Planets
Planets change positions in the sky as they orbit around the Sun.To locate the planets
on a given day or month, consult a monthly astronomy magazine, such as
Sky and
Telescope
or
Astronomy
. You can also consult AutoStar II for information about
planets. Scroll to the “Object: Solar System” menu and scroll through the lists of
planets. When a planet you are interested in displays, press ENTER. Use the Scroll
keys to display information about the planet, such as the planet’s coordinates, and the
rise and set times. Listed below are the best planets for viewing through the
LX200-
ACF
.
Venus is about nine-tenths the diameter of Earth. As Venus orbits the Sun, observers
can see it go through phases (crescent, half, and full) much like those of the Moon.
The disk of Venus appears white as Sunlight is reflected off the thick cloud cover that
completely obscures any surface detail.
Mars is about half the diameter of Earth, and appears through the telescope as a tiny
reddish-orange disk. It may be possible to see a hint of white at one of the planet’s
polar ice caps. Approximately every two years, when Mars is closest to Earth in its
orbit, additional detail and coloring on the planet’s surface may be visible.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and is 11 times the diameter of Earth.
Jupiter (Fig. 66) appears as a disk with dark lines stretching across the surface. These
lines are cloud bands in the atmosphere. Four of Jupiter’s moons (Io, Europa,
Ganymede, and Callisto) can be seen as “star-like” points of light when using even the
lowest magnification. These moons orbit Jupiter so that the number of moons visible
on any given night changes as they circle around the giant planet.
Saturn is nine times the diameter of Earth and appears as a small, round disk with
rings extending out from either side (Fig. 65). In 1610, Galileo, the first person to
observe Saturn through a telescope, did not understand that what he was seeing
were rings. Instead, he believed that Saturn had “ears”. Saturn’s rings are composed
of billions of ice particles ranging in size from a speck of dust to the size of a house.
The major division in Saturn’s rings, called the Cassini Division, is occasionally visible
through the
LX200-ACF. Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons can also be seen as a
bright, star-like object near the planet.
Deep-Sky Objects
Star charts can be used to locate constellations, individual stars and deep-sky
objects. Examples of just some of the deep-sky objects you’ll be able to observe with
your
LX200-ACF are given below:
Stars are large gaseous objects that are self-illuminated by nuclear fusion in their
core. Because of their vast distances from our solar system, all stars appear as
pinpoints of light, irrespective of the size of the telescope used.
Nebulae are vast interstellar clouds of gas and dust where stars are formed. Most
impressive of these is the Great Nebula in Orion (M42) (Fig. 66), a diffuse nebula that
appears as a faint wispy gray cloud. M42 is 1600 light years from Earth.
Open Clusters are loose groupings of young stars, all recently formed from the same
diffuse nebula.The Pleiades is an open cluster 410 light years away (Fig. 67). Through
the
LX200-ACF, numerous stars are visible.
Constellations are large, imaginary patterns of stars believed by ancient civilizations
to be the celestial equivalent of objects, animals, people, or gods. These patterns are
too large to be seen through a telescope. To learn the constellations, start with an
easy grouping of stars, such as the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. Then, use a star chart
to explore across the sky.
Galaxies are large assemblies of stars, nebulae, and star clusters that are bound by
gravity. The most common shape is spiral (such as our own Milky Way), but galaxies
can also be elliptical, or even irregular blobs. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) (Fig. 68)
is the closest spiral-type galaxy to our own. This galaxy appears fuzzy and cigar-
shaped. It is 2.2 million light years away in the constellation Andromeda, located
between the large “W” of Cassiopeia and the great square of Pegasus.
Fig. 67: The Pleiades is one of the
most beautiful open clusters.
Fig. 66: A favorite winter sight—the
great nebula in Orion.
Fig. 68: The Andromeda Galaxy, the
largest galaxy of our local group.
Tip:
Enter a date in the Date
menu and you can
determine if a planet(s) will
be visible during the night
of the entered date by
checking its rise and set
times.
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