Recent Astronomy Articles at Cosmic Pursuits

The Sky This Month – September 2016

September 1, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events

The zodiacal light as seen from La Silla, Chile (credit: ESO).

Jupiter finally fades from view this month but it goes out in style, attended in the west after sunset by brilliant Venus and, at the beginning of the month, by a slender crescent Moon. Mars lingers in the starry sky of Scorpius and Sagittarius, and finally starts to move eastward and pull away from Saturn and Antares. And the Sun reaches the September equinox and marks the changing of the seasons. Here’s what to see in the night sky this month… [Read more…] about The Sky This Month – September 2016

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Vixen’s Astonishing SG 2.1×42 Wide-Field Binoculars

August 19, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Astronomy Equipment

Vixen Optics SG 2.1x42 binoculars (credit: Vixen) — Vixen Optics SG 2.1×42 binoculars (credit: Vixen)

While Galileo’s profound discoveries with his first telescope in 1609 are rightly celebrated in the annals of science, the optical design of his first telescope is not. Based on a simple convex objective lens and a concave eyepiece, Galileo’s early telescopes gave drinking-straw-narrow fields of view and and image brightness that dropped off drastically at the edge. His design was quickly replaced by the so-called Keplerian telescope which we all use today. So imagine my surprise when I discovered a relatively new set of binoculars from Vixen Optics that are based on a modern version of Galileo’s original telescope design. These Vixen SG 2.1×42 binoculars, which magnify just 2.1 times and have objective lenses 42 mm diameter, give extraordinary wide-field views of entire constellations, and some say that observing with these binoculars is like having ‘super vision’ [Read more…] about Vixen’s Astonishing SG 2.1×42 Wide-Field Binoculars

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Touring Clusters and Stars in Ophiuchus

August 13, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

As befits a large constellation at the edge of the Milky Way, Ophiuchus is packed with deep-sky sights for observers with small and large telescopes. Open and globular star clusters abound here, along with many fine double stars. Let’s have a short tour of a handful of the highlights of the constellation, moving from easy objects to more difficult sights [Read more…] about Touring Clusters and Stars in Ophiuchus

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The Constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer

August 7, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Uncategorized

In last month’s constellation tour, you explored the faint stars of Serpens Caput, the Snake’s Head. This month, you examine the bearer of this celestial snake, a star group represented by the large constellation Ophiuchus.

Ophiuchus (pronounced “Oaf-ih-YOU-kus”) lies directly opposite the constellation Orion on the celestial sphere. But Ophiuchus is no Orion. The constellation has no bright stars, and you need to expend a fair effort to imagine here a man holding a snake. But Ophiuchus is chock-a-block with globular and open star clusters, as well as dark nebulae in its southern extremes near the border with the constellation Scorpius. In an upcoming article, you’ll get the highlights of the deep-sky sights in Ophiuchus. For now, let’s explore this ancient star group itself [Read more…] about The Constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer

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A Boost for the Perseid Meteor Shower in 2016?

August 5, 2016 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events, Solar System

2012 Perseids Meteor Shower over the Snowy Range in Wyoming (credit: David Kingham)

The Perseid meteor shower, the most reliably active meteor shower of the year, peaks on the night of August 11-12, 2016. A summer favorite of northern stargazers, yet still visible in part in the southern hemisphere, this meteor shower sprays some 50-60 per hour, on average, across the sky. This year the waxing gibbous Moon obscures the view of meteors before midnight, but it sets shortly thereafter and leaves a dark sky during the predicted peak of the shower. And some astronomers are predicting the gravitational influence of Jupiter will make for many more Perseid meteors in 2016 than usual, perhaps as many as 100-200 per hour [Read more…] about A Boost for the Perseid Meteor Shower in 2016?

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