by Steve Owens | Jan 4, 2011
Originally posted on Dark Sky Diaries by Steve Owens (@darkskyman on Twitter)
With the Quadrantids meteor shower that has just past yielding around 100 meteors per hour in near-perfect New Moon conditions, which showers of the next two years will give us as good a display?
Meteor Shower
There are a few regular, dependable showers that can be relied on to put on a good show year after year, given a good Moon phases, so let’s concentrate on those:
Lyrids 2011
The Lyrids peak this year on April 21/22, only three days after the Full Moon, making conditions far from ideal. The ZHR is around 20, but under bright Moon conditions this will be much reduced, so that from the UK you might only see a few Lyrids per hour.
Persieds 2011
The Perseids peak on 12/13 August 2011 coincides exactly with a Full Moon, making this shower pretty much a write-off in 2011.
Orionids 2011
The Orionids peak occurs on 21/22 October 2011 just after the last quarter Moon, with the Moon rising a little after midnight, just as the meteor shower radiant is gaining height. Again, far from ideal.
Leonids 2011
The Leonids peak on 17/18 November occurs during a last quarter Moon, which unfortunately is smack bang in the direction of Leo, and so will obscure many of the Leonids in 2011
Geminids 2011
The Geminids peak on 13/14 December 2011 will likewise be completely obscured by an almost-full Moon in Gemini.
Quadrantids 2012
The Quadrantids peak on 3/4 January 2012 will feature a waxing gibbous Moon which won’t set until 0400.
Lyrids 2012
The Lyrids peak on 21/22 April 2012 is the first major shower peak in 15 months where the Moon is absent, meaning that you should get good views of this shower which has a ZHR of only around 20.
Persieds 2012
The Perseids peak of 12/13 August 2012 will feature a thin waning crescent moon that’s visible in the sky from midnight, obscuring some of the Perseids.
Orionids 2012
The Orionids peak on 21/22 October 2012 is pretty much Moon-free from around 2330, as the Moon sets.
Leonids 2012
The Leonids peak on 17/18 November 2012 will also be Moon free from early evening, and so presents an opportunity to see a few Leonids.
Geminids 2012
Rounding off this two year run of poor Moon conditions for meteor showers, we end with the Geminids on 13/14 December, coinciding wonderfully with a New Moon on 13 December, meaning conditions will be near perfect.
by VirtualAstro | Jan 3, 2011
Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain host three days of live stargazing on BBC 2 featuring epic images from astronomers and observatories from around the globe.
There will be hundreds of free events up and down the country and many useful videos and guides on the Stargazing web page.
Stargazing Live is all about people doing astronomy and witnessing some of the most spectacular astronomical events, including the conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Uranus, the Quadrantid meteor shower and other wonders of the night sky.
In the spirit of getting everyone to look up and share all of the fantastic things going on as well as the BBC 2 program, meteorwatch.org will be doing a twitter meteorwatch for the quadrantids meteor shower, headed up by meteorwatch (@VirtualAstro on Twitter).
As well as all the useful information for beginners on this site and tweets from many people joining in on twitter, meteorwatch.org will have the Meteormap.
Tweet #bbcstargazing or #meteorwatch – first part of your postcode – Country e.g UK – and how many meteors you just saw, e.g 3 to see your meteor results appear on the map.
Your tweet should look like this #bbcstargazing SE1 UK 2 or #meteorwatch PL4 UK 1
Enjoy BBC Stargazing Live, the many events and Twitter Meteorwatch, but most of all, tell your family, tell your friends and tell everyone to look up and enjoy the majesty and wonders of the night sky!
The BBC is not moderating/ overseeing or is responsible for the content on this post, meteorwatch.org or the Twitter Meteorwatch.
by Steve Owens | Jan 1, 2011
Originally posted on Dark Sky Diary by Steve Owens www.twitter.com/darkskyman
At 1900 GMT on 3 January 2011 the Earth will be at perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun this year.
If that sounds confusing to you, and has you wondering why it’s so cold given that the Earth is at its closest to the Sun, then this belies (a) a northern-hemisphere-centric attitude (in the Southern Hemisphere it’s summer right now), and (b) a misunderstanding of what causes the seasons.
The Earth orbits the sun in a nearly circular orbit called an ellipse. The degree by which an orbit differs from a perfect circle is called the eccentricity, e. If e = 0 then the orbit is circular; if e = 1 then the orbit is parabolic, and therefore not gravitationally bound to the Sun. The Earth’s orbital eccentricity is 0.0167, meaning that it is very nearly circular, with the short axis of the ellipse being around 96% the length of the long axis.
Thus, during perihelion Earth is 0.983AU from the Sun, while during aphelion (its furthest distance from the Sun, occurring this year on 4 July) Earth is 1.017AU from the Sun. (1AU = 1 astronomical unit = the average distance between the Earth and the Sun = 150 million km). The seasons on Earth have really nothing to do with how close the Earth is to the Sun at different times of year. Indeed how could they, given that the difference in distance between closest and furthest approach is only a few per cent?
The seasonal differences we experience are of course caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis, which is inclined by 23.5 degrees from the vertical. This tilt means that, as Earth orbits the Sun, for six months of the year one hemisphere tips towards the Sun, so that it experiences longer days than nights, becoming most pronounced at midsummer, at which point the Sun reaches its highest in the sky at noon. Simultaneously the other hemisphere tips away from the Sun, and experiences shorter days than nights, becoming most pronounced at midwinter, on which day the Sun is at its lowest noontime altitude.
Earth's tilted axis
The further you are from the equator the more pronounced the seasonal effects. In fact equatorial countries don’t experience seasonal variations, while the poles experience extremes with six-month-long winters and summers.
The timing of perihelion and aphelion relative to our seasons is entirely random. The fact the southern hemisphere midsummer (21 Dec) almost coincides with perihelion (3 Jan) is simply that; a coincidence. Given that fact, there is no reason to be surprised that perihelion occurs so close to northern hemisphere midwinter. it has to happen some time and it’s coincidence that it happens to occur within two weeks of midwinter / midsummer.
To take this explanation even further, we can calculate how much variation in incident sunlight (called the flux) there would be in two scenarios:
1. an imaginary scenario where the seasonal varioations in temperature are due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis but where the Earth goes round the Sun in a perfectly circular orbit
and
2. an imaginary scenario where the Earth’s axis isn’t tilted, but where it’s orbit is elliptical in the same degree as ours actually is.
1. The Sun appears at its highest point in our sky each day at noon. The highest it ever gets is at noon on midsummer. The lowest noontime altitude occurs at noon on midwinter.
In Scotland the Sun is around 55 degrees above the horizon at noon on midsummer, and only 10 degrees above it at noon on midwinter.
The amount of energy from the Sun radiant on a fixed area is proportional to the sine of the altitude, so the ratio of the solar energy radiant on a square metre of Glasgow between midsummer and midwinter is
sin(55) / sin(10) = 1.84
So here in Scotland we get 84% more energy from the Sun in summer than we do in winter, due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis.
2. If the Earth’s axis was not tilted, then we would only experience temperature differences from the Sun depending on how far or near we are from it. In this case, the amount of energy from the Sun radian of a fixed area is proportional to the square of the distance from the Sun, so the ration of the solar energy radiant on a square metre of Glasgow between perihelion and aphelion is
(1.017/0.983)^2 = 1.07
So we get 7% more energy from the Sun at perihelion than we do at aphelion., due to the differing distances to the Sun.
From this you can see that, while the distance to the Sun has some effect on how much heat we receive, it is a very small effect compared to that produced by our axial tilt.
by VirtualAstro | Dec 23, 2010
A round-the-world wave to the humans aboard the International Space Station by their fellow humans on the Earth – choreographed by a grassroots Twitter campaign (@ISSwave).
24-31 DECEMBER, 2010
A celebration of human solidarity during the holiday season
For one week beginning Friday, 24 December, humans around the world will show their solidarity with their fellow humans in space (and on Earth) by waving at the International Space Station (ISS) as she passes overhead at 17,500 mph (28,000 kmph).
Participants, recruited through Twitter, are encouraged to share their waves — either alone or as part of an ISSwave tweetup (a physical gathering of twitterers, or tweeps) — by tweeting their zip/postal code and the hashtag “#ISSwave” along with photos and videos of their waves, thoughts, holiday wishes for the astronauts and cosmonauts, etc. Participants’ waves will be registered in real-time at www.isswave.org.
Astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station may even film themselves waving back at ISSwave participants. At least two astronauts, including Ron Garan, have voiced their support for ISSwave in emails and tweets.
The idea for the wave emerged through a serendipitous twitter exchange among Twitter acquaintances and regular ISS watchers Lucy Rogers (@DrLucyRogers), Richard P. Grant (@rpg7twit) and Karen James (@kejames). They discovered that watching ISS passes is even more exciting when done together with other humans, whether they are standing right next to you or watching from afar. To know that you are not the only one looking up in awe at this spectacle of human ingenuity and cooperation speeding across the night sky creates a special connection between us.
“The first time I watched an ISS pass I was surprised by how much it affected me,” said Karen James. “‘We made that’, I thought, ‘there are humans up there!’ All of my worries just seemed so tiny in the face of this symbol of human achievement and cooperation. I want to share that experience with other humans and also show my support to the ones living and working aboard the station.”
‘“I’d always wave up at the ISS if I saw it pass overhead,” says Lucy Rogers. “Someone laughed and said the astronauts wouldn’t see me.” So she asked on Twitter if anyone else waved – a lot of people did – and the communal ISS waving began. “When Karen moved to the USA she saw the ISS at a different time to us in Europe – which prompted the idea of a round-the-world wave,” she says.
We see the ISS because it is lit by the Sun. Sunlight reflects off it’s solar panels in the same way it glints off windows here on Earth. As the ISS travels round the world, the reflection can be seen in a broad sweep across the Earth. Due to the angles involved between the Sun, ISS and our location on Earth, sometimes we see bright, high passes and sometimes we can’t see it at all. During the week 24th – 31st December, most places on the Earth should get a good view of it at some point.
The three formed the Twitter account @ISSwave to coordinate, promote and provide updates on the event. Their hope is that seasoned and novice ISS watchers alike will experience the startlingly emotional experience of an ISS pass, amplified by solidarity with thousands of others watching around the world.
Additionally, the team hopes the buzz around ISSwave will persuade those who have never watched an ISS pass to participate, marking an increase in awareness about the International Space Station and the existence of a community of space enthusiasts on Twitter (“spacetweeps”).
The wave also celebrates the 10th anniversary of continuous human presence in space (ISS10years) on 2 November 2010 and the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight into space — the first human spaceflight — on April 12th 2011 (www.YuriGagarin50.org).
ISS Wave Info:
- The International Space Station has been orbiting the Earth over 15 times a day for more than ten years.
- Although it is about 390 km (~240 miles) high, we can still see it from the Earth, thanks to the Sun reflecting off the solar arrays. The solar array wingspan is 240 feet (73 meters). This is longer than that of a Boeing 777 model at 212 feet (65 meters).
- Currently on the ISS are Oleg Skripochka, Alexander Kaleri, Dmitry Kndratyev, Paolo Nespoli, Catherine Coleman and Scott Kelly (Commander).
- Photos of the ISS passing overhead are available at http://www.isswave.org/ISSWave/Media_Photos.html
- There are various ways you can work out when it will be possible to see it from where you are, including Heavens Above, Twisst, NASA, ESA and Orbiting Frog.
- As of 19 December, @ISSwave had over 600 followers from across all continents.
- Dr Karen James (@kejames) is Director of Science for The HMS Beagle Trust, a UK charity aiming to rebuild the famous ship that carried Charles Darwin around the word on his seminal voyage of discovery. Through the Beagle Project she collaborates with NASA Astronaut Michael Barratt a long-duration spaceflight veteran and member of the crew of the upcoming STS-133 mission to the ISS aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. She is a former postdoctoral researcher at the Natural History Museum in London and has recently repatriated to the United States. For more information visit http://kejames.com/.
- Dr Lucy Rogers (@DrLucyRogers) a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, aims to infiltrate the public’s consciousness by writing scientific stuff in plain English. She has published a book about space flight, “It’s ONLY Rocket Science”, which doesn’t contain any equations. She lives on the Isle of Wight where she can see the Milky Way from her back garden. For more information visit http://lucyrogers.com.
- Dr Richard P. Grant (@rpg7twit) is a biological scientist turned writer, editor and poet. He currently lives and works in London, and has a habit of taking on far too many projects. For more information visit http://rg-d.com/rpg, or his blog at Occam’s Typewriter.
PRESS CONTACT:
For more information or to arrange an interview:
UK: Dr Lucy Rogers
Twitter: @DrLucyRogers
Skype: dr.lucy.rogers
Phone: +44 1983 731 759
Email: [email protected]
USA: Dr Karen James
Twitter: @kejames
Skype: karenejames
Phone: +1 207 669 2663
Email: [email protected]
by Astroguyz David Dickinsen | Dec 10, 2010
Originally posted on the 10th December 2010 by AstroGuys
http://astroguyz.com/2010/12/10/astro-event-don%E2%80%99t-miss-the-geminids/
Looking Northeast at about 10 PM. (Photo by Author).
This year, believe the hype; this month’s Geminid meteor shower is a sure bet. This shower is one of the few dependable ‘old faithful’ meteor showers of the year. Peaking on the night of December 13th-14th, this year’s apparition sees a well placed northern radiant rising high in the northeast as the first quarter Moon sets about midnite local. The Geminid stream radiates from very near the bright star Castor in the zodiac constellation Gemini the Twins and typically produces up to 100 to 120 meteors per hour. If you are placed in mid-northern latitudes, you may see some activity shortly after sunset, but the real meteoritic action will begin after midnite. Think of a car driving at night in a snowstorm, not a stretch in the depths of the northern hemisphere winter. Looking forward into your high beams you get the cool vintage “Star Trek” effect, as you and your vehicle plow headlong into the stream of snowflakes. Think of the flakes as meteors and the car as the Earth; we face headlong into the meteor stream after midnight, and hence see more flashing meteor trains. The Geminids present several swift movers and fireballs, and the darker skies you have access to, the more you’ll see. Be sure to dress warm (it is winter out there!) and make a point to count and record your observations. Meteor shower observing is one of the few remaining scientific endeavors that remains low tech. Also, don’t forget to participate in the #meteorwatch via Twitter! This shower has a broad peak, and will be active the week of December 12th until the 18th, when the solstice-centered Ursids become active. In fact, there are some indications that the Geminids have been increasing in activity over the past decade, and certainly there’s a lot of material out there. The predicted peak centers on 5:00 AM UTC, just past midnite Tuesday morning from the US East Coast. And if that weren’t enough, it’s one of the last meteor showers with the Moon placed below the horizon until 2012; only the Quadrantids and Giacobinids have the same favorable geometry in 2011. Good luck, and be sure not to miss this unique meteor shower!
The astro-term for this week is the Yarkovsky Effect. The parent body that produces the Geminids, 3200 Phaethon, harbors somewhat of a mystery. Discovered in 1983, this space rock has been identified as the source of the Geminid meteor stream.NASA researchers estimate a massive amount of material exists, more than 100 times that of the average meteor stream. Unlike most streams that emanate from comets, however, 3200 Phaethon is an asteroid. Or is it an inactive comet? The mystery deepens, as the color of this strange rock is very similar to another asteroid, Pallas. 3200 Phaeton’s path sees it passing within Mercury’s orbit every 1.4 years, which brings it well within the realm of the Yarkovsky effect. This is the tiny bit of momentum imparted on a rotating body as it re-radiates photons absorbed from the Sun. On large bodies the effect may be negligible, but on tiny asteroids it can produce major changes in orbit over time. In fact, employing the Yarkovsky Effect by changing the reflectivity of an Earth-crossing asteroid is one way of possibly deflecting a lethal space rock. Is 3200 Phaethon a dormant comet or the remnant of an asteroid belt break up? This is one worldlet that definitely begs future exploration.
by VirtualAstro | Nov 26, 2010
By Twitter..@Betelgeuse10
Original post http://astronomycentral.co.uk/the-night-sky-with-binoculars-tonight
Thursday 25th November, 2010
Get yourself outside tonight if it’s clear, pull up a deck chair, and scan the star clusters, nebulae, and even see another galaxy with your binoculars. They are just perfect for some objects like the larger open clusters. Just aimlessly wandering along the band of the Milky Way is also very enjoyable. If you have binoculars up to 10 x 50 then they’re ideal for the job, portable, and easy to hold. Anything over this size will usually need a tripod. All the objects listed here are at their best in dark skies, ideally with the bright Moon not around.
The Moon tonight…waning gibbous 73% full, rising in NE at 7.53 pm, and setting in NW at 11.36 am (GMT) (26th)
The Sword of Orion, and M42
Rising in the east tonight is the impressive constellation of Orion The Hunter, a sure sign of winter. It’s a striking constellation with the unmistakable, straight line of the three stars of Orion’s belt. Now look below the belt and you’ll see Orion’s Sword. To your naked eye it looks like a line of three fuzzy stars that hang down from the belt, resembling a sword. But when you look through your binos you will see that this is actually a group of star clusters, not individual stars. Notice how the middle cluster glows, especially with averted vision. What you are looking at is the famous, and probably most photographed deep sky object ever, the Orion Nebula or M42. This object is a huge and complex region of gas clouds, around 14 light years across. This place at 1,500 light years away is a vast stellar nursery, but it’s just one small part of an even larger region of gas that spans nearly the entire constellation. New stars, solar systems in formation, and even freely floating planets have all been observed in the Orion Nebula.
Tonight the Orion Nebula rises in the east at 8.01 pm, climbs highest in the south at 1.33 am (GMT), and sets in the west after sunrise.
The Orion Nebula can even be seen with the naked eye under very good skies, it is a magnitude 4.0 object
How long will it be around for? The Orion Nebula is in a winter constellation. So it will slowly and gradually move across the sky eventually sinking into the west by the end of March, when it will make way for the spring constellations rising in the east.
The Pleiades, or Seven Sisters
Rising in the north east tonight in the constellation Taurus is the one open cluster that lots of people can name and recognise, the Seven Sisters, The Pleiades, or M45. It lies between Perseus and Orion, and to the east of Auriga. You can easily see it naked eye, as a large fuzzy patch of stars. M45 is a close open cluster at just 440 light years away, it’s one of the nearest and so appears large in the sky. The stars in the cluster are also very young at only around 150 million years, and the brightest ones you can see are also the very youngest and hottest. The “Seven Sisters” cluster actually contains up to 1,400 members.
This attractive open star cluster fits nicely into your binoculars field of view, providing a very satisfying sight especially in dark skies with the Moon absent.
Tonight the Pleiades Cluster rises in the north east at 3.14 pm, it gets to its highest point in the south at 11.24 pm (GMT), and sets in the north west after sunrise.
The Pleiades Cluster is at magnitude 1.6
How long will it be around for? The Pleiades too will be visible in the sky with the Orion Nebula until around the end of March.
The Andromeda Galaxy, M31
High in the eastern sky tonight is the famous Andromeda Galaxy, or M31. It is a huge spiral galaxy 2.5 million light years away, with up to one trillion stars, and a diameter of up to 220,000 light years…more than twice the size of our Milky Way. You can even see Andromeda naked eye as a fuzzy glow, and there are two main ways to find this island universe in the sky. One is to locate the large square of Pegasus with its four stars marking each corner. You’ll find Pegasus to the east of Perseus, and Cassiopeia. The star at the upper left of the square is called Sirrah (or Alpheratz), look to the left of Sirrah and you’ll see three stars in a line, a dimmer star and two bright stars. The first bright star is Mirach. Now look above Mirach and you’ll see a dimmer star, look about the same distance above again from the dimmer star, and here is located the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Another way to find M31 it is to use the right hand V of the W of Cassiopeia and imagine a line pointing down, this V points just to the left of Andromeda.
Get your binoculars on M31 and you’ll see the bright core of the galaxy as a small fuzzy blob. But keep studying and use averted vision, and you’ll soon start to make out the fainter shape of the galaxy’s disk extending out from the core. This is an object far outside the Milky Way, an entire ”island universe”. To be seen at its best Andromeda should be observed with the bright Moon absent under dark skies, but it’s still visible even from urban areas.
Tonight the Andromeda Galaxy is rising from in the east after dusk, it’s virtually directly overhead at 8.44 pm (GMT), and eventually sinks low in the north west before sunrise. It is circumpolar, meaning it never sets in northern latitudes.
M31 is at magnitude 3.4
How long will it be around for? The Andromeda Galaxy is actually circumpolar from northern latitudes. It is nicely high in the sky now but will gradually sink to its lowest point just above the horizon in the north in mid March, before starting its rise again.
The Perseus Double Cluster
This cluster is one of my favourites, it looks stunning in a telescope at low power, but binoculars also show it well. The Perseus Double Cluster, NGC 884 and NGC 869, or H and X Persei are actually two seperate open star clusters close to each other in space at around 7,000 light years away. They are only a few million years old, much younger than the Pleaides. To find it I could tell you to find this star, draw a line to that star etc, but the easiest way I have found to locate the Perseus Double is just to look for a fuzzy irregular patch in the band of the Milky Way between Cassiopeia and Perseus, (cluster marked as H+X on Perseus map). Once you see it, get your binos on it and you’ll see two very attractive open clusters of sparkling stars set against the blackness of space. There’s also a nice line of stars that curves away from the upper most cluster, when you see this line of stars you’ll know you have this popular deep sky object in your view.
Tonight you’ll see the Perseus Double Cluster rising from the north east after dark and getting very high in the sky to the east. It is circumpolar meaning it’s always above the horizon and never sets.
This open cluster is a magnitude 4.00 object
How long will it be around for? The Perseus Double Cluster will always be above the horizon, but by April it will have moved over to the north and much lower in the sky.
Jupiter and its moons
Jupiter the giant of the solar system is on show right now, although it is gradually on the wane as far as size and brightness go, having passed full opposition in mid September. But the solar system’s most massive planet and its collection of four main moons can be seen in binoculars. Look to the east after it goes dark and the brightest “star” you see is Jupiter. Put your binoculars on it and although the disk of the planet is small, look carefully and you should see four tiny pinpoints of light around it. These are the moons of Jupiter, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa. Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanic place in the entire solar system, and Europa is covered in ice with an ocean below its frozen crust. One of those four pinpoints of light you see (Europa) has more water on it than all of Earth’s oceans put together, and could even have extraterrestrial life living there. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, even bigger than Mercury, and Callisto could also have a subsurface ocean. The moons shift and change postion over mere hours, so it’s a continually changing scene.
Tonight you’ll see Jupiter quite high in the south east by night fall, it rises highest in the south at 7.33 pm, and sets in the west at 1.08 am. (GMT)
Tonight Jupiter is at magnitude -2.44
How long will it be around for? Jupiter will eventually go out of sight in the setting Sun’s glow by March 2011.
The Beehive Cluster, M44
The Beehive Cluster, Praesepe, M44, or NGC 2632 is a very nice and attractive open star cluster to look at through your binoculars, and does kind of look like a swarm of bees. The Beehive is another open cluster close to Earth, at 577 light years away in the constellation of Cancer. This puts it slightly further away than the Pleaides. M44 rises from the north east, and you’ll see it with your naked eye as a nebulous patch on clear moonless nights. This cluster lies in the fainter constellation of Cancer, in between Leo, and Gemini. The stars that make up the head of Leo the Lion look like a large backwards question mark. You’ll find M44 with your naked eye roughly half way between this “question mark”, and the two twin stars of Castor and pollux in Gemini. The Beehive actually has over 1,000 stars, and is around 600 million years old.
This is really one for the early hours at the moment, as you’ll have to wait until beyond midnight if you want to get a good view of the Beehive Cluster. Tonight it rises from the north east at 8.41 pm (GMT), and climbs to its highest point in the south just before sunrise. Viewing this object gets more convenient in the coming weeks though, as it gradually rises earlier.
This object is at magnitude 3.7
How long will it be around for By April when M42 and the Pleiades will be sinking into the western horizon, the Beehive Cluster will still be nice and high in the sky in the south. But by June it will have disappeared below the north west horizon by nightfall.
The Hyades Cluster
Look to the eastern sky, to the lower left of the Pleaides Cluster, and you’ll see the bright orange star Alderbaran. Alderbaran is an orange giant, and marks the eye of the bull in the constellation Taurus. Alderbaran marks the position of the closest star cluster to Earth, the Hyades. This star grouping of up to 400 members is large and loose, due to its closeness at a mere 151 light years away. This open cluster is so spread out that even your binoculars will just about get all of its stars in their field of view. But this is a really nice collection of suns to gaze at through your binos on crisp dark nights. It contrasts well with bright Alderbaran, although this orange giant is not actually a member of the Hyades Cluster, being much closer to Earth at 65 light years away.
Tonight the Hyades Cluster rises from the east at 4.44 pm, and gets nice and high in the south at 12.38 am (GMT), eventually sinking towards the western horizon before daybreak.
How long will it be around for? The Hyades Cluster will be on view until March/April. At this time it will be close behind the setting Sun, following it into the western horizon.
…also check out Planets To See In The Sky Tonight
