Show #34: The (stellar) Colors of the Season
18 Dec 2006, 00:04 UTC
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night!Image courtesy of Dr. Tyler Nordgren and his
students.
ORION
Eight stars pinhis frameto the night.
He lies just abovethe trainyard,almost readyto rouse.
Not quite yet.
Eight silent silver bellstake all eveningto standjust as our
starfades himback to sky.
Lauren Gunderson
Orion, seen from Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Image
credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI (infrared, ultraviolet and visible-light colors)
Listener Feedback
From Ted - "I'd like to suggest a great book that I stumbled across at Barnes
& Noble about 18 months ago. It is called "The
Next Step, Finding and Viewing Messier's Objects." It was written by Ken
Graun. The main part of the book is a section about the Messier Object. There
are 2 pages per object. It has a little history and notes from Messier's
original description. It gives the coordinates and a reference to it's location
on star maps included in the book. What really sets this book apart is that it
includes pictures taken by the author thru a 4 inch scope. It allows you to see
exactly what you are looking for. The book also has a biography of Charles
Messier, and a few general tips on astronomy. The book it not very large so it
is easy to carry with you. I find the book extremely helpful to show people what
they are looking for before they step up to the eyepiece. I hope you can find
the book to review and recommend it on a future podcast. "
Don has another book suggestion: "A great book for gifts is "There
Once Was a Sky Full of Stars", by Bob Crelin. Great for helping children
(and adults) learn about the effects of light pollution."
Special Thanks!Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope for helping our club
buy a PST for use with our club outreach! Just a reminder, Woodland
Hills Camera and Telescope is offering a 5% discount for any AAGG listener!
Just put "AAGG" in the discount code box at checkout to receive your
discount.
Holiday lights in the sky - Stellar Spectrum
Class
Temperature
Star colour
Mass
Radius
Luminosity
Hydrogen lines
Examples
O
30,000 - 60,000 K
Bluish ("blue")
60
15
1,400,000
Weak
10 Lacerta, Zeta Puppis, Lambda Orionis
B
10,000 - 30,000 K
Bluish-white ("blue-white")
18
7
20,000
Medium
Rigel, Spica, the brighter Pleiades
A
7,500 - 10,000 K
White with bluish tinge ("white")
3.2
2.5
80
Strong
Vega, Sirius
F
6,000 - 7,500 K
White ("yellow-white")
1.7
1.3
6
Medium
Canopus, Procyon
G
5,000 - 6,000 K
Light yellow ("yellow")
1.1
1.1
1.2
Weak
Sun, Capella
K
3,500 - 5,000 K
Light orange ("orange")
0.8
0.9
0.4
Very weak
Arcturus, Aldebaran
M
2,000 - 3,500 K
Reddish orange ("red")
0.3
0.4
0.04
Very weak
Betelgeuse, Antares
Mnemonics
for the Harvard Spectral Classification SchemeOfficial Bureaucrats
At Federal Government Kill Many Researchers' National SupportOnly Boring
Astronomers Find Gratification Knowing Mnemonics!Oh, Bring A Fully Grown
Kangaroo My Recipe Needs Some!Oh Backward Astronomer, Forget Geocentricity;
Kepler's Motions Reveal Nature's Simplicity. Oh Bother, Astronomers
Frequently Give Killer Midterms
Sunsunspots
PlanetsEvening Planets
Venus - Mag -3.8 in Sagittarius but currently lost in the Sun's glare.
Neptune - Mag +7.9 in Capricorn will also be better for dark evenings and is
less than 1 degree north of the +4.3 magnitude star Iota Capricorni
Uranus - Mag +5.9 in Aquarius Uranus is best seen in a dark moonless sky
away from artificial lighting. It may be seen looking like a very faint star to
the dark-adapted naked eye that shimmers in and out of visibility just under 1
degree east of Lambda Aquarii. Find the tipped over letter Y of Aquarius, go 4
thumbwidths southeast to find Lambda, and then a smidgen Southwest.
Saturn - Mag 0.4 on the western edge of Leo just west of Regulus. An easy
catch!
Morning Planets
Jupiter - Mag -1.6 in Scorpius visiable very low on the ESE horizon an hour
before sunrise. Finally had a clear horizon before the storm hit and it was very
bright and yes, low and south.
Mars - Mag 1.5 just barely above the Sun's glare between the Sun and Mercury
Mercury - Mag -0.5 barely off the horizon moving quickly towards the sun.
Use the bright orange/red Arcturus and "spike" almost horizontally South to
Spica. Mercury sits 25 degrees ESE of Spica.
Saturn - Mag 0.4 on the western edge of Leo preceeding Regulus. Saturn is
slowly inching its way towards Cancer
ConstellationsTime for a quiz!
Fornax - the Furnace - Invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape
of Good Hope in 1751 - 1752 (who else!)
Viewing
Naked eye and binoculars - the PleiadesMentioned by Homer about 750 B.C.At least 6 member stars
are visible to the naked eye,
-the Hyades At a distance of only about 150 light years, the Hyades form one
of the nearest open cluster to Earth.
Greek mythology, nymphs; daughters of Atlas and Aethra. They cared for both
Zeus and Dionysus as infants. In recognition of these services, they were placed
among the stars of the constellation Taurus, where their rising and setting
corresponded to the rainy seasons.
Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the bright red star, is not a member of the cluster
and situated much closer to us (about 60 light years, a factor 2.5 closer than
the Hyades).
Telescope -
Northern Hemisphere chart You can use Taki's chart #14, chart
72 in the Pocket Sky Atlas NGC
7380 bright irregular open cluster, 7.2 mag, with bright nebulosity around.
Once edge looks scalloped.NGC 7510- the "Little Piggy"
cluster (Alice's name only) in Cephus 7.9 wedge or trapazoid shaped open
cluster. Right across the boarder from...M52 - evil dustbunny cluster,
6.9 open cluster in Cassiopeiaand just a few degree towards Polaris from
Caph (beta Cassiopeia) is NGC
7790
Gifts for the Astronomer!Do it yourself (DIY) giftsThere are
so many creative things you can do for your astronomer, or for yourself, that
won't cost and arm and a leg! Consider the following:
"Rite
in the Rain" paper - perfect for creating your own lists without having to
pull them in and out of sheet protectors.
Hats, scarves, mitten (especially with flaps so you have finger access)
Renovate an old hard sided Samsonite style suitcase for observing! Paint it
and find some nice foam padding for the inside.
Cold weather observing 'basket' - Be Creative!! a good thermos, hot cocoa,
snacks, handwarmers, and maybe a favorite CD all 'wrapped' in a new accessory case
Warm weather observing 'basket' - Have Fun!! snacks, a nice wide brim hat,
some new shades, Miracool
bandana, some oil free sunscreen and bug spray, all 'wrapped' in a Pelican case
Online Star Atlases - print them out, put them in protective sleeves,
laminate them or print them on waterproof paper and bind them into a book that
will open flat!
Taki's Charts
Andrew Johnsons Mag 7 charts
Fraser Cain at Universe Today emailed to let me know that there will be a "What's up 2007" so
keep an eye on his site!
My favorite give-away Messier Telrad
Charts - by John Small courtesy of the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston.
Messier
Telrad Charts - From Utah Skies
Caldwell
Telrad Charts - From Utah Skies
For the woodworkers out
there...
Binocular
Mounts Observing Chair - example or the Cats
Perch Plans
On to the shopping...Telescope accessories
Telrad
Accessory
Cases
Variable Polarizing
filter
Lazermate deluxe collimator
On-off switch green laser pointer (I'm ordering one for myself!)
lens cleaning gear
2X barlow
protective scope covers
eyepiece containers
Woodland Hills Camera and
Telescope is offering a 5% discount for any AAGG listener! Just put "AAGG"
in the discount code box at checkout to receive your discount.
Off the scope
eZipSky - free 10 day trial -
know your cellphone charges first!
Observing chair
Red flash lights
Storage containers
Planetarium software
Lunar Phase Pro
Folding
tables
Handwarmers
(buy them a case or better yet the reusable ones)
How about a good first
aid kit!
ReferencesAtlases
Pocket
Sky Atlas - an AAGG favorite!
Field map
of the Moon - an AAGG favorite!
Skyspot
books - The Messier telrad books - fantastic for beginners searching for
Messier objects!
Planisphere
Chandler or Levy
Plastic Planispheres for your latitude
Books...there are just toooo many but here is a
start....
"NightWatch" by
Terence Dickinson- the first book I remember purchasing for observing
"The Stars"
by H.A. Rey
Celestial
Sampler by Sue French
"Deep Sky
Companions: The Messier Objects" by Stephen O'Meara
SkyWatch
07 (magazine single issue)- Sky and Telescope 12 months of starcharts and
lots of great observing tips for the new astronomer
Skygazer's
Almanac'07 reprint (leaflet)- Sky and Telescope $2.25 and up
RASC Observers guide (book)-Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada $24.95+
Reader suggested books!
"The
Next Step, Finding and Viewing Messier's Objects." by Ken Graun
There
Once Was a Sky Full of Stars, by Bob Crelin
Comets
Comets for the
Month.Check out the Sky Hound site. "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"-- Shakespeare
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