The American Association of Amateur Astronomers
The Constellation Corvus - The
The constellation of Hydra is both the largest and longest of all the constellations,
spanning almost 7 hours of Right Ascension, and covering over 1300 square degrees. The attendant constellations
of Corvus, Crater, and Sextans seem
to ride on the back of Hydra as it winds across the sky. While on the whole this is a rather sparse region of the
sky containing primarily faint and distant galaxies, there are three Messier objects and several fine Herschel
objects in the area, making the hunt worthwhile.
NGC 4038-9 - The Ring Tail or Antennae Galaxy. This
fascinating object is actually two interacting galaxies which have been greatly
distorted by gravitational forces. A telescope shows a curving arc about 3' in
length and about 2' at its widest point. Oriented N-S, it looks like a bulging
crescent and is brighter on the northern end.
This interesting object is best seen in moderate to large size
aperture telescopes. This object lies just WSW of Gamma Corvi (Minkar) and
appears to be colliding galaxies. It is a combination of NGC 4038 (the
northern-most bulk) and NGC 4039 (the southern extension).
NGC 4361 - This large planetary nebula is about 50" in diameter, and has
an easily seen central star. The nebulosity is grey, and reminds me somewhat of
the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major.
Stargate - Anyone logging on to the Stargate BBS, run by Observing Coordinator John Wagoner will
be greeted by a graphical representation of this pretty asterism along with its coordinates: Right Ascension -
12h 36m Dec - Minus 12 degrees. It seems that while John was working on his Messier Certificate, he bumped into
this grouping of stars while on the way to M-104. It reminded him of the stargate used by Buck Rogers and friends
to enter hyperspace, hence the name he bestowed upon it. The rest is history.
Article © Copyright Rick Raasch
Photos © Copyright Edward P. Flaspoehler, Jr.
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