Observing Log for Friday 21 October

What a fabulous night with clear skies and delightfully cool fall air. Below is a summary of what we observed last night.

• Jupiter : Heat coming off the roof made the image a little fuzzy, but we were able to make out cloud bands on the planet as well as all four Galilean satellites- Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto.
• Saturn : Saturn looked lovely and we were easily able to see the moon Titan. Rhea, Dione, and Tethys were fainter, but also visible.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): This fine example of a planetary nebula appeared as a delicate smoke-ring in the eyepiece of the 8-inch scope.The Ring Nebula is located in the constellation of Lyra and is about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars (like our Sun) after they've used up their nuclear fuel.
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy): We looked at the Andromeda Galaxy in the 14-inch. This object is a neighboring galaxy located about 2.5 million light-years from us. It's a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, but it's larger. M31 is about 220,000 light-years across compared to the Milky Way's 100,000 light-year diameter. Through the telescope M31 looked like a small fuzzy ball with a star-like center. The bright center is the core of M31 and the fuzziness is the light from the hundreds of billions of stars that make up the galaxy.
• The Albireo System: Through the 8-inch, we observed this double-star in Cygnus. The stars of Albireo (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The brighter yellow star is also a binary system, but these two stars are two close for our telescopes to resolve. Albireo is about 430 light-years distant.
• NGC 6826 (the "blinking planetary"): NGC 6826 is planetary nebula located in the constellation of Cygnus. It's called the blinking planetary because when you have it centered in the eyepiece, it appears to blink "on" when you look away from it and "off" when you look directly at it. The effect happens because our peripheral vision is more sensitive than our forward vision.

Sincere thanks to Stacey and Harold for making the evening a success!

And as always, thank you to everyone who attended. Your presence and enthusiasm fill me with happiness.

Observing Log for Friday 20 September 2019

This was our fifth observatory night in a row that wasn't clouded out! Woo hoo!

Earth hasn't moved that much around the Sun since our last event (and the one before that), so the observing log is the same as it has been, save for the Andromeda Galaxy. Here's what we saw:

• Jupiter : Heat coming off the roof made the image a little fuzzy, but we were able to make out cloud bands on the planet and three of the four Galilean satellites- Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Io was behind Jupiter and not visible while we were watching.
• Saturn : The lovely ringed planet was also a little low, but even still, we could make out the brightest of its moons (Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, and possibly Enceladus.)
• M13 (the Hercules cluster): Next we looked at the globular cluster, M13. M13 can be found in the constellation of Hercules and is about 22,000 light-years from Earth. There are about 150-160 globular clusters located in the halo of our galaxy. These clusters contain some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): After M13, we headed to M57. The Ring Nebula is located in the constellation of Lyra and is about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars (like our Sun) after they've used up their nuclear fuel. The Ring Nebula appeared as a delicate smoke-ring in the eyepiece.
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy): We looked at M31 through the 8-inch scope on the deck. This object is a neighboring galaxy located about 2.5 million light-years from us. It's a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way, but it's larger. M31 is about 220,000 light-years across compared to the Milky Way's 100,000 light-year diameter. Through the telescope M31 looked like a small fuzzy ball with a star-like center. The bright center is the core of M31 and the fuzziness is the light from the hundreds of billions of stars that make up the galaxy.
• The Albireo System: We finished the night with a double star in Cygnus. The stars of Albireo (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The brighter yellow star is also a binary system, but these two stars are two close for our telescopes to resolve. Albireo is about 430 light-years distant.

Sincere thanks to Iadviga and Ryan for their assistance with the event.

And as always, an astronomical-sized thank you for everyone who attended. Your enthusiasm for the night sky is a joy to witness!

Observing Log for Friday 16 August 2019

Well, we're two for two! The clouds moved off and we had a clear, but humid evening. The observing log is below. The sky doesn't change that much over two weeks, so it's about identical to the last one. :)

• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Albireo: Albireo is a double star system in Cygnus. The two stars (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The system is about 430 light-years distant.
• M13 (the Hercules cluster): M13 can be found in the constellation of Hercules and is about 22,000 light-years from Earth. There are about 150-160 globular clusters located in the halo of our galaxy. These clusters contain some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): M57 can be found in the constellation of Lyra and is located about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars after they've used up their nuclear fuel. The Ring Nebula appeared as a delicate smoke-ring in the eyepiece.

Thanks to Iadviga for assistance with the event, and for getting us to try some cell phone astrophotography.

And as always, thanks to everyone for attending!

Observing log for Friday 2 August 2019

Yay! We were able to open! The weather last night turned out to be far better than what was forecast. Here's what we were able to see:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Albireo: Albireo is a double star system in Cygnus. The two stars (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The system is about 430 light-years distant.
• M13 (the Hercules cluster): We also looked at the globular cluster, M13. M13 can be found in the constellation of Hercules and is about 22,000 light-years from Earth. There are about 150-160 globular clusters located in the halo of our galaxy. These clusters contain some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): M57 can be found in the constellation of Lyra and is located about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars after they've used up their nuclear fuel. The Ring Nebula appeared as a delicate smoke-ring in the eyepiece.
• NGC 6826 (the "blinking planetary"): NGC 6826 is a another planetary nebula, but this one is located in the constellation of Cygnus. It's called the blinking planetary because when you have it centered in the eyepiece, it appears to blink "on" when you look away from it and "off" when you look directly at it. The effect happens because our peripheral vision is more sensitive than our forward vision.

Through the 8-inch scope

• Jupiter : We were able to make out cloud bands on the planet and the four Galilean satellites- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
• Saturn : The lovely ringed planet also made an appearance.

Sincere thanks to Iadviga and Ryan for their assistance with the event.

And of course, an astronomically-sized thank you to everyone for attending! I loved all the enthusiasm and the great questions.

Observing log for Friday 20 July 2018

The clouds held off...at least for a little while!

Here's what we managed to sneak in:

• The Moon was delightful through the 14-inch, being just a day past first quarter.
• We also observed Jupiter and Saturn through both the 14-inch and 8-inch scopes.
• I think at least a few folks got to see Venus through the 8-inch before it was lost to clouds.
• The beautiful double star Albireo showed up nicely through both scopes. Even with the clouds, the difference in color between the two Albirio A and Albirio B was apparent.
• Deep sky objects were out of the question, but I did make an earnest attempt to show NGC 6826, "the blinking planetary" before we closed up. I thought I could (maybe) see it, but the clouds had taken over by then.

Once again, big thanks to Maryam and Iadviga their assistance with the event.

And of course, thanks to everyone for attending and asking such great questions! I absolutely loved the enthusiasm of the kids, and wow, I was super impressed with their astronomical knowledge. You all make doing these events such a pleasure! :)

Observing log for Friday 13 July 2018

We had a beautiful, warm, and Moonless and evening for our observatory night.

Here's what we looked at:

• Venus: Venus appeared as the brightest object in the evening sky. As a planet interior to Earth, Venus is seen to go through phases like the Moon. Through the telescope we could see Venus in its gibbous phase.
• Jupiter : We were able to make out cloud bands on the planet and the four Galilean satellites- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
• Saturn : Saturn was too low for the the 14-inch scopes inside the observatory, therefore we looked at the ringed beauty with the 8-inch scope on the deck.
• M13, (the Hercules cluster): We also looked at the globular cluster, M13. M13 can be found in the constellation of Hercules and is about 22,000 light-years from Earth.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): Next up was M57, a planetary nebula. M57 can be found in the constellation of Lyra and is located about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars after they've used up their nuclear fuel. The Ring Nebula appeared as a delicate smoke-ring in the eyepiece.
• Albireo: Albireo is a double star system in Cygnus. The two stars (one blue, one gold) can't be resolved with the naked eye, but through our telescopes we are able to see the pair. The system is about 430 light-years distant.

Sincere thanks to Maryam, Iadviga, and Ryan for their assistance with the event.

And of course, BIG thank you everyone for attending, and for your enthusiasm about all things astronomical! I hope to see folks again at another event.

Observing log for 30 June 2017

The towering cumulus clouds stayed southwest of Rockville and the sky cleared! Seeing wasn't great, but we did manage to observe the following objects:

• A first quarter Moon
• The planet Jupiter
• The planet Saturn
• The globular cluster M13, (the Hercules cluster)
• The planetary nebula M57 (the Ring Nebula) located in the constellation Lyra
• Another planetary nebula, NGC 6826 (the "blinking planetary") located in the constellation Cygnus
• The double star Albireo, also located in Cygnus

Overall, not a bad night. Thank you everyone for your patience with the weather and the fantastic questions. It's an honor to get to share the observatory and night sky with you.

Observing Log for 2 June 2017

Skies were clear and beautiful last night! We observed the following objects:

• Jupiter (planet) : Jupiter was easy to find between the Moon and the bright star Spica. It will be even closer to the Moon tonight (Saturday 3 June). We were able to make out cloud bands on the planet and the four Galilean satellites- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
• M13, (the Hercules cluster): We also looked at the globular cluster, M13. M13 can be found in the constellation of Hercules and is about 25,000 light-years from Earth.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): Next up was M57, a planetary nebula. M57 can be found in the constellation of Lyra and is located about 2,300 light-years from Earth. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of lower mass stars after they've used up their nuclear fuel. The Ring Nebula is a particularly beautiful example.
• M3 (globular cluster) : We also looked at a second globular cluster, M3. This cluster can be found in the constellation Canes Venatici (the hunting dogs), and is about 33,900 light-years from Earth.
• Mizar (double star) : With the smaller telescope, we split the double star Mizar in the constellation Ursa Major.
• ε Lyrae (double star) : We also looked at the "double double" star in the constellation Lyra.
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Thank you everyone for attending the event last night, and for your interest in the Montgomery College Observatory.

Observing Log for 14 April 2017

Last night we had mainly clear skies with just a bit of haze. We observed the following objects:

• Jupiter (planet) : Jupiter was at opposition on Friday 7 April 2017 and will therefore be well-placed for observing throughout the summer months. We were able to make out cloud bands on the planet and the four Galilean satellites- Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
• M42 (Orion Nebula) : At 1300 light-years distant, the Orion Nebula is one of the closest regions of star formation to us. Because the constellations set a little bit earlier each evening, Orion and the Orion Nebula won't be visible in the night sky too much longer.
• M35 (open cluster) : We were also able to see M35 in the constellation Gemini. Like Orion, Gemini is not visible in the night sky during the summer months, so I'm glad we were able to catch this object as well. M35 is an example of an open star cluster and is about 2800 light-years from Earth.
• M81 (galaxy): The last deep sky object we saw was M81 in the constellation Ursa Major. M81 is a spiral galaxy (like our own Milky Way) and is about 12 million light-years distant. Last night we saw it as a faint fuzzy through both the 8-inch and 14-inch scopes.
• Castor (α Gemini) : Castor is a multiple star system in the constellation of Gemini. Though our telescopes we could resolve two of the stars in this sextuple (six star!) system.

We also tried (and failed!) to find Comet 41P Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak. Comet 41P is currently in the constellation Draco with an apparent magnitude of 7.5. It should be visible through a small telescope, but unfortunately part of the Science Center roof blocked its location. We'll try again next time.

Thank you everyone for attending the event last night, and for your interest in the Montgomery College Observatory.

Observing log for 1 July 2016

The thunderstorms cleared out before 9 PM. We had a few clouds, but also some clear sky, particularly by the end of the evening.

Here is a recap of what we observed last night:

• Jupiter and the Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) : As mentioned, NASA's Juno Mission arrives Jupiter on Monday 4 July.
• Mars: Mars was at opposition on 22 May 2016, making it very well-placed for observing this summer.
• Saturn: The ringed planet will be visible until mid-September. On 24 August, look to see Saturn near in sky to both Mars and the beautiful red supergiant star, Antares.
• M13, (the Hercules cluster): M13 is an example of a globular cluster and is about 25,000 light-years from Earth.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): M57 is an example of planetary nebula and is about 2,000 light-years from Earth.

More information about all of the planets can be found on NASA's Solar System Exploration page.

Last night I recommended the planetarium software package Stellarium. Stellarium is free and operates on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I've used it on all three platforms without issue. There is a mobile version ($2.49, last time I checked) as well.

I also use the website Heavens Above for astronomical and satellite data.

Finally, the US Naval Observatory's Data Services page is a fantastic resource and one I use frequently.

Thank you everyone for attending, and for your interest in the Montgomery College Observatory! Event dates for August, September, and October will be posted soon.

What we saw Friday night / Leo constellation info

We had a beautiful clear sky for our first observatory night of the season. Here's what we observed:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Jupiter
• Waxing gibbous Moon
• Mizar (double star in Ursa Major)

Through the 8-inch scope

• M42 (Orion Nebula)
• Waxing gibbous Moon
• Jupiter

Binoculars

• Alcor and Mizar (double star in Ursa Major)
• M44 (Beehive cluster in Cancer)
• Waxing gibbous Moon

Jupiter is currently in the constellation Leo, the Lion. The information sheet on Leo from the observatory night can be accessed here.

Many thanks to Kim and Ryan for operating the 8-inch telescope and binoculars, respectively, and thanks also to the MC Stargazer club members. These events would not be possible without the time and talent of Montgomery College students.

The upcoming spring and summer events are full, but we've added a wait list to the Eventbrite ticket reservations. If you are on the wait list, you will be notified by email if a slot opens up.

Finally a clear evening!

Clear skies last night allowed us to observe the following objects:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Jupiter
• M13 (globular cluster in Hercules)
• Alcor (double star in Ursa Major)
• M81 (galaxy in Ursa Major, 12 million light-years distant!)

Through the 8-inch scope

• Venus
• Castor (double star in Gemini)

Binoculars

• M44 (Beehive Cluster, an open cluster in Cancer)