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Planets
Planets change positions in the sky as they orbit around the Sun. To locate the planets
on a given day or month, consult a monthly astronomy magazine, such as Sky and
Telescope or Astronomy. Listed below are the best planets for viewing through the
4504.
Venus is about nine-tenths the diameter of Earth. As Venus orbits the Sun, observers
can see it go through phases (crescent, half, and full) much like those of the Moon.
The disk of Venus appears white as Sunlight is reflected off the thick cloud cover that
completely obscures any surface detail.
Mars is about half the diameter of Earth, and appears through the telescope as a tiny
reddish-orange disk. It may be possible to see a hint of white at one of the planet’s
Polar ice caps. Approximately every two years, when Mars is closest to Earth in its
orbit, additional detail and coloring on the planet's surface may be visible.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is 11 times the diameter of Earth.
The planet appears as a disk with dark lines stretching across the surface. These lines
are cloud bands in the atmosphere. Four of Jupiter’s 16 moons (Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto) can be seen as “star-like” points of light when using even
the lowest magnification. These moons orbit Jupiter so that the number of moons
visible on any given night changes as they circle around the giant planet.
Saturn is nine times the diameter of Earth and appears as a small, round disk with
rings extending out from either side. In 1610, Galileo, the first person to observe
Saturn through a telescope, did not understand that what he was seeing were rings.
Instead, he believed that Saturn had “ears.” Saturn’s rings are composed of billions of
ice particles ranging in size from a speck of dust to the size of a house. The major
division in Saturn's rings, called the Cassini Division, is occasionally visible through
the 4504. Titan, the largest of Saturn’s 18 moons can also be seen as a bright, star-
like object near the planet.
Deep-Sky Objects
Star charts can be used to locate constellations, individual stars and deep-sky
objects. Examples of various deep-sky objects are given below:
Stars are large gaseous objects that are self-illuminated by nuclear fusion in their
core. Because of their vast distances from our solar system, all stars appear as
pinpoints of light, irrespective of the size of the telescope used.
Nebulae are vast interstellar clouds of gas and dust where stars are formed. Most
impressive of these is the Great Nebula in Orion (M42), a diffuse nebula that appears
as a faint wispy gray cloud. M42 is 1600 light years from Earth.
Open Clusters are loose groupings of young stars, all recently formed from the same
diffuse nebula. The Pleiades is an open cluster 410 light years away. Through the
4504, numerous stars are visible.
Constellations are large, imaginary patterns of stars believed by ancient civilizations
to be the celestial equivalent of objects, animals, people, or gods. These patterns are
too large to be seen through a telescope. To learn the constellations, start with an
easy grouping of stars, such as the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. Then, use a star chart
to explore across the sky.
Galaxies are large assemblies of stars, nebulae, and star clusters that are bound by
gravity. The most common shape is spiral (such as our own Milky Way), but galaxies
can also be elliptical, or even irregular blobs. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the
closest spiral-type galaxy to our own. This galaxy appears fuzzy and cigar-shaped. It
is 2.2 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda, located between the
large “W” of Cassiopeia and the great square of Pegasus.
Fig. 35: Saturn has
the most extensive
ring structure in our
Solar System.
Fig. 36: The
Pleiades is one of
the most beautiful
open clusters.
Fig. 34: Jupiter and
its four largest
moons. The moons
can be observed in
a different position
every night.