Best Sights in the Sky by Season
Spring Charts March-May
Leo - Virgo Galaxy Charts
I have prepared three charts for you. There are so many galaxies in this area, you often will have several in the same field of view! The hardest part is telling them aprt. With practice and patience, you will soon how different each of them look.
Wide Area Leo-Virgo Cluster Chart
M53 - Globular Cluster
Wide Area Chart --- Note the line! This will help you locate M53
M81 & M82 (Galaxies)
These are pretty tough to see for a small (3") telescope. But if you have 4" or more, you will see two beautiful galaxies in one field of view! This an incredible sight to see and worth the work to find it. I'm giving you two charts---both are wide views. The problem is, M81 & M82 are not very 'near' anything for me to zoom into.
M81/M82 Very Wide View (Will get you oriented in the right place)
M51 Chris' Favorite Galaxy
I really love M51! When you spend some time with this beautiful object, relax and let your eyes and head work together to pull in detail. Soon you'll see the spiral structure and the two interacting (we think) galaxies. Then ponder this---you are looking at an object 25 MILLION light years away. And you are seeing it with your own eyes. That alone beats any picture you will ever see of M51.
T-Lyrae A Blood Red Carbon Star
The first time I saw this star it startled me. It really is red. It's small and you'll have to look carefully to find it but once you do, you'll know it when you see it.
Carbon Stars are a rare type of old, evolved stars that contain more carbon than oxygen. Most stars contain little carbon or oxygen, both of which are formed late in the life of a star after the hydrogen in the star’s core is exhausted and the star begins burning helium. Stars that burn helium grow much larger than their original size and hence are known as red giant or red supergiant stars. Most carbon stars are cool red giant stars.
In most giant stars, the dominant nuclear reaction that fuels the star is the fusion of three helium nuclei to create one carbon nucleus. The carbon atoms participate in other reactions that create oxygen and nitrogen. The normal sequence of reactions produces more oxygen than carbon. In carbon stars, however, some additional or alternative reaction sequence must exist, because these stars contain more carbon than oxygen. Carbon stars also contain unusual ratios of carbon isotopes (carbon atoms with different atomic weights), which is another indication that nuclear reactions other than those of normal stars occur within them.
Something to think about. ALL known life forms are carbon based. No carbon, no life. Yet, carbon is not abundant in the universe. Had a star not gone through its life-cycle and exploded distributing carbon and other elements into our little corner of the Milky Way Galaxy, we wouldn't be here. There would be no solid planets---perhaps only gas giants (like Jupiter) or a star with no attending planets.
What does this mean? It means just because there are billions and billions of stars does not mean they all have sufficient elements nearby to form planets which can support life. In fact, that could be a rather rare event.
It also means that you are literally made of star dust. Had a star not created your carbon, you wouldn't be here.
So let's find T-Lyrae and see a carbon star! One note...the bigger the scope, the redder this star will look. Why? As you gather more light, you gather more color. But still, this rare beauty will stand out beautifully in the smallest telescopes.
Ratings:
As a view: *****
Difficulty: Intermediate
Charts:
La Superba Chart (More to follow)
Contact: Chris Reich Observer@SeeIntoSpace.com
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