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In this episode of Star Hopping with Kissimmee Park Observatory, we'll look at the Summer
Triangle region, and show you how to find these beautiful deep sky objects:
The Ring Nebula The Dumbell Nebula
And Globular Cluster Messier 15
Alright, Let's Go Star Hopping!
Hey Hello Hi and welcome to Episode 3 of Star Hopping with Kissimmee Park Observatory! I'm
Dave Hearn, and I'm very pleased to be your host. In this series of programs we'll show
you the most beautiful sights in the night sky, and explain exactly how to find them
with your binoculars or telescope.
Now that we are well into Autumn, the stars of Summer are starting to slide westward.
The night sky is kind of a time machine with the Present being anchored in the Eastern
sky around 8 PM in the evening. As you look west, you are seeing into the Past - stars
that were in the East at 8 PM a couple months ago. And if you check out the Eastern stars
late at night, you're looking into the Future at stars that will be rising at 8 PM in a
few months. Make sense?
So, if you look straight up at the zenith at 8 or 9 PM in October, you will see the
bright stars of Summer and the Milky Way, starting their progression toward the horizon,
giving way to the stars of Autumn now appearing in the East in the early evening. So let's
hang on to Summer a little longer and check out some of the brightest stars in the sky,
which form the Summer Triangle.
So while locating this set of deep sky objects for this episode, you'll be straining your
neck to look straight up! Very possibly a chaise lounge might be in order! In the early
evening, directly above you, you will see three very bright stars: Vega, in the constellation
of Lyra the harp, Deneb, in the constellation of Cygnus the swan, and Altair, the brightest
star in the constellation of Aquila the eagle. This trio of stellar beacons that rise in
the East in June and July form the famous Summer Triangle.
Summer skies hold lots of star clusters and nebulae associated with the Milky Way. Nebulae
can be found in several types, based on the point in the life cycles of the stars associated
with them. When nebulae contain newly formed stars, they glow, excited by the radiation
of the stars within them. These are called emission nebula, because they emit light themselves.
As the stars grow older and finally use up their internal nuclear fuel, other nebulae
are formed when a star expels its outer shell, as it approaches the end of its life. These
bubbles of gas around these dying stars often appear round, and in a telescope, they sometimes
look like a planet. For this reason these types of objects are called Planetary Nebulae.
We'll be locating two famous planetary nebulae which lie within the Summer Triangle, and
the most famous is the Ring Nebula in Lyra. The Ring is also known as Messier 57, and
it's our first target for this episode. So let's have at it, shall we?
A nice bright star is great to use to start a star hop, and for this one we will use Vega,
at the top of the constellation of Lyra. Vega is a brilliant hot blue star and is the 5th
brightest star in the sky, and will be glorious to see as it dances in your telescope's eyepiece.
So now that we're here, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't at least mention
the star just to the left of Vega, which is Epsilon Lyrae, also known as the Double Double.
This apparently single star to the naked eye, resolves into two double stars, really four
actual stars, when looked at in a moderately sized telescope with very high power. So don't
miss it while you are in the neighborhood.
So, in our search for the Ring, we will move down from the blinding star Vega about two
degrees to Zeta 1 Lyrae. (PAUSE) Next we move about 10 degrees downward to the star Sheliak.
(PAUSE) About two degrees to the left of Sheliak is another star about the same brightness,
named Sulafat. This pair is easily seen and outlines the base of the Harp. So now we are
close to our target. Looking with your telescope exactly halfway on the line between these
two stars, you will spy what appears as a small ghostly smoke ring. Put in a higher
magnification eyepiece, say, 100X, and you will recognize the famous Ring Nebula!
This one is a big hit at an observing session with kids. I tell them I'm going to show them
a smoke ring, and I love the reactions when they see it in the scope!
So like most planetary nebulae, the Ring requires a little magnification to see it properly.
Our next target is much larger, and it is known as the Dumbell or Apple Core Nebula,
in the faint constellation of Vulpecula the fox. The Dumbell is number 27 on the famous
Messier list and is the second largest and second brightest planetary nebula in the sky.
This star hop to locate the Dumbbell is challenging, as we will be dealing with faint stars and
will cover a lot of sky in the process. But it won't be faint stars right at the beginning.
We'll start at the brilliant star Altair, the second point of the Summer Triangle and
the 12th brightest star in the sky. So let's do it.
From Altair, let's make our first move to Tarazed, an orangey star about 2 degrees to
the upper right from Altair. (PAUSE)
Now the going gets tough, and you'll need a relatively dark sky to be successful with
this one. Looking about 7 or 8 degrees toward the zenith, you will hopefully see the faint
constellation of Sagitta the arrow. It is made up of four main stars, two at one end
that forms the feathers, a center star, and then another single star which represents
the tip of the arrow. This tip star is Gamma Sagitta, and is where we want to move our
scope next. (PAUSE)
The next star is even a bit fainter - let's move the scope to 12 Vulpecula, about 2 degrees
to the upper right. (PAUSE) Now we're getting close but there is still a ways to go in our
search for M27. At a little less than 90 degrees to the left, and about 3 degrees away, lies
the star 14 Vulpecula. (PAUSE) From 14, make a hard left about 2 more degrees, and the
ghostly Dumbell Nebula will appear in your eyepiece! Phew! Don't worry; after you go
through this process a few times it will be easier to locate. It just takes some practice.
The Dumbell is a beautiful object in astrophotos like this one taken with the KPO reflector.
Ready for a easier and brighter object? Yeah, I thought so. A couple episodes ago we looked
at M22 in Sagittarius, a globular cluster. Today's last target is also a globular, M15
in Pegasus. This one is also near the zenith, so your scope will be pointed pretty much
straight up when you find it.
Let's start from the lower right star in the great square of Pegasus, named Markab. To
the right of Markab there are three fairly bright stars, each about 10 degrees apart,
successively named Homam, (PAUSE) Baham, (PAUSE) and then to the upper right, Enif. Make your
way to Enif.
Move about 5 degrees past Enif in the same direction and you should run into the fuzzy
star that is M15. Put in a higher power eyepiece and you will be rewarded to see this pretty
globular resolved to the core, with many outlying stars spidering outward from it. This is one
of my favorite globulars because of the way it spills out in to the surrounding blackness.
Now that wasn't so bad after finding the Dumbell, right?
Ok, so those were our three targets in and around the Summer Triangle for this episode.
Before we close out, I wanted to throw out a question to you all. We'd love to know what
kinds of optical equipment you use to look at the night skies. Do you actually have a
telescope, or some binoculars, or just your eyes? That type of information will help us
to focus in on how to tailor these astronomy tutorials to better meet your needs. Go ahead
and put your responses down below and we can chat about it. Also, if you have any ideas
on some things you'd like to see on Star Hopping, please let us know!
Trailer
I hope you've enjoyed star hopping around the Milky Way. We're continue to bring you
these astronomy tutorials to you every couple of weeks, and if we get inspires, sometimes
more often. They will be designed to help you find deep sky objects that are up in the
sky at the time we post them to YouTube.
If you found this video useful, please consider subscribing to our channel down there (PAUSE
AND POINT TO LOWER LEFT), click the Thumbs Up, and please share it out to your friends
who like looking at stars. The more the merrier! Also, as I just mentioned, please feel free
to leave any question or comment below, and we will be sure to respond quickly.
Also, please follow KPO on Facebook, where we post all of our astrophotos and keep everyone
informed about upcoming astronomical events. We'd love to hear from you to discuss all
this great stuff up in the sky.
All the links to these places including our website kpobservatory.org, can be found below
in the Episode Notes as well.
And finally, if you feel this video provides you value, and if you'd like to see more,
please consider supporting us on Patreon, where for a couple dollars per video, you
can support our efforts and let us make even more great astronomy tutorials like this one.
Well thanks again for watching, and we'll see you next time on Star Hopping with Kissimmee
Park Observatory.