Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i BBC Sky at Night

Visit www.skyatnightmagazine.com/bonus-content/GOISV6Y/ to access this month’s selection of exclusive Bonus Content FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS Interview: astrobiologist Nicol Caplin Deep Space Exploration Scientist Dr Nicol Caplin reveals how microorganisms can assist human spaceflight Watch The Sky at Night: Review of the Year In this special episode, Maggie and Chris look back at their favourite moments from filming The Sky at Night in 2021. Plan your observing for the month ahead Download extra charts to help you observe the planets and take this month’s binocular and deep-sky tours. The Virtual Planetarium Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through the best sights to see in the night sky this month.…

Our experts examine the hottest new research A whole new world view The JWST will open up new windows to explore exoplanets and their atmospheres All being well, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which launched on 25 December, has successfully reached its target at L2 (Lagrange point 2), on the far side of Earth to the Sun, where the gravity of the two large bodies and the centrifugal force balance each other. After a six-month testing process it will begin scientific observations, probably in June. The global astronomical community will get its first chance to use this new platform through the Cycle 1 General Observers (GO) program (see bit.ly/3J7v6AE for more details). This project gives astronomers a chance to use some of the 6,000 hours on offer for their…

Universe The Sky at Night is taking a break in February and March, and will return in April for more adventures in astronomy and spaceflight. In the meantime, you can still catch up with Professor Brian Cox’s latest series Universe, which is available to watch on the BBC iPlayer. In this five-part series, Professor Cox takes a trip across space and time to reveal the chaotic and often beautiful moments that irrevocably altered the evolution of the cosmos. ► Watch via bbc.co.uk/iplayer…

What’s on the space menu today? Dining in space has certainly moved on from high protein food and drink, stuffed toothpaste-style into aluminium tubes, that was the fare for Yuri Gagarin, the first human to eat in space onboard Vostok 1 in 1961. His meal comprised a tube of beef and liver pâté, and chocolate sauce for pudding. NASA’s Mercury astronauts of the late 1950s and early 1960s fared little better. They found their space diet of bite-sized flavoured cubes and tubes of semi-liquids wholly unappetising, with the added trouble of not being able to easily rehydrate their freeze-dried foods. More palatable food was on offer for NASA’s Gemini and Apollo missions from 1965 to 1975. By then, hot water was available aboard spacecraft, revolutionising the rehydration process. Even chicken…

PICK OF THE MONTH Uranus Best time to see: 1 February, 19:00 UT Altitude: 50° Location: Aries Direction: South-southwest Features: Colour, moons, faint banding visible with larger instruments Recommended equipment: 150mm or larger The observational window for Uranus worsens this month, so you might be forgiven for questioning why we’ve chosen it as the month’s best planet. Despite its slowly deteriorating position, it currently has the highest declination of all the main planets, and this means it still maintains a decent altitude after the evening sky darkens. On 1 February, the mag. +5.8 planet appears just west of south as true darkness falls. At this time its altitude is around 50°, way better than any other planet on view from the UK. Things do progressively get worse through the month.…

Asteroid 20 Massalia reaches opposition this month in Cancer, the Crab. It’s located near to the border of Cancer and Leo, the Lion on the 1st, 5° east-northeast of mag. +4.3 Acubens (Alpha (a) Cancri). It then tracks west-northwest along a line that takes it to a point about 4° southeast of mag. +3.9 Delta (δ) Cancri. Massalia has an orbit that keeps it within the inner part of the main asteroid belt. It’s the parent body of a large group of asteroids known as the Massalia family, a collection which has over 6,000 members. Massalia is an S-type, or stony asteroid, with a mean diameter of 145km. Its orbital period is 3 years 9 months and its mean distance from the Sun is 2.41 AU (361 million kilometres). When…

Orion, the Hunter remains prominent through February and this is a great time to try for what used to be regarded as a difficult photographic target, the Horsehead Nebula, B33. In modern times, highly sensitive camera sensors have made it less tricky and if you’ve never attempted it before, this is a great time to try. If you have captured it in the past, we’ve got an extended challenge for you too. The Horsehead is a dark nebula, a protrusion of gas which creates a silhouette in front of a glowing curtain of emission nebula IC 434. The curtain runs south of Alnitak (Zeta (ζ) Orionis). From Alnitak, locate mag. +3.8 Sigma (σ) Orionis 0.8° to the southwest. Now look 0.5° to the east-southeast where you’ll find mag. +6.2 HIP…

Stargazing on the Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly aren’t quite like anywhere I’ve ever been before. English country houses stand in the shade of palm trees, while dry stone walls line paths down to white sandy beaches. Take a swim off the shoreline and you’ll find some of the clearest waters in the world. The feeling is a unique blend of tropical island and British countryside on these most southerly islands of the United Kingdom, where the Irish Sea meets the Atlantic. But the real draw of the Isles of Scilly (at least for stargazers), is not what the island has, but what it does not have – light pollution. Located 45km off the Cornish coast, the skies above the Isles of Scilly are phenomenally dark. So when…

Practical astronomy projects for every level of expertise Take any photo of the night sky with a DSLR camera and after a certain length of exposure, the stars will start to trail due to the apparent movement of the stars (in reality, Earth’s rotation). Not so long ago, you needed a large equatorial mount and some familiarity with the 'dark art’ of image processing to track the movement of the stars. Today, though, there are many small, lightweight, star-tracking mounts that allow us to attach a DSLR camera with a lens or even a small telescope, and to follow the stars’ apparent movement to get extended exposures. These portable mounts still have one important thing in common with their heavier counterparts: they require polar alignment to track the night sky…

PHOTO OF THE MONTH The Orion Nebula Danny Lee, Folkestone, Kent, 7 November 2021 Danny says: “This was my first attempt at imaging the Orion Nebula. At this time of year, it skims the neighbouring rooftops from my back garden, so I was happy I was able to capture it. I tried to show some of the dust around the nebula and I removed the stars in post-processing to help achieve that.” Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, William Optics RedCat 51 APO refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro mount Exposure: 36x 300”, 3h total Software: DeepSkyStacker, PixInsight, Lightroom Danny’s top tips: “The Orion Nebula’s core is bright, so add in some shorter exposures to retain detail in the brightest areas. I try not to be too aggressive in photo-editing software when I…

It’s a safe bet that at any given moment on any day of the year, an amateur astronomer somewhere is scanning the skies. That’s why, even with quite modest scopes, citizen scientists can play a valuable role in catching transient celestial events. This barred spiral galaxy is NGC 3568 in the Southern Hemisphere constellation of Centaurus, the Centaur. Although all is peaceful in this new image from the Hubble Space Telescope, things were more violent in 2014 when one of its stars went supernova. Like all Type II supernovae, it resulted from the massive star running out of fuel at its core and imploding, causing a rapid contraction followed by an explosive rebound. For a short time, a star that had been just one of the firmament outshone all the…

Our ideas about dark matter could be about to turn on their head, as astronomers have confirmed galaxy AGC 114905 appears to be free of dark matter. The galaxy is an ultra-diffuse dwarf galaxy, meaning that despite being the same size as the Milky Way, it contains 1,000 times fewer stars. It was one of six galaxies found in 2019, which appeared to be devoid of dark matter – something that our current theories of how galaxies and dark matter works says should be impossible. Even alternate theories such as modified Newtonian dynamics struggle to explain the galaxy’s existence. But such an extraordinary claim requires extraordinary evidence and so a team of astronomers, led by Pavel Mancera Piña from the University of Groningen and ASTRON in the Netherlands, observed the…

Despite not being what anyone would call an ‘outdoors person’, in late November 2021 I found myself shivering on top of a very windy hill in Hampshire waiting for the Sun to set. After all, what’s a Sky at Night episode about dark skies without filming under some? I have always loved TV, so late one day in March 2017, while thinking long and hard about what I wanted to do with my life, I released that was it. I did some research into the different roles and routes into the industry, and thought that with my background in admin, the production management route was the right one for me. I am now the Production Coordinator on The Sky At Night. Whenever anyone asks me what it involves, I usually…

Live North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales Dark Skies Festival Various venues, 18 February–6 March Enjoy the star-spangled skies of two International Dark Sky Reserves, with expert talks, art exhibitions, stargazing safaris, night-time walks and rocket building among the festival fortnight’s highlights. Charges apply to some events. darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk Live Delamont Country Park observing evening County Down, Northern Ireland, 4 February All ages and levels of ability are welcome to this monthly public observing session hosted by the Irish Astronomical Association. Sessions are planned for the first Friday of each month, but may be rescheduled in bad weather. For updates see facebook.com/groups/irishastro Online Stars and constellations 5 February–5 March, 11am Join Dr Adrian Jannetta of Northumberland Astronomical Society for an introductory course focusing on Orion, Ursa Major, Gemini, Taurus and Virgo.…

When the Space Shuttle programme shut down in 2011, NASA was left unable to launch heavy payloads into orbit. But that will soon change as the agency prepares to launch its Space Launch System (SLS) in March or April of this year. The SLS will eventually carry payloads of up to 45 tonnes to lunar orbit and is a key part of the Artemis programme, NASA’s endeavour to send the first woman to the lunar surface by 2025. Initially, the SLS’s first test launch was due in 2016, but the system proved more challenging than expected. Even after six years’ delay, the 2022 SLS is not the final version. The first three launches will use the Block 1 design shown here, followed by a Block 1B version with a more…

Although Mirzam (Beta (β) Canis Majoris), shines at mag. +2.0, it’s outshone by its sky neighbour, mag. –1.5 Sirius (Alpha (a) Canis Majoris). Mirzam lies 5.5° west and a bit south of Sirius and is easy to identify for this reason. Its name is derived from the Arabic term meaning ‘The Herald’, thought to refer to the fact that it rises just before Sirius, so heralding or announcing the appearance of its neighbour. Mirzam is the fourth brightest star in Canis Major, the Great Dog. Sirius may appear to dominate over Mirzam in terms of brightness, but the pair are an example of how the apparent sky we see is deceptive. Sirius is located 8.7 lightyears away from the Sun. Mirzam is a more distant star, estimated to be 490…

The fundamentals of astronomy for beginners On 9 January 1992, astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail introduced the world to the first two planets to be found outside the Solar System, alien worlds observed orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12, around 2,300 lightyears away. The hunt for ‘exoplanets’ – as they are also known – was then, as now, heavily driven by our quest to find out just how unique (or not) our Solar System is, and whether there is life beyond it. Given the latter aim, finding exoplanets orbiting a pulsar – effectively a dead (no longer burning) star – is far from ideal. Rather fittingly, a competition run by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) resulted in the pulsar and its planets being named after various macabre characters from mythology…

James Webb Space Telescope launches Hubble successor’s perfect start on its month-long 1.5 million km journey A new window is about to open on the Universe after the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on 25 December 2021 at 12:20 UT. The telescope is a 6.5m-wide infrared space observatory that will be able to view the cosmos in precise detail – from the atmospheres of our neighbouring gas giants to galaxies on the edge of the Universe. Though predominantly a NASA mission, the spacecraft was launched successfully from Spaceport Europe in French Guiana by the European Space Agency, on board an Ariane 5 rocket. At an altitude of 1,400km, the observatory and rocket separated and JWST released its solar panels a few minutes later. The telescope will spend…

Bombarding Venus The asteroids which impacted early Venus were, on average, travelling much faster than those that hit Earth, according to recent simulations. These probably blasted away our sister planet’s atmosphere and released volatile gases into the air, potentially explaining the hellish environment of Venus today. Black hole duet ESO’s Very Large Telescope has discovered the closest pair of supermassive black holes to Earth to date. The two are a mere 89 million lightyears from Earth (the previous record was 470 million), with one weighing in at 154 million solar masses, while the other is just 6.3 million. Next-Gen asteroid hunting NASA released Sentry-II, a next generation tool that can accurately and rapidly calculate the impact probability of near-Earth objects (NEOs), in December 2021. The update helps keep pace with…

Live & Online Hebridean Dark Skies Festival Lewis, Outer Hebrides, 11-25 February This two-week festival under some of the UK’s darkest skies returns for a fourth time with a lively mix of entertainment and astronomy. As well as stargazing, a host of indoor events will be happening at community venues across the island and online too, from astronomy workshops and talks, including one with Scotland’s new Astronomer Royal Catherine Heymans, to music, comedy, theatre, films, guided night walks and even a night swim for the very brave. For tickets, call 01851 708480 or visit www.lanntair.com…

Astronomy Photographer of the Year Supported by Liberty Specialty Markets February is here once again, and that means the 14th Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now open for entries. Run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and supported by Liberty Specialty Markets, it is the world’s biggest astrophotography competition. Every year since 2009 the competition showcases an incredible mix of technical expertise and artistic flourish from talented astrophotographers around the globe. It welcomes photographers of all ages and experience to submit their best astro images across a variety of categories in the hope of scooping the top prize, as well as the chance to have a photo displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum later in the year. But what does it take to create an award-winning…

DON’T MISS Comets C/2019 L3 Atlas and 19P/Borrelly BEST TIME TO SEE: 1-4 February and 19-28 February Last month, Comet C/2019 L3 Atlas reached perihelion in Gemini, when it appeared at its brightest, hovering about 10th magnitude. This month, L3 Atlas continues to be well positioned for UK viewing and, if it behaves as predicted, will remain around 10th magnitude, making it an object for larger binoculars and small telescopes. Discovered by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) facility at Haleakala, Hawaii on 10 June 2019, the comet has been a steady performer for many months. It begins its February track 2˚ north of mag. +3.0 Mebsuta (Epsilon (ε) Geminorum). From here it tracks into the main shape of western Gemini, the Twins curving south to end the month…

Walther Type: Crater Size: 141km Longitude/Latitude: 0.6° E, 33.2° S Age: Approximately 3.9 billion years Best time to see: First quarter (8-9 February) or six days after full Moon (22-23 February) Minimum equipment: 10x binoculars Walther is a large, rugged crater located 440km northeast of the prominent 86km ray crater Tycho. It sits within the complex, highly cratered southern region of the Moon and takes a bit of navigational finding despite its size. Walther sits adjacent to the large walled plane of 235km Deslandres extending to the west. From the centre of Walther, 75km Miller lies 200km to the south and 70km Werner lies 174km to the northeast. Werner sits near the trio of craters, 118km Purbach, 68km Blanchinus and 68km La Caille. These are components of the popular Lunar…

1. The Little Crab The 48 Greek constellations had gaps between them and some of these were filled with new constellations. For a few decades in the 16th century, Cancer Minor, proposed by Flemish astronomer Petrus Plancius, was one of these. This asterism of different coloured 5th magnitude stars extends 7° from 85 Geminorum to 68 Geminorum, looking like a fainter version of Sagitta. It’s 6° south of Kappa (k) Geminorum. □ SEEN IT 2. Mekbuda Mekbuda (Zeta (C) Geminorum) is a Cepheid variable (mag. +3.6 to +4.2) star. The period of a Cepheid is proportional to its luminosity (intrinsic brightness) so, merely by measuring its period, you can determine its distance by comparing its luminosity with magnitude. Mekbuda’s period is 10.15 days, so you can obtain a light curve…

The search for exoplanets has revealed a previously unimaginable variety. We reveal some notable examples: WASP-12b is one of the largest gas giants observed, twice Jupiter’s size. Discovered in 2008, it orbits so close to its star that it’s being torn apart! Mysterium Cosmographicum TOI-849b is an extremely dense rocky planet lacking atmosphere, which was discovered in 2015. It is thought to be the core of a gas giant. Proxima Centauri b is our nearest neighbour at 4.22 lightyears away. Spotted in 2016, it’s a bit bigger than Earth and orbits a small dwarf star. Kepler 452b is a contender for the title of ‘most Earth-like planet’, Kepler 452b (discovered in 2015) orbits a similar star to our Sun at approximately the same distance in about the same amount of…

Expert processing tips to enhance your astrophotos An essential tool for astrophotography, image stacking – or using software to effectively lay multiple exposures on top of one another – allows you to build up a much longer total exposure time and to reveal more detail in your image, something that is particularly helpful if you don’t have a tracking mount and need to take short exposures. Stacking also increases the ‘signal to noise ratio’ – the ratio between the light you want to capture (the signal) and unwanted artefacts (noise) – which produces a smoother image. To do the stacking, we’ll be using a piece of free Windows software called Sequator (https://sites.google.com/view/sequator) that can stack your night-sky images quickly and includes clearly explained instructions. It can be used to stack…

VITAL STATS • Price £3,590 • Optics Corrected Aspherical Cassegrain • Aperture 260mm • Focal length 1,300mm, f/5 • Focuser 3-inch rack and pinion • Tube material Carbon fibre • Weight 15kg • Supplier First Light Optics • Email questions@firstlightoptics.com • www.firstlightoptics.com We always welcome the chance to review something a bit different and the new SharpStar SCA260 piqued our interest, not only because of the unusual aspherical Cassegrain optical design, but also because of the attractive price tag for such a large telescope. The SCA260 certainly is large – at over 700mm long and 280mm wide, the telescope is geared towards experienced astrophotographers – so we opted for a permanent pier-mounting option. Even with its lightweight and stylish carbon fibre housing it still tips the scales at around 15kg,…