TRG – Telescope Review Guide

My last article reviewed my second five most amazing sights in the night sky. This article will conclude with the Top 5!

5. The Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a sister galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. The light you see coming from it took 2.5 MILLION years to get here! It’s one of the most distant object most folks can see with the naked eye. Another reason it makes such a good target for binoculars is that it is orbited by 14 dwarf galaxies so there’s a lot to look at in the Andromeda Galaxy.

4. The Pleiades

The Pleiades

The Pleiades is a small star cluster that is also known as the Seven Sisters, probably because it looks like seven stars to the unaided eye. Train your binoculars on them though, and you can easily see many, many more than seven stars! It is indeed a sight worth seeing.

3. The Lagoon Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula

Nebulas are  star nurseries, places where gas is condensing under the force of gravity to form stars. The Lagoon Nebula is one of the most amazing nebulas visible from Earth. Look for it during summer in the constellation Sagittarius.

2. The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula is located in the Hunter’s Sword of the Orion constellation. It is only 1270 light-years from Earth making it our nearest nebula.

1. The Milky Way Galaxy

The Milky Way Galaxy

Yes, our own home is so big that we can actually see part of the spiral arm where our own Earth is located! May be tough to spot behind city lights but get out away from them and the Milky Way is a visual treat not to be missed nor soon forgotten.

Bonus Sight

There is one other reason many amateur astronomers get into the field and use binoculars as their observation tool of choice – COMETS! Yes, astronomy is one of the view sciences where amateurs can make significant contributions and where amateur astronomers really excel is finding new comets. Many new comets are discovered by amateur astronomers and many of those discoveries are made using binoculars. So get your observation binoculars and get out away from city lights and start studying the night sky. Who knows? The next comet you see may be named for you!

What is in the night sky during April? The Moon, planets and even a meteor shower are on tap this month.
The Moon is especially noteworthy this month. It passes near all five of the naked-eye planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn plus as well as the stars Regulus and Antares. On the 22nd it will eclipse Venus as seen from most of the continental United States. 

Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, stands a little to the left or upper left of the Moon at nightfall on the 5th. The planet Saturn is below them.

Saturn aligns quite close to the Moon on the evening of the 6th, with Regulus above them.

Moon and Saturn by spaceritual

Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius, is close to the Moon on the 12th. It is close to the Moon’s lower left as they rise after midnight, and even closer at first light. As seen from Hawaii, the Moon will briefly eclipse Antares on the morning of the 13th.

 Jupiter stands a little to the lower left of the Moon at first light on the 18th. They are low in the southeast.

 The Lyrid meteor shower is at its best on the night of the 21st, especially with the Moon appearing as a thin crescent.

The Moon, Venus, and Mars congregate low in the east the morning of the 22nd. The Moon will eclipse Venus, briefly hiding the planet from view.

The Moon, the Pleiades, and the planet Mercury align low in the west-northwest as night falls on the 26th. The Pleiades star cluster is a little below the Moon, with Mercury about the same distance below the Pleiades. Mercury looks like a fairly bright star. Binoculars will enhance the view.