Notes From The Lawnchair

CConnect-The-Dots in a Late Summer Sky

                I’m sure you’ve recognized the plight of summer evenings as the sun seems to be reaching for the horizon earlier and earlier each afternoon.  Before you know it, it’ll be dark before dinnertime!  Not quite yet, though.  There are still some wonderful treats awaiting your gaze as the early evening darkness reveals some of late summer’s most enigmatic jewels.  As always, I encourage you to step outside some evening or early morning this month and see for yourself.

               First on my target list is this month is a constellation that doesn't get as much publicity as many of the more famous stellar murals.  Lying to the south or right of last month’s focal point, Perseus, because of its  association with the Perseid Meteor Shower, below the reclining Andromeda along the horizon in the Northeast, try spotting the triangle shaped Triangulum.  This very small constellation is oriented on its side and should be well above the horizon by ten or eleven o'clock, depending on your view of the skyline.   Though nothing of any real interest resides within the boundaries of the three stars that make up this tiny sky picture, if you follow the line between the right point star to the upper left star, and travel out approximately an equal distance, you'll come across a beautiful open cluster.

                M-34 is a smattering of both bright and dim stars which were first cataloged by Charles Messier in the late seventeen hundreds.  Containing a few white giants, interspersed with nearly 80 minor members, this cluster can be detected with eyes alone in a very dark sky.  Though, if your Northeastern horizon is back-lit by a distant city or town, the ambient light associated with it will make it impossible to see without the aid of at least a pair of binoculars.  Larger instruments are not suited in this case for optimal viewing of M-34.  Your best telescopic configuration would be a to use a low-power wide-angle lens.  Additional magnification will only spread out the view.  For that reason, a good pair of binoculars are best suited for this deep-sky target.

                Continuing on our quest of less popular constellations, if you look below Triangulum, you'll notice a snake-like grouping of stars.  This is the constellation Aries.  Again, this is a pretty plain area of sky and contains only a few dim irregular shaped galaxies which typically can only be viewed in very large instruments or via long-exposure photographs.  Both Triangulum and Aries are bordered to the right by the large V-shape of Pisces.  Crowned by the diamond oriented square of Pegasus, this area of sky contains a few notable sights.

                Along the left side of the Piscean V, about midway up is the star known as Eta Piscium.  Its neighbor to the left is M-74, a face-on spiral galaxy that is reputed to be one of the hardest of the Messier objects to view.  But don't let that dissuade you from at least attempting to spot this dim galaxy.  A perfect example of what is known as a face-on nebulae, it was first found in  1780 by Pierre Mechain, a month before Charles Messier added it to his catalog.  Again, a wide angle low-power eyepiece will be best suited for observing this target, as it is quite dim.  Interestingly enough, this object lies between 28 and 42 million
light years away from us.  No wonder it's a little difficult to see.

This Month's Image

                What will be really easy to see, however, is the massive planet Jupiter on the opposite side of Pisces giant V.  Short of the moon, it’s the brightest object in the northeastern sky in mid-September.  As an added treat, the planet Uranus is exceptionally nearby from our vantage point.  Dim and tiny is about all you may able to claim if you do in fact capture this obscure world.

                By eleven o’clock or so, below Pisces resides another of the less known constellations.  Cetus, or the whale is a sprawling group of stars that  runs from the below the left side of Pisces across the horizon to the right of the V-shaped asterism.  More the shape of a barbell, Cetus is flanked on either end by a group of stars seemingly connected by a straight line.  To the middle left of Cetus, sits a star called Delta Cetus, the last star before the group which makes up the tail or barbell end of this sky picture.  Just below this star you'll easily find M-77 in larger telescopes.  A tenth magnitude object, this barred-spiral is a strong radio source and is known as a Seyfert galaxy.  Peculiar among galaxies, this nebulae encompasses three separate spiral arms and has long been a fascinating sight for both amateurs and professional astronomers.

                So, as the summer fades and cooler nights begin to be the norm, try your hand at discovering some of these less well known constellations.  You should be able to trace these connect-the-dot drawings without the aid of any instruments.  Preparation is key for a well stocked Lawnchair.  Specifically, as the harvest season begins, mass quantities of apple cider and even hot chocolate thick with marsh mellows are always helpful in making the evening out with friends and family even more enjoyable.

Clear Skies!

The Lawnchair Astronomer