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Australian Sky Amp Telescope - March 2021
Australian Sky Amp Telescope - March 2021
DEEP SKY Go off the beaten TELESCOPES How to build an IMAGING Your guide to
track, deep inside Orion P52 ultra-compact travel scope P72 grabbing great galaxy photos P62
ASTEROID
BELT
How the Solar
System came to
have one P20
THE ESSENTIAL MAGAZINE OF AS
RED SUPERGIANT
Just why did
Betelgeuse
fade? P28
P68
Sky-Watcher’s Evostar
150 APO Refractor SPACE SUCCESS
TEST REPORT Asteroid samples land in Australia P18 MAR/APR 2021
$9.90
ISSUE 130
NZ $9.50 INC GST
YEAR
WARRANTY
Australia
Virtuoso
YEAR
Australia WARRANTY
10kg
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March | April 2021 ISSUE 130, VOL. 18 NO. 2
Contents
REGULARS
Betelgeuse’s enigmatic
5 Spectrum p.28
dimming episode
6 News notes
11 Discoveries
27 AS&T bookshop
45 Vistas
FEATURES
12 Celebrating celestial seas
We bring you the winning photos
from New Zealand’s premier
astrophotography awards.
Experiencing the
cosmos in images
OUR SENSE OF SIGHT is perhaps the most precious of our senses.
It not only enables most of us to function in the everyday world, it also
lets us experience the wonder of the universe in which we live. For those
of us who have sight, imagine if we couldn’t see the Moon or a meteor,
a galaxy or a nebula, or simply the amazing starfields of the Milky Way?
Imagery has opened our eyes to the splendour of the cosmos and
Sky-Watcher’s
all that’s in it. And of course it’s one of the primary scientific tools for
p.68
Evostar 150 APO understanding all of the processes that began and continue to guide the
evolution of all that is out there.
And how marvellous it is that we live in an age when amateur
astronomers have access to incredible imaging technology that they
THE ASTRONOMY SCENE can use in their backyards to easily produce their own portraits of
astronomical objects. Such as those we present on pages 12 to 17 of
62 Astrophotography
this issue, from the Auckland Astronomical Society’s Harry Williams
Helpful tips to get the most out of
Astrophotography Competition. Simply amazing, aren’t they? There
your galaxy images.
By Adam Block certainly are some talented astrophotographers out there.
If you feel that you’d like to have a crack at winning an astrophoto
68 Test report
prize, why not try for the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s annual global
ED glass and advanced optical
coatings push Sky-Watcher’s
competition (see page 75)? There’s a grand prize of £10,000 (about
Evostar 150 APO refractor to its full $17,600 Aussie dollars) up for grabs!
potential. Jonathan Nally, Editor
By Dennis di Cicco editor@skyandtelescope.com.au
72 Astronomer’s workbench
Build the ultimate travel telescope.
By Jerry Oltion
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ASTRONOMY
74 Night life Check out the Australian Sky & Telescope
website for the latest astronomy news
Events, activities and what’s
from Australia and around the cosmos.
happening in the astronomy world. skyandtelescope.com.au
Printed by IVE. Australia distribution
75 In profile EDITORIAL SKY & TELESCOPE by Network Services. New Zealand
EDITOR Jonathan Nally INTERNATIONAL distribution by Ovato Retail Distribution
76 Gallery ART DIRECTOR Lee McLachlan
Australia. © 2020 AAS Sky Publishing,
EDITOR IN CHIEF Peter Tyson LLC and Paragon Media. No part of
The latest images from our readers CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
this publication may b e reproduced,
John Drummond, David Ellyard, SENIOR EDITORS
J. Kelly Beatty, Alan M. MacRobert translated, or converted into a
81 Marketplace Alan Plummer, David Seargent,
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81 Index to advertisers ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE EDITORS
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minor planets for clues. Turn to page 20.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 5
NEWS NOTES
minutes later, it was gone.” were consistent with a GRB. hydrogen and helium and a smattering of
Jiang and colleagues suggest that this Péter Mészáros (Penn State University), lithium. Heavier elements like carbon had
flash might have been the afterglow of a who was not involved in the study, says to be fused in the cores of massive stars
gamma-ray burst (GRB), produced when that the spectrum is what he would expect and distributed when they exploded. So
very massive stars collapse. from a GRB. “This is potentially a very if there is carbon in GN-z11, the galaxy
Before this, the youngest-known GRB important discovery,” he says. must already be in the second stage of
was one that went off 520 million years Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be its stellar evolution — even at the fresh
after the Big Bang. produced by the collapse of massive stars, young age of only 400 million years old.
It’s entirely possible that the telltale and given that GN-z11 existed so shortly ¢ ARWEN RIMMER
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 7
NEWS NOTES
MERG ER CH A RT: G REGG DINDER M A N / S&T, SOURCE: LIGO -VIRGO / NORTHWESTER N UNIV ERSIT Y / FR A NK EL AVSK Y / A A RON G ELLER; OBSERV ER A ND TELESCOPE: SE A N WA LK ER
seven cataclysms involving black holes Masses in the Stellar Graveyard
of at least 50 solar masses; one whopper 160
tips the scale at about 90 solar masses. LIGO-Virgo black holes
That surprised LIGO scientist Maya 80
Fishbach (Northwestern University). “It
could be that there’s a subpopulation 40
that’s actually contaminating the gap,”
Solar masses
?
Fishbach says. A previous generation of 20 ?
neural network to relate globular cluster will test these simulations’ accuracy. asteroid 99942 Apophis toward Earth
by April 2068, but chances for impact
properties to their galaxy of origin. They MONICA YOUNG
remain small. David Tholen (University of
Hawai‘i) has announced that the asteroid’s
Milky Way Helmi Gaia- orbit is slowly tightening. Discovered in
Sagittarius Sequoia Kraken Galaxy streams Enceladus 2004, the roughly 350-metre-wide rock
was originally thought to be on a collision
12.5 course with Earth in 2029 or 2036, but
more precise observations reduced the
Lookback time in billions of years
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 9
NEWS NOTES
Will the next solar cycle surprise us? ongoing debate in solar cycle prediction,
which has become “a high-stakes
SUNSPOTS ARE PART OF AN 11-year Cycle 24, peaking around July 2025 with event,” McIntosh and colleagues write.
up-and-down cycle observed since some 115 sunspots per month. There are dozens of models that predict
1610, “one of the oldest data sets that A consensus is useful for planning solar activity, some of them based on
humans have created,” says Dean purposes, particularly for those who simulations of the physics involved and
Pesnell (NASA Goddard), a solar cycle run power grids or launch satellites to others based on the Sun’s own past
expert. The sunspot cycle is itself just low-Earth orbit. For scientists, though, performances.
half of the complete magnetic cycle, the consensus serves primarily as a Upon examining the last cycle,
called the Hale cycle, in which the Sun’s point of reference. Because it doesn’t panel co-chair Lisa Upton (Space
magnetic-field changes come full circle mean that theorists are all done making Systems Research Corporation), says
over a period of 22 years. predictions — far from it. that she and the others on the panel
A few months ago, a panel of Indeed, Scott McIntosh (US National recognised the advantage of physics-
scientists at NASA and the US Center for Atmospheric Research) and based models, particularly those that
National Oceanic and Atmospheric colleagues know that they’re going use measurements of the magnetic field
Administration announced that the against the consensus when they at the Sun’s poles as an input to their
beginning of Cycle 25 had occurred in write, “Sunspot Cycle 25 could have a models. These polar fields appear to
December 2019. That means we’ve hit magnitude that rivals the top few since be the ‘seeds’ of the magnetic activity
bottom on sunspot number and are on records began.” over the next cycle. “We weighted those
our way back up, and with sunspots will They arrived at this conclusion by forecasts more highly,” she says. “All
come all sorts of other magnetically analysing 270 years of sunspot numbers. of us really felt like these physics-based
driven activity, such as flares. Using a mathematical technique, they models had the highest accuracy.”
But while the timing of the sunspot realised that every 22-year Hale cycle The suspicion that these polar fields
cycle is relatively predictable, its terminates markedly and quite quickly, are a strong factor in determining
magnitude isn’t. “The regular up and “in a quite astonishing time for a star,” the Sun’s overall activity is one of the
down in count of sunspot number rarely McIntosh says. driving forces behind Solaris, a NASA
repeats itself,” Pesnell explains. The What’s more, the timing of the mission recently selected for concept
inherent turbulence and chaotic nature cycle’s termination seems to correlate study. Solaris would provide never-
of the Sun’s dynamo makes predicting with the magnitude of the next before-seen views of the Sun’s poles
its behaviour difficult at best. In the sunspot cycle. If that correlation holds, (though the European Space Agency’s
end, the panel supported physics-based McIntosh and colleagues say that the Solar Orbiter will provide oblique views
models, which predict Cycle 25’s activity previous cycle’s brevity means a strong of the poles in 2025).
N ASA
will be similar to the surprisingly weak Cycle 25, surpassing 180 sunspots per ¢ MONICA YOUNG
W
e’ve known of the existence And so it has been with some of a raft of challenges along the way. But
of ‘minor planets’ or asteroids the minor planets, too, particularly what did it teach us? As with all such
in the Solar System since the Ceres and Vesta. (To be precise, Ceres missions, the data will be worked over
start of the 19th century, when Ceres, is now classified as a ‘dwarf planet,’ for years, but some things were clear
Vesta and some others of the largest along with Pluto and some others on quite soon. The high-resolution images
ones were first detected. Since then the the fringes of the Solar System). One of Vesta revealed two immense craters,
number known, large and small, has such mission was conducted by the up to 500 km across, near its south pole,
grown to many hundreds of thousands, spacecraft called Dawn, launched in evidence of a violent past. (Vesta is less
most of them orbiting the Sun in the 2007. It reached Vesta in 2011 and than 1000 km wide). One of these had
asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter orbited for a while, before moving on a central peak 20 km high (more than
(see page 20). to Ceres in 2015. Dawn thus became twice the height of Everest), arguably the
For most of that time, these celestial the first spacecraft to orbit two extra- highest mountain in the Solar System.
bodies were merely points of light terrestrial bodies, as well as the first to Vesta appears to be perhaps the last of
through our largest telescopes, just as visit a dwarf planet. the ‘planetesimals’ that came together
the other planets had been before the Why did it take so long to reach billions of years ago to form the major
invention of the telescope 400 years its targets? The answer lies in its planets, including Earth.
ago. Analysing the light reflected from propulsion system. Dawn was equipped Ceres was different in many ways,
asteroids using spectroscopes provided with an ‘ion drive’. It was pushed suggesting a different history, perhaps
insights as to their composition, but along not by hot gases from chemical volcanic. Bright deposits of salts such
they are so small and so far away that reactions — your typical rocket fuel — as sodium carbonate could be seen in
for a long time we were unable to image but by using electric fields (powered by some of its craters. Evidence suggests
their surfaces. solar cells) to accelerate charged atoms Ceres holds a lot of water ice, making
The advent of the Hubble Space (‘ions’) of the rare gas xenon. up 25% of its mass.
Telescope and big ground-based The thrust of the Dawn’s engine was Dawn’s active life ended in 2018
telescopes has certainly helped, but the very gentle. Once launched into space, when it exhausted its supply of thruster
best way to increase our knowledge has at full throttle Dawn had to accelerate fuel used to control its orientation
been to send spacecraft with cameras for four days just to add its first 100 in space. That meant no more useful
and other scientific instruments right kph. But the beauty of an ion engine is scientific work could be done. Now
up close — to fly by, to orbit or even to that the push can go on uninterrupted silent, it remains in lonely orbit around
land on the objects of interest. And so for weeks or months, thus building Ceres.
by now every one of the planets, and up very high speeds. Throughout the
N ASA /JPL
many of their moons, have been seen mission, Dawn’s engine was thrusting ■ DAVID ELLYARD is the author of Who
in detail. for nearly 60% of the time. Discovered What When.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 11
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
METEORIC GLOW
WINNER: Nightscape category
PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Voss
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 13
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
NUGGET POINT
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Nightscape category
PHOTOGRAPHER: Glen Butler
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 15
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 17
SAMPLE RETURN by David Dickinson
Pieces of
capsule of Japan’s Hayabusa 2
spacecraft touched down within
the desolate Woomera Prohibited
Area in South Australia.
other worlds
Japan’s Hayabusa 2 has returned to Earth with samples The teams located and collected the
capsule after a brief helicopter search,
of asteroid Ryugu, while China’s Chang’e 5 has brought then transported it to a facility at
back bits of the Moon. Woomera for a ‘quick look’ inspection.
The team confirmed that the container
AFTER A SIX-YEAR JOURNEY of sighted both the spacecraft and capsule was properly sealed, before sending
5.24 billion kilometres, the Japanese flying together through space, shortly it to JAXA headquarters in Japan for
Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) after separation. opening.
Hayabusa 2 mission returned to Earth Re-entry return is always a difficult “On behalf of everyone in Australia,
on December 6, releasing its sample- time for any mission team: Many in the congratulations to the entire team at
return capsule during Earth flyby. space community still remember the JAXA on a wonderful achievement,”
Aboard was the precious ‘treasure chest’ tragic return of NASA’s Genesis capsule said Megan Clark, head of the
containing samples of asteroid 162173 in 2004, when the capsule’s drogue Australian Space Agency, during a press
Ryugu. chute failed to deploy and the capsule conference. “I also congratulate the
“We started to develop Hayabusa 2 slammed to the ground at the Utah Test team in Australia and offer my deep
in 2011, and since then, the dream Range in the US. admiration for the project team in
has come true,” says Hitoshi Kuninaka Japan.”
(ISAS/JAXA) during a (translated) press Sample in hand The sample of pristine asteroid
conference. “We performed the mission The recovery of Hayabusa 2’s capsule, material represents a look back to the
100%… and the operations team did a however, went as planned. The capsule early years of the Solar System. The
very good job.” blazed its way over Australia in the spacecraft collected the sample by
The sample release began when the early dawn hours for touchdown in firing a tantalum projectile at Ryugu’s
capsule separated from the spacecraft. the Woomera Prohibited Area in South surface, stirring up a cloud of material
Spinning once every three seconds, Australia. Atmospheric entry started at and drawing that material into the
the capsule hit Earth’s atmosphere at 17:28 Universal Time on December 5. spacecraft’s collecting horn. Then the
a speed of 12 kilometres per second The capsule deployed its radar-reflective mission obtained a second, sub-surface
(43,000 kph). JAXA astronaut Soichi parachute, ejected its heat shield and sample using the spacecraft’s Small-
3 X JA X A; XINHUA
Noguchi actually saw the capsule from activated its radio beacon, signalling Carry-on Impactor.
aboard the International Space Station. that it was healthy and ready for the Hayabusa 2 also deployed the
The Saji Observatory in Japan also awaiting search teams. first-ever asteroid rovers — Rover 1A
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 19
SOLAR SYSTEM RUBBLE by Nola Taylor Redd
The sparse swath of debris between Mars and Jupiter could tell us more
about the Solar System’s earliest years than the planets themselves.
THE ASTEROID BELT DIVIDES THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN TWO, or one that was never born, thanks to interference from
with rocky planets near the Sun and giants relegated to Jupiter’s gravity. Both theories had the asteroids forming in
the outskirts. Most of the belt’s mass is locked up in just their current locations.
four asteroids, massive objects whose origins are under The discovery of worlds around other stars helped to
investigation. But this strange dividing line itself holds change that view, as scientists realised that planets didn’t
clues about the early Solar System. necessarily stick around the region where they were born.
Gas and dust left over from the birth of the Sun Suddenly, the early Solar System became an interstate
ultimately became the planets, though scientists are still highway system where giant planets drove from place
struggling to understand the steps required. Main-belt to place, pushing material ahead of them as easily as a
asteroids were long thought to either be a destroyed planet plough shoves snow. The asteroid belt began to look less
processes that built planets are exceedingly complex, and nature of all the things implanted in the asteroid belt,” says
it’s virtually impossible to rewind the Solar System to Bill Bottke (Southwest Research Institute, or SwRI).
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 21
SOLAR SYSTEM RUBBLE
Most of the meteorites that have found their way to Earth are region. But a growing Jupiter might have acted as a dam,
rocky or iron-rich. Carbon-rich samples from the outer Solar keeping pebbles from the outer Solar System from moving in
System make up less than 5% of the meteorites that make to replace those that left. The result would have been a belt
it to Earth. And while there has been evidence that some born with only a fraction of the previously predicted mass.
meteorites once held ice, no frozen water has survived the The idea that the asteroid belt could have started off less
brutal heat of Earth’s atmosphere. That’s one reason that the massive has been gradually gathering attention. Previous
asteroid sample-return missions Hayabusa 2 and OSIRIS-REX studies by Raymond and Izidoro revealed that it was relatively
are so important. easy for material tossed into the asteroid belt during planet
The planets weren’t the only things moving around in formation to stick around. That led them to speculate that,
this early era. The dance of the giants would have stirred up instead of starting with lots of mass and being whittled
the icy objects in the outer Solar System, too, pushing most down, the region between Mars and Jupiter started off with
of them out past Neptune to create the modern-day Kuiper no asteroids or planetesimals. Every object there today could
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 23
SOLAR SYSTEM RUBBLE
have been hurled in from somewhere else in the Solar System. survivor. According to his simulations, roughly 10% of the
“It’s certainly an interesting idea,” says Bottke. “I suspect planetesimals stirred up by Jupiter and Saturn under the Nice
maybe it’s too [extreme], but I like it because it gets you thinking.” model should have wound up in the asteroid belt. Ironically,
A completely empty asteroid belt at the start of the Solar that makes things more difficult, because it suggests that the
System would change how modellers view the first few years asteroid belt should have more carbon-rich asteroids than it
around a newborn Sun. Models like Grand Tack and Nice currently holds. Why it doesn’t remains a mystery.
might not be needed to explain the asteroid belt itself. According to Nesvorný, one of the best arguments for
“If the belt was low-mass from the beginning, you don’t
need the dramatic migration history of the giant planets
to explain the inner Solar System,” Izidoro says. “The giant
A. LOW-MASS ASTEROID BELT
planets could have stayed in their orbits during the early Solar
System days.”
1-2 million years after start
Ceres and Vesta 1. Growing pebbles in the gas disk drift toward the Sun
Whether it started off empty or full, the asteroid belt still and pile up in rings, perhaps due to Jupiter’s influence.
The asteroid belt region becomes relatively empty.
appears to contain material from different parts of the Solar
System. Two of the most visible examples are Ceres and
4 Vesta, two of the largest objects in the asteroid belt. The Snow line
pair are different not only from each other but also from Planetesimals
many of their neighbours.
The largest object in the asteroid belt, Ceres, is a carbon-
rich world whose mass makes up nearly a third of the mass Sun
Jupiter
in the belt. While most of the asteroid belt is filled with dry
rocks, Ceres has long shown hints of being icy. Before NASA’s
Dawn mission arrived at Ceres in 2015, scientists suspected
the dwarf planet could hold an ocean of water beneath its
icy shell. The spacecraft identified bright spots on the dwarf 2. As Jupiter and Saturn grow, they kick out nearby
planet and a smooth, constantly changing landscape that icy planetesimals.
planetes These go all over the place,
including th
he belt region.
later revealed the existence of an extensive reservoir of
subsurface brine.
“Ceres, with its water and bright spots, is central to the
general narrative we’re coming up with for how the Solar
System formed and evolved,” Raymond says.
Bright salty spots and a young surface weren’t the only
surprises Ceres had. The spacecraft also found widespread
ammoniated phyllosilicates, muddy minerals that resemble Jupiter
Saturn
comet droppings. The ammonia indicates the dwarf planet
couldn’t have formed where it is now: Temperatures in the
disk that formed the Solar System meant that ammonia could
only condense into ice in the outer reaches, farther from the 3. As the terrestrial planets grow, they scatter dry
planetesimals outward. Some end up in the asteroid
Sun than the asteroid belt lies. belt, while others fall victim to Jupiter, which sends
Ceres’ icy composition isn’t the only reason planetary them elsewhere or even out of the Solar System.
scientists think the asteroid formed in the outer Solar System.
With its enormous size (for an asteroid), the dwarf planet
has long stood out from its neighbours. In 2008, after the
Nice model emerged, planetary scientist Bill McKinnon
(Washington University) suggested that the dwarf planet
could have come from the outer Solar System. McKinnon
later calculated that, as the giants danced their complicated
steps, icy objects from the outskirts could have been
hurled inward. Of them, only one would likely have been
successfully implanted in the belt, while the others were
ejected or tossed into the Sun.
Raymond says that as few as ten Ceres-size objects in the All diagrams, in all scenarios, are not to scale.
outer Solar System could explain Ceres’ existence as the sole
Sun
Saturn
Jupiter Ice giants
1. As Jupiter and Saturn form from the gas disk,
they create gaps in the disk. Jupiter forms faster.
Sun
2. Jupiter’s gap creates a torque in the disk that
forces the planet inward, scattering planetesimals as
it goes. Jupiter largely empties the asteroid belt.
Ice giant
ejected
3. Saturn then grows big enough to migrate inward
and catches up to Jupiter. Their combined gap
changes the forces on the giants and sends the pair
back out of the inner Solar System.
Neptune
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 25
SOLAR SYSTEM RUBBLE
CERES: N ASA / JPL- CA LTECH / UCL A / MPS / DLR / IDA / ASI / IN A F; V ESTA: N ASA / JPL- CA LTECH / UCL A / MPS / DLR / IDA
observations make a strong case for Ceres having formed in
the outer Solar System.
Vesta’s origins are harder to pin down. The second most
massive object in the belt, Vesta is differentiated, having
separated into a crust, mantle and core early in its lifetime.
The fact that it has all three layers makes it fairly unique in
the belt and might be key in solving an ongoing puzzle: the
mystery of the missing mantle.
When newborn objects grow large enough, the heaviest
elements in them sink to the centre, while the lightest
elements rise to the top. The result is iron-rich cores wrapped
in rocky mantles. Astronomers have found iron-rich asteroids
in the belt and collected iron-rich meteorites on Earth. But
the lighter elements that would make up mantle material are
surprisingly hard to spot in both.
One option, proposed by Bottke and his colleagues in
2006, is that differentiated asteroids formed closer to the
terrestrial planets than they are today. There, collisions
Four asteroids contain 55% VESTA Various craters and grooves along the equator stand out
in this image from the Dawn spacecraft of 4 Vesta. The grooves
of the main belt’s total mass: may be due to a massive, glancing impact that made the interior
Ceres, Pallas, Vesta and Hygiea crack and collapse.
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Great Dimming of
Professional and amateur astronomers are Betelgeuse is a red supergiant (RSG), a swollen, puffy star
nearing the end of its life. These gigantic stars produce an
working to understand why the famed red abundance of dust, seeding interstellar space with various
supergiant faded so dramatically. atomic elements. We still don’t understand exactly how they
disperse their chemical bounty. This is partly because red
supergiants are so few, and so many of them are so far away.
BETELGEUSE HAS BECOME A STAR — a media star, that is. Betelgeuse, being nearby, is our backyard RSG laboratory.
BA BA K TA FRESHI (2)
Never in modern times has so much public attention been But that’s not what brought Betelgeuse into the spotlight.
paid to a distant sun that hasn’t exploded. Astronomers have Between October and December 2019, the star’s ruddy
been keenly interested in Orion’s alpha star for some time, glow plummeted, then kept on fading. Popular speculation
but now it’s a subject for the newspapers. abounded that it was about to go supernova.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 29
STELLAR FADE
Magnitudes
Astronomers work with light curves taken through standard 1.5
colour filters that reveal how the star looks at different
wavelengths. At right are V (green) and B (blue) light curves 2.0
that I gathered with a photometer during 2018–2020. The V
filter approximates the sensitivity of the human eye. In 2018,
Betelgeuse dimmed to a V magnitude of 0.88, whereas in 2020, 2.5
B-filter values
it bottomed out at 1.61 — an additional 50% drop in brightness.
Why take data in different colours (known as bands)? 3.0
Because the star’s behaviour may manifest differently at
one wavelength compared to another, potentially revealing
interesting information. For example, my group has 3.5
June 30 Oct. 8 Jan. 16 Apr. 26 Aug. 4 Nov. 12 Feb. 20 May 30
photometers that take data in the near-infrared (NIR). 2018 2019 2020
Compare the shape of the two light curves on the next page,
starting in January 2020 when we first began observing in
the J band (1.25 microns) of the NIR. AAVSO member Jerry Peeling the onion
Persha took the J-band data. Before we explore these theories, let’s have a look at the
While V-band brightness changed dramatically, the J-band outside layers of Betelgeuse. The visible surface of a star
data scarcely budged. Whatever affected the visible light had is called its photosphere. In truth, it’s not a surface at all
little effect on the infrared radiation, and that’s a clue to the (nothing could rest upon it). The photosphere is where the
LIGH T CURV ES GR A PH: G REGG DINDER M A N / S&T, SOURCE: THE AU THOR; BE TELG EUSE BEFORE A ND A F TER: ESO / M. M ON TA RG ÈS E T A L.
physics at work. atmosphere of the star becomes opaque to our vision. It looks
Based on the professional and amateur data in hand, like a surface because we cannot see through it.
two main theories are competing to explain the fade of The photosphere of the Sun is about 5800 kelvin, so hot
Betelgeuse: a burst of new dust that partially obscured the that barely any molecules can survive there. Betelgeuse, on
star, or an unusual drop in its surface temperature. the other hand, has swollen up so large — spreading its heat
over so much area — that its surface is only about 3650K. The
PIECEMEAL DIMMING These VLT images show Betelgeuse as it low temperature permits an assortment of compounds, such
looked shortly after its 2018 minimum (left) and partway through its as titanium oxide (TiO), to exist in gaseous form.
abnormal minimum in 2019–20 (right).
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 31
STELLAR FADE
Above the photosphere of our own Sun lies the thermometer into a distant star — the measurement was
chromosphere, a shell of very hot, very thin gas. But the indirect. Levesque and Massey examined absorption features
chromosphere of Betelgeuse is sandwiched between two layers caused by titanium oxide (TiO) in Betelgeuse’s atmosphere.
the Sun lacks: a molecular sphere (or MOLsphere) below, and a TiO molecules start forming at about 3800K, and they
dust shell above. become more prevalent as the star gets cooler, absorbing ever
more light. The researchers didn’t see big changes in the TiO
V-band and J-band Data lines compared to 2004, suggesting that the temperature had
January–April 2020 changed little since then.
–3.4 Professional astronomers also found evidence in support
Magnitude
–3.2
J-filter values of dust by studying polarised light coming from the envelope
–3.0 around Betelgeuse. When sunlight reflects off the surface of a
lake or the bonnet of your car, it becomes partially polarised,
–2.8
with the light waves vibrating at only certain angles. This
0
is why polarised sunglasses are so helpful when driving or
0.2 boating on a sunny day. Starlight reflecting off dust also
0.4 becomes partially polarised. A team led by Boris Safonov
0.6 (Lomosonov Moscow State University, Russia) imaged
Magnitude
V- A ND J-BA ND DATA: G REGG DINDER M A N / S&T, SOURCE: THE AU THOR; L AY ERS: G REGG DINDER M A N / S&T
The dust shell is the end-product of mass loss in an RSG. ll
she Molecular sphere
Astronomical dust is not the fluff under your couch. It t
orona
s
Du
the molecules, too, are in the form of gases. But if the atoms
and molecules can leap off and migrate to a cooler area, they
then have the chance to stick together and form grains such
as silicon monoxide (SiO) or aluminium oxide (Al2O3). These
grains are accelerated by unknown means and fly out to
enrich the composition of interstellar space.
POL A RISATION: STER NBERG ASTRONO MICA L INSTIT U TE OF LO M ONOSOV M OSCOW STATE UNIV ERSIT Y
expansion helped push material out of the star, but it’s
difficult to see how the dust would know to disperse right on The jury is out
schedule. The verdict on the Great Dimming remains under
And if dust absorbed a great deal of visible light, where did deliberation. Data from the last observing season are still
that energy go? Dust that captures optical radiation should under analysis, with more scientific papers in the publication
re-radiate some of it as infrared light, boosting the overall pipeline.
infrared brightness. Yet the near-infrared AAVSO data do Betelgeuse is a complex beast, and I have only scratched
not show this, nor do broader infrared data from the O’Brien the surface of the story. The contention between various
Observatory of the University of Minnesota, taken by Robert researchers using different instruments (more than are
Gehrz and others. mentioned here) can feel like the story of the Blind Men
Lastly, Thavisha Dharmawardena (Max Planck Institute and the Elephant. But although the men are always seen
for Astronomy, Germany) and others observed Betelgeuse as comical characters, keep in mind that none of them is
in submillimetre-band radio. That radiation would not be actually wrong. Each draws a conclusion based upon the best
affected by dust and should stay fairly constant if the stellar information he has. Their collective challenge is to synthesise
temperature were stable. But they saw the brightness drop by a common explanation from everyone’s data. That’s how
about 20% compared to the pre-dimmed level. difficult science gets done.
These data raise the question of whether the near-
constant temperature inferred from the spectrum is correct. ¢ TOM CALDERWOOD leads the AAVSO’s photoelectric
The 2020 spectrum largely matches a computer-modeled photometry (‘PEP’)section. He can be reached at pep@
spectrum for 3600K. This model assumes a uniform cantordust.net.
The story of
T Tauri An infant star in Taurus helped
reveal a truth once thought radical:
The universe still makes new stars.
Introducing T Tauri
On October 11, 1852, English astronomer John Russell Hind
spotted a “very small” and “very faint” nebula north of the
Hyades star cluster. Near the nebula he also discovered a
10th-magnitude star. The star did not appear on star charts:
“Possibly it may be variable,” he wrote, inferring that the star
had earlier been too dim to see.
Incredibly, the nebula is also variable. It faded and in 1868
vanished. It later returned, but its position had changed.
When Hind made his find, the nebula lay south-southwest
of the star; now, it’s west of the star. The nebula came to be
called Hind’s Variable Nebula and the star T Tauri, the third
variable star found in Taurus.
Over the following century, astronomers discovered other
stars like T Tauri. In 1945, Mount Wilson astronomer Alfred
T. A . R ECTOR ( U N I V E R S IT Y O F A L AS K A , A N C H O R AG E ),
Joy grouped 11 stars together and named the class after the
H . SC HWEIK E R ( WI Y N A N D N OIR L A B / N S F / AU R A )
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 37
BABY STAR
Instead, other astronomers soon interpreted T Tauri time, other evidence was also suggesting that T Tauri stars
stars as normal suns that by chance were passing through could hardly be normal stars passing through nebulae.
interstellar clouds. When material either fell onto the stars For starters, the stars were too luminous. Take T Tauri
or obscured them, they brightened or faded, explaining their itself. Although Joy had classified it as spectral type G5 —
variability. similar to the Sun’s G2 spectral type — modern spectra put
it at type K0. A K main-sequence star emits less light than
A newborn star the Sun, whereas T Tauri’s actual luminosity, according to
In 1947, however, Soviet astronomer Viktor Ambartsumian modern measures, is about six times greater than the Sun’s.
saw the truth — and soon after took a jab at astronomers The reason: Stars start out big and bloated, then shrink as
elsewhere. “Our experience shows that Western astronomers gravity compresses them. Because T Tauri is larger than the
often display an inconsistency when trying to give Sun, it radiates more light. Its large size and luminosity are
cosmogonic interpretation of results of astrophysical thus signs of its youth.
observations,” he wrote. “Doubtless, the progressive Soviet What turned out to be another youthful trait also
science, inspired by the genius of great Stalin, will overcome emerged during the 1950s, when astronomers made a major
all difficulties on the way of cosmogonic investigations and discovery about T Tauri. The star harbours far more of the
clarify the main laws of origin and evolution of stars.” rare element lithium (atomic number 3) than the Sun does.
Ambartsumian’s praise of a brutal tyrant notwithstanding, So do meteorites, which reflect the high lithium level of the
his astronomical reasoning was sound. He noted that T Tauri newborn Sun. Young stars have more lithium, we now know,
stars occur in groups, which he called T-associations; he cited because stars normally destroy the element over time. As a
the one in Taurus and Auriga as an example. The Milky Way’s result, T Tauri stars have lithium-to-hydrogen ratios more
tidal forces should have torn these groups apart, he said — than 100 times that of the Sun.
unless they formed just a few million years ago. He made a
similar argument about O and B stars, which also reside in An infrared companion
associations. Thus, he reasoned, the Milky Way still mints Unexpected discoveries about T Tauri continued long after
new stars today. astronomers accepted it as the prototype for young stars.
Unfortunately, because Ambartsumian’s works appeared in In October and November 1981, H. Melvin Dyck, Theodore
Russian or his native Armenian, most astronomers in America Simon (both then at University of Hawai‘i) and Benjamin
and Europe didn’t hear the news until the mid-1950s. By that Zuckerman (now UCLA) observed T Tauri by using infrared
speckle interferometry, a technique that yields high-resolution
views. The astronomers hoped to study the structure of a
dusty disk around the star. If such a disk existed, starlight
would heat the dust and explain earlier work that had found
R AINER KÖHLER E T A L. / ASTR ONOMY & ASTR OPHYSICS 2016 (587:A35), REPRODUCED WITH PER MISSION © ESO
an excess of infrared radiation.
Instead, the astronomers saw that T Tauri was a double.
“Total surprise,” Zuckerman says. “We were looking for
dust, not for an infrared companion.” The find was the first
T Tauri North infrared star ever seen orbiting a T Tauri star.
The infrared star is 0.7 arcsecond south of the visible star
and so enshrouded in dust that even today no one has ever
seen its visible light. If the northern and southern stars,
named T Tauri North and T Tauri South, are equally distant
b from us, they are 100 astronomical units (a.u.) apart, slightly
T Tauri South greater than three times Neptune’s distance from the Sun.
The two stars probably take hundreds or thousands of years to
a
orbit each other, which unfortunately is so long that we can’t
use their orbital motion to measure their masses.
0.5 ˝
N And then there were three
Then, in 2000, Chris Koresko (then JPL) reported that
E T Tauri’s infrared companion is itself a double. Given all
the astronomers who had studied T Tauri, “I was kind of
surprised that I happened to be the one who stumbled across
S TRIPLE TAKE This infrared image shows that the prototype of stellar
the third star in the system,” Koresko says.
infants actually consists of three separate youngsters: one visible star, This discovery was especially helpful because the two
T Tauri North, and two infrared stars, T Tauri South a and T Tauri South b. infrared stars — T Tauri South a and T Tauri South b — are
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 39
BABY STAR
Not to scale
High-energy
sufficiently close together that they orbit each other every radiation
Dust
27 years. Since astronomers have now observed the pair photosphere
from shock
for nearly that long, the orbit reveals the stars’ masses. r envelope
Oute
According to work published in the July 2020 Astronomical
Journal by Gail Schaefer (CHARA Array) and her colleagues,
T Tauri South a has about 2.05 solar masses. If it acquires no t envelope
Dus
more material, it will end up an A-type main-sequence star
resembling brilliant Sirius A. p
ust va orized
In contrast, T Tauri South b is a smaller star, on track to D
become the most common stellar type in the galaxy: a humble
red dwarf. It’s only about 43% as massive as the Sun, so it will
someday look much like the nearby red star Lalande 21185. Protostar
On average, the two infrared stars are about 12 a.u. apart,
a bit farther than Saturn is from the Sun, but the small star Accretion
shock
follows a rather elliptical orbit around its mate. In the May
2020 Research Notes of the AAS, Rainer Köhler (University Partially
of Vienna, Austria) and Karolina Kubiak (University of ionized gas
Lisbon, Portugal) noted an intriguing pattern. The little star
brightens and fades depending on where it is in its orbit. The
astronomers attribute this behaviour to a nearly edge-on dust
Dust
disk that is known to surround the two infrared stars. The Infrared destruction
disk is more tenuous toward its edge, so when the little star radiation front
skirts farthest from its partner, less dust obscures it, and so it
brightens. The two stars will be closest together around 2023.
Unfortunately, no one has weighed T Tauri North, the one S PROTOSTAR A dense core of dusty gas collapses to form a protostar,
which draws material onto itself gravitationally. The material strikes the
star in the system whose visible light we see, and its exact
protostar and produces an accretion shock, and the heated gas that’s
nature is uncertain. Even though it is the prototype for the produced radiates — the source of the protostar’s luminosity. Eventually,
entire class, in many ways it is not a typical T Tauri star. the cloud (here simplified as a sphere) will collapse into a protoplanetary
For one thing, the star outshines most of its peers. The high disk; the protostar will accrete most of its mass during the disk stage.
luminosity suggests the star is more massive than most other
T Tauri stars, and in the past astronomers have estimated more luminous than most other T Tauri stars: because it hasn’t
a mass about twice that of the Sun. T Tauri North has a yet contracted much toward the main sequence.
disk, but it’s nearly face-on, which may be why we can see T Tauri North continues to orbit T Tauri South, Reipurth
the star’s visible light but not the light of its two southern says, and he thinks that within a few thousand years T Tauri
siblings, whose disk is more edge-on. North will dive back into its birthplace for a family reunion
In the August 1, 2020, Astrophysical Journal, however, with its two siblings. He expects chaos, because three stars
Christian Flores, Bo Reipurth and Michael Connelley (all close together normally fling one another around and often
University of Hawai‘i) offer a new interpretation of T Tauri eject the least massive one. That’s probably what happened
North. They used high-resolution infrared spectra to uncover with the Alpha Centauri system, which has two Sun-like stars
another peculiarity: The star’s surface gravity is low, a sign and a distant red dwarf they likely kicked away. If T Tauri’s
the star has a large diameter. In fact, the star is so large and three stars do something similar, then T Tauri North and
luminous, they say, that it’s not a pre-main-sequence star at South a will link up to form a closer binary and cast the red
all. Instead, it’s an even younger type of star: a protostar. dwarf far away — perhaps out of the system altogether.
Protostars are stars so young they are still in the process Thus, T Tauri has a storied past whose class played a pivotal
of being born (see previous page). Such stars are normally role in revealing that the universe is still an active star maker.
invisible at optical wavelengths because they are encased But the star’s future story promises to be rich as well — both
in the dust clouds that gave them birth, and from which for itself, as its three members dance with one another, and
material still rains down upon them. for astronomers, as they discern new clues about this famous
Why, then, can we see T Tauri North’s visible light? “T Tauri infant in the sky.
North is an orphaned protostar,” Reipurth says. In his view,
all three stars in the system were born close together a few While earning his PhD, KEN CROSWELL observed three
hundred thousand years ago. But the other two stars kicked T Tauri stars that had flared up in brightness. He is the author
T Tauri North out of the dust cloud just a few thousand of eight books, including The Alchemy of the Heavens and The
years ago, allowing us to see its light, even though it’s still a Lives of Stars, and he has also written for Knowable Magazine
protostar. This idea also explains why the star is larger and and National Geographic.
The benefit of taking multiple short exposures is the option to discard a bad exposure ruined by satellite trails, tracking errors, or bad
seeing (etc.). Incredible low-noise images are now possible with a single long exposure or many stacked short exposures. The
KL4040’s superior performance allows it to be used for a wide range of applications and requirements.
USING THE
STAR CHART
ORION
WHEN
MONOCEROS Early March 10 pm
g
Late March 9 pm
NE
10 Early April 8 pm
Late April 7 pm
2232 These are standard times
γ — add Daylight Savings if it
β applies to your location.
S
HOW Go outside within an
hour or so of a time listed
above. Hold the map above
your head with the bottom of
the page facing south. The chart
now matches the stars in your
sky, with the circular perimeter
representing the horizon and
ζ
Birthplace of worlds
the centre of the chart being
the point directly over your
head (known as the zenith).
Facing East
O
ne of my favourite objects in Monoceros, the Unicorn, is the FOR EXAMPLE Look at
open cluster NGC 2232 . You’ll find it 2° north of Beta (β) the chart, and you’ll see that
Monocerotis, which is itself a fabulous multiple star to revisit the bright star Achernar at 15
with a telescope. At magnitude 4.2 and almost a degree across, NGC the end of the constellation h
2232 is big, bright, and shows interesting detail even at binocular Eridanus (The River) is about
magnifications. In particular, look for the 5th-magnitude star 10 one-third of the way from the
α
southwestern horizon and the
LIB
Monocerotis near the centre, with lobes of stars extending to the
R
northwest and southeast. We can see this level of detail because NGC middle of the chart. So if you
A
2232 is fairly close as open clusters go, just a little more than 1,000 look to the southwest, you’ll
light-years away. It is also a young cluster, between 25 and 30 million find Achernar about one-third
σ
years old. That’s almost half of the time that separates us from T. rex, of the way up from the horizon.
but on an astronomical timescale, it’s just a tick of the clock.
After the Sun formed, it may have taken 100 million years for the
NOTE The map is plotted for
35° south latitude (for example,
Earth and other rocky planets to coalesce. We might expect that after
Sydney, Buenos Aires, Cape
only 30 million years, planets would still be in the process of forming
Town). If you’re much further
around the young stars of NGC 2232. And, in fact, that seems to be
north of there, stars in the
precisely the case. The Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence of debris northern part of the sky will be
disks around several stars in NGC 2232 that are thought to be related higher and stars in the south
to the formation of new planets. lower. If you’re further south,
Fa
As observers we tend to get excited about stellar nurseries, like the the reverse is true.
ci
Great Nebula in Orion (M42), where new stars are coming into being.
n
9h
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MA LYNX
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µ
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PUPPIS
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ε
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γ
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θ
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CHAMAELEON LO
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639 C PH Double star
7 PAV
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h
21h
Diffuse nebula
α
Globular cluster
–60
Planetary nebula
Facing So uth
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 43
EVENINGS WITH THE STARS by Fred Schaaf
In praise of Procyon
Procyon’s place in space. Both
Dog Stars are among the nearest stars
to Earth. Procyon’s distance is 11.5
light-years, while Sirius is 8.6 light-
Alpha Canis Minoris is a serious underdog. years away. Another interesting aspect
of the previously noted Procyon-Pollux
P
rocyon is the one bright star in than a whole dog. And since Canis connection is that Pollux is 33.8 light-
Canis Minor, the Little Dog. It’s Major and Canis Minor face west as years away — almost exactly three times
often called the Lesser Dog Star they follow Orion, Procyon can be farther than Procyon.
because, at magnitude +0.4, it shines a thought of as the brilliant tip of the But what is especially interesting
full two magnitudes fainter than the Little Dog’s tail. about Procyon’s place in space
night sky’s most brilliant star, Sirius, Procyon’s part in sky patterns. is illustrated by considering the
the Dog Star in Canis Major, the Big Procyon is accompanied by numerous appearance of familiar stars as viewed
Dog. bright stars as it climbs high in the sky from Procyon. For example, our Sun
Procyon suffers in almost in the evenings. Much of Procyon’s would be a 2.5-magnitude star in
every category of comparison with beauty is due to its placement within southern Aquila in the Procyonic sky.
neighbouring Sirius. But the Lesser two large patterns of bright winter Nearby Sirius, situated 5.2 light-years
Dog Star has many of its own merits, stars. from Procyon, would gleam at about
including its fascinating position both Check our star map (pages 42–43) magnitude –2.5, and Procyon’s white
on star maps and in space. to trace out the giant asterisms dwarf companion would shine brighter
Terrific tip of the tail. Procyon is known as the Winter Hexagon and than the full Moon! Remarkably, a red
the eighth brightest night-time star. It the Winter Triangle, both of which dwarf called Luyten’s Star is only 1.2
also utterly dominates its constellation, include Procyon. (Note that the light-years from Procyon yet wouldn’t
though that’s not difficult considering ‘Winter’ designation reflects these be bright enough to see with the
Canis Minor has only two additional names’ northern hemisphere origins.) naked eye. But, as seen from Luyten’s
stars brighter than 5th magnitude The Winter Hexagon is formed by Star, Procyon would dazzle at around
within its borders. The Little Dog is connecting Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux magnitude –7!
usually pictured on star charts as a (along with Castor sometimes),
single short line connecting Procyon to Procyon, Sirius, Rigel and back to ¢ FRED SCHAAF started writing his first
Gomeisa (Beta Canis Minoris), which Aldebaran, with orange-gold Betelgeuse book, Wonders of the Sky: Observing
A K IR A FUJII
glows modestly at magnitude 2.9. The roughly in the middle of the Hexagon. Rainbows, Comets, Eclipses, the Stars
two-star line is more like a dog’s tail The Winter Triangle comprises Sirius, and Other Phenomena, 40 years ago.
COSMIC CRANIUM
The Skull Nebula (NGC 246 or Caldwell 56) is a planetary nebula
ESO/DSS2 /D. DE M A RTIN
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 45
SUN, MOON & PLANETS by Jonathan Nally
Lonesome Mars
The Red Planet will be alone in the evening sky for most of March and April.
F
or most of the hours of darkness Venus (–3.9, 9.8″, Mar. 1) is lost in This is the closest Mars has come to the
during March and April, the sky the solar glare during March and April, Pleiades since 2006; the next closest
will be largely devoid of bright having vanished from our eastern approach will be in 2038.
planetary targets, with Mars being the morning horizon. The planet will be in As March progresses, Mars will
sole exception. Let’s take a look at what superior conjunction (on the other side slowly edge past Aldebaran. And on
we can expect to see. of the Sun from us) on March 26 and April 27 it will skirt the edge of another
Mercury (mag. 0.0, dia. 6.3″, Mar. will remain out of view until the last star cluster, Messier 35 in Gemini —
15) can be seen in the eastern sky few days of April, when it will reappear another great photo opportunity.
before dawn, poking its head over the very, very low on the western horizon Jupiter (–2.0, 33.7″, Mar. 15) is
horizon about an hour and a half before after sunset. From then on, Venus will a morning object, rising almost two
sunrise at the beginning of March. rule the evening sky all the way though hours before sunrise at the beginning
The planet will form a tidy grouping until December. of March and climbing higher as each
with Jupiter and Saturn, with Mercury Mars (1.1, 5.9″, Mar. 15) will be the day passes. As mentioned above, the gas
and Jupiter having a very close (0.5°) only bright planet visible in the evening giant will do a dance with its sibling
encounter on the 5th and 6th. The sky during March and April, having the Saturn and tiny Mercury throughout
latter date is also when Mercury reaches celestial dome to itself until Mercury, the month. The Moon will join them
its point of greatest western elongation Jupiter and Saturn rise in the hours on the 10th and 11th, forming a nice
(ie. angle from the Sun), after which before dawn. The Red Planet is slowly triangle with Jupiter and Mercury on
it will begin to descend into the dawn diminishing in size and brightness as the latter date. As Jupiter and Saturn
twilight and become lost in the Sun’s it recedes from us, its last opposition rise higher each day and Mercury
glare by the middle of the second week now a distant memory. As March descends, the three planets will end
of April (reaching superior conjunction opens, it will be near the Pleiades star up equally spaced in a straight line on
on April 19). It will reappear in the cluster (2.5° separation on March 4), March 16.
evening twilight in May. making for a great photo opportunity. With Mercury out of the way in
p Mars says hello to the Pleiades. p Three planets perform before dawn. p Mars on the outskirts of Messier 35.
T
of the month, but slowly descending here are only two minor southern will no interference from moonlight.
and lost to view by the latter part of meteor showers of note for The other shower is the Pi Puppids,
the month. Throughout April it will be March and April. The first is the notable for being produced by the comet
lost in the Sun’s glare as it heads for Gamma Normids, active from late 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup. This shower is
conjunction on May 1. February through until late March with active (in the same sense of the word)
Neptune is in conjunction on March a maximum of sorts around March from April 15 to 28, with a maximum on
11 and is therefore is lost in the solar 14. The word ‘active’ is probably a bit the 23rd. Pi Puppid meteors tend to be
glare. It will reappear in the eastern pre- misleading — don’t expect to see too bright but slow moving, often with long-
dawn sky in April. much, as the International Meteor lasting trains and the occasional fireball.
Finally, Earth reaches equinox on Organisation is predicting a zenithal This shower is best observed between the
March 20, when the Sun is at zero degrees hourly rate of just 6. Nonetheless, it’s end of evening twilight and midnight.
declination and the hours of daylight and worth taking a look in the hours prior Unfortunately, this year the Moon will
darkness are near enough to equal. to dawn on the 15th, especially as there severely interfere with viewing.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 47
COMETS by David Seargent
E
arly autumn 2021 will see yet Continuing observations of the very predicted based upon the reported
another comet discovered using dim C/2020 R4 enabled an elliptical discovery value, even though the comet
the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact orbit to be calculated, indicating that it was by then becoming less favourably
Alert System (ATLAS) come within would reach its perihelion passage on placed in the evening sky.
the visual range of small telescopes. March 1, 2021 at a distance of 1.03 a.u. Based upon the December estimates
Discovered with the 0.5-m Schmidt from the Sun. It was also found to have and assuming the average rate of
telescope at Mauna Loa on September a moderate orbital period of around 950 brightening for comets of this orbital
12 last year (at a very faint magnitude years. class, C/2020 R4 will probably be
19.7), 20th-magnitude pre-discovery Although the early brightness magnitude 10 to 11 by the beginning
images of C/2020 R4 (ATLAS) were later estimates implied a very faint intrinsic of March, at which time it will be
found in both PanSTARRS and Catalina magnitude, the comet’s strongly located in Aquarius. Crossing the
data from August and early September. elliptical orbit indicated that it was corner of Capricornus, the comet will
A triplet of variables
Get to know R, W and Z Chamaeleontis.
T R Cha is located at 08h 21m 46.47s, –76° 21′ 18.2″; Z Cha at 08h 07m 27.74s, –76° 32′ 00.7″;
enter Aquila during the second week and W Cha at 08h 28m 21.91s, –76° 33′ 42.7″. This chart (courtesy of the AAVSO) is approximately
of March and is expected to steadily 2 wide degrees from west to east, and has visual magnitudes shown with decimal points omitted
brighten to possibly magnitude 9 by the — so ‘114’ denotes a magnitude 11.4 star. North is up, east is left.
months end.
Reaching Hercules in the middle
of April, R4 may by then be as bright
as magnitude 8.5. Closest approach to
Earth will come on April 23 (at 0.46
a.u.) at which time the comet will be
passing through Corona Borealis and
may be as bright as magnitude 8. It
will cross into neighbouring Bootes on
April 26 and reach Canes Venatici on
the final day of April, by which time
it will probably have faded to around
magnitude 8.5 to 9.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 49
EXPLORING THE SOLAR SYSTEM by Charles Wood
A LL PHOTOS: N ASA / GSFC / A RIZON A STATE UNIV ERSIT Y; G R A PH: LE A H TISCIONE / S&T
Gi 600 the subsurface rocks sufficiently to
Grimaldi an
Peak-ring basins cause a rebound. As the impact energy
Crater diameter (kilometers)
ts
Bailly
Clavius 230 increases, the compressed target rocks
Proto-basin rebound, transporting deeper rocks to
Antoniadi
Copernicus Complex-terraced craters 100 the surface to form a central peak.
M Inspired by the H-R diagram, I’ve
ai created a graph that tracks diameter and
n- Aristarchus 40
se morphology differences arising from
qu Lalande Complex-slump craters
en increasing impact energy. The horizontal
ce
cr Chladni 15 axis represents the kinetic energy
at 10 produced by the impacting body, and the
er
s Petit vertical axis plots the resulting crater
Simple craters diameter. I’ve also included approximate
transitional stages, from Simple to
Complex-slump craters at around 15-km
W The main sequence of lunar impact features
1E+24 1E+22 1E+20 1E+18 1E+16 1E+14 1E+12 showing the relationship between morphology
Impact energy (kilojoules) and the energy required to create each.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 51
DEEP SKY by Ken Hewitt-White
O
rion, the giant hunter of observed any of them. Time to fix that! your scope, whatever it may be, and join
Greek mythology, rules our Last year, I decided to explore Orion’s me for a stroll through Orion’s little-
northwestern skies even into eastern arm, all the way to the top of his known Club District.
early autumn. Astride the celestial big, brandished club.
equator for all to see, the showcase As I’d be observing under a light- Pale powders
constellation with the brilliant star polluted suburban sky, I didn’t expect Starting at zero-magnitude Betelgeuse,
pattern is a delight to the eye and a much joy. At minimum, I’d try for the Alpha (α) Orionis, I planned to sweep
feast for the telescope. open clusters plotted on charts 76 and 3° northeastward to 4.1-magnitude
Of course, Orion isn’t all gleam 96 of the Uranometria 2000.0 Deep Sky Mu (μ) Orionis, then veer north-
and glitter. The stars depicting the Atlas (2nd edition, 2001). I employed northeastward to 9.4-magnitude NGC
Hunter’s shield and club are much less my 25-cm f/6 Dobsonian reflector for 2141. Simple, right? Well, no, it wasn’t.
conspicuous. Likewise, the telescopic the bulk of the work but occasionally The cluster is just 10′ in diameter and
objects atop his hourglass figure aren’t used smaller scopes — even binoculars. symbolised on Uranometria chart 96
exactly award winners. In 50 years of In the end, my backyard instruments as a starless circle. I reminded myself
dedicated deep sky sleuthing, I hadn’t delivered more than I anticipated. Grab that the Uranometria plots stars down
to magnitude 9.7. The Millennium Star
Atlas goes to magnitude 11, yet no dots
NGC 2175 appear inside its symbol for NGC 2141
(chart 204), either. Would I be able to
detect this weak wonder through my
25-cm Dobsonian?
After centring Mu Orionis with
a wide-angle eyepiece generating
51×, I shifted northward 1½° to a
9′-long isosceles triangle, orientated
NGC 2174 east-west, shaped by three 8th- and
C0607+206
9th-magnitude stars (a fourth star
J 1922 sits inside). An imaginary line from
SCA 36
the triangle back down to Mu
grazes the cluster less than halfway
along. I saw nothing there. What
HD 42333
SCA 37 to do? I dropped ½° south of the
triangle to an 8.6-magnitude star
Sh2-252 E
HD 42088
t COMPLEXITY AND CONFUSION
Uncertainty clouds the identification of the
emission nebula NGC 2175, about 6,500
light-years away, and its associated cluster,
Collinder 84. Some loosely scattered stars
provide scant evidence of the cluster, but an
asterism resembling the Big Dipper is visible
near the centre of the image. Two double stars
in this Dipper are named SCA 36 and SCA 37. The
star near 8th-magnitude HD 42088 is shrouded in a
knot of nebulosity known as Sh2-252 E. Another bright
knot is NGC 2174 — a label often mistakenly applied to
the entire nebula. Only the bright central portion of the nebula
close to HD 42088 was visible with the author’s 25-cm reflector.
Note the tiny cluster C0607+206 on the eastern edge of the nebula.
All images have north up.
ORION
1 ORION
Star magnitudes
2 2141
3
ε δ 0° 75 +10°
4
µ
5 η
6 ζ µ
astronomers. Most of the deep sky objects here are relatively distant
MON
open clusters that look small and dim through backyard telescopes.
κ Rigel
–10° But exploring the Club District can be rewarding for those who enjoy
observational challenges.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 53
DEEP SKY
t FAR, FAR AWAY The open cluster NGC 2141 is packed with at least 300
NGC 2141 stars, but it’s more than 13,800 light-years from Earth and therefore
challenging to observe in a light-polluted sky. NGC 2141 appears
larger in this image than it does through backyard telescopes.
Thankfully, the pale cluster isn’t difficult to locate, as it’s
framed by an attractive pentagon-shaped asterism.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 55
DEEP SKY
according to the Uranometria, sits The above combo in place, I the eastern edge of the nebula. In their
inside the nebula. noticed a 10′-long, seven-star asterism authoritative book Star Clusters, Brent
Observing at 64×, I detected no (evidence of Collinder 84?) stretching Archinal and Steven Hynes caution that
nebulosity until I applied an Ultra- northeastward out of the spherical the identifier 2175.1 is not original to
High Contrast (UHC) narrowband haze. I dumped the filter and bumped the NGC catalogue; “where possible this
filter. Bingo! A tenuous, spherical haze, up the power. Ahah! To my eye, the cluster should probably be referred to as
perhaps ¼° in diameter, magically pattern resembled the Big Dipper. HD C0607+206”. Fine by me — I just wanted
materialised around HD 42088. 42088, mentioned earlier, plays the to know if the plotted object would
(Focusing on stars of similar magnitude role of Alkaid (η Ursae Majoris) at the appear through my scope.
confirmed I was experiencing end of the handle; a dimmer star plays Hardly 5′ across, C0607+206 lies 2′
nebulosity, not eyepiece fog.) A doubly Mizar (ζ UMa). A nicely balanced, northwest of the 9.2-magnitude star
ionised oxygen (O III) filter provided 10.6-magnitude double, 24.8″ wide, HD 42333. I had no difficulty finding
excellent contrast — the round haze called SCA 37, plays Alioth (ε UMa). HD 42333 because ‘the pointers’ in the
was unmistakable — but the O III A star corresponding to Phad (γ UMa) mini-Dipper aim right at it. Through
field at higher magnifications was a in the bowl is SCA 36, an unequal the Dob at 169×, the cluster yielded
bit dark. A broadband light-pollution binary whose 10.3- and 12.8-magnitude a row of four stars northward, plus
filter proved only marginally helpful components, 13.5″ apart, split a clumping southward. The clump
at any magnification. Of the various beautifully at 218×. possesses one bright star. It’s a binary,
combinations I tried, the winner was I was intrigued by a cluster, which listed as J 1922 , featuring 10.5- and
the UHC used at low power. the Uranometria labels NGC 2175.1, on 10.9-magnitude pinpricks 6.6″ apart.
Cracking that nut at 218× was super
satisfying.
NGC 2169
Join the Club
Finally, I pushed farthest north, to the
top of the Hunter’s club, where the
cluster Basel 11b resides near Orion’s
border with Gemini. My star-hop to the
8.9-magnitude target again involved
increasingly fainter steppingstones,
this time beginning at 4.2-magnitude 1
Geminorum. From there, I swept past
the 6.4-magnitude variable star HD
40724, to 6.9-magnitude HD 40443
in Orion. Immediately northwest of
Struve 848 HD 40443, an equilateral triangle
of 9th-magnitude stars led me
to 3′-wide Basel 11b further on.
Amazingly, it showed through my
Newtonian at 64×.
That said, Bas 11b at 64× was
a mush of 12th-magnitude stars
forming a southward-aiming
arrowhead. Powering up to 218×
POSS-II / STSCI / CA LTECH / PA LO M A R OBSERVATORY
resolved the mush into a short row
of three stars, plus a fourth farther
NGC 2175 Emission nebula/open cluster — 40″ × 30″ 06h 09.7m +20° 30′
Collinder 84 Open cluster 6.8 22′ 06h 09.6m +20° 29′
SCA 37 Double star 10.6, 10.6 24.8″ 06h 09.9m +20° 32′
SCA 36 Double star 10.3, 12.8 13.5″ 06h 09.8m +20° 37′
NGC 2175.1 Open cluster — 5′ 06h 10.9m +20° 37′
J 1922 Double star 10.5, 10.9 6.6″ 06h 10.9m +20° 37′
Basel 11b Open cluster 8.9 3′ 05h 58.2m +21° 58′
Angular sizes and separations are from recent catalogues. Visually, an object’s size is often smaller than the catalogued value and varies according to the
aperture and magnification of the viewing instrument. Right ascension and declination are for equinox 2000.0.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 57
GOING DEEP by Dave Tosteson
W
hen we look up into the night was visible in daylight for weeks after
sky each star has its own story, the event. Conversely, observing stars 5h 40m 5h 20m
each is at a different stage in at the beginning of their lives takes
Star magnitudes
M78 2
its life. If we are very fortunate, as with great effort, as they’re born shrouded 0° δ
ε 3
Supernova 1987A, we may find ourselves by gas and dust that obscure our view. 4
in the right time and place to witness Powerful winds from massive nearby ζ σ η 5
6
a massive star announce the end of stars can blow away some of the
its life with great fanfare. The last nebulosity surrounding newborn stars,
–5° M43
supernova visible to the unaided eye in allowing us to peer at this otherwise
ι M42
β
our own galaxy was in AD 1604. These hidden process. These newborn stars
τ
events, albeit rare, require little effort might be sculpting and illuminating
Rigel
on the part of the observer. Indeed, nascent planetary systems. The heart
β
some are hard to miss, such as the AD of the Orion Nebula (M42) harbours κ ORION λ
1054 supernova that resulted in the such a site of celestial fecundity in –10°
Crab Nebula — that stellar explosion the form of proplyds (from ionised
p NURSERY IN ORION M42 is easy to locate
in the Sword of the mighty Hunter, Orion.
However, you’ll need a big telescope to spot
the embedded newly born planetary systems
known as proplyds.
its name suggests, is an array of movable and dust within their disks (up to 80
telescopes located in the northern Jupiter masses) — and hence are more
Chilean desert at an altitude of 5,000 conducive to planetary formation.
metres. The telescopes’ detectors are
sensitive to submillimetre wavelengths Take the challenge
The Orion proplyds are small and
PLANETARY GENESIS ALMA’s telescopes difficult targets for the amateur
pointed toward HL Tauri, a Sun-like star some observer, but some of them can be
450 light-years from Earth, and acquired
seen. Though brightened by ionisation,
this image. It was the first ever to show a
protoplanetary disk in such exquisite detail. The
they appear stellar and compete with
bright rings and gaps in the disk are most likely the glow of the H II cloud in the
the signatures of planets in the making. background. Astronomer C. R. O’Dell
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 59
GOING DEEP
S&T; M16: N ASA / ESA / HUBBLE / HUBBLE HERITAG E TE A M; ORION PROPLY D: J. BA LLY (UNIV ERSIT Y OF COLOUR A DO) / H. THROOP (SWRI)
At first glance the proplyd appears in appeared stellar, with no asymmetric
the position of the Trapezium star F. flaring or tails. Since then, I’ve detected
However, careful inspection shows this G and H from my home in fair to poor
isn’t the case: Star F is actually the one conditions with the same setup.
of the pair closer to C. Though fainter In comparing the visibility of other
in Hα, star F is much brighter in visible proplyds in the Trapezium area I expect
light — but there’s no sign of that several would be within the reach of
proplyd in the visible-light image. large-aperture amateur scopes under
Considering these confounding excellent conditions, particularly
factors, I correlated the two images 158-327, 155-338, 170-337, 177-341
(in Hα and visible light) and devised and 159-350. If you’re looking for a
an observing plan. In 2016 I observed challenge in the heart of the Orion, give
the area with my 80-cm reflector. this emerging class of objects a try.
of Rice University published HST Hα In the early hours of the morning of
Other Observations
No other family of proplyds has yet been identified outside M42. The best-known
correlate might be M16, the Eagle Nebula in Serpens, first observed in detail with
the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995. In what some have voted to be Hubble’s
most beautiful and iconic image, the ‘Pillars of Star Formation’ host stars at
the end of thin stalks, protostars whose birthplace has been whittled away. In
1999 I used my 63.5-cm reflector to observe two of these Evaporating Gaseous
Globules, or EGGs.
The Rosette Nebula is an example of a region of ionised hydrogen that has been
carved out by strong stellar winds, similar to the environs of Theta1 C Orionis.
In the Rosette Nebula, the star’s circumstellar disk was dissipated in only 1,000
years by the powerful radiation of two nearby O-type stars. With a 38-cm reflector,
I easily detected the ‘naked’ protostar Rosette HH1, with its jet and central, 14th-
magnitude star, from my backyard in January 2007.
Aussie imager Dylan O’Donnell produced this remarkable such as ISS Spotter (iPhone) and ISS
photo of the International Space Station transiting the Moon Detector (Android).
on June 28, 2017. He used a C9.25 SCT and composited seven Much less frequently, the ISS transits
frames made with a Canon 70D DSLR camera set to ISO 1800 across the face of the Moon or Sun.
and a shutter speed of 1/1600 second.
Such events are quite rare because the
disks of the Moon and Sun are only 0.5°
across. As a result, the track of visibility
is a narrow one that requires the
observer to be in precisely the right spot
at the right time. Thanks to the website
ISS Transit Finder (transit-finder.com),
you can easily get a 30-day forecast of
lunar and solar ISS transits visible from
your area in just seconds.
Go to the website and set your precise
latitude and longitude manually, or by
clicking either ‘Auto-detect’ or ‘Select
from map’. Next, set your preferred
time interval using the calendar feature,
choose how far you’re willing to travel to
get to the transit centre line then press
‘Calculate’. A list of upcoming events
pops up along with details including
the station’s path (with near misses
included), transit time and distance to
the centre line, and where the ISS will
appear to cross directly across the centre
of the Moon or Sun.
If you don’t see a transit listed for
your location during the specified time
frame, click the ‘Show on Map’ button.
The red pin gives your location, and the
green pin indicates the closest site the
centre line crosses. Sometimes a transit
is just a half-hour drive away.
During a typical transit, the
silhouette of the ISS spans about one
arcminute and takes around one second
to cross the disk of the Sun or Moon. (Be
sure to use a suitable solar filter when
attempting to observe a solar transit.)
Binoculars show the space station as a
dark speck while a telescope magnifying
Catch an
50× will clearly show its shape. If
you’re lucky, the ISS will pass in front
T
he International Space Station is of the crescent Moon, and you’ll see it
ISS transit
often one of the brightest objects dramatically illuminated against the
in the night sky. Many of us dim, earth-lit portion of the lunar disk.
enjoy its regular appearances during To photograph an ISS transit, attach
morning and evening twilight when it your camera to a telescope or long
Being in the right place at passes silently across the sky, ferrying telephoto lens. Because these events are
(exactly) the right time pays its human cargo at more than 27,600 so brief, the trick is to shoot multiple
kilometres per hour. For current pass images centred on the predicted transit
exciting dividends.
XXXX
times tailored to your location, go to time. You can either use your camera’s
heavens-above.com or grab a free app burst mode, or record a video sequence.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 61
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY by Adam Block
Picturing
Galaxies
Here are some tips to get the most out of your galaxy images.
BEYOND THE MILKY WAY, there are a seemingly limitless NEARBY SHOWPIECE Producing aesthetically pleasing images of
number of galaxies that stretch to the edge of the observable galaxies requires exercising restraint. Although we have the tools to
universe. Except for all but the nearest dozen or so, their increase contrast, colour saturation, and sharpness, resisting the urge to
go overboard with any of these tools allows the true nature of the subject
great distances from us make them appear maddeningly to shine through. This fine example of M31 in Andromeda preserves the
small and faint. Additionally, the combined glow of their galaxy’s bright nucleus while enhancing its bluish outer arms.
stars results in objects that appear with low contrast, colour
A LL IM AG ES COURTESY OF AU THOR
and detail, making galaxies a challenge to render in our areas where dust attenuates starlight. Elliptical galaxies
images. are dominated by older, red stars imparting a golden hue.
Most galaxies are significantly brighter in their centres This palette is fairly ubiquitous in the universe, and these
compared to their outer extremes. Spiral galaxies that are simple truths shape the techniques I use to depict them in
undergoing a period of vigorous star formation tend to have deep astrophotos. Here are some ways I approach the many
bluish arms, with yellowish or colourless halos consisting of different types of galaxies to produce colourful, detailed
older stellar populations, pinkish H II regions and reddened portraits that retain a pleasing appearance.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 63
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
FLATTENED In the two examples of M31 above, the image at left suppresses the brightness of the galaxy’s core in order to better display its inner
dust lanes, removing a key aspect of the galaxy. The image at right preserves this important detail, while still permitting the dust to be seen.
Star treatment
Without exception, galaxies appear to float behind a
foreground of stars residing in our own Milky Way. Quite
often the stars are uniformly distributed across the field and
play a lesser role in the final composition. The galaxy (or
galaxies) is the focal point of the image, and, to the degree
that processing choices affect the stars, I may permit them
to be modified by the same processes, or in some cases, I may
create masks to shield them from these effects targeting the
main subjects of my picture.
Sometimes it’s easy to become overly concerned with
retaining star colours in the final composition even when
those decisions negatively affect the appearance of the
galaxy. Examples in which this can happen include galaxies
seen through prominent arms of the Milky Way, such as
NGC 6946, NGC 6674 and IC 342. In such cases, it’s often
a better approach to de-emphasise the stars in these fields so
that the galaxy isn’t competing with them for the viewer’s
attention. The exception is when a star (or group of stars) is
very bright, you can use it as a balancing weight within the
framed composition. This is usually done by placing your
galaxy at one side of the image frame with the star (or stars)
at the opposite end. Using these stars as a compositional
element, it then becomes important to retain as many
attractive qualities of the stars as possible.
Noise reduction
Due to their faintness, galaxies present challenges in
managing the amount of noise reduction applied to an image.
Many nebulae have smooth brightness and colour transitions
across large areas. The faintest portions of these nebulous
regions may look like the background sky itself and, often
OVER CONTRAST Top: Increasing the contrast of dust lanes in a
in the interest of contrast, are made to appear very dark
galaxy may be appealing but can lead to loss of colour and other details
without taking away from the overall impact of the image. By in the image. Bottom: This picture of NGC 4698 avoids this tempting
comparison, all but the nearest galaxies are smooth objects step, enabling other interesting details in the galaxy such as the golden
with small highlights of colour and detail. Even modest noise- tone of reddened starlight in its dust lanes to shine through.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 65
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
One question I often receive when delivering an presented here, the attention you give to them will certainly
image-processing workshop after discussing image help raise awareness of what is in your hard-won data and
calibration is, “How do you know what to do next?” The take your own imaging to a higher level.
answer is somewhat akin to Ansel Adams’s technique of
previsualisation. While Adams stressed the importance of ¢ ADAM BLOCK is a world-renowned astrophotographer
imagining what he wanted the final print to reveal about and founder of the University of Arizona’s Mount Lemmon
a subject before entering the darkroom, I approach galaxy SkyCenter.
processing based on my initial inventory of interesting
features. Each subsequent processing decision both enhances
some aspect of an image’s attributes while protecting others
so that they do not suffer in their appearance or visibility.
Galaxies are particularly well suited to this way of Reddened arm
thinking. For example, I note a wealth of information
while examining my unprocessed images of the lenticular "X" feature
H II regions,
galaxy NGC 128 and its neighbours in Pisces. A short list of dust lanes
interesting features to highlight includes:
1: Faint outer tidal tails (and stellar streams around
nearby NGC 125).
2: The X-shaped nucleus of NGC 128.
3: Dust clouds extending from NGC 127 crossing in front Tidal tails
and loops
of the northern extent of NGC 128.
4: The same dust from NGC 127 makes NGC 128 redder
on this portion of the galaxy.
5: Small-scale details in both the nucleus regions of
NGC 127 and NGC 125.
Carefully monitoring these details during each processing
step informs the final picture. As experienced processors
know, it’s all too easy to introduce artifacts along the way. In
a sense, the galaxies themselves tell me what to do next.
Galaxies are by far the most numerous deep sky objects Inner structure
to observe in astrophotography. Each has its own features
and characteristics. Even if you don’t adopt all of the ideas
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 67
AS&T TEST REPORT by Dennis di Cicco
The Sky-Watcher Evostar 150 APO Refractor is a 150-mm f/8 with a two-element objective, including
one element made with ED (extra-low dispersion) glass. Fitted with typical accessories for observing,
the tube assembly weighs about 9.3 kg. Its rugged carrying/storage case weighs 16 kg and holds the
tube assembly with mounting rings and dovetail bar attached and has extra room for accessories.
Evostar 150 APO IT’S UNUSUAL TO JUDGE the quality The Evostars are a step down from
of a telescope after only a few nights Sky‑Watcher’s premier Esprit ED Triplet
Refractor under the stars, so it’s really rather APO Refractors, which have three‑
US price: $2,350 extraordinary to form a strong opinion element objectives and are aimed at
skywatcherusa.com after just an hour or so. But that’s all it observers who are also interested in
took for me to realise that the 150‑mm high‑end astrophotography. But that’s
What we like
(5.9‑inch) f/8 Sky‑Watcher Evostar not to say that the Evostar scopes aren’t
Excellent optics
150 APO Refractor is an exceptional suited for astrophotography, especially
Smooth, dual-speed
telescope for visual observing. And it’s in the case of the 150‑mm model,
2-inch focuser
an opinion that grew stronger in the which is available in two flavours.
Rugged carrying/ weeks of testing that followed.
storage case
If anyone needs proof that amateur Hardware
Eyepieces, star diagonal astronomy’s love affair with refractors For this review we asked to borrow the
and finder not included has not abated in recent years, they can Evostar 150 APO, which is the basic
(but see below)
simply tally up the number of refractors version of the two 150‑mm models.
on the market today with apertures It’s equipped with a dual‑speed 2‑inch
What we don’t like
between 60 and 150 mm. It has to be focuser, lightweight tube rings and a
Tube slips in its
mounting rings hundreds. Among them is Sky‑Watcher’s Vixen‑style dovetail mounting bar. The
Evostar line, featuring two‑element other model is the Evostar 150DX APO
Eyepieces, star diagonal,
objectives with one element made of ED Refractor. It has the same objective
and finder not included
(but see above) (extra‑low dispersion) glass. As such, and tube assembly but comes with the
these objectives produce images with heavy‑duty, dual‑speed focuser found
far better colour correction for a given on the Esprit 150‑mm scope, and it’s
focal ratio than typical two‑element supplied with heavier tube rings and
achromats made of traditional crown‑ a Losmandy‑style dovetail bar. These
and‑flint glasses. There are currently six upgrades cost an additional US$850
models in the Evostar line ranging from over the price of the basic 150‑mm
72‑ to 150‑mm aperture. There’s also a scope. The more‑robust focuser on
50‑mm version (Evoguide) that’s mainly the DX model brings the advantage of
intended as a finder‑ or guidescope. accepting the new f/6.2 focal reducer
designed specifically for the Evostar cap. The supplied carrying case is attach a finder that I commandeered
150-mm scope. Because swapping the also particularly noteworthy for its from another scope.
focusers on the main Evostar 150 tube solid, high-quality construction. It From the standpoint of visual
assembly takes only minutes, Sky- alone weighs 16 kg and is made for observing, I was very happy with the
Watcher sent along the upgraded items transporting as well as storing the 2-inch Crayford-style focuser. It has
available with the DX model so that I scope. The scope is sold without a slightly more than 133 mm of travel,
could try them out. Let’s start with the finder, star diagonal or eyepieces. This and easily accommodated every eyepiece
basic model. might be a negative for a first-time I tried with and without a 2-inch star
The Evostar 150 APO is a handsome scope buyer, but for observers who diagonal. I was especially impressed
scope with its dark, metal-flake painted already own these items it helps keep with the light touch required to operate
tube, white dew cap and focuser and the cost of the instrument down, which the fine-focus knob — something that I
Sky-Watcher’s signature green trim. I found a plus. There’s a dovetail base really appreciated when focusing at high
With the focuser retracted its overall for mounting a finder on the focuser magnifications where a heavier touch
length is 128 cm, and it weighs 9.3 kg. body. While not universal, this format would be prone to jiggling the telescope.
It comes with a very solid, metal lens is relatively common, and I used it to The 2-inch focuser is also very good
For those with an interest in deep sky The author found the 2-inch Crayford-style The optional f/6.2 focal reducer also
imaging, there’s an upgraded version called the focuser to be excellent for visual observing significantly flattens the Evostar’s focal plane
A LL PHOTOS BY AU THOR UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED; SCOPE IN CASE: SE A N WA LK ER / S&T
Evostar 150DX APO Refractor, which replaces and even astrophotography with cameras as for deep sky astrophotography. Fitted with
the tube rings, dovetail bar and focuser on the heavy as a DSLR. The robust focuser on the a 48-mm (large aperture) T-ring, the setup
standard model with the items shown here. At DX model is the same one used on Sky- provides even illumination across a full-frame
right is the optional f/6.2 focal reducer made Watcher’s premium 150-mm Esprit refractors camera sensor with only a little vignetting in the
specifically for the Evostar 150, which only and is capable of handling much heavier very corners of the image. The focal reducer
attaches to the heavy-duty, 3.4-inch focuser. imaging setups. can be rotated to aid with framing images.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 69
AS&T TEST REPORT
for imaging the Moon and planets and it really is a must-have upgrade if
with the small planetary cameras you intend is to use the Evostar 150 with
designed to fit into 1¼-inch eyepiece a heavy imaging setup, but I didn’t find it
holders. And while I wasn’t planning a significant advantage for strictly visual
to do photography with large cameras, observing. The rack-and-pinion-driven
I was pleased to find that the 2-inch drawtube has 89 mm of travel, with its
focuser did not slip when my heavy midpoint being where many eyepieces
DSLR camera was attached, even when come to focus when using a 2-inch
the scope was pointed at the zenith. In star diagonal. For straight-through
my opinion this focuser serves well for viewing some eyepieces may need a short
visual observing and astrophotography extension tube. The fine-focus knob has
with cameras up to and including a firmer feel than the 2-inch focuser,
DSLRs. and there’s a small lever that adds
While the Evostar 150 models are sold
The only hardware issue I had with friction on the rack-and-pinion drive,
without a finder, there’s a common‑style
the Evostar 150 APO involves the tube which virtually guarantees it will not dovetail shoe on the focusers for attaching one.
rings. With their clamping knobs fully slip regardless of the load on the focuser.
tightened, the tube sometimes slipped This focuser has the same style dovetail project was a departure from my typical
when the scope was pointed at high mounting base for a finder that’s just-for-fun observing, which usually
elevations. My solution was to add a included on the 2-inch focuser. involves deep sky objects and reflectors
couple of small cork strips around a The biggest optical advantage of with apertures of 30 cm and up.
portion of the inside of each felt-lined the DX focuser is that it accepts the I gained a lot more appreciation for
tube ring to add a little friction. new Evostar f/6.2 focal reducer and observers who rave about refractors
As mentioned above, the DX model’s makes the scope more attractive to and how they excel for viewing the
hardware upgrades include the heavy- people interested in deep sky imaging. Moon, planets and double stars (the
duty 3.4-inch focuser. There’s no While it’s called a focal reducer, this latter being a big part of my observing
question that this focuser is very nice, accessory also flattens the field quite project). It also helped that my local
a bit. At f/6.2, the Evostar 150 has an astronomical seeing accommodates
The author mounted the Evostar together effective focal length of 930 mm and a a 152-mm scope far more often than
with his homemade 150‑mm f/10 refractor field of view covering about 2¼° × 1½° it does a large reflector. The A. Jaegers
assembled with a conventional achromatic
on a full-frame (36 × 24-mm) sensor. lens proved to be very sharp and clearly
objective made by A. Jaegers in the early
1970s. While both scopes were evenly With a 48-mm T-ring on my full- capable of resolving double stars around
matched in critical resolution tests, the Evostar frame DSLR, there was only minimal the aperture’s 0.75-arcsecond Dawes
consistently delivered images that were vignetting in the corners of the frame. limit when the seeing permitted. Its
brighter and more contrasty than the 150‑mm. And though it’s a somewhat subjective main weakness is colour fringing,
call, I found star images to be very good which is to be expected for an f/10
over more than 80% of the sensor’s crown-and-flint achromat.
long dimension. The bottom line with Given this 152-mm scope’s
the focal reducer is an imaging circle aperture and performance, it was an
with good star images approaching 30 excellent benchmark for comparing
mm in diameter (covering a 1.8° field) to the Evostar 150 APO, and as such I
and almost no vignetting. It may not mounted both scopes side by side on the
be in the same class as today’s elite same Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro German
astrographs, but it’s still an impressive equatorial mount. And to help level the
setup for deep sky astrophotography. playing field, I selected sets of eyepieces
that gave similar magnifications when
Optical performance paired with the respective scopes, often
There’s a bit of a backstory as to why using the same brand and design,
I passed judgement so quickly on the including eyepieces from the Burgess/
Evostar 150 APO’s optical quality, and it TMB Planetary Series and Tele Vue’s
involves another telescope. Earlier this Radian family.
year I began an observing project with My first look through the Evostar
a 152-mm (6-inch) f/10 refractor that 150 APO was an eye-opener. Despite its
I cobbled together using an A. Jaegers’ slightly smaller aperture (150 vs. 152
objective that had sat on my workshop mm), it gave a view of the brilliant star
shelf for more than 40 years. The Arcturus in deepening twilight that was
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 71
ASTRONOMER’S WORKBENCH by Jerry Oltion
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A
ussies who have a passion for
astronomy and who share that
passion by communicating
astronomical discoveries and research
with the public, are eligible to put their
names forward for the prestigious David
Allen Prize.
Named after the late Dr David Allen
(read his obituary at http://adsabs.
harvard.edu/full/1994Obs...114..250M),
who worked at the then Anglo-
Australian Observatory, the prize is
awarded roughly every three years by
the Astronomical Society of Australia
(ASA) for “the best contribution, or
series of contributions which portrays
an astronomical theme in an exciting
and educative way”. That contribution
must have been undertaken in Australia
within the past three years, and only
Australians are eligible to apply.
According to the ASA, “The scope of
the activity can be quite broad such as
public presentations, popular writing,
sustained media and outreach events,
on-line activities and/or any innovative
and creative activity that achieves
astronomy outreach”.
Full details of how to apply can
be found at https://asa.astronomy.
org.au/prizes_and-grants/prizes-
awards/david-allen-prize/.
Entries are now open also for
the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s
Astronomy Photographer of the
Year competition. Now in its 13th year,
the competition is open to anyone from
anywhere in the world and comes with
Recognising
an amazing grand prize of £10,000.
Submissions can be made in nine
main categories, such as skyscapes, the
excellence
Sun, the Moon, stars and nebulae, and
planets, comets and asteroids. There
are also two special prizes: the Annie
Maunder Prize for Image Innovation
Science communication and astrophotography for the best photo processed using open
awards up for grabs. source data; and the Sir Patrick Moore
Prize for Best Newcomer for those who
have ventured into astrophotography
only within the last 12 months and who
haven’t entered the competition before.
Full details are available at www.
WENH A N HONG
What was your first telescope set-up? viewed from the cockpit of
For my 10th birthday I received a a Qantas flight somewhere
50-mm Tasco refractor. My first views over the Pacific. However,
(upside down and wobbly) were of the my most memorable
Sydney-to-Hobart yachts moored in experience was the 2002
Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. Back home Leonids meteor shower from
in the pristine skies of Macksville I sand dunes near Uluru.
enjoyed views of the Moon, but that was People came from all around
about all I could find. the world and were treated UY Sci
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 75
GALLERY
HORSE IN A FIELD
Davide Mancini
The Horsehead, that famous dark
nebula, is silhouetted against the
glow of emission nebula IC 434
(first spotted by William Herschel
in 1876). Davide used a SharpStar
150 f/2.8 scope, ZWO ASI2600MC
camera and filters for a total
integration time of 11 hours.
t SOLAR SPECTACLE
Gustavo Gonzalez
The December 14 solar eclipse
was witnessed from parts of South
America, including by Gustavo
from the city of Ramos Mexia in
Argentina’s Rio Negro province. He
used a Canon EOS 7D II camera,
Canon EF 500mm f/4 lens and
HOYA UV&IR Cut filter.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 77
GALLERY
u SOLAR SPOTS
David Hough
David captured this sunspot group on
November 10 last year using a William
Optics FLT 132 scope, Baader solar
wedge, ZWO ASI174MM camera and
Prostar Barlow lens.
t MOON VIEW
Julie Straayer
Believe it or not, this image was made with
a smartphone. Julie used a Sky-Watcher
102 Maksutov scope, Celestron Ultima Edge
18-mm eyepiece, a smartphone adapter
and a Samsung Galaxy S9 in Pro mode. The
exposure was 1/250th of a second.
www.skyandtelescope.com.au 79
GALLERY
p SCULPTOR GALAXY
Fernando de Menezes
NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy (also
known as the Silver Coin or Silver Dollar
galaxy) is one of the finest spirals out
there. John Herschel called it “a superb
object”. Fernando used a Sky-Watcher
150mm Esprit 150ED Triplet APO
refractor, ZWO ASI6200MC camera and
seventy, 300-second frames.
THE TRIFID
Ian Stephenson
One of your editor’s favourite deep
sky objects, the Trifid Nebula is a huge
HII gas region in Sagittarius. Charles
Messier spotted it on June 5, 1764 and
made it number 20 in his famous list. For
this shot Ian used a Celestron EdgeHD
9.25 SCT and ZWO ASI294MC-Pro
camera, and stacked twelve, 240-minute
exposures. No filters were used.
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www.skyandtelescope.com.au 81
FOCAL POINT by Joel Marks
W
hen we first began to hear after hit after hit. The points of impact
about a new virus in China, were just beyond Jupiter’s horizon, but
it dawned on me that the as the planet rotated, its big ‘black eyes’
city of Wuhan where the outbreak had came into view one after the other.
occurred was where a former colleague Some of these strike zones approached
of mine lived. Having become enamored Earth in size (see photo at right).
of Chinese culture, he’d moved there Some laypeople had worried that this
several years before to teach. event could endanger our planet, and I’d
I immediately dashed off an email written to the local newspaper saying it
asking him how he was doing. I was certainly posed no risk to us. But could
semi-relieved to hear back that he was a similar comet crisis happen here?
okay but self-isolating in his flat, and In the years since, I’ve learned a great
that things were starting to look pretty deal about the threat posed to our own
hairy in the city. Never did it occur to planet by comets (and asteroids) whose
me that ‘it can happen here’. orbits cross Earth’s. In particular, I’ve
Of course, it can, and did, and come to appreciate that a comet can
more swiftly than anyone would have not only delight us with a spectacle, The comet’s ‘G’ fragment gave Jupiter this
‘black eye’ when it struck on July 18, 1994.
believed (save epidemiologists and sci-fi but can also put us at mortal peril, as
The big crescent is about 12,000 km across, or
and disaster-film enthusiasts). But the the average size of a comet nucleus is about 94% of Earth’s diameter.
coronavirus pandemic is not the only large enough to possibly destroy human
sort of catastrophe that might pounce civilisation were one to hit us. to respond rapidly can make all the
on us anytime, and it has something to difference. If tomorrow we discovered
tell us about how to think about certain a comet with our name on it at the
other kinds.
One summer night in 1994 my wife
A comet can not only delight orbit of Jupiter, we might have only
nine months before impact. As the
and I took a small telescope into the us with a spectacle, but can late comet expert Michael A’Hearn
country to observe one of the most also put us at mortal peril. testified to the US Congress in 2013,
spectacular astronomical events in our “you would have to have something
Solar System ever witnessed by human ready to launch” to have any chance of
eyes. The broken-up Comet Shoemaker- Some people try to reassure us preventing the impact. Currently we do
Levy 9 was pummelling Jupiter — hit that a collision is highly unlikely. Yet not have that preparedness, nor do we
after Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 came have a plan in place to attain it.
Comet Siding Spring, which narrowly My colleague in Wuhan was
missed hitting Mars in 2014. And last eventually evacuated and spent two
July 1 was the 250th anniversary of weeks under quarantine before returning
humanity’s closest known brush with to his home. But as others around the
potential extinction by a comet, when world have discovered in relation to HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE CO ME T TE A M / N ASA (2)
giant Lexell’s Comet shot past our this virus, if action is not taken quickly
planet less than six times the distance enough, there is nowhere to hide.
between Earth and the Moon.
What the world has learned from ¢ JOEL MARKS is a professor emeritus
the COVID-19 pandemic is that a lack of philosophy and a self-described
of adequate preparedness and a failure philosophical astronomer. He recently
served on a NASA Small Bodies
Planet-size ‘bruises’ that Comet Shoemaker-
Levy 9’s fragments left in Jupiter’s atmosphere
Assessment Group team charged
in 1994 are a sobering reminder of what could with updating planetary defence
happen on Earth if our luck ran out. considerations.