Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th 2015

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1 Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th 2015 The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries. Carl Sagan Tonight we will be Pointing out 3 of the Winter Constellation, and several deep sky objects. The grand finally will be the cloud belts of the Gas Giant Planet Jupiter.

2 Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th 2015 Tonight s Constellations 1. The constellation of Orion 2. The Constellation of Taurus 3. The Constellation of Canis Major Deep Sky Objects 1. M31 The Andromeda Galaxy 2. M42 The Great Orion Nebula 3. M46 Open Cluster 4. M81 and M82 Interacting Galaxies 5. NGC 457 the Owl or ET Cluster 6. NGC7662 The Blue Snowball The Gas Giant Jupiter

3 Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. [1] It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta Orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis), a blue-white and a red supergiant, respectively. History and mythology The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley in Germany in Archaeologists have estimated it to have been fashioned approximately 32,000 to 38,000 years ago. [2][3][4] The distinctive pattern of Orion has been recognized in numerous cultures around the world, and many myths have been associated with it. It has also been used as a symbol in the modern world.

4 Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Its name is a Latin word meaning "bull", and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head: (Unicode ). Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Taurus came to symbolize the bull in the mythologies of Ancient Babylon, Egypt, and Greece. History and mythology In Greek mythology, Taurus was identified with Zeus, who assumed the form of a magnificent white bull to abduct Europa, a legendary Phoenician princess. In illustrations of Greek mythology, only the front portion of this constellation are depicted; this was sometimes explained as Taurus being partly submerged as he carried Europa out to sea. A second Greek myth portrays Taurus as Io, a mistress of Zeus. To hide his lover from his wife Hera, Zeus changed Io into the form of a heifer. [48] Greek mythographer Acusilaus marks the bull Taurus as the same that formed the myth of the Cretan Bull, one of The Twelve Labors of Heracles. [49] Taurus became an important object of worship among the Druids. Their Tauric religious festival was held while the

5 Viewing Plan For Curiosity Peak Public Star Party February 20th Canis Major /ˌkeɪnɨs ˈmeɪdʒər/ is a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. In the second century, it was included inptolemy's 48 constellations, and is counted among the 88 modern constellations. Its name is Latin for "greater dog" in contrast to Canis Minor, the "lesser dog"; both figures are commonly represented as following the constellation of Orion the hunter through the sky. TheMilky Way passes through Canis Major and several open clusters lie within its borders, most notably M41. Canis Major contains Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known as the "dog star". It is bright because of its proximity to our Solar System. In contrast, the other bright stars of the constellation are stars of great distance and high luminosity. At magnitude 1.5, Epsilon Canis Majoris (Adhara) is the second brightest star of the constellation and the brightest source of extreme ultraviolet radiation in the night sky. Next in brightness are the yellow-white supergiant Delta (Wezen) at 1.8, the blue-white giant Beta (Mirzam) at 2.0, blue-white supergiants Eta (Aludra) at 2.4 and Omicron 1 at 3.0, and white spectroscopic binary Zeta (Furud), also at 3.0. The red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris is one of the largest stars known, while the neutron star RX J has a radius of a mere 5 km. History and mythology In Greek Mythology, Canis Major represented the dog Laelaps, a gift from Zeus to Europa; or sometimes the hound of Procris, Diana'snymph; or the one given by Aurora to Cephalus, so famed for its speed that Zeus elevated it to the sky. [5] It was also considered to represent one of Orion's hunting dogs, [6] pursuing Lepus the Hare or helping Orion fight Taurus the Bull; and is referred to in this way byaratos, Homer and Hesiod. The ancient Greeks refer only to one dog, but by Roman times, Canis Minor appears as Orion's second dog. Alternative names include Canis Sequens and Canis Alter. [5] Canis Syrius was the name used in the 1521 Alfonsine tables. [5]

6 The Messier Objects Charles Messier (French: [me.sje]; 26 June April 1817) was a French astronomer most notable for publishing an astronomical catalogue consisting of nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 110 "Messier objects". The purpose of the catalogue was to help astronomical observers, in particular comet hunters such as himself, distinguish between permanent and transient visually diffuse objects in the sky.

7 The Messier Objects Messier 31 The Andromeda Galaxy The Andromeda Galaxy (/ ænˈdrɒmɨdə/) is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kiloparsecs (2.5 million light-years; km) fromearth. [4] Also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, it is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, but not the nearest galaxy overall. It gets its name from the area of the sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which was named after the mythological princess Andromeda. The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 44 other smaller galaxies.

8 The Messier Objects Messier 42 The Great Orion Nebula The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way south [b] of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years [3] [6] and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula. [7]

9 The Messier Objects Messier 46 The Open Cluster in Puppis Messier 46 (also known as M 46 or NGC 2437) is an open cluster in the constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Charles Messier in Dreyer described it as "very bright, very rich, very large." M46 is about 5,500 light-years away. [1] There are an estimated 500 stars in the cluster, and it is thought to be some 300 million years old. [2] The planetary nebula NGC 2438 appears to lie within the cluster near its northern edge (the faint smudge at the top center of the image), but it is most likely unrelated since it does not share the cluster's radial velocity. [1][3] The case an example of a superimposed pair similar to that of NGC [1][4]

10 The Messier Objects Messier 81 & 82 Galaxies Messier 81 (also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's Galaxy) is a spiral galaxy about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Due to its proximity to Earth, large size and active galactic nucleus (which harbors a 70 million M [8] supermassive black hole), Messier 81 has been studied extensively by professional astronomers. The galaxy's large size and relatively high brightness also make it a popular target for amateur astronomers. [9] Messier 82 (also known as NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy or M82) is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in theconstellation Ursa Major. It is about five times more luminous than the whole Milky Way and one hundred times more luminous than our galaxy's center. [6] The starburst activity is thought to be triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxy M81, and M82 is a member of the M81 Group. As the closest starburst galaxy to our own, M82 is the prototypical example of this type of galaxy. [6] SN 2014J, a Type Ia supernova, was observed in the galaxy on 21 January [7][8] [9] In 2014, in studying M82, scientists discovered the brightest pulsar yet known, desig-

11 NGC Objects NGC 457 NGC 457 (also known as the Owl Cluster, the ET Cluster, or Caldwell 13) is an open star cluster in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787, [2] and lies over 7,900 light years away from the Sun. It has an estimated age of 21 million years. [1] The cluster is sometimes referred by amateur astronomers as the Owl Cluster, Kachina Doll Cluster, [2] the ET Cluster (due to its resemblance to the movie character) or the "Skiing Cluster". Two bright stars, magnitude 5 Phi-1 Cassiopeiae and magnitude 7 Phi-2 Cassiopeiae can be imagined as eyes. The cluster features a rich field of about 150 stars of magnitudes [2]

12 NGC Objects NGC 7662 NGC 7662, also known as the Blue Snowball Nebula or Snowball Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Andromeda. The distance to this nebula is not known with any real accuracy. According to the Skalnate Pleso Catalogue (1951) the distance of NGC 7662 is about 1,800 light years, the actual diameter about 20,000 AU. In a more recent survey of the brighter planetaries, C.R.O'Dell (1963) derived a distance of 1,740 parsecs or about 5,600 light years, increasing the actual size to 0.8 light year, or nearly 50,000 AU. It has a faint central star that is variable, with a magnitude range of 12 to 16. [4] The central star is a bluish dwarf with a continuous spectrum and a computed temperature of about 75,000K. The nuclei of the planetary nebulae are among the hottest stars known. [5] NGC 7662 is a popular planetary nebula for casual observers. A small telescope will reveal a star-like object with slight nebulosity. A 6" telescope with a magnification around 100x will reveal a slightly bluish disk, while telescopes with a primary mirror at least 16" in diameter may reveal slight color and brightness variations in the inte-

13 The Gas Giant Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a giant planet with a mass one-thousandth of that of the Sun, but is two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter is a gas giant, along with Saturn.Uranus and Neptune are ice giants. Jupiter was known to astronomers of ancient times. [11] The Romans named it after their god Jupiter. [12] When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can reach an apparent magnitude of 2.94, bright enough to cast shadows, [13] and making it on average the third-brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. (Mars can briefly match Jupiter's brightness at certain points in its orbit.) Jupiter is primarily composed of hydrogen with a quarter of its mass being helium, although helium only comprises about a tenth of the number of molecules. It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements, [14] but like the other gas giants, Jupiter lacks a well-defined solid surface. Because of its rapid rotation, the planet's shape is that of an oblate spheroid (it possesses a slight but noticeable bulge around the equator). The outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century when it was first seen by telescope. Surrounding Jupiter is a faint planetary ring system and a powerful magnetosphere. Jupiter has at least 67 moons, including the four large moons called the Galilean moons, which were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610.Ganymede, the largest of these, has a diameter greater than that of the planet Mercury.