Night Sky Astronomy

Posts Tagged ‘betelgeuse’

At the moment Mars is shining very brightly in the sky, and if you look for it at about 9pm, it will be very close to the moon.  It is so bright that you can’t really miss it and can even be seen clearly when the full moon is shining brightly. Mars is at its closest to the Earth at the moment which is why it is a great time to get out and view the planet through either binoculars or a telescope.

I noticed it a couple of nights ago when I decided to have a look at the sky at about 9pm. Whilst looking around I spotted a very bright and red star just under and to the left of the almost full moon. At first I thought it was Betelgeuse or Aldebaran (both red giants) but as I scanned the night sky further, I picked these up further to the South East from where I was standing. So I consulted my astronomy book and found that it was actually Mars shining bright and red in the sky.  I had never seen it so red before, so I went in and got some binoculars to take a closer look (I didn’t have immediate access to my telescope at the time). I was quite amazed to be able to make out the North Polar Cap of the planet as it was shining brightly, and some of the darker mountain regions. I spent several minutes gazing at Mars and it was great!

A couple of days later, after a lot of rain, I got my telescope out ready to take a look, only for the sky to cloud over on a couple of occasions. When I did finally manage to get a glimpse between clouds, Mars wasn’t as red or as bright unfortunately. Through the telescope I couldn’t see too much at all and nowhere near the detail that I saw through my binoculars, which was a great shame. It was probably due to the Moon being completely full and the brightest I had seen it for a long time, and also because it was literally to the right of Mars. The glare of the Moon was too much to see Mars properly.  Whilst I was out there, I did get a good look at Venus again before it crept over and behind the roof of my house!

Here is an image of Mars that I have found that is closest to what I saw through my binoculars –

The Planet Mars

After several weeks of bad weather and tiredness due to busy work and a pregnant wife, I have been able to go out and view the Night Sky again.

A lot has changed since I last viewed the stars.  Jupiter has now disappeared (from my viewing angle) and Orion has made its way along the night sky and is now settling in the South to South East area.  The Plough has also come in to view and can be seen directly from my back garden towards the East.

The first thing I wanted to have a look at was the star Betelgeuse as Professor Brian Cox had said that it could turn into a Red Giant at any time.  It would be amazing to see that happen in the sky and would be one of the highlights of my life.  Unfortunately, the star was still looking the same through my binoculars and telescope, but I will keep checking it every clear night.

I also wanted to see if I could get a better view of the Orion Nebula which lies amidst the ‘Sword’ in the Orion Constellation.  I had a look through my binoculars and telescope and could see a lot more than with the naked eye.  What I could see was a blurry amount of light which is quite distinct compared with the rest of the space around it.  It was exciting to be able to make this much out but I look forward to maybe getting a better look with a more powerful telescope when I can afford one.  It was still a marvel to look at for me anyway.

Orion Constellation inc Orion Nebula and Betelgeuse

Whilst I was looking at the Orion Nebula through the telescope, either a Satellite or a Meteor shot across the viewer.  I’m not 100% sure what it was but it didn’t have any lights which can sometimes be seen on a satellite so I am leaning towards it being a meteor.  It was so far away in the sky that it wouldn’t have been viewable by the naked eye.  Perhaps someone can tell me what it was?  I spotted it at about 8pm last night (24th March 2011).

There was one star in the sky that my wife and I always wondered what it was as it looked like a Helicopter or an Aeroplane suspended in the sky, with its lights flashing red and blue.  After taking a closer look using our equipment and consulting the Internet, we found it to be Sirius (also known as the Dog Star and part of the constellation ‘Canis Major’).  It is the brightest star in the sky and the red and blue twinkling that it gives off is due to its light hitting the atmosphere of the Earth and refracting in the gases.  We are both glad that we now know what it is!

The Star Sirius in the Constellation Canis Major

The final area of the Sky that I had wanted to take a look at was the bright star to the left of Orion.  This star is called ‘Procyon’ and forms part of the constellation ‘Canis Minor’.  This is also a very bright star, although obviously not as bright as Sirius.  I couldn’t see much more detail through the telescope which was a shame, but at least I now know its name.

The Star Procyon within the Constellation Canis Minor