Wednesday, August 26, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Stars over Sisters
By Paola Mendoza
Correspondent
September is a transi-
tion month when it comes
to stargazing. The constella-
tions of summer are slowly
making their way westward,
while those of autumn begin
to appear in the eastern sky.
And, of course, the longer
nights, coupled with still-
comfortable temperatures,
should provide ideal condi-
tions for taking in the celes-
tial sights.
Ascending in the north-
east sky after dusk is the
prominent W-shaped constel-
lation of Cassiopeia, queen of
Ethiopia in legend. Although
listed in most sources as a
stellar grouping of autumn,
from Central Oregon9s lati-
tude the constellation is said
to be circumpolar, meaning it
never sets below the horizon.
It is the 25th-largest constel-
lation by area.
Cassiopeia9s brightest star
is Schedar, a 2.2 magnitude
orange/red giant luminary
that is about five times the
mass of our sun but with a
much cooler surface temper-
ature. Astronomers estimate
its diameter is approximately
84 times larger than the sun
and lies some 228 light-years
away. It is said that Schedar
denotes the heart of the
Queen.
While there are only
two Messier objects in
Cassiopeia, M52 and M103,
both open star clusters, the
constellation features many
deep sky treasures. This is
due in part because an arm
of the Milky Way is found
there. One of the finest of
these is IC 1805, commonly
known as the Heart Nebula.
It is officially classified as an
emission nebula that contains
glowing regions of ionized
hydrogen gas. Near the neb-
ula9s center lies a young clus-
ter of stars that formed only
about 1.5 million years ago.
Known as Melotte 15, these
stars range in size from a few
bright supergiants each about
50 times the mass of our sun,
to many more far dimmer
stars that are only a fraction
of the sun9s mass.
Although the Heart
Nebula is quite large, hav-
ing a diameter equal to five
full moons, it is exceedingly
faint at magnitude 18.3, far
beyond the reach of backyard
telescopes. It lies 7,500 light-
years from the earth.
Fall in the Northern
Hemisphere begins at 6:31
a.m. on September 22 when
the sun reaches the Autumnal
Equinox. At that time, the sun
will cross the celestial equa-
tor and begin its six-month
journey into the celestial
southern hemisphere.
September is a good
month to try to spot the
Zodiacal light in the early
morning before sunrise. The
light is a roughly triangu-
lar shaped faint glow that
appears to extend from the
sun9s direction along the
ecliptic. The phenomenon
is caused by sunlight that is
scattered by interplanetary
dust. Autumn is the best
time of year to see the pre-
dawn Zodiacal light because
PHOTO BY RON BRECHER
The Heart Nebula lies 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
the ecliptic makes a steep
angle with the horizon. Your
chance of seeing it improves
when viewed from a dark
location with no moon.
The solar system9s two
largest gas giants still rule
the evening sky. Jupiter is
the brighter of the two, while
fainter Saturn is approxi-
mately seven degrees farther
east by mid-month. Both are
still in Sagittarius and well
placed for observation.
Later in the month
Mercury tries to put in an eve-
ning appearance. Although
on October 1 the tiny orb will
be a full 25 degrees from the
sun, it will only stand three
degrees above the western
horizon 30 minutes after
sunset. The best chance to
see it may be September 21,
when Mercury and Spica lie
less than one degree apart.
Although too dim to see with
the naked eye, on September
11 Neptune becomes an eve-
ning object as well.
The remaining three
planets 4 Venus, Mars, and
Uranus 4 are currently resi-
dents of the morning sky.
Since the Full Corn Moon
falls on September 1, the
moon will be on the wane
until September 17 when it
will go dark. For the remain-
der of the month, Earth9s only
natural satellite will gradually
become more illuminated.
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