Download this month’s binocular and deep-sky tour charts. The charts are printed in black on white so they can be viewed under red light at your telescope.
Record your observations of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and the Sun with our handy printable forms.
If you observe the Sun, remember NEVER to look at it with your naked eye; either project it through your telescope or use a solar filter on your telescope’s front lens.
Sh2-199, the Soul NebulaJon Kelly, Tockwith, N Yorks, 10 December 2021, 19, 21 and 27 January 2022, 16-17 January 2023Equipment: QHY600L mono CMOS camera, CFF Telescopes 135mm refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
The PleiadesLeticia Theobald, Stevenage, Herts, 22 October-6 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 III apo refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
The Moon and JupiterSteve Fox, Yateley, Hants, 25 November 2023Equipment: Canon EOS 46 mirrorless camera, Sigma Art f/1.4 lens
The MoonFrancesco Batalotti, Cremona, Italy, 13 June 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI482MC colour CMOS camera, Ottica 255mm f/20 Maksutov Rumak, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount
Sh2-308, the Dolphin Head NebulaVikas Chander, captured remotely via Deep Sky Chile, 10-20 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI6200MM mono CMOS camera, Takahashi Epsilon 160ED reflector, Software Bisque Paramount MX mount
Sh2-132, the Lion NebulaSimon Worthington, Leeds, UK and Ermita Nueva, Spain, 29 August-15 October 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, William Optics RedCat 51 apo refractor, Orion Atlas II EQ-G mount
The Moon and VenusDavid Hoskin, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 9 November 2023Equipment: Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR camera, Orion ED80T CF triplet apo refractor, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer tripod
NGC 1499, the California NebulaTim Jackson, Cheltenham, Glos, 6 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC colour CMOS camera, Askar FRA500 90mm f/5.6 quintuplet apo refractor, ZWO AM5 mount
Colours of OrionPaolo Palma, Naples, Italy, December 2021- November 2023Equipment: Samsung Galaxy A5 smartphone, Sky-Watcher Stargate 450P 18-inch Dobsonian
M31, the Andromeda GalaxyNicole Poersch, Prestwick, South Ayrshire, October-December 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI1600MM mono CMOS camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 III apo refractor, Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 GT mount
NGC 7000, the North American NebulaGraeme Lorimer, Dundee, Scotland, 11 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI533MC Pro colour CMOS camera, William Optics Zenithstar 73 III apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQM-35 Pro mount
Solar eclipseLiam Hearty, Coco Beach, Tobago, 14 October 2023Equipment: Canon EOS Ra mirrorless camera, Canon RF 24-240MM lens, solar filter
NGC 1097Warren Keller, data captured remotely via Star Shadows Remote Observatory 2014, reprocessed November 2023Equipment: Apogee U9 CCD camera, RC Optical Systems 16-inch Richey-Chrétien, PlaneWave Ascension 200HR mount
Beaver MoonSean Qiu, San Francisco, California, USA, 26 November 2023Equipment: Sony a7R III mirrorless camera, Sigma 150-600mm lens
IC 405, the Flaming Star NebulaGreg Meyer, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 12-15 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Radian Raptor 61 triplet apo refractor, ZWO AM5 mount
The Orion NebulaSonia Turkington, Stockport, Greater Manchester, 11 November 2023Equipment: ZWO Seestar S50
LDN 1355Santiago Ramos Avila, Moratalla, Murcia, Spain, 17-20 November 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, Askar 130PHQ apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro mount
Aurora borealisDaniel Lines, Consett, County Durham, 5 November 2023Equipment: Canon EOS 80D DSLR camera, Prima Photo Gear tripod
The PerseidsTomáš Slovinsky, Teide National Park, Tenerife, 10-14 August 2023Equipment: Astro-modded Canon EOS R6 mirrorless camera, Sigma Art 28mm lens, Leofoto tripod (background); astro-modded Canon EOS D6 DSLR camera, Samyang 12mm lens, Leofoto tripod (meteors)The PerseidsTomáš Slovinsky, Teide National Park, Tenerife, 10-14 August 2023The PerseidsTomáš Slovinsky, Teide National Park, Tenerife, 10-14 August 2023Equipment: Astro-modded Canon EOS R6 mirrorless camera, Sigma Art 28mm lens, Leofoto tripod (background); astro-modded Canon EOS D6 DSLR camera, Samyang 12mm lens, Leofoto tripod (meteors)
Eye On The Sky
Supernova remnant Cassiopeia AJames Webb Space Telescope, 10 December 2023Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Danny Milisavljevic (Purdue University), Ilse De Looze (UGent), Tea Temim (Princeton University)
Galaxy cluster Abell 85Subaru Telescope, 4 December 2023Credit: Astronomical data/image: M. Montes (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias); Artistic enhancement: J. Pinto (Rubin Observatory).
This Hubble Picture of the Week features a massive cluster of brightly glowing galaxies, first identified as Abell 3192. Like all galaxy clusters, this one is suffused with hot gas that emits powerful X-rays, and it is enveloped in a halo of invisible dark matter. All this unseen material — not to mention the many galaxies visible in this image — comprises such a huge amount of mass that the galaxy cluster noticeably curves spacetime around it, making it into a gravitational lens. Smaller galaxies behind the cluster appear distorted into long, warped arcs around the cluster’s edges. The galaxy cluster is located in the constellation Eridanus, but the question of its distance from Earth is a more complicated one. Abell 3192 was originally documented in the 1989 update of the Abell catalogue, a catalogue of galaxy clusters that was first published in 1958. At that time, Abell 3192 was thought to comprise a single cluster of galaxies, concentrated at a single distance. However, further research revealed something surprising: the cluster’s mass seemed to be densest at two distinct points rather than one. It was subsequently shown that the original Abell cluster actually comprised two independent galaxy clusters — a foreground group around 2.3 billion light-years from Earth, and a further group at the greater distance of about 5.4 billion light-years from our planet. The more distant galaxy cluster, included in the Massive Cluster Survey as MCS J0358.8-2955, is central in this image. The two galaxy groups are thought to have masses equivalent to around 30 trillion and 120 trillion times the mass of the Sun, respectively. Both of the two largest galaxies at the centre of this image are part of MCS J0358.8-2955; the smaller galaxies you see here, however, are a mixture of the two groups within Abell 3192. [Image Description: A cluster of galaxies, concentrated around what appear to be two large elliptical galaxies. The rest of the black background is covered in
Uranus and its ringsJames Webb Space Telescope, 18 December 2023Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Open cluster IC 348James Webb Space Telescope, 13 December 2023Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and K. Luhman (Penn State University) and C. Alves de Oliveira (European Space Agency)
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complexJames Webb Space Telescope, 15 December 2023Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI)
Software
Download Argo Navis Deep-Sky Tour
This month’s deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer using Argonaut software, a free utility available from Wildcard Innovations. Using Argo Navis with this month’s deep-sky tour plan file, you can:
• display essential information from the Argo Navis database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan – requires a compatible mount.
• push your telescope to each object in the plan using the coordinates provided on the Argo Navis display.
To import this month’s deep-sky tour plan file into Argo Navis using Argonaut software:
Download and save the file to your hard drive.
Run the Argonaut utility program and transfer the plan into your Argo Navis DTC.
This month’s Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 8 (see knightware.biz/dsp).
Copyright Wildcard Innovations Pty Ltd.
Download Deep-Sky Planner
License type Full software Platform Windows Versions 8.1, 10
Deep-Sky Planner 8 astronomy software for Windows provides the tools you need to make your time at the telescope more efficient and enjoyable.
• sort the objects in the plan according to the best time and order to view each object.
• slew your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount to each object in the plan – requires ASCOM software (free).
• show a sky chart centred on each object in the plan using one of the top planetarium software titles – requires TheSky, Starry Night, Redshift, Cartes du Ciel (free) or Stellarium (free).
• record your observation in the open, non-proprietary observing log.
Details about Deep-Sky Planner and how to purchase can be found here.
Download the Deep-Sky Planner compatible file of this month’s deep-sky tour observing plan file so that you can visit each object directly with Deep-Sky Planner.
Save the file to your hard drive and double click it to open it in Deep-Sky Planner.
Download EQTOUR
If you are one of the many astronomers who use the ASCOM driver EQMOD to control your ASCOM-compatible Go-To mount, you can use an add-on application called EQTOUR to call up various sets of sky tours like Messier, Caldwell, Globular Clusters and simply click on an object name to slew to it.
Details about the application and how to download it free of charge can be found here.
Download the EQTOUR compatible file of our monthly Deep-sky tour, so that you can visit each object directly from your EQMod control panel. We’ve also included a PDF document that explains the system and how to get it installed with your telescope setup.
Copy the .lst file from the folder that appears into the same directory as the EQTOUR application file, EQTOUR.exe, and follow the instructions in the link above.
Download SkySafari
License type Full software
Platform iOS, Android
Versions 4 or later (Plus or Pro editions)
This month’s deep-sky tour plan file can be imported into SkySafari software, available from Simulation Curriculum.
Using this month’s deep-sky tour plan file on SkySafari, you can:
• view each object in SkySafari’s night sky simulation view
• display essential information from the SkySafari database for each object
• slew your telescope to each object in the plan – requires a compatible mount.
To import this month’s deep-sky tour plan file into SkySafari, please see the SkySafari user manual for your device platform and version of SkySafari.
This month’s Deep-Sky Tour plan file is produced by Deep-Sky Planner 8.
Watch the Sky at Night
You can watch the latest episode of The Sky Night, plus previous episodes and historic programmes from the archive, via the BBC Four Sky at Night webpage.
