At the foot of Andromeda, lying 350 light years away, sits Almach; a double star that many would argue is one of the most beautiful in the night sky. First impressions initially reveal a dazzling golden primary and a smaller greenish-blue secondary, but the story doesn’t end there. The secondary component is in fact a grouping of three main sequence bodies, an A class and a pair of B type stars, with the latter two forming a compact binary.
Thanks to the excellent seeing conditions — 2 out of 5 on the Antoniadi scale — the view through the 12mm plössl really made this a delightful observation. At a power of 83x both stars were easily split and displayed the rich deep colours that they are so renowned for. If Albireo in Cygnus is seen as the definitive double star then Almach certainly comes extremely close to stealing the show.
Tags: Almach, Andromeda, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Gamma Andromedae
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14 Andromedae is an orange/red K class star with a solar mass equal to 2.2 Suns that lies 248.3 light years away in the constellation of Andromeda. On July 2008 it was announced that this star had a planetary companion with a minimum mass of 4.8 Jupiter’s. Designated 14 Andromedae b, the super gas giant orbits within 0.83 astronomical units of it’s star and takes just 186 days to complete one orbital period.
Like the gas and ice giants of our own Solar System, 14 Andromedae b probably has several moons in orbit around it. If one of these satellites were similar say to the moons of Europa or Enceladus in our own Solar System then it’s plausible to think that the frozen surface may never have formed given the close proximity with which 14 Andromedae b orbits it’s star. In this instance a frozen moon could quite possibly be transformed into an ocean world where just maybe some form of primitive life could take hold. I’m no exo-planetologist and it might be a completely fictitious idea, but it does make for an interesting prospect.
Tags: 14 Andromedae, 14 Andromedae b, Andromeda, Extrasolar Planet
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The skies were clear, the seeing was good but some how my observing session early on Tuesday morning quickly became undone. I headed outside at 01:30 UT and set up the tripod and mounted the 25×100 bins. My session, I decided, was going to be split between the constellations Perseus and Cancer; the sole intention here was to grab a few Messier objects to add to the list as well as take a closer look at the double star Eta Perseii and NGC 1499 (The California Nebula).
The first hurdle that became apparent was the position of Perseus. Riding high in the sky I realized that observing was going to be difficult. Not a problem if your a scope user, but if your using bins then be prepared for some major neck strain! I was simply left with two choices: try to observe Perseus at this position or give up - I chose the latter. Reluctantly I moved on to my next target: the constellation of Cancer.
Turning the binoculars south east I began hunting down Cancer but soon found myself sinking in the nebulous orange miasma that light pollution produces. Here I was looking for M44: The Beehive Cluster or Praesepe as it is also known. I was also set on observing M67, a condensed open cluster that can be found near the star Acubens. The only problem was that Cancer was playing hide and seek with me. I could easily make out the top of Leo as it slowly rose out of the east, but try as I might, Cancer just eluded me.
Looking on the positive side of the session, I had an impressive view of the heavens with The Pleiades, The Hyades and The Orion Nebula easily visible with the naked eye while the constellations Auriga, Taurus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Draco, Ursa Major, Leo and Orion were all on show and looking stunning. To add to this, at 02:00 UT I also managed to catch Saturn climbing over the roof tops which is always a pleasing sight, however, my 25×100 bins don’t resolve any real detail on the planet itself, so I was content just to gaze at it unaided.
By 02:45 UT I packed up and headed for the warmth of my bed. I was disappointed with my lack of success with Perseus and Cancer, but putting that aside I did enjoy the chance to be back out star gazing. The lack of observing flexibility has got me thinking about investing in a new telescope, but I’ve not decided anything firm yet. For the moment It’s really just a case of wait and see.
Tags: Acubens, Andromeda, Auriga, Cancer, Cassiopeia, Collinder 50, Draco, Eta Perseii, Leo, M42, M44, M45, M67, M76, Orion, Praesepe, Saturn, Taurus, The Beehive Cluster, The Hyades, The Orion Nebula, The Pleiades, Ursa Major
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With clear skies on Thursday night and Friday morning I thought I’d take advantage of the good conditions and spend some time sketching my observations. I really would recommend trying this - the best way to describe it would be ‘immersion observing’ if there is such a thing. I feel that you really do take in much more visually than you would normally, but then again that’s maybe just me.
Having finally finished digitizing my sketches I thought I’d post them up and share my work. Instead of giving you a blow by blow account of my observations, for a change I’ll just let the sketches do the talking . . .
Tags: Albireo, Andromeda, Cygnus, Galaxies, M31, M81, M82, Strathspey 25x100, Ursa Major
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The forecast at the Met Office held out - early Monday morning delivered crisp, clear skies with the odd cloud drifting overhead. I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like this so promptly geared up to capture another and possibly better star trail image.
The target for the session was the constellation of Orion as it rose over the roof tops towards the south east. Having positioned the tripod and the camera I decided to take a few test shots to make sure that I was focused on infinity as well as frame the image as best I could considering the urban landscape (the backyard).
The final image is a result of thirty six 30 second exposures taken at 24mm using an ISO of 800 with an F/Stop of 4.5. I had originally taken forty six exposures but towards the end of shooting clouds began rolling in and spoiled the view. The exposures were put together in Startrails and post processed in Photoshop.
Orion can be seen rising at the very centre of the picture - I even managed to capture part of The Hyades in there too which can be seen at the top of the shot, again near the centre. All in all I’m pretty happy with my second star trails attempt, but would love to do longer trails, which means either taking more exposures or experimenting with longer exposures, F/Stops and ISO speeds. Certainly food for thought.
After capturing all the exposures that would make up my final star trails image, I decided to go for a wander across the sky using the Bresser 10×50 binoculars. I chanced my luck and decided to see if I could catch a glimpse of NGC 7000: The North America Nebula in Cygnus. No such luck - I’m beginning to think that the skies around Falkirk and Stenhousemuir just aren’t dark enough.
Having no joy with Cygnus I moved on to a current favorite of mine: Auriga and the delights of M36, M37 and M38. I viewed these three open clusters through the Strathspey 25×100 binoculars a few weeks back and I wasn’t disappointed. The view through the 10×50s was no less thrilling if not more stunning. Beautiful deep sky objects and ones I’m certainly going to be observing a lot more in the future. From here I swept over to The Hyades and The Pleiades in Taurus for a quick glimpse but I just couldn’t stop myself from coming back to these two amazing open clusters again and again during the course of my morning observations.
Reluctantly I soon turned my attention to the majesty of M31: The Andromeda Galaxy. No matter how many times I see it, it is always a wondrous sight to behold, but I almost broke my neck viewing it as the constellation itself was positioned almost at the zenith. Moving down towards the constellation Triangulum I eventually found M33, making it only the second time I have seen this fantastic yet elusive galaxy. I spent quite a while in this part of the sky, sweeping backwards and forwards from M31 and M33 just drinking in the mesmerizing view.
Before long I finally surrendered and focused the binoculars on the splendor of M42: The Orion Nebula. Yes I’ve seen The Orion Nebula many,many times before, but it still never fails to make an epic impact on me. Wheeling around to Ursa Major I thought I try and hunt down M81 and M82 but eventually just began browsing around the sky aimlessly. At this point I gradually wound things up and decided to head for the warmth of the house. Unfortunately I never managed to see or capture any Orionids or Taurids, but there is always next time.
Tags: Andromeda, Auriga, Collinder 50, Cygnus, DSLR, M31, M33, M36, M37, M38, M42, M45, M81, M82, NGC 7000, Orion, Orionids, Star Trails, Taurids, Taurus, The Hyades, The Orion Nebula, The Pleiades, Triangulum, Ursa Major, Weather
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