This week, Unistellar Citizen Astronomers are invited to participate in our Celestial Safari! This challenge involves searching for animals currently visible in our night sky, so this is a fun way for kids to get into astronomy!
eVscope image captured by Unistellar Citizen Astronomer 後藤干城 Tateki Goto, from Osaka, Japan
Whale Galaxy
The Whale Galaxy, along with our own Milky Way Galaxy, is classified as a barred spiral galaxy. The bar structure in the center of these galaxies is found in about half of all the spiral galaxies in our universe! Here on Earth, the Whale Galaxy is seen edge-on, which is the reason why it appears to have an elongated and cetacean-like shape.
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 30 million light years
- Constellation: Canes Venatici
- Search for “NGC 4631” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least 10 minutes
- Recommended Bortle Class is 5 or lower.
eVscope image captured by Unistellar Citizen Astronomer Petri Tikkanen, from Jyväskylä, Finland
Elephant’s Trunk Nebula
The Elephant’s Trunk Nebula is part of a vast stellar nursery. The trunk itself is a dark and dense globule of gas and dust that stretches over 20 light years across. It is also home to over 250 stars! Can you see this nebula’s resemblance to an elephant’s trunk?
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 2,400 light years
- Constellation: Cepheus
- Search for “Elephant’s Trunk Nebula” or “IC 1396” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least 30 minutes
- Recommended Bortle Class is 6 or lower.
eVscope image captured by Unistellar Citizen Astronomer David Kerr, from New Brunswick
Butterfly Galaxies
Separately, they are known as NGC 4567 and 4568. The Butterfly Galaxies are a pair of interacting galaxies, meaning their gravity affects each other so much that it changes their shape. Both of these spiral galaxies are slowly merging into each other.
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 60 million light years
- Constellation: Virgo
- Search for “NGC 4567” or “NGC 4568” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least 5 minutes
- Recommended Bortle Class is 5 or lower.
eVscope image captured by Unistellar Citizen Astronomer Jon Burton, from Leicester, United Kingdom
Pelican Nebula
The Pelican Nebula is an emission nebula, which is a cloud of dust and gas that is illuminated by its own light. Located close to Deneb, one of the brightest stars in our night sky, this nebula is also home to stars being born! Infant stars are changing this avian nebula’s shape — millions of years from now, it will look completely different.
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 1,800 light years
- Constellation: Cygnus
- Search for “Pelican Nebula” or “IC 5070” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least 10 minutes
- Recommended Bortle Class is 5 or lower.
eVscope image captured by Unistellar Citizen Astronomer Scott Kardel, from California
Owl Nebula
The Owl Nebula is a planetary nebula, meaning that it formed from a dying star that was once similar to our Sun as it collapsed from a red giant to a white dwarf, ejecting its outer layers. Those outer layers, made of gas, expand and form the shape of the nebula. In case you are wondering, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets! The remnant white dwarf in the center of the nebula is about 40 to 140 times brighter than our own Sun and is about 123,000 K (220940°F, 1227267°C)!
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 2,000 light years
- Constellation: Ursa Major
- Search for “Owl Nebula” or “M97” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least 5 minutes
- Recommended Bortle Class is 5 or lower.
Tarantula Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a galactic satellite of our Milky Way. It is a giant stellar nursery, home to the most massive star known, R136a1, located in a dense cluster of 11 other stars. If the Tarantula Nebula was located at the same distance away from Earth as the Orion Nebula, it would cast visible shadows on Earth!
Quick Facts and Observing Tips:
- Distance from Earth: 160 thousand light years
- Constellation: Dorado
- The Tarantula Nebula is currently visible in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Search for “Tarantula Nebula” or “NGC 2070” in the Explore tab of the Unistellar app.
- Depending on the sky quality at your location, you may want to leave the Enhanced Vision mode on for at least a minute
- Recommended Bortle Class is 6 or lower.
We encourage you to share your observations and join the conversation through our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages using the hashtag #UnistellarChallenge!
If you’d like to send us your observations by email, send them to community@unistellaroptics.com.
Clear skies! 🔭
