This beautiful parade of 7th and 8th magnitude stars wind south and east from etaTau in the Pleiades.
I imagine this stellar chain as the flowing locks of Lady Alcyone.
Best enjoyed thru binoculars and widefield scopes, the asterism is centered at RA 03 47.5 DEC 23 45.
[image courtesy of DSS]
*****
| Deepsky |
*****
For some reason I can visualize a 45 light-minute trip to Jupiter better than the equivalent 5.4 Astronomical Units (810,000,000 km/502,200,000 miles) involved.
It's also an interesting temporal perspective to pass along to the public. When asked "How far is it to Saturn?" at Outreach events, the segue "It's about an hour and a half away" always piques more than sufficient curiosity.
Following are some of the lightspeed distances from Earth to our neighbors during 2008. (Pluto started the year some 10 light-minutes farther than Neptune and put another 1.4 minutes between them by December.)
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| Outreach |
by Stephen Saber
Sometime between Shoemaker-Levy and the Millenium-class Hyakutake, a retired grade school science teacher had volunteered to be a guest speaker at one of our astroclub's monthly meetings. For the presentation, we would participate in one of her favorite annual astronomy class projects. Her pupils, we were told, had loved and cherished this exercise for over forty years.
We were each given a piece of paper, pencil, scotch tape, 7 plastic beads, Elmer's glue, a ruler, scissors, and maybe five feet of string.
Unconnected dots representing the Big Dipper asterism suns and their distances from us in lightyears were the only things shown on the paper.
After connecting the dots we were instructed to cut pieces of string at lengths relative to the star distances- longer lengths to represent more LYs. A bead would be glued to one end of each string, and the other end taped to the corresponding dot. The dangling beads would then be held overhead and observed from different angles to demonstrate parallax.
Looking around and seeing this large group of adults wielding little glue bottles and undersized scissors was pretty entertaining in itself, but something was nagging at me as I studiously began measuring out my strings.
Held overhead, it would be the closer stars that should be represented by longer strings.
I supposed, as we were her first classroom of amateur astronomers, that this crucial flaw in her prized project had never been addressed.
But it didn't seem to be bothering any of my classmates either- several more occupied with untangling sticky tethered beads from gooey fingers- so I could've just played along.
Instead, my hand went up as our teacher neared to check everyone's progress.
Whether she just didn't get it or simply refused to let anything undermine her beloved project and 40 years of teaching it, my epiphany was offhandedly dismissed and I was firmly reprimanded to follow the directions as given.
The snickering from my gooey classmates at the scolding added a surreal reminiscent touch to this 'back in school' experience, as did the compulsion to disobey and finish the project accurately anyway. Which I did.
After class I brought my work of art home and even had it taped to a ceiling for several weeks. But it wasn't the unique perspective required to view our Dipper as a dipper that left an impression on me so much as the sense of our isolation and the all but infinite possible alternate views that might await us in the next millenia or so of space travel.
By the way, I didn't really get an 'F'. In fact, my actual grade remains a mystery as our guest teacher didn't come within 20 feet of me for the rest of the presentation.
That distance depending, of course, on where you were watching us from.
Here are the asterism stars' distances in lightyears for those wishing to share this fun and educational project with their club or class:
Alkaid 100
Mizar 78
Alioth 81
Megrez 65
Phecda 84
Merak 79
Dubhe 124
Saber Does The Stars at
www.astronomyblogs.com/member/saberscorpx
[Left Ascension, September '08]
*****
| Outreach |
[muLupus courtesy of DSS]
No, it's not an Astronomical League Observe Program. But the southern sky certainly has its share of beautiful and interesting doubles, and I wanted to be ready for them on my next trip below the equator.
Here's a list of 100 gems for residents and northern visitors, including the SkyAtlas2000 charts where each can be found.
Special thanks to the folks at IIS for their valuable contributions.
beta1Tuc SA 24
00 32 -62 57 mag 4.5, 5.0 @ 27.1"
COO3 SA 24
00 45 -62 30 mag 6.5, 8.5 @ 2.4"
lambdaTuc SA 24
00 52 -69 30 mag 6.6, 8.0 @ 21.0"
betaPhe SA 18
01 06 -46 42 mag 4.0, 4.0 @ 1.4"
zetaPhe SA 24
01 08 -55 15 mag 4.0, 7.0, 8.0 @
0.8", 6.4"
kappaTuc SA 24
01 16 -68 52 mag 5.1, 7.3 @ 5.2"
DUN5 SA 24
01 40 -56 11 mag 5,8, 5.9 @ 10.5"
epsilonScl SA 18
01 46 -25 02 mag 5.5, 8.3 @ 4.7"
omegaFor SA 18
02 34 -28 13 mag 5.0, 7.7 @ 10.9"
DUN7 SA 24
02 40 -59 33 mag 7.0, 7.0 @ 36.7"
thetaEri SA 18
02 58 -40 18 mag 3.4, 4.5 @ 8.3"
HJ3568 SA 24
03 07 -78 59 mag 5.5, 8.0 @ 15.4"
alphaFor SA 18
03 12 -29 00 mag 4.0, 7.0 @ 1.9"
zetaRet SA 24
03 18 -62 30 mag 5.2, 5.5 @ 130"
DUN16 SA 18
03 49 -37 37 mag 4.9, 5.4 @ 8.0"
thetaRet SA 24
04 18 -63 15 mag 6.2, 8.2 @ 4.0"
RMK4 SA 24
04 24 -57 04 mag 7.1, 7.5 @ 5.7"
iotaPic SA 24
04 51 -53 27 mag 5.6, 6.4 @ 12.5"
gammaCae SA 19
05 04 -35 28 mag 4.5, 8.0 @ 2.9"
thetaPic SA 24
05 25 -52 19 mag 7.0, 7.0 @ 38.0"
betaLep SA 19
05 28 -20 45 mag 3.0, 7.5 @ 2.3"
DUN26 SA 24
06 12 -65 31 mag 7.0, 8.5 @ 20.9"
HJ3869 SA 19
06 33 -32 01 mag 5.7, 7.7 @ 24.9"
HJ3891 SA 19
06 46 -30 57 mag 6.1, 8.4 @ 4.9"
epsilonCMa SA 19
06 59 -28 58 mag 1.5, 8.0 @ 7.5"
gammaVol SA 25
07 09 -70 29 mag 3.9, 5.8 @ 13.6"
HJ3945 SA 19
07 17 -23 18 mag 4.8, 6.8 @ 26.8"
HJ3997 SA 24
07 35 -74 16 mag 7.0, 7.0 @ 2.0"
k1+2Puppis SA 19
07 39 -26 49 mag 4.4, 4.6 @ 9.8"
epsilonVol SA 25
08 08 -68 36 mag 4.5, 8.0 @ 6.1"
gammaVel SA 20
08 09 -47 20 mag 2.3, 4.4, 8.5, 9.4
@ 41.2", 62.3", 94.0"
RMK8 SA 25
08 15 -62 54 mag 5.3, 7.6 @ 3.6"
DUN70 SA 20
08 30 -44 43 mag 5.0, 6.5 @ 5.0"
deltaVel SA 25
08 45 -54 41 mag 2.1, 5.1, 10.5 @
2.6", 69.5"
DUN74 SA 25
08 57 -59 13 mag 4.9, 6.6 @ 40"
zetaAnt SA 20
09 31 -31 53 mag 6.3, 7.2 @ 8.0"
DUN82 SA 25
09 33 -86 00 mag 7.4, 8.0 @ 15.6"
upsilonCar SA 25
09 47 -65 03 mag 3.1, 6.1 @ 5.0"
DUN81 SA 20
09 54 -45 17 mag 5.7, 7.9 @ 5.4"
DUN95 SA 25
10 39 -55 36 mag 4.5, 6.5 @ 51.8"
HR4179 SA 25
10 39 -58 49 mag 6.2, 8.0 @ 26.3"
DUN94 SA 25
10 39 -59 11 mag 4.8, 8.2 @ 14.5"
muVel SA 20
10 47 -49 25 mag 2.9, 6.6 @ 2.6"
HJ4383 SA 25
10 54 -70 42 mag 6.5, 7.0 @ 1.5"
HJ4432 SA 25
11 23 -64 27 mag 5.5, 7.5 @ 2.5"
BSO6 SA 20
11 29 -42 40 mag 5.1, 7.4 @ 13.1"
HJ4455 SA 20
11 37 -33 34 mag 6.0, 8.1 @ 3.3"
DUN114 SA 20
11 40 -38 06 mag 6.5, 8.0 @ 17.0"
HR4628 SA 21
12 10 -34 42 mag 6.3, 8.3 @ 3.2"
DCen SA 21
12 14 -45 43 mag 5.5, 6.6 @ 2.9"
alphaCru SA 25
12 27 -63 05 mag 1.5, 1.8, 4.8 @
4.4", 90.0"
gammaCru SA 25
12 32 -57 06 mag 1.8, 6.5 @ 125"
betaMus SA 25
12 46 -68 06 mag 3.7, 4.0 @ 1.4"
betaCru SA 25
12 48 -59 43 mag 1.3, 7.2 @ 373"
muCru SA 25
12 55 -57 11 mag 3.9, 5.0 @ 34.8"
thetaMus SA 25
13 08 -65 18 mag 5.5, 8.0 @ 5.3"
JCen Sa 25
13 23 -60 59 mag 4.5, 6.2 @ 61.7"
OCen SA 25
13 42 -54 53 mag 5.5, 7.0 @ 5.3"
3Cen SA 21
13 52 -32 59 mag 4.5, 6.0 @ 7.9"
NCen SA 25
13 52 -52 48 mag 5.5, 7.5 @ 18.0"
4Cen SA 21
13 53 -31 55 mag 4.8, 8.5 @ 14.8"
COO167 SA 25
14 15 -61 42 mag 6.5, 8.5 @ 2.8"
alphaCen SA 25
14 40 -60 50 mag 0.0, 1.5 @ 8.3"
alphaCir SA 25
14 43 -64 57 mag 3.4, 8.8 @ 15.7"
HR5520 SA 25
14 53 -73 11 mag 5.9, 7.6 @ 2.2"
piLup SA 21
15 05 -47 03 mag 4.6, 4.7 @ 1.7"
kappaLup SA 21
15 12 -48 44 mag 4.1, 6.0 @ 26.1"
muLup SA 25
15 19 -47 52 mag 5.0, 5.5, 7.0 @
1.0", 22.7"
gammaCir SA 25
15 23 -59 19 mag 5.0, 5.0 @ 0.9"
zetaCrB SA 21
15 39 -36 38 mag 5.1, 6.0 @ 6.3"
RMK20 SA 25
15 48 -65 26 mag 6.5, 6.5 @ 1.9"
2Sco SA 21
15 54 -25 19 mag 4.7, 7.4 @ 2.3"
xiLup SA 21
15 57 -33 57 mag 5.5, 5.5 @ 10.4"
etaLup SA 22
16 00 -38 24 mag 3.5, 7.5 @ 15.2"
deltaAps SA 26
16 20 -78 41 mag 5.0, 5.0 @ 103"
sigmaSco SA 22
16 21 -25 35 mag 2.9, 8.7 @ 20.0"
epsilonNor SA 22
16 27 -47 33 mag 4.5, 7.5 @ 22.0"
alphaSco SA 22
16 29 -26 26 mag 1.0, 5.4 @ 2.9"
RAra SA 26
16 40 -56 59 mag 6.0, 8.5 @ 3.6"
36Oph SA 22
17 15 -26 33 mag 5.5, 5.5 @ 4.4"
44Ara SA 22
17 19 -46 39 mag 5.5, 8.5 @ 9.2"
HJ4978 SA 26
17 50 -53 37 mag 6.0, 9.0 @ 12.3"
HJ5014 SA 22
18 07 -43 25 mag 5.7, 5.7 @ 0.9"
etaSgr SA 22
18 18 -36 44 mag 3.2, 7.8 @ 3.6"
xiPav SA 26
18 23 -61 29 mag 4.3, 8.6 @ 3.3"
kappaCrA SA 22
18 33 -38 43 mag 6.0, 6.5 @ 21.4"
gammaCrA SA 22
19 06 -37 04 mag 4.8, 5.1 @ 1.3"
betaSgr SA 22
19 23 -44 27 mag 4.3, 7.4 @ 28.3"
DUN227 SA 26
19 53 -54 58 mag 6.0, 6.5 @ 22.9"
kappaSgr SA 23
20 24 -42 25 mag 6.0, 6.9 @ 0.8"
muOct SA 26
20 42 -75 21 mag 7.1, 7.6 @ 17.4"
RMK26 SA 26
20 52 -62 25 mag 6.6, 6.6 @ 2.5"
thetaInd SA 26
21 20 -53 26 mag 4.7, 7.2 @ 6.3"
HR8202 SA 23
21 27 -42 33 mag 5.6, 8.2 @ 2.9"
lambdaOct SA 26
21 51 -82 43 mag 5.5, 7.8 @ 2.8"
etaPsA SA 23
22 01 -28 27 mag 5.5, 6.5 @ 1.6"
betaPsA SA 23
22 32 -32 21 mag 4.5, 7.5 @ 30.4"
gammaPsA SA 23
22 53 -32 52 mag 4.6, 8.1 @ 4.2"
DUN246 SA 26
23 07 -50 41 mag 6.1, 6.8 @ 8.7"
thetaPhe SA 23
23 40 -46 38 mag 6.6, 7.2 @ 3.9"
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| Double Stars |
