Perfect Time of the Year to Observe "Methuselah star" or HD 140283 / HIP 76976

     Last September, Phil Pliat over at the Bad Astronomer had a good article on the newest oldest star to be given the oldest title or “The Methuselah Star.”  Here is a LINK to his incredible explanation of the star, far better then the wack job I am going to put together here.  I will provide several links so you can learn more about this star.

      This truly isn’t anything new, James Kaler in his book, Extreme Stars at the Edge of Creation covers this star on page 208 of his book. The book originally came out in the year 2001, reprinted in 2002 and the first paperback edition was released in 2010.  So this star has been known about for around the last 14 to 15 years if not longer. A paper LINK was released about it though I believe in 2014. For a really in depth explanation of the star and why it is so old, please read Phil Pliat’s article above. To summarize Dr. Kaler he simply explains that this is a binocular object, so binoculars and telescopes can easily capture it.  Dr. Kaler also explains that the iron content of this star is less than most globular clusters which are naturally metal poor (metal poor being elements higher than helium). Most globular clusters are very old, so old that most if not all O B stars are no longer seen there. In addition, the metal content of those stars in globular clusters are not as enriched in heavy metals as are stars that formed later in the disk of the galaxy. We know the globular clusters are also old because the exist in the halo of the galaxy, and that the halo was formed before the disks were formed.  We know that based on the spectra of the stars in those locations and the degrees of metals heavier than helium found there, which is metal and iron poor since those metal poor stars in the globular clusters. Stars in the disk of the galaxy have far more metals in them above helium than those in the halo of the galaxy.

      HD 140283 thus is poor in metals and iron, making it via spectra one of the oldest stars known. How old? The universe is 13.82 billion years and the age of HD140283 is estimated to be 14.3 by (older than the universe so not right) but with a +/-.8 by.  So best guess is that HD 140283 is about 13.5 billion years old. Dr. James Kaler to quote him states “When you look at the darkened sky, you are looking at one of the oldest single stars in the Galaxy and are looking back to a time shortly after the Galaxy began!” It is also cool as Phil Pliat points out that we are capable of understanding the galaxy and universe around us via science.  So if sometime in the next month you are out in the backyard, or at a dark site, point your scope for a minute to Libra and go to HD 140283 and look at the star and contemplate how old it is. 13.5 billion years, the beginning of our galaxy! That is indeed worthy of a few minutes of your time to look at this object in my opinion! I’ll be doing it.

Here are some additional links for this object and a finder chart for it that I created. The hop starts with Beta Libra or Zubeneschamali and you can follow the arrows to HD 140283. The linkes and chart should make this an interesting object to take a look at if you haven’t already. Good hunting!

Sky-Map.org Info and Star Chart

NASA March 7th, 2013 Article 

Space.com March 7th Article 

January 10th, 2013 Nature Article (Great Piece!)

Bias, Sky Safari 4 and A Visual Observer’s Review

     Bias. Everyone has bias’ and the key to having them is to admitting them upfront to others and being as honest as we can about it. In this hobby I see a LOT of bias, bias toward eyepiece or telescope brands, bias toward equipment used, bias to the purpose of an astronomy club, bias to programs used in the hobby.  Even I have bias’ and I openly admit them. I am bias in what I think of outreach. I do outreach from time to time, and I show objects and let people view them and tell them about them. To me though, true outreach is teaching people how to use an atlas, to manipulate a telescope to find an object and then to see it in the eyepiece. THAT is how you grow this hobby, doing things like that. So yes, I have a bias, a huge bias on that and I will never lose that bias. I have a bias towards telescopes. I love my Dobstuff telescopes and will put them up to any premium telescope out there. Yes, I do some extra work on my scopes each season to get them where I want to be for the conditions of that season (I have four seasons here in Utah, each with their own requirement on my equipment) but I am content.  I own a 24″ so called premium scope that I also enjoy and is also fantastic. Sure cost me a LOT more.  So yeah, my bias has been and is that you can get into this hobby and use decent to premium equipment and find enjoyment, fulfillment and excitement IF your USING what you have and own on a regular basis.  I would take someone’s opinion and recommendation on objects who are observing with a 12″ Zhumell dob observing 2 to 5 times a month, and really observing over someone with a Teeter, or StarStructure, Obsession, Dobstuff etc. dob who only really observe deep once every few months and the rest of the time look at the eye candy objects of that season. Nothing is wrong with either, but if I am wanting someone to confirm what I am seeing, I want that observer who is practicing on a regular basis to confirm.

     I have software bias’ also.  I use to love using Starry Night Pro 6 to print and track my observations.  I tried Starry Night Pro 7 and as I have stated here, it was such a major disappointment that I began looking for alternatives. If found it in Sky Tools 3 and LOVE that program! In this case one bias, and a building of disappointments led me to a new bias and a new piece of software that I use weekly and enjoy to the max.!

     There are other bias’ that I have, because like you, I am a complex and dynamic individual whose past life and current life experience have forged me to be who I am right now. Perhaps the last bias I will mention is on the use of technology versus paper. I will state up front I LOVE technology. As a professional educator I have used and use technology to teach and to get students to inquiry and discover how to use technology to learn and show how they have learned. That is my career right now. to help other educators to do that. Having said that, I LOVE books, I love paper that you read. My father, rest his soul, gave to each of his children a vast love of books and reading. That has stuck with me all my life and is a bias. I read electronically (books, magazines, articles) but if I really want to get my teeth into something, I get a printed copy.  So in the hobby of astronomy, I have used and own a variety of atlases to help me star hop on my telescopes. It is why I have Sky Tools 3 (one reason) to print off star charts or use a laptop to show me how to hop to an object in the field. I have taken that experience now, and translated it to my observing in another way.

     Sky Safari 4 is a program I own both for my Apple devices, and for my Android Nexus and HTC phone I have. Sky Safari is owned by Simulation Curriculum, the same company now that owns Starry Night.  That worries me because of the mess of Starry Night Pro that I went through.  However, I have to say that for now I am quite happy with Sky Safari 4 and using it in the backyard when I observe there. I have yet to muster the courage to use it when observing deep sky in the field. I still have either my charts or Sky Tools 3 on my protected laptop though I admit, you’ll find me with a printed chart in a binder probably ninety-percent of the time. I may take the leap this next trip out in August if weather permits for trip.

     So in this review of Sky Safari 4 and the screen shots I took of the program on my iPod Mini, I am stating up front I am not going to cover ALL the features of this program. I am at current, a visual observer only and thus I am going to cover the parts of the program that I feel touch on visual observing. If your an imager or looking to use the program to control your telescope, I apologize, I won’t be covering those aspects and several other.

     

   I’ll begin above with a view of the Help Screen. The help screen is accessed on the menu bar which is located at the bottom of the screen. I have turned my iPad mini so that I have more of a horizontal view to the screen, rather then the vertical view.  Once in the help menu you can cover a wide amount of material from Sky Chart Help, to Search Help, to Observing Lists Help etc. You can see in the image what is available. Why start with help? As someone who teaches adults how to use technology, one of the most often looked over parts of any software is the help menu. I would estimate that 70% or more of most issues that arise in a software, are answered in the help. So don’t be afraid to use the help! This is also where you can see the version which on my iPad Mini is Version 4.4.1.98.

The next area I want to touch from the menu, is the search function, all the way on the left part of my screen on the bottom. Here you can look for objects and it narrows it down to Tonight’s Best, a great function for an unplanned observing night in the backyard or in the field! I love this feature because it allows someone like me, who plans out each observing night, the chance to be spontaneous and to just go for a fun evening! You can search by category or by subject, like Messier, Deep Sky, Double Stars or Variable Stars etc.  A fun way to both plan a night or be spontaneous as I said and just go have a fun night!

This is a sample of tonight’s best which I took on July 27th, 2015 from my home location. Here you can see the object, and you can click on it and gather information about it.  In the left hand bottom you can click Center which will then center Sky Safari 4 on the object. Objects in white bold are available to view currently, and the objects that are grey and not in bold are not observable at this time.

Above is the settings menu where you can go in and adjust your formats for date and time, chagne the appearance, put in a horizon or remove it, and go through the objects listed to have the program put out on the screen the objects you’ve selected for display.  In the Constellation you can pick a modern view or a traditional Ray’s view or put the classic art on them.  It is here you add your equipment as well.  There is much in the menu part of the program to play with, to adjust and ensure that the program works as you want it to.  In Display you are able to control the brightness of the screen, both in normal and in red light. Even at its dimmest settings you may want to consider putting some red barrier over it to dim it a little more as I feel it is still light enough to impact night vision.

To give an example here you can see the Blinking Planetary Nebula in Cygnus in normal mode. You can also see the menu at the bottom of the screen and the subjects covered there. If you are connected, the Sky & Telescope Feature is most helpful, but in the field I would lose that.  Help is to the far right and then comes the moon or Night which turns on the red screen, then compass which allows you when on and connected to the internet to point the iPad or your device to the sky and have it reflected in the screen. Turn off compass for manual manipulation of the screen.   Orbit puts in orbit around the earth with no horizon.  Scope connects your device to your scope for control purposes. Time lets you select now, a month or week or day from now etc. Settings I covered above and Center allows you to center an object you have selected by tapping your finger on it. Here is a negative for me. I have short, fat fingers and it is hard for me to use my finger to “tap” on a target. I have a stylus that works just fine though but it means taking it in the field and not losing it there.  A small negative! Info I will cover shortly and then the search.  On the far left and right are a – on the left and a + on the right. This allows you to zoon in or out.

Here you can see the same screen as the image right above, but with it now in the red light.  This is around 50% brightness.  I will be going back on objects to normal and red view so you can see the differences.

Above is the finder chart I would use for this night for going after the Blinking Planetary Nebula. Then as I approached I would zoom in with my fingers on my device until I had the previous two images and then hop to the object.  This feature is fantastic for star hopping and using visually.

Above you can see a rather large field of view of the Milky Way and of Scorpius and Sagittarius. I have it set up to show the planets and you can see the location of Pluto here as well as the major stars. This is a major benefit as a planisphere is no longer needed, and you can now use your device to learn the constellations and the stars in the constellations if your so inclined. If not, you can now figure out right in the backyard or field how to star hop to an object and zoom in on it. Cool!

Here I have zoomed into Scorpius and you can see Antares and M4 off to the left, and other stars and objects here. I love the convenience of zooming in and out and then really getting into the objects you want to see. There is more than just the eye candy here, and you really can get down to some faint objects. However, there are limits and still, there are objects like Sharpless 2-091 (see below) that just are not going to show up in this program. Ablerio and it’s companion show up nicely, but go up to 9 Cygni and no SNR will be visible.

This is a closer zoom in view of Hercules and specifically I am going after M13 here. This also shows something I need to go in and figure out how to work with or eliminate and that is I had tapped on the screen and captured a star, TYC etc. instead of M13.  No biggie as I will take my two fingers and just zoom in.

Bam! As I zoomed in I can see M13 coming into view at about 33% of brightness.

A few more zooms and I am there, M13 starring right back at me! I can see this as a great way to show someone what it is your going after, and as I will show, share some information about the object and then have them actually look at the object in the eyepiece. It is a great way if possible to share information at a star party while people are waiting at the eyepiece. Again, the more we can get them to discover and learn, the better off they are and the more excited they become!

The two images above show what happens when on a object and hitting the info button on the menu for that object. You get more data than you probably want about that object. However, if your smart, you’ll take a note or two on the most important elements and share them with others and yourself. There are a couple of apps that would allow you to capture the key information and put it down if your want to do that. Again, a TON of information is located here. This is an excellent feature of the software.

 Having said that, the Veiil Nebula shows up nicely in the progam and can be useful when trying to observe some of the fainter portions of this wonderful SNR.

One last hop. We zoom in on Cygnus and from Deneb hop down to Sadr.  From here we can zoon in and see the star hop to a wonderful object, the Crescent Nebula, NGC 6888, an emission nebula coming from stellar winds from Wolf Rayet Star 136.

So there. I said I wouldn’t be covering all the features and I haven’t. I have shared enough of the program though to get my mind thinking and I know that this is a wonderful tool to supplement (okay, I can say it, maybe, re p  NO, yes I can repl, no! replace, there I said it) an atlas IF your going for the eye candy to the medium faint objects.  There is enough here to keep you busy if you have a 10″ or larger scope for a very LONG time. I love its potential to be used at Outreach because even though some of us love to remember details on so many of these objects, in the world we live in, and in the world that is evolving often it is not important to have the fact, rather to be able to access the facts. Sky Safari 4 does that quite well. 

My verdict? It is a wonderful tool that does go on sale from time to time, so if you can nab it on sale, go for it. I have the Pro version and it works quite well for me. I need to start bringing my observing up into the 21st century and this is a wonderful tool to do so. I could see that if I combined this with say Sky Commander, I just might not need an atlas again and I would spend more time on my objects and less time finding them. I like the hunt, and doubt I will ever give it up, and even when I had a goto system, I didn’t use it a lot, but there are times when you only have a short time that it can prove useful. Sky Safari 4 is similar and can help reduce clutter in your car when you go to observe, won’t fly away or fly open in a slight breeze, and really is an excellent tool to use. I just hope that it stays this way by Simulation Curriculum in the future. If not, there will be a hole to fill by someone who wants to design an excellent app and put it out there. I hope that doesn’t happen. 

Next Blog Entry: A Look Back, A Look Forward: Jay’s Sketching. 

Orthos, Orthos, Orthos vs Wide Field Eyepieces of the Explore Scientific

     This post upfront has no visuals. Sorry for that.  It has no math, no actual science. It is a review of something that I have seen twice in the last week conducting outreach.  Last Thursday I had the opportunity to do some outreach with my local club and then again on Saturday. On Thursday I took my XT10 out for a spin and on Saturday, I took the 17.5 out to the club’s outreach site in Stansbury Park.  The first outreach event was in a bright library parking lot that really drowned out the night sky.  Around 10:00pm the lights went out and that transformed the site to a outward suburban site. The club’s outreach site in Stansbury Park is a decent site, not a dark site but good for outreach, and definitely better than the Salt Lake Valley that is heavily urbanized and light polluted. Conditions are both nights were transparency very good, seeing below average increasing as the night went on to average. There, you have the conditions

Okay, I lied, I am going to put in two images of SPOC, the home of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and a copy of the light pollution map from 2014 that shows LP conditions at the site. I have to say that conditions at SPOC in terms of Light Pollution have decreased slightly over the last 3 years and more so over the last 10. Then again, when I look at my home it is going from a yellow zone, to orange zone and red is creeping in as my city expands its development without care to the night sky LINK to LP Maps and SQM data. The good news is my dark sites are staying dark and LP is NOT creeping into them yet. I am sure that will change over the next 25 years.

Above is a Google Map of SPOC. I’ve labeled where the telescopes are set up by club members for outreach and where the 3 telescopes in the complex are located. 

Here is the light pollution map (above) for Stansbury Park and SPOC is the orange dot.  Light pollution impacts the site though you can get some decent views for the public at an outreach event there. 

Light pollution though is not the subject of this post. It is only in the sense that light domed outreach is going to impact the views I had. Combine these light polluted skies with conditions will determine the overall quality of the image one observes in the eyepiece, when combined with the quality of the optics, but I personally put the impact of light pollution and sky conditions over the quality of the optics until one gets into a dark enough location to where light pollution has no impact and sky conditions and the quality of one’s optics can come into play to determine the quality of the image in the eyepiece.

My XT10 then is just a XT10 and I didn’t expect anything speculator that Thursday night at outreach. I took it for convenience. Base in the back, tube in the back, eyepiece case, collimation tools and I’m off with a small cooler filled with water.  At the library I set up the XT10 quickly and did my collimation check.  Love the XT10 as it only needed a very slight correction to be collimated. The mirror was pretty acclimated and I had brought not my Pentax XW’s or TeleVue Delos, but my Explore Scientific eyepieces and my Orthos, a Baader Planetarium Classic Ortho 10 mm Eyepiece 1.25″ and 6mm, and the University Orthos HD Abbe II 12mm, 6mm & 4mm.  In the Explore Scientific I had the 11mm, 24mm & 30mm 82 degrees, and the 9mm and 20mm 100 degree eyepieces. I also had my Paracorr Type I and Type 2.  I didn’t use the Paracorr on Thursday night in the XT10 (and I had the same eyepieces with the 17.5″ dob on Saturday but I did use the Paracorr Type II that night).  I began by using the 11mm 82 degree ES to show the moon and received good images, though with a decent amount of coma on the outer edge.  Saturn also showed well with the 11mm 82degree ES.  I then popped in a 12mm University Ortho and it was like BANG! No coma of course, and the image of Saturn was clear, crisp, and sharp with a clear view of Cassani.  The public didn’t know the difference but I did.

My friend Jeff Porter was there with his modified XX12i with a Zambuto mirror in the primary and using the Ortho’s was very eye opening for him. His scope showed a wonderful view with the Orthos.  Clear, sharp and crisp.  I would speak for myself, and I think Jeff would agree, that indeed less glass was more this night.

I have to plug this again. My thrill this night was letting kids from about age 8 and up learn to find the moon and Saturn using the XT10.  They walked away feeling proud and really that enhanced their experience. If nothing else, they will remember not only seeing the moon and Saturn that night, but using the telescope to find those objects for themselves. Powerful outreach when done that way!

On Saturday as I stated, I took and set up the 17.5, collimating it full tilt with the Catseye tools and confirming with Howie Glatter’s 2″ laser collimator and TuBlug. I love when the match! I ran a fan for about an hour to cool and then shut it down to  observe. I had a wonderful evening showing the moon, Saturn, the Lagoon Nebula, The Swan Nebula, M51 and NGC 5395, and then the night was over. I used the 100 degree eyepieces and the 11mm 82 degree eyepiece a lot this night but I also used the Ortho’s, mainly the 12mm University and the 10mm Baader because that is what conditions allowed.  Again, in my opinion, the views were crisper, cleaner, and sharper than in the Explore Scientific eyepieces. The Light Pollution had a part in that of course, but still, the Orthos were just fantastic.

My take away again, is that I need to remember that as much as I love that 70 to 72 degree experience, and as much as using the 100 degree eyepieces by Explore Scientific are a treat (with a Paracorr which is needed for me) I have to remember to put in the Ortho’s to eek out every ounce of detail I can from the objects I am observing and sketching. I do myself a dis-service if I don’t do that in my observing experience. Your mileage may vary from mine, your opinion may be different, but for me, I am putting the Ortho’s into the viewing plan from now on.  Keep being amazed by all that is above and lets all remember to be just a little more kind, a little more caring, and a little more generous to those around us.

New Feature I am kinda of going to try which is to announce what my next post will be about. I have a review of SkySafari3 and will be reviewing SkySafarri4 in my next post in a new days.

Observing July 16th, 2015 Forest Road 006 Site 1

     I packed up the Outback and loaded the 17.5″ dob up and drove out to the Forest Land south of Vernon, Utah for a night of observing. I went to Site 1 on Forest Road 006 and set up.  While there I figured I was going to be alone on this one, as I am about fifty percent of the time now.  I find that I enjoy observing with others, but I also enjoy observing alone.  It was in the upper 80’s when I got out there around 6:00p.m. and was greeted by these skies:

This is the drive out to Vernon and the Forest Land there. You can see the Sheeprock Mountains in the distance (behind and just to the right of the sign).  That is the turn to go out on the Pony Express Trail over Lookout Pass to another good observing site I found up in the mountains there, and from there over towards Simpson Springs and some really really dark skies there.

The picture above I took and it is on the dirt road that your drive down leading to the T junction where you turn left to go to the Vernon Reservoir, or right and then left to Forest Road 006.  There were a few clouds over the mountains as they always are at this time of the year but the sky was incredible!

Now as you turn right off the main road above and head west toward Forest Road 006 this wonderful sign was hanging up. The land immediately next to the Forest Land is now for sale for grazing or star gazing.  My wife and I have been purchasing and investing over the last year and had a wedding in May, but we are looking into the possibility of trying to get this land for a private observing area, and leasing it out part of it not being used for star gazing for cattle grazing. We’ll see, but is enough and the location is perfect that I am hoping to do all I can to hopefully secure it. Like I said, it will depend on timing but this would be the site to do it at!

The picture above and immediately below capture the view south from the observing site. The ground has become really dry now, the grasses and bushes are extremely dry (not like the green I shared a few posts ago in June or May when I was there) but the sky was that blue. A slight breeze blew but it was just gorgeous! John Muir has two quotes that for me are captured here.  The first is what I love when I arrive where I am going to observe. This is how I feel:  “Few places in this world are more dangerous than home. Fear not, therefore, to try the mountain passes. They will kill care, save you from deadly apathy, set you free, and call forth every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action.”

 This image (below) reminds me with the two above of another favorite quote by John Muir. He said  “None of Nature’s landscapes are ugly so long as they are wild.”  Indeed, I once thought locations like this were just ugly deserts. No, they are beautiful, wild, rugged for now, the handiwork of creation indeed, and provide me with the release of my cares, inspire me to be active in my chosen hobby, and more importantly in life, and they inspire me to action.

As I enjoyed the views, I did get to work setting up the 17.5″ dob and getting it ready for the coming evening.  Here the tubes are assembled, the top ring is on, the Telrad and Finderscope are ready to be aligned and I am now ready to collimate. I used my Catseye Collimating tools since I was out so early with more than adequate time before dark.  Worked like a charm! You can see in the second picture that to the north, there were clouds. That is often the case and why I enjoy these sites down by Vernon. More often than not if a system lies to the north clouds will impact Tooele north to the Lakeside site. Often this site is clear or clears rapidly after sunset and the heating of the day ends.  There are times when a front or the monsoon comes from the south clouds impact this site leaving sites in Skull Valley that I have been using or at Lakeside clear. It is knowing how to use the weather sites, ALL of them to ensure which one to go to. I love Vernon so more often than not, you will find me here.

Okay, I have to share more of what this site is like. I have done that a ton, but I really believe part of observing is connecting not only with the sky, but to the earth and land.  Our planet is indeed precious, and we I feel have a stewardship to care for it. I am not saying we don’t use the land, but we must be wise in how we use the land. There has to be a balance maintained so that we gain what we need, and so that there are wild places to go and enjoy.

     Above is the view to the west with the Sun behind a cloud and the Juniper Trees being cast dark in the camera lens.  This is looking west from the observing site.

This is one of my favorite views from this site . The Sheeprock Mountains, nestled to the southwest here and standing tall and firm.  This is the entrance as well to site 1 with Forest Road 006 seen in the middle right of the picture.

      The Sheeprocks again looking more south to southwest.  I sketched the last two views when I was here in June. I just love this place. It is magical when there aren’t a lot of people around. Even when there are RV campers out here, they are asleep early at dark and I have never been disturbed in my observing.

     Standing on Forest Road 006 looking south partially southwest at the Sheeprock Mountains again.

     This is Forest Road 006 looking north (a front to the north).  It is also the entrance to the observing area, Site 1 and you can see my Outback’s tire marks as I turned left into the site (I was heading south).

     This is what Observing Site 1 off of Forest Road 006 looks like if you arrive in the day.  Yep, that is my Green Outback back there and I am set up behind it.  No tent this trip though I could have, as I decided to sleep in the back of the Outback.  I have a wonderful large size tent (10 people) and a wonderful Cabela’s XL Cot that with a sleeping pad and memory foam on it is incredible to sleep on.  More than enough room for others to join me if they can put up with my Sleep Apena machine (I have that set up to run when in the field and I’ll share that sometime).

    Looking North from the observing site to the Oquirrh Mountains in the far distance to the right and Tooele to the near center.  The hills in the middle right are the Vernon Hills.

     The picture above and below actually reflect what the Sheeprock Mountains look like from the observing area.  I have to admit that for a LONG time I missed California. I grew up there and I use to bicycle LONG before it was really popular with friends to areas 100 miles or so away from home, sometimes by myself. We would go hiking, fishing, and backpacking in the Sierra’s.  Then there was always the ocean to go to so we could surf, body surf, swim and relax.  This year in February I believe we went back to California and I found that nostalgia really wasn’t that great. The freeways and roads were in horrible condition.  Roads and Freeways and locations were far more crowded then when I left there 22 years ago. Dark skies, well, they do not have the dark skies in northern California that I have such easy access too here in Utah.  I have to say, though like with anywhere, there are things about Utah I do not like, there is a LOT to like.  I love our wilderness, our availability of dark skies for now, and the great variety we have here. Winter I am not a huge fan but I operate and observe in it.  Could be worse. I could live in Minnesota where my mother’s family is and REALLY freeze there! I am very lucky to live where I do.

     Sheeprocks at Sunset with some clouds that built up over them and then went away after sunset.

If you have never seen the belt of Venus here it is. Below you can see the pinkish glow of the Belt of Venus.  The Belt of Venus is a rosy pinkish arch visible long after sunset or long before sunrise by back scattering of refracted sunlight due to fine dust particles high up in the atmosphere. It extends roughly 10°–20° above the horizon.  If you look even more carefully, you can see a dark ray of sunlight caused by the sun’s light going through a mountain pass.

     As I confirmed by collimation by using Howie Glatter’s laser and TuBlug, I noticed in the eastern sky a ray of light that extended from a point on the horizon and up into the sky.  Soon it was joined by several others as you can see in the pictures below. I had internet access and was posting some of these images to the Salt Lake Astronomical Club’s Facebook page (LINK) and asked what they were as I had never seen them in 20 years of observing. I learned that hey are anti crepuscular rays. Anti crepuscular rays are near-parallel, but appear to converge at the anti solar point because of linear perspective.They come from either clouds and the light coming through the clouds, or light coming through mountains as is the case here. Although anti crepuscular rays appear to converge onto a point opposite the sun, the convergence is actually an illusion. The rays are in fact (almost) parallel, and their apparent convergence is to the vanishing point at infinity. I felt they were cool and chalked them up to a good omen in you believe in that.

     Now it was time to observe and the 17.5 was ready for an awesome evening and so was I! How lucky I was to have had the experience I have had so far.

      My goal tonight was open clusters in Cygnus, a few nebula in Cygnus, maybe a look at the “other supernova remnant in Cygnus down by Alberio, Sharpless 2-091 (Sky & Telescope LINK), galaxies in Serpens C., Planetary Nebula in Delphinus, and Aquila etc.  Ambitious and I knew I would have to take what the sky would give me. I want to get some more galaxies in Hercules but Hercules is at zenith and I really dislike observing at zenith. So I’ll wait for another month to hit those.

     I will state up front as I finished my official count, I ended up with 24 objects this night, and sketched 10. That is a great night for me, I am use to getting about 12 to 15 on a great night but it just worked out well for me tonight. I am not going to post my open clusters tonight or in this blog, but will in another entry in the next few days.  Here are the sketches I am sharing and observations. Order is mixed up as usual in regards to time.

Above is Hickson 74 with NGC 5910 being the target.  In truth though this sketch isn’t perhaps the most impressive, it is my favorite because of what it shows.  July 16th, 2015, 11:00pm MDT/05:00 UT July 17th, 2015; Antoniadi III; mild wind, warm; 17.5″ Dob; 10mm  Pentax XW, Type 2 Paracorr.

NGC 5910 is part of Hickson 74.  At 248x the galaxies appeared as smudges of fuzziness, and seemed to be part of one uneven group of fuzziness.  Averted vision with direct vision and breathing resolved these into three separate  galaxies/components of Hickson 74 into individual knots. HGC 74A, the largest one had some mottling in evidence.  HGC 74B was faint and in the SSW but discernible and I could hold it.  NGC 74D was also observed, though it came and went using averted vision.  There are 5 components and I was able to get 3 of them.

July 17th 2015: 12:15am MDT/06:16 UT.  FR006 Site 1; Antoniadi III slight breeze mild temperature; 17.5″ Dob, 7mm Pentax XW SQM-L reading at 12:17a.m. 21.77 to south and zenith.  Surface Brightness 12.8: Type 2 Paracorr.

Rather small face on sprial galaxy that is very round in appearance.  Also rather bright with a stellar nucleus that is evident. Bright inner core region then the outer halo is diffused. Some possible structure is hinted at with averted vision. Fun galaxy to tease out detail.

NGC 5993 (larger one) NGC 5992 Galaxies in Bootes  July 16th, 2015, 10:40pm/ 4:40 UT July 17th, 2015; 17.5″ Dob; 7mm Pentax XW; Antoniadi III w/Type 2 Paracorr.

NGC 5992 is the smaller and has the higher surface brightness at 12.6 mag.  Inner core region is bright.  NGC 5993 is the larger and fainter galaxy due to its size at 13.3 mag for surface brightness.  It is a faint oval with a slightly brighter core region that is not as bright as NGC 5992’s core.

NGC 6070 Spiral Galaxy in Serpens Caput.  July 17th, 2015 1;45a.m. MDT/ 7:45 UT;  FR006 Site 1; Antoniadi II; 17.5″ dob with 7mm Pentax XW & Type 2 Paracorr.

Some observers call the galaxy dim and others bright. For me it is both. The outer halo is dim, but the inner core region is bright.  At 300x plus the galaxy is how I described it and elongated.  Outer halo with averted vision hints of structure which I sketched in where I felt the structure could be seen.  Large galaxy in terms of size.  Wonderful object to see and capture.  Often passed over and forgotten by imagers but it really shouldn’t be and if you image, this is one to capture. If your visual and in the area, well worth the view.

NGC 6905 The Blueflash Planetary Nebula in Dephinus.  July 17th, 2015 12;45a.m. MDT/06:45 UT; FR006 Site 1; Antoniadi III; slight breeze, mild temperature i.e. low 60’s; 17.5″ dob: 5mm & 7mm Pentax XW; Type 2 Paracorr; DGM NB and DGM OIII 1 1/4″.  

Beautiful planetary nebula in Delphinus.  285x in the 7mm showed an elongated shape and a central star that is easily seen.  At 400x plus in the 5mm the central star is still easily seen and held with direct vision, and the shape is at first circular and then fainter elongations will come out.  At the higher power the region around the central star appears mottled, with brighter and darker regions.  This Planetary Nebula really sucks up magnification and if conditions allow, you can really crank it on this. Wonderful one to see!

There you go! I will post the other sketches in a few days as I am really busy with the new job. I did want to share this and remind you that this hobby is one to really enjoy in all aspects. Its a microcosm of how I feel we need to approach life; with awe, wonderment, humility, gratitude, commitment, and amazement. Keep being amazed!

Conger Springs, Utah: Dark is Dark

    I haven’t talked about, or shared my visit to Conger Springs in the Utah Desert last year. I haven’t wanted a lot of people going there. The Google Earth coordinates are: N: 39.189 W: -113.724.   It is rare that I share a truly favorite and dark observing spot with everyone. Well, let me paraphrase that. I share a lot with a lot of people in the hopes that some catch the bug to go dark sky observing. However, I do have a personal site that I don’t take people outside of my family to, for good reason, and I have about five sites that are very dear to me and I am protective about. You can find those five out if you look, but most people don’t look.   Having said that, I want to share Conger Springs, Utah, a true dark site, perhaps the darkest site I have been too.  I think I can share it because I believe it is too far out for most people to go to since it is a multiple day trip I feel.  I would like to take a person or two there for a couple of nights of observing sometime. I am going to share the following information from Dean over at SummitPost.org LINK.

     “A rarely visited peak in the western Utah desert that isn’t all that far from the Great Basin National Park but offers even darker skies than that wonderful National Park. Conger Mountain is the highest point of the northern section of the Confusion Mountain range.
What other reasons besides hiking would take somebody to this area you might ask? Thanks to the lack of light pollution, this is a outstanding area for studying the night skies with a telescope. It is also an area that ATV’ers are fond of but don’t visit in overwhelming numbers due to the distance it is from anywhere (see map). It is a superb place to view wildlife if you are of the patient persuasion. What kind of wildlife? Pronghorn antelope call this area their home as do wild horses. ( From Jay/Me: It is actually a study area for wild horses for the BLM and you are required not to chase or go after the horses in any manner. Observe them with binoculars or a camera from a distance. Approaching them will usually cause them to run and older horses and newer horses often get injured see this LINK)  Conger Mountain is home to deer and of course mountain lions and other desert adapted wildlife species.
However, peakbragging (climbing as many peaks as they can) is what attracts people like me and that is why I found this area worth a visit. I did have a pronghorn antelope race me for a half mile or so down one of the dirt roads and to show its superior speed, it cut right in front of my truck and left me in the dust. Oh how I wish I had a video of that exciting encounter!”  

      I have to admit that I really enjoyed my time at Notch Peak a few years ago with my friend Mat. It got me looking at this area in depth. I thought Notch Peak was wonderful, but I have to admit that Conger Springs and that area is a much better place to observe. For two days I had no people (well one car of rock hounders for about 4 hours)  last year when I was there and outside of playing some music or podcasting, I didn’t get disturbed at all. It was quiet, harmonious and  delightful.  It was hot, if you go in the summer be prepared for that and I was thankful for portable fans and extra batteries that kept me cool. Pronghorn as Dean mentions in his post are there and plentiful, and I did get a good hour view at the wild horse herd via binoculars.  I should have had my camera and my telephoto lens. Next time.

     My SQM-L readings here were 21.95 to the east, 21.96 to the south, 21.97 to the west. Light pollution doesn’t exist out there and yes, the Milky Way does cast a shadow out here.  It is remote, and yes, I mean REMOTE. Bring all the water you need and then some, a spare tire (just in case, and make sure that is fully inflated), plenty of food, a good tent but you can  bring a trailer here for most areas, and your equipment. A scope cover helps during the day.  If your looking for something to do, hiking is always available, and yep, I did some of that and enjoyed myself.  Rock hounding of fossils is very doable here and you can see that from this image:

This page from TNGray’s blog about her Rock Hounding and Fossil Collecting visit to the site shares what is there to be had. It is fun and legal to collect some samples for personal use in Utah. As an educator I get to share them with students which is also fun. TNGRAY SITE LINK. 

     One thing I want to point out is that I would not set up or camp by the watering hole. Wild animals do use the watering hole for water, imagine that and you don’t want some of them trampling equipment or a cougar to get an interest in you.  I never saw any animal up close but I set up a good ways off from the watering hole.  In terms of people I had one car come up and do some fossil collecting and we talked on my second day but the left after about four hours. Here is a pic of the site location: 

     There are plenty of good spots here to both camp and set up, and the mountain takes out part of the eastern view as you can see above, but I’ll be honest, in Utah I never look that low to the east.  Here are the directions to the site. From Salt Lake City or that general area, go south on Interstate 15 to either SR 6 and follow that to Delta or continue on I-15 to Holden, Utah, and take SR 50 to Delta. Once in Delta, get on State Highway 50 which is also Highway 6 and go west. I recommend stopping in Delta, getting gas or topping off, check the air in your spare to be safe, and buy any last minute items you need. There is nothing after Delta until you get to Nevada and your not going there. From Delta Utah head west for 75 miles on highway 50/6 as it heads for Great Basin National Park and Ely,  Nevada. At the milepost marker 16, take the dirt road that heads north at that point (the Little Valley Road) and continue on it until you reach a signed turnoff for Conger Spring. A passenger type vehicle can drive this road to Conger Spring in good weather with no problem. A 4WD or AWD (my Outback was awesome out here) is great. Park near Conger Spring or that general area and find a location away from the spring. The coordinate from my Google Map for my Observing Locations is listed as  39.18984, -113.72465. 

     Now here is the deal. Give me plenty of heads up and if I know you, I would WELCOME the opportunity to take a few people to the site. You can come to Utah and I’ll put you up in my basement, its finished with 3 spare bedrooms (but you have to be gluten free in my house as I suffer from Celiac disease and am extremely sensitive; outside of the house, eat whatever!).   We can then drive down, spend two nights there, and then come back and your on your way. IF you don’t want to stay here, then we can meet in Delta, Utah late one morning and then drive out. If you live away from me, I do have an Orion XT10, a 14″ and 17.5″ dob we can take out but I can’t fit the 10″ and 14″ if I take the 17.5″.  You would have to rent a car or better SUV or CRV, Outback etc. and load it up to come out. I have a couple of tents so that shouldn’t be a problem as I also have four bags rated to 0 degrees F or down to 50 degrees F and a few sleeping pads. I get my cot! If your local and want to go with me down there (I am thinking early fall is a wonderful time to go) let me know and we can probably arrange something.  Next spring or summer would work also, and would probably be best for me.  

Here are some images for directions.  

This image above shows from Delta, UT your 75 mile drive west on Highway 6/50. Please get a full tank in Delta for gas, there are no other options. 

Here is the turn off for Mile Marker 16. 

So as you drive north, you will come to the first of four forks. Here you want to stay to the right, veering to the east and not take that road to the north-west/west.  You could set up here as I say on the map if you want to be closer to Highway 6/50. 

After the first fork (picture right above this one) you will quickly come to a second fork in the road. This time veer to the left, and keep heading north.  If you do it correctly you will drive under the power lines that I have listed. 

In this image you can see the power lines and the road with them at the bottom. Stay on the main dirt road and keep heading north for a while . . . 

Here is the third fork now.  There is an option I’ll share next but if your heading for the springs, do not take the right turn and do not go left or right at that road going horizontal. Stay going north on this road per the arrows. I also marked the coral where the BLM does round ups when the Wild Horse Population gets too big or they need to treat for disease etc. 

Now if you don’t want to go to the springs, you can take the road to the right at the third fork and go to the Purple/Pink C on the map and set up there. I wouldn’t if the BLM is rounding up though. Excellent site if I remember right. 

After the third fork you have a nice drive straight up the fourth fork which you can see at the top of this image. Keep going! 

Here is the fourth fork.  You want to stay on the dirt road heading north, so at the fork at the bottom, don’t go to the right, stay going to the left.  At the cross section don’t go left or right, stay going north.  I have marked another option B I believe in Purple/pink and sent an arrow to another possible observing/camping site on the map I haven’t labeled as such. If the springs is the target, keep heading north on the dirt road, almost there. 

Here you can see from the last fork you keep going north until you come to the springs. Pick a spot and go. I marked where a watering hold is also and I would not go there. The wild horses and animals go there and so avoid it unless there is no water there. 

Here is the springs! I have listed some possible observing spots and the two I tried.  I did the one down by the corrals also and that worked fine. It is a wonderful site for observing, but you need to bring stuff to do during the day, you can go stir crazy unless you like solitude, conversation with someone (unless your alone like I was). I hiked, gathered up some fossils, talked to the other fossil hunters that showed up, animal watched (there are both golden and bald eagles nearby and plenty of birds so I also bird watched).  I took a nap and read.  Perfect! So may you find the joys of looking up, doing so with the wonderment of a child, and find the enjoyment that comes from the hobby. Really, it is several hobbies when you get right down to it!  Observing at a dark site like this, as remote as this is, is something that sticks with you for a LONG time, if not a life time! 

Planetary Nebula in Messier 7 in Scorpius

     It has been a while since I posted this, so I thought with M7 being nicely placed in the sky, this is a good time of the year to do so. Here is a LINK to an image of one of the PN in Messier 7 (you can try to use the finder chart and identify which one it is if you want) that Michael Sidonio took in 2012.  I do not remember where I found this, so all I can do is state that I did not create this. I believe I got off a post in CloudyNights. Here you find a LINK to a copy of a finder chart on my Google Drive for the planetary nebula in Messier 7, an open cluster in Scorpius.  The link should work if you have it which you do, and want to get a copy. Sue French covered 3 of those listed in her July 2004 Deep Sky Wonders column called Stung by Wonder.  That article can be found in her wonderful Deep Sky Wonders Book on page 157 if I remember right, might be 158,  that came out in 2011 (proud owner of a field and office copy!).  Sue uses the name Cannon 2-1 or PN G356.2-04.4 for the PN labeled Henize 2-303.  For the PN on the chart labeled Henize 2-295 she has that labeled as Minkowski –30 or PN G355.9-04.2 and one she cannot confirm as actually haven seen.  The third PN on the chart, Sanduleal 2-253 Sue has labeled as Hoffleit 2-1 or PN G355.4-04.0.  These are fun to track down one evening out at a dark site and I did this several years ago testing the 14″ when I had just received it. Then it dawned on me that no one has sketched these so hopefully, either in August or next July (2016) I will remember to take on the challenge.  Here is what the finder chart looks like also.

 

     Curious about Planetary Nebula? They are often very beautiful and for some, you can see color in them visually.  Here is the Wikipedia article on them LINK.  What to see how the Hubble Space Telescope has seen some of these wonderful objects and perhaps get an idea of a few you may want to hunt down? Here is a LINK to the Hubble Planetary Nebula Images. 

The Fallacy of Light Shields to Bring Out More Detail of What I Observe from a Light Polluted Zone: What Does Help?

     I had a wonderful evening of observing yesterday and will post that up this weekend after I take the pictures of my sketches.  Today though, I want to address something that I think suburbia observers need to really think about. Often, and I did this, to improve their observing, amateurs build light shields to try and minimize the impact of stray light into their telescope and focuser/eyepiece. I did that a 2008 and 2009 and used them when observing in the backyard.  You can see the ones I built (this is one, I built over 12 of them):

     I know I read one of my 2009 blogs and found that I was saying that they improved my dark adaptation. Well, no, they didn’t because in the backyard where I live, I am not going to get fully dark adapted. It is impossible because of the extremely large light dome I live under and next to.  I see that like last night when I look to the northwest and see that light dome creeping over the mountains now. What the light shields did do for me was to help keep stray light out of my eyes so that I could see what there was/is to see the best I can see it.  For example, I posted how the shields helped me to see the Milky Way one night. No. The Milky Way was there and is to be seen as faint as it is, but the shield let me keep that local stray light out of my eyes so I could perhaps maximize what I was seeing. The sky is the sky where you observe. Light pollution is light pollution and I can put up all the light panels I want, blacken my solid tube dob or put on a shroud, and put up light shields. That is NOT going to change the impact of light pollution in the sky and on the objects you see.  Just is not going to happen. It will help to lesson stray light that is coming in and to help you to see everything there is possible to see based on the sky conditions for that night.

     So there, I got that out.  I no longer use light shields when I am in the backyard. No one in the back area has lights on at night and we all are adjacent to a park so that helps.  I do have stray light though and yep, it can impact me.  So why not use the light shields? I am getting older now, still 50 years young but not 30, or 40 or even 45 years young.  I’ve gotten lazy I guess.  So what I do do is to take either a black bath towel I purchased for this purpose, and use it over my head while observing. It is the cheapest and most effective way I have found in the backyard to minimize stray light. Works wonderfully.  The other option I have is the Dark Skies Apparel Black Hood.  That can be purchased at this LINK and here is an example I grabbed off Google of someone showing how it works.

You can purchase the hood just as a hood, that is what I did or with a vest to hold your eyepieces and other items.  Both the hood here or a black towel will do the job, but the hood looks a lot cooler when you stand up and it is designed to fall over your head and eyepiece so your covered.  It’s why I own one and use one.

     So if you are a backyard observer, and I think at some point we all are, limiting the impact from stray light helps to improve what you see, but it is no substitute for going to a dark site and observing if you want to see more detail.  Observing from the backyard in a light polluted area and minimizing the stray light will help your eye to see what there is to see, which often, is not much.  Want to build lights shields like these to help:

then go right ahead. They are excellent examples of home made, nicely price observatories.  Doing visual astronomy, they will help to block the stray light but it won’t make you see something that isn’t there. I know from experience that is the case.  A black towel or a Dark Skies Apparel (no affiliation with them for profit fyi) hood or hood and vest can be equally helpful.  The best bet though is to get out to a good old true dark site, and then see the change in details that occur.  Until then, the backyard can suffice.  Oh, if you live in the Salt Lake City area and want some of my old light shields, you can have all but 3 of them.  Contact me and make arrangements to pick them up. Keep observing the wonders of our universe, its a blast! Oh, I will mention though that if your imaging, then I think these setups would help to definitely keep the stray light out of your image and that is very important. 

New Horizon, Pluto and Our Views on the Accomplishment

     In 1971 as Mariner 9 came into orbit, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clark, Walter Sullivan a reporter, and scientists Bruce Murray and  Carl Sagan, sat at a symposium to discuss Mars and Mariner 9’s arrival there. At that symposium, Ray Bradbury share a poem he had written for the occasion called If Only We Had Taller Been. Here is an excerpt of that symposium with Bradbury reading his poem:

     Here are the words:

The fence we walked between the years

Did bounce us serene

It was a place half in the sky where

In the green of leaf and promising of peach

We’d reach our hands to touch and almost touch the sky

If we could reach and touch, we said,

‘Twould teach us, not to, never to, be dead

We ached and almost touched that stuff;

Our reach was never quite enough.

If only we had taller been

And touched God’s cuff, His hem,

We would not have to go with them

Who’ve gone before,

Who, short as us, stood as they could stand

And hoped by stretching tall that they might keep their land

Their home, their hearth, their flesh and soul.

But they, like us, were standing in a hole

O, Thomas, will a Race one day stand really tall

Across the Void, across the Universe and all?

And, measured out with rocket fire,

At last put Adam’s finger forth

As on the Sistine Ceiling,

And God’s hand come down the other way

To measure man and find him Good

And Gift him with Forever’s Day?

I work for that

Short man, Large dream

I send my rockets forth between my ears

Hoping an inch of Good is worth a pound of years

Aching to hear a voice cry back along the universal mall:

We’ve reached Alpha Centauri!

We’re tall, O God, we’re tall!

     Over at NPR today, NRP’s Skunk Bear shared this version of the New Horizon mission.  Great footage and wonderful link to the past.

     At work today, I was helping in a training and as we were setting pictures to represent us, to a science teacher I casually recommended setting the picture of Pluto taken by New Horizon today.  The teacher scoffed at the suggestion and gave a “whatever look.”  That brief interaction combined with another one when I purchased gas and asked the attendant what he thought of us reaching Pluto, the reaction was another “Whatever” and “We have more important things here to do.”  

     When Ray Bradbury recited his poem I was six and a half years old.  Space was a wonder to me and my parents ensured that I watched the launches of the Apollo rockets and bought me space stuff to play with. That upbringing laid the ground work for my own interests in astronomy today.  In 1971 I think the world, despite the problems our country faced, war, radicalism, uncertainty of many for the future (hmmm, not much has really changed in the human condition) space was a high point, something we celebrated and took pride in.  Today, I fear the reactions I encountered reflect a change of passion, a change in pride or the lack of pride that our country takes in our efforts to expand our knowledge of the universe we have our being in.

          When knowledge and its pursuit become less important than other things, our society in my opinion has to be viewed as in decline.  In truth though I see that passion for knowledge in students today, in scientists seeking answers to questions and problems we face knowing that their work in some way, contributes to our greater knowledge.  That is my hope. That somewhere, out there, a young person is shown the thrill of finding objects in the night sky, and that becomes a passion that leads them to wanting to know more, discover more and find more.  Their passion then becomes our passion.  Their vision becomes a united vision that we rally behind, that we take pride in, that we strive to live up to.  Indeed, IF ONLY WE HAD TALLER BEEN and sought to see just a little more, to do a little more, then perhaps we will truly begin to grow up as a species and become better than we currently are.  Perhaps then, the pursuit of knowledge will be honored, revered, and we will take pride in what we accomplish.  

     We still live in a tremendous country, in an area where we can make a difference if we choose to do so in whatever occupation, career or things we engage in.  The question each of us has to ask is, Will WE individually be taller than we currently are? Congrats to all involved in New Horizons and in the success of the mission.  I take pride as a American and a citizen of this planet of your accomplishments and salute and honor you for it.  Thank you for this day.  

What is the Swift RoboticTelescope Up To and How Does That Help Me Learn About The Universe?

     This may bore a lot of you and if so, pass along please.  This site at this LINK, shows you the targets that are proposed and approved for the Swift Robotic Telescope.  Swift was launched in November 2004 to study Gamma Ray Bursts or GRB’s and it has done its mission with success so far (keeps going also).  Swift as mentioned continues to run and perform and has 942 GRB detections to its credit, with around 15 GRBs detected in 2015.

     So why post this?  Well, if your stuck at home one evening instead of out under the stars like I am tonight, you can go to the link, see the object that is proposed, Google it and you usually find some interesting articles to look at and review. My first share is from a google search that shared a portion of the book Observing Variable Stars that explains why V Sge is important. You can find that here at this LINK. V Sge was discovered in 1902 as a variable star but not until 1965 was it found to be a binary star system with an orbital period of 12h.3.  This star and the others that are similar are a puzzle in many ways to astronomers, but we do know and there seems to be agreement that they have an evolved component. What that actual component is is not sure, and speculation is that it could be a sub-dwarf star, a white dwarf star, a neutron star, a black-hole or perhaps a He Main Sequence Star. Most papers tend to run with either a white dwarf, neutron star or black-hole being the component. It is also possible that we are seeing hydrostatic burning on the upper shell on a white dwarf star as the massive white dwarf accretes matter from a companion star at a very high rate.  This explains the supersoft X-ray binary as does a neutron star model in some circumstances.
 
     See, for me, that was all new information that I learned from doing I what I suggested and doing some research. I personally feel, it is rather cool to learn what is going on in terms of research and to learn about the science behind the hobby.  I also ordered a new book tonight online.

     For more examples, V Sge is a variable star that over at the AAVSO they have a page for it (LINK).  There is an article on how V Sge is a also a very good candidate for a SN Type Ia in the future and why that is.  So studying V Sge helps to find the characteristics of stars like these in astronomers attempts to find more of them, since so far, we haven’t found a lot of them. This article shows observations of a star Q Carinae in order to identify it as a V Sge class star LINK.

     So that is simply one entry of what is going on on Swift and I took that and learned a lot from it. I learned about five other things from looking at some of the objects but won’t share that or bore you with that tonight. Needless to say, there is a lot to do when one cannot be out under the stars if one wants.

SN 1885A & The Next Supernova in M31, The Andromeda Galaxy Recurring Nova M31N 2008-12a

SN 1885A The Last Supernova in Messier 31  

 It has been well over a hundred years since the last visual supernova has been seen in the Andromeda Galaxy when in August of 1885, SN 1885A went off.  On August 21st, 1885, SN 1885A reach magnitude 5.85, and then by six months later had faded down to magnitude 14.  Observations made at the time, with light curves fall in line that SN 1885A was a Type Ia Supernova event.  You can read about SN 1885A over at Wikipedia at this LINK or at the centennial review article written in 1985 at this LINK which is a PDF link. SN 1885A is an interesting study of a supernova that is suppose to be a Type Ia.  The SN, reached maximum brightness, around magnitude 5 to 6 rather quickly and then rather quickly, more quickly than a typical Type Ia supernova does, went to being undetectable about 5 to 6 months later (most Type Ia SN take much longer to totally fade in brightness).  This led some to believing that this wasn’t a SN at all, perhaps just a shedding of a thin Helium shell that caused a massive outburst or explosion, but left the white dwarf there (see The Nature of S Andromeadae (SN 1885A) at this LINK).

    For example, SN 1885A had a sudden rise to maximum light on the night of August 21st, 1885.  The SN was not seen on the night of August 16th and so from August 16th to August 21st, 1885 “the rise time from 3 mag below maximum to maximum is thus ~ 4 days.”  The scale for most Type Ia to reach maximum is ~14 days + 2 days.  So SN 1885A rose rapidly, very rapidly when compared to other Type Ia.  Also, SN 1885A declined from maximum at a mean rate of 0.10 + 0.01 mag. day while the mean for 8 SN Type Ia is shown to be at 0.065 + 0.007 mag day.  So there are some things about SN 1885A that are unique or different to it when compared to known Type Ia SN.  We also know that SN 1885A came from a “low mass progenitor due to its location in M31, which was about 16″ from the core, which is an area of new new star growth and old star populations.  Thus this combined with a low luminosity means that SN 1885A was a white dwarf in a binary system.” The conclusion of Roger A. Chevalier and Philip C. Plait (I believe The Bad Astronomer) is that SN 1885A fits a model by Woosley, Team and Weaver where a thin shell of Helium detonates leaving a remaining white dwarf intact and spreading out an Iron (Fe) rich gas from the explosion.

      In the article  An Unusually Fast-Evolving Supernova (LINK) Dovi Poznanski,  Ryan Chornock, Peter E. Nugent, Joshua S. Bloom, Alexei V. Filippenko, Mohan Ganeshalingam, Douglas C. Leonard,  Weidong Li,and Rollin C. Thomas show that SN 2002bj was a new type of Supernova Type I that had a quick rise to maximum luminosity, a quick decline from maximum, and lines of helium in its spectra but no lines of iron. Sounds like SN 1885a a lot.  Here two binary white dwarfs are exchanging helium and eventually, the larger white dwarf, surpassing the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 mass, detonates the helium shell, much like a nova but extremely more intense and brighter, leaving the white dwarf there in place.  That would go a long way to explaining SN 1885a and SN 1939b.  I also think it makes major sense since SN 1885A occurred so far in toward the core of Messier 31, where new star formation was not occurring and thus the chances of two white dwarfs being a binary pair are more than possible, and in truth, probably likely.  For me I find this fascinating because it shows that in the science of Astronomy, knowledge continues to grow and be unwoven/discovered, as we learn more, see deeper and with more detail and can put the science and math to work to reach factual conclusions.  If you want to learn more of SN 1885A I suggest these links:

Supernova 1885A   Professor from Ca State Sonoma

RN (Recurrent Novae) M31N 2008-12a 

     Now for the exciting news that has been out for some time, but something I just recently discovered.  There is a very exciting candidate that has been identified for being the next Supernova in Messier 31, the Andromeda Galaxy.  It is called RN M31N 2008-12a.  The RN is for recurrent Novae since it has gone off in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.  It is believed the nova was missed in 2010 and studies on transient X-ray sources were detected in 1992 and 1993 near this position and in September 2001, X-ray sources at this site were also detected. thus as pointed out in their 2014 paper A remarkable recurrent nova in M31 – The optical observations, (LINK) M.J, Darnley, S.C. Williams, M.F. Bode, M. Henze, J-U. Ness, A.W Shafter, K. Hornoch, and V. Votruba show that this actual binary pair of a white dwarf and a Red Supergiant Star have been exchanging material and the white dwarf has been blowing off some of that material for at least the last twenty years! Because of the faintness of the eruptions and their quick rise to maximum (around 18 to 18.5 mag) and their rapid decline back to below 21 mag., it is highly likely that there have been a significant number of missed eruptions.

     Since this binary pair have been having short time duration between eruptions, these and other astronomers know that this is a “unique system.”  To quote from the above article “Such a short (~ 1 year) recurrence time can be expected from a system with al ow critical mass for ignition, which requires a high mass white dward.  Further to accumulate enough mass for ignition within a short time, a high mass accretion rate is needed.”  The paper also shows that from a previous study done and model created, this is possible but only with a WD or white dwarf star that is very close to the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses.  This binary pair then is exchanging material at a rapid rate, the white dwarf companion has to be very close to the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses, and thus is soon, in astronomical terms, going to be ready to detonate as a Type Ia supernova! Again from the article above is a summation:

“The five known eruptions of this nova over the past five years (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) indicates that we have a very fast He/N nova with a decline time of about 4 days.  These observations when combined with the X-ray detection in 1992, 1993 and 2001 indicate that this system has a remarkably short ~ 1 year recurrence time.   This points to a system having a very high mass white dwarf with a high accretion rate.  A search of the Hubble Space Telescope data shows a candidate progenitor system, most likely containing a RGB secondary (RG-nova) and  a bright accretion disk.” 

     So what does this mean for us amateurs?  First, if your a supernova hunter, I would put the coordinates of this system and pair in your nightly survey’s IF your telescope can reach down that low (around mag. 18 to 19).  The coordinates from the article are 0h 45m 28.80s  for RA and Dec. is +41 degrees, 54′, 10″.1   If your a visual observer I tried to give a very general idea where this object is in Messier 31.  It is out in an outer arm of Messier 31 and thus why one star would most likely be a white dwarf, having gone through its journey on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram to ending up as the white dwarf in this binary and the other, entering its last stages on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram as a giant star.  Here is where I estimate the region of the this system is located if your wanting to watch it.

Above you will notice Messier 110 at the top of the screen. If you move to the right, you can see a triangle of 3 bright stars near the green eclipse line that shows M31.  I’ve circled them in the red circle. The green line is going under the star on the left side, HIP 3432,  and then in between the two bright stars that make the base.   The top star in that base is HIP 3510 and the bottom one is TCY 2805-11695-1.  You are aiming for the bottom left star, TCY 2805-11695-1

  
Now you can see a closer view of the three stars listed above. Go to the top star, HIP 3510 and then

 

On the image above (now realize, I took the RA and Dec and tried to get close, close not exact to where this system is so at least if your visually trying for this as a SN, you know where to look but who knows, I may have totally blown it) you can see where you star hop starting at the TCY 2805 star and move up to that top star. 

 Now above you can see USNO J44293+422056  which is at magnitude 12.95 (so observable) and at RA 0h 45.358m Dec. 42 degrees 26.016.  This is close to the location of the system which is at 0h 45m 28.8s, Dec 41 degrees 54’10.1″ If it goes and your looking in this general area you should nail it.

A closer view:

This shows the star hop above to star 4 and then if you go to star 6 which is UNSO J0044126 + 421849 magnitude 16.5 (so faint, very faint) you are at RA 0h 45.080 and Dec 42 degrees, 23.899 which is a tad closer to the system.
 

     So if I am wrong and someone makes a better finder chart for the system, please let me know so I can delete this.  If it is close, let me know as I would like to know that also.  I believe I am in the general location and if looking will spot it.  I will give it a shot in terms of getting to the location in the next couple of nights when I am observing at my dark site location. Please realize this object is close, very close to going supernova, but close is relative in Astronomical terms.  It probably has already blow of course, and the light could reach us tonight, tomorrow, next week, later this month, next month, next year or a few thousand or hundred of thousands of years depending when it actually triggers. If your in the area though why not take a look and see if you can capture it. It may be your first SN captured though I am sure the professionals are watching it with equipment that will capture it before a visual observer can but one never knows.  It is a very interesting object regardless and fun to learn about. May the stars shine bright as you observe our wonderful night sky.