The Skies Above Bribie

Messier 19. Globular Cluster Messier 57. Ring Nebula

The Skies Above Bribie June 2021

Our June nights are getting colder, moving towards the winter solstice. Late nights exploring the sky are not really practical without being rugged up, as we move through the winter months. I know myself I like to be inside by 10 pm as the cold damp air produces many problems for optics of binoculars and telescopes, even with my small observatory. I think many of us are spoilt with the warm, sunny days of our beautiful Island. I hope everyone enjoyed the spectacle of last month’s lunar eclipse. I'm sure it inspired questions from children and maybe dusting off that of some telescopes or binoculars for a closer look. In June, we say goodbye to Sirius for another year and welcome bright stars Arcturus, Vega and Altair in the North East. In regards to planets, we welcome the “evening star” Venus, seen low in the west after sunset, climbing higher each evening as the months move on. Saturn and Jupiter also becoming visible again rising after 10 pm later this month. The Southern Cross and the pointers are high in the sky now, with the Scorpion almost overhead. This section of the Milky Way is rich with objects to view, and far enough from the horizon, not to be hampered by light pollution. It really does showcase our galaxy, as we look towards the galactic centre. Last month I mentioned some of the wonderful star clusters in this area of the sky that can be seen with binoculars. I photographed one of them a few weeks ago. Messier 19, named in the 18th century by Charles Messier, who compiled a list of “fuzzy” objects in our night sky that he wouldn’t confuse with comets at the time. Obviously, now our telescopes are much better these days, and we can see those “fuzzy” objects are actually star clusters, galaxies or nebula, but his legacy to our learning is still recognised by “The Messier Catalogue”. A large percentage of Messier objects are visible in binoculars and can be found quite easily with a star atlas or a phone app. Messier 19 is a globular cluster of stars located close to the centre of our galaxy and as such, is being stretched by the gravitational forces, as flattening is seen in the photo. Our other images, (two Messier objects), are out of reach of binoculars. A telescope is needed to see these. Exploring to the left of the Milky Way, towards Arcturus is Messier 64, 13 Million Light years away. Photographed by myself last week from Bribie, is actually a galaxy, or more correctly 2 galaxies, that have collided approximately 1 Billion years ago. Sometimes called the BlackEye Galaxy with the black area being part of the second galaxy. Incredible the think Charles Messier could see this object in the 18th century. Messier 57. The well-known Ring Nebula, only 7000 years old. Its distance is 2200 lightyears from earth. Also nearby is “The Little Cocoon Nebula”, gas clouds illuminated by the central star, 4000 light-years from us, photographed by Kate Miller. There really are some marvelous sights in the night sky this month and I know many of our readers are exploring these sights themselves. Stay safe, stay warm and enjoy our beautiful environment Always ready to answer questions by email. bribie.astronomer@gmail.com John Stevenson Owner/Operator of Banksia Observatory