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Sky Calendar – September 2020
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More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/ T H h ic a s e “
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 Easily Seen with the Naked Eye

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
SEPTEMBER 2020
About the Celestial Objects
Listed on this page are several of the brighter, more interesting celestial objects Altair Aql Brightest star in Aquila. Name means "the flying eagle". Dist=16.7 ly.
visible in the evening sky this month (refer to the monthly sky map). The objects are β Centauri Cen With Alpha Centauri, forms the so-called "Pointers-to-the-Cross". Dist=525 ly.
α Centauri Cen Nearest bright star to Sun at 4.4 ly. Brilliant double star in a telescope. 80 year period.
grouped into three categories. Those that can be easily seen with the naked eye (that Coalsack Cru Most famous naked-eye dark nebula. Requires dark sky. Dist=600 ly.
is, without optical aid), those easily seen with binoculars, and those requiring a Deneb Cyg Brightest star in Cygnus. One of the greatest known supergiants. Dist=1,400±200 ly.
telescope to be appreciated. Note, all of the objects (except single stars) will Achernar Eri Brightest star in Eridanus, The River. Arabic name meaning "end of river". Dist=140 ly.
appear more impressive when viewed through a telescope or very large α Herculis Her Semi-regular variable. Magnitude varies between 3.1 & 3.9 over 90 days. Mag 5.4 companion.
binoculars. They are grouped in this way to highlight objects that can be seen using Vega Lyr The 5th brightest star in the sky. A blue-white star. Dist=25.0 ly.
Fomalhaut PsA Brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. In Arabic the "fish's mouth". Dist=25 ly.
the optical equipment that may be available to the star gazer. Antares Sco Red, supergiant star. Name means "rival of Mars". Dist=135.9 ly.
Spica Vir Latin name means "ear of wheat" and shown held in Virgo's left hand. Dist=250 ly.
Tips for Observing the Night Sky Easily Seen with Binoculars
When observing the night sky, and in particular deep-sky objects such as star clusters,
M2 Aqr Resembles a fuzzy star in binoculars.
nebulae, and galaxies, it’s always best to observe from a dark location. Avoid direct

CELESTIAL OBJECTS
6397 Ara Thought to be the nearest globular. Dist=7,000 ly.
light from street lights and other sources. If possible observe from a dark location ω Centauri Cen Largest and brightest globular star cluster in sky. 1 million stars. Dist=17,000 ly.
away from the light pollution that surrounds many of today’s large cities. 4755 Cru Jewel Box. Outstanding star cluster. Many contrasting colours. Dist=7,600 ly.
You will see more stars after your eyes adapt to the darkness—usually about 10 to χ Cygni Cyg Long period pulsating red giant. Magnitude varies between 3.3 & 14.2 over 407 days.
20 minutes after you go outside. Also, if you need to use a torch to view the sky LMC Dor Large Magellanic Cloud. A neighbouring galaxy of the Milky Way. Dist=180,000 ly.
M13 Her Best globular in northern skies. Discovered by Halley in 1714. Dist=23,000 ly.
map, cover the light bulb with red cellophane. This will preserve your dark vision.
R Hydrae Hya Long period variable. Mag varies between 3.0 & 11.0 over 390 days. Brilliant red.
Finally, even though the Moon is one of the most stunning objects to view ε Lyrae Lyr Famous Double Double. Binoculars show a double star. High power reveals each a double.
through a telescope, its light is so bright that it brightens the sky and makes many of R Lyrae Lyr Semi-regular variable. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 5.0 over 46.0 days.
the fainter objects very difficult to see. So try to observe the evening sky on M10 Oph 3 degrees from the fainter M12. Both may be glimpsed in binoculars. Dist=14,000 ly.
moonless nights around either New Moon or Last Quarter. κ Pavonis Pav Cepheid-type. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 4.8 over 9.088 days.
6752 Pav One of the better globular star clusters in the sky. Dist=14,000 ly.
M15 Peg Only globular known to contain a planetary nebula (Mag 14, d=1"). Dist=30,000 ly.
Astronomical Glossary M8 Sgr Lagoon Nebula. Bright nebula bisected by a dark lane. Dist=5,200 ly.
M25 Sgr Bright cluster located about 6 deg N of "teapot's" lid. Dist=1,900 ly.
Conjunction – An alignment of two celestial bodies such that they present the least M22 Sgr A spectacular globular star cluster. Telescope will show stars. Dist=10,000 ly.
angular separation as viewed from Earth. M4 Sco A close globular. May just be visible without optical aid. Dist=7,000 ly.
Constellation – A defined area of the sky containing a star pattern. M6 Sco Butterfly Cluster. 30+ stars in 7x binoculars. Dist=1,960 ly.
M7 Sco Superb open cluster. Visible to the naked eye. Age=260 million years. Dist=780 ly.
Diffuse Nebula – A cloud of gas illuminated by nearby stars. 253 Scl Fine, large, cigar-shaped galaxy. Requires dark sky. Member of Sculptor Group.
Double Star – Two stars that appear close to each other in the sky; either linked by M5 Ser Fine globular star cluster. Telescope will reveal individual stars. Dist=25,000 ly.
gravity so that they orbit each other (binary star) or lying at different distances from 6025 TrA A small open star cluster in Milky Way. Dist=2,700 ly.
47 Tucanae Tuc Spectacular object. Telescope will reveal stars. Near edge of SMC. Dist=15,000 ly.
Earth (optical double). Apparent separation of stars is given in seconds of arc ("). β Tucanae Tuc Complex multiple star. Binoculars show one pair. Telescope required to split primary star.
Ecliptic – The path of the Sun’s center on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth. SMC Tuc Small Magellanic Cloud. Companion galaxy to Milky Way. Requires dark sky. Dist=210,000 ly.
Cr 399 Vul Coathanger asterism or "Brocchi's Cluster". Not a true star cluster. Dist=218 to 1,140 ly.
Elongation – The angular separation of two celestial bodies. For Mercury and Venus
the greatest elongation occurs when they are at their most angular distance from the Telescopic Objects
Sun as viewed from Earth. 7009 Aqr Saturn Nebula. Requires 8-inch telescope to see Saturn-like appendages.
Galaxy – A mass of up to several billion stars held together by gravity. 7293 Aqr Helix Nebula. Spans nearly 1/4 deg. Requires dark sky. Dist=300 ly.
5128 Cen Bisected by a wide obscuring lane. Strong radio source. Dist=11 million ly.
Globular Star Cluster – A ball-shaped group of several thousand old stars.
Albireo Cyg Beautiful double star. Contrasting colours of orange and blue-green. Sep=34.4".
Light Year (ly) – The distance a beam of light travels at 300,000 km/sec in one year. γ Delphini Del Appear yellow & white. Mags 4.3 & 5.2. Dist=100 ly. Struve 2725 double in same field.
Magnitude – The brightness of a celestial object as it appears in the sky. M83 Hya Classic face-on spiral. Discovered in 1752 by Lacaille. In attractive star field.
5822 Lup Large, attractive cluster. Dist=1,800 ly. Open cluster NGC 5823 to the south.
Open Star Cluster – A group of tens or hundreds of relatively young stars. β Lyrae Lyr Eclipsing binary. Mag varies between 3.3 & 4.3 over 12.940 days. Fainter mag 7.2 blue star.
Opposition – When a celestial body is opposite the Sun in the sky. M57 Lyr Ring Nebula. Magnificent object. Smoke-ring shape. Dist=4,100 ly.
M20 Sgr Trifid Nebula. A telescope shows 3 dust lanes trisecting nebula. Dist=5,200 ly.
Planetary Nebula – The remnants of a shell of gas blown off by a star. M17 Sgr Omega Nebula. Contains the star cluster NGC 6618. Dist=4,900 ly.
Universal Time (UT) – A time system used by astronomers. Also known as Greenwich 6124 Sco Contains 5 bright tightly packed stars near centre. 7 star chain. Dist=1,600 ly.
Mean Time. Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney, Australia) is UT plus 10 hours. M11 Sct Wild Duck Cluster. Resembles a globular through binoculars. V-shaped. Dist=5,600 ly.
M16 Ser Eagle Nebula. Requires a telescope of large aperture. Dist=8,150 ly.
Variable Star – A star that changes brightness over a period of time. M27 Vul Dumbbell Nebula. Large, twin-lobed shape. Most spectacular planetary. Dist=975 ly.
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