Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

Archives for February 2016

An Observer’s Guide to the Planet Jupiter

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

The planet Jupiter is always one of the brightest objects in the night sky. It’s brighter than any star, and is only outshone by the planet Venus and the Moon, and, very rarely, by Mars and Mercury. Jupiter reaches a position for optimum viewing in a telescope once every 13 months, roughly, and as you are about to discover, the visible face of Jupiter reveals so many interesting features in a small telescope that the planet is a favorite target for new and experienced stargazers [Read more…] about An Observer’s Guide to the Planet Jupiter

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The Constellation Draco

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The constellation Draco winds between the Big and Little Dippers in the far-northern sky.
The constellation Draco winds between the Big and Little Dippers in the far-northern sky.

Now we look to the long and winding constellation Draco.  This group winds between the Big and Little Dippers. The tip of its tail lies just above the bowl of the Big Dipper, while the small quadrilateral of its head lies near one of the feet of Hercules. The constellation is well overhead from March through the late months of summer in the northern hemisphere.

(This article is an excerpt of the Cosmic Pursuits course Fundamentals of Stargazing, to be released in February 2016) [Read more…] about The Constellation Draco

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The Constellation Crux – The Southern Cross

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Image of the southern Milky Way showing Crux and the dark Coalsack Nebula, just right of center; the Southern Pointers Rigil Kent and Hadar, left of center, and the eta Carinae Nebula at extreme right. Credit: A. Fuji.
Image of the southern Milky Way showing Crux and the dark Coalsack Nebula, just right of center; the Southern Pointers Rigil Kent and Hadar, left of center, and the eta Carinae Nebula at extreme right. Credit: A. Fuji.

Following the southern Milky Way, through the bright constellations Orion, Canis Major, Puppis, Vela, and Carina, you finally arrive at the famous constellation Crux, the Southern Cross, arguably the most famous constellation in the night sky.  It’s also the smallest constellation by area, just 68 square degrees compared to Hydra’s 1302 square degrees.  Most new stargazers are a little startled by its tiny size.  The cross is just 6o long from top to bottom.

(This article is an excerpt of the Cosmic Pursuits course Fundamentals of Stargazing, to be released in February 2016) [Read more…] about The Constellation Crux – The Southern Cross

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The Dusty Birth of a New Star

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

A newly formed star lights up the surrounding cosmic clouds in this image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Dust particles in the vast clouds that surround the star HD 97300 diffuse its light, like a car headlight in enveloping fog, and create the reflection nebula IC 2631. Although HD 97300 is in the spotlight for now, the very dust that makes it so hard to miss heralds the birth of additional, potentially scene-stealing, future stars. Credit: ESO.
A newly formed star lights up the surrounding cosmic clouds in this image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Dust particles in the vast clouds that surround the star HD 97300 diffuse its light, like a car headlight in enveloping fog, and create the reflection nebula IC 2631. Although HD 97300 is in the spotlight for now, the very dust that makes it so hard to miss heralds the birth of additional, potentially scene-stealing, future stars. Credit: ESO.

This marvelous image from the European Southern Observatory shows a small section of the Milky Way going about its business making new stars. Here you see in this dusty region the reflected light of a new main sequence star, HD 97300, as it settles down into its billion-year life span [Read more…] about The Dusty Birth of a New Star

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Animated Flyover of Dwarf Planet Ceres

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab has released this simulated but rather stirring flyover of the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest denizen of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Using hundreds of images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft, a team at Germany’s national space center (DLR) created a video that gives you a close-up of the most striking features of this little world.

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