{"id":20052,"date":"2021-06-25T08:10:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T08:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=93919"},"modified":"2021-06-25T08:10:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T08:10:17","slug":"how-to-observe-and-photograph-pluto","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/how-to-observe-and-photograph-pluto\/","title":{"rendered":"How to observe and photograph Pluto"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Once <\/p>\n

Pluto reaches opposition<\/a> on 17 July 2021 and while technically within the boundary of the faint star-rich constellation of Sagittarius<\/a>, the Archer, it\u2019s located east of the Milky Way\u2019s core region in a relatively barren area of sky just over 3\u02da to the west of the mag. +8.6 globular cluster<\/a> M75.<\/p>\n

This makes a good challenge, to see if you can find and photograph Pluto in the night sky.<\/p>\n

How to find Pluto<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Use<\/div>\n
<\/i> Use our chart to help you find Pluto. First locate stars A, B and C. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/span><\/div>\n

M75 is in a good position to be a starting point for finding Pluto. Consult our guide to the Messier Catalogue<\/a> for RA and dec information.<\/p>\n

Locate the cluster, then identify the stars to the west and southwest we\u2019ve marked in our wide-field chart (above) as A, B and C. These are not too faint and shouldn\u2019t pose any real issues.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve located C, switch to the narrow-field chart (below). This chart is presented upside down to give you a telescopic view.<\/p>\n

It shows stars down to mag. +14.0, which is likely to be below your telescope\u2019s visual range unless you have really dark skies and a large scope over 375mm.<\/p>\n

\"Once<\/div>\n
<\/i> Once you\u2019ve located star C in the chart above, move on to D. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/span><\/div>\n

Although there have been claims of visual sightings of Pluto with smaller scopes, its low UK altitude probably means a camera setup is best for most people.<\/p>\n

Take your time and attempt to identify the field stars shown in the narrow-field chart. The key here is to identify patterns that will make subsequent identification easier.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve started you off with some distinctive ones you may find useful. The key star is mag. +7.8 D because it unlocks that large pattern near to the track of Pluto. If you can identify that pattern, Pluto should be relatively easy to find.<\/p>\n

Photographing Pluto<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Sky-Watcher<\/div>\n

To image Pluto you\u2019ll need a tracking mount with a relatively accurate drive and good polar alignment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dark frames<\/a> \u2013 exposures of the same length as regular imaging shots, but with the lens cap on \u2013 are highly recommended.<\/p>\n

Subtracting these from your regular \u2018light\u2019 frames will help remove noise <\/a><\/span>(unwanted artefacts) that could be mistaken for Pluto.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re planning to use a standard photographic lens, we\u2019d recommend one with at least a 200mm focal length to provide sufficient image scale.<\/p>\n

Take photos over the course of several nights, align them and flick between them. Do you see anything faint moving between frames? If so, you might just have caught yourself a dwarf planet.<\/p>\n

Pete Lawrence is an experienced astrophotographer and a presenter on <\/strong><\/em>The Sky at Night<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This guide originally appeared in the July 2021 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pluto reaches opposition on 17 July 2021 and while technically within the boundary of the faint star-rich constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer, it\u2019s located east of the Milky Way\u2019s core region in a relatively barren area of sky just over 3\u02da to the west of the mag. +8.6 globular cluster M75. This makes a good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[34],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Pluto reaches opposition on 17 July 2021 and while technically within the boundary of the faint star-rich constellation of Sagittarius, the Archer, it\u2019s located east of the Milky Way\u2019s core region in a relatively barren area of sky just over 3\u02da to the west of the mag. +8.6 globular cluster M75. This makes a good…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/20052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}