Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

Deep Sky Observing

Articles about how to understand, find, and see celestial objects including stars, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters with binoculars, telescopes, and the naked eye.

Messier 13 Returns

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Like an old friend returning after a long absence, the dazzling globular cluster Messier 13 in the constellation Hercules rises in the eastern sky a little earlier each night, a welcome sight along with the bright stars constellations of northern spring and summer.

Location of M13 in the Keystone of Hercules. Click to enlarge. (image created with SkySafari4)

M13 is one of the finest showpieces of the northern spring and summer skies. It’s located along one edge of the “Keystone” shape of Hercules (see image below). Just at the limit of human eyesight, M13 holds a million stars some 12-13 billion years old, nearly as old as the universe [Read more…] about Messier 13 Returns

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The Flaming Star Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) at upper right and the emission nebula IC410 at lower left.
The Flaming Star Nebula (IC405) at upper right. The star AE Aurigae is the bright star in the right part of the nebula. Emission nebula IC410 is at lower left. Image credit: Terry Hancock.

Stars in the Milky Way tend to revolve around the center of the galaxy, bobbing slightly above and below the galactic plane as if in a perpetual cosmic merry-go-round. But sometimes a star gets catapulted across the sky by a close gravitational interaction with another star.  One of the best-known “runaway stars” lies in the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. Known as AE Aurigae, this blazing star is passing by chance through a cold cloud of interstellar gas. The result is ‘accidental’ emission nebula cataloged as IC 405, but more commonly called the Flaming Star Nebula [Read more…] about The Flaming Star Nebula

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Venus, the Hyades, and the Pleiades at Sunset

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky, Solar System

Venus-Pleiades-2

The brilliant planet Venus is just over 2° from the Pleiades star cluster, while the V-shaped Hyades star cluster, which makes up much of the constellation Taurus, is to the left of Venus in this image. The constellation Orion is at extreme left. This image taken after sunset over the Ottawa River on a pleasant spring night on April 12, 2015.

Shining at magnitude -4.1 for most of the month, Venus is easy to find high above the western horizon as the Sun goes down. It outshines every object in the sky except for the Sun and Moon. The planet moves a little higher each night until early June.

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