Image by Starry Night Pro copyright IMAGINOVA
The southern sky is beautiful at this time of year. Many treasures are visible if you have an unobstructed view of the southern horizon under fairly dark skies. This is a perfect time to bring your binoculars or small telescope to the cottage.
Among the constellations visible in the south you will find Scorpius (the scorpion) and Sagittarius (the archer) Scorpius is easliy identified by its shape -it really does suggest a scorpion with a tail and pincers. Check out Scorpius in closer detail by clicking on the sky chart. Notice the object labelled as M4? It will appear as a fuzzy ball in your binoculars. M4 is a "globular cluster". Imagine hundreds of thousands of stars packed into a dense ball. That's a globular cluster. Right next to M4 is a bright orange star named Antares. This star is a massive "Red Supergiant" star. Red Supergiants are much more massive than our sun and have a habit of exploding in violent "Supernova" at the end of their lives.
Look a little to the left of Scorpius to see an unusual "Teapot" shaped asterism. You've now found the most identifiable part of Sagittarius. This constellation is chock-a-block full of cosmic goodies. In addition to globular clusters, there are nebulae and open clusters in this area of the sky. When you look at the steam rising from the spout of the teapot you are looking towards the centre of our Milky Way Galaxy! Binoculars will reveal the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the Trifid Nebula (M20). Both of these objects are stellar nurseries -huge clouds of gas and dust that are giving birth to stars. As that dust and gas comes together under gravity, the pressure and temperature builds until nuclear fusion erupts. Voila! A star is born. This process happens again and again in these nebula.
Move up and to the left to see the Omega Nebula (M17). This nebula is also known as the "Swan Nebula". This stellar nursery looks like a waterfowl viewed from the side when I point a small telescope at it.
One of the most famous stellar nurseries is the Eagle Nebula (M16). In the heart of this stellar nursery is an object made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope. It's called the "Pillars of Creation".
Follow the link to the Hubble picture and you'll understand why it inspires so much awe.
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