Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i BBC Sky at Night

Visit www.skyatnightmagazinecom/bonus-content/IRIVOWL to access this month’s selection of exclusive Bonus Content OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS Interview: a history of black holes Dr Becky Smethurst reveals how black holes went from theoretical mysteries to objects we can photograph. Watch online: James Webb Road Trip The Sky at Night team speak to the UK scientists analysing new data returned by the James Webb Space Telescope. APY 2022: view our full online gallery See the winning and runner-up images from the 2022 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The Virtual Planetarium Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel guide us through the best sights to see in the night sky this month.…

In September’s episode of The Sky at Night, Jen Gupta looked at how ever more stunning astronomical photos have revolutionised our understanding of the cosmos Saying this will probably get me in trouble with my art-loving colleagues, but… I don’t think there’s a painting in the world that can compare to the beauty of the Universe. From the classic ‘Pillars of Creation’ photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, to Curiosity Rover’s selfies on Mars, and now the stunning first images coming from the James Webb Space Telescope, photographs of (and from) space are a source of inspiration to countless people around the world. But these images aren’t just taken so that space nerds like me have pretty pictures to use as our computer backgrounds. Astrophotography has fundamentally changed our…

Norman Lockyer Observatory Family Day Sidmouth, Devon, 16 October, 11am As part of Sidmouth Science Festival there will be telescopes, a planetarium and meteorology at this famous old observatory dating back over 100 years. Booking not required. Adults £10, children £5. sidmouth.gov.uk/event/norman-lockyer-observatory-family-day International Astronomy Show Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, 14-15 October Put together by two amateur stargazers, the show includes lectures from astronomy professor Nial Tavir and eminent science historian Professor Allan Chapman. Show entry £8.50; entry to lectures £6.50. www.ukastroshow.com Coll & The Cosmos Stargazing Weekend Coll Bunkhouse, Isle of Coll, Inner Hebrides, 22-23 October A collaboration with Cosmos Planetarium, no extra equipment is needed (though you can bring your own) to enjoy these scientific presentations and the spectacular, dark night sky. £150 for adults, £100 for under-18s. collbunkhouse.com/dark-skies-coll-cosmos Stargazing…

Once again, astrophotographers from across the globe have submitted their best work in a bid to win the prestigious title of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022. The panel of judges had their work cut out, picking from 3,204 incredible images submitted by 649 entrants from six continents. After lengthy and detailed deliberations, they have selected the best of the best, and we have the pleasure of presenting the winners of the 14th contest here, across all eight main categories. You can also see winners of the competition’s special prizes for astrophotography newcomers and for imagers who have processed professionally taken data, as well as the special prize for entrants younger than 16. You can see the winning photos for yourself at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London from…

DON’T MISS Partial solar eclipse BEST TIME TO SEE: 25 October, 10:00 BST (09:00 UT) until 12:00 BST (11:00 UT) After what seems like ages since the last solar eclipse visible from the UK – a partial which took place on 10 June 2021 – we get the chance to see a partial eclipse on the morning of 25 October. Partial solar eclipses happen when, from a particular location on Earth, only part of the Sun’s disc is covered by the Moon’s disc. Technically, during such an eclipse, it’s the Moon’s penumbral shadow passing over us. The amount of the Sun’s disc which is covered is described by two quantities: eclipse magnitude and obscuration. Eclipse magnitude describes how far the eclipsing body extends over the diameter of the object being…

Harpalus is a 40km crater located to the north of the distinctive Sinus Iridum or Bay of Rainbows, a semi-circular bay of lava located on the northwest shore of Mare Imbrium. It sits within the section of dark lunar lava which defines the western extremity of the elongated Mare Frigoris, the Sea of Cold. Measuring 1,800km long and 200km wide, Mare Frigoris can be seen running along the top of Mare Imbrium, easily identified to the north of the distinctive 101km, dark oval crater Plato. The region to the northwest of Harpalus, adjacent to 41km Markov, is Sinus Roris, the Bay of Dew. Harpalus is a relatively young feature on the Moon’s surface, estimated to be less than 1.1 billion years old. As such, its appearance is sharp and well-defined.…

1. Melotte 20 10X50 This stunningly beautiful cluster extends nearly 4° southeast from mag. +1.8 Mirfak (Alpha (a) Persei), with its hot young blue-white stars sparkling like diamonds on black velvet. It is only about 60 million years old. It’s known as the Alpha Persei moving cluster because all the stars share a similar proper motion (motion relative to the celestial sphere) of around 33 milliarcseconds per year. □ SEEN IT 2. Algol 10x50 If you want to dip your toe into variable star observing, Algol (Beta (P) Persei), is a good place to start, being at a convenient altitude on autumn evenings. It is an eclipsing binary star, meaning that it dips in brightness when the fainter member of the system passes in front of the brighter one. With…

On 8 December 2022, Mars reaches opposition. It’s going to be a splendid telescopic target, well-placed for observation in the Northern Hemisphere and well worth observing in the dark winter months. And as an added bonus, on the same night as opposition the Moon will appear to pass in front of Mars in an event known as a lunar occultation. December is set to be the month of Mars. But before then, Mars will be growing steadily larger and brighter, meaning there’s plenty to see in the run-up. Here we’ll explore the exciting phenomena we can observe before and after opposition. Opposition occurs when an outer planet is opposite the Sun in the sky. Sun, Earth and planet all lie in a straight line, with Earth in the middle, and…

Star trails are relatively simple to do yet produce very striking results, especially when centred around the north or south celestial poles. These images capture the movement of Earth as it rotates on its axis, producing star trails that are comprised of fragments of concentric rings. If you are in the polar regions during the winter and have clear, dark skies for 24 hours, the trails will form complete circles, including the pole star Polaris because it is not perfectly aligned with the celestial pole. Most of us will never experience a polar winter, but it is still possible to create a 24-hour star trail photograph by merging together a stack of many images taken with the same setup, from exactly the same spot, on different nights throughout the year.…

PHOTO OF THE MONTH A huge solar prominence Jay Bolt, Crigglestone, West Yorkshire, 18 July 2022 Jay says: “I had been capturing sunspots when I noticed a huge prominence forming on the Sun’s limb. The seeing was unusually good early in the morning, allowing for very precise focusing and capturing of the plasma eruption. Solar activity has been steadily increasing over the last few years, and I am particularly pleased with the magnetic detail that processing has brought out on the chromosphere.” Equipment: Altair Hypercam 174M camera, Explore ScientificAR127mm refractor, Daystar Quark Chromosphere Ha eyepiece filter, Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount Exposure: 1,500 frames of SER format video, best 20% selected Software: AutoStakkert!, Photoshop, Astra Image, Topaz DeNoise, Topaz Sharpen Jay’s top tips: “For solar imaging using a Quark Chromosphere, aim for…

Our experts review the latest kit The Askar 107PHQ is a 107mm (4.2-inch) aperture quadruplet refractor. With a focal length of 749mm, this astrograph is well-suited to photographing medium-sized nebulae and galaxies. Askar’s second-largest OTA offering (next to its 130mm), it’s also wide enough for larger nebulae, if partnered with a full-frame camera. The 107PHQ arrived in a single large box that contained a very smart and robust carry case. Opening the case revealed the scope with tube rings and carry handle already attached, in addition to multiple threaded adaptors and instruction manuals. First impressions of the telescope were positive, as there was not a single piece of plastic to be found and even the dew shield is solid aluminium. The scope is white, with a striking green trim that…

THE CARTWHEEL IN SPACE Another stunning image from the largest space telescope ever launched shows just what this new observatory can do JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE, 2 AUGUST 2022 The wonderful Webb Space Telescope delivers again, with this image of the Cartwheel Galaxy in the constellation Sculptor, and its companions, taken using both the scope’s near-infrared and mid-infrared cameras. Formed by a galactic collision 400 million years ago, the Cartwheel Galaxy has a bright inner ring and colourful outer ring, both expanding outward from the centre. Before the collision shattered it into these beautiful rings, the Cartwheel was a spiral galaxy, and you can see the remains of its arms in the ‘spokes’ that connect the rings and give the galaxy its name. The red colouration comes from glowing dust…

Mars rocks homeward bound in 2033 Martian samples collected by the Perseverance rover are set to begin their journey to Earth in 2033. NASA has now completed the review phase of its plan, which will use the rover and two recovery helicopters to carry the collection to a Sample Retrieval Lander (due to launch in 2027), that will then send them to the Earth Return Orbiter (2028). South Korea to the Moon South Korea’s first lunar spacecraft began its journey on 4 August. The Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, or Danuri, will arrive in lunar orbit in December. It will orbit the Moon 12 times a day, imaging the surface and testing an ‘interplanetary internet’ for use on future missions. No dark matter for dwarfs The movements of dwarf galaxies in…

In this episode of The Sky at Night, Patrick Moore took a look towards our nearest star, the Sun. Even in the 1970s, many of the fainter wonders of the night sky were hidden from urban viewers by light pollution, but the Sun was just as visible from the middle of a city as a remote mountainside. To prove this, he met Peter Gill, an amateur astronomer who observed the Sun using just a small, filtered telescope from the window of his third-floor fiat in London. Normally, observing out of the window is inadvisable. The glass will disrupt the view or if it’s open, the temperature difference between inside and outside will create turbulent air currents and an unstable image. But astronomy through a window is better than no astronomy…

I was observing Saturn on the evening of Thursday 11 August with my girlfriend Lindsay. She’s not a serious astronomer but does take an interest in my hobby and loves taking photos of the Moon on her smartphone. She took several shots that evening and whilst most were so-so, one in particular stood out. The ‘moonbeam’ in the shot could not have been better aimed to point out Saturn, above left of the rising Moon! Right place at the right time, we think. Tony Bees, via email A wonderfully serendipitous shot of Saturn, Tony, which has put Van Morrison’s song ‘Moondance’ in our heads! – Ed. This month’s top prize: two Philip’s titles The ‘Message of the Month’ writer will receive a bundle of two top titles courtesy of astronomy…

Following a main festival in February comes the popular Fringe event for its third year under the pristine skies of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales national parks, which have International Dark Sky Reserve status. The full lineup was yet to be announced at the time of writing, but attendees can expect outdoor adventures in the dark such as night walks, astrophotography and astronomy talks, dark-sky safaris by boat and wellbeing stargazing retreats. This annual festival is a chance to either expand your knowledge or start your stargazing journey. For those in the South West, there’s also a Dark Skies festival taking place on Exmoor on 14-30 October. www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk…

PICK OF THE MONTH Neptune Best time to see: 1 October, 23:00 UT Altitude: 33° Location: Aquarius Direction: South Features: Colour, occasional atmospheric effects, Triton Recommended equipment: 200mm or larger Neptune was at opposition in the middle of September and remains very well placed for observation from the UK throughout October. By the end of the month, shining at mag. +7.8, Neptune and mag. –2.6 Jupiter will appear separated by just 6.7°, both planets being located below the faint Circlet asterism in Pisces. The separation continues to reduce into next month, reaching a minimum of around 6.1° in late November. At mag. +7.8, Neptune is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, theoretically being the only one of the main planets that needs optical assistance to see. In…

As brightening comet C/2017 K2 PanSTARRS has now moved too far south to be followed from the UK, all eyes will be turning to C/2022 E3 (ZTF), a comet currently in Corona Borealis. Its orbit, combined with the relative motion of Earth, has it performing a south-pointing loop into Serpens Caput before heading north out of the semicircle of stars which forms the distinctive constellation of the Northern Crown. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered on 2 March 2022 using a 48-inch telescope at the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at Mount Palomar Observatory, California. It’s due to reach perihelion on 13 January 2023 when it will lie 1.11 AU from the Sun. Its closest approach to Earth is on 2 February 2023, the distance between us and the comet dropping to…

This month’s Deep-Sky Tour on page 56 requires you to go low – down to southerly declinations that you probably wouldn’t think about wandering into under normal circumstances. And perfectly understandable that is too, since low-altitude objects are compromised by the layer of thicker atmospheric murk which lurks near the horizon. But it is sometimes interesting to push your limits just to see how far south you can actually see from your own back garden or surrounding area. Your challenge this month is to see just how low you can actually go. Yes, you can cheat for this and look at a planetarium program, but there’s something quite amazing about putting in the effort and navigating to southern declinations yourself. If you’re not overly familiar with the night sky, or…

Catching the Edom flashes will require a medium telescope (6-inch reflector or 4-inch refractor) and a clear night, but not much more! Although observing the flashes may prove a little tricky, the challenge is well worth the effort and certainly achievable through an 8-inch reflector. If you do spot a flash, keep a record of what you see and you will be able to contribute to this very worthwhile scientific endeavour, helping astronomers learn more about the reflective nature of the Martian surface. We have made predictions as to when and where Edom flashes will occur based upon when the Sun–Earth–Mars geometry is aligned. Try observing on the dates and times suggested below. Note: the angle of the reflective plane will have a significant effect on when flashes will occur,…

The chances are, if you saw a crossword clue ‘Animal that few into space (3)’, you’d think of Laika and write, “Dog”. And it might be right, but there’s another correct answer. This month is the 59th anniversary of a small, black and white cat called Félicette travelling where no feline had gone before – or has gone since. But why is Félicette overlooked when Laika is so loved? Perhaps because her rocket looked like a firework compared to Laika’s powerful booster. Or maybe it’s because she only flew to the edge of space, on the same kind of suborbital flight that billionaires now pay a fortune for. Félicette’s story began in 1961 when, following the superpowers’ successful animal flights, France decided to stage a series of missions of its…

The Moon will pass in front of a part of the Sun on the morning of 25 October, an event that will result in a partial solar eclipse. Partial solar eclipses, as their name suggests, don’t cover the Sun’s disc completely. As the greatest coverage will only be 24.5 per cent at best from mainland UK, the area of Sun that remains visible will pose a danger to eyesight and equipment. Consequently, great care needs to be taken to protect both. Here we’ll look at some of the ways you can image the event safely. A partial solar eclipse lacks the majesty of a total eclipse. The effects that people spend thousands of pounds on chasing to remote parts of the world are absent during a partial. Although it does…

Artemis I takes aim at the Moon Efforts to get the test mission off the ground hit last-minute snags At long last, NASA is ready to begin its first foray towards the Moon in 50 years with the launch of Artemis I. The mission is an uncrewed test of the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy launch vehicle and the Orion crew module that will carry future crews to the Moon. But will it make its flight? The initial launch on 29 August was scrubbed after a problem was found on SLS’s Engine 3. “We don’t launch until it’s right,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “I think that this is illustrative that this is a complicated machine. You don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go.” The next…

Tide lines show Moon’s move Marks left by tides 3.2 billion years ago suggest the Moon was once much closer The gravitational pull of the Moon hauls up Earth’s oceans into two bulges on opposite sides of the planet. As Earth rotates beneath these twin bulges, sea levels along the coastlines rise and fall, creating the tides. Much of the world’s shores, including around the UK, experience two cycles of high and low tides roughly equal in magnitude every day. The Sun’s gravity also has an effect on the ocean’s tides, and roughly twice a month (one lunar orbit), when both the Moon and Sun are in line with Earth, their gravitational effects combine to create a much larger range between high and low water, known as the spring tide.…

The Sky at Night: Question Time The lively – and live – panel discussion on all things astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology returns! In this special episode, presenters Chris, Maggie and Pete, host Dallas Campbell, plus special guests from the worlds of spaceflight and astronomy, face questions from a live studio audience at De Montfort University, Leicester, as part of the 2022 British Science Festival. BBC Four, 10 October, 10pm (first repeat will be on BBC Four, 13 October, time tbc) Check www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight for more up-to-date information…

The amateur astronomer’s forum They say ‘where there’s a crowd there’s business’. With a huge potential global audience online, the next time inspiration for an innovation flashes like a shooting star, no matter how unlikely-sounding it may be, you may find customers surprisingly easy to find – especially if your money-spinning idea has links to space. You’d be following in a long line of entrepreneurs past, such as when Halley’s Comet flew by Earth in 1910. The event caught the attention of opportunists who saw the potential to profit from the unknowns surrounding the comet’s appearance. This was nicely fuelled by French astronomer and popular science author Camille Flammarion, who paved the way by stating that Earth would pass through the comet’s tail, and that there was a chance that…

Cetus the Whale is a sprawling autumn constellation south of Pisces. Here it nudges into the band of sky described as the Zodiac and consequently the Moon and planets can find themselves inside Cetus from time to time. The outline resembles a whale with a head to the east and raised tail northwest. The stars tell a different story though, the Whale’s tail being represented by a misshapen pentagon that contains Menkar (Alpha (α) Ceti), the name meaning ‘nostril’. So the apparent tail is actually the head! The base of the pentagon is Kaffaljidhma (Gamma (γ) Ceti) a shortened version of ‘Al Kaff al Jidhmah’, derived from the Arabic meaning ‘the cut-short hand’. This name originally referred to a group of five stars in Cetus; Gamma, Xi1 (ξ1), Xi2 (ξ2)),…

Start sketching the Red Planet long before opposition and it won’t be long before you have drawings of the entire surface. Follow these five simple steps: 1. First, you’ll need to make a blank to draw on. Download yours in this month’s Bonus Content (see page 5) or make your own by drawing a white circle 50mm in diameter. 2. Spend a good 15 minutes observing Mars at your telescope before starting. What details are visible? Can you see a polar cap? Are there any prominent dark markings? What else can you see? Experiment with magnification so that the features are not too blurred. 3. You’re ready to draw. Start by putting in the terminator. Near opposition, Mars is 100 per cent illuminated, but either side of opposition, the planet…

Leo This sprawling zodiacal constellation shines low in the east before dawn this month. It contains the Sickle asterism and hundreds of galaxies, including the famous Leo Triplet. Leo Minor Prowling between Leo and Ursa Major, this small, faint, Messier-object-free constellation contains the famous deep-sky oddity Hanny’s Voorwerp, a ‘quasar ionisation echo’ spotted in 2007 by citizen scientist Hanny van Arkel during the very first Galaxy Zoo project. Lynx This starry zig-zag between Ursa Major and Auriga was introduced in the late 17th century by Johannes Hevelius, who thought it was so faint it took the eyesight of a lynx to see it. Five of its stars are known to have exoplanets orbiting them. Felis Created by French astronomer and cat lover Jerome Lalande in 1799, who felt it was…

Expert processing tips to enhance your astrophotos Astrophotography processing is all about the art of data control and getting the right balance between stretching data to tease out details, without going too far and ‘clipping’ it. Once the data is overstretched, delicate details are lost, or the image becomes noisy. Stars are one major obstacle during processing. They limit the extent to which data can be enhanced, as they distort or become bloated. This reduces the desired ‘natural’ appearance for deep-sky images. Software that can remove stars therefore allows the user to work on all the delicate details, without being hindered by stars. One example is the free software StarNet++. Originally developed as a PixInsight module, it’s now available as a standalone program via www.starnetastro.com/download. StarNet++ is compatible with both…

Our experts review the latest kit As more and more advanced telescope mounts become available for amateur astronomers, we were keen to see how the Avalon Evo-Zero stands out from the crowd. Our review package arrived in a single box and included the mount, T-Pod 70 tripod and all the accessories neatly stowed in a sturdy nylon holdall. This is easily carried, weighing only 13.6kg in total. The PDF manual, along with the StarGo software, is on a handy USB flash drive. The quality of the construction and attention to detail that has gone into the manufacture of the mount stands out. Designed in Italy, it is beautifully machined from solid blocks and exudes understated style. The matching T-70 tripod is stylishly built too, providing a sturdy platform for the…

What is the DART Mission? The DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission is a very exciting first step for planetary defence. It’s a NASA mission that’s built and managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab that is purposely crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid to change its motion slightly. DART is just one part of a much larger planetary defence strategy. Key to that strategy is finding asteroids ahead of time. If one was ever discovered to be on course with Earth, this method could potentially deflect it. We’re not blowing up the asteroid. Rather, we give it a small nudge, which changes its orbit ever so slightly. When you do this years in advance, it adds up over time so that the asteroid and Earth aren’t on a…