Podcast: Night-sky targets: January 23-30, 2009
The constellation Lepus, the Crab Nebula, and the Raspberry Nebula are nicely visible in the next few days.
By
Michael E. Bakich —
Published:
January 22, 2009 Lepus sits directly below (that is, south of) Orion. It's a mid-sized constellation. Out of the 88 star patterns that cover the sky, Lepus ranks 51st in size. It covers 290 square degrees, or about 0.7 percent of the sky.
Photo by Astronomy: Roen Kelly
In each episode, Michael highlights:
- One object you can see without any optical aid
- One object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescope
- One object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope
Targets for January 23-30, 2009
Naked eye: Constellation Lepus
Small telescope: Crab Nebula
8-inch or larger telescope: Raspberry Nebula |
StarDome
Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. This tool will help you locate this week's targets.
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Observing talk
After you listen to the podcast and try to find the objects, be sure to share your observing experiences with us by leaving a comment at the blog or in the Reader forums.
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Previous episodes:
- January 16-23, 2009: twin stars Castor and Pollux, the 9-12 Geminorum Cluster, and the Eskimo Nebula
- January 9-16, 2009: Extinct constellation Musca Borealis the Northern Fly, open cluster Collinder 464, and spiral galaxy NGC 2403
- January 1-9, 2009: Mercury, the star Rigel, and globular cluster M79
- December 26, 2008-January 2, 2009: Orion's Belt, open cluster M35, and the Christmas Tree Cluster
- December 19-26, 2008: The Kids, Pazmino's Cluster, and the Flaming Star Nebula
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