Kitt Peak Nightly Observing Program Slendors of the Universe on YOUR Night! Many ictures are links to larger versions. Click here for the Best images of the OTOP Gallery and more information. Engagement Ring The Engagement Ring: Through binoculars, the North Star (Polaris) seems to be the brightest on a small ring of stars. Not a constellation or cluster, this asterism looks like a diamond engagement ring on which Polaris shines brightly as the diamond. Big Dier The Big Dier (also known as the Plough) is an asterism consisting of the seven brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major. Four define a "bowl" or "body" and three define a "handle" or "head". It is recognized as a distinct grouing in many cultures. The North Star (Polaris), the current northern ole star and the ti of the handle of the Little Dier, can be located by extending an imaginary line from Big Dier star Merak (β) through Dubhe (α). This makes it useful in celestial navigation.
Little Dier Constellation Ursa Minor is colloquially known in the US as the Little Dier, because its seven brightest stars seem to form the shae of a dier (ladle or scoo). The star at the end of the dier handle is Polaris, the North Star. Polaris can also be found by following a line through two stars in Ursa Major Alha and Beta Ursae Majoris that form the end of the 'bowl' of the Big Dier, for 30 degrees (three uright fists at arms' length) across the night sky. Boötes Boötes has a funny name. Pronounced boh OH deez, this constellation s name means sheeherder, or herdsman. It looks kind of like a kite, or a shoe. Some remember that Boötes look like a boot to hel ick it out in the sky.
Coma Berenices The name Coma Berenices means Berenice s Hair. This is the only modern constellation named for a erson who really lived, as oosed to a urely mythological character. Queen Berenices II of Egyt lived 2260 years ago, and as legend has it, she sacrificed her hair to the goddess Ahrodite, in exchange that her husband should return safely from war. When the hair went missing form the temle, it was said that it had been carried to the heavens, where it forevermore resides. Corona Borealis Corona Borealis, or Northern Crown, is a tiara shaed, or C shaed constellation. Its brightest star, called Alhecca, or Gemma, shines like the crown jewel centeriece of a brilliant celestial tiara. It s southern counterart, Corona Australis, or Southern Crown lies just south of the eclitic.
Corvus Corvus is Latin for crow, or raven. This constellation is associated with nearby constellations Hydra the water snake, and Crater the cu. There are no articularly bright stars in Corvus. The four main stars make a olygon shae. Gemini Gemini is a well known zodiac constellation. Zodiac constellations line u with the lane of the Solar System in our sky, an intersection known as the eclitic. This means you will find lanets assing through Gemini from time to time. Gemini is also grazed by the lane of the Milky Way, and therefore has a few dee sky objects within its boundaries. Gemini s brightest stars get their names from twins Castor and Pollux of Greek mythology.
Leo Leo is a fairly well known constellation, because the lane of the Solar System runs through it. Such constellations are called Zodiac Constellations. Leo has some notable, bright stars, in it to boot. The brightest of these, Regulus is at the bottom of a series of stars arrayed in the form of a sickle, or a backwards question mark. This constellation does look more or less like the side rofile of a lion lying on the ground, with its head u. Auriga Auriga is located north of the celestial equator. Its name is the Latin word for "charioteer", associating it with various mythological charioteers, including Erichthonius and Myrtilus. Auriga is most rominent in the northern Hemishere winter sky, along with the five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Auriga is half the size of the largest constellation, Hydra. Its brightest star, Caella, is an unusual multile star system among the brightest stars in the night sky. Because of its osition near the winter Milky Way, Auriga has many bright oen clusters within its borders, including M36, M37, and M38. In addition, it has one rominent nebula, the Flaming Star Nebula, associated with the variable star AE Aurigae. Omega (ω) Centauri
Omega Centauri is one of the biggest and closest globular star clusters, seen very low to the south from Kitt Peak, and best seen from Southern latitudes. This ball of ten million stars is 16,000 light years away. It is one of the largest globular clusters in the galaxy, sanning a diameter of 150 light years, and may actually be the rememnant of a dwarf galaxy. Satellites Human technology! There are almost 500 of these in Low Earth Orbit (we can't see the higher ones). We see these little "moving stars" because they reflect sunlight. Iridium Flare
From the late 1990's to the early 2000's Motorola launched a total of 95 communication satellites into orbit around Earth. Today, they are most noted not for their intended urose, but instead for their ability to reflect sunlight. Shiny antennae briefly (for 10 20 seconds) reflect sunlight to make these objects almost as bright as the moon. M35 M35 is an oen star cluster of over 300 stars. It lies at a distance of 2,800 light years from Earth, near the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins. Tiny nearby cluster NGC 2158 is in the same field of view. M44 The Beehive
M44, the "Beehive Cluster," and also known as "Praesee," is a large, bright, diffuse oen star cluster containing about 400 stars. It lies fairly close, at a distance of under 600 light years. Coma Berenices Coma Berenices: "Berenice's Hair," a giant Y shaed oen star cluster. It is only 280 lightyears away and aears a bit east of Leo. Juiter
Juiter is the largest lanet in the Solar System, a gas giant 11 Earth diameters across. Its atmoshere contains the Great Red Sot, a long lived storm 2 3 times the size of the Earth. The 4 large Galilean satellites and at least 63 smaller moons orbit Juiter. Mizar & Alcor In the handle of the Big Dier, Mizar & Alcor (ζ & 80 Ursae Majoris) or the Horse & Rider form a naked eye double star. They are traveling through sace together about 80 light years away from us, searated by about a light year. However, it is unknown if they are actually gravitationally bound to each other. A telescoe slits Mizar itself into two stars, but these both are again doubles, bringing the total in this system to six.
Your Telescoe Oerator and Guide. Thank you for joining me this evening! See you soon!! The web age for the rogram in which you just articiated is at Nightly Observing Program. Most of the above images were taken as art of the Overnight Telescoe Observing Program. For more information on this unique exerience lease visit Overnight Telescoe Observing Program. Coyright 2017 Kitt Peak Visitor Center Commit