Page 69 - BBC Sky at Night Beginners Guide to Astronomy - 2017 UK

WHAT TO SEE

TELESCOPE TARGETS

FOR BEGINNERS

Five impressive, easy-to-spot objects to get you started

❮ THE MOON
Constellation: It doesn’t stay in the
same place but it’s hard to miss
When to view: During waxing
phases – not at full Moon
The best times to view the Moon are during
its waxing phases, from the date when it is
fi rst seen as a thin crescent emerging after
sunset. The reason you want to look at this
time is that this is when the terminator is
visible. This is the line between the lighted
side and the dark side of the Moon, and is
the place where the Sun’s light catches the
craters and mountain ranges, thus casting
amazing shadows across the lunar surface.

JUPITER
❮
Constellation: Various
When to view: From September
2012 until April 2013
Through a small telescope you can see
the planet as a disc, with several dark
bands in its atmosphere. You may also
❮ ORION NEBULA, M42 see Jupiter’s four largest moons as points
of light either side of it. As it’s a planet,
Constellation: Orion there are times of year when Jupiter
When to view: Orion is only visible is not visible.
during the winter months
The Orion Nebula, numbered 42 in the
famous Messier Catalogue, is a ‘must’ for
winter observers. The nebula is just visible to
the unaided eye as a misty patch, but even
the smallest of scopes will start to reveal the
sweeping structure of this stellar nursery.

❮ ANDROMEDA GALAXY, M31 ❮ SWORD HANDLE DOUBLE
CLUSTER, NGC 869 & NGC 884
Constellation: Andromeda
When to view: Late summer and Constellation: Perseus STEVE MARSH X 2, WILL GATER X 3, JON HICKS, PAUL WHITFIELD
early autumn When to view: Winter months
M31 is found by star-hopping from the The Sword Handle will be high in the east,
nearby Great Square of Pegasus. It will moving almost overhead through the night.
appear as a misty patch but is actually a To fi nd it, locate the ‘W’ of Cassiopeia and
giant, spiral island of stars, similar to our work from there. With a small telescope it’s
own Milky Way. What you are looking at a wondrous sight of two amazing, roundish
sits at around 2.75 million lightyears away. concentrations of hundreds of stars.
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