Our feature constellation for August is Sagittarius.
July and August can be difficult times to do observing in the Southwest due to the seasonal monsoon rains/clouds. However, when we get a clear night, it is often one of unusual stability (due to the increased humidity). So when the weather gods are cooperative, don't hesitate to drag out your scope and look at some of the finest objects in the night sky - concentrated in the Southern constellation of Sagittarius. These are some of the most photogenic objects in the night sky, so many images and links to images are provided.
M17 - The Omega or Swan Nebula is a bright emission nebula in the Sagittarius-Carina arm of our galaxy about 5000 light years from Earth. Like many of the objects in Sagittarius, M17 can be seen with the naked eye under a really dark sky, and is easily seen with binoculars or a modest telescope. A beautiful image, taken by ASLC imager Kirby Benson can be seen here.
AQ Sagittarii (HIP6822) - a deep red (M4/Nb) carbon star, magnitude 7.7, with a surface temperature estimated to be only 2700°K.
M22 (The Great Sagittarius Cluster) - (image at left by ASLC imager, G. Hatfield) is a brilliant globular cluster located about 10,000 light years distant. It is barely visible to the naked eye, but clearly seen in binoculars or a modest telescope. A larger scope really brings out the detail of the cluster which is nearly as large as the full moon.
M8 (The Lagoon Nebula) - A beautiful and very large nebula measuring about 50 lights years in diameter and 5000 light years distant. The magnitude 5 nebula is easily seen with the naked eye. Click here to see an image of M8 by ASLC imager Mike Sherick that was featured as an Astronomy Picture of the Day.
M20 (The Trifid Nebula) - (image at right by R. Richins) is a beautiful pairing of a reflection and emission nebula about 5200 light years distant. M20 is one of the most photogenic objects in the night sky. It is faintly visible in binoculars or a small telescope. Larger apertures bring out much more detail, but you'll need a camera to capture the colors.
NGC 6822 (Barnard's Galaxy, C57) - is a fairly bright irregular galaxy (mag 9.3) discovered by E. E. Barnhard in 1884 (he used a 6" scope to find it). It's quite close at 1.8M light years.
3 Sagittarii - There's nothing really special about this magnitude 4.5 red giant star, except that it lies almost in a direct line to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Find the star and imagine the massive black hole at the core of our galaxy that lies 25,000 ly behind it.
May's DSO Tour of Hydra is still on-line in case you didn't get a chance to do it. Click here.
