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What’s Out Tonight? October 2014 Sky Chart OPTIMIZED FOR ! 2 HOURS 12 AFTER SUNSET Ins...

What’s Out Tonight? October 2014 Sky Chart OPTIMIZED FOR ! 2 HOURS 12 AFTER SUNSET Instructions N o r t h H o riz o n FREE Face North, South, East or Visit: WhatsOutTonight.com West, then rotate the chart so Copyright ©2014 by Ken Graun. All rights reserved. your direction is at the bottom. Free for individual or group use but absolutely not to be sold. Please Match the biggest stars on LYNX direct questions, suggestions AU RIG the chart to the bright- A Mera k or corrections to est stars in the sky. Cap ella [email protected] The center of the Dubhe pe r Dip ig chart is the top B of the sky. C P lus CAM ELOP R CI Al erseter AR JO TI ph i DALIS MA ENA NES a SA V CA Mi UR P rph E ar RS Ple ak MA S St rth CO NICE r EU za iad o ban Mi S Dippe Nr Polaris Thu E es ab Koch R Little Alg BE aid ol Alk C CA Do lus SS INOR IOP URSA M M3 ub ter EIA le 4 Alm CEPH E aak US AN T RI rus DR TES CO DRA Arctu A OM Ca N BOO ARIES p G UL h ED A Hamal UM Mira M3 ES We s t H o ri z o n ch E a st H o riz o n Top LIS 1 CUL A of the CORON BOREA LA Sky M13 ne HER CE Alpheratz Keysto RT Deneb CETUS A VIRGO Vega PISCES LYRA M57 Square Great eo SERPENS S CYGNU rn (CAPUT) Albir e A North UL Cross EC PEG LP ue er 65 Rasalhag VU A TTA ng SUS SAGI EC t ha ster LI M1 a u Co Cl PT Cir En 5 IC if DELPHINUS cle 46 HU S EQU t IC ULE Altair A IUC US LIBR AQ IL A OPH UA AQU RI DA S US AU EN urn ) Sat (C R P SE 1 M1 UM an la Den tos UT K ai SC Swebu eb bik Sa N th CAPRIC 30 ORNUS Mars res 2 M2 ta An on 4 Fo ki Nun M ma go la lha P La ebu AUS ISCIS SC ut N UL TRI p ot PT OR NU Tea M6 S IU S TAR S AGIT P IU S M7 aul a OR Sh SC MICROSCOPIU M ce ar ONA Ni cul ct COR INUS no e AUS TR Bi Obj GRU S r Sta will A RA ble that hen Planets INDUS u Do star two w gh a e u On come thro at 50x er ster The position of any visible, naked-eye ust be ewed ope x. Magn r Cl Clu ula i it ude s Sta bular y Neb v les 100 c S o u t h H o riz o n planet is indicated for the 15th of the Glo netar te to 0 1 Pla bula month with a size matching its magni- 2 3 4 Ne laxy Ga tude. If the planet moves significatnly during a month, other positions will October 2014 Planet Notes be noted with dates. The ECLIPTIC Venus is positioned very close to the Sun and is not visible. Mars, at Distances planets are from the Earth this month: is the path of the Sun through the magnitude +0.8, between Sagittarius and Scorpius, sets in the west Venus: 159,900,000 miles, Mars: 149,600,000 miles sky but the planets and Moon move about 3 hours after the Sun. Jupiter, at magnitude –2.0, between Can- Jupiter: 525,200,000 miles, Saturn: 1,003,500,000 miles along it, too. It passes through cer & Leo, rises in the east about 2 AM. Saturn, at magnitude +0.6, in the constellations of the zodiac. the constellation Libra, sets in the west about 90 minutes after the Sun.  October Notes Brightest Stars The bright stars Deneb, Vega and Altair form the Summer Altair. In LYRA. Magnitude +0.9. Distance: 19 ly. Triangle. CYGNUS is usually refered to as the Northern Cross Diameter: 1.9 times the Sun’s. because of its shape. Albireo, the bottom star in the cross is a Capella. Rising in AURIGA. Magnitude +0.1. Distance: 42 ly. beautiful blue/gold double star but you need a telescope to see it. Diameter: 15 times the Sun’s. If you are under a dark sky, you will easily see a dark lane in the Deneb. In CYGNUS. Magnitude 1.3. Distance: 3200 ly. Milky Way Band passing through the Northern Cross that is known Diameter: 222 times the Sun’s. as the Great Rift. If you have binoculars, observe some of the Mirach. In ANDROMEDA. Magnitude 2.1. Distance: 199 ly. Diameter: 89 times the Sun’s. binocular objects indicated below and/or use it to explore the Mirfak. In PERSEUS. Magnitude 1.8. Distance: 592 ly. Milky Way Band and its many clumps of stars. Diameter: 64 times the Sun’s. Polaris. In URSA MINOR. Magnitude 2. Distance: 431 ly. Clusters, Nebulae & Galaxies 2,400 times brighter than the Sun. ly = Light year, a unit of distance. 1 ly = 6 trillion miles. Vega. In LYRA. Magnitude +0.02. Distance: 25 ly. Alpha Persei Cluster. Distance: 600 ly / Diameter: 31 ly / Diameter: 2.4 times the Sun’s. Mag 1.2 / Spans 3° / 30 stars. Andromeda Galaxy. Companion to our Milky Way Galaxy. Mythology Distance: 2,400,000 ly / Diameter: 120,000 ly / Mag 3.5 / FOR THE CENTRAL CONSTELLATIONS, NORTH TO SOUTH Spans 3° x 1°. Arcas and his beautiful mother, Callisto were turned into the Coathanger Cluster. 10 stars shaped like a bar-type Little and Big Bears, URSA MINOR and MAJOR because of jeal- coathanger. It spans 2° and it stars are 150 ly away. ous Juno, wife of promiscuous Jupiter, who favored Callisto. Dur- Double Cluster. Two side-by-side clusters. Distances: 7,200 ly / Diameters: 63 ly / Mag 3.5 / Span 1° / 320 stars total. Best in ing an early war between the Titans and Olympians, DRACO, the a telescope. Dragon was flung to the North and frozen in place by the cold. IC4665. Cluster. A large sprinkle of stars. Distance: 1,400 ly / King CEPHEUS and Queen CASSIOPEIA ruled Ethiopia. Their Diameter: 17 ly / Mag 4.2 / Spans 40' / 30 stars. daughter ANDROMEDA is being rescued by PERSEUS from the M15. Globular Cluster. Distance: 34,000 ly / Diameter: 122 ly / Sea Monster, CETUS. Andromeda was to be sacrificed to Cetus Mag 6.2 / Spans 13'. because Cassiopeia boasted of her and her daughter’s beauty. M11. Wild Duck Cluster. Distance: 5,600 ly / Diameter: 23 ly / CAPRICORNUS is a “Seagoat,” the partially transformed, half- Mag 5.8 / Spans 14' / 200 stars. goat, half-fish body of the god Pan who got scared and hurriedly M13. Favorite Globular Cluster. Distance: 21,000 ly / Diameter: escaped the monster Typhoon in order to warn Jupiter. The word 104 ly / Mag 5.8 / Spans 17'. panic is derived from Pan. AQUARIUS is the Water and Cup M34. Large Cluster. Distance: 1,400 ly / Diameter: 14 ly / Mag 5.2 Bearer, a servant of the gods. PEGASUS, the Winged Horse is the / Spans 35' / 60 stars. Try with binoculars, too. deliverer of Jupiter’s thunderbolts. CYGNUS, the Swan helped He- M57. Ring Nebula. Planetary Nebula that looks like a smoke ring. Smaller than what you might think. Estimated to be 1 ly in lios find the pieces of his son, having fallen from the chariot that diameter and 2,000 ly away. Mag 9 / Spans 76" or 1.3'. pulls the Sun across the sky. AQUILA is Jupiter’s Eagle that car- ries out tasks. LYRA, the Lyre was invented by Mercury and mas- Observing Tips tered by Apollo’s son, Orpheus whose music had magical powers. If possible, observe at a dark location and when the Moon is not bright. A bright Moon will make it more difficult to see the Celestial Tidbits stars and impossible to see clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Only Polaris, the North Star is the 50th brightest star in the sky. a small telescope at lower magnifications, around 50x, is required Stars twinkle because of turbulence in the atmosphere and twin- to see the objects listed above. The planets and Moon are best ob- kle most when low in the sky. The five planets visible to the naked served with a telescope around 100x. To get a feel for the size of eye do not normally twinkle but shine bright and steady. Each objects, the Moon extends 30' (30 arc minutes). The binocular constellations has a boundry. CRUX, visible from the southern objects are best with binoculars because these objects are large hemisphere has the least area and HYDRA, the most. A falling or in size—telescopes have too much magnification. shooting star is not a star but a meteor, usually a “rock” that is the size of a grain of sand burning up in our atmosphere. Meteor Showers Guide to the Stars DRACONIDS. Peaks around October 8 with 5 meteors/hour. 11-inch diameter, ISBN 1-928771-03-3 16-inch diameter, ISBN 1-928771-01-7 ORIONIDS. Peaks around October 21 with 20 meteors/hour. Equatorial, ISBN 1-928771-77-7 Southern Hemisphere, ISBN 1-928771-11-4 Kid’s, ISBN 1-928771-22-X kenpress.com Moon Phases First Quarter. Wed, October 1, 12:33 pm, CT What’s Out Tonight? Full Moon. Wed, October 8, 3:50 am, CT October 2014 Sky Chart Third or Last Quarter. Wed, October 15, 12:13 pm, CT Visit: WhatsOutTonight.com New Moon. Thurs, October 23, 2:56 pm, CT Copyright ©2014 by Ken Graun. All rights reserved. First Quarter. Thurs, October 30, 7:48 pm, CT Email: [email protected] Phone: (520) 743-3200  What’s Out Tonight? Sky Chart Supplement Clusters, Nebulae & Galaxies Planets An Open Cluster is a group of several to hundreds of stars The planets are best observed with a telescope using magnifi- that were born out of the same nebula cloud. A group often forms cations from 50x to 200x. The five naked-eye planets are Mer- a pretty pattern. The Pleiades and Praesepe are great examples. cury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Venus is extremely bright Open clusters reside in our Milky Way Galaxy. Our Sun is no and hugs close to the Sun, so you see it for a short time in the longer in its group. west after sunset or in the east before sunrise. Jupiter can be out Globular Clusters look like fuzzy balls because they contain all night and always outshines any star. Everyone enjoys its 4 tens of thousands stars held together by their mutual gravity. All Galilean moons and cloud bands, easily visible at 50x. It is pos- of the globulars that can be seen in the sky are part of our Milky sible to see the moons with well-focused binoculars. Saturn is Way Galaxy, and there are about 200 of them that surround our everyone’s favorite because of its beautiful rings. Mars gets close galaxy like a halo. M22 in SAGITTARIUS is a northern favorite. to Earth about every 2 years at which time it is very bright. This A Planetary Nebula is an old term that has nothing to do is the best time to observe it but you need higher magnifi- At with the planets. Instead, it is a round or symmetrical neb- arm’s cations around 150x to see the surface coloration. ula that is the shed atmosphere of a dying star. At its center length... Distance is a white dwarf star. When our Sun dies, it will create a plan- Diameter Rotation Revolution In Miles Its Day from Sun Its Year etary nebula. These objects have diameters of a few light In Miles years and are located in our galaxy. The Ring Nebula, M57, in SUN 865,000 30 days — — LYRA is a favorite. One thumb width is 4 Moon MERCURY 3,032 59 days 36,000,000 88 days A Nebula is a giant hydrogen gas cloud that is located in diameters. VENUS 7,521 243 days 67,000,000 225 days EARTH 7,926 24 hours 93,000,000 365 days our galaxy. Within these clouds, concentrations of gas can MARS 4,228 24.6 hours 142,000,000 687 days occur and gravitationally condense to form stars and ac- JUPITER 88,844 9.8 hours 484,000,000 11.8 years companying planets. A set of stars created by a nebula is Orion’s height is SATURN 74,900 10.2 hours 887,000,000 29 years known as an Open Cluster. The Orion Nebula, M42 is a fa- one hand span. URANUS 31,764 17.9 hours 1,800,000,000 84 years vorite. NEPTUNE 30,777 19.2 hours 2,800,000,000 164 years PLUTO 1,433 6.4 days 3,700,000,000 248 years Galaxies contain billions of stars. All galaxies are beyond our Milky Way Galaxy, where our Sun resides. When you are The width of a fist spans the observing a galaxy, you are looking through our galaxy into Bigbowl. Dipper’s Light Year (ly) & Nearest Stars the true depths of the universe. The Andromeda Galaxy, M31 A Light Year (ly) is a unit of length and is equal to the dis- can be seen with the naked eye. tance light travels in one year. Since light moves at the speed of Our 186,282 miles a second, one light year is nearly 6 trillion miles Double Stars Moon long. The closest nighttime star visible to the naked eye is A Double Star is a star that looks like one star but Alpha (a) Centauri in the constellation CENTARUS. when magnified sufficiently (from 6x to 200x), it Plato SINUS IRIDUM Alpha Centauri shines brightly at magnitude –0.01 separates into two or more stars. Some are very OCEAN and is just 4.4 light years away. The very closest star MARE pretty because of contrasting colors. Castor in SERENITY PROCELLARUM is Proxima in CENTARUS at just 4.22 ly away. It is MARE CRISIUM GEMINI is a favorite and Albireo in CYGNUS is MARE TRANQUILITY Kepler Copernicus too faint to see with the eyes because it shines at well liked for its blue & gold colors. Ptolemaeus Alphonsus Straight magnitude +11. The second closest star visible to Wall the naked eye is Sirius at 8.6 ly followed by Epsilon Moon Tycho (e) Eridani at 10.5 ly and Procyon at 11.4 ly. There Starting from New Moon, the Moon cycles through are several stars closer than these three but they are phases every 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3 seconds. too faint to be seen with the naked eye. It is 2,160 miles in diameter and averages 239,000 miles from Earth. A New Moon is not visible in the sky because the Moon is po- Guide to the Stars sitioned very close to the Sun. Solar eclipses occur at New Moon. 11-inch diameter, ISBN 1-928771-03-3 16-inch diameter, ISBN 1-928771-01-7 The best time to observe the Moon is during a phase because the Equatorial, ISBN 1-928771-77-7 Southern Hemisphere, ISBN 1-928771-11-4 craters appear their sharpest near the terminator, the line that sep- Kid’s, ISBN 1-928771-22-X kenpress.com arates the lighted side (day side) from the dark side (night side). Cycle of Moon Phases What’s Out Tonight? From To Sky Charts NEW NEW MOON MOON Visit: WhatsOutTonight.com WAXING FIRST WAXING FUL L WANING LAST WANING Copyright ©2014 by Ken Graun. All rights reserved. CRESCENT QUARTER GIBBOUS MOON GIBBOUS QUARTER CRESCENT Email: [email protected] Phone: (520) 743-3200