September 2011
Observations Report -
August to September 2011
Meteor Showers – The end of July saw three low level meteor showers over three nights.
I’d be interested to hear if anyone noticed greater meteor activity. I had the telescope out observing Saturn on the 29th and saw a number of meteors originating low in the east. All were quite bright, very fast, and short of trail.
Planets - Great news! In September we have both Jupiter and Saturn available for planetary viewing. Here’s the trick, though. Looking at our almanacs for September 3rd we see that twilight finishes at 7 pm, and Saturn is setting by 8:20 pm. Make the most of these few weeks. Saturn will not be available to us after September as it disappears from view until the end of the October when it becomes a dawn object. Surface detail will be scant as it will be seen through extra atmosphere, its moons and the rings will be your prime targets.
My grandson Indy was sure he saw a dark band across the planet last night so the ring shadow is still visible. After Saturn sets we can turn our telescopes to the eastern horizon to await the rising of Jupiter around 9:20 pm. It’s not easy to observe an object low on the horizon but winter or spring weather means turbulence is limited so it’s worth a try. If you are viewing up to midnight you will get excellent views of this giant planet. Jupiter will remain our prime planetary target until the end of the year.
Deep Sky –This month I want readers to try a little “Northern Exposure”. While there are many spectacular targets in the northern reaches of the Milky Way there are two particular targets I have in mind. Nearly due north of Sagittarius, due north of us at 8PM, look for the distinct trapezoid shape of Lyra, the Lyre. It is marked by the 5th brightest star in the sky, Vega, at about 40° N or one wide hand span up from the horizon. Vega, together with Altair in Aquila and Deneb in Cygnus make up the Summer Triangle (named for the northern summer). The most beautiful planetary nebula, the Ring Nebula – M57, lies between β and γ on the south or upper end of the trapezoid. I can see this hazy smoke ring easily in a 100mm scope. The second object to look for in Lyra is the “Double Double”, epsilon Lyrae.
Consult the adjacent star atlas map to see which star is epsilon, very close to Vega.
The star is naked eye visible, while the double is visible in binoculars.
Sagittarius is right over our heads with Scorpius at 8 pm this month so start looking for Lyra low in the north east before that.
You will need a low northern horizon for these constellations.
Remember our latitude is about 34° S so our corresponding northern latitude is 56° N.
At around 40°N these objects won’t be that far above the horizon.
I can see both from Kangaroo Valley so give them a try.
A Moonless night is helpful to see the Ring.
Next up for mention is the spectacular Andromeda Nebula, M31.
It will be more readily visible toward the end of the month and in October.
This is a must see, one of only three galaxies outside the Milky Way that are visible to the naked eye, the other two being the Magellanic Clouds.
Andromeda is pretty much north of Jupiter so is observable in the hours after 11pm.
Keep it in mind as it rises earlier in the next few months. Andromeda is also at 40° N so just sweep your scope to the east, this spectacular galaxy is best observed in your FINDERSCOPE!
Unless you have a Rich Field Scope use binoculars. A Rich Field telescope is a low power telescope with large field of view, for example a 100mm RFT will have a FOV of 6°. The galaxy is mag 3.4 so can sometimes be spotted with the naked eye but it is very large and difficult to fit in any eyepiece field of view.
You may need a scope to pick up the companion galaxy M32.
Clear Skies.