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Astrocamp 2011 with the Levin Stargazers - Michael Stapel

Astrocamp 2011 with the Levin Stargazers - Michael Stapel. Star hopping?. How to find the wonders of the night sky? Objects too faint to see with the unaided eye? Objects in “dark” areas of the sky? Binoculars and telescopes: More magnification means a smaller Field Of View

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Astrocamp 2011 with the Levin Stargazers - Michael Stapel

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  1. Astrocamp 2011 with the Levin Stargazers - Michael Stapel

  2. Star hopping? • How to find the wonders of the night sky? • Objects too faint to see with the unaided eye? • Objects in “dark” areas of the sky? • Binoculars and telescopes: • More magnification means a smaller Field Of View • Challenging to point effectively • GOTO telescopes: no star hopping required

  3. Know your sky • Familiarity with the night sky helps heaps  • Constellation and star recognition • Planisphere • Red light torch for the dark-adaptation of your eyes

  4. Star hoppingis like going on holiday!

  5. Steps to star hopping • Decide what to observe • Find the object in a star atlas • Select a bright star or constellation, near the object, that youknow how to find • Work out a path using small hops • From your well known starting point • To the object you want to find • Ideally each next hop is less than one Field Of View away • You could say: “SLIDE”, rather than “HOP” • Use low magnification

  6. Examples of star hopping • For the unaided eye • For binoculars • For telescopes

  7. 1) The Pointers and the Southern Cross

  8. 2) Sirius – Orion – Aldebaran – Matariki

  9. 3) The Southern Cross, the South Celestial Pole (SCP), and the star Achernar

  10. 4) Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)A globular cluster in Centaurus

  11. Looking at: Omega Centauri Through binoculars Through a telescope

  12. 5a) 47 Tucanae (NGC104)A globular cluster in Tucana

  13. 5b) 47 Tucanae (NGC104)Globular cluster in Tucana

  14. 5c) 47 Tucanae (NGC104)Globular cluster in Tucana

  15. 6) Eta Carinae nebula (NGC 3372). First: surrounding constellations

  16. 7) Finding the Eta Carinae nebula half way between Crux and Vela

  17. Looking at: the Eta Carinae nebula Through binoculars Through a telescope

  18. 8a) The Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

  19. 8b) Start from CorvusExample: 8x50 viewfinder

  20. 8c) A triangle of three stars appears

  21. 8d) Move the scope to follow the direction where the triangle is pointing

  22. 8e) Now looking through the eyepiece we see a grouping of four stars

  23. 8f) View with a 16mm eyepiece (simulated)

  24. The Sombrero close-up!

  25. The Planets • Find out where a planet is: • star chart software • internet (astronomy.com, skyandtelescope.com) • Use star hopping to find the planet • Bright planets: unaided eyes • Faint planets: binoculars or telescope • The planets are on the move all the time!

  26. Don’t get lost! • Star hop in straight lines as much as possible • Binoculars show everything right side up • Viewfinders (straight through) show things upside down, and left-right reversed • Newtonian telescopes on a Dobsonian mount show things “upside down” (+/-135° clockwise) • Hold the star chart to match with the view • Moving the scope whilst looking through eyepiece

  27. Use patterns in the stars

  28. Asterisms • Asterism: a pattern in the stars • Can be a part of an official constellation • Can be made up of stars from several constellations • “The False Cross” - shown earlier • “The Pot” in Orion • ”The Summer Triangle” • Create your own asterisms 

  29. Big “T”Achernar, Fomalhaut, Alnair, Peacock

  30. Thanks for watching Wishing you clear skies!

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