|
Dudley Observatory
Supporting research and education in astronomy, astrophysics, and the history of astronomy |
|
|
|
Skywatch March 2003 NOTE: Times given in the scripts are all local Schenectady, New York time. Friday, February 28th to Sunday, March 2nd. Written by George Mileski
Monday, March 3rd. Written by Joseph Slomka.
Tuesday, March 4th. Written by Jonathan Cassidy. This week is dark at night due to a new moon last Sunday and a slowly waxing crescent during the week. Look to the east of Jupiter and see the Lion‚s mane. The constellation Leo the Lion is climbing up in the east after sun set now. Do not be fooled by bright Jupiter. Jupiter is the brightest of all the bright objects near the zenith of the sky each night. If we look for the brightest star to the east of Jupiter we will find Regulus the brightest star of Leo. Regulus is at the bottom of a backward question mark (?). The head and mane of Leo are outlined by this asterism. Once you are familiar with it you will find it with as much ease as the big dipper. Unlike the big dipper Leo appears from mid winter to late spring whereas the big dipper can be seen all times of the year from our latitude. Notice that the stars around Leo are not as bright as the stars around Orion. This is because in Leo we are looking out away from the plane of the Milky Way galaxy, whereas when we look toward Orion we are looking along the Milky Way‚s dense outer reaches. Compare this to summer when we look in along the plane of the Milky Way toward the galactic center. Since Leo is away from bright home galaxy lights we can find other galaxies. In fact near Leo‚s hind legs is a place where medium size telescopes can afford their owners a sight of three galaxies in one field of view. The galaxies are M 65, M 66 and NGC 3628. M 65 & 66 can be found with relatively small telescopes. Finding all three with an 8" Newtonian or larger looks, to me, like a face with two eyes and an elongated open mouth at an odd angle.
Wednesday, March 5th. Written by Ray Bogucki.
Thursday, March 6th. Written by Alan French.
Friday, March 7th to Sunday, March 9th. Written by George Mileski Monday, March 10th. Written by Joseph Slomka.
Tuesday, March 11th. Written by Jonathan Cassidy. A waxing crescent moon this week makes sighting dim objects in the sky difficult. Look close at Jupiter tonight. 10 x 50 binoculars will reveal the moons if you steady them against a post or building. Just to the east of Jupiter is a ghostly patch in the dark sky. It looks like a busy hives of bees as you may be able to make out individual stars. This is M 44 the beehive cluster. It can be seen as a naked eye object by people with very good sight and a very dark sky. The M in M 44 stands for Charles Messier. Mr. Messier had a team of observers watching the night sky in Paris France. They worked in the mid 18th century. Of course Paris at that time did not have electric lights to spoil the darkness of the sky. Mr. Messier and his team were known as comet ferrets. They found many comets of the time. They were bothered by recurring objects that did not move as comets did but resembled comets at a great distance. Rather than be fooled each year as these objects came around Mr. Messier made a detailed list of the false objects. In this way when a new observer came to him with a "find" Mr. Messier could tell quickly if it was a new comet or an old mistake. For unknown reasons we do not have a detailed list of the comets they found but we do have a fine list of mistakes. Most of these are fine objects in them selves to observe, but alas are not comets.
Wednesday, March 12th. Written by Ray Bogucki.
Thursday, March 13th. Written by Alan French.
Friday, March 14th to Sunday, March 16th. Written by George Mileski
Monday, March 17th. Written by Joseph Slomka.
Tuesday, March 18th. Written by Jonathan Cassidy. Full moon tonight so the sky is more grey than black. The coming spring is heralded by the bright stars Regulus and Arcturus. Regulus is the heart of the constellation Leo the lion, and Arcturus is part of the constellation Bootes. Between Regulus and Bootes is a region of few local stars and many galaxies. Though we can not see them tonight, even with large telescopes, there is a region called the "Virgo Cluster" that has hundreds of galaxies. Some can be seen with binoculars and other with only the largest telescopes. In the Milky Way galaxy we have a local group of about seven neighboring galaxies. The next closest cluster is the Virgo cluster. This cluster is a favorite of amateur astronomers spring events. To find the area of the Virgo Cluster find Jupiter almost directly over head. It is the brightest light near the zenith of the sky. To the east the next brightest star is Regulus. Further to the east of Regulus you will find a right triangle of stars that marks the tail of Leo. Near the Horizon is the bright star Arcturus. The bulk of galaxies in the Virgo Cluster are found between the tail of Leo and Arcturus. Notice that with out the moon this is a relatively dark park of the sky. The Milky Way galaxy is not prominent in this area. Thus it is easier to see beyond our own home galaxy to galaxies beyond.
Wednesday, March 19th. Written by Ray Bogucki.
Thursday, March 20th. Written by Alan French.
Friday, March 21st to Sunday, March 23rd. Written by George Mileski Monday, March 24th. Written by Joseph Slomka.
Tuesday, March 25th. Written by Jonathan Cassidy. A waning crescent moon this week leaves us with dark skies for most of the night. Let us use an interloper to find a star cluster. The interloper is the planet Jupiter. It is in this region once a year, or there about. Tonight it can be found in the constellation Cancer. This constellation has stars that are not as bright and noticeable as Orion or Leo. Cancer marks a "Y" of dim stars in the sky. With Jupiter so close we can use it to locate the cluster M 44. Take any telescope or binocular and look at Jupiter. You will find this planet near the zenith of the sky. Wander a little to the north from Jupiter and find M 44 the beehive cluster. With binoculars or a small telescope it is said to look like a busy bee hive. Closer inspection this group is revealed as an open cluster. That is there is space to be seen around each of the stars. An alternative name for this is Praesepe or "the manger". The "M" of M 44 notes that it was seen by Charles Messier and his team. It was charted on a list of "false" comets so that they would not be distracted by them in their search for real comets. Messier and company observed in Paris, France in the late 18th century. At this time there was no electricity and no light pollution at night. So the city view of starry nights was nearly as good as the country view. We do not have a list of comets this team found but we do have a fine list of mistakes. So be careful how you document your mistakes.
Wednesday, March 26th. Written by Ray Bogucki.
Thursday, March 27th. Written by Alan French.
Friday, March 28th to Sunday, March 30th. Written by George Mileski Tuesday, March 31st. Written by Jonathan Cassidy.
|
|
|
|
|
Dudley Observatory |
|
|
Copyright © 2007 Dudley Observatory. All Rights Reserved. |
|