Prairie Astronomy Club

April is Global Astronomy Month: Learn about the sun's sunrise and sunset locations on the horizon. Then find out how you can see the Earth's shadow at sunset!

https://www.facebook.com/astronomerswithoutborders

https://youtu.be/e51HsNgERMk

Join us Tuesday, April 7 at 12 pm EDT / 1600 UTC for a special Global Astronomy Month webinar!

Discover how millions of people around the world are helping make real scientific discoveries through Zooniverse, the world’s largest people-powered research platform.

Our guest speaker is Dr. Laura Trouille, Vice President of Science Engagement and Visualization at the Adler Planetarium and Co-PI for Zooniverse. She’ll share how volunteers are helping classify galaxies, uncover cosmic mysteries, and advance astronomy research in exciting new ways.

Watch live on Astronomers Without Borders’ Facebook and YouTube channels.



SETI Institute NASA Night Sky Network IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach IAU Office of Astronomy for Development Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) - Group Astronomical League Astronomical Society of the Pacific African Astronomical Society Philippine Astronomical Society, Inc. American Astronomical Society Amateur Astronomers Association Astronomy Club of Kosova Astronomy & Physics Astronomía sin Fronteras Planetario de Medellín Planetarium Negara Kantipur Planetarium KITION PLANETARIUM OBSERVATORY The Virtual Telescope Project Associated Universities, Inc

April is Global Astronomy Month!

Hunting for Herschels

If you have finished the Messiers,
you have already observed 17 Herschels.
Herschel – Messier duplications
• M20, 33, 47, 48, 76, 82, 91, 104 – 110
plus
• M35 (NGC 2158 Background cluster)
• M46 (NGC 2438 Foreground planetary nebula)
• M51 (NGC 5195 Whirlpool Galaxy companion)

Tips
• Use charts with stars plotted to 8th magnitude.
• Magnifications commonly used: 75-125x, and 200x for planetary nebulae and very dim galaxies.
• Hunt for objects in a south to north direction, and in a west to east direction.
• Use contrast enhancement filters for NGC 246, 2264, 2371, and 7000.
• Remember, many Herschels have another Herschel in the same field!
• When viewing in the extreme northerly declinations using a telescope with a fork mount and an equatorial wedge, turn the complete telescope assembly 180º. Polar alignment is lost, but the view in the finder will be right side up, and your back and neck will thank you.

Seeing farther into the depths of space,
especially when using smaller aperture scopes
• Need dark, transparent skies
• Use averted vision
• Tap the tube
• Increase magnification
• Have clean optics
• Eliminate all stray light

Virgo/Coma
and the Spring Wall
• Don't become discouraged at the great many of galaxies in the late winter through spring sky! Proceed in an orderly fashion, locating targets in a south to north and west to east manner.
• Carefully draw a star map of the region between Vindemiatrix and Denebola using small (8x30) binoculars. Add the galaxies as you find them through your scope. That way, you'll keep track of what you've found.

Not all is tough, though
Binocular Herschels
NGC 752, 2353, 2264, 2232, 6633,
1528, 869 & 884, 1647, 6940, and 6682

Join us tonight at Branched Oak Observatory at 7:30 p.m. for Michael Sibbernsen's presentation on T Coronae Borealis, also known as the Blaze Star. This fascinating binary star system occasionally erupts as a nova, and astronomers anticipate it will do so in the coming month(s). It's free and open to the public.