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More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/ NG uir I Us O
T H e d ). LMC -H Open Star Cluster
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 Easily Seen with the Naked Eye

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
AUGUST 2021
About the Celestial Objects
Listed on this page are several of the brighter, more interesting celestial objects Altair Aql Brightest star in Aquila. Name means "the flying eagle". Dist=16.7 ly.
visible in the evening sky this month (refer to the monthly sky map). The objects are Arcturus Boo Orange, giant K star. Name means "bear watcher". Dist=36.7 ly.
β Centauri Cen With Alpha Centauri, forms the so-called "Pointers-to-the-Cross". Dist=525 ly.
grouped into three categories. Those that can be easily seen with the naked eye (that α Centauri Cen Nearest bright star to Sun at 4.4 ly. Brilliant double star in a telescope. 80 year period.
is, without optical aid), those easily seen with binoculars, and those requiring a Coalsack Cru Most famous naked-eye dark nebula. Requires dark sky. Dist=600 ly.
telescope to be appreciated. Note, all of the objects (except single stars) will Achernar Eri Brightest star in Eridanus, The River. Arabic name meaning "end of river". Dist=140 ly.
appear more impressive when viewed through a telescope or very large α Herculis Her Semi-regular variable. Magnitude varies between 3.1 & 3.9 over 90 days. Mag 5.4 companion.
binoculars. They are grouped in this way to highlight objects that can be seen using Vega Lyr The 5th brightest star in the sky. A blue-white star. Dist=25.0 ly.
Fomalhaut PsA Brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. In Arabic the "fish's mouth". Dist=25 ly.
the optical equipment that may be available to the star gazer. Antares Sco Red, supergiant star. Name means "rival of Mars". Dist=135.9 ly.
Spica Vir Latin name means "ear of wheat" and shown held in Virgo's left hand. Dist=250 ly.
Tips for Observing the Night Sky Easily Seen with Binoculars
When observing the night sky, and in particular deep-sky objects such as star clusters,
η Aquilae Aql Bright Cepheid variable. Mag varies between 3.6 & 4.5 over 7.166 days. Dist=1,200 ly.
nebulae, and galaxies, it’s always best to observe from a dark location. Avoid direct

CELESTIAL OBJECTS
6397 Ara Thought to be the nearest globular. Dist=7,000 ly.
light from street lights and other sources. If possible observe from a dark location IC 2602 Car The "Five of Diamonds". Bright cluster twice diameter of full Moon. Dist=491 ly.
away from the light pollution that surrounds many of today’s large cities. 3372 Car Eta Carinae Nebula. Enormous glowing cloud in rich star field. Dist=8,000 ly.
You will see more stars after your eyes adapt to the darkness—usually about 10 to 3532 Car Herschel - "most brilliant cluster". 60+ stars in 7x binoculars. Dist=1,300 ly.
20 minutes after you go outside. Also, if you need to use a torch to view the sky ω Centauri Cen Largest and brightest globular star cluster in sky. 1 million stars. Dist=17,000 ly.
4755 Cru Jewel Box. Outstanding star cluster. Many contrasting colours. Dist=7,600 ly.
map, cover the light bulb with red cellophane. This will preserve your dark vision.
LMC Dor Large Magellanic Cloud. A neighbouring galaxy of the Milky Way. Dist=180,000 ly.
Finally, even though the Moon is one of the most stunning objects to view M13 Her Best globular in northern skies. Discovered by Halley in 1714. Dist=23,000 ly.
through a telescope, its light is so bright that it brightens the sky and makes many of R Hydrae Hya Long period variable. Mag varies between 3.0 & 11.0 over 390 days. Brilliant red.
the fainter objects very difficult to see. So try to observe the evening sky on ε Lyrae Lyr Famous Double Double. Binoculars show a double star. High power reveals each a double.
moonless nights around either New Moon or Last Quarter. M12 Oph Close to the brighter M10. Dist=18,000 ly.
M10 Oph 3 degrees from the fainter M12. Both may be glimpsed in binoculars. Dist=14,000 ly.
κ Pavonis Pav Cepheid-type. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 4.8 over 9.088 days.
Astronomical Glossary 6752 Pav One of the better globular star clusters in the sky. Dist=14,000 ly.
M8 Sgr Lagoon Nebula. Bright nebula bisected by a dark lane. Dist=5,200 ly.
Conjunction – An alignment of two celestial bodies such that they present the least M25 Sgr Bright cluster located about 6 deg N of "teapot's" lid. Dist=1,900 ly.
angular separation as viewed from Earth. M22 Sgr A spectacular globular star cluster. Telescope will show stars. Dist=10,000 ly.
Constellation – A defined area of the sky containing a star pattern. M4 Sco A close globular. May just be visible without optical aid. Dist=7,000 ly.
M6 Sco Butterfly Cluster. 30+ stars in 7x binoculars. Dist=1,960 ly.
Diffuse Nebula – A cloud of gas illuminated by nearby stars. M7 Sco Superb open cluster. Visible to the naked eye. Age=260 million years. Dist=780 ly.
Double Star – Two stars that appear close to each other in the sky; either linked by M5 Ser Fine globular star cluster. Telescope will reveal individual stars. Dist=25,000 ly.
gravity so that they orbit each other (binary star) or lying at different distances from 6025 TrA A small open star cluster in Milky Way. Dist=2,700 ly.
47 Tucanae Tuc Spectacular object. Telescope will reveal stars. Near edge of SMC. Dist=15,000 ly.
Earth (optical double). Apparent separation of stars is given in seconds of arc ("). SMC Tuc Small Magellanic Cloud. Companion galaxy to Milky Way. Requires dark sky. Dist=210,000 ly.
Ecliptic – The path of the Sun’s center on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth.
Elongation – The angular separation of two celestial bodies. For Mercury and Venus Telescopic Objects
the greatest elongation occurs when they are at their most angular distance from the 7009 Aqr Saturn Nebula. Requires 8-inch telescope to see Saturn-like appendages.
3918 Cen The Blue Planetary. Visible in a small telescope as a round blue disk.
Sun as viewed from Earth. 5128 Cen Bisected by a wide obscuring lane. Strong radio source. Dist=14 million ly.
Galaxy – A mass of up to several billion stars held together by gravity. Albireo Cyg Beautiful double star. Contrasting colours of orange and blue-green. Sep=34.4".
γ Delphini Del Appear yellow & white. Mags 4.3 & 5.2. Dist=100 ly. Struve 2725 double in same field.
Globular Star Cluster – A ball-shaped group of several thousand old stars.
M83 Hya Classic face-on spiral. Discovered in 1752 by Lacaille. In attractive star field.
Light Year (ly) – The distance a beam of light travels at 300,000 km/sec in one year. 5822 Lup Large, attractive cluster. Dist=1,800 ly. Open cluster NGC 5823 to the south.
Magnitude – The brightness of a celestial object as it appears in the sky. M57 Lyr Ring Nebula. Magnificent object. Smoke-ring shape. Dist=4,100 ly.
M23 Sgr Elongated star cluster. Telescope required to show stars. Dist=2,100 ly.
Open Star Cluster – A group of tens or hundreds of relatively young stars. M20 Sgr Trifid Nebula. A telescope shows 3 dust lanes trisecting nebula. Dist=5,200 ly.
Opposition – When a celestial body is opposite the Sun in the sky. M21 Sgr A fine and impressive cluster. Dist=4,200 ly.
M17 Sgr Omega Nebula. Contains the star cluster NGC 6618. Dist=4,900 ly.
Planetary Nebula – The remnants of a shell of gas blown off by a star. 6124 Sco Contains 5 bright tightly packed stars near centre. 7 star chain. Dist=1,600 ly.
Universal Time (UT) – A time system used by astronomers. Also known as Greenwich M11 Sct Wild Duck Cluster. Resembles a globular through binoculars. V-shaped. Dist=5,600 ly.
Mean Time. Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney, Australia) is UT plus 10 hours. M16 Ser Eagle Nebula. Requires a telescope of large aperture. Dist=8,150 ly.
M104 Vir Sombrero Galaxy. Almost edge-on spiral galaxy. Protruding central core.
Variable Star – A star that changes brightness over a period of time. M27 Vul Dumbbell Nebula. Large, twin-lobed shape. Most spectacular planetary. Dist=975 ly.
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