April

At the start of the month, Pegasus and Andromeda are being lost early in the evening, by the end of the month, Orion and Taurus do not remain in the sky much beyond twilight. Gemini, Leo, Cancer and Auriga, the charioteer are all still prominent. There are plenty of deep sky objects around this month in these constellations. Auriga has three open star clusters which are worth looking for, M36, 37 and 38. M35, another open star cluster if worth seeking out near the feet of Gemini and of course the galaxies, both Messier catalogue and NGC objects. There is apparently a very rich area between Leo and Virgo, I must confess to having looked and found nothing! I'm sure that better and more patient observers than I will see many of the pale smudges that are to be found in this area of sky. Choose a moonless night to observe these otherwise you will stand no chance at all of seeing them. Another area worth exploring for galaxies is overhead - in the Ursa Major and Canes Venatici areas. Seek out the relatively easy to see M51 the Whirlpool galaxy, or go for the more difficult M63, M94 or M106. A real tester would be M101, for those of you who do not know, the prize of "longest and most entertaining Society epic" must be awarded to John Holmes, who spent many hours trying to spot this. We had a running commentary (of the have I haven't I sort) for several years until finally he saw it (allegedly!) hence all the amusement from the longest serving members of the Society whenever it is mentioned.

May

The bright winter constellations have disappeared by now and the Spring constellations have taken over. Why not try recognising some of the lesser constellations this month, such as Draco, Corona Borealis, Hydra Lynx and Monoceros. All too often it is easy to neglect the lesser star patterns, unless there is something of interest in

Southerly view, mid May 2000 (Produced using Skymap Pro)

them. It also makes a change from the usual ones!  It is still worth looking for the galaxies between Leo and Virgo, you could also try to find M104. This is nicknamed the "Sombrero galaxy" because of its shape. There is a noticeable dust lane across the centre of this galaxy that gives it the appearance of a Mexican Hat! The Moon is full near the middle of the Month so the best times would be near the start of the month. Looking north, why not find Cepheus and observe two variable stars. Firstly, delta Cephei. This has a variation of about 1 magnitude over a period of about 5.5 days. This was discovered by John Goodricke, a brilliant British astronomer who sadly died at the early age of 22. It was the prototype of a whole group of variable stars called Cepheid variables. It was found that they could be used to indicate the distances of galaxies. This is because there is a definite relationship between the period of variability and the actual brightness of the star. In recent years, there has been debate over the accuracy of our knowledge of these stars in the debate about the size and age of the Universe. The other one worth a look is mu Cep. This was nicknamed the "Garnet Star" by William Herschel on account of its colour. It varies by 1.5 magnitudes over a period of 5-6 years.

June

During June, the hours of true darkness are limited, in fact, it is officially twilight all month! Almost overhead is Vega, the brilliant white main star in Lyra. I understand that, in 1850, Vega was the first star to be photographed. It was once the pole star and, owing to precession, will be so again in about 11,500 years from now. Beta Lyrae, Sheliak, is a variable star. It varies by about one magnitude and is an eclipsing binary. Epsilon Lyrae is the famous double double star, used by the Arabs ass a test of visual acuity. See if you can see it as a double - no cheating, do not go to the pub before observing. There are two Messier objects in Lyra, M56, a globular cluster and the more famous "Ring Nebula". This is designated M57 and is the remains of an exploded star. Whilst in the vicinity, find beta Cygni, Albireo, the colour contrast of the two components of this double star is impressive. One of the most spectacular globular clusters of stars is on view this month - M13 in Hercules. Hercules is not a particularly noticeable constellation and can be found in the eastern sky at this time of year, on a line between Vega and Arcturus, closer to Vega. Hercules also contains a lesser globular cluster, M92. It is quite bright and apparently an easy object in binoculars. I have not looked for it but will do so this year. During all 3 months, the Moon will interfere with observing during the middles sections. Finally, whatever you do see, I would be interested to hear about. I want to try to resurrect a members observations section of Aries. Just a few comments/feelings will do, diagrams would be a bonus!