An Island In the Sea of Mystery

Observing Plan for Friday, February 19, 2016

Cline Observatory, Jamestown Campus of GTCC

Thanks to all my Periscope viewers who helped me make this plan.  There’s still some information to gather before Friday night.

Cline Observatory is open to the public, free of charge, every clear Friday night.  This week we will open at 7 pm and close a little after 9 pm.

1. The Double cluster (NGC 869 & 884)
2. 2,000 parsecs away   (1 pc = 3.26 light years)
   3. hundreds of stars in each
   4. some are 60,000 times brighter than the sun

1. M1 The Crab Nebula
2. 1,934 parsecs away
   1. remnant of a supernova explosion
   2. seen on Earth July 4, 1054
   3. bright enough to see in the day for 23 days
   4. bright enough to see at nigh for another 24 months

1. M42 The Orion Nebula

1. M35, Betelguese (pronounced BET – el-jooze)
   1. Variable star (magnitude 0.3 to 1.3 over 7 years)

1. M41
2. M35 Open Cluster, magnitude­‑‑ 7.5
   1. 870 parsecs away
   2. approaching us at 5 km/sec
3. The Moon
   1. Copernicus
      1. sunrise 1.5 days after 1^st Quarter
      2. ring mountain
      3. 3,760 m deep (that’s 2.3 miles!!)
      4. 93 km in diameter (57 miles)

1. Aristarchus
   1. sunrise about 4 days after 1^st Quarter‑‑
   2. 3,000 meters deep
   3. diameter of 40 km
   4. brightest rayed crater

1. Schroter Valley
   1. 160 km long, 10 km at widest
   2. feature of volcanic activity
   3. maybe lava channels (on surface) or collapsed lava tubes (below ground) that formed during mare vulcanism