Observing log for Friday 4-Oct-2019 (and Oct/Nov star map)

Oh my goodness, last night made it the sixth clear observatory night in a row! The stars sparkled and the cool air made us feel like fall had finally arrived. The observing log still hasn't shifted much over the past few weeks, but what we looked at is listed below.

If you want to explore the sky on your own, here is a link to the October/November star map.

• Waxing crescent Moon : We looked at the nearly first quarter Moon through the 8-inch scope. It seemed like lots of folks got some nice photos of our satellite companion (thanks, Viga!).
• Jupiter : Once again, 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- Io, Ganymede, and Callisto. This time Europa was behind Jupiter and not visible while we were watching.
• Saturn : Saturn looked lovely and we were easily able to make out the moons Titan and Rhea. Dione and Tethys were fainter, but also visible.
• M57 (the Ring Nebula): After Saturn, we went to the Ring Nebula. I've described this lovely planetary nebula in earlier posts. Last night I was asked how long the nebula has been expanding. According to NASA, the star at the center of the Ring Nebula ran out of its nuclear fuel about 4,000 years ago. The nebula will continue to expand for another 10,000 years, after which time the material will be returned to our galaxy to create new stars and planets.
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy): The last thing we looked at was the Andromeda Galaxy. 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.

Sincere thanks to Iadviga. The events would not be possible without her skillful collaboration.

And as always, thank you to everyone who attended. Your kind words about the observatory nights mean more to me than I can express.

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!

Fall 2019 schedule available!

Observatory nights for Fall 2019 are below:

Friday 6-Sep-2019 : 8 - 9 p.m.
Friday 20-Sep-2019 : 8 - 9 p.m.

Friday 4-Oct-2019 : 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Friday 18-Oct-2019 : 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Friday 1-Nov-2019 : 7 - 8 p.m.

Events are free, but because of occupancy limitations on the roof, we require guests to make reservations via Eventbrite.

Reservations can be made here:
https://mcobservatory-fall2019.eventbrite.com.

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Events will be cancelled for bad weather. I will make the call as soon as I am able, usually about 2 hours prior to the event start time. An announcement will be sent to the email address you registered with Eventbrite and I will post the status on this website.

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About the Guest Nights:

During Observatory Guest Nights we use Montgomery College telescopes to view and learn about visible solar system objects, star clusters, and nebulae. We also spend some time looking at the sky with just our eyes in order to locate constellations and planets that can be seen this time of the year.

You'll leave with a star chart and the ability to find celestial objects on your own.
Astronomy faculty will be on hand to answer questions about the universe.

Some things to note:

• Dress for the weather. The observatory is located outside on the roof of the Science Center.
• We meet in Science Center room 406 (SC406). We go up to the roof as a group. If you're late, there will be a staff member or student in SC406 to escort you upstairs.
• Children are welcome (and encouraged!) to attend, although campus policy prohibits children younger than five years of age on the roof.
• Parking is free.

I want to continue to improve the observatory nights. If you have suggestions or comments, please let me know.