Astronomy - truePDF December.2016

EXPLORE the impact that killed the dinosaurs p.
26
DECEMBER 2016
The world’s best-selling astronomy magazine
Understanding
cannibal star
systems p. 20
How moon dust
will put a ring
around Mars
p. 46
Discover
colorful
star clusters p. 32
www.Astronomy.com
AND MORE BONUS
Vol. 44 • Issue 12
Astronomy on Tap becomes a hit p. 58 ONLINE

Meet the master of stellar vistas p. 52 CONTENT
iOptron’s new mount tested p. 62 CODE p. 3
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U/6ÇÈ®Êº½ÛiÊÜ>Ìi`Ê>Ê/6ÊÃV«iÊvÀÊ{äÊÞi>ÀÃ°Ê>ÞtÊ`]Ê½ÊÛiÀÜii`tÊLove, Love, Love Ìtt»p°°]"
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Online Content Code: ASY1612
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DECEMBER 2016
VOL. 44, NO. 12
NASA, ESA, SAO, CXC, JPL-CALTECH, AND STScI

ON THE COVER
The Antennae galaxies in Corvus,
NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, provide
a spectacular example of a galaxy
merger.
CONTENTS 26
COLUMNS
Strange Universe 10
BOB BERMAN
For Your Consideration 14
FEATURES JEFF HESTER
Secret Sky 18
20 COVER STORY 36 52 STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA
When galaxies Sky This Month Meet the master
become cannibals Inner planet convention. MARTIN of stellar vistas Observing Basics 65
GLENN CHAPLE
Some galaxies harbor a sinister RATCLIFFE AND ALISTER LING How I took the astroimaging
secret: They’ve eaten their siblings. road less traveled. TEXT AND Astro Sketching 66
MICHAEL WEST 38 IMAGES BY ROGELIO BERNAL ERIKA RIX
StarDome and ANDREO
Binocular Universe 68
26 Path of the Planets PHIL HARRINGTON
Explore the impact that RICHARD TALCOTT; 58
killed the dinosaurs ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROEN KELLY I’ll have a Cosmo QUANTUM GRAVITY
As scientists drill into Mexico’s By combining science with a few
Chicxulub crater, they expose 44 stellar brews, Astronomy on Tap Snapshot 7
geologic clues about the massive Ask Astro has become a hit. LIZ KRUESI Astro News 8
impact that transformed Earth. Black and blue Moon.
MAX ALEXANDER 62 IN EVERY ISSUE
46 Putting iOptron’s From the Editor 6
32 How moon dust will put new mount to the test
How to observe a ring around Mars Easy setup, whisper-quiet Letters 10, 14, 65
colorful open clusters Phobos, a moon of Mars, operation, and superb accuracy New Products 64
You think star clusters are boring? is destined to be shredded, make this mount a winner. Advertiser Index 73
Wait until you see these colorful changing the Red Planet forever. PHIL HARRINGTON
gems — they’ll knock your socks JOEL DAVIS Reader Gallery 70
off. PHIL HARRINGTON Breakthrough 74
ONLINE Astronomy (ISSN 0091-6358, USPS 531-350) is

published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing
Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P. O. Box 1612,
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Go to www.Astronomy.com Sky This My Science News Trips & Tours
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We pick out the The perfect gifts from the science with the staff of
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FROM THE EDITOR
BY DAV I D J. E I C H E R
Editor David J. Eicher
Art Director LuAnn Williams Belter
EDITORIAL
One frame in the Managing Editor Kathi Kube

Senior Editors Michael E. Bakich, Richard Talcott
Associate Editor John Wenz
Copy Editors Dave Lee, Elisa R. Neckar
Editorial Assistant Nicole Kiefert
cosmic movie ART

Graphic Designer Kelly Katlaps
Illustrator Roen Kelly
Production Coordinator Jodi Jeranek
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Bob Berman, Adam Block, Glenn F. Chaple, Jr., Martin George,
A
lthough none of us of infant suns, huge globular were small blobs that lack Tony Hallas, Phil Harrington, Korey Haynes, Jeff Hester,
Liz Kruesi, Ray Jayawardhana, Alister Ling, Steve Nadis,
knew what a galaxy clusters that contain some of the order and size of more Stephen James O’Meara, Tom Polakis, Martin Ratcliffe, Mike D.
was until 1923, when the oldest stars known, and recent galaxies in the nearby Reynolds, Sheldon Reynolds, Erika Rix, Raymond Shubinski
Edwin Hubble came gas clouds. universe. Clearly galaxies EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Buzz Aldrin, Marcia Bartusiak, Timothy Ferris, Alex Filippenko,
along, we now know Galaxies also give us a way have assembled into larger Adam Frank, John S. Gallagher lll, Daniel W. E. Green, William K.
Hartmann, Paul Hodge, Anne L. Kinney, Edward Kolb,
the universe is filled with to frame cosmological ideas. structures over time, drawn Stephen P. Maran, Brian May, S. Alan Stern, James Trefil
them. Estimates from the If cosmic inflation is true — together by gravity, and
Hubble Space Telescope and the idea that the universe those encounters and merg- Kalmbach Publishing Co.
other survey data suggest hyperinflated in the first ers have produced some President Charles R. Croft
Vice President, Content Stephen C. George
the cosmos contains at least fraction of a second of its spectacular cataclysms. Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Daniel R. Lance
100 billion galaxies, each a existence — the prospects get As West writes, within Vice President, Consumer Marketing Nicole McGuire
Corporate Art Director Maureen M. Schimmel
magnificent system of stars, even stranger. This would the past generation, astrono- Art and Production Manager Michael Soliday
Corporate Advertising Director Ann E. Smith
gas, and dust. mean the universe we see is mers have come to realize Single Copy Specialist Kim Redmond
Some galaxies are large, not the entire universe, and that one of the primary ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
like the mammoth elliptical in fact the universe could be activities of galaxies is eating (888) 558-1544
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systems that lie at the hearts infinite. But for simplicity’s each other. This is especially Advertising Sales Representative
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For the past hundred Sagittarius. Astronomers do West’s story reminds us
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building blocks of the cos- Lowell Observatory astrono- many of the earlier parts of 3209 RT. Not responsible for unsolicited materials.
mos, if you will: Relatively mer Michael West describes this great movie were amaz-
little matter exists outside the violent histories of many ingly violent, the scars from
them, and they contain the galaxies that show evidence which scientists are just now
really interesting stuff we of past chaos. Looking far detecting.
love to look at. Aside from back in the universe’s his-
stars and planets, this tory, as with the Hubble Yours truly, Follow Astronomy
includes star clusters repre- Ultra Deep Field, it’s evident
senting the hot birthplaces that very young galaxies
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Editor
6 A ST R O N O M Y • DECEMBER 2016
QUANTUM
QG
HOT BYTES >>
TRENDING
TO THE TOP
SPITZER BEYOND
NASA celebrated
the Spitzer Space
GRAVITY
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THIS MONTH . . .
Telescope’s 13th birth-

day on August 25, and
granted it a two-and-a-
GASSY STARS
The ALMA radio obser-
vatory reveals that some
large stars keep large
amounts of carbon
monoxide gas in their
GROOVY PHOBOS
Odd grooves on Mars’
moon Phobos were
caused by debris knocked
loose from impacts that
then fell back to the
half-year extension. debris disks. moon’s surface.
SNAPSHOT
Why do spiral
galaxies spiral?
Some 30 percent of galaxies in the
cosmos are spirals. What makes their
DAN SMITH/ADAM BLOCK/NOAO/AURA/NSF; TOP: NASA/JPL-CALTECH, NRAO/AUI/NSF/D. BERRY/SKYWORKS, ESA/DLR/FU BERLIN (G. NEUKUM)
beautiful arms go?
Today we’re going to a time and place no one

has yet witnessed. Early in the history of the
universe, astronomers believe, gravitational
instabilities between bright and dark matter
formed galaxies. Spiral galaxies were born
with a high angular momentum; the
material that came together to make them
was spinning at high velocities, which
initiated the galaxy’s rotation, helping to
lead to the winding arms.
But that’s only part of the story.
Many astronomers talk about two major
types of spirals. Grand design spiral galaxies
have prominent arms, and so-called
flocculent spirals have weakly defined arms.
Scientists invoke two major ideas to help
explain spiral arms: density wave theory and
stochastic star formation.
Density wave theory, which explains
grand design spirals neatly, suggests the
galaxy’s spiral arms lie over dense regions of
the disk that move at different speeds than
the galaxy’s stars. Stars move in and out of
the arms over time, and the difference in
gravitational attraction of stars and gas A face-on spiral galaxy like NGC 3184, which lies 40 million light-years away in Ursa Major, reveals the spiral twists of a
clouds sets up a pattern that persists for very galaxy in near-eternal rotation.
long periods.
Stochastic star formation, which that appears spiral in shape. On top of this, maintaining the spiral pattern.
addresses flocculent galaxies, proposes that “stochastic” refers to random star formation Computer modeling suggests these ideas
surges of star formation occur in a also occurring, driven by supernovae and are solid, but astronomers have much to do
self-propagating way that leads to a pattern furious stellar winds, which leads to yet to confirm them. — David J. Eicher
ASTRONEWS TEST CASE. A researcher used sound and ultra-cold atoms to create an artificial black hole to confirm Hawking radiation,
providing a strong argument that Stephen Hawking’s idea of black holes emitting radiation is true.
IO’S ATMOSPHERE
PERIODICALLY COLLAPSES
Jupiter’s moon Io is known for its surface when shaded by Jupiter.
volcanoes, but a new discovery When temperatures on the
suggests an even more complex moon drop below –235° F dur-
world than once known. In ing its “nighttime,” Io’s atmo-
research published August 3 in sphere appears to deflate.
the Journal of Geophysical These periods occur fairly fre-
Research: Planets, a group of sci- quently; two hours of every Io
entists discovered that Io has an orbit (once every 1.7 Earth days),
atmosphere, but only when it’s in the jovian moon is eclipsed.
A NEW EXPANSION. This artist’s conception of Io and Jupiter shows the thin
sunlight. During this time, most of the atmosphere of the moon as it hazes above the planet. Once out of sunlight,
Using the Gemini North sulfur dioxide gas in the atmo- the atmosphere collapses to the surface. SWRI/ANDREW BLANCHARD
Telescope’s Texas Echelon Cross sphere settles to the moon’s sur-
Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES), face as frost. Once the moon in and out of Jupiter’s shadow for This breakthrough was pos-
a group of scientists at the warms from sunlight, the atmo- about 40 minutes before and sible thanks to the specific capa-
Southwest Research Institute sphere redevelops. after each eclipse. bilities of the TEXES instrument,
documented unique atmo- The observations were made This is the first time astrono- which measures the heat radia-
spheric changes on Io. They over a two-night stretch in mers have been able to directly tion emanating from the atmo-
found that Io’s thin atmosphere, November 2013 when Io was observe Io’s atmosphere in sphere, allowing Gemini to pick
which is mostly sulfur dioxide more than 420 million miles eclipse, as it is very difficult to up the faint heat signatures
gas vented from volcanoes, col- (675 million kilometers) from detect the atmosphere in the of Io’s collapsing atmosphere.
lapses and freezes onto the Earth. Io was observed moving darkness of Jupiter’s shadow. — Jordan Rice
SIZING UP THE MOONS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM BRIEFCASE

Gany SIZING UP. Just how big are the moons of our solar
med system? The Moon’s diameter may be 2,159 miles LOOKING LOW FOR ALIENS
e: 3 (3,475 kilometers), but how does it compare to The Murchison Widefield Array, a new telescope
,27
3m the rest of the solar system? To give you a in Western Australia, has the first low-frequency
i (5 good idea, here are the largest moons of capabilities for the Search for Extraterrestrial
,26
Me 8k each planet, along with an indication Intelligence (SETI), searching in the 103 and 133 mega-
rcu m of how they compare to Mercury hertz band, which places it from the higher end of
ry )
:3 and Pluto. Looking up at the FM radio up to aeronautical bands. This range makes it
,0 easy to rule out terrestrial interference while providing
32 Moon at night, you could get
a sense of what the other opportunities to listen for SETI signals while gathering
Ti ,88
m
ta
moons might look like at other astronomical data.

i(
•
n: 0km
4
Mo the same distance. Of

3,2
on
:2 course, most of them YOUNG STARS STILL FORM LIKE THE SUN
01
,1 would melt if they Even though blue giant stars tend to burn out after only
mi
59
)
orbited Earth, but a few hundred million years, they still form much like
(5,
m
Tri that’s neither the Sun. In research published August 22 in the

15
i(
Plu to
3,
n:
2km
to: here nor there. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
47
1,4 1, ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY researchers found a Keplerian disk (hot gases in orbit
5k
75
68
AND JOHN WENZ

m)
around a protostar that helps it accrete) spinning close

0 m 374k
Titan
m
ia: to a pair of blue giant stars. By witnessing the object

i (2
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98 around an infant high-mass star, researchers discovered

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1
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that, despite their mass differences, large and small

m
0km
stars form in similar fashions.

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Even though FAST

,57
Ganymede and STERILE NEUTRINO SEARCH

FACT
8km
Phobos COMES BACK LIFELESS

13.7 mi (22.2km) Titan are bigger
)
than Mercury, The IceCube observatory in Antarctica, run by the

the latter is more University of Wisconsin–Madison, failed to find any
massive than both trace of sterile neutrinos. Neutrinos are small particles
moons combined. that interact weakly only with other matter, while ster-
ile neutrinos take that one step further: They interact
only with gravity itself. At least, they would if they
existed. Evidence published August 8 in Physical
Review Letters suggests that sterile neutrinos don’t
exist at all — at least with 99 percent certainty. Had the
sterile neutrino been discovered, it could have hinted at
the nature of dark matter. Instead, we’re still stuck with
the Standard Model — for now. — John Wenz
ASTRONEWS MARS TOOL. Scientists developed a new, more accurate way to interpret Raman spectroscopy, a way of
identifying atoms and molecules by their vibrations. The Mars 2020 rover will carry such a spectroscope.
QUICK TAKES
Much media ado about a SETI nothing MARS STREAKS
The merest hint of anything involving Data from Mars Odyssey reveal
aliens excites the public imagina- that if water exists at dark
tion. So when news hit in August of a features called recurring slope
potential alien signal, it hit hard. lineae, there is so little that it is
Of course, that could be because akin to Earth’s driest deserts.
the story is tantalizing. In 2013, a
strong signal in the 11-gigahertz CHARGED
•
band was detected by the RATAN-600
BLACK HOLES
radio telescope in Russia. The signal, New research suggests that if
which seemed to come from star electrically charged black holes
HD 164595, was at an unusually high merge, they might produce
frequency and strength. Researchers signals like mysterious gamma-
with the Search for Extraterrestrial ray bursts or fast radio bursts.
Intelligence (SETI) flagged it for
follow-up. •
HUBBLE TWEETS
“All we know about the HD 164595 In August, @Hubble_live began
signal is the power and fit to the tweeting the space telescope’s
beam profile,” Eric Korpela, a SETI@ observations both big and small,
Home project scientist, said in an HELLO? ARE YOU THERE? This photo shows the RATAN-600 radio telescope in from taking calibration data to
email. “If we only look at those two Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia. SETI researchers using the telescope recently detected showing small maps of its
quantities, we have 450,000 events in a promising signal that turned out to be nothing out of the ordinary, but not before the current targets.
the last 17 years of similar quality.
That’s about 72 per day.”
media had a heyday with it. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
•
NO LIFE HERE
The RATAN-600 astronomers lis- scientific vocabulary is different from “It was reported by the media as ‘a Exoplanet GJ 1132b might have
tened for repeating signals, and 38 the public vocabulary. Detection, to baffling alien signal’ even though it oxygen in its atmosphere, but
subsequent follow-ups found noth- me, means something was detected. was nothing,” Korpela says, adding that the intense heat it has suffered
ing, nor did SETI Institute and To the public, it may translate as, ‘We follow-ups failed to find any signals. over eons close to its star has
Breakthrough Listen Initiative follow- found aliens.’ ” If the time comes when there is a heated it to inhospitable levels.
ups. “We didn’t find anything,” says
Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at
But the signal could be just about
anything. Both Shostak and Korpela
promising signal, Shostak says the SETI
Institute would try everything to rule
•
PLEIADES DANCERS
the SETI Institute. “Nor did they.” mention a microlensing event — out other possibilities, including pivot- The Kepler spacecraft turned
That leaves a single detection, when a stellar object bends light (and ing the telescope to see if the signal its gaze to the Pleiades star
which doesn’t meet the criterion for a hence radio waves) from a more dis- moves along with it (which would sug- cluster to learn why its stars
full-on signal. But it seems the excite- tant object and amplifies it — as a gest something either terrestrial or spin at different rates.
ment was much higher in the public possibility. It could also be any num- otherwise natural). From there, scien- Astronomers learned that
eye rather than the SETI community. ber of astronomical objects. Or just tists might get cautiously excited and massive stars rotate slower
How did this get out of hand? something on Earth, as Ars Technica reach out to another observatory. than smaller stars.
“The initial reports came from a
trusted source, and contained words
reported.
This is just the latest in a series of
“You’d get everyone in the world
to aim their instrument, no matter NARROWER HOLE
•
like detection and signal. That’s bound cautionary tales that stretch through what instrument they have, at the A suggested but unlikely
to garner attention,” Korpela says. the entire history of SETI, something direction that the signal’s coming solution for dark matter is
“There’s always the problem that Korpela is familiar with. from,” he says. — J. W. many small black holes; a new
study further narrows the
circumstances under which
they could exist.
Titan’s •
COMET LANDSLIDE
grand The Rosetta spacecraft spied

an outburst on Comet 67P
when water ice transformed
canyons into water vapor, kicking up

dust along the way.
Scientists think a landslide
DEEP AND DARK. By bounc- exposed the ice.
ing radar signals to the bottom
of deep and narrow features
around Vid Flumina, seen here, QUARK MATTER
•
the Cassini spacecraft has Physicists suggest that future
delivered evidence that Saturn’s gravitational wave observa-
moon Titan sports canyons tions could reveal whether
some 1,000 feet (300 meters) neutron stars contain only
deep, but less than half a mile neutrons, or densely packed
(1 kilometer) wide. Scientists had quarks instead.
suspected the canyons existed,
as the branching network visible EARLY WORMS
•
in images resembles Earth’s river Astronomers suggest that
gorge systems. But the radar data because small stars live so
NASA/JPL-CALTECH/ASI
provided the proof researchers long, life in the universe may

needed to understand the depth be 1,000 times more likely in
of the features, and to know for the distant future, implying
sure that methane rivers run humans arrived early in the
through them. — Korey Haynes universal timeline. — K. H.
STRANGEUNIVERSE
BY BOB BERMAN
FROM OUR INBOX
Observing sunspots, now and later
I’m a solar observer from the Midwest who recently read with
Just an You might see

double in Epsilon
Lyrae — if your
interest Steve O’Meara’s column in the September issue, regarding
naked-eye sunspot observing. It was very well done, like all his
columns I’ve read!
arcsecond! eyes are good

enough.
Anyway, O’Meara’s piece made me think of the brief section I
wrote for my book, Observing the Sun: A Pocket Field Guide
(Springer, 2013), about this same topic. I’ve always found it fun to try
to sight any large umbra that develop but never thought to find a
H
ow well we see binary’s members are separated minimal size for my eyes. I just appreciate the novelty of catching a
is central to our by 3.5', more than triple the glimpse. I reference Dawes’ Limit as a factor in determining sunspot
observations. And 20/20 resolution requirement. visibility. In retrospect, that might be in error. The other issues
sometimes, normal Yet less than 10 percent of adults mentioned may be of greater importance.
(20/20) vision isn’t split it. Indeed, astronomy To answer O’Meara’s question about angular extent, I wish I
quite enough. If we can read handbooks always say it’s resolv- knew, but the spots always have had to be unusually large for me!
the eighth line of the Snellen able “only by keen eyesight.” Not Since you have brought up this question I’ll be certain to note
eye chart, the examiner will say normal vision, but keen. dimensions in the future, but as we are slipping into a solar
that our eyesight is fine. Why is it so oddly tough? minimum it may be several years before I can start.
At 20 feet, each of those little Probably because 20/20 is mea- Thanks for the article.
letters appears to be 1/6th the sured in bright light, whereas — Jamey Jenkins, Homer, Illinois
width of the Moon. In both observing a 3rd-magnitude star
breadth and height, they displace uses our far-inferior scotopic, We welcome your comments at Astronomy Letters, P. O. Box 1612,
an angle of 5'. But distinguishing or rod-based, faint-light vision. Waukesha, WI 53187; or email to letters@astronomy.com. Please
between the letters C, G, and O, Still, I remember observing include your name, city, state, and country. Letters may be edited for
or between E and F, demands we Epsilon at age 17 and wonder- space and clarity.
resolve gaps and lines within ing why it was called a test. I
each letter. This requires that vividly recall that its gap looked
our eyes see features just one- so wide, it seemed like you bringing it to the threshold of Uranus is 4", Neptune is 2", and
fifth that large, or 1'. Thus, 20/20 could drive a truck through it. resolution. For example, the Pluto is just 0.1". Magnifying
vision is defined as having one I was far from exceptional. Cassini Division in Saturn’s Pluto enough to be an arc-
arcminute of resolution. Most eye doctors stop testing if brilliant rings will be 0.5" wide minute requires 600x. Because
A single arcminute is 1/30th the patient can read the eighth next month. It might seem that such extreme power accentu-
the width of the Moon. This Snellen line. The few who con- 120x power must be needed to ates air turbulence, the task is
distance is quite tiny, since the tinue find that many young peo- enlarge it to the required 1'. But probably hopeless.
Moon is smaller than most of ple easily see the ninth (20/15 in practice, most see that gap You and I are happy with a
us visualize. The Moon appears vision) and sometimes even the with much lower power. That’s night where stars are globs a
to be half the width of your single arcsecond across, but at
pinky finger held at arm’s professional sites they like 0.5"
length. Because it’s 2,160 miles THE ISSUE: CAN YOU SEE THAT EPSILON viewing. When we get down to
(3,476km) across, our naked- IS NOT ONE, BUT TWO STARS? such minuscule angles, we’re
eye resolution is 1/30th of that, considering breathtakingly tiny
or 72 miles (116km). That’s the bottommost 11th line, which because an extended line is far things.
smallest item you could spot on indicates 20/10 vision. In any easier to discern than a con- No star looks larger than the
the Moon. You wouldn’t see a case, those with mere 20/20 usu- fined shape, like a Snellen letter supergiant Betelgeuse. Its
lunar city. ally cannot resolve Epsilon. So or a jovian festoon. diameter of 1/20th of an arc-
All this carries us to the won- its 3.5' gap might be considered The largest-seeming planet is second lies at the exact limit of
derful Epsilon Lyrae, the star the actual limit for resolving Venus. At its closest, it’s essen- the Hubble Space Telescope.
closest to Vega. For centuries it’s non-brilliant celestial objects. tially 60" wide, or an arcminute, More normal but much nearer
been a sky-lover’s favorite. This An arcminute is further which is right at the 20/20 limit. stars, like Sirius and Alpha
month it hovers in the west at divided into 60 arcseconds. An Can we therefore see it as a disk Centauri, appear only one-
nightfall, directly above Vega. arcsecond, which we use a lot in and not a dot? Sure enough, tenth as wide as that — 1/200th
The issue: Can you see that astronomy, is a truly tiny angle. some observers have reported of an arcsecond.
Epsilon is not one, but two stars? It is the apparent size of a dime resolving Venus’ crescent shape These are angles resolvable by
For 40 years, I’ve asked that seen from 2½ miles (4km) away. in twilight. That means they’ve no telescope. They lie beyond
question under the stars, and I The arcsecond lies deep seen detail smaller than an arc- our observable horizon.
noticed a clear pattern. Only a within the telescopic realm. minute, an impressive bit of
few in a gathering of 50 say they When we use 60x magnifica- visual acuity. Contact me about my
see it as double. With children tion, we boost a bright 1" object Jupiter gets up to 50" wide. strange universe by visiting
http://skymanbob.com.
and teens, it’s closer to half. The to appear an arcminute wide, Mars will be 24" in 2018.
BROWSE THE “STRANGE UNIVERSE” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/Berman.
10 A ST R O N O M Y • D E C E M B E R 2016
ASTRONEWS ANCIENT OXYGEN. Using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers measured how much oxygen existed in a galaxy
from the universe’s toddler years, some 12 billion years ago. The galaxy has only 20 percent of the Sun’s proportion.
No new stellar births in the galaxy’s center

While numerous older stars can be found in our
galaxy’s center, a new study suggests there’s a
wide void of new star formation in one expanse of
the Milky Way’s central region. The research was
published August 2 in the Monthly Notices of the
Royal Astronomical Society.
Young, pulsating stars called Cepheid variable
stars, or Cepheids, are used by astronomers to
measure star populations in the galaxy. They are
10 million to 300 million years old — younger
than our Sun’s 4.6 billion years — and their
brightness pulsates in a repeating cycle. Because
this pulsation time is related to luminosity, astron-
omers can use this data to determine the stars’
actual brightness. They then compare the actual
brightness with the brightness as seen from Earth,
to determine the Cepheid’s distance.
Finding these stars at the center of the galaxy is
difficult because interstellar dust obscures the light
and hides many stars from view. Using near-
infrared observations from the South African Large
Telescope, the researchers were able to see past
THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO
the dust. To their surprise, they found hardly any

Cepheids around an expanse about 1,000 light-
years across, in the core of the galaxy.
The results suggest that no significant amount
of star formation has occurred in this area for
VAST EMPTINESS. This map shows the distribution of Cepheid variable stars (in blue) in the Milky Way hundreds of millions of years. Researchers are still
Galaxy. Cepheid variables dim and brighten over time, and because they are young stars, they can be working to understand why this region is so
indicative of new star formation, which makes their absence in the core of our galaxy all the more stark. devoid of new star growth. — J. R.
ASTRONEWS DEAD VOLCANOES. Astronomers determined that Mercury’s
volcanoes probably shut down 3.5 billion years ago.
Not the
supernova
you’re
looking for
In the year A.D. 386, Chinese universe2go.com
astronomers saw a new star
light up the sky, and recorded
its location carefully. In 1994,
astronomers identified a super- WHAT IS UNIVERSE2GO?
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UNSEEN BIRTH. X-ray observations of supernova remnant G11.2–0.3
2013 already cast serious confirm it is not the same supernova that exploded and wowed Chinese ups of various celestial bodies.
doubt on G11.2–0.3. A team of astronomers in 386. X-RAY: NASA/CXC/NCSU/K. BORKOWSKI ET AL; OPTICAL: DSS
researchers studied the dense
clouds of material surround- Chinese astronomers, it still has star ignites again and explodes.
ing the remnant and realized some claims to fame. The new The X-ray data also give
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would have been far too faint most recent core-collapse how the remnant’s debris cloud
to see from Earth, no matter supernovae in the Milky Way, is expanding. While it appears Images of all 88 More than three
how bright the explosion. at an age of only 1,400 to 2,400 to be a symmetric shell, constellations of hours of audio
Now, new data from the years, exploding from a single detailed observations reveal the heavens explanations
Chandra X-ray Observatory massive star collapse rather instead a complex and irregular
confirm this finding. than a dense white dwarf steal- shape, helping researchers bet- Close-ups of Enjoyable
But while G11.2–0.3 isn’t the ing material from a bigger ter understand the explosion’s planets, galaxies, exploration in quiz
supernova recorded by companion until the smaller parent star. — K. H. star clusters and mode
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3
mph
The radial velocity of planet Proxima Centauri b, about
the same speed as a human walking down the street.
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FORYOURCONSIDERATION
BY JEFF HESTER
In a shark’s eye
Science and the experience of wonder.
S
een from above, the ocean trench where waves and
Bahama Banks are a currents keep nutrient-rich
spectacular sight. As I waters agitated, providing food
write this, I’m looking for corals.
out the window of an Even after three decades as an
airplane and taking it in. Ripples avid diver, I still find it eerie to
of color paint the ocean for miles be at the edge of the reef when
on end. Bands of light green the flat bottom abruptly gives
and blue give way to deeper way, becoming a vertical wall,
turquoise. Beneath crystal clear covered in life. I can follow that Bahamian shark fest. From left: Jeff Hester’s son-in-law Casey, daughter Patricia, Jeff,
water, undersea sand dunes wall down for about 100 feet and Jeff’s wife, Vicki (with shark and shark wrangler at top). JEFF HESTER
formed by ocean currents stretch before I have to stop. My dive
across vast expanses of flat- computer reminds me that I features pictures of celebrities countless billions of creatures
bottomed shallows. The Bahama can’t stay here long. If I do, the who have come to watch divers lived or died over the millions
Banks are the submerged top pressurized nitrogen in the air hand-feed sharks. We did a cou- of years that it took to evolve
of the Bahama Archipelago, that I am breathing will turn my ple of those dives, and they are reactions so attuned to this
limestone grown by corals mil- blood into deadly bubbles when spectacular to see, but they are environment?
limeters at a time over the past I return to the surface. But the controlled. There is something Evolution offers me no such
100 million years or so. wall itself continues to plummet, compelling about having a shark advantages here. My survival
But suddenly, the pastels give vanishing into the depths. This check me out, just the two of us depends on training and the
way to sharp-edged, soul-swal- is the abyss. in open water, passing by closely technology that I carry on my
lowing blue as dark as any the If the dive computer’s warn- enough to overfill the field of back. So why am I so at peace?
seas have to offer. This is the ing is not enough of a reminder view of a wide-angle lens. What I feel here calls to
Tongue of the Ocean, a trench that I am an interloper here, a We both know which of us is mind the first time that I
that drops as much as 14,000 feet large dark shadow materializing at home, and who has the upper looked at the rings of Saturn
to the ocean floor. out of the gloom adds empha- hand. I am aware of the sleek through a 3-inch refractor, or
The boundary of the Tongue sis. It is far from the first time form, hard muscles and keen saw protozoans in a drop of
of the Ocean is every bit as that I’ve encountered a shark eyes taking me in. I am also pond water under a micro-
abrupt up close as it appears to under water. This is a aware of the teeth. I have never scope. It is what I felt as a kid
be from 30,000 feet. I spent the Caribbean reef shark, an oppor- really felt in danger around working on a wheat farm when
past week with family scuba tunistic feeder with a preference sharks, but let’s face it: There is at the end of the day I would
diving on the living reefs that for an easily scavenged meal a reason the divers who feed shut down the tractor, lie down
built these islands. Some of the over the need to hunt. them wear chainmail! on the ground, and look at the
most spectacular of those reefs Sharks here are accustomed Sharks patrolling a reef usu- spectacularly dark skies of
live right along the edge of the to divers. A local dive shop ally have a slow, relaxed motion. northwestern Oklahoma.
Work at it and you can swim What I feel hanging there
alongside for a time. But don’t with a shark in that column of
FROM OUR INBOX imagine that means anything.
As this shark swims past, some-
saltwater is a sense of wonder.
It is a sense of awe. It is a deli-
Spreading the word thing catches its attention. With cious blend of pure aesthetic
My other passion besides astronomy is cruising the waters and no warning it flicks its tail, and experience heightened by intel-
islands of British Columbia and Washington state in our boat. before I fully register the change lectual understanding of the
Most marinas up here have some kind of place to swap books in behavior, the shark is easily patterns and processes that
and magazines as boaters tend to be readers of anything they 30 feet away and moving fast. shape the world.
can get their hands on. I think to myself about the And I remember why I am a
I always bring my Astronomy magazines with me on cruises evolutionary arms race that scientist.
and drop them off going to any of the marina offices when we gifted the ancient and efficient
dock. Like clockwork, by the time I come back in 15 minutes shark with such bursts of speed, Jeff Hester is a keynote speaker,
they are all gone! What better way to celebrate the wonders of while also giving the fish that coach, and astrophysicist.
astronomy? — Roland “Captain Triggerfish” Gorgas, Yelm, Washington attracted its attention a fair Follow his thoughts at
jeff-hester.com.
chance of escape. How many
BROWSE THE “FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/Hester.
ASTRONEWS NOVA LIVE. Astronomers using the OGLE sky survey saw a white
dwarf devour matter from another star, brightening into a nova.
Dark galaxy is mostly invisible
PIETER VAN DOKKUM/ROBERTO ABRAHAM/GEMINI OBSERVATORY/SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY
HARD TO SEE. Dragonfly 44 is a galaxy with roughly the mass of the Milky Way, yet it has only a smattering
of stars. By measuring the speed at which those stars whip around the galaxy’s center, astronomers determined
that 99.99 percent of Dragonfly 44’s mass is in hidden dark matter. This is not the first time such dark matter-
heavy galaxies have been found, but the others have mostly been dwarf galaxies much smaller in total mass.
Dragonfly 44 is some 10,000 times heftier than most of its dark matter-dominated brethren. — K. H.
Astrobabble
From asterisms to Thorne-Żytkow objects, we turn gibberish into English.
Chthonian planet >>

EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY, ALFRED VIDAL-MADJAR (INSTITUT D’ASTROPHYSIQUE DE PARIS, CNRS, FRANCE) AND NASA
AEGIS
Short for Autonomous This hypothetical type of
Exploration for terrestrial planet began life
Gathering Increased as a gas giant before stellar
Science, it’s the new wind or other forces stripped
artificial intelligence off its layers of hydrogen and
system aboard the Mars helium. It could be identifi-
Curiosity rover that able by having extreme mass
enables the craft to target compared with its radius.
interesting rocks without A few candidates do exist.
input from NASA.
Radio-quiet quasar
Gravitational vortex A young galaxy that, while
The spinning motion as a bright and visible to tele-
material flows down scopes, doesn’t emit radio
through an aperture, signals or have a large jet of
much like a draining tub. material streaming out of its
Some black holes may central supermassive black
create these gravitational hole. A recent microlensing
vortex swirls as materials event led to the discovery of
are drawn in. mini-jets from radio-quiet
quasars.
— John Wenz, jargon@astronomy.com
ASTRONEWS SPITZER GOES “BEYOND.” The Spitzer Space Telescope,
an infrared observatory, may hunt exoplanets in its new mission.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Red Planet’s reversed riverbeds
UPSIDE DOWN. Scientists using the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter identified signs of ancient rivers on Mars’
Arabia Terra. While fossilized rivers exist in many areas on Mars, they had not been seen in great numbers on
Arabia Terra. Models suggested the area should have received heavy rainfall in Mars’ younger days. The rivers
there, similar to those seen on other parts of the Red Planet, are not canyons but instead are ridges where dry
riverbeds resisted erosion as the ground around them wore away. — K. H.
The weirdest star

in the galaxy keeps
getting weirder
Everyone’s favorite mysterious star,
KIC 8462852, otherwise known as Tabby’s Star,
has seen a lot of press in the past year, thanks
to a strange and as-yet-unexplained dim-
ming trend that has led to wild speculation of
everything from comet swarms to black holes
to alien megastructures. But now, the read-
ings have gotten even stranger.
Two researchers — Ben Montet from
California Institute of Technology and Joshua NOT ALIENS. PROBABLY. This image shows
Simon from the Carnegie Institution — found KIC 8462852, aka Tabby’s Star. Long-term dimming
evidence that not only did the star’s light dip — combined with periodic dimming of more than
up to 20 percent in some kind of transit event, 20 percent of the star’s light — has left astronomers
but the total stellar flux also decreased contin- scratching their heads. DIGITAL SKY SURVEY/NASA/STScI
uously over all four years that the Kepler
spacecraft studied it. researchers, claims the star may have dimmed
The team completed a new photometric by 19 percent over a century of observations.
analysis of Tabby’s Star by closely examining Tabetha Boyajian, for whom Tabby’s Star is
all of the full-frame images taken during named, used a Kickstarter campaign to secure
Kepler’s mission. In the first 1,000 days, the observing time with the Las Cumbres Observa-
star’s luminosity decreased about 0.34 per- tory Global Telescope Network for a full year.
cent per year. In the following 200 days, the This should help determine why the star keeps
flux dropped 2 percent, then leveled off. dimming — and what is causing those enor-
Throughout the four years of Kepler’s mission, mous dips in light reported by Kepler. Though
Tabby’s Star faded approximately 3 percent. if the past is any indication, it may lead to more
Another report, disputed by some questions than it answers. — J. R.
ASTRONEWS LATE STARTS. Hubble imaged two dwarf galaxies amid a flurry of star formation after entering a crowded
region of space. Previously, the two galaxies spent billions of years in the empty Local Void.
LAYING DOWN THE LAW Newly discovered solar system

100
Pluto
Neptune
object unveils new mystery
Semimajor axis (AU)
Plenty of weird objects reside
ASTRONOMY: RICHARD TALCOTT AND ROEN KELLY

Uranus
Saturn in our solar system, but the
10 newly discovered trans-
Jupiter Neptunian object (TNO) Niku
Ceres (2011 KT19 ) might be one of
Mars the weirdest.
1 It’s not the composition of
Earth
Venus Niku that makes it strange. It
Mercury seems to be a chunk of ice
about 124 miles (200 kilome-
1 10 100 1,000 ters) in diameter, placing it at
Period (years) the lower threshold of objects
that might be considered
KEPLER RULES. In 1619, German astronomer Johannes dwarf planets. There are
Kepler discovered his third law: The square of a planet’s plenty of objects its size and
orbital period (P) is proportional to the cube of its aver- composition in the Kuiper
age distance from the Sun, or semimajor axis (a). Measure Belt and beyond.
the period in years and the semi- Niku’s weirdness stems
FAST major axis in astronomical units from its position far above
Kepler’s (AU; one AU is the average Earth- FAR OUT, MAN. This illustration depicts a common distant
FACT third law works Sun distance), and the relation the ecliptic, the sort of solar system object. Newly discovered trans-Neptunian object Niku
for all groups “plane” of the solar system on orbits in a retrograde orbit 110 degrees above the ecliptic. No one
becomes P2=a3. This plot depicts
of orbiting the eight major planets and the which the planets lie, with is sure yet what pulled it to that orbit. ASA, ESA, AND G. BACON (STScI)
objects, two brightest dwarf planets. Earth at the 0 degree point
including Isaac Newton later found that an on the ecliptic. Niku is 110 itself very apparent. Instead, dwarf planets, like Sedna. The
moons and object’s mass relative to the Sun degrees above it in a retro- Niku, detected by the answer may require finding
exoplanet plays a small role, which is why grade orbit. Pan-STARRS 1 survey, is an more objects just like it — if
systems. bulky Jupiter falls almost imper- Whatever pulled Niku into oddity, not part of the “Planet there’s an easy-to-find answer
ceptibly above the line. its present orbit isn’t making Nine” series of elongated at all. — J. W.
Sidereal, Martian and Tidal Free U.S.
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SECRETSKY
BY STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA
Seven dwarfs
of winter
It’s worth seeking these objects in
the snow-white Milky Way.
I
’ve always liked the new complex as NGC 1333. Push
year’s sky. In the theme of Atik out of the field of view
the season, it’s filled with for the best results. Or, see if
one surprise after another. you can duplicate the result
As sunset transitions to of Jack Kramer of the Lake
darkness, you’ll find several County Astronomical Society
dwarf nebulae and clusters in in Illinois. He saw the nebula IC 348 glows blue because it scatters nearby starlight and reflects it in our direction.
a pair of constellations riding using only a 2" UltraBlock fil- The bright star in the field is magnitude 3.8 Atik (Omicron [ο] Persei). DON GOLDMAN
high. These little gems visually ter held up to his eye! Although
span less than 10' in angular the cluster contains more than object may spark some warm NGC 1624
extent, but most observ- 300 stars, a small telescope will memories. The Northern Trifid For those of you who like the
ers can view them through show only a couple embedded is a 6'-wide combination emis- Cocoon Nebula (IC 5146) in
a 4-inch telescope. A few of in the nebula. sion and reflection nebula Cygnus, you’ll note that my
them demand a dark site, and about 8° east-northeast of Zeta next object is a bit reminiscent
for some a nebula filter is a NGC 1857 (ζ) Persei. The nebula’s trifold of it. This tiny (3'-wide) open
requirement. The ones I’ve The first open cluster I chose appearance is due to large cluster surrounded by a dim
chosen populate the bound- glows at 7th magnitude and streamers of obscuring dust. nebula lies 4½° east-northeast
ary region between Auriga lies 20,000 light-years distant. You’ll need magnifications of 4th-magnitude Mu (μ) Persei.
and Perseus, which now reigns Look about 45' south-southeast of 60x or more — and lots of Through most amateur scopes,
supreme around 9 p.m. local of magnitude 4.7 Lambda (λ) patience — to see any traces of it consists of a tight triangle of
time. I’ll start with the most Aurigae. At low power through these features. Most obvious roughly 12th-magnitude stars
conspicuous ones and then lead a 4-inch scope, the 10'-wide is NGC 1579’s round comet- embedded in an almost ficti-
you to fainter quarry. cluster appears as a faint fog of like core, followed by a broad tious breath of nebulosity.
light around a magnitude 7.5 southern spray of fainter light.
NGC 1333 star. At 60x or greater, about NGC 2126
You’ll find this bright (6th- two dozen faint stars form an My final choice this month is
magnitude) but tiny (3'-wide) irregular skirt of dim light a 10th-magnitude open clus-
reflection nebula about 3¼° extending to the southwest. ter that small-telescope users
west-southwest of magnitude might find difficult to see
3.8 Atik (Omicron [ο] Persei). NGC 1931 well. It lies in remote northern
Start with low power, and look My fourth pick is a combina- Auriga about halfway between
for a magnitude 10.5 star sur- tion object I’ve always liked. Menkalinan (Beta [β]) and
rounded by a halo of light. This roughly 5'-wide nebula Xi (ξ) Aurigae. Fortunately a
Higher magnifications reveal a and cluster floats about 50' 6th-magnitude star sits atop it,
faint curved tail of nebulosity east-southeast of magnitude 5.1 making it easy to locate. Use
connecting to a magnitude 12 Phi (ϕ) Aurigae. The roughly low power and averted vision,
star to the southwest. If you 10th-magnitude glow is highly and imagine the cluster as an
spot it, do you, like me, think condensed, but it takes mag- ill-defined fog of faint light
the nebula resembles a comma? nification well. The cluster’s around the bright star.
brightest members form a tight If you observe a feature in
IC 348 triad at its core; a few fainter one of these objects that makes
Next up is this 7th-magnitude jewels join them at high power. an impression on you, or if you
star-forming complex that lies have a suggestion for an eighth
immediately south-southeast NGC 1579 Amateur astronomers often call
NGC 1579 the Northern Trifid because
“dwarf,” I’d love to hear about
of Atik. The 8'-wide nebula lies If, like me, you’re a fan of the of its resemblance to the Trifid Nebula it. Send your thoughts to
in the same molecular cloud summer Milky Way, our next (M20) in Sagittarius. R. JAY GABANY sjomeara31@gmail.com.
BROWSE THE “SECRET SKY” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/OMeara.
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CSI: Galaxies
When galaxies
Some galaxies harbor a sinister secret:
They’ve eaten their siblings.
by Michael West
early a century after
Edwin Hubble estab-
lished the nature of
galaxies as distant
“island universes,”
our understanding
of their birth and
evolution remains
incomplete. While much current astro-
nomical research focuses on galaxy forma-
tion, a growing body of evidence suggests
that galaxy destruction is also common.
Countless galaxies have met their demise
become
over the 13.8 billion-year history of the
cosmos. The carnage is everywhere.
Eat and be eaten!

Galaxies are a gregarious bunch — where
there’s one, there are usually others. This
makes isolated giant galaxies like NGC
1132 and ESO 306–017 cosmic oddities.
Even more strangely, these hermits reside
in vast seas of dark matter and hot gas that
normally would be home to tens or hun-
dreds of other galaxies.
NGC 1132 and ESO 306–017 have a
sinister secret: They’re cannibals. Evidence
suggests that these behemoths grew to
their bloated sizes by devouring their
neighbors in a galactic feeding frenzy that
would make Hannibal Lecter proud.
And they’re not the only ones.
Telescopes capture images of large galaxies
devouring smaller ones in brazen acts of
cosmic cannibalism, a single moment of a
billion-year struggle frozen in time. Other
galaxies are ripped apart by violent gusts of
gravity from passing neighbors, scattering
luminous shards along their path like a jet
fighter breaking up in flight. The universe
is littered with disembodied streams of
stars, gas, and dust — the ghostly remains
of once normal galaxies.
Galaxy clusters, the urban centers of the
cosmos, are especially dangerous places.
Here, hundreds of galaxies are crammed
into a region roughly spanning the dis-
tance between the Milky Way and
Gravity shepherds galaxies together to form

systems ranging from small groups to immense
cosmic cities with thousands of members, like
the Fornax galaxy cluster. But monsters lurk
among them: cannibal galaxies. ESO/JOSÉ FRANCISCO
(JOSEFRANCISCO.ORG)
Andromeda galaxies. Trapped galaxies. Tiny “ultracompact have now spotted hundreds of The local bully
in such close confines, they dwarfs,” an intriguing class of ultracompact dwarfs, most in Astronomers began to suspect
turn on each other. And as a galaxies discovered less than the nearby Fornax, Virgo, and that our own galaxy might be
cannibal moves up through the two decades ago, appear to Coma galaxy clusters. a cannibal back in 1978 when
weight classes, its increased have been slowly flayed by The surviving nuclei of Leonard Searle and Robert
gravity makes grabbing new repeated encounters with larger some stripped galaxies might Zinn noticed that globular clus-
victims easier. Survival of the brutes until all that remains are even masquerade as globular ters in the Milky Way’s outer
biggest is the rule. their exposed innards — a clusters. Some researchers have regions have a surprisingly
It’s a harsh reality for small compact nucleus. Astronomers speculated that several of the wide range of ages. This could
Milky Way’s largest globular be explained, they reasoned,
clusters, such as 47 Tucanae if our galaxy had snacked on
and Omega Centauri, were smaller companions, inherit-
once small galaxies. ing their globular clusters in
G1, the brightest globular the process. The evidence was,
cluster in the Andromeda admittedly, circumstantial.
Galaxy — and indeed the entire Then, in 1994, Rodrigo
Local Group — has a number Ibata, Mike Irwin, and Gerry
of puzzling features that set it Gilmore found the smoking
apart from other globulars. gun, proof of the Milky Way’s
These include an unusually cannibalistic ways. Hidden
elongated shape and the pres- against the dense backdrop of
ence of multiple generations of stars toward the Milky Way’s
stars within it. (Most globular center was the battered body of
clusters are composed of mem- a small galaxy. The Sagittarius
bers with uniform ages.) Dwarf, as the trio of astrono-
There’s even evidence that G1 mers named it, is a barely dis-
might harbor a black hole with cernible pile of stars slowly
a mass equal to 20,000 Suns, relinquishing its four remain-
something not seen in normal ing globular clusters to the
globular clusters. Milky Way like lunch money to
a schoolyard bully. Some evi-
dence suggests that the
Sagittarius Dwarf may have
Clockwise from top left: Isolated
giant galaxies like NGC 1132 are survived several trips around
believed to be cannibals that the Milky Way, allowing our
have devoured their neighbors. galaxy to savor its snack over
Most of the smaller galaxies seen
hundreds of millions of years.
in this image are foreground or
background objects not associated There’s now overwhelming
with NGC 1132. NASA/ESA/THE HUBBLE evidence that our galaxy is a
HERITAGE (STScI/AURA)-ESA/HUBBLE COLLABORATION
serial cannibal. Astronomers
The Hubble Space Telescope have discovered more than a
captured this image of cosmic dozen long streams of stars in
cannibal ESO 306–17, a gargantuan the Milky Way, vestiges of past
galaxy about 500 million light-
years away. NASA/ESA/THE HUBBLE HERITAGE
victims that it pulled apart like
(STScI/AURA)-ESA/HUBBLE COLLABORATION taffy before devouring.
Researchers have dubbed
NGC 5907 is an edge-on spiral galaxy
one particular patch of sky
surrounded by a ghostly stream
of stars, the vestiges of a smaller (observed as part of the Sloan
neighbor that it slowly devoured, Digital Sky Survey) the “Field
leaving behind a trail of debris. of Streams” because it has sev-
R. JAY GABANY/COSMOTOGRAPHY.COM
eral crisscrossing ribbons of
Caught in the act! Lurking in the stars, including one or more
heart of the galaxy cluster Abell 3827 that snake back to the
is one of the most massive galaxies in
the local universe, a behemoth that
Sagittarius Dwarf. Others, like
could swallow dozens of galaxies the the appropriately named
size of the Milky Way. The partially Orphan Stream, have no
digested remains of several recently known ancestor galaxy.
cannibalized galaxies are still visible
in its center. R. CARRASCO ET AL./GEMINI The Pan-Andromeda
OBSERVATORY/AURA Archaeological Survey, an
NGC 660 bears the scars of a violent
encounter that probably occurred
about a billion years ago. The ring
of gas, stars, and dust that encircles
NGC 660 may be the twisted
remains of a smaller galaxy that
strayed too close. GEMINI OBSERVATORY/AURA
One way or another, cannibal galaxies usually give themselves away.

international effort by research-
ers to map the Andromeda
Galaxy using the Canada-
A FORENSIC TOOLKIT
France-Hawaii Telescope on Edmond Locard, the father of modern forensics, tumultuous past. Careful analysis
Mauna Kea, has found similar said, “Every contact leaves a trace.” Like forensic sci- can even provide insights into the
stellar streams there. entists investigating a crime, astronomers search for number, types, and sizes of can-
Which object will be the clues to reconstruct the histories of cannibal galax- nibalized victims.
ies and their victims. As with any detective work, dif- Many other tools also can be
Milky Way’s next victim? It’s
ferent tools provide different information. used to dissect galaxies.
hard to say — our galaxy Globular clusters are superb tracers of galaxy his- Spectroscopy provides informa-
doesn’t appear to be a picky tories. Most galaxies are surrounded by tens, hun- tion on their internal motions, in
eater. The Canis Major dwarf dreds, or even thousands of globular clusters that some cases revealing groups of
galaxy, whose very existence is swarm around them like bees around a hive. These stars moving opposite to the rest.
controversial because of its low massive, compact stellar systems — which have up These are most likely fragments of cannibalized gal-
density of stars, is the nearest to a million stars packed into a region not much axies that haven’t yet been fully digested. In the
larger than the distance from the Sun to its nearest Milky Way and other nearby galaxies, it’s also possi-
potential target and may already neighbor, Alpha Centauri — are held together so ble to measure the chemical compositions of indi-
be feeling the Milky Way’s grav- tightly by gravity that they’re almost indestructible. vidual stars and map them on the sky, which allows
itational fury. It would add an Many survive the demise of their parent galaxies, the partial remains of defunct galaxies to be identi-
estimated 1 billion new stars to providing a rich source of forensic material that’s as fied by their distinctive elemental abundances. Also,
our home galaxy. valuable to astronomers as blood spatters, bodily numerical simulations of galaxy interactions serve
Beyond that, dozens of small fluids, fingerprints, and DNA samples are to police as virtual telescopes that allow astronomers to peer
investigators. into the past and future, guiding interpretation of
galaxies surround the Milky
Astronomers have studied globular cluster popu- observations.
Way, and new ones are still lations in more than 400 galaxies to date, many of “Crime is terribly revealing,” wrote Agatha
being discovered, such as the them with the Hubble Space Telescope’s exquisite Christie. “Try and vary your methods as you will,
Crater 2 dwarf galaxy found vision. These observations reveal that most large your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and
earlier this year. The Large and galaxies possess two or more subpopulations of your soul is revealed by your actions.” One way or
Small Magellanic Clouds, the globular clusters with distinct orbits, chemical com- another, cannibal galaxies usually give themselves
Milky Way’s two largest positions, and spatial distributions — evidence of a away. — M. W.
remaining companions, also
In about 4 billion
years, residents of
the Milky Way will
have a stunning view
of the approaching
Andromeda Galaxy as
it looms ever larger in
the night sky before
eventually merging
with the Milky Way.
NASA/ESA/Z. LEVAY AND R. VAN DER
MAREL (STScI)/A. MELLINGER
Despite their voracious appetites, cannibals are messy eaters. Not all of the
could end up as meals someday, almost 10 times faster than the think the cannibalism will end patches” of material in the
and features like the ribbon of speed of New Horizons, the there. With dozens of other space between galaxies. He
gas called the Magellanic fastest spacecraft launch to small galaxies in the Local realized that this diffuse glow
Stream connecting the two date. A few billion years from Group, there’s plenty for was the collective light of
clouds might be evidence of our now, our descendants — who- Milkomeda to munch on in innumerable stars that are not
galaxy starting to nibble. But ever or whatever they may be the future. gravitationally bound to any
recent evidence suggests the — will have a spectacular view In 2000, Swinburne galaxy but move freely between
clouds are moving fast enough as Andromeda looms ever University astronomer Duncan them. Zwicky suggested that
to escape the Milky Way’s grav- larger in the night sky before Forbes and colleagues won- rogue stars like this might be
itational clutches — for now. engulfing the Milky Way. dered what complete cannibal- the most abundant luminous
Outweighed two to one, the ism of the Local Group might objects in the universe.
Cosmic karma Milky Way doesn’t stand much look like. Using computers, But where did these interga-
Gravity, like death, is a great of a chance. After a flurry of they digitally assembled a lactic vagabonds come from?
equalizer. The Milky Way, hav- encounters that will batter and Frankensteinian mix of all While it’s possible that some
ing victimized countless galax- bruise both of them, the two known Local Group galaxies. might have been born outside
ies over its lifetime, is destined galaxies will slowly come The final result — the last gal- of galaxies, most probably
to become prey itself in 4 bil- together like tired boxers in a axy standing — turns out to be weren’t. Despite their voracious
lion or 5 billion years. clinch until eventually indistinguishable from large appetites, cannibals are messy
The Andromeda Galaxy, the Andromeda absorbs the Milky elliptical galaxies found eaters. Not all of the material
largest member of our Local Way. From this chaos, a new, throughout the universe, a torn from victims is consumed.
Group of galaxies, is heading larger galaxy will emerge that placid collection of stars and Some escapes into empty space
our way. Although currently has already been nicknamed star clusters with few obvious where it accumulates over time
separated by 2.5 million light- Milkomeda. The Sun, with its signs of past trauma. Forbes into a sea of orphaned stars and
years, the Milky Way and planets in tow, will be one of and his colleagues christened it star clusters.
Andromeda are hurtling more than a trillion stars that “the elliptical galaxy formerly Astronomers have already
toward each other at 250,000 call this new galaxy home. known as the Local Group.” found thousands of free-roam-
mph (112,000 meters/second), But there’s no reason to ing globular clusters in the
Messy eaters nearby Virgo, Fornax, and
Michael West is deputy director for science at Lowell Observatory in In 1951, pioneering Swiss Coma galaxy clusters, though
Flagstaff, Arizona. His most recent book is A Sky Wonderful with Stars: 50 astronomer Fritz Zwicky none yet in the Local Group.
Years of Modern Astronomy on Maunakea (University of Hawaii Press, 2015). noticed “large luminous But recently, Yale University
CRIMES AGAINST GALAXIES
Galaxies can suffer a variety of fates, some more macabre than oth-
ers. Here are a few of the colorful terms that astronomers use to
describe them:
CANNIBALISM The act of one galaxy devouring another.
HARASSMENT Coined by astronomer Ben Moore and colleagues

in 1996, this term refers to frequent high-speed gravitational
encounters that occur between galaxies in dense environments,
such as galaxy clusters. These encounters are especially harmful to
small galaxies and can even destroy them over time.
SHOCK A sudden compression of stars or gas, the cosmic equiva-

lent of a gasp. Shocks can trigger the birth of new stars or cause old
star clusters to break apart.
STRANGULATION When a galaxy’s gas supply is cut off, curtail-

ing the birth of new stars. (Cold gas is the fuel of star formation.)
Galaxies can die by slow strangulation in some environments.
STRIPPING The escape of stars from one galaxy caused by the

gravitational pull of others. It also can refer to the removal of gas
from galaxies when they plow through the hot plasma that perme-
ates space in galaxy clusters.
THRESHING Similar to stripping, this is a more gradual removal

of stars through repeated interactions that leave a galaxy’s inner-
most regions intact.
material torn from victims is consumed. VIOLENT RELAXATION Rapid fluctuations in a galaxy’s gravita-
tional field during its birth or cannibalization cause stars to lose
astronomers Graziella Di Tullio “The universe is made of memory of — and stray from — their original orbits, creating a sort
of dynamical amnesia. — M. W.
Zinn and Robert Zinn identi- stories, not of atoms,” wrote
fied a dozen possible intergalac- poet Muriel Rukeyser. Every
tic globular clusters in the Local galaxy has its own unique
Group after they sifted through story, with harrowing tales of
183,791 candidates from the cannibalism, either happening
Sloan Digital Sky Survey, like to them or that they created,
miners prospecting for gold. woven throughout. Telling
Further investigation will deter- those stories is the goal of
mine whether these objects are astronomers — the forensic
bona fide intergalactic globular scientists of the cosmos.
clusters or faint faraway galax-
ies that have been misidentified.
Counterclockwise from top: The
Long live the Milky Way might someday make a
meal of the Large Magellanic Cloud,
cannibal! seen here as a whitish smudge of
Gravity’s relentless pull means light above the Atacama Large
that cannibalism will continue Millimeter/submillimeter Array
for billions of years to come. (ALMA) in Chile. ESO/C. MALIN
It’s a future of fewer but big- The author observed giant elliptical
ger galaxies. Eventually the galaxy 2MASX J01202313–0004443
carnage must end, however, as in the constellation Cetus with
Lowell Observatory’s 4.3-meter
the supply of available victims Discovery Channel Telescope. What
dwindles. One hundred billion secrets of a violent past lie hidden
years from now, long after the within it? MICHAEL J. WEST
Sun has expired, a fully gorged
47 Tucanae is one of the largest
Milkomeda will settle into globular clusters in the Milky Way.
quiet old age as an elliptical Or is it? Some evidence suggests
galaxy, the last survivor of the that 47 Tucanae might be all that
remains of what was once a dwarf
free-for-all that was once called galaxy. NASA/ESA/HUBBLE HERITAGE TEAM (STScI/
the Local Group. AURA)-ESA/HUBBLE COLLABORATION
Blast from the past
EXPLORE
THE IMPACT
that killed the dinosaurs
As scientists drill
into Mexico’s
Chicxulub crater,
they expose
geologic clues
about the massive
impact that
transformed Earth.
words and
location photos by
Max Alexander
S
ixty-six million years ago, a My journey to the Chicxulub
city-sized asteroid collided with impact site begins on the
long road from Cancún to
Earth just off the coast of what Mérida. The highway cuts
is now Mexico. The 6-mile- across the northern part
wide (10 kilometers) space rock of the Yucatán Peninsula,
crashed down near the town of where it crosses the buried
outer rim of the crater.
Chicxulub, some 180 miles (290km) west of
Cancún. Tourists now enjoy the sunshine
and warm waters here, but 66 million years
ago, it was dinosaurs that claimed their
place in the Sun.
I am here on behalf of the Asteroid Day/
B612 Foundation to visit an offshore drill-
ing platform where scientists are taking core
samples to study both the geology and the
biology of this catastrophic event. The sub-
The big dig
merged impact crater spans about 110 miles The enormous asteroid whose
impact killed off much of Earth’s
(180km). It’s less than the distance I travel life, including the dinosaurs,
from Cancún to Chicxulub (pronounced struck just off the coast of Atlantic
CHICK-soo-loob) when I arrive on May 5, Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula near
Ocean
the town of Chicxulub Puerto.
but the journey helps me grasp the enor- Gulf of Mexico
mous scale of the crater. It also hits me that
ME
the bottom of the crater is 12 miles (20km)
XI
beneath me while the crater’s rim lies some O
C
2,000 feet (600 meters) below the surface
— covered up by nature over tens of mil-
lions of years. Caribbean
The following day, armed with my Sea
cameras, a GoPro for video, my shot list,
and a sense of adventure, I head down to
Pacific
Chicxulub Puerto — ground zero for the Gulf of Mexico Ocean
asteroid impact. Over time, geologic forces
have thrust the Yucatán Peninsula upward
to its current position. However, this is the
spot where the asteroid struck, gouging out Outer rim
0 50 miles
a giant chasm in our planet and quickly Drilling
changing the direction of Earth’s history. site Pe a k r i n g 0 100 km
I’m up before dawn to catch the early
morning light. This so-called magic hour, Chicxulub
which occurs around sunrise and sunset, Puerto
offers a sumptuous period of lighting for
Cancún
taking pictures. If seen from space, this Mérida
time would effectively coincide with Earth’s
terminator, the transition from night to day
(or day to night). The initial twilight gives Chichén Itzá
way to what photographers call “bounce
light” — sunlight bouncing off the atmo-
sphere just before our star rises. It’s a beau-
tiful soft light, still directional with some YUCATÁN PENINSULA
NASA/JPL AND ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY
degree of light and shade. It also possesses

warm colors, often magenta, depending on Campeche
how much dust hangs in the atmosphere.
(Left) Scientists drill into the peak ring of the

Chicxulub crater from this platform about 18 miles
(30 kilometers) off the Yucatán coast.
This thick layer of rock in the Great Museum of
the Maya World in Mérida is rich in iridium — an
element rare on Earth but relatively abundant
in asteroids. It is the smoking gun for the impact
British astronaut Tim Peake photographed the Yucatán Peninsula and the surrounding Gulf of Mexico, that wiped out the dinosaurs and a majority of
centered roughly on the Chicxulub impact site, from the International Space Station. ESA/NASA our planet’s other life 66 million years ago.
In exactly the opposite direction to the sources of water as well as sacred places
Sun, I can see Earth’s shadow as a dark
blue band, drained of most of its color,
that served as gateways to the afterlife.
On day two of the shoot, I visit the
PROTECT OUR PLANET
right down to the horizon. This shadow Chicxulub Crater Museum at the Yucatán ON ASTEROID DAY
descends quickly, in concert with the rising Science and Technology Park. This is Asteroid Day is an annual global event that
Sun. Above that appears the rosy-pink where some of the best samples from the brings together people from around the
color of the Belt of Venus and, higher drilling will return after scientists have world to educate them and raise awareness
still, a transition back to blue again. It’s analyzed them in Bremen, Germany. I then about the threat of asteroids — both to
magic indeed! photograph iridium rock samples at the Earth and to life on our planet. It also
actively supports ways to protect Earth
I have to work quickly as the lighting Great Museum of the Maya World in
from this threat through its partnership
changes, and I shoot both toward the light Mérida. Researchers find this layer of irid- with various international space agencies
and then in the other direction, using the ium, laid down 66 million years ago at the and prestigious institutions.
rising Sun’s warm and still-soft light before boundary between the Cretaceous and Asteroid Day (asteroidday.org) is held
it hardens. Meanwhile, I’m looking for help Paleogene periods, around the world. It is on June 30, the anniversary of the 1908
from Lady Luck — maybe pelicans dive- the smoking gun for the global events that Tunguska event in which an asteroid
bombing for fish (birds evolved from dino- included the annihilation of 75 percent of exploded in the atmosphere and flattened
800 square miles (2,000 square kilometers)
saurs, right?), a passing boat, or some living species, providing an opportunity
of Siberian forest. This is the largest impact
drama in the sky. for humans to one day evolve. in recorded history.
The following day brings exciting news. Astronomy magazine is a major partner
Scouting the crater British astronaut Tim Peake tweeted a pho- of Asteroid Day, with Editor David J. Eicher
Back at the hotel, I meet up with my guide tograph he took of the Yucatán Peninsula serving as its editor-in-chief. I’m proud to be
for the day. By lunchtime, we’ve made the from the International Space Station (ISS). Asteroid Day’s photographer-in-residence
drive through remote villages to a cenote This image required a lot of planning and have been involved with this move-
ment since its inception. — M. A.
— a sinkhole that forms as groundwater because the ISS had to be in a favorable
dissolves the surface limestone and causes orbit when he had some free time. Peake
a collapse. Nearly 1,000 of these holes form scored a bull’s-eye, with the impact site training by email while he was on the ISS.
an arc at a radius of about 55 miles (90km) lying smack in the middle of the photo. I suggested that he photograph impact cra-
from ground zero, tracing out the south- I had asked Peake to take the photo- ters, and I provided him with a list of pos-
ern boundary of the crater’s outer rim. To graph to coincide with the scientific expedi- sible targets that included Chicxulub.
the ancient Maya, cenotes were valuable tion drilling into the impact crater, and also
to help raise awareness for Asteroid Day Drilling for geologic gold
Photographer Max Alexander specializes in (see “Protect our planet on Asteroid Day,” at On my final day, May 11, I join a mixture
science communication, which has included two right). As part of my work for the UK Space of media, scientists, and returning drillers
exhibitions at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Agency, I photographed Peake’s astronaut on a one-hour journey by supply boat to the
He has a lifelong interest in astronomy and training in Germany and Russia. I also gave drilling platform. Expectations are running
travels the world for his photographic projects. him some general on-orbit photography high, and many of us are no doubt thinking
Snorkelers enjoy the deep-blue waters of the Yaluts’il Cenote, a sinkhole. Nearly 1,000 similar sinkholes trace the Chicxulub crater’s outer rim.
A pelican dives toward the sea off the coast of Chicxulub Puerto, the town
closest to where a large asteroid smashed into Earth 66 million years ago.
A boatman plies the waters near Chicxulub Puerto. The asteroid that killed The shoreline of Chicxulub Puerto would have been within the blast zone of
the dinosaurs and some 75 percent of all species crashed not far offshore. the impact that formed the crater named after the town.
Researchers used this massive drill (left) to
dig deep into the peak ring of the Chicxulub
crater. A drill operator (above) makes sure all
systems are go for the next stage of drilling.
The European Consortium for Ocean Research
Drilling runs this operation.
drilled to a depth of 2,710 feet (825m), with

a goal to get to 4,920 feet (1,500m) by early
June — the cutoff date due to the start
of hurricane season. (They ultimately
would reach about 4,265 feet [1,300m].)
The peak ring starts at about 2,130 feet
(650m), so they already are drilling into
this buried treasure.
We only have about three hours on
about the asteroid that crashed here so long tweeted his photograph of the drilling area board, and there’s a lot to see and photo-
ago, convulsing the planet and causing from space. They are now on the lookout graph. Crew members bring three cores
tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, for the ISS passing over at night. wrapped in thick protective plastic out
and, most significantly for the larger world, The drilling, run by the European from the refrigeration unit for me to pho-
an ash cloud that covered the planet for Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling tograph. Each one comes from a different
many years and blocked out the Sun. as part of the International Ocean depth and has distinctive properties: sedi-
The platform slowly appears on the Gulf Discovery Program, targets the crater’s mentary rock, impact melt (the crystallized
of Mexico horizon. It is actually a boat, the peak ring — the structure created when the remnants of the rock that melted from the
L/B Myrtle, raised about 115 feet (35m) impact’s heat liquefied the granite bedrock, heat of the asteroid impact), and a hybrid
above the ocean floor by three pylons, each which rebounded to form a circular ridge. of impact melt and the pre-existing granite
with a large pad that sits on the seafloor. It extends about 25 miles (40km) from bedrock known as breccia. The two lead
We are loaded four at a time into what is ground zero. Planetary scientists see simi- scientists, Sean Gulick from the University
called a Billy Pugh basket, with only two lar peak rings in large craters on the Moon, of Texas at Austin and Joanna Morgan
vertical ropes keeping us from a plunge Mercury, and Mars. from Imperial College London, discuss the
into the sea below, and hoisted aboard by Scientists chose this section of the samples while I take photos.
a crane. There’s a real buzz on board, and impact feature partly because it lies at a The scientists are extremely excited about
the crew is delighted that astronaut Peake depth that’s fairly easy to reach. They have their bounty. Morgan tells me that she can’t
(Top) A crew member holds a diamond-tipped
drill bit used to penetrate Earth’s crust and
retrieve core samples from the peak ring of the
Chicxulub crater.
(Above) Researchers used these drill bits to

probe the parts of Earth’s crust modified by the
giant Chicxulub impact. Core samples lie next
to the bits.
sleep for thinking about the science models

that will come out of what they are seeing.
Their discoveries are sure to rewrite part of
Earth’s history, unlocking secrets about
both the geology and how life re-established
itself — and underpinning the serious dam-
age asteroids can do to our planet.
I then shoot some of the onboard labs,
samples, diamond-tipped drills, and the
drilling operation itself. Finally, I take
some portraits of the scientists before they
have to rush off for a live radio show. It’s all
over very quickly. Almost before I have a
(Top) Lead scientists Joanna Morgan (left) and
chance to fully appreciate my visit, I’m back Sean Gulick inspect some core samples recently
in the basket and positioned so I can get a brought up from the seafloor.
high shot overlooking the drilling area as
(Above) Researchers analyze a core sample in
we are hoisted back onto the supply boat.
the ship’s petrophysics laboratory. These initial
Astronomy and dinosaurs — you really studies measure the core’s density, resistivity,
can’t go wrong when you combine those and other properties.
two things! The trip has been a blast —
(Left) A scientist working in one of the labs on
thankfully more muted than the one the drilling platform uses a microscope to study
66 million years ago — and certainly one a piece of shocked quartz formed as a result of
I will long remember. the massive Chicxulub impact.
DEEP-SKY OBSERVING
How to
You think star clusters are boring? Wait until you see
these colorful gems — they’ll knock your socks off.
by Phil Harrington
Visible to the
naked eye, the
Pleiades star
cluster (M45)
stands out as a
dipper-shaped
grouping of
brilliant blue-
white suns.
WARREN A. KELLER
he universe is full of wonderful, telescope. Records show that Hipparchus
colorful vistas. One glance at some was first to record its existence as far back
of the glorious color photographs as the second century b.c. Further proof of
found throughout this magazine the cluster’s pre-telescopic prominence is
certainly makes that clear. evident by the pair’s alter egos of h and Chi
But when we look toward the (χ) Persei, assigned by early celestial car-
heavens through our telescopes, tographers and originally intended to
many people come away disap- denote bright stars.
pointed to find that those colors Both clusters are primarily composed of
are not as brilliant as they had hoped. Sadly, hot type A and type B supergiant, superlu-
the fault is not with the stars, but with our minous suns. Some 200 stars call NGC 869
eyes. It turns out that under dim lighting, home, while NGC 884 is made up of about
the human eye is nearly colorblind. 150 stars. Several red supergiants are vis-
Yet not all color remains hidden from ible in NGC 884, but they are con-
our view. Scattered throughout the sky are spicuously absent in NGC 869.
many vibrant open star clusters that shine The Pleiades. Is

with a luster that can only be appreciated there any star clus- Forming the
center of the con-
by the eye of an observer peering carefully ter more spectacular stellation Taurus,
through a telescope. There, strewn across a through binoculars the Hyades star
velvety-black backdrop, is a king’s ransom than the Pleiades cluster is one of
the closest to
in stellar diamonds, rubies, and sapphires (M45)? If so, I don’t our solar system,
shining with sparkling, iridescent hues of know of it. One look and in this image
blue, red, yellow, and orange. at the Pleiades it hosts a tiny
Before we begin our survey, here’s a through 7x or 10x greenish comet,
Kushida. CHRIS SCHUR
quick trick of the trade. When you look for binoculars and
colors in stars, it helps to defocus the view you’ll feel like
ever so slightly. By racking your scope’s eye- you’ve broken into the vault of that great
piece outside of focus (move it toward your jewelry store in the sky! There before our
eye) just a bit, you’ll actually enhance color eyes glow a dozen or more stellar blue sap-
saturation. How far out of focus do you phires. Speckles of diamond dust, the clus-
need to move the ter’s fainter stars, surround them.
NGC 2244 is a eyepiece? It depends The Hyades. Even though it is not an
colorful star largely on your eyes. actual member of the cluster, the brilliant
cluster that is But give it a try; you orange star Aldebaran [Alpha (α) Tauri]
condensing out of
the surrounding
may be surprised at adds dramatic color to the V-shaped
Rosette Nebula, the improvement. Hyades. At 151 light-years away, the
visible as a Now on with our Hyades is one of the closest open star clus-
reddish wreath survey. ters to our solar system, with more than
of nebulosity in
the constellation NGC 869 and 130 of its stars brighter than magnitude 9.
Monoceros. NGC 884. Except for Aldebaran is even closer, only about
RICHARD MCCOY the Pleiades, no 60 light-years away. Together, they create
other autumn cluster a beautiful scene through 7x to 10x binocu-
compares to either NGC 869 or NGC 884, lars, ranking as one of the northern winter
and when you add both together, the view
literally overflows with splendor. Although Phil Harrington is a longtime contributing
Charles Messier apparently never saw the editor of Astronomy. He is the author of our
Double Cluster in Perseus, its discovery monthly column on observing with binoculars,
dates to long before the invention of the and has written many astronomy books.
Bright Scorpius
star cluster M6
is often called
the Butterfly
Cluster because
of its graceful, of the “clusterites” shine with the charac-
winglike shape. teristic blue-white hue of young stars,
BERNHARD HUBL
although a lone, ruddy beacon punctuates
its center.
binoculars M67 in Cancer is a crowded horde
can pick up of some 500 stars that shine at 10th
about two dozen magnitude and below. This great
of the cluster’s population creates an impressive
stars, while tele- sight in all instruments, but
scopes cause the cluster especially through 4-inch and
to burst with splendor. larger scopes. With low power,
When first encountering many small- to medium-size
M41, most observers immedi- telescopes display what appears
ately notice how some of the brighter to be nebulosity engulfing the
members create a central “keystone” figure cluster. This is only an illusion
strongly reminiscent of the central part in because when you increase the
the constellation Hercules. Many shine aperture and magnification, the
with hints of yellow, orange, and blue- “clouds” blow away. In their place
white. Most of the suns are crammed are myriad stars, many glowing with
within 30', though some stragglers may be traces of yellow, orange,
traced out to 45'. and red. These colors The Double
Collinder 135 is a large, scattered open point to the fact that Cluster in Perseus,
consisting of
cluster in Puppis, south of Canis Major. M67 is largely made up NGC 869 and
The brightest star in the cluster, magni- of mature stars, making NGC 884, forms
tude 2.7 Pi (π) Puppis, is classified as an it is one of the oldest an incredibly
orange supergiant and stands out nicely open clusters known. rich area of stars.
THOMAS V. DAVIS
among the other blue-white cluster stars. M6, north of the tail
sky’s best binocular Collinder 135 includes the double star of Scorpius, has been
The rarely clusters. Upsilon1 (υ1) and Upsilon2 (υ2) Puppis, just nicknamed the Butterfly Cluster for its
observed cluster
NGC 2244. Set north of Pi, and a solitary 5th-magnitude remarkable resemblance to one of those
NGC 7209 in
Lacerta appears in Monoceros about star to the west that collectively gives the graceful insects in flight. Most observers
scattered 10° east-southeast of cluster a distinctive arrowhead shape. If can immediately spot two “wings” of stars
throughout a Orion’s Betelgeuse, you have a good view to the south, as they spread out from the group’s more
rich star field.
ANTHONY AYIOMAMITIS
open cluster Collinder 135 will quickly become one of densely packed “body.” While many tele-
NGC 2244 is best your wintertime favorites, a hidden secret scopes have too restrictive a field of view to
known to deep-sky for binocular observers that is missed by take in its full glory, binoculars and rich-
observers as the power source behind the those viewing through telescopes alone. field instruments display a wondrous sight.
famous Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237–9).
Although the clouds of the Rosette are dif-
ficult to glimpse visually, the cluster is
bright enough to be seen through finder
scopes and even with the naked eye on
exceptional nights. M50, the only Messier object in Of the 80 stars that make up the celestial
Binoculars immediately reveal the Monoceros, is a magnificent open cluster butterfly, more than a third are bright
group’s half-dozen brightest stars held in a that sadly seems to be ignored by many enough to be seen through 10x binoculars.
distinctive rectangular pattern. Brightest amateur astronomers. To locate this lovely Observers viewing through big binoculars
of all is 6th-magnitude 12 Monocerotis, a flock, draw an imaginary line between can count almost 50 suns, while 6- to
yellowish sun, followed close behind by a Sirius [Alpha Canis Majoris] and Theta (θ) 8-inch rich-field telescopes reveal just
nearby blue-white star. Scattered within Canis Majoris, a 3rd-magnitude star about about all of the cluster members. The
and surrounding the stellar rectangle lie 5° to the northeast. Using your finder, brightest star within M6 is a blazing orange
more than 90 fainter stars. Together, they extend this line 5° northeast. There, lighthouse known as BM Scorpii, which is
create a magnitude 4.8 splash across nearly within a triangle of faint stars, you should an irregular variable. Across an average
a quarter-degree of sky. spot the 6th-magnitude glow of M50. period of 850 days, this star fluctuates
M41 in Canis Major is one of the most M50 covers 16' and is made up of 80 between magnitudes 7 and 9.
dazzling open clusters in the sky, regard- stars. About two dozen of these are visible M7, just southeast of M6, was first
less of the instrument used to view it. through small telescopes, while an 8-inch recorded in the second century a.d., when
Even through suburban skies, low-power scope easily quadruples that count. Most Claudius Ptolemy identified it as a
Open star cluster
M41 in the con-
yellow 6th-magni- stellation Canis
tude star lying close Major provides
a dazzling array
to the group’s center. of stellar gems
Another yellowish south of the
star is near its north- sky’s brightest NGC 7209. Few amateurs are familiar
western border. star, Sirius. with this glittering treasure chest of stellar
ANTHONY AYIOMAMITIS
nebulous patch in his monumental work, NGC 6940 is a jewels because of its remote location in the
Almagest. Sixteen centuries later, Messier striking open cluster obscure constellation Lacerta the Lizard. It
included it in his now-famous catalog of lying just inside the northern border of lies 16° east of Deneb [Alpha Cygni] in
deep-sky objects, where it remains as his Vulpecula. Astronomy columnist Stephen neighboring Cygnus, about a degree north
list’s southernmost entry. James O’Meara, noting that this cluster of a tight isosceles triangle of 5th- and 6th-
Messier’s description of M7 reads, in looks like a moth, called it “Mothra.” magnitude stars.
part, “a cluster considerably larger than the All of the five dozen stars that make up Nearly all apertures show NGC 7209
preceding (M6).” To me, this seems a bit this rich collection shine like ice-blue sap- well. Through a 6-inch scope, the cluster
sterile for such a magnificent cluster of phires against an inky-black backdrop, appears as a warm glow peppered with
stars. My 7x50 binoculars give the illusion save for one renegade. That maverick also many stars 10th magnitude and fainter.
of a three-dimensional effect, with many happens to be the group’s brightest star, Larger instruments increase the count to
of the brighter stars almost floating in FG Vulpeculae, a ruby-red semi-regular almost 100 suns scattered loosely across a
front of a field strewn with fainter points variable star. FG ranges in brightness from field 20' wide.
of light. Colors abound in the stars of M7, magnitude 9.0 to 9.5 over about 80 days The colorful clusters mentioned here
with several displaying soft hues of yellow and offers a striking color contrast with its provide just a sampling of what awaits
and blue. The brightest star in M7 is a blue-white brethren. deep-sky observers in search of buried
treasure hidden in the firmament.
Another notable
open cluster
in Monoceros,
M50, rarely gets
observed —
and deserves Lying near M6,
more attention. Ptolemy’s Cluster
BERNHARD HUBL (M7) is bigger,
brighter, and
one of the most
dazzling in the
summer sky.
THOMAS V. DAVIS
SKYTHIS Visible to the naked eye
MONTH MARTIN RATCLIFFE and ALISTER LING describe the

solar system’s changing landscape as it appears in Earth’s sky.
Visible with binoculars
Visible with a telescope
December 2016: Inner planet convention

Venus’ right on the 2nd and
a similar distance above the
planet the following night. By
December 4, the Moon moves
to a point 6° to Mars’ right.
Truth be told, however,
you won’t need the Moon’s
help to find Venus. The
planet shines brilliantly at
magnitude –4.2 in early
December and brightens to
magnitude –4.4 by month’s
close. No other object comes
close except when the Moon
shares the sky.
Venus also gains consider-
able altitude during Decem-
ber. The planet appears some
15° high in the southwest an
hour after sunset early in the
month. By New Year’s Eve, it
Brilliant Venus pointed the way to Mercury (below) in this desert scene from January 4, 2015. The two planets will stands 25° high and sets
light up evening twilight again this month. ALAN DYER nearly four hours after the
Sun. The greater altitude
T
hree bright planets should see Mercury. The disk that measures 8.0" across means that a telescope will
adorn December’s innermost planet shines at and is just one-third lit. deliver sharper views. On the
evening sky. Mercury, magnitude –0.5, bright The Moon pointed the way 31st, Venus shows a disk 22"
Venus, and Mars line up enough to see against the to Mercury on December 1, across and 57 percent lit.
above the southwestern twilight with the naked eye, and it performs a similar ser- The inner planet calls
horizon, changing positions though you may need binocu- vice for the other evening three different constellations
relative to one another night lars to locate it initially. Point planets in the days after. The home this month. It spends
by night. As a bonus, the Red a telescope at Mercury and waxing crescent lies 8° to December’s first week in
Planet passes breathtakingly you’ll see a 5.6"-diameter disk
close to Neptune on New that is 82 percent lit. An inner planet’s star turn
Year’s Eve. The morning sky With each passing day, the
appears more subdued, with inner world becomes a bit
Venus
brilliant Jupiter the lone planet easier to see as it climbs into
visible in a dark sky. a darker sky. At greatest elon-
The action gets underway gation on December 10,
early on the evening of Decem- Mercury lies 21° east of the
ber 1. Thirty minutes after sun- Sun and appears 7° high a
set, a two-day-old Moon stands half-hour after sunset. A tele-
15° high in the southwest. If scope reveals a disk that spans
you drop two-thirds of the way 6.6" with sunlight illuminat- Mercury
to the horizon from there, you ing 63 percent of it.
Although the planet starts SAGIT TARIUS 5°
Martin Ratcliffe provides plane- to dim after greatest elonga-
tarium development for Sky-Skan, tion, it maintains its altitude
Inc., from his home in Wichita, for another week. The view December 10, 30 minutes after sunset
Looking southwest
Kansas. Meteorologist Alister through a telescope also
Ling works for Environment improves. On the 17th, mag- Mercury lies low in evening twilight during December’s first half. Use Venus
Canada in Edmonton, Alberta. nitude 0.0 Mercury shows a as a guide to find the innermost planet. ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY
RISINGMOON
At the edge of a tranquil sea Julius Caesar and Rima Ariadaeus
The gorgeous crescent Moons nature create this weird land-

Julius Caesar
that adorn early December’s eve- scape? Scientists have pieced
ning sky show an abundance of together the likely story. First,
features through any telescope. an asteroid slammed into the Mare Tranquillitatis
The most striking details appear young Moon, carving out the
Arago
along the terminator, the line huge Mare Tranquillitatis basin.
that divides day from night, Next, a smaller impactor
when the low Sun casts long scooped out the 55-mile-wide Rima N
Ariadaeus
shadows that exaggerate the crater Julius Caesar. The crater Ariadaeus
apparent height of features. formed on a slope, which left its E
Under a higher Sun, the topogra- eastern rim lower. Later still, lava
phy seems to vanish. The north- welled up through cracks in the The crater named for Julius Caesar formed on a slope, and lava flows
south ridges crossing the plains large basin next door. The rising later breached its eastern side. CONSOLIDATED LUNAR ATLAS/UA/LPL; INSET: NASA/GSFC/ASU
of Mare Tranquillitatis stand out lava breached Julius Caesar’s
on December 4, when sunlight eastern wall and swallowed the created when two zones pulled eastern end. By the next eve-
first touches the ramparts of the central peak, too, but could not apart. The low Sun highlights ning (the 6th), the Sun reveals
sharply defined crater Arago. reach the higher western wall. the roughness of the terrain the equally impressive Rima
By the 5th, the illumination The long line south of Julius here. Ariadaeus Crater is the Hyginus to the west, though
nearly matches that in the image Caesar is Rima Ariadaeus, a col- larger of the two overlapping Rima Ariadaeus has started
at right. How did the forces of lapsed valley a half-mile deep craters just south of the valley’s to disappear.
eastern Sagittarius, passing

0.8° south of 9th-magnitude METEORWATCH Ursid meteors
globular star cluster M75 on Active dates: December 17–26
the 6th. It crosses into Capri-
cornus the following day and
Will the Bear Ursid meteor shower Peak: December 22
Moon at peak: Waning crescent
then makes a beeline through best the Twins? Maximum rate at peak:
10 meteors/hour
the heart of the Sea Goat. The
planet slides 1° north of this December typically features two
fine annual meteor showers: the CASSIOPEIA Polaris UR SA
constellation’s brightest star, MAJOR
magnitude 2.8 Delta (δ) prolific Geminids and the minor Radiant
Capricorni, on the 28th. The Ursids. Unfortunately, a bright Kochab
CEPHEUS URSA
final day of 2016 sees Venus Moon interferes with the Geminids
MINOR
slip across the next constella- this year. The shower peaks on the
night of December 13/14, the same
tion boundary into Aquarius.
night as this month’s Full Moon.
The planet’s rapid motion DR AC O
Scattered moonlight will drown
makes it appear as if it is chas-
out all but the brightest meteors.
ing Mars. The two planets
The “shooting stars” appear to radi-
stand 23° apart on the 1st; the ate from Gemini the Twins, while
gap shrinks to 12° by the 31st. 10°
the Full Moon lies one constella-
At magnitude 0.8 in mid- tion to the west, in Orion. Although December 22, 1 A.M.
December, Mars glows 100 rates can reach 120 meteors per Looking north
times more dimly than Venus. hour in good years, the Moon likely
Still, the Red Planet appears Expect to see up to 10 meteors per hour coming from Ursa Minor on the
will reduce this by 90 percent. night of December 21/22, at least before the Moon rises around 1 A.M.
conspicuous because of its You’ll probably have more suc-
greater altitude and distinc- cess viewing the Ursids. This after 1 A.M. local time. The best Little Dipper’s bowl, in the con-
tive color. shower peaks on the night of views should come within an stellation Ursa Minor the Little
Mars begins the month in December 21/22 under a waning hour of midnight. The shower’s Bear. Expect to see 10 meteors
central Capricornus. Its east- crescent Moon, which rises just radiant lies near Kochab in the per hour under a dark sky.
ward journey carries it 1.5°
north of Delta Cap on Decem-
ber 11, and it crosses into OBSERVING Mercury shines brightly in evening twilight around the time
— Continued on page 42 HIGHLIGHT of its December 10 greatest elongation.
N
STAR
DOME `
A M
AJO
URS
_
f
_ d
How to use this map: This map portrays the
a
sky as seen near 35° north latitude. Located `
inside the border are the cardinal directions e
and their intermediate points. To find 2
M8 c
stars, hold the map overhead and 1
M8 MINOR
orient it so one of the labels matches URSA
the direction you’re facing. The NE
stars above the map’s horizon k NCP
now match what’s in the sky. b
LY
_ Polaris
N
X
The all-sky map shows S
how the sky looks at: EU
PH
CA CE
9 P.M. December 1
a
M `
Ca
8 P.M. December 15
Poll
EL
sto O
7 P.M. December 31
PA _
ux
r
RD _
AL +
GE f
Planets are shown
_
`
IS ` c
g
A
at midmonth PEI b
MI
¡ IO
ASS
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N
P C
AU e
b
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NGC 8 `
84 R S E
pe
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S NGC 869 _
M3
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a
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CANIS MINOR
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f
`
`
`
ED
TAU R U S
a
M1
l
a
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Plei
IA
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ade
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M33
Betelgeuse
U
ORIO
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h
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ya
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Ald
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ES
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STAR _ a
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MAGNITUDES
i
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Sirius
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Mira
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0.0
el
3.0 b
1.0 Q
4.0 A
+
_
a ER
2.0 5.0 ID
CETUS
LE
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US
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o
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STAR COLORS
NGC 253
A star’s color depends
on its surface temperature.
FOR SGP
• The hottest stars shine blue SE _ NAX
_
• Slightly cooler stars appear white
SC
UL
PT
• Intermediate stars (like the Sun) glow yellow
• Lower-temperature stars appear orange
• The coolest stars glow red e

• Fainter stars can’t excite our eyes’ color
receptors, so they appear white unless you
a
PHOENI
X
_
use optical aid to gather more light `
38 A ST R O N O M Y • D E C E M B E R 2016 S
Note: Moon phases in the calendar vary
in size due to the distance from Earth
DECEMBER 2016 and are shown at 0h Universal Time.
SUN. MON. TUES. WED. THURS. FRI. SAT.
MAP SYMBOLS
Open cluster
O 1 2 3
`
AC Globular cluster
DR i
Diffuse nebula
a 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Planetary nebula
NW
Galaxy
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY

a g `
Ve 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
A
_
R
LY
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
57
M
a
US
d b
LA
N
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
b
YG
CU
ne
`
De
E
_
LP
d
r
_
Calendar of events
VU
TA
ER
2 Asteroid Vesta is stationary, 18 The Moon passes 1.0° south of

M27
¡
C
11 P.M. EST Regulus, 2 P.M. EST

LA
TA
a
19 Mercury is stationary, 2 A.M. EST

SAGIT
3 The Moon passes 6° north of

Venus, 8 A.M. EST
c
a
AQUIL A
20 Last Quarter Moon

Altair
_
DELPHINUS
occurs at 8:56 P.M. EST

_
5 The Moon passes 3° north of

Mars, 6 A.M. EST
d
`
`
W 21 Winter solstice occurs at

`
6 The Moon passes 0.7° north of 5:44 A.M. EST

+
M15
Neptune, 5 P.M. EST

SUS
22 Ursid meteor shower peaks

US
7 First Quarter Moon

PEGA
ULE
Enif
occurs at 4:03 A.M. EST The Moon passes 2° north of

Jupiter, noon EST
E Q U_
_
9 The Moon passes 3° south of

c
Uranus, 3 P.M. EST 25 The Moon is at apogee (252,196

NUS
e
miles from Earth), 12:55 A.M. EST

_
10 Saturn is in conjunction with

CAPRICOR
`
the Sun, 7 A.M. EST 27 The Moon passes 4° north of

a
Saturn, 4 P.M. EST

Mercury is at greatest eastern
elongation (21°), midnight EST 28 Mercury is in inferior
S Path of the S conjunction, 2 P.M. EST
IU u n (e cli pt ic)
R 12 The Moon is at perigee
A
U (222,737 miles from Earth), 29 New Moon occurs at
Q
a
s
1:53 A.M. EST

ar
6:29 P.M. EST

b
M
b
The Moon passes 0.5° north of Uranus is stationary, 11 A.M. EST

S
U Aldebaran, midnight EST
IS
I N
SC TR SPECIAL OBSERVING DATE
PI US 13 Full Moon occurs at
t A 31 Mars appears within 0.1°
au 7:06 P.M. EST
alh of Neptune during the
m evening hours.
Fo SW Geminid meteor shower peaks
R _
TO
15 Dwarf planet Ceres is
stationary, 2 A.M. EST
BEGINNERS: WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO READ A STAR CHART AT www.Astronomy.com/starchart.
PATH OF THE
PLANETS The planets in December 2016
DR A
Objects visible before dawn UM a
LY N
HER CVn
LMi PER
LYR BOÖ GEM AUR
C OM Path of the Sun (ecliptic

C rB LEO Vesta )
SER CNC TAU

OPH
SE R CMi
Eunomia Celestial equator
ORI
VI R SEX
LI B MON
SCT n Jupiter
he Moo E RI
Path of t CRT
HYA
Saturn CRV CM a
Sun
LEP
PYX C OL
ANT
LUP
SCO PUP CAE
CEN
TEL V EL
Moon phases Dawn Midnight
To locate the Moon in the sky, draw a line from the phase shown for the day straight up to the curved blue line.
Note: Moons vary in size due to the distance from Earth and are shown at 0h Universal Time.
2 1
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
The planets These illustrations show the size, phase, and orientation of each planet and the two brightest dwarf planets at 0h UT
for the dates in the data table at bottom. South is at the top to match the view through a telescope.
in the sky
Mercury Uranus
Mars
S
W E
N Saturn Pluto
Venus Ceres Neptune
Jupiter
10"
Planets MERCURY VENUS MARS CERES JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO
Date Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 31 Dec. 15 Dec. 15 Dec. 15
Magnitude –0.4 –4.3 0.8 8.3 –1.8 0.5 5.8 7.9 14.3
Angular size 7.3" 18.7" 6.1" 0.6" 33.9" 15.1" 3.6" 2.3" 0.1"
Illumination 49% 64% 89% 98% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Distance (AU) from Earth 0.916 0.893 1.528 2.251 5.808 10.976 19.473 30.175 34.136
Distance (AU) from Sun 0.339 0.725 1.396 2.842 5.456 10.048 19.942 29.952 33.232
Right ascension (2000.0) 18h58.4m 20h45.3m 21h56.4m 1h30.8m 13h11.2m 17h21.3m 1h16.3m 22h44.4m 19h09.5m
Declination (2000.0) –24°12' –20°21' –13°48' –0°05' –6°13' –21°51' 7°24' –8°55' –21°25'
This map unfolds the entire night sky from sunset (at right) until sunrise (at left).
Arrows and colored dots show motions and locations of solar system objects during the month.
CAS
Objects visible in the evening
DR A
Jupiter’s moons
AN D
Dots display positions
L AC Io
CYG HER of Galilean satellites at
5 A.M. EST on the date Europa
TR I LY R shown. South is at the
top to match
S
AR I VUL the view
PEG Ganymede
through a W E
S GE telescope. N Callisto
Mars and Neptune approach
Uranus PSC within 0.1° of each other OPH 1
on December 31 AQL SER
2
Ceres AQR
Melpomene 3
Neptune Ma SCT
CET rs
Pluto 4
Venus Sun
5 Jupiter
SCL PsA CAP
F OR
S GR 6
C rA Mercury appears bright
MIC in the evening sky during 7
PHE SCDecember
the first half of O
GRU
8
Early evening
9
10
31 30 29 28 27
11
12
11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 Io
14
15
Earth
Winter solstice is 16 Europa
December 21
17
Ceres
Venus 18 Callisto Ganymede
Mercury
Mars Greatest eastern elongation 19
is December 10
20
Jupiter
21
22
23
24
25
The planets 26
in their orbits
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY
Uranus 27
Arrows show the inner Jupiter 28

planets’ monthly motions Neptune
Saturn 29
and dots depict the outer Solar conjunction
planets’ positions at is December 10 30
midmonth from high
above their orbits. Pluto 31
— Continued from page 37
Mars visits Neptune
WHEN TO VIEW THE PLANETS N
EVENING SKY MIDNIGHT MORNING SKY

Mercury (southwest) Uranus (west) Jupiter (southeast)
Venus (southwest) Saturn (southeast) h
Mars (south)
Uranus (southeast)
Neptune (south) E Neptune
Mars
Aquarius on the 15th. The world providing a striking AQUARIUS

planet reaches the middle of contrast to the warm, ruddy
this constellation by New glow of Earth’s neighbor.
Year’s Eve, when it has a Mars spans 5.7" on the 31st,
spectacular reunion with some 2½ times bigger than 70
0.5°
Neptune. It’s the closest con- Neptune’s 2.2"-diameter disk.
junction between these two One constellation east of The Red Planet skims within 0.1° of distant Neptune on New Year’s Eve,
planets in more than 700 years. Aquarius lies Pisces the Fish, their closest approach since March 22, 1305.
For observers in North the home of Uranus. The
America, the two planets stand region stands high in the Piscium. This nice double star magnitude 6.0 star 88 Pis-
9.8' apart from the East Coast southeast after nightfall and lies 17° east-southeast of mag- cium, which lies 38' south-
and just 4.4' apart from the climbs nearly two-thirds of the nitude 2.8 Algenib (Gamma [γ] southeast of Zeta. A telescope
West Coast an hour before way to the zenith in the south- Pegasi), the star at the south- can confirm a planet sighting
they set. Those in Hawaii see ern sky an hour or two later. eastern corner of the Great by revealing its 3.6"-diameter,
closest approach, when Mars Although the planet shines at Square of Pegasus. Uranus blue-green disk.
skims 1.3' north of Neptune. magnitude 5.8, bright enough lies less than 1° east of Zeta At about the time that
The view through a telescope to see with the naked eye from throughout December. The Uranus dips below the west-
will be spectacular. Neptune a dark-sky site, binoculars gap between the two closes ern horizon, Jupiter rises in
looks like an 8th-magnitude make it much easier to spot. from 52' on the 1st to 35' dur- the east. There’s no mistaking
satellite of Mars, with the icy To track it down, first ing the month’s final days. the giant planet — at magni-
blue-gray hue of the distant locate 5th-magnitude Zeta (ζ) Don’t confuse Uranus with the tude –1.8, it is the brightest
COMETSEARCH
The start of good comet viewing Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova
N `
The next eight months promise 1.5° to the west-northwest. You’ll
to be a comet-chaser’s paradise. actually see the globular first
Astronomers predict that as because it shines about a mag-
many as five comets could shine nitude brighter than 45P. But the
e l
at 10th magnitude or brighter, dirty snowball brightens at a
p /
and three of them should come wonderful rate and should crack k m
E 31
within binocular range. The peak 8th magnitude by month’s end.
Path of Comet 45P SAGIT TARIUS
should come in February and The best aspect of viewing d 27
March, but the exhibition begins this comet will be its razor-sharp
23
in the second half of December. tail. On December 21, comet M75
Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos- watchers get an edge-on view 19
CAPRIC ORNUS
Pajdusakova arrives first. The of its fan-shaped dust outflow. Dec 15
Moon moves out of the evening Based on previous visits of this
sky on December 15, opening a periodic comet, astronomers
dark-sky window for the rest of expect it to show a round, blue- s 1°
the month. You’ll need an open green head at the front of a
This comet should brighten from 10th to 8th magnitude in the second
view to the southwest and have gray-white spike. Imagers likely half of December as it glides eastward through the stars of Capricornus.
eye to eyepiece an hour after will capture the faint blue emis-
sunset. The comet lies about 15° sions from the tail’s ionized gas. Japanese astronomer Minoru after. The comet returns to the
above the horizon on the 15th. Ten days later, on New Year’s Honda spotted the comet on inner solar system every 5.25
A bonus that evening is the Eve, astroimagers can catch a December 3, 1948, and Antonin years, but we don’t always get a
presence of the 9th-magnitude pretty crescent Moon posing Mrkos and Ludmila Pajdusakova good view. Fortunately, this is
globular star cluster M75 just just 3° from 45P. independently found it soon one of its best appearances.
Ganymede plays hide-and-seek
S
LOCATINGASTEROIDS
Callisto
Io
A whale of a good show
The largest object in the aster- magnitude 3.6 Theta (θ) Ceti,
Jupiter oid belt by far is the dwarf located on the Whale’s back.
planet Ceres, which spans an Then head 8° north to the
W Ganymede impressive 600 miles and holds magnitude 5.6 star 42 Ceti,
approximately one-third of the the brightest star on the chart
asteroid belt’s entire mass. Two below. Ceres lies about 3° east
years ago, astronomers knew of this star during the first half
precious little about this giant of December before it starts
30" ball of rock and ice. But that moving northward at a signifi-
Europa December 3, 4:30 A.M. PST
changed dramatically starting cantly faster pace.
in April 2015, when NASA’s The dwarf planet shines
On December 3, people in western North America can see this jovian moon
emerge from the planet’s shadow and then disappear behind its limb. Dawn spacecraft went into about as brightly as any of the
orbit. Each month brings new background stars in its immedi-
discoveries as planetary scien- ate vicinity. The map shows
point of light anywhere in the behind the planet (an occulta-
tists analyze the latest observa- stars down to magnitude 9.5,
morning sky. tion). Only outermost Callisto
tions. What better time could so you should be able to tell
Jupiter moves slowly against avoids Jupiter entirely; you
there be to track down this cap- which object is out of place
the backdrop of central Virgo can find it due north of the
tivating world through binocu- simply by comparing your eye-
this month. On December 1, planet’s disk around 3 a.m. lars or a telescope? piece view with the chart. If you
it stands 8° northwest of that EST on the 11th, for example. Fortunately, Ceres now can’t tell which of the myriad
constellation’s luminary, 1st- A trio of satellite events climbs more than halfway to points of light is Ceres, make a
magnitude Spica. The planet’s occurs on December 14. the zenith in the southern sky sketch of the area showing the
eastward journey carries it to Ganymede, the solar system’s in early evening. Although it relative positions of five or six
a point 4° north-northwest of largest moon, begins to transit dims from magnitude 8.1 to 8.6 stars. Return to the same field
the star by the 31st. Jupiter’s north polar region at during December, it lies in a a couple of nights later to con-
For the best views of Jupiter 2:40 a.m. EST. Although only fairly sparse region of Cetus the firm which object moved —
through a telescope, wait until observers in eastern North Whale. To find it, first locate that one is Ceres.
it climbs some 30° above the America can witness the tran-
southeastern horizon an hour sit’s start, nearly everyone can Ceres loops through Cetus
or so before twilight begins. see the conclusion at 5:08 a.m.
N
The giant planet offers a disk Io’s shadow begins a transit
large enough (34" across at just seven minutes later, at 31
midmonth) to deliver exquisite 5:15 a.m., followed by Io itself
detail through even the small- at 6:21 a.m. 26
est telescopes. Two broad, December 17 finds Europa CETUS
dark, atmospheric belts — one beginning to transit Jupiter at Path of Ceres 21
on either side of a brighter 3:56 a.m. EST, just 17 minutes E
zone that coincides with the before the same moon’s 16
equator — show up easily. shadow leaves the planet’s
Under excellent observing con- disk on the opposite limb. 11 42
ditions, a series of alternating A nice set of events involv- 43
belts and zones pops into view. ing Ganymede takes place 6
But not all of the action from western North America Dec 1 0.5°
resides in Jupiter’s atmosphere. on December 3. Because Earth
The planet boasts four large currently lies west of a line The asteroid belt’s only dwarf planet shines at 8th magnitude against
moons that change positions joining the Sun and Jupiter, the faint background stars of northern Cetus the Whale.
from night to night and some- we see the giant planet’s
times within an hour or two. shadow extending to the west.
Each of the three inner moons Ganymede orbits far enough the 3rd and remains in bright 90 minutes before the Sun and
typically appears east or west from its host that it can vanish sunlight until it slips behind climbs 6° above the southeast-
of Jupiter, but once each orbit, into Jupiter’s shadow, briefly Jupiter’s disk at 5:24 a.m. ern horizon some 45 minutes
it will pass in front of (transit) emerge into sunlight, and then Saturn briefly appears in before sunup. Saturn shines at
the giant world. Shortly before disappear behind the planet’s the morning sky at the end of magnitude 0.5, bright enough
a transit, the moon’s black disk. The moon comes out of December. On the 31st, the to see against the twilight
shadow sweeps across the shadow at 4:02 a.m. PST on ringed world rises nearly through binoculars.
jovian cloud tops. Half an orbit
later, the moon disappears GET DAILY UPDATES ON YOUR NIGHT SKY AT www.Astronomy.com/skythisweek.
ASKASTR0 Astronomy’s experts from around the globe answer your cosmic questions.
BLACK AND
BLUE MOON
Q: IF TWO FULL MOONS IN ONE CALENDAR
MONTH ARE CALLED A BLUE MOON, THEN
WHAT, IF ANYTHING, ARE TWO NEW MOONS
CALLED, AS OCCURRED IN SEPTEMBER?
Ronald R. Greene, Kingman, Arizona
A: The length of time between which lunar apparition should

any two occurrences of the be the “blue” one is sometimes
Moon’s phase is always 29.5 up for debate. One can imagine
days, but thanks to the varying a scenario in which two Full
length of calendar months, this Moons rise in June, but the
means we can occasionally get third Full Moon of summer
two Full Moons in one month doesn’t appear until July. No matter how many Full Moons appear in any given timespan, its color
(except for February); this is Which one should count as the will not actually change to blue. JOHN CHUMACK
indeed called a blue Moon. A blue Moon?
blue Moon can also (and more Astronomically speaking, it nomenclature, one occurred on A: Many astronomers (me
traditionally) refer to the third doesn’t matter in the slightest, October 30, following a New included) are somewhat puz-
of four Full Moons in one sea- but it makes for some delightful Moon on October 1 (both with zled as to why massive stars
son. In fact, the former — and barroom trivia, and exemplifies regard to Universal Time), just only rarely exhibit strong mag-
much more well known — how language evolves with use. in time for an extra-spooky netic fields at their surfaces.
usage arose from confusion The New Moon equivalent is Halloween. Part of the reason certainly
over applying the seasonal rule. usually referred to as a black Alternatively, a black Moon arises from the fact that mas-
This means that exactly Moon, and, depending on your can also refer to a month with sive stars do not contain con-
no Full Moon at all. A simple vective zones in their outer
comparison of the length of the layers, unlike lower-mass stars
lunar period and the length of such as the Sun. Consequently,
calendar months reveals that massive stars do not support a
February is the only month magnetic dynamo near the
that can host such darkness. surface that converts convec-
This phenomenon next occurs tive and rotational energy into
in February 2018. magnetic energy. Any magnetic
Korey Haynes field at the surface would have
Associate Editor to be a remnant of a past phase
of magnetic activity, or would
have to emerge from deep
Q: WHY ARE MAGNETIC down in the star. Long-lived
FIELDS RARE IN MASSIVE magnetic fields generated by
STARS AND IN CLOSE PAIRS? such mechanisms appear to be
AS FAR AS I KNOW, ALL rare, although the reasons are
STARS HAVE ROTATING not well understood.
PLASMA INTERIORS, SO However, many massive
THEY SHOULD ALL HAVE stars may contain strong mag-
MAGNETIC FIELDS. WOULD netic fields buried within their
THE LACK OF A MAGNETIC cores. Unlike their surfaces,
FIELD MEAN THAT THE STAR the cores of massive stars are
DOES NOT HAVE SOLAR convective due to vigorous
Our Sun’s activity is difficult to understand, even with close-up views.
FLARES? nuclear fusion near their cen-
Astrophysicists are still struggling to match theory to observation Suzanne Farkas ters. The combination of rota-
for stars both more massive and smaller than our home star. NASA/SDO Amherst, Ohio tion and convection likely
generates a magnetic dynamo
in the core, although we can’t
easily detect these magnetic
fields at the surface. Still, there
is new evidence from astroseis-
mology that these magnetic
fields exist, because they can be
detected through their effect
on stellar pulsations later in a
star’s life, when it evolves into a
red giant. Basically, magnetic
fields inhibit the pulsations due
to the strong magnetic tension
force associated with bending
magnetic field lines. This line
of research is preliminary, but
it may provide an exciting new
way to probe magnetic fields
deep inside of stars.
Jim Fuller
California Institute of Technology
Q: WHY DOES A GRAVITA- The “Cosmic Horseshoe” is the result of a luminous red galaxy gravitationally lensing a background blue galaxy
TIONAL LENS SOMETIMES that is almost — but not quite — perfectly aligned to make a ring. HUBBLE/NASA/ESA
CREATE AN EINSTEIN CROSS
WITH FOUR IMAGES AND the special case when the back- of the overall system. Once we parachute system without some
SOMETIMES A CIRCLE? ground source is point-like determine a shape, we use what degradation, so we build sev-
Javier Soto (usually a quasar — but in the we know about the planet’s eral parachutes and mortars at
Avila, Spain fascinating case of the lensed atmospheric profile (altitude the same time with the same
SN Refsdal, it was a super- vs. air density) and standard materials. From that group, or
A: Actually, there are many nova), we see four star-like aerodynamic equations to cal- lot as we call it, we select our
possible configurations besides appearances of the source, and culate the size the chute needs test units and reserve a flight
an Einstein Cross and a circle the image would be what we to be to achieve the desired unit. We perform a final series
(also known as an Einstein call an Einstein Cross. drag profile, force, and time on of tests on the lot to qualify
ring). The exact configuration Keren Sharon chute, and get the payload and accept the design as flight-
formed by gravitational lensing Assistant professor safely to ground. We also have worthy. At that point, the para-
depends on a few things: the University of Michigan to consider parachute materials chute system is ready to be
gravitational lens, the back- and refine the design based on packed into the spacecraft and
ground source, and the align- the type and weight of the load do its job.
ment between them. Q: HOW ARE PARACHUTES and the specific environment Dave Buecher
An Einstein ring can form if DEVELOPED AND TESTED of the planet or moon. Parallel Mechanical engineer
a background galaxy is posi- FOR LANDINGS ON THE to the parachute design, we Lockheed Martin
tioned exactly behind the cen- PLANETS BEYOND EARTH? also design and test the mortar
ter of a gravitational lens. Robert Smith — the device that deploys the
When the two are perfectly Orlando, Florida parachute. Send us your
aligned, there is circular sym- After the initial design is questions
metry; having no preferred A: Parachute design, develop- completed, we start testing, Send your astronomy
angle, the image of the back- ment, and testing for planets and update the design based on questions via email to
ground galaxy will form at all beyond Earth is very similar to results. Once the flight design askastro@astronomy.com,
the angles, and a circle will those designed for Earth. First, is completed, we manufacture or write to Ask Astro,
appear around the gravita- we pick a parachute type or multiple parachutes and mor- P. O. Box 1612, Waukesha,
tional lens. shape based on the expected tars for both the final testing as WI 53187. Be sure to tell us
We see four bright images speed of the probe when the well as the specific “flight” unit your full name and where
(instead of a ring) if the back- parachute needs to deploy, and that will actually operate on you live. Unfortunately, we
ground galaxy is not exactly the craft’s stability require- Venus or Mars — or wherever cannot answer all questions
behind the center of the lens, ments. The parachute shape our spacecraft takes it. We submitted.
but slightly off to one side. In dictates the drag and stability can’t deployment test our flight
Red Planet mayhem
Someday, Mars’ moon Phobos will slip past a certain point in

its degrading orbit and get ripped apart by tidal forces, form-
ing a ring. This illustration depicts Phobos midway through
that process, overlooking the Red Planet. RON MILLER FOR ASTRONOMY
Phobos, a moon of Mars,
is destined to be shredded,
changing the Red Planet forever.
by Joel Davis
Lord of the rings
While we know of thousands of exoplanets, only one exoring system has been found. J1407b is a massive planet
with rings so large they block out their parent star’s light. It has a total of 30 systems in its rings, and the system
has a diameter of 74 million miles (119 million kilometers). To put that in perspective, if the ring system were around
our Sun, it would stretch all the way past Venus and fall a bit short of Earth’s orbit. J1407b is massive enough that
it may not technically qualify as a planet, and may instead be a brown dwarf, a class of objects encompassing
“failed stars.” The object is estimated to be 20 times more massive than Jupiter. RON MILLER
Phobos, it seems, is not long It appears the process of coming apart at the seams has
already begun. Images of Phobos taken by the Viking orbiters
for this universe — at least and other spacecraft show a network of grooves in the tiny
moon’s surface. At first they appeared to radiate from near
on the large cosmic timescale. Stickney Crater, and geologists assumed that the grooves were
cracks caused by the ancient impact. Some certainly are just that,
Astronomers have long known that Phobos, the larger and but not all. In 2015, Terry Hurford of NASA’s Goddard Space
nearer of the two martian moons, is slowly spiraling inward to Flight Center and his colleagues reported a new analysis of the
eventual destruction. The end result won’t be pretty: Phobos will grooves. Most of them actually radiate from the side of Phobos
slip closer and closer toward Mars, then strike a gravitational line that constantly faces Mars; tidal forces caused by Mars’ gravita-
where the planet’s tidal forces will be strong enough to tional pull are deforming Phobos. Hurford believes the
rip it apart. The rubble pile-like moon will break grooves are stretch marks, a visible sign of the inexo-
into smaller boulders, rocks, and dust, and rable grip of tidal forces on the moon.
will spread out in orbit around Mars. The future martian ring will not be the only one
Mars will join the gas giants in having a in the solar system, of course. Nor will it be the
spectacular feature: a ring system. only ring whose existence depends on a moon.
It could be 25 million years from now. There are rings across the giant planets: the four
It could be up to 75 million years. Recent dusty rings of Jupiter; Uranus’ 13 dark, thin rings;
discoveries about the little moon’s composi- and Neptune’s five faint rings and four enigmatic
tion and density, however, make it far more ring arcs are — like the future ring around Mars
likely that its death dive will happen sooner. — all intimately linked to moons and moonlets.
The pieces that don’t form a ring will fall to the And of course, the most familiar ringed planet is
surface, smashing with enough force to pockmark Saturn, whose icy surrounding matter can be seen
Mars with new craters. even through a small telescope.
“A lot of planetary science focuses on what happened
in the past and what’s happening now,” says planetary scientist Saturn’s magnificent rings
Benjamin A. Black. “It’s not often that we look at the future, at Galileo Galilei saw what turned out to be Saturn’s spectacular ring
what will happen.” Black, a City University of New York professor, system in 1610. (He said the features looked like ears or handles.)
NASA (PHOBOS)
and graduate student Tushar Mittal from the University of But it wasn’t until 1655 that Christiaan Huygens identified them
California, Berkeley, have carried out a detailed examination of as an entire system of icy rings. In 1856, famed physicist James
the eventual fate of Phobos. Clerk Maxwell showed that the rings must be composed of a huge
RINGS OF THE GIANT PLANETS
Jupiter’s four faint and dusty rings proba- impacts. What’s more, the current rate of
bly formed by a different mechanism than meteoroid impacts among moons and JUPITER
Saturn’s — and more recently — but its other icy bodies at Uranus’ distance is
moons still play a vital role. Amalthea and enough to create all the observed rings Main Thebe Thebe
Thebe are the likely sources of the material and dust bands circling that planet. Halo gossamer extension
in Jupiter’s outer two “gossamer” rings. Because the rings appear to be young,
Thebe orbits within the outer gossamer probably not more than 600 million years
ring, while Amalthea lies near the outer old, the material in the rings must be con- Amalthea 50,000 km
gossamer
edge of the inner gossamer ring. Metis and tinually renewed. Particles blasted off the
30,000 miles
Adrastea, two other small moons, orbit tiny moons and still-unseen moonlets by
near the outer edge of Jupiter’s main ring, collisions and meteoroid strikes continually
and are the sources of the dust grains mak- add material to the rings, while the dust SATURN
ing up the main and innermost halo rings. continues to dissipate. Janus/Epimetheus
D B
Some forces work against the rings, Neptune’s five rings and various dust A
keeping them relatively thin. bands are probably even younger than
G Pallene E
Electromagnetic forces, a phenomenon those of Uranus, and the same processes
called plasma drag, and even pressure are likely responsible for them and the F
from sunlight (called the Poynting- moons that orbit in or near them. Naiad 50,000 km
Robertson effect) continually remove the and Thalassa orbit in the gap between the
C Cassini Division 30,000 miles
micron-sized particles from the rings. But innermost Galle and Le Verrier rings, and
particles sputtered off the moons by Despina orbits just inside the Le Verrier
meteoroid impacts create dust and con- ring. Galatea lies slightly inside the outer- URANUS 6 54 α β ηγ δ λ ε
tinually replenish the rings. most Adams ring. These tiny moons are
The 13 known rings of Uranus are likely rubble-pile objects, agglomerations
unlike those of Jupiter or Saturn. All but of fragments from earlier neptunian
the innermost and two outermost of the moons, weakly held together by gravity. ν μ
rings are quite narrow, ranging from just The ring particles are material continually
0.6 to 59.6 miles (1 to 96 kilometers) wide. blasted off the moons by meteoroid
Their particles are larger than those in impacts. Unlike the uranian rings, the rings
1986U2R/ζ 50,000 km
Jupiter’s rings, but there’s little dust. of Neptune are quite dusty, thanks to the
30,000 miles
Instead, they’re largely made up of ice destruction of a satellite; at least 20 per-
with organic chemicals mixed in to give cent of the material is the size of smoke
the dark appearances, unique among the particles, and in some of the rings, that NEPTUNE
outer solar system rings. rises to 70 percent.
Le Verrier
But there are similarities: Like Jupiter’s The Adams ring also has five distinct Galle Arago
and Saturn’s rings, Uranus’ rings are inti- clumps or arcs of dust spanning about 40° Adams
mately associated with moons and moon- in longitude. How they can exist for any
lets. Primordial moons the size of Puck, 100 length of time is a mystery, as these tenu-
miles (162km) in diameter, or larger would ous rings should have faded away. One Arcs
Lassell 50,000 km
have had a good chance of surviving for explanation, by planetary ring expert
30,000 miles
several billion years. But not all would Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini orbit-
escape a devastating fate. Computer simu- er’s imaging team, is that a resonance
lations show that the 11 inner moons of effect caused by Galatea’s eccentric orbit All four giant planets — gas giants Jupiter and Saturn,
Uranus are likely the remains of original may act to keep the particles in the arcs and ice giants Uranus and Neptune — have ring systems.
larger moons broken up by cometary from spreading out and dissipating. — J. D. But each one is very different. ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY
number of tiny particles (he called them “brick-bats”), each inde- formed the planet’s main rings. This, she says, explains why the
pendently orbiting Saturn. particles making up the rings are 99.9 percent pure water ice. It
Since then, debate has raged over the origin, age, and composi- also explains the striking difference between Jupiter’s and Saturn’s
tion of Saturn’s rings. Are they leftovers from the formation of rings and satellites.
Saturn, or the remains of a shattered moon? As old as Saturn itself, “The existence of Saturn’s much more massive ring system is
or a relatively new addition? And why so much ice? Planetary sci- linked to Saturn having lost its large primordial inner moons,”
entist Robin M. Canup of the Southwest Research Institute in Canup explains. “Jupiter retained its large inner moons, [while] its
Boulder, Colorado, recently published a proposal that answers dusty ring system is vastly less massive than the ring system at
these questions. Canup suggests that Saturn’s rings are the very Saturn.”
ancient remains of a Titan-sized moon.
“Saturn originally had multiple massive moons like Jupiter,” Creating a martian ring
says Canup. These moons were large enough for their interiors to Phobos isn’t nearly the size of a planet, but many of the same
differentiate into layers of ices and a rocky core — less like a large mechanisms will drive its destruction. Its companion moon
comet and more like the four larger moons of Jupiter. When the Deimos is about 7.8 miles (12.6 kilometers) in diameter and orbits
large moons spiraled inward as Saturn finished its accretion, Mars at an average distance of 14,580 miles (23,460km), far enough
Canup says, the outer icy layers of at least one were stripped away. away to avoid Phobos’ fate. Phobos is 13.8 miles (22.2km) in
The core plunged into Saturn, and the icy remains eventually diameter. It circles the planet at an average distance of 5,827 miles
The lines cutting across Phobos are caused by tidal stresses from the
gravity of Mars slowly ripping its largest moon apart. NASA
The white object in the center of Saturn’s diffuse E ring is Enceladus,

a tiny moon with a liquid ocean. Geysers at the moon’s south pole eject
water into space, forming the ring. NASA/ESA
(9,377km). With an orbital period of just 7 hours, 39.2 minutes, Then there’s Stickney Crater, the giant impact basin on
Phobos is one of only 18 of the 181 known moons in the solar sys- Phobos. Sometime in its past, Phobos was hit by an object that
tem whose orbital period is less than its planet’s rotation period. left a crater 5.6 miles (9km) wide — nearly half the moon’s diam-
That’s one of a few reasons why Phobos is doomed. “There are eter. The impact surely fractured much of Phobos’ interior, leav-
four factors in action,” explains Mittal. “The tidal force of Mars; ing it even weaker. From there, billions of years of meteoroid
the centrifugal forces on Phobos, which is rotating; the gravity of impacts have churned the surface of Phobos into a layer of fine
Phobos; and the strength of Phobos. There’s a balance among dust about a hundred meters deep. Given the extremely weak sur-
these. Tidal and rotational stresses act to pull Phobos apart; self- face gravity (escape velocity for Phobos is a mere 4.56 feet per
gravity and [tensile] strength act to hold Phobos together.” second), the rock making up the rubble pile just barely stays put.
Just as our own Moon’s gravity raises tides in both Earth’s Black and Mittal used a numerical geotechnical model
oceans and landmasses, Phobos creates a tiny tidal bulge in Mars. designed for large underground construction projects to estimate
The bulge moves as the moon circles Mars, just as the Moon- what they call the moon’s “rock mass strength.” The results place
caused tidal bulge moves around Earth. Because Phobos has an the finale for Phobos between 20 million and 40 million years
orbital period faster than the martian day, the tidal bulge lags from now, and give more details on its violent end.
behind Phobos and acts to gradually slow it in its orbit, sending As Phobos reaches its Roche limit, about 3,400 miles
Phobos slowly spiraling in toward the martian surface. The rate is (5,470km) from the martian surface, tidal forces will start pulling
about 0.79 inch (2 centimeters) per year. It’s not much, but there is Phobos apart. Just as Saturn’s tidal forces may have peeled away
nothing to stop it. the icy mantle of a Titan-sized moon billions of years ago, the
“As Phobos gets closer to Mars,” says Mittal, “the tidal stresses hundred meters or so of regolith will be stripped off Phobos. It
increase.” The moon’s self-gravity and tensile strength oppose the will happen quickly: In as little as a week, the dust will spread
tidal forces, but eventually Phobos will drop to a distance — into a ring circling Mars, the moon no more.
called the Roche limit — where the martian gravity will win the Depending on how much material is stripped off Phobos, the
tug-of-war. Several studies confirm that Phobos’ inward spiral ring could initially have a mass density similar to that of today’s
will lead to its destruction in 25 million to 75 million years. rings of Saturn. The martian ring will be very dark, unlike
Phobos could stave off obliteration if it were a dense body, more Saturn’s bright icy rings, more like the dusty rings of Jupiter that
able to resist the pull of gravity past the Roche limit. Unfortunately, are darker, thinner, and more diffuse. It will practically hug Mars,
data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter show closer in relative terms to the planet than the other planetary rings
that the moon has a density of just 1.9 grams per cubic centimeter. in the solar system. And the ring, say Black and Mittal, will not
By comparison, our Moon has a density of 3.3g per cubic centime- last long; they estimate its lifetime at between 1 million and 100
ter. Even tiny Themisto, Jupiter’s smallest regular moon at just 4.9 million years.
miles (8km) in diameter, has an estimated density of about 2.6g per
cubic centimeter. Mars Express also revealed that Phobos is Roche limit
porous, likely containing large voids, so it is probably a rubble pile, Phobos
Roche limit As Phobos spirals
like many of Uranus’ and Neptune’s tiny moons.
inward, it will
In addition, Phobos’ makeup is similar to carbonaceous chon- reach a distance,
drite meteorites like the ones that fell on Canada’s Tagish Lake in Mars called the Roche
2000. These primitive meteorites are made of a bevy of loose, eas- limit, where the
moon will be
ily broken materials, including magnetite, olivine crystals, phyl- pulled apart
losilicates, and complex organic molecules such as amino acids, by Mars’ gravity.
and are about 10 percent water, formed in oxygen-rich regions of The end result will
the early solar system. Phobos is not only a rubble pile with a weak be a temporary
ring around Mars.
gravitational field, but the rubble itself is somewhat frangible. ASTRONOMY: ROEN KELLY
Small system
You don’t have to be a planet to have a ring. An object known as Chariklo (classified as a centaur, or outer solar system minor
planet) has a thin ring system around it. Chariklo’s diameter of 144 miles (232 kilometers) puts it at the lower limits of the size
of dwarf planets. The formation mechanism of the rings, and indeed much information beyond their existence, is not yet known.
Chariklo was the first minor planet or asteroid to have a known ring system. Another centaur, Chiron, may have one as well.
The rings were discovered in 2014. Chariklo orbits in a highly inclined orbit between Saturn and Uranus. ESO/L. CALÇADA/NICK RISINGER
Eventually, the rocky rubble left behind will meet a quicker but Curiously, our Moon also could end as it began, according to
equally dramatic end. It will plummet down along slanting paths astronomer Lee Anne Willson, university professor emerita at
to impact the surface of Mars and leave a string of elongated cra- Iowa State University. As part of her research on the fate of Earth
ters along the planet’s equator. as the Sun expands into a red giant, she found that the Moon
stood a chance of becoming a ring around Earth.
Other once and future rings The Moon is receding from Earth at a rate of about 1.6 inches
Is it possible that Mars possessed a ring system in its distant past? (4cm) per year. Left unchecked, the Moon will eventually migrate
“We’re not certain,” says Black, “but it would be worth investigat- out to a distance where it will take 47 days to orbit Earth. By then,
ing whether past inwardly migrating moons may have existed. Earth’s rotation also will have slowed to 47 days. The two will
Some fraction of moons might be expected to have an orbital con- then keep the same face to each other, as Pluto and its moon
figuration similar to that of Phobos and Mars.” Charon do today.
Some planetary scientists think Mars Before this happens, though, some 5 bil-
once did have more than two moons. Several studies confirm lion years from now, the Sun will enter its
Researchers have identified 258 elliptical red giant phase. It will start expanding in
craters on Mars formed by objects hitting that Phobos’ inward spiral size, and swallow up Mercury and Venus.
the surface at grazing angles. At least some
of them could well have been made by
will lead to its destruction As the Earth-Moon system orbits through
the Sun’s expanded outer atmosphere, drag
oblique impacts of ancient martian moons. in 25 to 75 million years. forces will cause the Moon’s orbit to begin
If so, others may have broken up before hit- decaying. The Sun probably will continue
ting the atmosphere, leaving short-lived rings of rocks and dust to expand, and destroy both Earth and the Moon. On the other
around Mars. hand, if the Sun should blow off about 20 percent of its mass first,
There’s no evidence that Mercury or Venus ever possessed ring the Moon will continue to spiral down to its Roche limit. Tidal
systems. Earth did, though, for an extremely brief period during forces will tear it apart, just as they will destroy Phobos.
the formation of the Moon 4.5 billion years ago when our planet And then, 9 billion years after the Moon’s birth from a ring of
was struck by a Mars-sized body dubbed Theia. Much of Theia molten impact ejecta, and nearly 5 billion years after the birth and
merged with Earth, but the “Big Splash” would have blown the death of the ring around Mars, Earth will once again have a ring.
remaining material into space. Computer simulations indicate
about 20 percent of Theia’s mass would have gone into orbit Joel Davis is a freelance science writer and editor living in Bellevue,
around Earth as a ring. About 10 percent of the ring’s material Washington. In addition to Astronomy, his articles have appeared
then quickly coalesced into the Moon, with the rest eventually in Analog, Final Frontier, New Scientist, and Science Digest. His books
falling back to Earth. The ring would not have lasted long, perhaps include Flyby: The Interplanetary Odyssey of Voyager 2 and Journey
as little as a month but probably no more than 100 years. to the Center of Our Galaxy.
IMAGING PROFILE
MEET THE MASTER OF

Stellar Vistas
How I took the astroimaging road less traveled. text and images by Rogelio Bernal Andreo
I
often say that life is what happens faint photons from faraway objects into
between the decisions we all have to gorgeous photographs. I had no clue that,
make. It took a single event in my life years later, some of my work would actually
to turn me from a complete astropho- become a reference for many other imagers.
tography outsider into someone who At the time, nearly every astrophotogra-
embraces it fully. pher was using Photoshop to process images,
I was driving with my family down the but I thought a new software program called
California Pacific Highway just south of Big PixInsight was more suitable for me. Not
Sur one warm September evening in 2007. having tutorials, workshops, references, or
An unexpected stop allowed us to witness a documentation about PixInsight led me to
gorgeous Milky Way for the first time in our create my own techniques, and so image
lives. My first thought as I came back to processing became a field in which I would
reality was whether I could capture that in a continuously try new things — something
photograph. The rest is history. that is still true today.
On image processing On curiosity, composition,

I produced my first deep-sky images in 2008 and mosaics
with a cheap rig, and they did not impress Once the technical aspects of this discipline
Rogelio Bernal Andreo is one of the world’s top
me. I soon found out that such images had were no longer a limitation, my own curios-
astroimagers and a highly requested speaker to be processed, so I started learning about ity took over. Rather than looking at and
on the subject of image processing. image processing — the skill of transforming following what other people were doing, I
1
1. If you think Hawaiian beaches seem idyllic
during the day or at sunset, you should
try visiting one at night. This image shows
magical Punalu’u Beach on the Big Island.
(20-pane mosaic, Canon 5D Mark II DSLR,
20mm lens at f/2.5, ISO 2000, 30-second
exposures)
2. As the author put it, “Nothing in the con-

stellation Orion disappoints, so capturing
the entire area shouldn’t either, right?” He
created this 56-pane mosaic by accumulat-
ing some 242 hours of exposure time. (Dual
4-inch Takahashi FSQ-106EDX refractor with
focal length reducers to yield f/3.6, dual SBIG
STL-11000 CCD camera, LRGB image with an
astounding 220 hours of exposures)
decided to explore the celestial canvas for

interesting views.
It took a single image I produced back
in 2009 that included Orion’s Belt and the
Orion Nebula (M42) to make me realize
that I wasn’t interested in creating a collec-
tion of objects — as nearly everyone else
was doing — with each target perfectly
centered. I wanted to create stellar land-
scapes: gorgeous deep-sky panoramas,
entire constellations like Orion and Leo,
the region of sky showing the entire
Rogelio Bernal Andreo is a longtime image

contributor to Astronomy. He images mostly
from remote areas in California. 2
Stellar Vistas
Big Dipper, large vistas with objects not
usually seen in the same image, and more.
I pursued celestial landscapes because I
wanted to see them. Sometimes that meant
having to build a 50-panel mosaic. Other
times it involved framing a view in a way
that would give people a different perspec-
tive on the object.
On nightscapes
On December 30, 2011, my father, a lifelong
traveler, left us unexpectedly. One way I
coped with his departure — without real-
izing it at the time — was to spend many
hours driving, traveling to some of the
most beautiful places in the Northwest and
capturing them at night. I nearly stopped
deep-sky imaging. My new goal was to
shoot nightscapes — that is, photography
featuring landscapes under the night sky.
I immediately fell in love with night-
scapes and quickly became prolific at cap-
turing them. This passion related to
deep-sky imaging not only took me to
places like Yosemite, Big Sur, and Death
Valley countless times, but it developed
into my first book, Hawai’i Nights, a pho-
tographic documentary of the night sky in
all the Hawaiian Islands.
On outings and life

I am not against robotic astrophotography
(capturing images at a distant observa-
tory located under a clear sky). In fact, I
may embrace it someday. For me, however,
imaging always has been an experience
directly linked to having to “go out.” 3
After beginning my nightscape photog-
raphy, I quickly discovered that those and
deep-sky outings are very different beasts. its own, and my anecdotes are plenty, from
A deep-sky outing anchors you to the same dealing with wildlife, to getting flat tires
spot for the entire session, usually near driving off-road, to falling into a creek at
your car. When you’re done, you pack and 2 a.m. during freezing temperatures, to
go home. Other than that, you’re not going finding myself alone at night in places
anywhere during the night. whose beauty is beyond words.
With nightscape outings, however, For me, deep-sky and nightscape astro-
mobility is everything and vantage points photography are not just about producing
matter. A lot. It’s not rare to hike for a few images. This pursuit gives me unique per-
hours at night to reach the right location. sonal experiences. More importantly, it
Also, a typical nightscape panorama rarely helps me pause everything else.
takes longer than five minutes to acquire, It allows me to create, to dream, and to
so you can visit several locations in a single have countless exceptional moments that I
night. Going alone as a nightscape photog- would have never had otherwise. It makes
rapher can be more daring than doing me feel alive, positive, and happy, and
deep-sky photography, and while I try to because of that, I choose to do more of it
avoid it, when I go to shoot nightscapes I — lots of it! If there is anything in your life
am alone more often than not. that can do this for you, then you should
Either way, every trip is an adventure on do more of that, too.
3. Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii is an active
volcano that often puts on quite a show. The
Pleiades (M45, upper center in glow) and Orion
(upper left) watch from above. (Six-pane mosaic,
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR, 50mm lens at f/2.8, ISO
2500, 20-second exposures except an 8-second
exposure for the lower center pane)
4. The Angel Nebula lies in Ursa Major. The

author’s image is one of the most detailed ever
of this extremely faint high-latitude interstellar
dust that soars some 300 light-years above our
galaxy’s plane. (4-inch Takahashi FSQ-106EDX
refractor with focal length reducer, SBIG
STL-11000 CCD camera, LRGB image with expo-
sures of 300, 75, 75, and 75 minutes, respectively)
5. The author calls this image “Downtown

Auriga.” It shows the Flaming Star Nebula
(IC 405) and Simeis 147 forming a gorgeous
couple. Few imagers, however, have shown them
together. (Dual 4-inch Takahashi FSQ-106EDX
refractor with focal length reducers to yield f/3.6,
dual SBIG STL-11000 CCD camera, LRGB image)
6. The telescopes atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii —

one of the best sites for astronomy — appear
as true vigilantes of the sky. (14-pane mosaic,
Canon 5D Mark II DSLR, 20mm lens at f/2.5,
4 ISO 2000, 30-second exposures)
5
6
Stellar Vistas
7
8
9
7. The Blue Horsehead (IC 4592) is a reflec-
tion nebula in Scorpius. Its illumination
comes from ultraviolet light emitted by the
bright star Nu (ν) Scorpii, which marks the
horse’s eye. (4-inch Takahashi FSQ-106EDX
refractor with focal length reducer, SBIG
STL-11000 CCD camera, LRGB image with
exposures of 200, 40, 40, and 40 minutes,
respectively)
8. This image of the Rho Ophiuchi region,

the Blue Horsehead, and emission nebula
Sharpless 2–1 is a perfect example of a cos-
mic vista where not two, but three objects
compete for our attention while maintain-
ing a solid composition.
9. Lenticular clouds hover above Yosemite

National Park with Half Dome dominating
the scene, all crowned by our Milky Way.
(10-pane mosaic, Canon 5D Mark II DSLR,
exposures)
10. You don’t need to travel to Hawaii for

dazzling night seascapes. McWay Falls
in Big Sur, California, is a small cove that
beats the fictional paradises we often see
in the movies. (Two-part composite before
and after moonset, Canon 5D Mark II DSLR,
exposures)
10
BLUE MOON
By combining science with a few stellar
brews, Astronomy on Tap has become a hit.
by Liz Kruesi
ore than 250 people funnel into the It also motivates people to learn more about the
North Door bar on the East Side of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine
Austin, find a place to sit or stand, and (STEM) fields, Schwamb says.
look toward the stage. A projector “Astronomy is the gateway drug,” says
beams trivia questions about astron- Schwamb. “It’s the thing that gets people into
omy onto a nearby wall, and astron- STEM.” Since the first few events only four years
omers give away NASA stickers ago, Astronomy on Tap has sprouted in 19 other
and Eagle Nebula posters at a locations, and it continues to grow.
table. As University of Texas at
Austin astronomers Rachael Branding a trend
Livermore and Jeff Silverman In early 2012, Schwamb organized two
walk across the stage, the Astronomy Uncorked events at a wine bar in New
crowd starts to hush. Haven, Connecticut, while she was a postdoc at
“Welcome to Astronomy on Yale University. A few months later, she sat down
Tap, Austin, Texas,” with Emily Rice, then a postdoc at the American
Livermore says into the microphone. Museum of Natural History in New York City,
This monthly public event is a hit, and it’s and told her about those outreach events and how
not the only one. In cities around the globe, she wanted to bring her brainchild to New York.
hundreds of fans gather in bars, taverns, or pubs Rice, now an assistant professor at the College
on weekday evenings to hear about a potpourri of Staten Island, loved the idea of reaching the
of the current hottest topics in astronomy. non-academic community and opening up astron-
Themes range from how astronomy is portrayed omy to those who don’t think of themselves as
in the movies to why Pluto isn’t a planet to what armchair astronomers or hobbyists. First, though,
the heck dark matter is. The talks are brief, fun, she thought it needed a new, more-inclusive name:
and accessible — plus, there’s beer. Astronomy on Tap. They planned the first
When Meg Schwamb, now a postdoctoral Astronomy on Tap event for April 2013. When
fellow at the Institute of Astronomy and Schwamb moved to Taiwan later that summer, Rice
Astrophysics at Academia Sinica in Taipei, took over the New York City events.
Taiwan, planted the Astronomy on Tap seed and The program continues to grow, in part, Rice
organized the first event, the idea was just to says, because “it unites the stereotypical scientist
have fun communicating astronomy and create
an environment where people can enjoy them- Contributing Editor Liz Kruesi writes about our incredible
selves while also learning about the science. universe from Austin, Texas.
persona with the very human, very social, very that the organizers are only around for a few years,
creative persona.” and so the Astronomy on Tap programs are in
Often, scientists hold public lectures that dive flux. The good is that they often bring the program
deep into one topic. But those events can feel with them to their next homes.
stuffy, academic, and, frankly, less inviting for For example, both Livermore and Silverman are
most people. Instead, Schwamb and Rice wanted to moving on from organizing the Austin program.
create an environment that encourages humor and Silverman’s postdoc position at the University of
a conversational tone, to make the topics more Texas at Austin ended in August 2016, and he
accessible, and to do this at a place where people plans to start an Astronomy on Tap program wher-
already hang out. “I think in my mind, it was like ever he goes next. Livermore will remain in Texas
bringing astronomy to the people rather than hav- for another year, but she decided to pass the baton
ing the people come to us,” Schwamb adds. to a group of excited organizers: 10 postdocs and
Whereas most public outreach in the field is graduate students.
geared toward kids — how you, yes you, can be an
astronomer and study the universe — Astronomy A successful combination
on Tap takes a different approach. It’s aimed exclu- Astronomy on Tap seems to grow by diffusion. At
sively toward adults. the American Astronomical Society meeting in
Each event has several 10- to 15-minute talks January 2014, Rice presented a poster about the
giving the audience snippets of the best parts of New York City Astronomy on Tap events. That was
astronomy. That timespan is long enough to over- Silverman’s introduction to the program. He
view new and interesting science yet short enough bounced the idea around with University of Texas
to keep the audience’s attention. After each presen- at Austin faculty and postdocs, but it didn’t go
tation, people are encouraged to ask those ques- anywhere until Livermore joined the department
tions they wouldn’t feel comfortable voicing in a that August. The two began building up the Austin
lecture hall. (How does terraforming work? What satellite of Astronomy on Tap and hosted their first
does dark energy mean for the universe’s future?) event in November 2014. There’s been one every
Each Astronomy on Tap event also usually has a month since.
pub game — like trivia questions with answers The program has grown organically due to
embedded in the talks, with prizes like a enthusiastic organizers, the so-called “Host Stars”
McDonald Observatory apron (for the Austin of each satellite location. At no location is that
event), astronomy-themed stickers, and even Neil more apparent than Austin, which consistently
deGrasse Tyson’s trash. Yes, literally, trash that he has more than 200 people in the audience, mak-
picked up and threw in his trash can, says ing it the best-attended recurring Astronomy on
Schwamb. (The Astronomy on Tap organizers then Tap. It’s a testament to the work and dedication
bring said trash can to the bar and people can dig Silverman and Livermore have put into the pro-
through — if they so choose.) And, of course, gram, Schwamb says. “It’s amazing to see what
there’s beer. they’ve built.”
One look around a room at an Astronomy on Rice told Livermore and Silverman to expect 50
Tap event shows that the plan she and Rice came to 60 people at the initial Austin event, but instead
up with is working. 140 showed up. (Some of the credit for this impres-
sive turnout goes to Nerd Nite, a more general
A different spin cool-talks-at-a-bar event, which already had a
So far, there are 20 Astronomy on Tap programs: strong fan base in Austin. Plus, this Texas city has
Ann Arbor, Michigan; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; a booming technology industry.)
Bay Area, California; Champaign-Urbana, Illinois; The Austin Astronomy on Tap logged 402 at its
Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Denver/Boulder; January 19, 2016, event. That’s not quite the most-
Lansing, Michigan; Los Angeles; New Haven, attended Astronomy on Tap event, however. That
Connecticut; New York City; Rochester, New York; prize goes to a New York City event held at the
Santa Barbara, California; Santiago, Chile; Seattle; Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to celebrate the
Taipei, Taiwan; Toronto; Tucson, Arizona; and Hubble Space Telescope’s 25th anniversary, which
Washington, D.C. 430 people attended. The combination of beer and
Part of the beauty of this program is that while astronomy seems to make a winning recipe, no
there are many similarities — short, fun talks matter the city.
about astronomy held at a bar — event organizers That enthusiastic turnout makes the many
put their own local spin on it. “I think it’s great for hours of organization and planning worth it, say
everyone to adapt it to their community, to their the astronomers I spoke with. Organizers are
audience,” says Rice. responsible for finding presenters who can share
While not by design, Astronomy on Tap is astronomy in a fun way, scouting and renting a
most-often organized by postdoctoral fellows, and space at a bar, organizing games or trivia, procur-
such positions are usually two or three years long. ing prizes, and advertising the event. “But the huge
That has both bad and good aspects. The bad is crowds we get at each event and the enthusiasm
The audience gathers at a
January 2016 Astronomy
on Tap event in Austin,
Texas. Since its inception
in 2012, the event has
driven in thousands with
the promise of science
and beer. LIZ KRUESI
and excitement of our audience — dare I say, fans And at the American Astronomical Society
— both at the events and on social media between meeting this past January, Astronomy on Tap
events is super rewarding,” says Silverman. His organizers presented another poster about the
favorite part? “When a speaker mentions one of program, and it immediately inspired several
their most interesting astronomical observations other groups. They had interest from people in
(like the most distant galaxy or the smallest planet Boston; San Diego; Florida; Edinburgh, Scotland;
around another star) and the crowd cheers wildly London; and Leiden, Netherlands — although
as if a rock star was strumming the opening chords none of those locations has yet hosted an
to their hit single!” Astronomy on Tap event.
Also at that January meeting, Schwamb, Rice,
Continually growing Silverman, Livermore, and Brian Levine (of the
The success of the satellite program — events like American Museum of Natural History) drafted a
those in Austin — also help launch new ones. At master document, which they call the Launch
the August 2015 International Astronomical Union Manifesto — “because we love space puns,” says
meeting, Silverman and Livermore presented about Rice — that they can send to those interested in
ALL ILLUSTRATIONS ASTRONOMY: KELLY KATLAPS
the Austin Astronomy on Tap program. Since then starting a program in their city. The document
Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Tucson, Arizona, have isn’t publicly available, “but we share it with vetted
joined the Astronomy on Tap “constellation,” as organizers after they reach out to us,” she adds.
the Host Stars call it. (Tucson already had a pro- Astronomy on Tap has filled a niche in science
gram called Space Drafts, but they reworked it outreach, and contains the right mix of ingredi-
slightly to join with the global phenomenon.) “We ents to grow. Rice sees no sign of its stopping.
also had interest from people in Los Angeles and “Astronomy is very international, and so it’s really
San Francisco,” Livermore adds, and those loca- only a matter of time I think before we take over
tions are now up and running. the world.”
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Putting
to the test
Easy setup, whisper-quiet operation, and
superb accuracy make this mount a winner.
by Phil Harrington
O
ne of the current evolutions and-go” technology
and revolutions going on for simplified setup.
in equipment for amateur All this and more is
astronomers is the reinven- contained in a mount The new
tion of the portable tele- that weighs just AZ Mount Pro
scope mount. Thanks to the miniaturiza- 13 pounds (5.9kg). from iOptron
is based on
tion of advanced electronics and computer The mount also the company’s
control, telescope mounts have shrunk in comes with a cabled tried and true
size and weight, but have grown by leaps Go2Nova 8407 hand cube design.
The dovetail
and bounds with regard to features. controller. In addition,
base at upper
One of the leading manufacturers of full ASCOM (short for right accepts
sophisticated portable mounts is iOptron. AStronomy Common Losmandy or
One of the first to enter this burgeoning Object Model) using Vixen types. ALL
PHOTOS: ASTRONOMY:
field with its Cube mount, the company iOptron Commander lets WILLIAM ZUBACK
continues to innovate with the recent you control the mount using
introduction of the AZ Mount Pro. planetarium software such as
Cartes du Ciel. The AZ Mount Pro also It’s here!
Control and features features built-in Wi-Fi, letting you control I recently had a chance to put an AZ
Designed for telescopes weighing up to the mount using the popular Sky Safari Mount Pro and matching tripod to the
33 pounds (15 kilograms), the AZ Mount app from your smartphone or tablet. test using my 6-inch (15cm) catadioptric
Pro is a compact all-in- A dedicated AC charger, cables, a telescope. The results were impressive.
one mount that features 6-inch (15-centimeter) dual dovetail base The mount and tripod arrived well
full computer con- that accepts both Losmandy- and Vixen- packed in separate boxes. The mount came
trol, a rechargeable style mounting plates, and a 10-pound in a custom-fit aluminum carrying case for
lithium-ion battery, (4.5kg) counterweight are also included. secure storage and transport. While I
and something the Instructions are not; however, you can would not trust checking it as baggage on a
company terms “level- view and download both a quick-start flight, it’s certainly small enough to come
guide and full instructions from iOptron’s aboard as carry-on luggage.
The mount’s hand website as PDF files. The matching tripod Assembly out of the box proved to be
controller accesses a
database with more
features 2-inch (5cm) stainless steel legs easy. The mount attaches to the tripod
than 212,000 celestial that you can adjust from 33 inches (84cm) with a central bolt. Three equidistant ball-
objects. to 55 inches (140cm) in length. tipped bolts protrude from the top of the
62
tripod and line up with matching holes on 32-channel GPS, it calculates its pre-
the underside of the mount’s base. Use cise location along with the date,
them to level the mount before use. time, and heading, spinning
slowly and silently until the
The real world scope aims at the zenith, the
In the field, I discovered that setup is a mount’s “zero position.”
simple, four-step process. Then the mount moves to a
Step 1: Level the mount on the tripod bright sky object of its own selec-
by adjusting the three bolts until the bubble tion. The hand controller’s dim red
level built into the base reads level, and readout then asked me to confirm Cords for the
then tighten the central bolt. that the bright object matches the hand controller,
Step 2: Attach the telescope and coun- name on the LCD screen and that it is mount power, and
computer interface
terweight. Before attaching the scope, slide centered in the field of view. The entire are included.
out the stainless steel counterweight shaft, process took less than three minutes.
which remains neatly hidden inside the For my initial test run, the mount chose
mount when not in use. If the scope weighs the Moon, which was a thin crescent hang-
more than 12 pounds (5.4kg), using the ing low in the western sky at the time. PRODUCT INFORMATION
supplied 10-pound counterweight is rec- While the aim wasn’t perfect, the Moon
ommended. Add a second (sold separately) was well within the field of view. To iOptron AZ Mount Pro
if it exceeds 24 pounds (11kg). My scope improve precision, a user can select “Sync Type: Alt-azimuth mount
weighs less than 12 pounds, but I followed to Target” on the menu and then press the Primary payload: 33 pounds (15kg)
iOptron’s advice to use the single counter- directional arrows on the hand controller Secondary payload: 10 pounds (4.5kg)
weight to improve go-to accuracy. to center the object. Resolution: 0.1"
The telescope sidesaddle dovetail plate is Several other initialization options are Slew speeds: 1x to 2,400x
dual purpose, accepting both industry- provided as well for syncing the mount’s Weight: 13 pounds
standard Losmandy- and Vixen-style go-to brain to the sky, including “One Price: $999
mounting bars. It’s important to attach the Star,” “Two Star,” “Three Star,” and “Solar Contact: iOptron
telescope so that the front aims in the System.” In all cases, leveling the mount is 6F Gill Street
direction of the small arrow on the dovetail critical for ensuring go-to and tracking Woburn, MA 01801
plate. The instructions mention it, but you accuracy. [t] 866.399.4587
could miss the arrow setting up in the dark. [w] www.ioptron.com
Then, slide the telescope fore and aft until it Performance
balances, and finger-tighten both dovetail Now I was ready to take it for a spin. I
saddle locking screws to hold it securely. purposely tried to confuse it by select- Incidentally, using a low-power eyepiece
The counterweight shaft also can hold a ing widely separated targets. I couldn’t. for initial aiming and finding is a good rule
second scope by using the optional second- Toggling through the library of objects, of thumb with just about any computerized
ary saddle (iOptron part number 8953). no matter which I chose, if it was up in system. For my tests, I used a 32mm Plössl
The secondary saddle accepts Vixen dove- the sky, the mount steered my telescope its eyepiece for a 1° true field of view. It
tail plates only. After attaching the tele- way and placed it in the field of view of my worked like a charm.
scope, you can align it with the primary low-power eyepiece. If I chose an object The AZ Mount Pro’s tracking precision
scope by loosening two setscrews and that was below the horizon, the mount was just as impressive as its aiming accu-
rotating the secondary saddle’s base. would not budge. I would have preferred it racy. Objects stayed in view for as long as I
Step 3: Plug the hand if the menu said “Below wanted to view them. In fact, one night I
controller into the mount Horizon” or some such left it aimed at the Ring Nebula (M57) and
and turn on the power. note, but at least it didn’t went inside. When I went back out several
The battery should last up give me false hope. hours later, there was M57 — still in view.
to 10 hours on a single I also want to give The stepper motors had tracked the sky
charge, iOptron says. For kudos to iOptron for how with enviable precision.
me, one charge tracked quiet the mount is. While The mount and tripod are extremely
the sky for just under some go-to mounts pierce stable. Doing the “tap test” with the heel of
nine hours. That’s much the night, the AZ Mount my hand, I found any reverberations were
better than older mounts Pro’s stepper motors barely minor and settled out quickly.
that used sets of alkaline purr above a whisper as I came away impressed with iOptron’s
batteries. If the battery the mount moves AZ Mount Pro. While it is not suitable for
becomes depleted, the from object to long-exposure imaging because of field
mount can run off the object. rotation, it is an outstanding choice for
included AC adapter. visual observers looking for a travel-ready,
Step 4: Once level and A foam-lined alumi- state-of-the-art way to view the universe.
num case protects
powered on, the mount the mount and its
will take it from there. accessories during Phil Harrington has been a contributing editor
Using an integrated shipping or travel. of Astronomy for many years.
NEW Attention, manufacturers: To submit a product
PRODUCTS for this page, email mbakich@astronomy.com.
Solar binoculars Observer’s notebook

GreatAmericanEclipse.com Princeton Architectural Press
Santa Fe, New Mexico New York
Mini SUNoculars by Lunt Solar Princeton Architectural Press’
Systems have front-mounted fully Observer’s Notebook: Astronomy
dense white-light glass filters that is a 160-page notebook that
make solar observation safe. The interweaves stunning images
filters cut sunlight to 1⁄100,000 of its from the Hubble Space
normal brightness. Eye relief is Telescope with ruled pages
9mm. The unit sports a magnifica- Image manager where you can record your own
tion of 6x, has 30mm front lenses, Code Obsession celestial observations. The book
and weighs 10 ounces (283 grams). Bethesda, Maryland measures 7.5 by 9.5 inches
Price: $29.95 Code Obsession’s Observatory (17.8 by 24.13 centimeters). 5mm eyepiece
[e] GreatAmericanEclipse@gmail. will let you input your own Price: $18.95 Tele Vue Optics
com images, and also provides a [t] 212.995.9620 Chester, New York
[w] www.GreatAmericanEclipse. direct link to professional obser- [w] www.papress.com Tele Vue’s DeLite eyepiece line is
com vatory archives. You can overlay a smaller and more economical
coordinate grids, scales, and version of the company’s Delos
various catalogs on your images. line. The EDE-05.0 offers a 62°
The software even allows you to apparent field of view, 20 milli-
blink selected images. meters of eye relief, and sliding,
Price: $79.99 locking eyeguards. The eyepiece
[e] support@codeobsession.com weighs 7.5 ounces (213 grams).
[w] www.codeobsession.com Price: $250
[t] 845.469.4551
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SEE REPORTS ON 350+ PRODUCTS AT www.Astronomy.com/equipment.
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P28943
See all the tours at Astronomy.com/magazine/trips-tours
OBSERVINGBASICS
BY GLENN CHAPLE Circlet
Double your
observing fun
STF 21
Compile your own list for double-star viewing. The double star Struve 21 (STF 21) lies in Pisces, some 10° east of that constellation’s
Circlet asterism. BILL AND SALLY FLETCHER
L
ast month, I spotlight- I scrolled down the WDS and declination of +2°21', Struve 21 shine with an off-yellow hue,
ed entries 11 through stopped at any entry identified lies in southern Pisces near its but at 10th magnitude, the
20 in the Struve cata- with “STF” (the WDS code for border with Cetus. color may not be obvious. For
log of double stars. It a Struve double). I then high- The next two figures, 1902 that reason, we’ll omit the
was a follow-up to an lighted and copied the row and and 2010, give the years of the spectral class.
October 2014 article in which I pasted it into a Word document. first and most recent acceptable After some tweaking and
wrote about Wilhelm Struve, To pave the way to creating measures of Struve 21, and are rearranging of the remaining
the catalog of double stars he your own 21–30 list (or the rest followed by a number (19) that data, we get (drum roll):
compiled in the 1820s, and the of the Struve catalog if you have indicates the number of mea- STF 21 0h17.4m +02°21'
first 10 Struve pairs. His catalog lots of time), let’s analyze the surements made during that 10.31+10.6 7.7" 52°
remains a favorite of double- complete entry for Struve 21 as period. We’ll keep them for Now we can scroll on to STF
star observers because many of it appears in the WDS: now. The meat-and-potatoes 22 and repeat the process.
its pairs can be viewed through 00174+0221STF 21 1902 2010 data begin with 51 and 52, Struve’s 3,100-plus pairs
common backyard telescopes 19 51 52 7.6 7.7 10.31 10.6 G0 which refer to the position angle aren’t the only game in town.
(I’ve split one-third of them +013+050 +014+049 +01 34 of Struve 21 in 1902 and 2010, The WDS includes data for
with a 3-inch f/10 reflector). NV 001721.25+022050.6 respectively. The 7.6 and 7.7 are more than 100,000 double,
Will an article on Struve 21 OK, that’s a lot of numbers. the separations (in arcseconds) triple, and multiple stars from
through 30 be a future offering? But we can eliminate the final in those years. dozens of catalogs. I like to
I’m afraid not — there are more two rows, which include infor- Comparing the earliest with scroll through the entries look-
than 3,100 Struve doubles, and mation on proper motion, the the most recent measurements ing for new doubles to observe.
it would take me 25 years to Durchmusterung (DM) number tells us that the component stars You can try it yourself. To tar-
cover them all! Instead, I — don’t worry, we won’t need it are relatively fixed. It’s been six get pairs appropriate for your
encourage you to put together — notes, and a precise position. years since the latest measure, scope, key in on the magni-
your own list of Struve double The remaining (top two) rows but with this double’s slow tudes of the component stars,
stars using the Washington begin with the right ascension motion, we can expect STF 21 to their separations, and finally
Double Star Catalog (WDS), and declination (in epoch 2000.0 appear about the same tonight the declination. Observers at
which is accessible online at coordinates), then the catalog as it did then. The numbers mid-northern latitudes, like
ad.usno.navy.mil/wds. To get identification STF 21. At a right 1902, 2010, 19, 51, and 7.6 are me, will want to bypass any-
data on the first 20 Struve pairs, ascension of 0h17.4m and a now extraneous, so we’ll remove thing below –40°. Doubles here
them, leaving us with just the will either be obscured by
most recently measured posi- atmospheric turbulence or lie
FROM OUR INBOX tion angle and separation.
The magnitudes of the com-
below the southern horizon.
Let me conclude with a word
Close encounters? Not likely . . . ponent stars, which are 10.31 for to all you double-star fanatics
In September’s issue of Astronomy magazine, I found the article the primary star and 10.6 for the who are concerned that I’m
by Jeff Hester “Where are they?” thought provoking. secondary, complete our run of cutting loose the remainder of
I totally agree that barring some poorly understood funda- pertinent data. As Struve dou- the Struve catalog. I’m not com-
mental law of physics, it is unlikely that Earth has ever been or bles go, this one is relatively pletely abandoning double stars
ever will be visited by extraterrestrial aliens. The stars are too far faint. For a satisfactory view, I’d — no way! Their sheer numbers
apart and travel is too costly for such a long and dangerous jour- use a scope with at least a 5-inch and unique beauty can’t be
ney, and we are not that interesting to encourage such a venture. aperture and a magnifying ignored. As I always say,
Evidence is growing that given the right materials and condi- power no less than 150x. “Double stars are twice the fun!”
tions, life may be ubiquitous throughout the universe. I anticipate A final (and optional) piece Questions, comments, or
that evidence for life, either dead or alive, will soon be discovered of information is the spectral suggestions? Email me at
on Mars or elsewhere, proving that life is not limited to planet class — typically given for just gchaple@hotmail.com. Next
Earth. — Richard Smith, Garden Valley, ID the primary star. A spectral month: Start the year with 10
class of G0 means it should cosmic picks. Clear skies!
BROWSE THE “OBSERVING BASICS” ARCHIVE AT www.Astronomy.com/Chaple.
ASTROSKETCHING
BY ERIKA RIX
Astronomy Tools Actions Set

Scanning a sketch and then Astronomy Tools Actions Set, able to spot them within the
inverting it to a positive format and after you follow the down- same field of view 2°
can lead to unexpected results load instructions, you can south-southwest of
when it comes to stellar mag- access it through the “Actions” magnitude 2.7
nitudes. During the scanning panel under the “Windows” Ruchbah (Delta [δ]
process, the faintest stars may tab within Photoshop. To pur- Cassiopeiae).
become bloated and overly chase a copy ($21.95), visit The larger
bright, while those that should ProDigital Software at www. of the two,
appear glowing with zeal prodigitalsoftware.com. Click NGC 457, has
diminish to look flat and dull. “Products,” and scroll down to a prominent
Thankfully, there’s an easy fix Astronomy Tools. shape that
that requires only a few steps I’ve found three of the sparks the imag-
in Adobe Photoshop to set action sets in this software to ination. A variety
things right. be particularly handy for star of names have
Astrophotographer Noel fields. I’ll explain using been coined for it
Carboni created software that sketches of the Owl Cluster based on the form it
has 34 Photoshop functions, (NGC 457) and NGC 436, a most resembles to an
each with predefined steps pair of open clusters in observer. Some call it the E.T.
fashioned to save time and Cassiopeia. The clusters are Cluster, the Airplane Cluster, or
The author used a 16-inch f/4.5 reflector
make processing an image — only 0.7° apart, so if you use the Kachina Doll. To me, it’s the on a non-tracking Dobsonian mount
or a sketch — a breeze. It’s the low magnification, you’ll be Owl Cluster because — as to create this sketch of the Owl Cluster
Astronomy Editor David J. (NGC 457) and the other sketch of
Eicher noted in 1977 — it bears NGC 436. For this drawing, she used a
zoom eyepiece set at 24mm (yielding
an uncanny resemblance to a 76x). Can you visualize the owl swoop-
bird with striking eyes (the 5th ing downward? ALL SKETCHES BY ERIKA RIX
and 7th magnitude components
of multiple star system Phi [ϕ] adjust their luminosity without
Cassiopeia), outstretched wings, affecting the others.
and an elongated concentration NGC 436 may not be as con-
of stars that forms its body. spicuous as its neighbor, but it
The Owl Cluster glows softly does have a fairly rich concen-
at magnitude 6.4 and tration of stars that spans 5'
stretches 13' in diameter. and shines at magnitude 8.8. A
After inverting the chain of three equally spaced
scanned version of my stars (of magnitudes 9 through
sketch in Photoshop, the 11) runs 4' east to west along
next step was to reduce the southern portion of the
the bloated appearance of cluster. A curved strand of
the stars so that the small- fainter stars forms the shape of
est would appear faintest. a backward bass clef through-
Scrolling through the set of out its middle.
available Astronomy Tools When I inverted my sketch
actions, I selected “Make Stars of NGC 436, the darkened
Smaller,” and then clicked the background of the star field
“Play” icon. To create a sepa- became excessively grainy.
rate layer for the changes, sim- Running the “Space Noise
ply choose the “. . . As Layer Reduction” action set allowed
On Top” action, and press me to soften the harsh back-
“Play” again. ground, which produced a
For this sketch of open cluster NGC 436, the author changed the setting of her zoom I ran the “Select Brighter more natural-looking result.
eyepiece to 8mm (229x). For both sketches, she used white printer paper with a black Stars” action set next. This Questions or comments?
felt-tipped pen for the brightest stars, a #2 pencil for medium-magnitude stars, and
a 0.5mm mechanical pencil for the faintest stars. Both sketches have north up and highlighted only the largest Contact me at erikarix1@
west to the right. stars, which allowed me to gmail.com.
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P28818
Enjoy all the stunning celestial photos, observing tips,

in 30 pages!
equipment reviews, and science news in Astronomy
A! CAL
TR TO S
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magazine on your tablet or mobile device!
EX OSMOS
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e
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• Easy-to-read enhanced text views.
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IMMENSITY • Crystal-clear photos and illustrations.
OF THE
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The Milky Way’s barred
p. 20
solar system p. 24
spiral p. 30
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BINOCULARUNIVERSE
BY P H I L H A R R I N G TO N
Going deep for

Andromeda
How many times has someone seeing tonight left M31. And yet,
asked you, “What’s the farthest there it is, weakened by the trip
thing you can see with your to appear as a small, fuzzy patch
eyes?” Me? I’ve long lost track. just off Nu (ν) Andromedae.
But my stock answer is always Isn’t it amazing that we can see The Andromeda Galaxy appears like an oval smudge in binoculars, and it is even visible
the same, the Andromeda it with just our eyes? to the naked eye as the most distant object most people can see. DEAN SALMAN
Galaxy (M31). Unless you are The Andromeda Galaxy is
under very dark, very trans- also well known as M31, the While you are gazing at M31, But they are slowly getting
parent skies, Andromeda is 31st entry in French astronomer keep an eye out for its two brighter. So are M31, M32, and
it, at 2.5 million light-years Charles Messier’s catalog. neighbors, M32 and NGC 205. NGC 205. Slowly — very slowly!
away. That’s an incredible Messier bumped into it for the M32, the smaller and brighter That’s because they are all
distance when you stop and first time on August 3, 1764. of the pair, looks like a small headed our way. In fact, M31
think about it. The light we see Historical records, however, smudge due south of M31’s core. and our Milky Way are on a
tonight, traveling at more than show that Persian astronomers NGC 205 is larger, but also collision course. Studies show
186,000 miles every second, observed it as far back as fainter. Spotting it can be very that gravity is pulling them
took 2.5 million years to reach a.d. 905. challenging. First, brace your toward each other at a rate of
your eyes. Good binoculars expand the binoculars against something to about 75 miles (120 kilometers)
What was going on here on faint blur of M31 into a dis- steady the view, then look for its per second. At that speed, it’s
Earth when that light left the tinctly football-shaped disk dim glow northwest of M31’s going to take about 4 billion
Andromeda Galaxy? Well, for measuring a full 5°. That’s as core. It’s about twice as far away years for the two to collide and
one, we weren’t. Humans — wide as 10 Full Moons stacked as M32 is to the core’s south. merge. Some call the end result
that is, Homo sapiens — weren’t end to end, and probably about M32 and NGC 205 are great Milkomeda. While it is unlikely
even around. No, 2.5 million the same width as your binocu- examples of dwarf elliptical gal- that the Sun will collide with
years ago, our evolutionary lar’s field of view. axies, the most common type of another star, things here will be
ancestors known as Homo At first glance, you may only galaxy in the universe. M32 getting dicey for other reasons.
habilis made their first appear- see the galaxy’s bright, central appears almost perfectly round In 4 billion years, the Sun will
ance. And they had a tough core. But with patient observa- and is referred to as an E2 ellip- be running out of fusible hydro-
time of it back then, too. That tion and using averted vision, tical. NGC 205 is an E6 ellipti- gen in its core. So, while
was also the beginning of the the full extent of the spiral arm cal galaxy for its more oblate Milkomeda is just evolving into
Pleistocene epoch, which saw disk will become more appar- profile. M32 and NGC 205 are existence, the Sun will be start-
repeated global glaciations. ent. Giant binoculars even add the two brightest of as many as ing its slow departure. Just as
Ice ages and an Earth popu- subtle texture and irregularities 10 companion galaxies associ- our distant ancestor Homo habi-
lated by half-human, half-ape to the disk, as well as a hint of ated with M31. The others are lis lived in interesting times, so
creatures — that was the state of the galaxy’s two dark dust lanes too small and faint to be visible will our far future generations
affairs when the light we are bisecting lengthwise. through most binoculars. — though life on Earth may last
only a billion years, until the
water is gone due to the Sun’s
increasing radiation.
Back to today. We all have
favorite binocular objects. I’d
enjoy hearing about yours, and
possibly feature them in future
columns. Contact me through
my web site, philharrington.net.
Until next month, remember
that two eyes are better than
ANTHONY AYIOMAMITIS
one.
Phil Harrington is a longtime

observer and contributing
Satellite galaxy M32 stays close to the side of the Andromeda The faint, elliptical galaxy NGC 205 orbits Andromeda slightly editor of Astronomy.
Galaxy and is visible in hefty binoculars. ADAM BLOCK/NOAO/AURA/NSF farther afield than M32 and is also visible in good binoculars.
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P24640
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READER
GALLERY
1. MOONSTRUCK
On July 19, 2016, the Full Moon rose
over the dome of the famous 100-inch
Hooker Telescope atop Mount Wilson,
California. The 100-inch dome stands
at right, and to the left is the dome of
one of the six telescopes that together
form the CHARA interferometer.
• John Fisanotti
2. NOT TIGHTLY WOUND

Palomar 8 is a globular cluster
about 42,000 light-years away in the
constellation Sagittarius. It carries a
classification of X (out of XII), meaning
that it has a loose concentration of
stars. • Dan Crowson
3. STELLAR SPECTACLE
The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of
two large irregular satellite galaxies
of the Milky Way. It lies 163,000 light-
years away and appears to straddle
the border between the constellations
Dorado and Mensa. • Carlos Eduardo
Fairbairn
4. WORLD VIEW
The photographer compiled this
high-resolution map of the entire face
of Jupiter from images he acquired
during the first half of June 2016. The
Great Red Spot lies just below center.
• Damian Peach
5. LIKE NEPTUNE
Abell 39 is a striking planetary nebula
3 with a deep-blue hue. It lies in the
constellation Hercules about 6,800
light-years away. Although spherical,
it has numerous brightness variations
across its face. • Adam Block/Mount
Lemmon SkyCenter/University of
Arizona
6. THE CORSAGE GALAXY

IC 5332 is a face-on spiral galaxy in the
constellation Sculptor. It lies 1.6° north
of magnitude 4.4 Beta Sculptoris. It
glows at magnitude 10.7 and lies some
27 million light-years away. • Warren
Keller/Steve Mazlin/Steve Menaker
7. DARK SURROUNDINGS
This region in the far-southern
constellation Chamaeleon contains
vast amounts of dust. The bright
4 star to the upper right of center is
magnitude 4.2 Beta (β) Chamaeleontis.
Just below it lies irregular galaxy
IC 3104. • Gerald Rhemann
Send your images to:

Astronomy Reader Gallery, P. O. Box
1612, Waukesha, WI 53187. Please
include the date and location of the
image and complete photo data:
telescope, camera, filters, and
exposures. Submit images by email
6 7 to readergallery@astronomy.com.
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BREAK
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Orion with
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Few stellar nurseries rival
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years away), this glowing
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Yet visible light tells only
part of the nebula’s story.
In this infrared image,
taken with the HAWK-I
instrument on the Very
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astronomers found about
10 times more brown
dwarfs and free-floating
planets than they had pre-
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the infrared radiation
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SOUTHERN
SKY MARTIN GEORGE describes the solar system’s changing landscape
as it appears in Earth’s southern sky.
February 2017: Venus dazzles at dusk

As darkness falls on February 1, before Jupiter rises in the east our line of sight, making deli- Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in
a lovely crescent Moon stands later in the evening. The giant cate structures within them this month’s early evening sky.
above Venus and Mars in the planet appears 4° north (lower relatively easy to see. The brightest of the Milky
western sky. Although the left) of 1st-magnitude Spica, the You can track down Way’s satellite galaxies, the
Moon departs the scene in a luminary of the constellation Mercury in morning twilight LMC lies high in the south
few days, the bright planets Virgo, and barely budges rela- during February’s first half. soon after darkness falls.
remain an attractive couple tive to this background all The innermost planet shines at This month marks 30 years
throughout the month. month. At magnitude –2.2, magnitude –0.2, bright enough since Supernova 1987A blazed
Brilliant Venus dominates Jupiter shines far brighter than to see with the naked eye forth in the LMC. This explod-
the view. It becomes easy to see its companion. though easier to spot through ing star reached 3rd magnitude,
just 20 minutes after sunset. Jupiter is a wonderful sight binoculars against the twilight. which made it an easy naked-
And if the inner planet looks through any telescope. Its disk On the 1st, it appears about eye object for those in the
more dazzling than usual, it’s spans 41" at midmonth and 10° high in the east-southeast Southern Hemisphere. Naked-
not your imagination. It shines should show impressive detail 45 minutes before sunrise. A eye supernovae are rare events
at magnitude –4.8 this month, on nights with steady seeing. telescope shows a fat gibbous — only six others occurred dur-
brighter than at any other time The best views come once disk measuring 6" across. ing the second millennium, and
during this evening apparition. Jupiter climbs higher after mid- Observers in Africa and none has appeared since 1987.
Venus reached greatest elon- night. Look for two dark cloud South America can witness a Although the LMC super-
gation from the Sun in January belts that straddle a brighter rare lunar eclipse on the night nova has long since faded from
and is now drawing closer to zone coinciding with the plan- of February 10/11, when the view through amateur tele-
our star as it approaches infe- et’s equator. A small instru- Moon tracks completely inside scopes, astronomers continue to
rior conjunction in late March. ment also reveals the world’s Earth’s light penumbral track its evolution with large
This makes February the per- four bright moons. shadow but never touches the instruments on Earth and in
fect time to observe the planet’s You’ll have to wait until the dark umbra. (Some calculations space. Not long after the explo-
changing appearance through a small hours of the morning to show 1 percent of our satellite sion, scientists using the Hubble
telescope. On the 1st, Venus see Saturn. Watch the eastern remains in full sunlight, but Space Telescope detected a ring
shows a disk that is 31" in sky for the distinctive shape of why quibble?) Only 3 percent of gas surrounding the blast
diameter and 40 percent lit. By Scorpius the Scorpion; about an of all lunar eclipses fall in this site. The progenitor star had
the 28th, the planet has swollen hour after it clears the horizon, category. The eclipse begins at ejected this material thousands
to 46" across but the Sun illu- the ringed planet rises. Saturn 22h32m UT on February 10 of years earlier, and it lay in the
minates only 18 percent of its glows at magnitude 0.5 and and ends at 2h56m UT on the path of the supernova’s expand-
Earth-facing hemisphere. easily outshines the back- 11th, reaching a maximum at ing shock wave. When the
Mars lies to Venus’ upper ground stars near the border 0h44m UT. shock collided with the material
right all month. The gap between Ophiuchus and Sagit- On August 26, people along in the early 2000s, it lit up some
between the two worlds grows tarius. (The planet crosses from a narrow path crossing south- 30 dense clumps in a spectacu-
from 5° on February 1 to 12° on the former constellation into ern South America, the Atlantic lar display witnessed by Hubble.
the 28th. Even though the Red the latter during February’s Ocean, and Africa will experi- Although you can’t see
Planet glows six magnitudes final week.) ence an annular solar eclipse. 1987A any longer, I strongly
fainter than its neighbor, it is Saturn ascends quickly and You must use a safe solar filter recommend scanning the LMC
still easy to spot, and easy to appears more than one-third of to see the Sun reduced to a through binoculars while it
identify thanks to its distinctive the way to the zenith by the glowing ring of fire. Just north remains high in the evening
color. Unfortunately, Mars time twilight begins. The high of Coyhaique, Chile, annularity sky. The galaxy’s showpiece
offers little to telescope owners. altitude then should afford begins at 13h36m UT and lasts object is the wondrous
The planet’s disk measures just steady views of the magnificent 1 minute and 5 seconds. Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070),
5" across and shows no detail. world through any telescope. a massive star-forming region
Once Mars dips below the Even the smallest scope reveals The starry sky near the location of 1987A. It
western horizon, you’ll have the planet’s 16"-diameter disk If you observe from a reason- ranks as the largest emission
some time to explore the won- wrapped by a ring system that ably dark site, you should see nebula known in the entire
ders of the summer Milky Way spans 36". The rings tilt 27° to the milky glow of the Large Local Group of galaxies.
STAR S
DOME AU S T
RALE M
NGU
LU
TRI A US
IN
THE ALL-SKY MAP RC
CI
SHOWS HOW THE
SKY LOOKS AT:
10 P.M. February 1 G α
9 P.M. February 15
RU TU
S CA S
8 P.M. February 28 NA O C TA N S PUS A RU
AU
β
Planets are shown NGC A
at midmonth 104 SC
MU 55 7
SCP C4
NG
H Y SMC
PH
DR C HA M A E L E ON α β
OE
US
γ
δ RU X
N
Ac
NA
IX
h 2
na
er MENSA
3 37 A R I C
C C
r α O
H RE NG
RO TIC
LO UL NGC 207
UM LMC 0
GI
UM
SC
S N
VOL A
NGC
UL
DO
RA
P
SGP
561
253
DO
TO
TOR
PIC GC 2 N
R
β
A
EL
α
FO
V
RN
A
Canop
s u γ
TLI
AX
AN
O
CA
IS
CETUS
LU
ζ
PP
EL
M
B PU
IS
U A
M
77
PYX
24
W
NGC
E R I DA N U S
ε
LEP
US
IS
M41 N R
O
A
C AJ
β
Mira
PISCE
7
M
M4
ard
U ra n u
Sirius α
Alph
Ri
α
ge
ROS
S
OCE
α
β
l
s
M4
2 MON
α
Pa
th
of
t he n
cyo α
Su
n( Pro R
ecl α β NO
i pt
ic) OR
Betelge
use MI
S
IO NI
TA N CA
U
R
U α
`
S γ
AR
Ald 4 ER
eb ζ M4 N C
IE
ara
α
M1 A
S
n C
Pl NI
ei
ad M35 GEMI β x
β lu
es Pol
α
M36 M37 r
MAGNITUDES Alg Casto
β ol
Sirius Open cluster PE M38
RS
0.0 EU
Globular cluster S NX
AU R LY
1.0 IGA
Diffuse nebula α β
2.0
3.0 Planetary nebula Cape
ll a
4.0
5.0 Galaxy
N
HOW TO USE THIS MAP: This map portrays
the sky as seen near 30° south latitude.
Located inside the border are the four
FEBRUARY 2017
directions: north, south, east, and
west. To find stars, hold the map Calendar of events
overhead and orient it so a
N direction label matches the 1 The Moon passes 2° south of 18 Asteroid Irene is at opposition,
CE direction you’re facing. Mars, 1h UT 19h UT
The stars above the
9 map’s horizon now 2 The Moon passes 3° south of Last Quarter Moon occurs at
13 5
match what’s Uranus, 8h UT 19h33m UT
GC
28
N
in the sky.
51
3 The Moon passes 1.0° north of The Moon is at apogee

C
NG
dwarf planet Ceres, 2h UT (404,376 kilometers from Earth),

21h14m UT
4 First Quarter Moon occurs at
4h19m UT 20 Asteroid Eunomia is at
opposition, 11h UT
5 The Moon passes 0.2° north of
Aldebaran, 22h UT The Moon passes 4° north of
Saturn, 23h UT
S
6 The Moon is at perigee

RV U
(368,816 kilometers from Earth), 22 Asteroid Metis is at opposition,

14h02m UT 2h UT
CO
Jupiter is stationary, 19h UT 23 Jupiter passes 4° north of Spica,

M104
16h UT
11 Full Moon occurs at 0h33m UT;
penumbral lunar eclipse 26 New Moon occurs at 14h58m UT;
HYDRA
C R AT E R
annular solar eclipse

The Moon passes 0.8° south of
Regulus, 14h UT 27 Mars passes 0.6° north of Uranus,
E 15 The Moon passes 3° north of
8h UT
Jupiter, 15h UT 28 The Moon passes 10° south of

Venus, 20h UT
S
17 Venus is at greatest brilliancy

TA N
(magnitude –4.8), 7h UT
SEX
Jupiter is at aphelion (816.3

million kilometers from the Sun),
7h UT
lus
M65
gu
M66
α Re
γ
O
LE
STAR COLORS:
Stars’ true colors
depend on surface
R
temperature. Hot
O
IN
stars glow blue; slight-

M
ly cooler ones, white;

O
LE
intermediate stars (like

the Sun), yellow; followed
by orange and, ultimately, red.
Fainter stars can’t excite our eyes’
color receptors, and so appear white
without optical aid.
Illustrations by Astronomy: Roen Kelly
BEGINNERS: WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT HOW TO READ A STAR CHART AT www.Astronomy.com/starchart.

SHOP NOW FOR
SCIENCE &
ASTRONOMY
PRODUCTS
Huge selection!
Books • Magazines • Globes & Maps
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