MECATX November 2016 Sky Charts Remote Video Astronomy Group

Transcription

1 MECATX November 2016 Sky Charts Remote Video Astronomy Group (1)Fornax (FOR-naks), the Furnace - November 2 (2)Perseus (PER-see-us), the Hero - November (3)Eridanus (ih-rid-un-us), the River - November 10 (4)Horologium (hor-uh-loe-jee-um), the Clock November 10 (5)Reticulum (rih-tick-yuh-lum), the Reticle- November 19 (6)Taurus (TOR-us), the Bull - November 30 Revised by: Samantha Salvador

2 N November 2 Fornax (FOR-naks), the Furnace For, Fornacis (for-nay-siss) Fornax 1

3 Fornax Meaning: The Laboratory Furnace Pronunciation: for' nax Abbreviation: For Possessive form: Fornacis (for nay' siss) Asterisms: none Bordering constellations: Cetus, Eridanus, Phoenix, Sculptor Overall brightness: (87) Central point: RA = 2h46m Dec. = -32 Directional extremes: N = -24 S = -40 E = 3h48m W = 1 h44m Messier objects: Meteor showers: none none Midnight culmination date: 2 Nov Bright stars: none Named stars: none Near stars: LFI' 193 (147) Size: square degrees (0.964% of the sky) Rank in size: 41 Solar conjunction date: 4 May Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +500 completely invisible from latitudes: N of +64 Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 12 Interesting facts: (1) This is one of 14 constellations which Lacaille devised while at the Cape of Good Hope in

4 November 7 Perseus (PER-see-us), the Hero Per, Persei (PER-see-eye) 3

5 Perseus Meaning: Pronunciation: Abbreviation: Possessive form: Asterisms: The Hero pur' see us Per Persei (per' see ee) The Large Dipper, The Segment Bordering constellations: Andromeda, Aries, Auriga, Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Taurus,Triangulum Overall brightness: (17) Central point: RA = 3h06m Dec.= 45 Directional extremes: N = = +31 E = 4h46m W = 1h26rn Messier objects: M34, M76 Meteor showers: Daytime Perseids (7 Jun) Perseids (12 Aug) Midnight culmination date: 7 Nov Bright stars: a (33),13(58), (135), E (144), y(153), ö (170) Named stars: Algol (13), Atik (o), Menkib (), Miram (v), Mirfak (a), Misam (c) Near stars: Ross 594 (197) Size: square degrees (1.491 % of the sky) Rank in size: 24 Solar conjunction date: 9 May Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: N of 31 completely invisible from latitudes: S of -59 Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 65 4

6 Interesting facts: (1) The most famous of the visible stars of Perseus is Algol (13). It is an eclipsing binary star - the first such star discovered. Many have speculated that the variability of this star was known in ancient times, and was the reason for its name, 'Demon Star.' There is absolutely no proof which supports such ideas, however. (2) The open clusters h and x Persei (NGC 869 and NGC 884) are located between the head of Perseus and the 'W' of Cassiopeia. They are beautiful examples of galactic clusters and are are well resolved in small and medium aperture telescopes using low power eyepieces. (3) In studies of the spiral structure of our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have optically mapped three sections of 'arms' which make up the spiral shape. These are the Orion arm, the Sagittarius arm, and the Perseus arm. The Orion arm contains our solar system, the Sagittarius arm is closer to the center of the Milky Way, and the Perseus arm is further out. About 6000 light years of each 'arm' has been mapped. (4) The most famous meteor shower of the year occurs within the boundaries of the constellation of Perseus. The Perseid meteor shower peaks on 12 August with a rate of about 60 meteors seen each hour. Traces of the shower can be detected several weeks before and after maximum. The meteors are fast and many leave characteristic 'smoke trails.' This shower is associated with comet Swift Tuttle ( ). 5

7 Star Cluster M34 6

8 The Dumbbells 7

9 CULMINATION of the CONSTELLATIONS A culmination occurs when some star or constellation crosses the local meridian to reaching its highest (or lowest point) in the sky, and knowing when this occurs is very useful to both visual or telescopic observations of the night sky. By knowing when some celestial object crosses the local meridian, means that their general appearance will be at their very best, and without the hindrance of the atmospheric effects; such as seeing, refraction or air mass. Culminations for non-circumpolar stars, that do rise and set below the horizon, will happen once per day. However, because of Earth s orbital motion around the Sun, the time for each successive culmination falls earlier by about four minutes for every day that passes. Its exact instant of local time crossing the local meridian is formally called the Sidereal Time, which is exactly corresponds to the local meridian s Right Ascension. In other circumstances, if some constellation or celestial object appears circumpolar never setting below the local horizon two culminations can occur. These are an upper culmination(highest) and lower culmination (lowest). Calculation of culmination times is not exactly simple, as the width of the constellation means that we need to determine the time of the mid-point. This can be approximated by the difference between the eastern and western constellations limits, but this should probably be better determined but knowing the right ascension of half area of the constellation something far more difficult to calculate. A slightly more accurate way it the constellation centre of both right (cvp) ascension and declination, and this requires knowing the extreme of all the boundaries. Furthermore, culmination times are also dependant on the precession of the equinoxes, so they should include the current epoch. Many tabulated culminations are still based on the B epoch, meaning the culmination times are only off by a day or so. Most tables on culminations are only accurate to several days, but this is still quite adequate for most visual observation purposes. The TABULATED DATA The dates when this occurs are conveniently expressed for midnight (12pm) and in the early evening at 9pm, when most observers would be looking at the nighttime sky. Sometimes it can be given at 6pm, but then only useful in the winter months when it is dark at that time. Finding culmination times for other times of the year, subtract 15 days for ever hour that is earlier than this date. For times that are later; add fifteen (15) days for every hour. If the date is different than specified, then add or subtract twenty-eight (28) minutes for each week that has elapsed or is to come. 8

10 November 10 Eridanus (ih-rid-un-us), the River, Eridani (ih-rid-un-eye) Eridanus 9

11 Meaning: Pronunciation: Abbreviation: Possessive form: Asterisms: The River air uh day' nus En Eridani (air uh day' nee) none Bordering constellations: Caelum, Cetus, Fornax, Horologium, Hydrus, Lepus, Orion, Phoenix, Taurus Overall brightness: 6.942(47) Central point: RA = 3h1 5m Dec. = 29 Directional extremes: N = 00 S = 58 E = 5h09m W = 1h22m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 10 Nov Bright stars: a (9), 13(124), 0 (151), y (156) Named stars: Acamar (0), Achernar ((x), Angetenar (t2), Azha (ii), Beid (01), Cursa (13), Keid (2), Rana (6), Sceptrum (53), Theemin (1)2), Zaurak (y), Zibel (Q) Near stars: e En (10), 40 En A-B-C (38), 82 En (69), p En A-B (77), BD (111), 6 En (148), BD (156) LTT (184) Size: square degrees (2.758% of the sky) Rank in size: 6 Solar conjunction date: 11 May Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +32 portions visible worldwide Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 79 Interesting facts: (1) c Eri is a very nearby solar-type star, lying at a distance of 10.7 light years. For readers of the 'Star Trek' science fiction series, this is the star around which the planet Vulcan (Mr. Spock's home planet) supposedly revolves. November 10 10

12 Horologium (hor-uh-loe-jee-um), the Clock Hor, Horologii (hor-uh-loe-jee-eye) Horologium 11

13 Meaning: Pronunciation: Abbreviation: Possessive form: Asterisms: The Pendulum Clock hor uh low' gee urn Hor Horologii (hor owe low' gee ee) none Bordering constellations: Caelum, Dorado, Eridanus, Hydrus, Reticulum Overall brightness: (81) Central point: RA = 3h15m Dec.= Directional extremes: N = -40 S=-67 E = 4h18m W = 2h12m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 10 Nov Bright stars: none Named stars: none Near stars: none Size: square degrees (0.603% of the sky) Rank in size: 58 Solar conjunction date: 11 May Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +23 completely invisible from latitudes: N of +50 Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 10 Interesting facts: (1) This was one of the 14 constellations invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope in

14 Reticulum November 19 Reticulum (rih-tick-yuh-lum), the Reticle Ret, Reticuli (rih-tick-yuh-lye) Reticulum 13

15 Meaning: Pronunciation: Abbreviation: Possessive form: Asterisms: The Net reh tik' yoo lum Ret Reticuli (reh tik' yoo lee) none Bordering constellations: Dorado, Horologium, Hydrus Overall brightness: 9.654(24) Central point: RA = 3h54m Dec. = 60 Directional extremes: N = 53 S = 67 E = 4h35m W = 3h14m Messier objects: none Meteor showers: none Midnight culmination date: 19 Nov Bright stars: none Named stars: none Near stars: none Size: square degrees (0.276% of the sky) Rank in size: 82 Solar conjunction date: 21 May Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: S of +230 completely invisible from latitudes: N of +37 Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 11 Interesting facts: (1) This was one of the 14 constellations invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope in (2) The star Ret was the subject of a much-publicized 'UFO' incident. Supposedly, on 19 September 1961, a New Hampshire couple named Betty and Barney Hill were abducted by aliens who showed Mrs. Hill a star map. Further study seemed to indicate that the area revealed by the map was part of the local solar neighborhood, and that the aliens came from the double star system Reticuli. Taurus 14

16 November 30 Taurus (TOR-us) Tau, the Bull Tau, Tauri (TOR-eye) 15

17 Taurus Meaning: The Bull Pronunciation: tor' us Abbreviation: Tau Possessive form: Tauri (tor' ee) Asterisms: The Heavenly G, The Hyades, The Pleiades, The V, The Winter Octagon, The Winter Oval Bordering constellations: Aries, Auriga, Cetus, Eridanus, Gemini, Orion, Perseus Overall brightness: (12) Central point: RA = 4h39m Dec. = Directional extremes: N = +31 S = 000 E = 5h58m W = 3h20m Messier objects: Ml, M45 Meteor showers: Daytime P Taurids (29 Jun) S. Taurids (3 Nov) N. Taurids (13 Nov) Midnight culmination date: 30 Nov Bright stars: a (14), P (27), 1 (140), (167) Named stars: Am(c), Alcyone (Q, Aldebaran ((x), Asterope (21), Atlas (27), Celaeno (16), Electra (17), El Nath (13), Hyadem I (y), Hyadem 11(61), Maia (20), Merope (23), Nath (13), Pleione (28), Sterope (21), Taygeta (19) Near stars: none Size: square degrees (1.933% of the sky) Rank in size: 17 Solar conjunction date: 2 Jun Visibility: completely visible from latitudes: N of 59 portions visible worldwide Visible stars: (number of stars brighter than magnitude 5.5): 98 16

18 Interesting facts: (1) a Tau, or Aldebaran, is one of the four Royal Stars of the ancient Persians. (2) 13 Tau was once a star 'shared' between the constellations of Taurus and Auriga. Pre-twentieth century star catalogs often list this star as y Aur. Since the Belgian astronomer Eugene Delporte's Delimitation Scientifique des Constellations was adopted as the standard for constellation boundaries it has been assigned to Taurus. (3) M45, also known as the 'Pleiades' or the 'Seven Sisters,' is the brightest galactic, or open, cluster in the sky. It is one of the few objects on Messier's list which does not possess a corresponding NGC number, presumably because it is so bright. Both Aratos and Eudoxus mention the Pleiades as a distinct constellation. (See list entitled 'The original 48 constellations.') (4) Approximately 10 northwest of Tau lies Ml, the Crab Nebula. It received its name in the mid-nineteenth century when Lord Rosse noted that its extended filaments resembled the pincers of a crab. Ml is the gaseous remnant of a super-nova which became visible in the year It is the brightest supernova remnant in the sky. (5) It was within Taurus that the Italian astronomer Piazzi made the discovery of the first asteroid, Ceres, on New Year"s Day,

19 M1: The Crab Nebula from Hubble 18

20 November 2016 Killeen, Texas Latitude, Longitude: ' N, ' W Time zone: -6:00 (Central) DST observance: North America Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Twi A: 6:24am Twi: 7:21am Sunrise: 7:46am Sunset: 6:43pm Twi: 7:08pm Twi A: 8:05pm Twi A: 6:25am Twi: 7:22am Sunrise: 7:47am Sunset: 6:42pm Twi: 7:07pm Twi A: 8:04pm Twi A: 6:26am Twi: 7:23am Sunrise: 7:48am Sunset: 6:41pm Twi: 7:06pm Twi A: 8:03pm Twi A: 6:26am Twi: 7:24am Sunrise: 7:49am Sunset: 6:40pm Twi: 7:05pm Twi A: 8:02pm Twi A: 6:27am Twi: 7:24am Sunrise: 7:50am Sunset: 6:39pm Twi: 7:05pm Twi A: 8:02pm 6 DST Ends Twi A: 5:28am Twi: 6:25am Sunrise: 6:50am Sunset: 5:39pm Twi: 6:04pm Twi A: 7:01pm Twi A: 5:29am Twi: 6:26am Sunrise: 6:51am Sunset: 5:38pm Twi: 6:03pm Twi A: 7:01pm First Qtr: 1:52pm Twi A: 5:29am Twi: 6:27am Sunrise: 6:52am Sunset: 5:37pm Twi: 6:03pm Twi A: 7:00pm Twi A: 5:30am Twi: 6:27am Sunrise: 6:53am Sunset: 5:37pm Twi: 6:02pm Twi A: 6:59pm Twi A: 5:31am Twi: 6:28am Sunrise: 6:54am Sunset: 5:36pm Twi: 6:01pm Twi A: 6:59pm Twi A: 5:31am Twi: 6:29am Sunrise: 6:55am Sunset: 5:35pm Twi: 6:01pm Twi A: 6:58pm Twi A: 5:32am Twi: 6:30am Sunrise: 6:55am Sunset: 5:35pm Twi: 6:00pm Twi A: 6:58pm Twi A: 5:33am Twi: 6:31am Sunrise: 6:56am Sunset: 5:34pm Twi: 6:00pm Twi A: 6:57pm Twi A: 5:34am Twi: 6:31am Sunrise: 6:57am Sunset: 5:34pm Twi: 5:59pm Twi A: 6:57pm Full Moon: 7:53am Twi A: 5:34am Twi: 6:32am Sunrise: 6:58am Sunset: 5:33pm Twi: 5:59pm Twi A: 6:57pm Twi A: 5:35am Twi: 6:33am Sunrise: 6:59am Sunset: 5:32pm Twi: 5:58pm Twi A: 6:56pm Twi A: 5:36am Twi: 6:34am Sunrise: 7:00am Sunset: 5:32pm Twi: 5:58pm Twi A: 6:56pm Twi A: 5:37am Twi: 6:35am Sunrise: 7:01am Sunset: 5:32pm Twi: 5:57pm Twi A: 6:56pm Twi A: 5:37am Twi: 6:36am Sunrise: 7:01am Sunset: 5:31pm Twi: 5:57pm Twi A: 6:55pm Twi A: 5:38am Twi: 6:36am Sunrise: 7:02am Sunset: 5:31pm Twi: 5:57pm Twi A: 6:55pm Twi A: 5:39am Twi: 6:37am Sunrise: 7:03am Sunset: 5:30pm Twi: 5:56pm Twi A: 6:55pm Last Qtr: 2:35am Twi A: 5:39am Twi: 6:38am Sunrise: 7:04am Sunset: 5:30pm Twi: 5:56pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:40am Twi: 6:39am Sunrise: 7:05am Sunset: 5:30pm Twi: 5:56pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:41am Twi: 6:40am Sunrise: 7:06am Sunset: 5:29pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:42am Twi: 6:40am Sunrise: 7:06am Sunset: 5:29pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:42am Twi: 6:41am Sunrise: 7:07am Sunset: 5:29pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:43am Twi: 6:42am Sunrise: 7:08am Sunset: 5:29pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:44am Twi: 6:43am Sunrise: 7:09am Sunset: 5:29pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Twi A: 5:45am Twi: 6:44am Sunrise: 7:10am Sunset: 5:28pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm New Moon: 6:20am Twi A: 5:45am Twi: 6:44am Sunrise: 7:11am Sunset: 5:28pm Twi: 5:55pm Twi A: 6:54pm Courtesy of Copyright 2016 Steve Edwards. All rights reserved. 19

21 November 2016 Moon Phases Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Waxing Gibbous Full Moon Waning Gibbous New Moon 20

22 MECATX November 2016 Sky Charts Remote Video Astronomy Group (1) Fornax, the Furnace November 4 (2) Perseus, the Hero - November 7 (3) Eridanus, the River- November 10 (4) Horologium, the Clock - November 10 (5) Reticulum, the Reticle - November 19 (6) Taurus, the Bull - November 30 Revised by: Samantha Salvador