Hi all,
The last few months has seen an amazing amount of activity in this forum. Sketching has had a particular resurgence, covering subjects from the Moon, to the Sun, planets, and beyond.
Please note, never, ever look at the Sun directly through a telescope- it will blind you instantly. Sketches submitted in this forum have all been done utilising specialised solar filters.
This month will try to build upon this activity, with the added bonus of a comet too.
You may like to have a go at sketching any one or more of these. It's not a competition, but an exercise in increasing our observation skills. Stuck on where to start or how to go about it- just ask.
Comet Hartley- This comet is currently close to magnitude 5 in brightness, making it just visible to the naked eye from a dark site. It is located just north of the constellation Orion. Glenc has posted a couple of good maps to help find it this month:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...se.php?a=83698
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...se.php?a=83747
"The Killing Fields"- Refered to in last month's Challenge, this time the focus is on this marvelous group of objects, some of which are visible to the naked eye. So named as the objects in focus are either being consumed or are the remains of being destroyed by our Milky Way galaxy.
This section of the sky in the constellations Dorado, Mensa & Tucana, contains the irregular galaxies the
Large Magellanic and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC & SMC respectively), and the giant globular cluster 47 Tucana (also known as NGC 104).
The LMC & SMC are in the process of being consumed by our own giant
galaxy, the Milky Way. These two galaxies are also gravitaionally interacting, with long exposure photos showing tendrils of gas and stars being flung off each due to the gravitational tidal effects. These two galaxies in their own right contain all the elements found in their more famous spiral cousins- globular clusters orbiting them, open cluster, bright nebulae and stars in every stage of stellar development, all of which are observable. Of these, the Tarantula Nebula is the most remarkable. This giant cloud of gas and dust is the most massive stellar nursery known anywhere, dwarfing the Orion Nebula. Within this cloud are also some of the most massive stars known, which are also observable in modest scopes as the brightest shines at magnitude 9.
Paddy has being undertaking an incredible task of observing and recording his observations of the hundreds of objects just within these two satellite galaxies of our Milky Way
47 Tuc is not a 'normal' globular cluster. For one it is just so damn big, and the range of stellar population indicate that it is the remnant core of a long devoured galaxy now in or
bit within our Milky Way. The only larger globular cluster, Omega Centuri, is also a remnant core. Normal globulars typically contain the same type of star, both in composition and age with no 'recent' stellar formation. 47 Tuc and Omega Centuri contain a wide variety of star generations and sizes which can only suggest they are of extra galactic origin.
If you up for another challenge, within the huge circular boundary of 47 Tuc lie three other 'normal' globular clusters. These are not associated with 47 Tuc, but happen to lie within the line of sight, and may be associated with the SMC. Astroron has posted a good referrence picture to help track down is quartet:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...se.php?a=83759
M77, in Cetus, is a relatively bright face-on sprial galaxy. It is one of the brightest barred galaxies, with its bar being visible in 10" scopes. It is also known as a Seyfert galaxy, which are known for having a very active core.
The first pic below is a NASA photo of M77. The second shows the LMC (on left) the SMC (right) and 47 Tuc (the large bright 'star' to the right of the SMC).
Any further suggestions?
Enjoy & clear skies,
Mental.