August 22, 2008: Three things to look for in this week’s night sky

Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see Jupiter, M57, and NGC 1 during the next few days.

Targets for August 22–28

Naked eye: Jupiter

Small telescope: M57, the Ring Nebula

8-inch or larger telescope: NGC 1

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Just starting out?

Let’s get started with this week’s naked-eye object. And it’s an easy one — Jupiter. All you have to do is look toward the south after sunset. If your sky is clear, you’ll spot Jupiter blazing forth. Right now, it’s brighter than any starlike object in the sky. In a few weeks, however, that honor will go to Venus, which you’ll start to see low in the west. Venus shines more than 5 times brighter than Jupiter, but, don’t worry. Jupiter still puts on a great show in September’s southern sky.

Visit Astronomy.com's StarDome to access an interactive all-sky map. You'll see Jupiter positioned in the southern portion of the map.

Dust off your birthday present

Our second object is a great target for small telescopes. It’s the Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 because French comet-hunter Charles Messier put it on a list of famous sky objects that weren’t comets. Usually, you’ll see it abbreviated M57. But either designation means that it’s the Ring Nebula.

Through a small telescope (one with a mirror or lens 4 inches [100 millimeters] across or smaller), you’ll see the Ring Nebula as a pale grey ball. If you use a magnification greater than 100x, you’ll notice the outer part of the ball looks thicker than the central region. This gives M57 its distinctive “ring” appearance.

The Ring Nebula lies in the direction of the constellation Lyra the Harp, which we see best during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer and fall. The main part of Lyra is one brilliant star — Vega — and a crooked box of four fainter stars nearby. On a star chart (and then in the sky), locate Beta Lyrae and Gamma Lyrae. These two stars make the end of the box that lies farthest from Vega. Roughly midway between them, you’ll find the Ring Nebula.

Visit Astronomy.com's StarDome to access an interactive all-sky map.

The advanced class is in session

Later in the evening, those of you with 8-inch or larger telescopes who observe under a dark sky can search for NGC 1. I like pointing this object out to fellow amateur astronomers because few have seen it. Although this object lies in Pegasus, it sits really close to that constellation’s border with Andromeda.

Look for this magnitude 12.8 spiral galaxy 1.4° south of 2nd-magnitude Alpheratz (Alpha [a] Andromedae). Don’t expect to see much detail through anything smaller than a 20-inch telescope, but, hey! At least you can say you’ve observed the first object in the New General Catalogue.

Visit Astronomy.com's StarDome to access an interactive all-sky map.

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