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The Evening Sky Map

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Sky Calendar – October 2024
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EARLY OCT 9 PM
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2 Annular Solar Eclipse from 16:50 to 20:39 UT with greatest eclipse

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29 Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 23h UT (distance 406,161km; B E to

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More sky events and links at http://Skymaps.com/skycalendar/ IN
G ay 2516 A “ T h - HO R
TH . 2808
IC 2602 UX U s e
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ES CR ON
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MA R 3372
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PT 3918 M H
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 Easily Seen with the Naked Eye

SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
OCTOBER 2024
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 Canopus Car Second brightest star in the sky. 14,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Dist=309 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 Deneb Cyg Brightest star in Cygnus. One of the greatest known supergiants. Dist=1,400±200 ly.
appear more impressive when viewed through a telescope or very large binoculars. Achernar Eri Brightest star in Eridanus, The River. Arabic name meaning "end of river". Dist=140 ly.
They are grouped in this way to highlight objects that can be seen using the optical Fomalhaut PsA Brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. In Arabic the "fish's mouth". Dist=25 ly.
Antares Sco Red, supergiant star. Name means "rival of Mars". Dist=135.9 ly.
equipment that may be available to the star gazer.
Easily Seen with Binoculars
Tips for Observing the Night Sky M31 And The Andromeda Galaxy. Most distant object visible to naked eye. Dist=2.93 million ly.
When observing the night sky, and in particular deep-sky objects such as star clusters, M2 Aqr Resembles a fuzzy star in binoculars.
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 Mira Cet Famous long period variable star. Mag varies between 3.0 & 10.1 over 332 days.
away from the light pollution that surrounds many of today’s large cities. χ Cygni Cyg Long period pulsating red giant. Magnitude varies between 3.3 & 14.2 over 407 days.
You will see more stars after your eyes adapt to the darkness—usually about 10 to M39 Cyg May be visible to the naked eye under good conditions. Dist=900 ly.
20 minutes after you go outside. Also, if you need to use a torch to view the sky map, LMC Dor Large Magellanic Cloud. A neighbouring galaxy of the Milky Way. Dist=180,000 ly.
IC 4665 Oph Large, scattered open cluster. Visible with binoculars.
cover the light bulb with red cellophane. This will preserve your dark vision.
6633 Oph Scattered open cluster. Visible with binoculars.
Finally, even though the Moon is one of the most stunning objects to view through κ Pavonis Pav Cepheid-type. Magnitude varies between 3.9 & 4.8 over 9.088 days.
a telescope, its light is so bright that it brightens the sky and makes many of the 6752 Pav One of the better globular star clusters in the sky. Dist=14,000 ly.
fainter objects very difficult to see. So try to observe the evening sky on moonless M15 Peg Only globular known to contain a planetary nebula (Mag 14, d=1"). Dist=30,000 ly.
nights around either New Moon or Last Quarter. ζ Phoenicis Phe Eclipsing binary star and double (mag 8). Varies between 3.9 & 4.4 over 1.667 days.
M8 Sgr Lagoon Nebula. Bright nebula bisected by a dark lane. Dist=5,200 ly.
M25 Sgr Bright cluster located about 6 deg N of "teapot's" lid. Dist=1,900 ly.
Astronomical Glossary M22 Sgr A spectacular globular star cluster. Telescope will show stars. Dist=10,000 ly.
M4 Sco A close globular. May just be visible without optical aid. Dist=7,000 ly.
Conjunction – An alignment of two celestial bodies such that they present the least 6231 Sco Easy to see in binoculars. Dist=5,900 ly.
angular separation as viewed from Earth. M6 Sco Butterfly Cluster. 30+ stars in 7x binoculars. Dist=1,960 ly.
Constellation – A defined area of the sky containing a star pattern. M7 Sco Superb open cluster. Visible to the naked eye. Age=260 million years. Dist=780 ly.
253 Scl Fine, large, cigar-shaped galaxy. Requires dark sky. Member of Sculptor Group.
Diffuse Nebula – A cloud of gas illuminated by nearby stars. 47 Tucanae Tuc Spectacular object. Telescope will reveal stars. Near edge of SMC. Dist=15,000 ly.
Double Star – Two stars that appear close to each other in the sky; either linked by β Tucanae Tuc Complex multiple star. Binoculars show one pair. Telescope required to split primary star.
gravity so that they orbit each other (binary star) or lying at different distances from SMC Tuc Small Magellanic Cloud. Companion galaxy to Milky Way. Requires dark sky. Dist=210,000 ly.
Cr 399 Vul Coathanger asterism or "Brocchi's Cluster". Not a true star cluster. Dist=218 to 1,140 ly.
Earth (optical double). Apparent separation of stars is given in seconds of arc (").
Ecliptic – The path of the Sun’s center on the celestial sphere as seen from Earth. Telescopic Objects
Elongation – The angular separation of two celestial bodies. For Mercury and Venus 7009 Aqr Saturn Nebula. Requires 8-inch telescope to see Saturn-like appendages.
the greatest elongation occurs when they are at their most angular distance from the 7293 Aqr Helix Nebula. Spans nearly 1/4 deg. Requires dark sky. Dist=300 ly.
γ Arietis Ari Impressive looking double blue-white star. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=7.8".
Sun as viewed from Earth. Albireo Cyg Beautiful double star. Contrasting colours of orange and blue-green. Sep=34.4".
Galaxy – A mass of up to several billion stars held together by gravity. 61 Cygni Cyg Attractive double star. Mags 5.2 & 6.1 orange dwarfs. Dist=11.4 ly. Sep=28.4".
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.
2070 Dor Tarantula Nebula. A bright nebula located in LMC. A star-forming region.
Light Year (ly) – The distance a beam of light travels at 300,000 km/sec in one year. θ Eridani Eri Striking blue-white double star. Mags 3.2 & 4.3. Visible in a small telescope. Sep=8.2".
Magnitude – The brightness of a celestial object as it appears in the sky. 5822 Lup Large, attractive cluster. Dist=1,800 ly. Open cluster NGC 5823 to the south.
M57 Lyr Ring Nebula. Magnificent object. Smoke-ring shape. Dist=4,100 ly.
Open Star Cluster – A group of tens or hundreds of relatively young stars. M23 Sgr Elongated star cluster. Telescope required to show stars. Dist=2,100 ly.
Opposition – When a celestial body is opposite the Sun in the sky. M20 Sgr Trifid Nebula. A telescope shows 3 dust lanes trisecting nebula. Dist=5,200 ly.
M21 Sgr A fine and impressive cluster. Dist=4,200 ly.
Planetary Nebula – The remnants of a shell of gas blown off by a star. M17 Sgr Omega Nebula. Contains the star cluster NGC 6618. Dist=4,900 ly.
Universal Time (UT) – A time system used by astronomers. Also known as Greenwich 6124 Sco Contains 5 bright tightly packed stars near centre. 7 star chain. Dist=1,600 ly.
Mean Time. Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney, Australia) is UT plus 10 hours. M11 Sct Wild Duck Cluster. Resembles a globular through binoculars. V-shaped. Dist=5,600 ly.
M16 Ser Eagle Nebula. Requires a telescope of large aperture. Dist=8,150 ly.
Variable Star – A star that changes brightness over a period of time. M27 Vul Dumbbell Nebula. Large, twin-lobed shape. Most spectacular planetary. Dist=975 ly.
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