fuzzies in your future

8/12/2019 Fuzzies in Your Future

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Fuzzies in Your Future:An Introduction to Deep-Sky Objectsby Kenneth Hewitt-White

Visible to backyard observers everywhere, the Great Nebula in Orion is a relatively bright and easily located nebula lit aglowby clutches of newborn stars scattered among its fluorescent gases.Sky & Telescope photo by Richard Tresch Fienberg.

Welcome to Kosmic Ken's Observing Emporium. You say you need someadvice on stargazing? Let me peer into my crystal ball. Ah yes a picture isemerging . . . .

! see that you're relatively ne" to bac#yard astronomy. You o"n a starterscope and you're getting the hang o$ using it. You're having $un observing

the %oon and planets & and maybe double stars too. !$ !'m reading thepicture correctly you also "ant to go a$ter some tougher targets such asstar clusters. . . a nebula or t"o. . . maybe even a $e" galaies. (ut you're"orried that they might be too $aint and $uzzy. )his is subtle stu$$ theysay and you don't #no" "here to begin.

Well you've come to the right place* Listen closely . . . .

)he things you see# are called deep-sky objects.+imply put the termre$ers to all celestial ob,ects outside the solar system. !n essence though"e're tal#ing about star clusters and nebulae "ithin the %il#y Way plus

the myriad galaies beyond. -!ndividual stars double stars and


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Three deep-sky categories personified a globular star cluster !"#$ in %ercules&, a planetary nebula !the %eli', in ()uarius&,and a gala'y !NG* +$ in culptor&. ach class poses its own challenges and offers its own rewards to the observer usingbinoculars or a small telescope.Sean Walker (left) /Lee Coobs(center and right)

constellations "hile also outside o$ the solar system are a di$$erent #ettle

o$ $ish. !n the leicon o$ amateur astronomy star clusters nebulae andgalaies aren't ,ust $ar & they're /deep./

Yes most deep0s#y ob,ects are a challenge to observe especially i$ you're

"or#ing "ith modest e1uipment under a suburban s#y. +o "hat ma#es thelittle $uzzies so special? !n a "ord it's their eclusivity. When a $aintcluster or nebula materializes in the eyepiece o$ your telescope you'rescrutinizing a part o$ the %il#y Way that might be several thousand light0years $rom Earth. 2aze upon a galay and the light0years number in the

millions.

Our "ilky /ay gala'y, seen from a hypothetical outsider0s viewpoint. Open star clusters and emission nebulae typicallyreside within the curvyspiral ars!while globular clusters pepper the spherical halosurrounding the entire disk.ome+1,222 light-years from our solar system, the central b"lgelurks behind dust clouds in agittarius.S&T# Ste$en Sipson
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://media.skyandtelescope.com/images/6187.jpgmailto:[email protected]


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Galactic Geography

Allo" me to put this in perspective "ith a brie$ lesson in galacticgeography.

3icture our galay as a stellar metropolis containing billions o$ stars. )hecentral hub or bulge is congested "ith mostly older suns. A"ay $rom thehub the galay thins into a disko$ gas dust and stars o$ all ages. 4ipplingthrough the dis# li#e ocean "aves a pin"heel pattern o$ glo"ingspiralarmshosts the youngest stars and the nebulae associated "ith their births.

Our middle0aged +un and its $amily o$ planets reside in a suburbanneighborhood called the Orion Arm "hich is located roughly t"o0thirds o$the distance $rom the do"nto"n core to the city limits. 5inally in the

galactic outs#irts a vast halodotted "ith clusters o$ ancient stars surroundsthe "hole galay.

6ie"ed $rom Earth portions o$ several spiral arms blend together in ournight s#y to $orm the arching band o$ the %il#y Way. 7eep0s#y treasuresabound in and around that glittering band. 8lic# ahead to the net sectionand !'ll con,ure up some eamples $or you.

continuedFuzzies in Your Future:

An Introduction to Deep-Sky Objectsby Kenneth Hewitt-White

!"#$IO%S !A'()*+#, !A .

parkling "$ is a clutch of young stellar siblings at the feet of *astor !immortali3ed in the constellation Gemini along withhis half-brother 4ollu'&. ( similarly si3ed but far more distant cluster, NG* +#5, lies southwest of "$6 it looks like a smallcloud at lower right here. This photograph, like most in this article, is oriented with celestial north up and east to the left.Chris Cook

Clusters Near and Far
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5irst o$ all the %il#y Way $eatures not ,ust countless stars but hundreds o$eye0catching open clusters. Each open cluster is a gravitationally boundclan o$ any"here $rom several dozen to several hundred stars. )heseclusters span a "ide range o$ ages but typically they are no more than a

$e" hundred million years old & mere toddlers compared to our 9.:0billion0year0old adult +un. %any open clusters are comparatively large and

bright. (inoculars are ecellent $or spotting them against the celestialbac#ground.

A splendid eample is Messier 35-%; light0years a"ayin the constellation 2emini %;< contains about = suns. !n @


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Lef to right# Sean Walker / %kira F"i /'erann $on iff

!n the $ar0southern heavens t"o magni$icent globulars vie $or attention. 47Tucanae-J28 B9 B: light0years a"ay in the constellation )ucanais a $uzzy /star/ to the bare eye. And though it's slightly $arther

a"ay Omega Centauri-J28


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study through any telescope. %9= is plainly visible in binoculars and caneven be discerned by sharp0eyed people $rom dar# bac#yards. %oreover

because Orion straddles the celestial e1uator the 2reat Jebula isaccessible to amateur astronomers all over the "orld.

A second type o$ nebula called aplanetary nebula represents a brie$

moment in the last stages o$ a star's li$e cycle. A planetary nebula is a shello$ gas that has been e,ected $rom a dying star & one that has ehausted itsability to generate energy by nuclear $usion in its core and is destined to$ade to near0invisibility. 6ie"ed through a small telescope a typicalspecimen o$$ers little more than a blue0green vaguely planetli#e dis# &hence the name /planetary./

The castoff mantles of dying stars, planetary nebulae like the


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by Kenneth Hewitt-White

!"#$IO%S !A'()*

%eyond the Mil&y 'ay

Jo" $or the really eotic stu$$. (eyond the %il#y Way are thegalaxies.+pot a galay and you're peering millionso$ light0years into the universe at

large. Obviously these incredibly remote targets present a challenge $orbeginners. Although galaies come in various classi$ications you mightconsider the distinctions academic because most galaies appear$eatureless in small telescopes. (ut there are eceptions.

Left#Our nearest neighboring spiral gala'y, the (ndromeda Gala'y, "$#, looms nearly overhead late on autumn eveningsfor observers at midnorthern latitudes. Right#/hile "$#0s elliptical bulge !which dominates this photo& is the only componentreadily seen in binoculars or small telescopes, hints of the gala'y0s dust lanes can be seen telescopically under pristineskies, as can "$#0s two miniature satellite systems, "$+ and "##2.Left# %kira F"ii right# Rick Fienberg

)he (ndromeda Gala$yis one. Even though it's =.< million light0years

a"ay the Andromeda 2alay or %essier ;B -%;B is visible to theunaided eye as a tiny di$$use cloud on a per$ect autumn night. A spiralsystem li#e our %il#y Way %;B is inclined some"hat to our line o$ sight.Fnder pristine s#ies good binoculars "ill sho" %;B as an elongated "isp

"ith a bright central condensation -this bright oval bulge is the only partthat readily punches through suburban s#yglo". A short0$ocus "ide0$ieldtelescope can $rame the "hole galay in a lo"0po"er eyepiece. (umpingup the magni$ication -again under very dar# s#ies might provide hints o$

spiral arms and o$ pencil0thin dar# lanes & the silhouettes o$ dust cloudscongregating in %;B's midplane.
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>iversity amongst the disks. Three spiral gala'ies displaying disparate forms, thanks to their varied orientations. Left#The/hirlpool Gala'y !"essier # or "#&, seen face-on in *anes Venatici, near the ;ig >ipper0s handle. *iddle#NG* 71,seen edge-on in *oma ;erenices. Right#NG* +$, seen at an intermediate angle in far-southern culptor.Left# %kira F"ii center/right#Lee Coobs

)"o galaies in the Jorthern Demisphere's springtime s#y o$$er di$$erent

perspectives. )he Whirlpool 2alayMessier 51-%


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Yes it's true & ! see $uzzies in your $uture. !$ you're li#e the otherbac#yard astronomers ! #no" you'll be dra"n to the deep s#y & not inspite o$ its challenging nature but because o$ it. You'll $ind yoursel$targeting the same ob,ects over and over. ust as you strain to glimpse $ine

detail on %ars or upiter you'll develop a thirst $or your best0everobservation o$ a particular star cluster nebula or galay and soon you'll

develop your o"n list o$ personal $avorite $riends to visit again and againthrough the seasons.

5or the $ine points o$ deep0s#y observing plus more about the ob,ects youcan see in small telescopes bro"se through the #oToand Oser-ingsections o$ this Web site. You'll be hoo#ed in no time.

Oh0oh no" ! see trouble. %y crystal ball sho"s you lusting a$ter largertelescopes and better star charts. (ut don't blame me !'m ,ust themessenger. 5ive dollars please.

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