Sky Highlights This Month Here are some highlights to look out for this month for Northern Hemisphere observers. Most of these objects will require a telescope or good binoculars to see clearly. This list doesn’t include the planets or Moon phases, as these will be different from year to year. For information on the the Moon, planets and other transient phenomena, please see Tonight’s Sky. July Assuming you can get a nice, dark view this month – you have to go out quite late for a dark July sky in many locations – the so-called Summer Triangle formed by the stars Deneb, Altair and Vega will still be very noticeable. Although not a true constellation, the triangle can help you find other “true” constellations and so improve your ability to learn your way around the night sky. The highest star in the triangle will be Deneb, which forms the tail star in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. Cygnus is a beautiful cross soaring across the sky, and at the far end of the Swan (its head) you’ll find the pair of stars that form Albireo. Cygnus has several hidden treasures, including Cygnus X-1 which is probably a Black Hole, made visible by an orbiting companion star (which at magnitude 9 is faint from our perspective, but still visible in a telescope). Cygnus also contains the North American nebula, which is best seen in time exposure photographs – it’s diffuse and faint and perversely looks even more faint when observed through a telescope. Cygnus flies over the Milky Way, the band of stars that is the view to our own galaxy. Sadly, these days due to light pollution, it’s increasingly difficult to see the Milky Way. Vega is the brightest star in the triangle, and is the heart of the constellation Lyra. Vega is white and the fifth brightest star in the sky – mostly because it’s relatively close to us at around 25 light years. Lyra contains an especially lovely deep sky object: M57, the Ring Nebula, which is very impressive on dark nights through a telescope. After scanning the sky and seeing nothing but the points of light that are the stars, it’s a welcome surprise to come across the Ring Nebula in your eyepiece. When you are done exploring Lyra, try to find the nearby constellations Vulpecula and Sagitta. They are small constellations, but Vulpecula contains M27, the Dumbbell Nebula and Sagitta contains M71, a globular cluster of stars. Altair is the remaining triangle star, lowest in the sky but still bright. Its home is the constellation Aquila, the Eagle. Altair has two bright stars on either side, making a nice view in an eyepiece or pair of binoculars. Below and to the East of Aquila is Scutum, the Shield. Scutum contains M11 – the Wild Duck cluster of innumerable stars – and M26, a lower-density star cluster.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Jul 2013 03:42:28 +0000
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