Betelgeuse through Alnitak (Easternmost star of Orion's belt) about 50°.  The constellation is quite long by the measure of celestial latitude .  You can just barely see it from the Alberta/US border and even if you go all the way down to Key West you will still not fully see it.  Only when you drop below 23°N can you see the entire constellation.  The map below shows where it is in relation to some familiar constellations in our sky.

Star-hop to Horologium

Horologium is originally etymologically derived from Ancient Greek and is the Latin word for 'clock'.  This may be familiar to anyone who follows a 'Horoscope'.  A horoscope simply means time observation.  Horologium continues the theme of enlightenment laboratory equipment that Lacaille chose to honour.  The constellation is supposed to represent a 18th century pendulum clock as drawn by Lacaille below.

Lacaille Horologium

As with all of the constellations, Johann Bode went on to improve the depictions in his work: Uranographia.  His version is shown below.

Uranographia Horologium

Unlike previous Lacaille constellations we have heretofore discussed Horologium has quite a number of deep sky objects.  These objects are great targets for amateur astronomers throughout the United States and South.  NGC 1261 also known as Caldwell 87 is a globular cluster that makes its home within the constellation.  Many galaxies reside in this region that can be viewed with large backyard telescopes.  The Horologium Supercluster is located here and contains several tens of thousand giant galaxies and many more dwarf galaxies.

Although I may never get the opportunity to see this constellation for myself, I drew a map of it to add to my collection.

Horologium

If I lived in the Southern Hemisphere I would notice that the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds will straddle the southernmost point of Horologium.  I have seen pictures of southern hemisphere skies and I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to see with my own eyes.

Another final interesting fact about this constellation is there is a star located within its boundaries known as R Horologii.  This variable star fluctuates in apparent magnitude from the naked eye 4.7 to dimmer than Pluto on a good night at 14.3.  This cycle lasts just over 400 days.

2017 Week 46: (November 12-18)

We are nearing the end of the year and it is getting colder.  However, in Calgary, the weather can surprise us giving us a few warm Winter evenings.  This allows for some great observations.  Last night we held our first McKenzie Lake Star Night.  The sky grew foggier as the evening wore on and we were unable to view the sky.  We did have the opportunity to make our own constellations with different types of stars!

What is going on this week!?  Well we have a meteor shower peak in Taurus and Leo!  The Taurid meteor shower was discussed last week and the link is below.

http://simonjastronomy.blogspot.com/2017/11/2017-week-45-november-5-11.html

I hope to have the opportunity to blog specifically about the Leonids later in the week.  The table below highlights all of the sky events for the week.

Date	Event
November 12	North Taurid Meteors Peak
November 12	Venus 0.3°N of Jupiter
November 14	Mars 3°S of Moon
November 16	Vesta 0.4°N of Moon
November 16	Jupiter 4°S of Moon
November 16	Venus 4°S of Moon
November 17	Leonid Meteors Peak
November 18	New Moon

The morning sky offers the best sights this week.  Also of the conjunctions listed below occur pretty close to the Sun so they may be difficult to see.  If you're looking into the twilight with optical aid be careful of the sunrise.  Jupiter is now in the morning sky after spending the last handful of months in the evening.  Saturn is going that way too and will be in conjunction with the Sun just before Christmas.

Andromeda and Cassiopeia are sitting right above our heads at 9:30 in the evening.  This is great for observing with binoculars and difficult for those with Dobsonian telescopes.  It is doable if you book a chiropractic appointment for the next day.

The Summer Triangle is moving off to the West as the Winter Hexagon starts to make its appearance in the East.  I do enjoy the Winter constellations but not so much the snow and cold.

The Leonids will be an interesting meteor shower for those who like early mornings.  The radiant sits right in the head of the Lion as shown below.

Leonid Radiant

If the weather stays clear this evening I think I will set a goal to map one constellation.  With all of the public events occurring over the last few weeks I have not had too much time for my own observing.  As a side order, I may attempt M103 and M52, a couple open clusters, hanging out in Cassiopeia.  With the warm weather and possible clear skies this week, I challenge you to look up and recognize something!

Constellation Profile - Caelum

There is one final Lacaille constellation that is visible from Calgary.  It is known as Caelum and it is representative of a chisel in the sky.  This continues the theme of enlightenment laboratory equipment constituting many of the southern constellations.  Unfortunately, Caelum is only partially visible from Calgary as it ranges in declination from 27°S - 48.5°S.  As members of the city of Calgary we are only able to see as far South as 39°S with a clear horizon.  This gives us access to the Bayer stars Gamma, Zeta and Beta Caeli.  If you are out for a walk around Christmas at 11:30pm at night you will have a chance to catch these few stars with binoculars.  You can wait until New Year to catch it at 10:30pm in the evening.  Just to the West of the bright constellation of Canis Major is Columba followed by Caelum.  Use the map below to help you find it.

Star-hop to Caelum

A lot of work throughout the enlightenment period related to sculpting art.  This was done with the aid of a chisel.  This constellation goes hand in hand with Sculptor and continues the great theme.  Lacaille imagined this representation as the below diagram from his planisphere.

Lacaille Caelum

Bode continues to improve upon the images nearly 50 years later in the Uranographia.  His version is shown below.

Uranographia Caelum

Caelum is the 8th smallest constellation in area and the smallest we have discussed so far on this blog.  It is quite a sparse region of space and only has two stars brighter than magnitude 5.0.  The brightest deep sky object is a faint spiral galaxy denoted as NGC 1679.  I suppose it is interesting to note that Caelum hosts NGC 1701, a nondescript galaxy that sits around 30°S.  The only reason I mention this is that the registry number of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek is NCC 1701.  It may be fun trying to find this galaxy but it registers quite close to magnitude 13 low in the horizon.  A long exposure photograph using a properly adjusted mount will likely be the best bet.

Given that the constellation has relatively few bright stars, mapping it was quite easy.  This is shown below.

Caelum

The top three stars in the above map can be seen from Calgary assuming a clear view of the southern horizon.  It is difficult to find much exciting about this constellation.  However, it contains a possible quasar with no host galaxy (HE0450-2958).  Canada's own Universe Today did an article on it back in 2009, the link is below.

https://www.universetoday.com/46503/quasar-caught-building-future-home-galaxy/

 A video of this phenomenon can be found below.

A binary star system known as RR Caeli has been found to have an exoplanet, possibly four times the size of Jupiter orbiting every 11.9 years.

I tried.  I tried to make Caelum interesting.  If you observe a star from the constellation from Calgary, record it in your log book.  You can check one more constellation off your bucket list of observations!  Stay warm while you seek out the chisel in the sky!

Constellation Profile - Pyxis

The next constellation on our tour of Lacaille's southern sky is Pyxis.  This constellation represents a nautical compass box found on many ships throughout the centuries.  It is fully visible from Calgary as its declination ranges from 17.5°S - 37°S.  It contains quite a few bright naked eye stars which should make it easy to find in the sky.  Looking at the sky maps it seems one can draw a line south across Orion's belt for 50° and land below Alpha Hydrae (Alphard).  As it is quite south in the sky from Calgary it only appears briefly during a given night.  A recommended time to observe it would be around 10:30pm at the beginning of March.  The sky will be dark and the time reasonable for viewing.  A compass may help you locate the compass constellation in the horizon as it should be directly South at this time.  The map below will help to locate the constellation.

Star-hop to Pyxis

Lacaille used a 'Pyxis' on his legendary trip to South Africa and chose to honour it in the sky as its own constellation.  His original representation is shown below.

Lacaille Pyxis

As always, Johann Bode improved on the representation in his great work: Uranographia.  This image is shown below.

Uranographia Pyxis

There are quite a few objects of interest for amateur astronomers.  NGC 2818 is a planetary nebula that lies in the southern reaches of the constellation.  This may be difficult to find without a decent view of the horizon.  This beautiful nebula is framed by an open cluster NGC 2818A which makes it a good target for astrophotographers.

Zeta Pyxidis is in the same field of view (40') of most moderate power telescopes as NGC 2627.  This is an open cluster consisting of around 15 stars.  If you are ever feeling like exploring the south horizon constellations this might be a good target.

A lot of astrophotographers like to go after NGC 2613, a spiral galaxy located in the northeastern hinterlands of Pyxis.  Xi Puppis and Rho Puppis form a line to a magnitude 5 star that is about 1.25° away from this galaxy.  Good luck searching for it with your telescope as it nearly magnitude 11.

Pyxis may have some bright stars but it does not contain very many Bayer stars.  This fact made it easier to put together my map of the constellation as shown below.

Pyxis

I have never really been able to make out the representations in Lacaille's constellations.  How he came up with a compass box and the other shapes eludes me.  The northern constellations seem be easier to see the supposed image in the star.  This may be due to my whole life lived under the northern stars, but I doubt it.

I hope you are enjoying this tour of some southern constellations that most northerners never talk about.  We will continue the tour later in the week with another that is partially visible from Calgary.  After that, you will need to travel south in order to view the rest of them!  Stay warm and keep looking up at the sky (preferably not when a flock of birds fly over).

2017 Week 45: (November 5-11)

The cold and snow have hit Calgary with great force this week and observational astronomy has been kicked to the wayside.  However, there is some clearing in the forecast this weekend and we can perhaps see some sights in the sky.  A meteor shower will be peaking this weekend and also don't forget to set your clock back one hour so you can get some rest!  The table below shows some of the week's highlights.

Date	Event
November 5	Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 5	South Taurid Meteors Peak
November 5	Aldebaran 0.8°S of Moon
November 10	Last Quarter
November 11	Regulus 0.4°S of Moon

The Taurid meteor shower is broken up into two parts: The North and South Taurids.  Debris from the comet 2P/Encke (we discussed this back in February) is spread out quite a fair distance causing an extended run for these meteors (~3 months).  These meteors are not frequent with an average zenith rate of 5 per hour.  However, the debris tends to be larger than most comet debris fields.  This causes them to be brighter and they have been known as Halloween Fireballs.

If you feel strong enough to brave the cold check out the map below for where to look.  Taurus rises in the eastern sky around 8pm and will be visible all night.  Watch the area in the vicinity of the Pleiades and hopefully you'll catch a meteor or two.

Taurids

The last quarter Moon will be in our sky this upcoming Friday for anyone who cares to look at some great craters along the terminator in the early morning. 

Another event that is happening on Friday is our first community star night.  We want to reach out to our neighbours to share everything the night sky has to offer.  It will be an evening of learning, fun and discovery.  There will be free hot chocolate and crafts for kids.  Following a presentation of what to expect in the evening's sky we will brave the chill to see some of these objects through the telescope.  It will be held in the east room of the McKenzie Lake Community Centre on November 10, 2017 from 7-9pm.  For more details please see the event page below.

https://www.facebook.com/events/164787904116626/

There will be a couple close encounters of bright stars with the Moon.  Aldebaran and Regulus make their typical conjunction with the Moon.  Orion and Gemini are coming into the sky at a reasonable time.  Both of those constellations are filled with great things to observe, notably M42 - The Orion Nebula.

Stay warm this week and come to our event.  Enjoy the Autumn sky!

Constellation Profile - Fornax

We now look to the East of the constellation Sculptor and find one called Fornax.  Fornax seems to be more interesting than the other of Lacaille's constellations.  It has several bright stars and plenty of deep-sky objects.  It is nearly completely visible from Calgary as its declination ranges from 24°S - 39.5°S.  There are numerous ways to pick it out of our sky.  If you take Alpha Orionis (Betelgeuse) and make a path through the westernmost star of Orion's belt (Delta Orionis - Mintaka) it will take you right into the middle of Fornax.  It is a fair distance away from Mintaka though (~50°).  It can be estimated by stretching your pinky finger and thumb out on both hands and placing them together held at arm's length.  The sky chart below will help.

Star-hop to Fornax

In keeping with the theme of enlightenment laboratory equipment Lacaille represented these stars as a Furnace.  Fornax is the Latin word for furnace, oven or kiln.  Lacaille's original diagram is shown below.

Lacaille's Fornax

It is said that Lacaille named it in honour of his friend, the chemist Antoine Lavoisier.  This is obviously a propagating error on the internet as Lavoisier was barely a teenager when the constellation was named.  However, Johann Bode renamed Fornax to Apparatus Chemicus which was based on the heater use in Lavoisier's many experiments.  Bode's renaming did not hold up over history and we continue to use Fornax as the official name.  Bode's diagram is shown below.

Uranographia Fornax

It is visible from Calgary in the evening (10-11pm) in the southern sky around the beginning of December.  Use the Orion trick above to find it.  Telescope users may find a few things to look at.  NGC 1360 is a planetary nebula commonly known as the Robin's Egg Nebula.  It is a blue ellipsoid that, coincidentally, looks like a Robin's Egg.  I'd love to take a crack at finding it from the observatory one evening.

The Fornax Dwarf Galaxy is located just to the southwest of Beta Fornacis.  It is a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way and is relatively nearby at just over 460,000 light years.  If you want to have fun with astroimaging try to see if you can find several of its 6 globular clusters.

Similar to Microscopium, Fornax is home to a cluster of galaxies about 62 million light years away.

Using my typical format for constellations I compiled this constellation into an image.  All my formatted images contain all the Bayer stars to scale.  It is actually quite a bit of work.

Fornax

 As of this writing (November 2, 2017) one of the largest asteroids is sitting right between Gamma 2 Fornacis and Omega Fornacis.  Its name is Pallas and it is about half a thousand kilometers in diameter.  Discovered very early in the 19th century it contains more than 7% of the entire mass of the asteroid belt.  This could be an intriguing target for those with the patience to scan the southern horizon in the cold, dark days of Winter.

Constellation Profile - Microscopium

As we move through the southern sky we come to the constellation known as Microscopium.  This is another of Lacaille's laboratory junk scattered throughout the sky.  The famous British Astronomer Sir Patrick Moore described this constellation as "totally unremarkable".  The brightest star is magnitude 4.68 and likely invisible to anyone in the city.  It would be a good challenge to see if you can pick out any stars from this constellation at a dark site near Calgary.  The declination range is 27.5°S - 45°S so two thirds of it should be visible at its highest in our sky.  It is relatively easy to find as Capricornus essentially points right to it.  It is also about 20° West of the bright star Fomalhaut as shown in the image below showing 7:45pm local time on the last day of October from 51°N.

Star-hop to Microscopium

As the name suggests it is a representation of a microscope which was commonly found in an 18th century laboratory.  Lacaille's original drawing is shown below.

Lacaille's Microscopium

Johann Bode went on to improve on the image in his monumental work Uranographia.  His image is presented below.

Uranographia Microscopium

Microscopium is a very faint constellation and does not contain very many observable deep sky objects.  This is likely why Patrick Moore gave the constellation a lackluster review for amateur astronomy.  However, a group of 6 friends in New Zealand found a supernova in NGC 6925 on July 25, 2011.  In fact, they have found more than 150 supernovae over the past decade.  Their dedication to the pursuit is inspiring and if you would like to see their website it is linked below.

http://bosssupernova.com/

NGC 6925 is probably the only Deep Sky Object (DSO) worth hunting for as a backyard amateur although it has a magnitude at a faint 11.3.  At a declination of 32°S you will be fishing close to the horizon about 4° NW of Alpha Microscopii.  The unbarred spiral galaxy does not have a great name but if you can see it from the Calgary area you are amazing and I'd be willing to refer to the galaxy by your name. 

Out of the 110 objects on the Messier list, only 4 reside more southward of NGC 6925 but they are much brighter.  As this is probably the most anyone on the internet has ever written about this galaxy I should move on.

I compiled the constellation into my own format and it is presented below.

Microscopium

Some other quick facts about a constellation that I may never set eyes on is that it is home to the Microscopium Supercluster.  At the same time there is a void located in the constellation known simply as the Microscopium Void.  These are some terms I hope to define in future blogs.  Finally, there is a known meteor shower called the Microscopids.  Apart from the fun name it is a relatively quiet shower that I can not find too much information on.

If you are out around 7:30-8pm near the end of October one year, use Capricornus the water goat to point to the microscope.  There are clearly mundane sights there to behold on a good night!