January Night Sky
Here are some of the things to see this month:
Spica
Great Diamond
The Great Diamond, or Diamond of Virgo, is a prominent spring asterism formed by the bright stars Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici constellation, Arcturus in Boötes, Spica in Virgo, and Denebola in Leo. The asterism shares the stars Arcturus and Spica with the Spring Triangle, an asterism formed by these two stars with Regulus, the … [Read more…]
Spring Triangle
The Spring Triangle is a prominent spring asterism formed by the bright stars Arcturus in Boötes constellation, Spica in Virgo, and Regulus in Leo. The asterism can be seen in the southeastern sky from March to May by observers in the northern hemisphere. It shares two stars – Arcturus and Spica – with the larger … [Read more…]
Night Sky Highlights in May
Here are some of the things to see in May:
Highlights of the Night Sky in May
Here are some of the things to see in May:
Arcturus
Arcturus, Alpha Boötis, is the brightest star in Boötes constellation and the fourth brightest star in the sky. With an apparent magnitude of -0.04, Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. (The three brightest stars – Sirius in Canis Major, Canopus in Carina, and Alpha Centauri in Centaurus – lie south of … [Read more…]
Spica
Spica, Alpha Virginis, is the brightest star in the southern constellation Virgo and the 16th brightest star in the sky. It is a blue subgiant star located at a distance of 262 light years from Earth. Spica is really a close binary star system. It is one of the nearest massive binary stars to the … [Read more…]
Southern Pinwheel Galaxy – Messier 83
The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 83 (M83), is a barred spiral galaxy located in Hydra constellation. M83 lies at a distance of 15 million light years from Earth. It is one of the nearest and brightest spiral galaxies, and can even be seen in binoculars. The galaxy appears face-on when viewed from … [Read more…]
Omega Centauri – NGC 5139
Omega Centauri is a globular cluster located in the direction of Centaurus constellation. Hosting about 10 million stars within a region about 150 light years in diameter, Omega Centauri is the brightest, largest, and most massive globular star cluster in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The cluster lies at a distance of 15,800 light years … [Read more…]
Antares
Antares, also known as Alpha Scorpii or Cor Scorpii, is the brightest star in Scorpius and the 15th brightest star in the night sky. Antares is a class M red supergiant marking the heart of the celestial scorpion. It lies at a distance of 550 light years from Earth. The star is often confused for … [Read more…]