Here is the transcript for my podcast about how to see Venus, the Dumbbell Nebula, and NGC 7006 during the next few days.
Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. It'll help you locate some of this week's key targets. Astronomy magazine subscribers have access to a slew of cool functions with StarDome PLUS.
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Venus, the Dumbbell Nebula, and NGC 7006 are visible in the next few days. We’ll help you find them in this week’s Astronomy magazine podcast.
Hello, I’m Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich. Each week, I highlight three different night-sky targets for you to see:
One object you can find without optical aid
One object to find with a small telescope
One deep-sky object to find with an 8-inch or larger telescope for you avid astronomers.
Earth’s twin returns
During September, a brilliant planet makes a return visit to the evening sky. Venus ranks as the third-brightest object in the sky, behind only the Sun and the Moon. In fact, from a dark site Venus can cast a visible shadow.
Seeing Venus in the dark isn’t a fair test. This month, however, Venus really won’t appear in a dark sky, so try seeing it as soon after the Sun sets as you can. Go out one night 30 minutes after sunset and find it toward the west. Head out 20 minutes after sunset the next night, and, remembering where you saw Venus the night before, scan the area carefully. Binoculars will help a lot.
A big, bright planetary
Our second object is perfect for those of you who own a small telescope. The Dumbbell Nebula, also known as M27, rides high this month.
Good luck making the shape of a fox out of the stars of the constellation Vulpecula, the star figure that contains the Dumbbell Nebula. The faint star pattern’s brightest star is magnitude 4.4 Alpha Vulpeculae.
The Dumbbell Nebula owes its common name to a double-lobe shape common among planetary nebulae. Even through binoculars, this object is easy to spot. To see details in it, set up your telescope.
Small telescopes show the two bright lobes and several stars scattered across M27’s face. This object responds well to high magnifications because it has a high surface brightness.
Solitary ball of suns
For our large telescope target this week, I invite you to turn your attention to globular cluster NGC 7006. This magnitude 10.6 object resides in Delphinus the Dolphin.
An 8-inch scope can’t hope to resolve the stars in this tightly packed mass. The problem here is distance — NGC 7006 lies approximately 140,000 light-years away.
To find NGC 7006, find Gamma Delphini, the easternmost star of Delphinus’ crooked box (and the Dolphin’s nose), and move 3.5° east.
When you observe at magnifications below about 250x, you’ll see a comet-like haze 2' across. If the seeing permits, crank the power above 300x, and NGC 7006 will appear slightly granular.
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Read last week's transcript:
September 12, 2008: The constellation Delphinus, the Double Double, and the Blue Snowball
Listen to last week's podcast.