Keep Looking Up: Where to Place Your Winter Blues or Coat this Spring

 

In our night sky are many things called asterisms. The Big Dipper is perhaps the best asterism. It is a handle with the dipper but in reality it is part of the constellation Ursa Major. 

Well, when this object or asterism is viewable, called Collinder 399 or CR 399  you know its time to let go of the winter blues and to hand up your winter coat.  This is an asterism that looks like an upside down coathanger! It's in the constellation of Vulpecca, The Fox and is great in 10x50 binoculars.   

Come learn more about this wonderful asterism and also about a variable star that you can view naked eye (just with your own eyes) or with 10x50 Bincoluars. This star stays up all year if you're above 32 degrees N latitude and it changes brightness every 5 days! So go view it and measure it. If you have a telescope, it has a nice surprise if you bring good magnification to it! 

Remember I have a full article over at Eadsy Astronomy 

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Keep Looking Up and Clear Skies! 

Keep Looking Up: Double Trouble In the Great Dipper: Two Gems and an Extra!

 

For tonight or the next several nights as we head into the weekend, there are two things in this video I share. Please realize I am sharing easy items here and things that even if you only have your eyes or a set of binoculars you cna enjoy.  The purpose of Looking Up Tonight is just that, to get you looking up! 

 The evening planetary alignment continues with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in an alomost diagonal line in the evening sky. Mercury and Venus are in the gibbous stage currently. Juipter contineus to get lower each night so take the time now to view it in 10x50 binoculars or in your telescope before it moves to its conjunction with the Sun and then transfers to the early morning sky for the rest of this year. 

Up in the Great Dipper, an asterism in Ursa Major the Great Bear constellation is the middle star in the handle. It is called Mizar. Next to it is a visual double, that means they are not gravationally bound to each other but because of their position in relation to us, they look like a double pair. 

See if with your own eyes you can spot both of them. I can do it in my suburbia home so give it a  try. Then 10x50 binoculars will split them easy. Then take a look in a telescope and bring high magnification and see what you see. Also, there is fainter star that makes up a triangle with Mizar and Alcor and learn in the video the history of that star. 

Keep looking up and clear skies! 

I have a nice short article over at Eadsy Astronomy on this: 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/double-troube-in-160175436?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

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Auroro's Possible Night of June 4th into June 5th 2026

 

Sunspot AR 4455 is a very unstable sunspot and has an Anti-Hale to it. "Anti-Hale" means the sunspot has a reversed-polarity magnetic field, which makes it unstable and explosive so it has released 3 CME's starting on June 2nd through yesterday and could release more today.

The third CME was faster than the other two and has overtaken them, resulting in what is called a "Cannibal CME." From SpaceWeather.com we read:

Yesterday, sunspot 4455 exploded several times and hurled multiple CMEs into space. One of the CMEs was so fast, it caught a slower CME and swallowed it. This NOAA model shows what happened . . . The combined Cannibal CME is expected to reach Earth during the late hours of June 4th or June 5th. This is good news for sky watchers because Cannibal CMEs are very good at producing geomagnetic storms and auroras. Remember the great geomagnetic storm of May 2024? That was caused in part by a Cannibal CME. Tonight's storm will not be as intense as May 2024, but it could be good if NOAA's model is correct.

I have a full article over at Eadsy Astronom at this LINK and I really encouage you to go there and take a look at it. Pleae hit subscribe on our YouTube channel and follow us there and if you enjoy the content here and at Eadsy Astronomy, please consider becoming a member there for free or if you really find value, become a contributing member at the $3 or $5 level. The money goes to offsetting costs for apps and other materials to bring this content to you and is deeply appreciated. 

Introductory Video for the Observing Program The Pillars of Hercules

 

Hercules is one of those summer constellations that I feel is often overlooked. Most think of Messier 13, the Great Globular (for those in the northern hemipshere) and perhaps Messier 92 the Other Globluar in Hercules. Most though are not aware of the rich amount of deep sky objects located in this famous constellation.

You have several wonderful and challenging planetary nebula. Double stars are also included in the mighy hero of classical myth. Most think of spring as being galaxy season, and it is but within the borders of Alcides (his boyhood name) lie many wonderful and very challenging galaxies including Abell and Arps!

Hercules is perfectly placed in June for observing, so it is a wonderful time to begin your summer time journey making this mighty strongman a summer time companion over the next couple of months!

I'll share some of my images and sketches after the screen shots of the objects and there is attached a colored PDF that includes a place for your observing notes! Thank you for being a contributing member to the site! It is deeply appreciated!

This is again divided up into 3 catagories. The first level is a good introductory tour of some of the eye candy of Hercules and also some challenging targets. The second level is challenging. The third level, well, you better have some very dark and transparent skies and large apeture! I also include a video for each level showing where the object is located using LiveSky (online SkySafari) and discuss difficulty and provide some tips.  

For the full program here is the LINK. Remember you need to be a contributing member to gain full access to the program over there. Membership starts at $3.00 a month or $5.00 a month.  Please consider becoming a contributing member. The membership just goes to offset time and apps and materials purchased to bring this to you. Thank you so much! 

At this LINK you can get the objects and the observing list.