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Galaxy Season: A Deep Sky Adventure · Star Trails: From Backyard Astronomy to Cosmic Wonder

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  Howdy Star Gazers and welcome to this episode
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  of Star Trails. I'm Drew and I'll be your guide
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  to the night sky for the week starting March
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  30th through April 5th. We've just entered galaxy
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  season, that time of year when astronomers often
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  set their sights on deep sky objects. We'll cover
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  some potential targets and offer up viewing tips
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  later in the show, but now let's see what's happening
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  closer to home. We begin the week with a waxing
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  crescent moon, barely noticeable at just 2 %
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  illumination. It grows gradually brighter each
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  night, reaching first quarter moon by week's
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  end. The moon is worth keeping an eye on, as
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  it's going to make a couple of lovely appearances
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  near planets this week. More on that in a moment.
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  Now, let's talk about the planets. Venus is back,
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  but not where you might expect. It's now the
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  morning star, shining brilliantly in the eastern
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  sky before sunrise. By April 1st, it'll be rising
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  about an hour before the sun. Through your telescope,
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  you'll spot it as a slender crescent, but even
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  to the naked eye, it's a spectacular, dazzling
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  sight. Mars is still hanging out in the evening
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  sky, tucked away in the constellation Gemini.
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  You'll spot it as a reddish point of light. And
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  if you're looking for a great viewing moment,
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  circle April the 5th on your calendar. That night,
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  the first quarter moon will cozy up near Mars,
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  right alongside the twin stars Castor and Pollux,
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  creating a beautiful gathering in the western
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  sky after sunset. Jupiter is still shining brightly
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  in Taurus. Look for it on April 2 when the waxing
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  crescent moon will be close to the king of planets.
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  Look toward the western sky just after sunset
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  for that eye -catching conjunction. Saturn, Mercury,
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  and Neptune are all in the sun's glare, so you
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  won't spot them this week. But for an extra challenge,
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  telescope and binocular astronomers may want
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  to hunt down Uranus. It's visible at magnitude
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  5 .8, about 7 to 8 degrees below the Pleiades
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  near Taurus. As always, consult with a star chart
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  or app for the exact location. Tonight we're
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  heading into one of the most exciting times of
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  the year for deep sky observers Galaxy season
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  this stretch of springtime nights typically from
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  late March to early May Offers some of the best
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  views of distant galaxies, especially for those
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  of us in the northern hemisphere During galaxy
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  season Earth's position and its orbit around
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  the Sun tilts our view away from the bright star
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  -packed plane of the Milky Way With less interference
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  from the Milky Way's dense core, we're treated
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  to some of the clearest and darkest views of
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  the universe beyond our own galaxy. So let's
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  explore some galaxies that haven't been getting
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  the spotlight lately, but absolutely deserve
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  some attention. Here's what to point your telescope
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  at this galaxy season. and the Cigar Galaxy,
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  M82. Located in the constellation Ursa Major,
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  these two galaxies make an intriguing pair. M81
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  is a grand spiral galaxy, while M82 is a striking
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  elongated starburst galaxy. They're just about
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  12 million light years away from us and show
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  up in smaller telescopes as faint patches of
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  light. M101, the pinwheel galaxy. Also located
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  in Ursa Major, M101 is a gorgeous face -on spiral
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  galaxy. It's known for its large size and distinct
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  spiral arms. Under dark skies, with a 6 -inch
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  or larger telescope, you can start to make out
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  some of its delicate structure. It's approximately
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  21 million light -years away. Number three, M51,
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  the Whirlpool Galaxy. Found in the constellation
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  Canes Venetici, the Whirlpool Galaxy is a stunning
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  interacting galaxy that's just about 31 million
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  light years away. What's amazing about this galaxy
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  is that with a telescope of six inches or more,
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  you can actually see hints of its spiral arms
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  and even its smaller companion galaxy. NGC 5195,
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  seemingly connected by a bridge of stars. Number
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  four on our list, NGC 4565, the Needle Galaxy.
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  Located in the constellation Coma Berenices,
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  the Needle Galaxy is a spectacular edge -on spiral
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  galaxy. Its slender elongated shape makes it
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  stand out. With a large telescope, you can catch
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  a clear view of its bright central bulge bisected
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  by a dark dust lane. It's around 40 million light
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  years away. And finally, number five, M106, the
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  splinter galaxy. Also in the constellation Canes
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  Venetici, you'll find M106, a bright and fairly
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  large spiral galaxy that's about 22 million light
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  years away. Its bright core is easy to spot even
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  with a small telescope, and if you have a larger
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  scope, you might even notice some of its spiral
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  structure. To get the best view of all these
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  galaxies, use a telescope with at least six to
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  eight inches of aperture. Make sure you're observing
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  from a dark sky site with minimal light pollution.
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  Using averted vision that's slightly looking
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  off to the side of the object, can help make
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  faint details more noticeable. If you're using
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  binoculars, you'll be able to catch M81 and M82,
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  but most of these galaxies will require a telescope.
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  Galaxies are always popular with astrophotographers,
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  and for good reason. Keep in mind, most galaxies
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  will appear as a faint grayish smudge against
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  the darkness. Astrophotographers have the unique
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  advantage of using long -exposure photography
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  to reveal incredible details that our eyes simply
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  can't capture in real time. When a camera's sensor
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  collects light over minutes or even hours, it
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  brings out the intricate structure of galaxies.
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  For example, the glowing spiral arms of the pinwheel
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  galaxy, the dust lanes in the needle galaxy,
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  or the swirling interactions of the Whirlpool
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  galaxy and its companion. Astrophotography also
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  allows us to capture the colors of these galaxies,
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  from the reddish glow of star -forming regions
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  to the bluish hues of hot young stars. These
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  details provide important information about the
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  galaxy's composition, age, and evolution. For
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  budding astrophotographers, galaxy season is
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  a fantastic time to push your equipment's capabilities.
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  Even a modest setup with a DSLR or mirrorless
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  camera and a decent lens on a tracking mount
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  can produce some jaw -dropping images. And with
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  more advanced gear, like dedicated astro cameras
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  and larger telescopes, you can create breathtaking,
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  high -resolution views of these distant worlds.
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  So, if you've been thinking about trying your
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  hand at astrophotography, there's no better time
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  than right now. Also, we can't forget the Messier
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  Marathon. Attempting to view all 110 Messier
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  objects in a single night is a fantastic challenge
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  during galaxy season. Many of the objects on
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  the list are galaxies, making this time of year
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  perfect to run the marathon. Try to complete
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  the challenge when skies are darkest, like during
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  the April new moon. Many of these objects can
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  be viewed with a cheap pair of binoculars. The
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  Astronomical League publishes an excellent field
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  guide for viewing all the Messier objects. I'll
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  include a link to that in the show notes. If
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  you found this episode helpful, let me know and
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  feel free to send in your questions and observations.
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  The easiest way to do that is by visiting our
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  website starrtrails .show. This is also a great
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  way to share the show with friends. Until next
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  time, keep looking up and exploring the night
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  sky. Clear skies everyone!