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June\u2019s Night Sky Notes: Constant Companions: Circumpolar Constellations, Part III<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific<\/em><\/p>\n In our final installment of the stars around the North Star, we look ahead to the summer months, where depending on your latitude, the items in these circumpolar constellations are nice and high. Today, we\u2019ll discuss Cepheus<\/strong>, Draco<\/strong>, and Ursa Major<\/strong>. These objects can all be spotted with a medium to large-sized telescope under dark skies.<\/p>\n Herschel\u2019s Garnet Star: <\/strong>Mu Cephei is a deep-red hypergiant known as The Garnet Star, or Erakis. While the star is not part of the constellation pattern, it sits within the constellation boundary of Cepheus, and is more than 1,000 times the size of our Sun. Like its neighbor Delta Cephei, this star is variable, but is not a reliable Cepheid variable. Rather, its brightness can vary anywhere between 3.4 to 5.1 in visible magnitude, over the course of 2-12 years.<\/p>\n The Cat\u2019s Eye Nebula:<\/strong> Labeled a planetary nebula<\/a>, there are no planets to be found at the center of this object. Observations taken with NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescopes give astronomers a better understanding of this complex, potential binary star, and how its core ejected enough mass to produce the rings of dust. When searching for this object, look towards the \u2018belly\u2019 of Draco with a medium-sized telescope.<\/p>\n Bode\u2019s Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy:<\/strong> Using the arrow on the star map, look diagonal from the star Dubhe in Ursa Major. There you will find Bode\u2019s Galaxy (Messier 81) and the Cigar Galaxy (Messier 82). Sometimes referred to as Bode\u2019s Nebula, these two galaxies can be spotted with a small to medium-sized telescope. Bode\u2019s Galaxy is a classic spiral shape, similar to our own Milky Way galaxy and our neighbor, Andromeda. The Cigar Galaxy, however, is known as a starburst galaxy type, known to have a high star formation rate and incredible shapes. This image composite from 2006 combines the power of three great observatories: the Hubble Space Telescope imaged hydrogen in orange, and visible light in yellow green; Chandra X-Ray Observatory portrayed X-ray in blue; Spitzer Space Telescope<\/a> captured infrared light in red.<\/p>\n Up next, we celebrate the solstice with our upcoming mid-month article on the Night Sky Network<\/a> page through NASA\u2019s website!<\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the final Circumpolar Constellations installment, learn about objects in Cepheus, Draco, and Ursa Major, and how to find them in June\u2019s Night Sky Notes! Continue reading ![\"Constellations](\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/junelayered-small.png\")
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