Skies Above Bribie

Ihave been on hiatus for the Around the February full moon, there were a couple of cloud-free nights where I was able to set up my telescope and take some photographs. Because the brightness of the full moon would hinder capturing fainter targets like nebulae, I focused on imaging some brighter targets. Pictured are M3, M54 and Omega Centauri, which are large and bright groups of stars known as star clusters. There are two main types of star clusters: globular clusters and open clusters. The three objects pictured are globular clusters.

Globular clusters are tightly gravitationally-bound clusters of stars. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of stars. Globular clusters are thought to have formed during the beginning of the universe nearly 14 billion years ago. They are home to some of the oldest known stars in the universe. It was thought that all the stars within a globular cluster form at the same time however, studies have shown that some globular clusters have multiple episodes of star formation. Globular clusters are quite useful to astronomers because they provide a way to study stellar evolution.

Globular clusters are mostly located within the outer regions of galaxies, known as the celestial halo, while open clusters are generally found within the disks of spiral galaxies. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has about 200 globular clusters, though it is believed that there may be more hidden within the thick dusty disk of our galaxy.

The largest known globular cluster within the Milky Way is Omega Centauri, which contains about 10 million stars. This monster cluster has a diameter of 230

By: Katherine Miller

light-years and is 10 times more massive than a typical globular cluster.

Due to the lack of star-forming material in the universe today, the creation of new clusters is unlikely.

Jupiter and Venus will appear to cross paths at the beginning of the month. Their closest conjunction will occur on the 2nd of March when both planets appear about half a degree apart.

A full moon will occur on the 7th of March. This moon is also known as the Worm Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, and Lenten Moon.

The Milky Way's galactic core returns to our night sky, rising in the early morning. The March Equinox will occur on the 21st of March, marking the official start of autumn for the southern hemisphere and spring for the northern hemisphere. An equinox occurs when the sun crosses the Earth's equator, that is, it appears directly above the equator. There will be approximately equal parts day and equal parts night.

The best time for observing or photographing the night sky is around the 21st of March during the new moon. During a new moon, the moon is not visible because it is on the same side of the Earth as the Sun.

A conjunction of Venus and a thin crescent moon will occur on the 24th of March. Look towards the western horizon.