Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

deep sky

Moving Stars

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Science

Like the drift of the continents or the erosion of great mountain ranges on Earth, the motion of the stars across the sky is almost imperceptibly small over the paltry span of a human lifetime. But in this quite astonishing video made with data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia spacecraft, which compresses 5 million years of star motion into a few minutes, you can see more than 2 million stars move across the sky like grains of pollen floating in a breeze. It is mesmerizing (and unexpectedly calming) [Read more…] about Moving Stars

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The Colorful Double Star Almaak in Andromeda

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

Almaak, a double star in the constellation Andromeda (credit: Mt. Lemmon Observatory)
Almaak, a double star in the constellation Andromeda (credit: Mt. Lemmon Observatory)

High in the northeast sky, Almaak, the third-brightest star in the constellation Andromeda, is one of the most beautiful double stars in the sky. It’s a snap to find and reveals its full splendor in even the smallest of telescopes [Read more…] about The Colorful Double Star Almaak in Andromeda

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Book Excerpt: The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The “Heart Nebula” show the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star-forming region of the Milky Way.
The “Heart Nebula” show the reddish glow of hydrogen atoms energized by bright stars that form inside this emission nebula. Lanes and patches of dark nebulae are also visible in the foreground of this star-forming region of the Milky Way (Image by Terry Hancock).

(Today’s article is an excerpt of the book The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1. It’s available from Cosmic Pursuits in multiple formats at this link).

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When 18th-century composer William Herschel grew restless with his life as a professional musician, he turned to the new science of astronomy for inspiration and challenge. Like most new stargazers, Herschel began by reading popular works of astronomy, learning the names of the stars and constellations, and inspecting the heavens with telescopes made with small glass lenses that collected the feeble light from distant stars [Read more…] about Book Excerpt: The Armchair Astronomer, Volume 1

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The Helix Nebula

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius. Image credit: Warren Keller at Billionsand Billions.com. Additional credit: Piermario Gualdoni and Alessandro Cipolat Bares.
NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius. Image credit: Warren Keller at Billionsand Billions.com. Additional credit: Piermario Gualdoni and Alessandro Cipolat Bares.

The showpiece of the constellation Aquarius is the grand and elusive Helix Nebula, NGC 7293. One of the closest and apparently largest of all planetary nebulae, the Helix is one of the few sights that’s easier to see in a small telescope than in a large one. In images, like the excellent collaboration above led by Warren Keller at BillionsandBillions.com, the nebula looks like an expansive eye in deep sky. Some refer to the Helix as the “Eye of God” [Read more…] about The Helix Nebula

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The Castaway Cluster

by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The open star cluster NGC 6520, the "Castaway Cluster", and the dark foreground nebula Barnard 86. Credit: NOAO
The open star cluster NGC 6520, the “Castaway Cluster”, and the dark foreground nebula Barnard 86. Credit: NOAO

The Castaway Cluster, catalogued as NGC 6520, is located just above the spout in the “Teapot” of Sagittarius. This is a rich region of the Milky Way containing many gas clouds and star clusters, including the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae. NGC 6520, a tiny jewel of a cluster, is often forgotten amongst these more famous sites [Read more…] about The Castaway Cluster

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