The Observer's Sky Atlas - With 50 Star Charts Covering The Entire Sky PDF
Preview The Observer's Sky Atlas - With 50 Star Charts Covering The Entire Sky
prelims karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 1of6 June26,2007 16:21 The Observer’s Sky Atlas ThirdEdition prelims karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 2of6 June26,2007 16:21 prelims karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 3of6 June26,2007 16:21 E. Karkoschka The Observer’s Sky Atlas With 50 Star Charts Covering the Entire Sky Third Edition 123 prelims karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 4of6 June26,2007 16:21 E.Karkoschka LunarandPlanetaryLab SpaceSciencesBuilding UniversityofArizona Tucson,AZ85721 USA Cover photograph: Based on a photograph by the author, it shows the southwest part of the constellationSagittariustogetherwiththebrightestMilkyWayclouds.Northistotheupperleft. TherednebulaneartheleftedgeistheLagoonNebulaM8.Manyotherobjectscanbeidentified withthehelpofchartE20. Frontispiece: The sword of Orion, containing the Orion Nebula. Looking at it with a large telescopeonadarknightgivesoneofthegrandestviewsintheuniverse.Thefaintreflection nebulaNGC1973lieshalfwayuptothetopofthephotographwherethestellargroupNGC1981 canbeseen. With50starcharts,245blackandwhitephotographs,and6linedrawings. TitleoftheoriginalGermanedition:AtlasfürHimmelsbeobachter ©Franckh’scheVerlagshandlung,W.Keller&Co.,KOSMOS-Verlag,Stuttgart1988 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2007927938 ISBN-13:978-0-387-48537-9 e-ISBN-13:978-0-387-48539-3 Printedonacid-freepaper. ©2007,1999, 1990 SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarlyanalysis.Useinconnectionwithanyformofinformationstorageandretrieval,electronic adaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafter developedisforbidden. Theuseinthispublicationoftradenames,trademarks,servicemarks,andsimilarterms,evenif theyarenotidentifiedassuch,isnottobetakenasanexpressionofopinionastowhetherornot theyaresubjecttoproprietaryofrights. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com insert karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 1of19 June26,2007 16:22 Contents Explanatory Notes Star Charts and Catalog Introduction .............. 1 Catalog Headings .. ......... 21 Sky Atlases ............... 1 Arrangement of Charts ...... 22 Catalogs ................. 2 North Polar Region NP ..... 22 Object Selection .......... 3 Northern Sky ......N0–N24 24 Celestial Coordinates ...... 5 Equator, Ecliptic ...E0–E24 50 Precession ................ 6 Southern Sky ...... S0–S24 100 Siderial Time ............. 6 Arrangement of Star Charts 6 Photographs of 250 Nebulae 118 Directions in the Sky ...... 7 Size and Scale ............ 7 Appendix Designations .............. 9 Brightest Stars .... .........151 Resolution ............... 9 Meteor Showers .... .........151 Adaption of the Eye ....... 11 Calendar 2006–2024 ........152 Magnitude ............... 11 Nebula Numbers ... .........154 Color .................... 13 Nebula Names ..... .........155 Luminosity ............... 14 Star Names ........ .........156 Binaries .................. 15 Constellations ..... .........158 Variable Stars ............ 16 Glossary .......... .........160 Nebulae .................. 17 Mean and Extreme Values ...162 Further Reading .......... 19 Key to the Star Charts ....164 Index of Figures and Tables Stars: Names .......... 156 Magnitudes: Statistics ...... 4 Brightest Stars .. 151 Key ........... 23 Colors .......... 14 Systems ....... 12 Variables ........ 15 Surface Mag. ... 12 Constellations ... 158 Size: ...... Statistics ...... 5 Keyto Star Charts 164 Resolution ..... 10 Arrangement .... 22 Scale: ..... Distortion ..... 8 Nebulae:Names .......... 155 Star Charts .... 23 Numbers ........ 154 Distances: . Overview ...... 2 Type ........... 19 Uncertainty .... 3 Distribution ..... 18 Mean and Extreme Values.....162 Visibility ........ 12 Catalog Headings............. 21 Moon and Planets ........ 152 Julian Date ............. 152 Meteors ................. 151 Greek Alphabet .......... 9 V insert karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 2of19 June26,2007 16:22 insert karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 1of19 July14,2007 16:9 Explanatory Notes Introduction Can you remember being impressed by a clear starry sky? Look at the Milky Way throughbinocularsanditwillrevealitsmanyhundredsofthousandsofstars,double stars,stellarclusters,andnebulae.Ifyouareanewobserver,itisnotthateasytofind yourwayinthisswarmofstars,butthisatlastriestomakeitaseasyaspossible.So nowitisnotjustexperiencedamateursthatcanenjoylookingattheheavens. Twoadditionalobservingaidsarerecommended.Thefirstisaplanisphere,where onecandialinthetimeanddayinordertoseewhichconstellationsarevisibleand wheretheyareinthesky.Thesecondisanastronomicalyearbooklistingthecurrent positionsoftheplanetsandallimportantphenomena. So, let us begin our journey around the night sky, and see what the universe can revealtous! SkyAtlases Most sky atlases can be classified into one of two major groups according to the numberofstarstheycontain.Someatlasesonlyshowthestarsvisibletothenaked eye.Astherearenotmorethanafewthousandsuchstars,suchchartscanbesimple and clear and can be arranged in a handy format. They are ideal for all naked-eye Facingpage,top:TheconstellationCygnus(Swan)inthemidstofthenorthernMilkyWay. ThephotographgivesanimpressionoftheuncountablestarsinourMilkyWay.Thisbecomes moreconspicuouswhenyousweepthroughCygnuswithbinoculars.Underaverydarksky, one can try to find the North America Nebula, Pelican Nebula, and Veil Nebula (see p. 45). These are difficult nebulae and are only barely visible on this photograph as well. For orientation:Denebisthebrightstarontheleftside;Albireoisneartherightedge,nearlyas highasDeneb Facing page, bottom: The region around the constellation Crux (Southern Cross) in the southern Milky Way. Aside from the Magellanic Clouds, this part is a special attraction of the southern sky. Directly to the lower left of the cross is a dark nebula, the Coalsack. It displays beautiful detail in binoculars. In the right part of the photograph is the bright Eta Carinae Nebula, surrounded by bright clusters. The star Eta Carinae illuminates the nebula andiscurrentlynotvisibletothenakedeye,althoughitwasthesecondbrighteststarinthe sky during two decades of the nineteenth century. It is a candidate for the next supernova explosioninourpartoftheMilkyWay.Theenormousflashoftheexplosionmightalreadybe onits8000-yearjourneytous 1 insert karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 2of19 July14,2007 16:9 Explanatory Notes observations.Theothergroupofatlasescontainsthestarsvisiblethroughbinoculars or telescopes. As there are a million stars within the reach of binoculars, such atlases need hundreds of charts, often arranged in several volumes. They are ideal forobservationswithbinocularsandtelescopes. Thisatlassteersamiddlecourse.Itcontainsthewholeskyvisibletotheunaided eye(limitingmagnitude6),andfinderchartsfor250interestingobjectsforbinocu- larsandsmalltelescopes(limitingmagnitude9).Sincethesefinderchartsonlycover approximatelytenpercentofthewholesky,itwaspossibletoputallthisinformation intoaveryconvenientformat. Someatlasescontainasmanycodesandlabelsaspossibleforeachobject.They are quite useful for work at home at the desk. The other extreme is represented by photographic atlases containing no labels at all. They are recommended when it comes to comparison with the real sky. This atlas again lies between the two extremes.Thestarchartsareclearandcontainjustonelabelforimportantobjects, sincealltheotherdatacanalwaysbefoundonthepagefacingthechart.Thisnew edition also contains photographs of all the selected interesting objects (pp. 119– 149). Catalogs As well as a naked-eye atlas and a binocular atlas, observers also use a catalog to look up important data such as double-star separations or the magnitudes of nebulae. This atlas combines these three functions. To work with different books can be troublesome because, between them, object selection and labeling may be quitedifferent.Inthisatlasallobjectslabeledinthechartsarelistedinthetableson Figure 1: Between the size of an atomic nucleus and the furthest known objects in the universe, we have explored 41 orders of magnitude. This atlas contains objects furtherthanonelight-year:thatmeansthelasttenordersofmagnitude.Nobodycan really imagine these distances. But if we shift these ten orders of magnitude to the left,tothesizeswefeelcomfortablewith,thenwecangetatleastafeelfortheworld ofstarsandgalaxies. 2 insert karkoschka (Typesetbyspipublisherservices,Delhi) 3of19 July14,2007 16:9 Explanatory Notes Table1:Themeanrelativeuncertaintyofstellardistances.Ithassignificantlyimproveddue tothepublicationoftheHipparcosCataloguein1997.Alldataofthisbookconsiderthis progress. distance (light years) 10 20 40 80 150 300 600 1200 2500 5000 uncertaintyuntil1997 (%) 3 6 12 25 35 45 50 50 50 50 uncertaintysince1997 (%) 0.25 0.5 1 2 4 8 15 25 40 50 thefacingpage,naturallywiththesamedesignation,andallobjectsinthetablesare labeledinthefacingstarcharts.Thismakesobservingaseasyaspossible. Until1997,manydataonbinaries(doublestars)suchasmagnitude,color,andsep- arationwerebasedonmoreorlessreliableestimatesfromobservers.TheHipparcos satellite revealed previous errors and often provides data more accurate than suffi- cientforanobserver.Thenewknowledgeisincludedinthisbook.Othersourcesare: SkyCatalogue2000.0,theYaleBrightStarCatalogue,theSmithsonianAstrophysical Observatory(SAO)StarCatalog,OvschniKatalogPeremenichZvjezd,Synopsisder NomenklaturderFixsterne,DélimitationScientifiquedesConstellations,Burnham’s CelestialHandbook,andtheWebbSocietyDeep-SkyObserver’sHandbook. ObjectSelection This atlas contains 250 nonstellar objects listed under the general term “nebula”: planetarynebulae,diffusenebulae,openorgalacticstarclusters,globularstarclus- ters,andgalaxies.Inadditiontoall110Messierobjects,140additionalnebulaethat have magnitudes like those of many Messier objects have been selected. Among similarnebulae,thosefurthernorthwereslightlyfavoredintheselection.Allthese nebulaecanbeobservedwithanamateur’stelescope.Followingeachtableofnebu- laeisashortdescriptionofeachobjectforbinocularsoratelescopeundergoodsky conditions.Heretheterm“amateur’stelescope”isconsideredtobeatelescopewith an aperture lying in the range 100–200 mm (4–8 in.). Today, many amateurs own stilllarger telescopes. This atlas isalso useful for them, but it only satisfies part of theirtelescopes’capabilities. These 250 nebulae constitute the core of this atlas, since they are featured five times: First, they are marked in the the star charts of the whole sky. Second, they allhavemagnifiedfindercharts.Third,theirdataislistedinthecatalogofnebulae. Fourth,theyallhavedescriptions,andfifth,theirphotographsareshown. Thecatalogofstarscontains900naked-eyestars.Itiscompleteuptomagnitude 4.0. There are 556 stars up to this magnitude. Most of the fainter listed stars are doublesorvariables. 3
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