Cassiopeia

October Constellations & Folklore

October 2011 : By Francine Jackson

Once again, the sign of the new season is beginning to make its way higher and higher in the sky. As October begins, the Great Square, symbol of fall, is getting easier to find in the southeast.

September Constellations & Folklore

September 2011 : By Francine Jackson

At this time of year, even though the season of summer ends this month and fall begins, the sky takes a little longer to shift to its next season. The Summer Triangle is still in a beautiful observing position, not really giving the fall constellations a chance to come to full view. So, while we’re waiting, it might be good to turn back to the north and see what is happening there.

The Circumpolar Constellations

June 2011 : By Francine Jackson

We normally spend a lot of time enjoying the seasonal constellations, the ones that our ancestors depended on as indicators of changes here on Earth, but we often forget that there is a set of star patterns that are always there, waiting for us when we turn around to the north. These are the circumpolar constellations, the ones that, although their positions do change with time, they seem to travel in a circle centered at the sky’s north pole, and are always visible from our northern latitudes.

NGC 457 (the “ET Cluster”)

December 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

Have you seen “ET” lately? Not that cute little alien in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 movie. I’m referring to the ET-mimicking open star cluster NGC 457 in Cassiopeia. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, NGC 457 is often overlooked because of its proximity to the Messier cluster M103.

The Milky Way

September 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

Many astronomers regard the Milky Way, viewed with the unaided eye on a dark, moonless night, as the most awe-inspiring heavenly sight of all. During late summer, it arches overhead, from Cassiopeia to our north, through Cygnus above, then down to Sagittarius on the southern horizon.