A Sea of Deep Space Objects

The Galactic Center

The waning days of Summer are an excellent time to enjoy a view into the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. We observe our own galaxy all around us in the night sky, and if you are in a reasonably dark location, you can see the band of stars that are the spiral arms of our own galaxy stretch across the sky. At this time of year, as the sky darkens after sunset, the Milky Way stretches high overhead, touching the southern horizon at the constellation Sagittarius. In fact, when you look due south toward that very constellation, you are looking toward the center of the galaxy. Not surprisingly, you also can see a lot of beautiful deep space objects, and with a pair of binoculars you can see many interesting objects, from clusters of stars to nebulae. The diagram gives you an idea of the richness of this part of the sky and galaxy, and even in city lights you will still be able to spot many of these objects. A telescope is fine to use as well, but I find that binoculars give you a big picture and are quite good for seeing the colors and breadth of many of the big nebulae in and around Sagittarius. 

Six months from now, as the Earth swings around the Sun and our view of the night sky has shifted, we'll be pointing the opposite direction toward the 'antipode' of the Milky Way Galaxy, a much less interesting part of the sky (but still cosmically significant). So enjoy Sagittarius and the center of the galaxy while you can.

Debunking the 2012 Hoax

We are in full swing this week with discussions and rumors about apocalypse on Friday December 21st, 2012. There are numerous claims, including impact by a rogue planet (Niburu), flipping of the Earth's axes, alignment of the planets, alignment of the Earth and Sun and the Galactic Center, and of course most famously, the end of the Long Count Mayan Calendar. All of these are either false or have no connection to science, of course, and scientists are therefore not worried about any of these, since there is absolutely no scientific evidence that any of these things will happen (or in the case of the end of the Mayan Calendar, that there is any reality-based significance of that numerological moment). All we will have on December 21st is the usual winter solstice, a geometric alignment that signifies the endpoint of an annual journey around the Sun, same as any other year.

Debunking the 2012 Hoax

I like to envision myself in a spaceship watching the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, viewing our home planet whisking across the heavens, spinning on its axis and enjoying its perfect location in the Solar System. From up there, you see the planet in its majesty, much as the Apollo astronauts did, a jewel floating through the blackness of space. And then I envision little people way down there on the planet, asking themselves if a rogue planet is in our midst, but is somehow unseen by anyone. And people worrying about a calendar that was invented years ago, the significance of which is completely irrelevant on the cosmic scale of the Solar System and Universe. And I don't understand how rational, thinking beings on Earth can become so self-obsessed and worried about all of these myths. But over the millennia there have always been doomsday rumors, and apparently it's in our nature to believe such stories. It's myth, and if you stand back and take in the big picture like the astronauts did, you cannot help but see just how irrelevant all of the speculation and rumors are.

If you want to read, on a point-by-point basis, just how science refutes each claim of the 2012 doomsday, visit the highly informative 2012 Hoax website. I have met the creator and contributors to this site, as well as David Morrison of NASA who has been speaking out against the rumors for several years. Read the real story and don't worry. I'll see you on December 22nd.

Image courtesy of 2012hoax.org.

The Galactic Center: Staring Into the Heart of the Milky Way

Summer is prime time to look into the heavens and touch the wonder of the Galactic Center, the heart of our own Milky Way galaxy. Two bright constellations guide you to the center of the Milky Way, Scorpius and Sagittarius, which are easy to spot due south each evening shortly after sunset.

The Galactic Center

Our own Sun and Solar System occupy their special place 30,000 light years from the center of the Milky Way, and as we look out and around us into space, we view our own galaxy from within, along the spiral arms and toward the center. Many have seen the lovely band of the Milky Way when camping or far away from city lights, but the faint river of light is all but invisible in any urban area. Nonetheless, with binoculars, you can see deeper into the sky and discover some of the deep space wonders and faint objects that are visible between our own location and the center of the galaxy, an area full of star clusters and nebulae. So I encourage everyone to get a pair of binoculars, face south, and using the star chart (above) as a guide, aim between Scorpius and Sagittarius and meander from there upwards. You will encounter the Lagoon Nebula and the nearby Trifid Nebula, easily visible in city lights if you use a telescope or binoculars, and many more Messier Objects, the fuzzy blobs that dot the sky near the Galactic Center.

In six months, when the Earth has traveled half-way around the Sun, we'll be able to look in the opposite direction, toward the Galactic Anticenter, as I have described in a previous blog post. That is interesting to consider, but more exciting is the Summer when we can enjoy our own galaxy's finest wonders on full display.

Here's a link to an image of the Galactic Center on Sky & Telescope's website.

Image courtesy SkySafari.

Auriga and Capella: the Galactic Anticenter

High overhead in the winter sky is the distinctive constellation Auriga the Charioteer. This is a bright constellation, visible even with city lights, punctuated by the 6th brightest star in the night sky, Capella. To the casual viewer, Auriga appears to be a pentagon in the sky, and in winter it is nearly directly overhead as night sets in. Depending upon the source, the constellation Auriga is described as the actual Charioteer holding a goat, or just the shape of his pointed  helmet. The star name Capella is in fact Latin for 'small goat.'

Auriga has the distinction of being located in the direction of the Galactic Anticenter. What is an anticenter? It is the point in the night sky that is opposite the Galactic Center, of course :-)  The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, a dominant summertime constellation. So not surprising, in the winter time when we are looking the 'other direction' in the sky, we find ourselves staring out into space directly out of our Milky Way Galaxy.

The bright star Capella is relatively close to Earth, 42 light years away. It shines brightly in the winter sky, making Auriga easy to locate. A fascinating fact is that the star Capella is not one star, but a four-star system made up of two binary stars. That means, that the four stars are broken into two pairs of binary star systems. Two of them are big stars, 10 times the size of our Sun. The other two are quite small and faint, so when you see Capella you are primarily seeing the two bigger stars. Some binary star systems can be seen as separate stars in small telescopes or binoculars, but the two bigger stars in the Capella system are too close to see as separate objects.

Try to locate Auriga and Capella tonight and savor the fact that you are staring out of the Milky Way into the vastness of space far away from our home galaxy.

Astronomical Pseudoscience and the 2012 Hoax

With the imminent release of the movie "2012" there is a blitz of pseudoscience on the internet that is helping to market the movie but is also unnecessarily fueling fears of "Doomsday." My view is that good science fiction is fun and entertaining, but the movie 2012 has opened a new chapter in viral marketing and the use of social media to misinform in the name of entertainment. The movie makes numerous (but inaccurate) claims of disaster based on changes to the Earth's magnetic poles, collision with planet Niburu, alignment of the Sun with the Galactic Center, and of course the prediction of this by the Mayan Calendar. Good science fiction is engaging and this movie could have been just that, but it is trying to do much more.

I've found a number of informative and helpful websites to counter the fears being propagated. NASA's astrobiologist David Morrison has been the primary spokesperson fielding questions for NASA from concerned citizens and has an excellent site. Andrew Fraknoi of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific rebukes a broad range of pseudoscience on the ASP website. The Universe Today has gathered a number of articles by Dr. Ian O'Neil that clarify the misconceptions associated with 2012. My favorite collection of information and debunking is on the 2012hoax website, which is a direct assault on the movie and the misconceptions.

I was particularly moved by the comments I heard by David Morrison on the SETI Institute podcast "Are We Alone" and by the 2012hoax website, both of which point out that vulnerable people will look at the 2012 marketing websites such as "The Institute for Human Continuity", the blog "After the IHC" and the blog "This is the End" as legitimate sources of information about doomsday, as a reason to give up, to commit suicide or worse. Anyone with a willingness to learn and understand real science won't be fooled by the blitz of pseudoscience. If you choose to see the movie, I am sure it will be engrossing. But don't think for a minute that it is based on real science. It's not even close.

There are genuine scientific projects underway that are on the lookout for real threats. Here is the NASA Near Earth Object program, cataloging and tracking potentially hazardous objects. Thank goodness for science!

The Milky Way and the Galactic Center

At the SFAA star party a couple nights ago on Mt Tam, the conditions were very clear and dark and we had a nice view of the Milky Way. With an excellent southern horizon, we could see all of Scorpius and Sagittarius and as my daughter and I were giving star tours to guests at the star party, I was happy to point out these two constellations and note that the center of the Milky Way was in the vicinity of the tail of Scorpius and the "teapot" of Sagittarius. This is called the "Galactic Center" and is the central bulge of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Looking toward the galactic center, however, you don't see a huge ball of light. That is because there is a massive dust cloud that lies between the Sun and the galactic center. Too bad for us, because it would be quite amazing to see the center of our own galaxy. Nonetheless, there is much richness in the sky near the galactic center and even in city lights you can begin to see some of that beauty if you use a pair of binoculars. Standard 7x35 or 10x50 binoculars can substantially increase the amount of light you can see, and that means you can begin to discern the stars and shapes of deep space objects such as the Lagoon Nebula or the Swan Nebula. Take out binoculars and point yourself south and see if you can start to see some of the wonders that are at the heart of the Milky Way.