Stuff in the Sky

[Canuck from Kansas]

With 01 March, we have now entered Galaxy season; however, prior to the turnover of the month and with a break in the weather, the Nebula Division of the Image Acquisition Team got one last chance to fill out the portfolio and hopefully meet the sky-high (pun intended) objectives and goals handed down by Upper Management for targets achieved. Not meeting certain metrics could result in budget cuts to the division and we certainly want to avoid that.

IC 417 + NGC 1931 (Spider and fly) and M 36 are found in the constellation Auriga. An imaginative eye might see in the larger, diffuse IC417 Spider attacking the smaller and compact NGC 1931 fly. NGC1931 is a mixed emission and reflection nebula about 10 light years across. It is lit up by a central cluster of 4 stars in a trapezium configuration. IC 417 is an emission nebula approximately 100 light years across that is energized by embedded hot, massive blue stars. Both nebulae are approximately 10,000 light years distant. M36, sometimes referred to as the Pinwheel cluster, is an open star cluster approximately 14 light years in diameter and composed of approximately 60 proven members. This cluster is about 4100 light years away.

IC 417 + NGC 1931 (Spider and fly) and M 36: 50 x 240 second light exposures; 40 x 240 second dark exposures; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:



As of midnight, the Galaxy Hunters insisted any images posted must include a galaxy; thus M 97 paired with M 108, satisfying both groups: M 97, the “Owl Nebula”, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ursa Major. The Owl gets her common name from the 2 dark owl-like eyes. M 97 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781 and Messier added it to his catalogue that same year. Lord Rosse coined the name “Owl Nebula” back in 1848. The distance to M 97 is unknown, with estimates ranging from 1,300 to 12,000 light years, with approximately 2,600 light years being the most likely. At this distance, the nebula would have a diameter of about 2 light years. In the upper left corner, about 1-degree northwest of the Owl is M 108, a barred spiral galaxy, also discovered by Pierre Mechain, in about 1782. Interestingly, M 108 was not officially added into Messier’s catalogue until the 1950’s. M 108 is approximately 45 million light years away and is only getting further, receding at 772 km/second.

M 97 (Owl Nebula) and M 108: 40 x 240 second light exposures; 40 x 240 second dark exposures; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:



Cheers

 

[SpeyrodGB]

Venus Jupiter almost conjunction - Conjunction is tonight, but it's expected to be cloudy here - if you have clear skies, get out at sunset and look to the west.

Rookie mistake of leaving the diffraction mask on for planets, thus the diffraction spikes - we'll just blame it on a young intern.

Jupiter with moons (uppermost to lowest) Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa and Venus at the bottom.

View attachment 56340

Cheers

Well that answered the question of what I have seeing in the western sky for the past few days. Thanks.

 

[Eastside]

I saw that last night and had to look it up. Back again tonight but farther apart. Very cool!

 

[SpeyrodGB]

Here is what it looked like tonight with my cell phone.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Despite a bright waxing moon at 94.7% illumination, the Galaxy Hunters picked off 2 new galaxies last night:

NGC 2403 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis and first discovered by William Herschel in 1788. It is one of the more conspicuous objects in the northern sky missed by Charles Messier, thus, it is not a member of his famous catalogue. NGC 2403 is a member of the M 81 group of galaxies and is therefore approximately 10 million light years distant to us. It was the first galaxy beyond our local group to have been found to have cepheids, a form of variable star that pulsates radially, varying in both diameter and temperature. At least 2 supernovae have been detected in NGC 2403.

NGC 2403: 40 x 240 second light exposures; 30 x 240 second dark exposures; multispectrum broadband filter:



NGC 2841 is another spiral galaxy that is found in the constellation Ursa Major also discovered by William Herschel in 1788, a busy year for him. It is actually a prototype "flocculent" spiral galaxy, that is, one with poorly defined, patchy spiral arms. NGC 2841 was initially thought to be about 30 million light years distant to us, but in 2001 the Hubble Space Telescope survey of its cepheid variables determined the distance to be 46 million light years away. NGC 2841 has a diameter of approximately 150,000 light years, making it about about 50% larger than out Milky Way galaxy.

M 2841: 45 x 240 second light exposures; 30 x 240 second dark exposures; multispectrum broadband filter:



Information from SkySafari Pro 6.0 and the Wikipedia machine.

cheers

 

[Dr. Magill]

I’ve been following this but mainly just looking at the awesome pictures
Any discussion of UAP’s??

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

I’ve been following this but mainly just looking at the awesome pictures
Any discussion of UAP’s??

I am assuming this is referring to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Not a lot so far, a couple of thoughts from Neil deGrasse Tyson (#221 and #225). Not averse to it though, got some photos or an abduction story?

Cheers

 

[Dr. Magill]

I am assuming this is referring to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Not a lot so far, a couple of thoughts from Neil deGrasse Tyson (#221 and #225). Not averse to it though, got some photos or an abduction story?

Cheers

Ha yes. I have no abduction stories which is probably a good thing, haven’t seen a UAP, but am fascinated by the whole idea of extra terrestrials. My brain tells me they are real. Humans are such a small blip in history we might be someone’s science experiment.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

So last night we gave the Galaxy Hunters a few hours off after their yeoman's work the night before and the Nebula Subdivision grabbed a few hours of imaging time. Once done, around midnight, the Galaxy Hunters showed up, but alas, the sky was too bright with a near full moon (98.2% full illumination) and with the intended targets relatively close to the white orb, quality images were not ini the cards, so, we sent the Galaxy Hunters home for the night.

The Medusa Nebula (Abell 21) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Gemini, discovered in 1955 by the American astronomer George O. Abell. There was some debate about whether the Medusa Nebula was a planetary nebula or a supernova remnant; however, in the 1970's the measuring of the movement and other properties of the material in the cloud confirmed the object as a planetary nebula. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be 4 light years across and some 1500 light years distant from us.

The Medusa Nebula (Abell 21): 60 x 300 second light exposures; 30 x 300 second dark exposures; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:



Information from SkySafari Pro 6.0 and https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1520/

Cheers

 

[cdnred]

So last night we gave the Galaxy Hunters a few hours off after their yeoman's work the night before and the Nebula Subdivision grabbed a few hours of imaging time. Once done, around midnight, the Galaxy Hunters showed up, but alas, the sky was too bright with a near full moon (98.2% full illumination) and with the intended targets relatively close to the white orb, quality images were not ini the cards, so, we sent the Galaxy Hunters home for the night.

The Medusa Nebula (Abell 21) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Gemini, discovered in 1955 by the American astronomer George O. Abell. There was some debate about whether the Medusa Nebula was a planetary nebula or a supernova remnant; however, in the 1970's the measuring of the movement and other properties of the material in the cloud confirmed the object as a planetary nebula. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be 4 light years across and some 1500 light years distant from us.

The Medusa Nebula (Abell 21): 60 x 300 second light exposures; 30 x 300 second dark exposures; OIII/H-alpha duo-narrowband filter:

View attachment 56957

Information from SkySafari Pro 6.0 and https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1520/

Cheers

Wow, looking at the Medusa Nebula at a distance like that makes it appear as if it were a distant planet on it's own. Very fascinating to see and to image the secrets it holds..

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Wow, looking at the Medusa Nebula at a distance like that makes it appear as if it were a distant planet on it's own. Very fascinating to see and to image the secrets it holds..

Agreed, that's why they are termed planetary nebulae, "William Herschel called these spherical clouds planetary nebulae because they were round like the planets." https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/225-What-is-a-planetary-nebula-

Cheers

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

With a cold snap and clear dryer air, the Galaxy Hunters have been busy, knocking of galaxies in multiples at times.

M 98 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices and is a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, approximately 65 to 70 million light years distant. M 98 was discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781 and Charles Messier added it to his catalogue later the same year. NGC 4216 is an intermediate spiral galaxy near the center of the Virgo cluster, roughly 55 million light years away. Oddly, the Virgo cluster of galaxies as a whole is moving away from Earth; however, NGC 4216 demonstrates a blue shift, indicating it is charging towards us.

M 98 and NGC 4216: 35 X 240 second light exposures; 30 x 240 second dark exposures; multispectrum broadband filter:



M 99, commonly referred to as the Coma Pinwheel Galaxy, is also in the constellation Coma Berenices, is also a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, and was also discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781. Charles Messier again confirmed the discovery and added it to the third and final published edition of his catalogue that same year. M 99 has one of the largest red-shifts of any of the Virgo cluster, indicating it is moving away from us, receding at approximately 2380 km/second. Four supernovae have been observed in M 99: SN 1967H (type II),[11] 1972Q, 1986I (type II),[12] and 2014L (type Ic).[13]

M 99 (Coma Pinwheel Galaxy): 8 x 240 second light exposures (need more, but it was getting light and the M99 was setting behind a tree); 30 X 240 second dark exposures; multispectrum broadband filter:



Information from SkySafari 6 Pro and that Wikipedia machine.

Cheers

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Five in one from the constellation Coma Berenices:

M 100 is the "star" here, discovered in 1781 by none other than Pierre Machain, and later that year confirmed by Charles Messier, who added it as the 100th object in his catalogue, it is a prime example of a "grand design" spiral galaxy. It has 2 prominent arms (see cropped version below), and a few fainter arms. The blue coloration is real and the result of thousands of massive blue young hot stars. The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged M100 extensively and been used to identify over 20 Cepheid variables (variable pulsating stars), which has allowed for a relatively precise distance determination of some 56 million light years from us. M 100 is likely the largest spiral in the Virgo cluster at some 130,000 light years in diameter. Intense star formation is occurring in the inners rings, and several supernovae have been detected.

NGC 4312 is a spiral galaxy thought to be about 33 million light years distant to our solar system and appears to be moving away from us at about 151 kilometers/second. NGC 4302 is another spiral galaxy, about 47 light years distant and is moving away from us at about 1127 kilometers per second (about 0.4% of the speed of light). NGC 4298, is another spiral galaxy of the Virgo cluster and is about 54 million light years distant and it too is speeding away from us at about 1128 kilometers per second (don't ask me how they can be so precise last to detect a 1 km/second difference between NGC 4302 and NGC 4298). Finally, NGC 4419, a spiral galaxy some 57 million light years distant, is the oddball that appears to be moving towards us at a blistering 224 km/second, so it will be a while before it arrives.

M 100, NGC 4312, NGC 4302, NGC 4298, and NGC 4419: 40 X 240 second light exposures; 30 x 240 second darks; multispectrum broadband filter:




M 100 cropped displaying the "grand design"




For Hubble images before and after Hubble had its vision correction, see 123-Image.html

Information from SkySafari 6 Pro

Cheers

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

From the Canuck Observatory, happy equinox to all.

Fun fact that some may have not thought about (I never do): Every place on Earth gets the same amount of light on the equinoxes.

Cheers

 

[VAGABOND]

Did notice this weekend while in Baltimore, Saturday I think, 12 hours 1 minute of daylight which leads me to believe, if my math is correct, 11 hours and 59 minutes of darkness…..especially around midnight.

We’ve turned the corner! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming

 

[VAGABOND]

Now that all the “excitement” of December’s Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF), The Green Weenie, has died down, my interest in What’s out there … (a big thanks to @Canuck from Kansas ) has caused me to bookmark a number of pages of NASA’s website. One of local interest is their Asteroid Tracking site: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids in three dimensions.
According to NASA we are going to visited by 99942 Apophis, an oblong 340 meter asteroid that will do a fly-by of approximately 23K miles, less than the circumference of our Mother Ship. Not that we have anything to worry about with enough junk now floating in space that we could capture and manufacture orbital condos, Space B&Bs, or whatever.
I guess the big question bouncing around the mind of this 74 y/o squash, based on these asteroid fly bys, is Canuck going to issue a strong buy, or a sell, on new or used high end fishing equipment or that dream trip of 100 fish days with no mosquitos or hangovers. Based upon the old adage, You can’t take it with you, I’m willing to spend every last cent on something I like.
The last sentence in the will reads: Individual wishes check for funeral, if one, to be NSF.

What sayeth you, man of the Universe?

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Now that all the “excitement” of December’s Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF), The Green Weenie, has died down, my interest in What’s out there … (a big thanks to @Canuck from Kansas ) has caused me to bookmark a number of pages of NASA’s website. One of local interest is their Asteroid Tracking site: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids in three dimensions.
According to NASA we are going to visited by 99942 Apophis, an oblong 340 meter asteroid that will do a fly-by of approximately 23K miles, less than the circumference of our Mother Ship. Not that we have anything to worry about with enough junk now floating in space that we could capture and manufacture orbital condos, Space B&Bs, or whatever.
I guess the big question bouncing around the mind of this 74 y/o squash, based on these asteroid fly bys, is Canuck going to issue a strong buy, or a sell, on new or used high end fishing equipment or that dream trip of 100 fish days with no mosquitos or hangovers. Based upon the old adage, You can’t take it with you, I’m willing to spend every last cent on something I like.
The last sentence in the will reads: Individual wishes check for funeral, if one, to be NSF.
View attachment 59115
What sayeth you, man of the Universe?

We don't have to wait until 2029, Tuesday, put your hockey helmet on (actually, no risk, half the distance to the moon):

| EarthSky

earthsky.org

With regard to Apophis, as of now predictions are 0% chance of a strike, course until a few years ago, number 16 had never beaten a number 1 in March; now it's happened twice, so I wouldn't place any bets until we get closer to the date.

Just to start some hype though, we will be visited by another comet next fall - early predictions are good, though with lots of the usual caveats, plus at predicted peak brightness it will rise during daylight times and set around dusk, low on the horizon, then a full moon around the time of it's closest approach.

Anticipating Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3)

Newly discovered Comet C/2023 A3 might reach naked-eye brightness when it flies past Earth in 2024. We forecast what to expect.

skyandtelescope.org

Stay tuned!!

cheers and look up!!

 

[cdnred]

Read an interesting article about an upcoming alignment of 5 planets this coming Tuesday..

A stunning lineup of five planets will decorate the night sky | CNN

A lineup of five planets will appear beneath the moon in the night sky, beginning just after sunset. Onlookers should be able to catch the best glimpse of the alignment the evening of March 28, just after sunset.

www.cnn.com

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Read an interesting article about an upcoming alignment of 5 planets this coming Tuesday..

A stunning lineup of five planets will decorate the night sky | CNN

A lineup of five planets will appear beneath the moon in the night sky, beginning just after sunset. Onlookers should be able to catch the best glimpse of the alignment the evening of March 28, just after sunset.

www.cnn.com

Saw that, probably too light and too low on the horizon for me to get them all, unfortunately.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

M 106 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici, discovered by Pierre Mechain in 1781. Now if you thought M106 was then added by Charles Messier to his namesake Catalogue a short time later, you'd be mistaken; M106 was not added to the catalogue until 1947, by one Hellen Sawyer Hogg (M104 through 110 were initially listings at the end of the catalogue, which astronomers of the 1900's thought should be included as Messier numbered objects). M 106 is known as a source of radio emissions, much larger than visible light. It is now suspected that matter within the galaxy is being sucked into a super massive black hole of some 36 million solar masses within a volume of about 1/24 to 1/12 light year radius, making it the densest concentration of matter ever detected.

M 106, NGC 4217, NGC 4220, and NGC 4248: 50 X 240 second light exposures; 40 x 240 second dark exposures; multispectrum broadband filter:



Cheers