Late summer time is a good time to take a visible journey alongside our Milky Way. Credit score: Stuart Atkinson
Summer time within the Northern Hemisphere is a irritating time for a lot of newbie astronomers. The nights by no means get darkish sufficient to simply see the faint, fuzzy galaxies and nebulae they take pleasure in taking a look at via their telescopes, and there are fewer vibrant stars within the sky too. Often a show of electric-blue noctilucent clouds will enhance the northern sky, however solely a devoted band of observers keep up late to look at and {photograph} these.
So, many northern skywatchers go right into a type of reverse hibernation in summer time and atone for missed sleep till autumn’s darker skies roll round.
However grasp on… isn’t summer time “Milky Way season?” Don’t all of the books and magazines say that?
They do, however what they don’t say is that in early- and mid-summer it’s truly fairly exhausting to see the Milky Way from even a dark-sky location; the sky is so vibrant that its faint star clouds and darker dust lanes are washed out. However by the beginning of August the Milky Way is a magical sight from wherever away from streetlights and light-weight air pollution — a large, misty vapor path that cuts the sky in half.
The issue turns into that there’s a lot to see alongside the Milky Way that newbie observers don’t know the place to begin. If solely there was a information stating probably the most fascinating and delightful options, simply as there are guides to assist vacationers on lengthy highway journeys throughout the U.S.…
Nicely, right here it’s! We’re going to take you on an astronomical highway journey alongside the size of the Milky Way, stopping at a probably the most fascinating locations alongside the best way to stretch our legs and benefit from the view!
Heading out
You’ll have to attend till the sky is kind of darkish to start our Milky Way Summer time Street Journey, which suggests staying up or getting up at spherical 1 am. Then, going through the northeast, you’ll see a thumbnail-sized knot of stars low within the sky. That is M45, the well-known Pleiades star cluster. Generally known as the Seven Sisters as a result of individuals with good eyesight can see the seven brightest of its a whole bunch of members, this star cluster is among the closest to Earth, simply 445 light-years away. It’s a ravishing sight in binoculars and thru telescopes at low energy.
Subsequent, transfer left from the Pleiades to the intense, gold-hued star Capella. With a magnitude of 0.1, Capella is the sixth brightest str within the sky and the closest 1st-magnitude star to the Northern Celestial Pole. About 42 light-years from Earth, it’s a binary system. When you have binoculars, sweep them slowly across the sky simply beneath Capella and also you’ll discover many small, fairly star clusters.
From Capella, drift your gaze a brief distance to the higher proper, the place you’ll discover what seems to be like an upside-down letter Y of stars, or perhaps even a pair of gardening shears. That is the constellation Perseus, which represents one of the vital well-known heroes in Greek mythology. Once more, for those who sweep your binoculars throughout Perseus, you’ll see many lovely blue and white stars.
Look simply above the Y-shape of Perseus, maybe a few fingers’ width, and also you’ll see out of the nook of your eye a misty, smudgy patch. Binoculars revealed a pir of star clusters so shut collectively they nearly seem to the touch. Identified collectively — unsurprisingly — as the Double Cluster, NGC 869 and NGC 884 mark the sword Perseus used to chop the pinnacle off the serpent-haired Medusa. They have been first cataloged by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus in 130 B.C.E. however puzzlingly, Charles Messier didn’t embrace it in his well-known catalog, regardless that he included many smaller, fainter clusters. Just like the Pleiades, the 7,500-light-years-distant Double Cluster is finest seen at low magnification.
Leaving the Double Cluster behind, tilt your head again a little bit till you come to a placing zigzag of stars that appears like a letter W standing on its facet. That is the constellation Cassiopeia, representing an exceedingly useless Ethiopian queen who was flung into the sky by gods after claiming — very unwisely — that she was extra lovely than them. As a circumpolar constellation that circles the North Star, she now spends half the yr upside-down, clutching at her throne attempting desperately to not plummet again all the way down to Earth.
The Summer time Triangle
Having seen Cassiopeia, tilt your head proper again till you’re staring straight above you. There you’ll see a really vibrant white star. That is Deneb, the brightest star within the constellation Cygnus the Swan. With a magnitude of 1.3, Deneb — whose title means “tail” — is the nineteenth brightest star within the sky. It’s a true beast of a star: a white supergiant, some 50,000 to 100,000 occasions extra luminous than our personal Solar and greater than 100 occasions wider too. If it changed our Solar within the heart of our solar system it could swallow up Mercury and Venus, and probably even Earth and Mars…
Should you look intently, you’ll see that Deneb lies on the prime of a really placing cross of stars that appears like a crucifix or maybe a dagger. That is the Northern Cross asterism, and it’s a lot greater than its Southern Hemisphere counterpart, the well-known Southern Cross.
Subsequent, nonetheless wanting up at Deneb, flip round 180° on the spot, letting the celebs wheel spherical your head till you’re going through southwest and all of the sights you’ve seen up to now are behind you. A brief distance to the decrease proper of Deneb, down at its 4 o’clock place, you’ll see a fair brighter, blue-white star. That is lovely Vega, the fifth brightest star within the sky. With a magnitude of 0.0, Vega is often known as the Harp Star as a result of it’s the brightest star in Lyra the Lyre. Solely 25 light-years away, it is among the closest stars to us. Vega is a category A0 star that rotates so quickly — as soon as each 12.5hrs — that it bulges at its equator. If it spun any sooner, it could most likely rip itself aside. Should you’re a fan of the sci-fi movie Contact, you’ll know Vega is the star Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) traveled to in her alien-designed spaceship.
A brief distance from Vega lies M57, the well-known Ring Nebula. This can be a planetary nebula, so referred to as as a result of it seems to be like a tiny planet’s disk via a telescope beneath low magnification. At excessive magnification it seems to be like a smoky ring with a darker heart.
Look to the decrease left of Vega, round seven o’clock, and also you’ll come to a different vibrant white star. That is Altair, the third star in a big asterism often known as the Summer time Triangle. At magnitude 0.8, it’s the twelfth brightest star within the sky, and at 16.8 light-years away, one other of the closest stars to our Solar.
In case your sky is correctly darkish with none mild air pollution (or moonlight), you’ll see that the Summer time Triangle frames a protracted, misty, vertical smudge that appears like a patch of mist. That is the Cygnus Star Cloud, a dense focus of a whole bunch of 1000’s of faraway stars. Have a look at it via binoculars or the bottom energy telescope eyepiece you’ve, and also you’ll see stars as thick as pollen grains.
Towards the underside of this dense star cloud is a blue star a lot fainter than any of the celebs within the Summer time Triangle however simply as vital. Marking the underside of the Northern Cross, Third-magnitude, 380-light-years distant Albireo is among the most famous double stars within the sky. Have a look at it via a telescope and also you’ll see it break up into a ravishing blue star and a stunning golden-hued star shining very shut collectively, wanting like a sapphire subsequent to a droplet of molten gold. Having stretched your legs strolling down the Cygnus Star Cloud and previous Albireo, proceed down the Milky Way, decreasing your gaze till you’re wanting maybe a 3rd of the best way up from the skyline to the zenith. Now you’ll discover one other misty space, a lot smaller than the Cygnus Star Cloud. That is the Scutum Star Cloud and, for those who take a look at it via binoculars or a low-power telescope eyepiece, you’ll see it’s an space the place faint stars are packed so intently collectively that they appear like a yellow-white smoky smudge. Within the prime left nook of the cloud is a ravishing star cluster: M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, which early telescopic observers thought appeared like a flock of geese in flight.
Winding down
We’re working out of freeway, and our summer time Milky Way highway journey is sort of full. Look decrease down the frothy path of the Milky Way and also you’ll see it begins to thicken and bulge out as you strategy the horizon, just like the smoke rising from a distant campfire. You’re now wanting towards the constellation Sagittarius, via about 28,000 light-years towards the middle of our Milky Way Galaxy and the Sagittarius Star Clouds. Right here the celebs are so densely packed that they actually do appear like skinny clouds shifting up from past the horizon to cowl the starry sky. However sweep your binoculars or telescope throughout these clouds and also you’ll see stars as thick as dust, with many desirable deep-sky objects embedded inside, together with M20, or the Trifid Nebula. This is among the most well-known Messier objects within the sky. It’s truly three nebule in a single: a red-hued star-forming area, a blue reflection nebula, and a darkish nebula. They lie round 5,000 light-years from us. M20 is simply seen to the bare eye as a small misty patch, however seems to be far more spectacular when seen via a telescope and most spectacular of all on long-exposure images.
Simply beneath the Trifid Nebula is M8, the Lagoon Nebula. This 4,000-light-years-distant stellar nursery is taken into account by many observers to be one of the vital lovely nebule and would positively be as fashionable because the Orion Nebula (M42) if it was greater within the sky and undimmed by its proximity to the Milky Way’s frothy heart. It may be seen with the bare eye beneath good situations, however a telescope provides lovely views of the numerous wispy billows of gasoline and knots and strands of darker dusty materials inside it.
The ultimate cease on our highway journey is a strikingly orange-red star, shining simply above the southwestern horizon. That is mighty Antares, brightest star within the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. Flickering and fluttering in the summertime sky just like the flames of a distant campfire, at magnitude 1, the 550-light-years-distant Antares is the fifteenth brightest star within the sky. Just like the winter star Betelgeuse, ruddy Antares is a crimson supergiant that dwarfs our personal Solar and would devour all of the worlds out to Mars if dropped into the Solar’s place in our solar system.
And so ends our summer time Milky Way highway journey. However there’s tons extra to see. You’ll simply have to go out once more one other time, with star map or your favourite planetarium app, and take your personal leisurely drive down summer time’s heavenly freeway.
