Constellation Profile - Norma

The tour of the southern constellations continues with a stop over at Norma.  Even though it sounds like a female name it actually refers to a carpenter's square.  Lacaille continued to use enlightenment lab equipment to represent his sky.  Unfortunately for residents of Calgary, Norma remains below the horizon throughout the entire year.  To find this constellation in the southern sky simply locate the two bright pointer stars, Alpha and Beta Centauri.  They will point to the other Lacaille constellation of Circinus.  Circinus the compass opens right onto Norma.  The constellation looks like a four-sided trapezoid that seems to sit underneath the tail of Scorpius.

Star-hop to Norma

As a key element of enlightenment architecture, Lacaille placed it up in the sky along with many other items.  An image from his original planisphere is shown below.

Lacaille Norma

The map was improved on half a century later by the astronomer Johann Bode.  His depiction of this region is below.  As you can see, the shape sits right below the tail of Scorpius.

Uranographia Norma

Norma has a plentiful supply of deep-sky objects as the Milky Way flows right through the middle.  The constellation even contains an arm of our galaxy known as the Norma Arm.  There are many open clusters that are visible through binoculars so it becomes a great region for casual observers.  I am certain if I were to travel south enough I would spend a lot of time here.

Norma also contains the Ant Nebula.  I have only seen a handful of astrophotographers image this beautiful looking nebula.  The image below is from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Ant Nebula (Image Credit: R. Sahai (JPL) Hubble Heritage Team)

Norma also contains the fastest spinning Magnetar (SGR J1550-5418).  An article about possible starquakes from this magnetar is presented below.  Although approximately 15,000 light years away it was felt by our own atmosphere.

https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasas-fermi-satellite-finds-hints-of-starquakes-in-magnetar-storm

The southern sky is full of wonders.  Each constellation has its own story to tell containing their own hidden treasures.  When I read stories of objects tens of thousands of light years away affecting Earth it makes me feel our own galactic neighbourhood is a little closer!

2017 Week 51: (December 17-23)

We are now at the second last week of the year and the Winter Solstice is now upon us!  There are flurries in the forecast for Calgary but hopefully we can get some peepholes to see some of the sky.  The chart below outlines the events happening this week.

Date	Event
December 17	New Moon
December 21	Winter Solstice
December 21	Saturn in conjunction with Sun
December 22	Ursid Meteor Shower Peak

The only somewhat exciting event happening is the Ursid Meteor Shower.  It certainly will not be as exciting as the recent Gemind shower but may be worth a visit with your eyes.  The shower is usually confined to a tight time window either side of the peak.  Your best bet to see it will be the evening of the 21st or 22nd.  The radiant is at the base of the Little Dipper in Ursa Minor.  An image of this region is shown below.

Ursid Radiant

The maximum rate is pegged around 10 per hour but that will certainly be attenuated in the city.  I would count yourself lucky if you can tag one Ursid throughout the evening.  You will be more likely to see one if you clear the North sky of light pollution by travelling accordingly out of the city.

A new lunar cycle begins on Sunday leading up to a Boxing Day first quarter and a Supermoon on New Years' Day.

Saturn will be in conjunction with the Sun less than 5 hours after the Winter Solstice.  Soon Saturn will be in the morning sky for early risers to catch a glimpse.  It will continue tracking through Sagittarius until it crosses into Capricorn in 2020.

I anticipate writing a 2018 preview in the coming weeks so you know what to look forward to through the new year!

McKenzie Lake Star Night - December 2017

Each month we host a free, kid friendly astronomy event at the McKenzie Lake Community Centre.  We have a short presentation on what is currently sitting above us in the sky followed by some time with the telescope.

We had a great evening!  More than twenty people came out to enjoy some time under the stars in Calgary's suburbs!  We learned many things together!  Many children came out and they were very smart!  Great questions!

We discussed constellations and went over a few that would be in the sky that evening.

Orion
Taurus
Gemini
Ursa Minor
Ursa Major

Orion was coming up over the homes in the East and we all had the opportunity to catch M42 - The Orion Nebula through the telescope.  As it got higher in the sky the contrast improved significantly.

Taurus was sitting a little higher than Orion and our first target for the night was M45 - The Pleiades Star Cluster.  It cut through the light pollution like a sword and made for a wonderful sight.  The binoculars were handed around to see the full expanse of the Pleiades with some people dropping down to the Hyades Star Cluster.

Gemini rose above the houses later in the evening.  I pointed out where the Geminids would radiate from and showed off one of my favourite open clusters -- M35.  M35 was barely visible through the binoculars indicating fairly bad light pollution.

The North Star was shining down on us from Ursa Minor.  Unfortunately, besides Kochab you couldn't really make out any other stars.

After everyone had a chance to see the Orion Nebula, the kids had a chance to make their own nebula.  All of them had their own unique beauty much like the ones in the sky. Some samples of these masterpieces are shown below.

Nebula Craft

After some hot chocolate we all sat back down and watched a quick video on one of 2017's greatest space stories: The Grand Finale of Cassini.  There were some great questions about the spacecraft!

How large was it?

An image of the construction is shown below.  It is about the size of a school bus!

Cassini Construction (Photo Credit: ESA)

How was it fueled?

It was fueled using a radioisotope thermoelectric generator.  A discussion on this would be outside the scope of this entry so a wikipedia link is provided below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

Next month we may talk about telescopes and binoculars and how they work and what to look for when deciding on purchasing.

Telescopes - What should I look for?
Binoculars - What should I look for?

If there are any topics you would like to see covered, or any objects in the sky you would like to see please leave a comment!  Hope to see you out in January!

The Geminid Meteor Shower

The Geminid Meteor Shower typically is the harbinger of Winter.  The Geminids peak around the middle of December.  This shower is usually one of the best we have all year.  Most people get excited about the Perseids because they are usually accompanied with good weather in August.  However, Winter showers are often the best.

The Geminids originate from an object known as 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid.  These are one of two major showers that do not originate from a comet.

According to the American Meteor Society the following table indicates, on average, how many meteors we should be able to see per hour.

City	Suburbs	Rural	Optimal
20	50	75	120

The Moon will certainly have an affect on the number of meteors that can be seen.  Years with the Moon below the horizon are much better!

Geminid Radiant

The radiant point of the Geminid Meteor Shower is right next to Castor, the Alpha star of Gemini.  Castor is one of the stars in the Winter Hexagon.  It will rise in the northeast just after 5pm and will cross the sky throughout the night.  If you are having trouble finding Gemini, start at the belt of Orion and trace a line through Orion's top left shoulder (bright red star -- Betelgeuse).  This will point you to a pair of stars forming the twin heads of Gemini. (See map above).

If you would like to record your observations a printable sky map is provided at the link below.

Geminid Meteor Shower

Instructions for filling out the sheet can be found at the meteor shower blog post below.

Explore the Universe - Meteor Showers

If you are heading out to a rural area you will want to ensure you have a good view of the southeastern sky.  To escape Calgary you are best off heading South or East so the growing urban light pollution does not wreck your view!

It is also important to note that you don't have to watch for the Geminids on the peak evening.  In the days leading up to the peak and the days after may have Geminids at a lower rate.

Keep your eyes to the sky!

2017 Week 50: (December 10-16)

We are almost at the end of 2017 and it has been an amazing year for viewing the sky.  Week 50 holds a mere few sights but, also, a critical one.  The chart below highlights the following week.

Date	Event
December 10	Last Quarter
December 13	Mars 4°S of Moon
December 14	Jupiter 4°S of Moon
December 14	Geminid Meteor Shower Peak

The Moon will reach its final Last Quarter of 2017 on Sunday and we will be only a half lunar cycle away from Christmas.  Throughout the week the Moon will dance with our Solar System's 4th and 5th planet in a couple conjunctions.  If you like to wake up early in the morning you can watch this dance for yourself.  Look in the southeast sky on the morning of the 13th and 14th and pick out the planets below the Moon.  The map below will help.

Week 50 Conjunctions

The Moon and Mars will be hanging tight with Virgo's Alpha Star: Spica, while Jupiter will be in Libra with Alpha Librae: Zubenelgenubi.  Mars is still a somewhat faint 1.6 so you might need some optical equipment in the morning twilight.  The large asteroid Vesta is also in the neighbourhood at magnitude 7.9, only accessible with good luck and a telescope at this time.

All this is quite exciting but the show stealing event will be the Geminid Meteor Shower.  I will make a complete post about this shower tomorrow.  However, I can say that given good weather, clear skies, a tucked away Moon, we may be in for a good show.  The Geminids typically peak at a maximum rate of about 75 from a moonless, rural site.  Most of us may be in the suburbs and will expect to see around 50.  This correlates to just about 1 per minute.  They will radiate from Alpha Geminorum (Castor) and should be visible from 10pm throughout the night until morning.  In fact, they are active right now and you may be able to catch a lower rate in the days leading up to the evening of December 13-14.

The American Meteor Society has a great FAQ that is linked below.

https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-faq/

I am excited since most of the time during Geminid season it is very cold and cloudy.  If we can get good weather for the Quadrantids in early January that would be a bonus.  The waning gibbous Moon will have a negative effect on them though.

Keep posted for McKenzie Lake Star Nights throughout the Winter!  The sky is different each month with new things to see!  For more information check out our facebook page below!

https://www.facebook.com/simonjastronomy/

Constellation Profile - Circinus

We now move to the fourth smallest constellation in our night sky.  Circinus is another of Lacaille's regions he developed during his groundbreaking observing trip to South Africa.  It is representative of a compass, a technical drawing instrument used extensively throughout the enlightenment.  The constellation stretches from 56°S to 71°S thus out of range of telescopes from Calgary.  This should not deter you from checking it out on your next trip South to Mexico or Hawaii.  It is very easy to locate as it sits a mere few degrees East of Alpha Centauri.  Follow the line from Beta Centuari through Alpha Centauri to the stars representing the compass.  The map below will help.

Star-hop to Circinus

The compass served a fundamental role in mathematics, architecture and science.  It could be found in almost every scientific lab throughout the 17th century.  Lacaille desired to honour its role by placing it in the sky as a constellation.  The original picture from his planisphere is shown below.

Lacaille Circinus

Johann Bode included Circinus in his great atlas -- Uranographia and provided his own pictorial representation.

Uranographia Circinus

Unlike several of Lacaille's constellations, Circinus has some easy deep sky objects that can be seen by amateurs with their backyard telescopes.  NGC 5823 is a magnitude 8 open cluster that can be found in the very northernmost region of the constellation.  If you are trying to bag all the Caldwell objects, this is number 88.  You can find another open cluster, known as Pismis 20 in the same telescope field of view as Beta Circini.

If you are into planetary nebulae and a challenge you should check out NGC 5315 on the border between Circinus and Musca.  It sits a mere 45' from the open cluster Cromwell 277.  It may require a large aperture telescope, patience and high magnification with good transparency conditions.

If you would like to go hunting for galaxies, check out the Circinus Galaxy sitting just over 2° northeast of NGC 5315.  It is also recommended for large aperture users.

The following image is my version of the constellation to add to my collection.

Circinus

Unlike a lot of Lacaille's constellations, Circinus actually seems to take the shape of the object it is supposed to be representing.  Circinus also hosts an apparent meteor shower that peaks at the beginning of June.  The Alpha Circinids which was first and seemingly only noted in New Zealand in 1977.  Future studies have indicated they may appear again in 2033.

2017 Week 49: (December 3-9)

We are now full into December and the weeks of 2017 are waning.  The weather has been warm and the Winter constellations are on full display; I was able to see the complete Winter Hexagon.  The Moon will put on a great show this week, I hope you have the opportunity to check it out!

Date	Event
December 3	Mercury Stationary
December 3	Aldebaran 0.8°S of Moon
December 3	Full Moon (Supermoon)
December 8	Regulus 0.7°S of Moon

The week kicks off on Sunday with a Supermoon.  The media are already gearing up to get excited about the Full Moon phase coinciding with the its perigee.  This is great for public outreach as it generates an interest in astronomy.

The Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical shape.  This means that at certain times during its orbit the Moon will be closer or further from the Earth.  A Supermoon is when the Moon is full near the point of closest approach to the Earth (perigee).  This term also applies to when there is a New Moon at perigee.  Since we are unable to view a New Moon not many people take interest.  There was an exception to this rule back in August.  The perigee was three days before the New Moon.  The New Moon passed between the Earth and the Sun and caused a total solar eclipse.  A total solar eclipse can only occur when the New Moon is close to perigee as it will appear larger than the Sun.

On the same night the Moon will pass slightly to the North of Alpha Tauri which is most commonly known as Aldebaran shining brightly in Taurus.  A few nights later the Moon will cruise through Leo and pass very close to its brightest star -- Regulus.

For more details on how to find the following objects, click on their related link.

I hope you have a pair of binoculars as there are some great sights in the sky.  Turn your binoculars to the Pleiades star cluster sitting a little over 10° NW of Aldebaran.  See if you can count the nine bright stars (seven sisters and two parents).  Also, check out the Orion Nebula.  You can see it without optical aid just below the belt of Orion.  Point your binoculars and prepare to be amazed.  The Andromeda Galaxy still makes for a great sight at this time of year.  Using the map provided on my blog entry, try to capture it with your glass.  Congratulations, you have managed to see 3 Messier objects from your own backyard, only another 107 to go.

Pleiades (M45), Orion Nebula (M42), Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

If you are patient enough you can try to find M35 sitting at the foot of Castor in Gemini.  It is one of my favourite open clusters to show off in the telescope.  It fits nicely into the field of view and it relatively easy to find.

Take some time off from Christmas shopping and look up to see what the sky has to offer!