Astral Projections Online September 2021
ASTRA by tradition does not hold a club meeting in August. Instead, we had our picnic that will be reviewed in this month’s APO. We will continue virtual meetings via Zoom during COVID. If you can’t participate because of issues with Zoom please contact us.
Club dues and 2021 membership. Returning members should have renewed by now. If you renew after March 31 you will be renewed as a new member. NOTE: Those members that paid for 2020 will be carried over to 2021 and should have already been notified.
Please check our Website for updated content at www.astra-nj.com
Club Presentations Wanted:
Anyone has any astronomy items of interest to share with the membership?
Please let us know at Club Contacts.
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS ONLINE (APO for short) is an email-linked publication for members only. If you exit APO to the club website or other resources you will need to use the emailed link again to get back to it. If you wish to retain a copy please bookmark or refer back to the email. We will make all efforts to post by the first week of the month.
Submissions Welcome: Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.
Event Calendar
ASTRA’s next virtual meeting - Friday, Sept 10, 2021, at 7 PM
Girl Scouts at IBSP - Sunday, September 12, 2021, at 7:30 PM - Pending Approval
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, October 9, 2021, at 7 PM
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, November 13, 2021, at 6:30 PM
EVENT Cancellations: Members will receive email notification of an event cancellation, or call the ASTRA Hotline: 609-971-3331
Upcoming County Park Presentations Fall/Winter 2021
Public Outreach Presentations are being planned. If any member wishes to support ASTRA outreach efforts with the public, please let John, Ro, or Jim know of any interest. Currently, we have four planned with the county parks. The dates and times below are being planned now, so it is possible for some changes. The descriptions below will be posted in the county park Fall/Winter catalog. As the COVID restrictions are starting to loosen up the prospect of large turnouts is possible, so any support would be appreciated.
Note: The County Park events below will require an entry fee.
·Sept 14 – 8 to 9:30 PM - Cloverdale: Astronomy with Binoculars
Description: Ever wonder what it takes to get started stargazing? Join Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and learn about binoculars that can take your night viewing to a whole new level without a telescope.
·Oct 21 - 6 to 7 PM - Jakes Branch: Light Pollution
Description: Light pollution and its impact. Join Jim Webster from Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and International Darksky Association Advocate to learn about the impact of light pollution on stargazing, nature, and yourself.
·Nov 9 – 6 to 7:30 PM - Catus Island: Beginner Astronomy.
Description: Ever wonder what it takes to get started stargazing? Join Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and learn about telescopes that can take your night viewing to a whole new level.
·Nov 16 – 6 to 7:30 PM - Catus Island: Milkyway Photography and Beyond
Description: A beginner-level discussion on Milkyway Photography and what is needed with Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area.
January 25 - 6 to 7 PM - Cloverdale Farm County Park: Milkyway Photography and Beyond
Description: Join us as Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area discusses how to capture the beauty of the night sky and the Milkyway galaxy through photography.
Website Updates …
Please visit our club website. We continue to have additional updates, if there is some content that would be useful to members please let us know.
"Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day, but when I follow the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth; I ascend to Zeus himself to feast on ambrosia, the food of the gods."
- Ptolemy, Astronomer
IBSP After Dark
August 6 - We had a pretty good night at our weekly observing session for the after-dark walks. M13, M31, NGC 457, NGC 7610, M15, M57, Alberio, and quite a few carbon stars were crowd-pleasers before wispy clouds rolled in around 11:30.
August 13 - While we had a successful night on August 12 for the Meteor Shower it didn’t stay the same for us the next night. We had about 25 guests from IBSP After Dark show up and we were able to observe the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn with them before the clouds rolled in.
August 20 - Was more like IBSP After Dark & Cloudy, the last event of the IBSP After Dark series for 2021. Some members did brave the sky conditions and were able to observe Saturn and Jupiter between the brightness of the moon and the cloud cover. We only had a few individuals visit us besides the usual foxes that were numerous this summer.
Jakes Branch & The Lavallette Yacht Club
Both August 7, Jake’s Branch, and the August 10, Lavallette Yacht Club star parties were called due to bad weather.
With luck, we will get back into Jake’s Branch soon.
At the Yacht Club, we waited for as long as we could hoping it would clear. We were able to provide an overview for them and give the kids a constellation cutout to display at home with flashlights.
August 14 - ASTRA Picnic
The following comments were copied from Rosemarie Lahosky Spedaliere Facebook posting on August 15 …
Astra members gathered together for the annual Perseid picnic. The forecasted thunderstorms kept their distance. However, it was hot. Needless to say, we all enjoyed ourselves with good friends, good conversation, good food, a wonderful host and hostess, a game of Astronomical Jeopardy and Cornhole. Thank you Jackie and Geoff for hosting it.
The pictures below were taken by Rosemarie Lahosky Spedaliere, Alexandra Granovsky, and Jim Webster.
You can see it all by clicking on the left or right arrows.
Thank You to our wonderful host.
We would like to thank both Jackie and Geoff for hosting our picnic at their home. We had a great time due to their incredible effort.
The Perseid Meteor Shower 2021
The article below contains some portions of articles from solarsystem.nasa.gov and prior Perseid Meteor Shower articles from the Night Sky Network from August 2, 2018.
Image of a Perseid meteor streaking over Joshua Tree National Park
Image Credit: Brad Sutton/National Park Service
Were you ready for the Perseids? Their peak was expected to be on the night of August 11 through the morning of the 12th, with good viewing to be had the nights before and after. Sadly for our area, we only had one good night on August 12 and it was awesome.
This shower is part of the debris stream of comet Swift-Tuttle, which actually starts in mid to late July and lasts through most of August. While most of these nights only showcase a few meteors each hour, the peak of the Perseids brings many, many more. How much more? The number actually varies every year; there can be as little as a few dozen per hour, but some rare years bring a brief "burst' of up to two hundred beautiful "shooting stars" an hour. With a fairly new moon, viewing was anticipated to be good this year. This means that if you were in an area free from light pollution and enjoy clear skies, you may have been able to see quite a few meteors over the course of the night!
Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered in 1862 independently by both Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. It takes 133 years to orbit the Sun once. Swift-Tuttle last reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in 1992 and will return again in 2125. It was Giovanni Schiaparelli who realized in 1865 that this comet was the source of the Perseids.
Comets are usually named for their discoverer(s) or for the name of the observatory/telescope used in the discovery. Since both Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle discovered this comet it is named for them. The letter "P" indicates that Swift-Tuttle is a "periodic" comet. Periodic comets have an orbital period of fewer than 200 years.
Sadly August 11, 2021 viewing was not to be for ASTRA. Heavy cloud cover prevented us from any possible chance of seeing even one.
Image by Rosemarie Lahosky Spedaliere.
August 12 2021 had proven to be a much better day for all members that were with us at Island Beach State Park. The sky was good to us and we had some heavy meteor activity early in the evening then regular intervals were seen along with some telescope activity. Yes, some of us did bring our telescopes out. It’s easy to understand why as we’ve had minimal opportunities this summer to use them.
Image by Jim Webster
If you trace the meteor trails of the Perseids back to their source, you will find they seem to come from a spot near the constellation Perseus - hence their name. The naming of most meteor showers is from the constellation they are near. But actually viewing them you’ll have seen that isn’t always the case.
Below are some viewing tips from the Night Sky Network for any of the meteor showers throughout the year on how to make the most of your meteor shower viewing experience:
Get out of the city! Try to get to the darkest location you can. The darker it is where you are, the more meteors you will see streaking across the sky.
Check the weather forecast for that night. You may need to check out two or three areas for predictions on fog, clouds, and temperature. Some weather sites even offer forecasts specially tailored for sky watching. Make sure you have clear skies to go along with those dark ones.
Stay warm and comfortable outside-be prepared! You will be out for a good long while and will want to lie flat on your back to soak up as much of the sky as possible. To stay cozy bring a blanket, jacket, hat, a warm drink, and water. You may think it's silly to bring some warm clothes in the middle of the summer, but late at night, the temperature can drop just enough to be chilly. If you are in a buggy area, you will definitely want to apply some bug spray to avoid irritating bites
Bring your friends and family! The company under starry skies is truly wonderful, and they provide a bonus since there are more eyes on the sky! Groups can spot more meteors than single individuals and help each other find 'hot spots" in the sky. (Also- if you are out in the wilderness in the dark, good company will help you feel safer.)
apod.nasa.gov, August 14, 2021 - Island Universe, Cosmic Sand Image Credit & Copyright: Marzena Rogozinska
Astronomy Picture of the Day - From the early hours after midnight on August 13, the 30-second exposure image, of the night sky over Busko-Zdroj, Poland records the colorful and bright trail of a Perseid meteor. Seen near the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower it flashes from lower left to upper right. To the right of center, is M31 or the Andromeda Galaxy.
IBSP Meteor Shower Images
August 12 Meteor Shower images below by Jim Webster
Canon D80 / Rokinon 14mm / f;3.5 / ISO 3200 / 20 seconds
A time-lapse video was created using 340 images by Jim Webster. Most are within the first 15 seconds of the video. The stagged streaks are planes. … ASTRA YouTube
Images from Canon D80 / 14mm Rokinon Lens. Region of space, identification was established using Astrometry.net.
Center (RA, Dec):(306.837, 31.653)
Center (RA, hms):20h 27m 20.812s
Center (Dec, dms):+31° 39' 11.492"
Size:87.7 x 58.5 deg
Radius:52.707 deg
Pixel scale:52.6 arcsec/pixel
Orientation: Up is 65.6 degrees E of N
Comet Swift-Tuttle
Comet Swift-Tuttle, the source of the Perseids Meteor Shower, is a large comet that requires watching and has been registered as a NEO (Near-Earth Object)
APO Editor Note: For more on NEO’s please refer back to APO from July 2021.
Animation of 109P/Swift–Tuttle orbit from 1850 to 2150.
Comet Swift-Tuttle has a nucleus that is 16 miles (26 kilometers) across. (That is more than twice the size of the object hypothesized to have led to the demise of the dinosaurs.)
Animation of 109P/Swift–Tuttle's close approach to Earth in 2126.
Around the Web
The Astronomer - Sci-Fi Film
Late one night while working in an observatory, an astronomer and his assistant discover that several stars have disappeared from the night sky.
Maple Films is an independent media company dedicated to the creation of short films and other video productions. Sometimes we get into internationally acclaimed film festivals, and sometimes we just make something really silly and upload it to Youtube.
The Astronomer was an Official Selection at seven film festivals, including the 2015 Cleveland International Film Festival! It is a Sci-Fi short film, filmed in the Geauga Park District, which generously allowed them to shoot The Astronomer at their Observatory Park in Montville OH.
For more on the observatory restoration: The Geaugue Park’s Nassau Astronomical Observing Station.
Nassau Astronomical Observatory: Grand Opening
APO Editor recommended video. Most recent overview, OTT Observatory Park Pkg
Observatory Park is also listed as a Dark Sky Park with the International Dark-Sky Association. For more on the Gauuga Observatory Park visit darksky.org
The five best stargazing spots near Cleveland.
This Month-Member Show and Tell
This issue of APO ASTRA Member and Club President John Endreson showcased the 13.1 inches truss tube Dobsonian telescope “Gene Machine.”
The “Gene Machine” was a member-built Dobsonian telescope by Gene Russo. Sadly Gene passed away on December 7th, 2010.
The “Gene Machine” is a Do-It-Yourself telescope build and it has some great optics.
Dobsonian telescopes are popular with amateur telescope makers for their ease of design and construction, portability, and use of large optical mirrors. Pioneered by John Dobson in the 1960s, the instrument combines a Newtonian reflector telescope with a unique two-axis movable base. It uses a primary mirror to capture and reflect light, a secondary mirror to direct light into an eyepiece, and a focuser to make fine adjustments for viewing. The telescope’s size is classified by the size of its mirror.
About Gene Russo: From our club webpage Dr. Zimmermann Award … When you first meet Gene your first impression might be, “Look at this guy, he thinks he knows everything”. Gene is such a knowledgeable and likable guy that your opinion rapidly changes to, “Look at this guy, he knows everything”. Through the years many experienced ASTRA members have helped spark the interest in astronomy to newer members, sort of a Mentor I guess. Well, Gene was our Mentor, the Mentor’s Mentor igniting our interest and desire to get others involved in the club and Astronomy, so we can all thank him for that.
For more on Gene Russo go to our club website.
Similar telescope is the Obsession 12.5 f/5.
Sky & Telescope had this to say: "Portability is definitely one of the 12.5-inch Obsession's biggest assets. The instrument is remarkably rigid. The optics in the Obsession really delivered. The views were remarkably crisp and bright. Star test showed the primary mirror (made by Optical Mechanic Inc.) to be first-rate. The scope has curved-vane secondary mirror support which means that bright stars are free of diffraction spikes, something I find quite appealing. The bottom line is that the 12.5-inch Obsession is a ruggedly built, portable scope that should deliver first-rate views for a lifetime."
Truss Mount Dobsonian? When it comes to telescopes there are advantages to using the truss setup. First, it makes for a very strong optical tube with little or no vibrational motion or slipping. This is important with telescopes because the slightest unwanted motion can ruin the image. Second, the truss setup is very light.
One such build instruction can be found at svas.org. Another resource is makezine.com as well as instructables.com. To build a Truss Dobsonian telescope there is plenty of resources online for this, these three are samples for your viewing.
Outreach material below is distributed free for public outreach.
Let’s Explore Space - What’s in the Sky September 2021?
Messier 11 - The Wild Duck Cluster
CONSTELLATION: Scutum
DISTANCE: 6120 light-years
MAGNITUDE: 5.8 - 6.3 (depending on the source)
RADIUS: 12.5 light-years
AGE: Estimated 220 Million years
Credits: apod.nasa.gov
Jean-Charles Cuillandre
(CFHT) Hawaiian Starlight
It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch in 1681. Charles Messier included it in his catalog of diffuse objects in 1764. Its popular name derives from the brighter stars forming a triangle that could resemble a flying flock of ducks.
The Wild Duck Cluster, also known as Messier 11 or NGC 6705, is an open star cluster in the direction of our constellation Scutum the Shield. This loose aggregation of stars lies about 6,120 light-years away. It’s quite faint; you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to see it. Messier 11, one of the most massive open star clusters that we know of, has about 3,000 stars, with its hot blue stars congregated towards the center. The cluster is thought to have formed sometime between 250 to 316 million years ago. Astronomers refer to it as a metal-rich cluster because a nearby supernova likely seeded its molecular cloud complex with heavier elements.
To find it, first, locate the bright star Altair in the sky. It is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila the Eagle, and the second brightest star in the Summer Triangle. Altair is flanked on each side by the two moderately bright stars Tarazed and Alshain.
From Altair, following the chart below, you can star-hop in the southwest direction towards Messier 11. Delta Aquilae is your first hop, about 8 degrees from Altair. (For reference, the width of four fingers held at arm’s length approximates 8 degrees of sky.)
Using binoculars, keep going downward a bit more than twice the Altair-Delta Aquilae distance, till you see a semicircle of stars that pretty much fills your binocular field. The Wild Duck Cluster pops out as a hazy star-like object just beneath this semicircle star pattern.
If you have a telescope, Messier 11 is best viewed when it’s relatively high in the southern sky. That’s in the wee hours before sunrise in spring, late night in early summer, and mid-evening in late summer and early fall.
An open star cluster is a group of stars that formed from the same giant cloud of mostly molecular hydrogen. These massive clouds, often called stellar nurseries, are so dense that gravitational forces form compact conglomerations of molecular hydrogen that continue to contract until fusion reactions in the stars’ centers ignite the birth of new stars. Initially, the young stars are loosely bound together by gravity but they will eventually disperse over time.
The lifespans of open clusters are also relatively short compared to those of globular ones; stars in open clusters are spread further apart and are thus not as strongly bound to each other by gravity, causing them to be more easily and quickly drawn away by stronger gravitational forces.
As a result Messier 11 is likely to disperse in a few million years as its members are ejected one by one, pulled away by other celestial objects in the vicinity.
Source Material: Earthsky.org, freecharts.com, NASA APOD, messier.seds.org, Wikipedia
On the lighter side of astronomy …
ASTRA Member Astrophotos
Milkyway at Seaside Park
By Elizabeth Schultz
Elizabeth took this image just outside of Island Beach State Park. An excellent location that your APO Editor has to try to image from.
Elizabeth has an excellent eye and command of foreground imaging with the Milkway.
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX Lens at 11mm
ISO – 3200
Aperture – f/3.2
Shutter – 15 seconds
Edited in Snapseed with HDR filter.
Location 24th Avenue beach access,
Seaside Park, NJ
Astronomy & Space Theme Music
In his own interpretation of Elton John’s iconic hit, Iranian filmmaker and refugee Majid Adin reimagine “Rocket Man” to tell a new story of adventure, loneliness, and hope. This rendition was posted on YouTube on May 22, 2017.
"Rocket Man" is a song composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and originally performed by Elton John. The song first appeared on 17 April 1972 in the US as the lead single to John's album Honky Château. The song first charted in the UK on 22 April, rising to No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major hit single for John. On 30 August 2019, the song was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 600,000 digital downloads and streaming equivalent sales. With sales of 3 million in the US, the song was certified 3 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Space exploration was big in 1972; the song came out around the time of the Apollo 16 mission, which sent men to the moon for the fifth time. The inspiration for Bernie Taupin's lyrics, however, was the short story The Rocket Man, written by Ray Bradbury. The sci-fi author's tale is told from the perspective of a child, whose astronaut father has mixed feelings about leaving his family in order to do his job. It was published as part of the anthology The Illustrated Man in 1951. (songfacts.com)
Linked here, is Elton John’s performance of “Rocket Man” at the Royal Festival Hall in London in 1972.
Members Submitted Articles & Items
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Willmann-Bell Will Soon Be Back in Business! | American Astronomical Society Submitted by ASTRA Member - Vic Pamieri
We are pleased to announce that the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has acquired the inventory, author contracts, and related assets of Willmann-Bell, Inc., the esteemed publisher of astronomical books, atlases, and software since 1973 (see our press release). We expect to make Willmann-Bell titles available for purchase through Sky & Telescope’s online store, ShopAtSky.com, by the end of October. … to continue reading
Seeking More Aspiring Young Astronomers for a Newly-Formed Student Astrophysics Society By Tarun Kota and Clinton Pan (SAS)
Submitted by Jim Webster
When we got to high school, we noticed a lack of interest in space among our peers. It seemed like we were the only people interested in the entire school. We eventually realized that this wasn’t because of lack of interest, rather it was due to lack of exposure and support for those interested in astronomy. This was the aha moment for us and sparked our desire to create our student astrophysics society. We wanted to create a platform to give astrophysics opportunities to our classmates as well as connect space enthusiasts across the world. We hoped this would jumpstart astrophysics interest in our school and across the world. … to continue reading
What’s Up: September 2021
Sky Watching Tips from NASA
Provided by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
For more go to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory webpage: What’s Up: Skywatching Tips From NASA
Back to School with NASA
Launch Back to School with NASA!
As students across the country are saying goodbye to the summer and hello to a new school year, we’re gearing up to engage K-12 students in activities and challenges. Check out our many resources to inspire the next generation of explorers, and help educators and students stay involved in NASA’s missions.
Back to School
On Facebook: NASA STEM
Webpage: NASA STEM Engagement - For students and educators from K through 12 and Higher Education.
This article and images are distributed by NASA Night Sky Network
The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach.
Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov to find local clubs, events, and more!
Catch Andromeda Rising
By David Prosper
If you’re thinking of a galaxy, the image in your head is probably the Andromeda Galaxy! Studies of this massive neighboring galaxy, also called M31, have played an incredibly important role in shaping modern astronomy. As a bonus for stargazers, the Andromeda Galaxy is also a beautiful sight.
Have you heard that all the stars you see at night are part of our Milky Way galaxy? While that is mostly true, one star-like object located near the border between the constellations of Andromeda and Cassiopeia appears fuzzy to unaided eyes. That’s because it’s not a star, but the Andromeda Galaxy, its trillion stars appearing to our eyes as a 3.4 magnitude patch of haze. Why so dim? Distance! It’s outside our galaxy, around 2.5 million light-years distant - so far away that the light you see left M31’s stars when our earliest ancestors figured out stone tools. Binoculars show more detail: M31’s bright core stands out, along with a bit of its wispy, saucer-shaped disc. Telescopes bring out greater detail but often can’t view the entire galaxy at once. Depending on the quality of your skies and your magnification, you may be able to make out individual globular clusters, structures, and at least two of its orbiting dwarf galaxies: M110 and M32. Light pollution and thin clouds, smoke, or haze will severely hamper observing fainter detail, as they will for any “faint fuzzy.” Surprisingly, persistent stargazers can still spot M31’s core from areas of moderate light pollution as long as skies are otherwise clear.
Spot the Andromeda Galaxy! M31’s more common name comes from its parent constellation, which becomes prominent as autumn arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. Surprising amounts of detail can be observed with unaided eyes from dark sky sites. Hints of it can even be made out from light-polluted areas. Image created with assistance from Stellarium
Modern astronomy was greatly shaped by studies of the Andromeda Galaxy. A hundred years ago, the idea that there were other galaxies beside our own was not widely accepted, and so M31 was called the “Andromeda Nebula.” Increasingly detailed observations of M31 caused astronomers to question its place in our universe – was M31 its own “island universe,” and not part of our Milky Way? Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis engaged in the “Great Debate” of 1920 over its nature. Curtis argued forcefully from his observations of dimmer than expected nova, dust lanes, and other oddities that the “nebula” was in fact an entirely different galaxy from our own. A few years later, Edwin Hubble, building on Henrietta Leavitt’s work on Cepheid variable stars as a “standard candle” for distance measurement, concluded that M31 was indeed another galaxy after he observed Cepheids in photos of Andromeda, and estimated M31’s distance as far outside our galaxy’s boundaries. And so, the Andromeda Nebula became known as the Andromeda Galaxy.
These discoveries inspire astronomers to this day, who continue to observe M31 and many other galaxies for hints about the nature of our universe. One of the Hubble Space Telescope’s longest-running observing campaigns was a study of M31: the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT): bit.ly/m31phat . Dig into NASA’s latest discoveries about the Andromeda Galaxy, and the cosmos at large, at nasa.gov.
While M31’s disc appears larger than you might expect (about 3 Moon widths wide), its “galactic halo” is much, much larger – as you can see here. In fact, it is suspected that its halo is so huge that it may already mingle with our Milky Way’s own halo, which makes sense since our galaxies are expected to merge sometime in the next few billion years! The dots are quasars, objects located behind the halo, which are the very energetic cores of distant galaxies powered by black holes at their center. The Hubble team studied the composition of M31’s halo by measuring how the quasars’ light was absorbed by the halo’s material. Credits: NASA, ESA, and E. Wheatley (STScI) Source: https://bit.ly/m31halo
Continue your exploration of the Andromeda Galaxy and beyond with NASA at nasa.gov.
NASA's Hubble Shows Milky Way is Destined for Head-On Collision
Messier 31 (The Andromeda Galaxy)
“Andromeda Galaxy: All You Need To Know” from EarthSky.org
APO Editor Recommended video:
How to Find M31 Andromeda Galaxy- Telescope and Image Space with a Camera - Cosmos Safari
More on the Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224 and originally the Andromeda Nebula, is a barred spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth and the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. Wikipedia
Distance to Earth: 2.537 million light-years
Radius: 110,000 light-years
Age: 10.01 billion years
Apparent mass: ~1,230 billion M☉
Stars: 1 trillion
Constellation: Andromeda
Coordinates: RA 0h 42m 44s | Dec +41° 16′ 9″
ASTRA member photos of the Andromeda Galaxy
By Phil Zollner - November 2018
Canon DSLR piggybacks on 4” William Optics APO. Chester VA, November 2018. 18 to 200mm zoom set at 24mm; 3 min exposure; f/3.5; ISO 800. Losmandy GM-8 GEM mount (digital drive, but not go-to). Phil likes this image since it puts M31 in a nice size, brightness, and location relationship with Cassiopeia and the Perseus Double Cluster.
APO Editor Note: I have to agree with Phil. I have a liking for wide-field deep-sky photos. There is that special something about the vastness of space in relation to the many objects you can get in them. Well done, Phil.
By Phil Zollner - November 2015
Canon DSLR at the prime focus of 4” William Optics APO. f/7, ISO 800; Chester VA, November 2015; 4 min. exposure, manually guided. Losmandy GM-8 GEM mount (digital drive, but not go-to)
The Crown Jewel of ASTRA member photos …
By Sam Granovsky - November 9, 2018
Telescope: Explore Scientific Ed102 FCD 100
Mount: Celestron CGEMII
Camera: Modified Sony Nex-5N
Reducer/flattener: Stellarvue 0.8x reducer/flattener
15 x 3-minute exposures, ISO 800
Stacked in DeepSkyStacker, image processing in Photoshop, Gradient Xterminator + Astronomy Tools Action Set
By Jim Webster - August 2021
M31 Andromeda Galaxy, M110 faintly above M31.
A wide-field image is a stack of 20 and cropped. Canon 80D, not modified
Canon 28-105mm lens at 105mm, f:5.6, ISO 3200,
90 seconds on an iOptron Skyguider Pro mount.
Adjusted in Lightroom and Photoshop.
By Jim Webster - October 19, 2019
Imaged Andromeda at IBSP. Not as good as the August 2019 photo. Was dealing with some wind, mount, and tripod issues.
Canon D80, not modified
Samyang 135mm
SkyguilderPro
Stack of 12 images
Can you find Andromeda in the Adirondacks time-lapse video? It’s in two of the four segments on ASTRA YouTube.
Tonight’s Sky: September
In September, Pegasus becomes increasingly prominent in the southeastern sky, allowing stargazers to locate globular star clusters and a nearby double star, Alpha Capricorni. Keep watching for space-based views of densely packed, spherical collections of ancient stars in visible and X-ray light.
Other Calendar Items of Interest
APO Editor’s Note:
Removed previous months “What’s Up” and “Tonight’s Sky” since APO links to prior months postings of APO.
Added Skymaps.com “The Evening Sky Map” and will be posted with each new issue of APO.
Skymaps.com - The Evening Sky Map - Select the current month and download the Northern Edition.
Amateur Astrophotography
A free current issue of Amateur Astrophotography magazine every month, that may be interesting for you to explore. Amateurastrophotography.com.
Also available via their Facebook.
Submissions Welcome
Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.