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"Upstate NY Stargazing" Series At newyorkupstate.com And syracuse.com – Summaries And Links For The Last Few Months

The old adage "if you want to really learn something, teach it" has been in full effect these past few months with the writing of the UNY Stargazing series for newyorkupstate.com and syracuse.com (which don't combine the comments and shares. You have to go to both!). Firstly, it is excellent practice for anyone doing astronomy outreach to try to capture all of the events and observing opportunities that a new or casual observer might find interesting – while providing enough extra detail to whet the appetites of those reading with a wikipedia tab open (which remains the go-to for astro consistently accurate astronomy information). Secondly, if helps sharpen the editorial blade – such as by not using the word "old" to qualify "adage" when you're really trying to keep it to 2500 words.

After 11 months of articles, the UNYStargazing template is fairly matured, Stellarium has moved well into advanced topics stage, and the many astronomy clubs that have allowed their public events to be posted have all resulted in an increasingly smooth and, hopefully, informative read.

Having ignored this blog generally recently, here's the last four months in rapid succession:

– Upstate NY Stargazing in February: Lunar eclipse, Kopernik star party, 'Dog Nights of Winter'

* nyup.com/outdoors/2017/02/upstate_ny_stargazing_in_feb…

* syr.com/outdoors/2017/02/upstate_ny_stargazing_in_feb…

Featuring a washed-out lunar eclipse and one of Larry Slosberg's great lunar images.

– Upstate NY Stargazing In March: Messier Marathon and the Lunar Occultation of Aldebaran

* syr.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/02/upstate_ny_stargazing_mar…

* nyup.com/outdoors/2017/02/upstate_ny_stargazing_mar…

Friend and Kopernik Astronomical Society member George Normandin provided the eye candy to start the March article, which included a discussion of Messier Objects (such as M31, M32, and M110) still long enough to get the editor's attention (but it was about Messier Objects and sometimes you have to say stuff). The Lunar occultation of Aldebaran was pointed out to the ASRAS email list by Brad Timerson and then promoted on the CNYO website.

– Upstate NY stargazing in April: Comet hunting and the Lyrid meteor shower

* nyup.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/03/upstate_ny_stargazing_in…

* syr.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2017/03/upstate_ny_stargazing_in…

Brad Loperfido of Revette Studio and the CNYO Facebook Group had an amazing capture of Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, M97, and M108, allowing for a final addition to the Messier Object discussion with the objects that Messier was most interested in finding – comets. The month also included a washed-out Lyrid Meteor Shower peak and a proper shout-out to astronomy.fm.

– Upstate NY stargazing in May: A meteor shower and preparations for the solar eclipse

* nyup.com/outdoors/2017/05/upstate_ny_stargazing_in_may…

* syr.com/outdoors/2017/05/upstate_ny_stargazing_in_may…

The first in the series prepping for the great North American eclipse on August 21st of this year, featuring a NASA/SDO/AIA image (our tax dollars at work) and a continuation of the discussion of circumpolar constellations (which will get a full summary in four more articles).

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Some Light Non-Science Reading: Circle Templates – Know Your Field Of View!

As appeared in the May 2012 edition of the Syracuse Astronomical Society newsletter, the Astronomical Chronicle.

From the "why didn't I think of that sooner?" department…

Binoculars are, far and away, the best way to start in observational astronomy (after you have some of the constellations figured out first, of course). The Moon reveals great new detail even at low magnification, the four Galilean Moons of Jupiter are obvious (when they're not transiting or being "occulted" by Jupiter), all of the Messier objects are find-able (with a little practice and either lots of time or one lucky clear evening in March), and the sky becomes a busy highway of satellites that are otherwise too small to reflect significant light for naked eye viewing. Perhaps less pragmatically but nonetheless significant, the ownership of one simple, easy to produce, easy to use, easy to master piece of paired glassware connects you to the magnification-enhanced world of astronomy begun with Galileo, who used a much poorer quality and lower magnification telescope than those found in Big-Box Stores to forever and disruptively change how Western Civilization (and beyond!) placed itself in the Universe.

That all sounds profound I guess, but you've got a book open and are trying to keep track of a flashlight while keeping your arm still as you bounce your head back-and-forth in this really dense part of sky because you don't know if you're looking at M36, M37, or M38 in Auriga and you know you'll NEVER find that part of the sky again. The, if you'll pardon the expression, dark art of star-hoping is one that absolutely requires practice. More importantly, it requires having a proper frame of reference. I admit that I spent more than a few months with my trusty Nikon Action 12×50's without ever actually having a handle on just how big the piece of celestial real estate I was staring at was.

It may seem obvious but is something you (well, I) didn't think to use to your (well, my) immediate advantage. The magnification in the binos does NOT change! You are constantly looking at the same-sized region. This means that you can easily correlate magnification to real estate and know exactly what the limit of your in-eyepiece star-hopping is.

My solution, and one that is generally applicable to all your binoculars (and low-magnification eyepieces in your scope), was to buy an architects circle set. Yes, one of the green numbers with all the holes. If you have one book you've committed to (in my case, Sky And Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas, but I also have a copy of the Cambridge Star Atlas that hasn't had its spine properly cracked yet), find some obvious star groupings, see how many of them you can get in your field of view, crack your book open to the right page, and overlay until your circle engulfs only what you see.

Simple! This simple tool dramatically improved my star-hopping aptitude. Keeping with my circumpolar theme this year, using the Sky Atlas and a pair of 12×50's, I can just barely get the stars Mizar/Alcor and Alioth from the handle of the Big Dipper into the field of view – this corresponds to a 1.1250" circle…

For the Cambridge Atlas, this same circle is 0.8125"…

I can plot the path to dim or densely-packed objects at leisure by finding bright stars or small groupings and "walking" my view along the path of overlaid circles, always knowing what I should and should not be seeing at any time (minus the odd planet, satellite, Milky Way supernova, etc.).

The same applies to scopes, although you'll hit that smallest circle quickly (and you'll find yourself having to flip/invert the image in the piece of paper)! My solution for that was to buy the BIGGEST eyepiece I could find to make sure I'm getting the LEAST amount of magnification. The circles get you to the object, then the magnification draws you in…