Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night!

Image courtesy of Randy Brewer

Virgo Galaxies!

Good luck!

Alan M. MacRobert's "Mastering the Virgo Cluster" Sky and Telescope, May 1994 pg 42
-This is the one I carry in my notebook because I love the route and the map.

Steve Gottlieb's "The Virgo Mainline"
-This one I carry for sharing a different approach for those who get lost at the beginning of the MacRobert's route.

Atlas
Jan Wisniewski's Virgo Galaxy Cluster - Finder Chart

Tonight we are using the WikiSky.org Atlas for our Virgo Tour

Start by arc-ing from the handle of the big dipper to Arcturus and then "Speed on" or "Spike" to Spica. Once at Spica work you way up the body of the Maiden to Porrma, her throat, and then up her outstretched arm to Vindemiatrix.

Another way is to start from the head of Leo the Lion wander west to Denebola and then across to Vindemiatrx.

46 Galaxies?!?!? Okay, here we go....

North is up

Object	Magnitude	Type	Notes
Section 1			The 'on ramp'.....
Epsilon Virginis - Vindemiatrix	2.8		Yellow giant 100 light yrs away
Bunsen Burner	9 and 10th		This asterism point away from Epsilon and in the direction we want to go
Struve 1689	7 and 9.5	29" apart.
NGC 4762 and NGC 4754	10.3 and 10.5	Sp	4754 is off by itself and 4762 is between a 9th and 10th mag star. Use averted vision or tap the scope to get 4762 to pop out
NGC 4694	11.4	Sp	Very hard to find 11.4 mag elongated NW-SE
NGC 4660	11.8	E	Tiny round cotton ball
M60	8.8	E	One of the biggest and brightest ellipticals in tonight's tour. At higher powers you can make out a slight halo as well as the companion galaxy 4647
NGC 4647	11.3	Sp	Close companion to M60, 3' to the NW a challenge to pick up unless you use averted vision. It is a spiral but looks much more like a smaller version of its elliptical companion
M59	9.6	E	Has a profile more like a spiral but this evening is all about being faint so- 0.4deg W not as bright as M60. Giant elliptical slightly elongated SE-NW
NGC 4638	11.2	Sp	Fainter and smaller depending upon your field of view (FOV) you can squeeze it in along with M60 and M59 making an isosceles triangle with the three.
NGC 4606	11.8	Sp	A toughie. Look for a fuzzy star with two stars on the south. If you have a larger scope you may have passed over 13.0mag 4607 an edge on spiral galaxy out of reach of our smaller scopes.

North is up

Object	Magnitude	Type	Notes
Section 2			The first 'fork in the road'....
M58	13.0	Sp	Spiral galaxy a little fainter and smaller than M59 a dark sky and larger scope (bigger than 8") will start to pick out its smoke like wisps of spiral arm. Take a good look at where you are because we will need to return back to M58 after a detour down the M90 (and friends)side alley.
NGC 4550 and NGC 4551	11.7 and 12.0	Sp and E	(Misprint in the MacRobert's narrative where they are referred to as 4450 and 4451) Heading NW from M58 these two sit very close together and are both very faint and tricky to find.
M89	9.8	E	A nice break from hunting around for the last two. It will seem to pop into view...strange how perspective does that to you. A round fuzzy blob with a brighter core.
M90	9.5	Sp	Just after M89 is a little "W" that runs to the NNW to M90 a giant spiral galaxy with a low surface brightness but it is very large. There is an unrelated 12 mag star sitting between the Earth and the center of this galaxy. Elongated N-S look for a darkened lane on the eastern edge.
NGC 4564	11.1		Backtrack to M58 and then 0.5 deg SW to a tall box asterism just off the NE corner is 4564.
NGC 4567 and 4568	11.3 and 10.8	Sp	Another pair of spirals that seem to be joined at the ends. They are nicknamed the "Siamese Twins" (Who am I to argue but they reminded me much more of amoeba from high school biology class)
NGC 4528	12.1	Sp	Very tiny and quite faint another candidate for power, aperture and dark conditions
NGC 4503	11.1	Sp	Off by itself and very diffuse on 10" or smaller scopes this might take DARK skies, tapping, averted vision...all of your faint fuzzy objects tricks.

North is up

Section 3			Back way in....
NGC 4452	12.0	Sp	This galaxy is a tiny little fuzzy. It is in between two rows of stars and there is a third row of stars below it housing...
NGC 4429	10.0	Sp	An easier find, still a fuzzy blob but easier than 4452
NGC 4440	11.7	Sp	Slid back up to 4452 and then to the NW corner of the three rows (or Arcs) of stars. It sits just SW of the Northern most star in the arc
M87	8.6	E	Now we begin to appreciate the "Ms" in front of numbers. After so many faint NGC an "M" gives us hope for something bigger and brighter. Not to disappoint M87 is .75 deg East of 4440 and a nice big bright giant elliptical. The bright nucleus is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky.
NGC 4478	11.4	E	Is M87's companion much fainter and again needing your faint object tricks
NGC 4476	12.2	Sp	Here we go getting super faint again, another target for larger scopes or darker skies (or sometime more experience) but give it your best because your rewards is...

North is up

Section 4			"The Grand Tour" or "Markarian's Chain"
M84-M86	9.1 and 8.9	E	We start with the 'face' of the Chain M84 and M86, both elliptical galaxies, make up the eyes of the face. M86 is distinctly brighter with its own little cluster on the NE corner.
NGC 4388 and 4387	11.0 and 12.1	Sp and E	Making an equilateral triangle to the South and forming the mouth is NGC 4388 and edge on E-W spiral galaxy and directly in the middle of the triangle finishing off the nose is NGC 4387 another elliptical galaxy.
NGC 4402	11.8		If the face had an eyebrow then it would be 4402. North 8.5ish' from M86 the E-W edge on spiral galaxy appears to have a slight dust lane and a North leaning bulge. Almost like a ladies broad brim hat.
NGC 4413	12.2	Sp	In the opposite direction 9'WSW of 4388, NGC 4413 is an almost face on spiral galaxy
NGC 4425	11.8	Sp	From 4388 make and equilateral triangle to the west with M86 and your corner will be roughly in the area of 4425 another edge on spiral galaxy brighter than 4413
			Now we can start moving up the Chain in pairs...
NGC 4435 and 4438	10.8 and 10.2	Sp	Draw a line WNW from M84 and M86 to the first pair in the chain, both spiral galaxies. Nick-named "The Eyes" 4438 is slightly longer with wispy arms reaching NW-SE and both galaxies mirror each other in orientation NW-SE
NGC 4461 and 4458	11.2 and 12.1	Sp and E	The next pair, fainter the elliptical 4458 is all but indistinguishable (for me)from the small 10.95 mag star to its NW. 4461 is slightly brighter spiral galaxy elongated N-S
NGC 4473	10.2	E	This slightly brighter elliptical lost her buddy (bad Scout) and lays E-W alone in the middle of the Chain. You may not have noticed but you are now in Coma Berenices.
NGC 4477 and 4479	10.4 and 12.4	Sp	About 12' NNW are another pair of spiral galaxies. 4477 is the brighter and Eastern most of the pair
NGC 4459 and 4474	10.4 and 11.5	Sp	A wider pair of spirals 4459 is very close to a 8.2 yellow star and look like an elliptical galaxy. 4474 is much fainter but has that familiar central bulge of an edge on galaxy.
M88	9.6	Sp	The last two links in the Chain are biggies and brighties! M88 is a partial face on spiral with a multitude of arms making a nice even frisbe disk.
M91	10.2	Sp	A particularly appropriate reward at the end. This face on barred spiral is beautiful with two large arms sweeping out on opposite sides.

Sun

Comets

Comets for the Month.

Music

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-- Shakespeare

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Download this month's sky map!

Kym Thalassoudis does a wonderful job creating accurate and easy to use star maps every month! Visit his site at www.skymaps.com for skymaps and links to other useful astronomical sites. Also a great portal for astronomical gifts!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map

Those in the Southern Hemisphere should also visit James Barclay's site for a great tour of the Southern Hemisphere December sky.

Another great site for Southern Hemisphere viewers is the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar can be found at the RASNZ site
Ian Musgrave has a very handy Southern Hemisphere site called Southern Sky Watch.

Download "What's up 2007: 365 days of Skywatching" by Tammy Plotner, published by Universe Today (Faser Cain) it is a fantastic and it is free!

Planets for May 2007

• Mercury- After reaching superior conjunction on the 3rd Mercury moves into the evening sky for the best view those in the NHemisphere will get all year. From May 18-June 12th look for Mercury between Venus and the horizon after sunset. -2.0 mag (1st) to -0.6 mag (21st)
• Venus- High in the sky after dark Venus continues to highlight the western sky. At the beginning of the month Venus will pass between the horns of Taurus the Bull as she continues to move Eastward towards M35 and Gemini. -4.0 mag (1st) to - 4.1 mag (21st)
• Mars- At the beginning of the month, Mars rises about 2.5 hours before the Sun in the constellation Aquarius 4.5 degrees East of Uranus. The Red Planet moves into Pisces on the 9th , Cetus on the 24th before returning to Pisces on the 29th...Mars isn't moving backwards it is only that it is clipping a corner of Cetus that sticks up into Pisces. 1.0 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
• Jupiter- Continues to rise earlier everyday and will spend the month in Ophiucus moving ever so slowly towards Antares. -2.5 mag (1st) to -2.6 mag (21st)
• Saturn-Absolutely beautiful in Leo almost at the Cancer border. Saturn's rings are tipped 15 deg from edgewise towards us so take advantage of these beautiful rings. The ringed planet is 90degrees east of the Sun so all month its globe will casts its shadows eastward onto the rings. 0.4 mag (1st) to 0.5 mag (21st)
• Uranus-In Aquarius about 4.5 degrees west of Mars at the beginning of the month stretching to 23 degrees west by the end of the month. 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune-Will camp out in Capricorn all year long and is 2.5 degree NW of Delta Capricorni. 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
• 4 Vesta -Categorized as a minor planet (Vesta family Main Belt) we are adding her to the mix this month because she will be not far from Jupiter this month and at a magnitude of 5.4 - 6.0 will be a good naked eye object for May and June. Vesta is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt with a mean diameter of 540 km and was named after the Roman goddess of home and hearth. So even though she was never a mother herself step outside on Mother's Day and take a look for this bright asteroid.

Key Dates for May 2007

Days and Times in UT (help with time)
Observations are for 8pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 10pm for the mid-northern latitudes.

Great site for sunrise and sunset times and a downloadable toolbar application by Steve Edwards

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website! Astronomical Highlights

May
2	- Full Moon 10:09 UT
	- Ladies, go take the women in astronomy survey at Sky and Telescope Magazine!
3	- Mercury at Superior conjunction (moving into the evening sky)
4	- Moon near Antares: 19:00 UT possible occultation from SE Africa, Tasmania and New Zealand
5	- Moon near Jupiter 11:00 UT
6	- Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks 12:00 UT (April 19-May 28) Southern Hemisphere skywatcher will have a better view!
10	- Last Quarter Moon 4:27 UT
12	- Moon near Uranus (6 UT) and Mars (23 UT) in the morning sky. Possible occultation visible from E. Newfoundland and Greenland.
15	- Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) 359,392 km
16	- New Moon 19:27 UT
17	- Moon near Mercury, both very close to the setting sun!
20	- Crescent Moon near Venus at sunset. Good photo op!
22	- Moon near Saturn
23	- First Quarter Moon 21:03 UT
27	- Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth) 405,460 km
30	- Mercury 1.1 degrees N of M35 (23 deg E)

Monthly Messier*

M51 - The famous Whirlpool galaxy in Canes Venatici is a bright face on spiral with a smaller elliptical companion, NGC 5195. Look for a pair of fuzzy patches of light. The slightly larger and brighter one is M51. Make sure to spend some time here; as there is almost always some spiral structure to be seen, on good nights the detail possible is unbelievable. This is a difficult but very possible object in binoculars appearing as a hazy patch of light.

M63 - Another spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici smaller and fainter than M51, but seen more edge on so the galaxy appears as an elongated patch of light with a bright star at one end. Further inspection will show a faint halo around this patch. A difficult object in binoculars.

M94 - Just past M63 is another galaxy in Canes Vanitici. Look for a bright fuzzy star to find the core of M94, surrounded by a faint haze. A tough binocular object.

M101 - Some times we luck out and get two objects together in the scope (like M81 M82) and some times three (like the Leo trio) but instead of being a two-fer M101 is a ....twelve-fer! Not only can you count M101 as possibly M102 (although I don't) you also have 10 other galaxies wrapped around the outside of this spiral galaxy in Ursa Major.

You will have to work for M101 as it is one of the most difficult Messier objects to find in a telescope. This is a large faint patch of light almost as big as the full moon. Use low power and look for a brighter part of the sky, more of a change in contrast than an object at first glance, which is the galaxy. Dark skies really help in the search of this one and are a to find M101 in binoculars.

M102 - Not an official Messier object in most references, we will look for the galaxy NGC 5866 which is a popular favorite for the 102nd slot in Messier's catalogue. Look for a small, faint patch light that looks like a short fuzzy cigar.

M64 - In a telescope this galaxy in Coma Berenices is a fairly bright, slightly oval shaped patch of light. Look for the dark lane, which gives this galaxy the common name Black Eye. The galaxy appears as a faint fuzzy patch in binoculars.

M85 - This elliptical galaxy lies in Coma Berenices just north of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. This appears as a bright, but small, patch of light with a bright stellar core.

M49 - This is an elliptical galaxy in Virgo just south of the main cluster of galaxies. M49 is round patch of light with bright center gradually fading to a round halo. M49 looks like a faint fuzzy star in binoculars. Use Art Russell's star hop sheets to help you find M49, M61 and other Virgo galaxies!

M61 - This is a face on spiral galaxy just south of M49 in Virgo, but much fainter. Look for a faint, round fuzzy patch of light.

M104 - This is the well-known Sombrero galaxy in Virgo. It is bright edge on spiral galaxy, which looks like a bright, elongated streak. It is very possible to see in binoculars.

For navigating the Virgo Cluster I highly recommend "Mastering the Virgo Cluster" by Alan M MacRobert; Sky & Telescope (Archives); May 1994; 42;

Historical and Current Events

Astronomical Highlights for 2007

Earth's major motions for 2007

Perihelion		Jan 3 20h(UT)
First Cross Quarter Day		Feb 2-6
Equinox		Mar 21 00:07(UT)
Second Cross Quarter Day		May 4-7
Solstice		June 21 18:06(UT)
Aphelion		July 4 00h (UT)
Third Cross Quarter Day		Aug 5-8
Equinox		Sept 23 19:51(UT)
Fourth Cross Quarter Day		Nov 5-8
Solstice		Dec 22 06:08(UT)

Planet Positions for 2007

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Venus

Sgr

Aqr

Psc

Ari

Tau

Gem

Leo

Sex

Cnc

Leo

Leo

Vir

Mars

Oph

Sgr

Cap

Cap

Aqr

Psc

Ari

Tau

Tau

Gem

Gem

Gem

Jupiter

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Oph

Saturn

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Uranus

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Aqu

Neptune

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Cap

Eclipses for 2007

March 19 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation!): The first solar eclipse of 2007 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Pisces and is visible from eastern Asia and parts of northern Alaska

September 11 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation): The last eclipse of 2007 is a partial solar eclipse at the Moon's descending node in southern Leo. Its visibility is confined to parts of South America, Antarctica and the South Atlantic

March 3-4 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in the Arctic region, Africa, Europe, Asia except for extreme eastern region, most of Indonesia, western Australia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica, extreme eastern South America, Greenland, the Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in Africa, Europe, western Asia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica and Antarctic Peninsula, South America, eastern North America, Greenland, the Arctic region, the Atlantic Ocean, the western Indian Ocean, and the extreme eastern South Pacific Ocean.

August 28 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in North America, South America except extreme east, Antarctica except for Enderby Land, New Zealand, eastern Australia, extreme northeastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the western Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in New Zealand, Australia, most of Antarctica except Queen Maud Land, Indonesia, eastern Asia, western North America, the Pacific Ocean, and the southeastern Indian Ocean.

Meteor Showers for 2007

As luck would have it, all the major meteor showers reach their peaks in 2007 with the Moon out of the sky. Any of these showers can produce dozens of shooting stars each dark hour leading up to dawn.

• Lyrids on April 23rd
• Perseids on August 13th
• Orionids on October 21st
• Leonids on November 18th
• Geminids on the night of December 13-14 (Meteor enthusiasts are keenly awaiting the Geminids in 2007 because their progenitor, the defunct comet Phaethon, precedes them in a flyby of Earth on December 10th.)

Comets for May

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Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance within you"
Boom Boom Beckett - "In a sentimental mood"
Aff the Cuff - "I'll tell me Ma" -(not what we want to hear on Mother's Day!)