Perseus is chock-full of star clusters visible through binoculars.
Astronomy:Roen Kelly
Algol
This eclipsing binary star bounces from magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 and back again every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes. Tracking Algol throughout its cycle can be great fun! The list below shows when Algol will be at minimum brightness from mid-December 2005 through January 2006. Times are shown in Universal Time. For EST, subtract 5 hours:
This eclipsing binary star bounces from magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 and back again every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes. Tracking Algol throughout its cycle can be great fun! The list below shows when Algol will be at minimum brightness from mid-December 2005 through January 2006. Times are shown in Universal Time. For EST, subtract 5 hours:
- December 14, 2005, 06h19m UT
December 17, 2005, 03h08m UT
December 19, 2005, 23h57m UT
December 22, 2005, 20h47m UT
December 25, 2005, 17h36m UT
December 28, 2005, 14h25m UT
December 31, 2005, 11h14m UT
January 3, 2006, 08h03m UT
January 6, 2006, 04h53m UT
January 9, 2006, 01h42m UT
January 11, 2006, 22h31m UT
January 14, 2006, 19h20m UT
January 17, 2006, 16h10m UT
January 20, 2006, 12h59m UT
January 23, 2006, 09h48m UT
January 26, 2006, 06h37m UT
January 29, 2006, 03h27m UT
February 1, 2006, 00h16m UT
Looking for a real challenge?
Try your luck with NGC 1499, the California Nebula. The problem with finding the California Nebula stems from its large apparent size, which is larger than 2 Full Moons stacked end to end. I have clearly seen the entire “state” in 10×50 binoculars, but only after I taped a pair of Hydrogen-beta filters to the eyepieces. Without the filters, NGC 1499 vanished.
Try your luck with NGC 1499, the California Nebula. The problem with finding the California Nebula stems from its large apparent size, which is larger than 2 Full Moons stacked end to end. I have clearly seen the entire “state” in 10×50 binoculars, but only after I taped a pair of Hydrogen-beta filters to the eyepieces. Without the filters, NGC 1499 vanished.
