The moon dominates the night sky as it waxes gibbous from more than 70% illuminated tonight, Friday night, to full on Thursday, the 13th. Names for this month's full moon are Full Pink Moon, from the early-blooming wild flower "moss pink", the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Full Fish Moon from the seasonal shad spawn.
The terrestrial planets closest to the sun continue their dance in the morning sky with both Venus and Mercury having reached their greatest western elongations by the 8th. While Venus will remain a "morning star" into October, falling slowly into the glare of the sun, Mercury will move to our evening sky in June and return to share the morning with Venus in August. This is because Mercury orbits the sun in only 88 days, while Venus orbits in 224 days, almost three times more slowly.
Mars continues its slow journey around the sun, visible in Taurus and gliding into Gemini in the western sky at sunset, still a beautiful site east of the setting Pleiades. Saturn remains in Cancer high in the night sky and a treat for observers with optics big and small, while Jupiter rises late and shy around 10pm. Expect the largest of the planets to become more bold, however, when it rises earlier and earlier as it seemingly pushes Saturn westward and into the sunset this summer.
As the days grow longer and nights shorter, please consider that our need for nighttime light is lessened: ensure that your timers are set appropriate for the season. Of course, keep lights pointed where needed, extinguished when not needed, and no brighter than needed. For more information on protecting the night sky, or what's up on any given night, check out www.utahskies.org, your ticket to the stars.
Astronomy News
From Around The World, and Beyond
Blue, Blue, Its Ring Is Blue
Friday, April 7th, 2006 - Scientists reporting in the April 7 issue of Science have discovered that the outermost ring of Uranus, discovered just last year, is bright blue, making it only the second known blue ring in the solar system, the first being that of Saturn. Interestingly, both blue rings are associated with small moons; Enceladus orbits within Saturn's blue ring and Uranus's recently discovered Mab orbits within the seventh planet's blue ring. Another interesting fact surrounds the blue color of the rings. All other rings in the solar system - those around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune - are reddish in color primarily because the particles comprising them are large and preferentially scatter and reflect red light. The particles in the blue rings of Uranus and Saturn are sub-micron (less than a thousanth the width of a human hair) that scatter and reflect mostly blue light. Check out the UCBerkeleypress release and Dr. Imke de Pater's"One Ring, Two Ring, Red Ring, Blue Ring" web page for more fascinating information on this colorful discovery.
Ringside Seats
Friday, April 7th, 2006 - The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft recently snapped this gorgeous shot of Saturn's moons Enceladus and Dione sitting just above the outermost "F" ring. Like they say in real estate... location, location, location. The planet Saturn is currently rising around 1:30pm and transits just before 9:00pm. This has it in a perfect location for evening observation. Make the most of this easy viewing schedule to checkout one of our solar system's most impressive looking members.
Conjunction Tonight: The Moon and Saturn
Thursday, April 6th, 2006 - Skywatchers with clear skies overhead are in for a treat tonight. The ringed planet, Saturn will cross the sky next to Earth's nearest celestial neighbor, the Moon. Look for the first quarter Moon to rise in the east in the early afternoon. By sunset, it will be almost directly overhead... with the planet Saturn sitting just below it. If you have binoculars or a wide angle telescope, you can see two of the night skies most impressive objects at once. Events like this are known as conjunctions... and have been believed to be responsible for all kinds of fantastic events throughout history.
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 - Astronomers studying Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann back in 1995 watched in amazement as
the comet began to break in two. Unfortunately, the comet was over 150 million miles away... and even the most powerful telescopes could not get a really clear view of the event.
Things will be different this time around. In May, the cometary fragments will pass within 6 million miles (about 25x the distance to the Moon). Virtually every telescope on the planet (and above) will be imaging the comet in the later
stages of its life. The comet is currently visible to backyard astronomers at about mag 10 and will (hopefully) brighten to naked eye visibility by the end of the month. Checkout Science@NASA for more details. This beautiful shot was taken by Tristan DiLapo of Colden, New York
Mercury's Difference Explained
Tuesday, April 4th, 2006 - It has been long recognized that Mercury is strangely different than its nearest neighbors, Venus and the Earth, and now computational astronomy offers an explanation. Scientists from Bern, Switzerland developed computer simulations that modeled possibilities surrounding a massive collision between the young Mercury and an asteroid some 4.5 billion years ago. The amount of material lost by Mercury due to such a collision and its effects would explain the unusually small size and high density of the Sun's closest planet.. Look for the Swiss team to offer their findings to peers at a Royal Astronomical Society meeting in Leicester, England. More information on this study can be found in Adrianne Appel's National Gergraphic Newsarticle.
African Ethnoastronomy Raises Science Awareness
Tuesday, April 4th, 2006 - The history of ancient African peoples includes astronomy, with some facts dating back 6000 years. Thebe Medupe, 32 year old South African astronomer with a PhD in physics from the University of Cape Town, when not studying asteroseismology, is delving into the fascinating lore of indigenous cultures to understand the importance of astronomy in their lives, bringing the story to the screen in the documentary, Cosmic Africa. Read more about how Medupe hopes to bring more children into science and technology in Toni Feder's Physics Today interview.
MRO Hits The Brakes
Monday, April 3rd, 2006 - The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is about to begin a period of precision braking to put it into an optimum orbit for scientific observation. Dubbed aerobraking, the manuever involves the use of the Martian atmosphere to gradually slow the speed of the craft. Checkout the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter website for more details. The planet Mars can currently be found high and towards the west shortly after dark.
Moon To Collide With M45 Tonight!
Saturday, April 1st, 2006 - As if blinded by its recent encounter with the Sun, The Moon will collided with M45, The Pleiades Star Cluster tonight. This once in a lifetime event will occur shortly after sunset in the western sky. No one knows what damage the bodies will sustain in the collision, but it is thought that the Pleiades will end up looking like the Hercules Cluster when all the dust settles, and the Moon's Wenslydale composition will appear more like Swiss. "We're quite excited. This is the first time we've ever had a chance to record a cosmic collision of this magnitude, and we have front row seats for the event," stated Donald C. Brown of NASA's Large Object Small Telescope program.
Utah Skies Turns 5
Thursday, March 30th, 2006 - Many would say we act it, but... this week Utah Skies turned five. Just over five years ago, Utah Skies began sharing out passion for the wonders of the night sky with anybody who's listen :-) We've made it a point to try to instill an awe for the vastness of the universe... and raise awareness to the growing problem of light pollution that threatens our heritage of star-filled skies. Through the years, we've worked with a large number of really wonderful people. Thanks to all who have made this an enjoyable adventure. We're looking forward to the next 5 years!
Storm Rages On Saturn
Thursday, March 30th, 2006 - (NASA) A giant storm continues to rage on the planet Saturn's southern hemisphere. First viewed back in January, the storm can be seen here as a brightening in Saturn's subdued cloud bands. Also captured in this shot by the orbiting Cassini Spacecraft is Saturn's moon Tethys, seen just below the plain of the rings. The fact that the storm stands out against the subtle banding of Saturn at visible wavelengths suggests that the storm's cloud tops are relatively high in the atmosphere. Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 18, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 162 kilometers (101 miles) per pixel on Saturn.
Totality
Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 - Absolutely gorgeous. That's how we'd describe this shot of today's total eclipse of the sun. Taken in southern Turkey by Graeme Coates, this image shows the beauty of the solar corona. Checkout the Spaceweather.com photo gallery for more incredible pics
Total Solar Eclipse To Darken Sky Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 - Skywatchers from South America to Asia are in for a treat tomorrow as a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from those areas. Those of us in the US will have to live vicariously though them... and the internet. The path of totality will run from Brazil to Mongolia. Checkout the NASA Eclipse web pages for more information.
Saturns Rings And 3 Moons
Friday, March 24th, 2006 - The orbiting Cassini Spacecraft recently snapped this gorgeous shot of Saturn's rings and three of its moons. Captured in this shot are Epimetheus (left), Pandora (right) and Mimas (center). Saturn is just outside the edge of the photo. Notice how Saturn casts a shadow onto a portion of the rings, rendering them invisible beyond a certain point. The planet Saturn is currently rising around 1:30pm and can be found high overhead as soon as it gets dark. Saturn is always a treat to observe, so if you have a telescope, be sure to point it towards the ringed planet the next opportunity you get.
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
Students Race to the Future in NASA's 13th Annual Great Moonbuggy Race Friday, Saturday, April 8th and 9th
This weekend, high school and college students from across the country will rumble across the surface of the moon without ever leaving Earth.
Fifty high school and college student teams are putting the finishing touches on designs of their very own lunar vehicles. Teams from the United States and Puerto Rico are competing in NASA's 13th annual Great Moonbuggy Race. The event, which is open to the media and public, runs Friday and Saturday at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Image at right: A team from Arizona State University from Tempe pushes through a lunar obstacle during the 11th Annual "Great Moonbuggy Race" at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. Credit: NASA/MSFC
The race was inspired by the lunar rover vehicles astronauts drove on the moon during three Apollo missions. Students will race their human-powered vehicles in time trials across a simulated moon surface.
Teams have spent countless hours working on their designs. They had to find parts, manufacture and fine-tune their vehicles to ensure they survive the rough terrain of the race's half-mile obstacle course. Along the way, students learned valuable lessons about teamwork, engineering and overcoming challenges to reach their goals.
"The competition draws the next generation of scientists and engineers," said Jim Ellis, manager of the Academic Affairs Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The lessons they learn here can be carried on into their future studies and eventually to their careers. These students may become our next explorers, carrying out NASA's Vision for Space Exploration to return to the moon and travel to Mars," he added.
Moon buggies don.t race side-by-side, but against the clock. Awards are given to the top three teams in both high school and college categories that complete the course with the best times. Awards also are presented for unique; most improved and best overall designs. There's also a new category this year -- an award for the team that designed its moonbuggy with safety in mind.
The first Great Moonbuggy Race was run in 1994. It commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Eight college teams participated that first year, and in 1996 the race was expanded to include high school teams.
Many volunteers from both the Marshall Space Flight Center and the space industry ensure the success of the event. The Northrop Grumman Corp. sponsors this year's Great Moonbuggy Race. Other contributors include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA); ATK Thiokol; CBS affiliate WHNT Channel 19 of Huntsville; Jacobs/Sverdrup; Morgan Research Corp.; Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC); the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the System Safety Society Inc.; and the United Space Alliance, LLC.
For more event details, race rules, information on the course and photos from previous competitions, visit:
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.
Nearby Dust Clouds in the Milky Way
The yearly ritual of spring cleaning clears a house of dust as well as dust
"bunnies," those pesky dust balls that frolic under beds and behind furniture.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed similar dense knots of dust and
gas in our Milky Way Galaxy. This cosmic dust, however, is not a nuisance. It is
a concentration of elements that are responsible for the formation of stars in
our galaxy and throughout the universe.
These opaque, dark knots of gas and
dust are called "Bok globules," and they are absorbing light in the center of
the nearby emission nebula and star-forming region, NGC 281. The globules are
named after astronomer Bart Bok, who proposed their existence in the 1940's.
Bok hypothesized that giant molecular clouds, on the order of hundreds of
light-years in size, can become perturbed and form small pockets where the dust
and gas are highly concentrated. These small pockets become gravitationally
bound and accumulate dust and gas from the surrounding area. If they can capture
enough mass, they have the potential of creating stars in their cores; however,
not all Bok globules will form stars. Some will dissipate before they can
collapse to form stars. That may be what's happening to the globules seen here
in NGC 281.
Near the globules are bright blue stars, members of the young open
cluster IC 1590. The cluster is made up of a few hundred stars. The cluster's
core, off the image towards the top, is a tight grouping of extremely hot,
massive stars with an immense stellar wind. The stars emit visible and
ultraviolet light that energizes the surrounding hydrogen gas in NGC 281. This
gas then becomes super heated in a process called ionization, and it glows pink
in the image.
The Bok globules in NGC 281 are located very close to the center
of the IC 1590 cluster. The exquisite resolution of these Hubble observations
shows the jagged structure of the dust clouds as if they are being stripped
apart from the outside. The heavy fracturing of the globules may appear
beautifully serene but is in fact evident of the harsh, violent environment
created by the nearby massive stars.
The Bok globules in NGC 281 are visually
striking nonetheless. They are silhouetted against the luminous pink hydrogen
gas of the emission nebula, creating a stark visual contrast. The dust knots are
opaque in visual light. Conversely, the nebulous gas surrounding the globules is
transparent and allows light from background stars and even background galaxies
to shine through.
These images were taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for
Surveys in October 2005. The hydrogen-emission image that clearly shows the
outline of the dark globules was combined with images taken in red, blue, and
green light in order to help establish the true color of the stars in the field.
NGC 281 is located nearly 9,500 light-years away in the direction of the
constellation Cassiopeia.
For more information, please contact:
Keith Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.,
(phone) 410-338-1828, (e-mail) noll@stsci.edu or
Peter McCullough, Space
Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.,
(phone) 410-338-5068, (e-mail) pmcc@stsci.edu
This
section focuses on to the constellation
Virgo.
Virgo is referred to as "the maiden" or "the virgin"
depending on who's doing the referring. This is a pretty easy constellation to find.
You may either start from Leo which we
visited recently. Virgo is due north of east of Leo. In fact, the tail of
Leo points right towards Virgo. Another option is to find it's brightest
star, Spica. To find Spica, start at the Big Dipper. Follow the arc of the
handle to Arcturus and then continue on to Spica.
As the accompanying image shows, Virgo is a large constellation. In fact, it is the 2nd largest constellation. Virgo is located
southeast of Leo... and south of Coma Berenices... and Bootes. Our main focus is the area between Denebola an Vindemiatrix...
This area is home to the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies :)
The focus of our efforts here will be the deep sky objects of
Virgo. If you Deep Sky
Observing... especially galaxies... you're going to love Virgo. Virgo is
home to the densest collection of galaxies visible in amateur telescopes. The area between Denebola, in the tail of Leo and Vindemiatrix in Virgo is home to the densest collection of galaxies visible to amateur astronomers. Known as
The Virgo
Cluster of Galaxies, this area is home to almost a dozen Messier galaxies in Virgo alone. Add in
the many smaller, more remote galaxies from the
NGC and IC
catalogs which were beyond the reach of Messier's small telescope and you have a visual smorgasbord. A deep sky observer with a large telescope under dark skies could spend an eternity in this small patch of sky. We'll show you some of the "choice" objects.
A quick look at the accompanying map gives you a clue to just how packed this area is with galaxies. Your problem won't be in finding galaxies... your real problem will be identifying them. If you have at least 4" of aperture under dark skies (larger aperture always helps :) you'll spy dozens of galaxies between Denebola and Vindemiatrix. As you increase the aperture, you'll dramatically increase the number of galaxies you see.
So... Get yourself out to your favorite dark-sky site
and get ready to go DEEP!
Ok, let's start things off with
Elliptical Galaxy M49(mag8.37). M49 was the first member of the Virgo
Cluster of Galaxies discovered, by the French astronomer, Charles
Messier. It is also one of the largest galaxies in the cluster at over 160,000 light years in diameter. This big, bright, round galaxy is relatively easy to find... even in binoculars. You'll notice the mag12 star which has breached the galaxies perimeter. This is a member of our galaxy superimposed on M49.
Next we'll hit
Barred Spiral Galaxy M58(mag9.78). This is another of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo cluster. It is also one of only four barred spiral galaxies in the Messier List. This galaxy will show some detail in telescopes as small as 8".
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M59(mag9.79). Yet another of the largest galaxies...this time of the Ellipticals. While not in the same league as M87 (below) it is nonetheless a dominant member in the cluster. In case you were wondering... M59 is the galaxy to the lower left of the image. M60 is along the right edge.
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M60(mag8.83). Located approximately 60 million light years distant, M60 is the eastern most member of the Virgo cluster. It is also very large, spanning roughly 120,000 light years in diameter. M60 is pictured here with NGC4647.
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M61(mag9.67). This galaxy is also located about 60 million light years distant. With a diameter of about 100,000 light years it is roughly the same size as our own Milky Way galaxy. With dark skies and additional aperture, you should begin to make out the spiral arms. Increasing the aperture should even show you some mottled structure in the spiral arms themselves. The core remains essentially stellar.
This is another beautiful Robert Gendler image. Pretty cool, huh?
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M84(mag9.29). Located towards the center of the cluster, M84 has a relatively rare feature. It contains two small jets which can be seen in radio telescope. These jets are believed to be associated with a
Supermassive
Black Hole of approximately 300 BILLION solar masses.
M84 and M86 are located within 1° of each other. So.. you should see both of them in the same wide field of view. You'll also see quite a few other smaller galaxies as well.
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M86(mag9.18). This is another of the giant galaxies located near the heart of the
Virgo Cluster. While not quite as impressive as some of it's neighbors, it is nonetheless one of the "anchor tenants" of the Virgo cluster.
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M87(mag8.62). This giant is perhaps the largest galaxy known. Estimates place its mass as high as 2.7 TRILLION solar masses! M87 also has
High Speed Jets emanating from its core... an indicator of a super-massive black hole lurking in it's core.
The view of M87 does not improve dramatically with increased aperture. It's perimeter pushes out further, but surprisingly not much additional detail is revealed. Larger aperture will reveal some of the close companion galaxies which orbit the behemoth.
The accompanying image was taken by Utah Skies
subscriber Ed Lunt. Note the
jet emanating from the core of the galaxy. Sweet! Nice work Ed!!
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M89(mag9.81). This is another galaxy with high speed jets emanating from it's core. No... your eyesight is not failing you. These jets are not captured in visible light. They seem to show up best in
radio
telescopes.
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M90(mag9.48). This is one of the largest spirals in the Virgo cluster... and a beauty too
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M104(mag8.3). Also known as The Sombrero Galaxy, this galaxy is a showpiece object. The longer you look
at it the more detail it reveals. Of course... throwing some additional
aperture and dark skies at it never hurts :) In the 25", this is simply an
incredible sight. The dust lane which dominates this image is clearly visible in the eyepiece. This
is always one of the favorites star parties.
This image was captured by the VLT...
Very Large
Telescope. I kid you not. That's its name... It's also a perfect description. The ultimate goal of
this effort is to build four-8 meter telescopes... and get them to operate as
one. This image came from one of the telescopes. I can't wait to see what
kind of images the four of them are capable of creating.
Ok... so there's been all this talk of the Virgo Cluster... what exactly does the Virgo Cluster look like? Lets take a step back and view a large portion of the Virgo cluster. This
Robert Gendler image should give you a feel for just how many galaxies are in this area.
As I mentioned earlier... finding galaxies here
is not hard... The hard part is figuring out which galaxy you're looking
at. So... if you've never seen a galaxy in your telescope.. but would love
to... point towards The
Virgo Cluster and you're bound to find some!
Here's
another sweet shot into the cluster as taken by Utah Skies subscriber,
Ed Lunt.
Next
up is another Elliptical Galaxy NGC4697(mag9.3). Also known as
Caldwell 52 this object shouldn't be all that tough for you. I suspect you could find it pretty
easily in a 4" telescope...perhaps even large astro-binoculars???
Continuing
along we come to Spiral Galaxy NGC4216(mag10). This nearly edge-on
galaxy shows a nice central dust lane in a moderate sized telescope
(8-10").
Let's wrap things up with this weeks
Utah Skies Challenge Objects... Spiral Galaxy NGC4567(mag11.3)
and Spiral Galaxy NGC4568(mag10.8). NGC4568 is the larger of the
two which are sometimes referred to as the Siamese Twins.
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
This week we're hoping to educate folks on a simple point... wall pack and
night sky friendly can be used in the same sentence. Here... watch... we'll do
it now. This weeks
featured outdoor lighting product is a nigh sky friendly wall pack from the
folks at Visionaire
Lighting. There, we did it... now read on and see why its not all that
difficult.
Pictured on the right is the Madison Series
Wall Pack from
Visionaire Lighting. Sporting full cutoff optics, the
Madison MHC puts
the light on the ground where its needed and nowhere else. What a concept. If
all lights were designed like this, the problem of
light pollution
would be virtually non-existent. Full cutoff optics ensure that no light shines
up into the night sky causing sky glow and the loss of our star filled skies. It
also prevents light from shining horizontally into the eyes of drivers or into
the homes of neighbors... dramatically reducing glare and light trespass.
As you'd expect, you can find
this high performance, night sky friendly outdoor light in the
Wall Packs section of your favorite
exterior lighting retailer,
Starry Night Lights.
"I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with this planet or with the whole accidental universe - because, like Spinoza's God, it won't love us in return." - Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), British philosopher
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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.
Ok, let's start things off with
Elliptical Galaxy M49(mag8.37). M49 was the first member of the 
Next we'll hit
Barred Spiral Galaxy M58(mag9.78). This is another of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo cluster. It is also one of only four barred spiral galaxies in the Messier List. This galaxy will show some detail in telescopes as small as 8".
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M59(mag9.79). Yet another of the largest galaxies...this time of the Ellipticals. While not in the same league as M87 (below) it is nonetheless a dominant member in the cluster. In case you were wondering... M59 is the galaxy to the lower left of the image. M60 is along the right edge.
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M60(mag8.83). Located approximately 60 million light years distant, M60 is the eastern most member of the Virgo cluster. It is also very large, spanning roughly 120,000 light years in diameter. M60 is pictured here with NGC4647.
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M61(mag9.67). This galaxy is also located about 60 million light years distant. With a diameter of about 100,000 light years it is roughly the same size as our own Milky Way galaxy. With dark skies and additional aperture, you should begin to make out the spiral arms. Increasing the aperture should even show you some mottled structure in the spiral arms themselves. The core remains essentially stellar.
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M84(mag9.29). Located towards the center of the cluster, M84 has a relatively rare feature. It contains two small jets which can be seen in radio telescope. These jets are believed to be associated with a
Next we'll hit
Elliptical Galaxy M86(mag9.18). This is another of the giant galaxies located near the heart of the
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M89(mag9.81). This is another galaxy with high speed jets emanating from it's core. No... your eyesight is not failing you. These jets are not captured in visible light. They seem to show up best in
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M90(mag9.48). This is one of the largest spirals in the Virgo cluster... and a beauty too
Next we'll hit
Spiral Galaxy M104(mag8.3). Also known as The Sombrero Galaxy, this galaxy is a showpiece object. The longer you look
at it the more detail it reveals. Of course... throwing some additional
aperture and dark skies at it never hurts :) In the 25", this is simply an
incredible sight. The dust lane which dominates this image is clearly visible in the eyepiece. This
is always one of the favorites star parties.
Next
up is another Elliptical Galaxy NGC4697(mag9.3). Also known as
Caldwell 52 this object shouldn't be all that tough for you. I suspect you could find it pretty
easily in a 4" telescope...perhaps even large astro-binoculars??? 
Continuing
along we come to Spiral Galaxy NGC4216(mag10). This nearly edge-on
galaxy shows a nice central dust lane in a moderate sized telescope
(8-10").
Let's wrap things up with this weeks
Utah Skies Challenge Objects... Spiral Galaxy NGC4567(mag11.3)
and Spiral Galaxy NGC4568(mag10.8). NGC4568 is the larger of the
two which are sometimes referred to as the Siamese Twins.
