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STATE OF THE ART DESIGN FOR UNBEATABLE SIGHTS CPC AND CPC DX EDGEHD COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPES A crowd favorite at Celestron’s numerous National Park star parties, the CPC/CPC Deluxe family is also the telescope of choice for NASA (a CPC 925 is currently deployed aboard the ISS) and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who uses a CPC Deluxe 1100HD at his home in Cambridge, UK. 55 YEARS OF INNOVATION, REFINED: + Rock-solid dual fork arm mount with precision drive base and mechanics + Celestron’s signature Schmidt-Cassegrain optics in sizes 8, 9.25, and 11 inches + StarBright XLT optical coatings + Compatible with Celestron’s latest accessories: StarSense AutoAlign for quick, self-guided alignment and the SkyPortal WiFi Module for wireless control with your smartphone or tablet + SkyAlign technology so you are aligned and ready to observe in minutes without having to know the name or location of any star + NexStar+ hand control with 40,000+ object database + Internal GPS + Quick-release clutch and large drive gears + Heavy-duty steel tripod with accessory tray and spring-loaded mounting screws ADVANCE TO THE CPC DELUXE HD FOR EVEN BETTER PERFORMANCE: + Celestron’s proprietary EdgeHD optics for pinpoint stars all the way to edge of the fi eld with the widest eyepieces and largest imaging sensors CPC 925 + Reengineered worm gear motor drive provides smoother tracking CPC Deluxe 925 OPT Telescopes – 800.483.6287 – www.opttelescopes.com B&H Photo – 800.947.9970 – www.bhphotovideo.com Astronomics – 800.422.7876 – www.astronomics.com Adorama – 800.223.2500 – www.adorama.com High Point Scientifi c – 800.266.9590 – www.highpointscientifi c.com Optics Planet – 800.504.5897 – www.opticsplanet.com Focus Camera – 800.221.0828 – www.focuscamera.com Woodland Hills – 888.427.8766 – www.telescopes.net DISCOVER MORE AT
SOUTHERN SKY MARTIN GEORGE describes the solar system’s changing landscape as it appears in Earth’s southern sky. August 2016: Two planets to tango Evenings in August are ablaze with bright planets. When the month begins, Jupiter rules as the sky darkens. The giant planet stands nearly 30° above the northwestern horizon an hour after sunset. And at magnitude –1.7, it shines significantly brighter than any star. Jupiter lies near the border between Leo and Virgo, which places it well below and a little to the left of Virgo’s brightest star, 1st-magnitude Spica. A telescope reveals the planet’s 32"-diameter disk and stunning details in its colorful cloud tops. With each passing day, however, Jupiter slips closer to the horizon. As it does so, it appears to make a beeline toward an even brighter object, magnitude –3.8 Venus. The gap between the two closes from 27° on August 1 to 13° on the 15th and just 3° on the 25th. This sets up a spectacular conjunction on August 27 at 22h30m UT when just 4' separate them. South America offers the best view of closest approach, though the evenings of both August 27 and 28 provide great looks from anywhere in the world. The two brightest planets haven’t been this close since May 2000, and that event occurred in bright twilight. You can watch the conjunction with naked eyes, binoculars, or a telescope; a scope shows Venus as a nearly full disk 11" across. A third solar system member adds to the evening show. Mercury appears between Venus and Jupiter during the first half of August, glowing at magnitude 0 to the lower left of Jupiter. The innermost planet reaches greatest elongation August 16 when it lies 27° east of the Sun and stands 14° high an hour after sunset. This marks Mercury’s peak altitude during 2016. The view through a telescope improves later in the month, however, as the planet swells to 9" across and shows a beautiful crescent shape. Don’t miss the waxing crescent Moon’s sojourn through the planetary trio early this month. Luna passes 3° south of Venus on August 4, 0.6° south of Mercury later that day, and 0.2° south of Jupiter on the 6th. Regardless of where you live, each evening will provide a breathtaking vista. The other two naked-eye planets appear much higher in the evening sky. And like Venus and Jupiter, Mars and Saturn are destined for a late-August rendezvous. At the beginning of the month, Mars lies among the background stars of eastern Libra some 11° west of its sibling. It crosses into northern Scorpius on August 2 and then into Ophiuchus on the 21st, by which time only 5° separate the two planets. On the 24th, the pair form a straight line with the 1stmagnitude star Antares, the ruddy heart of the Scorpion, with Mars 1.8° north of the star and Saturn 4.4° farther north. The planets are the same distance apart a day later when they officially reach conjunction. Mars appears brighter than Saturn throughout the month. The Red Planet fades from magnitude –0.8 to –0.3 while the ringed planet dims from magnitude 0.3 to 0.5. Although the naked-eye and binocular views of these worlds are impressive, don’t pass on the chance to view them through a telescope. Mars’ disk spans 12" at midmonth, and moderate apertures should reveal plenty of surface features. The best time to look is right after darkness falls when the planet lies within 20° of the zenith. Although telescopic details on Mars tend to be subtle, no one has ever used that word to describe Saturn. The gas giant measures 17" across in mid- August while the rings span 39" and tilt 26° to our line of sight. Any instrument will deliver spectacular views during the evening hours. A 10-centimeter scope also reveals at least four moons: 8th-magnitude Titan and 10th-magnitude Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. The starry sky Of all the constellations, only one exists in two separate parts. Of course, astronomers long ago split up the great ship Argo into four distinct constellations — Carina the Keel, Puppis the Stern, Pyxis the Compass, and Vela the Sails — but these count as four of the total 88 constellations. The one that persists as a single but split constellation is Serpens the Serpent. Celestial cartographers divide it into Serpens Caput (the head) and Serpens Cauda (the tail). You can find both sections high in the north on August evenings. The split occurred because on old star charts, which used beautiful artistry to depict the figures, creatures, and objects after which the constellations were named, Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer was shown holding the Serpent to extract its venom, and the creature’s head and tail appeared on opposite sides. This posed a problem when astronomers formally drew up the constellation borders some 90 years ago. Eugène Delporte of the Belgian Royal Observatory, the leading figure in this task, solved it by officially dividing Serpens into two parts. Most of Serpens Cauda lies south of the celestial equator, and its southern end intrudes into the Milky Way. This section contains one of the sky’s most famous objects: the Eagle Nebula (M16). Its fame derives from an iconic Hubble Space Telescope image that shows part of the nebula and came to be called the “Pillars of Creation.” A small telescope shows M16 as a cluster of stars with a little nebulosity. Larger apertures begin to reveal the structures Hubble made famous, though obviously not in the detail the orbiting observatory captured. Still, it’s one of my favorite objects. Some 15° west of the Eagle lies the pleasing double star Nu (ν) Serpentis. Its components glow at magnitudes 4.3 and 8.3 with 46" separating them. But the finest double in this constellation — or should I say “half-constellation”? — is Theta (θ) Ser, which is a superb object for small telescopes. I find it quite stunning even at low magnification. Its stars shine at magnitudes 4.5 and 5.4 with a gap of 22" between them.
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