Image source: Wikipedia (Messier 13)
Valley Skies, Messier Objects, the Milky Way, & More
As the world moves through another month we will be entertained royally with the pageantry in our Valley skies. If you have developed an enthusiasm for stargazing, you may be ready to keep a list of "trophies", much as birders do. A small notebook to record your viewing highlights will offer a broad spectrum of celestial specimens. If you are interested in having a Scavenger Hunt list of suggestions, I will be glad to send one if you let me know you'd like to have one.
The clear mild May evenings make a great time for family adventuring in sky watching. Look for the Milky Way to lie along the horizon in the direction of Virgo and think about the fact that you are looking out of the plane of our galaxy! Now that's a mind-boggling experience. Earth is standing straight up and down in our galaxy, parallel to the axis. And it is really visible at the McDonald Observatory which might encourage a visit there over the summer.
After sunset look for Boötes, the kite-shaped constellation in the eastern sky which contains Arcturus. Now track just below and left of golden Arcturus. Do you notice a semi-circle of stars there? This is the Corona Borealis. Hercules is just below and left of it. Hercules is shaped roughly like a cornerstone, or trapezoid, with "arms" of stars extending out from each corner. If you visit a neighbor who has a telescope, this is where you may spot a real trophy, M13. https://www.aapod2.com/blog/jswugwvacz1yxxdzn32b4lxxsly4up
What's M13? I thought you'd never ask. It is the brightest globular cluster on the northern skies. A globular cluster is a loosely-formed grouping of stars that is just a glob, not a defining pattern. Seen through a decent telescope it is a breathtaking sight. In 1784 a French astronomer, Charles Messier, compiled a list of fuzzy objects that he saw in the sky and gave them each a number so that he would not be confused when he was searching for comets, which are also fuzzy appearing. They turned out to be fascinating deep sky objects; amateur astronomers enjoy having contests to see who can spot the most Messier objects in one session. "Bagging" the most Messier's is a BIG deal, and May is a perfect time to go hunting for these dim, distant objects outside our galaxy.
Our winter companions, Orion and his colleagues are lower in the western sky and will soon be leaving for the predawn skies. They will be replaced with Vega, Deneb, and the other summer stars which shine during the summer nights, giving the fireflies a run for their money. More about these later in the month.
All these stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west, as does our star, the Sun, because the Earth rotates on its axis from west to east. This makes the Big Dipper asterism a circumpolar constellation, that is, it never sets, just rotates about Polaris, the North Star.
Any drawing of the group of stars known as Ursa Major shows a very long bushy tail and everyone knows that bears have a stumpy tail. There is a perfect Scandinavian tale explaining how the bear lost its tail and one of these days perhaps you will read it. If you send me a request, I will happily send you my version of the tail’s tale.
That's enough for today-until next week, KLU, and DO let the stars get in your eyes!
For comments or questions send an email to carolutsinger@att.net.
