The following is an article I wrote for our astronomy club newsletter, for January 2020. I belong to the Windsor branch of the RASC, and write articles five times per year. To see previous newsletters, link to this address on our homepage. There are also other fine articles by other members, as well as some outstanding amateur photos.
This time of year very little
time is spent at the telescope eyepiece. I did enjoy a fine night on
December 21st,
but as of early January that has been it, other than a few naked eye
peeks
at Betelgeuse. Instead, I will talk briefly about the 2019
highlights and lowlights, and say a bit about 2020.
For
me, 2019 will be remembered as the year I had to abandon the
club's Hallam site
for my observing program. The greenhouse lights to the south have
reached a level of insanity I could not have imagined even a few
years ago. While in the long term I am optimistic that the stray
light problem from Leamington will be addressed, in the short term
Hallam is now reserved (for me) for lunar and planetary work. I have
had to move my deep sky
observing to Chatham Kent
County, where I can at least enjoy good skies to the north, east, and
south. The success of Detroit’s streetlight program has made the
west and northwest sky much more light polluted than several years
ago, when nearly half the streetlights in that city did not function.
And yet another big problem lies in the near future, as over
six thousand new satellites will be orbiting the Earth within two or
three years. These satellites will be used to bring fast internet to
the entire planet. They are supposed to be highly reflective, too.
In 2020, 1500 of them will be launched. The first few batches of 60 are
already up there. Even using remote telescopes for photography will
be greatly affected. Needless to say, it isn’t only amateurs who
are worried; major observatories will have some serious obstacles to
overcome as well. And what happens to these satellites if Earth is
struck by a major solar flare? If you think we have a lot of space
junk up there now, just wait.
My
NGC observing project continued in 2019, as I managed to get out
under clear skies with my telescope 34 times, totaling over 100 hours
of observing. That is considerably better than 2018, one of the
cloudiest years I have ever seen. One of those observations was the
total lunar eclipse of January 20th,
possibly the coldest observation I have ever recorded from Essex
County. It was a very fine and clear night, however.
And in Spring 2019 I finally managed to complete my viewing of
the entire NGC list in the constellation boundaries of Leo! That was
a seven year project that took me to some fabulous sights, a few of
which I have shared in these pages. My newest Spring observing
adventure lies within the border of Coma Berenices, and might take me
just as long. Will I ever get to tackle Virgo someday? If I do, you
will read about it here.
Winter months are an excellent time to plan a viewing program for
the warmer months. I wish you all many happy observing planning
sessions, and excellent skies with which to undertake those plans.
Messier
of the Month: M 1, “The Crab Nebula”
Approximately
7500 years ago, a star exploded in the direction of the
constellationTaurus. Seen
and recorded over a thousand years ago by the Chinese in 1054 A.D.,
the remnant from this
supernova was the first
astronomical object to be identified as such. The Earl of Rosse drew
the object in 1840, observing it with his 36” telescope. His
drawing was said to resemble a crab, and thus the nickname. This
is one of the most studied objects in the sky, and provides for some
fascinating on-line
reading. Stunning photos
reveal the object in breathtaking detail. What
is highly unusual about M 1 is that on very detailed professional
photos, significant
changes can be noted in
less than a month. Even
so, I still like to view it in a small scope. In a really dark sky
it can be seen with binoculars, though my views have been only
through telescopes. And
it continues to expand, being significantly larger now in photos than
when I first began the hobby.
My
first look came in March, 1973, using my 4.5” Tasco reflector.
With fresh snow on the
ground and an unshielded streetlight only a few meters away, it
wasn’t the ideal first look at such an object. A much better view
came from my back deck in Anderdon Township in March, 1994. I was
using my trusty Edmund 8” reflector. At lower powers it reminded
me somewhat of a very large and bright galaxy. The edges appeared
smooth, even at 169x. Skip ahead to late November, 2016. I viewed
it with the 12” Dob from Hallam, and found it impressively large,
very bright, and quite elongated. The large central area is much
brighter than the outer areas. Several faint stars appear to me very
close, or even touching the outside edges. The south-following end
is very patchy, whereas the north end tapers and fades gradually.
My
Space Eye view came in October, 2015, from Hallam. I did not have
high expectations of seeing M 1 with the 2” refractor, but it was
located at 30x! The nebula was really faint, but quite unmistakable.
It was oval, and though fairly small, averted vision really helped
bring it out.
Messier
1 (NGC gn 1952):
6’ x 4’ emission nebula in Taurus.
Mapman Mike
