Monthly
Messier Star-Hops; December #1
By
Art Russell
Here we are,
once again gathered under the last cool, clear nights of the year.They
say the third time’s the charm, so we’ll start our star-hops again in
the “Great Square of Pegasus,” as we have
for the last two months. This
month’s star-hops will find us covering a great bit of the sky so don’t
get lost as we sweep from Pegasus first to the southeast and the
galaxy M77 in the constellation Cetus. We’ll then return to Pegasus to find
our way to the cold beauty of the double Gama
Andromeda, and finally constellation Perseus to the open cluster
M34 and the planetary nebula M76, also known as the “Little Dumbbell”. This month I’m also going to start telling
you how many steps [STEP#] it ideally takes to find a particular object. Please let me know if you find this addition
helpful. Drop me a note, make
a phone call, or drop me an email if this helps.
Let’s get started…and by the way…Merry Christmas!
Star-Hop#2. Gamma (g)
Andromedae
Star-Hop#3. M34, NGC 1039
Star-Hop#4. M76, NGC 651, the “Little Dumbbell”
Star-Hop #1; M77, NGC 1068. [7 steps]. This galaxy is perhaps one of the lesser known of the Messier objects. I suppose that is because it is located in an area of the sky relatively poor in bright stars and well deep-sky objects. Nevertheless, it is worth the effort to track down this more illusive member of Messier’s catalogue. Once again, as with any star-hop, get as far away as possible from the lights of any city. After all, our quarry is only found under dark skies. If the sky is reasonably dark, you’ll have no problem locating this galaxy; otherwise, and you’ll be hard pressed to get even close. [1] First off, locate the “Great Square of Pegasus.” [2] Once there, locate its two southern most stars, Markab, Alpha (a) Pegasi, at the “Square’s” southwest apex, and Algenib, Gamma (g) Pegasi, at the “Square’s” southeast apex. [3] Imagine a line extended east from Alpha Pegasi and a little south of Gamma Pegasi. [4] Continue the line from Gamma Pegasi for about 2 1/2 times the distance between Alpha and Gamma Pegasi. This is a distance of a little more than 40 degrees, or about twice the distance spanned by your thumb and little finger against the night sky at arm’s length. Here you may notice you are located near or within a circlet of stars comprising the northernmost stars of the constellation Cetus. Most prominent in the circlet is the star Menkar, Alpha (a) Ceti, that constellation’s brightest star. [5] From there star-hop a little less than 5 degrees or the width of 3 fingers southwest to the star Gamma (g) Ceti. [6] Then hop about 3 degrees south, or about the width of 2 fingers, to the star Delta (d) Ceti. [7] From Delta Ceti, M77 is only about a degree to the east-southeast, or about the width of your little finger against the night sky. Moreover, once you’ve centered Delta Ceti in the eyepiece of a telescope, you should be able to pick out the galaxy in the field of view or very nearby. Moderate sized telescopes can find M77 once you are properly oriented, and will reveal at moderate magnifications a galaxy whose central core is tightly packed in appearance. The galaxy’s halo may appear extended beyond its core. However, you probably will not be able to resolve any stars.
Star-Hop#2. Gamma (g) Andromedae. [5 steps]. This double star is generally noted as one of the show pieces of the late fall and early winter skies. At high magnification in even a small telescope, the larger of its two stars appears generally yellow-gold. The smaller companion star appears pale, but distinctly blue. This star is at the end of a long chain of dimmer stars, but can be found with patience. [1] To locate Gamma Andromedae, start once again in the “Great Square;” but this time at the northeastern corner and the star Alpheratz, Alpha (a) Andromedae. [2] From there, extend a line to the next star, Delta (d) Andromedae. It may help you to visualize the first two fingers of your hand forming a “V” against the sky: With the apex of your two fingers on Alpha Andromedae and forming a “V” pointing to the north east, you’ll find your eastern most finger tip points out Delta Andromedae, and your more northernly finger tip points out the star Pi (p) Andromedae. [3] From Delta Andromedae, extend a line northeast for a distance about equal to that between Alpha and Delta Andromedae. Here you’ll find the star Beta (b) Andromedae. [4] Once again, extend a line for about the same distance to the northeast to the next bright star, Upsilon (u) Andromedae. [5] Extend an imaginary line one last time to the northeast for a distance equal to about the width of three fingers and you arrive at Gamma Andromeda and one of the more spectacular double stars!
Star-Hop#3. M34, NGC 1039. [1 step]. The star-hop to the open cluster M34 is a natural continuation of the star-hop to Gamma Andromedae above. [1] From Gamma Andromedae, extend a line almost directly east for a distance equal to that between Gamma and Upsilon Andromeda, or about the width of 3 fingers. You’ll find M34 as a moderately bright cluster of stars. In binoculars, M34 will appear as a moderately large open cluster with 10 stars resolved. Unresolved stars will appear as nebulosity in the cluster. In moderate sized telescopes, the prominent stars in M34 may appear to form an “X” pattern.
Star-Hop#4. M76, NGC 651, the “Little Dumbbell”. [6 steps]. [1] Return for the last time to the “Great Square” and the star Alpha Andromedae. [2] Extend a line northeast to the star Pi Andromedae, which we found during our star-hop to Gamma Andromedae. [3] From Pi Andromedae, extend an line northeast for about the same distance between Alpha and Pi Andromedae, and we arrive at the star Mu (m) Andromedae. [4] Note the apparent distance between Mu Andromedae and our starting point, Alpha Andromedae, a little less than the distance spanned between your index and little fingers against the sky. [5] Extend a line from Mu Andromedae to the northeast for about this distance and we arrive at the star Phi (f) Persei. [6] From Phi Persei, M76 is only about a degree, or the width of your little finger, to the north-northwest. At low power, M76 appears as a distinct smudge. At higher powers, M76 takes on a distinct dumbbell appearance.