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W hat’s the best telescope to buy for a six year old child? Steve has t he answer in t his m onth’s Scope Doctor. Page 87
DAV I D TO LLI DA Y IAPY INNER David tells us how he teased hidden details out of the Sw ord o fO rion to craftan IAPY 2015 prizew inning im age. Page 84
N ICK SP A LL ASTRO NO M Y W RITER
Nick ponders how w e can turn fiction into reality and st artm aking use of the Solar Syst em ’s natural resources.Page 73
S k y at ig h t
3
T he m aje sty o f the au ro ra re tu rn s in an u n e x p e c te d w ay Now it’s darker for longer, aurora season beckons: there’s the
In this m onth’s off-w orl d adventure Jon finds him selfon a dense m ega Earth thatrem inds him of Buzz Aldrin. Page 3
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promise of displays M0844on8440254 to Fr i 8 am to 8 pm ; Sat 9 am to 1 p m fo r or d er s shimmering E ditorial enq uiries of ethereal light, if 01173147411 only we in the UK 9 .3 0 am to 5 .3 0 pm M on t o Fr i A dvertisi ng enq uiries were under the 01173148365 auroral oval. But help Subscription email enq uiries is at hand: Will Gater skyatn ight@ se rvi c e he lp lin e .co .uk explores the online revolution that has quietly E ditorial enq uiries c o n tac tus@ skyatn ightm agaz in e .co m been taking place in recent years, which now A pp enq uiries brings stunning auroral displays whatever http :/ / ap p s.im m ed iate.co .uk/ sup p o rt the weather. High-quality cameras, increased im m ed iateapp s@ servi ce hel p line .co .uk bandwidth and better streaming technology E ditorial enq uiries mean that you can now watch nature at its B B C Sky at Night M agazi ne Im m ed iate M ed ia C o B risto l Ltd To w e r H o use Fairfax Stre e t B risto l B S1 3 B N most beautiful on a screen at home! Turn to page 33 to find out how. a tour with a difference, which caters for Now with its own category, there were many aurora images submitted to this year’s ranging levels of light pollution. You’ll find Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, and we’re particularly proud to be bringing you the winning shot in this issue. Of course, the Northern Lights are just one of eight categories and two special prizes that now make up the expanded field – a field that has grown alongside the competition since its inaugural year in 2009. Turn to page 38 for the gallery of this year’s winning images. If imaging is your passion, you’ll find some of the month’s top targets in our observing tour this month, crafted by Steve Richards and starting on page 66. This is
LO TS OF W
the best imaging targets under the darkest skies, but if like many of us the sky near you is awash with sky glow, you’ll also find suggestions for city skies, suburban skies and rural skies. Keep looking up!
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skyatnightmagazine.com2016
beauty rregular
NG C 2337 show s the destructive effect ofgalactic encounters but also hintsat how they can restore life to aged galaxies HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE 8 AUGUST 2016
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W hen we think of galax ies what often springs to mind is a well-defi ned spiral shape with distinct arms. Yet nature is not always so uniform. Here we see NGC 2337 an irregular galax y 25 million lightye ars away in the constellation of Lynx . W hile it makes for a beautiful astrophoto it is also obviously lopsided and lacks any kind of distinct shape which is why we refer to it as an ‘irregular’ galax y. Galax ies of this type provide astronomers with an opportunity to see how massive cosmic bodies interact with each other. It’s thought that NGC 2337 may once have had a defi ned shape long ago but may have been deformed by the gravitational pull of one of its galactic companions passing by.
As well as infl uencing the shape of the galax y if such an interaction did occur the energy generated during the encounter could well have reignited star formation. This may ex plain the pockets of bright blue and white scattered about the galax y among older stars and cosmic gas. These are fi ercely hot young stars that have just been born and could be evidence of how ageing galax ies can be revitalised and given a new lease of life by younger ones.
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ROSETTA SPACECRAF T 2 SEPTEMBER 2016
, S / O D A E E T R A . ) O C
Rosetta’s Philae lander has been found. It was lost after bouncing during its landing on comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko on 12 November 2014 ending up in Abydoson the comet’s smaller lobe.Apart from brief communications in J une and J uly 2015 Philae has been in hibernation its ex act location unknown. This image captured by Rosetta fi nally revealed its hiding place: a crack in the comet ’s surface.
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CASSINI SPACECRAF T 9 AUGUST 2016
Saturn’s clouds drift across its northern hemisphere in this falsecolour view captured by the Cassini spacecraft that looks akin to oil fl oating on water. It was taken by the spacecraft’s wide-angle camera using fi lters sensitive to infrared light and the data was processed by Kevin M Gi ll of NASA’s J et Propulsion Laboratory. The fi lters used by Cassini enable scientists back on Earth to measure and analyse cloud structures in the ringed planet’s atmosphere.
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EYE ON T HE S KY O C T O ER
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L it tlea n d la rg e YURI BELETSKY D MARTINEZ -DELGADO 2 5 JULY 2 0 1 6
Wh ile th is im a g e w a s ca p tu red from ESO’s La Silla Ob serva to ry in Ch ile it is th e p rod u ct o f a CCD ca m era rath er th a n a m a ssive telesco p e. It sho w s th e La rge a n d Sm a ll Ma g ella nic Clo ud s. The m a jo rity o f th e im a g e is in w hite w ith b la ck p o ints d en otin g sta rs w hile the tw o g a la x ies ha ve b ee n o verla id in co lo ur. Cap turing in m on o chrom e is a tech niq ue tha t h elp s im a g ers avo id the no ise o f sou rces oth er tha n th e d esired target .
J un o ’s f irst J u iter c lo se -u JUNOSPACECR AFT 2 7 AUGUST 2 0 1 6
NASA’s Jun o sp a ce cra ft is cu rren tly o rb itin g Jup ite r a s p a rt o f its 2 0 -m on th m ission to stud y the g as g ia nt. Juno too k this im a g e 70 3 0 0 0 km from the p lan et d uring an orbital fly by on 2 7 Aug ust; this o rbit a lso to o k it 4 2 0 0 k m a b o ve the clo u d s th e clo sest it w ill g et. The spa cecra ft is du e to co m p lete 3 5 m o re fly b ys du ring its m issio n co llectin g in fo rm a tio n tha t scien tists ho p e w ill so lve th e m y steries o f Jup iter’s atm osp he re m a g ne tosp he re an d interna l structure. The m ission w ill en d w he n Juno d eo rbits into the p la ne t in Feb rua ry 2 018 .
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e t im e
s am epl ace VLT SURVEY TELESCOPE 1 0 AUGUST 2 0 1 6
In th e u p p er left sectio n o f th is view o f Sa g itta riu s lies a g roup o f b rig ht b lue stars kno w n as op en clu ste r M 1 8 . Th is ty p e o f sta r clu ster is form ed from the sam e clou d of cos m ic ga s at the sam e tim e an d thu s provid es astron om ers w ith a n am azing op p ortun ity. Beca use th e sta rs d iffe r on ly in size b u t n o t th eir a g e d ista n ce from Ea rth or chem ical m akeup astron om ers can stud y the m to lea rn m ore about how sta rs form a nd evo lve.
skyatnightm ag azine om 2016
B U LLETINOC T O ER
B u lle tin The latestastronom y and space new s w ritten y El iza b e th P e a rso
n
L O S E S T E X O PL
U S
CU TT I N G 1 4 C H RI S L IN T O TT 1 6 L EW ISD A RT N E L L
O u r ex p er ts ex a m in e t h e h o ttes t new ast ron om y r es ea rc h p a p er s
N ET
EV ER FO U N D
C OM
Prox ima b lies in the habitable z one of its star
A N EX O PL A N ET H A S been d iscovered orbiting the closestst ar to Earth Proxim a Centauri and itcould be habitable.Proxim a b is atleast 1.3 tim es the Earth’s m assand lies a m ere 4.22 lightyears away.Itorbits its parentred dw arfstar every 11 days ata distance only five percentofthatbetw een Earth and the Sun.H ow ever asthe sm aller star is m uch cooler this puts the new w orld in its habitable zone w herethe tem perature allow s liquid w ater to existon the surface. R esearchersm ade the discovery by observin g Proxim a C entauriw ith the ESO 3.6m Telescope in C hile for 60 nights.This uncovered the st ar’s tell-tale wobble caused by the gravitationaltug ofan orbiting planet. T hough the exoplanetis Earth-sized it’s unlikely to be Earth-like.The close orbitm eans thatProxima b is probably tidally locked w ith
R S S E M N R O K . O S E
EDGE
the sam e sid e ofthe planetalw ays facing the star. T his would cause ext rem e tem perature differences betw een its day and nightsides.T he dw arfstar’s proxim ity would resultin the alien w orld being blasted w ith radiation stripping away any atm osphere.A m agnetic field how ever could m ean the planetis protected from this onslaught. N ew observations arealready planned to investigate Proxim a b’s clim ate and atm osphere further as w ellas to discover whatthe world is com posed of– and w hether w aterdoes indeed existon the exoplanet. “Thesequestions are centralto unlocking Proxim a b’s potentialhabitability and determ ining ifour nearestgalactic neighbour is an inhospitable wasteland an inhabited planetor a fu ture hom e for hum anity ” says R ory Barnesfrom the U niversity ofW ashington.
See C om m ent ri ght
Prox im a b is curr en tly th e cl o sest lo ca tio n w e m ig h t fi n d life o u tsi d e o f o ur So la r Syst em
M E NT
y C hris Lintott
O ne of m y favourite The Sky at Night interviews was with Steve Sq uyres principal investigator for the wonderf ul M ars rovers Spirit and O pportunity. H e had e x citing news to share evidence for an ancient M ars but thereocea wasnaon catch – it was likely to have been more acidic than sulphuric acid. I was disappointed. A n acid ocean i s far from the E arth-like paradise I wanted early M ars to be. Steve fi rmly told me off. We go to M ars he said becau se it’s M ars not because it’ s E arth. E very diff erence between the two represents another puz z le to be solved and every solution progress in understanding planets. So get ex cited abou t Prox ima b a new world just over there but let’s remember that its presence is ex hilarating even if it is a fl are-blasted hellscape. We should go – soon – to Prox ima b precisely because it has its own story to tell not because it might provide a taste of home. CH R IS LIN TO TT co-presents The Sky at Night
sk yatnightmaga z ine.com 2 1 6
The latest thin kin g is that the star im aged here b y Sp itzer is in the early stag es o f its life b u t its d u al n atu re is stil l p u z zlin g
N E W S IN
B R I EF
M ILK Y W AY ’S FEED ING FRE NZ Y
The M ilky W aygor ged itse lf fo r a b ri e f p e ri o d si x m illio n y ea rs ag o. X- ra y im ages from theXM M N ew ton spa ce obser vat ory uncover ed a hug e bub bl e in t he fo g o f sup erhe a ted g a s tha t p erm ea tes our G al ax y , cr ea ted w hen a hug ea m ou nt of m at er ia l fe ll o n to th e ce n tra l b la ck hol e. W hi lesom ew as s w al low ed up,ot herga s reb oun de d w ith a s pe ed of 1, 0 0 0 km /s . N ow , s ix m illio n ye a rs la te r, th e shoc kw a ve ha s tra vel led 2 0 ,0 0 0 lig ht yea r s f ro m th e g a la ct ic c e n tre, cl ea rin g o ut g a s a s i t p a ss ed , fo r m ing the bub bl enow s een.
SP A CEX RO CK ET EXPL O D ES O NPA D
A Sp a ceX Fa lcon 9 rocket exp lod ed on thel a unch pad on1 Sept em ber d uri n g a p re -la un ch st a tic fir e t est a t C a p e C a na veral . N o -on ew a si nj ur ed , b ut its 2 0 0 m illio n sa te llite p a yl o a d w a s l ost . “The a no m a ly or ig ina ted ar ou nd the up p ers ta g e oxyg en t an k and o ccur red d uri ng p ro p el la nt lo a d ing o f the veh icl e, ”S p a ceX a nn o un ce d vi a its Tw itter account . Thecom pa ny ho p es t o r el a unch a ro cke t tha t ha s a lrea d y beenflow ni nspace la te r th is ye a r.
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H EST R TH T
D E F IE S G E The s tra ng e o b ject a p p ea rs to b e b o th yo ung a nd o ld
A STR A N G E STA R that had previ ously been t hought ancient might actually be ex t remely young, according to im agery from N A SA . IR A S 1 9 31 2+ 1 9 5 0 is aroun d 10 time s as m assive as the S un and 1 2 ,0 0 0 lightyears fro m E art h. D eterm in ing its age has been complicated by t he fact t hat some mark ers suggest t he star is far along its evolut ionary t rack – perhaps a red giant – while oth er indicators point t o a st ar just beginn ing to form. “A str onomers recognised thi s object as notewort hy around t he year 2 0 0 0 and have been t ry ing ever si nce to decide how far along its development it is,” says M art in Cordine r from N A SA ’s G oddard Space F light Center G SF C). R adio signals produced by vibr at ing silicon ox ide and hydrox yl molecul es have been observed comi ng from t he star; t hese are almost ex clusi vely produced in very elderl y st ars. It is also sur roun ded by a cloud of gas and dust, su ch as t hose created by m aterial blowing off a star in it s red giant phase. H owever, this clo ud was found to be 5 0 0 -7 0 0 solar masses in siz e, far too l arge to or iginate in t his way, and its chemist ry is more lik e that found in a stell ar nu rsery.
T he researchers tu rned to t he H erschel and Spitz er space telescopes to h elp unt angle t he myst ery. T hey discovered that t he surroundi ng cloud was block ing out much of t he stell ar light , and it now appears th e star is much brig hter t han fi rst anticipa ted, emitt ing around 2 0 ,0 0 0 times the e nergy of t he Sun. In addit ion, t he cloud appears to be collapsing towards t he st ar. B ot h of t hese fi ndings sug gest a youth fu l object, in t he early st ages of form ing. “ We thi nk t he st ar is probably in an embryonic st age, gett ing near t he end of it s accretion st age – t he period when it pul ls in new material to fu el its growth ,” says Cordiner. T he star’s dual personalit y sti ll poses a great mystery. C ur rent t heories are eit her t hat it is an elderly obje ct , somehow surrou nded by youth fu l m aterial, o r it is in fact t wo objects so close to each other t hat t hey are being observed as one. “ N o matt er how one look s at th is object, it ’s fascinat ing, and it has somet hi ng new to t ell us about t he life cycles of stars,” says Steven Charnley fro m G SF C. www.nasa.gov/goddard
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A G A L A X Y WITH th emass of our own but made almost ent irely of dark matt er has been found. The g alax y, D ragonfl y 4 4 , has less tha n one per cent of t he stars of t he M il k y Way, but i f t his were the ful l stor y the star c lust er would have torn it self apart long ago. B y measur ing t he galax y’s stell ar speeds, the team foun d it mu st have a mass comparable to the M il k y Way to hold itself toge t her. It’s thought da rk matter
IN
mak es up the short fall. “ M otions of t he stars tell you how mu ch mat ter t here is. In t he D ragonfl y galax y stars move very fast . So there was a huge discrepancy: using the K eck O bservatory we found m any t im es more mass indi cated by the mot ions of t he stars, th an t here is mass in t he stars t hemselv es,” says Pieter van D ok k um from Y aleU niv ersity. www.k eck observatory.org
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W E AT HE R CHAN G ES B R O W N DW AR F S A s ur vey of 15 2 b row n dw a rfs ha s show n cl im at e a nd w ea the r a re l ikel y t o b e resp o nsi b le fo r t he ir d iffe re n ce s. Th e st u d y fi rst a d just e d fo r e ffec ts d ue to a g e o r ini tia l ch e m ica l co m p osi tio n, b ut hu g e va ria tio n rem a ine d . “I con s id er you ng brow n d w a rfs to b e si b ling s of g ia nt exo p la ne ts. A s fam ily m em be rs , w e can use t h em to i nve stig a te ho w the p la net ary ag ing p ro cessw o rks ,”sa ys Ja q ue lline Fa he rty fro m th e C a rne g ie I n st itu tio n of Sci en ce.
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VE N U S C O U LD H AV E B E E N H A B IT A B LE IT M IG H T N O T have always been as hellis h on V enus as it is toda y – computer simu lat ions suggest t hat t he planet could h ave been habitable for it s fi rst t wo bill ion years. T he new clim ate mod els created by N A SA ’s G oddard In sti tu te for Space Science G ISS) suggest t hat V enus was once much li k e E art h, wit h oceans of water, but it s slow day-night cycle last ing nearly 1 1 7 E art h days) combined with its prox imit y to the Sun caused t hem t o boil away. T his resul ted in a ru naway greenhouse effect , and now dayt im e temperatur es on the planet can reach 4 6 2 º C. “ In t he G ISS model’s simu lat ions, V enus’s slow spin ex poses it s day side to t he Sun for almost t wo mont hs at a t im e,” says G ISS scientist A ntho ny D el G enio. “ T his warms t he surface and produces rain t hat creates a t hick layer of clouds, which acts li k e an um brell a to shield t he surfa ce from much of
t he solar heat ing. T he result is mean cli mate temperatu res t hat are act uall y a few degrees cooler than E art h’s today.” www.giss.nasa.gov Th e Ea rt h -like w w earenow for m ay ha
o rld
s ear c hi ng ve been
ne x t d o o r i n t he d ist a nt p a st
F A RT H E ST G A L A XY CL U ST ERSPO T T ED The m ost d ist a nt g a la xy cl ust er eve r ha s b ee n see n 11 .1 b illio n lig h tye a rs f ro m Ear th. C L K10 01 02 20 co nt a ins 11 g a la xi es, ni ne o f w hi ch a re cu rren tly g o ing thr o ug h a tim e o f in cred ib le st a r f o rm a tio n. “I t a p p ea rs tha t w e ha ve ca p tured thi s ga la xy cl u st e r a t a cri tica l st a g e ju st a s it h a s shif te d from a lo o se c o lle ct io n o f g a la xi es i nt o a yo un g , b ut fu lly form e d , g a la x y c lust e r,” s a ys D avi d El b az from the Fr en ch A lterna tive Ene rgi es and A tom ic Ener gy C om m is s ion, w hi ch l ed the st ud y.
U TTI N G the gas,injecting energy t o keep itexcited. The
O ur exp er ts exa m ine the h o ttest n ew resea rch
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galaxy atthe cent re ofthe cl uster – NG C 1275, Perseus’ s equivalentofV irgo’s M 87 – has a pow erfu lactive nucleus,where m aterialis pouring onto the centr alblack hole. As is typical for such system s,jets shooting outfrom the region
T hesou n d o fs p ace
near t he black hole have a prof ou nd effecton their surrou ndings,with large bubbles in the gaseasily visible in X -ray im ages.
B u b b lin g gas c au ses q u ite a rac ket in galax y c lu sters
B utit’ s notclearifthis activity am ounts to a transf er ofenough energy to keep the cluster’ s gas hot. Previous studies have concentrated on physicalw aves,those governed by he t sam e physics as those on the sea,butfou nd thatonly aboutone per centofthe energy ends up in the gas. B efore itsuffered a cat astrophic,m ission-ending failure ear lier this year ,the Japan ese Hitom i satellite m anaged to observe the cluster. Its observat i ons show ed clearly thatther e sim ply isn’tenough
“ T he gas is ho t e n o u gh to m ake the c lu ste r the b r ighte st Cha nd ra X- ray c ol ou r)
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Cha nd ra X- ray s ou nd w av e s )
oX bray je c tteinlethe sc oskp eys”in pow er;the w avesw ou ld have to be 10 tim es larger at leastto keep the gasfrom collapsing inw ards.
n the constellation ofPerseus,there is a large cl uster ofgalaxies,one of the m ostm assive know n anyw here in the Universe. Travelling am ong the
1,000-plus gal axies thatform the cluster’ s
ÞTh e cen tral reg io n o f
th e P erseu s C lust er as seen by Ch an dra; sound w aves m ay b e keepi ng t hi s r egi on from cool ing do w n
m em bership is the low estnote ever detected;
Enter the sound w aves,w hich carryenergy at naturally enough) the speed ofsound,w hich in the cl u ster is abouta 1,000km /s. W hat’s m ore, sim ulations show thatthe sou nd w aves seen in the Pers eus Cluster cl early have enough pow er to keep the gas buoyant.
sound w aves vibrate the cl u ster’s hotgas at
W hatseem s to be happening is thatthe active
a frequency equivalentto aB -flatnote som e
nucleus feeds m essily. Thatm eans thatits activity
57 octaves below a piano’s m iddle keys.
varies. Ithas,in fact,brightened and faded by a
Th is note w as ‘discovered’back in 2003,but
factor of30 over the past40 years . This unsteady
a new paper by Andy Fabian ofthe University
activity blow s bubbles,launches sound w avesinto
ofC am bridge’ s I nstitute ofAstronom y and
the surrounding gas and et s s w hatcold gasthere
colleagues show s itm ightbe m ore than justa
already is sloshing around.
curious entry in theG in n ess ook of R ecord s. The presence ofsound w aves seem s to solve
C om bined,theseactivities heatthe cl uster’s gas and preventa sudden flow ofnew ly cooled gas
a long-standing m ystery aboutthe behaviour of
tow ard the cent re ofthe cluster. W ithoutthe sound
hotgas in clusterslike the Pers eus one. The gas
w aves,the cl uster w ou ld look very differentindeed,
is surprisingly im portant,accou nting for the
and the cluster wou ld be a lotlessinteresting. Allin
m ajority ofthe m ass in such objects,and itis
all,it’ s a resu ltw orth m aking noise about.
hotenough to m ake the Perseus Cluster the brightestobjectin the sky in X -ray telescopes. B uthow does itstay hot? The gas should cool,and as itcools sink into the centre ofthe cluster,w here itw ou ld presum ably trigger anew w ave ofstar and galaxy form ation,the likes ofw hich w e don’t N
see anyw here. Som ethi ng m ustinstead be heating
sky atn ightm agazin e.c o m 2016
C H RI S L IN TO TT is a n astrop hysicist a n d co p resen ter o f Th e Sk y at N ig ht on B BC TV. H e is also the d irecto r o f the Z o o n ive rse p roje ct.
CH RI SLI N TO TT w s re di ng…
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tran sp ort th e AG N en erg y in th e Perseu s C lu ster
b y A C Fab ian et al Re a d it on line a t ht tp ://a rxi v. org/ a b s/160
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G R O O VYP HO B O S
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“M er cuy has a m uh s m al ler m ant le w her e radi o act ive decay p
rod ues heat
th an th ose of
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p lan ets an d so i t lo st its hea t m uh earl ier ” says P au B yrn e f rom “A s a res ut M
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m agm
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htt p : m essen ger jhu ap l ed u
ST A R IN G IN T O T H E G A L A C T IC VO ID S LO O K I N G A T T H Enot
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vis ib le m att er i s cl ut ered w ith a p reci sio n fo u tim es grea ter th an previ ou m
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ents .T he
n ew res uts w ill h el p ast ron o m ers test in g
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e’re l o o k in g f o r bi ts of evi d en ce that gen
rel at ivi ty m
A STRO NO M Y SE T IN STO NE
eral
igh t b e w ron g an d it tun s ou t h at al l
the ac tiv ity i n ga lax ies m
ak es t h o se t in y eff ects
h ard er t o see. It ’s easi er t o p ick u o n eff ec ts in the vo
id s w h ere t h ere’ s less d ist racti o n ” says
P au Sut er f rom
O h io Sta te U n ivers ity.
https: w w w o su edu
Sim u lation s o f the U n ive rse revea l large em p ty ex p an ses am id the co sm ic w eb o f galax ies
ook in g b ac k c to e r 1 96 3
O n 1 1 O ct ober 196 3 the Sk y at ight t ea m d iscusse d th e l a test d evel o p m en ts in m ea sur ing the si ze of ou r exp a nd ing U ni ver se. It ha d b een 4 0 yea r s s ince E d w in H ubb lep roved tha t theM ilkyW ay w a s n o t th e l im it o f o ur U ni ve rse b ut d espi te a d van cem en ts i n t el escop es it w a s st ill d iffi cu lt to a cc u ratel y m ea sur e t he d ist a nc e t o the fa r rea che s of spa ce d ue t o a la ck of b rig ht g a la xi es. Tha t ch a ng ed in 196 2w henanew typeof s uper
b rig ht g a la xy a q ua sar ha d its di st a nce m ea sur ed byM aa r tenSchm idt and Bev O ke. Theyd et er m ined that qua s ar 3C 27 3w as 2 .4 b illio n l ig htyea rs aw a y. S inc e the n the si ze o f o ur o b ser vab le U ni ver se ha s b ee n p la ced a t ove r 9 0 b illion lig h tye a rs a cro ss th o u g h i t’s th o ug h t th a t th e rea l si ze o f th e U ni ver se cou ld b e m uch la rg er ; p erha p s even infi ni te.
S E R U O /
S co tla nd ’s t w o o ld est st o ne ci rcl e s C a lla ni sh on Lew is and St enness on O rkney ha ve bee n f oun d t o ha ve m or et hana chance a lig nm en t w ith t he S un a nd M o o n i n a st a tisi ca l a n a lysi s of th e rel a tio n ship bet w eent hem and the sur ro un d ing l a nd scap e. “Th is r ese a rch is fin a lly p ro o f th a t th e a n ci e n t B rito ns co nn ec ted the Ea rt h to th e sky w ith th ei r e a rliest st a n d in g st o n es
E
a n d th a t thi s p ra ct ice cont inued int hesam ew a y for 2 0 0 0 yea rs ” s a ys D r G a il H ig g inb ot tom from U ni vers ity o f A d el a id e.
A S S A I IE E E
O S E S A R A U O R E Ü
S S A N O I S IR R E A I F O U / S IS U R A E I A U / O I E N A O P / I A S S A A
R A / A S I S
U / A S E
I S R E P I U IE E P P A A S U O I / H A O S E A N T
3 C 2 7 3 is a q u asar o r q u asiste llar radio s o u rce w ithin a gian t ellip tical galax y in V irgo s kya tni g ht m a g a zi ne. co m 2016
6BUL
LE TI N O C T O ER
C TTING O ur exp er ts exa m ine the E GE h o ttest n ew resea rch h e ri d d le o f th e ri n g s
C o n ce n tric c raters o n the M o o n seem to b e c o n c en trated o n the sho res o f lu n ar m aria
T o try to tease a p art all these p o ssi b le fo rm atio n m ech an ism s an d w o rk o u t w hich ex p lan atio n is the m o st likely D av id T ran g an d his co lleagu es at the U n iversi ty o f H aw aii su rve yed o ver 10 0 lu n ar co n cen tri c craters . T hey ca tego ri sed them all b ased o n their age lo catio n o n the M o o n ex act shap e an d si ze an d co m p o sitio n an d lo o ked fo r p attern s in the d ata. B yd o in gthis T ran gan d team d iscovered som e co m m o n featu res o f these co n cen tri c cra ters : all are u n u su ally shallo w the co n ce n tri c rid ge has avery si m ilar com p o sitio n to th e surro u n d in g lu n ar su rface an d m o st o f the cra ters are o ld er than 3 .2 b illio n years. B u t p erhap s m o st s tri kin g is t he d ist in ct pa ttern sp o tted in w here co n cen tri c cr aters a p p e ar: they are s tro n gly clu stere d alo n g the b o u n d aries o f the lu n ar m aria. B earin gthese p attern s in m in d they to o k eight d ifferen t im p act an d geo lo gical hyp o these s th at have b een p rop o sed to ex p lain the fo rm atio n o f co n cen tr ic cra ters a n d co n sid ered each o f them
“ P er h ap s th ei n n er ri n g is n ’t fo rm ed b y a n im p a ct b ut b y g e o lo g ica lp ro ce ss e s lik ea vol ca n icd om e”
M
N
o st im p act cra ters o n the M o o n fall n eatly in to o n e o f tw o catego ries: sm aller cra ters w ith asim p le ex cav ated b o w l shap e an d larger o n es s p o rti n gacen tr al m o u n tain o u s pea k w here the gro u n d reb o u n d ed b ack u p again after th e im p act sh o ck. B u t there a re a lso so m e n igglin g ex am p les o f ave ry d ifferen t kind o f craters w ith afar m o re co m p licated shap e. T hese a re th e so -ca lled ‘co n ce n tri c cra ters’ – ab o w l-sh ap ed cra ter w ith ad o u ghn u t-sh ap ed ri n gin the m id d le. T heir fo rm atio n is s o m eth in go f am yst ery . M an yw o rkin ghyp o theses o n how these w ei rd cra ters fo rm ed have b een p rop o sed o ver th e p ast few d eca d es. F o r exa m p le are they fo rm ed b ym eteoroi d s that hav e b ee n rip p ed ap art b y tid al forc es in to a strin g o f fragm en ts t hat then su cc essive ly hit in to the sam e p o in t o r by im p acts in to tw o -layered su rf aces? O r p erh ap s th e in n er co n cen tri c rin gisn ’t fo rm ed b y an im p act b u t by geo lo gical p roc esses like a vo lcan ic d o m e o r by m agm aaccu m u latin g u n d ern eath an d lift ing u p the cra ter fl o o r. B u t there’ s no co n sensu s i n the co m m u n ity as t o w hich o f t hese c o m p eti n gex p lan atio n s m ight b e rig ht. sky atn ightm agazin e.c o m 2016
These cr at ers ha ve p osed a p uz zl e for de cad es; thi s unn am ed s peci m en isc lose to crat er End ym ion
L EW IS DA RTN EL L is a n astro b io lo gy researc her at the U n iversi ty o f W estm in ster an d the auth o r o f The K now ledg e
again st ho w w ell they fi t w ith these o b serv ed featu res. O n e b yo n e th ey ru led -ou t the va rio u s im p act- rel ated id eas an d cam e t o the co n clu sio n that the m o st likely m echa n ism fo r the fo rm atio n o f these cu ri o u s craters w as du e t o ign eo u s in tr u sio n s – m agm a p u shin gu p in to fra ctu res a n d cra cks b en eath the crater fl o o r an d so raisi n g the c en tral rin g. T he key p attern su p p o rti n gthis m echa n ism is t he fact th at co n ce n tri c cra ters are o n ly fo u n d aro u n d the e d ge o f the m are re gio n s w hich st ill had alo t o f vo lcan ic o r i gn eo u s acti v ity d u ring the tim e th e co n cen tr ic cra ters fo rm ed . T he rea son w e on lysee co n ce n tri c cra ters alo n gthe ed ges o f m aria an d n o t in the m id d le i s pro b ab ly that im p acts h ere w o u ld have b een fi lled in b y lava fl o w s. W hat’s in teresti n gis t hat a few co n ce n tri c c raters have a lso b een spo tted o n M ars an d M ercu ry a n d so th is s am e m echa n ism m ay also e x p lain sim ilar cr aters a cr o ss th e So lar System .
Ho w to Reb uild our W orld
L EW ISDA
w w w .thekn o w led ge.o rg)
concentric craters b
from Scratch
RTN EL L w as read ing …
The orig in of lunar
y D avid Tran g, Jeffrey J G illis-D avis,
B Ray H aw ke R ea d it o n lin e a t h ttp ://d x d o i org/101016
/j icar us2016
0 6 0 01
W HAT’
h a t’s o n
O ur p ick o f the b e st e ven ts fro m a ro un d the U K PI H E
OF T TH M ON
SO N
9
O C T O ER
O bserve the O rionids Scottish D ark Sk y O bservato ry, E ast A yrshire, 21 2 2 O ctober, 9 pm The O rion id m et eo r sho w er i s vi si b le fro m ea rly O ct o b er thr o ug h to N ovem be r, pe aki ng th is ye a r in th e v e ry ea rly h o urs o f 21 O ct o b er . Jo in t he S co ttish D a rk Sk y O b ser va to r y f o r som e m et eo r spo tting a t the sho w er’ s pe a k. Th e e ven t inc lud es a n i nt ro d uct o ry ta lk, a to ur of the o b servat o ry an d the ch a nc e t o lo o k t hrou g h its t el esco p es. A d m iss io n is £ 12 fo r a d ul ts and £ 8 co nce ss ion s.
www.scott ishdark sk yobservator y.co.uk
M anchester Science F estival V arious locations begin ning 2 0 O ctober
The top images from this year’s competition feature in a new planetarium show
T our th e C os m os w ithI A P Y 2 16 Peter H arrison Planeta rium, R oyal O bserva tory G reenwich, throughout O ctober Th e w inn ers of thi s ye a r’s Insi g ht A stro no m y Pho to g ra p he r of t he Ye a r co m p et itio n w er e a nno unced at a s pe ci al cer em ony a t the Ro ya l O b ser vat ory G reen w ich on 15 Se pt em b er . The co m p et ition enco ur ag esa s trop ho tog ra ph er sf rom a ro un d the w o rld to sub m it the ir im ag es of the cosm os, an d 2 016 saw 11 w inn ers sel ect ed o ut of ove r 4 ,5 0 0 en tries f ro m 8 0 co unt ries. Th e sh o rtlist e d a st ro p h o to s fro m th is yea r’s com p et ition form a b ran d new p la ne ta rium sho w a t the Pet er H a rrison Pl a ne ta rium in t he o b serva to ry’ s A st ron om y C ent re. U s ing som e o f the top
BEH C S
I N D TH
SE C EN
ww w.rmg.co.uk
ES
Fo u r, 9 O ctober 10pm
fi rst rep e at
Fo u r, 13 O ctober 7.30 pm )*
RO SET TA ’S M ISSIO N FI N A LE On 30 Septem ber ESA’ s Rosetta probe is due t o end its m ission by crashi ng into com et67P/ C huryum ov-G erasim enko. The team w illbe atm ission controlin G erm any to w atch events unfold and look back on w hatR osetta has discovered aboutthe nature of com ets and the early Solar System .
N
S
S
R
R osetta has given us plenty to talk about in the lead up to its fatal swan song
www.manchesters ciencefest ival.com
O pen E vening and Telescope Surgery N ottin gham A stron omical Society The B ritish G eological Survey K eywo rth 6 O ctober 7.3 0 pm Joi n N ot ting ha m A st ro no m ica l S o ci et y for an o p en e veni ng to w el com e b eg inne rs a nd a ssi st e st a b lishe d a st ro no m ers . V a rio us tel escop es an d m ou nt s w ill b e se t up fo r use dur ing the eveni ng, an d N A S m em b er s w ill be on ha nd to o ffer he lp a nd p ra ct ica l a d vi ce t o tho se st rug g lin g w ith the ir o b serva tio ns. A d m issi o n is f ree .
www.nott inghamastro.org.uk
TH E S K Y A T N IG H T IN O CTO BER
N
N
im a g es s ub m itted in 2 01 6 an d h ost ed by a Roya lO bser vat ory G reenw ich a st ro no m er , the sho w ta kes i ts au d ien ce o n a g ra nd to ur of Ea rth, the S o la r Sy st em a nd w id er U ni ver se. Tr a vel b eyo nd the st a rs i n t hi s am a zi ng show , p la yi n g a t th e o b serva to ry’ s s ta te -o f-th e a r t p la ne ta rium , a nd see t he w o rk o f som e o f the b est a st ro p ho to g ra p he rs ca p tur ing the co sm os t o d a y. A d m iss io n i s £ 7. 5 0 fo r a d ul ts, £ 5 .5 0 fo r chi ld ren , £ 6 .5 0 fo r co nc essi o ns a nd £ 2 0 fo r fa m ilies. Fo r m o re i nf o rm a tio n a nd b o oki ng , g o o nl ine.
H ol d a nd st ud y r ea l pi eces of the M oo n b rou gh t b a ck b y A p o llo a st ro na ut s, jo in D r K a the rine Jo y a s she d iscusse s A nt a rct ica m e te o r-hu nt ing , d iscov er the sci en ce o f StarW ars a nd he a r t he fra nc hi se’ s sou nd tra cks p erf o rm ed b y a live o rch est ra . Pl us, el ec tro ni ca o ut fit Pu b lic Se rvi ce B ro a d ca stin g p ict ured ) p la y t he ir a lb um The Race or Spa ce i n its e n tire ty a nd d iscuss t he hi sto ry b eh ind the son g s.
Ceck w w w .bb c.co.uk/skya tnigh t for subseq ue nt rep ea t tim es
M O R EL I S TI N G S O N LI N E V isit o u r w e b site at ww w. sk yatnightmagazine.c om/ whats-on fo r the fu ll list o f this m o n th’s eve n ts from arou n d the co u n try. To e n su re tha t yo u r talks, o b serving ev e nings an d star p arties are inc lu d ed , pl e ase sub m it yo u r eve n t b y fil lin g in the su b m issi o n fo rm at the b o tto m o f the p age.
L
skyat ni g ht m a g a zi ne. com
2016
A n e w g e n e ra tio n o f o b ser va to rie s at u b e a ta b le p rice s Th e best new com er of 20 16 - The C anad ian m revo luion ary ne
w ob servat
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anu act uer N exD om e h as br ouh t a
m e d esi g n on to t h e m ar ket . T h e m aj or fea tue i s a
d esi g n w ith tw o sig n ifican t ad van tag es - lo w tran sp o rt co st s con st ru ct io n w h ich tak es j u st a f ew h o u rs .N ever bef or e h as a
u
st rai g h tfo r w ard
and
top ob ser vat ory be
m od ul ar
en so
a ffo rd a b le! A st ro sho p i s t h e E uop ea n di st rib uor for N exD om e. W e can
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A nd of ori es.
E uo s w ith in th e rest of Eu op e.
cou rse w e can n at u ral ly al so p ro vi d e ad vi ce an d servi ce f o r N exD om e o b servat
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Oser vation w ind ow can be op ened be yon d the zenith.
The nu m ber of com part m ents for acce sso ries ca n b e free ly se lected up to six o f the se stor ag e a ccessory b ays are p ossible.
The do m e can be ea sily rotated by ha n d th an ks to the l igh tw eigh t AB S p las tic co n stru ctio n b u t it ca n also be m otorized a t no great cost - w e
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So larkot e® coa tin g p rotect s ag ain st U V radiation an d e nsu res h ig h w ea th er res istan ce for all p arts. 5 ye ars w arran ty on all AB S p arts.
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APAS
S I O N FO
RS P AC E
2
O C T O ER
A PAS S ION OR
w ith M aggie Aderin Pocock
T h e Sky at ig h t p re sente r o n the frustra tio ns o f Star Trek a nd the d isco very o f e xo p la ne t Pro xim a b
T
h is year I am exci ted ab o u
50 years of
to th e Star rek d
Pretty much the only thing from tar Trek now common in everyday life is the most pedestrian: automatic doors
extr em el y
to ue a l aser b eam
Star rek .
acce lerat e an array o sm al l p r o b es , each
qut e f orm
equpp
e
gro w in g u , ful lin g
ar ou d 20p er ce nt o f t h e sp eed o f ligh t.
m y as p irat ion s to o n e
If th is co ud b e d o n e
d ay g et o u there.
it w o ud tak e j ut
Bu as m uhof m e
20 years to reach
cel eb rat es, p art o f m e
n earest
is a li ttl e fru tra ted .
fo u d – p o ten tial ly
uh–w
is ed
the G
lifet im es. W ith
gi n esal low in g
al axy w
on boardcam
as ou
cou d then send very recen
b een d et ect ed w as 10 l igh tyears di
o n an d th at o u
a w as c on fi n ed to the S ol ar Sys tem . is cover
im itat ion s, m uh h as
ed an
d I t h in k w e have
th e m o st of ou l im ited speed ou lo cal sys tem . T h e d isc overy
of exop
yea rs rei gn ited som A s t h e search for l Sy st em
A L A E I V H C R A F A
at m o sph eres . B u u til
u iversi ty tha t I real ised tha t t h ese sp eed s
been d
Y M
an al ysi n g their
real ly w ere sci en ce-ficti E ven w it h these l
er as
an d a sys tem th at
p layg rou d . It w as no t u til I w en t to
pl ay are
th e
exo p lan et yet
w ith in m ost of ou
ithw ar p
fast er th a n lig h t trave l,
K
ith a sol ar
m ydes ir et ok no w
d ri veen
C O T S
ed w
f
sai l, to spe ed s u to
m or ea bous pace and
s om
O T O H P
to
T h e ori gi n al ser ies w as
Star rek prom
.
Star s h ot, w h ich ai m s
cel eb rat in g
at ive f or m
r eam
T h is i s a p roj ect call ed
m ade
exp lori n g
lan et s i n r ecent
e o f the frut
rat io n .
ife w ith in o u S o lar
h asn ’t b o rn e fru t yet ), w e’ ve
tly the cl o ses t exo p lan et th at h ad st an t.
in form
at ion back t o E art h, P r ox im a b
co ud b e t h e fi rs t p lan et w e are abl get u cl ose an
et o
d p er son al to.
N ow if th is i s m eas ued i n
Star rek
T he r o xi m a dr e am
term
T h e r ecent d et ect ion of P rox im a b b rin gs the
W arp F act o r 1, b u it is defi
gam e m uh cl o ser .T h is i s a pl an et o rbi tin g o u n ex t cl o sest st ar, 4 .2 li g h tyea rs aw ay.
in the ri gh t d irect io n . C h al len ges rem ai n , m o st im m ed iat el y t h e qust ion of fu d in g.
E ven at th is d ist an ce i n form r et uned
fr om
at ion se n t an d
th e pl an et w ou d h ave a
rou d tr ip o f ab o u 8.5 yea
rs – a sl igh tly
s w e are barel
y reachi
n g a q urt er of n itel y a p uh
B u th e p r oj ect al re ad y h as s om
e p r et ty
in fl un tial s u p ort er s, am on g t h em St ep h en H
aw k in g. T h er eaf ter it is m ai n ly
st ilted co n vers at io n if an yo n e w as ou
a qu st io n o f en gineeri
b een abl e t o tak e ou t ech n ol og y t o th e
th ere!A n d it is a ch all en ge to w o rk o u if it
r evo lu ion aryp
n ex t level an d get t an tali si n g g lim p ses o f
d o es h arb o u l ife: the p lan et i s n o t id eall y
s ligh tly m od ify t he i m m ort al w ords of
p lan ets o rbi tin g o ther st ars. T h e va ri ety
su ted to tr an sito ry o b servati o n s s o an al ysi s
C ap tai n K irk, th e o n ly res p on se t o th at
o f p lan et s ou t h ere an
o f its atm o sp h ere i s lik el y to b e d iffi cut .
is: “B eam
d th ei r s h eer
qu n tity h as s up ri sed u, an d w e h ave
A s w el l as t h e d is covery of
b een ab le t o w o rk o u al l sort s of th in gs
th er e’s been
ab ou t h ese p lan et s – i n s om
m ak es m e f eel h eart en ed that
e cas es even
an other
n g suh a
rop us ion sys tem . T o
u ou t h ere, Sco tty!
S
P r ox im a b
an n ou cem
ent th at
w e ar e cl o se r
M a g g ie A d eri n Po co ck i s a sp a ce sci en tist a nd co p resen ter of The S ky a t Nig ht s kya tni g ht m a g a zi ne. co m 2 1 6
EXO
PL AN ET EXC
URS
I O N S O CT O E R
3
ON CU LS HAW ’S
EX
P L A N ET
EX C U S I O N S J o n s to p s a t K ep ler 10 c a m eg a Ea r th th a t b r in g s to m in d B uz z A ld r in
O
M
t’s very t em p tin g i n d eed to stay a w h ilei n th econ st el lat ion ofD raco th e D ragon ,h om e of K epl er 10b ,th e sub ject ofou rprevi ou sexop lan et ary tri p .T h ep erpetua lvo lcan ic, m ol ten fi ercen ess of K ep ler 10b is as t erri fyi n g a s it isam azi n g. T ravel lin gaw ayfr om th is p lan et, its vis u al s ize stead ily d im in ish es an d it b eg in s t o resem b le a f reshl y ri si n g or t otal ly ecl ip sed M o on w ith a d ecep tivel y p eacefu l terracott ash in e. W at ch in g the l igh t fad e gen tly i s a goo d fo r reset ti n g t h e m in d a fter w itn ess in g surel y t h e h arshest con d ition s i n w h ich a p lan et cou ld exi st .B ack in gaw ayf arther st ill,K ep ler 10b tak es on a su b tle co p p ery shad es im ilart o B et el geu se ,an d n ow a d arker ,broo d in g, m yst eri ou snei gh b ou r u n n er vi n gl ym akei tspr es encekn ow n . T h e pl an et K ep ler 10c grad u al ly seeps intom yaw are ness likean om ino u s, th u m ping h eart b eat ,pl ayed at h au n tin gl y sl ow speed bu t w ith i n cr eas in g vol u m e. K ep ler 10c o rbi ts t h e st ar of t h e syst em at 0. 2 A U an d co m pl et es on e s u ch tr ip i n ab ri sk4 5d ays. T h an k fu llytheseari n g, h el lish h eatofK ep ler10b d o esn ’t ex ist h ere, al tho u gh this w o rl d isst ill to o n ear its p aren t st ar t o su p p o rt the k in d s of life fou n d on E art h .K epl er10ci sam igh tily cu ri o u s pl an et: its rad iu s i s 2. 3 ti m es t h at ofEa rt h yet it’s17t im esm orem ass ive W orki n g ou t exact ly ho w th is pl an et fo rm ed is t ri ck y. I’m h o p in g a cl o ser in spect ion w illgi ve u s a f ew cl u es on h ow it cam et o b et h ew ayi t is.
S ett in g the P eri h el io n ’sal titud eto d ou bl e t h e crui si n g h ei gh t of a j u m b o j et o n E arth ,it’s pl ai n to see w h y th is pl an et h asbeen du bb eda‘ m egaE art h’ .C learl y K epl er 10ci sc om po s edo fs om eext r em el y den s eand heavyrock. T hel an d s cape re m in d s m eof th em et eori tedi spl ayed at th eentr an cet o th eR oya lO b se rvat ory G reenw ich :d en sel y m et al lic w ith d ark ly so lid in ten si ty. T h ereseem sl itt le evi d enceofanyt ect on icm ovem enthere . Instead there’ sasen seoft h em at eri al th at form ed th e pl an et b ei n g t oo far from itss tart o b ecom p let el ym ol ten , lik ei tsi n n erm o stpl an etary si b lin g.I t’s ast h ou gh th esheerd en si tyo f st u ff h as k ep t the p lan et t o geth er u n ti l it sett led in to a n o rbi t cl o se eno u gh to i ts pa rent st art o h aveb een coo ked sol id . Sw oop ing theP er ihel ion dow n to25 0m abo vet heh igh es t peak s ofK epl er10c, th el an d scape ap p ears very st ran ge i n d eed . Fo rm at ion sl ikethew at er surrou n d in g cr oco d iles w hen theyp er form thei r o d d v ib rat in g acti o n , b u t m o tio n lessl y sol id h ere, ap p earacrosst he v iew . It’s a s if a b illio n yea rs o f tid es ha d s m oothed the H im al ayas toan en d less bl en d of r oun dedpyram idpeaks o f si m ilar h ei gh t.
From here K epl er 10app ear s w ith fearsom e i n ten si ty ,st ill m an y ti m es larger th an ou r Su n a s se en fr om E art h . T h evi ew echo est h egreat B u zzA ld ri n ’s descr ipti on oft h eM oo n ’s‘ m agn ifi cent d eso lati o n ’,b u t the lan d scap e h ere i s ju st asb lack asthea lien sky ab o vei t. K ep leri an st arl igh t b athes t h e ed ges of th e p lan et ary feat u res creat in g cu rved , an gu larl igh tf orm at ion sl ike th oseseen in thel app in gw at er s of as w im m in g p o ol ,al lb at h ed in ah u eod d lysi m ilar to sod iu m st reet ligh tin g. M ag n ifi cent al ien d esol ati o n ind eed .
Jon Culshaw is a comedian impressionist and guest on T h e S ky a t ig ht
T h is m on th ’s top p ri ze fou r P h ilip ’s b o o k s The ‘M essage of the M onth’ writer will receive four top titles courtesy of astronomy publisher Philips: R obin Scagell’s C om pl et e G ui de to Stargaz in g, Sir Patrick M oore’s T he Night Sky, R obin Scagell and D avid F rydman’s Stargaz in g w ith B in o cu lars and H eather Couper and N igel H enbest’s Stargaz ing 2 1 7
LETTERS
Interactive
EM
A ILS
•
L ETTER
S
•
TW
E E TS
•
F AC
O C T O ER
EBO O K
Em a il u a t inb o x@ s kya tni g ht m a g a zi ne co m
RM a cin ca tch OFth eT tra E Sg StoAGE H nEsMit oONf M e TrcuH r y Although I have had my telescope for three years I have never thoughtofgoing outand looking atthe Sun . B utas there was a transit ofM ercury in M ay and lots ofadvice aboutseeing itsaf ely I decided to order a ol s ar filter to fitm y Sky-Watcher 150P. tarr I ived only a couple of daysbefore the transitso I didn’thave m uch ofa chance o t try itoutbefore the event ,but as itturned outI gotsom e greatshots using m y sm artphone and asim ple adaptor. Thank you to your very inform ative m agazine,without w hich I w ould have m issed this event.
SO CI A L M EDI A W HA T YO U’ VEB E ENSAYI O N T W IT T E RAN DF ACEB
N G O O K
H ave your say at t w itte r. com /s kya tni ght m ag and facebo ok. com / skyat ni gh tm ag azi ne
Pa ul Lew is vi a em ai l It’s great to h ear w e h elped you catch th is fan ta stic even t an d tak e th e im ages to Þ Pa
rem em ber it by, P au l – E
S ixseco n d s tod isa st er
you have any u sggestions for whatitcould havebeen?
D octor question about
A lan Scove
w ith a sol ar-fi ltered
If # Prox imaB is habitable and we could get there, what would you ta k e with you? R u ssel l J Leo n A towel.
@ D avi dH ar tley62
Toilet roll. # LifesE ssentials. @ Pc w or ldfli ght Telescope
of course, not sure if constellat ions would look too much different? @ N ew tons N ot epad
D igital subscri ption to Sky at Night of course (with just a four-year del ay on receivin g my fi rst issu e). @ Code_
T ap Lead... lots and lots of lead
ll vi a em
a il
Th is sou n d s like a m ock su n or su n d og, Alan . Th ey’re
scope prom pted m e to
cau sed w h en h exa gon al ice crystals h igh in th e
buy a SkyW atcher
atm osph ere refract an d d isperse th e ligh t.Th ere are
telescope and som e
u su ally tw o, bu t you m ay h ave m issed on e if it w as
B aader AstroSolar Saf ety
behin d a tree or sligh tly fain ter.– E
Film to observe the Sun w ith. Annoyingly,in the
r een Spare pair of underpants.
the years m y m ind has keptcom ing backto it;do
The M ay issue’s Scope
w hatw ould be visibl e
@ s kyat ni ght m ag asked:
St eve G
ul ’s Sun i n w hi te l igh t sna p p ed w ith a sm a rt p ho ne
tim e thatittook m e to putm y hom e-m ade solar fi lter over he t frontlens ofthe telescope,the Sun
S h areyou
rs u cc es s es
R ecent ly a friend
dam aged the eyepiece . Allittook w as six secondsto
and I observed a
m eltthe plastic housing inside
few close double
Pe ter Lo ft H u ll
stars. We each
W h at a n igh tm are, P eter. Th is h igh ligh ts w h y it’s
noted where the com panion
cru cial to p oin t an y telescope aw ay from th e Su n
star was so
w h ile fittin g the solar filter.– E
thatw e could confirm spotting it. Itw as a great
S u n d ogspect
surpriseto observe the very close companion to
acu la r
36 Androm edae – justaboutthe lim itfor our skies
Years ago w hen I w as a boy,I w as playing with tw o
and scope – and I had a sm allself-adhesive plaque
friends in a el fid w hen we saw three objects in the sk y.
m ade f or the scope to recor d the occas ion. This
One w as clearly the Sun;the other I assum ed to be
could be som ething othersm ightdo to recalla
the M oon,butw e couldn’taccountfor the other one.
specialobserving session.
Itw as a sim ilar size to the Sun and reddish in
N ichol as Cox
Sw ad lincot e
appear ance. Both w ere tow ards the westand the M oon w as behind us to the eas t– itw as late afternoon. O ver W h at a greatid ea, Nicholas Th an ks for sh arin g.– E
sk yatnightmagaz ine.com 2016
S k y a t ig h t M G ZI N
S V E W H E N Y O US U B S C R IB E TO TH E D IG IT L E D ITIO N
v a ila b le fro m
C Sky at Night Th e p e r fe ct a d d itio n to yo u r s ta rg a z in g M agaz in e i s yo u r p ra ct ica l g u id e to a s tro n o m y h e lp in g yo u to d is co ver th e n ig h t s ki e s u n d e rs ta n d th e U n iver s e a ro u n d u s a n d le a r n e x ci tin g te ch n iq u e s fo r u s in g y o u r te le s co p e.
En jo y o u r Pr em iu m
p p ex p er ien c e n o w a va ila b le fro m
Sk y at ight M G Z IN
o ts o ts
YOUR O NU S C O N TEN T ga llery co n ta ini n g th ese and
m or e of you
s tun ing im a g es
This month’s pick o your very best astrophotos T heSu ni nhyd r ogen al ph a BI L L M CSO RLE Y D ERBYSH 19JUL Y 2016
IRE D A L ES
OPHOTOF TH
M ONT
H
B ill sa y s: “M y rea l interest is i n i m ag ing d eep -sky ob ject s b ecau se a s a n en g in ee r t h e p reci si o n inv o lved real ly a p p ea ls t o m e. But duri ng thesum m er m o nt hs I like to try i m a g ing o th er t a rg ets. I w an ted to ca p ture t he ou ter gl ow of the Su n a s w el l a s di sc det a il a nd p ro m in en ces. In a bi d to k eep the p r ocess ing to a m ini m um I d eci d ed to ex p ose t he d isc p r om ine nces an d o ut er g low sepa ra tel y usi ng the b est ex p osure f or ea ch a nd ed iting the m tog et he r. The resul t is a 14 -p a ne l m osa ic t h a t I am ext r em el y h ap py w ith. ” Equ ipm ent : Q H Y5 L-II col ou r p la n et a ry cam era 2 .7-i nch Tel e V ue ref ract o r C el est r on a ltaz m ou nt C orona do hyd r og en -a lp ha fil ters . C Sky atNightM agazi ne sa ys: “A cri sp im ag e of the S un t ha t show s how act ive o u r ho st st a r r ea lly is. B ill h a s ca p tu red a m a zi ng d et a il o n t h e surf a ce in cl ud in g prom inen ces an d fla r es an d ha s al so m a n a g ed to i n cl ud e a d ist inct coron a .”
A b o u t B ill: ”Be ing a y ou ng la d a t the t im e of the M oo n l an di ng s I ha ve al w ay s be en int er est ed in sp ace a nd ast r on om y. N ow
a s a sem i-ret ired st ruct u ral en g in ee r I h a ve m o re t im e t o p ursue t hi s i nter est a s a h o b b y. I b o ug ht m y fi rs t tel escop e i n 2 011 sho rt ly a fter w a tchi n g th e fi rs t seri es o f Stargazing
Liveas I
w a nt ed to t ry s om e a st rop ho tg ra p hy. A fter da b bl ing w ith a D SLR f or a ye ar or so I up graded t o a c oo led CC D cam er a an d a g ui de d m ou nt .”
T he M ilky W a y BR E N DAN AL E XAN DE R DO O CHA RY CO U N T Y DO N E G A L I RE L A N D 31 J U LY 201 6 Brend an says: “The jou r ney ove r the r ock y trai l to th is va ntag e p o int w a s t rick y b u t w o rt h the eff o rt . W h en I a rr ived a t th e b o g la ke ou tsi d e t he vi llag e o f D oo cha ry I w a s greet ed by the si g ht of t he M ilky W a y b la zi ng a cr oss the sk y. I w a s hap py w ith t he b al a nce I a chi eved by incl ud ing a s m uch as p ossi b le of the M ilky W ay an d cap turi ng the sur rou nd ing lan d sc ap e. ” Equi pm ent :CanonEO Si gm a20 m m lens .
skyatn ightm agaz in e o m 2016
S6DD
SL Rc am er a
H O TSH O TS
O CT O E R
T h e l ep h a n t’s T run k N eb ula P ETER JEN K INS, K IR K BY -IN-A SH FIELD , NO TTING H A M SH IRE, 5-6A U G U ST 2016 P eter says: “Th is n eb u la is o n e o f m y favo u rite o b jects a n d I keep retu rn in g to it each ye ar as it help s m e gau ge im p rov em en ts in eq u ip m en t, techn iq u e an d p ro cessi n g. C lear ski es w ere in short sup p ly this sum m er an d the short nig hts alw ays m ake im agin g in sum m er p rob lem atic.” Equ ipm ent: A tik 38 3 L C C D ca m era, O fficin a Stellare H ip er 4 .5 -in ch a p o refracto r, Sky-W atch er Pro SynSca n m o u n t.
T heW
h ir lpool G al axy
Á LV A RO IBÁ Ñ EZ PÉR EZ, N A VA S D E ES TEN A , SPA IN, 5- 7 JULY 2 016 Á lvaro says: “I ca p ture d this im age fro m tw o lo catio n s: Navas d e Este n a in C iu d ad R eal fo r the lu m inan ce and Nerp io in A lb acete for the co lo u r. The tw o areas have th e b est ski es in the co u n try an d the seein g w as inc red ible : the im age has so m u ch d etail an d reso lu tio n .” Equ ipm ent: A tik 4 6 0 ES C C D cam era, Teleskop Service TS P H O TO LINE 11 5 trip let ap o refracto r, Takahashi EM -40 0 eq u atori al m o u n t.
T heP er s ei d m et eor s how
er
BEN G A D SBY- W ILLIA M S, BRO G RA V E M ILL, NO RFO LK , 12 A U G U ST 2016 B en say s: “Th is i m age is co m p rised o f 3 4 6 sho ts t aken b etw een Fri d ay n ight and Satu rd ay m o rn in g. I w en t throu gh all the im ages an d p icke d o u t the sho ts w ith m eteo rs a n d sta cke d them in P ho toshop .” Equ ipm ent: C ano n EO S 6 D D SLR ca m era, To kin a 11- 16 m m lens. sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
3 HO
TS HO
TS
O C T O ER
The M oon JO H NFO STER PL YM O U TH 13 J U LY 2016 Jo hn say s: “I h ad b een o b servin g an d the se ein g w as sp ecta cu lar d esp ite the M o o n b ein g lo w so I too k the o p p o rt u n ity to ca p ture this im age. I shot fou r p an es o f video in lan d scape o rien tatio n w o rk in g n o rt h to so u th and w as surp rised that I m an aged to g et 1 5 0 0 so lid fram es f o r each pane. ” Equ ipm ent: Niko n D 3 2 0 0 D SLR ca m era S ky-W atc her Ex p lo rer 13 0 telescop e S ky-W atc her EQ 2 m o u n t.
S The Pi nw heelG alaxy HA IM HU LI RA M AT H AKO VES H ISR A EL 1- 14 JU NE 201 6 H aim says: “O n e o f the b ig challen ges in a light p o llu ted area is takin g LR G B p hoto s b u t after 14 .5 hou rs of e x p o su re an d few n ights’ ed itin g I’m hap p y w ith the resu lts. I w as p leased to fi n d clear d etails in the co re of the galax y that I had n ’t n o ticed d u rin g the cap tu re.” Equ ipm ent: Q SI58 6 m ono CC D cam era Sky-W atc her B K P2 5 0 New to n ian refl ect o r AS A DD M 60m ou nt .
Sh2 119 PA U L C S W IFT VA LEN C IA SPA IN 12 JUL Y 2016 P aul say s: “Th is im age w as co m p leted after sev en n ights o f p hoto grap hy. I w as intere ste d in lo o kin g at the m o re d iffu se an d d im str u ctu res in C ygn u s.” Equ ipm ent: S on y IC X 81 4 ca m era V ixen V SD 1 0 0 f /3 .8 a str o grap h Soft w are Bi sque Pa ram oun t M X m oun t. O R TH
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Fo r ove r 25 years ,Th eG rea t C ou rseshasb rou gh the w o rld’ sf orem o st ed uca torst o m illio nsw ho w to g o d ee p eri nt o the sub jec tst ha t m at term ost .N exam s. N oho m ew or k. Just aw or ldof kno w led ge ava ilab le an yt im e, an yw he re. D o w nl oa d o r st rea toy ou r lap to po r P C ,oruseo urf ree m o b ilea pp s fo r iP ad , iP ho ne , o r A nd ro id . N e arl y 5 5 0 co urses ava ilab le a t w w w .T he G rea tC ou rses. co .uk . The G reat C ou r ses®, 2n dFl oo r,M and erHo use, M and er C entr e W ol ver ham pt on, W V 1 3N H .Term sandco nd ition sappl y. Se e w w w .Th eG r ea tC ou r ses. co. uk f or de tai ls.
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“A s I s at w at ch in g th eau r or a s h im m e r e dand p u ls ed on s c r een v is ib ly ch a n g in g b ef or em yeye s ”
aurora shimmered and pulsed on screen, visibly changing before my eyes. R ays came and went and the auroral cur tain rippled and brightened. F or a moment, I and everyone else viewing online were on that clif f top, enthralled by the N orthern L ights dancing before us. B ut what was most surprising was how the live feed had captured somet hing of the magic of watching the N ort hern L ights for real, with your own eyes. T he feeling of not k nowing what m ight come nex t and the ex cited anticipation of a bright and spectacular outburst were all there.
R em ot er ea lity
T he Shetland camera is perhaps the best
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pend long enough think ing about and staring at t he night sk y and you’ll fi nd yourself start ing to be suffused with a k ind of celestial wanderlust. E very which way you turn the U niverse calls out again and again ‘hey, did you k now about this place?’. It can be as fantastical as the daydream t hat tak es you journeying to the surface of acomet or as downto- E art h as the desire to escape the light pollution of suburbia and visit t hat amazi ng, dark -sk y site you’ve heard about. It needn’t be an epiphany or grand encount er that spark s it either. Sometimes the inspiration can come from t he most u nli k ely of sources, yet transport you to the most beaut iful of landscapes. B ack in M arch, that’s ex actl y what happened to me. It was a cloudy Tuesday night, it was late and I was sitting at home scrolling through my Twit ter ti meline. It was a post from t he A urorasauru s citiz en science project, link ing to a webcam in Shetland, that did it. I’d click ed on the link in the tweet and im mediately found m yself st aring, wide-eyed, at a live video of the N ort hern L ights. In the dark ness of my offi ce it was a strangely and surprisingly imm ersive ex perience, made all the more so by the fact t hat I ’d been listening to music earlier and still had my headphones on. N ow, inst ead of music, the sounds coming through were the whist ling cries of seabirds and the rhythmic crashing of waves, all live. A s I sat watching, the sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
þA
n d y Steve n w ith o n e o f the cliff m o u n ted cam eras used to st ream Shetlan d ’s au ro rae
ex ample members of the many websites offering of the publicthat andare of now course avid aurora watchers) the chance to view the aurora live from t he comfort of their own home, either t hrough live video feeds or regularly updating still images uploaded to the web.
O N L I N AURO E
RAW
AT C HI N G
5
O C T O ER
ÞWhilst
the cameras may be great at capturing aurorae by night by day they watch the local puffi ns
Fo r A n d ySteven of P rom ote Shetl an d – w ho cam e u p w ith the id ea fo r th e S hetl an d w eb cam n etw o rk – th e ca m era s p rov id e an o p p o rtu n ity to sho w the rea lity o f life o n the i slan d . “W hat w e w an t to d o is fo r p eo p le t o co n sid er t he p lace for av isi t b u t also to live w o rk an d in vest here. A n d I thin k w hat w e w an ted to d o w as to says. sho w “Wthe phatlacw eeas it reafo lly he h ave u n isd is” that pe o p le lo ve w atch in gsto rm s they like w atchin g n atu re an d d ark skies see in g the p lan ets the au ro ra sho o tin g stars.” T he n etw o rk its el f has be en in p lace s in ce 20 09 b u t in 201 3 S teven set a b o u t u p grad in g the ca m era s in it to high-d efi n itio n to take ad v an tage o f a fi b reo p tic ca b le fr o m the F aroe Is lan d s. T he m o d el s he se lect ed for tw o of t he n ew w ebca m s i n the n et w ork w ere ex trem ely sen sitive B o sch Starlight cam era s cap ab le o f fi lm ing in low -light. T hey w ere ch o sen m ain ly fo r th eir a b ility to cap tu re v id eo o f the p u ffi n s on the i slan d b u t at n ight – in the w in ter – they also p ro ve d eff ec tive at p icki n gu p the glo w o f the Nor ther n L ights. “W e h ad the ca m era s in b lack an d w hite m o d e in itially” says Steve n . “W e tri ed the c o lo u r b y takin g aw ay the in frared fi lter a n d that m ad e u s rea lise th at w e c o u ld see all the u su al au ro ral co lo u rs. W e co u ld see th e h igh-altitu d e red the p u rp le. W e rea lised that co lo u r w as th e w ay to g o .” B yd aythe ca m era s are p rog ram m ed to tu rn fr o m p o sitio n to p o sitio n au tom atically lo o kin gat d ifferen t pa rts o f the cli ffs at Su m b u rgh H ead o n Shetl an d . B u t after su n set th ey sw ivel to loo k n o rth in the hop e o f cap tu rin gthe Nor thern L ights. “T he C liff C am 1 w e p ark that o n e lo o kin g east o f n o rth th e o ther m ain o n e [ C liff C am 3] is lo o king w est o f n o rth ” e x p lain s Steven . “S o
ÞThese sc reenshots tak
en by the Shetland webcams are less than one minute apart showing how rapidly auroral displays can change
b etw een them w e d o co ver t he m o st acti ve a rea s.” T he P rom o te Shetl an d team are also hop in gto in st all tw o m o re w eb cam s on the i slan d this year b o th o f w hich w ill have v iew s o f the n o rth ern sky for au ro ra w atchi n g. “W e take it fo r gran ted here n o w w e see a u ro rae q u ite a lo t. B u t yo u ’re sti ll in aw e w hen it hap p en s yo u sti ll w an t to ge t o u td o o rs an d se e it ” s ays Steven . “A n d if this give s m o re p eo p le a ch an ce to try to see it th em sel ve s th en that’s a jo b w ell d o n e.”
piin gkd o es h ave o n e ad v an tage OTake n lin e auyour ro ra w atch o ve r try in gto se e th e No rth ern L ights i n p erso n ; if it’s clo u d y in Sh e tlan d say there a re o ther c am er as lo cated aro u n d the A rcti c C ircle th at yo u can have a lo o k at th at m ay at so m e p o in t hav e c lear au ro rafi lled skies o ver t hem . In C an ad a fo r ex am p le the A u rora M A X p roj ect ru n b ythe C an ad ian S p ace A gen cy an d the U n ive rsi ty o f C algary ha s b ee n b ro ad c astin g re gu larly u p d ated all-sky im age s o f the au rora o n its w eb site si n ce S ep tem b er 201 0. “A u rora M A X is fi rs t an d f orem o st apu bl ic en gagem en t p ro jec t: o u r go al is to sha re th e sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
O ne of t he au tho r’s p ict ures o f th e a uro ra, capt ur ed from Som er set
UR O R
I N TH
S O UTH
E ven s o uh er n E n g la n d ca n s ee b rig h t d is p la ys
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W hi lei t’sbynom eansacom m on o ccurr en ce, o ccasi o n a lly the co n d itio n s can b e ri g ht to p rod uce d ispl a ys o f the N ort he r n Li gh ts t ha t can b e seen from m ore so ut he rly U K la titud es. Fo r ex a m p le, he re i n So m erset , I’ve ph ot og r ap hed au r orae seven t im es i n the p a st tw o-an d-a- ha lf yea rs an d o n fou r occasi o ns I w a s ab le t o see t he di spl a y w ith t he n a ked eye . Su ch a uroral a cti v ity i s t y p ica lly th e re su lt o f e ith e r a co ron a l m a ss ej ect io n, from th e S un ,
D o n’ t ex p ect to see flu tteri ng curt a ins o f col o ur i f yo u d o g o o ut au rora hu nt ing tho ug h. D ispl a ys vi si b le f ro m the sou the rn U K g en eral ly a p p ea r a s a ve ry f a int , d iffuse g low low on the n ort he r n h ori zon . W ith a go od di spl ay y ou m igh t som et im es p ercei ve fa in t, co lo u rless ray s com in g a n d g o in g . If th e d isp la y i s r ea lly g o o d – a nd the sky i s da rk a nd tra nsp arent enou gh –you cansom et im esdet ect a hi nt o f g reen in a rea s of b rig h t a u rora.
or a h ig h- spee d st r ea m of sol a r w ind in tera ct in g w ith E a rth’ s m a g n et ic fie ld to cr eat ew ha t’sknow n asa ‘geo m ag net ic st o rm ’. Fo r t h is rea so n it’s w o rt h m oni tor ing the N O A A ’s Space W eat her Pr ed ict ion C ent er w ebsi te w w w .sw pc. noa a. gov)and Spa ce w eat her .c om to see i f a ny st ron g st o rm s are a n ticip a ted .
D SLR phot og r ap hy can c onfi r m the pres ence and m ovem ent of any a ur or a a n d it ca n a lso ca p ture t h e co lo u rs th a t a re m o st ly i nv isi b le t o the n a ke d ey e. Yo u ’ll n ee d a trip o d a n d , id ea lly, a fa st, w id e l en s. Ex p osures of 10 -2 0 secon ds at a m id d le t o h igh ISO shou ld p ick up a n y a u ro ra , if it’s t h e re.
science and the splendour of Canada’s aurorae ” says A uroraM A X ’s national project manager R uth -A nn Chicoine. “ T he A uroraM A X observatory is located under t he dark sk ies just outside the city of Y ellowk nife N orthwest Territories Canada. We use a D SL R that has been optim ised for capturing the aurora and is automated to operate from dusk unt il dawn.” Images from th e A uroraM A X D SL R – which is fi tted with a fi sheye lens that l ets it photograph the whole sk y – appear on the project’s website every 1 0 seconds each night between mid-A ugust and early M ay meaning that if it ’s clear and dark over Y ellowk nife you’ll have a great v iew of anyt hing that’s happening in t he sk y. Y ou also need not l imit yourself to t he A rctic Circle. Y ou can go online aurora watching from a place very few people get to visit: the South Pole. T he U nited States A ntarctic Prog ram has two webcams set up at it s A mundsen-Scott Sout h Pole Station that – when it’s dark at t he pole – occasionally pick up the aurora aust ralis or Sout hern L ights over the research facilities there. skyatn ightm agaz in e o m 2016
“ Y ou n ee d n ot lim it y o u rse lf to th e rc tic C irc le – you can g oo n lin e au r or a w at c h in g fr“A om th eS ou th P ol e ” urorae are usually observable on t he web cameras when they are visible from the Sout h Pole Station ” says Corey A nt hony a contractor who work s for the U nit ed States A ntarctic Program. “ T he current refresh rate of the South Pole web cameras is 9 0 seconds. N ew images are only visible on the U SA P.gov website when satell ite connectiv it y is available. D uring periods where there is no satell ite pass window t he last received image is displayed on the website until the window opens again.”
D at ai n th ed a n ci n g lig h ts
A BO U T T H E W RI T E R W
ill G a ter i s an
a stron o m y jo una list a uh o r of seve ral bo oks and an a strop ho to g ra p he r. Fo llo w hi m o n Tw itter: @ w illg a ter
While webcams lik e those operated by the A uroraM A X project and Promote Shetland are primarily about enjoying the beauty of the aurora some websites that display live-updating images of the N orthern L ights are run by scient ists doing real research with the data from the cameras. The website of the K jell H enrik sen O bservatory which is situ ated on Svalbard in the A rctic O cean is one of these. Prof D ag L orent z en is a researcher there and is responsible for a num ber of t he all- sk y cameras whose pictu res appear live on the observatory’s website at certain times of the year. “ T here is a wealt h of inform ation contained in t hese auroral images ” says L orentz en. “We use several dif ferent types of all-sk y cameras from simp le consumer-grade D SL R s to very
O N L I N AURO E
exp en sive sc ienti fi c- grade i m ager and vi d eo s ys tem s.D epend ing o n the t yp e of cam er a used w e get d iffer en t typ es of in form at ion . So m e cam er as fi tted w ith i m age i n ten sifi ers can record 30 fr am es p er secon d vi deo from ver y l ow ligh t level s. O th er syst em s are fitt ed w ith n arrow fi lters cap ab le o f isol ati n g sp eci fi c co lo u rs o f the au rora. So m e t ak e f u ll col ou r im ages of th e aurora. T h ese typ es of i m ages can b e u se d to ch eck cl ou d level s an d for pu bl ic ou treach u se. T h e m ore expen sive cam er as can b e u se d to est im at e fl u xes of p art icl es , bo u n d ary r egi on s in the up p er at m osph er e, an d the en ergy o f th e p art icl es prod u ci n g the au rora. ” O ften res earchers w ill st u d y t h e i m ages from th e ob se rvat ory’ s cam eras in con ju n ct ion w ith d ata f rom o ther faci lities, lo cated el sew h ere at h igh lati tu d es, says Lo ren tzen . “In sp ace p h ysi cs res earch, on e se ld om re lies on on ly o n e d at a sou rce such as an a ll-s k y cam era ). M u ltip le d at a sou rces ar e al w ays u sed i n o rd er to st u dy a p h eno m eno n ,”
A timelapse seq uence from A uroraM A X footage showing the stunning swirls of the N orthe rn Lig hts
Y O URB
O NUS
C O N TE N T Watch a high defi nition video from A uroraM A X
RAW
7
O C T O ER
he says .“T he cam er ashel p u spi n po intt h e locat ion of the au rora i n th e s ky w h ich m ay be h arder f o r other t yp es of in st ru m en ts to a ccu rat el y det er m in e. Fo r exam pl e up per at m osph er ic r ad ars such as Sup er D A R N and E ISC A T have l es s spat ial re sol u tion th an a cam era, bu t prov id e other t yp es o f in fo rm at io n im p o rt an t to space p h ysi ci st s.” If you w ant t o w at ch t he i m ages com in g i n live f rom th e cam eras at th e K jel l H en ri k se n O b servat o ry yo u ’ll h ave t o lo g o n at the ri gh t tim e o f year. “T h e re al -tim e q u ick l o o ks are on ly ava ilab le d u ri n g th e au roral seas o n ,” ex p lai n s L orent zen. “T h is start s abo u t m id-O ct ob er an d last s u n til th e en d o f F eb ru ary. B ef o re an d aft er t h is tim e i n terva l the sk y i s to o b ri gh t fo r ob servati o n s.” W ith that tim e no w ju st a f ew w eeks aw ay , m ayb e i t’s tim e you to o l og ged o n to o n e of th es e au rora w ebca m s an d , as it w er e, lo ok ed u p. A fter al l, you n ever qu ite k n ow exactl y w h er e t h es e th in gs m igh t tak e you . S
T O Y O UR L I VI N
BRI NG TH E U RO R
AT C HI N G
RO
O M
eep an eye on these f our w ebsites for live view s ofthe N orthern and Southern Lights
P r om
ot e She
t l a nd
These video webcams are located in the Shetland Islands off the northeast coast of Scotland. If the weat her and aurora conditions are right a few of the cameras can sometimes show the N orthe rn Ligh ts. w ww.shetland.org/ 6 0 n/ webcams/ cliff- cam-3
ur o r a M
X
The A uroraM A X webcam is located in norther n Canada. When the camera is online this page shows a regularly updating view of the whole sk y pho tographed by a D SLR wit h a fi sheye lens. www.asc-csa.gc.ca/ eng/ astronomy/auro ramax / hd-4 8 0 .asp
U n it e dS t a t e s n t a r ct i c P r o g r a m
The webcams at the A mundsenScott South Pole Station update less freq uently than some o f the others here however when they are online you may be able to glimpse the aurora australis. http:// ww w.usap.gov/ videoclipsandmaps/ spwebcam.cfm
K je ll H e n r ik s e n O b s ervat
o ry
Y ou’ll fi nd lots of lin k s to the live data from several aurora cameras and scie ntifi c instruments on the website of the K jell H enrik sen O bservatory on Svalbard. These include images fro m q uite a few onsite a ll-sk y camera s. http: // k ho.unis.no
sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
C S k y a tN ig ht M a g a z ine
is p ro u d to rev eal the w in n ers o f the w o rld ’s p rem ier astro p ho to o m p etitio n
O V E R L L W IN N E R O URS
UN
aily’s ead s
Yun J u C hi na ) Ph o to lo cat io n : Luwuk , Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Equi pm ent : C anon E O S 5 D M kI I D SLR ca mera, Sigma D G O S
H SM 15 0 -6 0 0 mm lens.
Jud g es’ ve rdi ct s: “A complete experience . E veryt hing about t his photo mak es you wonder: its techniq ue, its symmetry, its visible or hidden parts.” – O anaS andu
“ This image is a remark ably dynamic representation of th e moments around total solar eclipse. I love the way that the B aily’s B eads are presented, with the Sun ’s rays shining through valleys in the M oon’s profi le as it slides over the disc of the Sun before disappearing, only to reappe ar on the other side. The pink prominence is ju st the icing on the cake – a truly memorable pictur e ” – C hri s r a m ley
S K Y S CA PES
in aryH
aze
A insl ey Be nn et t U K ) Ph oto l o cat io n : A shey Isle o f W ight U K . Equi pm ent : Niko n D 8 0 0 D SLR ca m era
24 m m lens .
Jud g es’ ve rdi ct : “W hat an atm o sp heric im age
this is. T he lo w vei l o f m ist h as t ran sfo rm ed the M o o n and V enu s i nto som ething o therw o rld ly like a w ill-o ’-the-w isp . W hat’s p articu larly rew ard in g is the w ay this so ftness is co n trasted w ith the star s in the n ight sky ab o ve w hic h are cri sp and sharp .” – C hris r am ley
P EO
P LE
C ity L ig h ts
S P A CE
W ing Ka Ho H ong Kong) Ph oto l o cat io n : Q ua rry B ay H on g K on g. Equ ipm ent : C anon EO S 6 D D SLR ca m era
24 m m lens . Jud g es’ ve rdi ct : “Th is i m age m akes m e feel m y p lace on o ur p lan et as w e sp in and rush thro u gh o u r G alaxy . It is also an im p o rtant and engag in g so cio p o litical statem ent th at co n n ects o u r co n tem p o rary civi liz atio n w ith the st ars an d o u r inte rgalacti c n eighb o u rs ju st as the Egyp tians an d o ther star gaz ing civil izat ion s ex p erien c ed .” – Ed R ob inson
skyatn ightm agaz in e.c o m 2016
I A P Y216
OU
O C T O ER
41
R M OON
F r om M au r ol ycus to M D elpeix or etB orrell u s Spain) Jordi
Photo location: L’ A m e tlla d e l V a llè s,
B a rcel o na ,Sp a in. E q uipment: ZW O ASI 1 20M M m on oc hr om e C M O S ca m er a, C el est ron 1 4 -inch t el escop e, Sky- W at cher N EQ 6 Pr oSynScanm ount . Judge’s verdict: “So m a ny fi ne cr a terl et s ar e vi si b le i n t h is sho t. Th e p ro ce ssi n g use d to b ring everyt hi ng ou t so sha rp ly h a s be en a p p lied w ith a very exp ert eye . Yo u co ul d al m ost im a gi ne yo u w er e l oo ki ng do w n a t the M oo n’ s s ur fa ce f rom the w ind ow of a spa ce cr a ft ” – Pete Law rence
UR OA Ru Erora T w ilight
I ESS p ace H alo MG 9 L :XD eep
G yö rgy Soponyai H ungary) Photo location: N ea r L on gyea rbyen,
N icolas O utte rs F rance) Photo location: C a st or Si ren e O b ser vat o r y,
Sval ba rd,N orw ay. E q uipment: C anonEO S5D M k IID SL R cam er a, 24 m m lens . Judge’s verdict: “I like thi s p h o to g ra p h p re ci sel y b ec a use i t d o esn’ t sho w the int en se co lo urs usu a lly a ssoci a ted w ith a urora e. O ften I ca n’ t rel a te to a uror a p ho to s, b ec a use the y a re just to o fa n ta st ica l, bu t thi s o n e p ut s a uro ra e in a ne w co nt ext tha t is cl oser t o ho w the y w ou ld lo o k t o t he hu m a n ey e. ” – W olfgang Tillm ans
Pr ove nce -A lp es- C ôt e d’ A zu r,Fr a nce . E q uipment: A pogee A lta 16U 1680 3 ca m er a, RC O S 12 .5 -inch R itche y- C hr ét ien tel esc op e, Par am oun t M Em ount . Judge’s verdict: “I lo ve th e d e lica te c o lo u rs in thi s i m a g e. The soft er o ut er r e g io ns o f M 94 ’s ha lo ha ve been ca pt ur ed a nd p ro ce ssed p erf e ct ly a n d rea lly p ul l yo u i n to w a rd s t h e in trica te st ruct ure s a t th e h e a rt o f th is in trig u in g g a la x y. ” – W ill ater
skyat ni g ht m a g a zi ne. co m 2016
P LA N ET S , CO M ET S A S T ER O I D S S eren
eS a turn
D am ian Peac h U K) Ph o to lo ca tio n : M arley V ale B arbad o s. Equ ipm ent : ZW O A SI17 4M M m onoc hrom e
C M O S ca m era C elestro n C 14 telescop e C elest ro n C I-7 0 0 m o un t. Jud g e’ s v erd ict : “E ver y year im p ro vem en ts in tec hn o lo gy an d the shee r skill an d p ersiste n c e o f the astro p ho to grap hy co m m un ity p ush t he b o u n d aries o f w hat’s p o ssi b le. This is a n asto n ishing sho t w ith atm o sp heric feature s suc h as st o rm s a n d the m ysterio us p o lar hex ago n c learly visib le.” – M arek K u ku la
R O B O TIC S CO PE r id is Rob er t Sm ith U K ) Ph o to lo cat io n : Roq
ue d e lo s M uc hach o s O b serva to ry L a Palm a C an ary Islan d s. Equ ipm ent : A ndor iD us 42 0 C C D ca m era Liverp o o l Telesco p e. Jud g e’ s ve rdi ct : “Just a few years ago this techn iq u e o f sp littin g the light fro m an o b ject in to its co n stituent co lo u rs w as the p reserve o f p rofe ssi o n al scie n tists. N o w m em b ers of t he p ub lic can p lay w ith it to o an d show u s that it c an al so b e very b eau tifu l.” – M arek Ku kul a
STA R S N E BU L A E T he R ai nbo w Star St ev e Br ow n U K ) Ph o to lo ca tio n : Sto kesley
No rth Y o rkshire U K . Equ ipm ent : C anon EO S 6 0 0 D D SLR ca m era 2 5 0 m m lens Sky-W atch er Star A d ve nture r m o un t. Jud g e’ s ve rdict : “Fo r an im age to sp ark su ch i n ten se d eb ate in the ju d gin g roo m is testam en t to the artistic in tegrity o f this p iec e. It takes ju st o n e star – Si rius – u p cl o se an d p erson al and treats it to sho w the effect o f o u r atm o sp here. It is in the t ru e sp irit o f this co m p etition that tec hnical ab ility and artistic rep resen tatio n are co m b in ed w hich in t urn enha n ces each p ho to grap her’s in d ivi d u al inte rp retatio n o f the sky ab o ve us in an ever -exp an d ing var iety o f fo rm s.” – d Rob inson
skyatn ightm agaz in e.c o m 2016
S I R P T R I CK M O O R E P R I Z E F O R B ES T N EW CO M ER
L arge M ag el la n ic lou d
C arlo s Fai rb airn B razil ) P ho to l o catio n : Luzi â ni a G o iá s B ra zi l. Eq ui p m ent: C anon EO S5DM k IIID SL Rc am er a C anon
20 0m m len s Sk y- W a tche r St a r A d vent ur er m ou nt . er s er vi ng us an im ag ew ort hyof an ex p eri en ce d m a st er ca p turi ng the m yst iq ue a nd fa sci na tio n o f the Large M a g el la ni c C lo ud . I ca n h ea r S ir Pa tr ick i n m y i m a g ina tio n sayi ng “Ye s q ui te s im p ly a s up erb i m a g e. A very very w o r thy w inn er i nd ee d .” – Jon ushaw
Ju d ge’s verd ict: “ A new com
Y O UN G S T RO N O M Y P H O TO G R P H E R O F TH E Y E R
L u n arR e v er s al
B ren d an D evine U S, aged 1 5 ) P ho to l o catio n : C hi ca g o Illin o is U S . kI ID SL R c am er a C anon E Equi pm ent : C anon E O S 7D M 10 0 -4 0 0 m m ISI I U SM
lens
M anf rot tot ripo d.
F
Ju d ge’s v erd ict: “O m ino us m a jest ic g ra cef ul M o on . I tho ug ht
I ha d ‘ seen’ the M oo n b ef ore b ut thi s im a ge proved m e w ron g. Thi s yo un g a st ro p ho to g ra p he r ha s pu t g rea t tho ug ht a nd o rig ina lity in t he p rep a ra tio n co m p o si tio n a nd p ro ce ss ing o f thi s pi ct ure d o ub tlessl y e xp eri en ci ng m uc h d el ig ht in t he exe rci se. A w o r thy w inn er. ” – M el an ie Van den brou k
skyat
ni g ht m a g a zi ne. co m 2016
44 I A P Y2 16
O C T O ER
h e b ig g e st a stro p h o to g ra p hy c o m p e titio n in th e w o rld c o n tin u e s to im p re ss w ith a n a m a zing a rra y o f co sm ic im a g e s T heIns
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C urat o r of A rt p ost -18 0 0 )
The D ecember issu e of CS k y a t Nig h t M agazi ne co mes with a free 2 0 1 7 calendar featuring some of the t op images from the Insight A stronomy Photographe r of the Y ear 2 0 1 6 competition It goes on sale from 1 7 N ovember
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F R O M TH E M A KE R SO F
FR
In Bac kGarden Ast ronomy , w e’re aim in g to m ake the n ight sky a little b it less b ew ild erin g. W ithin , yo u ’ll fin d eve ry thin g yo u n eed to kn o w fo r yo u r first n ight u n d er the stars an d b eyo n d . W e start w ith essen tial kn o w led ge all astro n o m ers n eed to kn o w – such as w hy the sky m o v es an d ho w celestial co o rd in ates w o rk – fo llo w ed b y sectio n s oann dthe eq u ipyomu encant yoexu ’ll n eed to getY ogou rin g w hat p ect to see. astr o n o m ical ad v en tu re starts he re. P lu s – su b scr ib ers t o BBC Sky atNight Magaz ine receive FR EE U K P P
Learn the b asics o f o b servat io n al astr o n o m y an d the p racti cal ad v ice yo u n eed fo r a su ccessf u l fi rst n ight u n d er th e sta rs
W e talk yo u thro u gh all the m ajo r celestial sights w aitin g fo r yo u an d p ro v id e teste d o b servi n g ad vi ce o n ho w to se e them
G et to grip s w ith the v ast ra n ge o f ast ron o m ical eq u ip m en t, an d fi n d o u t w hich setu p b est suit s y o u r n eed s
O R D E R Y O U R CO P YT O DAY w w w .b u ysu b scrip tio n s.co m / b ackgard en Alternatively call 0844 844 0254† and quote ‘BACKHA17’ † C alls w ill cost 7p per m inute pl us you r te lep hone com pany’ s ac cess ch arge. Line s ar e open 8 am -8p m w eekday s 9am -1p m Saturd ay. *Sub scribers to BBC Sky atNightMagazinere ceive FRE E U K PO STA G E o n this speci al edit ion. Pri ces incl ud ing postag e are: £11.49 for a ll othe r U K residents, £12 .99 for Euro pe and £1 3.49 for Rest of W orl d. Ple ase allow up to 2 8 d ays for d elive ry.
T H ES K Y G UI D E
O CT OB ER
7
U S Stephen Tonkin ’s
T h eSk y
B IN O CU LA R TO U R Turn to page 58 of this month for six ’s b binocular sig est ht s
u id e
Oc tober M er cury i s rea s o n a b ly w el l p la ced in th e m o r n in g sky a t th e s ta rt o f th e m o n th . A n e lu si ve ta rg e t a t b e st i t’s a id e d b y t h e ret u r n o f th e k in g o f p la n et s J u p iter . O n t h e m o r n in g o f 11 O ct o b er b o th w o r ld s w ill a p p ea r s ep a ra ted b y l ess th a n 1 º.
Written by Pete Lawrence Pet e Law r en ce i s a n exp ert ast r on om er an d ast rop ho tog rap her w ith a p a rt icu la r in te re st in d ig ita l im a g ing . A s w el l a s w ritin g T e ky Guid e he ap pea rs on T e ky at Nig h t each m ont ho nBB C Four .
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sk yatni h tm a az ine com
2016
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igh ights Yo u r gu ide t ot he night sk y t his mo nt h T h is icon indicates a g ood p h oto op p ortunity
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SATURDAY
Th e M oon reach es the p h ase kno w n as new M oon today w h en it lines up w ith th e S un in th e sk y. Alth oug h not visib le, it’s interes ting in th at its tim ing m eans t h at there ’s ro om for a second new M oon at th e end of the m onth. Th e second is som etim es referred to as a ‘b lack M oon’.
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M ONDA
Y
Th e w axin g crescent M oon (6 lit) is 4º north of th e b rilliant, m ag . –3 .8 p lanet V enus th is evening . Look for t h is b eautiful p airing low in the w est-so uth w est at 19 :00 BST (18:00 U T).
TUESDAY
M ercury and Jup iter are close in th e m orning sk y today. Both m ay b e see n around 06 :45 BS T (05:45 U T) low in th e east. M ag . –1.1 M ercury and –1.5 Jup iter w ill ap p ear sep arated b y just 50 arcm inutes at th is tim e. S ee this m onth’s Big Th ree.
SUNDAY
SATURDAY
Ice g iant U ranus h its op p osition today. T h e p lanet is in th e faint constellation of P isces, n ot too far from th e ‘knot’ in th e cord tying b oth fish toget h er. Th is is m arke d by m ag . + 4.1 Alresch a (Alp h a ( ) Pisc ium ).
15 20
THURSDAY
A second favourab ly tim ed eclip se of Alg ol occurs at 00: 00 BS T (23 :00 U T on the 1 9 th). S ee the entry for th e 17th .
21
FR I D AY
Ceres h its op p osition. It can b e found b etw een th e outlines of P isces and Cetus. S ee this m onth’s Big T h ree. Th e O rionid m eteor show er p eaks, b ut w ill b e hin dered b y th e w aning g ib b ous21:40 M oonBS(67T (20:40 lit) rising around U T ).
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FRI
D AY
The w aning crescent M oon (4 lit) is 40 arcm inutes from Jup iter at 11:00 BS T (10:00 U T ) in 7 the da ylit sk y. Th e M oon is 3 2º up in th e south -south east at th is tim e C as seen from th e centre of th e U K. R Jup iter lies b elow the M oon. Ta ke A care if look ing w ith b inoculars as P th e S un w ill not b e too far aw ay. sk yat night magazine.c om 2 1 6
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SATURDAY
If you h ave access to a p air of b inoculars, tak e a look at th e reg ion b etw een th e W of Cassiop eia and th e outline of P erseus, w h ere you’ll see th e lovely si g h t of tw o, rich op en clusters close t og eth er. Th is is th e fam ous D oub le Cluster or S w ord Handle, N G C 86 9 and N G C 884.
T h e annual O rionid m eteor sh ow er starts today, w ith activity continuing until 27 O ctob er. Th e sh ow er’s p eak occurs on 21 O ctob er w ith a zenit h al h ourly rate of 20-25 m eteors p er h our.
16
M ONDAY
V ariab le star Alg ol (Beta ( ) P ersei) is w ell p ositioned. T h is eclip sing b inary h as a p eriod of tw o days, 20 hours and 49 m inutes, and the d im m ing eclip ses need to occur at nig h t to b e seen. O ne is in p rog ress just after 03 :00 BS T (02:00 U T).
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2
SUNDAY
The just p ast last quarter M oon lies 5.5º to th e southw est of th e Beeh ive Cluster, M 44 in Cancer. Look for th em around 05:00 BS T (04:00 U T ). Binoculars w ill sh ow the p air to the b est effect. If you h ave a cam era, try and g rab a sh ot of th em in the sam e fram e.
TH ES K YG
UI D E
O C TO ER
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W h at th e team w ill b e ob serving in O ctob er
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Pete L awrence Wit h Mars,J upit er and FRI
D AY
Sat urn all heading sout h in t he sk y,it ’ s t ime t oemb rac e t he ic e giant s. I’ ll be outt his mo nt h t rying t oimprov e my imaging sk ills on dist antUranu s.”
X
As w e say g oodb ye to th e stars of sum m er and th ey slow ly drift over to th e w est, th e stars of late autum n and w inter are eag er to take th eir p lace. At 22:00 BS T (21:00 U T ) look out for th e w onderful P leiades op en cluster 20º ab ove th e eastern h oriz on.
ion imagery is a Steve M arsh Lunar librat
2
hobby wit hin a hobby f or me. T his mo nt h I plan t ophot ograph c rat ers on t he Moon’ s west ern limbt oc reat e c omparat iv e st udies wit h t he same c rat ers f romprev ious mo nt ”hs. W W
EDNES
DAY
P oint a telescop e at th e M oon tonig h t and see i f you can sp ot th is m onth’s M oonw atch targ et, th e crater Billy. Tonig h t th e lib ration favours th e crater, m oving it slig h tly tow ards th e centre of th e M oon’s E arth-f acing h em isp h ere.
W EDNES
DAY
This m orning ’s w aning g ib b ous M oon (88 lit) w ill occult a num b er of th e stars in th e Hyades cluster in Taurus. Heading east it’ll h ave an interesting interaction w ith th e b rig h t star Aldeb aran at around 08:40 BS T (07:40 U T ) in daylig h t. S ee this m onth’s Big Th ree.
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lowin t he ev ening t wilight ,guiding me t o t he globular c lu st ers M28on t he 5t h and M22on t he 9t h,bot h in Sagit t ariu ” s.
N eed to k now
T he t erms and symbols u sed in The Sky
uid e
U N IV ERS A L TIM E U T) A N D BR ITISH SU M M ER T IM E BS T)
Univ ersal T ime ( UT )is t he st andard t ime used by ast ro nomers aro und t he wo rld. Brit ish Summe r T ime ( BST )is one hour ahead ofUT .
R A RI G H T A SCEN SIO N ) A N D D EC . D EC L IN A TIO N ) T hese coordinat es are t he nightsky’ s equiv alentoflongit ude and lat it ude,describing where an obj ectlies on t he celest ial ‘ globe’ .
H O WTO TEL L WH A T EQ U IPM EN T YO U ’LLN EED N AK E DE YE
W EDNES
DAY
Allow20minut es f or your eyes t ob ec ome dark adapt ed
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E arly risers g et a ch ance to see th e w inter constellation of O rion. Th e m ig h ty h unter is w ell p laced from 02:00 BS T (01:00 U T), reach ing h is hig h est p oint in th e sk y just after
BI N O CU L A RS 10x50rec omme nded
PH O TO O PPO RT U N ITY Use a CCD, planet ary c amera or st andard DSLR
SM A LL/M ED IU M SCO PE
04:00 BS T (03 :00 U T ).
3
Paul M oney I’ ll be k eeping t abs on Mars
SUNDAY
T h e second new M oon of th e m onth occurs toda y – a ‘b lack M oon’.
V enus and S aturn are 3 º ap art and m ay b e visib le low in the south w est sh ortly after sunset. D aylig h t saving s (B ritish S um m er T im e) com es to an end.
Ref lec t or/ SCTu nder 6inc hes,ref rac t or under 4 inc hes
3
LA RG E S CO PE M ONDA
Y
Fol low ing yesterday’s new M oon, th is eve ning th ere’s an op p ortunity to sp ot a very th in, less th an 1 lit lunar crescent im m ediately after suns et.
Ref lec t or/ SCTo v er 6inc hes,ref rac t or ov er 4 inc hes
G ettin g start ed in ast ro n o m y If you’re new to astronom y, you’ll find tw o essenti al reads on our w eb site. V isit h ttp :// b it.ly/10_ Lessons f or our 10-ste p g uide to g etting started and h ttp :// b it.ly/ F irst_ Tel for advice on ch oosing a scop e. sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
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O N ’T M IS S …
to p sights
NEE TD KO NO W A n object’s brightness is giv en by its magnitud e. The lower the number , the brighter the object: with the naked eye you can see d own to mag. 6.0.
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Ceres atopposit ion W H EN: D w arf p lan et vi si b le a ll m o n th; o p p o sitio n o n the 2 1st j2
PIS
ES j
h
E T US
Alresc h a
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K affalijid h ma
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1 Oct 31 Oct
M enk ar
11 Oct
21 Oct
b 15 1 Oct
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11 Oct
M ira
1 8 M elp omen e 21 Oct 31 Oct
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Y o u ca n use the n eck s tars o f C etus t he W hale and A lresch a in Pis ces t o ho m e in o n C eres t his m o n th
O N CER EG A R D ED A Sthe largest asteroid, Ceres is now a member of a class of objects k nown as dwarf planets. T hank s to t he hugely successful D awn mission, we now k now a lot more about it. F or back yard astronomers its 9 4 6 k m diameter doesn’t allow it t o appear any more than a dot as seen from E art h, but its relative brightness still m ak es it a fun t arget t o hunt down. T here are currentl y fi ve bodies in the Solar System classifi ed as dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, H aumea, E ris and M ak emak e. Ceres is the smallest of t he group with a diameter 4 0 per cent that of Plut o. H owever, it can claim R to be the largest dwarf planet W L orbiting entirely within the T P orbit of N eptu ne. sky tnig htm g zine co m 2 1 6
Ceres never brightens enough to be seen with t he nak ed eye but binoculars will reveal it with ease when close to opposition. Its magnit ude can vary from + 6 .7 t o + 9 .3 . T his month it ’ll be a 7 th-magnit ude object, starting off at mag. + 7.8 , but brightening slightl y to + 7.4 in t he fourt h week of O ctober. Its dista nce from E art h through the month wil l vary from 1. 96 4 A U to 1. 897 A U . D uring O ctober Ceres is located in Cetus, passing between mag. + 4 .1 A lrescha, A lpha ) Piscium) and amazi ng variable star M ira O micron k ) Ceti). M ira has a 3 3 2 -day period and varies in brightness on average between mag. + 3 .4 and + 9 .3 . Ceres passes when M ira will be close to m ini mu m brightness, so
unfort unately it’l l be an unreliable ‘beacon’ this time round. T he best jumping off point will be the ‘neck ’ stars of the Whale of Cetu s: mag. + 3 .6 G amma a) and mag. + 4 .1 1 8A p ril2 9
Þ
D elta ) Ceti. F rom here you should be able to locate the fi eld stars shown in our chart . A s ever with a small body such as this, the best way to ‘see’ Ceres is to record the position of all the ‘stars’ in t he suspected fi eld. Y ou’ll need to do this down to the brightness of Ceres. O ur chart shows stars down to m ag. + 8 .0 , which is ideal. O nce you’ve made your record, repeat the process on a subseq uent n ight. If you have recorded Ceres, it will reveal itself when the observations are compared because it will appear t o have moved. A camera the recording processmak aloteseasier if you have one. A s well as Ceres, minor planet 1 8 M elpomene is also in t he region. T his body is smaller t han Ceres at around 1 5 0 k m across. H owever, it’s also closer, approaching to 0 .8 2 9 A U just after mi dmont h. T his allows it t o appear reasonably bright at around mag. + 8 .0 and mak es it another suitable target to try and record.
1 9A p ril2 9
I m ages f rom successi ve n ights ca n rev ea l C eres’ s m o ve m en t
T H ES K Y G UI D E
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O C TO B R
M ercury in the morning W H EN : 1- 15 O ct o b er at least 3 0 m in u tes b efo re sun rise
1 O ct
AT T H E ST ART of Oc tober early ri sers
M ercury
Jupiter
h aveac h an c eto sp ot th eelu si vep lan et M ercu ry . On th e1st th emag . – 0.6p lan et
11 O ct
12 O ct
M ercury
1º
Jupiter ercury
Jupiter
1º
1 O ct
p op s aboveth eeastern h ori z on arou n d º below mag . 05:30 B ST (04:30 UT ). It is 2
1º
M ercury
5 O ct
+ 5.5Sig ma (m L eon is on th is d ate, th e star mark in g th eL ion ’s back p aw . T h e Su n ri ses at 07:10 B ST (06:10 UT ) g ivi n g y ou ag ood h ou r an d aq u arter to loc ate
1 O ct
15 O ct
M ercu ry ’s d ot in reason ably d ark sk ies. T h ep lan et’s visi bil ity remain s g ood 1 O ct
for th efi rst h alf of th emon th an d , d esp ite h ead in g back tow ard s th eSu n , aview low to theeast at least 30min u tes before
5 O ct
upiter
5º
su n ris esh ou ld reveal it. M ercu ry also
15 O ct
1 O ct
g ets marg in ally bri g h ter over th is
E
p eriod , reac h i n g mag . –1 .1 mid -mon th . As M erc u ry ap p ears to h ead c loser to th eSu n , th emag n ifi cen t gas g ian t Ju p iter ap p ears toh ead u p tomeet it. T h eap p aren t sep aration betw een th etw o d ec reases
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A s M ercu ry d ip s tow ard s th e hori zo n it w ill cro ss p ath w ith Ju p iter; they are clo sest on the 11 th
u n ti l 11 Oc tober, w h en th ey areju st
T h ereason ableasp ec t to M erc u ry ’s
it w il l als o ap p ear rath er small . M ercu ry ’s
50arc mi n u tes ap art – th at’s on ean d
ap p earan c ei n th efi rst h alf of th emon th
ap p aren t d iameter on 1 October w ill be
tw o-th ird s th eap p aren t d iameter of th efu ll M oon . M ercu ry w il l beat mag .
mean s t h at it sh ou ld bep oss ible to view th ep lan et th rou g h atelesc op e. I f y ou d o
6arcs econ d s, d rop p in g to 5arcsec on d s by th e15th . Su p erior con ju n c tion is on
– 1.0on th is d atean d Ju p iter slig h tly
man ag eth is , its p h aseon 1 Oc tober w i ll
27 Oc tober an d th elast view y ou ’ll g et
brig h ter at – 1.5. T h ey sh ou ld befairl y
be61
of M ercu ry th is mon th w ill occu r
easy to sp ot low i n th eeast .
15th . Un fortu n ately , th is als o mean s th at
lit, in c reasi n g to95
lit by th e
arou n d th e15th .
The d isappearing yad es W H EN: 1 9 O cto b er tim es as sta ted are co rr ect f o r the cen tre o f the U K ; lo cate the sta rs 15 m in u tes b efo rehan d
T H E 88 -LI T W A NING gib b o u s M o on ap p ears to p ass in fron t of the H yad es op en clu st er i n T au ru s on the m orn in gof 19 O ct ob er , res u ltin gin an u m b er of t he clu st er sta rs b ein g o cc u lted . From the centr e of t he U K the fi rst o ccu ltatio n o ccu rs at 00 :10B ST (23: 10U T on the 18th ) w hen m ag.+ 3. 7 G am m a (a) T au ri d isap p ears be hind the M o o n ’s bri ght lim b . T he star re ap p e ars an ho u r later at 01: 10 B ST (00 :10 U T ) from b ehi n d the d ark lim b . M ag. + 6 .4 star 70 T au ri is the n ex t o b v io u s ev en t, clo sel y fo llo w ed b y m ag. + 4 .5 st ar 7 1 T au ri. T his st ar w ill ap p ear to b e o ccu lted from n orth o f a
lin e f rom St D avid s in W ales t o the W ash, w here N o rfo lk m eets L in co ln shir e. A lo n g this lin e a grazin go cc u ltatio n m ay b e seen . T he d isap p earan ce o f d o u b le sta r T heta T au ri b egin s w ith m ag. + 3. 8 T heta ( e at 04 :30 B ST (03: 30 U T ),fol low ed b y m ag. + 3. 4 T heta ( e eight m inu tes later . T he M oo n do es n’t qu ite m ake it to m ag. + 0 .9 A ld eb aran (A lp ha( _) T au ri) in d arkn ess, b u t if the sky is v e ry cl e ar it m ay b e p o ssi b le to w atch the M o o n ap p roa ch the st ar du ri n g the d ay. T he M o o n ’s n o rt hern ed ge w ill ap p ear to m ake a clo se p ass of A ld eb aran arou n d 08: 35 B ST (07: 35 U T ) from m u ch of the U K ,w ith a
The M o o n tracks a lo n g the b o tto m fo rk of t he V o f the H yad es o n the m o rni n g o f the 19 th
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TAURUS
b3
b 2
H yade s
b
V 63
Alde ba ran
_ 4 :38 BST 7 5 H IP2
4:3 BST
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89
m m
e 1 9 Oct 8 :35 BST
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3:4 BST
19Oct :1 BST
85
a
e2
8 8
7
Mo o n
fu ll o cc u ltatio n o n ly v is ib le sou th o f aline from ju st sou th of B ou rnem ou th to C ork in
the R ep u b lic o f Irel an d . A gain , agrazin g o cc u ltatio n m ay b e see n alo n g the li n e. sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
5 2
The planets
5º
PI CKOFT HE M ONTH U
k
O ct
U r anus 3 O ct
ANU
TH E D E PA R TU R E O FM ars,Jupiter and Saturn herald s a return of t he ice giants, U ranus and N eptune. A lthough d istant, these world s hav e an enigmatic q ualit y to them, prov id ing an imaginary gateway to the outer regions of the Solar System. U ranus reaches opposition on Titania 15 O ctober and
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BEST T IM E T O SEE: 1 6 O ctober, 01 :0 0 B ST 0 0 :0 0 U T on 15 O ctober) ALT ITU D E : 45º LO CATI O N : Pisces D IR EC TI O N : South FEA TU R ES: Colour, banding with a larger scope E Q U IPM EN T : 8 -inch or larger
N R
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PI SC ES j
A lr escha
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W ork your w ay along th e outline of Pisces f rom Alresch a to reach ice g iant U ranus
of Pisces, not too far from mag. + 4 .1 A lrescha A lpha ) Piscium). T he best way to locate it is to fi rst fi nd A lrescha and then work west
d istance that separates these stars to the west-northwest of the northern one. D espite being a slow mov er, U ranus mov es 1.2º ov er the courseof the month, following a line from its
this along thethe bottom dalthough oesn’t bring ed ge of ‘cord ’ U m br iel any signifi cant of Pisces to mag. Ariel change to + 4. 4 N u i ) the planet’s Piscium, then appearance URA N US mag. + 4 .8 M u through a ) P iscium. O b eron telescope, it d oes F rom here, head M iranda mean that it will be north and locate well presented and a pair of stars of v isible all night long for mag. + 6.5 and + 6.2. most of the month. O n 1 O ctober, It currently resid es Þ U ranus is a naked-eye ob ject b ut to see its mag. + 5.7 U ranus in the constellation is located the same fam ous g reen h ue you’ll need a telescop e
starting position 1 O ctober mag. + 6.0 star 88on Piscium. T hetoward planets remains at mag. + 5.7 for the entire month and with a good d ark sky, should just be v isible with the naked eye. It’s an obv ious target through binoculars, but a telescope is req uired to bring out its green hue and show its tiny 3 .7 -arcsecond d isc. T he M oon shows a full phase when the planet reaches opposition, which occurs on 16 O ctober at 05:24 B ST 04 :24 U T ). A t this time the full M oon will be 3 º south of U ranus.
TH E P L AN ETS I N O CT O BER The phase and relative siz es of the planets this month. E ach planet is shown with south at the top, to show its orientation through a telesc ope
VENU S 15 O ctob er
M ARS 15 O ctob er
JU PI TER 15 O ctob er
SA TUR N 15 O ctob er
U RA N US N E PT UN E 15 O ctob er 15 O ctob er
M ERC U RY 1 O ctob er M ERC U RY 15 O ctob er M ERC U RY 31 O ctob er 0”
sk yatnightmagaz ine.com 2016
10”
20” 3 0” 40” AR CS E CO N D S
50”
6 0”
N E PT UN
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VENUS 1 Oc t ober, B EST TIM E TO SEE 3 1 Oc t ober, 23 : 15BST( 22 : 15UT ) 17: 30UT A LTITU D E 28º A LTITU D E 5. 5º ( low) LO C A TIO N Aqua rius LO C A TIO N Ophiuc hu s D IR EC TIO N Sout D IR EC TIO N Sout h hwest
B ES T TIM E T O SEE
N eptune was at opposition last month and continues to bewell placed in O ctober. It’s around 2 º sou thwest of mag. + 3 .7 L ambda ( ) A q uarii and, at mag. + 7 .8 , req uires at least a pair of binoculars to see.
V enus is in a curious place: alt hough it ’s separating from the Sun well, its alt itude at sunset i s low and t his mak es it hard to fi nd. Its bril liant, mag. – 3 .9 brightness compensates in part for its poor position. V enus and Saturn areseparated by 3 º on 3 0 O ctober, mag. + 1 .0 M E RC URY B EST TIM E TO SEE 11 Oc t ober, Saturn being to the nort h of V enus. If you do manage to 30minut es bef ore sunrise A LTITU D E 5. 5º ( low) get a view of V enus through a LO C A TIO N Virgo scope, at t he start of O ctober D IR EC TIO N East it’s showing an 8 6 -l it disc M ercury is well placed at t he 1 2 .1 arcseconds across. B y the start of the month, being both 3 1 st, its phase will have fallen bright and 1 7 .5 º from t he Sun to 7 7 while the apparent in t he morning sk y on t he 1 st. diameter will have increased A s the days pass, M ercury to 1 4 .3 arcseconds. creeps closer to the Sun but its magnitude increases at the same M R S time, k eeping its visibilit y B EST TIM E TO SEE 31 Oc t ober, fairly constant. O n the 11 th it 18: 00UT passes Jupiter by 5 0 arcminutes, A LTITU D E 13º an eventsunrise v isiblelow 3 0 in mithe nutes before east. M ercury will be mag. – 1 .0 and Jupiter – 1 .5 . It ’s soon lost from view aft er this. Technically it’s an evening object after reaching superior conjunct ion with the Sun on the 2 7 th, but it won’t be visible because it’ll still be too close to our star.
LO asgt iw t t aersit u s fsou D IRCECA TIO TIO N N SJ u o t h
N ow well past opposition, M ars is at its best at t he start of the month, but it s position in the sk y is very low down all the same. B y the end of O ctober, its eastward motion against the stars fails to tak e it out of Sagittarius, but it will lie close to the constellation’s eastern JU P I TER border. T his position, combined B EST TIM E TO SEE 31 Oc t ober, with the lengthening O ctober 05: 30UT nights, means it will be higher A LTITU D E 8. 5º ( low) during dark ness at the end of LO C A TIO N Virgo the month. M ars’s apparent D IR EC TIO N Ea st sout hea st diameter dropsfrom Jupiter is gradually pulling away 8 .8 arcseconds on 1 O ctober, from the Sun and visible in the to 7.3 arcseconds by the 31 st. morning sk y. B y the end of the month, it should be easy to see S T U RN before sunrise but isn’t high B ES T TIM E T O SEE 1 Oct ober, enough for serious observation. 19: 00BST( 18: 00UT ) A LTITU D E 7º( O n 31 O ctober, it’ll be 1 .7 5 º l ow) south of mag. + 3 .4 Porrima L C A TIO N Ophiuc hus (G amma ( a) V irginis). T he D IR EC TIO N Sout hwest 4 -lit waning crescent M oon Saturn is low down in on 2 8 O ctober is 4 0 arcminutes O phiuchus as the sk y dark ens north of Jupiter at 1 1 :0 0 B ST and is not well placed for (10 :0 0 U T ) in the daylight sk y. serious observation.
Y O URBO
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ctober
U sin g a sm all sco p e yo u’ll b e ab le to sp o t Jup iter’ s b iggest m o o n s. Th eir po sitio n s ch an ge d ram atica lly d u rin g the m o n th as sh o w n o n the d iagram . The l in e b y e ach dat e o n the left rep resen ts 0 0 :0 0 U T. DATE W EST
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O n other d ates stars will be in slightly d ifferent places d ue to Earth’s orbital motion. Starsthat cross the sky will set in the west four minutes earlier each night.
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T H ISD EEP SK Y T OURH ASB EEN AUT OM AT ED
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W e e x p lo re o n e o f the large st gravitatio n ally b o u n d o b je c ts in the e n tire n ive rse Tick the b o x
w hen yo u ’ve seen each o n e Edge
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A SC O M -enabl ed G o- To m o un ts ca n n ow take yo u to t his m o n th’s targets at the tou ch o f a b u tto n , w ith o u r D eep -Sky To u r file fo r the E Q TO U R ap p . Find it o n lin e.
3
isthcon e m siostd eredsi m ila to b r ge oa lane x oiesf toour ow nM ilkyW ay
4
N G C8 9 1
NG C 8 9 1 is a m ag. + 10 .9 ed ge-o n spir al galaxy l o cated at the m id-p o int alo n g a lin e b etw een M 3 4 an d A lm ach. It is fain tly visi b le in sm aller telesco p es as an elo n gated streak o f light. Sco p es larger than 1 0 inc hes w ill refine its 1 0 x 2 .5 -arcm in u te shap e, revealin g a d elicate d ark d u st lane ru n n in g alo n g the galax y’s s p in e. This is easiest to see w here it c ro sses the b right co re. The galax y is o ften cited as an an alo gu e fo r ou r ow n M ilky W ay, having a sim ilar lu m in o sity, shap e and siz e. It’s so m etim es rem arked ho w sim ilar it lo o ks in p ho to grap hs w hen co m p ared to ea rthb o u n d sho ts o f the M ilky W ay from the so u thern hem isp here. � SEEN IT
A BEL L 3 47
Slew 1 º to the so u theast o f NG C 8 9 1 an d yo u ’ll arrive at m ag. + 1 3 .3 NG C 9 1 0 , a fairly easy to sp o t ellip tic al galax y w ith a b right c o re. A ltho u gh visi b le in a 1 2 -in ch sco p e yo u ’ll n eed a larger o n e to sp o t the m yriad m ag. +1 4 .0 -15 .0 galaxies th at ap p ear to su rro u n d it. C o llectively, these fo rm the A b ell 3 4 7 G alaxy C lu ster. The b righter m em be rs are NG C 89 8 m ag. +13 .9 ), NG C 9 06 +13 .8 ), NG C 911 +13 .8 ) and N G C 914 +13 .7) . O n ce yo u ’ve lo cat ed these, u se them as a fram ew o rk to fi n d som e o f the o thers. C entr e u p o n NG C 91 0 first at lo w m agn ificat io n an d then p ile o n the p o w er to a rou nd 2 0 0 -35 0 x. � SEEN IT
M 34
M 3 4 is a rich, 5 th-m agn itud e o p en clu ster in Perse u s close t o the co n stellation ’s b o rd er w ith A n d rom ed a. It fo rm s the sharp en d o f an iso sce les triangle w ith A lgo l B eta ) P ersei) and m ag. + 3 .8 Kappa g) Persei at its b ase. The trian gle p o in ts at m ag. +2 .2 A lm ach G am m a a A n d rom ed ae). It co n tain s aro u n d 1 0 0 stars sca ttered in an area 3 5 arcm inu tes acro ss, slightly larger than that o f the full M o o n. A 6 -in ch s co p e at 5 0 x m agnif icatio n w ill reveal aro u n d o n e-third o f the clu ster p o p u lation . The stars o f the cluste r are so m etim es d escrib ed as tracin g a sp iral p ath, givin g rise to the in fo rm al n am e o f the Sp iral C lu ster. There are a n u m b er o f star-p airs co n sistin g o f stars of si m ilar m agn itud e d o tted thro u gho u t the clus ter. � SEEN IT
2
N G C9 5 6
W e’re ho p p in g acro ss t he b o rder in to A n d rom ed a fo r o u r n ex t target, the 9 th-m agn itu d e o p en cluste r NG C 9 5 6 . It lies 2 .5 º n o rthw est o f M 3 4 b u t lacks t he rich st ar tex ture o f that clu ster. Thro u gh the eyepiece NG C 9 5 6 app ears t o co n tain three b righter m em b ers w ith a sm atterin g o f fainte r stars str u n g o u t b etw een them . There are ab o u t 1 5 stars in to tal here, ran gin g in b rightn ess bet w een m ag. +1 2 .0 an d + 14 .0 . A 10 -in ch o r larger sc o p e w ill reveal the fain ter m em b ers o f the clu ster m o re co m fo rtab ly and to gether they ap p ear to fo rm an S-shap ed asterism run n in g b etw een tw o 9 th-m agn itud e stars. The clu ster m easu res in at 5 x 2 arcm in u tes, elo n gated in a n o rth-sou th d irecti o n . � SEEN IT
sk yatni h tm a az ine com 2016
5
6
N G C1 0 2 3
R eturn to M 3 4 , then l o o k 2 .5 º sou th to lo cat e the m ag. + 4 .9 star 12 Perse i. Fro m here, a fu rther 1 .2 º so u th an d v eerin g slightly to the w est, is m ag. + 9.5 galaxy N G C 1 0 2 3 . It is cl asse d as a b arred lenticu lar galax y an d is an easy find thanks to its relative b rightn ess. A sm all telesco p e sho w s the galax y as a thin, elo n gated o val su rro u n d in g a star-like co re. Larger in strum en ts reveal the co re’s b ar ap p earan ce alo n g w ith a seco n d fainte r galaxy t o the east. K n o w n as NG C 1 0 2 3 A , this galaxy’s light ap p ears t o m erge w ith the o u ter haz e o f NG C 1 0 2 3 , cre atin g a b u lge to the east o f the m ain galax y. � SEEN IT
A BEL L 42 6
O u r fin al target is the P erseu s C lu ster o f G alaxies, A b ell 4 2 6 . This is o n e o f the m o st m assi ve
gravit atio gn ally o u nd ds o‘ofbgalaxies. jects’ in the w n it, U nstart iver se, c o n tainin tho ubsan To knlo ocate at A lgo l an d lo o k 2 .2 5 º east, n u d gin g a fractio n to the n o rth as yo u go . The b rightest galaxy is m ag. + 11 .6 NG C 12 75 Pe rs eus A ) an d this sh o ul d b e use d as the startin g p o in t. The b rightest galax ies are viab le fo r a 8 -in ch sco p e, b u t a large 16 -in ch in strum en t sho u ld b e ab le to p ick up 6 0 -p lus cl ust er m em b ers. A s w ith A b ell 3 4 7, use a lo w p o w er to first lo cat e. Then in cre ase to arou n d 2 0 0 x b efo re tryin g to p ick o ut oth er m em b ers o f the clu ster. � SEEN IT
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C ollin d er 399
SAG ITTA
in ocu la r tou r
Wit h St ephen T onkin
O cto b e r b rin gs fam o us ne b ulae a ho le in the M ilky W ay an d an u n d e rrate d c lu ste r
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T HE DUMB B ELL NE B ULA O u r f irst ta rg et is t h e fi rst p la n e ta ry n e b u la iscovered a nd the ea si est o ne fo r bi nocul ars . If you pl acem ag . +3 .5 G am m a a S a g itta e a t th e so ut h o f th e fi el d o f vi ew th en the D um b b el l N eb ul a, M 2 7, w ill b e j ust no rt h o f cen tre. It a p p ea rs a s a t iny, rect a n g ul a r gl o w in g cl ou d. W ith g oo d ski es an d p a tien ce, yo u m ig ht m a ke o ut a sl ig ht na rr ow ing in t he m id d le t ha t g ives i t its com m o n na m e, a ltho ug h it lo o ks f a r m o r e l ike a n a p p le co r e t ha n a d um b b el l. It is q ui te la rge fo r a p la n et a ry n eb ul a , b ei n g a little o ver t w o lig h tye a rs a cross. SEENIT 10 x 5 0 ever d
R
C
2
ALB IREO
10 xA 5 0 a
lb ireo B et a ) C yg ni) is th e d o ub le st a r t the he a d of Cyg nu s , the Sw a n. Its t w o s tars are3 4 arcs econ dsa p art , w hi chm akest hem a g o o d test fo r t h e o p tica l q u a lity o f a p a ir of 1 0 5 0 s; if yo u c a n’ t sp lit th em , try m o un tin g yo u r b ino cul a rs. The b rig ht er m a g. +3 .1) s ta r is a d ee p g o ld en yel low , w hi le t he fai nt er m a g . + 5 .0 ) co m p a ni o n i s a d ist in ct sap p hi re- b lue . A lb ireo
sky tnightm g zine com
0 2 16
ach on e is t ho ug ht to b e a tr ue b ina ry , sep a r a ted b y 0 .12 lig h tye a rs w ith a n o rbi ta l p eri o d o f ab ou t 75, 0 0 0 yea r s . SEENIT
3
NG C 6 940
10 x Pr et tyo 5 0 b e fa r b
p encl ust erN G C 694 0 ou gh t to ett er kn o w n th a n it is. To fin d it, st a rt a t m a g. + 2 .5 G ien a h Ep si lon ¡ ) C yg ni ) a g. ce+ t4 o.2t he 52an dCn ygna vi i.gaN teow3° dugo thee ssamou th te dio m s tan sou thw est , w he r e yo u w ill find a n o va l p a tch o f lig ht tha t ex ten d s t o the sam e a p p a ren t d ia m et er ast he M oo n. A syoust ud yt heg low , you s ho ul d b e a b le t o resol ve ei g ht or s o st a r s . N G C 69 4 0 is ab o ut 2 ,7 0 0 lig h tye a rs d ist a n t a n d is t h o u g ht to b e a r ou nd 8 0 0 m illion yea r s ol d. SEENIT
4
T HE NO RT HERNCOA LSACK
10 x V ery sl 5 0 +1. 3 D
ig h tly t o th e e a st o f a lin e fr o m m a g . ene b A lph a ) C ygn i) to m ag . +2 .2 Sa dr G am m a a C yg ni ) is Ba r na r d 3 4 8, a very d ark pa tch i n t he M ilky W a y cal led the N ort hern C oa lsack. EE Ba r na r d w asa 19 th- cent ury
ast r onom er w hocat al ogu edm anyo f w hat had b ee n tho ug ht s ince W illia m H ers che l’s t im e, to b e ‘ h o les’ a n d ‘la n es’ cu ttin g thro ug h th e M ilky W ay. Byst ud yi ng ph ot og r ap hsof them heha d ta ke n w ith t h e 4 0 -in ch ref ract o r at th e Y erkes O b serva to ry, h e rea lised th ei r t rue n a ture: cl o ud sofob sc uri ng g asa nd d ust . SEENIT
5
T HE NO RT H AMERICA NEB ULA
10 x The 5 0 is a l
N or thA m er icaN ebul a, N G C 700 0, a rg e b ri g h t p a tch o f n e b u lo si ty, th e ce nt re of w hi ch i s ab o ut 3 .5 ° ea st sou th ea st o f D en eb . In a ve ry t ran sp a ren t d a rk sky i t is vi si b le a s a sl ig ht ly b ri g h ter p a tch o f sky e ven to th e na ked eye w ith d ir ect vi si o n. I f yo u a r e h a vi ng trou b le id en tifyi n g it, see if yo u ca n m a ke o ut th e d a rk r eg io n t h a t fo rm s t h e ‘ G ul f o f M ex ico ’. Thi s i nt erven ing g a s an d d ust is an o the r da rk n eb ul a a n d, on ce y o u h a ve i d en tified it, it ca n m aket hebr ight er gl ow of N G C 70 00 m or e ea si ly a p p a rent .
6
SEENIT
T HE EAST ERNVEIL
15 xW 7 0 m
e sw itch to la rge r bi n o cu la rs fo r t hi s o nt h’ s cha llen g e, th e b ri g h ter p a rt o f th e V ei l N eb ul a, a h ug e supe r no va rem na nt . To gi ve yo ursel f the g r ea test cha nce o f success , cho o se a tr an spa r en t, m oo nl ess ni g ht a nd m ou nt yo ur b ino cul a rs . Im a g ine a l ine j o ini ng G ien a h a nd m ag . +3 .2Z et a c) C yg ni , th en lo ca te t h e m id d le o f the line a nd lo o k j ust un d er 1° a b o ut a q ua rt er o f th e vi ew ) to th e so ut hw est . U se a vert ed vi si o n a n d, w ith p a tien ce, yo u sh o ul d se e t h e ve ry f a int cu rve t h a t is t h e E a st ern V ei l ex ten d in g a cross a q u a rt er o f th e fi e ld o f vi ew . SEENIT
T H ES K Y G UI D E
O CT OB ER
N
ST ATISTICS
M oonwatch Billy CR AT E R BIL LY SIT S o n the south ern sh ore of th e O ceanus P rocellarum . Its p osition close to th e ocean’s dark fl oor and general ap p earance is quite rem iniscent of crater P lato, w h ich sits on th e north ern edge of th e M are Im b rium , alb eit sm aller. Bill y is 46 k m in diam eter, P lato 100k m . T h e sim ilarity stem s from Bil ly h aving acom p lete rim th at surrounds a sm ooth , dark fl oor. T h is ch aracteristic h as resulted from b asaltic lava fi lling Bil ly’s interior, creating a dark ‘p ool’ of lava nest led w ith in lig h ter h ig h land features. Billy ’s fl oor lies ab out 3 00m b elow th e general lunar surface, w ith th e im p ress iverim rising to around 1k m ab ove th e fl oor. T h ere ap p ears to b e a sm all ga p e south ern art oflethon is rthime . Finewth features arep visib fl oor save for a coup le of craters, one lig h t and one dark . Im m ediately to th e north of Billy is M ons Hansteen src inally Hanst een Alp h a), one of th e b rig h ter features in th e reg ion. T h is 3 0k m triangula r p lateau, unoffi cially k now n as ‘th e Arrow h ead’, is estim ated to rise ap p rox im ately 1k m ab ove th e sur rounding sur face. Indivi dual p eak s m ay rise 500m ab ove th is. It is int erest ing to contrast and com p are th e ap p earance of sim ilarly sized Billy and Hansteen. Billy’s dark , fl at fl oor look s com p letely different to Hanst een’s rug g ed concentric ap p earance. T h e rim of Hansteen is also m ore g eom etric, th e crater ap p earing alm ost h ep tag onal in sh ap e. T h e inner concentric featu res ins ide Hanst een’s m ain rim are dram atically interrup ted b y a sm ooth , dark , lava-fi lled reg ion in th e north east quadrant of th e crater fl oor. T h e p ositio n of Billy and Hansteen m eans th at lib ration
does affect t h e ap p earance of b oth craters. W h en favourab ly p laced tow ards th e M oon’s E arth -facing centre, b oth ap p ear reasonab ly undis tort ed, w ith Billy tak ing on a circular ap p earance. W h en lib ration p ush es th em closer tow ards th e M oon’s w estern lim b , Billy look s considerab ly m ore oval. T h ere is g ood op p ortuni ty to see th is eff ect in action th is m onth . O n th e evening of 12 O ctob er lib ration favours th e rounder ap p earance of Bi lly w h ile on th e m orning of th e 22nd, it’ll ap p ear m ore oval.
9
TYPE: C rater SIZ E : 4 6 km di am et er AGE: 3 .2 -3 .9 b illio n ye ars LO C A TIO N: La titu d e 13 .8 °S, lon gitud e 5 0. 2 °W BES T TIM E T O O BS ERV E: Fo u r d ays af te r fi rst q u arte r o r three d ays after last q ua rter 1 2 O ct ob er arou nd 22 :0 0 B ST a nd 2 7 O ct ob er
E
arou nd 05 :0 0 BS T) M INIM U M EQ U IPM ENT: 2 -in ch tel esc o p e
S outh east of th e m ain crater lies th e p rom inent sm all crater Billy D 11k m ). T h is is th e navig ational st art ing p oint for locating t h e th in crack k now n as R im a Billy. It requires a 12-inch or larg er scop e to see p rop erly and ex tends south of Billy D , curving ar ound to th e
w est b efore h eading in a straig h t line to th e south east . A sep arate crack m ay b e seen in th e sm all lava-fi lled reg ion to th e south east of Bill y D w ith anoth er located 85k m due south of Bill y D . T h e identifi cation and sub sequent desig nation f or th ese rille s w as not m ade until th e early 19 6 0s.
“ B asaltic la v a has fi lled B illy’s interior creating a d ark ‘pool’ nestled within lighter highland features” O CEAN USP RO CEL L A RUM
G RI M AL DI
H A NSTEEN M O NS H A NSTEEN B ILLY B ILL Y D
B illy an d n earb y cra ter H anstee n are n early the sam e size b u t the co n trast b etw een them is sta rk sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
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Ast ro pho t o graphy ranus and its major moons R ECOM M EN E EQ U IP M ENT Hig h fram e rate or CCD cam era, 8-inch or larg er telescop e w ith an op tical am p lifi er to ach ieve an effective focal leng th of around 10m or long er, long p ass red) fi lter for m onoch rom e cam eras w h en im ag ing th e p lanet’s disc
U ran u s ca n show d isc d eta il an d at the v e ry le ast i ts g re e n hue b ut its m ain m o on s form an o the r in tere stin g targe t
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TH E IC E G IA NTS U ran u san d Neptu n e lead the p lan etary charge this m o n th, b ein ghigh an d w ell p o sitio n ed in the n ight sky. F ro m the cen tre o f the U K U ran u s att ain s a healthy altitu d e o f 4 5 º . It also re aches op p o sitio n o n 15 O cto b er w hen it s hou ld ap p ear at its b est to u s. H o w ever, d o n ’t get to o ex cite d , as the effec t that o p p o sitio n has o n ap lan et’s ap p earan c e d ec reases w ith its d istan c e fro m theSu n . U n like the d ram atic chan ges seen in the ap p earan c e o f M ars at o p p o sitio n , the d ifferen ce b etw een an op p o sition an d n on -op p osi tion vi ew of U ran u s is su b tle at b est. T he p lan et’s great d istan ce fro m E art h p resen ts u s w ith a d isc w hich i s ju st 3. 7 arcse co n d s acro ss. C o m p are that to the 4 4 arcse co n d s pre sen ted b y Jup iter w hen at o p p o sition last M arch an d yo u can see that gettin gd etail fro m U ran u s isn ’t t hat easy. Its co ld atm o sp here d o esn ’t help m atters either, as is ac tu ally rather b lan d in its ap p earan ce. T he b est w ay to ex tr ac t an y featu res fro m U ran u s is to u se acam era w hich skyatnightmagazine.com 2016
has go o d sen sitiv ity in the lo n g w av elen gth p art o f th e sp ectru m . Thi s co u ld b ea m o n o ch rom ecam era o r col o u r cam era w ith go o d in frared sen sitivity . A lo n gp ass filter eg61 0 n m lo n gp ass) is ago o d o p tio n as it allo w s the cam era to co n cen trate o n the red p art o f th e sp ectru m , w here m o st U ran ian d isc featu res sta n d o u t b est. G o o d seein g an d acc u rate fo cu s are essen tial req u irem en ts b ecau se w e’re tr yin g im age su ch a sm all d isc; an y w o b b les o r b lu rred n ess w ill easily hid e an y d etail that is p resen t. E x p o su re can so m etim es b e d ifficu lt to a ssess, an d p ro cessi n gd etail fro m U ran u s’s d isc is a su b tle affair to o . A registra tio n -stackin g p rog ram su ch as A u to Stakkert sh o u ld han d le the in itial p ro cessi n gw ithou t to o m u ch b o ther so lo n gas the im age d o esn ’t ju m p arou n d thefram etoo m u ch . R esc ale the resu lt in a grap hics e d ito r an d gen tly tease it to p u ll o u t an y w eak b an d s visi b leo n U ran u s. A light to u ch i s
req u ired here b ec au se it’s all to o easy to in tro d u ce ‘featu res’ that sho u ld n ’t b e there. The m o o n s o f U ran u s are ad ifferen t m att er alto gether. H ere, there’s n o d isc o r d etail in fo rm atio n to b e had , the em p hasis b ein g sim p ly to get yo u r cam era to see an d reco rd them as p o ints o f light n ex t to the p lan et. A lo n ger ex p o su re is req u ired fo r thi s an d w ill take yo u o u t o f the n o rm al m illiseco n d ran ge u sed fo r So lar System im agin gin to the lo w er en d o f the seco n d ran ge fo r d eep -sky im agin g. H ere, stab ility o f the telesco p e is critica l. W in d y co n d itio n s p lay havo c w ith tin y p o ints o f light im aged at high im age sc ales, so b e p atien t an d try an d co llect as m an y sharp fram es as p o ssi b le. H o p efu lly, w hen yo u p ro cess the m later o n , yo u r registratio n stackin g p ro gram w ill b e ab le to id en tify an y p o o r q u ality im ages an d reject t hem from the en d resu lt. al pwhase co tsm cob inn etain thein g p lanT he et imfinage ith anis ytosho them o o n s. T his can b e q u ite tricky to d o , esp ecially in the d am p o f an O cto b er n ight as an y d ew o n the telesco p e’s o b jec tiv e w ill cau se light to sc atter on them o on s shot a n d bl ow u p the ap p aren t siz e o f the p lan et so that it in terferes w ith w here the m o o n s are o n the im age. V ario u s ‘tricks’ can b e u sed to re-align an d co m p o se the fin al im age. O n ce d o n e this w ill give yo u a sho t o f this in cred ib le o u ter p lan etary fam ily, the green em erald o f the au tu m n n ight sk y.
K EY TECHNIQ U E CHUranus A SINGisT aH Edistant M O O NS world that presents a tiny disc. However,ther e’ s more to Uranus than just its disc and by using a suitable image scale and slightly longer exposure,i t’ s poss ible to reveal all f ive ofits major moons. W ith a decent tilt angle relative to Earth,the plane ofthe moon orbits appear as wide ellipses, making them a very dif ferent and interesting ta rget to follow over time.
Se n d yo u r im age to : ho tsho ts@ sk yatn ightm agaz in e .co m
T H ES K Y G UI D E
O CT OB ER 6
STEPB YSTEP GU IDE STE P2
See o u r P lanets sp read this m o n th fo r in st ructi o n s on how to find U ranus; it sho u ld b e p retty easy to see thro u gh a fin d er. O nce on chi p it’s no rm ally o b viou s if yo u ’ve fou nd U ranu s as
STE P Thou gh it can b e seen w ith the n aked eye to reco rd U ran u s w ith a high fram e rate cam era yo u ’ll n eed a large ap ertu re ins tru m en t – 8 in ches o r larger to cap tu re the p lan et at a sm all siz e larger sti ll if you in ten d to u p the im age sca le u sin g an o p tical am p lifi er su ch a s a B arlo w len s or Po w erm ate.
it w ill havt size e anun like app aren a star. A m o no chrom e high fram e rate cam era fi tted w ith a red lo n gp ass fi lter typ ically gives the b est cha n ce of reco rd in g d etail su ch as b elts o n the p lanet’s d isc.
STE P3
Locat e U ran u s a n d p racti se im agin g it at you r sco p e’s n ative foc al len gth. O n ce p racti sed in tro d u ce a B arlow or Pow erm ate len s to inc rease im age sc ale. Take yo u r tim e refi in g fo cu accun rately as spaso ssib le. D u e to the p lanet’ s d im n ature you ’ll n eed to u se lo n ger ex p o sure s a nd lo w er fram e rates than yo u w o ul d fo r t he b righter p lan ets. If n ecessary raise th e gain to 7 0 -8 0 p er cen t to m ain tain a d ecen t fram e rate.
STE P 4 A d ju st t he gain an d ex p o su re to gi ve y o u a b right b u t no t o ver ex p o sed d isc. R eco rd sever al tho u san d fram es a n d p roce ss w ith a registra tio n -st acki n g p ro gram . Tw eak t he resu lt in an ed itin g p ro gram u sin g cu rves b rightne ss a n d co n trast ad ju stm en ts. B elts a n d zo n es ca n b e hard to p u ll o u t so b ear w ith it – ap p ly sm all cha n ges at a tim e.
beron T itania
U m br iel Ariel iranda U ranus
e t u n i c r a 1
STE P5 The m o o n s req u ire lo n ger ex p o su res typ ically 0 .5 -5 se co n d s. If n ecessary a d ju st im age scal e w ith an o p tical am p lifier . Fo r referen ce M iran d a w an d ers 2.4 x U ran u s’s ap p aren t dia m eter from the p lan et’s cen tre O b ero n 1 1 .4 x ap p aren t d iam eters. If yo u alter im age sca le take a n o rm al ex p o su re o f the d isc f o r sca le m atch in g in Step 6 .
STE P6 P ro cess you r m o o n cap ture sh o t using a registr atio n -sta cki n g
p ro gram . Lo ad in to a layer b ased ed itor as t he b o tto m layer. Lo ad you r Step 4 im age as u p p er layer an d align . D raw a circu lar selecti o n arou n d the u p p er p lan et w ith a b o rder b u t no t ou t as f ar as th e in n er m o o n . Feat her the selecti o n b y a co u p le o f p ixel s inv ert an d d elete. sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
2016
O U N TD O W N TO TH E
In t w o ye a rs the J a m es W eb b S p a ce T el es co p e w ill b eco m e o ur b ig g e s t e y e in th e s k y. liz ab eth P earso n lo o ks a t its p ro g re ss so fa r K C O T S I , N A M M U R G P O R H T R O N
n th e lab s of N AS A’s G oddard S p ace F lig h t Center, th e future of astro nom y is b eg inn ing to tak e sh ap e. It h as b een over 20 years in th e m ak ing , b ut th e larg est and m ost advanced orb ital ob servatory ever b ui lt , th e Jam es W eb b S p ace T elescop e JW S T ), is in its fi nal sp rin t tow ards la unch in O ctob er 2018.
T h e sp ace telescop e is s et to revolutionise o ur k now ledge of astro nom y, m ak ing it a fi tting trib ute to th em an w h ose nam e it b ears. T h is m onth w ould h ave b een th e 110th b irth day of Jam es W eb b , N AS A’s sec ond adm ini stra tor, w h o transfo rm ed th e ag ency into th e p ursuer o f scie ntifi c ex p loration it is today.
By loo k ing at U niverse in infra red, JW S T w ill allow research ers to see a sid e of th e cosm os th at h as b een larg ely h idden fr om us. It w ill b e ab le to p eer th roug h th e veils of d ust around sta rs and catch lig h t th at h as b een travelling sinc e th e cosm os fi rst b eg an to sh ine. “ T h e JW S T ’s sci ence g oals sp an across all diffe rent reg ions of ast rop h ysic s
Pri m ary m irr o r Secon d ary m irr o r
Sci en ce in st rum ent m o d u le Sp acecraf t b u s So lar p an el
Su n shield
E arth- facin g antenna and ast ronomy, ”says Hannah Wak ef ord, a O n ce u n fu rled the post doc t oral f ello watGo ddard Spac e FlightCent er. 6 .5 m m irr o r w ill ho p efu lly “ It ’ s mo v ing f rom t he deepest , f art hestreac hes of b e ab le to d etect ev ery t ime t hatwe ac n observ e, all t he way t hrough t o p hoto n that to u che s it our c losestneighbo urs. Itwill inv est igat e f ro m t he v ery largestt hings in our Univ erse down t ot he smallestt hings, lik e planet s.” >
n eye of gold
t emp erat u m f o r ppo t hert mirro rs and c arbon c ompo sit eres: f orberylliu t he main su st ruc t ure. Cooling t he J WSTwill be ac hiev ed by a surprisingly lowt ec h met hod, sinc e relying o n mec hanic al c o o ling t ec hniq ues o r c ryo genicliquids is imprac t ic al f or a 4, 00 0 k g spac e sc ope. Inst ead
Todot his, t he t elesc ope has t ob e able t opic ku p ev ery inf rared phot on t hatf alls on it , whic h is why ithas been builtwit h a huge 6 .5 m primary mirro r. Designed t ob e f olded f or launc h, t he mirror has been c onst ruc t ed outof18hex agonal mirror
I FTI N G TH
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element s made f rom goldc oat ed beryllium. “ Go ld has really good refl ec t iv e pro pert ies in t he inf rared partoft he spec t rum, ”says Keit h Parrish, Ob serv at ory Manager of t he J WST. “ Beryllium we ho cse b ec ause it ’ s mac hinable, light weight , st rong and st if f . It ’ s lik e itwas puton t he periodicc hart spec ific ally f or b uilding spac e t elesc opes.” Polished t oa t oleranc e of2 0 nm, t he mirrors hav e a near at o miclev el o f prec isio n. This is nec essary t oensure t hatnone oft he prec ious lightis sc at t ered away f rom t he f oc us point , and t omaint ain as sharp an image as possible. Butt oadd ev en more c o mplex it y t ot he proj ec t , t he t eam had t ob e sure t hat t hey would k eep t his ex ac t ness onc e c ooled t ot he 2 3 3 º C t hat t he t elesc ope will operat e at . “ We’ re at t empt ing t ov iew ob j ec t s and sc ient ifict arget s in t he inf rared, and t hat ’ s where heatis t ransport ed, ” says Parrish. “ Ifwe don’ tc ool t he t elesc ope down t he glo woft he heatof ft hatt elesc ope will swamp o ur inst rumentdet ec t ors.” Butworking att hese t emperat ures is noteasy. The mirrors are soprec ise t hatev en t iny expansions o r c o nt rac t ions c aused by t emperat ure c hanges as small as a 1/1, 00 0t h ofa degree c ould c ause t he mirrors t omisalign. Toprev entt his it sc onst ruc t ion mat erials were c hosen t ow it hst and t he ex t reme
The W ST has sev eral key science goals
FIRS T LI G HT
G ALAXY F O RM
The JW ST w ill b e cap ab le o f lo o kin g b ack t hrou gh tim e 13 .5 b illio n years to a m ere few m illio n years after the B ig B an g. It has b een d esign ed to d etect the fi rst l ight that ev er sho n e in the U n iverse . “ This is lo o kin g fo r the fi rst galax ies an d fi rst sta rs w hich form ed after
B y lo o kin g at light fro m the first few m illio n years o f the U n iver se JW ST w ill b e ab le to fo llo w the gro w th o f galax ies. “Ju st like there w as a H u b b le D eep F ield there w ill b e a Jam es W eb b D eep Fi eld . This w ill lo o k at galax y stru ctu res: are they sp irals ellip ticals o r
AT IO N
The in fan cy o f sta rs ha s lo n g b een hid d en fro m u s b y large gas clo u d s. H o w eve r b y o b servi n g in the infra red JW ST w ill b e ab le to see right thro u gh these layers. “ W e’ll b e lo o kin g at ve ry y o u n g sta rs w hich st ill have d iscs arou n d them w here p lan ets w ill likely
S TAR BIR T H
O ve r 3 3 75 con firm ed exo p lane ts are kno w n o f b u t JW ST w ill go b eyon d m erely lo cat ing t hese w o rld s. By o b servin g the sta rlight that shi n es thr o u gh a p lan et’s atm o sp here the sco p e w ill b e ab le to o b serve w hat elem en ts an d m o lecu les m ake u p the p lan et’s
XO
P LAN
TS
the W e’re lo o kin g farther b ackB ig i n Btimang. e than w e’ve e ver lo o ked b efo re ” says W akefo rd.
irregular? see hoies w the shapally e an d stru ctuItrew oillf galax is actu chan gin g ” say s W akefo rd .
fo rm . This is lo b oirth kingo at ll the stages o f the f aastar ” says W akefo rd.
atm u es to ho w o psplanhere. ets foThis rm wanilld give m ayclhelp in the hu n t fo r life.
TH EJ W S T
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IR R OR S IZ ES JWST’s prim ary mirror measures 6 .5 m across dwarfi ng that of H ubble a mere 2 .4 m. The mirror has been built with 1 8 1 .3 m hex agonal se gments.
JWST
HUBBLE This cryogeni c chamber at N A SA ’s Johnson Space Center will be used t o test JWST’s optical elements
d ep lo y the tel esco p e. It w ill take an o ther tw o w eeks fo r th e tel esc o p e to reach th e se co n d L agran gian p o in t an area o f spa ce 1. 5 m illio n km from o u r p lan et – far en o u gh aw ay that th e E arth’ s w arm glo w w o n ’t affec t its rea d in gs. O n ce th ere the tel esco p e w ill fi n ally b e rea d y to o b serve th e d ep ths of the U n iverse f o r t he n ex t fi ve to 10 years u n ve iling asid e o f the co sm o s t hat NA SA has been w aiti n gd eca d es t o u n co ver. S
JW ST w ill keep co o l b y sitt ing in th e sh ad e an d w ill b e ta kin galo n gits ow n p araso l in the fo rm a fi ve -layer su n shield the si ze o f aten n is co u rt. “T he t elesco p e i s po in ted o u t at spa ce so w e c an c o o l d o w n n atu rally” says P arrish. “E ach layer o f the su n shield refl ec ts a little o f the Su n ’s heat into d eep spa ce so y ou d rop d ow n in tem p er atu re w ith each layer. T he fi fth layer o f the su n shield is n ice a n d co o l w hich en ab les t he t elesco p e t o ge t as co ld as it d o es .”
The final assembly T he su n shield is cu rren tly b ein gp iece d tog eth er w ith great care. O n ce c o n stru cted it w ill b e attached to th e sp acec raft b u s the sec tio n o f the tel esco p e ho u sin gthe co m m u n icatio n s an d co n trol syst em s. M ean w hile t he m irror has b een ass em b led w ith its fou r s ci en tifi c i n st ru m en ts m o u n ted on the ba ck . T hese i n stru m en ts w ill u se s p ectrog rap hs an d c am eras to in terp ret th e light gathere d b y JW ST read y for ast ron o m ers t o co n d u ct t heir resea rch . T he o p tical half o f the o b ser v ato ry is cu rre n tly u n d erg o ing eight m o n ths o f tests t o en su re th at it w ill b e ab le to su rv ive the rig o u rs of l au n ch. T his in clu d es b ei n gco o led d o w n in the l argest cry o gen ic facil ity in the w o rld to m ake su re it w ill o p erate as ex p ected o n ce it has rea ch ed the fri gid tem p eratu res o f spa ce. B ysum m er 201 8 the t eam b eh in d th e scop e sh o u ld b e co n fi d en t t hat t he tw o halves a re i n p erf ect shap e. T he ti m e w ill then com e t o com bine them in to thefi n altelesc op ean d com p let eJW ST . T he fu ll sco p e w ill then b e c arefu lly p ack ed aw ay to fi t in sid e an A ri an e 5 . A s t he ro ck et i s to o n arrow to h o u se t he f u ll tel esco p e the m ir ro r has b een co n stru cted in three p arts that w ill fo ld o ve r each o ther. T he su n shield w ill b e co n certi n aed arou n d the s co p e an d held d o w n to p reven t it from fl ap p in g arou n d an d teari n g. T he lau n ch d ate f o r J W ST is s ch ed u led fo r O ct o b er 20 18 . O n ce i n spa ce i t w ill take t w o w eek s 178 rel ease m ech an ism s an d 4 0 m o v in gp art s t o fu lly
5 K C
The JWST has two wings of three mirror segments; both n eed to b e fold ed for it to fi t in the A riane 5 rock et The team readying the mirrors for installation check ing the sunshield unfolds properly and is free of tears and preparing each instrument; each req uires ex treme precision
A B O U T TH E W R ITER D r Eli z ab eth P earson is
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Sky at N ight M agazine ’s new s editor S h e g ained h er P h D in extrag alactic ast ronom y at Cardiff U niversity
sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
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DARKNESS L ig h t p o llut io n h a s a m a jo r im p a ct o n w h a t w e ca n s e e in th e n ig h t sky b u t is n o t a fa ta l p ro b le m w rite s Stev e R ichard s ight pollut ion is an issue that affect s all astronomers to some extent robbing us of the chance to see some of the fi nest v iews in the night sky. Just how d amaging your local light pollution is can v ary hugely but
you’ll fi nd that the li miting magnit ud e of your sky – that is the magnit ud e of the d im mest stars that you can see with t he naked eye – is a useful guid e. A s we hope to show here the local li ght pollut ion lev el d oesn’t hav e to be an imped iment to
enjoying observ ational astronomy; it is all a q uestion of choosing your subjects wisely and challenging yourself. H ere we explore the best targets from four generalised types of sky: cit y suburban rural and d ark-sky site.
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Fin d the b righter o b jects l isted here o n this m o n th’s all sky cha rt o n p age 5 4
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City ob servers ex p erience th e w orst lig h t p ollution. Careful p ositioning of your scop e can ob viate g lare from very local sources, b ut sk y g low results in a lim iting m ag nitude of 4.0 or w orse 1
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R A : 0 0h 42m 42. 0s D ec.: + 41 ° 16’ 00 ”
R A : 21h 30 m 0 0. 0 s D ec.: +1 2 ° 10 ’ 0 0 ”
A lthough h igh magnifi cation helps c ombat light polluti on as it dark ens the back ground sk y, our fi rst object is larg e and the view through binoc ulars is delightful. H owever, to glimpse some of the detai l of its dark dust lanes will req uire viewing smaller sec tions of the ga lax y through a 6 -inch telesco pe at 10 0 x magnifi cation.
With its almost star- lik e bright core, this slightly oval globular cluster is rather unusual. H igh magnifi cation will dark en the back ground sk y reveali ng fi ne chains of sta rs visi ble th rough an 8 - to 1 0 -inch telescope, although you certainly won’t see the black hole that is believed to be responsible for the concentrated core.
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5 N G C8 6 9 A N D N G C8 8 4 – T H E D O U B L E CL U S T ER
R A : 02 h 19 m 0 6. 0s D ec.: + 57 ° 08 ’ 00 ” N G C86 9 )
R 2 A H M B
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B inoculars will show this wonderful pairing of two beautiful clusters very well but magnifi cations of around 2 0 x to 3 0 x will separate out the individual stars nicely. Look out for the hand ful of orang e stars wit hin N G C 8 8 4 .
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4 M 4 5 – T H E P L EI A D ES
6 M U CEP H EI – H ER S CH G A R N ET S T A R
R A : 19 h 3 0 m 43 .281 s D ec.: + 27 ° 57 ’ 3 4 .88 ”
R A : 03 h 47m 00. 0s D ec.: + 2 4° 0 7’ 00 ”
R A : 21h 43 m 30 .4s D ec.: + 58 ° 46 ’ 4 8 ”
EL ’ S
There are many colour-contrasting double stars but one of the mo st stunning i s A lbireo a t the ‘beak ’ end of Cygnus. Comprising bright golden- yellow B eta1 1 ) Cygni and a fainter blue, almost turq uoise sec ondary, B eta 2 2 ) Cygni, these ‘topaz and sapphire’ stars are easily split in a 3 -inch telescope .
A glorious collec tion of hot young stars shining in the late autumn sk y, this stunning cluster is often used as a guide to observing conditions and c an be viewed by the nak ed eye from the city as a faint brightness. B inoculars will reveal the brightes t seven stars and many more.
This beautiful sta r was named ‘ G arnet’ by William H erschel because of its am az ingly strong red colour. A supergiant with a dia meter greater than the o rbit of S aturn, the G arnet Star is one of the largest and most luminous stars in the M ilk y Way. It is possibly the reddest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. > sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
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W ith a typ ical lim iting m ag nitude of 5.0 to 6 .0, th e M ilk y W ay is visib le th oug h it w ill b e w eak at th e h oriz on and w ash ed out at th e z enith
M C
N G C 4 5 7 – T H E O W L CLU S T ER
M C U U
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C C A B H L R RA A A H H B
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M C
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C U C
3 M 3 4 – T H E S P I R A L C LU S T ER
5M
RA:01h 19m 30.0s Dec .:+5 8°17’00 ”
RA:02h 42m 06.0s Dec .:+42°47’00”
RA:05h 34m 30.0s Dec . :+22°0 1’00 ”
T his bright ,irregularly shaped c lust er looks like an owl in flightwit h yellowand blue eyes,alt hough italsoc arries t he mo niker ‘ ETCl ust er’as itresemb les t he lit t le alien
At mag. +5.2youmightj ustglimpse t his group ofabout100st ars as a nebulous pat c h wit h t he naked eye. Ho wev er, t he c lust er is bestseen t hrough binoc ulars or
T he st ar t hatwentsupernov a in t he year 1054 AD t of orm t he CrabNebula shone atf our t imes t he bright ness ofVenus,but notany mo re. Ob servable as a f aintgrey
f rom t he film oft hatname. T he c lust er is a fine sightt hro ugh binoc ulars or a small t elesc ope atlowmagnific at ion.
a small t elesc ope atlowmagnific at ion, where c aref ul sc rut iny will rev eal t hree dist inc t ive c urving arms t hatgive itit s nic kname, t he Spiral Clust er.
pat c h ofnebulosit y t hrough a 6inc h t elesc ope,it s ellipt ic al c rabshell shape will bec ome apparentin a 10inc h or larger t elesc ope.
4M
6 CA LD W ELL
U
– T H E CRA
B N EBULA
C C C E C H C H C
2M 33 GALAXY
G N L A
RA:01h 33m 54.0s Dec .:+3 0°3 9’00”
RA:19h 59m 36.0s Dec .:+22°43’00”
RA:01h 57m 42.0s Dec .:+37°40’00”
T his f ac eon spiral galaxy has a lowsurf ac e bright ness despit e it s +5.7magnit ude,so itrepresent s an int erest ing c hallenge f ro m a suburban garden. Av ert ed vision t hrough a 6inc h o r larger t elesc ope will allowyou t oo bserve some oft he floc c ulentdet ail in t he arms oft he galaxy t hatc ause it s woolly appearanc e.
T he firstplanet ary nebula t ob e disc ov ered, t his unmist akable obj ec tis shaped like a dumb bell ( or t osome,an apple c ore)and is a lovely sightev en t hrough a small t elesc ope,espec ially ifyouu se an OIII fi lt er t oinc rease t he c ont rast . An apert ure of 8inc hes or mo re will st artt oreveal some mo t t ling ac ross t he nebula’ s surf ac e.
A binoc ular sweep west wards f rom t he base oft he c onst ellat ion ofT riangulum will bring yout ot his lov ely open c lust er. A small t elesc ope atlowmagnific at ion will provide an exc ept ional viewoft he 60o r sost ars wit hin,many ofwhic h are ofspec t ral c lass A2,indic at ing t hatt his is an unusually old c lust er.
L O
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H N C U A C
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– T H E DU
M BBEL
L N E BULA
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C C L A K L H P
E A H R C I H M C H
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ural 1 N G C 28 1 – TH E PA C M A N N EBU
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R ural observers are more fortunate, but still have no guarantee of d ark skies as nearby towns w ill project a glow onto the horizon. Limiting magnitud es are typically 6.5 to 7.1 3 ST EPH
ENSO
N 1
RA : 0 0h 53 m 00 .0s D ec.: + 5 6° 37 ’ 0 0 ”
R A : 18 h 5 4m 30 .0s D ec.: + 3 6° 5 4’ 00 ”
A lthough pop ular with astrophotog raphers , the nebula represe nts q uite a challe nge for observers as i t is rather d im. E dward E B arnard, who discovered the nebulosity, described it as “a large faint nebula, very diffuse”. A 1 0 -inch or larg er tele scope will show the glow of the nebula, especially when used wit h an O III fi lter.
This attractive open cluster is centred on the optical double star D elta ) Lyrae, which is located on the northeast corner of the parallelogram that gives the constellation of Lyr a its ‘lyre’ shape. Containing about 5 0 stars, centre stage is tak en by the lovely colour-contrasting pa ir of white D elta 1 and orange D elta 2 .
2 N G C 40 4 – M I R A CH ’ S G
4 N G C6 9 39
H O ST
R A : 01h 0 9m 2 4. 0 s D ec.: + 35 ° 43 ’ 0 0 ”
R A : 20 h 31m 3 0. 0s D ec.: + 6 0 ° 40 ’ 0 0 ”
This lenti cular ga lax y lies close to the bright or ange star M irach in A ndromeda, from which it gets its common name. L enticular galax ies don’t have any outer spiral arms and with no star formation there is no detectable outer detail, so it appears as a soft disc of light w ith an intense core.
Set against a dense M ilk y Way back drop, in ex cess of 4 5 stars belong ing to open cluster N G C 6 9 3 9 will be visible through a 4 -inch telescope, although this count will increase dramati cally in an 8 - to 1 0 -inch instrument. Look out for chain s of stars forming in tricate patterns, including a distinct ‘V ’ shaped pattern remin iscent of a fl ock of geese .
5 N G C 6 9 9 2 – TH E EA STER V EI LN EB U LA
N
RA : 20 h 56 m 24 .0s D ec.: + 31 ° 43 ’ 0 0 ” This object is part of the la rger V eil N ebula, a supernova remnant from a star that ex ploded 8 ,0 0 0 years ago. The eastern region can be seen throu gh binoculars on a clear night. It appears as an arc of nebulosity brok en into strands when viewed thoug h a 1 0 -inch or larger telescope with a U H C fi lter. 6 N G C 7 0 0 0 – TH E N O R TH A M E R I CA N E B U L A
R A : 21h 01m 4 8. 0 s D ec.: + 4 4° 12 ’ 0 0 ” A ptly named, th e nebula lie s to the east of the bright star D eneb in Cygnus. U nder transparent sk ies whe n the M ilk y Way is c learly visi ble, this huge nebula can be viewed with the nak ed eye and averted vision. Th is whole area is rich in emission nebulosity, open star clusters and myriad stars. > sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
1
2
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D a rk sk y sit e N o artifi cial lig h t to sp oil th e view , just th e dark canop y of th e nig h t sk y reach ing from h oriz on to h oriz on. W ith a lim iting m ag nitude of 7.5 larg er g alax ies w ill b e visib le w ith th e nak ed eye 1M 7 4 RA:01h 36m 42.0s Dec .:+15°47’00”
B M E A C H C I U 5 M
C C
C E U
M H C C C A B C E U N N C H A C C H M E H N C C N A H U B M
C C M
C U
C G N A U
C C L O
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H R A N H A
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A ‘ g rand design’galaxy,M7 4 is a f ac eon spiral wit h a lowsurf ac e bright ness. T his makes itquit e t ric ky t oo bserve as itis rat her dif f use in appearanc e. A t elesc ope in exc ess of8inc hes will reveal some oft he mo t t ling
3 N G C 15 14 – T H E C RY S T A L BA L L N EBULA RA:04h 0 9m 18.0s Dec .:+30°47’00 ”
5 CA LD W ELL 1 9 – T H E CO CO O N N EBULA RA:21h 53m 24.0s Dec .:+47°16’00”
Observing t his beaut if ul nebula c onvinc ed William Hersc hel t hatt his t ype ofobj ec twas notsimply a dist antst ar c lust er. Seen t hrough an 8-t o10inc h t elesc ope,t he nebula is
T here is some c onf usion aboutt he designat ion oft his nebula and it s emb edded st ar c lust er, butt hey are IC 5 146and Co llinder 470 respec t ively. A 4inc h t elesc ope will showa
ac ross it s f ac e when used wit h a nebula filt er.almo stperf ec t ly c irc ular:a c ent ral st ar c irc ular smu dge o flightwit h t woprominent surrounded by a hazy discofnebulosit y. Some st ars butan 8inc h t elesc ope at100x 2 CA LD W ELL 2 TH E st ruc t ure bec omes visible wit h an OIII filt er. magnific at ion equipped wit h a hydrogenBO W T I E N EBU LA bet a filt er rev eals some dark er regions. RA:00h 13m 00.0s 4N G C69 46 6BARNARD168 Dec .:+72°3 1’0 0” RA:20h 34m 54.0s Dec .:+6 0°0 9’00” RA:21h 48m 48.0s T he high surf ac e bright ness oft his lov ely Dec .:+47°3 0’00” planet ary nebula belies it s +10.7magnit ude. T his spiral galaxy is a hot bed ofsupernov a A 4inc h t elesc ope will c learly showt he ac t ivit y –eig hthav e been rec orded in t he pastWit h t he Co c oon Nebula c ent red in your nebula as an ov al disc . Inc reasing t he 100years. Itc an be quit e a c hallenge v isually eyepiec e,reduc e magnific at ion t oabout25x apert ure t o10inc hes or mo re reveals it s as ithas a lowsurf ac e bright ness. T he bright t orev eal a lovely river o fdark ness snaking annular nat ure,wit h a c learly defined area c ore is visible in a small t elesc ope butt ov iew away west wards f ro mt he nebula and ofdarker spac e bet ween t he c ent ral t he spiral arms will require an apert ure of12 st anding outagainstt he ric h surrounding st ar and t he b right er shell. inc hes or mo re. st ars oft he Milky Way. T his darknebula is
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caused by dust block ing the light of back ground star s. 7 N G C 70 08 – THE F O ET U S N EB U LA
R A : 21h 0 0 m 30 .0s D ec.: 5 4° 3 3 ’ 0 0 ”
9
winds emanating from a massive cent ral star, forming a bright ring of nebulosit y. This one is q uite a cha llenge, req uiring ex cellent transpa rency, but a 1 0 -inch or larger telescope and a U H C fi lter wi ll create a great view. 9M
10
fascinating objec t is mainly an emission nebula. A small telesc ope will sho w a small misty patch of light but the inclusion of a U H C fi lter will r eveal some of the dark lanes traver sing the nebula, and increasing the telesco pe aperture to 8 inches will show some tenuous fi laments of neb ulosity. S
52
A ppearing as a small illuminated d isc in
R A : 23 h 2 4m 12 .0 s
a 4 -inch telescope, the shape changes to that of a lopsided ‘C’ when viewed t hrough a 10 -inch telescope at about 1 0 0 x magnifi cation. The south-sout heast region is dark er where it eats into the neb ulosity forming a slight arc, which gives the nebula its foetus-lik e appearanc e.
D ec.: 61 ° 3 5’ 0 0 ”
AStevBO e RU ichard T TH EsWR is a ITER
A lthough it has a low surface bri ghtness , this fi ne open cluster is just discernible with the nak ed eye and a ppears as a ha z y nebulous patch against a rich M ilk y Way star fi eld through a p air of binoculars. A n 8 - to 1 0 -inch telesco pe will sho w close to 8 0 stars with a brighter western region.
seasoned d eep sky observ er and our eq uipment expert. R ead his monthly Scope D octor column on page 87 .
8 N G C 7 6 5 – TH E B U B B LEN EB U LA
R A : 23 h 20 m 12 .0s D ec.: 61 ° 11’ 0 0 ” The bubble shape of this dim emission nebula is caused by immensely strong stellar
10 IC 1 9 6
R A : 21h 39 m 06 .0s D ec.: 57 ° 3 0 ’ 0 0 ” A lthough r ich in dark nebulae , this
YO
U RB O N U S CO N T E N T
A ccess this month’s B onus Content for software t o help your telescope fi nd each of Steve ’s targets. sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
DV
ERTI
S EM
EN T FE TU
U K
RE
Ret ailer F in d the right o n e fo r yo u b u y yo u r telesc o p e fro m a s p ec ialis t re tailer
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O n e d ay this m ight be a fam iliar sight w ith m ining p o st s spre ad aro u n d the So lar Syst em to gather reso u rces
LAUNCHI NG T HE
ECONOMY A s Ea r th’ s r is in g p o p u la tio n d e p e n d s o n th e fi n ite re s o u rce s o f o u r p la n e t fo c u s i s s h iftin g to th e re so u rce s o f th e S o la r S y s te m w rite s Nick Sp all
A BO U TTH EW RI TER N ick S p a ll is a fr ee la nce sp a ce w ri ter. H e’ s in terv iew e d ast r on a ut s a nd exp er ienced zer o-G a nd p a r a b o lic fli g ht s.
S
Shac klet on c rat er, imaged here by t he NASA’ s Lu nar Rec onnaissanc e Orbit er ( inset ) is known t oc ont ain ic e
W HO W IL L B E M INING SPA C E The companies at the forefront of prospecting in space
D EE P S PA C E IND U STRI ES Fo un d ed in 2 0 1 3 this C alifo rnia -b ased co m p any is w o rkin g w ith the Luxem b o urg go ver n m en t o n ast ero id p ro sp ecti n g p lan s. ht t ps: / / deepspac eindust ries.c om
T O P K C T S Y M L . C
S E G A
E T K C T S 5 K C T S S V S / F S G / A S A
ur p lanet faces a ch alleng ing future : b y 2050 th e num b er of hum ans it w ill be s upp orti ng is p rojected to increase from th e current s even b illion to ove r nine b illio n. As th e p rosp ects o f p roviding
Jovian m oon E urop a and th e S aturnia n m oon E nceladus. R are m etals such as titanium tungsten gol d ir idium p latin um and m ag nesium m ay occur in quantit y on ast eroids and m inor p lanets such as Ceres. Indust rially
w ing num bresources er of p eopalone le usi ng Eforartthh is’s gro fi nite natural look increasing ly unatt ainab le – and cost ly from an ecolog ical p oint of view – atten tion is turnin g to w h at sp ace could offer h um anity. As w e continue to ex p lore th e M oon p lanets an d aster oids w e w ill unlo ck new sources of w ater m inerals and p ow er all of w h ich can h elp sp read h um anity across th e S olar S ystem . W ith new sources of m inerals ch em icals and energ y to m eet ex p anded h um an and indust rial needs b ack on our h om e p lanet th e ‘closed econom y’ of E arth itself can b e b rok en op en. T h ese new resources w ill c ontinu e to b e discovered as t h e w orld’s s p ace ag encies continue to s end out p rob es across th e S olar Syste m – E S A’s h igh ly successful R osetta m issi on to c om et 6 7P /Ch ur yum ov-G erasim enkob eing just on e ex am p le. But w e already k now w h ere m any resources are. T ak e w ater as an ex am p le. W e k now th at froz en w ater ex ists in th e p olar reg ions of th e M oon w ith in 20k m -w ide crater S h ack leton w h ere th e tem p erature is –2 3 3 º C in th e sh ade. M ars also ap p ears to h ave froz en w ater b eneath its surfa ce in its th e p olar reg ions. W ater also ap p ears to ex ist in fro z en form on asteroids com ets ex tinc t com ets th e
usefulcobm alt etals nickb eelp resent iron on and areincluding b elieved to asteroids and th e m oons of M ars P h ob os and D eim os. And it’s not j ust m aterials th at are out t h ere: solar p ow er is anoth er k ey ex p loitab le resource in sp ace. T h is is already b eing used to p ow er sp acecraft b ut it could also b e m ade g reater use of w ith collector-tr ansm itters in E arth orb it. A solar p lant at eith er of th e M oon’s p oles w ould b e an alm ost constan t sourc e of p ow er for m anned lunar b ases.
skyatn ightm agaz in e.c o m 0 2 16
PL A NET A RY RES O U RC ES INC Fo u n d ed b y the X -Prize ’s Pe ter D iam and is this W ashin gto n -b ased firm is d eve lo p ing lo w -co st o rb ital telesco p es to id en tify m in ab le asteroid s. www .planet aryresourc es.c om
Cut ting t he cost of space
Ap art from p roviding unlim ited m aterial for E arth -b ased industria l activi ty m ak ing use of sp ace resources w ould b yp ass th e cost ly need to launch m aterials and p rop ellant out of E arth ’s g ravity w ell into sp ace t h ereb y op ening up access to th e S olar Syste m . S tag ing p osts co uld b e created to service k ey needs. T h ese w ould p rovide h ydrog en and ox ygen to turn into ro ck et p rop ellant and w ater; m ineral-b earing soil for crop p roduction; and 3 D -p rinting m aterial and rock s for th erm al insulation h ab itat const ructio n and radiation s h ielding . According to O livier de W eck p rofessor of ast ronautics at M IT p rocessing lunar surface ice in-situ w ould allow for w ater and fuel p rovisio n across th e S olar S ystem at a cost of up to
K EPL ER EN ERG Y A ND SP A C E EN G INEE RI NG LLC This So u th C arol in a-b ased startu p ho p es to sen d a m issi o n to a nea r-E arth o b ject t o reco ver sever al to n n es o f sp ace ro c k fo r anal ysis. www. kesellc .c om
6 8 p er cent less t h an sup p lies launch ed from E arth . T h e p rofi ts fr om ex tractin g m etals and rarer m inerals from asteroids could b e im p ress ive in future to o. But access to sp ace is curren tly very ex p ensive and th is w ill in evitab ly p ut a b rak e on th e sp ace econom y. Costs a re com ing dow n th oug h .
S P AC ERES
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W HERE ARE THE SOLAR SYSTEM’ S RESOURCES? Th e b o d ie s o f the So lar Syste m are rich in re so u rce s H e re’s w he re w e’ll have to go to fi n d the m
RARE MET ALS
INDUST RIALMET ALS
Titanium, tungsten, iridium, magnesium, platinum gold may ex istand in useful q uantities on t he 3 ,0 0 0 near-Earth objects that pass our planet. The 5 2 .8 k m asteroid M athilde, has an estimated value over 1 0 0 trillion.
A steroids, M ars’s moons Phobos and Dplanets eimos,are andthought minor to be rich in nick el, iron and cobalt. O nce mined, this material could be returned to E arth or used in off-world colonies and bases.
S p ace-X h as ch allenged th e launch er m ark et w ith low er cost access to low E arth orb it (L E O ) and g eostationary orb it (G E O ) th ank s to its Fa lcon rock ets. W ith less co stly launch ers li k e th is, lunar landers and rovers m ay soon only b e only £ 50 m illio n to fl y. In th e longer term , as develop m ent of R eaction E ng ine’s S k ylon sp acep lane m oves ah ead, so th e p rom ise of satellite s reach ing orb it for just a few m illio n p ounds p er launch b ecom es a realit y. T h e current averag e cost for a st andard com m ercial satellite launch to L E O is £ 6 0-70 m illio n. E ven so, tim escales of 3 0-70 years are ex p ected b efore sp ace m aterials can viab ly b e ex tracted. M inin g in sp ace is not g oing to b e easy. T h e ch alleng es are m any and include anch oring equip m ent, telerob otics, sig nal delays, and even h ow dust and rub b le m oves in near zero-G . M ining p rocesse s such as surfa ce rub b le scrap ing , h eating ,
WAT ER
POWER The M oon, M ars, asteroids, comets,
EE uropa nceladus andssess all po froz en water. Its uses run from rock et fuel production through to consumption by colonists and radiation shielding.
Sunlight captured by solar panels in orbit around E arth or statione d at the lunar poles could can be transmitted back to E arth or rero uted for use on lunar bases and colonies.
and transferring m aterial are also all h ig h ly ch alleng ing in sp ace. And returning m aterial safely is ess ential to avoid collisi on w ith E arth . D usty c onditions for ast ronauts inside th eir crew quarters w ill also p ose diffi cultie s, as w ill dust w ear and tear on equip m ent – Klon dik e-st yle asteroid or lunar m ining villag es w ill b e toug h p laces to live in
B ut who owns what
G old R ush-e sq ue mining villa ges are sti ll fi rmly the stuff o f sci-fi – we’ve a lot of hurdles to overcome before we might see them
At th e sam e tim e as p ractical considerations are m ast ered, w e also need to consider leg al and m oral questio ns. W h at is th e law on tak ing w ater, rock s and m inerals from S olar Syst em ob jects and m ak ing use of it fo r econom ic gai n? M any refer to th e U N ’s O uter Sp ace T reaty of 19 6 7, Article 1 of w h ich states t h at since sp ace territory is th e p rovince of all m ank ind no sovereig nty rig h ts can b e claim ed over it. How ever, only nation st ates h ave sig ned up to th e treaty and p rivate com p anies m ay sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
7 S P AC E RES
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Would we harming life on E uropa by instigating mining operations beneath its icy crust?
not b e so resp ectful o f its s p irit. M ore recent leg islation allow s for fl ex ib ility in th e future: 2015’s U S S p ace Act, for insta nce, recog nises th e righ t of U S citiz ens to ow n ast eroid resources, b ut it is unilateral. Clearly, a fut ure int ernational licencing s truct ure is needed to m ak e p rosp ecting natu ral resources in sp ace safe, scientifi cally resp ectf ul and ultim ately fair. T h e U N is th e log ical b ody to est ab lish and m onitor its lice ncing , m onitoring and enforcem ent.
U niversity o f L ondon, h as p ointed out th at vast areas of th e lunar surface w ould need to b e strip -m ined to ex tract enoug h of th e rare h elium -3 isotop e to us e in fu tu re nuclear fu sion reactors. F arth er out in th e S olar Syste m , th e contam ination of E urop a’s p ristine sub surface oceans is an ob vious ex am p le of th e p ossib le dang ers to p otential lifeb earing environm ents th at p rosp ecti ng in th e S olar S ystem could b ring . S om e b elieve th at w ilderness areas sh ould b e estab lish ed in th e S olar
IIA), th e Com m itte e on Sp ace R esearch CO SP AR ) and the U N Com m itt ee on th e P eaceful U ses of O uter S p ace U N CO P O U S) w ill b euseful in this reg ulation p rocess. W e stand on th e th resh old sep arating fi ction and realit y: th at w e can see th e p ractical step s to ta k e tow ards an econom y w h ich is n ot only g lob al but w h ich sp ans th e S olar S ystem is testam ent to th e p rog ress and develop m ent of sp ace tech nolog y. It is p rog ress th at m ay one day secure h um anity ’s lon g -term future
T hnv e ethirical side of ex p loiting s p ace onme ntal ethics starts w ith ask ing w h eth er w e sh ould ap p ly th e sam e m oral considerations as ex ist on E arth to areas of th e S olar S ystem th at ap p arently h ave no life. Im p ortantly, sh ould com p anies or even nations b e allow ed to radically ch ang e natural w ilderness areas? I an Craw ford, p rofess or of p lanetary science at Birk b eck ,
S ystem . In an th ese z ones,co sim uld ilarexcontrols on m ining d drilling ist as ap p ly to Antarctica. P lanetary p ark s lik e our ow n national p ark s are p ossib le, w ith natural features lik e geysers, r ille valleys, canyons and p eak s p rotected in cons ervation areas, and h istoric areas li k e th e Ap ollo lunar landing sites covered b y h eritag e sites. Invo lving th e Int ernational Academ y of Ast ronautics
on tthh eis long p lanet and p rovide th e fi anoth rst steper on , journey to fi nding h ab itab le w orld. S List en t oB BC Radio3 pro gramme An o th e r ohear t aboutt he dev elopment ofast ero id mining operat ions. Gi nt L p
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Th e c u rre n t p lan n e d an d p ast lau n ch e s fu rthe rin g the t e ch n o lo gie s ne e d to d e ve lo p the sp ace e co n o m y
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ROSET T A Launched in 2004,ESA’ s probe t oc omet67P a l nded S a pro be on t he surf ace in 2014,demo nst rat ing t he N po ssibilit y ofdeepspace A rendez v ous wit h a small Solar Syst embody. S
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T he NASA pro be t o ast ero id Bennula unc hed on 8Sept emb er, wit h a mission t ograba sample f ro m it s surf ace and ret urn itt oEart h f or analysis in 2023.
A J apanese ionpowered pro be launc hed in 2014 f or ast eroid Ryugu,which will release an explosiv e dev ice t orev eal f resh mat erial and ret urn a sample t oEart h by 2020.
A pro posed ESA mission, MISSION ( ARM) slat ed f or launch in 2024,An amb it ious NASA t ola nd on t he Mart ian mission t oc apt ure and mo on Phobos and anc hor mo v e a small ast ero id int o t here while collec t ing Eart h orbitf or inv est igat ion samples f or ret urn t oEart h by a c rewed spac ec raf t , t hree years la t er. some t ime in t he 2020s.
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TH E G U ID E HO W TO IM A G E PRO C ES SING SCO PE D O CT O R
T he G uide Int rodu c ing planispheres Ev en in t he digit al age, t he planisphere remains an inv alu able aid t oget t ing you r b earings in t he nightsk y O n ce you ’v e set the cha rt t o m atch the cu rre n t d ate an d tim e yo u ’ll b e ab le to s ee w hich star s are in the sky
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or b udding s targazers one of th e g reatest aids to h elp ing you fi nd your w ay around th e nig h t sky is th e h um b le p lanisp h ere. T h is lig h tw eigh t astro access ory doesn’t look lik e m uch at t h e fi rst g lance just t w o discs o f cardb oard and p last ic fastened togeth er w ith a central p in. But th is decep tively sim p le desig n b elies t h e fact th at a p lanisp h ere allow s you to w ork out w h ich b rig h t stars are in sky t ni g ht m g zi ne co m
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th e nig h t sk y and w h ere th ey are on any date and at any tim e over th e year. T h is b asic k now ledg e is u sefu l for casu al st arg az ers and m ore serious am ateur ast ronom ers alik e. F or ex am p le a p lanisp h ere can h elp you to learn th e const ellations or
T H EG
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OCT OB ER
P L N IS P H ERE
GET YOU R B EAR INGS
2 S ET THE P LANIS P HER E
There’s one thing you need to k now befor e using a planisphere the cardinal points from where you live. If you don’t have a compass use the Sun. It rises in the
Le t’s say you’re heading out at 9 pm on 1 5 O ctober. A lign the 9 pm marker on the upper disc with the 15 O ctober mark er on the lower disc. The stars in the
southeast and sets in the southwest in January.
oval should now window match those in the skies above.
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4 S TAR HOP P ING
To start with look north holding the planisphere so that the word ‘north’ is at the bottom. If you change the direction you’re facing move the planisphere round so that the corresponding compass point is now at the bottom.
The central pin represents Polaris and the north celestial pole. Just to its lower right will be the seven bright stars of the Plough. U se these and the fi ve stars forming the W shape of Cassiopeia to get to k now the constellations.
CAS S IO P EI A P olaris th e Pole S tar) T HE P LO U G H
even just id entify a bright star you can see
horiz on) are rather stretched out. T his is
electricit y. T he one important point t o
at ae-mé particular time. planning It can alsoanbe auseful aid moire when observ ing session. A lthough the two d iscs are pinned to each other, they can still be rotated ind epend ently of each other. Printed ov er most of the lower d isc are the stars, constellations and brighter d eep-sky objects that you can see from the chart’s latitud e. M arked around the outsid e of this lower d isc are the d ays and months.
sky isonto three-d imensional and itbecause is beingtheforced a two-d imensional d isc, so it has to be expand ed toward s the ed ge of the chart. T his tool should be an essential part of your night-sky arsenal. Planispheres are cheap, easy to use, robust plastic ones more so), lightweight, portable and – best of all – they d on’t need
keep in mind are when using one is that planispheres d esigned to work at specifi c latitud es. If you tr y using one too far north or south of t he location it has been d esigned for, you’ll fi nd that the stars d on’t appear in the right positions. U K latitud es v ary from 50º N southern E ngland ) to 60 º N northern Scotland ). S
w in d ow to the n ight sk y
T he upper d isc is slightly smaller than the lower one, so you can still see the d ay and month markingson the larger disc beneath. It will also hav e an oval wind owin it, rev ealing part of the star chart on the lower d isc. T he ed ge of this wind ow represents the horiz on with appropriate north, south, east and west markings, and everything within it is the v isible sky. Just like the lower d isc, the upper d isc has markings around its ed ge. In this case, they d enote the time of d ay. B y lining up the d ate and ti me, the stars v isible in the wind ow will match the ones in the night sky at t hat t ime. We explain how to use aplanisphere in the step-by-step guid e above. Y ou may notice that someof the stars and in particular those near t he southern
9
TH E P L N ET P R O B L EM
W h y can’t I use a p lanisp h ere to fi nd th e p lanets o r th e M oon? Planispheres show objects that are ‘ fixed’in the night sky er lative to Earth –that’ s why they ca n be usedyear after year. However,this means that the y can’ t predict the location ofplanets or the Moon. Some manuf acturers try to over come this by printing details ofplanetary locations or f several years on the back,but there is also a line printed on the chart itselfthat can help. The ecliptic,of ten show n as a dotted line, marks the plane ofthe Solar System, in which most ofthe planets orbit the Sun. I fyou discover a ‘ star’in h t e sky that’ s not shown on ethplanispher e, M then it is probably a planet.
ost p lanisp h eres i nclude a line m ark ing th e eclip tic
sk yatnightmagaz ine.com 2016
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Install and set up an E Q 6 W ed ge correc tly W ith RobertJLu c as
Say good bye to bend y bolt d rama in the E Q 6 mount family TOOLS AND M ATER IALS COMPONENT S
EQ 6 W ed ge kit – t his is w hat co m es in the b o x . The t w o p arts o n the le ft attach to the ho rizo n tal axis o f the m o u n t. Th e p art that attaches to yo u r trip o d o r p illar is m id d le to p . Th e in stru c tio n s give a lin k to the m an u fact u rer’ s w e b site.
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17m m or adj ust ab le s p ann er 5 m m an d 6 m m A llen key s sm all flat b lad ed scr ew d river p ro tract o r o r d igital an gle gau ge.
Onc e t he wedge has been inst alled t he mo untc an be at t ac hed t oa pier or t ripod,as bef ore
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h e E Q 6 m ount and its m any variants offer trem endous value for m oney, and are st rong enoug h to h old telescop e tub es up to 12 inch es in di am eter. T h ey track w ell, h ave an easy-to-u se controller and allow you to use a g uidescop e. How ever, th ey are let dow n b y a rath er p oor set of alig nm ent b olts. T h is is often referred to as t h e b endyb olt p rob lem , th ough it i s not just th e b olts th at are th e issue : w h at th ey screw
SUNDRIES
ag ainst needs to b e sub st antially stro nger too. It can som etim es seem nig h on im p ossi b le to get th e b olts fi rm ly tig h tened w h ile m aintaining a g ood alig nm ent, or you fi nd you h ave ach ieved a g ood alig nm ent b ut as s oon as a h eavy telescop e tub e is added som eth ing m oves.
F inally a fi x
T h is is w h ere th e E Q 6 W edge com es in. Alth oug h th ere h ave b een various aft erm arket p roducts th at h ave attem p ted
Th ickto torest w e ltheb lan p in g m at m okeun t toorncam w hile in stallin g the w e d ge .
to p rovide a fi x such as stronger b olts, w h ich only solves a p art of th e p rob lem ) th ere h as not b een such a com p reh ensiv e rem edy until th is p roduct. N ot only are th e b olts a g reat deal st rong er, b ut also th e adjustm ent m ech anism h as b een p rop erly eng ineered. R ath er th an h aving tw o b olts p ush ing on ap iece sky atn ightm agaz in e o m 0 2 16
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f m eta l w hile b ein gtu rn ed , the n ew m ech an ism u ses the r o tatio n o f ab o lt to m o ve athread ed sleev e, w hich in tu rn m oves the m ou nt i n altitu d e. T here ’s n o b are m eta l again st ba rem et alm ovem enti n vol vedin the altitu d e ad ju stm en t. W hen the d ev ice fi rs t ap p eared it s u sef u ln ess w as im m ed iatel yn o ted . It tu rn s a m o u n t t hat ca n b e v ery fr u st rati n g to u se in to o n e w here fi n e align m en t is ab reeze a n d the m o u n t r etain s i ts align m en t o n ce d o n e. T here isn ’t agreat d eal o f ch o ice in this p rice c atego ry fo r a m o u n t that can take su ch a p aylo ad , an d eve n w ith the ex tr aex p en se o f the w edg e € 2 5) it i s stil l v er y go o d v alu e. T heE Q 6W edg eh asbeen desi gn ed to rep lace all o f the low er p art o f the E Q 6 m o u n t that att ach es to a p ier o r the tri p o d – in o ther w o rd s, the p art that nev er m o ves in a ltitud e. T he w ed ge can b e u sed w ith all the v arian ts o f the st an d ard E Q 6, in clu d in gthe N E Q 6 an d H E Q 6 , an d all the P ro, Syn Scan an d Syn T rek ve rsi o n s. It can also b e fi tted to th e v ari an ts o f the O ri o n ve rsi o n lab elled A tlas.
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P op off th e p lastic covers of t h e h oriz ontal ax is usin g a fl at-b laded scr ew driver. Loosen th e nut and rem ove th e central b olt. S ep arate the to p of th e m ount from the b ase. Th is c an take som e coax ing . Rem ove th e p lastic discs th at sep arate th e tw o p arts.
S crew th e long threa ded b olt into th e b earing end and attach it to th e m ount on th e side th at h as a recess. Put t h e corresp onding b earing end on th e op p osite side. N ote th e b earing s ie, th e discs) rotate i ndep endently of th e outer p arts w h en th e Allen screw s are loose.
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Tig h ten th e b earing s on to the m ount b y using the tw o b olts a s sh ow n here . Th e idea is th at th e central b earing p arts ar e fi rm ly joined to th e m ount so th at w h en th ey rotate due to th e adjuster m oving , th e up p er p art of th e m ount rotates to ch ang e its altitude.
Attach th e b ottom p late using th e Allen b olts. Tig h ten th em a little at a tim e in a diag onal p attern. Th is p late h as an attach m ent for your trip od; it can b e detach ed if you intend to fi x th e w edg e to a p ier th at h as suffi cient clearance.
Learn t h e c om p on ent s
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In stallatio an d the w edn geis isfairly n o w stra su p ightfo p lied prwartiardally ass em b led . H o w ever, b ef o re s tarti n g it is w o rth taking afew m in u tes t o u n d ersta n d ho w the w ed ge actu ally alters altitu d e the azim u th ad ju stm en t is sel f-ev id en t). T his is sim p ly aq u esti o n o f w hich b its can m o ve in rel atio n to o thers. O u r T o o ls an d M ateri als s ecti o n show s yo u w hat co m es i n the b o x, an d yo u can see th e tw o sid e p an el s of t he w ed ge o n the left o f the im age. T he b o tto m o n e has a lev er attached to the altit u d e ad ju stin g b o lt an d kn o b . T he ad ju st er t u rn s the screw that m o ve s t he lev er, w hich revo lve s the c en tral p art o f the sid e p an el. T his ce n tral p art i s fasten ed to the ho ri zo n tal ax is o f the E Q 6 . F o r th is t o w o rk the A llen screw s th at fasten the lev er to the c en tral ax is m u st b e tig ht an d the A llen screw s th at ti ghten the o u ter rin gs o f the sid e p an els o n to the c en tral ax is m u st be l oo se. W hen th e m ou nt h as been align ed the A llen screw s on the o u ter rin gs ca n b e tig hten ed . It is clea rly v er y im p o rt an t to have th e co rrect screw s tighten ed an d lo o sen ed w hen ad ju st in g an d then u si n gthe m o u n t.
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R ob ert J L ucas is dir ector of V irtual S cience Lt d, w h ere h e desig ns virtual ex p erim ents for e ducational p urp oses sky atn ightm agazin e o m
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Tig h ten th e Allen b olts that g rip the side p lates to th e m ount taking care not to overtig h ten. T h ere’s a fai r am ount of friction b etw een th ese surfac es s o th ere is no need for th ese b olts to b e hug ely tig h t. You c an now attach th e w edg e and m ount to your trip od or p ier.
Loosen th e b olts on th e ring s and lever, and set th e altitude adjuster to th e m iddle of its rang e. U se a p rotractor or g aug e to roug h ly set th e altitude to your latitude b y m oving th e m ount. Tig h ten th e lever b olts allow ing you to fi ne tune th e altitude w ith th e k nob .
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B T8 1S - Aw it h H F2M ou nt T r ipo d P ackag e T his 81m m ast ron om y b in o c u lar d eliv er s c rys tal c lear sha rp v iew s thr o u gh its n ew o p tic al d esig n . Its li ghtw eight b o d y en su re s tha t y o u c an take it to an y o b ser vi n g lo c atio n . P ac kage in c lu d es 2 x SL V eyepie c es tr ip ofork d swm inou gnt. b racket re d d o t fin d er and
S p e c ia l O f f e r P r ic e £1599 SR P £1784S
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E x pert a dvice from 2 0 1 5 ’s Sir Patrick M oore A ward for B est N ewcomer priz e win ner
PR O C ESSING
The hid d imenagindgetails D avid started in 2 0 1 4 inan dthe w o n Sw an IAoP Yrdp rizo efinO2 0rio 1 5 –n here’s ho w
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ri o n ’s Sw o rd has a w id e b rightn ess ra n ge that can n o t b e cap tu red in a si n gle ex p o su re. To prod u ce t his IA P Y B es t New co m er- w in n in gim age I h ad to take three exp o sures of 19, 4 4 an d 117 seco n d s. T hese im ages w ere sa ve d as T iff fi les a n d n am ed O ri on 1, O rion 2 and O ri on 3. W hen I re vi ew ed them it w as im m ed iatel y ap p are n t that d e tail in the b righte st are as had b ee n lo st an d the o u ter a rea s o f the O ri on Nebu lad id n ot con tain m u ch co lo u r or st ru ctu re; I had to u se P ho to sho p to b ri n go u t these fi n er d eta ils. S had ighlights m p le an Td he easy w ayo wto s/Hm ake ad ju stmt o eno l tsis at osithe light an d d ark are as o f an im age. F o r the sho rtest ex p o su re i m age, sel ec t Image> Adjustments> Shadows/Highlights
The 1 9 second ex posure sho ws the core clearly but n one of th e ex tended neb ulosity around it
an d set the sh ad o w s t o 0 p er cen t an d highlights t o 10 0 p er c en t. T his d arken s the b u rn t o u t area s b u t leav es the sta rs b right. Sav e this i m age as O rio n 0 . Nex t u se t he lo n gest ex p o su re i m age ( O ri o n 3), an d rep eat the p ro ce ss b u t set shad o w s to 5 0 p er ce n t an d highlights t o 0 p er cen t, this b ri n gs o u t m o re d eta il in the u n d erexp o sed area s, then save a s O ri o n 4 . T he fi ve im ages h ave d ifferen t co lo u r b alan ce a n d ex p o su re l evels , w hich n eed to b e co rrec ted , b u t yo u have to take ca re n o t to c re ate a to tally b lack, u n n atu ral sky. T his is d o n e b y ad ju stin g the im age’s b lack an d w hite p o in ts.
Creating your ne w b lack
Y A L L T I V A S E R T P L L A
Conversely in the 11 7 second image the ne bula is maj estic but the core awfully overe x posed sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
Select th e ey ed ro p p er t o o l an d in th e m en u at t he top o f the screen set t he sam p le si ze b o x to ‘3 b y 3 ave rage’. H o ld the shif t key an d cli ck o n ad ark p o in t in th e im age to c reate co lo u r sam p le p o in t 1. No w zo o m in to th e b ri ghtest p art o f th e im age an d rep eat to cre ate co lo u r sam p le p oin t 2. C lick Image > Adju stments > Levels an d d o u b le cli ck o n the ‘set b lack p o in t’
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eyedrop p er icon .I ntheR G B bo xes t yp e 20, 20, 20an dcl ickO K ;n ow u s et h eeye d rop p er to ol tocl icko n col ou rs am p le p o in t 1. R ep eat fo r the ‘ set w h ite po in t’ eyed r op p er icon ,set t in gt h eR G B val u es to 24 5, 24 5a n d 24 5, an d cl ick in gi n col ou r sam pl e p oint 2. T h isprocessneed st o b erepeatedf o ral l of t hefi vei m ages ,an dyo u n eedt oen s u r e t h at t hetw o s am pl epo in tsar ei n t hesam e p o si tio n in each o n e. Sav e t h e i n d ivi d u al im agesat t h een d ofeac h st age. U s in g these set ti n gs w ill n o t give a bu rn t o u t ort o ob lackan ap p earan cet othesky. E ac hi m age s ho u ldn ow have t hes am e exp osurer an geand col ou r ba lan cebu t d if feri n g am o u n ts o f d et ai l. N ow w enee dt obl endt hefivei m age s tog et h erw h ilek eepi n gthe ap p r op ri at e detai lfr om each. O p enO ri on 0( t he d arkes t im age) fi rs t,as yo u r b ackg rou n d im age, t h en o p en O ri on 1-4 s equ en tial ly as n ew layers ab ovei t.M ak es u re t h e al ign m en t o f each layeri scorrect . Y o u w ill b el ef t w it h ast ack , w it h t h ed arkest im age at t h ebo t tom an dtheb ri gh tes t im ageat t h e t o p . Y o u can ch an ge t h e t it le of each layerb yd o u b lecl ick in go n it, b u t th isi s n o tr ea lly n ecessary.
Balance colour b y set ting new b lack and w h ite sa m p le p oints circled) in each im ag e
len d in gth ec o re
Sel ect t heB ackgrou n d L ayer an d L ayer 1, w ith L ayer 1 b ei n g the a cti ve l ayer. S el ect Layer >La yer Mask>Rev eal Allt o create a l ayer m ask. Set t h e p ai n tbru sh t o o l to co lo u rbl ack , si ze20 , h ard n ess 0p ercent an d o p aci t y 50 p er cent, t h en cl ick i n the layer m ask( t h ew h itebo x) tom ak ei t acti ve. P ai n t ov ert h eb u rn t o u t areao f L ayer 1 t o reveal t h e d arker area of L ayer 0 bel ow .A n yerr ors can bep ai nte d overby u s in gaw h itep ai n tbru sh. R ep eat t h isprocess fortherem ai n in g three l ayers, w ith the l ayer b len d in g m od es et toN orm al .O ncey ou ar e sat isfi ed that t h e b est sel ecti o n s ha ve b een m ad ef o ral l layers, saveyou rfi le Layer > in t h e P SD fo rm at . F in al ly cl ick Flat t en Imagean d cr op asr equ ire d . M akeanyot her m ino r adj ust m ent s –p er h apst h edo d geand bu rnt oo ls ,or ad ju st co lo u r sat u rat io n – an d save t h e S fi n al im age w it h a d if fer ent fi le na m e.
D avid Tolliday won the IA PY 2 1 5 Sir Patrick M oore A ward for B est N ewcom er with this image > Th e final p rocessed im ag e, sh ow casing the hug e b rig h tness rang e w ithin the O rion N eb ula
Com b ine th e b est d etail from each laye r using layer m ask s, b ut leave th e b lend m ode unaltered Th e fi nal im ag e, w h ich w on th e O ur M oon categ ory of th e IAP Y 2015 com p etition
e rs n i l c e R r e e R is r it is h - m a d
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o o rde r your free b roc h ure c all
80 0 9 88 28 98
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w w .re c lin e r fa c to r y. c o m
Selected lin es o n ly. C an n o t be us ed in c o n ju n ction w ith an y o ther offer. O p tio n al extras c harged as p er retail p rice list. O ffer en d s 3 0 /0 9 /1 6 .
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SCO P E DO CTO R O C TO ER 8
Scope
W ith St ev e Ric hards
D O CTO R
Ooptical ur resident eq uipment specialist cures your ailments and technical maladies
T hew orm d ri ves on m ySkyW atch er E Q 5 m o u n t arei n n ee d of lu b ri catio n .A n ytip s orrecom m en d ation son grea s est ou se ? K A REN BU RN S
In normal use, you should n’t really hav e to re-grease your worm d riv e gears so it would be wise to check for other faults fi rst such as over-tight gear meshing or poor balance. If you have ruled out any other issues and still wish to re-grease you d riv es, there are some options.
manufacturer of your E Q 5 mount is often cited as an issue but in realit y, it really is not that bad In fact, it d oes hav e a positiv e effect with regard to backlash, which can be a problem with this mount, especially in the D ec. axis, but also in the R A axis. U nless your mount has been ‘tuned ’ by lapping the gears and
T vhe hea y-drather uty grease used by the
upgra d ingabout the bearings, you should be careful using the oftenrecommend ed lithium grease. T his v ariety is ind eed a good choice for fi nely crafted gears, although you d o still need to be careful ev en then as the constituent parts of the grease can separate into an oily fi lm and chalky powd er when it gets warm. T he manufacturer of these massprod uced mounts has chosen the thick, somewhat sticky grease they hav e for a good reason so don’t mov e too far away from their specifi cation. L ithium grease is really too t hin, so consid er using Superlube grease. T his is very stable, contains PT F E , and works without separating und er a wid e range of temperatures such as those experienced by astronomers.
P IP ;<->-; O king? Wha tis floc
inish R efl ections p roduced inside a telescop e dim e th e contrast of th e im ag es seen th roug h th oug h eyep iece or cap tured on your cam era. Alth al telescop e m anufacturers tr y to tam e intern tical refl ections b y p ainting th e inside of th eir op be tubpesroved w ith upm att p aint can tub e th ethopis tical y lining on bb lack im w ith fl ock ing m aterial. ht F lock ing m aterial is desig ned to ab sorb lig and e surfac ’ h ‘roug y icall op icrosc m its th roug h ver y b lack fi nish . Availab le in self-adh esive to sh eets th e fl ock ing m aterial is sim p ly stuck y th e inside of th e tub e once you h ave tem p oraril rem oved th e op tical elem ents.
My six yearold want s a t elesc ope f or his birt hday. Can yourec ommend any c hildf riendly set ups? M AY AT HO M AS
Six is agreat age to become interested in science and a telescopeopens up all sorts of interesting inv estigations a childbe. To keep to their ttention, the instrumentfor should as easy useaas possible. A lthough a refractor is the usual child ’s perception of what a telescopeshould look like, a D obsonian mount is simpler to assemble and use as well as offering the largest aperture for your money. Telescopes that should be on your shortlist, d epend ing on your bud get, includ e the C elestron F irstScope 3 -inch Telescope, the Sky-Watcher H eritage-100P or the Sky-Watcher H eritage-13 0P F lextube. If you really want to push the boat out and buy a more serious instrument that you can both really enjoy, the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P D obsonian is v ery hard to beat. If ‘looks’ are as important as ‘looking’ then you could consid er the C elestron A stroM aster 9 0E Q refractor, which can also be used for terrestrial observ ations. Celest ron’ s F irst Sc ope is an ic onic ref rac t or, buta Do bsonian will giv e youmo re apert ure f or your mo ney
Use t oot hin a grease on t his EQ5 Steve R and youmay experienc e issues lat er and an
ichar d s is a keen astro im ager astro no m y eq ui p m ent e xp ert
E mail your q ueries to scopedoctor@ sk yatnightmagaz ine com skyatnig htm agaz in e c o m 0 2 16
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E ach category is given a mark out of fi v e stars accord ing to how well it performs. The ratings are: Ou tsta n d in g ery
g oo d
Go o d
Bringing yout he bestin equ ipmentand ac c essories eac h mo nt h,as rev iewed by ou rt eamofast roex pert s
Ave ra g e o o r/ Avo id
90
F ind out why thi s short focal length achromat is ideal for visual use
SEE I N TER A CTIV E 3 6 0 °M O DEL SO F A LL O U R FIR ST LIG H T R EV IEW S A T WWW.SK Y A TN IG H TM A G A Z IN E .CO M
T h is m onth ’s r eview s
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F ir stl ig h t
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E xplore Scientifi c A R 152 d oublet achromat
T ri ed
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ZW O A SI224 M C C ool colour camera
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te st ed
Pulsar 2.2m home observ atory
Book s
G ear
102
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We rate four of the latest astronomy titles
Includ ing this fl at fi eld B arlow lens
F ind out more about how we rev iew eq uipment at ww w.sk yatnightmagaz ine.com/ scoring categories skya tnig htm a g a zine co m
2016
FIRST light
Se e a n int e ract ive 3 6 ° m o d e l o f this te le sco p e a t
ww w skyatnightmagaz ine com ar152d oublet
Ex plo re Sc ient ific AR15 2do ublet
ac hro matref rac t o r
A 6 -in c h telesc o p e id eal fo r visu al u se tho u gh it has an im agin g tric k u p its sleeve W O RDS :P AU L M O NEY
V ITA L STA TS
• Price £ 582 • perture 1 52m m 6 inches) • ocal length98 8m m f/ 6 .5) • ptical d esign F ully m ulticoated air-sp aced doub let • ounting M ounting ring s w ith h andle and V ixensty le m ounting b ar • ocuser D ual-sp eed 10:1 Crayford • Weight 10.7kg including accessories N O • xtras 8x 50 fi nder, rem ovab le dew sh ield, 2-inch dielectric diag onal w ith 2-inch N to 1.25-inch adap tor S • Supplier Tele scop e House S • www.telescop eh ouse. . com W W W • Tel 0 13 42 83 709 8
SK Y SA YS … he E x plore Scientifi c A R 1 5 2 secondary hand hold. T he 8 x 5 0 O n S aturn w e f/6 .5 air-spaced doublet is a straight-through fi nder has a clear fi eld short focal length achromat of view of 6 ° and the front objective w ere ab le to refractor. It is supplied with can be adjusted to achieve a crisp see th e Cassin i a dielectric st ar diagonal wit h a 2 - to focus. We were able to spot many of D ivision as w ell 1 .2 5 -i nch adaptor a triple-ri ng cradle t he brighter deep-sk y targets in t he as s ub tler details with a stu rdy carry handle 8 x 5 0 fi nder which helped us to locate and such as a da rk er straight-through fi nder and dust caps centre t hem in t he main scope with p olar h ood for front and rear of t he telescope. T he ease. We felt its plastic adjustment 1 0 4 2 mm- long tube is constructe d screws could be easily damaged but from aluminiu m and stainless steel and replacements can be req uested from the supplier. including its accessories it weighs 1 0 .7 k g. T he Crayford focuser offers 1 0 7 mm of travel T he doublet is t he front lens and it is f ul ly which is q uit e generous and allowed us to achieve mu lt icoated. T he scope has a focal lengt h of focus wit h t he supplied diagonal plus our own
T
9 8 relatively 8 mm which of f/6 H.5 owever . T his is fast gives for a a6 -ifocal nch ratio refractor. ‘fast’ focal lengths in a refractor mean t hat all the wavelengths of light are not brought to the same focus. H ence this is an achromat one where the doublet brings most of the light to a focus but usually at t he ex pense of slight colour fringing or chromatic aberration on bright targets. In m ost cases this is not t oo obvious with the E x plore Scientifi c A R 1 5 2 . T he scope is a good balance between size and cost. We found the carry handle on the tube cradle useful when carrying the scope to our mount . T here is also a second support bar located at the base of the tube before the focuser giving a M 17 in hyd rogen-alpha stacked from 29 exposures of 60 second s at ISO 1600 captured with a C anon EO S 50D D SLR
sk yatnig h tm ag az ine.com 2016
eyepieces and camera gear. It additional also has two bolts on its underside one providing tension if needed and the other lock ing the focuser in place. We did fi nd some play in t he lock ing bolt which shif ted focus when tightened but we soon discovered the sweet spot for focusing and lock ing it in place. F ine focus is provided by the dual-speed focuser and this proved handy for getting crisp views of the stars and planets.
Sharp st ars, slightdist o rt io n We attached the telescope to our own N E Q 6 G o-To mount and performed a star test on bright A lt air in A q uila with our 2 6 mm eyepiece. A ltair was pin sharp from t he centre to around 8 0 per cent towards the >
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T h ouge hforp rim visual m ent, youaccan scop deearily p -sk ay ast ro iminstru ag ing if you cep also t th atuse thet h is b rig h test st ars w ill h ave b lue-violet h aloes. O ur im ag es o f M 13 , the G reat G lob ular in Hercules, still sh ow ed p lenty of stars and indeed even th e nearb y faint, sm all g alax y N G C 6 207. How ever, you can reduce op tical ab errations if you tak e your cap tures th roug h a h ydrog en-alp h a fi lter. T h is c uts do w n the r ang e of lig h t that t h e ach rom at h as to focus and w ork s w ell on im ag es of neb ulae e ven during p eriods of m oonlig h t. To il lustrate th is, w e took a ser ies o f hyd rog en-alp h a im ag es o f M 17, th e O m eg a N eb ula in S agit tarius, w h ile th e M oon w as n earb y. W e cap tured p lenty of neb ulosity w ith out th e effects of t h e ch rom atic ab erration sp oiling the im ag e.
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T he remo v able dewshield was a lit t le t ight ,butgav e good pro t ec t ion f ro mdewing up,and in sev eral hours’use we had nodewt ro uble. Ifremo v ed itallows ac cess t ot he f ro ntlens c ell,which c an be collimat ed should t he need arise. We f ound init ial c ollimat ion t ob e spoton.
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T he scope has t riplering cradle and a univ ersal mo unt ing bar t hatwill fitmo stpopular mak es ofmo unton t he mark et . T he cradle and rings are st urdy and hav e a st ro ng carry handle builtint ot he t op,mak ing set t ing up easier.
FO CU SE R T he f oc user is a dualspeed 10: 1 Crayf ordst yle wit h a genero us 107mmoff oc us t rav el. T here are t ensioning and loc k ing bolt s on t he underside;t he lat t er loc k s t he f oc us posit ion alt hough we did not ice a lit t le shif twhen itwas t ight ened. T he f oc user c an t ak e eit her 2-or 1.25inc h eyepieces wit h t he supplied adapt or.
FI N ER T he 8x50st raight t hro ugh finder has an adj ust able f rontlens and a dualring mo unt ing wit h sixpointadj ust mentat t ached t oa quic k release brack et . Itof f ers a field ofv iewof6° . T he rat her flimsy plast icadj ust mentscrews c an be u pgraded ifneeded.
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F IRSTlight PT CS T h e 6 -inch front lens is an a ir-sp aced fully m ulticoated ach rom at doub let. F or visua l use th is g ives g ood colour correction w ith only slig h t colour fring ing on th e b rig h test sta rs and the M oon. Th e co lour fring ing is m ore p ronounced in im ag es.
> edge ofthe fi eldofview, with
only so me slight distortion. There was a little colour fringing at the fieldedge. W e aimedat Sa turn to ca tch it bef ore it waslost to view behindour garage. Although small in the es timated1.3°fieldof view ofthe 26mm eyepiece, adding a 5xPow ermate lens gave a e r wardin g view. W e were able to se e the Cass ini Division between the A andB ri ngs,aswell as subtler details such as a darker polar hood andnorthern belt. This was in moments ofsteady seeing conditions. W e f oundby switching the 5xPower mate f or a 3xBarlow we were abl e to spot with the 5 xPowermate we we re able tosplit the moon s Titan,Rhea, Tethys, Dione andIapteus. triple star I ota Cass iopeia. Although you can Our own Moon was replete with detail and take photos through it,its achromat ic f ront crisp craters. The ray pat tern from Tycho was lens is not best suitedf or astro imaging, particularly good,although w e didnotice a but it can still produce acceptable results greenish tinge to the lunar limb when the view –especial ly in hyd rogen-alpha.S was not quite centred. Nonetheless it withstood high magni fication when he t cond itions allowed , so it was very pleasing to the eye. BU ILD D ES IG N The Ex plore Scientific AR1 52’ s strength is EA SEO FU SE undoubted ly as a visual instrument,something FEAT U RES reinforcedwhen we tu rnedit to the deep s ky. I t IM A G IN G Q UA LITY impressedwith its deepsky viewsofthe Omega O PTIC S Nebula,the Ring Nebul a,the Double Cl uster and O VERA LL the Andromed a Galaxy with its companions, and
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SK YS …th ese : N owY SAadd 1. Bresser
M ess ier E X O S -2 G o-To m ount 2. R evelation p h oto-visual eyep iece and fi lter k it 3 . M IN -V B anti-fring ing fi lter
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G lobular cluster M 13 , stacked from 3 0 one-minute exposures at ISO 1600 taken with a C anon EO S 50D D SLR Þ
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The M oon on 17 July, stacked from 24 exposures of 1/ 64 0-second at ISO 100 with the same camera
Wel com e t o the niverse An Ast rophysic al T our Neil deGrasse T yson, Mic hael A. St rauss & J . Ric hard Got t C loth
39 .95
£2 9. 95
Ex plore mo re at welc omet ot heuniv erse.net B rea th tak in g in scop e a n d st u n n in g ly i llu st rated th ro u g h o u t, W elcom e n iver se i s f o r th o se w h o h u n g er f o r in si g h ts i n to o u r evo lvi n g u n iverse t h at on ly w o rld -cl ass ast ro p h ysi ci st s can p ro vi d e.
to the
“ All t hree oft hese aut hors are ex pert s in t he f ield,and t hey are also engaging writ ers. T his is a v ery good book. T here is not hing on t he mark ett hatquit e mat c hes it .” —Sean Carroll,aut hor of T he Part ic le att he End o ft he U niv erse
S ee our E Books at p
ress. p ri nc eton. edu
FIRST light
Se e an i n te ract ive 3 6 ° m o d e l o f this ca m e ra at
ww w skyatnightmagaz ine com asi224 mccool
ZWO ASI 2 2 4MCCo o l
c o lo u r c a m e r a Z
This ac tive c o o led versio n o f the A SI2 2 4 M C o ffers ex c itin g p o ten tial W O RDS :P ET EL AW
RE NCE
V ITA L STA TS
• Price £ 6 56 • Sensor S ony IM X 224 • Pixels 1 3 04x9 76 p ixel s 3 .75µm squ are p ix els), sensor m easures 4.8x3 .6 m m • Size Cylindrical b ody 83 m m long, 76 m m diam eter • Weight 400g • xtras 1.25-inch adap tor, U S B 3 .0 cab le, S T-4 g uide cab le, 2-inch and 1.25-inch cap s, N rep lacem ent desic cant tab lets S • Supplier3 6 5Astronom y S • www 3 6 5Astronom y. W com W W • Tel 020 3 3 84 5187
SK Y S A YS … WO has brought a num ber around 7 5 -8 0 per cent at 6 0 0 nm. T h is i s a sup erb of high frame rate cameras Q E indicates how much inc oming to t he mark et, mostly aimed cam era for th e light is actually recorded. T his at imaging the planets, the sensitivit y is good for planetary M oon and Sun and the M oon. T he range has and deep-sk y imaging, but the b rig h ter p lanets recently been ex panded and now longer ex posures req uired for and it’s g reat for includes actively cooled versions of nebulae, galaxies and clusters w h ite-lig h t sol ar the more popular models, effectively suffer due to t he build- up of ‘dark im ag es t oo opening up the mark et for serious current’ noise. T his manifests it self deep-sk y imaging. as a continually building random H ere we’re look ing at t he cooled version of signal in a pix el, and is more pronounced the Z WO ’s A SI2 2 4 one-shot-colour camera, the warmer the sensor is. T his is where the camera’s A SI2 2 4 M C-Cool. H aving already established the active cooling helps, because being able to cool t he A SI2 2 4 M C as a superb camera we reviewed it in chip to 3 0 -4 0 °C below ambient t emperatu re greatly January 1 6 – is seehow thisthis month’s B onus Content), our focus2 0here cooled variant fares when imaging deep-sk y targets. Planetary im aging req uires a high frame rate using very short ex posures to help overcome distort ions introduced by E art h’s atmosphere. D eep-sk y imaging req uires long ex posures in order for faint detail to record and is essentially a low frame rate pursuit . Y et despite init ial appearances, planetary and deep-sk y imaging share aproblem: noise is a bigissue for both. T he A SI2 2 4 M C-Coo l has ex tremely low read noise, which is essential for achieving clean short- ex posure images. It s sensitiv it y is also ex cellent with peak q uantum effi ciency Q E )
S H REDS
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reduces the effect of dark current noise.
Quic kand easy setup T he camera connects t o a host comput er via a U SB 3 .0 connection which handles the large amount of data produced and supplies base power for high frame rate operation. A power source is req uired for active cooling 1 2 V , 2 A max ), but strangely no suit able power supply or even abattery connector cable is supplied. D river installation was q uick and effi cient using the latest generic driver installer from t he Z WO website. T he camera can be used with Windows, M ac and L inu x operating systems. Control req uires the use of a third-part y >
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As w ith th e non-cooled AS I224M C, it is the cam era’s s ensor t h at im p ressed u s. I ts h ig h sen sit ivity across t h e RG B rang e is ex cellen t, b iased t ow ards red and g reen w aveleng th s. It also retains hig h red sensit ivity a t th e h ydrog en-alp h a w aveleng th of 6 56 .28nm , w h ich is g reat for dee p -sk y w ork . Th e sen sor also h as relatively h ig h infrared sensitivity , sim ilarly usef ul for p lanetary im ag ers. W e w ere ab le to g et so m e gre at result s using relatively sh ort ex p osures and our test 4-inch refractor. T h e sens or recorded som e excellen t col our from th e
sk yatnig h tm ag az ine.com 2016
D um b b ell N eb ula, M 27, w hil e a shot of th e core of th e Androm eda G alax y, M 3 1, p roduced an on-scree n im ag e full of the w arm yellow tones you ’d ex p ect from that r eg ion. T h erm al noise is ap p arent as you ex tend th e ex p osures into th e m ulti-second rang e, b ut after turning th e active cooling on th ere is a noticeab le reduction in its ap p earance. T h e sensor is b est sui ted for taking a larg e num b er of sh ort ex p osu res of b etw een one and 3 0 sec onds. T h ese th en need to b e calib rated, alig ned and stack ed to p roduce th e fi nal resul t.
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USB3 .0INTERF ACE
A s well as pr oviding power f or the core high frame rate camera operation, the U SB 3 .0 connection also allows the camera to ope rate at 1 5 0 frames per secon d with 1 0 -bit data, or 6 4 fps with 1 2 -bit data using the whole sensor array.
COOLINGPOWER
The cooling system req uires exte rnal power 1 2 V , 2 A max) in order to work . N o power supply or battery connection cable is provided with the camera, which is an oddity as it is req uired to use sensor cooling. A small LE D illuminates on the rear of the camera to indicate cooling power is being supplied.
ST 4 GUIDE PORT
A s well as being a ca mera in its own right, the A SI2 2 4 M CCool can be used as a guide camera, and it has an ST-4 port on the rear for this purpose. A guide cable is supplied. U sing thi rd-party software, it’s then possible to use it to autoguide a mount.
COOLINGSYSTEM
The camera’s active c ooling circuit can reduce sensor temperature to 3 5 -4 0 °C below ambient in just a couple o f minutes. Cooling is assisted by a virtually silent maglev fan combined with the use of a large heat sink visible through t he side of the main body. Cooling helps reduce thermal noise dur ing long ex posures.
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F IRST
D E SICC N T M O IST U R E C O N T R O L T h e cam era’s cool ing system is ef fi cient enoug h to cause m oisture in th e air to form frost o n th e ch ip surface. Z W O addresses th is b y p lacing four desi ccant tab lets in th e sen sor cavity. S h ould frosting occur reg ularly one set of rep lacem ent tab lets is p rovided. Ironically th e requirem ent to op en th e sen sor cavity to rep lace th em is ac com p anied b y a w arning stat ing th at op ening th e cavity is not recom m ended.
ap p lication su ch as Sh arpC p or FireCp tu re. W e used F ireC p tu re fo r ou r tests. T he 4.8x3.6m m IM X 224 s ensor cover s a relatively sm allarea of sky. U sing ou r ow n 4 -in ch refracto r, w h ich h as a 918m m focal leng th, ou r fram e cover ed 18x13. 5 arcm in u tes. W e fou nd the im age s cale place d greater dem and s for h igh er m ou n t align m ent an d d rive acc u racy.
SK Y SA YS …
N ow add th ese : 1. 3 6 5Astronom y 12V 2.0A AC adap tor 2. 3 6 5Astronom y im ag ing fli p m irror 3 . Z W O 1.25inch infrared cut-off fi lter
Yo u sh o u ld serio u sly co n sid er u sin g an au to gu id er and focal redu cer w hen deep-s ky i m aging w ith the ASI224 M CC ol. Testin g o n w arm su m m er n igh ts gen erated a
by-side sho w ed the coo lin g h ad m ade a n oticeable d ifference. C lo u r no ise ‘grain ’ an d ran d om ‘spa rkles’
fair bit o f lon g-exp o sure senso r no ise w ith o u t
w ere reduced in the coo led im age. Am p glow w as
coo lin g. W ith 30 -secon d exp osures an d m id-level
also p resen t m an ifestin g itself as a b o o m eran g-
gain , w e w ere pleased w ith th e detail an d co lou r w e
sh aped brigh ten in g alon g th e righ t an d bo ttom
got from M 27, the D u m bb ell Nebu la in V u lp ecula.
fram e ed ge. C libratio n h elp ed to redu ce this,
C m paring no n-cool ed an d cool ed im ages side-
bu t it d o es add ex tra w o rk to get decen t resu lts. Selectin g a low er gain h elp ed red u ce glow an d n oise, bu t w e needed lon ger expo su res to com pen sate. W e used a 0. 63x fo cal redu cer on ou r telescop e fo r larger targets su ch as Th e An d rom ed a Galax y. W e w ere im pre ssed at ho w w ellthe cam era cop ed w ith th e galax y’s b righ t co re an d retain ed th e d elicate an d easily lo st d ark d u st lan es th at su b tly ap p ear to cu t in to it. F rost o n the sen sor’s su rface
A 3 00-second exposure of M 3 1’s core, showing subtle d ust cloud s across it. Sensor temperature was – 8ºC (23 ºC below ambient)
is a po ten tial issu e at lo w tem p eratu res, som ethin g Z W Oh as ad d ressed b y fi ttin g d esiccan t tab lets in sid e th e sensor ch am b er.U n fo rtu n ately, d espite b ein g a n ew cam era w e fou n d th at frost still app eared w ith tem p eratu res in th e low er part of the recom m ended r ange. Th is is a sup erb o n e-sho t co lo u r ca m era fo r im agin g th e M o on an d b righ ter p lan ets,an d it’s great fo r w h ite-lig h t fi ltered so lar im ag es to o colou r cam eras aren’t su ited for h yd rogen -alp h a o r calciu m -K solar im agin g).How ever, th is m o d el h as th e ab ility to p rod u ce som e excellen t d eep -sk y im ages, b u t o n ly w ith a fair bit o f effo rt. If yo u ’re w o n d erin g w h ether it’s w o rth th e extra m on ey, th e active co o lin g d efi n itely m ak es a p o sitive d ifference.
VER
Single, unprocessed and uncalibrated frames of M 27 imaged at 15ºC (left) and – 10ºC (right); note the amp glow against the bottom and right hand ed ge of frame Þ
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BU ILD D ES IG N CO N N ECT IV ITY EA SE O F US E FEA TU RES IM A G IN G Q U A LITY O VERA LL
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We rev iewwellest ablished equ ipmentt hat ’ s st ood t he t estoft ime
u lsar 2 2 m
V ITA L STA TS •Price £3, 395 plu s deliv ery •Style T radit ional dome • ome siz e .2 2m diamet er • inish F ibreglass • perture siz e 0 .6m •Supplier Pu lsar Observ at ories •w ww pulsaro bserv at ories. com •Tel 0136631500 6
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SK Y SA Y S… T he Pu lsar observ at ory has been a great bo on t oour imaging sessions
ho m eo b ser v ato r y A d o m e o f yo ur o w n t ha t w o rks in a typ ica l b a ck g a rd en WO R D S STE V E R IC H A R D S
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nst alling an ob servatory is a g reat leap forw ard in convenience b ecaus e your equip m ent is ins tantly availab le for use on th ose evenings w ith clear sk ies. Y ou can b uild one w ith a roll-off ro of relatively easily, b ut m ak ing a dom ed one is m uch m ore com p lex . Buying a ready-m ade one is th e m ore p op ular ch oice. T h e 2.2m P ulsar dom ed ob servatory descri b ed h ere is sup p lied as a com p reh ensiv e k it th at needs assem b ling , th oug h P ulsar w ill insta ll it for you at additional cost p rovided you h ave com p leted th e g roundw ork in advance.
T h is desig n allow s th e com p onents to b e delivered to locations w ith out w ide access, w h ich w as a p rerequisite for our site – a typ ical b ack g arden. T h e quality of th e fi b reg lass m ouldings w as ex cellent, w ith a rich w h ite g loss ex ternal surf ace and a m att b lack p aint fi nish to th e insid e of th e dom e sections. Ass em b ly is very sim p le, requiring only a set of sp anners, and it can b e com p leted b y tw o p eop le w ith average D IY sk ill s. T h e dom e and w all se ctions b olt tog eth er th roug h p re-drill ed h oles in th eir
F ullh inst ns forofp concrete rep aring or a suitab le b) ase you ave thructio e ch oice deck ing including th e installa tion of th e m ount’s p ier are availab le for dow nload. W e op ted for a concrete b ase, com p rising an isolated central b lock for th e p ier and a conventional concrete p latform for th e ob servatory w alls t o sit o n. Before p ouring th e b ase concrete, w e laid in several conduit s t o allow for m ains p ow er, netw ork cab ling , security alarm cab ling an d a drainag e p ip e for th e deh um idifi er th at w e w ere g oing to insta ll. T h e ob servatory w as delivered in sections: four quadrants each for th e w alls and dom e, p lus th e sh utte r.
fl angnes, th e apO pnce lication b ead silico ne dow th after eir edges. assem ofb aled, th eof cylindrical w all is b olted to your b ase and th e sup p ort and th rust w h eels are fi tte d to th e top of th e w alls to sup p ort and g uide th e dom e section. T h e sh utte r is th en insta lled on th e dom e section, w ith its n ylon retaining w h eels and th e sim p le p ull ey system att ach ed. F inally, th e dom e section is lifted up and on top of th e w alls. W e w ere very im p ressed w ith h ow effortlessly th e dom e section rotated and h ow easy it w as to o p en and close th e sh utte r. T h e ob servatory can b e sup p lied w ith an azim uth m otor driv e and controller to autom atically rotate th e dom e section – th is can also b e added later as
It’s n o t as c o m p lex as i t lo o ks
O W NE R ’S OBSERVATI ONS N ame Mike Hardwick ings Lynn,No rf olk Location K Product Pu lsar 2.2mdome O wner since May 2014
charged in t he wint er. I subsequent ly
inst alled a bigger panel af t er I realised I had sit ed my dome in May,when t he Sun is high in t he sky. In No v emb er, t he lower Sun rarely shone on t he dome,henc e addit ional panels and Hav ing v iewed a 2.2mdome att he rol syst em. It ’ s nota f aultoft he f ac t ory I was impressed wit h t he qualit y cont hing t ob ear in mind and t he ent husiasmoft he st af fatPu lsar. dome,butsomet when youare t hink ing aboutwhere Eight week s lat er I had assemb led my t osit e your observ at ory. dome wit h my son wit houtproblems. I lov e my dome and wo uld rec ommend Sof t ware set up f or t rack ing was init ially oanyone,I c an image ev en in st ro ng challenging butnott he f aultoft he dome, itt llof fro off riends are and I soon gott he syst emup and ru nning. winds when my ro gro unded. A big expense,butone t hat I use my dome remo t ely butnot ed eel has been f ully j ust ified. t he solar panel did notk eep t he bat t ery I f
sk yat night magazine.c om 2016
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The d om e sect io n ri d es o n e ig ht r ub b er w he el s w ith b a ll b e a r in g sup p o rt s. S e t a t rig ht a n g les t o the se a re e ig h t thrus t w he el s w hi ch kee p t he d om e cen tr ed on the t op o f the ob ser vat ory w a ll. The se w o r k so w el l tha t the d om e ca n b e r o ta ted un d er t he p ressur e o f a si ng le fin g er .
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The d o m e sec tio n h a s a sl id ing shut ter t ha t ex p o ses an o p en ing 6 0 0 m m w id e t ha t is s ui ta b le f o r tel esco p es of up to 12 inc he s i n a p ert ure. Th e d esi g n a llo w s t h e sh ut ter t o op en p a st the cen tr e o f the d o m e thu s al low ing tel esco p es to e a si ly p o in t a t th e z en ith w ith a n u n o b st r uc te d vi ew .
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Alth oug h th e dom e s ection is very unlik ely to lift even during storm conditions as an ex tra p recaution th e ob ser vatory is su p p lied w ith tw o dom e locks. Th ese lock s are set at 180° f rom one anoth er and sim p ly sw ing into p lace w h en required neg ating th e risk of ‘lift-off’ and add ing additional secur ity ag ainst a b reak -in.
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S ecurity an d conven ience are im p ortant asp ects of an ob servator y and th e ch rom e fi nish ed door h andle allow s b oth easy acc ess t h roug h theand ob servator y door a secu re m ethod of keep ing it sh ut during an ob servi ng sess ion. T h e h andle is loc kab le from th e outsid e to g ive a level of sec urity w h en th e ob ser vatory is unatten ded.
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an u p grade. T h er ei s af u rt h er u p gradet o in corp orat eam o tori sedshu tter .F oro u rob ser vat ory w eop tedf orbo t ho f t heseup grades an dtheyproved averyw orthw h ileadd it ion al low in gf u lly aut om at edop er at ion of t hed om edu r ingo u r im agi n gses s ion s. O t h erop t ion si n cl u d eu p to t h r ee large acc essory b ays t o g ive ex tra s to rage sp ace f o r yo u r gear in terl o ck in g fl o o r tiles an d a n intr u d er al arm t ho u gh w edi d n’ t in cl u dean yof t hese. T h edesi gn of t h eob se rvat orym ak es it com p let el y w eat h erproo f.I n t h e heav y r ai n s torm s an d ga les t h at h it s ou t h er n E n gl an d d u ri n g t he s u m m er of
2015 n ota d r op of w at er en ter edtheo b s ervat ory. H ow ever a s an extr a precauti on agai n st sever e w in d s t h edo m es ect ion can beh el dfas t tothe w al lsu si n gthe sup p lied ‘d o m el o ck s’.F o rs ecu ri t y t h ed o ort o t h eob s ervat oryca n al s o b el o cked . W e f ou n d that w h en l ef t aj ar t h e do or act ed l ike a sai l even in the l igh test b reeze so w e i n st all ed apo st an dasi m pl ecabi n h oo kt ocl ipi t tow h en op en w h ich s top p ed i t sw in gi n g a bo ut. SK Y S A YS …
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T h e ob serv atory can b e fi tted w ith an az im uth drive unit th at can b e set to rotate th e dom e section at sider eal sp eed rate. Alternatively you can use a com p uter to control rotation using th e sup p lied free softw are to ensure that th e telesco p e alw ays p oints th roug h th e centre of th e ap erture.
W it h al lou ri m agi n gequ ipm enti n s tal led in t h e o b ser vatory there w as s till p len ty o f roo m fo r u p to t h r eepeo p leal t h ou gh you d on eedtocaref u lly s h u f fl ep ast t h ecou n terw ei gh t b ari f you areusi n ga large e qu at ori al m ou n t. T h eP u ls arobser vat oryh as been agre at bo on to ou ri m agi n gses si on s an d w ew ou ld n’ t h es itat et o r ecom m end it to ast r on om er s of an y experi ence level . D o n o tet h at an yel ectr ical co n n ecti o n ss h ou ld b ei n st all ed b ya q u ali fi ed el ectri ci an ; an al tern ati ve w ou ldb et ou s eacar avan ext ensi on cabl ef r om you r ho u s ew it h am at chi n gsocket in s tal led on on eof t h e w al l qu ad rants . S
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T he Search for E ar t h’s T win
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O u tstan d in g G ood A v erage Poor A v o id TW O M I NUTE S W I TH S TU RT CL RK
Why is itimport antt hat we find a planetj ustlik e our own? I t is a driving ambition ofhumanki nd to find lif e elsewhere.W hile ther e are places on the worlds ofour Solar System where microbial life may be f ound, we would really like to find whole biospheres. This means looking at planets around other stars. F inding a world like our ow n is a good way to start,because then we would know that wi desprea d lif e could be poss ible.
Stuart Clark Quercus £20 HB
T he belief that other habitable worlds exist beyond the place we call hom e is atleastas old as the inquiring hum an m ind.A s our astronom icalknow ledge hasdeveloped over th e lasthalf m illennium or so w e have often returned to this m ostbasic of conundrum s.But only in the past 20 or 30 yearshas our technological expertise been sufficient to attem pt a definitive answer to this ancient m ystery. Stuart Clark’s latest popular offerin g T he Search for arth’s Tw in is the first dedicated review of those past few decades ofresearch. N ow here else have hte salient facts personal stories and hopes for the futureeen b brought together in a com pactform for the arm chair enthusiast. T his is not a book about the possibility of extrate rrestrialifel. It concerns only the attem pt to find a planetbeyond our We’ re looking Solar Syst em that is
R AT N
H unting for planets is not only the jurisdiction of spectroscopy of course. Interferom eters theoreticalw ork and transit studies have also played an im portant partin the pursuit. C lark ably guides us through these and other re search areas detailing the techniques the controversi es and the ersults whilst diplom atically recounting the personalcosts to the protagonists and the disappointm ents of the cancelled Terrest rial Planet Finder and D arw in m issions. f or an Eart hlike A lthough a short
Is u r So Syst em u niqu e? Soof ar ourlarsea rche s have no t discovere d Earth’ s twin p lanet. Thisis somewhat surprising considering that more than 3, 000other planets have been f ound. I t is becoming clear that many planetary systems are more compact than our own, with planets squeezed closer to their parent stars. Also, very f ew planetary systems oll f ow our Solar System in ha ving smaller rocky planetsfollowed by larger gas giants. Most others seem to be all mixed up. While our Sola r System isnot unique,it is extremely rare.
Ifwe dofi nd anot her planett hatc ould supporthuman lif e,is itlikely t ob e already t ak en? That’ s the bigquestion!O nce a planet s i wo rld,butwhatt hatreally book and one thatdue habitable,does it become inhabited?Does essentially Earth-l ike though means is st ill a pointofdebat e the definition of whatis to itssubject matter is lif e automatically begin f rom some ob vious ‘Earth-like’is far fro m clear.Itis a st ory likely to need updating every isx m onths chemical reaction?We have id eas butno rooted in the earl y 1990s as severalgroups this account is engaging and entertaining. theory f or how ilf e began. Also, once lif e of astronom ers realised thatm odern O f course including herethe necess ary exists,does it evolve intelligence?There spectroscopic instrum ents could be ‘spoiler al ert’ he t lastchapter of hi t s book seemsto be no obvious rea son o fr that to designed to detectthe tiny wobbles of is not yetw ritten. W e can only hope that happen. We humanshave ex istedfor nearbystars caused by orbiting planets. the next edition ofT he Search for arth’ s only a short time in the grand scheme of In m any resp ects the story is about the Tw in includes the discovery fo one. things. Finding the ns a wers is why we progress of the engineerin g the pursuit of must go searching f or Earth’ s twin planet. finer accuracy although C lark’s narrative K ocusesprim arily on the characters and DR ALI STAI R G UNNis a rad io a stro no m er STUART CLARK is a fello w o f th e o ya l C f O T S pol I itics of the plot. a t Jod rell a n k Ob serva to ry in C esh ire Astro n o m ica l S o ciety a n d a n a u th o r
skyatnig htm agaz in e c o m 0 2 16
BOOKS
5 T hings You Should K now A boutSpace R am an Pri nja Q ED Pu b lishi ng £ 8.9 9 HB I’m sure i f w e saw the titl e o f this b o o k lin ked o n so cial m ed ia, m an yof us w o u ld cli ck it. 50T h in gs Y ou Sh ou ld
n ow
Abou t Sp aceso
u n d s like it sho u ld b e a set of a m azin gfacts a cco m p an ied b y am u si n gim ages. B u t this b o o k is far m o re tha n ju st a list o f facts. T he afo rem en tio n ed 50 thin gs are m o re i d eas or co n cep ts, su ch as “st ars are n o t fo reve r” o r “th e m yst eri es o f Satu rn ”. Sp lit in to sev en sec tio n s, the au tho r tackl es su b jec ts ra n gin gfrom o b serv atio n s of t he p lan ets t o the futu re o f the U n iverse. E ach secti o n
M ars O ne:
H um anity’s N ext G reatA dventure E dited b y N orb ert Kraft Jam es R Kass and R aye Kass BenBella Book s £ 16 .9 9 PB W ou ld you like t o sp en d the rest o f yo u r life o n M ars ? P rob ab lyn o t. B u t m an ytho u san d s o f p eo p le f rom across the g lo b e hav e sign ed u p to b e am o n gthe fi rs t co lo n ists o f an o ther w o rld as p art of t he M ars O n e prog ram m e. T he pl an :to send afo u r- p erson crew o n ao n e-w ay tr ip to the R ed P lan et by 20 27. W hen I fi rs t heard a b ou t M ars O n e – th e d ream o f tw o D u tch spa ce entr ep re n eu rs an d b ack ed b y No b el P ri ze-w in n in gp hysicis t G era rd ’t H o o ft – I d id n ’t take it seriou sly. No hard w are h as b ee n d eli ve red so far an d it’s u n clear w heth er th e p ro p o sed sale o f
co n tain s a m in i co n ten ts alo n gthe b o tto m w ith u sef u l cross- ref erences to g u id e th e rea d er. It i s a little u n u su al to start w ith co sm o lo gy, w hich i s m o re a b str act co m p ared w ith the m o re fam iliar to p ics su ch as th e p lan ets. W hile that m ight b e in itially o ff-p u tti n g to the u n in itiated , it d o es m ean that it starts w ith ab an g T he tex t is l arge an d at a n ice gen er al lev el, su ited to in terest ed b egin n ers, bu t there’ s b o u n d to b e som eth in gin here fo r th e m o re fa m iliar rea d ers. Illu stratio n s in clu d e so m e o f the latest im agery from grou n d an d spa ce-b ased o b ser v ato ries d isp layed in fu ll, glo ssy co lo u r, w hich m ake th e b o o k v ib ran t, if so m etim es a little b u sy. T hese a re n ice ly co m b in ed w ith clever infog rap hics ab o u t vari o u s ob jects an d co n cep ts. H o w ever, w hile th is is in d eed an in fo rm ative a n d b eau tifu lly p resen ted b o o k, it is n o t w ho lly clea r to m e that it is as fo cu sed as th e title im p lies. HHHH H
CHRI S N O RTH
is Od g en S cien ce
Lcturer an d STCPub lic E g a g em en t e llo w a t C rd iff U n ive rsity
in tern atio n al rights to a rea lity T V sho w w o u ld p rov id e th e n ecess ary fu n d in g. B u t even if the p roj ect ne ver succ eed s, this b o o k is an en terta in in g read . E d ited b y fo rm er N A SA sp ace p sych o lo gist No rbe rt K raft (n o w M ars O n e’s ch ief m ed ical o ffi cer), it co ve rs a ll p o ssi b le aspects of the m iss io n an d requ irem en ts o f the fi rst cre w : techn o lo gical skills, cr eativity , cu ltu ral an d p sycho lo gical iss u es. O n e cha p ter ev en go es i n to the le gal issu e s o f esta b lish in g aM ars c o lo n y. Q uo tes from int er vi ew s w ith M ars O ne can d id ates p ain t a p ictu re o f an id ealist ic, rom an tic bu n ch of peo p le w ho b el ieve that the p ro jec t can set a n ew , p eace fu l co u rse fo r hu m an ity. I st ill d o n ’t t ake M ars O n e seriou sly, b u t the to p ics in the b o o k are rel ev an t to the fu tu re o f m an n ed M ars exp lora tion in gen era l. A s ’t H o o ft w ri tes in his fo rew o rd : “M ayb e [ M ars O n e] w on ’t su cceed in i ts p ri m ary m iss io n , b u t w hatever erro rs i t m akes no w w ill b e extrem elyin st ruc tive fo r th e n ex t in itiativ es. ”
1 3
E yes on the Sky: A Spectrum of T elescopes Fr ancis G rah am -S m ith O x ford U niversity P ress £ 25.00 HB
O O K
O F T H M O N T HE
P eop le h ave b een fascinated b y th e nig h t sk y since antiquity b ut several centuries h ad to p ass fo r p reviously unk now n stars to b e b roug h t into view . Ees on the S ky reveals th e h istory of telescop es and m ankind’s efforts to di scover distant p lanets w h ile at th e sam e tim e retaining a sense of w onder: desp ite b eing located in th e th in sk in of an insig nifi cantly-siz ed p lanet w e are ab le to describ e th e vastnes s of th e U niverse. T h is is n ot th e first b ook in w h ich F rancis G rah amastronom -S m ith ers onetells of thuse wth orld’s radio e storyleading of th e unseen c osm os. H ow ever Ees on the S ky effectively sp lits star lig h t into a sp ectrum b y p resenting telescop es in d ifferent w aveleng th s from th e tim e of G alileo to th e m ost p ow erful radio or g am m a-ray telescop es of today. Th e b ook sh ow s h ow rap idly cosm olog y h as b een exp anding and h ow it h as dem anded new g enerations of b ig g er telescop es. By sh aring h is ow n ex p erience G rah am -S m ith exp lains h ow th e act of ob servi ng h as transform ed over th e last 50 years allow ing research ers to sp end m ost o f th eir w orkin g tim e aw ay from telescop e sites. T h e b ook ex p lains com p licated p h ysics and reveals th e ch alleng es failures and victories of th e w orld’s m ost fam ous telescop es w ith sim p licity. R eaders w h o are not fam iliar w ith tech nical ling o and astronom ical units m ay fi nd p arts ch alleng ing b ut it sh ould not affect th e ch arm w ith w h ich th e author illustrates m ank ind’s th irst to look into th e U niverse. SA N D RA KRO P A
is a scien ce jo u rna list
a nd w riter
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G O V ERT SC HILLIN G
O C T O ER
is an astron om y
w riter an d a utho r
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£14 • Su p p lier H arrison Telesco pes 0 1 3 2 2 4 0 3 4 0 7 • www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk The 1 .5 m cable a llows you to link a telesco pe handset and computer allowing you to use planetarium software to control your mount.
4 Alt air Light wav e FlatField TeleEx t ender Barlo wPremium rice £85• up p lier A ltair A stro 0 1 2 6 3 7 2 1 5 0 5 • ww w altairastro com This B arlow lens ex tends your focal length with minimal fi eld curvature and ex cellent colour correction. It is threaded for 1 .2 5 -inch fi lters.
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106 EXPERT INTERVIEW OCTOBER
WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW IS… What is the cause of Mars’s mysterious streaks? Matt Chojnacki is using a spy satellite to investigate seasonal changes that hint at liquid water on the Red Planet INTERVIEWED BY PAUL SUTHERLAND
lose-up studies of Mars have helped transform our knowledge of the Red Planet, but delivered new mysteries as well. One of these emerged five years ago, when we found examples of a peculiar feature that seemed to indicate there was still ru nning water on the surface. The intriguing evidence was discovered thanks to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE instrument. The most powerful camera ever sent to another world, it helps the spacecraft to act like a spy satellite
I have been carrying out research based on detailed observation of 41 RSL sites in the central and eastern portions of Valles Marineris. The number of individual flows at each site ranged from a handful to more than one thousand. Some of these streaks appeared on elevated ridges and peaks, so it seems unlikely that they could be produced by subterranean springs – it is improbable that groundwater could get up there. Instead, we have been considering the possibility that the water is extracted from
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around our outer neighbour. In 2011, it sent back images of dark streaks on steep Martian slopes that seemed to come and go with the seasons. As conditions became warmer, the streaks would appear and grow, only to fade away again during the cold season, then reappear once more in the following Martian spring. The streaks were given a name – recurring slope lineae (RSL).
Hints in the data There had been hints of these features in earlier data from orbiting spacecraft but no one had taken much notice because they were so small. HiRISE identified more and more of them in its ‘postagestamp’ sized images, which show areas of the surface a little under 6km wide and about twice as long. The RSL appear in areas that are extremely cold, so if they were the result of water it seemed likely that the fluid was briny. Water has been confirmed at some of the sites due to the presence of hydrated salts. A N Despite HiRISE’s small field of view, we could see O Z I R A hundreds and maybe thousands of these little streaks F O . forming in locations all over the planet. They were V I N U particularly evident in the Valles Marineris, a / H C canyon stretching around the planet’s equatorial E LT A region. Bright streaks are seen close to some of the -C L JP / dark ones, and it could be that these are the result A S A N of salt left behind after the brine evaporated.
skyatnightmagazine.com 2016
The dark lines of recurring slope lineae appear in Mars’s spring and summer
ABOUT M ATT CHOJNACKI
Dr Matt Chojnacki is a planetary geologist at the University of Arizona with a special interest in the morphology of Mars and the evolution of its climate. He is working with the HiRISE team.
the Martian atmosphere, leaving the salts we see on the sur face. We don’t have a clear model as to how this would happen so rapidly year after year, and the mechanisms involved are quite challenging. The amount of water needed each year to form the streaks just in the region my team studied would fill up to 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools. We need to do more research to find out more about these intriguing features. It is a relatively new form of Mars science, so only a handful of laboratory studies have been done so far. More work is needed to study the dynamics by which these streaks can form, so that we can test laboratory models and compare them to what is observed from orbit. Because the MRO spacecraft is travelling in a polar orbit, its images of an individual small area of Mars can be separated by days, weeks, or even months or years in some cases. It would help us enormously to be able to view the sites we are studying much more frequently. Fortunately, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is due to ar rive in late October. It will carry a camera that is not as powerful as HiRISE, but which will be able to survey these sites more often, so it should be a useful new tool to help improve RSL science. In future it might also be useful to fire penetrator probes into the slopes to taste what they contain. S
The Southern Hemisphere in October With Glenn Da we s
W HE N TO U SE THIS C HART 1 OC T AT 00 :00 U T 15 OC TAT 2 :00 U T 1 O C T AT 22:00 U
OCT OBER
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The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times show n The sky is different at other times as stars crossing it set four minutes earlier each night W e’v e draw n the chart for latitude – 3 5 ° sout h
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T he T aurid meteor showers are known for their slow-moving fi reb alls, and this year t he ob serving conditions for the Sout hern T aurids are ideal. T he peak is ex pected around 10 O ctob er. W ith the Moon at fi rst q uarter the morning will b e dark, and this is the b est t ime to catch them. T he radiant, the area the meteors appear to srcinate from, will b e high in the early hours, crossing the meridian around 0 2 :0 0 EST . T his is located near t he naked-eye stars O micron k) and X i j) T auri.
T he northern evening sky holdstwo eq uine constellations,the most famous b eing P egasus, its b ody marked b y the G reat Squareasterism. For us down under, P egasus is drawn upright. T he sq uare’s top left star is mag. + 2 .5 Markab Alpha _) P egasi), it’s common name being Arab ic for ‘shoulder of the horse’. Moving 2 0 ° west is mag. + 2 .4 Enif Epsilon ¡) P egasi), meaning ‘nose’. W est is Eq uuleus, which represents a horse’s head. T he name of the alpha star, mag. + 3 .9 K italpha, is acontraction of ‘part of the horse’.
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B ril liant V enus continues to dazzle low in the western early evening sky.
with Ant ares and V enus. V enus and Saturn set b y mid evening, the Red P lanet just
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aft er m idnight, so the morning skyplanets remains the realm of the icegiant N eptu ne and Uranus. T hey set at 0 3 :3 0 EST and sunr ise mid-m onth respectively.
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a low-power eyepieceshows another doub le mag. + 7.6 and + 8 .2 , separated b y 2 5 arcseconds) in the same fi eld, 0 .5° to the west-southwest.
+ 9 .9 companion 4 0 arcseconds away, but
b righter centre and star-like nucleus.
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Spiral galax y N G C 7 6 0 6 R A 2 3 h 1 9 .1 m, dec. – 8 ° 2 9 ’; pictu red) sits 1 ° northeast of P si1 Aq uarii. It is mag. + 1 0 .8 and has adistinctive oval disc measuring 1 x 3 arcminutes. T he galax y has a noticeab ly
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Directly ab ove mag. + 2 .5 Markab Alpha _) P egasi), halfway to mag. + 1 .2 F omalhaut Alpha _) P iscis Austrini), is agreat b inocular triple: P si s ) Aq uarii R A 2 3 h 1 5 .9 m, dec. – 9 ° 0 5 ’). Mag. + 4.4 P si 2 lies 0.5° east of mag. + 4.2 P si 1 , with m ag. + 5 .0 P si3 0 .5° sout heast of P si2 – giving the trio the shape of a crooked leg. A small telescope not only reveals that P si1 is a double, with a mag.
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Satu rn is directly ove, nex twit t ohmag. 0 .9 r Antares Alpha_)abScorpii), Mars+ nea the T eapot of Sagittarius. Satur n drops in alt itude, clim ax ing on the 2 8 th in a 7 º li ne
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