M77

On Thanksgiving Evening (11/27/08) I observed the night sky for several hours into midnight. The wind was mostly calm with clear sky's and temperatures ranged in the mid to upper 20s. It was a dryer night which means the moisture from my frozen breath was not caking onto the telescope like the night before.

The highlight of the evening was M77, a Seyfert galaxy which means bright nucleus. At 10.50 magnitude, this object was difficult to find at first due to suburban light pollution. Once found, I made out the round dim sphere and the brighter nucleus in the center. I look forward to viewing this object again on a darker night.

I also viewed M46, a dim but massive open cluster. M47 and M48 were less spectacular but visible open clusters near Monoceros. M50 was another loose, open cluster near Monceros. Monoceros is a lesser known constellation near Orion just above Canis Major in the southeastern night sky.

I also viewed NGC 1647 and NGC 1817 in Taurus. Then NGC 2129 in Gemini and NGC 1907 in Auriga - all open clusters in the Fall night sky.

NGC 752

NGC 752 is my first deep space "Non-Messier" object to be cataloged. The NGC stands for New General Catalog and contains thousands of objects as does the IC catalog which stands for Index Catalog. For the record, the Messier Catalog contains only 110 objects but tends to be the brightest objects in the Northern Hemisphere.

NGC 752 is a massive open cluster in Andromeda. Viewed 11/26/08 around 10:00pm CST with clear skies and temperatures hovering around 24 degrees. The cluster was so expansive, I used a 45mm eye piece to enjoy its vastness. Noted several bright stars within the mix as HIP9001 and better known 56 Andromedae.

In the coming months I will continue to record all the Messier objects as well as NGC and IC objects when applicable.

Fall Open Cluster's

Last night on November 26th, 2008 I enjoyed very clear sky's here in Port Barrington, IL. The wind was calm but it was cold - The temperature that night dropped to 15 degrees. My Telescope was covered with frost and I had some difficulty keeping my view finder and eye pieces from frosting up even during short viewing instances. Last nights theme was Open Clusters, and there are plenty on a late November night.

I enjoyed M34, an open cluster near Perseus. I was able to map out several stars afterwards including a twin pair: TYC2853-22-1 and TYC2853-69-1. Undetermined if they are considered a true binary system, yet both in relation to my view through a 25mm eye piece, they seemed to be twin companions. Using a 25mm eye piece I enjoyed the grouping of M36, a cluster in Auriga that is 4100 light years away, M37, a dim massive star cluster, 4600 light years away. I also enjoyed M38, a nice open cluster that at times resembled a cross of sorts in the light polluted sky ( all grouped in Auriga), 4200 light years away.

M39 was found near Lacerta, a very loose cluster of stars. Another open cluster was found in Cassiopeia: M52, a nice looking cluster of stars. I used the stars bordering this messier object for reference: HIP115218 and HIP115691. I also visited M35 near Gemini, a large open cluster 2800 light years away. I found star 5 Gerindrum as a good reference point for M35. I found that most open clusters are best viewed with a 25mm eye piece which allows one to view a brighter reference star for hopping to the intended object.

The Origin of the Cosmos

It is only a matter of time before those interested or totally enthralled in Astronomy ask questions about the origin of the Cosmos. And nearly every time, religion gets intertwined into the discussion – a sometimes very heated discussion.

I wanted to keep this blog clear and concise, free of philosophy and dogma (I already contribute to another blog along those lines). My goal for the Celestial Chronicle was simple: A collection of personal astronomical observations, a record of scientific musings about the Universe as seen through my own eyes. Yet, thinking about where we come from and whether or not God created the Universe is a journey in observation itself. The origins of life are one of the grandest equations one could attempt to solve. With an open mind we must learn from both scripture and lore, coupled with understanding the most current scientific laws and theories. Ignorance is our biggest enemy and living with an open mind is our friend.

Western Christian biblical references Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and 1 Chronicles 16:30 include (depending on translation) text stating that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." In the same tradition, Psalm 104:5 says, "the LORD set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." Further, Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "And the sun rises and sets and returns to its place, etc." The Vatican accepted the Ptolemaic view of the Earth as the center of the Universe for over two thousand years. So it is rather clear that the European Church and State weighed in on such ideas early on. Galileo Galilei, a famous astronomer in the 1600s, defended heliocentrism, and claimed it was not contrary to those Scripture passages. In regard to Scripture, he warned not to take every passage literally, particularly when the scripture in question is a book of poetry and songs, not a book of instructions or history. Galileo is just one of a handful of new age scientists famous for questioning the scientific authority of the church – a heated debate that raged for hundreds of years. On October 31st, 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, and officially conceded that the Earth was not stationary, as the result of a study conducted by the Pontifical Council for Culture 350 years later!

It is clear now, that the Earth is not the center of the universe or even our own solar system. What is also clear is that our world was not made in 7 days. Yes the idea of seven days could be construed as an analogy for a longer period of time. Yet, based on the chronology of Genesis, that would mean that the Dinosaurs did not exist millions of years ago? Clearly fossil records prove otherwise. As you add up all of the dates, and accepting that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth almost 2000 years ago, we come to the conclusion that the creation of the Earth and animals (including the dinosaurs) occurred only thousands of years ago (perhaps only 6000), not millions of years. Thus, if the Bible is right, dinosaurs must have lived within the past thousands of years with Humans? Clearly carbon dating, a proven science for determining the approximate age of a carbon based object like a fossil, proves otherwise. In fact, current science notes that the Earth is approximately 4 to 4.5 Billion years old. That is a huge spread as well and clearly science is still a young and expanding offering. Yet, it is amazing to me that we are still debating the Bible as if it were a piece of scientific literature that weighs in on the theories of Quantum Physics. Clearly, I am one of many to blame. We have come along way in understanding, but we have a long way to go.

What we do know is that the Universe is expanding. This has been proven by Red Shift and the Doppler Effect. Other Stars and Galaxies are moving outward from some undetermined center point. Also, we understand that the basic building blocks of life are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, even Methanimine among other simple atoms and molecules. These sub-micron particles are the building blocks of life and are the main composition of Stars and all that exists in the Universe in its most rudimentary form. In the right environment coupled with a form of energy (I.E. lightning) which is also found in the Cosmos, life in the simplest form can spring forth. We have already made basic amino acids in a laboratory setting using basic cosmic ingredients including Hydrogen and a little energy in the form of electricity or lightning. Though basic, we have already created life as it may have flourished billions of years ago on Earth. Evolution, though still a theory does give very good evidence that we have evolved for Billions of years into the humans we are today. And we are still evolving!

Sure science is not perfect. Science has a large learning curve and it is certainly not cut and dry. We are continually updating theories and debunking others with new understanding. There are plenty of missing links in the evolution pattern and in general our combined knowledge of the universe. In regard to knowledge and understanding, look how far we have come since Galileo. Imagine how far science will progress the next 400 years.

The Universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. What ever was or is the source of the Universe is the answer to God – something humans can barely grasp. It will be well beyond my life that science and or faith can prove without a doubt the working mechanics of the Universe. We may never fully comprehend the entire picture. The immensity of the Cosmos points to the possibility of other life out there – possibly more intelligent life that could in turn find us. Possibly educate us? In the Universe, whether designed or not, Earth is incredibly unique. Just looking up into the stars at night, makes one wonder and amazed and you cant help feeling special. I know I do….

Sources from: From Wikipedia

Plato

"Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another."

Plato 428-348 BC

Globular Clusters

Also on November 21, 2008 I enjoyed two wonderful Globular Clusters. In clear but windy conditions with the temperature balmy at 56 degrees, I viewed M2 near Aquaruis: a dusty dim sphere - though spectacular being that is was clear so many distant stars made up this object (approx. 100 stars viewable). At magnitude 7.5, the central cluster could not be resolved.

I also visited the Globular Cluster M15 in Pegasus. Also with a magnitude of 7.5, but I found this cluster much more visible. Though I still could not resolve the center of the object, there were many bright stars toward the radial edge that could be independently distinguished.

The Orion Nebula

On November 21st I enjoyed the The Orion Nebula. Known as M42 and M43, this was a spectacular Messier object - a massive nebulous dust cloud in the "sword" area near Orion's belt. There resides M42 the primary object and also M43 another nebula that is only separated by barely distinguishable dark lines or streaks. Both objects are 1000 light years away. Within M42 were four small stars - new stars I would imagine still possibly being formed. Using a 10mm eye piece, the combined nebula's filled the entire field of view. According to star maps and software like "Starry Nights", it appears there is a more distinguishable gap between objects. Due to the light pollution that night, I could barely make them out as different, independent objects. I look forward to viewing this again on a darker night.

The Moon

The Moon is of course Earths only satellite and it is surprising to know that the moon is the 5th largest satellite in the Solar System. The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The Moon's diameter is 3,474 km, a little more than a quarter that of the Earth. This image was taken using a 10mm eyepiece during the waxing crescent phase on the evening of November 3rd, 2008. In future notes, I will attempt to photograph and record more data pertaining to surface detail including craters and plains.

Galilean Satellites

Date: 11/03/08
Time: 5:45-6:30pm CST
Weather: Partly Cloudy with 5-10 mph winds - Temp: 56 (F)

Location: Port Barrington, IL

This was the placement of Jupiter's Galilean Moons on the evening of November 3rd, 2008. The four moons were discovered sometime between 1609 and 1610 by Galileo using a primitive telescope. The moons pictured above are as follows (as seen through the eyepiece left to right): Ganymede, Europa, then the planet Jupiter followed by Io and Callisto. This image was taken using a 10mm eyepiece. There was some manipulation of the image including stacking to bring out the brightness of the satellites. Though it is difficult, hopefully you can make out the moons in this image. They were visible on the source file but have become more elusive once imported into blog interface. In future notes, I will offer better images with less light pollution which may have been a contributing factor.

From multiple nightly observations, you can tell that not only does Jupiter rotate but the moons move very actively around the giant planet and can even cause eclipses and shadows on a regular basis. A great tool is http://www.shallowsky.com/jupiter.html which allows you to enter your viewing time into a basic interface and observe the moon placements at any given time. In all, Jupiter has 63 moons.

Some info provided by Wikipedia

Jupiter

Date: 11/03/08
Time: 5:45-6:30pm CST
Weather: Partly Cloudy with 5-10 mph winds - Temp: 56 (F)
Location: Port Barrington, IL

Just after dusk in the midwest, our 5th and largest planet in the solar system is visible in the southern sky during the Fall. Jupiter is one of the four gas giants which means it is not primarily composed of solid matter. As mentioned, it is the largest planet in the Solar System, having a diameter of 142,984 km. Jupiter's density, 1.326 g/cm³, is the second highest of the gas giant planets, but lower than any of the four inner planets. The average distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 778 million km (about 5.2 times the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, or 5.2 AU) and it completes an orbit every 11.86 years.

Jupiter's apparent magnitude is approximately -2.27 which means this celestial body is one of the brightest objects in the evening sky other than our moon. Its cloud bands or Latitudes are visible even when using a 40mm eyepiece. One can visually make out its creme and brown cloud patterns. I took the picture above using a Barlow 2x lense coupled with a 10mm eyepiece/digital camera (Starshoot SS Camera II 1.3mp). On this evening Jupiter's four Galilean moons were in view: Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Io (not pictured).

Some info provided by Wikipedia

M31 - Andromeda Galaxy

Date: 10/30/08
Time: 8:00pm-10:15pm CST
Weather: Clear with 15-20mph winds - Temp: 47 degrees (F)
Location: Port Barrington, IL

In the Constellation Andromeda, I enjoyed the vastness of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy), a spiral galaxy that looked like a glowing fuzzy oval sphere. I used a 5mm eyepiece and found that it was too much magnification and found better luck with a 10mm eyepiece. I was unable to find M110 or M32 and will attempt again on a darker night. M31 is an amazing 2.2 million light years away and is comprised of as many as 160 million stars.

I did find a fuzzy globular image within the viewfinder that was very close in relation to M31. My first conclusion was that it was M110 but it appeared too remote from M31. My next assumption was that it might be M33 yet it seemed closer than what is illustrated on my star maps. I will attempt another look to confirm or deny these notes.

I enjoyed the M103 Open Cluster in Cassiopeia about 8000 light years away and M15 (Pegasus Cluster), a Globular Cluster found between the constellations of Pegasus and Equuleus. I viewed M57, the Ringed Nebula found in Lyra near the Star of Vega. M57 is about 4100 light years away from Earth. I could just make out the inner dark center of the ring. All of these objects were viewed first using a 25mm eyepiece and then upgrading to a 10mm eyepiece. In many cases zooming in with the 5mm eyepiece was too much magnification and clearly brightness was lost when viewing the objects.

I got the full view of M45, the Pleiades Star Cluster using a 40mm eyepiece. I clearly made out 6 bright stars and two semi bright stars which were clearly the focal point of this impressive cluster. M45 is about 400 light years away.

Messier Objects

My goal is to photograph to the best of my ability with the equipment afforded to me, all solar system objects applicable. Also, my main goal over the next couple years is to catalog all Messier Objects.

The Messier objects are a set of astronomical objects first listed by French astronomer Charles Messier in his "Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles" ("Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters") included in the Connaissance des Temps for 1774 (published in 1771). The original motivation of the catalogue was that Messier was a comet hunter, and was frustrated by objects which resembled but were not comets. He therefore compiled a list of these objects in collaboration with his assistant Pierre Méchain. notes from Wikipedia.com

I will be cataloging and hand sketching all Messier objects as well as NGC and IC images, noting date, time, seeing conditions, telescope aperature, magnification and a short description including location.