1,001 Celestial Wonders to See Before You Die: The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers

483 Pages·2010·16.6 MB·English

by  Michael E. Bakich (auth.)

Patrick Moore’s Practical Astronomy Series
Forothertitlespublishedintheseries,goto
http://www.springer.com/series/3192
1,001 Celestial
Wonders to See
Before You Die
The Best Sky Objects for Star Gazers
Michael E. Bakich
1 3
MichaelE.Bakich
2001W.LaphamSt.
53204MilwaukeeWisconsin
USA
[email protected]
ISSN1431-9756
ISBN978-1-4419-1776-8 e-ISBN978-1-4419-1777-5
DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-1777-5
SpringerNewYorkDordrechtHeidelbergLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2010929261
#SpringerScienceþBusinessMedia,LLC2010
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isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornottheyaresubjecttoproprietaryrights.
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Foreword
There’s nothing quite like deep-sky observing. Out under an inky black sky filled with stars, your
telescopeatyourside,armedwithlistsandideasaboutwhattolookat,theentireuniverseliesatyour
beckandcall.Andit’sfilledwithexcitingthingstolookat.TheMilkyWayGalaxyholdsasmanyas
400billionstarsandtheuniverseatleast125billiongalaxies.Doesthatmeanamateurastronomers
have50,000millionbilliontargetsfortheirtelescopes?No—there’snoneedtogetgreedy.Whatcan
beseenwithamedium-sizedbackyardtelescopeamountsto10,000nicetargets,theobjectsthatare
closest to us in space and therefore the brightest. And in this impressive book you are holding,
MichaelBakichpresents morethan1,000ofthesetargets —starclusters, nebulae,andgalaxies—
10%ofthegoodstuffyoucanseewithyourscope,inasinglebook!
Beforeheadingoutunderthestars,keepthebasicsinmind.Makesureyougetasfarawayfromcity
lights as possible, and observe close to the dark of the Moon. Choose areas or nights of good
transparency, when little particle stuff is floating in the atmosphere, and nights of good seeing
when the atmospheric turbulence is at a minimum. Don’t be tempted to jump to high powers as a
keytoseeingthings:mostdeep-skyobjectsarebestviewedatrelativelylowmagnifications.Ifyoucan,
takealongasetoflightpollutionreductionfiltersthatwillhelpwithscatteredartificiallight.Make
sureyouusethebasictechniquesofbackyardobservers,suchasavertedvision—lookingtotheside
oftheeyepiecefield,whichengagesyoureyes’rods,itsfaintlightreceptors.
Andmakesureyouenjoythejourney.I’veownedmanytelescopesofvarioussizesbutperhapsthe
mostfunIeverhadunderthenightskycameduringmyfirstyearofobservinginacountryfieldin
Ohio.BackthenIhadonlybinocularsandwhateveritwas—theDumbbellNebula,theAndromeda
Galaxy,astarclusterlikeM7—wasavoyageofdiscovery.Ihadnoideawhatcouldbeseenorwhat
anythingwouldlooklike,sothefeelingofwonderandaweroughlyequatedtoGalileowhenhefirst
gazedupontheheavens,unsureofwhatanythingwasatall.Insomeways,thatsenseofwonderwas
greaterthanitisnowobservingverydistantobjectswitha30-inchtelescope.
Asyougainexperienceasanobserver,you’llgainmanyfriendsinthesky—favoriteobjectsyou
liketocomebacktoagainandagain.OneofmyfavoritesisNGC6888,knownastheCrescentNebula.
Thisglowingcloudwascastoffbyafuriouslyhotcentralstar,HD192163,aWolf-Rayetstarwithits
hot,innerlayerexposed.Onadarknight,an8-inchscopeshowsaweird,mottledtexturealongthis
object,floatinginarichfieldoffaintstars.Anotherstrangeemissionnebula,theBubbleNebula,lies
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intheconstellationCassiopeiaandisdesignatedNGC7635.Althoughthisobjecthasasomewhatlow
surfacebrightness,meaningitstotallightisspreadoutandmadealittlechallengingtosee,a6-inch
scopeshowstheBubbleonadarknight.
AsyoureadMichael’sbook,you’llinvariablydrawupalistofyourownfavorites,eithertogoafter
beforeyou’veseenthemonce,ortoreturntoonsubsequentnights.Aftermanynightsunderthestars
you’llfindthisbookavaluablereferenceand,I’mguessing,aconstantcompanionunderthestars.
DavidJ.Eicher
DavidJ.Eicheriseditor-in-chiefofAstronomymagazineandwasthefounderandeditorofDeepSky
magazine.Hehasspent30yearsobservingdeep-skyobjects fromavarietyoflocationsaroundthe
world.
Preface
Withintheranksofamateurastronomy,thephrase‘‘What’sup?’’isn’tagreeting.It’sacallforhelp.
Loosely,ittranslatesas,‘‘WhatshouldIlookat?’’or,‘‘WhatcanIseethroughmytelescope?’’And,it’s
notonlybeginningobserverswhoposethesequestions.
InSeptember2000,Iattended theGreat PlainsStarParty nearKansasCity,Missouri.Onenight
nearmidnight,asIwaswalkingacrosstheobservingfield,afriendcalleddownfromhisobserving
ladder,‘‘Hey,Michael,I’moutofthingstolookat.Gotanyideas?’’
Iwastakenabackbecausemyfriendwasn’tanewbie.Hewasadedicatedamateurastronomer,a
long-timememberofalargeastronomyclub,andatelescopeowner.Infact,onthisnighthewasusing
hisnew24-inchStarmasterDobsonian-mountedNewtonianreflectorwithfullgo-tocapability.And
yet,basically,hewasasking,‘‘What’sup?’’
Iwrotethisbooktohelpanswerthatquestion.
Iselectedeachofthe1,001objectsfrompastobservations.Severalgobackmorethan30years.To
choose these particular objects, I consulted personal observing logs, talked to friends about their
favorites,andscannedmypreviouswritings.Pickingthefirst218targetswastrivial—109camefrom
CharlesMessier’slistandtheotherhalforiginatedinSirPatrickMoore’sCaldwellcatalogue.
TworesourcesfromAstronomymagazinealsohelped.OnewasArizonaamateurastronomerTom
Polakis’excellentseries‘‘CelestialPortraits,’’whichranfromApril1998toMarch2004.Ifyoumissed
it, the whole series is available for purchase (as PDF files) online at www.Astronomy.com. Also at
Astronomy’swebsite,you’llfindtheotherresourceIused:StarDome(orStarDomePlusformagazine
subscribers).Iincorporated almosteveryobjectfromStarDomebrighterthanmagnitude11,anda
fewfainteronesaswell.
A quick tally of the objects shows 357 galaxies, putting that class of celestial object at the top,
numberwise.Ofthose,Iincluded214normalspirals,61barredspirals,57ellipticals,19irregulars,
and six galaxy clusters. Star clusters took second place with 325 entries. Of those, 225 are open
clusters, and 100 are globulars. You’ll also find 140 nebulae, 114 double stars, and more. Because I
envisionedbeginningobserversalsousingthisbook,Iincludednineconstellationsand15asterisms.
I made a serious effort to select objects from all over the sky, but I must admit to a Northern
Hemisphere bias because most of my observing occurs north of the equator. Even so, I somehow
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managedtoincludeatleastoneobjectin86ofthe88constellationsthatcoverthesky.Onlythestar
patternsofPhoenixandPictorlackatarget.
On the other end of the scale, 14 constellations each contain more than 20 of the 1,001 objects.
LeadingthewayareUrsaMajor(42),Sagittarius(38),andVirgo(33).Cassiopeia,Cygnus,Ophiuchus,
andPuppiseachcontain29objects.ThencomeLeoandScorpius(28each),CepheusandMonoceros
(24each),ComaBerenices(23),Orion(21),andCanesVenatici(20).
Notalldeep-skyobjectsareequal.Somedescriptions,likethoseofdoublestars,areshort.Toother
descriptions,especiallythoseofthetruestandoutobjectsinthegroup,Idedicatedmorerealestate.
Along the way, I also defined some concepts and included a few historical notes. None of the
descriptions, however, give all details about any object. That’s because I intended this book as a
beginning,notanend.
So,usethisguidewithapencilinyourhand.Ifyourecognize afeature Idescribe(forexample,
‘‘threetimesaslongasitiswide’’),putasmallcheckmarkbythatphrase.IfyouseeadetailIdidn’t
mention, by all means add it to that page. In so doing, you’ll take what I started and make it your
personalobservinglog.
Ifyoufindamistake(Itakefullresponsibilityforany),orifyou’dliketocommentonanobject,
description,oromission,[email protected].
Iorganizedthisbookforeasyusethroughouttheyear.That’swhythe12chapterscarrythenames
ofthemonths.You’llfindtheobjectsineachchapterattheirbestduringthatmonth.You’llbeableto
observeeveryobject,however,severalmonthsbeforeorafterthemonthinwhichitfalls.
Finally, a word about object numbering. Although you could start in January and observe each
objectinthelistedorder(atleastthoseinyourhemisphere),youalsocanapproachthelistinaless
formalway. Feel free toskip aroundin whateverway you choose. Perhaps for your next observing
session, you’ll select the objects in one constellation. A subsequent session might highlight spiral
galaxiesorplanetarynebulae.It’salluptoyou.
Acknowledgement
First,Iwanttothankmywife,Holley,forherindulgenceandpatienceasIcompletedthismanuscript.
SheunderstoodwhenIexcusedmyselffromtravelplans,missedartopenings,orjustheadedupstairs
towrite.She’sthebest.Holley,Iloveyou.
Allthepicturesofcelestialobjectsreproducedinthisbookcamefromjusttwoastroimagers:Adam
BlockfromTucson,Arizona,andAnthonyAyiomamitis,wholivesinAthens,Greece.
Whether Adam’s images originated from his years as Chief Observer at the Advanced Observer
Program at Kitt Peak National Observatory or from his current position as Public Observing
ProgramsCoordinatorattheMountLemmonSkyCenteroperatedbytheUniversityofArizona,the
resultshavebeenterrific.ManyhaveappearedinthepagesofAstronomymagazineduringthe7years
Ihaveworkedthere.Infact,duringthattime,we’vepublishedmoreofAdam’simagesthanthoseof
anyotherastrophotographer.Althoughhehasimagedeverytypeofcelestialobject,Adam’sspecialty
isspiralgalaxies.
I’ve yet to meet Anthony, but we’ve corresponded via e-mail for years. His specialty involves
intricateplanningthatletshimknowwhenaskyevent(likeasunriseormoonset)willoccurbehind
oneofGreece’smanyhistoricalmonuments.Hethentakesasingleexposuretocapturethescene.He
alsohasproducedmoreyear-longanalemmashotsthananyotherphotographer.And,thankfully,he
loves to shoot star clusters. I have run many of his high-quality images in Astronomy. He’s always
beenwillingtoshootobjectsIneededforstories,andheoftenasksifIhaveotherrequests.Ioffermy
sinceregratitudetobothAdamandAnthony.
ThanksalsotoTomandSteveBisqueofSoftwareBisque.Theyhavegenerouslyprovidedmewith
copies ofTheSky software fornearly twodecades.I’veused TheSky (now TheSkyX) athome and at
workforallmyastronomicalprojectsstartingwithmyfirstbook,whichappearedin1995.Allangular
measurementsforthisbook,aswellaseverystarchartconsultation,camefromTheSky.Ifyouuse
TheSky,besuretodownloadthenewSkyDatabaseFile(.sdf)atwww.bisque.com,whichcontainsall
1,001objects.Thatresourcewillmakeitaloteasiertofindandidentifythetargetsyouchoose.Thanks
toTomBisqueforhelpingmecreatethatfile.
AspecialthankstoGeneTurner,alanddeveloperwhostartedtheArizonaSkyVillageinPortal,
Arizona,andtheRanchoHidalgoastronomyandequestriancommunitynearAnimas,NewMexico.
Turner has hosted me for numerous multi-day observing sessions during which I used his 30-inch
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x Acknowledgement
StarmasterDobsonian-mountedreflectortoobservemanyoftheobjectsinthisbook.Inadditionto
Gene’s hospitality, what made each trip special was the clear, ultra-dark sky — one of the finest
anywhere—underwhichbothdevelopmentssit.
I’ve saved an extra-special thank-you for Astronomy magazine Editor David J. Eicher, and not
becausehe’smyboss.Dave,thefounderofDeep-Skymagazinemorethan30yearsago,knowsmore
aboutthe1,001objectsinthisbookthanjustaboutanyone.Heprovidedsoundcounselregardingthis
project(andothers)wheneverIasked.ObservingwithDave,whetherthrougha30-inchtelescopeora
3-inchone,alwaysisfunandalearningexperience.
IalsoextendheartfeltthankstoJohnWatson,MaurySolomon,andMeganErnstatSpringer.Their
willingnesstomovethisprojectalong,toofferwisecounsel,andtoansweranyandallofmyquestions
madeproducingthismanuscriptmucheasierthanIanticipated.
Finally,Idedicatethisbooktothememoryoftwodearfriends,JeffMedkeffandVicWinter.Both
were superb observers who understood and shared my excitement for the sky. I treasure the many
hoursIspentwithbothofthemunderdarkskiesobservingboththefamiliarandtheexotic.Restin
peace.