Awesome Astronomy

This month we take a look at the constellation of Queen Cassiopeia for the beginners guide. We have: The beautiful Owl Cluster; NGC 7788 or Caroline’s Rose, discovered by Caroline Herschel. NGC 185, a dwarf elliptical galaxy discovered by Caroline’s brother, William Herschel. Next we round up the planets, solar system events and deep sky treats that are visible in August: Uranus, Neptune, Saturn & Mercury. We look at the month’s two lunar treats: a series of conjunctions between the moon and bright star Aldebaran. A perfect lunar eclipse for many listeners on the 28th September. Comet Churyumov Gerasimenko will be visible this month near the Beehive Cluster in Cancer (sadly we won’t see ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft orbiting it!) Our deep sky challenge delves into the constellatinos of Sagitta the Arrow and Vulpecula the Fox for a tour of clusters and a planetary nebula.