4
Columns
January 2020 Skies
Jan 12 2020 12:53 PM |
cookman
in This Month
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Longest Night?, Planet Plotting, January Moon Focus Constellations: Pegasus, Pisces, Andromeda, Aries, Perseus, Taurus, Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Cancer, Leo, Camelopardalis, Lynx, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia
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Cosmic Challenge: NGC 1535
Jan 01 2020 07:00 AM |
Charlie Hein
in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge
Planetary nebula NGC 1535 is a victim of circumstance. Take a look at its facts. Its bluish disk spans about a minute of arc, which is quite large as planetaries go, and shines brightly enough to be visible through giant binoculars. Its central star glows at magnitude 11.6, creating a surreal scene resembling a disembodied human eye, which led to the nickname "Cleopatra's Eye." Those in the know rate NGC 1535 as one of the sky's finest planetary nebulae. Yet this enticing target remains unknown to many backyard stargazers.
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December 2019 Skies
Dec 12 2019 04:15 PM |
cookman
in This Month
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Winter Solstice, Planet Plotting, December Moon Focus Constellations: Pegasus, Pisces, Andromeda, Aries, Perseus, Taurus. Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Lynx, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia
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Cosmic Challenge: NGC 1 and NGC 2
Dec 01 2019 07:00 AM |
PhilH
in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge
As 2019 draws to an end, let's talk about a first. I am always interested in seeing the first of anything, whether it's the first day of a new year, the opening day of baseball season, the first robin of spring, the first snowflake of winter, or the first object in a particular deep-sky catalog. In the case of the latter, NGC 1, along with NGC 2, create our final challenge of the year.
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November 2019 Skies
Nov 12 2019 10:28 AM |
cookman
in This Month
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Asteroid Surprises, The Transit of Mercury, Planet Plotting, November Moon Focus Constellations: Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Andromeda, Perseus, Taurus. Auriga, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia
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Cosmic Challenge: Satellites of Uranus
Nov 01 2019 05:00 AM |
PhilH
in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge
Of the 27 known satellites in the Uranian family, four stand out, just as the four Galilean satellites do among the Jovian clan. William Herschel discovered the first two Uranian moons on January 11, 1787, six years after he had discovered the planet itself. The next two remained undetected until the British astronomer William Lassell (1799-1880) spotted them on October 24, 1851. It is these four that we hope to catch through our own telescopes.
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October Skies
Oct 10 2019 03:01 PM |
cookman
in This Month
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Quiet Sun, Planet Plotting, October Moon Focus Constellations: Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Pisces, Aries, Andromeda, Perseus, Taurus. Auriga, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia
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Cosmic Challenge: The Deer Lick Group
Oct 01 2019 05:03 AM |
PhilH
in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge
The autumn sky abounds with little bundles of galaxies scattered throughout its stars. One of the best known is the group of 7 galaxies that surround the magnificent spiral NGC 7331 in Pegasus, the Flying Horse. An observer could easily spend an hour or more just soaking in all that this small patch of sky has to offer.
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September 2019 Skies
Sep 06 2019 07:36 AM |
cookman
in This Month
Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Autumnal Equinox, Planet Plotting, September Moon Focus Constellations: Bootes, Corona Borealis, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Lyra, Aquila, Cygnus, Pegasus, Andromeda, Perseus, Camelopardalis, Ursa Major, Draco, Ursa Minor, Cepheus, Cassiopeia
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Cosmic Challenge: Emission Nebula Simeis 57
Sep 01 2019 10:16 AM |
PhilH
in Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge
Simeis 57 is one of the most intriguing emission nebulae in the late summer sky, yet it is almost unknown to visual observers. Photographers, however, know it as a pair of opposing arcs of reddish light, one extending to the north, the other to the south, that appear to be spinning symmetrically away from a common center. Its unusual appearance has led to its two nicknames: the Propeller Nebula or the Garden Sprinkler Nebula.
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