the Moon dominates the night sky as it continues to wax, now gibbous, toward full on Tuesday the 14th. Mercury, still in Pisces, has now fallen into the glare of the Sun, soon to become a morning object. Venus as the "Morning Star", is still rising well before the sun in Sagittarius, and Mars "the Red Planet" in Taurus, is high in the western sky and setting after one a.m. The ringed gas giant, Saturn, continues to rise high in the eastern sky at sunset, posing patiently in this week's constellation Cancer next to Utah's namesake object, the Beehive Cluster. Jupiter rises near midnight in Libra, making the largest planet a target for the most hardy of observers or earliest of risers. Comet Pojmanski can be found 15 degrees above and 30 degrees east of Venus in the morning sky, fading from view as it recedes from the Earth and Sun in it eccentric orbit around our star.
This week's constellation, Cancer the Crab, is known in Greek mythology as one of the creatures that battled the mighty Hercules. Though the Crab was killed by Hercules, it was immortalized in the heavens, but because it killed, the Gods gave Cancer no bright stars. Though thin in the way of observable deep sky objects, Cancer contains two beautiful open star clusters -- M44 and M67. M44, found just about in the middle of the constellation, is stunning in a low power view in dark skies, while M67, just west of Alpha Cancri, will tolerate higher magnifications.
Please, continue to help preserve and protect our nighttime environment by using light at night wisely and responsibly - point lights downward, prevent glare, use motion detectors, and turn lights off when they're not needed. Plan, too, on attending the Swaner Nature Preserve's third snowshoe event of the season co-hosted with Utah Skies, the weekend of March 24th. Naturalists and astronomers will take you on a tour of the Preserve and the skies above. For more information on this event, how to prevent light pollution, or find out what's in the sky on any night, check out www.utahskies.org, your ticket to the stars.
Astronomy News
From Around The World, and Beyond
Mars Orbiter Successfully Inserted Into Orbit
Friday, March 10th, 2006 - (JPL/NASA) With a crucially timed firing of its main engines today, NASA's new mission to Mars successfully put itself into orbit around the red planet. The spacecraft, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, will provide more science data than all previous Mars missions combined. Signals received from the spacecraft at 2:16 p.m. Pacific Time after it emerged from its first pass behind Mars set off cheers and applause in control rooms at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. "This is a great milestone to have accomplished, but it's just one of many milestones before we can open the champagne," said Colleen Hartman, deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "Once we are in the prime science orbit, the spacecraft will perform observations of the atmosphere, surface, and subsurface of Mars in unprecedented detail." The spacecraft traveled about 500 million kilometers (310 million miles) to reach Mars after its launch from Florida on Aug. 12, 2005. It needed to use its main thrusters as it neared the planet in order to slow itself enough for Mars' gravity to capture it. The thruster firing began while the spacecraft was still in radio contact with Earth, but needed to end during a tense half hour of radio silence while the spacecraft flew behind Mars. Check out the JPL press release and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter home page for more great info on this exciting mission.
NASA's Cassini Discovers Potential Liquid Water on Enceladus
Thursday, March 9th, 2006 - (NASA) NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The rare occurrence of liquid water so near the surface raises many new questions about the mysterious moon. "We realize that this is a radical conclusion - that we may have evidence for liquid water within a body so small and so cold," said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. "However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms." "As Cassini approached Saturn, we discovered the Saturnian system is filled with oxygen atoms. At the time we had no idea where the oxygen was coming from," said Candy Hansen, Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. "Now we know Enceladus is spewing out water molecules, which break down into oxygen and hydrogen." Check out NASA's press release for more great information on this startling discovery.
Morning Comet
Thursday, March 9th, 2006 - Comet C2006 A1 Pojmanski can now be found high in the eastern sky before sunrise. Pictured here is a gorgeous
image taken this past Friday morning by John Chumack of Galactic Images. The comet is fading slowly, but... still an easy target for
folks equiped with binoculars or a telescope. Fortunately for us, as the comet is fading... its also climbing higher in the sky... placing it into a darker portion of the sky. Best views will be
had sooner than later... so set your alarm clock and checkout this beauty as soon and as often as you can!
Titan Shines Through
Wednesday, March 8th, 2006 - Titan's smoggy atmosphere glows brilliantly in scattered sunlight, creating a thin, gleaming crescent beyond Saturn's rings. At this slight angle above the ringplane, the thin F ring shines brightly. Light from Titan's eastern and western limbs (edges) penetrates the Cassini Division, which looks like a thin gap from this angle. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 18, 2006, at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn. Planet-sized Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) was 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Cassini at that time. The image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel on Titan. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
NASA Aids In Resolving Long Standing Solar Cycle Mystery
Monday, March 6th, 2006 - (NASA) Scientists predict the next solar activity cycle will be 30 to 50 percent stronger than the previous one and up to a year late. Accurately predicting the sun's cycles will help plan for the effects of solar storms. The storms can disrupt satellite orbits and electronics, interfere with radio communication, damage power systems, and can be hazardous to unprotected astronauts. The breakthrough "solar climate" forecast by Mausumi Dikpati and colleagues at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. was made with a combination of computer simulation and groundbreaking "helioseismographic" observations of the solar interior from space using NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). NASA's Living With a Star program and the National Science Foundation funded the research. The sun goes through a roughly 11-year cycle of activity, from stormy to quiet and back again. Solar storms begin with tangled magnetic fields generated by the sun's churning electrically charged gas (plasma). Like a rubber band twisted too far, solar magnetic fields can suddenly snap to a new shape, releasing tremendous energy as a flare or a coronal mass ejection (CME). This violent solar activity often occurs near sunspots, dark regions on the sun caused by concentrated magnetic fields. The team predicts the next cycle will begin with an increase in solar activity in late 2007 or early 2008, and there will be 30 to 50 percent more sunspots, flares, and CMEs in the next "solar maximum". Check out the complete story from NASA for more great information on this revolution in solar forecasting.
Magnetic Fields Sculpt Narrow Jets From Dying Star
Monday, March 6th, 2006 - (NRAO/NSF) Molecules spewed outward from a dying star are confined into narrow jets by a tightly-wound magnetic field, according to astronomers who used the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope to study an old star about 8,500 light-years from Earth. The star, called W43A, in the constellation Aquila, is in the process of forming a planetary nebula, a shell of brightly-glowing gas lit by the hot ember into which the star will collapse. In 2002, astronomers discovered that the aging star was ejecting twin jets of water molecules. That discovery was a breakthrough in understanding how many planetary nebulae are formed into elongated shapes. "The next question was, what is keeping this outpouring of material confined into narrow jets? Theoreticians suspected magnetic fields, and we now have found the first direct evidence that a magnetic field is confining such a jet," said Wouter Vlemmings, a Marie Curie Fellow working at the Jodrell Bank Observatory of the University of Manchester in England. "Magnetic fields previously have been detected in jets emitted by quasars and protostars, but the evidence was not conclusive that the magnetic fields were actually confining the jets. These new VLBA observations now make that direct connection for the very first time," Vlemmings added. Browse to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's press release for more information.
New Red Spot For Jupiter
Saturday, March 4th, 2006 - Astronomers have recently noticed a new red spot on the planet Jupiter. Unofficially named Red Jr., the storm is about 1/2 the size of the famous Great Red Spot first seen by Galileo Galilei almost 400 years ago. Checkout Science@NASA for more details. Jupiter is now rising in the east just before midnight. Jupiter offers up some sweet views to amateurs armed with even modest telescopes. Its great red spot and bright Galilean Moons are a treat any time they can be seen. This incredible shot was taken by astrophotographer Christopher Go of the Philippines
94% Earthshine, 6% Sunshine
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 - When the Moon waxes and wanes crescent, the beautiful phenomenon known as earthshine becomes evident. Here last night's delicate 6% waxing-crescent Moon crouches behind a stand of trees on Ecker Hill in Park City, UT. While most of the Moon has its back to the Sun, it cannot hide for we see the sunlight reflected from the Earth illuminating the orb. Were it not for earthshine's ghostly glow, the slender crescent just might have hid as it set for the day.
Sunset Moonset
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 - Brian Jolley pulled himself away from the beauty of this stunning sunset last night long enough to get his camera. With it he captured this slender, 6% waxing crescent Moon setting into the rich, earthy colors of the sky's western horizon. The Moon was new on the 27th of February, and is approaching first quarter on the 6th and full on the 14th of March. The 5th of March will have the Moon, Mars, the Pleiades cluster, and the Haydes cluster all in a 12 degree field of view (about the width of your fist at arms length). Look forward, too, to the near-full Moon, the Beehive Cluster, and Saturn placed within a 5 degree field of view on March 10.
M101 in HD
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 - Checkout this sweet shot of spiral galaxy M101 as imaged by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. This is the largest and most detailed image ever taken of a spiral galaxy. It was composed from 51 separate images. More details on the image can be found on the Hubble Site. Nicknamed The Pinwheel Galaxy, M101 is an easy target for backyard astronomers sitting just above the handle of The Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. Ursa Major is visible all night long and sitting near the zenith around midnight. Check it out the next opportunity you get.
Mercury, The First Rock
Monday, February 27th, 2006 - The first rock, Mercury can be seen setting in this shot taken from Gooseberry Mesa. Because planet Mercury's orbit is so tiny, it never stays in one place for very long. If you missed Mercury this weekend (you best opportunity), you'll have no more than a few more days to view it as it's already begun plunging towards the Sun. Mercury will reappear in the eastern (morning) sky in the coming weeks.
The Moon and Venus From Gooseberry Mesa
Sunday, February 26th, 2006 - A tiny crescent Moon can be seen rising just below the planet Venus on a beautiful morning at Gooseberry Mesa, Utah. A popular destination for mountain bikers, Gooseberry is an ideal location for skywatchers. offers It's got great horizons and some seriously dark skies .
Comet In The Morning Sky
Friday, February 24th, 2006 - There's a new treat for morning skywatchers. Comet C/2006 A1 (Pojmanski) can now be viewed in the eastern sky just before sunrise. Look for the comet just east of the brilliant planet Venus. Comet Pojmanski was discovered by Grzegorz Pojmanski at the Warsaw University Astronomical Observatory on January 1. How's that for a new years treat? The comet is currently about mag 5.5 which is on the limits of naked eye visiblity. It should brighten a bit further as February finishes and March begins. It is reported to have a 4.5' coma. If you're able to find it.. .snap a picture and send it on in... wed love to post it :-)
Pretty Maids All In A Row
Friday, February 24th, 2006 - Location, Location, Location. That's what it took to pull of this sweet shot. Taken in January by the Cassini Spacecraft, we see 3 of Saturn's moons aligned. Dione, is the largest at left... followed by Prometheus and Epimetheus. Saturn will be well placed for viewing all weekend long. It's beautiful rings are a treat in even the most modest of telescopes. If you have access to a telescope, by all means point it towards the planet Saturn. For more details on this sweet shot, checkout NASA's Planetary Photojournal for more information.
The sun is a fascinating subject; it's appearance changes from day to day. In fact, it is the only star in the sky that we can see any details on at all! This week, however, the sun is quiet; there are no large sunspots visible.
Mercury remains visible in the western sky, low on the horizon after sunset. Having reached its greatest eastern elongation on the 20th of June, it is falling back into the sun's glare and it's inferior conjunction on July 18th.
Because of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is never really viewed against a dark background. Rather, it always struggles to be seen over the light of the setting or rising Sun. Patience (and clear skies) will reward you with some beautiful evening views of this planet.
In the accompanying image, Mercury is seen following the sun toward the western horizon of southern Utah with a slender crescent moon close behind.
Still in the morning sky near sunrise, Venus marks a beginning of the "early-bird's" day. Having attained its greatest western elongation earlier in the year, Venus is continuing its inexorable journey appearing to fall into the sun towards its superior conjunction at the end of October.
If you have a telescope handy, take a peek at the love goddess' name sake; the crescent of Venus is lovely indeed. Venus was beautiful along side the Pleiades on the June 23rd , and look forward to the first of July when Venus rises with Aldebaran, the 14th of July when Venus and the Crab Nebula dance together, and the 26th and 27th of August when Venus and Saturn rise together less than a degree apart!
The ESA's Venus Express spacecraft is now in its mission phase. The ESA reports "On 3 June at 13:42 UT, after 207 days of flight, 43 orbits around Venus and many test activities, Venus Express has formally completed its commissioning phase and has entered the routine science phase...The nominal mission is scheduled to last till the end of October 2007." Venus Express will study the planet in great detail, in particular the Venusian atmosphere and clouds.
While we train our optics skyward nightly, there are visual treasures and marvels to behold earthward. Pictured here is a collection of richly colored rock in the Uinta Mountains, a massive range in Northern Utah carved by glaciers from an immense uplift of Precambrian rock. Some of this rock is exposed as colorful quartzite and shales. The main crest of the Uinta Mountains runs west to east for more than 60 miles, rising over 6,000 feet above the Wyoming and Uinta Basins to the north and south. The highest point in Utah is Kings Peak at 13,528 feet.
The Moon will be new on the 25th, and begin waxing crescent until first quarter on July 3rd, when it will wax gibbous approaching full on July 11th. Those observers that consider the moon "light pollution" look forward to this time of the synodic cycle as the moon travels with the sun, keeping the night sky dark, favoring views of distant, elusive, and faint fuzzies - galaxies, nebulae, and clusters.
Remember, as the moon waxes and wanes, you can look forward to those phases where Moon observations are most fascinating. Features appear - mountains, craters, rilles - as the sunlight casts long, defining shadows. Look along the portion of the Moon separating light from dark, known as the terminator, for the greatest contrasts.
The Red Planet is found high in the western sky at sunset as it moves to it's superior conjunction opposite the Sun later in the year. Look at this sweet shot taken by Utah Skies member Brian Jolley last year when Mars was at its closest. He took this through the historic Clark refractor at Lowell Observatory.
Even without a telescope the view of and around Mars is interesting. Having moved through the constellation Gemini, Mars is approaching a conjunction with Saturn around June 17th. On its way, it will pass through M44!
Planet Jupiter | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
Jupiter is currently rising late in the afternoon, placing it favorably for those wanting views of the Sun's largest planet before heading off to bed.
This image is an example of what Jupiter has to offer viewers: interesting detail in the equatorial bands and, if conditions are right, swirls and festoons. Much beautiful structure can be seen through a typical telescope, but results vary depending on telescope aperture and sky conditions. Too, the Great Red Spot has some company: another storm has grow in proportion near the GRS, and has come to be known as Spot Jr!
If you have binoculars, point these towards Jupiter. While you won't be able to see any details on the planets surface, binoculars will clearly show you several of Jupiter's brightest moons, and regular observations will show them jockey for position as they orbit the giant planet. The movement is quite apparent, sometimes even in the span of a few hours.
This sweet shot of Jupiter nicely shows its great red spot and some of the incredible details just waiting your observation. Additionally, you can see one of Jupiter's moons eclipsing the giant planet. The round "ink spot" on the planet's surface is the shadow cast by its moon. Watching Jupiter's moons as they orbit and occasionally transit the giant planet is a very interesting part of observing Jupiter.
Saturn is now rising mid-morning and reaching the highest point in its path across the sky in the late afternoon; the spectacular views of the ringed planet will soon come to an end as it moves behind the sun with the passing weeks. Some truely great views of the ringed planet and its satellites are available on the Cassini Huygens pages. This sweet shot was taken by Don Brown of Utah Skies.
Uranus is currently rising in the early morning, about an hour after Neptune.. The Earth and Uranus have ostensibly achieved their greatest separation, and will soon begin to draw nearer again.
This fascinating image was taken from a ground-based telescope in the European Southern Observatory.
Planet Neptune | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
The planet Neptune, is currently rising several hours before the sun, leaving you precious little time to view the 8th rock. To speed up your acquisition of the planet, look just east of south before first light. Find Deneb Ageldi; Neptune is just about 4.5° west and north of "the water goat's tail". At just a touch brighter than mag 8, Neptune should be visible as a faint star-like object in binoculars or as a bluish object in a telescope. Once you've found it, higher powers will clearly reveal the disk of the planet .
This beautiful image of Neptune and its moon, Triton, was taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft from a perspective that will never be had from Earth. Interesting to note is the gray hue of the planet in this image. The atmosphere of the planet preferentially scatters the light forward from this vantage and so removes the bluish tinge, and reddens the color.
Planet Pluto | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
Pluto is rising before midnight, giving you the time you'll need to seek this faintest of planets. To know you've seen Pluto is going to require observations over several nights, carefully noting star patterns until you see one point of light move relative to the others: that's Pluto!!! But don't try this at home kids, unless you have some serious aperture, because at mag 15+, you're gonna need it!
This image of Pluto and its moon Charon was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the improved performance of a space-based observational platform over ground-based telescopes.
Deep Sky
NASA News
California Students See the Door to Outer Space
"And that way is the door to outer space." Gesturing casually, International Space Station astronaut Bill McArthur gave a live video tour of his orbiting home as it passed over South America on March 2. McArthur and cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev spoke with more than 300 California students from Branch Elementary School, Edwards Middle School, and Cole Middle School who gathered in the Edwards Air Force Base theater for a special live conversation with the space station's Expedition 12 crew. The two space travelers bobbed weightlessly as they faced the video camera, giving a clue that this was no ordinary place to hold a chat.
Image above: Education specialist Kimberly Irizarry escorted a middle school student to the microphone, hooked up for a chat with astronaut Bill McArthur aboard the International Space Station. Students participating in the program at Edwards Air Force Base saw the astronauts on a large screen live projection. (Photo by Frederick A. Johnsen)
A number of the students from grades six through eight had an opportunity to ask questions of the team in space. Reflecting school science activities in this southern California region that is criss-crossed by earthquake faults, several students asked tremor-related questions. No, the ISS crew said, they cannot see an earthquake in progress from their perch 220 miles overhead. Yes, space-based research on earthquakes has taken place.
McArthur told the audience the record stay in space was about 16 months, set by a Russian cosmonaut. He said astronauts continue to learn about the effects of long-term living in space. Exercise and the psychological boost that comes from long-distance family support and entertainment are important for those who see 16 sunrises and sunsets every day as they wheel around the Earth every 90 minutes.
But how does the space station crew keep track of time if they cross every time zone in 90 minutes? They measure the hours in Greenwich time, Tokarev said. (Greenwich time is a constant, and does not shift with time zones. It has been used by world travelers since 1884.)
Image left: Cole Middle School students reacted with laughter as astronaut Bill McArthur somersaulted in weightlessness at the conclusion of his chat with the students. (Photo by Tom Tschida)
McArthur said he and Tokarev look out for each other since they are the only medical aid available in their distant outpost. And when dinner time rolls around, they enjoy "a nice variety of Russian menu items and American menu items," he said.
As the window for the conversation from space drew to a close, McArthur told his young audience: "I'd like you to think about one thing: One of you could be the first human being - the first cosmonaut or astronaut - to land on Mars." At the conclusion of his remarks McArthur completed a slow somersault on camera. As the astronaut reveled in one of the unique opportunities of space travel, the earth-bound students laughed appreciatively and perhaps with a touch of awe.
Edwards and Cole schools are members of the NASA Explorer Schools program, working with the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center located on Edwards Air Force Base. This three-year partnership provides opportunities for NASA and the schools to work together, using the excitement of exploration to inspire students.
The Hubble Space Telescope has distinguished itself as a premier source of astronomical images. Amazing HST images have graced the covers of major magazines and newspapers worldwide. In recognition of the amazing advances in astronomy and physics which have come from Hubble discoveries, we'd like to devote a section of this report to some of these incredible images, and share some of them with you. Our latest comes directly from the Hubble Heritage Team.
Hubble Reveals Ultraviolet Galactic Ring
The appearance of a galaxy can depend strongly on the color of the light with
which it is viewed. The Hubble Heritage image of NGC 6782 illustrates a
pronounced example of this effect. This spiral galaxy, when seen in visible
light, exhibits tightly wound spiral arms that give it a pinwheel shape similar
to that of many other spirals. However, when the galaxy is viewed in ultraviolet
light with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, its shape is startlingly different.
Ultraviolet light has a shorter wavelength than ordinary visible light, and
is emitted from stars that are much hotter than the Sun. At ultraviolet
wavelengths, which are rendered as blue in the Hubble image, NGC 6782 shows a
spectacular, nearly circular bright ring surrounding its nucleus. The ring marks
the presence of many recently formed hot stars.
Two faint, dusty spiral arms emerge from the outer edge of the blue ring and
are seen silhouetted against the golden light of older and fainter stars. A
scattering of blue stars at the outer edge of NGC 6782 in the shape of two dim
spiral arms shows that some star formation is occurring there too. The inner
ring surrounds a small central bulge and a bar of stars, dust, and gas. This
ring is itself part of a larger dim bar that ends in these two outer spiral
arms. Astronomers are trying to understand the relationship between the star
formation seen in the ultraviolet light and how the bars may help localize the
star formation into a ring.
NGC 6782 is a relatively nearby galaxy, residing about 183 million
light-years from Earth. The light from galaxies at much larger distances is
stretched to longer, redder wavelengths ["redshifted"], due to the expansion of
the universe. This means that if astronomers want to compare visible-light
images of very distant galaxies with galaxies in our own neighborhood, they
should use ultraviolet images of the nearby ones. Astronomers find that the
distant galaxies tend to have different structures than nearby ones, even when
they use the correct procedure of comparing visible light in distant galaxies
with ultraviolet light from nearby ones. Since the distant galaxies are seen as
they were billions of years ago, such observations are evidence that galaxies
evolve with time.
The Hubble image of NGC 6782 was taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
(WFPC2) in June 2000 as part of an ultraviolet survey of 37 nearby galaxies. The
observations were carried out by an international "Hubble mid-UV team" led by
Dr. Rogier Windhorst of Arizona State University. Additional observations of NGC
6782 were made by the Hubble Heritage Team in June 2001. The color image was
produced by combining data from both observing programs that were taken through
color filters in the WFPC2 camera that isolated ultraviolet, blue, visible, and
infrared light.
Our Constellation report is an easy way for people to
become familiar with the nighttime sky. We’ll discuss myths associated
with the various constellations as well as describing the numerous deep
sky objects residing in the area. No equipment is required to view the
constellations, though a star chart can be quite helpful. This ease of
observing makes constellations a natural place to begin your journey to
the stars.
This weekend we move on to the constellation
Cancer
the Crab. This constellation has few bright stars. It's brightest are grouped in a centrally located quadrangle which encompasses it's brightest star cluster.
The focus of our efforts this week will be the deep sky objects of
Cancer. Cancer can be found due east of the constellations Gemini
which we visited last weekend. Cancer has only a few bright stars grouped around
it's brightest deep sky object, Open Star Cluster M44. The busy area will be the
first thing you notice while searching for The
Crab.
Ok, our fist object is a big, beautiful naked-eye object,
Open Star Cluster M44(mag3.1). With a diameter of 1.6°, this object is actually too big to fit into some telescopes and is probably best viewed with astronomical binoculars. Also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger"), or
"The Beehive Cluster", M44 has been viewed throughout human history. Even Galileo pointed his telescope at it and reported: "The nebula called Praesepe, which is not one star only, but a mass of more than 40 small stars." . M44 also has the distinction of being the only Messier Object which is brighter than the stars of the constellation it's in.
This... and the fact that Jupiter is only a few degrees to the east should
make M44 and easy find for you. Consider this the low hanging fruit ;)
This beautiful cluster has about 350 visible stars… ranging from about
mag6 to mag14. What a beautiful sight… Stars seem to swarm in a
low-power eyepiece. The Beehive Cluster is located about 577 light years
distant, and its age is estimated at about 400 million years.
This beautiful shot of M44 was taken by Utah
Skies own Anthony Arrigo on April 4th, 2002 using an Olympus OM-1 shooting at prime focus through a 120mm f/5 refractor.
This was a 2 minute exposure on Fuji 800.
Next we'll hit a neighboring
Open Star Cluster M67(mag6.9). You'll immediately notice the difference between these two clusters. M44 is young and close, with it's several bright stars and M67 is considerably older and more distant, with its many faint members. It has an almost delicate appearance after viewing it's neighbor to the north. M67 is one of the oldest known open clusters, and by far the oldest of Messier's open clusters, being aged at 3.2 billion years in the Star Catalog 2000. It is located about 2500 light years distant which translates it's 1/4° diameter into about 12 light years.
M67 has about 500 member stars ranging in brightness from mag10-mag16. Your views will improve steadily with increased aperture. You'll also want to bump the magnification once you've found it. Whereas M44 will go edge to edge in many telescopes, M67 is much smaller. Push the magnification until the cluster fills about 1/2 to 2/3 of the eyepiece... then dive on in.
Here's
a beautiful shot of both M44 and M67 together. In the middle you can see a
chance meteor.
This awesome shot was taken by Bob
Christmas. Checkout his site, he's got some really nice work.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks
Utah Skies Challenge Object, Spiral Galaxy NGC2775(mag10.3). This galaxy is definitely beyond the reach of binoculars. It's visible in a 4", but you'll probably need an 8-10" to get a half-way decent view. At this aperture, you can expect to see a large object with a non-stellar core. You'll also begin to note a distinctly hazy outer region.
You may be wondering... if this is a spiral galaxy, where are the spiral arms? Good question. Astronomers believe that this is an old galaxy which no longer makes new stars. Since new star formation typically occurs in the arms, the arms are simply very faint. This is a characteristic of elliptical galaxies.
This awesome shot was taken by Chris
and Dawn Schur down in Payson, Arizona using a 12.5" f/5 Home made Newtonian
mounted on an Astrophysics 1200 QMD mount with and an SBIG ST7E CCD camera
with Enhanced Cooling. If you haven't been to their
site yet, check it out! It's loaded with awesome astronomical images!
Good Luck!
If you are able to find all of these objects, you may be one of the few, the proud, the Deep Sky Obsessed.
E-mail your findings to DeepSkyObservations@UtahSkies.org.
All light emitting from a fixture should be directed downward.
Floodlighting and spotlighting should be accurately aimed away from roadways and adjacent property.
Lighting should be shielded so that glare is not visible from adjacent property or from the street or highway.
MODERATION OF INTENSITY
Lower lighting levels provide better vision and require less re-adaptation of the eyes.
Excessively bright light spills onto other property and can cause glare even when shielded.
Maximum brightness levels should be established and not exceeded.
ENCOURAGE ALTERNATIVES TO GLARING, EXCESSIVE LIGHTING
Motion detector-activated lighting uses less energy and provides better security than constant light.
Encourage low level lighting which works better with closed circuit television.
Encourage alarms and other security measurers -- more successful than constant lighting.
LIGHT TRESPASS
Light should not spill onto other's property unless they want it too.
Fixture design, placement, moderation of intensity, and aim can help provide needed control from light trespass.
SIGNS INCLUDING BILLBOARDS
Signs should only be lighted internally or from lights mounted on top pointed downward.
Billboards should not remained lighted overnight.
n-premise signs should not stay lighted late or overnight after a business closes.
Dark colored signs with light letters reflect less light than dark letters on light signs.
Lights that flash, pulse, rotate, move, or simulate motion can annoy and distract.
ALL-NIGHT LIGHTING
Only lighting intended for security should be on all night if the business is closed.
ROADWAY GLARE
No light should be installed such that it produces excessive glare or excessive brightness that interferes with the vision of drivers and pedestrians.
A FEW EXCEPTIONS
Sports lighting should be allowed more brightness for the playing field, but directed downward and not allowed to spill into other property.
Christmas lighting, porch lighting, and landscape lighting are usually low intensity lighting not a problem unless it creates dangerous glare or nuisance.
courtesy ICOLE - Indiana Council on Outdoor Lighting Education
Ok... I know what you're thinking... this isn't a night sky friendly
fixture... I can see the bulbs. Well... we need to start by telling you
that this light is so new that we couldn't even get an up to date picture
of it from the factory. Starry Night Lights
has worked out an arrangement with the manufacturer of the fixture,
SPJ Lighting
to have them move the bulbs from the bottom of the fixture (pictured
right) to a location up inside the brass cap. Viola, a beautiful
handcrafted lantern instantly transformed into a night sky friendly
outdoor lantern. Its amazing what a little thought can do to almost any
problem.
This beauty is made from solid brass to provide a lifetime of service. Its
available in a number of gorgeous
finish options and the
glass panels are also available in a number of finishes as well. These
guys really make a nice product...
As you'd expect, you can find
this attractive, dark sky friendly outdoor light in the
Wall
Lanterns section of your favorite
outdoor lighting retailer,
www.StarryNightLights.com
Newsfeed
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
The sun is a fascinating subject; it's appearance changes from day to day. In fact, it is the only star in the sky that we can see any details on at all! This week, however, the sun is quiet; there are no large sunspots visible.
"And that way is the door to outer space." Gesturing casually, International Space Station astronaut Bill McArthur gave a live video tour of his orbiting home as it passed over South America on March 2. McArthur and cosmonaut Valeri Tokarev spoke with more than 300 California students from Branch Elementary School, Edwards Middle School, and Cole Middle School who gathered in the Edwards Air Force Base theater for a special live conversation with the space station's Expedition 12 crew. The two space travelers bobbed weightlessly as they faced the video camera, giving a clue that this was no ordinary place to hold a chat.
But how does the space station crew keep track of time if they cross every time zone in 90 minutes? They measure the hours in Greenwich time, Tokarev said. (Greenwich time is a constant, and does not shift with time zones. It has been used by world travelers since 1884.)
Next we'll hit a neighboring
Open Star Cluster M67(mag6.9). You'll immediately notice the difference between these two clusters. M44 is young and close, with it's several bright stars and M67 is considerably older and more distant, with its many faint members. It has an almost delicate appearance after viewing it's neighbor to the north. M67 is one of the oldest known open clusters, and by far the oldest of Messier's open clusters, being aged at 3.2 billion years in the Star Catalog 2000. It is located about 2500 light years distant which translates it's 1/4° diameter into about 12 light years.
Here's
a beautiful shot of both M44 and M67 together. In the middle you can see a
chance meteor.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks
Utah Skies Challenge Object, Spiral Galaxy NGC2775(mag10.3). This galaxy is definitely beyond the reach of binoculars. It's visible in a 4", but you'll probably need an 8-10" to get a half-way decent view. At this aperture, you can expect to see a large object with a non-stellar core. You'll also begin to note a distinctly hazy outer region. 
