Lying beyond the glare of the stellar behemoth Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus, making up a glorious cosmic quartet, sits Omicron-1 and Omicron-2 Cygni. An orange K3Ib super-giant, Omicron-2 is an Algol type variable star — an eclipsing binary with a smaller, but brighter short period companion. By sheer coincidence Omicron-1 is also an Algol variable belonging to the orange spectrum — a K2II giant to be precise — but other than their apparent resemblance there is no physical relationship between these “twin” stars.
Sitting close to Omicron-1 can be found 30 Cygni and HIP 99676 also known as 31 Cygni b. The former is a white to blue white A5III giant while the latter is a blue white B9 star with no clear luminosity grading. Again, like Omicron-2, there is no association — except for a common optical axis within a populous field of the Milky Way — between these stars and Omicron-1.
The 25×100 binoculars easily revealed the orange hues of Omicron-1 and 2 while 30 Cygni appeared close to it’s spectral classification. HIP 99676 on the other hand posed a slight puzzle as it appeared a greenish white. Regardless this proved to be a beautiful grouping of stars which are well worth a look if you have the time to spare during an observing session.
Tags: 30 Cygni, Cygnus, HIP 99676, Omicron-1 Cygni, Omicron-2 Cygni, Strathspey 25x100
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What started out as a planned observation of Omicron-1 Cygni ended up as an impromptu study of Epsilon Lyrae. With the weather granting the first proper clear skies that I have seen in just over three weeks I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get out under the stars. With winds gusting at 21 mph and a temperature of 9°C — due to fall by 5°C — I opted to set up the 25×100 binoculars rather than the 5 inch refractor. Upon realising that my intended target — Omicron-1 Cygni — lay at a neck breaking altitude of 71° I decided to retreat to Epsilon Lyrae.
The beautiful multiple star — a quadruple system that lies 162 light years away — shared the same field of view as the dazzling main sequence star Vega. At higher magnifications the stars of Epsilon Lyrae— ε Lyrae 1 and ε Lyrae 2 — split into two further binaries that orbit one another no closer than 0.16 light years. This means that both systems would take many millennia to complete just one orbit.
I’ll definitely be returning here in due course to take in a view with the telescope, but I’m still intent on bagging that observation of Omicron-1 Cygni. Just watch this space!
Edit 07.10.09: Looking back on the original sketch of Epsilon Lyrae that I produced, I’ve had the feeling that I just didn’t give this celestial object the attention that it really deserved. So early on Wednesday morning — 07.10.09 — I revisited the scene of the crime and set to work making a fresh observation. Although there was a cold breeze blowing through the backyard the seeing higher up in the atmosphere was excellent — 1 on the Antoniadi Scale. I’m far happier with the detail that I’ve captured; I hope you enjoy what I have produced.
Tags: Cygnus, Epsilon Lyrae, Lyra, Omicron-1 Cygni, Strathspey 25x100, Vega
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The late hours of Monday night (24.08.09) brought an opportunity to take in a quick observation of Jupiter with the 25×100 binoculars. Initially I could only discern three of the Galilean moons, but further investigation revealed the fourth elusive satellite — Io — hugging close by Europa. Upon checking ‘The Night Sky’ section in my August edition of Astronomy Now I realised that I was witnessing a burgeoning occultation as Io converged upon Europa. Unfortunately I was unable to watch this entire Jovian event unfold, but it was fascinating to see the wafer-thin gap between the shimmering moons slowly disappear as they drifted towards their celestial rendezvous.
Tags: Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io, Jupiter, Occultation, Strathspey 25x100
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On October the 13th 1773, while observing a comet, the French astronomer Charles Messier discovered what he described as a “very faint nebula without stars”. Catalogued as Messier 51, this nebulous object is actually a large spiral galaxy over 37 million light years away. Under dark skies this island universe is said to be a spectacular sight, but if like me you are trying to view this galactic gem under light polluted conditions; then you’re in for a struggle.
I have endeavored to observe M51 at least four times since I returned to amateur astronomy. Each attempt has left me empty handed, but despite my lack of success I have never abandoned my hope of one day catching a glimpse of this distant galaxy.
Whether it was kismet, experience, or blind luck; the tenuous outline of Messier 51 finally gave itself up to my 25×100 binoculars on the morning of July the 30th. Unfortunately it was to be a fleeting encounter as a colourless brume crept over the sky and obscured the view.
While I waited for the clouds to dissipate I spent my time watching, and photographing Mars as it rose above the eastern horizon along with Venus. Sadly the deteriorating conditions finally overwhelmed the sky; forcing me to pack up and call it quits for another time.
Mars and Venus Rising: Mouseover the image for more information.
Two for the Price of One
As luck would have it the following morning offered some clear skies with another opportunity to tackle M51. This time the elements proved far more agreeable, and allowed me the chance to build on my previous observation. As my eyes adapted to the dark, the subtle contour of M51 began to materialise as an opaque asymmetrical ellipse; which over time began to take on the shape of two uneven lobes.
This completely blew me away because I knew that the smaller of the two lobes was in fact the interacting dwarf galaxy NGC 5195. It was this small companion — after a close encounter between the two galaxies — that helped enhance the pronounced spiral structure of Messier 51.
Adding to this already impressive scene, averted vision revealed the minute cores of both galaxies flickering in and out of view like far flung sky lanterns. A display that was made all the more interesting with the knowledge that at the centre of M51 lies a monstrous black hole which is devouring and tearing matter apart at an incredible rate.
All good things must come to an end, as is so often the case, and 42 minutes after beginning my session a veil of cloud rolled in from the west bringing my observation of this long sought, and rewarding deep sky object, to a close.
Tags: Aldebaran, Canes Venatici, DSLR, Galaxy, Mars, Messier 51, NGC 5195, Strathspey 25x100, Venus
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Ever since @RevAaron over at Caffeinated Astronomy published a great post about observing the dwarf planet Ceres I have promised myself that I would spend some time tracking it down. Unfortunately up until now I have just never taken the opportunity to actually get around to doing it, but all of that changed at the beginning of last week.
Monday (11.05.09) brought with it the first of what would become four days of good weather; so before Ceres disappears below the western horizon in the next few months I thought I’d finally make the effort, and take in a view of this unique planetary object.
Visually Ceres resembles nothing more than a star even in the biggest of amateur instruments so it is worth doing your homework before you embark on an observation of it. Thankfully I had the help of some good twitter friends: @TaviGreiner @craiggold, and @LouisS who provided links to The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and Heavens Above (which I have to admit I’d completely forgotten about) to aid me in my hunt.
Locating Ceres actually proved easier than I thought it would be, and for the next 45 minutes I found myself glued to the 25×100 binoculars as I followed this bantam planet across the sky. This really was an enjoyable observation, and my thoughts began to run riot as I visualized how this diminutive world must look. It’s amazing to think that despite the exceptional efforts of the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Keck Telescope only 11 surface features have been identified; presumably some are craters, but the characteristics of most of them are still unknown. NASA’s Dawn Mission will shed more light on this mysterious world when it arrives there in 2015, but until then we will have to settle for an Earth based view, and a little imagination.
If you have not done so yet; then I encourage you to spend an evening in the company of Ceres. It may not be the most dazzling planetary object you’ll ever see, but once you’ve observed it you will be able to say that you have seen the smallest known dwarf planet in the solar system.
Tags: 1 Ceres, Dwarf Planet, Strathspey 25x100
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