The Sky in March

Spring Double Stars: The Three Leaps of the Gazelle

March 1997 : By Nan D'Antuono

The Great Bear Ursa Major is high in the north these Spring evenings. Along his southwestern border, shared with the constellations Lynx, Leo Minor, and Leo lie the three distinctive pairs of third magnitude stars known from ancient times by many names, one of the best known of which is the charming name "The Three Leaps of the Gazelle." Three of the six leap stars are wonderful doubles, and there are many more awaiting discovery in Ursa Major.

Some Bright Winter Double Stars

December 2005 : By Glenn Chaple

The winter night sky, dominated by mighty Orion, is rich with deep-sky splendors. If you can brave the cold, you’ll be rewarded by some of the finest double and triple stars the night sky has to offer.

Some Bright Spring Double Stars

April 2006 : By Glenn Chaple

To most deep sky enthusiasts, spring means “galaxies.” Hundreds of these island universes – many in the Coma-Virgo cluster – are within the reach of backyard scopes. Often forgotten are the beautiful double stars that also inhabit the spring skies. Here are ten of the best:

A Selection of Double Stars in Gemini

January 2008 : By Glenn Chaple

It’s appropriate that the constellation Gemini, the Twins, should be home to a numerous collection of double stars. Here are ten stellar – pardon the pun - examples (data from the Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS).

A Selection of Double Stars in Cancer

April 2008 : By Glenn Chaple

For our spring double star selection, we’ll say goodbye to Gemini and shift eastward to the faint constellation Cancer. Notable for its bright Messier cluster M44 (the Praesepe), Cancer is also home to a splendid array of double and multiple stars. How many can you notch? (Data from the Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS)

Struve 817 Orionis

January 2009 : By Glenn Chaple

I’m a big fan of “off-the-beaten-path” sky objects. One of my favorites is the little-known double star Struve 817 - the 817th double star catalogued by the German-born Russian astronomer F. G. W. Struve during a survey conducted between 1824 and 1827.

A Better Galaxy Guide: Late Spring

May 2009 : By Craig Cortis

Those of you who enjoyed my first installment on this subject will find this second part to be even better. Three constellations are covered on the accompanying list of recommended objects and two—Virgo and Coma Berenices-feature the grandest, richest assortment of galaxies bright enough to be seen in small-to-medium aperture instruments.

A Better Galaxy Guide: Early Spring

April 2009 : By Craig Cortis

We all know about the wealth of galaxies that populate the sky beginning around this time of year, but if you’re not an experienced deep-sky observer, where do you begin?

The Winter Circle

February 2009 : By Dave Huestis

Just as the summer sky has the Summer Triangle, the winter sky has its own special asterism, and this one is huge and includes a total of eight bright stars. It’s called the Winter Circle or Winter Hexagon. I’ll explain why you can get both shapes from the stars.

Mizar, The First Double Star

May 2009 : By Glenn Chaple

The middle star in the handle of the Big Dipper, Mizar is the easiest double star for the novice to locate. It boasts historical importance as the first double star discovered.

NGC 2362: Open Cluster in Canis Major

March 2009 : By Glenn Chaple

A remarkable, yet little-known open cluster is NGC 2362 which surrounds and includes the star tau Canis Majoris.

h 3945 Canis Majoris

March 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

What is the most colorful double star in the night sky? Most amateur astronomers would vote for β Cygni (Albireo). Others might cite γ Andromedae (Almach), ι Cancri, ξ Bootis, or η Cassiopeiae. Sadly overlooked is a double star that might challenge them all – h 3945 in Canis Major. It is arguably the most colorful double star in the winter sky and, in fact, has been nick-named the “Winter Albireo.”

Beta Orionis (Rigel)

February 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

You won’t need a finder chart to locate this month’s featured sky object. It’s the first magnitude star β Orionis, better known by its proper name Rigel. Seventh brightest star in the night sky, Rigel dazzles us with a diamond-white color; especially striking when compared with Orion’s other first-magnitude star, the ruddy-hued Betelgeuse.

Sirius

April 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

Next time you set out to do some “serious” astronomy, try a moment to make a “Sirius” observation. You’ll be delighted you did.

Can You Find a Quasar? (You Might be Surprised)

May 2010 : By Craig Cortis

Readers having 8” or larger telescopes might wish to observe a quasar, provided you can follow a detailed finder chart and manage to isolate a 12.8 magnitude object that looks exactly like a star, but actually is not. Rather it’s the brightest known quasar and, at a distance of 2.5 billion light years, will be by far and away the most distant thing in the universe most of you will ever see in your lives.

Castor: alpha (α) Geminorum

March 2011 : By Glenn Chaple

Are you looking for something new and different to add to your late winter/early spring star party repertoire – a cosmic showpiece guaranteed to elicit a gasp of surprise and wonder from anyone who peers into your telescope? I suggest the double star alpha (α) Geminorum, better know as Castor. One glance at these sparkling magnitude 2.0 and 2.9 diamonds and it’s easy to understand why William Herschel’s son, John, considered Castor the finest double star in the northern sky.

M40: The “Unknown” Messier Object

May 2010 : By Glenn Chaple

Arguably the oddest member of the Catalog, M40 isn’t a cluster, nebula, or galaxy. It’s a double star! We might well label M40 “Messier’s Mistake.”

In Like a Lion… Out Like a Lamb

March 2011 : By Francine Jackson

We have many indicators that the month of March marks a change of season. In the sky, we are seeing the constellation marked as the "sign of spring." We've all heard the old adage that the month of March, comes, "in like a lion..." Rising out of the eastern horizon is Leo, the Lion.

Seeking Markarian 421: The Brightest Blazar

March 2011 : By Craig Cortis

An easy star hop leads to a BL Lacertae-type active galaxy in Ursa Major that is visible in 8-inch and larger backyard telescopes.

NGC 2903: Spiral Galaxy in Leo

April 2011 : By Glenn Chaple

To the deep-sky aficionado, spring means one thing – galaxies. Dozens of these island universes are within the grasp of small-aperture telescopes, while a 10-inch Dob can corral thousands. The constellation Leo is home to some of the brighter spring galaxies, including five listed in the Messier Catalog. One, however, escaped the eye of the French comet-hunter, even though it’s visible in binoculars from dark-sky locations.

3C 273: Quasar in Virgo

May 2011 : By Glenn Chaple

“How far can you see with that telescope?” It’s a question I occasionally hear from visitors who peer into my telescope at public star parties. The farthest my telescopes have taken my eye, I tell them, is 2 billion light years - to the quasar 3C 273.

Variable Star R Leonis

March 2012 : By Glenn Chaple

On the evening of March 1, 1918, a young Ohio farm boy trained a small refracting telescope towards the variable star R Leonis. He estimated its brightness, later forwarding the information to the American Association of Variable Star Observers. It was the first of over 132.000 variable star observations the legendary Leslie Peltier would submit to the AAVSO.

Algieba: Double Star in Leo

April 2012 : By Glenn Chaple

One of the finest double stars in the spring sky – indeed, in all the heavens – is gamma (y) Leonis. Its proper name, Algieba, comes from the Arabic Al Jabbah (The Lion’s Mane).

Porrima: Binary Star in Virgo

May 2012 : By Glenn Chaple

Compiling a list of the finest double stars for backyard telescopes is always a work in progress. The list is forever in flux, because many showpiece double stars are binary systems that periodically close to the point where they can’t be resolved by small-aperture telescopes. Such is the case with Porrima (gamma [γ] Virginis).

M46 & NGC 2438

March 2014 : By Glenn Chaple

There’s a saying that goes, “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” In the case of the planetary nebula NGC 2438, “you can’t see the nebula for the stars.” NGC 2438 lies within the northern portion of the open cluster Messier 46 and is often overshadowed by the surrounding stars.

Ghost of Jupiter: NGC 3242

April 2014 : By Glenn Chaple

This planetary nebula gets its nickname “Jupiter’s Ghost” because its angular size and slightly oval shape (40” by 35”) approximate those of its namesake planet. Make Jupiter 10 magnitudes fainter and change its color from lively yellow to pale blue-green, and you have NGC 3242 – Jupiter’s Ghost!

M97: The Owl Nebula

June 2014 : By Glenn Chaple

Like its neighbor M108, M97 was discovered by Messier’s contemporary Pierre Méchain in 1781. Described as one of the fainter of the Messier objects, M97 can nonetheless be glimpsed with small aperture scopes.

Reason for the Season(s)

March 2015 : By Dave Huestis

Have you ever noticed how high the Sun arcs across the sky during the summer, or how low it arcs during the winter? It’s an astronomical cycle that only requires one’s eyes to observe, plus a one year commitment of time. I’m sure you’ve noticed the Sun rising or setting at various locations along your horizon during the year. One month it may be rising or setting directly in front of you as you drive down a particular road, while at other times it may be either north or south of that same position. Astronomy provides the answers.

Getting to Know the Big Dipper

March 2011 : By Jim Hendrickson

With the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere comes the culmination of the northern sky’s most recognized asterism, the Big Dipper. This familiar group of seven stars is notable for having a clear resemblance to its namesake (it is easy to imagine it forming the shape of a large spoon), but how much do you really know about the Big Dipper?

M78: Reflection Nebula in Orion

March 2013 : By Glenn Chaple

It’s understandable that M78 should be overlooked by backyard astronomers. Not far away is the much brighter, much more easily found, and much, much more spectacular M42 - the Orion Nebula. This deep-sky masterpiece was spectacular even through the eyepiece of my 3-inch scope. M78, on the other hand, was a faint blob that seemed to sport an off-center nucleus.

M104: The Sombrero Galaxy

May 2013 : By Glenn Chaple

One of the more noteworthy examples of an edge-on spiral galaxy bisected by a dark dust lane is M104, the Sombrero Galaxy. The nick-name arises from the galaxy’s resemblance to the traditional Mexican headwear, the bright nuclear bulge forming the hat and the spiral arms/dust lane the wide brim.