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Andromeda is a large and bright constellation of the northern hemisphere that represents the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. It is visible in fall and winter and best visible in the month of November, high in the evening …
About 4500 years ago early civilizations in China, Egypt and the Middle East began to divide the sky into groups of constellations – arbitrary formations of stars that are perceived as figures or designs – which were named in various …
With the passing of the March equinox comes the best time of the year for observing galaxies. On spring evenings, if the skies are clear, we can look beyond the veil of stars in our own Galaxy, the Milky Way. …
The well-known “Sombrero” galaxy M104 in Virgo is probably the best example of an Sa spiral, with tightly- wound spiral arms and a large luminous bulge. M104 is not a member of the Virgo Cluster, and lies at about half …
The warm nights of June offer prime conditions for galaxy hunting. The winter Milky Way is lost in the glare of the Sun, while the star clouds of Cygnus and Sagittarius are just rising in the east. It is on …
Quasars are puzzling and enigmatic radio sources, believed to be the most brilliant single objects in the universe. The quasar story began in the early 1960s, when the position of a strong radio source was defined with great accuracy, and …
M101 is a bright galaxy in Ursa Major, located 24 million light years from Earth. To find it, center your attention on Mizar, the middle star in the handle of the Big Dipper. Looking through your finder scope shift from …
M81 is an outstanding Sb spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. Although its magnitude of 7 makes it bright enough to be visible in 7×50 binoculars in suburban skies, M81 it is pretty hard to find because it is located far …
Ever since Sir William Herschel – the British astronomer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus – began calling some disklike, fuzzy patches of light “planetary nebulae”, these objects dotting the night sky have been favorite targets of both …
The Pleiades, also known as the “Seven Sisters”, is the most famous of all star clusters. The group is very conspicuous, and has been known and regarded with reverence since early times. It was first mentioned by the Chinese in …