Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

constellation

Touring Queen Berenice’s Hair

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

An historical representation of the constellations Bootes, Canes Venatici, and Coma Berenices (lower right).

Let’s take a look at the ancient constellation Coma Berenices, a faint group of stars tucked under the handle of the Dipper halfway between the stars Arcturus and Denebola in Leo’s hindquarters. There is something for everyone here: history and legend, a beautiful naked-eye star cluster that invites careful inspection, and dozens of galaxies to explore with a modest telescope. And armchair astronomers can contemplate the immensely distant Coma Cluster of Galaxies, some 300 million light years away, that first yielded evidence for the mysterious dark matter that makes up a good portion of the universe [Read more…] about Touring Queen Berenice’s Hair

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Orion, Above the Belt

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

NGC 2175, the Monkey Head Nebula. Credit: Paul Hutchinson via Flickr.

Orion is perhaps the most famous of the 88 constellations in the night sky, and it’s likely the easiest to find for stargazers all over the world.  And unlike most constellations, Orion looks like its legendary namesake: a mighty hunter with a shield, a raised arm, and a sword hanging from his star-jeweled belt. The constellation harbors some dazzling sights including what may be the most beautiful object in the night sky for a small telescope, the famous Orion Nebula, a bright blister in the nearest star-forming region to our solar system. In this little tour, we’ll have a look at some lesser-known sights in the constellation Orion north of the three bright stars of Orion’s Belt [Read more…] about Orion, Above the Belt

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Roaming the October Skies – A Brief Tour of Aquarius

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula, a cloud of glowing gas ejected by a dying mid-sized star. (Image by Terry Hancock)

Aquarius is a dim constellation in a barren patch of sky far off the plane of the Milky Way. Just east of Capricorn, it marks the 11th constellation of the zodiac. This dim constellation lies near the other “watery” constellations including Cetus, the Sea Monster (or whale), Pisces, the Fishes, and Eridanus, the River. This ancient constellation was associated with water or water bearers since Babylonian times. Some representations have the water bearer pouring water into a stream that leads to the bright star Fomalhaut, the mouth of the southern fishes Piscis Austrinus. Like Capricorn, Aquarius has far fewer deep-sky sights than Sagittarius. But there are a handful of objects here of enduring interest including the famous Helix Nebula, one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth. Let’s take a short tour of some of the finer sights in this zodiacal constellation… [Read more…] about Roaming the October Skies – A Brief Tour of Aquarius

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A Stroll Through the Stars of Capricorn

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The globular cluster Messier 30 as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: NASA/HST.

Along the path of the zodiac, just east and a little north of Sagittarius, lies the smile-shaped constellation Capricornus. After the gaudy splendors of Sagittarius and other northern summer constellations, Capricornus isn’t much to look at. It’s the smallest constellation of the zodiac and the second-faintest after Cancer. It has just two stars brighter than 4th magnitude, so it’s a challenge to see this constellation in the city. But Capricornus offers several splendid alignments of stars that make for excellent viewing with a pair of binoculars on nights in August through October. Let’s have a look… [Read more…] about A Stroll Through the Stars of Capricorn

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Castor and Pollux

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Gemini is still well overhead, north and east of the constellation Orion, in the evening hours in March.
Gemini is still well overhead, north and east of the constellation Orion, in the evening hours in March. Its brightest stars are Castor and Pollux. Created with SkyX Serious Astronomer edition by Software Bisque.

Along with Taurus, Gemini is one of the two most northerly constellations of the zodiac. It lies just east of Auriga and the bright star Capella, and it’s marked by the two bright stars Castor and Pollux which lie less than 5º apart (a little less than the width of your three middle fingers held at arm’s length). To find the constellation draw an imaginary line diagonally from Rigel past Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion about a distance equal to the separation of these two bright stars. This will land you smack in the middle of Gemini. In March and April, the constellation lies still well above the western horizon in the early evening hours [Read more…] about Castor and Pollux

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