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Transcript
Salisbury Plain Observing Group: Autumn Asterisms for Binoculars & Telescopes Asterisms are a fascinating observing target for we ought to know the major constellations by now, binoculars or a small telescope, each one offering so this article is not going to detail the large easy an insight into the imagination and creativity of its ones, but instead look at some for binoculars and original observer, although actually this is a polite telescopes. way of saying “how the heck did he/she make a pattern out of that!” that I know of (I would be delighted to be proven Asterisms, in case you did not know, are mostly chance alignments There is no formally agreed list of asterisms of stars, which, imagination, resemble familiar patterns. with Indeed wrong though), but Phil Harrington may have started the trend by an article in Sky and Telescope in May 1998, producing his own our constellations are asterisms, with many sub observing list; you’ll see his designation “Hrr” on parts also being asterisms in their own right, some of the finder charts. known as sectional asterisms; for example the prolific list I have found is that compiled by the Plough is but a small part of the Great Bear, Saguaro Astronomy Club in Arizona. They list over Hercules is more than just the familiar keystone. 100 The most familiar asterism for this time of year is description of each one. of course the Summer Triangle, composed of associated with an NGC or catalogued object, Deneb, Vega and Altair, but not forgetting the others need the RA and DEC to locate them. For Great Square of Pegasus, which if you count the the competitive, the Astronomical League offers an stars within the square, give an indication of the observing pin for bagging 101 on their list. amount of light pollution for your site. time; we just happen to be in the right place at humanity looked up at the stars, we have played “join the dots” to make shapes (our constellations) given different cultures coordinates and a brief The simpler ones are the seasonal ones as suggested targets for the Autumn. the right time to see these alignments. Ever since have with So for this article, I thought I’d select a few of Asterisms can have no determined origin in which asterisms However, the most different constellations, although some are common, albeit under different names. However, as astronomers Each asterism has at least one finder chart, some are large scale and include a magnified view. If you have software such as Stellarium, it is quite easy to locate these targets and figure your own star hop to them. I have also labelled nearby stars, along with NGC or IC objects to help in the Catalogue Ref hunt. RA/Dec If there are Asterism Constellation Flying Minnow Auriga 05 19.0 33 40 any Smiley Face Auriga 05 27.0 35 00 like to capture these Kemble’s Cascade Camelopardalis 04 00.0 63 00 targets, The Aeroplane Cassiopeia 23 20.0 62 20 appreciate copies for Kemble’s Kite Cassiopeia 03 28.0 72 00 inclusion Owl Cluster Cassiopeia Dolphins Diamonds Delphinus 21 07.3 16 20 Backwards 5 Hercules 16 36.1 30 45 David’s D Triangulum Mini Coathanger Ursa Minor NGC 457 who’d I’d on the SPOG website. So to the targets, the first in Auriga. Collinder 21 Asterism List for Autumn 2013 imagers 16 29.0 80 13 Auriga : The Smiley Face An easy one in binoculars as it lies very close to the west of M38. This one is also known as the “Cheshire Cat” for obvious reasons. Find it by sweeping your binoculars from Capella to Alnath and just over half way down you’ll sweep through M38 – slow down now and look for the Cheshire Cat! Auriga: Flying Minnow This looks a little like Delphinus the Dolphin but a bit squashed. Looking at the finder map for the Cheshire Cat, the Minnow is the group of stars to the right of NGC 1893, an open cluster. Auriga: The Smiley Face & Flying Minnow Camelopardalis: Kemble’s Cascade Father Lucian Kemble was a Franciscian friar and amateur astronomer who first drew attention to this beautiful cascading chain of stars in 1980. He advised Walter Scott Houston of his discovery, who was so impressed with the asterism he christened it in Fr. Kemble’s name. Camelopardalis (the Giraffe) is not one of the brightest constellations, but the Cascade is one of its showpiece objects, with the open cluster NGC 1502 to its end. It is an easy object in binoculars and a favourite of mine. You can find it by taking a line from Capella in Auriga to Epsilon Cassiopeiae known as Segin) which takes (also you through Camelopardalis. Around halfway up, you should be able to spot Mirphak in Perseus. Draw a line from here at right Camelopardalis: Kemble’s Cascade angles to your first line and have sweep round with your binoculars and you should find the Cascade. Cassiopeia: The Aeroplane The Aeroplane actually looks like its intended name, and appears to be dive-bombing M52! It’s alternative name is the Arrow, but I think the former is better. Images reveal red and blue wing tips and a red tail. Cassiopeia: Kemble’s Kite Fr. Kemble was a prolific binocular observer, so it is no Cassiopeia: The Aeroplane surprise to find another one bearing his name. Although not as well-known as his Cascade, it is easy to find in the northern region Camelopardalis. of Cassiopeia, on the border with Locate the two end stars of Cassiopeia, Ruchbah and Segin, and extend this line about twice as far, which takes you to Gamma Camelopardalis, at magnitude 4.6. Moving at a right angle from this star, you should be able to locate Kemble’s Kite, which incorporates SAO 4917, a lovely red star. Cassiopeia: Owl Cluster (NGC 457) Next to the Coathanger, the Owl Cluster is probably the most famous small asterism and fairly easy to find. Drawing a line between Ruchbah and Archid, it lies below Gamma Cassiopeia. It is also known as the ET cluster for its resemblance to Spielberg's little creature Cassiopeia: Kemble’s Kite from “ET” Delphinus: The Dolphins Diamonds To locate the Dolphin’s Diamonds (or the Toadstool as it is also known), take a line through alpha and gamma Delphini and scan for this lovely asterism. It also comprises the 13th mag galaxy NGC 7025, a target for imagers or large aperture telescopes. Cassiopeia: Owl Cluster Hercules: Backwards 5 Delphinus: Dolphin’s Diamonds This asterism is found by locating Zeta Herculis (the bottom right star of the keystone) and sweeping down slowly until you backwards 5 as circled in the map. reach the Triangulum: David’s D Collinder 21 was christened David’s D when it was photographed by deep sky imager David Ratledge. It sits near the bright galaxy NGC672, which is how David came across it whilst imaging the galaxy. It is a genuine asterism and not an open cluster. Triangulum: David’s D Hercules: Backwards 5 Ursa Minor – the Mini Coathanger Most astronomers are familiar with the Coathanger (Collinder 399) in Vulpecula, but did you know there is another one? Ursa Minor boasts its own Coathanger consisting of 11 stars from 9th to 11th magnitude spanning about 1 /3°. Being circumpolar, this can be seen all year round. It’s not too far away from a square of stars which help to locate it. So 10 autumn asterisms for visual or imaging; if you need more detailed finder charts, drop me an [email protected]. email to Do have a look for these fascinating patterns, and you may well see another you can make your own. Jonathan Gale Ursa Minor: Mini Coathanger