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| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "and", | |
| 4 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 5 | "title": "Andromeda", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "The Princess", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 10 | "value": "And", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 15 | "value": "Andromedae", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Area", | |
| 20 | "value": "722 square degrees (19th of 88)", | |
| 21 | "source": 1 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 25 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 26 | "source": 2 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 30 | "value": "90°N to 36°S", | |
| 31 | "source": 2 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 35 | "value": "Mirach (β And), magnitude 2.05", | |
| 36 | "source": 3 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 40 | "value": "M31, the Andromeda Galaxy: spiral galaxy, 2.5 million light-years, magnitude 3.1", | |
| 41 | "source": 4 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "Andromeda is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the second century. In Greek myth she was the daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, chained to a rock as an offering to the sea monster Cetus and rescued by Perseus. All of those figures lie next to her in the sky.\n\nThe constellation is a chain of stars running north-east from the corner of the Square of Pegasus. That corner star, Alpheratz (magnitude 2.06), belongs to Andromeda, although older charts counted it in both figures. Mirach, at 2.05, is fractionally brighter and is formally the brightest star. Almach, the third bright star along the chain, is a double star that shows gold and blue components in a small telescope.\n\nThe best-known object here is the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, a spiral galaxy about 2.5 million light-years away and the nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way. At magnitude 3.1 it is visible to the naked eye from a dark site as an elongated haze. To find it, start at Mirach, step north-west to the fainter star Mu Andromedae, and continue about the same distance again. Andromeda is best placed in the evening in November and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 36° S.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10054v.jpg", | |
| 47 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 48 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695398/", | |
| 50 | "caption": "Andromeda, with Triangulum and the obsolete Gloria Frederici, on plate 5 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 54 | }, | |
| 55 | "link": { | |
| 56 | "constellation": "And" | |
| 57 | }, | |
| 58 | "sources": [ | |
| 59 | { | |
| 60 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 61 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 62 | }, | |
| 63 | { | |
| 64 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 65 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | { | |
| 68 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 69 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 70 | }, | |
| 71 | { | |
| 72 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet And", | |
| 73 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20And" | |
| 74 | }, | |
| 75 | { | |
| 76 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 31", | |
| 77 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-31/" | |
| 78 | } | |
| 79 | ] | |
| 80 | }, | |
| 81 | { | |
| 82 | "id": "ant", | |
| 83 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 84 | "title": "Antlia", | |
| 85 | "subtitle": "The Air Pump", | |
| 86 | "facts": [ | |
| 87 | { | |
| 88 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 89 | "value": "Ant", | |
| 90 | "source": 0 | |
| 91 | }, | |
| 92 | { | |
| 93 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 94 | "value": "Antliae", | |
| 95 | "source": 0 | |
| 96 | }, | |
| 97 | { | |
| 98 | "label": "Area", | |
| 99 | "value": "239 square degrees (62nd of 88)", | |
| 100 | "source": 1 | |
| 101 | }, | |
| 102 | { | |
| 103 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 104 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 105 | "source": 2 | |
| 106 | }, | |
| 107 | { | |
| 108 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 109 | "value": "49°N to 90°S", | |
| 110 | "source": 2 | |
| 111 | }, | |
| 112 | { | |
| 113 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 114 | "value": "Alpha Antliae (α Ant), magnitude 4.25", | |
| 115 | "source": 3 | |
| 116 | } | |
| 117 | ], | |
| 118 | "essay": "Antlia was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, who mapped the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope in 1751 and 1752 and published his new constellations in the 1750s. He named it la Machine Pneumatique, the air pump, and the Latin name was later shortened to Antlia. Like most of Lacaille's figures, it commemorates a scientific instrument rather than a figure from myth.\n\nIt is a small, faint area with no star brighter than fourth magnitude. The brightest, Alpha Antliae, is an orange giant of magnitude 4.25 with no traditional name. The constellation lies south of the long body of Hydra, between Alphard and the stars of Vela. The easiest way to locate it is to identify those neighbours first and then look in the sparse gap between them.\n\nAntlia lies well south of the celestial equator. From the Southern Hemisphere it climbs high in the evening around April; from mid-northern latitudes it stays low in the south, and it is fully visible only from south of about 49° N. Its deep-sky objects are faint galaxies, including members of the Antlia Cluster, which need a telescope of moderate size.", | |
| 119 | "image": { | |
| 120 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 121 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 122 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 123 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 124 | "caption": "Antlia Pneumatica among Hydra, Crater, Corvus and other southern figures on plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 125 | }, | |
| 126 | "drawing": { | |
| 127 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 128 | }, | |
| 129 | "link": { | |
| 130 | "constellation": "Ant" | |
| 131 | }, | |
| 132 | "sources": [ | |
| 133 | { | |
| 134 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 135 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 136 | }, | |
| 137 | { | |
| 138 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 139 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 140 | }, | |
| 141 | { | |
| 142 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 143 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 144 | }, | |
| 145 | { | |
| 146 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Ant", | |
| 147 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Ant" | |
| 148 | } | |
| 149 | ] | |
| 150 | }, | |
| 151 | { | |
| 152 | "id": "aps", | |
| 153 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 154 | "title": "Apus", | |
| 155 | "subtitle": "The Bird of Paradise", | |
| 156 | "facts": [ | |
| 157 | { | |
| 158 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 159 | "value": "Aps", | |
| 160 | "source": 0 | |
| 161 | }, | |
| 162 | { | |
| 163 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 164 | "value": "Apodis", | |
| 165 | "source": 0 | |
| 166 | }, | |
| 167 | { | |
| 168 | "label": "Area", | |
| 169 | "value": "206 square degrees (67th of 88)", | |
| 170 | "source": 1 | |
| 171 | }, | |
| 172 | { | |
| 173 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 174 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 175 | "source": 2 | |
| 176 | }, | |
| 177 | { | |
| 178 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 179 | "value": "6°N to 90°S", | |
| 180 | "source": 2 | |
| 181 | }, | |
| 182 | { | |
| 183 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 184 | "value": "Alpha Apodis (α Aps), magnitude 3.80", | |
| 185 | "source": 3 | |
| 186 | } | |
| 187 | ], | |
| 188 | "essay": "Apus is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman on voyages to the East Indies in the 1590s. It first appeared on a celestial globe in 1598 and was included in Johann Bayer's atlas Uranometria in 1603. The name refers to the bird of paradise, which European traders knew from skins brought back from New Guinea. The Greek word apous means \"without feet\", because the skins were often prepared with the feet removed.\n\nThe constellation lies close to the south celestial pole, between Triangulum Australe and Octans. Its stars are faint: the brightest, Alpha Apodis, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.80. Find Apus by locating the three bright stars of Triangulum Australe and looking a little further toward the pole.\n\nFrom southern temperate latitudes Apus is circumpolar and can be seen on any clear night, but it stands highest in the evening around July. It is fully visible only from south of about 6° N, so it is out of reach for most northern observers. It contains a few faint globular clusters, such as NGC 6101, that need a telescope.", | |
| 189 | "image": null, | |
| 190 | "drawing": { | |
| 191 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 192 | }, | |
| 193 | "link": { | |
| 194 | "constellation": "Aps" | |
| 195 | }, | |
| 196 | "sources": [ | |
| 197 | { | |
| 198 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 199 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 200 | }, | |
| 201 | { | |
| 202 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 203 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 204 | }, | |
| 205 | { | |
| 206 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 207 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 208 | }, | |
| 209 | { | |
| 210 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Aps", | |
| 211 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Aps" | |
| 212 | } | |
| 213 | ] | |
| 214 | }, | |
| 215 | { | |
| 216 | "id": "aqr", | |
| 217 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 218 | "title": "Aquarius", | |
| 219 | "subtitle": "The Water Bearer", | |
| 220 | "facts": [ | |
| 221 | { | |
| 222 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 223 | "value": "Aqr", | |
| 224 | "source": 0 | |
| 225 | }, | |
| 226 | { | |
| 227 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 228 | "value": "Aquarii", | |
| 229 | "source": 0 | |
| 230 | }, | |
| 231 | { | |
| 232 | "label": "Area", | |
| 233 | "value": "980 square degrees (10th of 88)", | |
| 234 | "source": 1 | |
| 235 | }, | |
| 236 | { | |
| 237 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 238 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 239 | "source": 2 | |
| 240 | }, | |
| 241 | { | |
| 242 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 243 | "value": "65°N to 86°S", | |
| 244 | "source": 2 | |
| 245 | }, | |
| 246 | { | |
| 247 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 248 | "value": "Sadalsuud (β Aqr), magnitude 2.89", | |
| 249 | "source": 3 | |
| 250 | }, | |
| 251 | { | |
| 252 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 253 | "value": "Helix Nebula (NGC 7293, Caldwell 63): planetary nebula, 650 light-years, magnitude 7.3", | |
| 254 | "source": 4 | |
| 255 | } | |
| 256 | ], | |
| 257 | "essay": "Aquarius is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and one of the oldest recorded figures, with roots in Babylonian star lore, where it was a figure pouring water. Greek writers identified the water bearer with Ganymede, the youth carried to Olympus to serve as cupbearer to the gods. It is a zodiac constellation, so the Sun, Moon and planets pass through it.\n\nAquarius is large but faint. Its brightest star, Sadalsuud (Beta Aquarii), is magnitude 2.89, only slightly brighter than Sadalmelik (Alpha) at 2.94. The most recognisable pattern is the Water Jar, a small Y of four stars around Zeta Aquarii just south of the celestial equator. Look south of the Square of Pegasus and east of Capricornus to find it.\n\nThe Helix Nebula (NGC 7293, Caldwell 63) is a planetary nebula about 650 light-years away, one of the nearest of its kind. It is large but has a low surface brightness, and is best seen with binoculars or a wide-field telescope under dark skies. The globular cluster M2 is also within reach of binoculars. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower, debris from Halley's Comet, peaks in early May. Aquarius is best placed in the evening in October and is fully visible from between about 65° N and 86° S.", | |
| 258 | "image": { | |
| 259 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10072v.jpg", | |
| 260 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 261 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 262 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695517/", | |
| 263 | "caption": "Aquarius with Piscis Austrinus and the obsolete Ballon Aerostatique on plate 26 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 264 | }, | |
| 265 | "drawing": { | |
| 266 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 267 | }, | |
| 268 | "link": { | |
| 269 | "constellation": "Aqr" | |
| 270 | }, | |
| 271 | "sources": [ | |
| 272 | { | |
| 273 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 274 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 275 | }, | |
| 276 | { | |
| 277 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 278 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 279 | }, | |
| 280 | { | |
| 281 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 282 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 283 | }, | |
| 284 | { | |
| 285 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Aqr", | |
| 286 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Aqr" | |
| 287 | }, | |
| 288 | { | |
| 289 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 63", | |
| 290 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-63/" | |
| 291 | } | |
| 292 | ] | |
| 293 | }, | |
| 294 | { | |
| 295 | "id": "aql", | |
| 296 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 297 | "title": "Aquila", | |
| 298 | "subtitle": "The Eagle", | |
| 299 | "facts": [ | |
| 300 | { | |
| 301 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 302 | "value": "Aql", | |
| 303 | "source": 0 | |
| 304 | }, | |
| 305 | { | |
| 306 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 307 | "value": "Aquilae", | |
| 308 | "source": 0 | |
| 309 | }, | |
| 310 | { | |
| 311 | "label": "Area", | |
| 312 | "value": "652 square degrees (22nd of 88)", | |
| 313 | "source": 1 | |
| 314 | }, | |
| 315 | { | |
| 316 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 317 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 318 | "source": 2 | |
| 319 | }, | |
| 320 | { | |
| 321 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 322 | "value": "78°N to 71°S", | |
| 323 | "source": 2 | |
| 324 | }, | |
| 325 | { | |
| 326 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 327 | "value": "Altair (α Aql), magnitude 0.76", | |
| 328 | "source": 3 | |
| 329 | } | |
| 330 | ], | |
| 331 | "essay": "Aquila is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth it is the eagle that carried Zeus's thunderbolts, and in some versions the bird that carried Ganymede up to Olympus, which links it to neighbouring Aquarius. The Milky Way runs through it, so binoculars show rich star fields.\n\nIts brightest star, Altair (magnitude 0.76), is one of the nearest bright stars and one corner of the Summer Triangle, with Vega in Lyra and Deneb in Cygnus. Altair is easy to identify because it is flanked by two fainter stars, Tarazed and Alshain, which form a short line with it. The rest of the eagle's body and wings spreads south-west of this line toward the celestial equator.\n\nAquila straddles the celestial equator, so it can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth; it is fully visible from between about 78° N and 71° S. It is best placed in the evening in September. Eta Aquilae is one of the brightest Cepheid variable stars. It changes by almost a full magnitude over about a week, which can be followed with the naked eye by comparing it with nearby stars of known brightness.", | |
| 332 | "image": { | |
| 333 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10062v.jpg", | |
| 334 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 335 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 336 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695506/", | |
| 337 | "caption": "Aquila with Delphinus, Sagitta and the obsolete Antinous on plate 13 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 338 | }, | |
| 339 | "drawing": { | |
| 340 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 341 | }, | |
| 342 | "link": { | |
| 343 | "constellation": "Aql" | |
| 344 | }, | |
| 345 | "sources": [ | |
| 346 | { | |
| 347 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 348 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 349 | }, | |
| 350 | { | |
| 351 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 352 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 353 | }, | |
| 354 | { | |
| 355 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 356 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 357 | }, | |
| 358 | { | |
| 359 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Aql", | |
| 360 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Aql" | |
| 361 | } | |
| 362 | ] | |
| 363 | }, | |
| 364 | { | |
| 365 | "id": "ara", | |
| 366 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 367 | "title": "Ara", | |
| 368 | "subtitle": "The Altar", | |
| 369 | "facts": [ | |
| 370 | { | |
| 371 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 372 | "value": "Ara", | |
| 373 | "source": 0 | |
| 374 | }, | |
| 375 | { | |
| 376 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 377 | "value": "Arae", | |
| 378 | "source": 0 | |
| 379 | }, | |
| 380 | { | |
| 381 | "label": "Area", | |
| 382 | "value": "237 square degrees (63rd of 88)", | |
| 383 | "source": 1 | |
| 384 | }, | |
| 385 | { | |
| 386 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 387 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 388 | "source": 2 | |
| 389 | }, | |
| 390 | { | |
| 391 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 392 | "value": "22°N to 90°S", | |
| 393 | "source": 2 | |
| 394 | }, | |
| 395 | { | |
| 396 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 397 | "value": "Beta Arae (β Ara), magnitude 2.85", | |
| 398 | "source": 3 | |
| 399 | }, | |
| 400 | { | |
| 401 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 402 | "value": "NGC 6397 (Caldwell 86): globular cluster, 7,800 light-years, magnitude 5.7", | |
| 403 | "source": 4 | |
| 404 | } | |
| 405 | ], | |
| 406 | "essay": "Ara is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents the altar on which the Greek gods swore an oath of allegiance before their war against the Titans. The Milky Way above it was sometimes described as the smoke rising from the altar fire.\n\nThe constellation lies south of the tail of Scorpius, between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe. Its brightest star, Beta Arae, is an orange supergiant of magnitude 2.85, slightly brighter than Alpha Arae at 2.95. The main stars form a rough rectangle. Classical charts draw the altar with its flames pointing south, so to northern observers it appears upside down. Locate the curl of Scorpius's tail and the star Shaula, then look roughly 15 degrees further south.\n\nAra contains NGC 6397 (Caldwell 86), one of the nearest globular clusters to Earth at about 7,800 light-years. At magnitude 5.7 it is an easy binocular object. Hubble measured the cluster's distance directly by parallax and estimated its age at about 13.4 billion years. Ara is best placed in the evening in July and is fully visible from south of about 22° N; from mid-northern latitudes only its northern part rises.", | |
| 407 | "image": null, | |
| 408 | "drawing": { | |
| 409 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 410 | }, | |
| 411 | "link": { | |
| 412 | "constellation": "Ara" | |
| 413 | }, | |
| 414 | "sources": [ | |
| 415 | { | |
| 416 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 417 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 418 | }, | |
| 419 | { | |
| 420 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 421 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 422 | }, | |
| 423 | { | |
| 424 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 425 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | { | |
| 428 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Ara", | |
| 429 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Ara" | |
| 430 | }, | |
| 431 | { | |
| 432 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 86", | |
| 433 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-86/" | |
| 434 | } | |
| 435 | ] | |
| 436 | }, | |
| 437 | { | |
| 438 | "id": "ari", | |
| 439 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 440 | "title": "Aries", | |
| 441 | "subtitle": "The Ram", | |
| 442 | "facts": [ | |
| 443 | { | |
| 444 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 445 | "value": "Ari", | |
| 446 | "source": 0 | |
| 447 | }, | |
| 448 | { | |
| 449 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 450 | "value": "Arietis", | |
| 451 | "source": 0 | |
| 452 | }, | |
| 453 | { | |
| 454 | "label": "Area", | |
| 455 | "value": "441 square degrees (39th of 88)", | |
| 456 | "source": 1 | |
| 457 | }, | |
| 458 | { | |
| 459 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 460 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 461 | "source": 2 | |
| 462 | }, | |
| 463 | { | |
| 464 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 465 | "value": "90°N to 58°S", | |
| 466 | "source": 2 | |
| 467 | }, | |
| 468 | { | |
| 469 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 470 | "value": "Hamal (α Ari), magnitude 2.01", | |
| 471 | "source": 3 | |
| 472 | } | |
| 473 | ], | |
| 474 | "essay": "Aries is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and a member of the zodiac. In Greek myth it is the ram with the golden fleece that rescued Phrixus and Helle, the fleece later sought by Jason and the Argonauts. About two thousand years ago the Sun stood in Aries at the March equinox, which is why that point is still called the First Point of Aries, even though precession has since carried it into Pisces.\n\nThe constellation is small and its main pattern is a short, bent line of three stars: Hamal (Alpha Arietis, magnitude 2.01), Sheratan and Mesarthim. Hamal is an orange giant and the only star in Aries brighter than magnitude 2.5. To find it, look between the Pleiades in Taurus and the Square of Pegasus, or follow a line south-east from Almach in Andromeda.\n\nMesarthim (Gamma Arietis) is a double star of two nearly equal white components that a small telescope separates easily. Aries has few bright deep-sky objects; its galaxies, such as NGC 772, need a moderate telescope. It is best placed in the evening in December and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 58° S.", | |
| 475 | "image": { | |
| 476 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10064v.jpg", | |
| 477 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 478 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 479 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695509/", | |
| 480 | "caption": "Aries with the obsolete Musca Borealis on plate 16 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 481 | }, | |
| 482 | "drawing": { | |
| 483 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 484 | }, | |
| 485 | "link": { | |
| 486 | "constellation": "Ari" | |
| 487 | }, | |
| 488 | "sources": [ | |
| 489 | { | |
| 490 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 491 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 492 | }, | |
| 493 | { | |
| 494 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 495 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 496 | }, | |
| 497 | { | |
| 498 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 499 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 500 | }, | |
| 501 | { | |
| 502 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Ari", | |
| 503 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Ari" | |
| 504 | } | |
| 505 | ] | |
| 506 | }, | |
| 507 | { | |
| 508 | "id": "aur", | |
| 509 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 510 | "title": "Auriga", | |
| 511 | "subtitle": "The Charioteer", | |
| 512 | "facts": [ | |
| 513 | { | |
| 514 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 515 | "value": "Aur", | |
| 516 | "source": 0 | |
| 517 | }, | |
| 518 | { | |
| 519 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 520 | "value": "Aurigae", | |
| 521 | "source": 0 | |
| 522 | }, | |
| 523 | { | |
| 524 | "label": "Area", | |
| 525 | "value": "657 square degrees (21st of 88)", | |
| 526 | "source": 1 | |
| 527 | }, | |
| 528 | { | |
| 529 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 530 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 531 | "source": 2 | |
| 532 | }, | |
| 533 | { | |
| 534 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 535 | "value": "90°N to 33°S", | |
| 536 | "source": 2 | |
| 537 | }, | |
| 538 | { | |
| 539 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 540 | "value": "Capella (α Aur), magnitude 0.08", | |
| 541 | "source": 3 | |
| 542 | } | |
| 543 | ], | |
| 544 | "essay": "Auriga is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is drawn as a charioteer holding a goat and her kids, and Greek writers most often identified him with Erichthonius, a legendary king of Athens credited with inventing the four-horse chariot. The bright star Capella takes its name from the Latin for \"little she-goat\", and the small triangle of faint stars just south of it are the Kids.\n\nCapella (magnitude 0.08) is the brightest star in Auriga and one of the brightest in the night sky. It anchors a large pentagon of stars; the southernmost point of the pentagon is Elnath, which is formally assigned to Taurus. Capella lies north of Orion and Taurus, with the Pleiades to its south-west, and from mid-northern latitudes it passes nearly overhead on winter evenings.\n\nThe winter Milky Way runs through Auriga, and the open clusters M36, M37 and M38 lie in a line inside the pentagon, all within reach of binoculars. Epsilon Aurigae is an eclipsing binary in which a dark disk passes in front of the visible star every 27 years. The constellation is best placed in the evening in February and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 33° S.", | |
| 545 | "image": { | |
| 546 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10056v.jpg", | |
| 547 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 548 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 549 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695500/", | |
| 550 | "caption": "Auriga, the charioteer carrying the goat and kids, on plate 7 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 551 | }, | |
| 552 | "drawing": { | |
| 553 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 554 | }, | |
| 555 | "link": { | |
| 556 | "constellation": "Aur" | |
| 557 | }, | |
| 558 | "sources": [ | |
| 559 | { | |
| 560 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 561 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 562 | }, | |
| 563 | { | |
| 564 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 565 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 566 | }, | |
| 567 | { | |
| 568 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 569 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 570 | }, | |
| 571 | { | |
| 572 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Aur", | |
| 573 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Aur" | |
| 574 | } | |
| 575 | ] | |
| 576 | }, | |
| 577 | { | |
| 578 | "id": "boo", | |
| 579 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 580 | "title": "Boötes", | |
| 581 | "subtitle": "The Herdsman", | |
| 582 | "facts": [ | |
| 583 | { | |
| 584 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 585 | "value": "Boo", | |
| 586 | "source": 0 | |
| 587 | }, | |
| 588 | { | |
| 589 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 590 | "value": "Boötis", | |
| 591 | "source": 0 | |
| 592 | }, | |
| 593 | { | |
| 594 | "label": "Area", | |
| 595 | "value": "907 square degrees (13th of 88)", | |
| 596 | "source": 1 | |
| 597 | }, | |
| 598 | { | |
| 599 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 600 | "value": "June (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 601 | "source": 2 | |
| 602 | }, | |
| 603 | { | |
| 604 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 605 | "value": "90°N to 34°S", | |
| 606 | "source": 2 | |
| 607 | }, | |
| 608 | { | |
| 609 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 610 | "value": "Arcturus (α Boo), magnitude −0.05", | |
| 611 | "source": 3 | |
| 612 | } | |
| 613 | ], | |
| 614 | "essay": "Boötes is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is a herdsman or ploughman, usually pictured driving the bears Ursa Major and Ursa Minor around the pole; the name of its brightest star, Arcturus, means \"guardian of the bear\". In 1690 Hevelius added the hunting dogs of Canes Venatici at his side.\n\nArcturus, at magnitude −0.05, is the brightest star in the northern half of the celestial sphere and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky. It is an orange giant. The standard way to find it is to follow the curve of the Big Dipper's handle away from the bowl, often remembered as \"arc to Arcturus\". The rest of Boötes forms a long kite shape extending north from Arcturus toward the Dipper's handle.\n\nIzar (Epsilon Boötis) is a double star with a bright orange primary and a fainter bluish companion that needs a telescope at moderately high magnification. The Quadrantid meteor shower, which peaks in early January, radiates from the northern part of Boötes, in an area once occupied by the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis. Boötes is best placed in the evening in June and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 34° S.", | |
| 615 | "image": { | |
| 616 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10059v.jpg", | |
| 617 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 618 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 619 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695503/", | |
| 620 | "caption": "Boötes with Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices and the obsolete Quadrans Muralis on plate 10 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 621 | }, | |
| 622 | "drawing": { | |
| 623 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 624 | }, | |
| 625 | "link": { | |
| 626 | "constellation": "Boo" | |
| 627 | }, | |
| 628 | "sources": [ | |
| 629 | { | |
| 630 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 631 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 632 | }, | |
| 633 | { | |
| 634 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 635 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 636 | }, | |
| 637 | { | |
| 638 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 639 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 640 | }, | |
| 641 | { | |
| 642 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Boo", | |
| 643 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Boo" | |
| 644 | } | |
| 645 | ] | |
| 646 | }, | |
| 647 | { | |
| 648 | "id": "cae", | |
| 649 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 650 | "title": "Caelum", | |
| 651 | "subtitle": "The Engraving Tool", | |
| 652 | "facts": [ | |
| 653 | { | |
| 654 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 655 | "value": "Cae", | |
| 656 | "source": 0 | |
| 657 | }, | |
| 658 | { | |
| 659 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 660 | "value": "Caeli", | |
| 661 | "source": 0 | |
| 662 | }, | |
| 663 | { | |
| 664 | "label": "Area", | |
| 665 | "value": "125 square degrees (81st of 88)", | |
| 666 | "source": 1 | |
| 667 | }, | |
| 668 | { | |
| 669 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 670 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 671 | "source": 2 | |
| 672 | }, | |
| 673 | { | |
| 674 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 675 | "value": "41°N to 90°S", | |
| 676 | "source": 2 | |
| 677 | }, | |
| 678 | { | |
| 679 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 680 | "value": "Alpha Caeli (α Cae), magnitude 4.45", | |
| 681 | "source": 3 | |
| 682 | } | |
| 683 | ], | |
| 684 | "essay": "Caelum is one of the fourteen constellations introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille after his survey of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope in 1751 and 1752. He called it les Burins, the engraver's chisels, rendered in Latin as Caela Sculptoris; the modern name is a shortened form. It has no mythology.\n\nIt is one of the smallest and faintest constellations, ranking 81st of 88 in area. Its brightest star, Alpha Caeli, is magnitude 4.45, and only a handful of its stars are brighter than fifth magnitude. Caelum lies in the space between Columba to the east and the winding line of Eridanus to the west, south of Lepus. The easiest approach is to find Phact, the brightest star of Columba, and look about 10 degrees to its west.\n\nCaelum has no bright deep-sky objects; its galaxies require a telescope. It is best placed in the evening in January and is fully visible from south of about 41° N, so observers at mid-northern latitudes see it low in the south on winter evenings, if at all. Under dark southern skies it is a useful exercise in tracing faint stars.", | |
| 685 | "image": { | |
| 686 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10075v.jpg", | |
| 687 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 688 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 689 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695520/", | |
| 690 | "caption": "Caelum, shown as Cela Sculptoris, with Canis Major, Lepus and Columba on plate 30 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 691 | }, | |
| 692 | "drawing": { | |
| 693 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 694 | }, | |
| 695 | "link": { | |
| 696 | "constellation": "Cae" | |
| 697 | }, | |
| 698 | "sources": [ | |
| 699 | { | |
| 700 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 701 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 702 | }, | |
| 703 | { | |
| 704 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 705 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 706 | }, | |
| 707 | { | |
| 708 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 709 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 710 | }, | |
| 711 | { | |
| 712 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cae", | |
| 713 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cae" | |
| 714 | } | |
| 715 | ] | |
| 716 | }, | |
| 717 | { | |
| 718 | "id": "cam", | |
| 719 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 720 | "title": "Camelopardalis", | |
| 721 | "subtitle": "The Giraffe", | |
| 722 | "facts": [ | |
| 723 | { | |
| 724 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 725 | "value": "Cam", | |
| 726 | "source": 0 | |
| 727 | }, | |
| 728 | { | |
| 729 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 730 | "value": "Camelopardalis", | |
| 731 | "source": 0 | |
| 732 | }, | |
| 733 | { | |
| 734 | "label": "Area", | |
| 735 | "value": "757 square degrees (18th of 88)", | |
| 736 | "source": 1 | |
| 737 | }, | |
| 738 | { | |
| 739 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 740 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 741 | "source": 2 | |
| 742 | }, | |
| 743 | { | |
| 744 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 745 | "value": "90°N to 3°S", | |
| 746 | "source": 2 | |
| 747 | }, | |
| 748 | { | |
| 749 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 750 | "value": "Beta Camelopardalis (β Cam), magnitude 4.02", | |
| 751 | "source": 3 | |
| 752 | }, | |
| 753 | { | |
| 754 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 755 | "value": "NGC 2403 (Caldwell 7): spiral galaxy, 12 million light-years, magnitude 8.9", | |
| 756 | "source": 4 | |
| 757 | } | |
| 758 | ], | |
| 759 | "essay": "Camelopardalis was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius, who drew it on a celestial globe in 1612; the German astronomer Jakob Bartsch included it in a star chart published in 1624. The name is the old Latin word for the giraffe, combining \"camel\" and \"leopard\". It fills a large region between the Pole Star and the bright constellations Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia that the Greeks left without a figure.\n\nCamelopardalis ranks 18th of 88 in area but is faint. Its brightest star, Beta Camelopardalis, is only magnitude 4.02, and most of its stars are fourth or fifth magnitude, so it is hard to trace under city skies. It is easiest to locate by elimination: look in the empty-seeming region between Capella and Polaris.\n\nKemble's Cascade, a chain of about twenty faint stars ending at the small open cluster NGC 1502, is a well-known binocular sight here. The spiral galaxy NGC 2403 (Caldwell 7) lies about 12 million light-years away and at magnitude 8.9 can be seen in a small telescope. The constellation is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 37° N, stands highest in the evening in February, and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 3° S.", | |
| 760 | "image": { | |
| 761 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10051v.jpg", | |
| 762 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 763 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 764 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695395/", | |
| 765 | "caption": "Camelopardalis with the obsolete Tarandus and Custos Messium on plate 2 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 766 | }, | |
| 767 | "drawing": { | |
| 768 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 769 | }, | |
| 770 | "link": { | |
| 771 | "constellation": "Cam" | |
| 772 | }, | |
| 773 | "sources": [ | |
| 774 | { | |
| 775 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 776 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 777 | }, | |
| 778 | { | |
| 779 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 780 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 781 | }, | |
| 782 | { | |
| 783 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 784 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 785 | }, | |
| 786 | { | |
| 787 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Cam", | |
| 788 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Cam" | |
| 789 | }, | |
| 790 | { | |
| 791 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 7", | |
| 792 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-7/" | |
| 793 | } | |
| 794 | ] | |
| 795 | }, | |
| 796 | { | |
| 797 | "id": "cnc", | |
| 798 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 799 | "title": "Cancer", | |
| 800 | "subtitle": "The Crab", | |
| 801 | "facts": [ | |
| 802 | { | |
| 803 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 804 | "value": "Cnc", | |
| 805 | "source": 0 | |
| 806 | }, | |
| 807 | { | |
| 808 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 809 | "value": "Cancri", | |
| 810 | "source": 0 | |
| 811 | }, | |
| 812 | { | |
| 813 | "label": "Area", | |
| 814 | "value": "506 square degrees (31st of 88)", | |
| 815 | "source": 1 | |
| 816 | }, | |
| 817 | { | |
| 818 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 819 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 820 | "source": 2 | |
| 821 | }, | |
| 822 | { | |
| 823 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 824 | "value": "90°N to 56°S", | |
| 825 | "source": 2 | |
| 826 | }, | |
| 827 | { | |
| 828 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 829 | "value": "Tarf (β Cnc), magnitude 3.52", | |
| 830 | "source": 3 | |
| 831 | }, | |
| 832 | { | |
| 833 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 834 | "value": "M44, the Beehive Cluster (Praesepe): open cluster, 600 light-years, magnitude 3.7", | |
| 835 | "source": 4 | |
| 836 | } | |
| 837 | ], | |
| 838 | "essay": "Cancer is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and a member of the zodiac. In Greek myth it is the crab that Hera sent to distract Heracles while he fought the Hydra; Heracles crushed it, and Hera placed it among the stars. The Tropic of Cancer is named after it because the Sun was in Cancer at the June solstice about two thousand years ago.\n\nIt is the faintest of the zodiac constellations. Its brightest star, Tarf (Beta Cancri), is magnitude 3.52. Cancer lies between Gemini and Leo: look roughly halfway between Pollux and Regulus. Under dark skies its main stars form an inverted Y.\n\nThe constellation's main attraction is the Beehive Cluster, M44, also called Praesepe. This open cluster is about 600 light-years away and has a combined magnitude of 3.7, so it is visible to the naked eye as a hazy patch and resolves into dozens of stars in binoculars. Galileo resolved it into individual stars with his first telescope in 1610. The smaller, fainter open cluster M67 lies near Alpha Cancri and is one of the oldest known open clusters. Cancer is best placed in the evening in March and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 56° S.", | |
| 839 | "image": { | |
| 840 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/ds/00200/00242v.jpg", | |
| 841 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 842 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 843 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2011645258/", | |
| 844 | "caption": "Cancer on plate 19 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 845 | }, | |
| 846 | "drawing": { | |
| 847 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 848 | }, | |
| 849 | "link": { | |
| 850 | "constellation": "Cnc" | |
| 851 | }, | |
| 852 | "sources": [ | |
| 853 | { | |
| 854 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 855 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 856 | }, | |
| 857 | { | |
| 858 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 859 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 860 | }, | |
| 861 | { | |
| 862 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 863 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 864 | }, | |
| 865 | { | |
| 866 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Cnc", | |
| 867 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Cnc" | |
| 868 | }, | |
| 869 | { | |
| 870 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 44", | |
| 871 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-44/" | |
| 872 | } | |
| 873 | ] | |
| 874 | }, | |
| 875 | { | |
| 876 | "id": "cvn", | |
| 877 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 878 | "title": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 879 | "subtitle": "The Hunting Dogs", | |
| 880 | "facts": [ | |
| 881 | { | |
| 882 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 883 | "value": "CVn", | |
| 884 | "source": 0 | |
| 885 | }, | |
| 886 | { | |
| 887 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 888 | "value": "Canum Venaticorum", | |
| 889 | "source": 0 | |
| 890 | }, | |
| 891 | { | |
| 892 | "label": "Area", | |
| 893 | "value": "465 square degrees (38th of 88)", | |
| 894 | "source": 1 | |
| 895 | }, | |
| 896 | { | |
| 897 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 898 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 899 | "source": 2 | |
| 900 | }, | |
| 901 | { | |
| 902 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 903 | "value": "90°N to 37°S", | |
| 904 | "source": 2 | |
| 905 | }, | |
| 906 | { | |
| 907 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 908 | "value": "Cor Caroli (α² CVn), magnitude 2.88", | |
| 909 | "source": 3 | |
| 910 | }, | |
| 911 | { | |
| 912 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 913 | "value": "M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy: spiral galaxy, 31 million light-years, magnitude 8.4", | |
| 914 | "source": 4 | |
| 915 | } | |
| 916 | ], | |
| 917 | "essay": "Canes Venatici was introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in his star atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690. The two hunting dogs are held on a leash by Boötes, the herdsman, as he follows the bears around the pole. Hevelius formed the figure from faint stars below the handle of the Big Dipper that Ptolemy had not assigned to any constellation.\n\nThe constellation has only one star brighter than fourth magnitude: Cor Caroli (Alpha-2 Canum Venaticorum), magnitude 2.88. Its name means \"Charles's heart\" and honours an English king Charles; sources differ on whether Charles I or Charles II was meant. Cor Caroli is a double star that small telescopes split easily. Find it below the curve of the Big Dipper's handle, roughly 15 to 20 degrees from it.\n\nCanes Venatici lies well away from the Milky Way and contains many galaxies. The Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, is a face-on spiral about 31 million light-years away at magnitude 8.4; small telescopes show its smaller companion galaxy beside it. Other galaxies here include M94 and M106, and the bright globular cluster M3 lies near the border with Boötes. The constellation is best placed in the evening in May and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 37° S.", | |
| 918 | "image": { | |
| 919 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10059v.jpg", | |
| 920 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 921 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 922 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695503/", | |
| 923 | "caption": "Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs held by Boötes, on plate 10 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 924 | }, | |
| 925 | "drawing": { | |
| 926 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 927 | }, | |
| 928 | "link": { | |
| 929 | "constellation": "CVn" | |
| 930 | }, | |
| 931 | "sources": [ | |
| 932 | { | |
| 933 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 934 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 935 | }, | |
| 936 | { | |
| 937 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 938 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 939 | }, | |
| 940 | { | |
| 941 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 942 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 943 | }, | |
| 944 | { | |
| 945 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf02 CVn", | |
| 946 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf02%20CVn" | |
| 947 | }, | |
| 948 | { | |
| 949 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 51", | |
| 950 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-51/" | |
| 951 | } | |
| 952 | ] | |
| 953 | }, | |
| 954 | { | |
| 955 | "id": "cma", | |
| 956 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 957 | "title": "Canis Major", | |
| 958 | "subtitle": "The Great Dog", | |
| 959 | "facts": [ | |
| 960 | { | |
| 961 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 962 | "value": "CMa", | |
| 963 | "source": 0 | |
| 964 | }, | |
| 965 | { | |
| 966 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 967 | "value": "Canis Majoris", | |
| 968 | "source": 0 | |
| 969 | }, | |
| 970 | { | |
| 971 | "label": "Area", | |
| 972 | "value": "380 square degrees (43rd of 88)", | |
| 973 | "source": 1 | |
| 974 | }, | |
| 975 | { | |
| 976 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 977 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 978 | "source": 2 | |
| 979 | }, | |
| 980 | { | |
| 981 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 982 | "value": "56°N to 90°S", | |
| 983 | "source": 2 | |
| 984 | }, | |
| 985 | { | |
| 986 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 987 | "value": "Sirius (α CMa), magnitude −1.46", | |
| 988 | "source": 3 | |
| 989 | } | |
| 990 | ], | |
| 991 | "essay": "Canis Major is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is the larger of Orion's two hunting dogs, following its master across the sky. Its main star, Sirius, was important to ancient Egyptian timekeeping, because its first appearance before sunrise each year came shortly before the annual Nile flood.\n\nSirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night sky, at magnitude −1.46. It appears so bright mainly because it is close, at about 8.6 light-years. To find it, follow the three stars of Orion's Belt down and to the south-east. Several other bright stars outline the dog's body south of Sirius, including Adhara (Epsilon), Wezen (Delta) and Aludra (Eta). Sirius has a white dwarf companion, Sirius B, which is difficult to see in the glare of the primary.\n\nThe open cluster M41 lies about 4 degrees south of Sirius and is visible to the naked eye under dark skies; binoculars show dozens of its stars. Together with Procyon and Betelgeuse, Sirius forms the large Winter Triangle. Canis Major is best placed in the evening in February and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 56° N.", | |
| 992 | "image": { | |
| 993 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10075v.jpg", | |
| 994 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 995 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 996 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695520/", | |
| 997 | "caption": "Canis Major with Lepus, Columba and Caelum on plate 30 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 998 | }, | |
| 999 | "drawing": { | |
| 1000 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1001 | }, | |
| 1002 | "link": { | |
| 1003 | "constellation": "CMa" | |
| 1004 | }, | |
| 1005 | "sources": [ | |
| 1006 | { | |
| 1007 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1008 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1009 | }, | |
| 1010 | { | |
| 1011 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1012 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1013 | }, | |
| 1014 | { | |
| 1015 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1016 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1017 | }, | |
| 1018 | { | |
| 1019 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf CMa", | |
| 1020 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20CMa" | |
| 1021 | } | |
| 1022 | ] | |
| 1023 | }, | |
| 1024 | { | |
| 1025 | "id": "cmi", | |
| 1026 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1027 | "title": "Canis Minor", | |
| 1028 | "subtitle": "The Lesser Dog", | |
| 1029 | "facts": [ | |
| 1030 | { | |
| 1031 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1032 | "value": "CMi", | |
| 1033 | "source": 0 | |
| 1034 | }, | |
| 1035 | { | |
| 1036 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1037 | "value": "Canis Minoris", | |
| 1038 | "source": 0 | |
| 1039 | }, | |
| 1040 | { | |
| 1041 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1042 | "value": "183 square degrees (71st of 88)", | |
| 1043 | "source": 1 | |
| 1044 | }, | |
| 1045 | { | |
| 1046 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1047 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1048 | "source": 2 | |
| 1049 | }, | |
| 1050 | { | |
| 1051 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1052 | "value": "89°N to 76°S", | |
| 1053 | "source": 2 | |
| 1054 | }, | |
| 1055 | { | |
| 1056 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1057 | "value": "Procyon (α CMi), magnitude 0.37", | |
| 1058 | "source": 3 | |
| 1059 | } | |
| 1060 | ], | |
| 1061 | "essay": "Canis Minor is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is the smaller of Orion's two hunting dogs. The name of its brightest star, Procyon, means \"before the dog\" in Greek, because from Mediterranean latitudes it rises shortly before Sirius, the Dog Star.\n\nProcyon (magnitude 0.37) is one of the brightest stars in the sky and one of the nearest, at about 11.5 light-years. Like Sirius, it has a faint white dwarf companion. The only other prominent star in the constellation is Gomeisa (Beta Canis Minoris), so the figure is just a short line of two stars. Find Procyon east of Betelgeuse in Orion; with Betelgeuse and Sirius it forms the large Winter Triangle.\n\nThe constellation is small, ranking 71st of 88 in area, and contains no bright deep-sky objects. It lies just north of the celestial equator, so it can be seen from almost every inhabited place on Earth; it is fully visible from between about 89° N and 76° S. It is best placed in the evening in March, when it stands high in the south for northern observers and high in the north for southern ones.", | |
| 1062 | "image": { | |
| 1063 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10076v.jpg", | |
| 1064 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1065 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1066 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695521/", | |
| 1067 | "caption": "Canis Minor with Monoceros and the obsolete Atelier Typographique on plate 31 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1068 | }, | |
| 1069 | "drawing": { | |
| 1070 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1071 | }, | |
| 1072 | "link": { | |
| 1073 | "constellation": "CMi" | |
| 1074 | }, | |
| 1075 | "sources": [ | |
| 1076 | { | |
| 1077 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1078 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1079 | }, | |
| 1080 | { | |
| 1081 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1082 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1083 | }, | |
| 1084 | { | |
| 1085 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1086 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1087 | }, | |
| 1088 | { | |
| 1089 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf CMi", | |
| 1090 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20CMi" | |
| 1091 | } | |
| 1092 | ] | |
| 1093 | }, | |
| 1094 | { | |
| 1095 | "id": "cap", | |
| 1096 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1097 | "title": "Capricornus", | |
| 1098 | "subtitle": "The Sea Goat", | |
| 1099 | "facts": [ | |
| 1100 | { | |
| 1101 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1102 | "value": "Cap", | |
| 1103 | "source": 0 | |
| 1104 | }, | |
| 1105 | { | |
| 1106 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1107 | "value": "Capricorni", | |
| 1108 | "source": 0 | |
| 1109 | }, | |
| 1110 | { | |
| 1111 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1112 | "value": "414 square degrees (40th of 88)", | |
| 1113 | "source": 1 | |
| 1114 | }, | |
| 1115 | { | |
| 1116 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1117 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1118 | "source": 2 | |
| 1119 | }, | |
| 1120 | { | |
| 1121 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1122 | "value": "62°N to 90°S", | |
| 1123 | "source": 2 | |
| 1124 | }, | |
| 1125 | { | |
| 1126 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1127 | "value": "Deneb Algedi (δ Cap), magnitude 2.83", | |
| 1128 | "source": 3 | |
| 1129 | }, | |
| 1130 | { | |
| 1131 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1132 | "value": "M30: globular cluster, 28,000 light-years, magnitude 7.7", | |
| 1133 | "source": 4 | |
| 1134 | } | |
| 1135 | ], | |
| 1136 | "essay": "Capricornus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and part of the zodiac. Its sea-goat figure, with the head and forelegs of a goat and the tail of a fish, goes back to Babylonian astronomy. Greek writers linked it to the god Pan, who was said to have jumped into the Nile and taken this shape while escaping the monster Typhon. The Tropic of Capricorn takes its name from the constellation, which held the December solstice in antiquity.\n\nThe stars are faint and form a broad triangle or boat shape. The brightest is Deneb Algedi (Delta Capricorni) at magnitude 2.83, an eclipsing binary at the eastern end. At the western tip, Algedi (Alpha Capricorni) is a naked-eye double: two unrelated stars that happen to lie in nearly the same direction. A line from Vega through Altair, continued southward, reaches the western end of Capricornus.\n\nThe globular cluster M30 lies about 28,000 light-years away and is magnitude 7.7, a modest binocular or small-telescope object near the eastern end of the figure. Capricornus is best placed in the evening in September and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 62° N.", | |
| 1137 | "image": { | |
| 1138 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10071v.jpg", | |
| 1139 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1140 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1141 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695516/", | |
| 1142 | "caption": "Capricornus, the sea-goat, on plate 25 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1143 | }, | |
| 1144 | "drawing": { | |
| 1145 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1146 | }, | |
| 1147 | "link": { | |
| 1148 | "constellation": "Cap" | |
| 1149 | }, | |
| 1150 | "sources": [ | |
| 1151 | { | |
| 1152 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1153 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1154 | }, | |
| 1155 | { | |
| 1156 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1157 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1158 | }, | |
| 1159 | { | |
| 1160 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1161 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1162 | }, | |
| 1163 | { | |
| 1164 | "title": "SIMBAD: del Cap", | |
| 1165 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=del%20Cap" | |
| 1166 | }, | |
| 1167 | { | |
| 1168 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 30", | |
| 1169 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-30/" | |
| 1170 | } | |
| 1171 | ] | |
| 1172 | }, | |
| 1173 | { | |
| 1174 | "id": "car", | |
| 1175 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1176 | "title": "Carina", | |
| 1177 | "subtitle": "The Ship's Keel", | |
| 1178 | "facts": [ | |
| 1179 | { | |
| 1180 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1181 | "value": "Car", | |
| 1182 | "source": 0 | |
| 1183 | }, | |
| 1184 | { | |
| 1185 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1186 | "value": "Carinae", | |
| 1187 | "source": 0 | |
| 1188 | }, | |
| 1189 | { | |
| 1190 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1191 | "value": "494 square degrees (34th of 88)", | |
| 1192 | "source": 1 | |
| 1193 | }, | |
| 1194 | { | |
| 1195 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1196 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1197 | "source": 2 | |
| 1198 | }, | |
| 1199 | { | |
| 1200 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1201 | "value": "14°N to 90°S", | |
| 1202 | "source": 2 | |
| 1203 | }, | |
| 1204 | { | |
| 1205 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1206 | "value": "Canopus (α Car), magnitude −0.74", | |
| 1207 | "source": 3 | |
| 1208 | }, | |
| 1209 | { | |
| 1210 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1211 | "value": "Carina Nebula (NGC 3372, Caldwell 92): emission nebula, 7,500 light-years, magnitude 4.8", | |
| 1212 | "source": 4 | |
| 1213 | } | |
| 1214 | ], | |
| 1215 | "essay": "Carina was once part of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, which Ptolemy listed as one of his 48 constellations. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided the large ship into Carina (the keel), Puppis (the stern) and Vela (the sails) in the 1750s. Because the stars kept the Greek letters assigned across the whole ship, Carina has an Alpha and a Beta but no Gamma or Delta, which are in Vela.\n\nCanopus, Alpha Carinae, is the second-brightest star in the night sky at magnitude −0.74. It is a bright giant far more luminous than Sirius, and spacecraft have used it as a reference star for orientation. With two stars of Vela, Carina also forms the False Cross, which is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross.\n\nThe Carina Nebula (NGC 3372, Caldwell 92) is an emission nebula about 7,500 light-years away and magnitude 4.8, visible to the naked eye as a bright patch in the southern Milky Way. It contains Eta Carinae, a massive, unstable binary star system that had a great eruption in the 1840s. Lacaille discovered the nebula from the Cape of Good Hope in 1752. Carina is best placed in the evening in March and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 14° N.", | |
| 1216 | "image": { | |
| 1217 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 1218 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1219 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1220 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 1221 | "caption": "The ship Argo Navis, from which Carina was later separated, with Hydra and other southern figures on plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1222 | }, | |
| 1223 | "drawing": { | |
| 1224 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1225 | }, | |
| 1226 | "link": { | |
| 1227 | "constellation": "Car" | |
| 1228 | }, | |
| 1229 | "sources": [ | |
| 1230 | { | |
| 1231 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1232 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1233 | }, | |
| 1234 | { | |
| 1235 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1236 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1237 | }, | |
| 1238 | { | |
| 1239 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1240 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1241 | }, | |
| 1242 | { | |
| 1243 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Car", | |
| 1244 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Car" | |
| 1245 | }, | |
| 1246 | { | |
| 1247 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 92", | |
| 1248 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-92/" | |
| 1249 | } | |
| 1250 | ] | |
| 1251 | }, | |
| 1252 | { | |
| 1253 | "id": "cas", | |
| 1254 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1255 | "title": "Cassiopeia", | |
| 1256 | "subtitle": "The Queen", | |
| 1257 | "facts": [ | |
| 1258 | { | |
| 1259 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1260 | "value": "Cas", | |
| 1261 | "source": 0 | |
| 1262 | }, | |
| 1263 | { | |
| 1264 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1265 | "value": "Cassiopeiae", | |
| 1266 | "source": 0 | |
| 1267 | }, | |
| 1268 | { | |
| 1269 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1270 | "value": "598 square degrees (25th of 88)", | |
| 1271 | "source": 1 | |
| 1272 | }, | |
| 1273 | { | |
| 1274 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1275 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1276 | "source": 2 | |
| 1277 | }, | |
| 1278 | { | |
| 1279 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1280 | "value": "90°N to 12°S", | |
| 1281 | "source": 2 | |
| 1282 | }, | |
| 1283 | { | |
| 1284 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1285 | "value": "Schedar (α Cas), magnitude 2.23", | |
| 1286 | "source": 3 | |
| 1287 | } | |
| 1288 | ], | |
| 1289 | "essay": "Cassiopeia is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth she was the queen of Ethiopia, wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda, whose boast about beauty provoked Poseidon to send the sea monster Cetus. She was placed in the sky on a throne that circles the pole, so she spends part of each night upside down.\n\nIts five main stars form a W or M shape that is easy to recognise. The brightest is Schedar (Alpha Cassiopeiae) at magnitude 2.23, only just ahead of Caph (Beta) at 2.27. Gamma Cassiopeiae, at the centre of the W, is an irregular variable star. Cassiopeia lies on the opposite side of Polaris from the Big Dipper, so when one is low the other is high.\n\nThe Milky Way runs through Cassiopeia and it is rich in open clusters, including M52 and M103, both visible in binoculars. In 1572 Tycho Brahe observed a supernova here, now known as Tycho's Supernova; its remnant is a radio and X-ray source. Cassiopeia is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 43° N. It is best placed in the evening in November and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 12° S.", | |
| 1290 | "image": { | |
| 1291 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10052v.jpg", | |
| 1292 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1293 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1294 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695396/", | |
| 1295 | "caption": "Cassiopeia seated on her throne on plate 3 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1296 | }, | |
| 1297 | "drawing": { | |
| 1298 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1299 | }, | |
| 1300 | "link": { | |
| 1301 | "constellation": "Cas" | |
| 1302 | }, | |
| 1303 | "sources": [ | |
| 1304 | { | |
| 1305 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1306 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1307 | }, | |
| 1308 | { | |
| 1309 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1310 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1311 | }, | |
| 1312 | { | |
| 1313 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1314 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1315 | }, | |
| 1316 | { | |
| 1317 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cas", | |
| 1318 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cas" | |
| 1319 | } | |
| 1320 | ] | |
| 1321 | }, | |
| 1322 | { | |
| 1323 | "id": "cen", | |
| 1324 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1325 | "title": "Centaurus", | |
| 1326 | "subtitle": "The Centaur", | |
| 1327 | "facts": [ | |
| 1328 | { | |
| 1329 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1330 | "value": "Cen", | |
| 1331 | "source": 0 | |
| 1332 | }, | |
| 1333 | { | |
| 1334 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1335 | "value": "Centauri", | |
| 1336 | "source": 0 | |
| 1337 | }, | |
| 1338 | { | |
| 1339 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1340 | "value": "1060 square degrees (9th of 88)", | |
| 1341 | "source": 1 | |
| 1342 | }, | |
| 1343 | { | |
| 1344 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1345 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1346 | "source": 2 | |
| 1347 | }, | |
| 1348 | { | |
| 1349 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1350 | "value": "25°N to 90°S", | |
| 1351 | "source": 2 | |
| 1352 | }, | |
| 1353 | { | |
| 1354 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1355 | "value": "Rigil Kentaurus (α Cen A), magnitude 0.01; its companion Toliman (α Cen B) is 1.33", | |
| 1356 | "source": 3 | |
| 1357 | }, | |
| 1358 | { | |
| 1359 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1360 | "value": "Omega Centauri (NGC 5139, Caldwell 80): globular cluster, 17,000 light-years, magnitude 3.7", | |
| 1361 | "source": 4 | |
| 1362 | } | |
| 1363 | ], | |
| 1364 | "essay": "Centaurus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the ninth-largest of the 88. It represents a centaur, usually identified with Chiron, the teacher of heroes such as Achilles and Jason. In Ptolemy's time it also included the stars now assigned to Crux.\n\nIts brightest star, Alpha Centauri, is the nearest star system to the Sun. To the eye it is a single point, but a small telescope splits it into Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri A, magnitude 0.01) and Toliman (Alpha Centauri B, magnitude 1.33). A third, faint member, Proxima Centauri, is the nearest known star to the Sun. Hadar (Beta Centauri, magnitude 0.58) lies close by, and the two form the Pointers, which lead to the Southern Cross.\n\nOmega Centauri (NGC 5139, Caldwell 80) is the largest and brightest globular cluster in the sky, about 17,000 light-years away and magnitude 3.7, with about 10 million stars. Ptolemy catalogued it as a single star. Centaurus A (Caldwell 77), about 11 million light-years away, is the closest active galaxy to Earth and shows in small telescopes as a glow crossed by a dark dust lane. Centaurus is best placed in the evening in May and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 25° N.", | |
| 1365 | "image": { | |
| 1366 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 1367 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1368 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1369 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 1370 | "caption": "Centaurus with Lupus, Hydra and other southern figures on plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1371 | }, | |
| 1372 | "drawing": { | |
| 1373 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1374 | }, | |
| 1375 | "link": { | |
| 1376 | "constellation": "Cen" | |
| 1377 | }, | |
| 1378 | "sources": [ | |
| 1379 | { | |
| 1380 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1381 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1382 | }, | |
| 1383 | { | |
| 1384 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1385 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1386 | }, | |
| 1387 | { | |
| 1388 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1389 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1390 | }, | |
| 1391 | { | |
| 1392 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cen A", | |
| 1393 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cen%20A" | |
| 1394 | }, | |
| 1395 | { | |
| 1396 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 80", | |
| 1397 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-80/" | |
| 1398 | } | |
| 1399 | ] | |
| 1400 | }, | |
| 1401 | { | |
| 1402 | "id": "cep", | |
| 1403 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1404 | "title": "Cepheus", | |
| 1405 | "subtitle": "The King", | |
| 1406 | "facts": [ | |
| 1407 | { | |
| 1408 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1409 | "value": "Cep", | |
| 1410 | "source": 0 | |
| 1411 | }, | |
| 1412 | { | |
| 1413 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1414 | "value": "Cephei", | |
| 1415 | "source": 0 | |
| 1416 | }, | |
| 1417 | { | |
| 1418 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1419 | "value": "588 square degrees (27th of 88)", | |
| 1420 | "source": 1 | |
| 1421 | }, | |
| 1422 | { | |
| 1423 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1424 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1425 | "source": 2 | |
| 1426 | }, | |
| 1427 | { | |
| 1428 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1429 | "value": "90°N to 1°S", | |
| 1430 | "source": 2 | |
| 1431 | }, | |
| 1432 | { | |
| 1433 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1434 | "value": "Alderamin (α Cep), magnitude 2.46", | |
| 1435 | "source": 3 | |
| 1436 | }, | |
| 1437 | { | |
| 1438 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1439 | "value": "NGC 6946 (Caldwell 12), on the border with Cygnus: spiral galaxy, 15 million light-years, magnitude 9.7", | |
| 1440 | "source": 4 | |
| 1441 | } | |
| 1442 | ], | |
| 1443 | "essay": "Cepheus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth he was king of Ethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda. His figure lies next to his queen near the north celestial pole.\n\nThe main stars form a shape like a simple house with a pointed roof, the roof pointing toward Polaris. The brightest is Alderamin (Alpha Cephei) at magnitude 2.46. Because of precession, the north celestial pole is moving through Cepheus, and in several thousand years Gamma and later Alpha Cephei will be the nearest bright stars to the pole. To find Cepheus, look between the W of Cassiopeia and the head of Draco.\n\nDelta Cephei, near the south-eastern corner of the house, is the prototype of the Cepheid variables, stars whose pulsation period is linked to their luminosity, which made them a key tool for measuring distances to other galaxies. Mu Cephei, Herschel's Garnet Star, is one of the reddest stars visible to the naked eye. The spiral galaxy NGC 6946 (Caldwell 12), on the border with Cygnus, has had ten observed supernovae since 1917. Cepheus is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 37° N, best placed in the evening in October, and fully visible from anywhere north of about 1° S.", | |
| 1444 | "image": { | |
| 1445 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10053v.jpg", | |
| 1446 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1447 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1448 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695397/", | |
| 1449 | "caption": "Cepheus, the king, on plate 4 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1450 | }, | |
| 1451 | "drawing": { | |
| 1452 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1453 | }, | |
| 1454 | "link": { | |
| 1455 | "constellation": "Cep" | |
| 1456 | }, | |
| 1457 | "sources": [ | |
| 1458 | { | |
| 1459 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1460 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1461 | }, | |
| 1462 | { | |
| 1463 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1464 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1465 | }, | |
| 1466 | { | |
| 1467 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1468 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1469 | }, | |
| 1470 | { | |
| 1471 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cep", | |
| 1472 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cep" | |
| 1473 | }, | |
| 1474 | { | |
| 1475 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 12", | |
| 1476 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-12/" | |
| 1477 | } | |
| 1478 | ] | |
| 1479 | }, | |
| 1480 | { | |
| 1481 | "id": "cet", | |
| 1482 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1483 | "title": "Cetus", | |
| 1484 | "subtitle": "The Sea Monster", | |
| 1485 | "facts": [ | |
| 1486 | { | |
| 1487 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1488 | "value": "Cet", | |
| 1489 | "source": 0 | |
| 1490 | }, | |
| 1491 | { | |
| 1492 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1493 | "value": "Ceti", | |
| 1494 | "source": 0 | |
| 1495 | }, | |
| 1496 | { | |
| 1497 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1498 | "value": "1231 square degrees (4th of 88)", | |
| 1499 | "source": 1 | |
| 1500 | }, | |
| 1501 | { | |
| 1502 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1503 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1504 | "source": 2 | |
| 1505 | }, | |
| 1506 | { | |
| 1507 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1508 | "value": "65°N to 79°S", | |
| 1509 | "source": 2 | |
| 1510 | }, | |
| 1511 | { | |
| 1512 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1513 | "value": "Diphda (β Cet), magnitude 2.01", | |
| 1514 | "source": 3 | |
| 1515 | }, | |
| 1516 | { | |
| 1517 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1518 | "value": "M77: spiral galaxy with an active nucleus, 45 million light-years, magnitude 9.6", | |
| 1519 | "source": 4 | |
| 1520 | } | |
| 1521 | ], | |
| 1522 | "essay": "Cetus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the fourth-largest of the 88. It represents the sea monster sent by Poseidon to ravage the coast of Ethiopia after Queen Cassiopeia's boast, the creature from which Perseus rescued Andromeda.\n\nAlthough large, Cetus has few bright stars. The brightest is Diphda (Beta Ceti, magnitude 2.01), in the tail, which stands alone in a sparse area south of the Square of Pegasus. Menkar (Alpha Ceti, 2.53) marks the head, south of Aries and south-west of the Pleiades. Between them lies Mira (Omicron Ceti), the first star of its kind recognised as variable, after David Fabricius noticed it in 1596. Mira swings from about third magnitude to well below naked-eye visibility over roughly 11 months.\n\nThe spiral galaxy M77, about 45 million light-years away and magnitude 9.6, has an unusually bright, active core and is one of the prototypes of the Seyfert galaxies. Tau Ceti, a Sun-like star about 12 light-years away, is one of the nearest single stars visible without a telescope. Cetus is best placed in the evening in December and is fully visible from between about 65° N and 79° S.", | |
| 1523 | "image": { | |
| 1524 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10074v.jpg", | |
| 1525 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1526 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1527 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695519/", | |
| 1528 | "caption": "Cetus with Eridanus, Fornax and several obsolete figures on plate 28 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1529 | }, | |
| 1530 | "drawing": { | |
| 1531 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1532 | }, | |
| 1533 | "link": { | |
| 1534 | "constellation": "Cet" | |
| 1535 | }, | |
| 1536 | "sources": [ | |
| 1537 | { | |
| 1538 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1539 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1540 | }, | |
| 1541 | { | |
| 1542 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1543 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1544 | }, | |
| 1545 | { | |
| 1546 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1547 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1548 | }, | |
| 1549 | { | |
| 1550 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Cet", | |
| 1551 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Cet" | |
| 1552 | }, | |
| 1553 | { | |
| 1554 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 77", | |
| 1555 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-77/" | |
| 1556 | } | |
| 1557 | ] | |
| 1558 | }, | |
| 1559 | { | |
| 1560 | "id": "cha", | |
| 1561 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1562 | "title": "Chamaeleon", | |
| 1563 | "subtitle": "The Chameleon", | |
| 1564 | "facts": [ | |
| 1565 | { | |
| 1566 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1567 | "value": "Cha", | |
| 1568 | "source": 0 | |
| 1569 | }, | |
| 1570 | { | |
| 1571 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1572 | "value": "Chamaeleontis", | |
| 1573 | "source": 0 | |
| 1574 | }, | |
| 1575 | { | |
| 1576 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1577 | "value": "132 square degrees (78th of 88)", | |
| 1578 | "source": 1 | |
| 1579 | }, | |
| 1580 | { | |
| 1581 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1582 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1583 | "source": 2 | |
| 1584 | }, | |
| 1585 | { | |
| 1586 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1587 | "value": "6°N to 90°S", | |
| 1588 | "source": 2 | |
| 1589 | }, | |
| 1590 | { | |
| 1591 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1592 | "value": "Alpha Chamaeleontis (α Cha), magnitude 4.05", | |
| 1593 | "source": 3 | |
| 1594 | } | |
| 1595 | ], | |
| 1596 | "essay": "Chamaeleon is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It first appeared on a celestial globe in 1598 and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. The figure is the lizard known for changing colour.\n\nIt is a small, faint constellation close to the south celestial pole. The brightest star, Alpha Chamaeleontis, is magnitude 4.05, and the main stars form a small elongated diamond. To locate it, find the Southern Cross and follow its long axis toward the pole for about 20 degrees. From southern temperate latitudes Chamaeleon is circumpolar and can be seen on any clear night.\n\nChamaeleon contains a group of dark molecular clouds, the Chamaeleon complex, which is one of the nearest regions of active star formation to the Sun. Its young stars are hidden by dust at visible wavelengths and are studied mainly with infrared telescopes. The small planetary nebula NGC 3195 is a target for telescopes of moderate size. Chamaeleon is best placed in the evening around April and is fully visible only from south of about 6° N, so it is out of reach for nearly all northern observers.", | |
| 1597 | "image": null, | |
| 1598 | "drawing": { | |
| 1599 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1600 | }, | |
| 1601 | "link": { | |
| 1602 | "constellation": "Cha" | |
| 1603 | }, | |
| 1604 | "sources": [ | |
| 1605 | { | |
| 1606 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1607 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1608 | }, | |
| 1609 | { | |
| 1610 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1611 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1612 | }, | |
| 1613 | { | |
| 1614 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1615 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1616 | }, | |
| 1617 | { | |
| 1618 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cha", | |
| 1619 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cha" | |
| 1620 | } | |
| 1621 | ] | |
| 1622 | }, | |
| 1623 | { | |
| 1624 | "id": "cir", | |
| 1625 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1626 | "title": "Circinus", | |
| 1627 | "subtitle": "The Drawing Compass", | |
| 1628 | "facts": [ | |
| 1629 | { | |
| 1630 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1631 | "value": "Cir", | |
| 1632 | "source": 0 | |
| 1633 | }, | |
| 1634 | { | |
| 1635 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1636 | "value": "Circini", | |
| 1637 | "source": 0 | |
| 1638 | }, | |
| 1639 | { | |
| 1640 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1641 | "value": "93 square degrees (85th of 88)", | |
| 1642 | "source": 1 | |
| 1643 | }, | |
| 1644 | { | |
| 1645 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1646 | "value": "June (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1647 | "source": 2 | |
| 1648 | }, | |
| 1649 | { | |
| 1650 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1651 | "value": "19°N to 90°S", | |
| 1652 | "source": 2 | |
| 1653 | }, | |
| 1654 | { | |
| 1655 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1656 | "value": "Alpha Circini (α Cir), magnitude 3.19", | |
| 1657 | "source": 3 | |
| 1658 | } | |
| 1659 | ], | |
| 1660 | "essay": "Circinus is one of the fourteen constellations introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s after his survey of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope. It represents a pair of drawing compasses, one of several surveying and drafting instruments he placed in this part of the sky alongside Norma, the set square.\n\nCircinus is the fourth-smallest constellation, ranking 85th of 88 in area. Its brightest star, Alpha Circini, is magnitude 3.19. It is the brightest of the rapidly oscillating Ap stars, which show tiny brightness changes over a few minutes. The easiest way to find Circinus is from Alpha Centauri: the constellation lies just to its east, between Alpha Centauri and Triangulum Australe.\n\nThe Milky Way passes through Circinus, giving rich star fields in binoculars. The Circinus Galaxy, a nearby active galaxy hidden behind the dust of the Milky Way, was only identified in the 1970s and is a target for professional instruments rather than visual observers. Circinus is best placed in the evening around June and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 19° N. From mid-northern latitudes it never rises.", | |
| 1661 | "image": null, | |
| 1662 | "drawing": { | |
| 1663 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1664 | }, | |
| 1665 | "link": { | |
| 1666 | "constellation": "Cir" | |
| 1667 | }, | |
| 1668 | "sources": [ | |
| 1669 | { | |
| 1670 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1671 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1672 | }, | |
| 1673 | { | |
| 1674 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1675 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1676 | }, | |
| 1677 | { | |
| 1678 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1679 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1680 | }, | |
| 1681 | { | |
| 1682 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cir", | |
| 1683 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cir" | |
| 1684 | } | |
| 1685 | ] | |
| 1686 | }, | |
| 1687 | { | |
| 1688 | "id": "col", | |
| 1689 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1690 | "title": "Columba", | |
| 1691 | "subtitle": "The Dove", | |
| 1692 | "facts": [ | |
| 1693 | { | |
| 1694 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1695 | "value": "Col", | |
| 1696 | "source": 0 | |
| 1697 | }, | |
| 1698 | { | |
| 1699 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1700 | "value": "Columbae", | |
| 1701 | "source": 0 | |
| 1702 | }, | |
| 1703 | { | |
| 1704 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1705 | "value": "270 square degrees (54th of 88)", | |
| 1706 | "source": 1 | |
| 1707 | }, | |
| 1708 | { | |
| 1709 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1710 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1711 | "source": 2 | |
| 1712 | }, | |
| 1713 | { | |
| 1714 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1715 | "value": "46°N to 90°S", | |
| 1716 | "source": 2 | |
| 1717 | }, | |
| 1718 | { | |
| 1719 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1720 | "value": "Phact (α Col), magnitude 2.65", | |
| 1721 | "source": 3 | |
| 1722 | } | |
| 1723 | ], | |
| 1724 | "essay": "Columba was introduced by the Dutch astronomer Petrus Plancius, who drew it on a map in 1592 as Noah's dove, the bird sent from the ark to look for dry land. It was formed from stars south of Lepus that Ptolemy had not included in any figure, and Augustin Royer included it in his star atlas of 1679.\n\nThe brightest star is Phact (Alpha Columbae), magnitude 2.65. With Wazn (Beta Columbae) it forms a short line marking the dove's body. To find Columba, look south of Lepus, which lies directly below Orion's feet, and south-west of Sirius in Canis Major.\n\nMu Columbae is a runaway star. It and AE Aurigae are moving rapidly away from the region of Orion in opposite directions, and their paths trace back to a common origin about 2.5 million years ago, probably the break-up of a multiple star system. The globular cluster NGC 1851 is a compact target for small telescopes. Columba is best placed in the evening in February and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 46° N, so northern observers see it low in the south on winter evenings.", | |
| 1725 | "image": { | |
| 1726 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10075v.jpg", | |
| 1727 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1728 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1729 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695520/", | |
| 1730 | "caption": "Columba, shown as Columba Noachi, with Canis Major, Lepus and Caelum on plate 30 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1731 | }, | |
| 1732 | "drawing": { | |
| 1733 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1734 | }, | |
| 1735 | "link": { | |
| 1736 | "constellation": "Col" | |
| 1737 | }, | |
| 1738 | "sources": [ | |
| 1739 | { | |
| 1740 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1741 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1742 | }, | |
| 1743 | { | |
| 1744 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1745 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1746 | }, | |
| 1747 | { | |
| 1748 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1749 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1750 | }, | |
| 1751 | { | |
| 1752 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Col", | |
| 1753 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Col" | |
| 1754 | } | |
| 1755 | ] | |
| 1756 | }, | |
| 1757 | { | |
| 1758 | "id": "com", | |
| 1759 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1760 | "title": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 1761 | "subtitle": "Berenice's Hair", | |
| 1762 | "facts": [ | |
| 1763 | { | |
| 1764 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1765 | "value": "Com", | |
| 1766 | "source": 0 | |
| 1767 | }, | |
| 1768 | { | |
| 1769 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1770 | "value": "Comae Berenices", | |
| 1771 | "source": 0 | |
| 1772 | }, | |
| 1773 | { | |
| 1774 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1775 | "value": "386 square degrees (42nd of 88)", | |
| 1776 | "source": 1 | |
| 1777 | }, | |
| 1778 | { | |
| 1779 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1780 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1781 | "source": 2 | |
| 1782 | }, | |
| 1783 | { | |
| 1784 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1785 | "value": "90°N to 56°S", | |
| 1786 | "source": 2 | |
| 1787 | }, | |
| 1788 | { | |
| 1789 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1790 | "value": "Beta Comae Berenices (β Com), magnitude 4.25", | |
| 1791 | "source": 3 | |
| 1792 | }, | |
| 1793 | { | |
| 1794 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1795 | "value": "M64, the Black Eye Galaxy: spiral galaxy, 17 million light-years, magnitude 9.8", | |
| 1796 | "source": 4 | |
| 1797 | } | |
| 1798 | ], | |
| 1799 | "essay": "Coma Berenices recalls Queen Berenice II of Egypt, who is said to have cut off her hair as an offering for the safe return of her husband, Ptolemy III, from war. When the hair disappeared from the temple, the court astronomer Conon of Samos announced that it had been placed among the stars. Ptolemy treated these stars as an asterism attached to Leo; Gerardus Mercator showed them as a separate constellation on his celestial globe of 1551, and Tycho Brahe included it in his star catalogue of 1602.\n\nThe constellation is faint. Its brightest star, Beta Comae Berenices, is only magnitude 4.25. Its most visible feature is the Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111), a loose group of fifth- and sixth-magnitude stars spread over several degrees and best seen in binoculars. Find it between Denebola, the tail of Leo, and Arcturus.\n\nThe north galactic pole lies in Coma Berenices, so the view here is out of the plane of the Milky Way and many distant galaxies are visible. The Black Eye Galaxy, M64, about 17 million light-years away and magnitude 9.8, has a dark band of dust across its core. The constellation also contains the Coma Cluster of galaxies. It is best placed in the evening in May and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 56° S.", | |
| 1800 | "image": { | |
| 1801 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10059v.jpg", | |
| 1802 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1803 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1804 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695503/", | |
| 1805 | "caption": "Coma Berenices, with Boötes and Canes Venatici, on plate 10 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1806 | }, | |
| 1807 | "drawing": { | |
| 1808 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1809 | }, | |
| 1810 | "link": { | |
| 1811 | "constellation": "Com" | |
| 1812 | }, | |
| 1813 | "sources": [ | |
| 1814 | { | |
| 1815 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1816 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1817 | }, | |
| 1818 | { | |
| 1819 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1820 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1821 | }, | |
| 1822 | { | |
| 1823 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1824 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1825 | }, | |
| 1826 | { | |
| 1827 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Com", | |
| 1828 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Com" | |
| 1829 | }, | |
| 1830 | { | |
| 1831 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 64", | |
| 1832 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-64/" | |
| 1833 | } | |
| 1834 | ] | |
| 1835 | }, | |
| 1836 | { | |
| 1837 | "id": "cra", | |
| 1838 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1839 | "title": "Corona Australis", | |
| 1840 | "subtitle": "The Southern Crown", | |
| 1841 | "facts": [ | |
| 1842 | { | |
| 1843 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1844 | "value": "CrA", | |
| 1845 | "source": 0 | |
| 1846 | }, | |
| 1847 | { | |
| 1848 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1849 | "value": "Coronae Australis", | |
| 1850 | "source": 0 | |
| 1851 | }, | |
| 1852 | { | |
| 1853 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1854 | "value": "128 square degrees (80th of 88)", | |
| 1855 | "source": 1 | |
| 1856 | }, | |
| 1857 | { | |
| 1858 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1859 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1860 | "source": 2 | |
| 1861 | }, | |
| 1862 | { | |
| 1863 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1864 | "value": "44°N to 90°S", | |
| 1865 | "source": 2 | |
| 1866 | }, | |
| 1867 | { | |
| 1868 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1869 | "value": "Meridiana (α CrA), magnitude 4.09", | |
| 1870 | "source": 3 | |
| 1871 | }, | |
| 1872 | { | |
| 1873 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1874 | "value": "NGC 6541 (Caldwell 78): globular cluster, 22,000 light-years, magnitude 6.3", | |
| 1875 | "source": 4 | |
| 1876 | } | |
| 1877 | ], | |
| 1878 | "essay": "Corona Australis is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is a curved line of faint stars that the Greeks saw as a wreath or crown, sometimes said to have fallen from the head of Sagittarius, beside whose feet it lies.\n\nThe constellation is small, ranking 80th of 88 in area, and its two brightest stars are nearly equal: Meridiana (Alpha Coronae Australis) at magnitude 4.09 and Beta at 4.10. The arc of stars is distinctive under dark skies. Find it just south of the Teapot asterism of Sagittarius, east of the stinger at the end of Scorpius's tail.\n\nThe Milky Way runs along the edge of Corona Australis. The Corona Australis molecular cloud, near the star R Coronae Australis, is one of the nearest star-forming regions to the Sun and appears in photographs as a mix of dark dust and blue reflection nebulae. The globular cluster NGC 6541 (Caldwell 78) is about 22,000 light-years away and magnitude 6.3, within reach of binoculars. Corona Australis is best placed in the evening in August and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 44° N; from mid-northern latitudes it stays low on the southern horizon in summer.", | |
| 1879 | "image": { | |
| 1880 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10070v.jpg", | |
| 1881 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1882 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1883 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695515/", | |
| 1884 | "caption": "Corona Australis below Sagittarius, with Microscopium and Telescopium, on plate 24 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1885 | }, | |
| 1886 | "drawing": { | |
| 1887 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1888 | }, | |
| 1889 | "link": { | |
| 1890 | "constellation": "CrA" | |
| 1891 | }, | |
| 1892 | "sources": [ | |
| 1893 | { | |
| 1894 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1895 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1896 | }, | |
| 1897 | { | |
| 1898 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1899 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1900 | }, | |
| 1901 | { | |
| 1902 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1903 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1904 | }, | |
| 1905 | { | |
| 1906 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf CrA", | |
| 1907 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20CrA" | |
| 1908 | }, | |
| 1909 | { | |
| 1910 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 78", | |
| 1911 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-78/" | |
| 1912 | } | |
| 1913 | ] | |
| 1914 | }, | |
| 1915 | { | |
| 1916 | "id": "crb", | |
| 1917 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1918 | "title": "Corona Borealis", | |
| 1919 | "subtitle": "The Northern Crown", | |
| 1920 | "facts": [ | |
| 1921 | { | |
| 1922 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1923 | "value": "CrB", | |
| 1924 | "source": 0 | |
| 1925 | }, | |
| 1926 | { | |
| 1927 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1928 | "value": "Coronae Borealis", | |
| 1929 | "source": 0 | |
| 1930 | }, | |
| 1931 | { | |
| 1932 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1933 | "value": "179 square degrees (72nd of 88)", | |
| 1934 | "source": 1 | |
| 1935 | }, | |
| 1936 | { | |
| 1937 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1938 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1939 | "source": 2 | |
| 1940 | }, | |
| 1941 | { | |
| 1942 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1943 | "value": "90°N to 50°S", | |
| 1944 | "source": 2 | |
| 1945 | }, | |
| 1946 | { | |
| 1947 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1948 | "value": "Alphecca (α CrB), magnitude 2.24", | |
| 1949 | "source": 3 | |
| 1950 | } | |
| 1951 | ], | |
| 1952 | "essay": "Corona Borealis is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth it is the crown given by Dionysus to Ariadne, the Cretan princess who helped Theseus escape the Labyrinth; Dionysus later set it in the sky.\n\nIt is a small semicircle of seven stars, compact and easy to recognise. The brightest is Alphecca (Alpha Coronae Borealis), magnitude 2.24, which sits in the middle of the arc like the jewel of the crown. Find the Northern Crown about a third of the way from Arcturus toward Vega, just east of the kite of Boötes.\n\nTwo well-known variable stars lie here. R Coronae Borealis is the prototype of a class of stars that fade by several magnitudes for months at a time when clouds of carbon dust form around them. T Coronae Borealis is a recurrent nova: normally about tenth magnitude, it has brightened to naked-eye visibility in recorded outbursts, including those of 1866 and 1946. The constellation lies away from the Milky Way and contains the Corona Borealis Galaxy Cluster, which is too faint for small telescopes. It is best placed in the evening in July and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 50° S.", | |
| 1953 | "image": { | |
| 1954 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10060v.jpg", | |
| 1955 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1956 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1957 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695504/", | |
| 1958 | "caption": "Corona Borealis beside Hercules on plate 11 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1959 | }, | |
| 1960 | "drawing": { | |
| 1961 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1962 | }, | |
| 1963 | "link": { | |
| 1964 | "constellation": "CrB" | |
| 1965 | }, | |
| 1966 | "sources": [ | |
| 1967 | { | |
| 1968 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1969 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1970 | }, | |
| 1971 | { | |
| 1972 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1973 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1974 | }, | |
| 1975 | { | |
| 1976 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1977 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1978 | }, | |
| 1979 | { | |
| 1980 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf CrB", | |
| 1981 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20CrB" | |
| 1982 | } | |
| 1983 | ] | |
| 1984 | }, | |
| 1985 | { | |
| 1986 | "id": "crv", | |
| 1987 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1988 | "title": "Corvus", | |
| 1989 | "subtitle": "The Crow", | |
| 1990 | "facts": [ | |
| 1991 | { | |
| 1992 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1993 | "value": "Crv", | |
| 1994 | "source": 0 | |
| 1995 | }, | |
| 1996 | { | |
| 1997 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1998 | "value": "Corvi", | |
| 1999 | "source": 0 | |
| 2000 | }, | |
| 2001 | { | |
| 2002 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2003 | "value": "184 square degrees (70th of 88)", | |
| 2004 | "source": 1 | |
| 2005 | }, | |
| 2006 | { | |
| 2007 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2008 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2009 | "source": 2 | |
| 2010 | }, | |
| 2011 | { | |
| 2012 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2013 | "value": "64°N to 90°S", | |
| 2014 | "source": 2 | |
| 2015 | }, | |
| 2016 | { | |
| 2017 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2018 | "value": "Gienah (γ Crv), magnitude 2.58", | |
| 2019 | "source": 3 | |
| 2020 | }, | |
| 2021 | { | |
| 2022 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2023 | "value": "Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038 and 4039, Caldwell 60 and 61): interacting spiral galaxies, 65 million light-years, magnitudes 10.5 and 11.0", | |
| 2024 | "source": 4 | |
| 2025 | } | |
| 2026 | ], | |
| 2027 | "essay": "Corvus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth Apollo sent a crow to fetch water in a cup; the bird delayed, then blamed a water snake for its lateness. Apollo saw through the lie and set the crow, the cup (Crater) and the snake (Hydra) in the sky, with the crow kept just out of reach of the cup.\n\nThe main stars form a compact quadrilateral, sometimes called the Sail, which is easy to see despite its modest brightness. The brightest is Gienah (Gamma Corvi) at magnitude 2.58. Alpha Corvi, named Alchiba, is fainter than all four corner stars. Find Corvus about 15 degrees south-west of Spica in Virgo.\n\nThe Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038 and 4039, Caldwell 60 and 61) are a pair of colliding spiral galaxies about 65 million light-years away. Their long tidal tails, made of stars pulled out during the encounter, give them their name. At magnitudes 10.5 and 11.0 they need a telescope of moderate size. The pair has been interacting for a few hundred million years. Corvus is best placed in the evening in May and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 64° N.", | |
| 2028 | "image": { | |
| 2029 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 2030 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2031 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2032 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 2033 | "caption": "Corvus and Crater perched on the back of Hydra on plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2034 | }, | |
| 2035 | "drawing": { | |
| 2036 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2037 | }, | |
| 2038 | "link": { | |
| 2039 | "constellation": "Crv" | |
| 2040 | }, | |
| 2041 | "sources": [ | |
| 2042 | { | |
| 2043 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2044 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2045 | }, | |
| 2046 | { | |
| 2047 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2048 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2049 | }, | |
| 2050 | { | |
| 2051 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2052 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2053 | }, | |
| 2054 | { | |
| 2055 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam Crv", | |
| 2056 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam%20Crv" | |
| 2057 | }, | |
| 2058 | { | |
| 2059 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 60/61", | |
| 2060 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-60-61/" | |
| 2061 | } | |
| 2062 | ] | |
| 2063 | }, | |
| 2064 | { | |
| 2065 | "id": "crt", | |
| 2066 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2067 | "title": "Crater", | |
| 2068 | "subtitle": "The Cup", | |
| 2069 | "facts": [ | |
| 2070 | { | |
| 2071 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2072 | "value": "Crt", | |
| 2073 | "source": 0 | |
| 2074 | }, | |
| 2075 | { | |
| 2076 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2077 | "value": "Crateris", | |
| 2078 | "source": 0 | |
| 2079 | }, | |
| 2080 | { | |
| 2081 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2082 | "value": "282 square degrees (53rd of 88)", | |
| 2083 | "source": 1 | |
| 2084 | }, | |
| 2085 | { | |
| 2086 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2087 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2088 | "source": 2 | |
| 2089 | }, | |
| 2090 | { | |
| 2091 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2092 | "value": "64°N to 90°S", | |
| 2093 | "source": 2 | |
| 2094 | }, | |
| 2095 | { | |
| 2096 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2097 | "value": "Delta Crateris (δ Crt), magnitude 3.56", | |
| 2098 | "source": 3 | |
| 2099 | } | |
| 2100 | ], | |
| 2101 | "essay": "Crater is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It is the cup of Apollo in the same myth as neighbouring Corvus: the crow, sent with the cup to fetch water, was punished for its delay and its lie, and the cup was placed in the sky just beyond the crow's reach, on the back of Hydra.\n\nCrater is faint, with no star brighter than third magnitude. Its brightest star is Delta Crateris, an orange giant of magnitude 3.56; Alpha Crateris, named Alkes, is fainter. The main stars form a goblet shape. Find Crater immediately west of the Corvus quadrilateral, south of the hindquarters of Leo and above the long body of Hydra.\n\nCrater lies far from the Milky Way and contains only faint galaxies. The Crater 2 dwarf galaxy, a satellite of the Milky Way identified in 2016 from survey data, is one of the largest and most diffuse satellites known, but it cannot be seen in amateur telescopes. Crater is best placed in the evening in April and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 64° N. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on spring evenings, where light pollution near the horizon makes its stars hard to pick out.", | |
| 2102 | "image": { | |
| 2103 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 2104 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2105 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2106 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 2107 | "caption": "Crater and Corvus on the back of Hydra on plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2108 | }, | |
| 2109 | "drawing": { | |
| 2110 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2111 | }, | |
| 2112 | "link": { | |
| 2113 | "constellation": "Crt" | |
| 2114 | }, | |
| 2115 | "sources": [ | |
| 2116 | { | |
| 2117 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2118 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2119 | }, | |
| 2120 | { | |
| 2121 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2122 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2123 | }, | |
| 2124 | { | |
| 2125 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2126 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2127 | }, | |
| 2128 | { | |
| 2129 | "title": "SIMBAD: del Crt", | |
| 2130 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=del%20Crt" | |
| 2131 | } | |
| 2132 | ] | |
| 2133 | }, | |
| 2134 | { | |
| 2135 | "id": "cru", | |
| 2136 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2137 | "title": "Crux", | |
| 2138 | "subtitle": "The Southern Cross", | |
| 2139 | "facts": [ | |
| 2140 | { | |
| 2141 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2142 | "value": "Cru", | |
| 2143 | "source": 0 | |
| 2144 | }, | |
| 2145 | { | |
| 2146 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2147 | "value": "Crucis", | |
| 2148 | "source": 0 | |
| 2149 | }, | |
| 2150 | { | |
| 2151 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2152 | "value": "68 square degrees (88th of 88)", | |
| 2153 | "source": 1 | |
| 2154 | }, | |
| 2155 | { | |
| 2156 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2157 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2158 | "source": 2 | |
| 2159 | }, | |
| 2160 | { | |
| 2161 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2162 | "value": "25°N to 90°S", | |
| 2163 | "source": 2 | |
| 2164 | }, | |
| 2165 | { | |
| 2166 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2167 | "value": "Acrux (α Cru), a double star with components of magnitude 1.28 and 1.58", | |
| 2168 | "source": 3 | |
| 2169 | }, | |
| 2170 | { | |
| 2171 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2172 | "value": "Jewel Box (NGC 4755, Caldwell 94): open cluster, 6,500 light-years, magnitude 4.2", | |
| 2173 | "source": 4 | |
| 2174 | } | |
| 2175 | ], | |
| 2176 | "essay": "Crux is the smallest of the 88 constellations. Ptolemy listed its stars as part of Centaurus, and European navigators sailing south in the 16th century began treating the cross as a separate figure. It appeared on Dutch celestial globes around the end of that century and was established as a constellation in Augustin Royer's star atlas of 1679.\n\nFour bright stars form the cross. Acrux (Alpha Crucis), at the foot, is a double star whose two components are magnitude 1.28 and 1.58; together they outshine Mimosa (Beta Crucis), the brightest single star at 1.25. The long axis of the cross, from Gacrux through Acrux, points toward the south celestial pole, which made Crux a traditional aid to navigation. The two Pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri, lie to its east and distinguish it from the larger, fainter False Cross in Carina and Vela.\n\nNext to Mimosa is the Jewel Box (NGC 4755, Caldwell 94), an open cluster about 6,500 light-years away and magnitude 4.2, about 16 million years old. Beside the cross lies the Coalsack (Caldwell 99), a dark nebula about 600 light-years away that blocks the Milky Way behind it and is plain to the naked eye. Crux is best placed in the evening in May and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 25° N.", | |
| 2177 | "image": null, | |
| 2178 | "drawing": { | |
| 2179 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2180 | }, | |
| 2181 | "link": { | |
| 2182 | "constellation": "Cru" | |
| 2183 | }, | |
| 2184 | "sources": [ | |
| 2185 | { | |
| 2186 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2187 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2188 | }, | |
| 2189 | { | |
| 2190 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2191 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2192 | }, | |
| 2193 | { | |
| 2194 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2195 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2196 | }, | |
| 2197 | { | |
| 2198 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf01 Cru", | |
| 2199 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf01%20Cru" | |
| 2200 | }, | |
| 2201 | { | |
| 2202 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 94", | |
| 2203 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-94/" | |
| 2204 | } | |
| 2205 | ] | |
| 2206 | }, | |
| 2207 | { | |
| 2208 | "id": "cyg", | |
| 2209 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2210 | "title": "Cygnus", | |
| 2211 | "subtitle": "The Swan", | |
| 2212 | "facts": [ | |
| 2213 | { | |
| 2214 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2215 | "value": "Cyg", | |
| 2216 | "source": 0 | |
| 2217 | }, | |
| 2218 | { | |
| 2219 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2220 | "value": "Cygni", | |
| 2221 | "source": 0 | |
| 2222 | }, | |
| 2223 | { | |
| 2224 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2225 | "value": "804 square degrees (16th of 88)", | |
| 2226 | "source": 1 | |
| 2227 | }, | |
| 2228 | { | |
| 2229 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2230 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2231 | "source": 2 | |
| 2232 | }, | |
| 2233 | { | |
| 2234 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2235 | "value": "90°N to 28°S", | |
| 2236 | "source": 2 | |
| 2237 | }, | |
| 2238 | { | |
| 2239 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2240 | "value": "Deneb (α Cyg), magnitude 1.25", | |
| 2241 | "source": 3 | |
| 2242 | }, | |
| 2243 | { | |
| 2244 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2245 | "value": "North America Nebula (NGC 7000, Caldwell 20): emission nebula, 1,800 light-years, magnitude 5.0", | |
| 2246 | "source": 4 | |
| 2247 | } | |
| 2248 | ], | |
| 2249 | "essay": "Cygnus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Greek myth offers several swans, the best known being the form Zeus took to visit Leda. The figure flies south along the Milky Way with its long neck stretched toward Sagittarius, and its brightest stars form the Northern Cross.\n\nDeneb (Alpha Cygni, magnitude 1.25) marks the swan's tail and the top of the cross. It is a white supergiant, one of the most luminous stars visible to the eye, and one corner of the Summer Triangle with Vega and Altair. At the other end of the cross, Albireo (Beta Cygni) marks the swan's head; a small telescope shows it as a golden star and a blue one.\n\nThe Milky Way is bright here and is split by the Great Rift, a lane of dust. The North America Nebula (NGC 7000, Caldwell 20), about 1,800 light-years away and magnitude 5.0, lies near Deneb and shows in binoculars under dark skies. The Veil Nebula is the remnant of an ancient supernova. 61 Cygni was the first star to have its distance measured by parallax, by Friedrich Bessel in 1838, and Cygnus X-1 was the first X-ray source widely accepted as a black hole. Cygnus is best placed in the evening in September and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 28° S.", | |
| 2250 | "image": { | |
| 2251 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10063v.jpg", | |
| 2252 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2253 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2254 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695507/", | |
| 2255 | "caption": "Cygnus with Lacerta, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser on plate 14 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2256 | }, | |
| 2257 | "drawing": { | |
| 2258 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2259 | }, | |
| 2260 | "link": { | |
| 2261 | "constellation": "Cyg" | |
| 2262 | }, | |
| 2263 | "sources": [ | |
| 2264 | { | |
| 2265 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2266 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2267 | }, | |
| 2268 | { | |
| 2269 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2270 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2271 | }, | |
| 2272 | { | |
| 2273 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2274 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2275 | }, | |
| 2276 | { | |
| 2277 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cyg", | |
| 2278 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Cyg" | |
| 2279 | }, | |
| 2280 | { | |
| 2281 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 20", | |
| 2282 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-20/" | |
| 2283 | } | |
| 2284 | ] | |
| 2285 | }, | |
| 2286 | { | |
| 2287 | "id": "del", | |
| 2288 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2289 | "title": "Delphinus", | |
| 2290 | "subtitle": "The Dolphin", | |
| 2291 | "facts": [ | |
| 2292 | { | |
| 2293 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2294 | "value": "Del", | |
| 2295 | "source": 0 | |
| 2296 | }, | |
| 2297 | { | |
| 2298 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2299 | "value": "Delphini", | |
| 2300 | "source": 0 | |
| 2301 | }, | |
| 2302 | { | |
| 2303 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2304 | "value": "189 square degrees (69th of 88)", | |
| 2305 | "source": 1 | |
| 2306 | }, | |
| 2307 | { | |
| 2308 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2309 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2310 | "source": 2 | |
| 2311 | }, | |
| 2312 | { | |
| 2313 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2314 | "value": "90°N to 69°S", | |
| 2315 | "source": 2 | |
| 2316 | }, | |
| 2317 | { | |
| 2318 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2319 | "value": "Rotanev (β Del), magnitude 3.63", | |
| 2320 | "source": 3 | |
| 2321 | }, | |
| 2322 | { | |
| 2323 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2324 | "value": "NGC 6934 (Caldwell 47): globular cluster, 50,000 light-years, magnitude 8.8", | |
| 2325 | "source": 4 | |
| 2326 | } | |
| 2327 | ], | |
| 2328 | "essay": "Delphinus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In Greek myth the dolphin was the messenger that persuaded the sea nymph Amphitrite to marry Poseidon; another story says a dolphin carried the poet Arion to safety after he was thrown overboard.\n\nIt is a small, compact group whose four main stars form a diamond known as Job's Coffin, with a fifth star marking the tail. The brightest is Rotanev (Beta Delphini, magnitude 3.63), slightly brighter than Sualocin (Alpha Delphini). The two names are \"Nicolaus Venator\" spelled backwards, the Latin form of the name of Niccolò Cacciatore, an assistant at the Palermo Observatory, and appeared in Giuseppe Piazzi's star catalogue of 1814. Find Delphinus about 12 degrees north-east of Altair.\n\nGamma Delphini is a double star with yellow and white components that is easy to split in a small telescope. The globular cluster NGC 6934 (Caldwell 47), about 50,000 light-years away and magnitude 8.8, is a target for small telescopes. Delphinus is best placed in the evening in September and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 69° S.", | |
| 2329 | "image": { | |
| 2330 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10062v.jpg", | |
| 2331 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2332 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2333 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695506/", | |
| 2334 | "caption": "Delphinus with Aquila, Sagitta and the obsolete Antinous on plate 13 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2335 | }, | |
| 2336 | "drawing": { | |
| 2337 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2338 | }, | |
| 2339 | "link": { | |
| 2340 | "constellation": "Del" | |
| 2341 | }, | |
| 2342 | "sources": [ | |
| 2343 | { | |
| 2344 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2345 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2346 | }, | |
| 2347 | { | |
| 2348 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2349 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2350 | }, | |
| 2351 | { | |
| 2352 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2353 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2354 | }, | |
| 2355 | { | |
| 2356 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Del", | |
| 2357 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Del" | |
| 2358 | }, | |
| 2359 | { | |
| 2360 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 47", | |
| 2361 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-47/" | |
| 2362 | } | |
| 2363 | ] | |
| 2364 | }, | |
| 2365 | { | |
| 2366 | "id": "dor", | |
| 2367 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2368 | "title": "Dorado", | |
| 2369 | "subtitle": "The Dolphinfish", | |
| 2370 | "facts": [ | |
| 2371 | { | |
| 2372 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2373 | "value": "Dor", | |
| 2374 | "source": 0 | |
| 2375 | }, | |
| 2376 | { | |
| 2377 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2378 | "value": "Doradus", | |
| 2379 | "source": 0 | |
| 2380 | }, | |
| 2381 | { | |
| 2382 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2383 | "value": "179 square degrees (73rd of 88)", | |
| 2384 | "source": 1 | |
| 2385 | }, | |
| 2386 | { | |
| 2387 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2388 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2389 | "source": 2 | |
| 2390 | }, | |
| 2391 | { | |
| 2392 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2393 | "value": "19°N to 90°S", | |
| 2394 | "source": 2 | |
| 2395 | }, | |
| 2396 | { | |
| 2397 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2398 | "value": "Alpha Doradus (α Dor), magnitude 3.28", | |
| 2399 | "source": 3 | |
| 2400 | }, | |
| 2401 | { | |
| 2402 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2403 | "value": "Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus, Caldwell 103) in the Large Magellanic Cloud: 170,000 light-years, magnitude 4.0", | |
| 2404 | "source": 4 | |
| 2405 | } | |
| 2406 | ], | |
| 2407 | "essay": "Dorado is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It first appeared on a globe in 1598 and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. Its name refers to the dolphinfish, or mahi-mahi, which the sailors would have seen in tropical waters; it is sometimes drawn as a swordfish.\n\nThe stars are faint. The brightest, Alpha Doradus, is magnitude 3.28. Dorado lies between Canopus and the south celestial pole, and most of the Large Magellanic Cloud falls inside its boundaries. The Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, appears to the naked eye as a detached patch of the Milky Way and is the simplest way to locate the constellation.\n\nInside the Large Magellanic Cloud is the Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus, Caldwell 103), about 170,000 light-years away and magnitude 4.0. It is the most productive star-forming region in the nearby universe and home to the most massive stars known. In 1987 the supernova SN 1987A, the nearest seen since 1604, appeared in the Large Magellanic Cloud close to the Tarantula. Dorado is best placed in the evening in January and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 19° N.", | |
| 2408 | "image": null, | |
| 2409 | "drawing": { | |
| 2410 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2411 | }, | |
| 2412 | "link": { | |
| 2413 | "constellation": "Dor" | |
| 2414 | }, | |
| 2415 | "sources": [ | |
| 2416 | { | |
| 2417 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2418 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2419 | }, | |
| 2420 | { | |
| 2421 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2422 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2423 | }, | |
| 2424 | { | |
| 2425 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2426 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2427 | }, | |
| 2428 | { | |
| 2429 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Dor", | |
| 2430 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Dor" | |
| 2431 | }, | |
| 2432 | { | |
| 2433 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 103", | |
| 2434 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-103/" | |
| 2435 | } | |
| 2436 | ] | |
| 2437 | }, | |
| 2438 | { | |
| 2439 | "id": "dra", | |
| 2440 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2441 | "title": "Draco", | |
| 2442 | "subtitle": "The Dragon", | |
| 2443 | "facts": [ | |
| 2444 | { | |
| 2445 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2446 | "value": "Dra", | |
| 2447 | "source": 0 | |
| 2448 | }, | |
| 2449 | { | |
| 2450 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2451 | "value": "Draconis", | |
| 2452 | "source": 0 | |
| 2453 | }, | |
| 2454 | { | |
| 2455 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2456 | "value": "1083 square degrees (8th of 88)", | |
| 2457 | "source": 1 | |
| 2458 | }, | |
| 2459 | { | |
| 2460 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2461 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2462 | "source": 2 | |
| 2463 | }, | |
| 2464 | { | |
| 2465 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2466 | "value": "90°N to 3°S", | |
| 2467 | "source": 2 | |
| 2468 | }, | |
| 2469 | { | |
| 2470 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2471 | "value": "Eltanin (γ Dra), magnitude 2.23", | |
| 2472 | "source": 3 | |
| 2473 | }, | |
| 2474 | { | |
| 2475 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2476 | "value": "Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543, Caldwell 6): planetary nebula, magnitude 8.2", | |
| 2477 | "source": 4 | |
| 2478 | } | |
| 2479 | ], | |
| 2480 | "essay": "Draco is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the eighth-largest of the 88. In Greek myth it is usually identified with Ladon, the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides and was killed by Heracles; in the sky, Hercules stands with one foot near the dragon's head.\n\nThe dragon's body winds between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, and its head is a quadrilateral of four stars close to Vega. The brightest star, Eltanin (Gamma Draconis, magnitude 2.23), is in the head. Thuban (Alpha Draconis), much fainter, lies between Mizar in the Big Dipper's handle and Kochab in the Little Dipper. Around 2800 BC, when the early Egyptian pyramids were being built, Thuban was the nearest bright star to the north celestial pole.\n\nThe Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543, Caldwell 6) is a planetary nebula of magnitude 8.2 close to the north ecliptic pole. Hubble images show concentric shells of gas around its central star. The Draconid meteor shower in early October radiates from the dragon's head. Draco is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 42° N, best placed in the evening in July, and fully visible from anywhere north of about 3° S.", | |
| 2481 | "image": { | |
| 2482 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10050v.jpg", | |
| 2483 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2484 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2485 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695394/", | |
| 2486 | "caption": "Draco coiled around Ursa Minor on plate 1 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2487 | }, | |
| 2488 | "drawing": { | |
| 2489 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2490 | }, | |
| 2491 | "link": { | |
| 2492 | "constellation": "Dra" | |
| 2493 | }, | |
| 2494 | "sources": [ | |
| 2495 | { | |
| 2496 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2497 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2498 | }, | |
| 2499 | { | |
| 2500 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2501 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2502 | }, | |
| 2503 | { | |
| 2504 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2505 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2506 | }, | |
| 2507 | { | |
| 2508 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam Dra", | |
| 2509 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam%20Dra" | |
| 2510 | }, | |
| 2511 | { | |
| 2512 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 6", | |
| 2513 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-6/" | |
| 2514 | } | |
| 2515 | ] | |
| 2516 | }, | |
| 2517 | { | |
| 2518 | "id": "equ", | |
| 2519 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2520 | "title": "Equuleus", | |
| 2521 | "subtitle": "The Little Horse", | |
| 2522 | "facts": [ | |
| 2523 | { | |
| 2524 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2525 | "value": "Equ", | |
| 2526 | "source": 0 | |
| 2527 | }, | |
| 2528 | { | |
| 2529 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2530 | "value": "Equulei", | |
| 2531 | "source": 0 | |
| 2532 | }, | |
| 2533 | { | |
| 2534 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2535 | "value": "72 square degrees (87th of 88)", | |
| 2536 | "source": 1 | |
| 2537 | }, | |
| 2538 | { | |
| 2539 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2540 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2541 | "source": 2 | |
| 2542 | }, | |
| 2543 | { | |
| 2544 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2545 | "value": "90°N to 76°S", | |
| 2546 | "source": 2 | |
| 2547 | }, | |
| 2548 | { | |
| 2549 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2550 | "value": "Kitalpha (α Equ), magnitude 3.93", | |
| 2551 | "source": 3 | |
| 2552 | } | |
| 2553 | ], | |
| 2554 | "essay": "Equuleus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the second-smallest of the 88, ranking 87th in area. It represents the head of a small horse or foal, sometimes said to be Celeris, the brother of Pegasus. It may have been introduced by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus, whose work Ptolemy drew on.\n\nThe constellation is faint, with no star brighter than fourth magnitude. The brightest, Kitalpha (Alpha Equulei), is magnitude 3.93; its name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning \"part of the horse\". The main stars form a small, irregular quadrilateral. Find Equuleus between the diamond of Delphinus and Enif, the bright star at the nose of Pegasus.\n\nEquuleus has no bright deep-sky objects, though it contains several double stars. Delta Equulei is a close binary with an orbital period of about 5.7 years, one of the shortest among binaries whose stars can be resolved by telescope. The constellation lies just north of the celestial equator, so it is visible from nearly all of the inhabited Earth. It is best placed in the evening in September and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 76° S.", | |
| 2555 | "image": null, | |
| 2556 | "drawing": { | |
| 2557 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2558 | }, | |
| 2559 | "link": { | |
| 2560 | "constellation": "Equ" | |
| 2561 | }, | |
| 2562 | "sources": [ | |
| 2563 | { | |
| 2564 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2565 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2566 | }, | |
| 2567 | { | |
| 2568 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2569 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2570 | }, | |
| 2571 | { | |
| 2572 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2573 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2574 | }, | |
| 2575 | { | |
| 2576 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Equ", | |
| 2577 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Equ" | |
| 2578 | } | |
| 2579 | ] | |
| 2580 | }, | |
| 2581 | { | |
| 2582 | "id": "eri", | |
| 2583 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2584 | "title": "Eridanus", | |
| 2585 | "subtitle": "The River", | |
| 2586 | "facts": [ | |
| 2587 | { | |
| 2588 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2589 | "value": "Eri", | |
| 2590 | "source": 0 | |
| 2591 | }, | |
| 2592 | { | |
| 2593 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2594 | "value": "Eridani", | |
| 2595 | "source": 0 | |
| 2596 | }, | |
| 2597 | { | |
| 2598 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2599 | "value": "1138 square degrees (6th of 88)", | |
| 2600 | "source": 1 | |
| 2601 | }, | |
| 2602 | { | |
| 2603 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2604 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2605 | "source": 2 | |
| 2606 | }, | |
| 2607 | { | |
| 2608 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2609 | "value": "32°N to 89°S", | |
| 2610 | "source": 2 | |
| 2611 | }, | |
| 2612 | { | |
| 2613 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2614 | "value": "Achernar (α Eri), magnitude 0.46", | |
| 2615 | "source": 3 | |
| 2616 | } | |
| 2617 | ], | |
| 2618 | "essay": "Eridanus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the sixth-largest of the 88. It represents a river, identified in Greek myth with the Po of northern Italy, into which Phaethon fell after losing control of the chariot of the Sun. Ptolemy's river ended at the star now called Acamar (Theta Eridani); later astronomers extended it south to Achernar, a star that does not rise from Greece.\n\nThe river begins near Rigel in Orion, at Cursa (Beta Eridani), and winds west and then south across nearly 60 degrees of declination. Its brightest star, Achernar (Alpha Eridani, magnitude 0.46), marks the southern end; the name means \"end of the river\". Achernar is one of the fastest-rotating stars known and is noticeably flattened.\n\nEpsilon Eridani, about 10.5 light-years away, is one of the nearest Sun-like stars and is surrounded by a disk of debris. The barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 is a well-known target for astrophotographers. Because it spans so wide a range of declination, Eridanus can be seen in full only from latitudes between about 32° N and 89° S. It is best placed in the evening in January; mid-northern observers see only its upper reaches.", | |
| 2619 | "image": { | |
| 2620 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10074v.jpg", | |
| 2621 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2622 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2623 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695519/", | |
| 2624 | "caption": "Eridanus, shown as Fluvius Eridanus, with Cetus, Fornax and obsolete figures on plate 28 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2625 | }, | |
| 2626 | "drawing": { | |
| 2627 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2628 | }, | |
| 2629 | "link": { | |
| 2630 | "constellation": "Eri" | |
| 2631 | }, | |
| 2632 | "sources": [ | |
| 2633 | { | |
| 2634 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2635 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2636 | }, | |
| 2637 | { | |
| 2638 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2639 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2640 | }, | |
| 2641 | { | |
| 2642 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2643 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2644 | }, | |
| 2645 | { | |
| 2646 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Eri", | |
| 2647 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Eri" | |
| 2648 | } | |
| 2649 | ] | |
| 2650 | }, | |
| 2651 | { | |
| 2652 | "id": "for", | |
| 2653 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2654 | "title": "Fornax", | |
| 2655 | "subtitle": "The Furnace", | |
| 2656 | "facts": [ | |
| 2657 | { | |
| 2658 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2659 | "value": "For", | |
| 2660 | "source": 0 | |
| 2661 | }, | |
| 2662 | { | |
| 2663 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2664 | "value": "Fornacis", | |
| 2665 | "source": 0 | |
| 2666 | }, | |
| 2667 | { | |
| 2668 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2669 | "value": "398 square degrees (41st of 88)", | |
| 2670 | "source": 1 | |
| 2671 | }, | |
| 2672 | { | |
| 2673 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2674 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2675 | "source": 2 | |
| 2676 | }, | |
| 2677 | { | |
| 2678 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2679 | "value": "50°N to 90°S", | |
| 2680 | "source": 2 | |
| 2681 | }, | |
| 2682 | { | |
| 2683 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2684 | "value": "Dalim (α For), magnitude 3.98", | |
| 2685 | "source": 3 | |
| 2686 | }, | |
| 2687 | { | |
| 2688 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2689 | "value": "Hubble Ultra Deep Field: a small patch of Fornax containing about 10,000 galaxies", | |
| 2690 | "source": 4 | |
| 2691 | } | |
| 2692 | ], | |
| 2693 | "essay": "Fornax is one of the fourteen constellations introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s after his survey of the southern sky. He named it the chemical furnace, Fornax Chemica, after an apparatus used in laboratory chemistry, and the name was later shortened. It has no mythology.\n\nThe constellation is faint. Its brightest star, Dalim (Alpha Fornacis), is magnitude 3.98. Fornax lies inside the large westward loop of Eridanus, south of Cetus; the practical way to find it is to trace Eridanus from Rigel and look in the area the river encloses.\n\nFornax lies far from the Milky Way and contains the Fornax Cluster, one of the nearest clusters of galaxies, whose members include the barred spiral NGC 1365 and the radio galaxy Fornax A. The Fornax Dwarf, a faint satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, also lies here. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which shows about 10,000 galaxies, some seen as they were within a few hundred million years of the big bang, was taken in a small patch of Fornax chosen because it has few bright foreground stars. Fornax is best placed in the evening in December and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 50° N.", | |
| 2694 | "image": { | |
| 2695 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10074v.jpg", | |
| 2696 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2697 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2698 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695519/", | |
| 2699 | "caption": "Fornax, shown as Fornax Chemica, with Eridanus and Cetus on plate 28 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2700 | }, | |
| 2701 | "drawing": { | |
| 2702 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2703 | }, | |
| 2704 | "link": { | |
| 2705 | "constellation": "For" | |
| 2706 | }, | |
| 2707 | "sources": [ | |
| 2708 | { | |
| 2709 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2710 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2711 | }, | |
| 2712 | { | |
| 2713 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2714 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2715 | }, | |
| 2716 | { | |
| 2717 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2718 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2719 | }, | |
| 2720 | { | |
| 2721 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf For", | |
| 2722 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20For" | |
| 2723 | }, | |
| 2724 | { | |
| 2725 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Hubble Ultra Deep Field 2014", | |
| 2726 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/hubble-ultra-deep-field-2014/" | |
| 2727 | } | |
| 2728 | ] | |
| 2729 | }, | |
| 2730 | { | |
| 2731 | "id": "gem", | |
| 2732 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2733 | "title": "Gemini", | |
| 2734 | "subtitle": "The Twins", | |
| 2735 | "facts": [ | |
| 2736 | { | |
| 2737 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2738 | "value": "Gem", | |
| 2739 | "source": 0 | |
| 2740 | }, | |
| 2741 | { | |
| 2742 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2743 | "value": "Geminorum", | |
| 2744 | "source": 0 | |
| 2745 | }, | |
| 2746 | { | |
| 2747 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2748 | "value": "514 square degrees (30th of 88)", | |
| 2749 | "source": 1 | |
| 2750 | }, | |
| 2751 | { | |
| 2752 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2753 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2754 | "source": 2 | |
| 2755 | }, | |
| 2756 | { | |
| 2757 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2758 | "value": "90°N to 54°S", | |
| 2759 | "source": 2 | |
| 2760 | }, | |
| 2761 | { | |
| 2762 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2763 | "value": "Pollux (β Gem), magnitude 1.14", | |
| 2764 | "source": 3 | |
| 2765 | }, | |
| 2766 | { | |
| 2767 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2768 | "value": "M35: open cluster, 2,800 light-years, magnitude 5.3", | |
| 2769 | "source": 4 | |
| 2770 | } | |
| 2771 | ], | |
| 2772 | "essay": "Gemini is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and part of the zodiac. Its two brightest stars are named for the twins Castor and Pollux, brothers of Helen of Troy, who sailed with the Argonauts and were regarded as protectors of sailors. When Castor, the mortal twin, was killed, Pollux asked to share his immortality with him, and Zeus placed both in the sky.\n\nPollux (Beta Geminorum, magnitude 1.14) is the brighter of the pair, an orange giant with a known planet. Castor (Alpha) is slightly fainter. A small telescope splits it into two close stars, and each of those, together with a faint third component, is itself a binary, making six stars in all. The twins' bodies form two roughly parallel lines of stars extending south-west toward Orion. A line from Rigel through Betelgeuse leads to Gemini.\n\nThe open cluster M35, about 2,800 light-years away and magnitude 5.3, lies near the feet of the twins and shows in binoculars. The Eskimo Nebula, NGC 2392, is a planetary nebula for small telescopes. The Geminid meteor shower, one of the strongest of the year, peaks in mid-December with its radiant near Castor. Gemini is best placed in the evening in February and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 54° S.", | |
| 2773 | "image": { | |
| 2774 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10066v.jpg", | |
| 2775 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2776 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2777 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695511/", | |
| 2778 | "caption": "Gemini, the twins Castor and Pollux, on plate 18 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2779 | }, | |
| 2780 | "drawing": { | |
| 2781 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2782 | }, | |
| 2783 | "link": { | |
| 2784 | "constellation": "Gem" | |
| 2785 | }, | |
| 2786 | "sources": [ | |
| 2787 | { | |
| 2788 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2789 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2790 | }, | |
| 2791 | { | |
| 2792 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2793 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2794 | }, | |
| 2795 | { | |
| 2796 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2797 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2798 | }, | |
| 2799 | { | |
| 2800 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Gem", | |
| 2801 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Gem" | |
| 2802 | }, | |
| 2803 | { | |
| 2804 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 35", | |
| 2805 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-35/" | |
| 2806 | } | |
| 2807 | ] | |
| 2808 | }, | |
| 2809 | { | |
| 2810 | "id": "gru", | |
| 2811 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2812 | "title": "Grus", | |
| 2813 | "subtitle": "The Crane", | |
| 2814 | "facts": [ | |
| 2815 | { | |
| 2816 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2817 | "value": "Gru", | |
| 2818 | "source": 0 | |
| 2819 | }, | |
| 2820 | { | |
| 2821 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2822 | "value": "Gruis", | |
| 2823 | "source": 0 | |
| 2824 | }, | |
| 2825 | { | |
| 2826 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2827 | "value": "366 square degrees (45th of 88)", | |
| 2828 | "source": 1 | |
| 2829 | }, | |
| 2830 | { | |
| 2831 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2832 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2833 | "source": 2 | |
| 2834 | }, | |
| 2835 | { | |
| 2836 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2837 | "value": "33°N to 90°S", | |
| 2838 | "source": 2 | |
| 2839 | }, | |
| 2840 | { | |
| 2841 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2842 | "value": "Alnair (α Gru), magnitude 1.71", | |
| 2843 | "source": 3 | |
| 2844 | } | |
| 2845 | ], | |
| 2846 | "essay": "Grus is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It first appeared on a globe in 1598 and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. It represents a crane. Some of its stars had earlier been counted by Arab astronomers as part of the Southern Fish, Piscis Austrinus.\n\nThe brightest star is Alnair (Alpha Gruis), a blue-white star of magnitude 1.71. Beta Gruis, a red giant of similar brightness, lies close by, and the colour contrast between the two is easy to see with the naked eye. A line of stars runs north-west from the body to Gamma Gruis, marking the crane's neck. Find Grus south-west of Fomalhaut, the bright star of Piscis Austrinus.\n\nDelta and Mu Gruis are wide naked-eye pairs, each made of two stars that lie in nearly the same direction but at different distances. The constellation contains several galaxies visible in larger telescopes, including the Grus Quartet, a group of interacting spirals. Grus is best placed in the evening in October and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 33° N.", | |
| 2847 | "image": null, | |
| 2848 | "drawing": { | |
| 2849 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2850 | }, | |
| 2851 | "link": { | |
| 2852 | "constellation": "Gru" | |
| 2853 | }, | |
| 2854 | "sources": [ | |
| 2855 | { | |
| 2856 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2857 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2858 | }, | |
| 2859 | { | |
| 2860 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2861 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2862 | }, | |
| 2863 | { | |
| 2864 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2865 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2866 | }, | |
| 2867 | { | |
| 2868 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Gru", | |
| 2869 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Gru" | |
| 2870 | } | |
| 2871 | ] | |
| 2872 | }, | |
| 2873 | { | |
| 2874 | "id": "her", | |
| 2875 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2876 | "title": "Hercules", | |
| 2877 | "subtitle": "Hercules", | |
| 2878 | "facts": [ | |
| 2879 | { | |
| 2880 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2881 | "value": "Her", | |
| 2882 | "source": 0 | |
| 2883 | }, | |
| 2884 | { | |
| 2885 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2886 | "value": "Herculis", | |
| 2887 | "source": 0 | |
| 2888 | }, | |
| 2889 | { | |
| 2890 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2891 | "value": "1225 square degrees (5th of 88)", | |
| 2892 | "source": 1 | |
| 2893 | }, | |
| 2894 | { | |
| 2895 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2896 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2897 | "source": 2 | |
| 2898 | }, | |
| 2899 | { | |
| 2900 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2901 | "value": "90°N to 38°S", | |
| 2902 | "source": 2 | |
| 2903 | }, | |
| 2904 | { | |
| 2905 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2906 | "value": "Kornephoros (β Her), magnitude 2.77", | |
| 2907 | "source": 3 | |
| 2908 | }, | |
| 2909 | { | |
| 2910 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2911 | "value": "M13, the Great Globular Cluster: 25,000 light-years, magnitude 5.8", | |
| 2912 | "source": 4 | |
| 2913 | } | |
| 2914 | ], | |
| 2915 | "essay": "Hercules is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the fifth-largest of the 88. Ptolemy knew it as the Kneeler, an unnamed figure kneeling with one foot on the head of Draco; later writers identified him with Heracles, the hero of the twelve labours. For northern observers the figure appears upside down.\n\nHercules has no first-magnitude star. Its brightest, Kornephoros (Beta Herculis), is magnitude 2.77. The most recognisable pattern is the Keystone, a quadrilateral of four third-magnitude stars marking the hero's torso. Find it about a third of the way from Vega to Arcturus. Rasalgethi (Alpha Herculis), at the hero's head near Ophiuchus, is a red giant that varies irregularly in brightness.\n\nOn the western side of the Keystone is M13, the Great Globular Cluster, about 25,000 light-years away and magnitude 5.8. Edmond Halley discovered it in 1714. It is visible in binoculars as a fuzzy star and resolves into stars in a moderate telescope. A second globular cluster, M92, lies north of the Keystone and is often overlooked because of its neighbour. Hercules is best placed in the evening in July and is fully visible from anywhere north of about 38° S.", | |
| 2916 | "image": { | |
| 2917 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10060v.jpg", | |
| 2918 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2919 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2920 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695504/", | |
| 2921 | "caption": "Hercules, kneeling, with Corona Borealis on plate 11 of Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2922 | }, | |
| 2923 | "drawing": { | |
| 2924 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2925 | }, | |
| 2926 | "link": { | |
| 2927 | "constellation": "Her" | |
| 2928 | }, | |
| 2929 | "sources": [ | |
| 2930 | { | |
| 2931 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2932 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2933 | }, | |
| 2934 | { | |
| 2935 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2936 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2937 | }, | |
| 2938 | { | |
| 2939 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2940 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2941 | }, | |
| 2942 | { | |
| 2943 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Her", | |
| 2944 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Her" | |
| 2945 | }, | |
| 2946 | { | |
| 2947 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 13", | |
| 2948 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-13/" | |
| 2949 | } | |
| 2950 | ] | |
| 2951 | }, | |
| 2952 | { | |
| 2953 | "id": "hor", | |
| 2954 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2955 | "title": "Horologium", | |
| 2956 | "subtitle": "The Pendulum Clock", | |
| 2957 | "facts": [ | |
| 2958 | { | |
| 2959 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2960 | "value": "Hor", | |
| 2961 | "source": 0 | |
| 2962 | }, | |
| 2963 | { | |
| 2964 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2965 | "value": "Horologii", | |
| 2966 | "source": 0 | |
| 2967 | }, | |
| 2968 | { | |
| 2969 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2970 | "value": "249 square degrees (58th of 88)", | |
| 2971 | "source": 1 | |
| 2972 | }, | |
| 2973 | { | |
| 2974 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2975 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2976 | "source": 2 | |
| 2977 | }, | |
| 2978 | { | |
| 2979 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2980 | "value": "22°N to 90°S", | |
| 2981 | "source": 2 | |
| 2982 | }, | |
| 2983 | { | |
| 2984 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2985 | "value": "Alpha Horologii (α Hor), magnitude 3.86", | |
| 2986 | "source": 3 | |
| 2987 | }, | |
| 2988 | { | |
| 2989 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2990 | "value": "NGC 1261 (Caldwell 87): globular cluster, 50,000 light-years, magnitude 8.3", | |
| 2991 | "source": 4 | |
| 2992 | } | |
| 2993 | ], | |
| 2994 | "essay": "Horologium is one of the fourteen constellations introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s, after his survey of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope. It represents a pendulum clock, an instrument then essential for timing astronomical observations. It has no mythology.\n\nThe constellation is long and faint, running north to south beside the lower course of Eridanus. Its brightest star, Alpha Horologii, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.86, and most of the rest are fifth magnitude. Find it east of Achernar and west of the Large Magellanic Cloud, with Reticulum on its eastern side.\n\nThe globular cluster NGC 1261 (Caldwell 87) lies about 50,000 light-years away and is magnitude 8.3, a target for small telescopes. Horologium also contains the Horologium Supercluster, a large concentration of galaxy clusters that is far too faint to see but is prominent in maps of the large-scale structure of the universe. Horologium is best placed in the evening in December and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 22° N. From southern temperate latitudes it is well placed through the summer months, December to February.", | |
| 2995 | "image": null, | |
| 2996 | "drawing": { | |
| 2997 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2998 | }, | |
| 2999 | "link": { | |
| 3000 | "constellation": "Hor" | |
| 3001 | }, | |
| 3002 | "sources": [ | |
| 3003 | { | |
| 3004 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3005 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3006 | }, | |
| 3007 | { | |
| 3008 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3009 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3010 | }, | |
| 3011 | { | |
| 3012 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3013 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3014 | }, | |
| 3015 | { | |
| 3016 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Hor", | |
| 3017 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Hor" | |
| 3018 | }, | |
| 3019 | { | |
| 3020 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Caldwell 87", | |
| 3021 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-87/" | |
| 3022 | } | |
| 3023 | ] | |
| 3024 | }, | |
| 3025 | { | |
| 3026 | "id": "hya", | |
| 3027 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3028 | "title": "Hydra", | |
| 3029 | "subtitle": "The Water Snake", | |
| 3030 | "facts": [ | |
| 3031 | { | |
| 3032 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3033 | "value": "Hya", | |
| 3034 | "source": 0 | |
| 3035 | }, | |
| 3036 | { | |
| 3037 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3038 | "value": "Hydrae", | |
| 3039 | "source": 0 | |
| 3040 | }, | |
| 3041 | { | |
| 3042 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3043 | "value": "1303 square degrees (1st of 88)", | |
| 3044 | "source": 1 | |
| 3045 | }, | |
| 3046 | { | |
| 3047 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3048 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3049 | "source": 2 | |
| 3050 | }, | |
| 3051 | { | |
| 3052 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3053 | "value": "54°N to 83°S", | |
| 3054 | "source": 2 | |
| 3055 | }, | |
| 3056 | { | |
| 3057 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3058 | "value": "Alphard (α Hya), magnitude 1.97", | |
| 3059 | "source": 3 | |
| 3060 | }, | |
| 3061 | { | |
| 3062 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 3063 | "value": "M83, the Southern Pinwheel: spiral galaxy, 15 million light-years, magnitude 7.5", | |
| 3064 | "source": 4 | |
| 3065 | } | |
| 3066 | ], | |
| 3067 | "essay": "Hydra is the largest of the 88 constellations and one of Ptolemy's 48. In Greek myth it is identified with the many-headed Lernaean Hydra killed by Heracles, and also with the water snake in the story of Corvus and Crater, which ride on its back.\n\nHydra stretches across almost seven hours of right ascension, from south of Cancer to south of Libra. Its head, a small group of stars just south of Cancer and east of Procyon, is the best place to start. The brightest star, Alphard (Alpha Hydrae, magnitude 1.97), lies alone in a sparse region; its name means \"the solitary one\". From Alphard the body runs south-east beneath Crater and Corvus toward Centaurus.\n\nThe spiral galaxy M83, the Southern Pinwheel, is about 15 million light-years away and magnitude 7.5, one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the sky. Hydra also contains the open cluster M48, the globular cluster M68 and the planetary nebula NGC 3242, known as the Ghost of Jupiter. Hydra is best placed in the evening in April and is fully visible from between about 54° N and 83° S.", | |
| 3068 | "image": { | |
| 3069 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 3070 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (London, 1825); Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 3071 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3072 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 3073 | "caption": "Hydra stretching across plate 32 of Urania's Mirror, with Crater, Corvus and other figures on its back, engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 3074 | }, | |
| 3075 | "drawing": { | |
| 3076 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3077 | }, | |
| 3078 | "link": { | |
| 3079 | "constellation": "Hya" | |
| 3080 | }, | |
| 3081 | "sources": [ | |
| 3082 | { | |
| 3083 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3084 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3085 | }, | |
| 3086 | { | |
| 3087 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3088 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3089 | }, | |
| 3090 | { | |
| 3091 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3092 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3093 | }, | |
| 3094 | { | |
| 3095 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Hya", | |
| 3096 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Hya" | |
| 3097 | }, | |
| 3098 | { | |
| 3099 | "title": "NASA Hubble: Messier 83", | |
| 3100 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-83/" | |
| 3101 | } | |
| 3102 | ] | |
| 3103 | }, | |
| 3104 | { | |
| 3105 | "id": "hyi", | |
| 3106 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3107 | "title": "Hydrus", | |
| 3108 | "subtitle": "The Lesser Water Snake", | |
| 3109 | "facts": [ | |
| 3110 | { | |
| 3111 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3112 | "value": "Hyi", | |
| 3113 | "source": 0 | |
| 3114 | }, | |
| 3115 | { | |
| 3116 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3117 | "value": "Hydri", | |
| 3118 | "source": 0 | |
| 3119 | }, | |
| 3120 | { | |
| 3121 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3122 | "value": "243 square degrees (61st of 88)", | |
| 3123 | "source": 1 | |
| 3124 | }, | |
| 3125 | { | |
| 3126 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3127 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3128 | "source": 2 | |
| 3129 | }, | |
| 3130 | { | |
| 3131 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3132 | "value": "7°N to 90°S", | |
| 3133 | "source": 2 | |
| 3134 | }, | |
| 3135 | { | |
| 3136 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3137 | "value": "Beta Hydri (β Hyi), magnitude 2.79", | |
| 3138 | "source": 3 | |
| 3139 | } | |
| 3140 | ], | |
| 3141 | "essay": "Hydrus is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It first appeared on a globe in 1598 and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. It represents a lesser water snake, distinct from the much larger Hydra.\n\nHydrus lies close to the south celestial pole, between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Its three brightest stars form a large triangle. The brightest, Beta Hydri (magnitude 2.79), is the nearest bright star to the south celestial pole; it is a Sun-like star about 24 light-years away and older than the Sun. Alpha Hydri (2.84) lies about 5 degrees from Achernar, which makes a convenient starting point: from Achernar look south for Alpha Hydri, then follow the triangle toward the pole.\n\nHydrus lies far from the plane of the Milky Way and has few bright deep-sky objects; its galaxies need a telescope. From southern temperate latitudes it is circumpolar and visible on any clear night. It is best placed in the evening in December and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 7° N, so it is out of reach for nearly all northern observers.", | |
| 3142 | "image": null, | |
| 3143 | "drawing": { | |
| 3144 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3145 | }, | |
| 3146 | "link": { | |
| 3147 | "constellation": "Hyi" | |
| 3148 | }, | |
| 3149 | "sources": [ | |
| 3150 | { | |
| 3151 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3152 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3153 | }, | |
| 3154 | { | |
| 3155 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3156 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3157 | }, | |
| 3158 | { | |
| 3159 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3160 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3161 | }, | |
| 3162 | { | |
| 3163 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Hyi", | |
| 3164 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet%20Hyi" | |
| 3165 | } | |
| 3166 | ] | |
| 3167 | }, | |
| 3168 | { | |
| 3169 | "id": "ind", | |
| 3170 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3171 | "title": "Indus", | |
| 3172 | "subtitle": "The Indian", | |
| 3173 | "facts": [ | |
| 3174 | { | |
| 3175 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3176 | "value": "Ind", | |
| 3177 | "source": 0 | |
| 3178 | }, | |
| 3179 | { | |
| 3180 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3181 | "value": "Indi", | |
| 3182 | "source": 0 | |
| 3183 | }, | |
| 3184 | { | |
| 3185 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3186 | "value": "294 square degrees (49th of 88)", | |
| 3187 | "source": 1 | |
| 3188 | }, | |
| 3189 | { | |
| 3190 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3191 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3192 | "source": 2 | |
| 3193 | }, | |
| 3194 | { | |
| 3195 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3196 | "value": "15°N to 90°S", | |
| 3197 | "source": 2 | |
| 3198 | }, | |
| 3199 | { | |
| 3200 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3201 | "value": "Alpha Indi (α Ind), magnitude 3.11", | |
| 3202 | "source": 3 | |
| 3203 | } | |
| 3204 | ], | |
| 3205 | "essay": "Indus is one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from observations made by the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It first appeared on a globe in 1598 and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria of 1603. It depicts an indigenous man holding arrows; which people the figure was meant to represent is not recorded.\n\nThe constellation is faint. Its brightest star, Alpha Indi, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.11. Indus is bordered by Pavo to the west, Grus and Tucana to the east, and Microscopium and Sagittarius to the north. A practical way to find it is to locate Peacock, the bright star of Pavo, and look about 10 degrees north for Alpha Indi.\n\nEpsilon Indi is one of the nearest stars to the Sun, at about 12 light-years. It has a pair of brown dwarf companions and a giant planet, and it is just visible to the naked eye from a dark site. The constellation contains several galaxies for larger telescopes. Indus is best placed in the evening in October and is fully visible from anywhere south of about 15° N.", | |
| 3206 | "image": null, | |
| 3207 | "drawing": { | |
| 3208 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3209 | }, | |
| 3210 | "link": { | |
| 3211 | "constellation": "Ind" | |
| 3212 | }, | |
| 3213 | "sources": [ | |
| 3214 | { | |
| 3215 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3216 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3217 | }, | |
| 3218 | { | |
| 3219 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3220 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3221 | }, | |
| 3222 | { | |
| 3223 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3224 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3225 | }, | |
| 3226 | { | |
| 3227 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Ind", | |
| 3228 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf%20Ind" | |
| 3229 | } | |
| 3230 | ] | |
| 3231 | } | |
| 3232 | ] | |
| \ No newline at end of file | ||
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/constellations-b.json added +3229
| @@ -0,0 +1,3229 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "lac", | |
| 4 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 5 | "title": "Lacerta", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "The Lizard", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 10 | "value": "Lac", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 15 | "value": "Lacertae", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Area", | |
| 20 | "value": "201 square degrees (68th of 88)", | |
| 21 | "source": 1 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 25 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 26 | "source": 2 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 30 | "value": "90°N to 33°S", | |
| 31 | "source": 2 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 35 | "value": "α Lacertae, magnitude 3.77", | |
| 36 | "source": 3 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 40 | "value": "BL Lacertae, prototype of the BL Lac class of active galaxies", | |
| 41 | "source": 4 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "Lacerta is a small northern constellation introduced by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius. It appeared in his star atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum, published in 1690, three years after his death. Hevelius filled the gap between Cygnus and Andromeda with a lizard; there is no older myth behind it.\n\nNone of its stars reaches third magnitude. The brightest, α Lacertae, is an A-type star of magnitude 3.77, and the main figure is a short zigzag of faint stars. Lacerta sits in the Milky Way, so binoculars show rich star fields across it.\n\nIts best-known object was first catalogued as a variable star. BL Lacertae turned out to be the bright core of a distant elliptical galaxy, where a jet from the central black hole points almost straight at us. It gave its name to a whole class of active galaxies, the BL Lac objects.\n\nTo find Lacerta, look between the bright star Deneb in Cygnus and the W of Cassiopeia, a little south of Cepheus. A dark sky helps. From mid-northern latitudes it stands high overhead on autumn evenings.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10063v.jpg", | |
| 47 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 48 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695507/", | |
| 50 | "caption": "Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 54 | }, | |
| 55 | "link": { | |
| 56 | "constellation": "Lac" | |
| 57 | }, | |
| 58 | "sources": [ | |
| 59 | { | |
| 60 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 61 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 62 | }, | |
| 63 | { | |
| 64 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 65 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | { | |
| 68 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 69 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 70 | }, | |
| 71 | { | |
| 72 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Lac", | |
| 73 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Lac" | |
| 74 | }, | |
| 75 | { | |
| 76 | "title": "SIMBAD: BL Lac", | |
| 77 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=BL+Lac" | |
| 78 | } | |
| 79 | ] | |
| 80 | }, | |
| 81 | { | |
| 82 | "id": "leo", | |
| 83 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 84 | "title": "Leo", | |
| 85 | "subtitle": "The Lion", | |
| 86 | "facts": [ | |
| 87 | { | |
| 88 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 89 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 90 | "source": 0 | |
| 91 | }, | |
| 92 | { | |
| 93 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 94 | "value": "Leonis", | |
| 95 | "source": 0 | |
| 96 | }, | |
| 97 | { | |
| 98 | "label": "Area", | |
| 99 | "value": "947 square degrees (12th of 88)", | |
| 100 | "source": 1 | |
| 101 | }, | |
| 102 | { | |
| 103 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 104 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 105 | "source": 2 | |
| 106 | }, | |
| 107 | { | |
| 108 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 109 | "value": "83°N to 57°S", | |
| 110 | "source": 2 | |
| 111 | }, | |
| 112 | { | |
| 113 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 114 | "value": "Regulus (α Leonis), magnitude 1.40", | |
| 115 | "source": 3 | |
| 116 | }, | |
| 117 | { | |
| 118 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 119 | "value": "M66, a spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away, magnitude 8.9", | |
| 120 | "source": 4 | |
| 121 | } | |
| 122 | ], | |
| 123 | "essay": "Leo is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy in the second century and one of the oldest recognised star patterns. Greek writers identified it with the Nemean lion killed by Heracles as the first of his twelve labours. It lies on the ecliptic, so the Sun, Moon and planets pass through it.\n\nThe lion's head and mane are a curve of stars shaped like a backwards question mark, called the Sickle. Regulus, magnitude 1.40, marks the bottom of the Sickle. It lies so close to the ecliptic that the Moon regularly passes in front of it. A triangle of stars to the east, ending at Denebola, forms the hindquarters and tail. The Leonid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-November, appears to radiate from the Sickle.\n\nBelow the lion's belly is the Leo Triplet: the spiral galaxies M65, M66 and NGC 3628, which fit together in one low-power telescope field. M95, M96 and M105 form a second group nearby.\n\nFrom the northern hemisphere, Leo is the main constellation of spring evenings. A line from Megrez through Phecda, the two bowl stars of the Big Dipper farthest from the pointers, leads south to Regulus.", | |
| 124 | "image": { | |
| 125 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/ds/00200/00241v.jpg", | |
| 126 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 127 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 128 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2011645257/", | |
| 129 | "caption": "Leo Major and Leo Minor, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 130 | }, | |
| 131 | "drawing": { | |
| 132 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 133 | }, | |
| 134 | "link": { | |
| 135 | "constellation": "Leo" | |
| 136 | }, | |
| 137 | "sources": [ | |
| 138 | { | |
| 139 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 140 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 141 | }, | |
| 142 | { | |
| 143 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 144 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 145 | }, | |
| 146 | { | |
| 147 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 148 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 149 | }, | |
| 150 | { | |
| 151 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Leo", | |
| 152 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Leo" | |
| 153 | }, | |
| 154 | { | |
| 155 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 66", | |
| 156 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-66/" | |
| 157 | } | |
| 158 | ] | |
| 159 | }, | |
| 160 | { | |
| 161 | "id": "lmi", | |
| 162 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 163 | "title": "Leo Minor", | |
| 164 | "subtitle": "The Lesser Lion", | |
| 165 | "facts": [ | |
| 166 | { | |
| 167 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 168 | "value": "LMi", | |
| 169 | "source": 0 | |
| 170 | }, | |
| 171 | { | |
| 172 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 173 | "value": "Leonis Minoris", | |
| 174 | "source": 0 | |
| 175 | }, | |
| 176 | { | |
| 177 | "label": "Area", | |
| 178 | "value": "232 square degrees (64th of 88)", | |
| 179 | "source": 1 | |
| 180 | }, | |
| 181 | { | |
| 182 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 183 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 184 | "source": 2 | |
| 185 | }, | |
| 186 | { | |
| 187 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 188 | "value": "90°N to 48°S", | |
| 189 | "source": 2 | |
| 190 | }, | |
| 191 | { | |
| 192 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 193 | "value": "Praecipua (46 Leonis Minoris), magnitude 3.83", | |
| 194 | "source": 3 | |
| 195 | } | |
| 196 | ], | |
| 197 | "essay": "Leo Minor was introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in his atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690. He formed it from faint stars between the large figures of Leo and Ursa Major. It has no mythology of its own.\n\nIts brightest star is 46 Leonis Minoris, an orange giant of magnitude 3.83 that has the official name Praecipua. When Greek letters were later assigned to the constellation's stars, the brightest was overlooked: Leo Minor has a star labelled β but none labelled α.\n\nThe constellation contains no Messier objects, and most of its galaxies are faint. One object drew attention in 2007, when a volunteer on the Galaxy Zoo project spotted a glowing gas cloud beside the galaxy IC 2497. The cloud, called Hanny's Voorwerp, is lit by radiation from a quasar in the galaxy that has since faded.\n\nTo find Leo Minor, start at the Sickle of Leo and look north towards the paws of Ursa Major. A handful of fourth-magnitude stars in that gap make up the figure. It needs a dark sky and is best seen on spring evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 198 | "image": { | |
| 199 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/ds/00200/00241v.jpg", | |
| 200 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 201 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 202 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2011645257/", | |
| 203 | "caption": "Leo Major and Leo Minor, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 204 | }, | |
| 205 | "drawing": { | |
| 206 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 207 | }, | |
| 208 | "link": { | |
| 209 | "constellation": "LMi" | |
| 210 | }, | |
| 211 | "sources": [ | |
| 212 | { | |
| 213 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 214 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 215 | }, | |
| 216 | { | |
| 217 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 218 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 219 | }, | |
| 220 | { | |
| 221 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 222 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 223 | }, | |
| 224 | { | |
| 225 | "title": "SIMBAD: 46 LMi", | |
| 226 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=46+LMi" | |
| 227 | } | |
| 228 | ] | |
| 229 | }, | |
| 230 | { | |
| 231 | "id": "lep", | |
| 232 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 233 | "title": "Lepus", | |
| 234 | "subtitle": "The Hare", | |
| 235 | "facts": [ | |
| 236 | { | |
| 237 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 238 | "value": "Lep", | |
| 239 | "source": 0 | |
| 240 | }, | |
| 241 | { | |
| 242 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 243 | "value": "Leporis", | |
| 244 | "source": 0 | |
| 245 | }, | |
| 246 | { | |
| 247 | "label": "Area", | |
| 248 | "value": "290 square degrees (51st of 88)", | |
| 249 | "source": 1 | |
| 250 | }, | |
| 251 | { | |
| 252 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 253 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 254 | "source": 2 | |
| 255 | }, | |
| 256 | { | |
| 257 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 258 | "value": "62°N to 90°S", | |
| 259 | "source": 2 | |
| 260 | }, | |
| 261 | { | |
| 262 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 263 | "value": "Arneb (α Leporis), magnitude 2.57", | |
| 264 | "source": 3 | |
| 265 | }, | |
| 266 | { | |
| 267 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 268 | "value": "M79, a globular cluster about 41,000 light-years away, magnitude 8.0", | |
| 269 | "source": 4 | |
| 270 | } | |
| 271 | ], | |
| 272 | "essay": "Lepus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents a hare crouched beneath the feet of Orion, and Greek writers linked it to Orion's hunting, with his dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, nearby.\n\nIts brightest star is Arneb, α Leporis, a yellow-white supergiant of magnitude 2.57. Arneb comes from the Arabic for \"the hare\". The main stars form a compact pattern of four stars, with fainter stars marking the ears.\n\nLepus holds M79, a globular cluster about 41,000 light-years away. It is unusual for a globular cluster in this part of the sky, away from the galactic centre, and astronomers have proposed that the Milky Way captured it from a smaller galaxy. A small telescope shows it as a round glow. Near the western edge of the constellation is R Leporis, called Hind's Crimson Star, a carbon star whose deep red colour is clearest in binoculars and changes in brightness over about 14 months.\n\nTo find Lepus, look directly south of Rigel and Saiph, the two bright stars at the bottom of Orion. It is best seen on winter evenings from the northern hemisphere and summer evenings from the southern.", | |
| 273 | "image": { | |
| 274 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10075v.jpg", | |
| 275 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 276 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 277 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695520/", | |
| 278 | "caption": "Canis Major, Lepus, Columba Noachi and Cela Sculptoris, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 279 | }, | |
| 280 | "drawing": { | |
| 281 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 282 | }, | |
| 283 | "link": { | |
| 284 | "constellation": "Lep" | |
| 285 | }, | |
| 286 | "sources": [ | |
| 287 | { | |
| 288 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 289 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 290 | }, | |
| 291 | { | |
| 292 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 293 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 294 | }, | |
| 295 | { | |
| 296 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 297 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 298 | }, | |
| 299 | { | |
| 300 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Lep", | |
| 301 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Lep" | |
| 302 | }, | |
| 303 | { | |
| 304 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 79", | |
| 305 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-79/" | |
| 306 | } | |
| 307 | ] | |
| 308 | }, | |
| 309 | { | |
| 310 | "id": "lib", | |
| 311 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 312 | "title": "Libra", | |
| 313 | "subtitle": "The Scales", | |
| 314 | "facts": [ | |
| 315 | { | |
| 316 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 317 | "value": "Lib", | |
| 318 | "source": 0 | |
| 319 | }, | |
| 320 | { | |
| 321 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 322 | "value": "Librae", | |
| 323 | "source": 0 | |
| 324 | }, | |
| 325 | { | |
| 326 | "label": "Area", | |
| 327 | "value": "538 square degrees (29th of 88)", | |
| 328 | "source": 1 | |
| 329 | }, | |
| 330 | { | |
| 331 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 332 | "value": "June (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 333 | "source": 2 | |
| 334 | }, | |
| 335 | { | |
| 336 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 337 | "value": "60°N to 90°S", | |
| 338 | "source": 2 | |
| 339 | }, | |
| 340 | { | |
| 341 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 342 | "value": "Zubeneschamali (β Librae), magnitude 2.62", | |
| 343 | "source": 3 | |
| 344 | } | |
| 345 | ], | |
| 346 | "essay": "Libra is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy, who described its stars as the claws of the neighbouring Scorpion. The Romans made the claws into a separate figure, the scales or balance, often associated with Astraea, the goddess of justice who stands next to it as Virgo. It is the only zodiac sign that represents an object rather than a living figure.\n\nThe old origin survives in the star names. Zubeneschamali, β Librae, comes from the Arabic for \"the northern claw\", and Zubenelgenubi, α Librae, from \"the southern claw\". Zubeneschamali is the brighter at magnitude 2.62, a hot blue-white star that some observers describe as slightly greenish. Zubenelgenubi is a wide double that binoculars split.\n\nLibra has few bright deep-sky objects. The globular cluster NGC 5897 is the best of them, a loose, faint glow for a small telescope. Gliese 581, a red dwarf about 20 light-years away with several known planets, also lies in Libra.\n\nTo find Libra, look between Spica in Virgo and Antares in Scorpius. Its four main stars form a lopsided quadrilateral. It is best seen on early summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 347 | "image": { | |
| 348 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10068v.jpg", | |
| 349 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 350 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 351 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695513/", | |
| 352 | "caption": "Libra, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 353 | }, | |
| 354 | "drawing": { | |
| 355 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 356 | }, | |
| 357 | "link": { | |
| 358 | "constellation": "Lib" | |
| 359 | }, | |
| 360 | "sources": [ | |
| 361 | { | |
| 362 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 363 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 364 | }, | |
| 365 | { | |
| 366 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 367 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 368 | }, | |
| 369 | { | |
| 370 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 371 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 372 | }, | |
| 373 | { | |
| 374 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Lib", | |
| 375 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet+Lib" | |
| 376 | } | |
| 377 | ] | |
| 378 | }, | |
| 379 | { | |
| 380 | "id": "lup", | |
| 381 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 382 | "title": "Lupus", | |
| 383 | "subtitle": "The Wolf", | |
| 384 | "facts": [ | |
| 385 | { | |
| 386 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 387 | "value": "Lup", | |
| 388 | "source": 0 | |
| 389 | }, | |
| 390 | { | |
| 391 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 392 | "value": "Lupi", | |
| 393 | "source": 0 | |
| 394 | }, | |
| 395 | { | |
| 396 | "label": "Area", | |
| 397 | "value": "334 square degrees (46th of 88)", | |
| 398 | "source": 1 | |
| 399 | }, | |
| 400 | { | |
| 401 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 402 | "value": "June (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 403 | "source": 2 | |
| 404 | }, | |
| 405 | { | |
| 406 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 407 | "value": "34°N to 90°S", | |
| 408 | "source": 2 | |
| 409 | }, | |
| 410 | { | |
| 411 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 412 | "value": "α Lupi, magnitude 2.29", | |
| 413 | "source": 3 | |
| 414 | } | |
| 415 | ], | |
| 416 | "essay": "Lupus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. The Greeks saw it as a wild animal, held on a spear by the centaur Centaurus. It was not specifically a wolf until Latin translations of Ptolemy, and the name Lupus became standard in Renaissance Europe.\n\nThe constellation lies along the Milky Way between Centaurus and Scorpius. Its brightest star, α Lupi, is a blue giant of magnitude 2.29 that pulsates slightly in brightness every few hours. Many of Lupus's bright stars are hot, young B-type stars that belong to the Scorpius–Centaurus association, a group of stars that formed together.\n\nIn the year 1006, a supernova appeared in Lupus. Records from China, Japan, the Middle East and Europe describe it, and it is thought to be the brightest stellar event in recorded history. Its remnant, SN 1006, is now studied in radio and X-rays. Lupus also contains the globular cluster NGC 5986 and several dark clouds where stars are forming.\n\nTo find Lupus, look between Antares and the pair α and β Centauri. From mid-northern latitudes it never rises fully above the horizon; from the southern hemisphere it is well placed on winter evenings.", | |
| 417 | "image": { | |
| 418 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 419 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 420 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 421 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 422 | "caption": "Hydra and its neighbours, including Lupus, Sextans, Pyxis Nautica and the old ship Argo Navis, on a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 423 | }, | |
| 424 | "drawing": { | |
| 425 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | "link": { | |
| 428 | "constellation": "Lup" | |
| 429 | }, | |
| 430 | "sources": [ | |
| 431 | { | |
| 432 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 433 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 434 | }, | |
| 435 | { | |
| 436 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 437 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 438 | }, | |
| 439 | { | |
| 440 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 441 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 442 | }, | |
| 443 | { | |
| 444 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Lup", | |
| 445 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Lup" | |
| 446 | } | |
| 447 | ] | |
| 448 | }, | |
| 449 | { | |
| 450 | "id": "lyn", | |
| 451 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 452 | "title": "Lynx", | |
| 453 | "subtitle": "The Lynx", | |
| 454 | "facts": [ | |
| 455 | { | |
| 456 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 457 | "value": "Lyn", | |
| 458 | "source": 0 | |
| 459 | }, | |
| 460 | { | |
| 461 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 462 | "value": "Lyncis", | |
| 463 | "source": 0 | |
| 464 | }, | |
| 465 | { | |
| 466 | "label": "Area", | |
| 467 | "value": "545 square degrees (28th of 88)", | |
| 468 | "source": 1 | |
| 469 | }, | |
| 470 | { | |
| 471 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 472 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 473 | "source": 2 | |
| 474 | }, | |
| 475 | { | |
| 476 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 477 | "value": "90°N to 28°S", | |
| 478 | "source": 2 | |
| 479 | }, | |
| 480 | { | |
| 481 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 482 | "value": "α Lyncis, magnitude 3.14", | |
| 483 | "source": 3 | |
| 484 | }, | |
| 485 | { | |
| 486 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 487 | "value": "NGC 2419, a distant globular cluster", | |
| 488 | "source": 4 | |
| 489 | } | |
| 490 | ], | |
| 491 | "essay": "Lynx was introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690. Hevelius wrote that the constellation was named for an animal with sharp eyes because anyone who wanted to see it would need the same. It fills a large gap between Ursa Major and Auriga with faint stars.\n\nThe brightest star, α Lyncis, is a red giant of magnitude 3.14 at the southern end of the figure. The rest of the constellation is a long, irregular chain of fourth- and fifth-magnitude stars running from near Castor and Pollux towards the pole. Lynx contains several double stars that are good targets for small telescopes, including 12 Lyncis, a triple.\n\nIts most notable deep-sky object is NGC 2419, a globular cluster that lies much farther from the centre of the Milky Way than most of its kind. That distance earned it the nickname \"the Intergalactic Wanderer\". It appears as a small, faint glow in a telescope.\n\nTo find Lynx, look in the space between the bowl of the Big Dipper, the bright star Capella in Auriga, and Castor and Pollux in Gemini. A dark sky is needed. It is best seen on late winter and early spring evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 492 | "image": { | |
| 493 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10057v.jpg", | |
| 494 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 495 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 496 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695501/", | |
| 497 | "caption": "Lynx and the obsolete Telescopium Herschelii, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 498 | }, | |
| 499 | "drawing": { | |
| 500 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 501 | }, | |
| 502 | "link": { | |
| 503 | "constellation": "Lyn" | |
| 504 | }, | |
| 505 | "sources": [ | |
| 506 | { | |
| 507 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 508 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 509 | }, | |
| 510 | { | |
| 511 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 512 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 513 | }, | |
| 514 | { | |
| 515 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 516 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 517 | }, | |
| 518 | { | |
| 519 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Lyn", | |
| 520 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Lyn" | |
| 521 | }, | |
| 522 | { | |
| 523 | "title": "SIMBAD: NGC 2419", | |
| 524 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=NGC+2419" | |
| 525 | } | |
| 526 | ] | |
| 527 | }, | |
| 528 | { | |
| 529 | "id": "lyr", | |
| 530 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 531 | "title": "Lyra", | |
| 532 | "subtitle": "The Lyre", | |
| 533 | "facts": [ | |
| 534 | { | |
| 535 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 536 | "value": "Lyr", | |
| 537 | "source": 0 | |
| 538 | }, | |
| 539 | { | |
| 540 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 541 | "value": "Lyrae", | |
| 542 | "source": 0 | |
| 543 | }, | |
| 544 | { | |
| 545 | "label": "Area", | |
| 546 | "value": "286 square degrees (52nd of 88)", | |
| 547 | "source": 1 | |
| 548 | }, | |
| 549 | { | |
| 550 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 551 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 552 | "source": 2 | |
| 553 | }, | |
| 554 | { | |
| 555 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 556 | "value": "90°N to 42°S", | |
| 557 | "source": 2 | |
| 558 | }, | |
| 559 | { | |
| 560 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 561 | "value": "Vega (α Lyrae), magnitude 0.03", | |
| 562 | "source": 3 | |
| 563 | }, | |
| 564 | { | |
| 565 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 566 | "value": "M57, the Ring Nebula, a planetary nebula about 2,000 light-years away, magnitude 8.8", | |
| 567 | "source": 4 | |
| 568 | } | |
| 569 | ], | |
| 570 | "essay": "Lyra is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents the lyre that Hermes made from a tortoise shell, later played by the musician Orpheus. It is small, but easy to find because of Vega.\n\nVega, magnitude 0.03, is the fifth-brightest star in the night sky and one corner of the Summer Triangle, with Deneb and Altair. It was long used as a standard for the magnitude scale and for stellar colours. In 1850 it became the first star other than the Sun to be photographed. Precession moves the celestial pole slowly through the sky, and Vega was close to the north celestial pole about 14,000 years ago and will be again in roughly 12,000 years.\n\nNext to Vega is ε Lyrae, the \"Double Double\". Binoculars show two stars, and a small telescope splits each of them again. Between β and γ Lyrae, at the far end of the parallelogram below Vega, lies M57, the Ring Nebula. It is the shell of gas thrown off by a dying Sun-like star, and a small telescope shows it as a tiny grey ring.\n\nFrom mid-northern latitudes Vega passes nearly overhead on summer evenings. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks in late April.", | |
| 571 | "image": { | |
| 572 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10063v.jpg", | |
| 573 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 574 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 575 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695507/", | |
| 576 | "caption": "Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 577 | }, | |
| 578 | "drawing": { | |
| 579 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 580 | }, | |
| 581 | "link": { | |
| 582 | "constellation": "Lyr" | |
| 583 | }, | |
| 584 | "sources": [ | |
| 585 | { | |
| 586 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 587 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 588 | }, | |
| 589 | { | |
| 590 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 591 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 592 | }, | |
| 593 | { | |
| 594 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 595 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 596 | }, | |
| 597 | { | |
| 598 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Lyr", | |
| 599 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Lyr" | |
| 600 | }, | |
| 601 | { | |
| 602 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 57", | |
| 603 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-57/" | |
| 604 | } | |
| 605 | ] | |
| 606 | }, | |
| 607 | { | |
| 608 | "id": "men", | |
| 609 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 610 | "title": "Mensa", | |
| 611 | "subtitle": "The Table Mountain", | |
| 612 | "facts": [ | |
| 613 | { | |
| 614 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 615 | "value": "Men", | |
| 616 | "source": 0 | |
| 617 | }, | |
| 618 | { | |
| 619 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 620 | "value": "Mensae", | |
| 621 | "source": 0 | |
| 622 | }, | |
| 623 | { | |
| 624 | "label": "Area", | |
| 625 | "value": "153 square degrees (75th of 88)", | |
| 626 | "source": 1 | |
| 627 | }, | |
| 628 | { | |
| 629 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 630 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 631 | "source": 2 | |
| 632 | }, | |
| 633 | { | |
| 634 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 635 | "value": "4°N to 90°S", | |
| 636 | "source": 2 | |
| 637 | }, | |
| 638 | { | |
| 639 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 640 | "value": "α Mensae, magnitude 5.07", | |
| 641 | "source": 3 | |
| 642 | } | |
| 643 | ], | |
| 644 | "essay": "Mensa was introduced by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, who mapped the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope in 1751 and 1752. He named it Mons Mensae, after Table Mountain, which overlooked his observatory in Cape Town. The name was later shortened to Mensa. It is the only constellation named after a feature on Earth.\n\nMensa is the faintest constellation. Its brightest star, α Mensae, is magnitude 5.07, a Sun-like star about 33 light-years away, and no star in the constellation reaches fifth magnitude. Part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, which lies mostly in Dorado, extends into Mensa, and the name is often linked to the cloud that covers the top of Table Mountain.\n\nBecause it lies close to the south celestial pole, Mensa is circumpolar from much of the southern hemisphere and can be seen on any clear night of the year. It never rises for observers in Europe or most of North America.\n\nTo find Mensa, locate the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible to the eye from a dark site. Mensa lies just south of it, between the cloud and the south celestial pole in Octans. A pair of binoculars and a star chart are needed to trace its faint stars.", | |
| 645 | "image": null, | |
| 646 | "drawing": { | |
| 647 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 648 | }, | |
| 649 | "link": { | |
| 650 | "constellation": "Men" | |
| 651 | }, | |
| 652 | "sources": [ | |
| 653 | { | |
| 654 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 655 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 656 | }, | |
| 657 | { | |
| 658 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 659 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 660 | }, | |
| 661 | { | |
| 662 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 663 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 664 | }, | |
| 665 | { | |
| 666 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Men", | |
| 667 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Men" | |
| 668 | } | |
| 669 | ] | |
| 670 | }, | |
| 671 | { | |
| 672 | "id": "mic", | |
| 673 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 674 | "title": "Microscopium", | |
| 675 | "subtitle": "The Microscope", | |
| 676 | "facts": [ | |
| 677 | { | |
| 678 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 679 | "value": "Mic", | |
| 680 | "source": 0 | |
| 681 | }, | |
| 682 | { | |
| 683 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 684 | "value": "Microscopii", | |
| 685 | "source": 0 | |
| 686 | }, | |
| 687 | { | |
| 688 | "label": "Area", | |
| 689 | "value": "210 square degrees (66th of 88)", | |
| 690 | "source": 1 | |
| 691 | }, | |
| 692 | { | |
| 693 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 694 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 695 | "source": 2 | |
| 696 | }, | |
| 697 | { | |
| 698 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 699 | "value": "44°N to 90°S", | |
| 700 | "source": 2 | |
| 701 | }, | |
| 702 | { | |
| 703 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 704 | "value": "γ Microscopii, magnitude 4.65", | |
| 705 | "source": 3 | |
| 706 | } | |
| 707 | ], | |
| 708 | "essay": "Microscopium was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s, after his survey of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope. Like most of his constellations, it represents an instrument of science and art, in this case an early compound microscope.\n\nIt is small and faint. The brightest star is γ Microscopii, a yellow giant of magnitude 4.65; α Microscopii is fainter at magnitude 4.89. There are no bright deep-sky objects for small telescopes.\n\nThe constellation does include one well-studied star. AU Microscopii is a young red dwarf, only a few tens of millions of years old, surrounded by a disc of dust seen edge-on. Two planets have been found orbiting it, the first in 2020 using NASA's TESS satellite. Because the system is young and nearby, it is used to study how planets form and change.\n\nTo find Microscopium, look south of Capricornus and east of Sagittarius, in the gap before Piscis Austrinus and its bright star Fomalhaut. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on late summer evenings. It is best seen from the southern hemisphere, where it passes high overhead.", | |
| 709 | "image": { | |
| 710 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10070v.jpg", | |
| 711 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 712 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 713 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695515/", | |
| 714 | "caption": "Sagittarius with Corona Australis, Microscopium and Telescopium, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 715 | }, | |
| 716 | "drawing": { | |
| 717 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 718 | }, | |
| 719 | "link": { | |
| 720 | "constellation": "Mic" | |
| 721 | }, | |
| 722 | "sources": [ | |
| 723 | { | |
| 724 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 725 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 726 | }, | |
| 727 | { | |
| 728 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 729 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 730 | }, | |
| 731 | { | |
| 732 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 733 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 734 | }, | |
| 735 | { | |
| 736 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam Mic", | |
| 737 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam+Mic" | |
| 738 | } | |
| 739 | ] | |
| 740 | }, | |
| 741 | { | |
| 742 | "id": "mon", | |
| 743 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 744 | "title": "Monoceros", | |
| 745 | "subtitle": "The Unicorn", | |
| 746 | "facts": [ | |
| 747 | { | |
| 748 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 749 | "value": "Mon", | |
| 750 | "source": 0 | |
| 751 | }, | |
| 752 | { | |
| 753 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 754 | "value": "Monocerotis", | |
| 755 | "source": 0 | |
| 756 | }, | |
| 757 | { | |
| 758 | "label": "Area", | |
| 759 | "value": "482 square degrees (35th of 88)", | |
| 760 | "source": 1 | |
| 761 | }, | |
| 762 | { | |
| 763 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 764 | "value": "February (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 765 | "source": 2 | |
| 766 | }, | |
| 767 | { | |
| 768 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 769 | "value": "78°N to 78°S", | |
| 770 | "source": 2 | |
| 771 | }, | |
| 772 | { | |
| 773 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 774 | "value": "β Monocerotis, magnitude 3.74", | |
| 775 | "source": 3 | |
| 776 | }, | |
| 777 | { | |
| 778 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 779 | "value": "M50, an open star cluster", | |
| 780 | "source": 4 | |
| 781 | } | |
| 782 | ], | |
| 783 | "essay": "Monoceros is a modern constellation. It first appeared on a celestial globe made by the Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius in 1612, and was later included in star charts by Jakob Bartsch. Plancius filled the faint area between Orion, Canis Major and Canis Minor with a unicorn.\n\nNone of its stars reaches third magnitude. The brightest is β Monocerotis, magnitude 3.74 as a whole, which a small telescope shows as a triple star of three blue-white stars in a curved line. α Monocerotis is slightly fainter at magnitude 3.93.\n\nMonoceros lies in the winter Milky Way and is rich in clusters and nebulae. M50 is an open cluster visible in binoculars. The Rosette Nebula surrounds the cluster NGC 2244 and shows its round shape well in photographs. Near the northern edge, the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster sit around the star S Monocerotis. In 2002, the star V838 Monocerotis brightened suddenly, and Hubble images showed its light echo spreading through the surrounding dust.\n\nTo find Monoceros, look inside the Winter Triangle formed by Betelgeuse, Procyon and Sirius. It is best seen on winter evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 784 | "image": { | |
| 785 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10076v.jpg", | |
| 786 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 787 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 788 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695521/", | |
| 789 | "caption": "Monoceros, Canis Minor and the obsolete Atelier Typographique, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 790 | }, | |
| 791 | "drawing": { | |
| 792 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 793 | }, | |
| 794 | "link": { | |
| 795 | "constellation": "Mon" | |
| 796 | }, | |
| 797 | "sources": [ | |
| 798 | { | |
| 799 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 800 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 801 | }, | |
| 802 | { | |
| 803 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 804 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 805 | }, | |
| 806 | { | |
| 807 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 808 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 809 | }, | |
| 810 | { | |
| 811 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Mon", | |
| 812 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet+Mon" | |
| 813 | }, | |
| 814 | { | |
| 815 | "title": "SIMBAD: M 50", | |
| 816 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=M+50" | |
| 817 | } | |
| 818 | ] | |
| 819 | }, | |
| 820 | { | |
| 821 | "id": "mus", | |
| 822 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 823 | "title": "Musca", | |
| 824 | "subtitle": "The Fly", | |
| 825 | "facts": [ | |
| 826 | { | |
| 827 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 828 | "value": "Mus", | |
| 829 | "source": 0 | |
| 830 | }, | |
| 831 | { | |
| 832 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 833 | "value": "Muscae", | |
| 834 | "source": 0 | |
| 835 | }, | |
| 836 | { | |
| 837 | "label": "Area", | |
| 838 | "value": "138 square degrees (77th of 88)", | |
| 839 | "source": 1 | |
| 840 | }, | |
| 841 | { | |
| 842 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 843 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 844 | "source": 2 | |
| 845 | }, | |
| 846 | { | |
| 847 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 848 | "value": "14°N to 90°S", | |
| 849 | "source": 2 | |
| 850 | }, | |
| 851 | { | |
| 852 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 853 | "value": "α Muscae, magnitude 2.65", | |
| 854 | "source": 3 | |
| 855 | } | |
| 856 | ], | |
| 857 | "essay": "Musca was one of twelve constellations formed from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman on a voyage to the East Indies in the 1590s. It first appeared on a celestial globe by Petrus Plancius at the end of that decade, and Johann Bayer included it in his atlas Uranometria in 1603 under the name Apis, the bee. Lacaille later renamed it Musca Australis, the southern fly, and the shortened name Musca became standard.\n\nThe brightest star, α Muscae, is a blue-white star of magnitude 2.65. Together with β, γ and δ Muscae it makes a compact shape that is easy to pick out below the Southern Cross.\n\nMusca lies in a rich part of the southern Milky Way. Its northern edge borders the Coalsack, a dark dust cloud that blocks the light of stars behind it. The globular cluster NGC 4833 and the planetary nebula NGC 5189 are targets for small and medium telescopes.\n\nTo find Musca, locate Crux, the Southern Cross, and look just south of it. Musca is circumpolar from much of the southern hemisphere and is best placed on autumn evenings there. It cannot be seen from most of the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 858 | "image": null, | |
| 859 | "drawing": { | |
| 860 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 861 | }, | |
| 862 | "link": { | |
| 863 | "constellation": "Mus" | |
| 864 | }, | |
| 865 | "sources": [ | |
| 866 | { | |
| 867 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 868 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 869 | }, | |
| 870 | { | |
| 871 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 872 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 873 | }, | |
| 874 | { | |
| 875 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 876 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 877 | }, | |
| 878 | { | |
| 879 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Mus", | |
| 880 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Mus" | |
| 881 | } | |
| 882 | ] | |
| 883 | }, | |
| 884 | { | |
| 885 | "id": "nor", | |
| 886 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 887 | "title": "Norma", | |
| 888 | "subtitle": "The Carpenter's Square", | |
| 889 | "facts": [ | |
| 890 | { | |
| 891 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 892 | "value": "Nor", | |
| 893 | "source": 0 | |
| 894 | }, | |
| 895 | { | |
| 896 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 897 | "value": "Normae", | |
| 898 | "source": 0 | |
| 899 | }, | |
| 900 | { | |
| 901 | "label": "Area", | |
| 902 | "value": "165 square degrees (74th of 88)", | |
| 903 | "source": 1 | |
| 904 | }, | |
| 905 | { | |
| 906 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 907 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 908 | "source": 2 | |
| 909 | }, | |
| 910 | { | |
| 911 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 912 | "value": "29°N to 90°S", | |
| 913 | "source": 2 | |
| 914 | }, | |
| 915 | { | |
| 916 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 917 | "value": "γ² Normae, magnitude 4.02", | |
| 918 | "source": 3 | |
| 919 | } | |
| 920 | ], | |
| 921 | "essay": "Norma was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s under the name Norma et Regula, the set square and rule. It is one of several constellations he named after tools, and it sits beside the altar, Ara, and the compasses, Circinus.\n\nIt is small and contains no bright stars. Lacaille's α and β stars ended up in neighbouring constellations when the boundaries were redrawn, so Norma has no stars labelled α or β. Its brightest star is γ² Normae, a yellow giant of magnitude 4.02.\n\nNorma lies in the Milky Way between Scorpius and Centaurus, so its star fields are dense. The open cluster NGC 6087 is visible in binoculars. One of the Milky Way's spiral arms, the Norma Arm, is named after it because it is seen in this direction. Beyond the Milky Way, Norma marks the direction of the Norma Cluster of galaxies, part of the Great Attractor, a large mass concentration that affects the motion of nearby galaxies.\n\nTo find Norma, look between the tail of Scorpius and the bright pair α and β Centauri. It is best seen on winter evenings from the southern hemisphere and is low or below the horizon from mid-northern latitudes.", | |
| 922 | "image": null, | |
| 923 | "drawing": { | |
| 924 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 925 | }, | |
| 926 | "link": { | |
| 927 | "constellation": "Nor" | |
| 928 | }, | |
| 929 | "sources": [ | |
| 930 | { | |
| 931 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 932 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 933 | }, | |
| 934 | { | |
| 935 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 936 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 937 | }, | |
| 938 | { | |
| 939 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 940 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 941 | }, | |
| 942 | { | |
| 943 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam02 Nor", | |
| 944 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam02+Nor" | |
| 945 | } | |
| 946 | ] | |
| 947 | }, | |
| 948 | { | |
| 949 | "id": "oct", | |
| 950 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 951 | "title": "Octans", | |
| 952 | "subtitle": "The Octant", | |
| 953 | "facts": [ | |
| 954 | { | |
| 955 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 956 | "value": "Oct", | |
| 957 | "source": 0 | |
| 958 | }, | |
| 959 | { | |
| 960 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 961 | "value": "Octantis", | |
| 962 | "source": 0 | |
| 963 | }, | |
| 964 | { | |
| 965 | "label": "Area", | |
| 966 | "value": "291 square degrees (50th of 88)", | |
| 967 | "source": 1 | |
| 968 | }, | |
| 969 | { | |
| 970 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 971 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 972 | "source": 2 | |
| 973 | }, | |
| 974 | { | |
| 975 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 976 | "value": "0°N to 90°S", | |
| 977 | "source": 2 | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | { | |
| 980 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 981 | "value": "ν Octantis, magnitude 3.73", | |
| 982 | "source": 3 | |
| 983 | } | |
| 984 | ], | |
| 985 | "essay": "Octans was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s. It represents the octant, a navigation instrument for measuring angles, invented by John Hadley in the 1730s. It is the constellation that contains the south celestial pole.\n\nUnlike the north celestial pole, which has Polaris, the south pole has no bright star near it. The closest star visible to the eye is σ Octantis, magnitude 5.42, which can only be seen from a dark site. The brightest star in Octans is ν Octantis, an orange giant of magnitude 3.73.\n\nBecause it surrounds the pole, Octans is circumpolar from most of the southern hemisphere. It is fully visible only from south of the equator, and none of it rises north of about 15°N. Its stars circle the pole once a day, so the constellation is visible on every clear night of the year from southern latitudes.\n\nTo find the south celestial pole, observers often use nearby bright objects. One method is to extend the long axis of the Southern Cross about four and a half times its length. Another is to take the point roughly midway between Achernar and the Southern Cross. The pole then lies in the faint field of Octans, near σ Octantis.", | |
| 986 | "image": null, | |
| 987 | "drawing": { | |
| 988 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 989 | }, | |
| 990 | "link": { | |
| 991 | "constellation": "Oct" | |
| 992 | }, | |
| 993 | "sources": [ | |
| 994 | { | |
| 995 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 996 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 997 | }, | |
| 998 | { | |
| 999 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1000 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1001 | }, | |
| 1002 | { | |
| 1003 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1004 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1005 | }, | |
| 1006 | { | |
| 1007 | "title": "SIMBAD: nu Oct", | |
| 1008 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=nu.+Oct" | |
| 1009 | } | |
| 1010 | ] | |
| 1011 | }, | |
| 1012 | { | |
| 1013 | "id": "oph", | |
| 1014 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1015 | "title": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 1016 | "subtitle": "The Serpent Bearer", | |
| 1017 | "facts": [ | |
| 1018 | { | |
| 1019 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1020 | "value": "Oph", | |
| 1021 | "source": 0 | |
| 1022 | }, | |
| 1023 | { | |
| 1024 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1025 | "value": "Ophiuchi", | |
| 1026 | "source": 0 | |
| 1027 | }, | |
| 1028 | { | |
| 1029 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1030 | "value": "948 square degrees (11th of 88)", | |
| 1031 | "source": 1 | |
| 1032 | }, | |
| 1033 | { | |
| 1034 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1035 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1036 | "source": 2 | |
| 1037 | }, | |
| 1038 | { | |
| 1039 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1040 | "value": "59°N to 75°S", | |
| 1041 | "source": 2 | |
| 1042 | }, | |
| 1043 | { | |
| 1044 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1045 | "value": "Rasalhague (α Ophiuchi), magnitude 2.07", | |
| 1046 | "source": 3 | |
| 1047 | }, | |
| 1048 | { | |
| 1049 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1050 | "value": "M10, a globular cluster about 15,000 light-years away, magnitude 6.4", | |
| 1051 | "source": 4 | |
| 1052 | } | |
| 1053 | ], | |
| 1054 | "essay": "Ophiuchus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It shows a man holding a large snake, usually identified with Asclepius, the healer of Greek myth. The snake is the separate constellation Serpens, whose head and tail sit on either side of Ophiuchus.\n\nThe figure is large and its stars are fairly faint. Rasalhague, α Ophiuchi, magnitude 2.07, marks the head and lies close to Rasalgethi, the head of Hercules. Although Ophiuchus is not one of the traditional zodiac signs, the ecliptic passes through it, and the Sun is within its boundaries from late November to mid-December.\n\nOphiuchus lies towards the centre of the Milky Way and contains seven Messier globular clusters, more than any other constellation. M10 and M12 sit close together and are both visible in binoculars. Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Sun, is in Ophiuchus. So is the remnant of the supernova that Johannes Kepler observed in 1604, the most recent supernova in the Milky Way seen with the eye.\n\nTo find Ophiuchus, look north of Scorpius and Antares for a large, coffin-shaped pattern of stars. It is best seen on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 1055 | "image": { | |
| 1056 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10061v.jpg", | |
| 1057 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1058 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1059 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695505/", | |
| 1060 | "caption": "Serpentarius (Ophiuchus) holding Serpens, with Scutum Sobiesky and the obsolete Taurus Poniatowski, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1061 | }, | |
| 1062 | "drawing": { | |
| 1063 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1064 | }, | |
| 1065 | "link": { | |
| 1066 | "constellation": "Oph" | |
| 1067 | }, | |
| 1068 | "sources": [ | |
| 1069 | { | |
| 1070 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1071 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1072 | }, | |
| 1073 | { | |
| 1074 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1075 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1076 | }, | |
| 1077 | { | |
| 1078 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1079 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1080 | }, | |
| 1081 | { | |
| 1082 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Oph", | |
| 1083 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Oph" | |
| 1084 | }, | |
| 1085 | { | |
| 1086 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 10", | |
| 1087 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-10/" | |
| 1088 | } | |
| 1089 | ] | |
| 1090 | }, | |
| 1091 | { | |
| 1092 | "id": "ori", | |
| 1093 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1094 | "title": "Orion", | |
| 1095 | "subtitle": "The Hunter", | |
| 1096 | "facts": [ | |
| 1097 | { | |
| 1098 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1099 | "value": "Ori", | |
| 1100 | "source": 0 | |
| 1101 | }, | |
| 1102 | { | |
| 1103 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1104 | "value": "Orionis", | |
| 1105 | "source": 0 | |
| 1106 | }, | |
| 1107 | { | |
| 1108 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1109 | "value": "594 square degrees (26th of 88)", | |
| 1110 | "source": 1 | |
| 1111 | }, | |
| 1112 | { | |
| 1113 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1114 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1115 | "source": 2 | |
| 1116 | }, | |
| 1117 | { | |
| 1118 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1119 | "value": "79°N to 67°S", | |
| 1120 | "source": 2 | |
| 1121 | }, | |
| 1122 | { | |
| 1123 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1124 | "value": "Rigel (β Orionis), magnitude 0.13", | |
| 1125 | "source": 3 | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | { | |
| 1128 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1129 | "value": "M42, the Orion Nebula, about 1,500 light-years away, magnitude 4.0", | |
| 1130 | "source": 4 | |
| 1131 | } | |
| 1132 | ], | |
| 1133 | "essay": "Orion is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and one of the most recognised patterns in the sky. In Greek myth Orion was a hunter. One story says he was killed by a scorpion, and the two were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so that Orion sets as Scorpius rises.\n\nIts two brightest stars are different in colour. Rigel, β Orionis, magnitude 0.13, is a blue-white supergiant at the hunter's foot. Betelgeuse, α Orionis, at the shoulder, is a red supergiant that varies in brightness; in early 2020 it dimmed noticeably, which was later traced to a cloud of dust it had thrown off. Three stars in a line, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, form Orion's Belt.\n\nBelow the Belt hangs the Sword, where the Orion Nebula, M42, is visible to the eye as a hazy patch. It is a cloud of gas and dust about 1,500 light-years away, lit by young hot stars at its centre, the Trapezium. It is the nearest large star-forming region to the Sun.\n\nOrion lies on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth. As seen from the northern hemisphere, following the Belt down and to the left leads to Sirius; following it up and to the right leads to Aldebaran.", | |
| 1134 | "image": null, | |
| 1135 | "drawing": { | |
| 1136 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1137 | }, | |
| 1138 | "link": { | |
| 1139 | "constellation": "Ori" | |
| 1140 | }, | |
| 1141 | "sources": [ | |
| 1142 | { | |
| 1143 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1144 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1145 | }, | |
| 1146 | { | |
| 1147 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1148 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1149 | }, | |
| 1150 | { | |
| 1151 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1152 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1153 | }, | |
| 1154 | { | |
| 1155 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Ori", | |
| 1156 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet+Ori" | |
| 1157 | }, | |
| 1158 | { | |
| 1159 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 42", | |
| 1160 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-42/" | |
| 1161 | } | |
| 1162 | ] | |
| 1163 | }, | |
| 1164 | { | |
| 1165 | "id": "pav", | |
| 1166 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1167 | "title": "Pavo", | |
| 1168 | "subtitle": "The Peacock", | |
| 1169 | "facts": [ | |
| 1170 | { | |
| 1171 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1172 | "value": "Pav", | |
| 1173 | "source": 0 | |
| 1174 | }, | |
| 1175 | { | |
| 1176 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1177 | "value": "Pavonis", | |
| 1178 | "source": 0 | |
| 1179 | }, | |
| 1180 | { | |
| 1181 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1182 | "value": "378 square degrees (44th of 88)", | |
| 1183 | "source": 1 | |
| 1184 | }, | |
| 1185 | { | |
| 1186 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1187 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1188 | "source": 2 | |
| 1189 | }, | |
| 1190 | { | |
| 1191 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1192 | "value": "15°N to 90°S", | |
| 1193 | "source": 2 | |
| 1194 | }, | |
| 1195 | { | |
| 1196 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1197 | "value": "Peacock (α Pavonis), magnitude 1.92", | |
| 1198 | "source": 3 | |
| 1199 | }, | |
| 1200 | { | |
| 1201 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1202 | "value": "NGC 6752, a bright globular cluster", | |
| 1203 | "source": 4 | |
| 1204 | } | |
| 1205 | ], | |
| 1206 | "essay": "Pavo is one of the southern constellations formed from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It appeared on a globe by Petrus Plancius at the end of that decade and in Johann Bayer's atlas Uranometria in 1603. It represents the peacock.\n\nIts brightest star, α Pavonis, is a blue-white star of magnitude 1.92. It was given the name Peacock in the 1930s, when the British Nautical Almanac Office needed names for navigation stars that had none. The rest of the figure is made of third- and fourth-magnitude stars. κ Pavonis is a Cepheid variable star that changes in brightness over about nine days.\n\nPavo contains NGC 6752, one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky, visible in binoculars as a hazy star and resolved into stars by a small telescope. The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6744 is also in Pavo and is similar in size and shape to the Milky Way.\n\nTo find Pavo, look south of Sagittarius and Corona Australis, between Ara and Indus. It is best seen on winter evenings from the southern hemisphere and does not rise from most of Europe or North America.", | |
| 1207 | "image": null, | |
| 1208 | "drawing": { | |
| 1209 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1210 | }, | |
| 1211 | "link": { | |
| 1212 | "constellation": "Pav" | |
| 1213 | }, | |
| 1214 | "sources": [ | |
| 1215 | { | |
| 1216 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1217 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1218 | }, | |
| 1219 | { | |
| 1220 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1221 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1222 | }, | |
| 1223 | { | |
| 1224 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1225 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1226 | }, | |
| 1227 | { | |
| 1228 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Pav", | |
| 1229 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Pav" | |
| 1230 | }, | |
| 1231 | { | |
| 1232 | "title": "SIMBAD: NGC 6752", | |
| 1233 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=NGC+6752" | |
| 1234 | } | |
| 1235 | ] | |
| 1236 | }, | |
| 1237 | { | |
| 1238 | "id": "peg", | |
| 1239 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1240 | "title": "Pegasus", | |
| 1241 | "subtitle": "The Winged Horse", | |
| 1242 | "facts": [ | |
| 1243 | { | |
| 1244 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1245 | "value": "Peg", | |
| 1246 | "source": 0 | |
| 1247 | }, | |
| 1248 | { | |
| 1249 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1250 | "value": "Pegasi", | |
| 1251 | "source": 0 | |
| 1252 | }, | |
| 1253 | { | |
| 1254 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1255 | "value": "1121 square degrees (7th of 88)", | |
| 1256 | "source": 1 | |
| 1257 | }, | |
| 1258 | { | |
| 1259 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1260 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1261 | "source": 2 | |
| 1262 | }, | |
| 1263 | { | |
| 1264 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1265 | "value": "90°N to 53°S", | |
| 1266 | "source": 2 | |
| 1267 | }, | |
| 1268 | { | |
| 1269 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1270 | "value": "Enif (ε Pegasi), magnitude 2.39", | |
| 1271 | "source": 3 | |
| 1272 | }, | |
| 1273 | { | |
| 1274 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1275 | "value": "M15, a globular cluster about 33,600 light-years away, magnitude 6.2", | |
| 1276 | "source": 4 | |
| 1277 | } | |
| 1278 | ], | |
| 1279 | "essay": "Pegasus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents the winged horse of Greek myth, which sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus cut off her head. In the sky the horse is shown upside down and only from the front half.\n\nThe main pattern is the Great Square of Pegasus, four stars of second and third magnitude enclosing an area of sky with few stars visible to the eye. Three of the corners belong to Pegasus; the fourth, Alpheratz, is now part of Andromeda. The brightest star, Enif, ε Pegasi, is an orange supergiant of magnitude 2.39 that marks the horse's nose, some distance west of the Square. Scheat, β Pegasi, at the Square's north-west corner, is nearly as bright and varies slightly.\n\nIn 1995, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz found a planet orbiting 51 Pegasi, the first discovered around a Sun-like star. The work earned them a share of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. Near Enif is M15, a dense globular cluster visible in binoculars.\n\nTo find Pegasus, look for the Great Square high in the south on autumn evenings from the northern hemisphere. Andromeda extends from its north-east corner.", | |
| 1280 | "image": null, | |
| 1281 | "drawing": { | |
| 1282 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1283 | }, | |
| 1284 | "link": { | |
| 1285 | "constellation": "Peg" | |
| 1286 | }, | |
| 1287 | "sources": [ | |
| 1288 | { | |
| 1289 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1290 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1291 | }, | |
| 1292 | { | |
| 1293 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1294 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1295 | }, | |
| 1296 | { | |
| 1297 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1298 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1299 | }, | |
| 1300 | { | |
| 1301 | "title": "SIMBAD: eps Peg", | |
| 1302 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=eps+Peg" | |
| 1303 | }, | |
| 1304 | { | |
| 1305 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 15", | |
| 1306 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-15/" | |
| 1307 | } | |
| 1308 | ] | |
| 1309 | }, | |
| 1310 | { | |
| 1311 | "id": "per", | |
| 1312 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1313 | "title": "Perseus", | |
| 1314 | "subtitle": "The Hero", | |
| 1315 | "facts": [ | |
| 1316 | { | |
| 1317 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1318 | "value": "Per", | |
| 1319 | "source": 0 | |
| 1320 | }, | |
| 1321 | { | |
| 1322 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1323 | "value": "Persei", | |
| 1324 | "source": 0 | |
| 1325 | }, | |
| 1326 | { | |
| 1327 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1328 | "value": "615 square degrees (24th of 88)", | |
| 1329 | "source": 1 | |
| 1330 | }, | |
| 1331 | { | |
| 1332 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1333 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1334 | "source": 2 | |
| 1335 | }, | |
| 1336 | { | |
| 1337 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1338 | "value": "90°N to 30°S", | |
| 1339 | "source": 2 | |
| 1340 | }, | |
| 1341 | { | |
| 1342 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1343 | "value": "Mirfak (α Persei), magnitude 1.79", | |
| 1344 | "source": 3 | |
| 1345 | }, | |
| 1346 | { | |
| 1347 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1348 | "value": "NGC 869 and NGC 884, the Double Cluster", | |
| 1349 | "source": 4 | |
| 1350 | } | |
| 1351 | ], | |
| 1352 | "essay": "Perseus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents the Greek hero who cut off the head of Medusa and rescued Andromeda from a sea monster. Andromeda, her parents Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and the monster Cetus are all nearby constellations.\n\nThe brightest star, Mirfak, α Persei, is a yellow-white supergiant of magnitude 1.79. It sits in a loose group of stars called the Alpha Persei Cluster, which binoculars show well. The second star, Algol, marks Medusa's head. It is an eclipsing binary: every 2.87 days the fainter star passes in front of the brighter one and Algol drops from about magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 for several hours. This can be followed with the eye by comparing it with nearby stars.\n\nOn the border with Cassiopeia lies the Double Cluster, NGC 869 and NGC 884, two open clusters side by side that are visible to the eye from a dark site and fill the field of binoculars. The Perseid meteor shower, which peaks around 12 August, appears to come from Perseus.\n\nTo find Perseus, follow the line of Andromeda's stars north-east from the Great Square of Pegasus, or look below the W of Cassiopeia. It is best seen on late autumn and winter evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 1353 | "image": { | |
| 1354 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10055v.jpg", | |
| 1355 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1356 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1357 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695399/", | |
| 1358 | "caption": "Perseus holding the head of Medusa, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1359 | }, | |
| 1360 | "drawing": { | |
| 1361 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1362 | }, | |
| 1363 | "link": { | |
| 1364 | "constellation": "Per" | |
| 1365 | }, | |
| 1366 | "sources": [ | |
| 1367 | { | |
| 1368 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1369 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1370 | }, | |
| 1371 | { | |
| 1372 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1373 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1374 | }, | |
| 1375 | { | |
| 1376 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1377 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1378 | }, | |
| 1379 | { | |
| 1380 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Per", | |
| 1381 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Per" | |
| 1382 | }, | |
| 1383 | { | |
| 1384 | "title": "SIMBAD: NGC 869", | |
| 1385 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=NGC+869" | |
| 1386 | } | |
| 1387 | ] | |
| 1388 | }, | |
| 1389 | { | |
| 1390 | "id": "phe", | |
| 1391 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1392 | "title": "Phoenix", | |
| 1393 | "subtitle": "The Phoenix", | |
| 1394 | "facts": [ | |
| 1395 | { | |
| 1396 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1397 | "value": "Phe", | |
| 1398 | "source": 0 | |
| 1399 | }, | |
| 1400 | { | |
| 1401 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1402 | "value": "Phoenicis", | |
| 1403 | "source": 0 | |
| 1404 | }, | |
| 1405 | { | |
| 1406 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1407 | "value": "469 square degrees (37th of 88)", | |
| 1408 | "source": 1 | |
| 1409 | }, | |
| 1410 | { | |
| 1411 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1412 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1413 | "source": 2 | |
| 1414 | }, | |
| 1415 | { | |
| 1416 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1417 | "value": "32°N to 90°S", | |
| 1418 | "source": 2 | |
| 1419 | }, | |
| 1420 | { | |
| 1421 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1422 | "value": "Ankaa (α Phoenicis), magnitude 2.38", | |
| 1423 | "source": 3 | |
| 1424 | } | |
| 1425 | ], | |
| 1426 | "essay": "Phoenix is one of the twelve southern constellations formed from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It appeared on a globe by Petrus Plancius at the end of that decade and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria in 1603. It represents the mythical bird that is reborn from its own ashes.\n\nIts brightest star is Ankaa, α Phoenicis, an orange giant of magnitude 2.38. The name comes from an Arabic word for a legendary bird. The rest of the constellation is made of third- and fourth-magnitude stars that form a rough outline of a bird with spread wings.\n\nPhoenix lies far from the Milky Way, so it contains galaxies rather than star clusters. Most are faint. The Phoenix Cluster, a distant cluster of galaxies found in 2010, has a central galaxy that is forming stars at an unusually high rate. Phoenix is also the radiant of a minor meteor shower in early December.\n\nTo find Phoenix, look between Achernar, at the end of Eridanus, and Fomalhaut in Piscis Austrinus. From mid-northern latitudes only its northern part rises. It is best seen on spring evenings from the southern hemisphere, where it passes high overhead.", | |
| 1427 | "image": null, | |
| 1428 | "drawing": { | |
| 1429 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1430 | }, | |
| 1431 | "link": { | |
| 1432 | "constellation": "Phe" | |
| 1433 | }, | |
| 1434 | "sources": [ | |
| 1435 | { | |
| 1436 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1437 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1438 | }, | |
| 1439 | { | |
| 1440 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1441 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1442 | }, | |
| 1443 | { | |
| 1444 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1445 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1446 | }, | |
| 1447 | { | |
| 1448 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Phe", | |
| 1449 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Phe" | |
| 1450 | } | |
| 1451 | ] | |
| 1452 | }, | |
| 1453 | { | |
| 1454 | "id": "pic", | |
| 1455 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1456 | "title": "Pictor", | |
| 1457 | "subtitle": "The Painter's Easel", | |
| 1458 | "facts": [ | |
| 1459 | { | |
| 1460 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1461 | "value": "Pic", | |
| 1462 | "source": 0 | |
| 1463 | }, | |
| 1464 | { | |
| 1465 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1466 | "value": "Pictoris", | |
| 1467 | "source": 0 | |
| 1468 | }, | |
| 1469 | { | |
| 1470 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1471 | "value": "247 square degrees (59th of 88)", | |
| 1472 | "source": 1 | |
| 1473 | }, | |
| 1474 | { | |
| 1475 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1476 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1477 | "source": 2 | |
| 1478 | }, | |
| 1479 | { | |
| 1480 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1481 | "value": "25°N to 90°S", | |
| 1482 | "source": 2 | |
| 1483 | }, | |
| 1484 | { | |
| 1485 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1486 | "value": "α Pictoris, magnitude 3.23", | |
| 1487 | "source": 3 | |
| 1488 | } | |
| 1489 | ], | |
| 1490 | "essay": "Pictor was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s as Equuleus Pictoris, the painter's easel. The name was later shortened to Pictor, which means \"the painter\", though the IAU still describes it as the easel. It is one of several Lacaille constellations named after tools of art and science.\n\nIts brightest star is α Pictoris, a white star of magnitude 3.23. The constellation has few bright stars and no prominent deep-sky objects for small telescopes.\n\nPictor is known for two nearby stars. β Pictoris, a young star about 63 light-years away, was found in 1984 to be surrounded by a disc of dust, the first such disc to be imaged around another star. Later observations found two giant planets orbiting inside the disc. Kapteyn's Star, a red dwarf about 13 light-years away, also lies in Pictor and moves quickly across the sky. Its orbit around the Milky Way runs opposite to that of most nearby stars.\n\nTo find Pictor, look next to Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky, on the side towards the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is best seen on summer evenings from the southern hemisphere and is low or below the horizon from mid-northern latitudes.", | |
| 1491 | "image": null, | |
| 1492 | "drawing": { | |
| 1493 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1494 | }, | |
| 1495 | "link": { | |
| 1496 | "constellation": "Pic" | |
| 1497 | }, | |
| 1498 | "sources": [ | |
| 1499 | { | |
| 1500 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1501 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1502 | }, | |
| 1503 | { | |
| 1504 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1505 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1506 | }, | |
| 1507 | { | |
| 1508 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1509 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1510 | }, | |
| 1511 | { | |
| 1512 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Pic", | |
| 1513 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Pic" | |
| 1514 | } | |
| 1515 | ] | |
| 1516 | }, | |
| 1517 | { | |
| 1518 | "id": "psc", | |
| 1519 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1520 | "title": "Pisces", | |
| 1521 | "subtitle": "The Fishes", | |
| 1522 | "facts": [ | |
| 1523 | { | |
| 1524 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1525 | "value": "Psc", | |
| 1526 | "source": 0 | |
| 1527 | }, | |
| 1528 | { | |
| 1529 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1530 | "value": "Piscium", | |
| 1531 | "source": 0 | |
| 1532 | }, | |
| 1533 | { | |
| 1534 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1535 | "value": "889 square degrees (14th of 88)", | |
| 1536 | "source": 1 | |
| 1537 | }, | |
| 1538 | { | |
| 1539 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1540 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1541 | "source": 2 | |
| 1542 | }, | |
| 1543 | { | |
| 1544 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1545 | "value": "83°N to 56°S", | |
| 1546 | "source": 2 | |
| 1547 | }, | |
| 1548 | { | |
| 1549 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1550 | "value": "Alpherg (η Piscium), magnitude 3.62", | |
| 1551 | "source": 3 | |
| 1552 | }, | |
| 1553 | { | |
| 1554 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1555 | "value": "M74, a face-on spiral galaxy about 32 million light-years away, magnitude 10.0", | |
| 1556 | "source": 4 | |
| 1557 | } | |
| 1558 | ], | |
| 1559 | "essay": "Pisces is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy. It represents two fish tied together by their tails with a long cord. In one Greek version of the story, Aphrodite and her son Eros turned into fish to escape the monster Typhon and tied themselves together so they would not be separated.\n\nPisces is large but faint. Its brightest star is Alpherg, η Piscium, a yellow giant of magnitude 3.62. Alrescha, α Piscium, marks the knot where the two cords meet. The western fish is a ring of faint stars called the Circlet, just south of the Great Square of Pegasus. The other fish lies to the north, below Andromeda.\n\nThe March equinox point, where the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading north, is in Pisces. Because of precession it is moving slowly westward and will cross into Aquarius in several centuries. Right ascension on star charts is measured from this point.\n\nPisces contains M74, a spiral galaxy seen face-on. Its low surface brightness makes it hard to see in a small telescope despite its size.\n\nTo find Pisces, start at the Great Square of Pegasus and look south for the Circlet, then follow the faint stars east and north. It is best seen on autumn evenings.", | |
| 1560 | "image": { | |
| 1561 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10073v.jpg", | |
| 1562 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1563 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1564 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695518/", | |
| 1565 | "caption": "Pisces, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1566 | }, | |
| 1567 | "drawing": { | |
| 1568 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1569 | }, | |
| 1570 | "link": { | |
| 1571 | "constellation": "Psc" | |
| 1572 | }, | |
| 1573 | "sources": [ | |
| 1574 | { | |
| 1575 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1576 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1577 | }, | |
| 1578 | { | |
| 1579 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1580 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1581 | }, | |
| 1582 | { | |
| 1583 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1584 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1585 | }, | |
| 1586 | { | |
| 1587 | "title": "SIMBAD: eta Psc", | |
| 1588 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=eta+Psc" | |
| 1589 | }, | |
| 1590 | { | |
| 1591 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 74", | |
| 1592 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-74/" | |
| 1593 | } | |
| 1594 | ] | |
| 1595 | }, | |
| 1596 | { | |
| 1597 | "id": "psa", | |
| 1598 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1599 | "title": "Piscis Austrinus", | |
| 1600 | "subtitle": "The Southern Fish", | |
| 1601 | "facts": [ | |
| 1602 | { | |
| 1603 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1604 | "value": "PsA", | |
| 1605 | "source": 0 | |
| 1606 | }, | |
| 1607 | { | |
| 1608 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1609 | "value": "Piscis Austrini", | |
| 1610 | "source": 0 | |
| 1611 | }, | |
| 1612 | { | |
| 1613 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1614 | "value": "245 square degrees (60th of 88)", | |
| 1615 | "source": 1 | |
| 1616 | }, | |
| 1617 | { | |
| 1618 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1619 | "value": "October (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1620 | "source": 2 | |
| 1621 | }, | |
| 1622 | { | |
| 1623 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1624 | "value": "53°N to 90°S", | |
| 1625 | "source": 2 | |
| 1626 | }, | |
| 1627 | { | |
| 1628 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1629 | "value": "Fomalhaut (α Piscis Austrini), magnitude 1.16", | |
| 1630 | "source": 3 | |
| 1631 | } | |
| 1632 | ], | |
| 1633 | "essay": "Piscis Austrinus is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents a fish drinking the water that Aquarius pours from his jar. Some Greek writers described it as the parent of the two fish in Pisces.\n\nThe constellation is known for one star. Fomalhaut, α Piscis Austrini, is a white star of magnitude 1.16 and one of the brightest in the sky. Its name comes from the Arabic for \"mouth of the fish\". It stands in a region with few other bright stars, so from mid-northern latitudes it appears alone, low in the south, on autumn evenings.\n\nFomalhaut is about 25 light-years away and is surrounded by a wide ring of dust. Hubble images in 2008 showed an object inside the ring that was announced as a planet, Fomalhaut b. Later observations showed it fading and spreading out, and it is now thought to have been a cloud of dust, possibly from a collision. The James Webb Space Telescope has since imaged inner dust belts as well.\n\nThe rest of Piscis Austrinus is a loop of fourth-magnitude stars. To find it, look south of Aquarius, below the Great Square of Pegasus. Fomalhaut is the only first-magnitude star in that part of the sky.", | |
| 1634 | "image": { | |
| 1635 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10072v.jpg", | |
| 1636 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1637 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1638 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695517/", | |
| 1639 | "caption": "Aquarius, Piscis Australis and the obsolete Ballon Aerostatique, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1640 | }, | |
| 1641 | "drawing": { | |
| 1642 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1643 | }, | |
| 1644 | "link": { | |
| 1645 | "constellation": "PsA" | |
| 1646 | }, | |
| 1647 | "sources": [ | |
| 1648 | { | |
| 1649 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1650 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1651 | }, | |
| 1652 | { | |
| 1653 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1654 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1655 | }, | |
| 1656 | { | |
| 1657 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1658 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1659 | }, | |
| 1660 | { | |
| 1661 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf PsA", | |
| 1662 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+PsA" | |
| 1663 | } | |
| 1664 | ] | |
| 1665 | }, | |
| 1666 | { | |
| 1667 | "id": "pup", | |
| 1668 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1669 | "title": "Puppis", | |
| 1670 | "subtitle": "The Stern", | |
| 1671 | "facts": [ | |
| 1672 | { | |
| 1673 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1674 | "value": "Pup", | |
| 1675 | "source": 0 | |
| 1676 | }, | |
| 1677 | { | |
| 1678 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1679 | "value": "Puppis", | |
| 1680 | "source": 0 | |
| 1681 | }, | |
| 1682 | { | |
| 1683 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1684 | "value": "673 square degrees (20th of 88)", | |
| 1685 | "source": 1 | |
| 1686 | }, | |
| 1687 | { | |
| 1688 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1689 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1690 | "source": 2 | |
| 1691 | }, | |
| 1692 | { | |
| 1693 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1694 | "value": "38°N to 90°S", | |
| 1695 | "source": 2 | |
| 1696 | }, | |
| 1697 | { | |
| 1698 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1699 | "value": "Naos (ζ Puppis), magnitude 2.25", | |
| 1700 | "source": 3 | |
| 1701 | }, | |
| 1702 | { | |
| 1703 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1704 | "value": "M47, an open star cluster", | |
| 1705 | "source": 4 | |
| 1706 | } | |
| 1707 | ], | |
| 1708 | "essay": "Puppis was once part of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts and one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Argo was very large, and in the 1750s Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided it into three parts: Carina, the keel; Vela, the sails; and Puppis, the stern. The division was made official when the IAU adopted the 88 modern constellations.\n\nLacaille kept a single series of Greek letters for the whole ship, so Puppis has no stars labelled α or β; those went to Carina. Its brightest star is Naos, ζ Puppis, magnitude 2.25. It is one of the hottest and most massive stars visible to the eye, an O-type supergiant with a surface temperature of about 40,000 K.\n\nPuppis lies in the Milky Way and contains many open clusters. M46 and M47 sit close together and fit in the same binocular field: M47 is bright and scattered, M46 is fainter and richer. M93 is another open cluster near the border with Canis Major.\n\nTo find Puppis, look east and south-east of Sirius, along the band of the Milky Way. From mid-northern latitudes its northern part rises on winter evenings; the whole constellation is best seen from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 1709 | "image": { | |
| 1710 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 1711 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1712 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1713 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 1714 | "caption": "Hydra and its neighbours, including Lupus, Sextans, Pyxis Nautica and the old ship Argo Navis, on a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1715 | }, | |
| 1716 | "drawing": { | |
| 1717 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1718 | }, | |
| 1719 | "link": { | |
| 1720 | "constellation": "Pup" | |
| 1721 | }, | |
| 1722 | "sources": [ | |
| 1723 | { | |
| 1724 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1725 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1726 | }, | |
| 1727 | { | |
| 1728 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1729 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1730 | }, | |
| 1731 | { | |
| 1732 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1733 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1734 | }, | |
| 1735 | { | |
| 1736 | "title": "SIMBAD: zet Pup", | |
| 1737 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=zet+Pup" | |
| 1738 | }, | |
| 1739 | { | |
| 1740 | "title": "SIMBAD: M 47", | |
| 1741 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=M+47" | |
| 1742 | } | |
| 1743 | ] | |
| 1744 | }, | |
| 1745 | { | |
| 1746 | "id": "pyx", | |
| 1747 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1748 | "title": "Pyxis", | |
| 1749 | "subtitle": "The Mariner Compass", | |
| 1750 | "facts": [ | |
| 1751 | { | |
| 1752 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1753 | "value": "Pyx", | |
| 1754 | "source": 0 | |
| 1755 | }, | |
| 1756 | { | |
| 1757 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1758 | "value": "Pyxidis", | |
| 1759 | "source": 0 | |
| 1760 | }, | |
| 1761 | { | |
| 1762 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1763 | "value": "221 square degrees (65th of 88)", | |
| 1764 | "source": 1 | |
| 1765 | }, | |
| 1766 | { | |
| 1767 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1768 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1769 | "source": 2 | |
| 1770 | }, | |
| 1771 | { | |
| 1772 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1773 | "value": "52°N to 90°S", | |
| 1774 | "source": 2 | |
| 1775 | }, | |
| 1776 | { | |
| 1777 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1778 | "value": "α Pyxidis, magnitude 3.68", | |
| 1779 | "source": 3 | |
| 1780 | } | |
| 1781 | ], | |
| 1782 | "essay": "Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s as Pyxis Nautica, the mariner's compass. It lies next to the old constellation of the ship Argo Navis, but it was not part of the ship in Ptolemy's list, and Lacaille formed it from stars in the area of the ship's mast. It is one of the instrument constellations he added to the southern sky.\n\nIt is small, and its three main stars form a short line. The brightest, α Pyxidis, is a blue giant of magnitude 3.68.\n\nPyxis contains T Pyxidis, a recurrent nova. It is a binary system in which a white dwarf pulls material from a companion star until a thermonuclear explosion on its surface makes the system flare by several magnitudes. T Pyxidis erupted in 1890, 1902, 1920, 1944, 1966 and 2011. The constellation also contains several open clusters and the planetary nebula NGC 2818.\n\nTo find Pyxis, look east of Puppis and south of the head of Hydra. Its stars are faint, so a dark sky and a chart help. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on late winter evenings; it is better placed from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 1783 | "image": { | |
| 1784 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 1785 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1786 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1787 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 1788 | "caption": "Hydra and its neighbours, including Lupus, Sextans, Pyxis Nautica and the old ship Argo Navis, on a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1789 | }, | |
| 1790 | "drawing": { | |
| 1791 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1792 | }, | |
| 1793 | "link": { | |
| 1794 | "constellation": "Pyx" | |
| 1795 | }, | |
| 1796 | "sources": [ | |
| 1797 | { | |
| 1798 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1799 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1800 | }, | |
| 1801 | { | |
| 1802 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1803 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1804 | }, | |
| 1805 | { | |
| 1806 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1807 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1808 | }, | |
| 1809 | { | |
| 1810 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Pyx", | |
| 1811 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Pyx" | |
| 1812 | } | |
| 1813 | ] | |
| 1814 | }, | |
| 1815 | { | |
| 1816 | "id": "ret", | |
| 1817 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1818 | "title": "Reticulum", | |
| 1819 | "subtitle": "The Reticle", | |
| 1820 | "facts": [ | |
| 1821 | { | |
| 1822 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1823 | "value": "Ret", | |
| 1824 | "source": 0 | |
| 1825 | }, | |
| 1826 | { | |
| 1827 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1828 | "value": "Reticuli", | |
| 1829 | "source": 0 | |
| 1830 | }, | |
| 1831 | { | |
| 1832 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1833 | "value": "114 square degrees (82nd of 88)", | |
| 1834 | "source": 1 | |
| 1835 | }, | |
| 1836 | { | |
| 1837 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1838 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1839 | "source": 2 | |
| 1840 | }, | |
| 1841 | { | |
| 1842 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1843 | "value": "22°N to 90°S", | |
| 1844 | "source": 2 | |
| 1845 | }, | |
| 1846 | { | |
| 1847 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1848 | "value": "α Reticuli, magnitude 3.36", | |
| 1849 | "source": 3 | |
| 1850 | } | |
| 1851 | ], | |
| 1852 | "essay": "Reticulum was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s as Reticulum Rhomboidalis. It represents the reticle, the grid of fine lines in a telescope eyepiece that Lacaille used to measure star positions during his survey of the southern sky from the Cape of Good Hope.\n\nIt is one of the smallest constellations. Its brightest star, α Reticuli, is a yellow giant of magnitude 3.36. With β, δ and ε Reticuli it forms a small diamond that is easy to recognise.\n\nReticulum contains ζ Reticuli, a wide pair of Sun-like stars about 39 light-years away that can be separated with binoculars or good eyesight. It also contains several faint galaxies, but nothing bright for small telescopes.\n\nTo find Reticulum, look near the Large Magellanic Cloud, on its north-west side, and between the bright stars Achernar and Canopus. It is circumpolar from far southern latitudes and is best seen on early summer evenings from the southern hemisphere. It cannot be seen from Europe or most of North America.", | |
| 1853 | "image": null, | |
| 1854 | "drawing": { | |
| 1855 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1856 | }, | |
| 1857 | "link": { | |
| 1858 | "constellation": "Ret" | |
| 1859 | }, | |
| 1860 | "sources": [ | |
| 1861 | { | |
| 1862 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1863 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1864 | }, | |
| 1865 | { | |
| 1866 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1867 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1868 | }, | |
| 1869 | { | |
| 1870 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1871 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1872 | }, | |
| 1873 | { | |
| 1874 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Ret", | |
| 1875 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Ret" | |
| 1876 | } | |
| 1877 | ] | |
| 1878 | }, | |
| 1879 | { | |
| 1880 | "id": "sge", | |
| 1881 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1882 | "title": "Sagitta", | |
| 1883 | "subtitle": "The Arrow", | |
| 1884 | "facts": [ | |
| 1885 | { | |
| 1886 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1887 | "value": "Sge", | |
| 1888 | "source": 0 | |
| 1889 | }, | |
| 1890 | { | |
| 1891 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1892 | "value": "Sagittae", | |
| 1893 | "source": 0 | |
| 1894 | }, | |
| 1895 | { | |
| 1896 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1897 | "value": "80 square degrees (86th of 88)", | |
| 1898 | "source": 1 | |
| 1899 | }, | |
| 1900 | { | |
| 1901 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1902 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1903 | "source": 2 | |
| 1904 | }, | |
| 1905 | { | |
| 1906 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1907 | "value": "90°N to 68°S", | |
| 1908 | "source": 2 | |
| 1909 | }, | |
| 1910 | { | |
| 1911 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1912 | "value": "γ Sagittae, magnitude 3.47", | |
| 1913 | "source": 3 | |
| 1914 | }, | |
| 1915 | { | |
| 1916 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1917 | "value": "M71, a globular cluster about 13,000 light-years away, magnitude 6.1", | |
| 1918 | "source": 4 | |
| 1919 | } | |
| 1920 | ], | |
| 1921 | "essay": "Sagitta is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents an arrow. Greek writers linked it to several stories, including the arrow Heracles used to kill the eagle that tormented Prometheus; the eagle, Aquila, is next to it.\n\nIt is the third-smallest constellation, but its shape is clear: four stars in a short line with a fork at one end. The brightest is γ Sagittae, a red giant of magnitude 3.47 at the arrow's tip. The arrow points east.\n\nSagitta lies in the Milky Way, and binoculars show dense star fields across it. Halfway along the arrow is M71, a globular cluster about 13,000 light-years away. It is loose for a globular cluster, and for many years astronomers debated whether it was instead a dense open cluster; measurements of its stars settled it as a globular. Sagitta also contains WR 124, a hot star surrounded by a nebula that the James Webb Space Telescope imaged in 2023.\n\nTo find Sagitta, look inside the Summer Triangle, between Altair and Albireo, the star at the head of Cygnus. It is just north of Altair. It is best seen on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 1922 | "image": { | |
| 1923 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10062v.jpg", | |
| 1924 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 1925 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1926 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695506/", | |
| 1927 | "caption": "Delphinus, Sagitta, Aquila and the obsolete Antinous, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 1928 | }, | |
| 1929 | "drawing": { | |
| 1930 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 1931 | }, | |
| 1932 | "link": { | |
| 1933 | "constellation": "Sge" | |
| 1934 | }, | |
| 1935 | "sources": [ | |
| 1936 | { | |
| 1937 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 1938 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 1939 | }, | |
| 1940 | { | |
| 1941 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 1942 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 1943 | }, | |
| 1944 | { | |
| 1945 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 1946 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 1947 | }, | |
| 1948 | { | |
| 1949 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam Sge", | |
| 1950 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam+Sge" | |
| 1951 | }, | |
| 1952 | { | |
| 1953 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 71", | |
| 1954 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-71/" | |
| 1955 | } | |
| 1956 | ] | |
| 1957 | }, | |
| 1958 | { | |
| 1959 | "id": "sgr", | |
| 1960 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 1961 | "title": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1962 | "subtitle": "The Archer", | |
| 1963 | "facts": [ | |
| 1964 | { | |
| 1965 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 1966 | "value": "Sgr", | |
| 1967 | "source": 0 | |
| 1968 | }, | |
| 1969 | { | |
| 1970 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 1971 | "value": "Sagittarii", | |
| 1972 | "source": 0 | |
| 1973 | }, | |
| 1974 | { | |
| 1975 | "label": "Area", | |
| 1976 | "value": "867 square degrees (15th of 88)", | |
| 1977 | "source": 1 | |
| 1978 | }, | |
| 1979 | { | |
| 1980 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 1981 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 1982 | "source": 2 | |
| 1983 | }, | |
| 1984 | { | |
| 1985 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 1986 | "value": "44°N to 90°S", | |
| 1987 | "source": 2 | |
| 1988 | }, | |
| 1989 | { | |
| 1990 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 1991 | "value": "Kaus Australis (ε Sagittarii), magnitude 1.81", | |
| 1992 | "source": 3 | |
| 1993 | }, | |
| 1994 | { | |
| 1995 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 1996 | "value": "M8, the Lagoon Nebula, about 5,200 light-years away, magnitude 6.0", | |
| 1997 | "source": 4 | |
| 1998 | } | |
| 1999 | ], | |
| 2000 | "essay": "Sagittarius is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy. It represents an archer, usually drawn as a centaur aiming an arrow at Scorpius, which lies to the west.\n\nIts brightest stars form an asterism called the Teapot, with a spout to the west and a handle to the east. The brightest star is Kaus Australis, ε Sagittarii, magnitude 1.81, at the bottom of the Teapot. α Sagittarii is much fainter, at magnitude 3.94. The Sun is in Sagittarius at the December solstice.\n\nThe centre of the Milky Way lies in Sagittarius, about 26,000 light-years away, behind thick clouds of dust. Radio, infrared and X-ray observations reach it. They show a black hole of about four million solar masses, called Sagittarius A*, which the Event Horizon Telescope imaged in 2022.\n\nLooking in this direction also means looking through the densest part of the Milky Way. Sagittarius contains more Messier objects than any other constellation, including the Lagoon Nebula, M8, visible to the eye from a dark site above the spout, the Trifid Nebula, M20, the Omega Nebula, M17, and the globular cluster M22.\n\nTo find Sagittarius, look east of Antares and the tail of Scorpius. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on summer evenings.", | |
| 2001 | "image": { | |
| 2002 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10070v.jpg", | |
| 2003 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2004 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2005 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695515/", | |
| 2006 | "caption": "Sagittarius with Corona Australis, Microscopium and Telescopium, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2007 | }, | |
| 2008 | "drawing": { | |
| 2009 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2010 | }, | |
| 2011 | "link": { | |
| 2012 | "constellation": "Sgr" | |
| 2013 | }, | |
| 2014 | "sources": [ | |
| 2015 | { | |
| 2016 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2017 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2018 | }, | |
| 2019 | { | |
| 2020 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2021 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2022 | }, | |
| 2023 | { | |
| 2024 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2025 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2026 | }, | |
| 2027 | { | |
| 2028 | "title": "SIMBAD: eps Sgr", | |
| 2029 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=eps+Sgr" | |
| 2030 | }, | |
| 2031 | { | |
| 2032 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 8", | |
| 2033 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-8/" | |
| 2034 | } | |
| 2035 | ] | |
| 2036 | }, | |
| 2037 | { | |
| 2038 | "id": "sco", | |
| 2039 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2040 | "title": "Scorpius", | |
| 2041 | "subtitle": "The Scorpion", | |
| 2042 | "facts": [ | |
| 2043 | { | |
| 2044 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2045 | "value": "Sco", | |
| 2046 | "source": 0 | |
| 2047 | }, | |
| 2048 | { | |
| 2049 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2050 | "value": "Scorpii", | |
| 2051 | "source": 0 | |
| 2052 | }, | |
| 2053 | { | |
| 2054 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2055 | "value": "497 square degrees (33rd of 88)", | |
| 2056 | "source": 1 | |
| 2057 | }, | |
| 2058 | { | |
| 2059 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2060 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2061 | "source": 2 | |
| 2062 | }, | |
| 2063 | { | |
| 2064 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2065 | "value": "44°N to 90°S", | |
| 2066 | "source": 2 | |
| 2067 | }, | |
| 2068 | { | |
| 2069 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2070 | "value": "Antares (α Scorpii), magnitude 0.91", | |
| 2071 | "source": 3 | |
| 2072 | }, | |
| 2073 | { | |
| 2074 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2075 | "value": "M4, a globular cluster about 5,500 light-years away, magnitude 5.9", | |
| 2076 | "source": 4 | |
| 2077 | } | |
| 2078 | ], | |
| 2079 | "essay": "Scorpius is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy. In Greek myth it is the scorpion that killed Orion. The two were placed on opposite sides of the sky, so Orion sets as Scorpius rises. In Ptolemy's time the scorpion's claws extended into what is now Libra.\n\nThe constellation looks like its namesake, with a curved line of stars ending in a raised sting. Antares, α Scorpii, is a red supergiant that marks the heart. It has magnitude 0.91 and varies slightly in brightness. The name means \"rival of Ares\", the Greek Mars, because its colour resembles the planet's when both are in the same part of the sky.\n\nScorpius lies towards the centre of the Milky Way and contains many clusters. M4, a globular cluster about 5,500 light-years away, is just west of Antares and is one of the nearest globular clusters to the Sun. M6 and M7, two large open clusters near the sting, are visible to the eye. Many of the bright stars of Scorpius belong to a group of young stars, the Scorpius–Centaurus association.\n\nFrom mid-northern latitudes Scorpius is low in the south on summer evenings, and the sting may not clear the horizon. From the southern hemisphere it passes overhead.", | |
| 2080 | "image": { | |
| 2081 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10069v.jpg", | |
| 2082 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2083 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2084 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695514/", | |
| 2085 | "caption": "Scorpio, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2086 | }, | |
| 2087 | "drawing": { | |
| 2088 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2089 | }, | |
| 2090 | "link": { | |
| 2091 | "constellation": "Sco" | |
| 2092 | }, | |
| 2093 | "sources": [ | |
| 2094 | { | |
| 2095 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2096 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2097 | }, | |
| 2098 | { | |
| 2099 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2100 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2101 | }, | |
| 2102 | { | |
| 2103 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2104 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2105 | }, | |
| 2106 | { | |
| 2107 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Sco", | |
| 2108 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Sco" | |
| 2109 | }, | |
| 2110 | { | |
| 2111 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 4", | |
| 2112 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-4/" | |
| 2113 | } | |
| 2114 | ] | |
| 2115 | }, | |
| 2116 | { | |
| 2117 | "id": "scl", | |
| 2118 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2119 | "title": "Sculptor", | |
| 2120 | "subtitle": "The Sculptor", | |
| 2121 | "facts": [ | |
| 2122 | { | |
| 2123 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2124 | "value": "Scl", | |
| 2125 | "source": 0 | |
| 2126 | }, | |
| 2127 | { | |
| 2128 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2129 | "value": "Sculptoris", | |
| 2130 | "source": 0 | |
| 2131 | }, | |
| 2132 | { | |
| 2133 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2134 | "value": "475 square degrees (36th of 88)", | |
| 2135 | "source": 1 | |
| 2136 | }, | |
| 2137 | { | |
| 2138 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2139 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2140 | "source": 2 | |
| 2141 | }, | |
| 2142 | { | |
| 2143 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2144 | "value": "50°N to 90°S", | |
| 2145 | "source": 2 | |
| 2146 | }, | |
| 2147 | { | |
| 2148 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2149 | "value": "α Sculptoris, magnitude 4.27", | |
| 2150 | "source": 3 | |
| 2151 | }, | |
| 2152 | { | |
| 2153 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2154 | "value": "NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy", | |
| 2155 | "source": 4 | |
| 2156 | } | |
| 2157 | ], | |
| 2158 | "essay": "Sculptor was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s as l'Atelier du Sculpteur, the sculptor's workshop. In Latin it became Apparatus Sculptoris and later just Sculptor. It is one of the faint southern constellations that Lacaille named after tools and trades.\n\nIts brightest star, α Sculptoris, is a blue giant of magnitude 4.27. The constellation has no clear pattern of bright stars.\n\nThe south galactic pole, the point directly south of the plane of the Milky Way, lies in Sculptor. Looking in this direction means looking out of the Galaxy's disc with little dust in the way, so many distant galaxies can be seen. The brightest is NGC 253, the Sculptor Galaxy, a large spiral seen nearly edge-on, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783. It is forming stars at a high rate and is visible in binoculars. NGC 55 and the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, a small satellite of the Milky Way, are also here.\n\nTo find Sculptor, look south of Cetus and east of Fomalhaut, the bright star of Piscis Austrinus. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on autumn evenings; it is best seen from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 2159 | "image": { | |
| 2160 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10074v.jpg", | |
| 2161 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2162 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2163 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695519/", | |
| 2164 | "caption": "Cetus, Eridanus and smaller figures including Officina Sculptoris (Sculptor), a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2165 | }, | |
| 2166 | "drawing": { | |
| 2167 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2168 | }, | |
| 2169 | "link": { | |
| 2170 | "constellation": "Scl" | |
| 2171 | }, | |
| 2172 | "sources": [ | |
| 2173 | { | |
| 2174 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2175 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2176 | }, | |
| 2177 | { | |
| 2178 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2179 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2180 | }, | |
| 2181 | { | |
| 2182 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2183 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2184 | }, | |
| 2185 | { | |
| 2186 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Scl", | |
| 2187 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Scl" | |
| 2188 | }, | |
| 2189 | { | |
| 2190 | "title": "SIMBAD: NGC 253", | |
| 2191 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=NGC+253" | |
| 2192 | } | |
| 2193 | ] | |
| 2194 | }, | |
| 2195 | { | |
| 2196 | "id": "sct", | |
| 2197 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2198 | "title": "Scutum", | |
| 2199 | "subtitle": "The Shield", | |
| 2200 | "facts": [ | |
| 2201 | { | |
| 2202 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2203 | "value": "Sct", | |
| 2204 | "source": 0 | |
| 2205 | }, | |
| 2206 | { | |
| 2207 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2208 | "value": "Scuti", | |
| 2209 | "source": 0 | |
| 2210 | }, | |
| 2211 | { | |
| 2212 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2213 | "value": "109 square degrees (84th of 88)", | |
| 2214 | "source": 1 | |
| 2215 | }, | |
| 2216 | { | |
| 2217 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2218 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2219 | "source": 2 | |
| 2220 | }, | |
| 2221 | { | |
| 2222 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2223 | "value": "74°N to 90°S", | |
| 2224 | "source": 2 | |
| 2225 | }, | |
| 2226 | { | |
| 2227 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2228 | "value": "α Scuti, magnitude 3.83", | |
| 2229 | "source": 3 | |
| 2230 | }, | |
| 2231 | { | |
| 2232 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2233 | "value": "M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, about 6,200 light-years away, magnitude 6.3", | |
| 2234 | "source": 4 | |
| 2235 | } | |
| 2236 | ], | |
| 2237 | "essay": "Scutum was introduced by Johannes Hevelius in the 1680s under the name Scutum Sobiescianum, Sobieski's shield. It honours King John III Sobieski of Poland, whose forces lifted the siege of Vienna in 1683. It was published in Hevelius's atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690.\n\nScutum is small and its stars are faint. The brightest, α Scuti, is an orange giant of magnitude 3.83.\n\nThe constellation lies on one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way, the Scutum Star Cloud, which is visible to the eye from a dark site as a bright patch north of Sagittarius. Within it is M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, a rich open cluster about 6,200 light-years away. Its brightest stars form a V shape resembling a flock of flying ducks. M26 is a smaller open cluster nearby. Scutum also contains R Scuti, a variable star whose brightness rises and falls in an irregular cycle.\n\nTo find Scutum, follow the tail of Aquila south-west from Altair. The Scutum Star Cloud is between Aquila and the Teapot of Sagittarius. It is best seen on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2238 | "image": { | |
| 2239 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10061v.jpg", | |
| 2240 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2241 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2242 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695505/", | |
| 2243 | "caption": "Serpentarius (Ophiuchus) holding Serpens, with Scutum Sobiesky and the obsolete Taurus Poniatowski, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2244 | }, | |
| 2245 | "drawing": { | |
| 2246 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2247 | }, | |
| 2248 | "link": { | |
| 2249 | "constellation": "Sct" | |
| 2250 | }, | |
| 2251 | "sources": [ | |
| 2252 | { | |
| 2253 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2254 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2255 | }, | |
| 2256 | { | |
| 2257 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2258 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2259 | }, | |
| 2260 | { | |
| 2261 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2262 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2263 | }, | |
| 2264 | { | |
| 2265 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Sct", | |
| 2266 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Sct" | |
| 2267 | }, | |
| 2268 | { | |
| 2269 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 11", | |
| 2270 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-11/" | |
| 2271 | } | |
| 2272 | ] | |
| 2273 | }, | |
| 2274 | { | |
| 2275 | "id": "ser", | |
| 2276 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2277 | "title": "Serpens", | |
| 2278 | "subtitle": "The Serpent", | |
| 2279 | "facts": [ | |
| 2280 | { | |
| 2281 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2282 | "value": "Ser", | |
| 2283 | "source": 0 | |
| 2284 | }, | |
| 2285 | { | |
| 2286 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2287 | "value": "Serpentis", | |
| 2288 | "source": 0 | |
| 2289 | }, | |
| 2290 | { | |
| 2291 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2292 | "value": "637 square degrees (23rd of 88)", | |
| 2293 | "source": 1 | |
| 2294 | }, | |
| 2295 | { | |
| 2296 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2297 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2298 | "source": 2 | |
| 2299 | }, | |
| 2300 | { | |
| 2301 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2302 | "value": "73°N to 64°S", | |
| 2303 | "source": 2 | |
| 2304 | }, | |
| 2305 | { | |
| 2306 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2307 | "value": "Unukalhai (α Serpentis), magnitude 2.63", | |
| 2308 | "source": 3 | |
| 2309 | }, | |
| 2310 | { | |
| 2311 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2312 | "value": "M16, the Eagle Nebula, in Serpens Cauda, about 7,000 light-years away, magnitude 6.0", | |
| 2313 | "source": 4 | |
| 2314 | } | |
| 2315 | ], | |
| 2316 | "essay": "Serpens is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. It represents the snake held by Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, and in the sky the two are drawn together. Serpens is the only constellation split into two separate parts: Serpens Caput, the head, to the west of Ophiuchus, and Serpens Cauda, the tail, to the east. The IAU treats them as a single constellation.\n\nThe brightest star, Unukalhai, α Serpentis, is an orange giant of magnitude 2.63 in Serpens Caput. Its name comes from the Arabic for \"the serpent's neck\". The head itself is a small group of stars south of Corona Borealis.\n\nEach part has a well-known object. In Serpens Caput is M5, one of the largest globular clusters, about 25,000 light-years away; its stars formed more than 12 billion years ago. In Serpens Cauda is M16, the Eagle Nebula, a star-forming region about 7,000 light-years away. Hubble's 1995 image of its dark columns of gas and dust, called the Pillars of Creation, is one of its best-known pictures.\n\nTo find Serpens Caput, look between Arcturus and the head of Hercules, below Corona Borealis. Serpens Cauda runs from Ophiuchus towards Aquila. Both are best seen on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2317 | "image": { | |
| 2318 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10061v.jpg", | |
| 2319 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2320 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2321 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695505/", | |
| 2322 | "caption": "Serpentarius (Ophiuchus) holding Serpens, with Scutum Sobiesky and the obsolete Taurus Poniatowski, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2323 | }, | |
| 2324 | "drawing": { | |
| 2325 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2326 | }, | |
| 2327 | "link": { | |
| 2328 | "constellation": "Ser" | |
| 2329 | }, | |
| 2330 | "sources": [ | |
| 2331 | { | |
| 2332 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2333 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2334 | }, | |
| 2335 | { | |
| 2336 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2337 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2338 | }, | |
| 2339 | { | |
| 2340 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2341 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2342 | }, | |
| 2343 | { | |
| 2344 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Ser", | |
| 2345 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Ser" | |
| 2346 | }, | |
| 2347 | { | |
| 2348 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 16", | |
| 2349 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-16/" | |
| 2350 | } | |
| 2351 | ] | |
| 2352 | }, | |
| 2353 | { | |
| 2354 | "id": "sex", | |
| 2355 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2356 | "title": "Sextans", | |
| 2357 | "subtitle": "The Sextant", | |
| 2358 | "facts": [ | |
| 2359 | { | |
| 2360 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2361 | "value": "Sex", | |
| 2362 | "source": 0 | |
| 2363 | }, | |
| 2364 | { | |
| 2365 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2366 | "value": "Sextantis", | |
| 2367 | "source": 0 | |
| 2368 | }, | |
| 2369 | { | |
| 2370 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2371 | "value": "314 square degrees (47th of 88)", | |
| 2372 | "source": 1 | |
| 2373 | }, | |
| 2374 | { | |
| 2375 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2376 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2377 | "source": 2 | |
| 2378 | }, | |
| 2379 | { | |
| 2380 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2381 | "value": "78°N to 83°S", | |
| 2382 | "source": 2 | |
| 2383 | }, | |
| 2384 | { | |
| 2385 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2386 | "value": "α Sextantis, magnitude 4.49", | |
| 2387 | "source": 3 | |
| 2388 | } | |
| 2389 | ], | |
| 2390 | "essay": "Sextans was introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in his atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690. It represents the astronomical sextant he used to measure star positions at his observatory in Gdańsk. His instruments were destroyed in a fire in 1679, and the constellation commemorates them.\n\nSextans is faint. Its brightest star, α Sextantis, is a white star of magnitude 4.49 and lies almost on the celestial equator. The constellation has no recognisable pattern without a dark sky.\n\nIt lies away from the Milky Way and contains several galaxies. The brightest is NGC 3115, the Spindle Galaxy, a lenticular galaxy seen edge-on that appears as a thin, bright streak in a small telescope. It has a central black hole of about a billion solar masses. Sextans also contains the Sextans Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy, a faint satellite of the Milky Way discovered in 1990, and the small irregular galaxies Sextans A and Sextans B.\n\nTo find Sextans, look south of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, towards Alphard in Hydra. The area between them is Sextans. It is best seen on spring evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2391 | "image": { | |
| 2392 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 2393 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2394 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2395 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 2396 | "caption": "Hydra and its neighbours, including Lupus, Sextans, Pyxis Nautica and the old ship Argo Navis, on a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2397 | }, | |
| 2398 | "drawing": { | |
| 2399 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2400 | }, | |
| 2401 | "link": { | |
| 2402 | "constellation": "Sex" | |
| 2403 | }, | |
| 2404 | "sources": [ | |
| 2405 | { | |
| 2406 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2407 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2408 | }, | |
| 2409 | { | |
| 2410 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2411 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2412 | }, | |
| 2413 | { | |
| 2414 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2415 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2416 | }, | |
| 2417 | { | |
| 2418 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Sex", | |
| 2419 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Sex" | |
| 2420 | } | |
| 2421 | ] | |
| 2422 | }, | |
| 2423 | { | |
| 2424 | "id": "tau", | |
| 2425 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2426 | "title": "Taurus", | |
| 2427 | "subtitle": "The Bull", | |
| 2428 | "facts": [ | |
| 2429 | { | |
| 2430 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2431 | "value": "Tau", | |
| 2432 | "source": 0 | |
| 2433 | }, | |
| 2434 | { | |
| 2435 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2436 | "value": "Tauri", | |
| 2437 | "source": 0 | |
| 2438 | }, | |
| 2439 | { | |
| 2440 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2441 | "value": "797 square degrees (17th of 88)", | |
| 2442 | "source": 1 | |
| 2443 | }, | |
| 2444 | { | |
| 2445 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2446 | "value": "January (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2447 | "source": 2 | |
| 2448 | }, | |
| 2449 | { | |
| 2450 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2451 | "value": "88°N to 58°S", | |
| 2452 | "source": 2 | |
| 2453 | }, | |
| 2454 | { | |
| 2455 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2456 | "value": "Aldebaran (α Tauri), magnitude 0.86", | |
| 2457 | "source": 3 | |
| 2458 | }, | |
| 2459 | { | |
| 2460 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2461 | "value": "M45, the Pleiades, an open cluster about 445 light-years away, magnitude 1.6", | |
| 2462 | "source": 4 | |
| 2463 | } | |
| 2464 | ], | |
| 2465 | "essay": "Taurus is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy and one of the oldest recognised star patterns. In Greek myth it is the bull whose form Zeus took to carry Europa across the sea to Crete. Only the front half of the bull is shown.\n\nAldebaran, α Tauri, magnitude 0.86, is an orange giant that marks the bull's eye. It appears to sit in the Hyades, a V-shaped open cluster that forms the bull's face, but it is less than half as far away and not a member. The Hyades are the nearest open cluster to the Sun.\n\nFarther north-west are the Pleiades, M45, an open cluster about 445 light-years away. Most people see six or seven stars with the eye; binoculars show dozens. Near the tip of the southern horn is M1, the Crab Nebula. It is the remnant of a supernova that Chinese astronomers recorded in 1054, and it contains a pulsar spinning about 30 times a second.\n\nTo find Taurus, follow Orion's Belt up and to the right to Aldebaran, then continue to the Pleiades. The Sun passes through Taurus from mid-May to late June. Taurus is best seen on winter evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2466 | "image": { | |
| 2467 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10065v.jpg", | |
| 2468 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2469 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2470 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695510/", | |
| 2471 | "caption": "Taurus, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2472 | }, | |
| 2473 | "drawing": { | |
| 2474 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2475 | }, | |
| 2476 | "link": { | |
| 2477 | "constellation": "Tau" | |
| 2478 | }, | |
| 2479 | "sources": [ | |
| 2480 | { | |
| 2481 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2482 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2483 | }, | |
| 2484 | { | |
| 2485 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2486 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2487 | }, | |
| 2488 | { | |
| 2489 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2490 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2491 | }, | |
| 2492 | { | |
| 2493 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Tau", | |
| 2494 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Tau" | |
| 2495 | }, | |
| 2496 | { | |
| 2497 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 45", | |
| 2498 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/" | |
| 2499 | } | |
| 2500 | ] | |
| 2501 | }, | |
| 2502 | { | |
| 2503 | "id": "tel", | |
| 2504 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2505 | "title": "Telescopium", | |
| 2506 | "subtitle": "The Telescope", | |
| 2507 | "facts": [ | |
| 2508 | { | |
| 2509 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2510 | "value": "Tel", | |
| 2511 | "source": 0 | |
| 2512 | }, | |
| 2513 | { | |
| 2514 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2515 | "value": "Telescopii", | |
| 2516 | "source": 0 | |
| 2517 | }, | |
| 2518 | { | |
| 2519 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2520 | "value": "252 square degrees (57th of 88)", | |
| 2521 | "source": 1 | |
| 2522 | }, | |
| 2523 | { | |
| 2524 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2525 | "value": "August (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2526 | "source": 2 | |
| 2527 | }, | |
| 2528 | { | |
| 2529 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2530 | "value": "33°N to 90°S", | |
| 2531 | "source": 2 | |
| 2532 | }, | |
| 2533 | { | |
| 2534 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2535 | "value": "α Telescopii, magnitude 3.46", | |
| 2536 | "source": 3 | |
| 2537 | } | |
| 2538 | ], | |
| 2539 | "essay": "Telescopium was introduced by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s. It represents an aerial telescope, a long telescope suspended from a mast, used in the 17th and 18th centuries. Lacaille's original figure was much larger and took stars from neighbouring constellations; later astronomers reduced it to its present size.\n\nIt is small and faint. Its brightest star, α Telescopii, is a blue-white star of magnitude 3.46. The rest of the stars are fourth magnitude and fainter, with no obvious pattern.\n\nTelescopium lies just off the southern edge of the Milky Way, next to the rich star fields of Sagittarius and Scorpius, but it shares little of their brightness. It contains the globular cluster NGC 6584 and a number of faint galaxies, none of them bright enough to be easy targets for a small telescope. For most observers it is a constellation found by its position rather than its pattern: the space between brighter neighbours.\n\nTo find Telescopium, look south of the Teapot of Sagittarius and Corona Australis, and north of Pavo. From mid-northern latitudes only parts of it rise. It is best seen on winter evenings from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 2540 | "image": { | |
| 2541 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10070v.jpg", | |
| 2542 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2543 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2544 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695515/", | |
| 2545 | "caption": "Sagittarius with Corona Australis, Microscopium and Telescopium, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2546 | }, | |
| 2547 | "drawing": { | |
| 2548 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2549 | }, | |
| 2550 | "link": { | |
| 2551 | "constellation": "Tel" | |
| 2552 | }, | |
| 2553 | "sources": [ | |
| 2554 | { | |
| 2555 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2556 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2557 | }, | |
| 2558 | { | |
| 2559 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2560 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2561 | }, | |
| 2562 | { | |
| 2563 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2564 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2565 | }, | |
| 2566 | { | |
| 2567 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Tel", | |
| 2568 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Tel" | |
| 2569 | } | |
| 2570 | ] | |
| 2571 | }, | |
| 2572 | { | |
| 2573 | "id": "tri", | |
| 2574 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2575 | "title": "Triangulum", | |
| 2576 | "subtitle": "The Triangle", | |
| 2577 | "facts": [ | |
| 2578 | { | |
| 2579 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2580 | "value": "Tri", | |
| 2581 | "source": 0 | |
| 2582 | }, | |
| 2583 | { | |
| 2584 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2585 | "value": "Trianguli", | |
| 2586 | "source": 0 | |
| 2587 | }, | |
| 2588 | { | |
| 2589 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2590 | "value": "132 square degrees (79th of 88)", | |
| 2591 | "source": 1 | |
| 2592 | }, | |
| 2593 | { | |
| 2594 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2595 | "value": "December (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2596 | "source": 2 | |
| 2597 | }, | |
| 2598 | { | |
| 2599 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2600 | "value": "90°N to 52°S", | |
| 2601 | "source": 2 | |
| 2602 | }, | |
| 2603 | { | |
| 2604 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2605 | "value": "β Trianguli, magnitude 3.00", | |
| 2606 | "source": 3 | |
| 2607 | }, | |
| 2608 | { | |
| 2609 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2610 | "value": "M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, about 3 million light-years away, magnitude 5.7", | |
| 2611 | "source": 4 | |
| 2612 | } | |
| 2613 | ], | |
| 2614 | "essay": "Triangulum is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. He called it Deltoton, after the Greek letter delta, which it resembles. It has little mythology; some writers linked it to the island of Sicily.\n\nIt consists of three stars that form a long, narrow triangle. The brightest, β Trianguli, is a white giant of magnitude 3.00. α Trianguli, at the apex, is slightly fainter at magnitude 3.42.\n\nTriangulum contains M33, the Triangulum Galaxy. It is a spiral galaxy about 3 million light-years away and the third-largest member of the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. At magnitude 5.7 it is one of the most distant objects that can be seen without a telescope, though only from a very dark site. Because its light is spread over a large area, it is easier to see in binoculars or a wide-field telescope than at high magnification. M33 contains NGC 604, one of the largest star-forming regions known.\n\nTo find Triangulum, look between Aries and the Andromeda Galaxy, just south of the line of Andromeda's stars. It is best seen on autumn evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2615 | "image": { | |
| 2616 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10054v.jpg", | |
| 2617 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2618 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2619 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695398/", | |
| 2620 | "caption": "Andromeda, Triangula and the obsolete Gloria Frederici, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2621 | }, | |
| 2622 | "drawing": { | |
| 2623 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2624 | }, | |
| 2625 | "link": { | |
| 2626 | "constellation": "Tri" | |
| 2627 | }, | |
| 2628 | "sources": [ | |
| 2629 | { | |
| 2630 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2631 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2632 | }, | |
| 2633 | { | |
| 2634 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2635 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2636 | }, | |
| 2637 | { | |
| 2638 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2639 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2640 | }, | |
| 2641 | { | |
| 2642 | "title": "SIMBAD: bet Tri", | |
| 2643 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=bet+Tri" | |
| 2644 | }, | |
| 2645 | { | |
| 2646 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 33", | |
| 2647 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-33/" | |
| 2648 | } | |
| 2649 | ] | |
| 2650 | }, | |
| 2651 | { | |
| 2652 | "id": "tra", | |
| 2653 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2654 | "title": "Triangulum Australe", | |
| 2655 | "subtitle": "The Southern Triangle", | |
| 2656 | "facts": [ | |
| 2657 | { | |
| 2658 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2659 | "value": "TrA", | |
| 2660 | "source": 0 | |
| 2661 | }, | |
| 2662 | { | |
| 2663 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2664 | "value": "Trianguli Australis", | |
| 2665 | "source": 0 | |
| 2666 | }, | |
| 2667 | { | |
| 2668 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2669 | "value": "110 square degrees (83rd of 88)", | |
| 2670 | "source": 1 | |
| 2671 | }, | |
| 2672 | { | |
| 2673 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2674 | "value": "July (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2675 | "source": 2 | |
| 2676 | }, | |
| 2677 | { | |
| 2678 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2679 | "value": "19°N to 90°S", | |
| 2680 | "source": 2 | |
| 2681 | }, | |
| 2682 | { | |
| 2683 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2684 | "value": "Atria (α Trianguli Australis), magnitude 1.88", | |
| 2685 | "source": 3 | |
| 2686 | } | |
| 2687 | ], | |
| 2688 | "essay": "Triangulum Australe is one of the southern constellations that first appeared on globes made in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century, after the voyages of Dutch navigators to the East Indies. Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman recorded its stars, and Johann Bayer included it in his atlas Uranometria in 1603. It has no mythology.\n\nIts three main stars form a bright, nearly equilateral triangle that is easier to recognise than its northern counterpart, Triangulum. The brightest star is Atria, α Trianguli Australis, an orange giant of magnitude 1.88. The name is a contraction of its Bayer designation.\n\nThe constellation lies on the edge of the Milky Way. NGC 6025 is an open cluster bright enough for binoculars.\n\nTo find Triangulum Australe, start at α and β Centauri, the Pointers to the Southern Cross, and look east of them. It is circumpolar from much of the southern hemisphere and best seen on winter evenings there. It cannot be seen from most of the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 2689 | "image": null, | |
| 2690 | "drawing": { | |
| 2691 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2692 | }, | |
| 2693 | "link": { | |
| 2694 | "constellation": "TrA" | |
| 2695 | }, | |
| 2696 | "sources": [ | |
| 2697 | { | |
| 2698 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2699 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2700 | }, | |
| 2701 | { | |
| 2702 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2703 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2704 | }, | |
| 2705 | { | |
| 2706 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2707 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2708 | }, | |
| 2709 | { | |
| 2710 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf TrA", | |
| 2711 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+TrA" | |
| 2712 | } | |
| 2713 | ] | |
| 2714 | }, | |
| 2715 | { | |
| 2716 | "id": "tuc", | |
| 2717 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2718 | "title": "Tucana", | |
| 2719 | "subtitle": "The Toucan", | |
| 2720 | "facts": [ | |
| 2721 | { | |
| 2722 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2723 | "value": "Tuc", | |
| 2724 | "source": 0 | |
| 2725 | }, | |
| 2726 | { | |
| 2727 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2728 | "value": "Tucanae", | |
| 2729 | "source": 0 | |
| 2730 | }, | |
| 2731 | { | |
| 2732 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2733 | "value": "295 square degrees (48th of 88)", | |
| 2734 | "source": 1 | |
| 2735 | }, | |
| 2736 | { | |
| 2737 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2738 | "value": "November (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2739 | "source": 2 | |
| 2740 | }, | |
| 2741 | { | |
| 2742 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2743 | "value": "14°N to 90°S", | |
| 2744 | "source": 2 | |
| 2745 | }, | |
| 2746 | { | |
| 2747 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2748 | "value": "α Tucanae, magnitude 2.82", | |
| 2749 | "source": 3 | |
| 2750 | }, | |
| 2751 | { | |
| 2752 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2753 | "value": "47 Tucanae (NGC 104), a globular cluster, magnitude 4.1", | |
| 2754 | "source": 4 | |
| 2755 | } | |
| 2756 | ], | |
| 2757 | "essay": "Tucana is one of the twelve southern constellations formed from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It appeared on a globe by Petrus Plancius at the end of that decade and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria in 1603. It represents the toucan, a bird of South America.\n\nIts brightest star, α Tucanae, is an orange giant of magnitude 2.82. The other stars are fainter, and the constellation's interest lies mainly in two objects near its southern edge.\n\nThe Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, is mostly within Tucana. It is visible to the eye as a detached piece of the Milky Way. Beside it, though much closer to us, is 47 Tucanae, NGC 104, the second-brightest globular cluster in the sky after Omega Centauri. It looks like a fuzzy star of fourth magnitude to the eye, and a small telescope shows a bright, dense core surrounded by hundreds of thousands of stars.\n\nTo find Tucana, look between Achernar and the south celestial pole; the Small Magellanic Cloud is the easiest guide. Tucana is circumpolar from much of the southern hemisphere and best placed on spring evenings there.", | |
| 2758 | "image": null, | |
| 2759 | "drawing": { | |
| 2760 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2761 | }, | |
| 2762 | "link": { | |
| 2763 | "constellation": "Tuc" | |
| 2764 | }, | |
| 2765 | "sources": [ | |
| 2766 | { | |
| 2767 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2768 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2769 | }, | |
| 2770 | { | |
| 2771 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2772 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2773 | }, | |
| 2774 | { | |
| 2775 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2776 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2777 | }, | |
| 2778 | { | |
| 2779 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Tuc", | |
| 2780 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Tuc" | |
| 2781 | }, | |
| 2782 | { | |
| 2783 | "title": "SIMBAD: NGC 104", | |
| 2784 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=NGC+104" | |
| 2785 | } | |
| 2786 | ] | |
| 2787 | }, | |
| 2788 | { | |
| 2789 | "id": "uma", | |
| 2790 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2791 | "title": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2792 | "subtitle": "The Great Bear", | |
| 2793 | "facts": [ | |
| 2794 | { | |
| 2795 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2796 | "value": "UMa", | |
| 2797 | "source": 0 | |
| 2798 | }, | |
| 2799 | { | |
| 2800 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2801 | "value": "Ursae Majoris", | |
| 2802 | "source": 0 | |
| 2803 | }, | |
| 2804 | { | |
| 2805 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2806 | "value": "1280 square degrees (3rd of 88)", | |
| 2807 | "source": 1 | |
| 2808 | }, | |
| 2809 | { | |
| 2810 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2811 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2812 | "source": 2 | |
| 2813 | }, | |
| 2814 | { | |
| 2815 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2816 | "value": "90°N to 16°S", | |
| 2817 | "source": 2 | |
| 2818 | }, | |
| 2819 | { | |
| 2820 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2821 | "value": "Alioth (ε Ursae Majoris), magnitude 1.77", | |
| 2822 | "source": 3 | |
| 2823 | }, | |
| 2824 | { | |
| 2825 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 2826 | "value": "M81, a spiral galaxy about 11.6 million light-years away, magnitude 6.9", | |
| 2827 | "source": 4 | |
| 2828 | } | |
| 2829 | ], | |
| 2830 | "essay": "Ursa Major is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations and the third-largest of the 88. In Greek myth it is Callisto, turned into a bear and placed in the sky by Zeus. Many other cultures have their own names for its brightest stars, which form the asterism called the Big Dipper in North America and the Plough in Britain.\n\nThe seven Dipper stars are all of second or third magnitude. Alioth, ε Ursae Majoris, is the brightest at magnitude 1.77, slightly brighter than Dubhe, α. Five of the seven stars move through space together as part of the Ursa Major Moving Group. In the handle, Mizar and its fainter companion Alcor make a pair that can be split with good eyesight, and Mizar was one of the first double stars found with a telescope.\n\nThe two stars at the end of the bowl, Merak and Dubhe, are the Pointers: a line through them leads to Polaris. Following the curve of the handle leads to Arcturus.\n\nUrsa Major lies away from the Milky Way and contains many galaxies, including M81 and M82, a pair visible in the same telescope field, and M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy. From mid-northern latitudes the Dipper is circumpolar and is highest on spring evenings.", | |
| 2831 | "image": { | |
| 2832 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10058v.jpg", | |
| 2833 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2834 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2835 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695502/", | |
| 2836 | "caption": "Ursa Major, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2837 | }, | |
| 2838 | "drawing": { | |
| 2839 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2840 | }, | |
| 2841 | "link": { | |
| 2842 | "constellation": "UMa" | |
| 2843 | }, | |
| 2844 | "sources": [ | |
| 2845 | { | |
| 2846 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2847 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2848 | }, | |
| 2849 | { | |
| 2850 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2851 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2852 | }, | |
| 2853 | { | |
| 2854 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2855 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2856 | }, | |
| 2857 | { | |
| 2858 | "title": "SIMBAD: eps UMa", | |
| 2859 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=eps+UMa" | |
| 2860 | }, | |
| 2861 | { | |
| 2862 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 81", | |
| 2863 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-81/" | |
| 2864 | } | |
| 2865 | ] | |
| 2866 | }, | |
| 2867 | { | |
| 2868 | "id": "umi", | |
| 2869 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2870 | "title": "Ursa Minor", | |
| 2871 | "subtitle": "The Little Bear", | |
| 2872 | "facts": [ | |
| 2873 | { | |
| 2874 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2875 | "value": "UMi", | |
| 2876 | "source": 0 | |
| 2877 | }, | |
| 2878 | { | |
| 2879 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2880 | "value": "Ursae Minoris", | |
| 2881 | "source": 0 | |
| 2882 | }, | |
| 2883 | { | |
| 2884 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2885 | "value": "256 square degrees (56th of 88)", | |
| 2886 | "source": 1 | |
| 2887 | }, | |
| 2888 | { | |
| 2889 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2890 | "value": "June (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2891 | "source": 2 | |
| 2892 | }, | |
| 2893 | { | |
| 2894 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2895 | "value": "90°N to 0°N", | |
| 2896 | "source": 2 | |
| 2897 | }, | |
| 2898 | { | |
| 2899 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2900 | "value": "Polaris (α Ursae Minoris), magnitude 2.02", | |
| 2901 | "source": 3 | |
| 2902 | } | |
| 2903 | ], | |
| 2904 | "essay": "Ursa Minor is one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Greek writers said that Thales of Miletus recommended it to sailors, and that Phoenician navigators used it because it stays close to the pole. Its seven main stars form the Little Dipper.\n\nPolaris, α Ursae Minoris, at the end of the Dipper's handle, lies less than a degree from the north celestial pole. As the sky turns, Polaris appears to stay in place while other stars circle around it, and its altitude above the horizon is close to the observer's latitude. Polaris has magnitude 2.02 and is a Cepheid variable, though its changes in brightness are too small to see with the eye. The pole star changes over thousands of years because of precession; Polaris will be closest to the pole around 2100.\n\nThe two bright stars at the end of the bowl, Kochab and Pherkad, are sometimes called the Guardians of the Pole. The other stars of the Little Dipper are faint and need a reasonably dark sky.\n\nTo find Polaris, follow the two Pointer stars of the Big Dipper, Merak and Dubhe, about five times their separation. Ursa Minor is circumpolar from most of the northern hemisphere and is visible on every clear night there. It cannot be seen from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 2905 | "image": { | |
| 2906 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10050v.jpg", | |
| 2907 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2908 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2909 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695394/", | |
| 2910 | "caption": "Draco and Ursa Minor, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2911 | }, | |
| 2912 | "drawing": { | |
| 2913 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2914 | }, | |
| 2915 | "link": { | |
| 2916 | "constellation": "UMi" | |
| 2917 | }, | |
| 2918 | "sources": [ | |
| 2919 | { | |
| 2920 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2921 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2922 | }, | |
| 2923 | { | |
| 2924 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2925 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2926 | }, | |
| 2927 | { | |
| 2928 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2929 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 2930 | }, | |
| 2931 | { | |
| 2932 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf UMi", | |
| 2933 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+UMi" | |
| 2934 | } | |
| 2935 | ] | |
| 2936 | }, | |
| 2937 | { | |
| 2938 | "id": "vel", | |
| 2939 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 2940 | "title": "Vela", | |
| 2941 | "subtitle": "The Sails", | |
| 2942 | "facts": [ | |
| 2943 | { | |
| 2944 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 2945 | "value": "Vel", | |
| 2946 | "source": 0 | |
| 2947 | }, | |
| 2948 | { | |
| 2949 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 2950 | "value": "Velorum", | |
| 2951 | "source": 0 | |
| 2952 | }, | |
| 2953 | { | |
| 2954 | "label": "Area", | |
| 2955 | "value": "500 square degrees (32nd of 88)", | |
| 2956 | "source": 1 | |
| 2957 | }, | |
| 2958 | { | |
| 2959 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 2960 | "value": "April (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 2961 | "source": 2 | |
| 2962 | }, | |
| 2963 | { | |
| 2964 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 2965 | "value": "32°N to 90°S", | |
| 2966 | "source": 2 | |
| 2967 | }, | |
| 2968 | { | |
| 2969 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 2970 | "value": "γ² Velorum, magnitude 1.83", | |
| 2971 | "source": 3 | |
| 2972 | } | |
| 2973 | ], | |
| 2974 | "essay": "Vela was once part of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts and one of Ptolemy's 48 constellations. In the 1750s Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into the keel, Carina; the stern, Puppis; and the sails, Vela. Because the Greek letters were shared across the whole ship, Vela has no α or β star.\n\nIts brightest star is γ² Velorum, magnitude 1.83. It is the brightest Wolf–Rayet star in the sky, a hot, massive star losing its outer layers in a strong wind, in orbit with an O-type companion. A small telescope shows it with several fainter stars nearby. δ and κ Velorum, with two stars of Carina, form the False Cross, which is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross.\n\nVela lies in the Milky Way. About 11,000 years ago a star exploded here as a supernova. Its expanding remnant spans several degrees of sky, and at its centre is the Vela Pulsar, a neutron star spinning about 11 times a second. The open cluster IC 2391 is visible to the eye and well shown in binoculars.\n\nTo find Vela, look north of the Southern Cross and the False Cross, between Puppis and Centaurus. It is best seen on autumn evenings from the southern hemisphere.", | |
| 2975 | "image": { | |
| 2976 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10077v.jpg", | |
| 2977 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 2978 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2979 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695522/", | |
| 2980 | "caption": "Hydra and its neighbours, including Lupus, Sextans, Pyxis Nautica and the old ship Argo Navis, on a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 2981 | }, | |
| 2982 | "drawing": { | |
| 2983 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 2984 | }, | |
| 2985 | "link": { | |
| 2986 | "constellation": "Vel" | |
| 2987 | }, | |
| 2988 | "sources": [ | |
| 2989 | { | |
| 2990 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 2991 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 2992 | }, | |
| 2993 | { | |
| 2994 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 2995 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 2996 | }, | |
| 2997 | { | |
| 2998 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 2999 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3000 | }, | |
| 3001 | { | |
| 3002 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam02 Vel", | |
| 3003 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam02+Vel" | |
| 3004 | } | |
| 3005 | ] | |
| 3006 | }, | |
| 3007 | { | |
| 3008 | "id": "vir", | |
| 3009 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3010 | "title": "Virgo", | |
| 3011 | "subtitle": "The Maiden", | |
| 3012 | "facts": [ | |
| 3013 | { | |
| 3014 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3015 | "value": "Vir", | |
| 3016 | "source": 0 | |
| 3017 | }, | |
| 3018 | { | |
| 3019 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3020 | "value": "Virginis", | |
| 3021 | "source": 0 | |
| 3022 | }, | |
| 3023 | { | |
| 3024 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3025 | "value": "1294 square degrees (2nd of 88)", | |
| 3026 | "source": 1 | |
| 3027 | }, | |
| 3028 | { | |
| 3029 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3030 | "value": "May (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3031 | "source": 2 | |
| 3032 | }, | |
| 3033 | { | |
| 3034 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3035 | "value": "67°N to 75°S", | |
| 3036 | "source": 2 | |
| 3037 | }, | |
| 3038 | { | |
| 3039 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3040 | "value": "Spica (α Virginis), magnitude 0.97", | |
| 3041 | "source": 3 | |
| 3042 | }, | |
| 3043 | { | |
| 3044 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 3045 | "value": "M87, an elliptical galaxy about 54 million light-years away, magnitude 9.6", | |
| 3046 | "source": 4 | |
| 3047 | } | |
| 3048 | ], | |
| 3049 | "essay": "Virgo is a zodiac constellation listed by Ptolemy. It is the largest constellation of the zodiac and the second-largest of the 88. Greek writers identified the maiden with several figures, including Dike or Astraea, goddess of justice, and Persephone; she is usually drawn holding an ear of wheat.\n\nSpica, α Virginis, magnitude 0.97, marks the ear of wheat; its name means \"ear of grain\" in Latin. It is a close pair of hot blue stars that orbit each other every four days. The rest of Virgo's stars are of third magnitude and fainter, arranged in a broad Y shape. The September equinox point, where the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south, is in Virgo.\n\nThe northern part of Virgo contains the Virgo Cluster, the nearest large cluster of galaxies, with more than a thousand members. Virgo holds eleven Messier galaxies, more than any other constellation. At its centre is M87, a giant elliptical galaxy about 54 million light-years away with a jet of particles coming from its core. In 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope published an image of the shadow of the black hole at its centre, the first image of a black hole.\n\nTo find Spica, follow the curve of the Big Dipper's handle to Arcturus, then continue the same curve to Spica. Virgo is best seen on spring evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 3050 | "image": { | |
| 3051 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10067v.jpg", | |
| 3052 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 3053 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3054 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695512/", | |
| 3055 | "caption": "Virgo, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 3056 | }, | |
| 3057 | "drawing": { | |
| 3058 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3059 | }, | |
| 3060 | "link": { | |
| 3061 | "constellation": "Vir" | |
| 3062 | }, | |
| 3063 | "sources": [ | |
| 3064 | { | |
| 3065 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3066 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3067 | }, | |
| 3068 | { | |
| 3069 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3070 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3071 | }, | |
| 3072 | { | |
| 3073 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3074 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3075 | }, | |
| 3076 | { | |
| 3077 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Vir", | |
| 3078 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Vir" | |
| 3079 | }, | |
| 3080 | { | |
| 3081 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 87", | |
| 3082 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-87/" | |
| 3083 | } | |
| 3084 | ] | |
| 3085 | }, | |
| 3086 | { | |
| 3087 | "id": "vol", | |
| 3088 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3089 | "title": "Volans", | |
| 3090 | "subtitle": "The Flying Fish", | |
| 3091 | "facts": [ | |
| 3092 | { | |
| 3093 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3094 | "value": "Vol", | |
| 3095 | "source": 0 | |
| 3096 | }, | |
| 3097 | { | |
| 3098 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3099 | "value": "Volantis", | |
| 3100 | "source": 0 | |
| 3101 | }, | |
| 3102 | { | |
| 3103 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3104 | "value": "141 square degrees (76th of 88)", | |
| 3105 | "source": 1 | |
| 3106 | }, | |
| 3107 | { | |
| 3108 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3109 | "value": "March (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3110 | "source": 2 | |
| 3111 | }, | |
| 3112 | { | |
| 3113 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3114 | "value": "14°N to 90°S", | |
| 3115 | "source": 2 | |
| 3116 | }, | |
| 3117 | { | |
| 3118 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3119 | "value": "γ² Volantis, magnitude 3.75", | |
| 3120 | "source": 3 | |
| 3121 | } | |
| 3122 | ], | |
| 3123 | "essay": "Volans is one of the twelve southern constellations formed from the observations of the Dutch navigators Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman in the 1590s. It appeared on a globe by Petrus Plancius at the end of that decade and in Johann Bayer's Uranometria in 1603 under the name Piscis Volans, the flying fish. European sailors saw flying fish in tropical seas, and the name was later shortened to Volans.\n\nThe constellation is small and faint. γ² Volantis, an orange giant of magnitude 3.75, and β Volantis, magnitude 3.76, are almost equal in brightness. γ Volantis is a double star with a fainter yellowish companion, which a small telescope separates.\n\nVolans lies away from the plane of the Milky Way and contains several galaxies. The best known is NGC 2442, a barred spiral galaxy with distorted, hook-shaped arms, a target for medium telescopes and photography.\n\nTo find Volans, look between Carina's bright star Canopus, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the south celestial pole. It sits just south of the keel of Carina. Volans is circumpolar from much of the southern hemisphere and is best seen on summer evenings there.", | |
| 3124 | "image": null, | |
| 3125 | "drawing": { | |
| 3126 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3127 | }, | |
| 3128 | "link": { | |
| 3129 | "constellation": "Vol" | |
| 3130 | }, | |
| 3131 | "sources": [ | |
| 3132 | { | |
| 3133 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3134 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3135 | }, | |
| 3136 | { | |
| 3137 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3138 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3139 | }, | |
| 3140 | { | |
| 3141 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3142 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3143 | }, | |
| 3144 | { | |
| 3145 | "title": "SIMBAD: gam02 Vol", | |
| 3146 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=gam02+Vol" | |
| 3147 | } | |
| 3148 | ] | |
| 3149 | }, | |
| 3150 | { | |
| 3151 | "id": "vul", | |
| 3152 | "section": "constellations", | |
| 3153 | "title": "Vulpecula", | |
| 3154 | "subtitle": "The Fox", | |
| 3155 | "facts": [ | |
| 3156 | { | |
| 3157 | "label": "Abbreviation", | |
| 3158 | "value": "Vul", | |
| 3159 | "source": 0 | |
| 3160 | }, | |
| 3161 | { | |
| 3162 | "label": "Genitive", | |
| 3163 | "value": "Vulpeculae", | |
| 3164 | "source": 0 | |
| 3165 | }, | |
| 3166 | { | |
| 3167 | "label": "Area", | |
| 3168 | "value": "268 square degrees (55th of 88)", | |
| 3169 | "source": 1 | |
| 3170 | }, | |
| 3171 | { | |
| 3172 | "label": "Best evening visibility", | |
| 3173 | "value": "September (on the meridian around 21:00 local time)", | |
| 3174 | "source": 2 | |
| 3175 | }, | |
| 3176 | { | |
| 3177 | "label": "Fully visible from latitudes", | |
| 3178 | "value": "90°N to 60°S", | |
| 3179 | "source": 2 | |
| 3180 | }, | |
| 3181 | { | |
| 3182 | "label": "Brightest star", | |
| 3183 | "value": "Anser (α Vulpeculae), magnitude 4.45", | |
| 3184 | "source": 3 | |
| 3185 | }, | |
| 3186 | { | |
| 3187 | "label": "Notable deep-sky object", | |
| 3188 | "value": "M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, a planetary nebula about 1,200 light-years away, magnitude 7.5", | |
| 3189 | "source": 4 | |
| 3190 | } | |
| 3191 | ], | |
| 3192 | "essay": "Vulpecula was introduced by Johannes Hevelius and published in his atlas Firmamentum Sobiescianum in 1690. He called it Vulpecula cum Ansere, the little fox with the goose, showing a fox carrying a goose in its jaws. The goose has since been dropped from the name but survives in the name of the brightest star.\n\nThat star, Anser, α Vulpeculae, is a red giant of magnitude 4.45. The constellation has no other bright stars, and its pattern is hard to see without a dark sky.\n\nVulpecula lies in the Milky Way and contains two well-known objects. M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, was the first planetary nebula to be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764. It is about 1,200 light-years away and is bright enough to see in binoculars; a small telescope shows its two lobes. On the border with Sagitta is Brocchi's Cluster, also called the Coathanger, a group of stars that looks like a coat hanger in binoculars. The first pulsar, discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish in 1967, lies in Vulpecula.\n\nTo find Vulpecula, look inside the Summer Triangle, just north of Sagitta, between Albireo and Altair. It is best seen on summer evenings from the northern hemisphere.", | |
| 3193 | "image": { | |
| 3194 | "url": "https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/pnp/cph/3g10000/3g10000/3g10000/3g10063v.jpg", | |
| 3195 | "credit": "Sidney Hall, Urania's Mirror (1825). Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division", | |
| 3196 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3197 | "page": "https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695507/", | |
| 3198 | "caption": "Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula and Anser, a hand-coloured card from Urania's Mirror (London, 1825), engraved by Sidney Hall." | |
| 3199 | }, | |
| 3200 | "drawing": { | |
| 3201 | "kind": "constellation" | |
| 3202 | }, | |
| 3203 | "link": { | |
| 3204 | "constellation": "Vul" | |
| 3205 | }, | |
| 3206 | "sources": [ | |
| 3207 | { | |
| 3208 | "title": "IAU: The Constellations", | |
| 3209 | "url": "https://www.iau.org/IAU/IAU/Astronomy-FAQs/Constellations.aspx" | |
| 3210 | }, | |
| 3211 | { | |
| 3212 | "title": "AstroPixels (F. Espenak): constellation areas and ranks", | |
| 3213 | "url": "https://astropixels.com/constellations/constellationslist.html" | |
| 3214 | }, | |
| 3215 | { | |
| 3216 | "title": "Calculated from the IAU constellation boundaries (Davenhall & Leggett, VizieR VI/49)", | |
| 3217 | "url": "https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/VI/49" | |
| 3218 | }, | |
| 3219 | { | |
| 3220 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Vul", | |
| 3221 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Vul" | |
| 3222 | }, | |
| 3223 | { | |
| 3224 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 27", | |
| 3225 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-27/" | |
| 3226 | } | |
| 3227 | ] | |
| 3228 | } | |
| 3229 | ] | |
| \ No newline at end of file | ||
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/deep-sky-a.json added +3792
| @@ -0,0 +1,3792 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "m1", | |
| 4 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 5 | "title": "M1", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Crab Nebula · supernova remnant in Taurus", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 10 | "value": "Supernova remnant", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 15 | "value": "Taurus", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 20 | "value": "6,500 light-years", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 25 | "value": "8.4", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 30 | "value": "6 × 4 arcmin", | |
| 31 | "source": 1 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 35 | "value": "NGC 1952", | |
| 36 | "source": 1 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 40 | "value": "John Bevis, 1731", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "M1 is the expanding debris of a star that exploded as a supernova. Chinese astronomers recorded the explosion in 1054 as a \"guest star\" that stayed visible in daylight for close to a month. The cloud of gas it left behind is now about six light-years across and lies 6,500 light-years away in Taurus.\n\nAt the centre is a pulsar: the collapsed core of the original star, now a rapidly spinning, strongly magnetised neutron star. Hubble images show wisps of material moving away from it at half the speed of light. They form along magnetic field lines in a gas of high-energy particles that the pulsar drives outward.\n\nThe English astronomer John Bevis found the nebula in 1731. Charles Messier later came across it and took it for Halley's Comet, and that mistake prompted him to compile his catalogue of objects that could be confused with comets. The Crab became its first entry. At magnitude 8.4, M1 is a small-telescope object. It shows as a faint, oval glow about 6 by 4 arcminutes, near the star that marks the southern horn of Taurus. The filaments need a large aperture or long-exposure photographs. January evenings are the best time to look.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/crab-nebula-mosaic.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 47 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)", | |
| 48 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-1/", | |
| 50 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula assembled from 24 exposures, showing the orange filaments of the shattered star." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 54 | "type": "supernova-remnant", | |
| 55 | "sizeArcmin": 6 | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "link": { | |
| 58 | "messier": 1 | |
| 59 | }, | |
| 60 | "sources": [ | |
| 61 | { | |
| 62 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 1 (The Crab Nebula)", | |
| 63 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-1/" | |
| 64 | }, | |
| 65 | { | |
| 66 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 1", | |
| 67 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m001.html" | |
| 68 | } | |
| 69 | ] | |
| 70 | }, | |
| 71 | { | |
| 72 | "id": "m2", | |
| 73 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 74 | "title": "M2", | |
| 75 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Aquarius", | |
| 76 | "facts": [ | |
| 77 | { | |
| 78 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 79 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 80 | "source": 0 | |
| 81 | }, | |
| 82 | { | |
| 83 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 84 | "value": "Aquarius", | |
| 85 | "source": 0 | |
| 86 | }, | |
| 87 | { | |
| 88 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 89 | "value": "37,000 light-years", | |
| 90 | "source": 0 | |
| 91 | }, | |
| 92 | { | |
| 93 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 94 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 95 | "source": 0 | |
| 96 | }, | |
| 97 | { | |
| 98 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 99 | "value": "16 arcmin", | |
| 100 | "source": 1 | |
| 101 | }, | |
| 102 | { | |
| 103 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 104 | "value": "NGC 7089", | |
| 105 | "source": 1 | |
| 106 | }, | |
| 107 | { | |
| 108 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 109 | "value": "Jean-Dominique Maraldi, 1746", | |
| 110 | "source": 0 | |
| 111 | } | |
| 112 | ], | |
| 113 | "essay": "M2 is a globular cluster: a spherical swarm of old stars held together by their combined gravity. It holds more than 150,000 stars and measures over 150 light-years across, which puts it among the largest clusters of its kind. Most of its mass is packed into the core, with the star density falling off steadily toward the edges.\n\nThe French astronomer Jean-Dominique Maraldi found it in 1746 while he was following a comet. It was the first globular cluster to be added to Messier's list. The cluster lies about 37,000 light-years away in Aquarius.\n\nAt magnitude 6.3, M2 sits right at the naked-eye limit and can be glimpsed without optics only under very dark, clear skies. Binoculars show it as a round, fuzzy star with a brighter middle, about 16 arcminutes across including its faint outer halo. A small telescope makes the core stand out more clearly, but the individual stars blend together until you use a large instrument. October evenings are the best time to look.", | |
| 114 | "image": { | |
| 115 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1913a.jpg", | |
| 116 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, G. Piotto et al.", | |
| 117 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 118 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1913a/", | |
| 119 | "caption": "Hubble view of the globular cluster M2 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 120 | }, | |
| 121 | "drawing": { | |
| 122 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 123 | "type": "globular", | |
| 124 | "sizeArcmin": 16 | |
| 125 | }, | |
| 126 | "link": { | |
| 127 | "messier": 2 | |
| 128 | }, | |
| 129 | "sources": [ | |
| 130 | { | |
| 131 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 2", | |
| 132 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-2/" | |
| 133 | }, | |
| 134 | { | |
| 135 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 2", | |
| 136 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m002.html" | |
| 137 | } | |
| 138 | ] | |
| 139 | }, | |
| 140 | { | |
| 141 | "id": "m3", | |
| 142 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 143 | "title": "M3", | |
| 144 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Canes Venatici", | |
| 145 | "facts": [ | |
| 146 | { | |
| 147 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 148 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 149 | "source": 0 | |
| 150 | }, | |
| 151 | { | |
| 152 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 153 | "value": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 154 | "source": 0 | |
| 155 | }, | |
| 156 | { | |
| 157 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 158 | "value": "34,000 light-years", | |
| 159 | "source": 0 | |
| 160 | }, | |
| 161 | { | |
| 162 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 163 | "value": "6.2", | |
| 164 | "source": 0 | |
| 165 | }, | |
| 166 | { | |
| 167 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 168 | "value": "18 arcmin", | |
| 169 | "source": 1 | |
| 170 | }, | |
| 171 | { | |
| 172 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 173 | "value": "NGC 5272", | |
| 174 | "source": 1 | |
| 175 | }, | |
| 176 | { | |
| 177 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 178 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 179 | "source": 0 | |
| 180 | } | |
| 181 | ], | |
| 182 | "essay": "M3 was the first object in the catalogue that Charles Messier discovered himself, in 1764. He described it as a nebula without stars. Twenty years later, in 1784, William Herschel resolved it into individual stars. Astronomers now count more than half a million stars in the cluster, and its age is estimated at about eight billion years.\n\nM3 is known for its variable stars. At least 274 have been found in it, more than in any other known cluster. For some kinds of variable star the period of the brightness changes is tied to the star's true luminosity. That relation lets astronomers turn measured brightness into distance, which makes clusters like M3 useful for calibrating distance scales.\n\nThe cluster lies 34,000 light-years away in Canes Venatici, roughly between Arcturus and the handle of the Big Dipper. At magnitude 6.2 it is easy to pick up in binoculars as a round glow about 18 arcminutes across with a bright centre. Moderate telescopes start to resolve stars around its edges. It is best placed for viewing in June.", | |
| 183 | "image": { | |
| 184 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1914a.jpg", | |
| 185 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, G. Piotto et al.", | |
| 186 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 187 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1914a/", | |
| 188 | "caption": "Hubble image of the core of the globular cluster M3, which holds about half a million stars." | |
| 189 | }, | |
| 190 | "drawing": { | |
| 191 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 192 | "type": "globular", | |
| 193 | "sizeArcmin": 18 | |
| 194 | }, | |
| 195 | "link": { | |
| 196 | "messier": 3 | |
| 197 | }, | |
| 198 | "sources": [ | |
| 199 | { | |
| 200 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 3", | |
| 201 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-3/" | |
| 202 | }, | |
| 203 | { | |
| 204 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 3", | |
| 205 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m003.html" | |
| 206 | } | |
| 207 | ] | |
| 208 | }, | |
| 209 | { | |
| 210 | "id": "m4", | |
| 211 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 212 | "title": "M4", | |
| 213 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Scorpius", | |
| 214 | "facts": [ | |
| 215 | { | |
| 216 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 217 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 218 | "source": 0 | |
| 219 | }, | |
| 220 | { | |
| 221 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 222 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 223 | "source": 0 | |
| 224 | }, | |
| 225 | { | |
| 226 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 227 | "value": "5,500 light-years", | |
| 228 | "source": 0 | |
| 229 | }, | |
| 230 | { | |
| 231 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 232 | "value": "5.9", | |
| 233 | "source": 0 | |
| 234 | }, | |
| 235 | { | |
| 236 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 237 | "value": "36 arcmin", | |
| 238 | "source": 1 | |
| 239 | }, | |
| 240 | { | |
| 241 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 242 | "value": "NGC 6121", | |
| 243 | "source": 1 | |
| 244 | }, | |
| 245 | { | |
| 246 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 247 | "value": "Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1746", | |
| 248 | "source": 0 | |
| 249 | } | |
| 250 | ], | |
| 251 | "essay": "M4 is the closest globular cluster to Earth, at about 5,500 light-years. It holds more than 100,000 stars, and its proximity makes it one of the most studied clusters in the sky. The Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux discovered it in 1746.\n\nBecause it is so near, Hubble can detect its white dwarfs, the cooling cores of dead stars. The cluster may contain up to 40,000 of them. White dwarfs fade at a predictable rate, so the faintest ones give an age for the cluster, and through it a lower limit on the age of the universe. Stars in clusters like this can be up to 13 billion years old. In 2003 Hubble helped confirm a planet of about 2.5 Jupiter masses in M4. It orbits a pair made up of a white dwarf and a pulsar.\n\nM4 is easy to find: it sits just west of Antares, the bright orange-red star in Scorpius. At magnitude 5.9 it shows in binoculars or a small telescope as a fuzzy ball of light about the size of the full Moon. A telescope of moderate size begins to resolve stars across its loose core. July is the best month to observe it.", | |
| 252 | "image": { | |
| 253 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/globular-clusters/Hubble_M4_WFC3_ACS_ok_flat_cont_FINAL_NewImage.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 254 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, G. Piotto (Universita degli Studi di Padova), S. Anderson (University of Washington), A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University), L. Bedin (INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 255 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 256 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-4/", | |
| 257 | "caption": "Hubble image of M4 combining Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys data across a wide range of wavelengths." | |
| 258 | }, | |
| 259 | "drawing": { | |
| 260 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 261 | "type": "globular", | |
| 262 | "sizeArcmin": 36 | |
| 263 | }, | |
| 264 | "link": { | |
| 265 | "messier": 4 | |
| 266 | }, | |
| 267 | "sources": [ | |
| 268 | { | |
| 269 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 4", | |
| 270 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-4/" | |
| 271 | }, | |
| 272 | { | |
| 273 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 4", | |
| 274 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m004.html" | |
| 275 | } | |
| 276 | ] | |
| 277 | }, | |
| 278 | { | |
| 279 | "id": "m5", | |
| 280 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 281 | "title": "M5", | |
| 282 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Serpens", | |
| 283 | "facts": [ | |
| 284 | { | |
| 285 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 286 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 287 | "source": 0 | |
| 288 | }, | |
| 289 | { | |
| 290 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 291 | "value": "Serpens", | |
| 292 | "source": 0 | |
| 293 | }, | |
| 294 | { | |
| 295 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 296 | "value": "25,000 light-years", | |
| 297 | "source": 0 | |
| 298 | }, | |
| 299 | { | |
| 300 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 301 | "value": "6.7", | |
| 302 | "source": 0 | |
| 303 | }, | |
| 304 | { | |
| 305 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 306 | "value": "23 arcmin", | |
| 307 | "source": 1 | |
| 308 | }, | |
| 309 | { | |
| 310 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 311 | "value": "NGC 5904", | |
| 312 | "source": 1 | |
| 313 | }, | |
| 314 | { | |
| 315 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 316 | "value": "Gottfried Kirch, 1702", | |
| 317 | "source": 0 | |
| 318 | } | |
| 319 | ], | |
| 320 | "essay": "M5 is one of the oldest globular clusters in the Milky Way. Most of its stars formed more than 12 billion years ago. The German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered it in 1702, and it lies about 25,000 light-years away in Serpens.\n\nIn a cluster this old, the massive stars should have burned out long ago and only old, low-mass stars should remain. Hubble images show that the cluster also contains a population of hot, blue stars that look much younger than their neighbours. These blue stragglers probably form when stars collide or interact in the crowded core, where up to a few million stars can be packed into a small volume.\n\nAt magnitude 6.7, M5 is a binocular object. It appears as a round patch of light with a bright, concentrated centre, about 23 arcminutes across in total. A small telescope begins to break up its outer regions into stars, and larger instruments resolve much of it. The cluster is best placed for viewing in June.", | |
| 321 | "image": { | |
| 322 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/globular-clusters/Hubble_M5_WFC3_UV_flat_FINAL_NewImage.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 323 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, G. Piotto (Universita degli Studi di Padova); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 324 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 325 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-5/", | |
| 326 | "caption": "Ultraviolet Hubble image of M5 that highlights the cluster's hot, blue stars." | |
| 327 | }, | |
| 328 | "drawing": { | |
| 329 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 330 | "type": "globular", | |
| 331 | "sizeArcmin": 23 | |
| 332 | }, | |
| 333 | "link": { | |
| 334 | "messier": 5 | |
| 335 | }, | |
| 336 | "sources": [ | |
| 337 | { | |
| 338 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 5", | |
| 339 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-5/" | |
| 340 | }, | |
| 341 | { | |
| 342 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 5", | |
| 343 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m005.html" | |
| 344 | } | |
| 345 | ] | |
| 346 | }, | |
| 347 | { | |
| 348 | "id": "m6", | |
| 349 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 350 | "title": "M6", | |
| 351 | "subtitle": "Butterfly Cluster · open cluster in Scorpius", | |
| 352 | "facts": [ | |
| 353 | { | |
| 354 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 355 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 356 | "source": 0 | |
| 357 | }, | |
| 358 | { | |
| 359 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 360 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 361 | "source": 0 | |
| 362 | }, | |
| 363 | { | |
| 364 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 365 | "value": "1,600 light-years", | |
| 366 | "source": 1 | |
| 367 | }, | |
| 368 | { | |
| 369 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 370 | "value": "4.2", | |
| 371 | "source": 1 | |
| 372 | }, | |
| 373 | { | |
| 374 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 375 | "value": "25 arcmin", | |
| 376 | "source": 1 | |
| 377 | }, | |
| 378 | { | |
| 379 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 380 | "value": "NGC 6405", | |
| 381 | "source": 1 | |
| 382 | }, | |
| 383 | { | |
| 384 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 385 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 386 | "source": 1 | |
| 387 | } | |
| 388 | ], | |
| 389 | "essay": "M6 is an open cluster of young stars in the tail of Scorpius. Its brighter stars form a pattern that observers have compared to a butterfly with open wings, which gives the cluster its common name. Age estimates range from 50 to 100 million years.\n\nGiovanni Battista Hodierna recorded the cluster before 1654, but his work was not widely known until the 1980s. Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux found it independently in 1745 or 1746, and Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1764. About 80 member stars have been identified. The main body of the cluster covers about 25 arcminutes, and outlying members spread over twice that. At a distance of about 1,600 light-years, that corresponds to roughly 12 light-years across.\n\nMost of the stars are hot and blue-white. The brightest star is a reddish exception: a slow, semiregular variable. At magnitude 4.2, M6 is visible to the naked eye from dark southern sites. It sits a few degrees from the brighter cluster M7. Binoculars or a small telescope at low power show the butterfly shape best, with the orange variable on one side.", | |
| 390 | "image": { | |
| 391 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-02637.jpg", | |
| 392 | "credit": "N.A.Sharp, Mark Hanna, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 393 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 394 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-02637/", | |
| 395 | "caption": "Colour image of the Butterfly Cluster taken with the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 396 | }, | |
| 397 | "drawing": { | |
| 398 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 399 | "type": "open", | |
| 400 | "sizeArcmin": 25 | |
| 401 | }, | |
| 402 | "link": { | |
| 403 | "messier": 6 | |
| 404 | }, | |
| 405 | "sources": [ | |
| 406 | { | |
| 407 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M6, NGC 6405; Butterfly Cluster", | |
| 408 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-02637/" | |
| 409 | }, | |
| 410 | { | |
| 411 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 6", | |
| 412 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m006.html" | |
| 413 | } | |
| 414 | ] | |
| 415 | }, | |
| 416 | { | |
| 417 | "id": "m7", | |
| 418 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 419 | "title": "M7", | |
| 420 | "subtitle": "Ptolemy's Cluster · open cluster in Scorpius", | |
| 421 | "facts": [ | |
| 422 | { | |
| 423 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 424 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 425 | "source": 0 | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | { | |
| 428 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 429 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 430 | "source": 0 | |
| 431 | }, | |
| 432 | { | |
| 433 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 434 | "value": "980 light-years", | |
| 435 | "source": 0 | |
| 436 | }, | |
| 437 | { | |
| 438 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 439 | "value": "3.3", | |
| 440 | "source": 0 | |
| 441 | }, | |
| 442 | { | |
| 443 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 444 | "value": "80 arcmin", | |
| 445 | "source": 1 | |
| 446 | }, | |
| 447 | { | |
| 448 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 449 | "value": "NGC 6475", | |
| 450 | "source": 1 | |
| 451 | }, | |
| 452 | { | |
| 453 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 454 | "value": "Recorded by Ptolemy, about 130 AD", | |
| 455 | "source": 0 | |
| 456 | } | |
| 457 | ], | |
| 458 | "essay": "M7 is a large, bright open cluster next to the stinger of Scorpius. The astronomer Claudius Ptolemy recorded it in about 130 AD, so it is often called Ptolemy's Cluster. Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in May 1764.\n\nOpen clusters are groups of stars that formed together from one cloud of gas and dust. They are only loosely held together, and over time the gravity of other objects pulls them apart. M7 contains about 80 stars, lies about 980 light-years away, and probably formed about 220 million years ago.\n\nIt is the southernmost object in Messier's catalogue. That makes it hard to see from far northern latitudes, but from southern and mid-northern sites it is an easy naked-eye object at magnitude 3.3. Its stars spread over about 80 arcminutes, more than twice the width of the full Moon, against a dense Milky Way background. Binoculars or a low-power, wide-field telescope give the best view. The Butterfly Cluster, M6, lies a few degrees away. Both are best seen on July evenings.", | |
| 459 | "image": { | |
| 460 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/hubble-m7-wfc3-2-flat-final.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 461 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, D. Bennett (University of Maryland), and K. Sahu (STScI); Image Processing: Gladys Kober", | |
| 462 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 463 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-7/", | |
| 464 | "caption": "Hubble view of a small field of stars within the open cluster M7." | |
| 465 | }, | |
| 466 | "drawing": { | |
| 467 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 468 | "type": "open", | |
| 469 | "sizeArcmin": 80 | |
| 470 | }, | |
| 471 | "link": { | |
| 472 | "messier": 7 | |
| 473 | }, | |
| 474 | "sources": [ | |
| 475 | { | |
| 476 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 7", | |
| 477 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-7/" | |
| 478 | }, | |
| 479 | { | |
| 480 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 7", | |
| 481 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m007.html" | |
| 482 | } | |
| 483 | ] | |
| 484 | }, | |
| 485 | { | |
| 486 | "id": "m8", | |
| 487 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 488 | "title": "M8", | |
| 489 | "subtitle": "Lagoon Nebula · emission nebula in Sagittarius", | |
| 490 | "facts": [ | |
| 491 | { | |
| 492 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 493 | "value": "Emission nebula", | |
| 494 | "source": 0 | |
| 495 | }, | |
| 496 | { | |
| 497 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 498 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 499 | "source": 0 | |
| 500 | }, | |
| 501 | { | |
| 502 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 503 | "value": "5,200 light-years", | |
| 504 | "source": 0 | |
| 505 | }, | |
| 506 | { | |
| 507 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 508 | "value": "6.0", | |
| 509 | "source": 0 | |
| 510 | }, | |
| 511 | { | |
| 512 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 513 | "value": "90 × 40 arcmin", | |
| 514 | "source": 1 | |
| 515 | }, | |
| 516 | { | |
| 517 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 518 | "value": "NGC 6523", | |
| 519 | "source": 1 | |
| 520 | }, | |
| 521 | { | |
| 522 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 523 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, 1654", | |
| 524 | "source": 0 | |
| 525 | } | |
| 526 | ], | |
| 527 | "essay": "The Lagoon Nebula is a large cloud of interstellar gas and dust where stars are still forming. Massive young stars embedded in it give off strong ultraviolet radiation that ionises the surrounding hydrogen and makes it glow. The nebula also contains its own young star cluster, NGC 6530.\n\nThe Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna discovered it in 1654. Like Messier after him, he catalogued nebulous objects so they would not be mistaken for comets. The nebula lies about 5,200 light-years away in Sagittarius, toward the centre of the Milky Way. Hubble has studied several parts of the cloud in detail. One small region, the Hourglass, holds two twisting funnels of gas, each about half a light-year long, near the hot star Herschel 36.\n\nAt magnitude 6, the Lagoon is faintly visible to the naked eye under dark skies as a brighter knot in the summer Milky Way, just north of the spout of the Sagittarius \"teapot\". It covers about 90 by 40 arcminutes. Binoculars show the glow and the cluster on its eastern side. A small telescope shows the dark lane that crosses the nebula and gives it its name. The best month is August.", | |
| 528 | "image": { | |
| 529 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/nebulae/emission/Hubble_M8_ACS_1_flat_FINAL.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 530 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, M. Mutchler (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 531 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 532 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-8/", | |
| 533 | "caption": "Hubble image of part of the Lagoon Nebula, with clouds of gas, dark dust and scattered young blue stars." | |
| 534 | }, | |
| 535 | "drawing": { | |
| 536 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 537 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 538 | "sizeArcmin": 90 | |
| 539 | }, | |
| 540 | "link": { | |
| 541 | "messier": 8 | |
| 542 | }, | |
| 543 | "sources": [ | |
| 544 | { | |
| 545 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 8 (The Lagoon Nebula)", | |
| 546 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-8/" | |
| 547 | }, | |
| 548 | { | |
| 549 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 8", | |
| 550 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m008.html" | |
| 551 | } | |
| 552 | ] | |
| 553 | }, | |
| 554 | { | |
| 555 | "id": "m9", | |
| 556 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 557 | "title": "M9", | |
| 558 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 559 | "facts": [ | |
| 560 | { | |
| 561 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 562 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 563 | "source": 0 | |
| 564 | }, | |
| 565 | { | |
| 566 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 567 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 568 | "source": 0 | |
| 569 | }, | |
| 570 | { | |
| 571 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 572 | "value": "25,000 light-years", | |
| 573 | "source": 0 | |
| 574 | }, | |
| 575 | { | |
| 576 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 577 | "value": "8.4", | |
| 578 | "source": 0 | |
| 579 | }, | |
| 580 | { | |
| 581 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 582 | "value": "12 arcmin", | |
| 583 | "source": 1 | |
| 584 | }, | |
| 585 | { | |
| 586 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 587 | "value": "NGC 6333", | |
| 588 | "source": 1 | |
| 589 | }, | |
| 590 | { | |
| 591 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 592 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 593 | "source": 0 | |
| 594 | } | |
| 595 | ], | |
| 596 | "essay": "M9 is one of the globular clusters closest to the centre of the Milky Way. It lies about 25,000 light-years from Earth in Ophiuchus. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. Most globular clusters are close to spherical, because the mass concentrated at the centre pulls the outer stars evenly inward. M9 is less round than most. Its position near the much greater mass of the galactic centre has distorted its shape.\n\nHubble's image of the core, taken in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light, shows that the cluster's stars differ in colour. Red stars have cooler surfaces and blue stars are much hotter.\n\nAt magnitude 8.4, M9 is a small-telescope target. It appears as a small, round, fuzzy spot about 12 arcminutes across that brightens toward the middle. Only the brightest stars at its edge resolve in moderate apertures. The best time to look is in July, when Ophiuchus is high in the evening sky.", | |
| 597 | "image": { | |
| 598 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/heic1205a.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 599 | "credit": "NASA & ESA", | |
| 600 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 601 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-9/", | |
| 602 | "caption": "Hubble image of the core of the globular cluster M9 in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light." | |
| 603 | }, | |
| 604 | "drawing": { | |
| 605 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 606 | "type": "globular", | |
| 607 | "sizeArcmin": 12 | |
| 608 | }, | |
| 609 | "link": { | |
| 610 | "messier": 9 | |
| 611 | }, | |
| 612 | "sources": [ | |
| 613 | { | |
| 614 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 9", | |
| 615 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-9/" | |
| 616 | }, | |
| 617 | { | |
| 618 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 9", | |
| 619 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m009.html" | |
| 620 | } | |
| 621 | ] | |
| 622 | }, | |
| 623 | { | |
| 624 | "id": "m10", | |
| 625 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 626 | "title": "M10", | |
| 627 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 628 | "facts": [ | |
| 629 | { | |
| 630 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 631 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 632 | "source": 0 | |
| 633 | }, | |
| 634 | { | |
| 635 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 636 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 637 | "source": 0 | |
| 638 | }, | |
| 639 | { | |
| 640 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 641 | "value": "15,000 light-years", | |
| 642 | "source": 0 | |
| 643 | }, | |
| 644 | { | |
| 645 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 646 | "value": "6.4", | |
| 647 | "source": 0 | |
| 648 | }, | |
| 649 | { | |
| 650 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 651 | "value": "20 arcmin", | |
| 652 | "source": 1 | |
| 653 | }, | |
| 654 | { | |
| 655 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 656 | "value": "NGC 6254", | |
| 657 | "source": 1 | |
| 658 | }, | |
| 659 | { | |
| 660 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 661 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 662 | "source": 0 | |
| 663 | } | |
| 664 | ], | |
| 665 | "essay": "M10 is a bright globular cluster in Ophiuchus, about 15,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764.\n\nThe cluster has a large population of blue stragglers: stars that look much younger and hotter than the others around them. The stars in a globular cluster are thought to have formed at about the same time, so a group of apparently young stars needs an explanation. The likely cause is collisions or close interactions between stars. Such events are expected in the dense cores of globular clusters, where up to a few million stars can be packed closely together. Hubble's ultraviolet images make these hot stars stand out clearly against the cooler, older population.\n\nAt magnitude 6.4, M10 is visible in binoculars as a round glow about 20 arcminutes across, brighter toward the centre. The globular cluster M12 is only a few degrees away, and both fit in a low-power binocular sweep. A small telescope shows a grainy texture across the cluster, and larger instruments resolve many of its stars. July is the best month to observe it.", | |
| 666 | "image": { | |
| 667 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/globular-clusters/Hubble_M10_WFC3UVIS_flat_FINAL_NewImage.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 668 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, G. Piotto (Universita degli Studi di Padova); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 669 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 670 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-10/", | |
| 671 | "caption": "Ultraviolet Hubble image of M10's core, where hot blue stragglers stand out." | |
| 672 | }, | |
| 673 | "drawing": { | |
| 674 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 675 | "type": "globular", | |
| 676 | "sizeArcmin": 20 | |
| 677 | }, | |
| 678 | "link": { | |
| 679 | "messier": 10 | |
| 680 | }, | |
| 681 | "sources": [ | |
| 682 | { | |
| 683 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 10", | |
| 684 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-10/" | |
| 685 | }, | |
| 686 | { | |
| 687 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 10", | |
| 688 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m010.html" | |
| 689 | } | |
| 690 | ] | |
| 691 | }, | |
| 692 | { | |
| 693 | "id": "m11", | |
| 694 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 695 | "title": "M11", | |
| 696 | "subtitle": "Wild Duck Cluster · open cluster in Scutum", | |
| 697 | "facts": [ | |
| 698 | { | |
| 699 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 700 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 701 | "source": 0 | |
| 702 | }, | |
| 703 | { | |
| 704 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 705 | "value": "Scutum", | |
| 706 | "source": 0 | |
| 707 | }, | |
| 708 | { | |
| 709 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 710 | "value": "6,200 light-years", | |
| 711 | "source": 0 | |
| 712 | }, | |
| 713 | { | |
| 714 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 715 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 716 | "source": 0 | |
| 717 | }, | |
| 718 | { | |
| 719 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 720 | "value": "14 arcmin", | |
| 721 | "source": 1 | |
| 722 | }, | |
| 723 | { | |
| 724 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 725 | "value": "NGC 6705", | |
| 726 | "source": 1 | |
| 727 | }, | |
| 728 | { | |
| 729 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 730 | "value": "Gottfried Kirch, 1681", | |
| 731 | "source": 0 | |
| 732 | } | |
| 733 | ], | |
| 734 | "essay": "M11 is one of the richest and most compact open clusters known, with more than 2,900 stars. Its brightest stars form a rough V shape that resembles a flock of ducks in flight, which gives it the name Wild Duck Cluster. The German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered it in 1681.\n\nOpen clusters are loosely bound groups of stars. They usually disperse after a few hundred million years, much sooner than the tightly bound globular clusters. By studying the brightest and hottest main-sequence stars in M11, astronomers estimate that it formed about 220 million years ago. It is one of the few open clusters in Messier's catalogue that Hubble has imaged.\n\nThe cluster lies 6,200 light-years away in the small constellation Scutum, against one of the brightest parts of the Milky Way. Of the open clusters in Messier's catalogue it is the most distant that can be seen with the naked eye, at magnitude 6.3. Binoculars show it as a small, triangular patch of light about 14 arcminutes across. A small telescope resolves the patch into a dense field of faint stars with one brighter star near the tip of the V. August is the best month to view it.", | |
| 735 | "image": { | |
| 736 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1912a.jpg", | |
| 737 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Dobbie et al.", | |
| 738 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 739 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1912a/", | |
| 740 | "caption": "Hubble image of part of the Wild Duck Cluster, one of the richest open clusters in the sky." | |
| 741 | }, | |
| 742 | "drawing": { | |
| 743 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 744 | "type": "open", | |
| 745 | "sizeArcmin": 14 | |
| 746 | }, | |
| 747 | "link": { | |
| 748 | "messier": 11 | |
| 749 | }, | |
| 750 | "sources": [ | |
| 751 | { | |
| 752 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 11", | |
| 753 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-11/" | |
| 754 | }, | |
| 755 | { | |
| 756 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 11", | |
| 757 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m011.html" | |
| 758 | } | |
| 759 | ] | |
| 760 | }, | |
| 761 | { | |
| 762 | "id": "m12", | |
| 763 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 764 | "title": "M12", | |
| 765 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 766 | "facts": [ | |
| 767 | { | |
| 768 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 769 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 770 | "source": 0 | |
| 771 | }, | |
| 772 | { | |
| 773 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 774 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 775 | "source": 0 | |
| 776 | }, | |
| 777 | { | |
| 778 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 779 | "value": "23,000 light-years", | |
| 780 | "source": 0 | |
| 781 | }, | |
| 782 | { | |
| 783 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 784 | "value": "7.7", | |
| 785 | "source": 0 | |
| 786 | }, | |
| 787 | { | |
| 788 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 789 | "value": "16 arcmin", | |
| 790 | "source": 1 | |
| 791 | }, | |
| 792 | { | |
| 793 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 794 | "value": "NGC 6218", | |
| 795 | "source": 1 | |
| 796 | }, | |
| 797 | { | |
| 798 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 799 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 800 | "source": 0 | |
| 801 | } | |
| 802 | ], | |
| 803 | "essay": "M12 is a globular cluster in Ophiuchus, about 23,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. It is a relatively loose cluster, yet it contains many interacting binary stars. In these pairs, material from one star flows onto its companion and gives off X-rays, and many such sources have been detected in M12. That is unexpected, because stars in a sparse cluster should interact less often than those in a dense one.\n\nM12 also has fewer low-mass stars than expected. Astronomers think the Milky Way's gravity stripped many of them away as the cluster passed through denser regions of the galaxy on its orbit around the galactic centre. It may have lost up to a million stars this way.\n\nAt magnitude 7.7, M12 is visible in binoculars as a soft, round glow about 16 arcminutes across. It lies only a few degrees from M10, and the two make a good pair at low power. In a small telescope M12 looks less concentrated than M10, and its looser structure lets moderate apertures resolve stars across much of its face. It is best observed in July.", | |
| 804 | "image": { | |
| 805 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1113a.jpg", | |
| 806 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 807 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 808 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1113a/", | |
| 809 | "caption": "Hubble image of the centre of M12 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 810 | }, | |
| 811 | "drawing": { | |
| 812 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 813 | "type": "globular", | |
| 814 | "sizeArcmin": 16 | |
| 815 | }, | |
| 816 | "link": { | |
| 817 | "messier": 12 | |
| 818 | }, | |
| 819 | "sources": [ | |
| 820 | { | |
| 821 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 12", | |
| 822 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-12/" | |
| 823 | }, | |
| 824 | { | |
| 825 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 12", | |
| 826 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m012.html" | |
| 827 | } | |
| 828 | ] | |
| 829 | }, | |
| 830 | { | |
| 831 | "id": "m13", | |
| 832 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 833 | "title": "M13", | |
| 834 | "subtitle": "Hercules Globular Cluster · globular cluster in Hercules", | |
| 835 | "facts": [ | |
| 836 | { | |
| 837 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 838 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 839 | "source": 0 | |
| 840 | }, | |
| 841 | { | |
| 842 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 843 | "value": "Hercules", | |
| 844 | "source": 0 | |
| 845 | }, | |
| 846 | { | |
| 847 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 848 | "value": "25,000 light-years", | |
| 849 | "source": 0 | |
| 850 | }, | |
| 851 | { | |
| 852 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 853 | "value": "5.8", | |
| 854 | "source": 0 | |
| 855 | }, | |
| 856 | { | |
| 857 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 858 | "value": "20 arcmin", | |
| 859 | "source": 1 | |
| 860 | }, | |
| 861 | { | |
| 862 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 863 | "value": "NGC 6205", | |
| 864 | "source": 1 | |
| 865 | }, | |
| 866 | { | |
| 867 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 868 | "value": "Edmond Halley, 1714", | |
| 869 | "source": 0 | |
| 870 | } | |
| 871 | ], | |
| 872 | "essay": "M13 is one of the brightest globular clusters visible from the Northern Hemisphere. It holds more than 100,000 stars and lies about 25,000 light-years away in Hercules. Edmond Halley, known for the comet that bears his name, discovered it in 1714.\n\nWhen Charles Messier added the cluster to his catalogue in 1764, he believed it contained no stars. Its stars are so tightly packed that they were not resolved until 1779. Near the core, stars are about a hundred times more crowded than in the Sun's neighbourhood. At that density stars sometimes collide and merge. The products are blue stragglers, which look younger than the stars around them.\n\nM13 is easy to find. It sits on the western side of the Keystone, the four-star figure at the centre of Hercules, about a third of the way from Eta to Zeta Herculis. At magnitude 5.8 it can be glimpsed with the naked eye from a dark site and is obvious in binoculars as a round glow with a bright centre. A small telescope shows a granular texture across its 20-arcminute disc, and larger telescopes resolve many of its stars. July is the best month.", | |
| 873 | "image": { | |
| 874 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1011a.jpg", | |
| 875 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble and NASA", | |
| 876 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 877 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1011a/", | |
| 878 | "caption": "Hubble image of the crowded core of the Hercules globular cluster." | |
| 879 | }, | |
| 880 | "drawing": { | |
| 881 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 882 | "type": "globular", | |
| 883 | "sizeArcmin": 20 | |
| 884 | }, | |
| 885 | "link": { | |
| 886 | "messier": 13 | |
| 887 | }, | |
| 888 | "sources": [ | |
| 889 | { | |
| 890 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 13", | |
| 891 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-13/" | |
| 892 | }, | |
| 893 | { | |
| 894 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 13", | |
| 895 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m013.html" | |
| 896 | } | |
| 897 | ] | |
| 898 | }, | |
| 899 | { | |
| 900 | "id": "m14", | |
| 901 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 902 | "title": "M14", | |
| 903 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 904 | "facts": [ | |
| 905 | { | |
| 906 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 907 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 908 | "source": 0 | |
| 909 | }, | |
| 910 | { | |
| 911 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 912 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 913 | "source": 0 | |
| 914 | }, | |
| 915 | { | |
| 916 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 917 | "value": "29,000 light-years", | |
| 918 | "source": 0 | |
| 919 | }, | |
| 920 | { | |
| 921 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 922 | "value": "8.3", | |
| 923 | "source": 0 | |
| 924 | }, | |
| 925 | { | |
| 926 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 927 | "value": "11 arcmin", | |
| 928 | "source": 1 | |
| 929 | }, | |
| 930 | { | |
| 931 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 932 | "value": "NGC 6402", | |
| 933 | "source": 1 | |
| 934 | }, | |
| 935 | { | |
| 936 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 937 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 938 | "source": 0 | |
| 939 | } | |
| 940 | ], | |
| 941 | "essay": "M14 is a globular cluster of more than 150,000 stars in Ophiuchus, about 29,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764.\n\nIn the summer of 1938 the cluster produced a nova, a rare event in a globular cluster. In a nova, a star brightens by a factor of about 10,000 within a few days and then fades back to normal over the following months. From the ground the nova's position is lost in a blur of crowded stars. Hubble images resolve individual stars at the suspected site, although the star that erupted may be too faint to identify.\n\nHubble has also observed M14 in ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light. Astronomers used those data to study how the cluster formed and to compare the chemical makeup of the different groups of stars it contains. At magnitude 8.3, M14 needs a telescope. In small instruments it is a round, evenly lit haze about 11 arcminutes across, with little central brightening, and its stars resolve only in larger apertures. It lies in a fairly empty part of Ophiuchus, so star-hopping from M10 and M12 is a common route. The best month to look is July.", | |
| 942 | "image": { | |
| 943 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hubble_m14_wfc3_1flat_cont_final.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 944 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and F. D'Antona (INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma); Image Processing: Gladys Kober", | |
| 945 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 946 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-14/", | |
| 947 | "caption": "Hubble image of M14 in ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light." | |
| 948 | }, | |
| 949 | "drawing": { | |
| 950 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 951 | "type": "globular", | |
| 952 | "sizeArcmin": 11 | |
| 953 | }, | |
| 954 | "link": { | |
| 955 | "messier": 14 | |
| 956 | }, | |
| 957 | "sources": [ | |
| 958 | { | |
| 959 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 14", | |
| 960 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-14/" | |
| 961 | }, | |
| 962 | { | |
| 963 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 14", | |
| 964 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m014.html" | |
| 965 | } | |
| 966 | ] | |
| 967 | }, | |
| 968 | { | |
| 969 | "id": "m15", | |
| 970 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 971 | "title": "M15", | |
| 972 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Pegasus", | |
| 973 | "facts": [ | |
| 974 | { | |
| 975 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 976 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 977 | "source": 0 | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | { | |
| 980 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 981 | "value": "Pegasus", | |
| 982 | "source": 0 | |
| 983 | }, | |
| 984 | { | |
| 985 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 986 | "value": "33,600 light-years", | |
| 987 | "source": 0 | |
| 988 | }, | |
| 989 | { | |
| 990 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 991 | "value": "6.2", | |
| 992 | "source": 0 | |
| 993 | }, | |
| 994 | { | |
| 995 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 996 | "value": "18 arcmin", | |
| 997 | "source": 1 | |
| 998 | }, | |
| 999 | { | |
| 1000 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1001 | "value": "NGC 7078", | |
| 1002 | "source": 1 | |
| 1003 | }, | |
| 1004 | { | |
| 1005 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1006 | "value": "Jean-Dominique Maraldi, 1746", | |
| 1007 | "source": 0 | |
| 1008 | } | |
| 1009 | ], | |
| 1010 | "essay": "M15 is one of the densest globular clusters known. Its stars crowd more and more tightly toward a very bright core. It lies about 33,600 light-years away in Pegasus and is around 12 billion years old. The astronomer Jean-Dominique Maraldi found it in 1746 while searching for comets.\n\nIt was the first globular cluster known to contain a planetary nebula, the shed outer layers of a dying star. Francis G. Pease found this nebula, Pease 1, in 1928. Only four planetary nebulae are known inside globular clusters. Observations also point to a black hole of about 4,000 solar masses at the cluster's centre. That is far heavier than black holes formed from single stars and far lighter than the supermassive ones in galaxy cores.\n\nAt magnitude 6.2, M15 is an easy binocular target. It looks like a fuzzy star about 4 degrees northwest of Enif, the star that marks the horse's nose in Pegasus. A small telescope shows a bright, compact centre surrounded by a fainter halo up to 18 arcminutes across. Larger telescopes resolve its outer stars. The best month is September.", | |
| 1011 | "image": { | |
| 1012 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/heic1321a.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 1013 | "credit": "NASA, ESA", | |
| 1014 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1015 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-15/", | |
| 1016 | "caption": "Hubble image of M15 combining ultraviolet, visible and infrared observations." | |
| 1017 | }, | |
| 1018 | "drawing": { | |
| 1019 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1020 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1021 | "sizeArcmin": 18 | |
| 1022 | }, | |
| 1023 | "link": { | |
| 1024 | "messier": 15 | |
| 1025 | }, | |
| 1026 | "sources": [ | |
| 1027 | { | |
| 1028 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 15", | |
| 1029 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-15/" | |
| 1030 | }, | |
| 1031 | { | |
| 1032 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 15", | |
| 1033 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m015.html" | |
| 1034 | } | |
| 1035 | ] | |
| 1036 | }, | |
| 1037 | { | |
| 1038 | "id": "m16", | |
| 1039 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1040 | "title": "M16", | |
| 1041 | "subtitle": "Eagle Nebula · emission nebula and cluster in Serpens", | |
| 1042 | "facts": [ | |
| 1043 | { | |
| 1044 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1045 | "value": "Emission nebula with open cluster", | |
| 1046 | "source": 0 | |
| 1047 | }, | |
| 1048 | { | |
| 1049 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1050 | "value": "Serpens", | |
| 1051 | "source": 0 | |
| 1052 | }, | |
| 1053 | { | |
| 1054 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1055 | "value": "7,000 light-years", | |
| 1056 | "source": 0 | |
| 1057 | }, | |
| 1058 | { | |
| 1059 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1060 | "value": "6.0", | |
| 1061 | "source": 0 | |
| 1062 | }, | |
| 1063 | { | |
| 1064 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1065 | "value": "7 arcmin (cluster)", | |
| 1066 | "source": 1 | |
| 1067 | }, | |
| 1068 | { | |
| 1069 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1070 | "value": "NGC 6611 (cluster), IC 4703 (nebula)", | |
| 1071 | "source": 0 | |
| 1072 | }, | |
| 1073 | { | |
| 1074 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1075 | "value": "Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1745", | |
| 1076 | "source": 0 | |
| 1077 | } | |
| 1078 | ], | |
| 1079 | "essay": "The name M16 covers two objects that catalogues list separately: an emission nebula, IC 4703, and the young star cluster inside it, NGC 6611. Together they are called the Eagle Nebula. The Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux discovered it in 1745. It lies about 7,000 light-years away in Serpens.\n\nThe nebula is an active star-forming region about 70 by 55 light-years across. Its best-known feature is a set of dark columns of gas and dust 4 to 5 light-years tall, called the Pillars of Creation. Ultraviolet light and winds from hot young stars nearby are slowly eroding them. Hubble's infrared images look through the dust and show newborn stars inside the pillars.\n\nThe cluster shines at about magnitude 6 and is visible in binoculars as a small group of stars with a faint haze around it. A small telescope shows the cluster clearly. The nebula is easier to see with a nebula filter and dark skies, and the pillars themselves need a large telescope and good conditions. The Omega Nebula, M17, is a few degrees to the south. August is the best month.", | |
| 1080 | "image": { | |
| 1081 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hubble_birthofstars_0.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 1082 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)", | |
| 1083 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1084 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-16/", | |
| 1085 | "caption": "Hubble view of the Pillars of Creation, columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula." | |
| 1086 | }, | |
| 1087 | "drawing": { | |
| 1088 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1089 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 1090 | "sizeArcmin": 7 | |
| 1091 | }, | |
| 1092 | "link": { | |
| 1093 | "messier": 16 | |
| 1094 | }, | |
| 1095 | "sources": [ | |
| 1096 | { | |
| 1097 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 16 (The Eagle Nebula)", | |
| 1098 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-16/" | |
| 1099 | }, | |
| 1100 | { | |
| 1101 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 16", | |
| 1102 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m016.html" | |
| 1103 | } | |
| 1104 | ] | |
| 1105 | }, | |
| 1106 | { | |
| 1107 | "id": "m17", | |
| 1108 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1109 | "title": "M17", | |
| 1110 | "subtitle": "Omega Nebula · emission nebula in Sagittarius", | |
| 1111 | "facts": [ | |
| 1112 | { | |
| 1113 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1114 | "value": "Emission nebula", | |
| 1115 | "source": 0 | |
| 1116 | }, | |
| 1117 | { | |
| 1118 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1119 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1120 | "source": 0 | |
| 1121 | }, | |
| 1122 | { | |
| 1123 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1124 | "value": "5,500 light-years", | |
| 1125 | "source": 0 | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | { | |
| 1128 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1129 | "value": "6.0", | |
| 1130 | "source": 0 | |
| 1131 | }, | |
| 1132 | { | |
| 1133 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1134 | "value": "11 arcmin", | |
| 1135 | "source": 1 | |
| 1136 | }, | |
| 1137 | { | |
| 1138 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1139 | "value": "NGC 6618", | |
| 1140 | "source": 1 | |
| 1141 | }, | |
| 1142 | { | |
| 1143 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1144 | "value": "Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1745", | |
| 1145 | "source": 0 | |
| 1146 | } | |
| 1147 | ], | |
| 1148 | "essay": "M17, the Omega or Swan Nebula, is one of the largest star-forming regions in the Milky Way. It lies 5,500 light-years away in Sagittarius. Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux discovered it in 1745.\n\nIt contains one of the youngest star clusters in our galaxy, about one million years old. Many of its stars are hidden by the gas and dust around them. Their radiation is evaporating and eroding the dense, cold clouds where new stars form. Hubble images show this process in detail. One pocket of gas near the brightest part of the nebula is about ten times the size of our solar system, and dark fingers of dust reach into the glowing gas from the surrounding cloud.\n\nAt magnitude 6, the Omega Nebula is one of the brightest nebulae in the sky and is visible in binoculars. Its brightest part is a bar of light about 11 arcminutes long with a hook at one end, which observers have likened to a swan or to the Greek letter omega. A small telescope shows the bar and the hook clearly, and a nebula filter brings out fainter gas around them. M16 and M18 are nearby. August is the best month to look.", | |
| 1149 | "image": { | |
| 1150 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/m17-field2-f110wf160w-a1-final-vers1.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 1151 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and A. Kraus (The University of Texas at Austin); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 1152 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1153 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-17/", | |
| 1154 | "caption": "Hubble image of part of the Omega Nebula, colourised to highlight oxygen, hydrogen and infrared light." | |
| 1155 | }, | |
| 1156 | "drawing": { | |
| 1157 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1158 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 1159 | "sizeArcmin": 11 | |
| 1160 | }, | |
| 1161 | "link": { | |
| 1162 | "messier": 17 | |
| 1163 | }, | |
| 1164 | "sources": [ | |
| 1165 | { | |
| 1166 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 17 (The Omega Nebula)", | |
| 1167 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-17/" | |
| 1168 | }, | |
| 1169 | { | |
| 1170 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 17", | |
| 1171 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m017.html" | |
| 1172 | } | |
| 1173 | ] | |
| 1174 | }, | |
| 1175 | { | |
| 1176 | "id": "m18", | |
| 1177 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1178 | "title": "M18", | |
| 1179 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1180 | "facts": [ | |
| 1181 | { | |
| 1182 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1183 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1184 | "source": 0 | |
| 1185 | }, | |
| 1186 | { | |
| 1187 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1188 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1189 | "source": 0 | |
| 1190 | }, | |
| 1191 | { | |
| 1192 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1193 | "value": "4,900 light-years", | |
| 1194 | "source": 1 | |
| 1195 | }, | |
| 1196 | { | |
| 1197 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1198 | "value": "7.5", | |
| 1199 | "source": 1 | |
| 1200 | }, | |
| 1201 | { | |
| 1202 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1203 | "value": "9 arcmin", | |
| 1204 | "source": 1 | |
| 1205 | }, | |
| 1206 | { | |
| 1207 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1208 | "value": "NGC 6613", | |
| 1209 | "source": 1 | |
| 1210 | }, | |
| 1211 | { | |
| 1212 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1213 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1214 | "source": 1 | |
| 1215 | } | |
| 1216 | ], | |
| 1217 | "essay": "M18 is a small, sparse open cluster in Sagittarius. It is one of Charles Messier's own discoveries, catalogued on 3 June 1764. The cluster has only a couple of dozen members and is young, around 30 million years old.\n\nPublished distances disagree, from under 4,000 to 6,000 light-years. A commonly adopted value is about 4,900 light-years, at which its apparent width of 9 arcminutes corresponds to about 17 light-years. Its hottest stars are of spectral type B3, consistent with its young age. Colour images show a mix of bright blue stars and a few yellow and orange ones.\n\nM18 sits in a rich part of the Milky Way between two more prominent objects: the Omega Nebula, M17, just to the north, and the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, M24, to the south. That makes it easy to locate but also easy to overlook. At magnitude 7.5 it is visible in binoculars as a small knot of stars. A small telescope at low power shows a little over a dozen fairly bright stars in a loose group, which stands out only modestly from the dense background.", | |
| 1218 | "image": { | |
| 1219 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m18.jpg", | |
| 1220 | "credit": "Hillary Mathis, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1221 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1222 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m18/", | |
| 1223 | "caption": "Colour image of the sparse open cluster M18 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 1224 | }, | |
| 1225 | "drawing": { | |
| 1226 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1227 | "type": "open", | |
| 1228 | "sizeArcmin": 9 | |
| 1229 | }, | |
| 1230 | "link": { | |
| 1231 | "messier": 18 | |
| 1232 | }, | |
| 1233 | "sources": [ | |
| 1234 | { | |
| 1235 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M18, NGC 6613", | |
| 1236 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m18/" | |
| 1237 | }, | |
| 1238 | { | |
| 1239 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 18", | |
| 1240 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m018.html" | |
| 1241 | } | |
| 1242 | ] | |
| 1243 | }, | |
| 1244 | { | |
| 1245 | "id": "m19", | |
| 1246 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1247 | "title": "M19", | |
| 1248 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 1249 | "facts": [ | |
| 1250 | { | |
| 1251 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1252 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1253 | "source": 0 | |
| 1254 | }, | |
| 1255 | { | |
| 1256 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1257 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 1258 | "source": 0 | |
| 1259 | }, | |
| 1260 | { | |
| 1261 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1262 | "value": "28,500 light-years", | |
| 1263 | "source": 0 | |
| 1264 | }, | |
| 1265 | { | |
| 1266 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1267 | "value": "7.7", | |
| 1268 | "source": 0 | |
| 1269 | }, | |
| 1270 | { | |
| 1271 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1272 | "value": "17 arcmin", | |
| 1273 | "source": 1 | |
| 1274 | }, | |
| 1275 | { | |
| 1276 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1277 | "value": "NGC 6273", | |
| 1278 | "source": 1 | |
| 1279 | }, | |
| 1280 | { | |
| 1281 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1282 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1283 | "source": 0 | |
| 1284 | } | |
| 1285 | ], | |
| 1286 | "essay": "M19 is a globular cluster in southern Ophiuchus, about 28,500 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. The stars in a globular cluster orbit a common centre of gravity, so most clusters are close to round. M19 is noticeably elongated. It lies only about 6,500 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way, and the gravity and tidal forces of the galaxy's dense central region are probably stretching it.\n\nHubble has observed M19 in ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light to study how it formed and to measure the proportions of the different populations of stars it contains. An earlier Hubble image of the cluster has a stair-step outline. It was taken with a camera made of four detectors, one of which had a smaller field of view and higher resolution than the other three.\n\nAt magnitude 7.7, M19 can be found with binoculars, but it appears only as a faint, slightly oval patch about 17 arcminutes across. A small telescope shows the oval shape more clearly, and large telescopes resolve individual stars. The cluster is best observed in July, low in the south for mid-northern observers.", | |
| 1287 | "image": { | |
| 1288 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hubble_m19_wfc3_str_gapfilled_flat_cont_final.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 1289 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and C. Johnson (STScI); Image Processing: Gladys Kober", | |
| 1290 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1291 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-19/", | |
| 1292 | "caption": "Hubble image of M19 in ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light, with a small gap filled by ground-based data." | |
| 1293 | }, | |
| 1294 | "drawing": { | |
| 1295 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1296 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1297 | "sizeArcmin": 17 | |
| 1298 | }, | |
| 1299 | "link": { | |
| 1300 | "messier": 19 | |
| 1301 | }, | |
| 1302 | "sources": [ | |
| 1303 | { | |
| 1304 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 19", | |
| 1305 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-19/" | |
| 1306 | }, | |
| 1307 | { | |
| 1308 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 19", | |
| 1309 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m019.html" | |
| 1310 | } | |
| 1311 | ] | |
| 1312 | }, | |
| 1313 | { | |
| 1314 | "id": "m20", | |
| 1315 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1316 | "title": "M20", | |
| 1317 | "subtitle": "Trifid Nebula · nebula in Sagittarius", | |
| 1318 | "facts": [ | |
| 1319 | { | |
| 1320 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1321 | "value": "Nebula", | |
| 1322 | "source": 0 | |
| 1323 | }, | |
| 1324 | { | |
| 1325 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1326 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1327 | "source": 0 | |
| 1328 | }, | |
| 1329 | { | |
| 1330 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1331 | "value": "5,000 light-years", | |
| 1332 | "source": 0 | |
| 1333 | }, | |
| 1334 | { | |
| 1335 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1336 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 1337 | "source": 0 | |
| 1338 | }, | |
| 1339 | { | |
| 1340 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1341 | "value": "28 arcmin", | |
| 1342 | "source": 1 | |
| 1343 | }, | |
| 1344 | { | |
| 1345 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1346 | "value": "NGC 6514", | |
| 1347 | "source": 1 | |
| 1348 | }, | |
| 1349 | { | |
| 1350 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1351 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1352 | "source": 0 | |
| 1353 | } | |
| 1354 | ], | |
| 1355 | "essay": "The Trifid Nebula is a star-forming cloud in Sagittarius, about 5,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. Its name comes from three dark lanes of dust that appear to divide its glowing centre into three lobes.\n\nA group of recently formed massive stars sits near the centre of the nebula. Their ultraviolet radiation has a strong effect on the surrounding cloud. Near these stars, star formation has stopped, because their radiation has blown away the gas and dust from which new stars would form. Farther out, the same radiation compresses and sculpts the cloud.\n\nIn 2026, for its 36th anniversary, Hubble imaged the Trifid again with Wide Field Camera 3. Comparing the new image with Hubble's 1997 view shows changes in the nebula over less than three decades. At magnitude 6.3, the Trifid can be found in binoculars a little north of the Lagoon Nebula, M8, as a faint glow around a star. A small telescope shows the round nebula, about 28 arcminutes across including its fainter outer part. Under dark skies the dust lanes become visible. A nebula filter helps. August is the best month to observe it.", | |
| 1356 | "image": { | |
| 1357 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/nebulae/emission/hubble_2026_trifid.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1358 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)", | |
| 1359 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1360 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-20/", | |
| 1361 | "caption": "Hubble's 2026 Wide Field Camera 3 image of the Trifid Nebula, taken for the telescope's 36th anniversary." | |
| 1362 | }, | |
| 1363 | "drawing": { | |
| 1364 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1365 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 1366 | "sizeArcmin": 28 | |
| 1367 | }, | |
| 1368 | "link": { | |
| 1369 | "messier": 20 | |
| 1370 | }, | |
| 1371 | "sources": [ | |
| 1372 | { | |
| 1373 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 20 (The Trifid Nebula)", | |
| 1374 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-20/" | |
| 1375 | }, | |
| 1376 | { | |
| 1377 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 20", | |
| 1378 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m020.html" | |
| 1379 | } | |
| 1380 | ] | |
| 1381 | }, | |
| 1382 | { | |
| 1383 | "id": "m21", | |
| 1384 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1385 | "title": "M21", | |
| 1386 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1387 | "facts": [ | |
| 1388 | { | |
| 1389 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1390 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1391 | "source": 0 | |
| 1392 | }, | |
| 1393 | { | |
| 1394 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1395 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1396 | "source": 0 | |
| 1397 | }, | |
| 1398 | { | |
| 1399 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1400 | "value": "About 4,250 light-years (uncertain)", | |
| 1401 | "source": 1 | |
| 1402 | }, | |
| 1403 | { | |
| 1404 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1405 | "value": "6.5", | |
| 1406 | "source": 1 | |
| 1407 | }, | |
| 1408 | { | |
| 1409 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1410 | "value": "13 arcmin", | |
| 1411 | "source": 1 | |
| 1412 | }, | |
| 1413 | { | |
| 1414 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1415 | "value": "NGC 6531", | |
| 1416 | "source": 1 | |
| 1417 | }, | |
| 1418 | { | |
| 1419 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1420 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1421 | "source": 1 | |
| 1422 | } | |
| 1423 | ], | |
| 1424 | "essay": "M21 is a compact open cluster in Sagittarius, close on the sky to the Trifid Nebula, M20. Charles Messier discovered it on 5 June 1764. The cluster has a strong concentration of stars toward its centre and a wide range of star brightnesses, but only about 57 confirmed members. Its brightest stars are giants of spectral type B0, which means the cluster is young: estimates put its age at a few million years. It is thought to belong to a larger group of young, hot stars in Sagittarius known as the Sagittarius OB1 association.\n\nIts distance is uncertain. Published values range from about 2,200 to 4,250 light-years, and the sources also disagree on whether M21 or the Trifid Nebula is closer to us.\n\nAt magnitude 6.5, M21 is visible in binoculars as a small, bright knot of stars about a degree northeast of the Trifid. Both fit in one low-power field. A small telescope resolves a tight central group of brighter stars surrounded by fainter ones, spread over about 13 arcminutes. The Lagoon Nebula, M8, is a short distance to the south, which makes this one of the richest areas of the summer Milky Way for small instruments.", | |
| 1425 | "image": { | |
| 1426 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noirlab2521ag.jpg", | |
| 1427 | "credit": "NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA", | |
| 1428 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1429 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2521ag/", | |
| 1430 | "caption": "Rubin Observatory image of the open cluster M21, tightly packed with small, dim stars." | |
| 1431 | }, | |
| 1432 | "drawing": { | |
| 1433 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1434 | "type": "open", | |
| 1435 | "sizeArcmin": 13 | |
| 1436 | }, | |
| 1437 | "link": { | |
| 1438 | "messier": 21 | |
| 1439 | }, | |
| 1440 | "sources": [ | |
| 1441 | { | |
| 1442 | "title": "NOIRLab image: Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae Excerpt: Messier 21", | |
| 1443 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2521ag/" | |
| 1444 | }, | |
| 1445 | { | |
| 1446 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 21", | |
| 1447 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m021.html" | |
| 1448 | } | |
| 1449 | ] | |
| 1450 | }, | |
| 1451 | { | |
| 1452 | "id": "m22", | |
| 1453 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1454 | "title": "M22", | |
| 1455 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1456 | "facts": [ | |
| 1457 | { | |
| 1458 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1459 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1460 | "source": 0 | |
| 1461 | }, | |
| 1462 | { | |
| 1463 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1464 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1465 | "source": 0 | |
| 1466 | }, | |
| 1467 | { | |
| 1468 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1469 | "value": "10,000 light-years", | |
| 1470 | "source": 0 | |
| 1471 | }, | |
| 1472 | { | |
| 1473 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1474 | "value": "5.1", | |
| 1475 | "source": 0 | |
| 1476 | }, | |
| 1477 | { | |
| 1478 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1479 | "value": "32 arcmin", | |
| 1480 | "source": 1 | |
| 1481 | }, | |
| 1482 | { | |
| 1483 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1484 | "value": "NGC 6656", | |
| 1485 | "source": 1 | |
| 1486 | }, | |
| 1487 | { | |
| 1488 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1489 | "value": "Abraham Ihle, 1665", | |
| 1490 | "source": 0 | |
| 1491 | } | |
| 1492 | ], | |
| 1493 | "essay": "M22 was one of the first globular clusters ever found. The German amateur astronomer Abraham Ihle came across it in August 1665 while looking for Saturn. At about 10,000 light-years, it is one of the closest globular clusters to Earth, and it is one of about 150 known in the Milky Way.\n\nThe cluster is about 70 light-years in diameter. Like other globular clusters it is old, probably 12 to 13 billion years, compared with a universe 13.8 billion years old. It lies in front of the Galactic Bulge, the dense mass of stars around the centre of the Milky Way. Dust and gas between us and the cluster dim its light, so it looks fainter than it otherwise would.\n\nM22 is one of the brightest globular clusters visible from the Northern Hemisphere, at magnitude 5.1. Under good conditions it can be seen with the naked eye a little northeast of the top of the Sagittarius \"teapot\". On the sky it covers an area about the size of the full Moon. Binoculars show a large, bright glow, and a small telescope starts to resolve its stars, more easily than for most globulars. The best month is August.", | |
| 1494 | "image": { | |
| 1495 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1514a.jpg", | |
| 1496 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 1497 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1498 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1514a/", | |
| 1499 | "caption": "Hubble image of the centre of the globular cluster M22." | |
| 1500 | }, | |
| 1501 | "drawing": { | |
| 1502 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1503 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1504 | "sizeArcmin": 32 | |
| 1505 | }, | |
| 1506 | "link": { | |
| 1507 | "messier": 22 | |
| 1508 | }, | |
| 1509 | "sources": [ | |
| 1510 | { | |
| 1511 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 22", | |
| 1512 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-22/" | |
| 1513 | }, | |
| 1514 | { | |
| 1515 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 22", | |
| 1516 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m022.html" | |
| 1517 | } | |
| 1518 | ] | |
| 1519 | }, | |
| 1520 | { | |
| 1521 | "id": "m23", | |
| 1522 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1523 | "title": "M23", | |
| 1524 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1525 | "facts": [ | |
| 1526 | { | |
| 1527 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1528 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1529 | "source": 0 | |
| 1530 | }, | |
| 1531 | { | |
| 1532 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1533 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1534 | "source": 0 | |
| 1535 | }, | |
| 1536 | { | |
| 1537 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1538 | "value": "2,150 light-years", | |
| 1539 | "source": 1 | |
| 1540 | }, | |
| 1541 | { | |
| 1542 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1543 | "value": "5.5", | |
| 1544 | "source": 1 | |
| 1545 | }, | |
| 1546 | { | |
| 1547 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1548 | "value": "27 arcmin", | |
| 1549 | "source": 1 | |
| 1550 | }, | |
| 1551 | { | |
| 1552 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1553 | "value": "NGC 6494", | |
| 1554 | "source": 1 | |
| 1555 | }, | |
| 1556 | { | |
| 1557 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1558 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1559 | "source": 1 | |
| 1560 | } | |
| 1561 | ], | |
| 1562 | "essay": "M23 is a bright, rich open cluster in Sagittarius. Charles Messier discovered it on 20 June 1764. At a distance of about 2,150 light-years, its apparent width of about 27 arcminutes corresponds to roughly 15 to 20 light-years. Studies have confirmed at least 150 member stars.\n\nThe cluster is more than 200 million years old, which is fairly old for an open cluster. The hottest stars still on the main sequence are of spectral type B9, and the brightest member is about magnitude 9.2. M23 lies in the plane of the Milky Way. Stars behind it are reddened by dust, and deep images show dark patches where thick dust blocks distant stars entirely. A bright star northwest of the cluster is a foreground object, not a member.\n\nAt magnitude 5.5, M23 is an easy binocular target in the summer Milky Way, about 2.5 degrees north and 3.5 degrees west of the star Mu Sagittarii. It appears as a hazy patch with individual stars at its edges. A small telescope at low power shows dozens of stars, mostly between magnitude 10 and 13, in loose chains and curves that blend into the rich background.", | |
| 1563 | "image": { | |
| 1564 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m23.jpg", | |
| 1565 | "credit": "N.A.Sharp, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1566 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1567 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m23/", | |
| 1568 | "caption": "True-colour image of the open cluster M23 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 1569 | }, | |
| 1570 | "drawing": { | |
| 1571 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1572 | "type": "open", | |
| 1573 | "sizeArcmin": 27 | |
| 1574 | }, | |
| 1575 | "link": { | |
| 1576 | "messier": 23 | |
| 1577 | }, | |
| 1578 | "sources": [ | |
| 1579 | { | |
| 1580 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M23, NGC 6494", | |
| 1581 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m23/" | |
| 1582 | }, | |
| 1583 | { | |
| 1584 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 23", | |
| 1585 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m023.html" | |
| 1586 | } | |
| 1587 | ] | |
| 1588 | }, | |
| 1589 | { | |
| 1590 | "id": "m24", | |
| 1591 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1592 | "title": "M24", | |
| 1593 | "subtitle": "Small Sagittarius Star Cloud · star cloud in Sagittarius", | |
| 1594 | "facts": [ | |
| 1595 | { | |
| 1596 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1597 | "value": "Star cloud", | |
| 1598 | "source": 0 | |
| 1599 | }, | |
| 1600 | { | |
| 1601 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1602 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1603 | "source": 0 | |
| 1604 | }, | |
| 1605 | { | |
| 1606 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1607 | "value": "10,000 light-years", | |
| 1608 | "source": 0 | |
| 1609 | }, | |
| 1610 | { | |
| 1611 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1612 | "value": "4.6", | |
| 1613 | "source": 0 | |
| 1614 | }, | |
| 1615 | { | |
| 1616 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1617 | "value": "90 arcmin", | |
| 1618 | "source": 1 | |
| 1619 | }, | |
| 1620 | { | |
| 1621 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1622 | "value": "IC 4715", | |
| 1623 | "source": 1 | |
| 1624 | }, | |
| 1625 | { | |
| 1626 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1627 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1628 | "source": 0 | |
| 1629 | } | |
| 1630 | ], | |
| 1631 | "essay": "M24 is not a single object but a gap in the Milky Way's dust clouds. Through it we see a dense field of stars in the Sagittarius spiral arm of our galaxy. From our position, nearby dust blocks most views toward the inner Milky Way. The Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, as M24 is also known, is a clear line of sight about 600 light-years wide that reaches stars 10,000 to 16,000 light-years away.\n\nCharles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1764 and described it as a large nebulosity containing many stars of different magnitudes. The region also includes several smaller nebulae and star clusters. Hubble's close-up views cover only a tiny part of it but show many types and colours of stars. They were taken during a study of preplanetary nebulae, a short and rarely seen stage in the death of a Sun-like star.\n\nOn the sky the star cloud is about nine times larger than the full Moon and shines at about magnitude 4.6. To the naked eye it is a hazy, elongated patch south of the Omega Nebula, M17. Binoculars show a grainy mass of stars, and a telescope at low power resolves it into thousands of points of different brightness. It is best seen on summer evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.", | |
| 1632 | "image": { | |
| 1633 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/star-cloud/Hubble_M24_1_flat_FINAL_A_rot90.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1634 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 1635 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1636 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-24/", | |
| 1637 | "caption": "Hubble view of a tiny part of the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, crowded with stars of many colours." | |
| 1638 | }, | |
| 1639 | "drawing": { | |
| 1640 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1641 | "type": "open", | |
| 1642 | "sizeArcmin": 90 | |
| 1643 | }, | |
| 1644 | "link": { | |
| 1645 | "messier": 24 | |
| 1646 | }, | |
| 1647 | "sources": [ | |
| 1648 | { | |
| 1649 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 24", | |
| 1650 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-24/" | |
| 1651 | }, | |
| 1652 | { | |
| 1653 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 24", | |
| 1654 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m024.html" | |
| 1655 | } | |
| 1656 | ] | |
| 1657 | }, | |
| 1658 | { | |
| 1659 | "id": "m25", | |
| 1660 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1661 | "title": "M25", | |
| 1662 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1663 | "facts": [ | |
| 1664 | { | |
| 1665 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1666 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1667 | "source": 0 | |
| 1668 | }, | |
| 1669 | { | |
| 1670 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1671 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1672 | "source": 0 | |
| 1673 | }, | |
| 1674 | { | |
| 1675 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1676 | "value": "2,000 light-years", | |
| 1677 | "source": 1 | |
| 1678 | }, | |
| 1679 | { | |
| 1680 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1681 | "value": "4.6", | |
| 1682 | "source": 1 | |
| 1683 | }, | |
| 1684 | { | |
| 1685 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1686 | "value": "32 arcmin", | |
| 1687 | "source": 1 | |
| 1688 | }, | |
| 1689 | { | |
| 1690 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1691 | "value": "IC 4725", | |
| 1692 | "source": 1 | |
| 1693 | }, | |
| 1694 | { | |
| 1695 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1696 | "value": "Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1745–46", | |
| 1697 | "source": 1 | |
| 1698 | } | |
| 1699 | ], | |
| 1700 | "essay": "M25 is a bright open cluster in Sagittarius. Philippe Loys de Chéseaux recorded it in 1745 or 1746, and Charles Messier added it to his catalogue in 1764. Although it is easy to see, John Herschel left it out of his General Catalogue, so it was not included in the New General Catalogue. It has only an Index Catalogue number, IC 4725, added in 1908.\n\nThe cluster is middle-aged, about 90 million years old. It lies about 2,000 light-years away and is twenty-odd light-years across. Among its members is U Sagittarii, a Cepheid variable star that brightens and fades with a period of 6.74 days. Cepheids in clusters are useful because the cluster's distance helps calibrate the relation between a Cepheid's period and its luminosity. The cluster also contains G-type giant stars.\n\nAt magnitude 4.6, M25 can be seen with the naked eye under dark skies as a faint patch in the Milky Way. In binoculars it is a loose, bright group about half a degree across with a few orange stars among the white ones. A small telescope at low power shows dozens of stars.", | |
| 1701 | "image": { | |
| 1702 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m25.jpg", | |
| 1703 | "credit": "Hillary Mathis, Vanessa Harvey, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1704 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1705 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m25/", | |
| 1706 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M25 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 1707 | }, | |
| 1708 | "drawing": { | |
| 1709 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1710 | "type": "open", | |
| 1711 | "sizeArcmin": 32 | |
| 1712 | }, | |
| 1713 | "link": { | |
| 1714 | "messier": 25 | |
| 1715 | }, | |
| 1716 | "sources": [ | |
| 1717 | { | |
| 1718 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M25, IC4725", | |
| 1719 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m25/" | |
| 1720 | }, | |
| 1721 | { | |
| 1722 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 25", | |
| 1723 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m025.html" | |
| 1724 | } | |
| 1725 | ] | |
| 1726 | }, | |
| 1727 | { | |
| 1728 | "id": "m26", | |
| 1729 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1730 | "title": "M26", | |
| 1731 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Scutum", | |
| 1732 | "facts": [ | |
| 1733 | { | |
| 1734 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1735 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1736 | "source": 0 | |
| 1737 | }, | |
| 1738 | { | |
| 1739 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1740 | "value": "Scutum", | |
| 1741 | "source": 0 | |
| 1742 | }, | |
| 1743 | { | |
| 1744 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1745 | "value": "5,000 light-years", | |
| 1746 | "source": 1 | |
| 1747 | }, | |
| 1748 | { | |
| 1749 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1750 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 1751 | "source": 1 | |
| 1752 | }, | |
| 1753 | { | |
| 1754 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1755 | "value": "15 arcmin", | |
| 1756 | "source": 1 | |
| 1757 | }, | |
| 1758 | { | |
| 1759 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1760 | "value": "NGC 6694", | |
| 1761 | "source": 1 | |
| 1762 | }, | |
| 1763 | { | |
| 1764 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1765 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1766 | "source": 1 | |
| 1767 | } | |
| 1768 | ], | |
| 1769 | "essay": "M26 is a compact open cluster in the small constellation Scutum. Charles Messier discovered it on 20 June 1764 and noted that it could not be distinguished well in his telescope and needed a better instrument. It lies about 5,000 light-years away and is around 90 million years old.\n\nAt that distance its apparent width of about 15 arcminutes corresponds to roughly 22 light-years. Its brightest stars are only about magnitude 12, of spectral type B8. Observers using 150 to 200 mm telescopes report about 25 stars, with some 70 fainter members. One feature noted by researchers is a zone of low star density, about 3 arcminutes across, immediately around the cluster's nucleus. It is more likely caused by dark interstellar matter in front of the cluster than by a real hole in its population of stars.\n\nAt magnitude 8.0, M26 is much fainter than its neighbour M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, a few degrees to the north. Binoculars show it only as a small hazy spot. A small telescope resolves a handful of brighter stars over a fine haze, and the cluster has to compete with a dense background of Milky Way stars.", | |
| 1770 | "image": { | |
| 1771 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m26.jpg", | |
| 1772 | "credit": "Hillary Mathis, Vanessa Harvey, REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1773 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1774 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m26/", | |
| 1775 | "caption": "Deep colour image of the open cluster M26 against a crowded Milky Way background." | |
| 1776 | }, | |
| 1777 | "drawing": { | |
| 1778 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1779 | "type": "open", | |
| 1780 | "sizeArcmin": 15 | |
| 1781 | }, | |
| 1782 | "link": { | |
| 1783 | "messier": 26 | |
| 1784 | }, | |
| 1785 | "sources": [ | |
| 1786 | { | |
| 1787 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M26, NGC 6694", | |
| 1788 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m26/" | |
| 1789 | }, | |
| 1790 | { | |
| 1791 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 26", | |
| 1792 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m026.html" | |
| 1793 | } | |
| 1794 | ] | |
| 1795 | }, | |
| 1796 | { | |
| 1797 | "id": "m27", | |
| 1798 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1799 | "title": "M27", | |
| 1800 | "subtitle": "Dumbbell Nebula · planetary nebula in Vulpecula", | |
| 1801 | "facts": [ | |
| 1802 | { | |
| 1803 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1804 | "value": "Planetary nebula", | |
| 1805 | "source": 0 | |
| 1806 | }, | |
| 1807 | { | |
| 1808 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1809 | "value": "Vulpecula", | |
| 1810 | "source": 0 | |
| 1811 | }, | |
| 1812 | { | |
| 1813 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1814 | "value": "1,200 light-years", | |
| 1815 | "source": 0 | |
| 1816 | }, | |
| 1817 | { | |
| 1818 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1819 | "value": "7.5", | |
| 1820 | "source": 0 | |
| 1821 | }, | |
| 1822 | { | |
| 1823 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1824 | "value": "8.0 × 5.7 arcmin", | |
| 1825 | "source": 1 | |
| 1826 | }, | |
| 1827 | { | |
| 1828 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1829 | "value": "NGC 6853", | |
| 1830 | "source": 1 | |
| 1831 | }, | |
| 1832 | { | |
| 1833 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1834 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1835 | "source": 0 | |
| 1836 | } | |
| 1837 | ], | |
| 1838 | "essay": "M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, was the first planetary nebula ever found. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. A planetary nebula is the shell of gas thrown off by an old, dying star. The name is a historical misnomer: these objects looked round and planet-like in early telescopes, but they have nothing to do with planets.\n\nHubble images of M27 show many knots of gas and dust. Some point toward the central star like fingers, and others are isolated clouds, some with tails. They typically measure 17 billion to 56 billion kilometres across, several times the distance from the Sun to Pluto, and each contains about as much mass as three Earths. They probably form when the star's wind is strong enough to blow away small particles but not larger clumps, leaving a trail behind each clump. Similar knots appear in other nearby planetary nebulae.\n\nThe nebula lies more than 1,200 light-years away in Vulpecula. At magnitude 7.5 it is one of the brightest planetary nebulae and is visible in binoculars as a small, fuzzy patch. A small telescope shows two brighter lobes on either side of the centre, the shape that gives it its name. September is the best month.", | |
| 1839 | "image": { | |
| 1840 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/opo0306a.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 1841 | "credit": "NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)", | |
| 1842 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1843 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-27/", | |
| 1844 | "caption": "Hubble close-up of glowing knots of gas in part of the Dumbbell Nebula." | |
| 1845 | }, | |
| 1846 | "drawing": { | |
| 1847 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1848 | "type": "planetary", | |
| 1849 | "sizeArcmin": 8 | |
| 1850 | }, | |
| 1851 | "link": { | |
| 1852 | "messier": 27 | |
| 1853 | }, | |
| 1854 | "sources": [ | |
| 1855 | { | |
| 1856 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 27 (The Dumbbell Nebula)", | |
| 1857 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-27/" | |
| 1858 | }, | |
| 1859 | { | |
| 1860 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 27", | |
| 1861 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m027.html" | |
| 1862 | } | |
| 1863 | ] | |
| 1864 | }, | |
| 1865 | { | |
| 1866 | "id": "m28", | |
| 1867 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1868 | "title": "M28", | |
| 1869 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1870 | "facts": [ | |
| 1871 | { | |
| 1872 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1873 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1874 | "source": 0 | |
| 1875 | }, | |
| 1876 | { | |
| 1877 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1878 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1879 | "source": 0 | |
| 1880 | }, | |
| 1881 | { | |
| 1882 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1883 | "value": "18,000 light-years", | |
| 1884 | "source": 0 | |
| 1885 | }, | |
| 1886 | { | |
| 1887 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1888 | "value": "7.7", | |
| 1889 | "source": 0 | |
| 1890 | }, | |
| 1891 | { | |
| 1892 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1893 | "value": "11.2 arcmin", | |
| 1894 | "source": 1 | |
| 1895 | }, | |
| 1896 | { | |
| 1897 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1898 | "value": "NGC 6626", | |
| 1899 | "source": 1 | |
| 1900 | }, | |
| 1901 | { | |
| 1902 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1903 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1904 | "source": 0 | |
| 1905 | } | |
| 1906 | ], | |
| 1907 | "essay": "M28 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, about 18,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764.\n\nIt was the first globular cluster found to contain a millisecond pulsar. This object, PSR B1821–24, is a dense neutron star that spins about once every three milliseconds. It emits beams of radiation from its poles, and as the star rotates the beams sweep past Earth like a lighthouse, so it appears to pulse. Astronomers found it in 1986 with the Lovell Telescope, a radio telescope in England. Millisecond pulsars are thought to be spun up by taking in material from a companion star. The crowded cores of globular clusters, where close encounters between stars are common, are good places to form them.\n\nAt magnitude 7.7, M28 appears in binoculars as a faint, round patch of light. It lies about a degree northwest of Kaus Borealis, the star at the top of the Sagittarius \"teapot\". A small telescope shows a compact glow with a brighter centre, about 11 arcminutes across, and larger telescopes resolve its individual stars more effectively. M22, a brighter globular cluster, is a few degrees to the east. August is the best month.", | |
| 1908 | "image": { | |
| 1909 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1910a.jpg", | |
| 1910 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. E. Grindlay et al.", | |
| 1911 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1912 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1910a/", | |
| 1913 | "caption": "Hubble image of the globular cluster M28." | |
| 1914 | }, | |
| 1915 | "drawing": { | |
| 1916 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1917 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1918 | "sizeArcmin": 11.2 | |
| 1919 | }, | |
| 1920 | "link": { | |
| 1921 | "messier": 28 | |
| 1922 | }, | |
| 1923 | "sources": [ | |
| 1924 | { | |
| 1925 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 28", | |
| 1926 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-28/" | |
| 1927 | }, | |
| 1928 | { | |
| 1929 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 28", | |
| 1930 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m028.html" | |
| 1931 | } | |
| 1932 | ] | |
| 1933 | }, | |
| 1934 | { | |
| 1935 | "id": "m29", | |
| 1936 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1937 | "title": "M29", | |
| 1938 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Cygnus", | |
| 1939 | "facts": [ | |
| 1940 | { | |
| 1941 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1942 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 1943 | "source": 0 | |
| 1944 | }, | |
| 1945 | { | |
| 1946 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1947 | "value": "Cygnus", | |
| 1948 | "source": 0 | |
| 1949 | }, | |
| 1950 | { | |
| 1951 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1952 | "value": "4,000–6,000 light-years (uncertain)", | |
| 1953 | "source": 0 | |
| 1954 | }, | |
| 1955 | { | |
| 1956 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1957 | "value": "7.1", | |
| 1958 | "source": 1 | |
| 1959 | }, | |
| 1960 | { | |
| 1961 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1962 | "value": "7 arcmin", | |
| 1963 | "source": 1 | |
| 1964 | }, | |
| 1965 | { | |
| 1966 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 1967 | "value": "NGC 6913", | |
| 1968 | "source": 1 | |
| 1969 | }, | |
| 1970 | { | |
| 1971 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1972 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 1973 | "source": 1 | |
| 1974 | } | |
| 1975 | ], | |
| 1976 | "essay": "M29 is a small, coarse open cluster in Cygnus. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. It lies in a crowded part of the Milky Way near Gamma Cygni, the star at the centre of the Northern Cross.\n\nIts distance is uncertain, somewhere between 4,000 and 6,000 light-years. The uncertainty comes from the strong and poorly measured dimming of its light by dust between us and the cluster. Without that dust it would appear several times brighter. The cluster is young, about 10 million years old: its hottest stars are giants of spectral type B0. It is considered part of a larger association of young stars in Cygnus, known as Cygnus OB1.\n\nAt magnitude 7.1, M29 is visible in binoculars as a small, compact group a little south of Gamma Cygni. In a small telescope its brightest stars form a tight group a few arcminutes wide. The cluster covers about 7 arcminutes in all, and the dense Milky Way field around it makes its edges hard to define. It is best seen on summer and early autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.", | |
| 1977 | "image": { | |
| 1978 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m29.jpg", | |
| 1979 | "credit": "Hillary Mathis/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1980 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1981 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m29/", | |
| 1982 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M29 from the KPNO 2.1-meter telescope." | |
| 1983 | }, | |
| 1984 | "drawing": { | |
| 1985 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1986 | "type": "open", | |
| 1987 | "sizeArcmin": 7 | |
| 1988 | }, | |
| 1989 | "link": { | |
| 1990 | "messier": 29 | |
| 1991 | }, | |
| 1992 | "sources": [ | |
| 1993 | { | |
| 1994 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M29, NGC 6913", | |
| 1995 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m29/" | |
| 1996 | }, | |
| 1997 | { | |
| 1998 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 29", | |
| 1999 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m029.html" | |
| 2000 | } | |
| 2001 | ] | |
| 2002 | }, | |
| 2003 | { | |
| 2004 | "id": "m30", | |
| 2005 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2006 | "title": "M30", | |
| 2007 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Capricornus", | |
| 2008 | "facts": [ | |
| 2009 | { | |
| 2010 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2011 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 2012 | "source": 0 | |
| 2013 | }, | |
| 2014 | { | |
| 2015 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2016 | "value": "Capricornus", | |
| 2017 | "source": 0 | |
| 2018 | }, | |
| 2019 | { | |
| 2020 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2021 | "value": "28,000 light-years", | |
| 2022 | "source": 0 | |
| 2023 | }, | |
| 2024 | { | |
| 2025 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2026 | "value": "7.7", | |
| 2027 | "source": 0 | |
| 2028 | }, | |
| 2029 | { | |
| 2030 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2031 | "value": "12 arcmin", | |
| 2032 | "source": 1 | |
| 2033 | }, | |
| 2034 | { | |
| 2035 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2036 | "value": "NGC 7099", | |
| 2037 | "source": 1 | |
| 2038 | }, | |
| 2039 | { | |
| 2040 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2041 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 2042 | "source": 0 | |
| 2043 | } | |
| 2044 | ], | |
| 2045 | "essay": "M30 is a globular cluster in Capricornus, about 28,000 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1764. It is about 90 light-years across and formed about 13 billion years ago. Its several hundred thousand stars are packed very densely toward the centre.\n\nLike other globular clusters, M30 is made up mostly of old stars, but it also contains blue stragglers, old stars that look young. Using Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, astronomers identified two distinct types in M30. Some form when two stars collide nearly head-on and merge. Others are in binary systems, where one star pulls hydrogen from its companion and is rejuvenated by the extra fuel.\n\nAt magnitude 7.7, M30 can be seen in binoculars as a small, round glow. It lies in a fairly empty part of the sky. A small telescope shows a bright, concentrated core about 12 arcminutes across including its faint outer halo. Larger instruments resolve stars in its outer parts. The best month to look is October.", | |
| 2046 | "image": { | |
| 2047 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/heic0918a.jpg", | |
| 2048 | "credit": "NASA / ESA", | |
| 2049 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2050 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/heic0918a/", | |
| 2051 | "caption": "Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys image of the dense core of M30." | |
| 2052 | }, | |
| 2053 | "drawing": { | |
| 2054 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2055 | "type": "globular", | |
| 2056 | "sizeArcmin": 12 | |
| 2057 | }, | |
| 2058 | "link": { | |
| 2059 | "messier": 30 | |
| 2060 | }, | |
| 2061 | "sources": [ | |
| 2062 | { | |
| 2063 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 30", | |
| 2064 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-30/" | |
| 2065 | }, | |
| 2066 | { | |
| 2067 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 30", | |
| 2068 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m030.html" | |
| 2069 | } | |
| 2070 | ] | |
| 2071 | }, | |
| 2072 | { | |
| 2073 | "id": "m31", | |
| 2074 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2075 | "title": "M31", | |
| 2076 | "subtitle": "Andromeda Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Andromeda", | |
| 2077 | "facts": [ | |
| 2078 | { | |
| 2079 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2080 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2081 | "source": 0 | |
| 2082 | }, | |
| 2083 | { | |
| 2084 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2085 | "value": "Andromeda", | |
| 2086 | "source": 0 | |
| 2087 | }, | |
| 2088 | { | |
| 2089 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2090 | "value": "2.5 million light-years", | |
| 2091 | "source": 0 | |
| 2092 | }, | |
| 2093 | { | |
| 2094 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2095 | "value": "3.1", | |
| 2096 | "source": 0 | |
| 2097 | }, | |
| 2098 | { | |
| 2099 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2100 | "value": "178 × 63 arcmin", | |
| 2101 | "source": 1 | |
| 2102 | }, | |
| 2103 | { | |
| 2104 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2105 | "value": "NGC 224", | |
| 2106 | "source": 1 | |
| 2107 | }, | |
| 2108 | { | |
| 2109 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2110 | "value": "First recorded by Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, 964", | |
| 2111 | "source": 0 | |
| 2112 | } | |
| 2113 | ], | |
| 2114 | "essay": "The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way, about 2.5 million light-years away. It is a large spiral, and because it is so close it is one of the main references astronomers use to understand spiral galaxies in general, including our own, which we can only see from the inside. It is bright enough that nobody can be credited with discovering it. The earliest known written record is in the Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars, from 964. Two smaller galaxies, M32 and M110, orbit it as satellites.\n\nIn 2025 NASA released a Hubble panorama of Andromeda built from more than 600 overlapping fields, a project that took over ten years. It covers about 200 million stars, still only a fraction of the galaxy's total, spread across roughly 2.5 billion pixels. Astronomers are using it to reconstruct the galaxy's history, including past mergers with smaller satellite galaxies.\n\nAt magnitude 3.1, Andromeda is easy to see with the naked eye as an elongated glow, even under moderate light pollution. Its full extent spans several times the width of the full Moon. Binoculars show the bright central bulge and an oval haze, and a small telescope also picks up M32 nearby. The best month to observe it is November.", | |
| 2115 | "image": { | |
| 2116 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/andromeda/Hubble_M31Mosaic_2025_10552x2468_STScI-01JGY92V0Z2HJTVH605N4WH9XQ.jpg?w=2000", | |
| 2117 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), Zhuo Chen (UWashington), L. Clifton Johnson (Northwestern); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)", | |
| 2118 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2119 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-31/", | |
| 2120 | "caption": "Hubble's 2025 panorama of the Andromeda Galaxy, assembled from more than 600 overlapping fields." | |
| 2121 | }, | |
| 2122 | "drawing": { | |
| 2123 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2124 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2125 | "sizeArcmin": 178 | |
| 2126 | }, | |
| 2127 | "link": { | |
| 2128 | "messier": 31 | |
| 2129 | }, | |
| 2130 | "sources": [ | |
| 2131 | { | |
| 2132 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 31 (The Andromeda Galaxy)", | |
| 2133 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-31/" | |
| 2134 | }, | |
| 2135 | { | |
| 2136 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 31", | |
| 2137 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m031.html" | |
| 2138 | } | |
| 2139 | ] | |
| 2140 | }, | |
| 2141 | { | |
| 2142 | "id": "m32", | |
| 2143 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2144 | "title": "M32", | |
| 2145 | "subtitle": "Satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy · compact elliptical galaxy in Andromeda", | |
| 2146 | "facts": [ | |
| 2147 | { | |
| 2148 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2149 | "value": "Compact elliptical galaxy", | |
| 2150 | "source": 0 | |
| 2151 | }, | |
| 2152 | { | |
| 2153 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2154 | "value": "Andromeda", | |
| 2155 | "source": 0 | |
| 2156 | }, | |
| 2157 | { | |
| 2158 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2159 | "value": "2.5 million light-years", | |
| 2160 | "source": 0 | |
| 2161 | }, | |
| 2162 | { | |
| 2163 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2164 | "value": "8.1", | |
| 2165 | "source": 0 | |
| 2166 | }, | |
| 2167 | { | |
| 2168 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2169 | "value": "8 × 6 arcmin", | |
| 2170 | "source": 1 | |
| 2171 | }, | |
| 2172 | { | |
| 2173 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2174 | "value": "NGC 221", | |
| 2175 | "source": 1 | |
| 2176 | }, | |
| 2177 | { | |
| 2178 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2179 | "value": "Guillaume Le Gentil, 1749", | |
| 2180 | "source": 0 | |
| 2181 | } | |
| 2182 | ], | |
| 2183 | "essay": "M32 is a compact elliptical galaxy and one of the two bright satellite galaxies of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. The other is M110. Like Andromeda, M32 is about 2.5 million light-years from Earth. The French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil discovered it in 1749.\n\nElliptical galaxies have little visible structure, and M32 is small and dense. Hubble images show stars crowded together in its core and thinning out toward its edges. Astronomers have used the galaxy to study gravitational microlensing, in which the gravity of one star bends and briefly brightens the light of a star behind it. They have also studied its variable stars, which help measure distances. A survey of the southern half of Andromeda, the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury, covered M32 in visible and near-ultraviolet light.\n\nM32 shines at magnitude 8.1 and lies just south of Andromeda's bright central region, in the same telescope field. That makes it easy to locate. A small to medium telescope shows it as a small, bright oval with a soft edge. Large telescopes are needed to see any detail beyond a spot of light. The best month to look is November.", | |
| 2184 | "image": { | |
| 2185 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/elliptical/Hubble_M32_str2_flat_FINAL_NewImage.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2186 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, B. Williams (University of Washington); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 2187 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2188 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-32/", | |
| 2189 | "caption": "Hubble image of M32 taken for the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury survey." | |
| 2190 | }, | |
| 2191 | "drawing": { | |
| 2192 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2193 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2194 | "sizeArcmin": 8 | |
| 2195 | }, | |
| 2196 | "link": { | |
| 2197 | "messier": 32 | |
| 2198 | }, | |
| 2199 | "sources": [ | |
| 2200 | { | |
| 2201 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 32", | |
| 2202 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-32/" | |
| 2203 | }, | |
| 2204 | { | |
| 2205 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 32", | |
| 2206 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m032.html" | |
| 2207 | } | |
| 2208 | ] | |
| 2209 | }, | |
| 2210 | { | |
| 2211 | "id": "m33", | |
| 2212 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2213 | "title": "M33", | |
| 2214 | "subtitle": "Triangulum Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Triangulum", | |
| 2215 | "facts": [ | |
| 2216 | { | |
| 2217 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2218 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2219 | "source": 0 | |
| 2220 | }, | |
| 2221 | { | |
| 2222 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2223 | "value": "Triangulum", | |
| 2224 | "source": 0 | |
| 2225 | }, | |
| 2226 | { | |
| 2227 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2228 | "value": "About 3 million light-years", | |
| 2229 | "source": 0 | |
| 2230 | }, | |
| 2231 | { | |
| 2232 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2233 | "value": "5.7", | |
| 2234 | "source": 0 | |
| 2235 | }, | |
| 2236 | { | |
| 2237 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2238 | "value": "73 × 45 arcmin", | |
| 2239 | "source": 1 | |
| 2240 | }, | |
| 2241 | { | |
| 2242 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2243 | "value": "NGC 598", | |
| 2244 | "source": 1 | |
| 2245 | }, | |
| 2246 | { | |
| 2247 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2248 | "value": "Catalogued by Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 2249 | "source": 0 | |
| 2250 | } | |
| 2251 | ], | |
| 2252 | "essay": "M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about half the size of the Milky Way. It is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, after the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way, and lies about 3 million light-years away. Others may have seen it earlier, but Charles Messier was the first to catalogue it, in August 1764.\n\nHubble has mapped its central region and inner spiral arms in a mosaic of 54 separate fields. The mosaic resolves about 25 million individual stars across a region 14,000 light-years wide. The observations show that M33 forms stars at about ten times the average rate found in Andromeda. Its largest star-forming region, NGC 604, is one of the largest stellar nurseries in the Local Group.\n\nAt magnitude 5.7, M33 is one of the most distant objects visible to the unaided eye, but only under very clear, dark skies. Its light is spread over an area larger than the full Moon, so it has low surface brightness and disappears in light-polluted skies. Low magnification and a wide field work best: binoculars show it as a large, faint oval. A telescope starts to show some spiral structure under dark skies. November is the best month.", | |
| 2253 | "image": { | |
| 2254 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/heic1901a.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2255 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and M. Durbin, J. Dalcanton and B. F. Williams (University of Washington)", | |
| 2256 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2257 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-33/", | |
| 2258 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of the central region and inner spiral arms of the Triangulum Galaxy." | |
| 2259 | }, | |
| 2260 | "drawing": { | |
| 2261 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2262 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2263 | "sizeArcmin": 73 | |
| 2264 | }, | |
| 2265 | "link": { | |
| 2266 | "messier": 33 | |
| 2267 | }, | |
| 2268 | "sources": [ | |
| 2269 | { | |
| 2270 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 33 (The Triangulum Galaxy)", | |
| 2271 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-33/" | |
| 2272 | }, | |
| 2273 | { | |
| 2274 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 33", | |
| 2275 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m033.html" | |
| 2276 | } | |
| 2277 | ] | |
| 2278 | }, | |
| 2279 | { | |
| 2280 | "id": "m34", | |
| 2281 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2282 | "title": "M34", | |
| 2283 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Perseus", | |
| 2284 | "facts": [ | |
| 2285 | { | |
| 2286 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2287 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2288 | "source": 0 | |
| 2289 | }, | |
| 2290 | { | |
| 2291 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2292 | "value": "Perseus", | |
| 2293 | "source": 0 | |
| 2294 | }, | |
| 2295 | { | |
| 2296 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2297 | "value": "1,400 light-years", | |
| 2298 | "source": 1 | |
| 2299 | }, | |
| 2300 | { | |
| 2301 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2302 | "value": "5.5", | |
| 2303 | "source": 1 | |
| 2304 | }, | |
| 2305 | { | |
| 2306 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2307 | "value": "35 arcmin", | |
| 2308 | "source": 1 | |
| 2309 | }, | |
| 2310 | { | |
| 2311 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2312 | "value": "NGC 1039", | |
| 2313 | "source": 1 | |
| 2314 | }, | |
| 2315 | { | |
| 2316 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2317 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 2318 | "source": 1 | |
| 2319 | } | |
| 2320 | ], | |
| 2321 | "essay": "M34 is an open cluster of about 100 stars in Perseus, about 1,400 light-years from Earth. Its stars are spread over about 35 arcminutes, more than the width of the full Moon, which corresponds to about 14 light-years.\n\nGiovanni Battista Hodierna probably recorded it before 1654. Charles Messier found it independently on 25 August 1764. Age estimates for the cluster range from about 110 million to 190 million years. Some studies have found that M34 moves through space together with several other clusters, including the Pleiades. They form a loose group called the Local Association. The brightest member is about magnitude 7.9. A slightly brighter star nearby, at magnitude 7.3, affects the cluster's appearance but is not a member.\n\nAt magnitude 5.5, M34 is visible to the naked eye under good conditions as a faint, nebulous patch. It lies just north of the line from Algol, Beta Persei, to Gamma Andromedae. Ordinary 10×50 binoculars resolve it into stars, and a telescope at low magnification shows it best: a scattered group of bright stars with fainter ones filling the gaps. Autumn and early winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere are the best time to look.", | |
| 2322 | "image": { | |
| 2323 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m34.jpg", | |
| 2324 | "credit": "REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2325 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2326 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m34/", | |
| 2327 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M34 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 2328 | }, | |
| 2329 | "drawing": { | |
| 2330 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2331 | "type": "open", | |
| 2332 | "sizeArcmin": 35 | |
| 2333 | }, | |
| 2334 | "link": { | |
| 2335 | "messier": 34 | |
| 2336 | }, | |
| 2337 | "sources": [ | |
| 2338 | { | |
| 2339 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M34, NGC 1039", | |
| 2340 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m34/" | |
| 2341 | }, | |
| 2342 | { | |
| 2343 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 34", | |
| 2344 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m034.html" | |
| 2345 | } | |
| 2346 | ] | |
| 2347 | }, | |
| 2348 | { | |
| 2349 | "id": "m35", | |
| 2350 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2351 | "title": "M35", | |
| 2352 | "subtitle": "Shoe Buckle Cluster · open cluster in Gemini", | |
| 2353 | "facts": [ | |
| 2354 | { | |
| 2355 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2356 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2357 | "source": 0 | |
| 2358 | }, | |
| 2359 | { | |
| 2360 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2361 | "value": "Gemini", | |
| 2362 | "source": 0 | |
| 2363 | }, | |
| 2364 | { | |
| 2365 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2366 | "value": "2,800 light-years", | |
| 2367 | "source": 0 | |
| 2368 | }, | |
| 2369 | { | |
| 2370 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2371 | "value": "5.3", | |
| 2372 | "source": 0 | |
| 2373 | }, | |
| 2374 | { | |
| 2375 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2376 | "value": "28 arcmin", | |
| 2377 | "source": 1 | |
| 2378 | }, | |
| 2379 | { | |
| 2380 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2381 | "value": "NGC 2168", | |
| 2382 | "source": 1 | |
| 2383 | }, | |
| 2384 | { | |
| 2385 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2386 | "value": "Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1745", | |
| 2387 | "source": 0 | |
| 2388 | } | |
| 2389 | ], | |
| 2390 | "essay": "M35 is the only Messier object in Gemini. It is an open cluster of about 400 stars, sometimes called the Shoe Buckle Cluster, spread over a region about 30 light-years across. At about 150 million years old it is relatively young. It lies 2,800 light-years from Earth.\n\nThe Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux discovered the cluster in 1745, and Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764. Open clusters form from a single cloud of gas and dust, so their stars share an age and chemical composition. That makes them useful for studying how stars evolve. M35 contains many hot blue stars as well as some cooler orange and red giants. Hubble's images of it come from a calibration program that periodically checks the telescope's instruments for changes in sensitivity.\n\nM35 is large and bright, at magnitude 5.3. On very dark nights it is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy spot near the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins. Binoculars show a haze with some stars resolved, and a telescope shows a rich group of bright stars about 28 arcminutes across. In the same field, a smaller and more distant cluster, NGC 2158, appears as a faint, compact glow. M35 is best seen in Northern Hemisphere winter.", | |
| 2391 | "image": { | |
| 2392 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/open-clusters/Hubble_M35_WFPC2ok_flat_FINAL1.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2393 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and E. Nelan (Space Telescope Science Institute), A. Riess (The Johns Hopkins University), J. Rhodes (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) ; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 2394 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2395 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-35/", | |
| 2396 | "caption": "Hubble close-up of several of the hundreds of stars in the open cluster M35." | |
| 2397 | }, | |
| 2398 | "drawing": { | |
| 2399 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2400 | "type": "open", | |
| 2401 | "sizeArcmin": 28 | |
| 2402 | }, | |
| 2403 | "link": { | |
| 2404 | "messier": 35 | |
| 2405 | }, | |
| 2406 | "sources": [ | |
| 2407 | { | |
| 2408 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 35", | |
| 2409 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-35/" | |
| 2410 | }, | |
| 2411 | { | |
| 2412 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 35", | |
| 2413 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m035.html" | |
| 2414 | } | |
| 2415 | ] | |
| 2416 | }, | |
| 2417 | { | |
| 2418 | "id": "m36", | |
| 2419 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2420 | "title": "M36", | |
| 2421 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Auriga", | |
| 2422 | "facts": [ | |
| 2423 | { | |
| 2424 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2425 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2426 | "source": 0 | |
| 2427 | }, | |
| 2428 | { | |
| 2429 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2430 | "value": "Auriga", | |
| 2431 | "source": 0 | |
| 2432 | }, | |
| 2433 | { | |
| 2434 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2435 | "value": "4,100 light-years", | |
| 2436 | "source": 1 | |
| 2437 | }, | |
| 2438 | { | |
| 2439 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2440 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 2441 | "source": 1 | |
| 2442 | }, | |
| 2443 | { | |
| 2444 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2445 | "value": "12 arcmin", | |
| 2446 | "source": 1 | |
| 2447 | }, | |
| 2448 | { | |
| 2449 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2450 | "value": "NGC 1960", | |
| 2451 | "source": 1 | |
| 2452 | }, | |
| 2453 | { | |
| 2454 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2455 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 2456 | "source": 1 | |
| 2457 | } | |
| 2458 | ], | |
| 2459 | "essay": "M36 is one of three bright open clusters in the southern part of Auriga, along with M37 and M38. All three lie at similar distances, about 4,000 light-years from Earth. Giovanni Battista Hodierna recorded all three before 1654, but his work did not become widely known until 1984. Guillaume Le Gentil rediscovered M36 independently, and Charles Messier catalogued it on 2 September 1764.\n\nM36 is the youngest of the three, about 25 million years old, and contains no evolved red giant stars. It has about 60 confirmed members. The brightest are about magnitude 9 and of spectral type B2, with the most luminous member giving off about 360 times as much light as the Sun. Many of these hot stars spin rapidly, as do the bright B-type stars of the Pleiades. If M36 were as close as the Pleiades, about ten times nearer, it would look much like them.\n\nAt magnitude 6.3, M36 is easy to find in binoculars as a small, bright patch with a few stars resolved. A small telescope at low power shows a compact group of bright stars about 12 arcminutes across. M37 and M38 are each a few degrees away, and all three can be found in one binocular sweep.", | |
| 2460 | "image": { | |
| 2461 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m36.jpg", | |
| 2462 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2463 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2464 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m36/", | |
| 2465 | "caption": "Colour composite of the young open cluster M36 from the Kitt Peak 0.9-meter telescope." | |
| 2466 | }, | |
| 2467 | "drawing": { | |
| 2468 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2469 | "type": "open", | |
| 2470 | "sizeArcmin": 12 | |
| 2471 | }, | |
| 2472 | "link": { | |
| 2473 | "messier": 36 | |
| 2474 | }, | |
| 2475 | "sources": [ | |
| 2476 | { | |
| 2477 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M36, NGC 1960", | |
| 2478 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m36/" | |
| 2479 | }, | |
| 2480 | { | |
| 2481 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 36", | |
| 2482 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m036.html" | |
| 2483 | } | |
| 2484 | ] | |
| 2485 | }, | |
| 2486 | { | |
| 2487 | "id": "m37", | |
| 2488 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2489 | "title": "M37", | |
| 2490 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Auriga", | |
| 2491 | "facts": [ | |
| 2492 | { | |
| 2493 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2494 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2495 | "source": 0 | |
| 2496 | }, | |
| 2497 | { | |
| 2498 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2499 | "value": "Auriga", | |
| 2500 | "source": 0 | |
| 2501 | }, | |
| 2502 | { | |
| 2503 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2504 | "value": "4,400 light-years", | |
| 2505 | "source": 1 | |
| 2506 | }, | |
| 2507 | { | |
| 2508 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2509 | "value": "6.2", | |
| 2510 | "source": 1 | |
| 2511 | }, | |
| 2512 | { | |
| 2513 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2514 | "value": "24 arcmin", | |
| 2515 | "source": 1 | |
| 2516 | }, | |
| 2517 | { | |
| 2518 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2519 | "value": "NGC 2099", | |
| 2520 | "source": 1 | |
| 2521 | }, | |
| 2522 | { | |
| 2523 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2524 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 2525 | "source": 1 | |
| 2526 | } | |
| 2527 | ], | |
| 2528 | "essay": "M37 is the brightest and richest of the three open clusters in southern Auriga, alongside M36 and M38. It contains about 150 stars brighter than magnitude 12.5 and perhaps more than 500 in total, within a diameter of about 25 light-years. Giovanni Battista Hodierna recorded it before 1654. Guillaume Le Gentil missed it when he rediscovered M36 and M38 in 1749, so Charles Messier found it independently on 2 September 1764.\n\nM37 is older than its two neighbours, at about 300 million years. It contains at least a dozen red giants, and its hottest main-sequence stars are of spectral type B9, both signs of a more evolved cluster. Its distance is less certain than its age. Published values range from about 3,600 to 4,700 light-years. A commonly adopted figure is about 4,400 light-years.\n\nAt magnitude 6.2, M37 is easy in binoculars, where it looks like a rich, grainy patch. A small telescope resolves it into a dense field of faint stars about 24 arcminutes across. The cluster is much more richly populated than M36 or M38.", | |
| 2529 | "image": { | |
| 2530 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m37.jpg", | |
| 2531 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2532 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2533 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m37/", | |
| 2534 | "caption": "Colour composite of the open cluster M37 from the Kitt Peak 0.9-meter telescope." | |
| 2535 | }, | |
| 2536 | "drawing": { | |
| 2537 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2538 | "type": "open", | |
| 2539 | "sizeArcmin": 24 | |
| 2540 | }, | |
| 2541 | "link": { | |
| 2542 | "messier": 37 | |
| 2543 | }, | |
| 2544 | "sources": [ | |
| 2545 | { | |
| 2546 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M37, NGC 2099", | |
| 2547 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m37/" | |
| 2548 | }, | |
| 2549 | { | |
| 2550 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 37", | |
| 2551 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m037.html" | |
| 2552 | } | |
| 2553 | ] | |
| 2554 | }, | |
| 2555 | { | |
| 2556 | "id": "m38", | |
| 2557 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2558 | "title": "M38", | |
| 2559 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Auriga", | |
| 2560 | "facts": [ | |
| 2561 | { | |
| 2562 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2563 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2564 | "source": 0 | |
| 2565 | }, | |
| 2566 | { | |
| 2567 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2568 | "value": "Auriga", | |
| 2569 | "source": 0 | |
| 2570 | }, | |
| 2571 | { | |
| 2572 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2573 | "value": "4,200 light-years", | |
| 2574 | "source": 1 | |
| 2575 | }, | |
| 2576 | { | |
| 2577 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2578 | "value": "7.4", | |
| 2579 | "source": 1 | |
| 2580 | }, | |
| 2581 | { | |
| 2582 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2583 | "value": "21 arcmin", | |
| 2584 | "source": 1 | |
| 2585 | }, | |
| 2586 | { | |
| 2587 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2588 | "value": "NGC 1912", | |
| 2589 | "source": 1 | |
| 2590 | }, | |
| 2591 | { | |
| 2592 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2593 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 2594 | "source": 1 | |
| 2595 | } | |
| 2596 | ], | |
| 2597 | "essay": "M38 is an open cluster in southern Auriga, about 2.5 degrees northwest of M36. Giovanni Battista Hodierna recorded it before 1654, and Guillaume Le Gentil found it again in 1749. Charles Messier added it to his catalogue on 25 September 1764.\n\nThe cluster is of intermediate age, about 220 million years according to one widely used catalogue. At its distance of about 4,200 light-years, its apparent width of about 20 arcminutes corresponds to roughly 25 light-years. Its brightest member is a yellow giant of magnitude 7.9 and spectral type G0. That star gives off about 900 times as much light as the Sun. From the distance of M38, the Sun itself would appear only about magnitude 15.\n\nObservers have long noted that the brightest stars form a pattern like an oblique cross or the Greek letter pi. At magnitude 7.4, M38 is the faintest of the three Auriga clusters but still easy in binoculars, where it shows as a soft glow with scattered stars. A small telescope at low power resolves dozens of stars in a loose, fairly even spread.", | |
| 2598 | "image": { | |
| 2599 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m38.jpg", | |
| 2600 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2601 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2602 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m38/", | |
| 2603 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M38 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 2604 | }, | |
| 2605 | "drawing": { | |
| 2606 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2607 | "type": "open", | |
| 2608 | "sizeArcmin": 21 | |
| 2609 | }, | |
| 2610 | "link": { | |
| 2611 | "messier": 38 | |
| 2612 | }, | |
| 2613 | "sources": [ | |
| 2614 | { | |
| 2615 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M38, NGC 1912", | |
| 2616 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m38/" | |
| 2617 | }, | |
| 2618 | { | |
| 2619 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 38", | |
| 2620 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m038.html" | |
| 2621 | } | |
| 2622 | ] | |
| 2623 | }, | |
| 2624 | { | |
| 2625 | "id": "m39", | |
| 2626 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2627 | "title": "M39", | |
| 2628 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Cygnus", | |
| 2629 | "facts": [ | |
| 2630 | { | |
| 2631 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2632 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2633 | "source": 0 | |
| 2634 | }, | |
| 2635 | { | |
| 2636 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2637 | "value": "Cygnus", | |
| 2638 | "source": 0 | |
| 2639 | }, | |
| 2640 | { | |
| 2641 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2642 | "value": "825 light-years", | |
| 2643 | "source": 1 | |
| 2644 | }, | |
| 2645 | { | |
| 2646 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2647 | "value": "4.6", | |
| 2648 | "source": 1 | |
| 2649 | }, | |
| 2650 | { | |
| 2651 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2652 | "value": "32 arcmin", | |
| 2653 | "source": 1 | |
| 2654 | }, | |
| 2655 | { | |
| 2656 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2657 | "value": "NGC 7092", | |
| 2658 | "source": 1 | |
| 2659 | }, | |
| 2660 | { | |
| 2661 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2662 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764 (possibly seen by Le Gentil in 1749)", | |
| 2663 | "source": 1 | |
| 2664 | } | |
| 2665 | ], | |
| 2666 | "essay": "M39 is a large, loose open cluster in Cygnus, about 9 degrees east and slightly north of Deneb. At about 825 light-years it is one of the nearer open clusters. About 30 stars are confirmed members, within a volume about 7 light-years across. Estimates of its age range from about 230 to 300 million years.\n\nGuillaume Le Gentil may have seen the cluster in 1749. Charles Messier found it independently in 1764. All of its stars studied so far are main-sequence stars. The brightest, of spectral type A0 and magnitude 6.8, appear to be close to the point where they will begin to evolve into red giants. The cluster is approaching us at about 28 km/s.\n\nM39's total brightness is usually given as magnitude 4.6, although some observers estimate it at 5.2 to 6.0. It is visible to the naked eye under dark skies as a hazy spot in the Milky Way. Its stars are spread over about 32 arcminutes, so it is best viewed in binoculars or a telescope at its lowest power. Those show a sparse group of bright stars against a rich background. It is best placed on late summer and autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.", | |
| 2667 | "image": { | |
| 2668 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m39.jpg", | |
| 2669 | "credit": "WIYN/KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/H. Schweiker", | |
| 2670 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2671 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m39/", | |
| 2672 | "caption": "Wide-field image of the loose open cluster M39 taken with the Mosaic camera at the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope." | |
| 2673 | }, | |
| 2674 | "drawing": { | |
| 2675 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2676 | "type": "open", | |
| 2677 | "sizeArcmin": 32 | |
| 2678 | }, | |
| 2679 | "link": { | |
| 2680 | "messier": 39 | |
| 2681 | }, | |
| 2682 | "sources": [ | |
| 2683 | { | |
| 2684 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M39, NGC 7092", | |
| 2685 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m39/" | |
| 2686 | }, | |
| 2687 | { | |
| 2688 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 39", | |
| 2689 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m039.html" | |
| 2690 | } | |
| 2691 | ] | |
| 2692 | }, | |
| 2693 | { | |
| 2694 | "id": "m40", | |
| 2695 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2696 | "title": "M40", | |
| 2697 | "subtitle": "Winnecke 4 · double star in Ursa Major", | |
| 2698 | "facts": [ | |
| 2699 | { | |
| 2700 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2701 | "value": "Double star", | |
| 2702 | "source": 0 | |
| 2703 | }, | |
| 2704 | { | |
| 2705 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2706 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2707 | "source": 1 | |
| 2708 | }, | |
| 2709 | { | |
| 2710 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2711 | "value": "About 1,140 and 450 light-years (two stars)", | |
| 2712 | "source": 1 | |
| 2713 | }, | |
| 2714 | { | |
| 2715 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2716 | "value": "8.4 (combined); 9.0 and 9.3", | |
| 2717 | "source": 1 | |
| 2718 | }, | |
| 2719 | { | |
| 2720 | "label": "Apparent separation", | |
| 2721 | "value": "About 49 arcsec", | |
| 2722 | "source": 1 | |
| 2723 | }, | |
| 2724 | { | |
| 2725 | "label": "Other designation", | |
| 2726 | "value": "Winnecke 4 (WNC 4)", | |
| 2727 | "source": 0 | |
| 2728 | }, | |
| 2729 | { | |
| 2730 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2731 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1764", | |
| 2732 | "source": 1 | |
| 2733 | } | |
| 2734 | ], | |
| 2735 | "essay": "M40 is a pair of faint stars in Ursa Major, not a cluster or nebula. Charles Messier recorded it in 1764 while searching for a nebula that the 17th-century astronomer Johannes Hevelius had reported in this area. Messier found no nebula, but he measured the position of the two stars and gave them a number anyway. The entry shows how his catalogue was put together: he collected positions of objects that could be confused with comets, and did not always filter them strictly.\n\nLater observers could not identify Messier's object, and it was considered lost for about two centuries. In 1966 John Mallas matched Messier's description to a double star that Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke had observed at Pulkovo Observatory in 1863 and catalogued as Winnecke 4.\n\nThe two stars are of magnitude 9.0 and 9.3, about 49 arcseconds apart. They are probably an optical double, a chance alignment of two unrelated stars at different distances, estimated at about 1,140 and 450 light-years. M40 lies just northeast of Megrez, the star where the handle of the Big Dipper joins the bowl. A small telescope easily splits it into two faint points of similar brightness.", | |
| 2736 | "image": { | |
| 2737 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m40.jpg", | |
| 2738 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2739 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2740 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m40/", | |
| 2741 | "caption": "Kitt Peak 0.9-meter telescope image of the double star M40, also catalogued as Winnecke 4." | |
| 2742 | }, | |
| 2743 | "drawing": { | |
| 2744 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2745 | "type": "open", | |
| 2746 | "sizeArcmin": 0.8 | |
| 2747 | }, | |
| 2748 | "link": { | |
| 2749 | "messier": 40 | |
| 2750 | }, | |
| 2751 | "sources": [ | |
| 2752 | { | |
| 2753 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M40 (Winnecke 4)", | |
| 2754 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m40/" | |
| 2755 | }, | |
| 2756 | { | |
| 2757 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 40", | |
| 2758 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m040.html" | |
| 2759 | } | |
| 2760 | ] | |
| 2761 | }, | |
| 2762 | { | |
| 2763 | "id": "m41", | |
| 2764 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2765 | "title": "M41", | |
| 2766 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Canis Major", | |
| 2767 | "facts": [ | |
| 2768 | { | |
| 2769 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2770 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2771 | "source": 0 | |
| 2772 | }, | |
| 2773 | { | |
| 2774 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2775 | "value": "Canis Major", | |
| 2776 | "source": 0 | |
| 2777 | }, | |
| 2778 | { | |
| 2779 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2780 | "value": "2,300 light-years", | |
| 2781 | "source": 1 | |
| 2782 | }, | |
| 2783 | { | |
| 2784 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2785 | "value": "4.5", | |
| 2786 | "source": 1 | |
| 2787 | }, | |
| 2788 | { | |
| 2789 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2790 | "value": "38 arcmin", | |
| 2791 | "source": 1 | |
| 2792 | }, | |
| 2793 | { | |
| 2794 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2795 | "value": "NGC 2287", | |
| 2796 | "source": 1 | |
| 2797 | }, | |
| 2798 | { | |
| 2799 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2800 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 2801 | "source": 1 | |
| 2802 | } | |
| 2803 | ], | |
| 2804 | "essay": "M41 is an open cluster in Canis Major, about 4 degrees almost directly south of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. It contains about 100 stars, including several red giants that appear orange. The brightest of them, of spectral type K3 and magnitude 6.9, lies near the centre of the cluster and gives off about 700 times as much light as the Sun. The cluster is about 2,300 light-years away and roughly 25 light-years across. Its age is estimated at about 190 to 240 million years. Studies of its red giants show a chemical composition very similar to the Sun's.\n\nM41 may have been recorded by Aristotle around 325 BC. If so, it would be the faintest object noted in classical antiquity, but the identification is uncertain. Giovanni Battista Hodierna catalogued it before 1654, and it became widely known after John Flamsteed found it again in 1702. A bright blue giant at the cluster's southeast edge is a foreground star, not a member.\n\nAt magnitude 4.5, M41 can be seen with the naked eye under dark skies. Binoculars show a bright, scattered group about 38 arcminutes across, larger than the full Moon. A small telescope at low power shows dozens of stars, with the orange giants standing out among the white ones.", | |
| 2805 | "image": { | |
| 2806 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m41.jpg", | |
| 2807 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2808 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2809 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m41/", | |
| 2810 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M41 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak, showing several orange red giants." | |
| 2811 | }, | |
| 2812 | "drawing": { | |
| 2813 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2814 | "type": "open", | |
| 2815 | "sizeArcmin": 38 | |
| 2816 | }, | |
| 2817 | "link": { | |
| 2818 | "messier": 41 | |
| 2819 | }, | |
| 2820 | "sources": [ | |
| 2821 | { | |
| 2822 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M41, NGC 2287", | |
| 2823 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m41/" | |
| 2824 | }, | |
| 2825 | { | |
| 2826 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 41", | |
| 2827 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m041.html" | |
| 2828 | } | |
| 2829 | ] | |
| 2830 | }, | |
| 2831 | { | |
| 2832 | "id": "m42", | |
| 2833 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2834 | "title": "M42", | |
| 2835 | "subtitle": "Orion Nebula · nebula in Orion", | |
| 2836 | "facts": [ | |
| 2837 | { | |
| 2838 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2839 | "value": "Nebula", | |
| 2840 | "source": 0 | |
| 2841 | }, | |
| 2842 | { | |
| 2843 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2844 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 2845 | "source": 0 | |
| 2846 | }, | |
| 2847 | { | |
| 2848 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2849 | "value": "1,500 light-years", | |
| 2850 | "source": 0 | |
| 2851 | }, | |
| 2852 | { | |
| 2853 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2854 | "value": "4.0", | |
| 2855 | "source": 0 | |
| 2856 | }, | |
| 2857 | { | |
| 2858 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2859 | "value": "85 × 60 arcmin", | |
| 2860 | "source": 1 | |
| 2861 | }, | |
| 2862 | { | |
| 2863 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2864 | "value": "NGC 1976", | |
| 2865 | "source": 1 | |
| 2866 | }, | |
| 2867 | { | |
| 2868 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2869 | "value": "Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, 1610 (possibly)", | |
| 2870 | "source": 1 | |
| 2871 | } | |
| 2872 | ], | |
| 2873 | "essay": "The Orion Nebula is the closest large star-forming region to Earth, about 1,500 light-years away. It is a huge cloud of gas and dust in which large numbers of new stars are forming. Many cultures have known it. The Maya of Mesoamerica regarded it as a cosmic fire of creation. The first telescopic record may be Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc's in 1610.\n\nAt the heart of the nebula are four massive young stars called the Trapezium, after their arrangement. Their ultraviolet light is carving a cavity in the cloud and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars around them. Hubble has found protoplanetary discs around many of the young stars in the nebula, flattened clouds of dust and gas that may become planetary systems, like the one from which our solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. Hubble's mosaic of the nebula combines 520 exposures into an image of more than a billion pixels.\n\nAt magnitude 4.0, M42 is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy star in the middle of the sword that hangs below Orion's belt. Binoculars show a glowing cloud. A small telescope shows the bright inner region, dark dust lanes and the four Trapezium stars. The best month is January.", | |
| 2874 | "image": { | |
| 2875 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/orion-nebula-xlarge_web.jpg", | |
| 2876 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team", | |
| 2877 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2878 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-42/", | |
| 2879 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of the Orion Nebula, built from 520 exposures in multiple wavelengths." | |
| 2880 | }, | |
| 2881 | "drawing": { | |
| 2882 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2883 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 2884 | "sizeArcmin": 85 | |
| 2885 | }, | |
| 2886 | "link": { | |
| 2887 | "messier": 42 | |
| 2888 | }, | |
| 2889 | "sources": [ | |
| 2890 | { | |
| 2891 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 42 (The Orion Nebula)", | |
| 2892 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-42/" | |
| 2893 | }, | |
| 2894 | { | |
| 2895 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 42", | |
| 2896 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m042.html" | |
| 2897 | } | |
| 2898 | ] | |
| 2899 | }, | |
| 2900 | { | |
| 2901 | "id": "m43", | |
| 2902 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2903 | "title": "M43", | |
| 2904 | "subtitle": "De Mairan's Nebula · nebula in Orion", | |
| 2905 | "facts": [ | |
| 2906 | { | |
| 2907 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2908 | "value": "Nebula", | |
| 2909 | "source": 0 | |
| 2910 | }, | |
| 2911 | { | |
| 2912 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2913 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 2914 | "source": 0 | |
| 2915 | }, | |
| 2916 | { | |
| 2917 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2918 | "value": "1,600 light-years", | |
| 2919 | "source": 0 | |
| 2920 | }, | |
| 2921 | { | |
| 2922 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2923 | "value": "9.0", | |
| 2924 | "source": 0 | |
| 2925 | }, | |
| 2926 | { | |
| 2927 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2928 | "value": "20 × 15 arcmin", | |
| 2929 | "source": 1 | |
| 2930 | }, | |
| 2931 | { | |
| 2932 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 2933 | "value": "NGC 1982", | |
| 2934 | "source": 1 | |
| 2935 | }, | |
| 2936 | { | |
| 2937 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 2938 | "value": "Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, 1731", | |
| 2939 | "source": 0 | |
| 2940 | } | |
| 2941 | ], | |
| 2942 | "essay": "M43 is a small nebula next to the Orion Nebula, M42, separated from it only by a dark lane of dust. The French astronomer Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan recognised it as a separate nebula in 1731, which is why it is sometimes called De Mairan's Nebula.\n\nA single massive star near its centre lights up M43 and shapes the surrounding gas and dust with its radiation. Because of its small size and its single illuminating star, astronomers call it a miniature Orion Nebula. M42, by comparison, is much larger and is shaped by the four massive stars of the Trapezium. Both nebulae belong to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a vast stellar nursery that also includes the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula. M43 lies about 1,600 light-years from Earth.\n\nAt magnitude 9, M43 needs a telescope. In a small instrument it appears as a small glow around a star, just north of the bright core of the Orion Nebula and separated from it by the dark dust lane. It is easiest to see at moderate magnification, which reduces the glare from M42. The best month to observe it is January.", | |
| 2943 | "image": { | |
| 2944 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/heic0601c.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 2945 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team", | |
| 2946 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2947 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-43/", | |
| 2948 | "caption": "Hubble view of M43, a small nebula shaped by a single massive star near its centre." | |
| 2949 | }, | |
| 2950 | "drawing": { | |
| 2951 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2952 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 2953 | "sizeArcmin": 20 | |
| 2954 | }, | |
| 2955 | "link": { | |
| 2956 | "messier": 43 | |
| 2957 | }, | |
| 2958 | "sources": [ | |
| 2959 | { | |
| 2960 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 43", | |
| 2961 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-43/" | |
| 2962 | }, | |
| 2963 | { | |
| 2964 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 43", | |
| 2965 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m043.html" | |
| 2966 | } | |
| 2967 | ] | |
| 2968 | }, | |
| 2969 | { | |
| 2970 | "id": "m44", | |
| 2971 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2972 | "title": "M44", | |
| 2973 | "subtitle": "Beehive Cluster · open cluster in Cancer", | |
| 2974 | "facts": [ | |
| 2975 | { | |
| 2976 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2977 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2978 | "source": 0 | |
| 2979 | }, | |
| 2980 | { | |
| 2981 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2982 | "value": "Cancer", | |
| 2983 | "source": 0 | |
| 2984 | }, | |
| 2985 | { | |
| 2986 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2987 | "value": "600 light-years", | |
| 2988 | "source": 0 | |
| 2989 | }, | |
| 2990 | { | |
| 2991 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2992 | "value": "3.7", | |
| 2993 | "source": 0 | |
| 2994 | }, | |
| 2995 | { | |
| 2996 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2997 | "value": "95 arcmin", | |
| 2998 | "source": 1 | |
| 2999 | }, | |
| 3000 | { | |
| 3001 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3002 | "value": "NGC 2632", | |
| 3003 | "source": 1 | |
| 3004 | }, | |
| 3005 | { | |
| 3006 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3007 | "value": "Known since antiquity; recorded by Aratos about 260 BC", | |
| 3008 | "source": 1 | |
| 3009 | } | |
| 3010 | ], | |
| 3011 | "essay": "M44, the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe, is an open cluster of about 1,000 stars in Cancer. At roughly 600 light-years it is one of the closest open clusters to Earth. It is thought to be about 600 to 700 million years old, young compared with the roughly 13-billion-year age of the Milky Way.\n\nBecause it is visible to the naked eye, the cluster has been known since ancient times. The Greek poet Aratos mentioned it around 260 BC. Galileo was the first to show that it is more than a cloudy patch: with his telescope he resolved about 40 of its stars. Hubble has imaged parts of the cluster's outskirts, but mainly to look through it at distant background galaxies.\n\nM44 covers about 1.5 degrees of sky, roughly three full Moons. To the naked eye it is a faint blur of light in the middle of Cancer, where the three branches of the constellation's upside-down \"Y\" meet. In light-polluted skies, look halfway along a line from Regulus in Leo to Pollux in Gemini, a little to the south and west. Binoculars resolve about 20 stars and show the cluster well. A telescope at its lowest power reveals scores to hundreds more, mostly blue-white. It is highest in the evening sky in March.", | |
| 3012 | "image": { | |
| 3013 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m44bash.jpg", | |
| 3014 | "credit": "KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Tom Bash and John Fox/Adam Block", | |
| 3015 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3016 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m44bash/", | |
| 3017 | "caption": "Wide-field image of the Beehive Cluster taken through the Advanced Observing Program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center." | |
| 3018 | }, | |
| 3019 | "drawing": { | |
| 3020 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3021 | "type": "open", | |
| 3022 | "sizeArcmin": 95 | |
| 3023 | }, | |
| 3024 | "link": { | |
| 3025 | "messier": 44 | |
| 3026 | }, | |
| 3027 | "sources": [ | |
| 3028 | { | |
| 3029 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 44 (The Beehive Cluster)", | |
| 3030 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-44/" | |
| 3031 | }, | |
| 3032 | { | |
| 3033 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 44", | |
| 3034 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m044.html" | |
| 3035 | }, | |
| 3036 | { | |
| 3037 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M44: The Beehive Cluster", | |
| 3038 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m44bash/" | |
| 3039 | } | |
| 3040 | ] | |
| 3041 | }, | |
| 3042 | { | |
| 3043 | "id": "m45", | |
| 3044 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3045 | "title": "M45", | |
| 3046 | "subtitle": "Pleiades · open cluster in Taurus", | |
| 3047 | "facts": [ | |
| 3048 | { | |
| 3049 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3050 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3051 | "source": 0 | |
| 3052 | }, | |
| 3053 | { | |
| 3054 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3055 | "value": "Taurus", | |
| 3056 | "source": 0 | |
| 3057 | }, | |
| 3058 | { | |
| 3059 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3060 | "value": "445 light-years", | |
| 3061 | "source": 0 | |
| 3062 | }, | |
| 3063 | { | |
| 3064 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3065 | "value": "1.6", | |
| 3066 | "source": 0 | |
| 3067 | }, | |
| 3068 | { | |
| 3069 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3070 | "value": "110 arcmin", | |
| 3071 | "source": 1 | |
| 3072 | }, | |
| 3073 | { | |
| 3074 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3075 | "value": "Known since prehistoric times", | |
| 3076 | "source": 0 | |
| 3077 | } | |
| 3078 | ], | |
| 3079 | "essay": "The Pleiades, also called the Seven Sisters, is the best-known open cluster in the sky. It contains more than a thousand stars loosely bound by gravity, but a handful of bright, hot blue members dominate its appearance. The cluster has been observed since prehistoric times and has no known discoverer. Galileo was the first to look at it through a telescope.\n\nThe cluster is about 445 light-years away in Taurus, although published distances vary. Long-exposure photographs show blue nebulosity around the brightest stars. This is light from the stars scattered by a dust cloud the cluster is passing through. Hubble imaged part of that cloud near the star Merope. The image shows the star's radiation pressure slowing the smaller dust particles more than the larger ones, so the dust is sorted by size as the cloud moves toward the star.\n\nAt magnitude 1.6, the Pleiades is easy to see with the naked eye, even from towns, as a small, tight group of six or seven stars shaped like a little dipper. It spans almost two degrees, so binoculars or a telescope at very low power give the best view, showing dozens of blue-white stars. The dust nebulosity is faint and best seen in photographs. December is the best month.", | |
| 3080 | "image": { | |
| 3081 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/interstellar_cloud_in_pleiades.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 3082 | "credit": "NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: George Herbig and Theodore Simon (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii)", | |
| 3083 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3084 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/", | |
| 3085 | "caption": "Hubble image of a dust cloud being sorted by radiation pressure from the Pleiades star Merope, just outside the frame." | |
| 3086 | }, | |
| 3087 | "drawing": { | |
| 3088 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3089 | "type": "open", | |
| 3090 | "sizeArcmin": 110 | |
| 3091 | }, | |
| 3092 | "link": { | |
| 3093 | "messier": 45 | |
| 3094 | }, | |
| 3095 | "sources": [ | |
| 3096 | { | |
| 3097 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 45 (The Pleiades)", | |
| 3098 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-45/" | |
| 3099 | }, | |
| 3100 | { | |
| 3101 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 45", | |
| 3102 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m045.html" | |
| 3103 | } | |
| 3104 | ] | |
| 3105 | }, | |
| 3106 | { | |
| 3107 | "id": "m46", | |
| 3108 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3109 | "title": "M46", | |
| 3110 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Puppis", | |
| 3111 | "facts": [ | |
| 3112 | { | |
| 3113 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3114 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3115 | "source": 0 | |
| 3116 | }, | |
| 3117 | { | |
| 3118 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3119 | "value": "Puppis", | |
| 3120 | "source": 0 | |
| 3121 | }, | |
| 3122 | { | |
| 3123 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3124 | "value": "5,400 light-years", | |
| 3125 | "source": 0 | |
| 3126 | }, | |
| 3127 | { | |
| 3128 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3129 | "value": "6.0", | |
| 3130 | "source": 1 | |
| 3131 | }, | |
| 3132 | { | |
| 3133 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3134 | "value": "27 arcmin", | |
| 3135 | "source": 1 | |
| 3136 | }, | |
| 3137 | { | |
| 3138 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3139 | "value": "NGC 2437", | |
| 3140 | "source": 1 | |
| 3141 | }, | |
| 3142 | { | |
| 3143 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3144 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1771", | |
| 3145 | "source": 1 | |
| 3146 | } | |
| 3147 | ], | |
| 3148 | "essay": "M46 is a rich open cluster in Puppis, about 5,400 light-years from Earth. Charles Messier discovered it in 1771. It was the first object he found after publishing the first edition of his catalogue, which listed M1 to M45.\n\nA planetary nebula, NGC 2438, appears on the cluster's northern edge, but it is not a member. It lies about 2,400 light-years closer to us than the cluster's stars. The nebula formed when a Sun-like star ran out of nuclear fuel and expelled its outer layers. The white dwarf left behind is visible at its centre in Hubble's image. William Herschel was the first to see the nebula, and his son John Herschel described it in 1827 as round and a little velvety at the edges.\n\nTo find M46, start at Sirius and move about 14 degrees east and slightly north. At magnitude 6.0, the cluster appears in binoculars as a large, even haze about 27 arcminutes across. Under dark skies the brighter cluster M47 and the smaller NGC 2423 fit in the same binocular field. A small telescope resolves dozens of faint stars, and a nebula filter helps show NGC 2438, a 10th-magnitude ring, against the background sky.", | |
| 3149 | "image": { | |
| 3150 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hubble_ngc2438_wfpc2_screen_3mb.png?w=1200", | |
| 3151 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, K. Knoll (NASA Goddard), and S. Öttl (Leopold Franzens Universität Innsbruck), et. al.; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 3152 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3153 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-46/", | |
| 3154 | "caption": "Hubble image of the planetary nebula NGC 2438 in front of the stars of M46." | |
| 3155 | }, | |
| 3156 | "drawing": { | |
| 3157 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3158 | "type": "open", | |
| 3159 | "sizeArcmin": 27 | |
| 3160 | }, | |
| 3161 | "link": { | |
| 3162 | "messier": 46 | |
| 3163 | }, | |
| 3164 | "sources": [ | |
| 3165 | { | |
| 3166 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 46", | |
| 3167 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-46/" | |
| 3168 | }, | |
| 3169 | { | |
| 3170 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 46", | |
| 3171 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m046.html" | |
| 3172 | } | |
| 3173 | ] | |
| 3174 | }, | |
| 3175 | { | |
| 3176 | "id": "m47", | |
| 3177 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3178 | "title": "M47", | |
| 3179 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Puppis", | |
| 3180 | "facts": [ | |
| 3181 | { | |
| 3182 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3183 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3184 | "source": 0 | |
| 3185 | }, | |
| 3186 | { | |
| 3187 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3188 | "value": "Puppis", | |
| 3189 | "source": 0 | |
| 3190 | }, | |
| 3191 | { | |
| 3192 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3193 | "value": "1,600 light-years", | |
| 3194 | "source": 1 | |
| 3195 | }, | |
| 3196 | { | |
| 3197 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3198 | "value": "4.4", | |
| 3199 | "source": 1 | |
| 3200 | }, | |
| 3201 | { | |
| 3202 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3203 | "value": "30 arcmin", | |
| 3204 | "source": 1 | |
| 3205 | }, | |
| 3206 | { | |
| 3207 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3208 | "value": "NGC 2422", | |
| 3209 | "source": 1 | |
| 3210 | }, | |
| 3211 | { | |
| 3212 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3213 | "value": "Giovanni Battista Hodierna, before 1654", | |
| 3214 | "source": 1 | |
| 3215 | } | |
| 3216 | ], | |
| 3217 | "essay": "M47 is a bright, coarse open cluster in Puppis, about 1,600 light-years from Earth. It contains some 50 stars spread over about 30 arcminutes, roughly the size of the full Moon, which corresponds to about 14 light-years.\n\nGiovanni Battista Hodierna described it before 1654 as a nebula between the two dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor, but his work did not come to light until 1984. Charles Messier found it independently on 19 February 1771. However, he made a sign error when he calculated its position. As a result there was no cluster at his listed coordinates, and M47 was considered missing until 1959, when T. F. Morris identified it. Caroline Herschel and William Herschel both observed it in the 1780s. The wrong position survived for a long time, and it even entered the New General Catalogue as NGC 2478, an entry with no object.\n\nAt magnitude 4.4, M47 can be seen with the naked eye at a dark site as a dim, fuzzy spot. It lies just west of the fainter, richer cluster M46, and the two make a good contrast in binoculars. M47 resolves into a scattered group of bright stars, while M46 remains a haze. A small telescope at low power shows M47 best.", | |
| 3218 | "image": { | |
| 3219 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m47.jpg", | |
| 3220 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 3221 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3222 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m47/", | |
| 3223 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M47 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 3224 | }, | |
| 3225 | "drawing": { | |
| 3226 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3227 | "type": "open", | |
| 3228 | "sizeArcmin": 30 | |
| 3229 | }, | |
| 3230 | "link": { | |
| 3231 | "messier": 47 | |
| 3232 | }, | |
| 3233 | "sources": [ | |
| 3234 | { | |
| 3235 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M47, NGC 2422", | |
| 3236 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m47/" | |
| 3237 | }, | |
| 3238 | { | |
| 3239 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 47", | |
| 3240 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m047.html" | |
| 3241 | } | |
| 3242 | ] | |
| 3243 | }, | |
| 3244 | { | |
| 3245 | "id": "m48", | |
| 3246 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3247 | "title": "M48", | |
| 3248 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Hydra", | |
| 3249 | "facts": [ | |
| 3250 | { | |
| 3251 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3252 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3253 | "source": 0 | |
| 3254 | }, | |
| 3255 | { | |
| 3256 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3257 | "value": "Hydra", | |
| 3258 | "source": 0 | |
| 3259 | }, | |
| 3260 | { | |
| 3261 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3262 | "value": "2,500 light-years", | |
| 3263 | "source": 0 | |
| 3264 | }, | |
| 3265 | { | |
| 3266 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3267 | "value": "5.5", | |
| 3268 | "source": 0 | |
| 3269 | }, | |
| 3270 | { | |
| 3271 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3272 | "value": "54 arcmin", | |
| 3273 | "source": 0 | |
| 3274 | }, | |
| 3275 | { | |
| 3276 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3277 | "value": "NGC 2548", | |
| 3278 | "source": 0 | |
| 3279 | }, | |
| 3280 | { | |
| 3281 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3282 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1771", | |
| 3283 | "source": 0 | |
| 3284 | } | |
| 3285 | ], | |
| 3286 | "essay": "M48 is an open cluster near the head of Hydra, close to the border with Monoceros. It has about 100 to 200 core members and as many as 1,000 stars in total, and it lies roughly 2,500 light-years from Earth. It is of intermediate age for an open cluster.\n\nThe cluster has a confused history. Charles Messier catalogued it on 19 February 1771 but recorded its position wrongly, so astronomers could not find it and it was treated as lost. Johann Elert Bode found it again around 1782, and Caroline Herschel found it on 8 March 1783 and added it to her list as No. 5. William Herschel catalogued it as H VI.22 on 1 February 1786.\n\nHubble's image of part of the cluster comes from observations used to calibrate Wide Field Camera 3. Those calibrations improve the camera's measurements of the distances, brightness, positions and motions of the objects it observes. At magnitude 5.5, M48 is visible to the naked eye under good, dark skies. Binoculars or a small telescope show about 50 stars brighter than magnitude 13 and many fainter ones. The core spans about 30 arcminutes, the width of the full Moon, and the whole cluster extends to about 54 arcminutes.", | |
| 3287 | "image": { | |
| 3288 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/hubble-m48-1-flat-final-2.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 3289 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, A. Riess (The Johns Hopkins University): Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 3290 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3291 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-48/", | |
| 3292 | "caption": "Hubble image of part of the open cluster M48." | |
| 3293 | }, | |
| 3294 | "drawing": { | |
| 3295 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3296 | "type": "open", | |
| 3297 | "sizeArcmin": 54 | |
| 3298 | }, | |
| 3299 | "link": { | |
| 3300 | "messier": 48 | |
| 3301 | }, | |
| 3302 | "sources": [ | |
| 3303 | { | |
| 3304 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 48", | |
| 3305 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-48/" | |
| 3306 | } | |
| 3307 | ] | |
| 3308 | }, | |
| 3309 | { | |
| 3310 | "id": "m49", | |
| 3311 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3312 | "title": "M49", | |
| 3313 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 3314 | "facts": [ | |
| 3315 | { | |
| 3316 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3317 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 3318 | "source": 0 | |
| 3319 | }, | |
| 3320 | { | |
| 3321 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3322 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 3323 | "source": 0 | |
| 3324 | }, | |
| 3325 | { | |
| 3326 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3327 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 3328 | "source": 0 | |
| 3329 | }, | |
| 3330 | { | |
| 3331 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3332 | "value": "9.4", | |
| 3333 | "source": 0 | |
| 3334 | }, | |
| 3335 | { | |
| 3336 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3337 | "value": "9 × 7.5 arcmin", | |
| 3338 | "source": 1 | |
| 3339 | }, | |
| 3340 | { | |
| 3341 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3342 | "value": "NGC 4472", | |
| 3343 | "source": 1 | |
| 3344 | }, | |
| 3345 | { | |
| 3346 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3347 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1771", | |
| 3348 | "source": 0 | |
| 3349 | } | |
| 3350 | ], | |
| 3351 | "essay": "M49 is a giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 60 million light-years away. Charles Messier discovered it in 1771. It was the first member of the Virgo Cluster to be found, and the first elliptical galaxy found outside the Local Group.\n\nElliptical galaxies lack the arms and discs of spirals. They are smooth, fairly featureless systems, and their stars are usually much older than those in spiral galaxies. M49 contains about 200 billion stars. It also has an unusually rich population of globular star clusters, nearly 6,000. An X-ray source at its core indicates a supermassive black hole, estimated at about 565 million times the mass of the Sun.\n\nAt magnitude 9.4, M49 is one of the brighter galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. It can be picked up in binoculars, but it is easier in a small telescope. There it appears as a round to slightly oval glow, with a bright centre and no visible structure. May is the best month to look.", | |
| 3352 | "image": { | |
| 3353 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1911a.jpg", | |
| 3354 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Blakenslee, P Cote et al.", | |
| 3355 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3356 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1911a/", | |
| 3357 | "caption": "Hubble infrared image of the giant elliptical galaxy M49." | |
| 3358 | }, | |
| 3359 | "drawing": { | |
| 3360 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3361 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3362 | "sizeArcmin": 9 | |
| 3363 | }, | |
| 3364 | "link": { | |
| 3365 | "messier": 49 | |
| 3366 | }, | |
| 3367 | "sources": [ | |
| 3368 | { | |
| 3369 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 49", | |
| 3370 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-49/" | |
| 3371 | }, | |
| 3372 | { | |
| 3373 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 49", | |
| 3374 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m049.html" | |
| 3375 | } | |
| 3376 | ] | |
| 3377 | }, | |
| 3378 | { | |
| 3379 | "id": "m50", | |
| 3380 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3381 | "title": "M50", | |
| 3382 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Monoceros", | |
| 3383 | "facts": [ | |
| 3384 | { | |
| 3385 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3386 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3387 | "source": 0 | |
| 3388 | }, | |
| 3389 | { | |
| 3390 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3391 | "value": "Monoceros", | |
| 3392 | "source": 0 | |
| 3393 | }, | |
| 3394 | { | |
| 3395 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3396 | "value": "3,200 light-years", | |
| 3397 | "source": 1 | |
| 3398 | }, | |
| 3399 | { | |
| 3400 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3401 | "value": "5.9", | |
| 3402 | "source": 1 | |
| 3403 | }, | |
| 3404 | { | |
| 3405 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3406 | "value": "16 arcmin", | |
| 3407 | "source": 1 | |
| 3408 | }, | |
| 3409 | { | |
| 3410 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3411 | "value": "NGC 2323", | |
| 3412 | "source": 1 | |
| 3413 | }, | |
| 3414 | { | |
| 3415 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3416 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1772 (possibly seen by G. D. Cassini before 1711)", | |
| 3417 | "source": 1 | |
| 3418 | } | |
| 3419 | ], | |
| 3420 | "essay": "M50 is an open cluster in Monoceros, near its border with Canis Major. Charles Messier discovered it on 5 April 1772. Giovanni Domenico Cassini may have seen it earlier, before 1711, according to an account by his son Jacques Cassini.\n\nThe cluster is probably about 3,200 light-years away. Its angular extent of about 15 by 20 arcminutes corresponds to about 20 light-years, with a denser central part about 10 light-years across. Photographic plates taken in 1893 suggested a population of about 200 stars in the main body. The cluster's age is estimated at about 78 million years. Most of its bright stars are blue-white, but it also contains some yellow giants and a red giant about 7 arcminutes south of the centre that contrasts with its neighbours. Some observers have described the cluster's outline as heart-shaped.\n\nAt magnitude 5.9, M50 is just within naked-eye reach under dark skies and is easy in binoculars, about a third of the way from Sirius to Procyon. It looks like a bright, compact haze with a few stars resolved. A small telescope shows dozens of stars, and the red giant south of centre stands out against the blue-white members.", | |
| 3421 | "image": { | |
| 3422 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m50.jpg", | |
| 3423 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 3424 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3425 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m50/", | |
| 3426 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M50 from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 3427 | }, | |
| 3428 | "drawing": { | |
| 3429 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3430 | "type": "open", | |
| 3431 | "sizeArcmin": 16 | |
| 3432 | }, | |
| 3433 | "link": { | |
| 3434 | "messier": 50 | |
| 3435 | }, | |
| 3436 | "sources": [ | |
| 3437 | { | |
| 3438 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M50, NGC 2323", | |
| 3439 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m50/" | |
| 3440 | }, | |
| 3441 | { | |
| 3442 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 50", | |
| 3443 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m050.html" | |
| 3444 | } | |
| 3445 | ] | |
| 3446 | }, | |
| 3447 | { | |
| 3448 | "id": "m51", | |
| 3449 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3450 | "title": "M51", | |
| 3451 | "subtitle": "Whirlpool Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici", | |
| 3452 | "facts": [ | |
| 3453 | { | |
| 3454 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3455 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 3456 | "source": 0 | |
| 3457 | }, | |
| 3458 | { | |
| 3459 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3460 | "value": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 3461 | "source": 0 | |
| 3462 | }, | |
| 3463 | { | |
| 3464 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3465 | "value": "31 million light-years", | |
| 3466 | "source": 0 | |
| 3467 | }, | |
| 3468 | { | |
| 3469 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3470 | "value": "8.4", | |
| 3471 | "source": 0 | |
| 3472 | }, | |
| 3473 | { | |
| 3474 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3475 | "value": "11 × 7 arcmin", | |
| 3476 | "source": 1 | |
| 3477 | }, | |
| 3478 | { | |
| 3479 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3480 | "value": "NGC 5194", | |
| 3481 | "source": 1 | |
| 3482 | }, | |
| 3483 | { | |
| 3484 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3485 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1773", | |
| 3486 | "source": 0 | |
| 3487 | } | |
| 3488 | ], | |
| 3489 | "essay": "M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 31 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. Charles Messier discovered it in 1773. It is seen almost face-on and is relatively close, which makes it one of the most studied examples of a classic spiral galaxy.\n\nIts two prominent, winding arms make it a grand-design spiral. They are long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust, and they act as star-formation factories, compressing hydrogen gas and creating clusters of new stars. In Hubble's image, pink regions mark star formation, blue strands are clusters of hot young stars, and yellow light comes from older stars.\n\nA smaller galaxy, NGC 5195, lies at the tip of one arm. Some astronomers think its gravitational pull is why the Whirlpool's arms are so pronounced, and that its tidal forces trigger new star formation. Hubble's images show that NGC 5195 is passing behind M51. It has been gliding past for hundreds of millions of years. At magnitude 8.4, M51 is visible in a small telescope near the end of the Big Dipper's handle, as two round glows, one larger than the other. Dark skies and larger apertures begin to show the spiral arms and the bridge between the galaxies. May is the best month.", | |
| 3490 | "image": { | |
| 3491 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m51-and-companion_0.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 3492 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)", | |
| 3493 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3494 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-51/", | |
| 3495 | "caption": "Hubble image of the Whirlpool Galaxy and its companion NGC 5195." | |
| 3496 | }, | |
| 3497 | "drawing": { | |
| 3498 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3499 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3500 | "sizeArcmin": 11 | |
| 3501 | }, | |
| 3502 | "link": { | |
| 3503 | "messier": 51 | |
| 3504 | }, | |
| 3505 | "sources": [ | |
| 3506 | { | |
| 3507 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 51 (The Whirlpool Galaxy)", | |
| 3508 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-51/" | |
| 3509 | }, | |
| 3510 | { | |
| 3511 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 51", | |
| 3512 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m051.html" | |
| 3513 | } | |
| 3514 | ] | |
| 3515 | }, | |
| 3516 | { | |
| 3517 | "id": "m52", | |
| 3518 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3519 | "title": "M52", | |
| 3520 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Cassiopeia", | |
| 3521 | "facts": [ | |
| 3522 | { | |
| 3523 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3524 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3525 | "source": 0 | |
| 3526 | }, | |
| 3527 | { | |
| 3528 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3529 | "value": "Cassiopeia", | |
| 3530 | "source": 0 | |
| 3531 | }, | |
| 3532 | { | |
| 3533 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3534 | "value": "About 5,000 light-years (estimates range from 3,000 to 7,000)", | |
| 3535 | "source": 1 | |
| 3536 | }, | |
| 3537 | { | |
| 3538 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3539 | "value": "7.3", | |
| 3540 | "source": 1 | |
| 3541 | }, | |
| 3542 | { | |
| 3543 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3544 | "value": "13 arcmin", | |
| 3545 | "source": 1 | |
| 3546 | }, | |
| 3547 | { | |
| 3548 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3549 | "value": "NGC 7654", | |
| 3550 | "source": 1 | |
| 3551 | }, | |
| 3552 | { | |
| 3553 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3554 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1774", | |
| 3555 | "source": 1 | |
| 3556 | } | |
| 3557 | ], | |
| 3558 | "essay": "M52 is a rich open cluster in Cassiopeia, set in a dense Milky Way field. Charles Messier discovered it in 1774. One study counted 193 probable members within 9 arcminutes of the centre. The cluster is young, about 35 million years old. Its brightest main-sequence star is only magnitude 11.0, of spectral type B7, and two yellow giants of magnitudes 7.8 and 8.2 are brighter than any main-sequence member. The cluster also contains a rare, extremely hot Of star.\n\nIts distance is poorly known, with published estimates from about 3,000 to 7,000 light-years. The main difficulty is the strong absorption of its light by interstellar dust. At a distance of 5,000 light-years, its apparent width of 13 arcminutes corresponds to about 19 light-years. A conspicuous red star a little off the cluster's centre is a foreground object, not a member. The Bubble Nebula, NGC 7635, lies about half a degree to the southwest.\n\nAt magnitude 7.3, M52 is visible in binoculars as a small, hazy patch. It lies on an extension of the line from Alpha to Beta Cassiopeiae. A small telescope resolves many faint stars around the bright foreground star near the centre. It is best placed on autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.", | |
| 3559 | "image": { | |
| 3560 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m52.jpg", | |
| 3561 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 3562 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3563 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m52/", | |
| 3564 | "caption": "Colour image of the open cluster M52 in Cassiopeia from the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak." | |
| 3565 | }, | |
| 3566 | "drawing": { | |
| 3567 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3568 | "type": "open", | |
| 3569 | "sizeArcmin": 13 | |
| 3570 | }, | |
| 3571 | "link": { | |
| 3572 | "messier": 52 | |
| 3573 | }, | |
| 3574 | "sources": [ | |
| 3575 | { | |
| 3576 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M52, NGC 7654", | |
| 3577 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m52/" | |
| 3578 | }, | |
| 3579 | { | |
| 3580 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 52", | |
| 3581 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m052.html" | |
| 3582 | } | |
| 3583 | ] | |
| 3584 | }, | |
| 3585 | { | |
| 3586 | "id": "m53", | |
| 3587 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3588 | "title": "M53", | |
| 3589 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Coma Berenices", | |
| 3590 | "facts": [ | |
| 3591 | { | |
| 3592 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3593 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 3594 | "source": 0 | |
| 3595 | }, | |
| 3596 | { | |
| 3597 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3598 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 3599 | "source": 0 | |
| 3600 | }, | |
| 3601 | { | |
| 3602 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3603 | "value": "59,700 light-years", | |
| 3604 | "source": 0 | |
| 3605 | }, | |
| 3606 | { | |
| 3607 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3608 | "value": "8.3", | |
| 3609 | "source": 0 | |
| 3610 | }, | |
| 3611 | { | |
| 3612 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3613 | "value": "13 arcmin", | |
| 3614 | "source": 1 | |
| 3615 | }, | |
| 3616 | { | |
| 3617 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3618 | "value": "NGC 5024", | |
| 3619 | "source": 1 | |
| 3620 | }, | |
| 3621 | { | |
| 3622 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3623 | "value": "Johann Elert Bode, 1775", | |
| 3624 | "source": 0 | |
| 3625 | } | |
| 3626 | ], | |
| 3627 | "essay": "M53 is one of the most distant globular clusters from Earth, about 59,700 light-years away in Coma Berenices. The German astronomer Johann Elert Bode discovered it in 1775.\n\nGlobular clusters are much older and larger than open clusters. They are expected to contain mostly old, red stars and few young, blue ones. M53 has an unusually large number of blue stragglers: stars that look brighter and younger than the cluster's other stars, even though all of them should have formed at about the same time. These stars probably form through close encounters or collisions between stars in the crowded core. Hubble's sharp images help astronomers pick them out from the surrounding stars.\n\nThe cluster is roughly spherical and becomes steadily denser toward its centre. At magnitude 8.3 it is a small-telescope target, about a degree northeast of the star Alpha Comae Berenices. In a small telescope it appears as a round, evenly bright glow about 13 arcminutes across with a brighter core. Larger telescopes resolve its individual stars. The fainter globular cluster NGC 5053 lies about a degree away. M53 is best observed in May.", | |
| 3628 | "image": { | |
| 3629 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1140a.jpg", | |
| 3630 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 3631 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3632 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1140a/", | |
| 3633 | "caption": "Hubble image of the globular cluster M53 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 3634 | }, | |
| 3635 | "drawing": { | |
| 3636 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3637 | "type": "globular", | |
| 3638 | "sizeArcmin": 13 | |
| 3639 | }, | |
| 3640 | "link": { | |
| 3641 | "messier": 53 | |
| 3642 | }, | |
| 3643 | "sources": [ | |
| 3644 | { | |
| 3645 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 53", | |
| 3646 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-53/" | |
| 3647 | }, | |
| 3648 | { | |
| 3649 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 53", | |
| 3650 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m053.html" | |
| 3651 | } | |
| 3652 | ] | |
| 3653 | }, | |
| 3654 | { | |
| 3655 | "id": "m54", | |
| 3656 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3657 | "title": "M54", | |
| 3658 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 3659 | "facts": [ | |
| 3660 | { | |
| 3661 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3662 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 3663 | "source": 0 | |
| 3664 | }, | |
| 3665 | { | |
| 3666 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3667 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 3668 | "source": 0 | |
| 3669 | }, | |
| 3670 | { | |
| 3671 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3672 | "value": "90,000 light-years", | |
| 3673 | "source": 0 | |
| 3674 | }, | |
| 3675 | { | |
| 3676 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3677 | "value": "8.4", | |
| 3678 | "source": 0 | |
| 3679 | }, | |
| 3680 | { | |
| 3681 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3682 | "value": "12 arcmin", | |
| 3683 | "source": 1 | |
| 3684 | }, | |
| 3685 | { | |
| 3686 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3687 | "value": "NGC 6715", | |
| 3688 | "source": 1 | |
| 3689 | }, | |
| 3690 | { | |
| 3691 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3692 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1778", | |
| 3693 | "source": 0 | |
| 3694 | } | |
| 3695 | ], | |
| 3696 | "essay": "M54 was the first globular cluster found to lie outside the Milky Way. Charles Messier discovered it in 1778 without knowing its true distance. The cluster belongs to a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, and lies about 90,000 light-years from Earth.\n\nThe Sagittarius dwarf is slowly being pulled apart and absorbed by the Milky Way's much stronger gravity. Eventually the two galaxies will merge, and M54 will become part of our galaxy. In Hubble's images, M54 is a dense, compact ball of stars that becomes much more crowded toward the centre.\n\nAt magnitude 8.4, M54 can be found in binoculars as a small, star-like patch near Ascella, Zeta Sagittarii, at the bottom of the Sagittarius \"teapot\". A small telescope shows a bright, compact core with a faint halo about 12 arcminutes across. Resolving its individual stars needs a large telescope. The best month to look is August.", | |
| 3697 | "image": { | |
| 3698 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1145a.jpg", | |
| 3699 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 3700 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3701 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1145a/", | |
| 3702 | "caption": "Hubble image of M54, the first globular cluster found outside the Milky Way." | |
| 3703 | }, | |
| 3704 | "drawing": { | |
| 3705 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3706 | "type": "globular", | |
| 3707 | "sizeArcmin": 12 | |
| 3708 | }, | |
| 3709 | "link": { | |
| 3710 | "messier": 54 | |
| 3711 | }, | |
| 3712 | "sources": [ | |
| 3713 | { | |
| 3714 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 54", | |
| 3715 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-54/" | |
| 3716 | }, | |
| 3717 | { | |
| 3718 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 54", | |
| 3719 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m054.html" | |
| 3720 | } | |
| 3721 | ] | |
| 3722 | }, | |
| 3723 | { | |
| 3724 | "id": "m55", | |
| 3725 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3726 | "title": "M55", | |
| 3727 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 3728 | "facts": [ | |
| 3729 | { | |
| 3730 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3731 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 3732 | "source": 0 | |
| 3733 | }, | |
| 3734 | { | |
| 3735 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3736 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 3737 | "source": 0 | |
| 3738 | }, | |
| 3739 | { | |
| 3740 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3741 | "value": "20,000 light-years", | |
| 3742 | "source": 0 | |
| 3743 | }, | |
| 3744 | { | |
| 3745 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3746 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 3747 | "source": 0 | |
| 3748 | }, | |
| 3749 | { | |
| 3750 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3751 | "value": "19 arcmin", | |
| 3752 | "source": 1 | |
| 3753 | }, | |
| 3754 | { | |
| 3755 | "label": "Catalogue number", | |
| 3756 | "value": "NGC 6809", | |
| 3757 | "source": 1 | |
| 3758 | }, | |
| 3759 | { | |
| 3760 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 3761 | "value": "Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, 1752", | |
| 3762 | "source": 1 | |
| 3763 | } | |
| 3764 | ], | |
| 3765 | "essay": "M55 is a large, loosely packed globular cluster in southern Sagittarius, about 20,000 light-years away and about 100 light-years in diameter. It holds roughly 100,000 stars.\n\nThe French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille found it in 1752, while observing from what is now South Africa. Charles Messier had difficulty seeing it from Paris and did not add it to his catalogue until 1778. M55 is large and fairly bright, but it has no dense core and many of its stars are faint, so it is hard to see in poor conditions. For northern observers it sits low in the sky, where a thicker layer of atmosphere, water vapour and light pollution all reduce the view. When Messier finally catalogued it, he noted that its light was even and did not seem to contain any stars.\n\nThrough binoculars, even under dark skies, M55 appears only as a round, hazy patch about 19 arcminutes across, larger than many globulars but with little central brightening. Because its stars are spread out, small telescopes begin to resolve individual stars, and larger telescopes show many of them easily. From southern latitudes it stands much higher in the sky. The best month to look is September.", | |
| 3766 | "image": { | |
| 3767 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/hubble-m55-mos-acs-long-flat-final2.jpg?w=1200", | |
| 3768 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, A. Sarajedini (Florida Atlantic University), and M. Libralato (STScI, ESA, JWST); Image Processing: Gladys Kober", | |
| 3769 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3770 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-55/", | |
| 3771 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of part of the globular cluster M55, resolved into individual stars." | |
| 3772 | }, | |
| 3773 | "drawing": { | |
| 3774 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3775 | "type": "globular", | |
| 3776 | "sizeArcmin": 19 | |
| 3777 | }, | |
| 3778 | "link": { | |
| 3779 | "messier": 55 | |
| 3780 | }, | |
| 3781 | "sources": [ | |
| 3782 | { | |
| 3783 | "title": "NASA Hubble's Messier Catalog: Messier 55", | |
| 3784 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-55/" | |
| 3785 | }, | |
| 3786 | { | |
| 3787 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 55", | |
| 3788 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m055.html" | |
| 3789 | } | |
| 3790 | ] | |
| 3791 | } | |
| 3792 | ] | |
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/deep-sky-b.json added +3797
| @@ -0,0 +1,3797 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "m56", | |
| 4 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 5 | "title": "M56", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Lyra", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 10 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 15 | "value": "Lyra", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 20 | "value": "33,000 light-years", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 25 | "value": "8.3", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 30 | "value": "8.8′", | |
| 31 | "source": 1 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 35 | "value": "NGC 6779", | |
| 36 | "source": 1 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 40 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1779", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "M56 is a globular cluster in Lyra, about 33,000 light-years away. Charles Messier found it in January 1779 and described it as a nebula without stars; William Herschel first resolved it into individual stars around 1784.\n\nHubble observations show that M56 contains very little of any element heavier than hydrogen and helium, so its stars formed early, before later generations of stars had enriched the galaxy. Clusters with this composition tend to lie along a plane in the Milky Way's halo. That pattern suggests many of them, M56 included, were captured from a satellite galaxy rather than formed with the Milky Way itself.\n\nAt magnitude 8.3, M56 is one of the fainter Messier globulars and lacks the bright, concentrated core that most of them have. It sits roughly halfway between Albireo (Beta Cygni) and Gamma Lyrae, in a rich Milky Way field. Binoculars show a small, faint glow. A small telescope shows a round haze, and only the inner part, about 3′ across, is easy to see by eye. August evenings are the best time to look for it from mid-northern latitudes.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1234a.jpg", | |
| 47 | "credit": "NASA & ESA Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine", | |
| 48 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1234a/", | |
| 50 | "caption": "The centre of M56, combined from Hubble visible and infrared observations." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 54 | "type": "globular", | |
| 55 | "sizeArcmin": 8.8 | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "link": { | |
| 58 | "messier": 56 | |
| 59 | }, | |
| 60 | "sources": [ | |
| 61 | { | |
| 62 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 56", | |
| 63 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-56/" | |
| 64 | }, | |
| 65 | { | |
| 66 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 56", | |
| 67 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m056.html" | |
| 68 | } | |
| 69 | ] | |
| 70 | }, | |
| 71 | { | |
| 72 | "id": "m57", | |
| 73 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 74 | "title": "M57", | |
| 75 | "subtitle": "Ring Nebula · planetary nebula in Lyra", | |
| 76 | "facts": [ | |
| 77 | { | |
| 78 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 79 | "value": "Planetary nebula", | |
| 80 | "source": 0 | |
| 81 | }, | |
| 82 | { | |
| 83 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 84 | "value": "Lyra", | |
| 85 | "source": 0 | |
| 86 | }, | |
| 87 | { | |
| 88 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 89 | "value": "2,000 light-years", | |
| 90 | "source": 0 | |
| 91 | }, | |
| 92 | { | |
| 93 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 94 | "value": "8.8", | |
| 95 | "source": 0 | |
| 96 | }, | |
| 97 | { | |
| 98 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 99 | "value": "1.4′ × 1.0′", | |
| 100 | "source": 1 | |
| 101 | }, | |
| 102 | { | |
| 103 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 104 | "value": "NGC 6720", | |
| 105 | "source": 1 | |
| 106 | }, | |
| 107 | { | |
| 108 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 109 | "value": "Charles Messier and Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix, 1779", | |
| 110 | "source": 1 | |
| 111 | } | |
| 112 | ], | |
| 113 | "essay": "The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula: the shell of gas thrown off by a Sun-like star near the end of its life, lit by the hot remnant core at its centre. It lies about 2,000 light-years away in Lyra. Messier and the French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix both observed it in early 1779.\n\nHubble images show that the ring is not a simple loop. A football-shaped structure of gas, seen end-on, runs through the middle of a red, doughnut-shaped outer ring. Along the inner edge of the ring are dark, dense knots of gas that the star's wind has not yet cleared away, each trailing a tail like a spoke. The colours in the image map composition: helium in the deep blue centre, hydrogen and oxygen in the light-blue inner ring, and nitrogen and sulfur in the red outer ring.\n\nM57 is easy to locate. It lies between Sheliak and Sulafat, the two third-magnitude stars at the bottom of Lyra's lyre. At magnitude 8.8 and only about 1′ across, it looks like a slightly out-of-focus star in binoculars. A small telescope at moderate magnification shows a smoke-ring oval with a darker centre; the central star needs a large instrument.", | |
| 114 | "image": { | |
| 115 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ring-nebula-full_jpg.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 116 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration", | |
| 117 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 118 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-57/", | |
| 119 | "caption": "Hubble view of the Ring Nebula: blue gas at the centre, a doughnut of redder gas around it, and dark knots on the inner rim." | |
| 120 | }, | |
| 121 | "drawing": { | |
| 122 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 123 | "type": "planetary", | |
| 124 | "sizeArcmin": 1.4 | |
| 125 | }, | |
| 126 | "link": { | |
| 127 | "messier": 57 | |
| 128 | }, | |
| 129 | "sources": [ | |
| 130 | { | |
| 131 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 57", | |
| 132 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-57/" | |
| 133 | }, | |
| 134 | { | |
| 135 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 57", | |
| 136 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m057.html" | |
| 137 | } | |
| 138 | ] | |
| 139 | }, | |
| 140 | { | |
| 141 | "id": "m58", | |
| 142 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 143 | "title": "M58", | |
| 144 | "subtitle": "Barred spiral galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 145 | "facts": [ | |
| 146 | { | |
| 147 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 148 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 149 | "source": 0 | |
| 150 | }, | |
| 151 | { | |
| 152 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 153 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 154 | "source": 0 | |
| 155 | }, | |
| 156 | { | |
| 157 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 158 | "value": "62 million light-years", | |
| 159 | "source": 0 | |
| 160 | }, | |
| 161 | { | |
| 162 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 163 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 164 | "source": 0 | |
| 165 | }, | |
| 166 | { | |
| 167 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 168 | "value": "5.5′ × 4.5′", | |
| 169 | "source": 1 | |
| 170 | }, | |
| 171 | { | |
| 172 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 173 | "value": "NGC 4579", | |
| 174 | "source": 1 | |
| 175 | }, | |
| 176 | { | |
| 177 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 178 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1779", | |
| 179 | "source": 0 | |
| 180 | } | |
| 181 | ], | |
| 182 | "essay": "M58 is a barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 62 million light-years away. Messier discovered it in 1779, and it was one of the first galaxies recognised as having a spiral shape. It is one of four barred spirals in his catalogue, along with M91, M95 and M109.\n\nAlthough the galaxy appears bright overall, its core is relatively dim for a spiral. Near the centre is a very small ring, an ultra-compact nuclear ring, where stars are forming rapidly, and the nucleus holds a supermassive black hole of around 70 million solar masses. The nucleus is classified as a LINER, a low-ionisation nuclear emission-line region, which Hubble has studied to compare with more active galactic nuclei. The long spiral arms, by contrast, have little hydrogen and little star formation, possibly a result of gravitational encounters with neighbouring Virgo galaxies. Two supernovae have been seen in M58, in 1988 and 1989.\n\nM58 is best placed in May. At magnitude 9.8 it can be seen in large binoculars on a clear night, but a small telescope shows only the core as an oval glow. An 8-inch or larger telescope brings out more of the galaxy.", | |
| 183 | "image": { | |
| 184 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/spiral/Hubble_M58_1_flat_FINAL.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 185 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, D. Thilker (The Johns Hopkins University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 186 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 187 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-58/", | |
| 188 | "caption": "Hubble view of M58 in infrared, visible and ultraviolet light, showing its star-forming regions and dust." | |
| 189 | }, | |
| 190 | "drawing": { | |
| 191 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 192 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 193 | "sizeArcmin": 5.5 | |
| 194 | }, | |
| 195 | "link": { | |
| 196 | "messier": 58 | |
| 197 | }, | |
| 198 | "sources": [ | |
| 199 | { | |
| 200 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 58", | |
| 201 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-58/" | |
| 202 | }, | |
| 203 | { | |
| 204 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 58", | |
| 205 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m058.html" | |
| 206 | } | |
| 207 | ] | |
| 208 | }, | |
| 209 | { | |
| 210 | "id": "m59", | |
| 211 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 212 | "title": "M59", | |
| 213 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 214 | "facts": [ | |
| 215 | { | |
| 216 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 217 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 218 | "source": 0 | |
| 219 | }, | |
| 220 | { | |
| 221 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 222 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 223 | "source": 0 | |
| 224 | }, | |
| 225 | { | |
| 226 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 227 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 228 | "source": 0 | |
| 229 | }, | |
| 230 | { | |
| 231 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 232 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 233 | "source": 0 | |
| 234 | }, | |
| 235 | { | |
| 236 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 237 | "value": "5′ × 3.5′", | |
| 238 | "source": 1 | |
| 239 | }, | |
| 240 | { | |
| 241 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 242 | "value": "NGC 4621", | |
| 243 | "source": 1 | |
| 244 | }, | |
| 245 | { | |
| 246 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 247 | "value": "Johann Gottfried Koehler, 1779", | |
| 248 | "source": 0 | |
| 249 | } | |
| 250 | ], | |
| 251 | "essay": "M59 is one of the larger elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, about 60 million light-years away. It is still well short of the cluster's giant ellipticals in both mass and luminosity. Johann Gottfried Koehler discovered M59 and its neighbour M60 in spring 1779 while following that year's comet; Messier, watching the same comet, added M58, M59 and M60 to his catalogue.\n\nA supermassive black hole of around 270 million solar masses sits at the centre of M59. The galaxy also has an inner disc of stars and around 2,200 globular clusters, a high number for a galaxy of its size. Its innermost 200 light-years rotate in the opposite direction to the rest of the galaxy. This is the smallest such counter-rotating region known in any galaxy.\n\nM59 lies close to M58 and M60 in the sky and is best placed in May. In a small telescope it is an oval glow with a brighter centre. Larger telescopes add little detail, as is typical of elliptical galaxies.", | |
| 252 | "image": { | |
| 253 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1921a.jpg", | |
| 254 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote", | |
| 255 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 256 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1921a/", | |
| 257 | "caption": "Hubble view of M59, an elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, with a bright, smooth centre." | |
| 258 | }, | |
| 259 | "drawing": { | |
| 260 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 261 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 262 | "sizeArcmin": 5.0 | |
| 263 | }, | |
| 264 | "link": { | |
| 265 | "messier": 59 | |
| 266 | }, | |
| 267 | "sources": [ | |
| 268 | { | |
| 269 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 59", | |
| 270 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-59/" | |
| 271 | }, | |
| 272 | { | |
| 273 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 59", | |
| 274 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m059.html" | |
| 275 | } | |
| 276 | ] | |
| 277 | }, | |
| 278 | { | |
| 279 | "id": "m60", | |
| 280 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 281 | "title": "M60", | |
| 282 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 283 | "facts": [ | |
| 284 | { | |
| 285 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 286 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 287 | "source": 0 | |
| 288 | }, | |
| 289 | { | |
| 290 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 291 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 292 | "source": 0 | |
| 293 | }, | |
| 294 | { | |
| 295 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 296 | "value": "54 million light-years", | |
| 297 | "source": 0 | |
| 298 | }, | |
| 299 | { | |
| 300 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 301 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 302 | "source": 0 | |
| 303 | }, | |
| 304 | { | |
| 305 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 306 | "value": "7′ × 6′", | |
| 307 | "source": 1 | |
| 308 | }, | |
| 309 | { | |
| 310 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 311 | "value": "NGC 4649", | |
| 312 | "source": 1 | |
| 313 | }, | |
| 314 | { | |
| 315 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 316 | "value": "Johann Gottfried Koehler, 1779", | |
| 317 | "source": 0 | |
| 318 | } | |
| 319 | ], | |
| 320 | "essay": "M60 is a giant elliptical galaxy and the third-brightest member of the Virgo Cluster, about 54 million light-years away. Johann Gottfried Koehler discovered it in 1779. It is about 120,000 light-years across and has a mass of about one trillion Suns. Its central black hole, at 4.5 billion solar masses, is one of the most massive yet measured.\n\nNext to M60 on the sky is the spiral galaxy NGC 4647, about two-thirds its size and much less massive; together the two form the pair Arp 116. They appear to overlap, but there is no burst of new star formation that would mark a strong interaction. Detailed Hubble images suggest some tidal interaction may be starting. Hubble also found M60-UCD1, a dense dwarf galaxy about 300 light-years across orbiting M60. It holds some 140 million stars and a black hole that makes up about 15 percent of its mass, which suggests it is the stripped core of a once-larger galaxy.\n\nM60 is best seen in May. A small telescope shows its bright central region as a round glow, and a larger telescope also shows NGC 4647 alongside it.", | |
| 321 | "image": { | |
| 322 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m60_and_ngc_4647.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 323 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration", | |
| 324 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 325 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-60/", | |
| 326 | "caption": "Hubble view of the elliptical galaxy M60 (centre) and the smaller spiral galaxy NGC 4647 (upper right)." | |
| 327 | }, | |
| 328 | "drawing": { | |
| 329 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 330 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 331 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 332 | }, | |
| 333 | "link": { | |
| 334 | "messier": 60 | |
| 335 | }, | |
| 336 | "sources": [ | |
| 337 | { | |
| 338 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 60", | |
| 339 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-60/" | |
| 340 | }, | |
| 341 | { | |
| 342 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 60", | |
| 343 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m060.html" | |
| 344 | } | |
| 345 | ] | |
| 346 | }, | |
| 347 | { | |
| 348 | "id": "m61", | |
| 349 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 350 | "title": "M61", | |
| 351 | "subtitle": "Barred spiral galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 352 | "facts": [ | |
| 353 | { | |
| 354 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 355 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 356 | "source": 0 | |
| 357 | }, | |
| 358 | { | |
| 359 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 360 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 361 | "source": 0 | |
| 362 | }, | |
| 363 | { | |
| 364 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 365 | "value": "55 million light-years", | |
| 366 | "source": 0 | |
| 367 | }, | |
| 368 | { | |
| 369 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 370 | "value": "10.2", | |
| 371 | "source": 0 | |
| 372 | }, | |
| 373 | { | |
| 374 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 375 | "value": "6′ × 5.5′", | |
| 376 | "source": 1 | |
| 377 | }, | |
| 378 | { | |
| 379 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 380 | "value": "NGC 4303", | |
| 381 | "source": 1 | |
| 382 | }, | |
| 383 | { | |
| 384 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 385 | "value": "Barnaba Oriani, 1779", | |
| 386 | "source": 0 | |
| 387 | } | |
| 388 | ], | |
| 389 | "essay": "M61 is a barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 55 million light-years away. Barnaba Oriani discovered it in May 1779 while following that year's comet. Messier saw it the same night but took it for the comet, and only recognised it as a fixed object six days later.\n\nM61 is a starburst galaxy: it is forming stars at a high rate and using up its supply of gas quickly by astronomical standards. Red patches along its arms mark regions of new star formation. An X-ray source in the nucleus points to a supermassive black hole at the centre. M61 has also hosted seven observed supernovae, more than any other galaxy in the Messier catalogue.\n\nThe galaxy is seen almost face-on, and Hubble images trace its arms inward to a smaller, bright spiral at the centre. At magnitude 10.2, it needs a moderately sized telescope. Look for it in May, in the southern part of the Virgo galaxy field. Small instruments show a round glow with a brighter core, and larger apertures begin to hint at the arms.", | |
| 390 | "image": { | |
| 391 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2114a.jpg", | |
| 392 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team", | |
| 393 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 394 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2114a/", | |
| 395 | "caption": "Hubble view of the face-on spiral M61, with dark dust lanes and red patches of star formation along its arms." | |
| 396 | }, | |
| 397 | "drawing": { | |
| 398 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 399 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 400 | "sizeArcmin": 6.0 | |
| 401 | }, | |
| 402 | "link": { | |
| 403 | "messier": 61 | |
| 404 | }, | |
| 405 | "sources": [ | |
| 406 | { | |
| 407 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 61", | |
| 408 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-61/" | |
| 409 | }, | |
| 410 | { | |
| 411 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 61", | |
| 412 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m061.html" | |
| 413 | } | |
| 414 | ] | |
| 415 | }, | |
| 416 | { | |
| 417 | "id": "m62", | |
| 418 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 419 | "title": "M62", | |
| 420 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 421 | "facts": [ | |
| 422 | { | |
| 423 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 424 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 425 | "source": 0 | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | { | |
| 428 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 429 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 430 | "source": 0 | |
| 431 | }, | |
| 432 | { | |
| 433 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 434 | "value": "22,200 light-years", | |
| 435 | "source": 0 | |
| 436 | }, | |
| 437 | { | |
| 438 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 439 | "value": "6.6", | |
| 440 | "source": 0 | |
| 441 | }, | |
| 442 | { | |
| 443 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 444 | "value": "15′", | |
| 445 | "source": 1 | |
| 446 | }, | |
| 447 | { | |
| 448 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 449 | "value": "NGC 6266", | |
| 450 | "source": 1 | |
| 451 | }, | |
| 452 | { | |
| 453 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 454 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1771", | |
| 455 | "source": 0 | |
| 456 | } | |
| 457 | ], | |
| 458 | "essay": "M62 is a globular cluster in Ophiuchus, about 22,200 light-years away and almost 12 billion years old. Charles Messier discovered it in 1771. It has a very dense core holding around 150,000 stars.\n\nIt is one of the most irregularly shaped globular clusters in the Milky Way. M62 is one of the closest globulars to the galactic centre, and tidal forces from the galaxy appear to have pulled many of its stars toward the southeast. In 2013 astronomers found a stellar-mass black hole in M62, one of the first known in a globular cluster. Observations with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show many X-ray binaries in the cluster, formed when stars passed close to one another in its crowded centre.\n\nAt magnitude 6.6, M62 is an easy binocular object. It is easy to find from the bright star Antares, in the summer Milky Way, and is best placed in July. Binoculars show a hazy patch. A small telescope shows its irregular shape, and an 8-inch or larger telescope resolves many of its stars.", | |
| 459 | "image": { | |
| 460 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/stars/globular-clusters/Hubble_M62_2019_potw1915a.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 461 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and S. Anderson (University of Washington) and J. Chaname (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile)", | |
| 462 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 463 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-62/", | |
| 464 | "caption": "Hubble view of the dense core of M62, taken in ultraviolet and visible light." | |
| 465 | }, | |
| 466 | "drawing": { | |
| 467 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 468 | "type": "globular", | |
| 469 | "sizeArcmin": 15.0 | |
| 470 | }, | |
| 471 | "link": { | |
| 472 | "messier": 62 | |
| 473 | }, | |
| 474 | "sources": [ | |
| 475 | { | |
| 476 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 62", | |
| 477 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-62/" | |
| 478 | }, | |
| 479 | { | |
| 480 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 62", | |
| 481 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m062.html" | |
| 482 | } | |
| 483 | ] | |
| 484 | }, | |
| 485 | { | |
| 486 | "id": "m63", | |
| 487 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 488 | "title": "M63", | |
| 489 | "subtitle": "Sunflower Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici", | |
| 490 | "facts": [ | |
| 491 | { | |
| 492 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 493 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 494 | "source": 0 | |
| 495 | }, | |
| 496 | { | |
| 497 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 498 | "value": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 499 | "source": 0 | |
| 500 | }, | |
| 501 | { | |
| 502 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 503 | "value": "27 million light-years", | |
| 504 | "source": 0 | |
| 505 | }, | |
| 506 | { | |
| 507 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 508 | "value": "9.3", | |
| 509 | "source": 0 | |
| 510 | }, | |
| 511 | { | |
| 512 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 513 | "value": "10′ × 6′", | |
| 514 | "source": 1 | |
| 515 | }, | |
| 516 | { | |
| 517 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 518 | "value": "NGC 5055", | |
| 519 | "source": 1 | |
| 520 | }, | |
| 521 | { | |
| 522 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 523 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1779", | |
| 524 | "source": 0 | |
| 525 | } | |
| 526 | ], | |
| 527 | "essay": "M63, the Sunflower Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 27 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. It belongs to the M51 Group, named after its brightest member, the Whirlpool Galaxy. Pierre Méchain found it in 1779. It was the first of 24 objects he contributed to Messier's catalogue.\n\nM63 is a flocculent spiral. Instead of two long, well-defined arms, it shows many short, broken arm segments wound around a yellow core, which gives the galaxy its name. The arms are bright because of recently formed blue-white stars. Structurally the galaxy has only two arms, which show up more clearly in infrared images. Astronomers study flocculent spirals like M63 to understand what drives star formation when there is no strong spiral pattern to organise it.\n\nAt magnitude 9.3, M63 appears in small telescopes as a faint oval patch of light about 10′ by 6′, with a brighter centre. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 528 | "image": { | |
| 529 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1536a.jpg", | |
| 530 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 531 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 532 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1536a/", | |
| 533 | "caption": "Hubble view of the Sunflower Galaxy, with many short arm segments around a yellow core." | |
| 534 | }, | |
| 535 | "drawing": { | |
| 536 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 537 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 538 | "sizeArcmin": 10.0 | |
| 539 | }, | |
| 540 | "link": { | |
| 541 | "messier": 63 | |
| 542 | }, | |
| 543 | "sources": [ | |
| 544 | { | |
| 545 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 63", | |
| 546 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-63/" | |
| 547 | }, | |
| 548 | { | |
| 549 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 63", | |
| 550 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m063.html" | |
| 551 | } | |
| 552 | ] | |
| 553 | }, | |
| 554 | { | |
| 555 | "id": "m64", | |
| 556 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 557 | "title": "M64", | |
| 558 | "subtitle": "Black Eye Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 559 | "facts": [ | |
| 560 | { | |
| 561 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 562 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 563 | "source": 0 | |
| 564 | }, | |
| 565 | { | |
| 566 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 567 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 568 | "source": 0 | |
| 569 | }, | |
| 570 | { | |
| 571 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 572 | "value": "17 million light-years", | |
| 573 | "source": 0 | |
| 574 | }, | |
| 575 | { | |
| 576 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 577 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 578 | "source": 0 | |
| 579 | }, | |
| 580 | { | |
| 581 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 582 | "value": "9.3′ × 5.4′", | |
| 583 | "source": 1 | |
| 584 | }, | |
| 585 | { | |
| 586 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 587 | "value": "NGC 4826", | |
| 588 | "source": 1 | |
| 589 | }, | |
| 590 | { | |
| 591 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 592 | "value": "Edward Pigott, 1779", | |
| 593 | "source": 1 | |
| 594 | } | |
| 595 | ], | |
| 596 | "essay": "M64, the Black Eye Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 17 million light-years away in Coma Berenices. Its name comes from a broad band of dark dust that partly hides its bright core. The English astronomer Edward Pigott found it in March 1779, just 12 days before Johann Elert Bode. Messier found it independently about a year later.\n\nThe galaxy's gas moves in an unusual way. Gas in the outer regions rotates in the opposite direction to the gas and stars in the inner regions. This is probably the result of a merger with a small satellite galaxy more than a billion years ago. Where the two counter-rotating streams of gas meet, the gas is compressed and new stars form. Hubble images of the core show young blue stars and pink clouds of hydrogen lit by their ultraviolet light.\n\nM64 is best placed in May. Its magnitude of 9.8 calls for a moderately sized telescope and a dark site. A small telescope shows an oval glow with a bright centre. The dark dust lane on one side of the nucleus becomes visible with larger apertures and steady skies.", | |
| 597 | "image": { | |
| 598 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/spiral/Hubble_M64_UVIS_V4_flat_HST_FINAL2.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 599 | "credit": "NASA, CSA, ESA, F. Belfiore (European Southern Observatory – Germany), J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute), A. Leroy (The Ohio State University), and D. Thilker (The Johns Hopkins University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 600 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 601 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-64/", | |
| 602 | "caption": "Hubble view of M64 in ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light, showing the dark dust band in front of its core." | |
| 603 | }, | |
| 604 | "drawing": { | |
| 605 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 606 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 607 | "sizeArcmin": 9.3 | |
| 608 | }, | |
| 609 | "link": { | |
| 610 | "messier": 64 | |
| 611 | }, | |
| 612 | "sources": [ | |
| 613 | { | |
| 614 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 64", | |
| 615 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-64/" | |
| 616 | }, | |
| 617 | { | |
| 618 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 64", | |
| 619 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m064.html" | |
| 620 | } | |
| 621 | ] | |
| 622 | }, | |
| 623 | { | |
| 624 | "id": "m65", | |
| 625 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 626 | "title": "M65", | |
| 627 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Leo", | |
| 628 | "facts": [ | |
| 629 | { | |
| 630 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 631 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 632 | "source": 0 | |
| 633 | }, | |
| 634 | { | |
| 635 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 636 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 637 | "source": 0 | |
| 638 | }, | |
| 639 | { | |
| 640 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 641 | "value": "35 million light-years", | |
| 642 | "source": 0 | |
| 643 | }, | |
| 644 | { | |
| 645 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 646 | "value": "10.3", | |
| 647 | "source": 0 | |
| 648 | }, | |
| 649 | { | |
| 650 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 651 | "value": "8′ × 1.5′", | |
| 652 | "source": 1 | |
| 653 | }, | |
| 654 | { | |
| 655 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 656 | "value": "NGC 3623", | |
| 657 | "source": 1 | |
| 658 | }, | |
| 659 | { | |
| 660 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 661 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 662 | "source": 0 | |
| 663 | } | |
| 664 | ], | |
| 665 | "essay": "M65 is a spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in Leo. With its neighbours M66 and NGC 3628 it forms the Leo Triplet, a small group of interacting galaxies. Messier discovered M65 and M66 on the same night in 1780, having missed both in 1773 when a comet passed between them. NGC 3628, the third member, was found by William Herschel in 1784 and is not in the Messier catalogue.\n\nWe see M65 at a steep angle, so its disc appears as a long, narrow oval about 8′ by 1.5′, with dust lanes visible in Hubble images. Only one supernova has been recorded in it so far, SN 2013am.\n\nM65 shines at magnitude 10.3 and is best seen in April. A small telescope with a low-power eyepiece shows M65 and M66 in the same field as two elongated glows, and on a dark night NGC 3628 can be added as a fainter, thin streak nearby.", | |
| 666 | "image": { | |
| 667 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1352a.jpg", | |
| 668 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 669 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 670 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1352a/", | |
| 671 | "caption": "Hubble view of part of M65, a spiral galaxy in Leo seen at a steep angle." | |
| 672 | }, | |
| 673 | "drawing": { | |
| 674 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 675 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 676 | "sizeArcmin": 8.0 | |
| 677 | }, | |
| 678 | "link": { | |
| 679 | "messier": 65 | |
| 680 | }, | |
| 681 | "sources": [ | |
| 682 | { | |
| 683 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 65", | |
| 684 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-65/" | |
| 685 | }, | |
| 686 | { | |
| 687 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 65", | |
| 688 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m065.html" | |
| 689 | } | |
| 690 | ] | |
| 691 | }, | |
| 692 | { | |
| 693 | "id": "m66", | |
| 694 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 695 | "title": "M66", | |
| 696 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Leo", | |
| 697 | "facts": [ | |
| 698 | { | |
| 699 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 700 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 701 | "source": 0 | |
| 702 | }, | |
| 703 | { | |
| 704 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 705 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 706 | "source": 0 | |
| 707 | }, | |
| 708 | { | |
| 709 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 710 | "value": "35 million light-years", | |
| 711 | "source": 0 | |
| 712 | }, | |
| 713 | { | |
| 714 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 715 | "value": "8.9", | |
| 716 | "source": 0 | |
| 717 | }, | |
| 718 | { | |
| 719 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 720 | "value": "8′ × 2.5′", | |
| 721 | "source": 1 | |
| 722 | }, | |
| 723 | { | |
| 724 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 725 | "value": "NGC 3627", | |
| 726 | "source": 1 | |
| 727 | }, | |
| 728 | { | |
| 729 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 730 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 731 | "source": 0 | |
| 732 | } | |
| 733 | ], | |
| 734 | "essay": "M66 is a spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in Leo, and a member of the Leo Triplet with M65 and NGC 3628. Messier discovered it, together with M65, in 1780. He noted that he had missed both in 1773, when a comet passed between them, probably because of the comet's light. Five supernovae have been recorded in M66.\n\nThe three galaxies are close enough to affect each other's structure. In M66 this shows as asymmetric spiral arms and a core that appears off-centre, both probably caused by the gravitational pull of the other two. M66 is actively forming stars. Hubble included it in the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), an ultraviolet survey of nearby star-forming galaxies.\n\nAt magnitude 8.9, M66 is brighter than M65 and can be spotted with a small telescope. It is best seen in April, and a low-power eyepiece shows it and M65 in one field. M66 appears as a broader, brighter oval than its neighbour.", | |
| 735 | "image": { | |
| 736 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/heic1006a.jpg", | |
| 737 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin and Robert Gendler", | |
| 738 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 739 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/heic1006a/", | |
| 740 | "caption": "Hubble view of a large part of M66, combining visible and infrared exposures in natural colours." | |
| 741 | }, | |
| 742 | "drawing": { | |
| 743 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 744 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 745 | "sizeArcmin": 8.0 | |
| 746 | }, | |
| 747 | "link": { | |
| 748 | "messier": 66 | |
| 749 | }, | |
| 750 | "sources": [ | |
| 751 | { | |
| 752 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 66", | |
| 753 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-66/" | |
| 754 | }, | |
| 755 | { | |
| 756 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 66", | |
| 757 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m066.html" | |
| 758 | } | |
| 759 | ] | |
| 760 | }, | |
| 761 | { | |
| 762 | "id": "m67", | |
| 763 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 764 | "title": "M67", | |
| 765 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Cancer", | |
| 766 | "facts": [ | |
| 767 | { | |
| 768 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 769 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 770 | "source": 0 | |
| 771 | }, | |
| 772 | { | |
| 773 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 774 | "value": "Cancer", | |
| 775 | "source": 0 | |
| 776 | }, | |
| 777 | { | |
| 778 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 779 | "value": "about 2,800 light-years", | |
| 780 | "source": 0 | |
| 781 | }, | |
| 782 | { | |
| 783 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 784 | "value": "6.1", | |
| 785 | "source": 0 | |
| 786 | }, | |
| 787 | { | |
| 788 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 789 | "value": "30′", | |
| 790 | "source": 1 | |
| 791 | }, | |
| 792 | { | |
| 793 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 794 | "value": "NGC 2682", | |
| 795 | "source": 1 | |
| 796 | }, | |
| 797 | { | |
| 798 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 799 | "value": "Johann Gottfried Koehler, 1779", | |
| 800 | "source": 0 | |
| 801 | } | |
| 802 | ], | |
| 803 | "essay": "M67 is an open cluster in Cancer, about 2,800 light-years away. It contains more than 500 loosely bound stars. Most open clusters are young, but M67 is about 4 billion years old, close to the age of the Sun. It is the oldest open cluster in the Messier catalogue. About 100 of its stars resemble the Sun in age and composition, and it also contains many red giants and white dwarfs and around 30 blue stragglers, stars hotter and bluer than the rest of the population, probably because they pulled material from a binary companion.\n\nThe cluster is also unusual in where it sits: nearly 1,500 light-years above the plane of the Milky Way, where few open clusters are found. Johann Gottfried Koehler first recorded it in 1779, and Messier identified it as a cluster of stars a year later.\n\nTo find M67, look just west of the easternmost star of Cancer's upside-down Y. Alternatively, go halfway from Regulus to Procyon and look slightly north. Binoculars show a faint patch about the apparent size of the full Moon, and telescopes resolve from a few up to about 100 stars. It is best seen in March.", | |
| 804 | "image": { | |
| 805 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/m67-acs-1mstr-flat-final.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 806 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and J. Krist (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 807 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 808 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-67/", | |
| 809 | "caption": "Hubble's close-up of a small part of M67, showing a handful of bright stars with diffraction spikes." | |
| 810 | }, | |
| 811 | "drawing": { | |
| 812 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 813 | "type": "open", | |
| 814 | "sizeArcmin": 30.0 | |
| 815 | }, | |
| 816 | "link": { | |
| 817 | "messier": 67 | |
| 818 | }, | |
| 819 | "sources": [ | |
| 820 | { | |
| 821 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 67", | |
| 822 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-67/" | |
| 823 | }, | |
| 824 | { | |
| 825 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 67", | |
| 826 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m067.html" | |
| 827 | } | |
| 828 | ] | |
| 829 | }, | |
| 830 | { | |
| 831 | "id": "m68", | |
| 832 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 833 | "title": "M68", | |
| 834 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Hydra", | |
| 835 | "facts": [ | |
| 836 | { | |
| 837 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 838 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 839 | "source": 0 | |
| 840 | }, | |
| 841 | { | |
| 842 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 843 | "value": "Hydra", | |
| 844 | "source": 0 | |
| 845 | }, | |
| 846 | { | |
| 847 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 848 | "value": "33,000 light-years", | |
| 849 | "source": 0 | |
| 850 | }, | |
| 851 | { | |
| 852 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 853 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 854 | "source": 0 | |
| 855 | }, | |
| 856 | { | |
| 857 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 858 | "value": "11′", | |
| 859 | "source": 1 | |
| 860 | }, | |
| 861 | { | |
| 862 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 863 | "value": "NGC 4590", | |
| 864 | "source": 1 | |
| 865 | }, | |
| 866 | { | |
| 867 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 868 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 869 | "source": 0 | |
| 870 | } | |
| 871 | ], | |
| 872 | "essay": "M68 is a globular cluster in Hydra, about 33,000 light-years away. Charles Messier discovered it in 1780. Like the other 150 or so globular clusters around the Milky Way, it is a dense ball of very old stars, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or more, held together by their mutual gravity for many billions of years.\n\nM68's stars occupy a region little more than a hundred light-years across, tiny compared with the 100,000-light-year disc of the Milky Way. The cluster also lies in an unusual direction, in the half of the sky away from the galactic centre, where few globulars are found.\n\nAt magnitude 8.0, M68 can be found with binoculars as a small round glow. To find it, follow the line from Delta to Beta Corvi onward to a 5th-magnitude star; M68 lies about 45′ northeast of that star. A small telescope shows a hazy disc with a gradually brighter middle, and medium apertures begin to resolve its outer stars. It is best seen in April, low in the south from mid-northern latitudes.", | |
| 873 | "image": { | |
| 874 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1231a.jpg", | |
| 875 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 876 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 877 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1231a/", | |
| 878 | "caption": "Hubble view of the core of M68 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 879 | }, | |
| 880 | "drawing": { | |
| 881 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 882 | "type": "globular", | |
| 883 | "sizeArcmin": 11.0 | |
| 884 | }, | |
| 885 | "link": { | |
| 886 | "messier": 68 | |
| 887 | }, | |
| 888 | "sources": [ | |
| 889 | { | |
| 890 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 68", | |
| 891 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-68/" | |
| 892 | }, | |
| 893 | { | |
| 894 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 68", | |
| 895 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m068.html" | |
| 896 | } | |
| 897 | ] | |
| 898 | }, | |
| 899 | { | |
| 900 | "id": "m69", | |
| 901 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 902 | "title": "M69", | |
| 903 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 904 | "facts": [ | |
| 905 | { | |
| 906 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 907 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 908 | "source": 0 | |
| 909 | }, | |
| 910 | { | |
| 911 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 912 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 913 | "source": 0 | |
| 914 | }, | |
| 915 | { | |
| 916 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 917 | "value": "29,700 light-years", | |
| 918 | "source": 0 | |
| 919 | }, | |
| 920 | { | |
| 921 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 922 | "value": "8.3", | |
| 923 | "source": 0 | |
| 924 | }, | |
| 925 | { | |
| 926 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 927 | "value": "9.8′", | |
| 928 | "source": 1 | |
| 929 | }, | |
| 930 | { | |
| 931 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 932 | "value": "NGC 6637", | |
| 933 | "source": 1 | |
| 934 | }, | |
| 935 | { | |
| 936 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 937 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 938 | "source": 0 | |
| 939 | } | |
| 940 | ], | |
| 941 | "essay": "M69 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, about 29,700 light-years away. Charles Messier discovered it in 1780.\n\nM69 is one of the most metal-rich globular clusters known. To astronomers, \"metals\" are all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. These are produced inside stars and returned to space when the stars die, so each new generation of stars starts with more of them. Old globular clusters normally have very low metal content, but the stars in M69 have more than ten times as much iron as stars in other globulars of similar age. Comparing clusters like this one helps astronomers reconstruct how chemical enrichment and star formation progressed in the early galaxy.\n\nAt magnitude 8.3, M69 is visible in binoculars as a small hazy spot. It is similar in size and brightness to its neighbour M70, which Messier found on the same night. Small telescopes show a round glow with a brighter centre. The cluster is best seen in August, low in the south from mid-northern latitudes.", | |
| 942 | "image": { | |
| 943 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1240a.jpg", | |
| 944 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 945 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 946 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1240a/", | |
| 947 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M69, combined from visible and infrared exposures." | |
| 948 | }, | |
| 949 | "drawing": { | |
| 950 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 951 | "type": "globular", | |
| 952 | "sizeArcmin": 9.8 | |
| 953 | }, | |
| 954 | "link": { | |
| 955 | "messier": 69 | |
| 956 | }, | |
| 957 | "sources": [ | |
| 958 | { | |
| 959 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 69", | |
| 960 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-69/" | |
| 961 | }, | |
| 962 | { | |
| 963 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 69", | |
| 964 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m069.html" | |
| 965 | } | |
| 966 | ] | |
| 967 | }, | |
| 968 | { | |
| 969 | "id": "m70", | |
| 970 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 971 | "title": "M70", | |
| 972 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 973 | "facts": [ | |
| 974 | { | |
| 975 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 976 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 977 | "source": 0 | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | { | |
| 980 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 981 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 982 | "source": 0 | |
| 983 | }, | |
| 984 | { | |
| 985 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 986 | "value": "30,000 light-years", | |
| 987 | "source": 0 | |
| 988 | }, | |
| 989 | { | |
| 990 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 991 | "value": "9.1", | |
| 992 | "source": 0 | |
| 993 | }, | |
| 994 | { | |
| 995 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 996 | "value": "8′", | |
| 997 | "source": 1 | |
| 998 | }, | |
| 999 | { | |
| 1000 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1001 | "value": "NGC 6681", | |
| 1002 | "source": 1 | |
| 1003 | }, | |
| 1004 | { | |
| 1005 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1006 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 1007 | "source": 0 | |
| 1008 | } | |
| 1009 | ], | |
| 1010 | "essay": "M70 is a globular cluster in Sagittarius, about 30,000 light-years away. Charles Messier discovered it in 1780.\n\nM70 lies slightly beyond the galactic centre from our point of view, about 7,500 light-years from it, and is about 12.7 billion years old. It has undergone core collapse, which packs even more stars into its centre than in a typical globular cluster. Stars in a globular cluster all orbit a shared centre of gravity. Over time, encounters between them sort the stars by mass: lighter stars gain speed and drift outward, while heavier stars sink toward the middle. The result is a very dense core. About a fifth of the roughly 150 globular clusters in the Milky Way have collapsed cores like this.\n\nAt magnitude 9.1, M70 is a little fainter than its neighbour M69 and is best seen in a small telescope, where it appears as a small round glow with a concentrated centre. August is the best month to look for it from mid-northern latitudes, where it stays low in the south.", | |
| 1011 | "image": { | |
| 1012 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1215a.jpg", | |
| 1013 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 1014 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1015 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1215a/", | |
| 1016 | "caption": "Hubble view of the compact centre of M70 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 1017 | }, | |
| 1018 | "drawing": { | |
| 1019 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1020 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1021 | "sizeArcmin": 8.0 | |
| 1022 | }, | |
| 1023 | "link": { | |
| 1024 | "messier": 70 | |
| 1025 | }, | |
| 1026 | "sources": [ | |
| 1027 | { | |
| 1028 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 70", | |
| 1029 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-70/" | |
| 1030 | }, | |
| 1031 | { | |
| 1032 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 70", | |
| 1033 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m070.html" | |
| 1034 | } | |
| 1035 | ] | |
| 1036 | }, | |
| 1037 | { | |
| 1038 | "id": "m71", | |
| 1039 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1040 | "title": "M71", | |
| 1041 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagitta", | |
| 1042 | "facts": [ | |
| 1043 | { | |
| 1044 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1045 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1046 | "source": 0 | |
| 1047 | }, | |
| 1048 | { | |
| 1049 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1050 | "value": "Sagitta", | |
| 1051 | "source": 0 | |
| 1052 | }, | |
| 1053 | { | |
| 1054 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1055 | "value": "13,000 light-years", | |
| 1056 | "source": 0 | |
| 1057 | }, | |
| 1058 | { | |
| 1059 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1060 | "value": "6.1", | |
| 1061 | "source": 0 | |
| 1062 | }, | |
| 1063 | { | |
| 1064 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1065 | "value": "7.2′", | |
| 1066 | "source": 1 | |
| 1067 | }, | |
| 1068 | { | |
| 1069 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1070 | "value": "NGC 6838", | |
| 1071 | "source": 1 | |
| 1072 | }, | |
| 1073 | { | |
| 1074 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1075 | "value": "Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, 1745–46", | |
| 1076 | "source": 1 | |
| 1077 | } | |
| 1078 | ], | |
| 1079 | "essay": "M71 is a globular cluster in the small constellation Sagitta, about 13,000 light-years away and about 27 light-years across. The Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chéseaux recorded it in 1745–46, and Messier added it to his catalogue in 1780.\n\nFor many years M71 was thought to be a dense open cluster, because its stars are much less concentrated toward the centre than in a typical globular. In the 1970s astronomers concluded that it is a sparse globular cluster. Its stars are around 9 to 10 billion years old and contain little besides hydrogen and helium, as is usual for globulars.\n\nM71 lies between Gamma and Delta Sagittae, in the middle of the arrow, in a rich part of the summer Milky Way. NASA gives its magnitude as 6.1. In binoculars it appears as a faint patch of light. A small telescope begins to resolve it into stars, and because it lacks a bright core it can look more like a rich open cluster than a globular. It is best seen in September.", | |
| 1080 | "image": { | |
| 1081 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1018a.jpg", | |
| 1082 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble and NASA", | |
| 1083 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1084 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1018a/", | |
| 1085 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M71, a loosely packed globular cluster in Sagitta." | |
| 1086 | }, | |
| 1087 | "drawing": { | |
| 1088 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1089 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1090 | "sizeArcmin": 7.2 | |
| 1091 | }, | |
| 1092 | "link": { | |
| 1093 | "messier": 71 | |
| 1094 | }, | |
| 1095 | "sources": [ | |
| 1096 | { | |
| 1097 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 71", | |
| 1098 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-71/" | |
| 1099 | }, | |
| 1100 | { | |
| 1101 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 71", | |
| 1102 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m071.html" | |
| 1103 | } | |
| 1104 | ] | |
| 1105 | }, | |
| 1106 | { | |
| 1107 | "id": "m72", | |
| 1108 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1109 | "title": "M72", | |
| 1110 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Aquarius", | |
| 1111 | "facts": [ | |
| 1112 | { | |
| 1113 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1114 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1115 | "source": 0 | |
| 1116 | }, | |
| 1117 | { | |
| 1118 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1119 | "value": "Aquarius", | |
| 1120 | "source": 0 | |
| 1121 | }, | |
| 1122 | { | |
| 1123 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1124 | "value": "50,000 light-years", | |
| 1125 | "source": 0 | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | { | |
| 1128 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1129 | "value": "9.4", | |
| 1130 | "source": 0 | |
| 1131 | }, | |
| 1132 | { | |
| 1133 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1134 | "value": "6.6′", | |
| 1135 | "source": 1 | |
| 1136 | }, | |
| 1137 | { | |
| 1138 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1139 | "value": "NGC 6981", | |
| 1140 | "source": 1 | |
| 1141 | }, | |
| 1142 | { | |
| 1143 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1144 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1145 | "source": 0 | |
| 1146 | } | |
| 1147 | ], | |
| 1148 | "essay": "M72 is a globular cluster in Aquarius. At about 50,000 light-years it is one of the most distant clusters in Messier's catalogue. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780, the first of five star clusters he found while assisting Messier.\n\nLike other globular clusters, M72 is an ancient, roughly spherical collection of stars packed closely toward its centre, all orbiting a shared centre of gravity. About 150 globulars are known in the Milky Way. Hubble images of M72 taken at several wavelengths separate its stars by type. Stars that were originally more massive and have used up much of their hydrogen appear blue and hot, while lower-mass stars that have swollen into red giants appear red. Comparing these groups helps astronomers work out how globular clusters formed. Hubble's wider views of M72 also show many background galaxies far beyond it.\n\nAt magnitude 9.4, M72 is a faint target. In a small telescope it is a small, round patch of light with no resolved stars. It lies in western Aquarius, about 1.5° west of the four-star group M73, and is best seen in September.", | |
| 1149 | "image": { | |
| 1150 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2516a.jpg", | |
| 1151 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Sarajedini, G. Piotto, M. Libralato", | |
| 1152 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1153 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2516a/", | |
| 1154 | "caption": "Hubble view of M72 in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light; blue stars are hotter, red ones are giants." | |
| 1155 | }, | |
| 1156 | "drawing": { | |
| 1157 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1158 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1159 | "sizeArcmin": 6.6 | |
| 1160 | }, | |
| 1161 | "link": { | |
| 1162 | "messier": 72 | |
| 1163 | }, | |
| 1164 | "sources": [ | |
| 1165 | { | |
| 1166 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 72", | |
| 1167 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-72/" | |
| 1168 | }, | |
| 1169 | { | |
| 1170 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 72", | |
| 1171 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m072.html" | |
| 1172 | } | |
| 1173 | ] | |
| 1174 | }, | |
| 1175 | { | |
| 1176 | "id": "m73", | |
| 1177 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1178 | "title": "M73", | |
| 1179 | "subtitle": "Asterism of four stars in Aquarius", | |
| 1180 | "facts": [ | |
| 1181 | { | |
| 1182 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1183 | "value": "Asterism of four stars", | |
| 1184 | "source": 0 | |
| 1185 | }, | |
| 1186 | { | |
| 1187 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1188 | "value": "Aquarius", | |
| 1189 | "source": 0 | |
| 1190 | }, | |
| 1191 | { | |
| 1192 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1193 | "value": "1,000–2,300 light-years", | |
| 1194 | "source": 0 | |
| 1195 | }, | |
| 1196 | { | |
| 1197 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1198 | "value": "9.0", | |
| 1199 | "source": 0 | |
| 1200 | }, | |
| 1201 | { | |
| 1202 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1203 | "value": "2.8′", | |
| 1204 | "source": 0 | |
| 1205 | }, | |
| 1206 | { | |
| 1207 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1208 | "value": "NGC 6994", | |
| 1209 | "source": 0 | |
| 1210 | }, | |
| 1211 | { | |
| 1212 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1213 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1780", | |
| 1214 | "source": 0 | |
| 1215 | } | |
| 1216 | ], | |
| 1217 | "essay": "M73 is a group of four stars of 10th to 12th magnitude in western Aquarius, about 1.5° east of the globular cluster M72. Charles Messier recorded it on 4 October 1780 as a cluster of three or four small stars that looked nebulous at first glance. He probably included it because he measured its position at the same time as M72.\n\nWhether the four stars belong together is still debated. Many astronomers have treated M73 as an asterism, a chance alignment of unrelated stars at different distances. Others have argued that four stars this bright, so close together, are unlikely by chance and that M73 may be a very sparse open cluster. Various catalogues have listed it as a cluster, and estimates of its distance range from about 1,000 to 2,300 light-years. Hubble has no Messier catalogue page for it, and it has received little research attention.\n\nM73 is easy to find from M72, but it is not much to look at. Through a small telescope it looks like a tight Y-shaped or triangular group of four faint stars, about 3′ across. At low magnification in a small instrument it can look slightly fuzzy, which is likely how it appeared to Messier.", | |
| 1218 | "image": { | |
| 1219 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m73.jpg", | |
| 1220 | "credit": "REU program/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 1221 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1222 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m73/", | |
| 1223 | "caption": "Kitt Peak 0.9-metre telescope image of M73, a small group of four stars in Aquarius." | |
| 1224 | }, | |
| 1225 | "drawing": { | |
| 1226 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1227 | "type": "open", | |
| 1228 | "sizeArcmin": 2.8 | |
| 1229 | }, | |
| 1230 | "link": { | |
| 1231 | "messier": 73 | |
| 1232 | }, | |
| 1233 | "sources": [ | |
| 1234 | { | |
| 1235 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 73", | |
| 1236 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m073.html" | |
| 1237 | }, | |
| 1238 | { | |
| 1239 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M73, NGC 6994", | |
| 1240 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m73/" | |
| 1241 | } | |
| 1242 | ] | |
| 1243 | }, | |
| 1244 | { | |
| 1245 | "id": "m74", | |
| 1246 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1247 | "title": "M74", | |
| 1248 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Pisces", | |
| 1249 | "facts": [ | |
| 1250 | { | |
| 1251 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1252 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 1253 | "source": 0 | |
| 1254 | }, | |
| 1255 | { | |
| 1256 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1257 | "value": "Pisces", | |
| 1258 | "source": 0 | |
| 1259 | }, | |
| 1260 | { | |
| 1261 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1262 | "value": "32 million light-years", | |
| 1263 | "source": 0 | |
| 1264 | }, | |
| 1265 | { | |
| 1266 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1267 | "value": "10.0", | |
| 1268 | "source": 0 | |
| 1269 | }, | |
| 1270 | { | |
| 1271 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1272 | "value": "10.2′ × 9.5′", | |
| 1273 | "source": 1 | |
| 1274 | }, | |
| 1275 | { | |
| 1276 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1277 | "value": "NGC 628", | |
| 1278 | "source": 1 | |
| 1279 | }, | |
| 1280 | { | |
| 1281 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1282 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1283 | "source": 0 | |
| 1284 | } | |
| 1285 | ], | |
| 1286 | "essay": "M74 is a spiral galaxy about 32 million light-years away in Pisces. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780. We see it face-on, and it is a clear example of a grand-design spiral: two symmetrical arms reach out from the nucleus, traced by winding dust lanes.\n\nThe arms hold clusters of young blue stars and many pink H II regions, clouds of hydrogen gas made to glow by ultraviolet light from hot young stars inside them. These regions mark where stars have formed recently, and astronomers use them to study star formation with both space and ground-based telescopes.\n\nM74 is one of the hardest Messier objects to see. Its light is spread over a large area about 10′ across, so its surface brightness is low despite its overall magnitude of 10. It lies about 1.3° east-northeast of Eta Piscium. Under a dark sky, a small telescope shows a faint, round glow with a slightly brighter centre; light pollution or a bright Moon can hide it completely. The spiral arms need a larger telescope and very dark skies. It is best seen in November.", | |
| 1287 | "image": { | |
| 1288 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2235a.jpg", | |
| 1289 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar", | |
| 1290 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1291 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2235a/", | |
| 1292 | "caption": "Hubble view of M74's spiral arms, dotted with pink regions of new star formation." | |
| 1293 | }, | |
| 1294 | "drawing": { | |
| 1295 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1296 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1297 | "sizeArcmin": 10.2 | |
| 1298 | }, | |
| 1299 | "link": { | |
| 1300 | "messier": 74 | |
| 1301 | }, | |
| 1302 | "sources": [ | |
| 1303 | { | |
| 1304 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 74", | |
| 1305 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-74/" | |
| 1306 | }, | |
| 1307 | { | |
| 1308 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 74", | |
| 1309 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m074.html" | |
| 1310 | } | |
| 1311 | ] | |
| 1312 | }, | |
| 1313 | { | |
| 1314 | "id": "m75", | |
| 1315 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1316 | "title": "M75", | |
| 1317 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Sagittarius", | |
| 1318 | "facts": [ | |
| 1319 | { | |
| 1320 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1321 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1322 | "source": 0 | |
| 1323 | }, | |
| 1324 | { | |
| 1325 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1326 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 1327 | "source": 0 | |
| 1328 | }, | |
| 1329 | { | |
| 1330 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1331 | "value": "67,500 light-years", | |
| 1332 | "source": 0 | |
| 1333 | }, | |
| 1334 | { | |
| 1335 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1336 | "value": "8.6", | |
| 1337 | "source": 0 | |
| 1338 | }, | |
| 1339 | { | |
| 1340 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1341 | "value": "6.8′", | |
| 1342 | "source": 1 | |
| 1343 | }, | |
| 1344 | { | |
| 1345 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1346 | "value": "NGC 6864", | |
| 1347 | "source": 1 | |
| 1348 | }, | |
| 1349 | { | |
| 1350 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1351 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1352 | "source": 0 | |
| 1353 | } | |
| 1354 | ], | |
| 1355 | "essay": "M75 is a globular cluster in western Sagittarius, about 67,500 light-years away, which makes it one of the more remote Messier globulars. Pierre Méchain discovered it in August 1780. Messier observed it that October, measured its position and added it to his catalogue.\n\nThe cluster holds some 400,000 stars and is around 13 billion years old. It is the most centrally concentrated globular in the Messier catalogue, with most of its stars packed into a large, bright nucleus. Hubble has studied its stellar populations and looked for signs of an intermediate-mass black hole at its centre, between about one hundred and one million solar masses.\n\nBecause its light is so concentrated, M75 at magnitude 8.6 is easier to see than its distance suggests. In binoculars it looks almost like a star. A small telescope shows a small, bright, round glow, and a 10-inch or larger telescope is needed to resolve some of its stars. It lies in the western part of Sagittarius and is best seen in September.", | |
| 1356 | "image": { | |
| 1357 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1916a.jpg", | |
| 1358 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Ferraro et al.", | |
| 1359 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1360 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1916a/", | |
| 1361 | "caption": "Hubble view of M75 from the Advanced Camera for Surveys, showing its dense core." | |
| 1362 | }, | |
| 1363 | "drawing": { | |
| 1364 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1365 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1366 | "sizeArcmin": 6.8 | |
| 1367 | }, | |
| 1368 | "link": { | |
| 1369 | "messier": 75 | |
| 1370 | }, | |
| 1371 | "sources": [ | |
| 1372 | { | |
| 1373 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 75", | |
| 1374 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-75/" | |
| 1375 | }, | |
| 1376 | { | |
| 1377 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 75", | |
| 1378 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m075.html" | |
| 1379 | } | |
| 1380 | ] | |
| 1381 | }, | |
| 1382 | { | |
| 1383 | "id": "m76", | |
| 1384 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1385 | "title": "M76", | |
| 1386 | "subtitle": "Little Dumbbell Nebula · planetary nebula in Perseus", | |
| 1387 | "facts": [ | |
| 1388 | { | |
| 1389 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1390 | "value": "Planetary nebula", | |
| 1391 | "source": 0 | |
| 1392 | }, | |
| 1393 | { | |
| 1394 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1395 | "value": "Perseus", | |
| 1396 | "source": 0 | |
| 1397 | }, | |
| 1398 | { | |
| 1399 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1400 | "value": "about 3,400 light-years", | |
| 1401 | "source": 0 | |
| 1402 | }, | |
| 1403 | { | |
| 1404 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1405 | "value": "12.0", | |
| 1406 | "source": 0 | |
| 1407 | }, | |
| 1408 | { | |
| 1409 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1410 | "value": "2.7′ × 1.8′", | |
| 1411 | "source": 1 | |
| 1412 | }, | |
| 1413 | { | |
| 1414 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1415 | "value": "NGC 650 and NGC 651", | |
| 1416 | "source": 1 | |
| 1417 | }, | |
| 1418 | { | |
| 1419 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1420 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1421 | "source": 0 | |
| 1422 | } | |
| 1423 | ], | |
| 1424 | "essay": "M76, the Little Dumbbell Nebula, is a planetary nebula in Perseus, about 3,400 light-years away. It is also called the Cork or Barbell Nebula. It is one of only four planetary nebulae in Messier's catalogue. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780. It has two NGC numbers, 650 and 651, because it was once thought to be two touching nebulae.\n\nThe nebula consists of a bright, ring-shaped \"cork\" seen nearly edge-on, with two fainter lobes of gas expanding outward on either side. The ejected gas is lit by the very hot central star, which Hubble shows as a white dot at the centre. In Hubble's image, red light comes from nitrogen and blue from oxygen. A faint halo, probably shed by the star when it was a red giant, surrounds the whole structure.\n\nM76 is one of the more difficult Messier objects because it is small and faint. NASA lists it at magnitude 12, though visual estimates are brighter because much of its light is emitted at a few wavelengths. Large binoculars can catch it at a dark site. A small telescope shows a small elongated patch, and an 8-inch or larger telescope shows its two-lobed shape. It is best seen in December.", | |
| 1425 | "image": { | |
| 1426 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hubble-34th-littledumbell-sm-stsci-01htddrc7nr68q120setwhmsaq.png", | |
| 1427 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI", | |
| 1428 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1429 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-76/", | |
| 1430 | "caption": "Hubble's 2024 view of the Little Dumbbell Nebula: two lobes of gas expanding from a central white dwarf." | |
| 1431 | }, | |
| 1432 | "drawing": { | |
| 1433 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1434 | "type": "planetary", | |
| 1435 | "sizeArcmin": 2.7 | |
| 1436 | }, | |
| 1437 | "link": { | |
| 1438 | "messier": 76 | |
| 1439 | }, | |
| 1440 | "sources": [ | |
| 1441 | { | |
| 1442 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 76", | |
| 1443 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-76/" | |
| 1444 | }, | |
| 1445 | { | |
| 1446 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 76", | |
| 1447 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m076.html" | |
| 1448 | } | |
| 1449 | ] | |
| 1450 | }, | |
| 1451 | { | |
| 1452 | "id": "m77", | |
| 1453 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1454 | "title": "M77", | |
| 1455 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Cetus", | |
| 1456 | "facts": [ | |
| 1457 | { | |
| 1458 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1459 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 1460 | "source": 0 | |
| 1461 | }, | |
| 1462 | { | |
| 1463 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1464 | "value": "Cetus", | |
| 1465 | "source": 0 | |
| 1466 | }, | |
| 1467 | { | |
| 1468 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1469 | "value": "45 million light-years", | |
| 1470 | "source": 0 | |
| 1471 | }, | |
| 1472 | { | |
| 1473 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1474 | "value": "9.6", | |
| 1475 | "source": 0 | |
| 1476 | }, | |
| 1477 | { | |
| 1478 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1479 | "value": "7′ × 6′", | |
| 1480 | "source": 1 | |
| 1481 | }, | |
| 1482 | { | |
| 1483 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1484 | "value": "NGC 1068", | |
| 1485 | "source": 1 | |
| 1486 | }, | |
| 1487 | { | |
| 1488 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1489 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1490 | "source": 0 | |
| 1491 | } | |
| 1492 | ], | |
| 1493 | "essay": "M77 is a spiral galaxy about 45 million light-years away in Cetus. It is one of the largest galaxies in the Messier catalogue. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780 and recorded it as a nebula; Messier and others of the time thought it might be a star cluster. More than a century passed before astronomers understood that such spiral nebulae were separate galaxies far beyond the Milky Way.\n\nM77 is a standard example of a Seyfert galaxy: a spiral with an extremely bright, active nucleus that emits strongly in X-rays and ultraviolet light. The source of this energy is gas falling onto a supermassive black hole. Hubble's ultraviolet images show brightness changes in the nucleus, consistent with a compact energy source there. Around the centre, red and blue pockets of star formation lie along the arms, with dark dust lanes wrapped around the starry core.\n\nAt magnitude 9.6, M77 can be seen with a small telescope as a small, bright glow with a star-like centre. The fainter outer arms need a larger telescope and dark skies. It lies less than a degree east-southeast of Delta Ceti and is best seen in December.", | |
| 1494 | "image": { | |
| 1495 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2515a.jpg", | |
| 1496 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. C. Ho, D. Thilker", | |
| 1497 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1498 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2515a/", | |
| 1499 | "caption": "Hubble view of M77, showing dust lanes and pockets of star formation wrapped around a bright centre." | |
| 1500 | }, | |
| 1501 | "drawing": { | |
| 1502 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1503 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1504 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 1505 | }, | |
| 1506 | "link": { | |
| 1507 | "messier": 77 | |
| 1508 | }, | |
| 1509 | "sources": [ | |
| 1510 | { | |
| 1511 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 77", | |
| 1512 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-77/" | |
| 1513 | }, | |
| 1514 | { | |
| 1515 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 77", | |
| 1516 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m077.html" | |
| 1517 | } | |
| 1518 | ] | |
| 1519 | }, | |
| 1520 | { | |
| 1521 | "id": "m78", | |
| 1522 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1523 | "title": "M78", | |
| 1524 | "subtitle": "Reflection nebula in Orion", | |
| 1525 | "facts": [ | |
| 1526 | { | |
| 1527 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1528 | "value": "Reflection nebula", | |
| 1529 | "source": 0 | |
| 1530 | }, | |
| 1531 | { | |
| 1532 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1533 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 1534 | "source": 0 | |
| 1535 | }, | |
| 1536 | { | |
| 1537 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1538 | "value": "1,600 light-years", | |
| 1539 | "source": 0 | |
| 1540 | }, | |
| 1541 | { | |
| 1542 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1543 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 1544 | "source": 0 | |
| 1545 | }, | |
| 1546 | { | |
| 1547 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1548 | "value": "8′ × 6′", | |
| 1549 | "source": 1 | |
| 1550 | }, | |
| 1551 | { | |
| 1552 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1553 | "value": "NGC 2068", | |
| 1554 | "source": 1 | |
| 1555 | }, | |
| 1556 | { | |
| 1557 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1558 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1559 | "source": 0 | |
| 1560 | } | |
| 1561 | ], | |
| 1562 | "essay": "M78 is a reflection nebula in Orion, about 1,600 light-years away. A reflection nebula does not produce its own light. It is a cloud of dust that scatters and reflects light from nearby stars, which gives M78 a bluish colour in photographs. It is the brightest reflection nebula in the sky. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780.\n\nM78 is part of the large complex of gas and dust in Orion where new stars are forming. Hubble's infrared cameras can see through much of the dust and show young stars still embedded in the cloud. Astronomers used these observations to study protostellar evolution, the earliest stages of a star's life.\n\nM78 lies about 2.5° northeast of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt. At magnitude 8.0 it can be found with binoculars or a small telescope as a small haze. One side of the nebula flares out, which makes it look rather like a comet, and it has fooled more than one comet hunter. Telescopes 8 inches or larger show more detail in the nebula. January is the best month to observe it.", | |
| 1563 | "image": { | |
| 1564 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m78_0.jpg", | |
| 1565 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, J. Muzerolle (Space Telescope Science Institute) and S. Megeath (University of Toledo)", | |
| 1566 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1567 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-78/", | |
| 1568 | "caption": "Hubble near-infrared view of part of M78, showing young stars embedded in the dust cloud." | |
| 1569 | }, | |
| 1570 | "drawing": { | |
| 1571 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1572 | "type": "nebula", | |
| 1573 | "sizeArcmin": 8.0 | |
| 1574 | }, | |
| 1575 | "link": { | |
| 1576 | "messier": 78 | |
| 1577 | }, | |
| 1578 | "sources": [ | |
| 1579 | { | |
| 1580 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 78", | |
| 1581 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-78/" | |
| 1582 | }, | |
| 1583 | { | |
| 1584 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 78", | |
| 1585 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m078.html" | |
| 1586 | } | |
| 1587 | ] | |
| 1588 | }, | |
| 1589 | { | |
| 1590 | "id": "m79", | |
| 1591 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1592 | "title": "M79", | |
| 1593 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Lepus", | |
| 1594 | "facts": [ | |
| 1595 | { | |
| 1596 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1597 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1598 | "source": 0 | |
| 1599 | }, | |
| 1600 | { | |
| 1601 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1602 | "value": "Lepus", | |
| 1603 | "source": 0 | |
| 1604 | }, | |
| 1605 | { | |
| 1606 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1607 | "value": "41,000 light-years", | |
| 1608 | "source": 0 | |
| 1609 | }, | |
| 1610 | { | |
| 1611 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1612 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 1613 | "source": 0 | |
| 1614 | }, | |
| 1615 | { | |
| 1616 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1617 | "value": "9.6′", | |
| 1618 | "source": 1 | |
| 1619 | }, | |
| 1620 | { | |
| 1621 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1622 | "value": "NGC 1904", | |
| 1623 | "source": 1 | |
| 1624 | }, | |
| 1625 | { | |
| 1626 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1627 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1780", | |
| 1628 | "source": 0 | |
| 1629 | } | |
| 1630 | ], | |
| 1631 | "essay": "M79 is a globular cluster in Lepus, about 41,000 light-years from us and roughly 60,000 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1780. Most of the galaxy's globular clusters appear around the galactic centre in Sagittarius. M79 is one of the few in the opposite half of the sky, because Earth lies between it and the galactic centre.\n\nM79 may not have formed with the Milky Way. An unusual concentration of red giant stars in the direction of Canis Major has been interpreted as the remains of a dwarf galaxy being torn apart and absorbed by the Milky Way. M79 may have been taken from that galaxy, the Canis Major Dwarf. Hubble images show that besides many aging red giants, the cluster contains numerous blue stragglers. These stars look younger than the rest and probably formed through stellar mergers or mass transfer between close neighbours.\n\nM79 is best seen in January, low in the south below Orion. Binoculars show the dense core as a small fuzzy spot. A medium-sized telescope is needed to resolve individual stars in its outer parts.", | |
| 1632 | "image": { | |
| 1633 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m791343x1343.png", | |
| 1634 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI, F. Ferraro (Universita di Bologna) and S. Djorgovski (California Institute of Technology)", | |
| 1635 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1636 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-79/", | |
| 1637 | "caption": "Hubble view of M79 combining visible and ultraviolet observations from 1995 and 1997." | |
| 1638 | }, | |
| 1639 | "drawing": { | |
| 1640 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1641 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1642 | "sizeArcmin": 9.6 | |
| 1643 | }, | |
| 1644 | "link": { | |
| 1645 | "messier": 79 | |
| 1646 | }, | |
| 1647 | "sources": [ | |
| 1648 | { | |
| 1649 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 79", | |
| 1650 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-79/" | |
| 1651 | }, | |
| 1652 | { | |
| 1653 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 79", | |
| 1654 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m079.html" | |
| 1655 | } | |
| 1656 | ] | |
| 1657 | }, | |
| 1658 | { | |
| 1659 | "id": "m80", | |
| 1660 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1661 | "title": "M80", | |
| 1662 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Scorpius", | |
| 1663 | "facts": [ | |
| 1664 | { | |
| 1665 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1666 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 1667 | "source": 0 | |
| 1668 | }, | |
| 1669 | { | |
| 1670 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1671 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 1672 | "source": 0 | |
| 1673 | }, | |
| 1674 | { | |
| 1675 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1676 | "value": "28,000 light-years", | |
| 1677 | "source": 0 | |
| 1678 | }, | |
| 1679 | { | |
| 1680 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1681 | "value": "7.9", | |
| 1682 | "source": 0 | |
| 1683 | }, | |
| 1684 | { | |
| 1685 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1686 | "value": "10′", | |
| 1687 | "source": 1 | |
| 1688 | }, | |
| 1689 | { | |
| 1690 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1691 | "value": "NGC 6093", | |
| 1692 | "source": 1 | |
| 1693 | }, | |
| 1694 | { | |
| 1695 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1696 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 1697 | "source": 0 | |
| 1698 | } | |
| 1699 | ], | |
| 1700 | "essay": "M80 is a globular cluster in Scorpius, about 28,000 light-years away, and one of the densest of the roughly 150 known globulars in the Milky Way. Charles Messier discovered it in 1781. It contains hundreds of thousands of stars bound together by their mutual gravity.\n\nIn 1860 a nova appeared in M80. Novae happen when a companion star transfers hydrogen onto a white dwarf until the gas ignites in a thermonuclear explosion on its surface. Hubble's ultraviolet observations allowed astronomers to identify the hot, faint remnant of the white dwarf responsible. Hubble also found a large population of blue stragglers in M80's core, stars that look younger and more massive than the rest of the cluster. M80 has more than twice as many of these as the other globulars Hubble surveyed.\n\nM80 lies roughly midway between Antares and Graffias (Beta Scorpii). At magnitude 7.9 it can be seen in binoculars or a small telescope from a dark site, where it looks like a small, bright, round ball with a brighter nucleus. It is best seen in June.", | |
| 1701 | "image": { | |
| 1702 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/hubble_m80_wfc3_acs_comb_final2.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1703 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and G. Piotto (Universita degli Studi di Padova); Image Processing: Gladys Kober", | |
| 1704 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1705 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-80/", | |
| 1706 | "caption": "Hubble view of M80 in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, showing stars of different types by colour." | |
| 1707 | }, | |
| 1708 | "drawing": { | |
| 1709 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1710 | "type": "globular", | |
| 1711 | "sizeArcmin": 10.0 | |
| 1712 | }, | |
| 1713 | "link": { | |
| 1714 | "messier": 80 | |
| 1715 | }, | |
| 1716 | "sources": [ | |
| 1717 | { | |
| 1718 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 80", | |
| 1719 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-80/" | |
| 1720 | }, | |
| 1721 | { | |
| 1722 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 80", | |
| 1723 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m080.html" | |
| 1724 | } | |
| 1725 | ] | |
| 1726 | }, | |
| 1727 | { | |
| 1728 | "id": "m81", | |
| 1729 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1730 | "title": "M81", | |
| 1731 | "subtitle": "Bode's Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Ursa Major", | |
| 1732 | "facts": [ | |
| 1733 | { | |
| 1734 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1735 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 1736 | "source": 0 | |
| 1737 | }, | |
| 1738 | { | |
| 1739 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1740 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 1741 | "source": 0 | |
| 1742 | }, | |
| 1743 | { | |
| 1744 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1745 | "value": "11.6 million light-years", | |
| 1746 | "source": 0 | |
| 1747 | }, | |
| 1748 | { | |
| 1749 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1750 | "value": "6.9", | |
| 1751 | "source": 0 | |
| 1752 | }, | |
| 1753 | { | |
| 1754 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1755 | "value": "21′ × 10′", | |
| 1756 | "source": 1 | |
| 1757 | }, | |
| 1758 | { | |
| 1759 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1760 | "value": "NGC 3031", | |
| 1761 | "source": 1 | |
| 1762 | }, | |
| 1763 | { | |
| 1764 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1765 | "value": "Johann Elert Bode, 1774", | |
| 1766 | "source": 0 | |
| 1767 | } | |
| 1768 | ], | |
| 1769 | "essay": "M81, also called Bode's Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 11.6 million light-years away in Ursa Major and one of the brightest galaxies in the sky. Johann Elert Bode discovered it, together with its neighbour M82, in 1774.\n\nIts spiral arms wind all the way into the nucleus and are made up largely of young, hot blue stars formed within the last few million years, along with stars from an episode of star formation that began about 600 million years ago. Sinuous dust lanes follow the arms inward. The central bulge of older, redder stars is much larger than the Milky Way's. At the centre is a black hole of about 70 million solar masses, roughly 15 times the mass of the Milky Way's central black hole. Hubble studies of galaxies like M81 helped show that a galaxy's central black hole mass scales with the mass of its bulge.\n\nAt magnitude 6.9, M81 is easy to find in binoculars as an oval glow, with M82 about 0.75° away in the same field. A small telescope shows its bright core clearly. It is best seen in April.", | |
| 1770 | "image": { | |
| 1771 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m81-print.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1772 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)", | |
| 1773 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1774 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-81/", | |
| 1775 | "caption": "Hubble view of M81 in visible and infrared light, with spiral arms winding into a large central bulge." | |
| 1776 | }, | |
| 1777 | "drawing": { | |
| 1778 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1779 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1780 | "sizeArcmin": 21.0 | |
| 1781 | }, | |
| 1782 | "link": { | |
| 1783 | "messier": 81 | |
| 1784 | }, | |
| 1785 | "sources": [ | |
| 1786 | { | |
| 1787 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 81", | |
| 1788 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-81/" | |
| 1789 | }, | |
| 1790 | { | |
| 1791 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 81", | |
| 1792 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m081.html" | |
| 1793 | } | |
| 1794 | ] | |
| 1795 | }, | |
| 1796 | { | |
| 1797 | "id": "m82", | |
| 1798 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1799 | "title": "M82", | |
| 1800 | "subtitle": "Cigar Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Ursa Major", | |
| 1801 | "facts": [ | |
| 1802 | { | |
| 1803 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1804 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 1805 | "source": 0 | |
| 1806 | }, | |
| 1807 | { | |
| 1808 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1809 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 1810 | "source": 0 | |
| 1811 | }, | |
| 1812 | { | |
| 1813 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1814 | "value": "12 million light-years", | |
| 1815 | "source": 0 | |
| 1816 | }, | |
| 1817 | { | |
| 1818 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1819 | "value": "8.4", | |
| 1820 | "source": 0 | |
| 1821 | }, | |
| 1822 | { | |
| 1823 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1824 | "value": "9′ × 4′", | |
| 1825 | "source": 1 | |
| 1826 | }, | |
| 1827 | { | |
| 1828 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1829 | "value": "NGC 3034", | |
| 1830 | "source": 1 | |
| 1831 | }, | |
| 1832 | { | |
| 1833 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1834 | "value": "Johann Elert Bode, 1774", | |
| 1835 | "source": 0 | |
| 1836 | } | |
| 1837 | ], | |
| 1838 | "essay": "M82, the Cigar Galaxy, is a starburst galaxy about 12 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Johann Elert Bode discovered it, along with its neighbour M81, in 1774. NASA classifies it as a spiral; other catalogues list it as irregular, reflecting its disturbed structure.\n\nGravitational interaction with M81 has triggered a very high rate of star formation in M82. In the region around its centre, stars are forming about ten times faster than in the whole Milky Way. Radiation and particles from the young stars push into the surrounding gas, and the resulting galactic wind compresses enough gas to form millions more stars. Such a burst limits itself: it will consume or disperse the gas it needs, and is expected to fade within a few tens of millions of years. M82 is also bright at infrared wavelengths.\n\nAt magnitude 8.4, M82 is visible in binoculars as a thin streak of light in the same field as M81. It is best seen in April. A small telescope shows its elongated shape, and larger telescopes reveal dark dust patches across the disc.", | |
| 1839 | "image": { | |
| 1840 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m82.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1841 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin), M. Mountain (STScI) and P. Puxley (National Science Foundation)", | |
| 1842 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1843 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-82/", | |
| 1844 | "caption": "Hubble view of M82, with red filaments of hydrogen streaming out from the centre of the edge-on disc." | |
| 1845 | }, | |
| 1846 | "drawing": { | |
| 1847 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1848 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1849 | "sizeArcmin": 9.0 | |
| 1850 | }, | |
| 1851 | "link": { | |
| 1852 | "messier": 82 | |
| 1853 | }, | |
| 1854 | "sources": [ | |
| 1855 | { | |
| 1856 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 82", | |
| 1857 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-82/" | |
| 1858 | }, | |
| 1859 | { | |
| 1860 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 82", | |
| 1861 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m082.html" | |
| 1862 | } | |
| 1863 | ] | |
| 1864 | }, | |
| 1865 | { | |
| 1866 | "id": "m83", | |
| 1867 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1868 | "title": "M83", | |
| 1869 | "subtitle": "Southern Pinwheel Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Hydra", | |
| 1870 | "facts": [ | |
| 1871 | { | |
| 1872 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1873 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 1874 | "source": 0 | |
| 1875 | }, | |
| 1876 | { | |
| 1877 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1878 | "value": "Hydra", | |
| 1879 | "source": 0 | |
| 1880 | }, | |
| 1881 | { | |
| 1882 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1883 | "value": "15 million light-years", | |
| 1884 | "source": 0 | |
| 1885 | }, | |
| 1886 | { | |
| 1887 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1888 | "value": "7.5", | |
| 1889 | "source": 0 | |
| 1890 | }, | |
| 1891 | { | |
| 1892 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1893 | "value": "11′ × 10′", | |
| 1894 | "source": 1 | |
| 1895 | }, | |
| 1896 | { | |
| 1897 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1898 | "value": "NGC 5236", | |
| 1899 | "source": 1 | |
| 1900 | }, | |
| 1901 | { | |
| 1902 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1903 | "value": "Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille, 1752", | |
| 1904 | "source": 0 | |
| 1905 | } | |
| 1906 | ], | |
| 1907 | "essay": "M83, the Southern Pinwheel, is a barred spiral galaxy about 15 million light-years away in Hydra. Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille discovered it in 1752 from the Cape of Good Hope, which makes it the earliest-discovered galaxy beyond the Local Group. It is also the southernmost galaxy in Messier's catalogue.\n\nM83 is forming stars at a high rate. Hubble images show hundreds of thousands of individual stars, thousands of star clusters and hundreds of supernova remnants. Bubbles in its gas mark where nearly 300 supernovae have exploded, and by studying them astronomers learn about the stars that died and the elements they returned to the galaxy. The newest stars form in clusters along the edges of the dark dust lanes. These groups are only a few million years old, and their ultraviolet light makes the surrounding hydrogen glow pink.\n\nAt magnitude 7.5, M83 is one of the brightest spiral galaxies in the sky and can be seen in binoculars. From mid-northern latitudes it stays low in the south, best placed in June. A small telescope shows a bright core and bar, and larger telescopes under dark skies show the spiral arms.", | |
| 1908 | "image": { | |
| 1909 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m83.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1910 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Blair (STScI/Johns Hopkins University) and R. O’Connell (University of Virginia)", | |
| 1911 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1912 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-83/", | |
| 1913 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of M83, with pink and blue regions of star formation along its arms." | |
| 1914 | }, | |
| 1915 | "drawing": { | |
| 1916 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1917 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1918 | "sizeArcmin": 11.0 | |
| 1919 | }, | |
| 1920 | "link": { | |
| 1921 | "messier": 83 | |
| 1922 | }, | |
| 1923 | "sources": [ | |
| 1924 | { | |
| 1925 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 83", | |
| 1926 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-83/" | |
| 1927 | }, | |
| 1928 | { | |
| 1929 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 83", | |
| 1930 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m083.html" | |
| 1931 | } | |
| 1932 | ] | |
| 1933 | }, | |
| 1934 | { | |
| 1935 | "id": "m84", | |
| 1936 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 1937 | "title": "M84", | |
| 1938 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 1939 | "facts": [ | |
| 1940 | { | |
| 1941 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 1942 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 1943 | "source": 0 | |
| 1944 | }, | |
| 1945 | { | |
| 1946 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1947 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 1948 | "source": 0 | |
| 1949 | }, | |
| 1950 | { | |
| 1951 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1952 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 1953 | "source": 0 | |
| 1954 | }, | |
| 1955 | { | |
| 1956 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1957 | "value": "10.1", | |
| 1958 | "source": 0 | |
| 1959 | }, | |
| 1960 | { | |
| 1961 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 1962 | "value": "5′", | |
| 1963 | "source": 1 | |
| 1964 | }, | |
| 1965 | { | |
| 1966 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 1967 | "value": "NGC 4374", | |
| 1968 | "source": 1 | |
| 1969 | }, | |
| 1970 | { | |
| 1971 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 1972 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 1973 | "source": 0 | |
| 1974 | } | |
| 1975 | ], | |
| 1976 | "essay": "M84 is a large galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 60 million light-years away. Charles Messier discovered it in 1781. NASA classes it as elliptical; it may also be a lenticular galaxy seen face-on. Most of its light comes from older stars, as is typical for this type.\n\nThe most notable feature of M84 is its centre. Dark lanes of dust cross the core, and Hubble's spectrograph showed that stars and gas close to the nucleus orbit at about 400 kilometres per second. On one side they move toward us and on the other away. Motions this fast so close to the centre require a supermassive black hole. Two supernovae have been seen in M84, in 1957 and 1991.\n\nM84 lies near the centre of the Virgo Cluster and is part of Markarian's Chain, a curved line of galaxies on the sky. Its neighbour M86 is close by, and both can be seen in the same low-power field. At magnitude 10.1, M84 needs a moderately sized telescope, where it appears as a round glow with a brighter middle. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 1977 | "image": { | |
| 1978 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/elliptical/M84_1_wholegal_flat_FINAL3.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 1979 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, P. Cote (National Research Council of Canada); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 1980 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1981 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-84/", | |
| 1982 | "caption": "Hubble view of M84, an elliptical galaxy with a bright core and dust lanes crossing its centre." | |
| 1983 | }, | |
| 1984 | "drawing": { | |
| 1985 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 1986 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 1987 | "sizeArcmin": 5.0 | |
| 1988 | }, | |
| 1989 | "link": { | |
| 1990 | "messier": 84 | |
| 1991 | }, | |
| 1992 | "sources": [ | |
| 1993 | { | |
| 1994 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 84", | |
| 1995 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-84/" | |
| 1996 | }, | |
| 1997 | { | |
| 1998 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 84", | |
| 1999 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m084.html" | |
| 2000 | } | |
| 2001 | ] | |
| 2002 | }, | |
| 2003 | { | |
| 2004 | "id": "m85", | |
| 2005 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2006 | "title": "M85", | |
| 2007 | "subtitle": "Lenticular or elliptical galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 2008 | "facts": [ | |
| 2009 | { | |
| 2010 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2011 | "value": "Lenticular or elliptical galaxy", | |
| 2012 | "source": 0 | |
| 2013 | }, | |
| 2014 | { | |
| 2015 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2016 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 2017 | "source": 0 | |
| 2018 | }, | |
| 2019 | { | |
| 2020 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2021 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 2022 | "source": 0 | |
| 2023 | }, | |
| 2024 | { | |
| 2025 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2026 | "value": "9.2", | |
| 2027 | "source": 0 | |
| 2028 | }, | |
| 2029 | { | |
| 2030 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2031 | "value": "7.1′ × 5.2′", | |
| 2032 | "source": 1 | |
| 2033 | }, | |
| 2034 | { | |
| 2035 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2036 | "value": "NGC 4382", | |
| 2037 | "source": 1 | |
| 2038 | }, | |
| 2039 | { | |
| 2040 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2041 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2042 | "source": 0 | |
| 2043 | } | |
| 2044 | ], | |
| 2045 | "essay": "M85 is a galaxy about 60 million light-years away in Coma Berenices. It is the northernmost Messier member of the Virgo Cluster. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. It is either an elliptical or a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies have a disc like a spiral but no arms, and are sometimes called armless spirals.\n\nM85 contains about 400 billion stars, most of them very old. The central region, however, holds stars younger than about 3 billion years, formed in a late burst of star formation. M85 probably merged with another galaxy 4 to 7 billion years ago. It is now interacting with two neighbours, the spiral NGC 4394 and the elliptical MCG 3-32-38. Its core may contain a supermassive black hole, and a supernova was seen near the centre in 2006.\n\nAt magnitude 9.2, M85 is not easy in binoculars or small telescopes. In an 8-inch telescope it appears as a dim, elongated patch of light. Larger telescopes show more detail. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2046 | "image": { | |
| 2047 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m85_0.jpg", | |
| 2048 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and R. O’Connell (University of Virginia)", | |
| 2049 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2050 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-85/", | |
| 2051 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M85 in infrared, visible and ultraviolet light." | |
| 2052 | }, | |
| 2053 | "drawing": { | |
| 2054 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2055 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2056 | "sizeArcmin": 7.1 | |
| 2057 | }, | |
| 2058 | "link": { | |
| 2059 | "messier": 85 | |
| 2060 | }, | |
| 2061 | "sources": [ | |
| 2062 | { | |
| 2063 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 85", | |
| 2064 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-85/" | |
| 2065 | }, | |
| 2066 | { | |
| 2067 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 85", | |
| 2068 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m085.html" | |
| 2069 | } | |
| 2070 | ] | |
| 2071 | }, | |
| 2072 | { | |
| 2073 | "id": "m86", | |
| 2074 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2075 | "title": "M86", | |
| 2076 | "subtitle": "Lenticular or elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 2077 | "facts": [ | |
| 2078 | { | |
| 2079 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2080 | "value": "Lenticular or elliptical galaxy", | |
| 2081 | "source": 0 | |
| 2082 | }, | |
| 2083 | { | |
| 2084 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2085 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 2086 | "source": 0 | |
| 2087 | }, | |
| 2088 | { | |
| 2089 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2090 | "value": "52 million light-years", | |
| 2091 | "source": 0 | |
| 2092 | }, | |
| 2093 | { | |
| 2094 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2095 | "value": "9.2", | |
| 2096 | "source": 0 | |
| 2097 | }, | |
| 2098 | { | |
| 2099 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2100 | "value": "7.5′ × 5.5′", | |
| 2101 | "source": 1 | |
| 2102 | }, | |
| 2103 | { | |
| 2104 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2105 | "value": "NGC 4406", | |
| 2106 | "source": 1 | |
| 2107 | }, | |
| 2108 | { | |
| 2109 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2110 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2111 | "source": 0 | |
| 2112 | } | |
| 2113 | ], | |
| 2114 | "essay": "M86 is a galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 52 million light-years away. It is either an elliptical or a lenticular galaxy. Charles Messier discovered it in 1781, and it is one of the brightest members of the cluster. It contains around 3,800 globular clusters.\n\nMost of the Virgo Cluster is moving away from the Milky Way, but M86 is approaching. It lies on the far side of the cluster and is falling toward the cluster's centre, which carries it in our direction. Of all the galaxies in Messier's catalogue, M86 is approaching us the fastest. Hubble has studied its core as part of a survey of early-type galaxies, the old ellipticals and lenticulars found near the centres of galaxy clusters, to work out their central structure and history.\n\nAt magnitude 9.2, M86 can be seen with binoculars and small telescopes. It lies near the centre of the Virgo Cluster, with M84 often in the same field of view as a slightly smaller round glow. Both are part of Markarian's Chain, a curved line of galaxies. Telescopes 8 inches or larger show several fainter galaxies in the same field. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2115 | "image": { | |
| 2116 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1938a.jpg", | |
| 2117 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote et al.", | |
| 2118 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2119 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1938a/", | |
| 2120 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M86, with globular clusters visible as points of light." | |
| 2121 | }, | |
| 2122 | "drawing": { | |
| 2123 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2124 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2125 | "sizeArcmin": 7.5 | |
| 2126 | }, | |
| 2127 | "link": { | |
| 2128 | "messier": 86 | |
| 2129 | }, | |
| 2130 | "sources": [ | |
| 2131 | { | |
| 2132 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 86", | |
| 2133 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-86/" | |
| 2134 | }, | |
| 2135 | { | |
| 2136 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 86", | |
| 2137 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m086.html" | |
| 2138 | } | |
| 2139 | ] | |
| 2140 | }, | |
| 2141 | { | |
| 2142 | "id": "m87", | |
| 2143 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2144 | "title": "M87", | |
| 2145 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 2146 | "facts": [ | |
| 2147 | { | |
| 2148 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2149 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 2150 | "source": 0 | |
| 2151 | }, | |
| 2152 | { | |
| 2153 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2154 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 2155 | "source": 0 | |
| 2156 | }, | |
| 2157 | { | |
| 2158 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2159 | "value": "54 million light-years", | |
| 2160 | "source": 0 | |
| 2161 | }, | |
| 2162 | { | |
| 2163 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2164 | "value": "9.6", | |
| 2165 | "source": 0 | |
| 2166 | }, | |
| 2167 | { | |
| 2168 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2169 | "value": "7′", | |
| 2170 | "source": 1 | |
| 2171 | }, | |
| 2172 | { | |
| 2173 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2174 | "value": "NGC 4486", | |
| 2175 | "source": 1 | |
| 2176 | }, | |
| 2177 | { | |
| 2178 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2179 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2180 | "source": 0 | |
| 2181 | } | |
| 2182 | ], | |
| 2183 | "essay": "M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy in Virgo, about 54 million light-years away, and the dominant galaxy of the Virgo Cluster. Charles Messier discovered it in 1781. It holds several trillion stars, a supermassive black hole, and about 15,000 globular clusters, compared with a few hundred billion stars and about 150 globulars in the Milky Way. Some of its clusters may have been pulled in from nearby dwarf galaxies.\n\nA jet of particles moving at nearly the speed of light extends from the centre of M87. As gas falls toward the central black hole, part of the energy released accelerates particles into this narrow beam. In Hubble images the jet appears blue against the yellow light of the galaxy's unresolved stars. Deep photographs show that its faint outer parts extend over half a degree, more than the diameter of the full Moon.\n\nAt magnitude 9.6, M87 can be found with a small telescope. It lies in the heart of the Virgo Cluster, among M84, M86 and many other galaxies. It appears as a round glow that brightens toward the centre; the jet is a challenge even for large amateur telescopes. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2184 | "image": { | |
| 2185 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m87-full_jpg.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2186 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: P. Cote (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics) and E. Baltz (Stanford University)", | |
| 2187 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2188 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-87/", | |
| 2189 | "caption": "Hubble view of M87, a giant elliptical galaxy surrounded by thousands of globular clusters." | |
| 2190 | }, | |
| 2191 | "drawing": { | |
| 2192 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2193 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2194 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 2195 | }, | |
| 2196 | "link": { | |
| 2197 | "messier": 87 | |
| 2198 | }, | |
| 2199 | "sources": [ | |
| 2200 | { | |
| 2201 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 87", | |
| 2202 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-87/" | |
| 2203 | }, | |
| 2204 | { | |
| 2205 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 87", | |
| 2206 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m087.html" | |
| 2207 | } | |
| 2208 | ] | |
| 2209 | }, | |
| 2210 | { | |
| 2211 | "id": "m88", | |
| 2212 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2213 | "title": "M88", | |
| 2214 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 2215 | "facts": [ | |
| 2216 | { | |
| 2217 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2218 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2219 | "source": 0 | |
| 2220 | }, | |
| 2221 | { | |
| 2222 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2223 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 2224 | "source": 0 | |
| 2225 | }, | |
| 2226 | { | |
| 2227 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2228 | "value": "63 million light-years", | |
| 2229 | "source": 0 | |
| 2230 | }, | |
| 2231 | { | |
| 2232 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2233 | "value": "9.5", | |
| 2234 | "source": 0 | |
| 2235 | }, | |
| 2236 | { | |
| 2237 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2238 | "value": "7′ × 4′", | |
| 2239 | "source": 1 | |
| 2240 | }, | |
| 2241 | { | |
| 2242 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2243 | "value": "NGC 4501", | |
| 2244 | "source": 1 | |
| 2245 | }, | |
| 2246 | { | |
| 2247 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2248 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2249 | "source": 0 | |
| 2250 | } | |
| 2251 | ], | |
| 2252 | "essay": "M88 is a spiral galaxy about 63 million light-years away. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster but lies just over the border in Coma Berenices. Charles Messier discovered it in March 1781, on the same night as eight other objects in his catalogue.\n\nM88 has well-defined, symmetrical spiral arms and contains around 400 billion stars. Its nucleus is active, meaning the centre is more luminous than the rest of the galaxy, and it holds a black hole of about 100 million solar masses. The galaxy is moving toward the centre of the Virgo Cluster. In 200 to 300 million years, about two million light-years from where it is now, it will make its closest approach to M87, the giant elliptical at the cluster's heart.\n\nM88 is one of the brighter Messier galaxies, at magnitude 9.5. It can be seen with large binoculars under dark skies. A small telescope shows an elongated glow with a brighter core, and larger telescopes bring out the core more clearly. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2253 | "image": { | |
| 2254 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potm2605a.jpg", | |
| 2255 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the MAUVE-HST Team", | |
| 2256 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2257 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potm2605a/", | |
| 2258 | "caption": "Hubble view of the spiral galaxy M88, a member of the Virgo Cluster." | |
| 2259 | }, | |
| 2260 | "drawing": { | |
| 2261 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2262 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2263 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 2264 | }, | |
| 2265 | "link": { | |
| 2266 | "messier": 88 | |
| 2267 | }, | |
| 2268 | "sources": [ | |
| 2269 | { | |
| 2270 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 88", | |
| 2271 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-88/" | |
| 2272 | }, | |
| 2273 | { | |
| 2274 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 88", | |
| 2275 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m088.html" | |
| 2276 | } | |
| 2277 | ] | |
| 2278 | }, | |
| 2279 | { | |
| 2280 | "id": "m89", | |
| 2281 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2282 | "title": "M89", | |
| 2283 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 2284 | "facts": [ | |
| 2285 | { | |
| 2286 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2287 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 2288 | "source": 0 | |
| 2289 | }, | |
| 2290 | { | |
| 2291 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2292 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 2293 | "source": 0 | |
| 2294 | }, | |
| 2295 | { | |
| 2296 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2297 | "value": "50 million light-years", | |
| 2298 | "source": 0 | |
| 2299 | }, | |
| 2300 | { | |
| 2301 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2302 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 2303 | "source": 0 | |
| 2304 | }, | |
| 2305 | { | |
| 2306 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2307 | "value": "4′", | |
| 2308 | "source": 1 | |
| 2309 | }, | |
| 2310 | { | |
| 2311 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2312 | "value": "NGC 4552", | |
| 2313 | "source": 1 | |
| 2314 | }, | |
| 2315 | { | |
| 2316 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2317 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2318 | "source": 0 | |
| 2319 | } | |
| 2320 | ], | |
| 2321 | "essay": "M89 is an elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 50 million light-years away, and appears almost exactly circular. It is one of eight Virgo Cluster galaxies that Charles Messier discovered in 1781.\n\nM89 contains about 100 billion stars and more than 2,000 globular clusters. It was the first galaxy found to have an extended envelope, a large faint halo of light surrounding it, larger than that of other elliptical galaxies. The halo is most likely due to its many stars and globular clusters. At the centre is a supermassive black hole of about one billion solar masses. Hubble observed M89 to study the structure and formation of elliptical galaxies and to look for black holes at their centres. The images also catch a background edge-on spiral galaxy below M89's core.\n\nAt magnitude 9.8, M89 is a modest target in the central Virgo galaxy field. Telescopes 8 inches or larger show it as a faint, round ball of light with a brighter centre. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2322 | "image": { | |
| 2323 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m89.png", | |
| 2324 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI, and M. Franx (Universiteit Leiden) and S. Faber (University of California, Santa Cruz)", | |
| 2325 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2326 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-89/", | |
| 2327 | "caption": "Hubble view of most of M89, with globular clusters as points of light and an edge-on spiral below its core." | |
| 2328 | }, | |
| 2329 | "drawing": { | |
| 2330 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2331 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2332 | "sizeArcmin": 4.0 | |
| 2333 | }, | |
| 2334 | "link": { | |
| 2335 | "messier": 89 | |
| 2336 | }, | |
| 2337 | "sources": [ | |
| 2338 | { | |
| 2339 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 89", | |
| 2340 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-89/" | |
| 2341 | }, | |
| 2342 | { | |
| 2343 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 89", | |
| 2344 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m089.html" | |
| 2345 | } | |
| 2346 | ] | |
| 2347 | }, | |
| 2348 | { | |
| 2349 | "id": "m90", | |
| 2350 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2351 | "title": "M90", | |
| 2352 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 2353 | "facts": [ | |
| 2354 | { | |
| 2355 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2356 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2357 | "source": 0 | |
| 2358 | }, | |
| 2359 | { | |
| 2360 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2361 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 2362 | "source": 0 | |
| 2363 | }, | |
| 2364 | { | |
| 2365 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2366 | "value": "59 million light-years", | |
| 2367 | "source": 0 | |
| 2368 | }, | |
| 2369 | { | |
| 2370 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2371 | "value": "9.5", | |
| 2372 | "source": 0 | |
| 2373 | }, | |
| 2374 | { | |
| 2375 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2376 | "value": "9.5′ × 4.5′", | |
| 2377 | "source": 1 | |
| 2378 | }, | |
| 2379 | { | |
| 2380 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2381 | "value": "NGC 4569", | |
| 2382 | "source": 1 | |
| 2383 | }, | |
| 2384 | { | |
| 2385 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2386 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2387 | "source": 0 | |
| 2388 | } | |
| 2389 | ], | |
| 2390 | "essay": "M90 is a spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, about 59 million light-years away. Charles Messier found it in 1781 while observing other Virgo galaxies. It contains about a trillion stars and a thousand globular clusters.\n\nAbout 300 million years ago, M90's orbit carried it close to the centre of the cluster. The dense gas there acted like a strong headwind and stripped much of the galaxy's own gas, forming a diffuse halo around it. Without that gas, M90's arms now form few new stars, and only the inner disc is still active. Over time the galaxy is expected to fade into a lenticular galaxy, with a disc but no star-forming arms. Its orbit has also accelerated it enough that it is escaping the cluster, and it happens to be moving toward us. Other Virgo galaxies move at similar speeds but in the opposite direction.\n\nAt magnitude 9.5, M90 can be seen with binoculars in a clear, dark sky as a faint smudge. A small telescope shows an elongated glow with a bright core, and larger telescopes begin to show its arms. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2391 | "image": { | |
| 2392 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2442a.jpg", | |
| 2393 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team", | |
| 2394 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2395 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2442a/", | |
| 2396 | "caption": "Hubble view of M90, showing its dusty disc, faint halo of stripped gas and bright core." | |
| 2397 | }, | |
| 2398 | "drawing": { | |
| 2399 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2400 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2401 | "sizeArcmin": 9.5 | |
| 2402 | }, | |
| 2403 | "link": { | |
| 2404 | "messier": 90 | |
| 2405 | }, | |
| 2406 | "sources": [ | |
| 2407 | { | |
| 2408 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 90", | |
| 2409 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-90/" | |
| 2410 | }, | |
| 2411 | { | |
| 2412 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 90", | |
| 2413 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m090.html" | |
| 2414 | } | |
| 2415 | ] | |
| 2416 | }, | |
| 2417 | { | |
| 2418 | "id": "m91", | |
| 2419 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2420 | "title": "M91", | |
| 2421 | "subtitle": "Barred spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 2422 | "facts": [ | |
| 2423 | { | |
| 2424 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2425 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 2426 | "source": 0 | |
| 2427 | }, | |
| 2428 | { | |
| 2429 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2430 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 2431 | "source": 0 | |
| 2432 | }, | |
| 2433 | { | |
| 2434 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2435 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 2436 | "source": 0 | |
| 2437 | }, | |
| 2438 | { | |
| 2439 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2440 | "value": "11.0", | |
| 2441 | "source": 0 | |
| 2442 | }, | |
| 2443 | { | |
| 2444 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2445 | "value": "5.4′ × 4.4′", | |
| 2446 | "source": 1 | |
| 2447 | }, | |
| 2448 | { | |
| 2449 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2450 | "value": "NGC 4548", | |
| 2451 | "source": 1 | |
| 2452 | }, | |
| 2453 | { | |
| 2454 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2455 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2456 | "source": 0 | |
| 2457 | } | |
| 2458 | ], | |
| 2459 | "essay": "M91 is a barred spiral galaxy about 60 million light-years away in Coma Berenices, part of the Virgo Cluster. Charles Messier discovered it in March 1781, the last of nine objects (M84 to M92) he added to his catalogue on a single night. His recorded position was wrong, however, and for a long time M91 was counted as a missing object. In 1969 the Texas amateur William C. Williams showed that Messier had measured its position from M89 while thinking he was measuring from M58, which identified M91 as NGC 4548.\n\nM91 is an anaemic galaxy, with a lower rate of star formation than most spirals. Hubble images show few of the red star-forming regions that are common in other spirals' arms. Its bright central bar is the most prominent feature, with the arms faint around it.\n\nAt magnitude 11, M91 is one of the faintest objects in Messier's catalogue. In a dark sky a medium-sized telescope shows the bar as a short, faint streak with a brighter centre; the arms need a larger telescope. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2460 | "image": { | |
| 2461 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m91_wfc3_4_crop_v2_final.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2462 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and J. Lee (California Institute of Technology); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 2463 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2464 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-91/", | |
| 2465 | "caption": "Hubble view of M91 in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light." | |
| 2466 | }, | |
| 2467 | "drawing": { | |
| 2468 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2469 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2470 | "sizeArcmin": 5.4 | |
| 2471 | }, | |
| 2472 | "link": { | |
| 2473 | "messier": 91 | |
| 2474 | }, | |
| 2475 | "sources": [ | |
| 2476 | { | |
| 2477 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 91", | |
| 2478 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-91/" | |
| 2479 | }, | |
| 2480 | { | |
| 2481 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 91", | |
| 2482 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m091.html" | |
| 2483 | } | |
| 2484 | ] | |
| 2485 | }, | |
| 2486 | { | |
| 2487 | "id": "m92", | |
| 2488 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2489 | "title": "M92", | |
| 2490 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Hercules", | |
| 2491 | "facts": [ | |
| 2492 | { | |
| 2493 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2494 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 2495 | "source": 0 | |
| 2496 | }, | |
| 2497 | { | |
| 2498 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2499 | "value": "Hercules", | |
| 2500 | "source": 0 | |
| 2501 | }, | |
| 2502 | { | |
| 2503 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2504 | "value": "27,000 light-years", | |
| 2505 | "source": 0 | |
| 2506 | }, | |
| 2507 | { | |
| 2508 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2509 | "value": "6.3", | |
| 2510 | "source": 0 | |
| 2511 | }, | |
| 2512 | { | |
| 2513 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2514 | "value": "14′", | |
| 2515 | "source": 1 | |
| 2516 | }, | |
| 2517 | { | |
| 2518 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2519 | "value": "NGC 6341", | |
| 2520 | "source": 1 | |
| 2521 | }, | |
| 2522 | { | |
| 2523 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2524 | "value": "Johann Elert Bode, 1777", | |
| 2525 | "source": 0 | |
| 2526 | } | |
| 2527 | ], | |
| 2528 | "essay": "M92 is a globular cluster in Hercules, about 27,000 light-years away. Johann Elert Bode discovered it in 1777. It contains about 330,000 stars and is one of the oldest star clusters in the Milky Way, with an age close to that of the universe.\n\nLike other ancient globulars, M92 is made up almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, with only traces of heavier elements, which astronomers call metals. It formed before earlier generations of stars had produced much of these elements. Measuring the composition and brightness of its stars lets astronomers estimate the cluster's age, and M92 is often used as a reference for the oldest stellar populations.\n\nAt magnitude 6.3, M92 is one of the brighter globular clusters in the sky. It is visible to the unaided eye from a dark site, and binoculars show it easily. Within Hercules it is second only to M13, slightly fainter and about a third smaller. A small telescope shows a bright, condensed core, and medium-sized telescopes resolve its outer stars. It is best seen in July.", | |
| 2529 | "image": { | |
| 2530 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1449a.jpg", | |
| 2531 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine", | |
| 2532 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2533 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1449a/", | |
| 2534 | "caption": "Hubble view of the core of M92, combined from visible and infrared exposures." | |
| 2535 | }, | |
| 2536 | "drawing": { | |
| 2537 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2538 | "type": "globular", | |
| 2539 | "sizeArcmin": 14.0 | |
| 2540 | }, | |
| 2541 | "link": { | |
| 2542 | "messier": 92 | |
| 2543 | }, | |
| 2544 | "sources": [ | |
| 2545 | { | |
| 2546 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 92", | |
| 2547 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-92/" | |
| 2548 | }, | |
| 2549 | { | |
| 2550 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 92", | |
| 2551 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m092.html" | |
| 2552 | } | |
| 2553 | ] | |
| 2554 | }, | |
| 2555 | { | |
| 2556 | "id": "m93", | |
| 2557 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2558 | "title": "M93", | |
| 2559 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Puppis", | |
| 2560 | "facts": [ | |
| 2561 | { | |
| 2562 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2563 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 2564 | "source": 0 | |
| 2565 | }, | |
| 2566 | { | |
| 2567 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2568 | "value": "Puppis", | |
| 2569 | "source": 0 | |
| 2570 | }, | |
| 2571 | { | |
| 2572 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2573 | "value": "3,600 light-years", | |
| 2574 | "source": 0 | |
| 2575 | }, | |
| 2576 | { | |
| 2577 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2578 | "value": "6.0", | |
| 2579 | "source": 0 | |
| 2580 | }, | |
| 2581 | { | |
| 2582 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2583 | "value": "22′", | |
| 2584 | "source": 0 | |
| 2585 | }, | |
| 2586 | { | |
| 2587 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2588 | "value": "NGC 2447", | |
| 2589 | "source": 0 | |
| 2590 | }, | |
| 2591 | { | |
| 2592 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2593 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 2594 | "source": 0 | |
| 2595 | } | |
| 2596 | ], | |
| 2597 | "essay": "M93 is an open cluster in Puppis, about 3,600 light-years away. Charles Messier discovered and catalogued it on 20 March 1781. It was one of the last deep-sky objects he found himself.\n\nThe cluster has at least about 80 member stars, spread over roughly 20 to 25 light-years. Its brightest stars are hot blue giants of spectral type B9, and its age is estimated at roughly 100 million years. Observers have described its shape in different ways: as a triangle, a butterfly or a starfish.\n\nAt magnitude 6.0, M93 is a good binocular target, though it stays low in the south from mid-northern latitudes. To find it, start at the stars Omicron 1 and Omicron 2 Canis Majoris, about 8° southeast of Sirius, then move about 10° east at the same declination as Omicron 2. M93 lies close to Xi Puppis. Binoculars show a small, bright, condensed patch with a few stars resolved. A small telescope shows a compact group of stars about 20′ across. Hubble does not have a Messier catalogue page for M93; the image here is from Kitt Peak.", | |
| 2598 | "image": { | |
| 2599 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m93.jpg", | |
| 2600 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2601 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2602 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m93/", | |
| 2603 | "caption": "Burrell Schmidt telescope image of the open cluster M93 in Puppis." | |
| 2604 | }, | |
| 2605 | "drawing": { | |
| 2606 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2607 | "type": "open", | |
| 2608 | "sizeArcmin": 22.0 | |
| 2609 | }, | |
| 2610 | "link": { | |
| 2611 | "messier": 93 | |
| 2612 | }, | |
| 2613 | "sources": [ | |
| 2614 | { | |
| 2615 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 93", | |
| 2616 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m093.html" | |
| 2617 | }, | |
| 2618 | { | |
| 2619 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M93, NGC 2447", | |
| 2620 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m93/" | |
| 2621 | } | |
| 2622 | ] | |
| 2623 | }, | |
| 2624 | { | |
| 2625 | "id": "m94", | |
| 2626 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2627 | "title": "M94", | |
| 2628 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici", | |
| 2629 | "facts": [ | |
| 2630 | { | |
| 2631 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2632 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2633 | "source": 0 | |
| 2634 | }, | |
| 2635 | { | |
| 2636 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2637 | "value": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 2638 | "source": 0 | |
| 2639 | }, | |
| 2640 | { | |
| 2641 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2642 | "value": "16 million light-years", | |
| 2643 | "source": 0 | |
| 2644 | }, | |
| 2645 | { | |
| 2646 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2647 | "value": "9.0", | |
| 2648 | "source": 0 | |
| 2649 | }, | |
| 2650 | { | |
| 2651 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2652 | "value": "7′ × 3′", | |
| 2653 | "source": 1 | |
| 2654 | }, | |
| 2655 | { | |
| 2656 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2657 | "value": "NGC 4736", | |
| 2658 | "source": 1 | |
| 2659 | }, | |
| 2660 | { | |
| 2661 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2662 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2663 | "source": 0 | |
| 2664 | } | |
| 2665 | ], | |
| 2666 | "essay": "M94 is a spiral galaxy about 16 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781.\n\nThe galaxy's most visible feature is a bright ring around the core where stars are forming at a high rate, called a starburst ring. Its cause is probably a pressure wave moving outward from the centre. The wave compresses gas and dust in its path until clouds collapse under gravity and form stars. M94 was long thought to be about 30,000 light-years across, but two faint outer arms, beyond the bright inner region, were found more recently and roughly triple its known diameter. The galaxy also appears to contain less dark matter than other galaxies, for reasons that are not understood, and astronomers have studied it closely as a result.\n\nAt magnitude 9.0, M94 can be spotted through a small telescope, which shows a bright, compact core inside a fainter oval glow. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2667 | "image": { | |
| 2668 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1542a.jpg", | |
| 2669 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 2670 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2671 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1542a/", | |
| 2672 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M94, with its bright starburst ring around the core." | |
| 2673 | }, | |
| 2674 | "drawing": { | |
| 2675 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2676 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2677 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 2678 | }, | |
| 2679 | "link": { | |
| 2680 | "messier": 94 | |
| 2681 | }, | |
| 2682 | "sources": [ | |
| 2683 | { | |
| 2684 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 94", | |
| 2685 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-94/" | |
| 2686 | }, | |
| 2687 | { | |
| 2688 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 94", | |
| 2689 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m094.html" | |
| 2690 | } | |
| 2691 | ] | |
| 2692 | }, | |
| 2693 | { | |
| 2694 | "id": "m95", | |
| 2695 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2696 | "title": "M95", | |
| 2697 | "subtitle": "Barred spiral galaxy in Leo", | |
| 2698 | "facts": [ | |
| 2699 | { | |
| 2700 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2701 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 2702 | "source": 0 | |
| 2703 | }, | |
| 2704 | { | |
| 2705 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2706 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 2707 | "source": 0 | |
| 2708 | }, | |
| 2709 | { | |
| 2710 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2711 | "value": "33 million light-years", | |
| 2712 | "source": 0 | |
| 2713 | }, | |
| 2714 | { | |
| 2715 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2716 | "value": "9.7", | |
| 2717 | "source": 0 | |
| 2718 | }, | |
| 2719 | { | |
| 2720 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2721 | "value": "4.4′ × 3.3′", | |
| 2722 | "source": 1 | |
| 2723 | }, | |
| 2724 | { | |
| 2725 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2726 | "value": "NGC 3351", | |
| 2727 | "source": 1 | |
| 2728 | }, | |
| 2729 | { | |
| 2730 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2731 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2732 | "source": 0 | |
| 2733 | } | |
| 2734 | ], | |
| 2735 | "essay": "M95 is a barred spiral galaxy in Leo, about 33 million light-years away, with around 40 billion stars. Pierre Méchain discovered it in March 1781, a few days before Messier added it to his catalogue.\n\nThe galaxy's arms are very tightly wound around the core and almost circular. They are lit by many young blue stars. Around the nucleus is a ring of active star formation. Hubble has observed M95 in programmes studying how young stars relate to the cold gas they form from, and the gas clouds in nearby galaxies, to understand how star formation shapes galaxies over time.\n\nM95 belongs to the Leo I or M96 Group, along with M96, M105 and several fainter galaxies. On a clear, dark night it can be seen with good binoculars as a hazy smudge, close to M96 and M105. A small telescope shows a round glow with a brighter core, and the bar becomes visible in larger instruments. It is best seen in April.", | |
| 2736 | "image": { | |
| 2737 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/spiral/Hubble_M95_center_ma_flat_FINAL.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 2738 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, J. Lee (STScI), and R. Chandar (University of Toledo); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 2739 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2740 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-95/", | |
| 2741 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M95, combining data from two star-formation studies." | |
| 2742 | }, | |
| 2743 | "drawing": { | |
| 2744 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2745 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2746 | "sizeArcmin": 4.4 | |
| 2747 | }, | |
| 2748 | "link": { | |
| 2749 | "messier": 95 | |
| 2750 | }, | |
| 2751 | "sources": [ | |
| 2752 | { | |
| 2753 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 95", | |
| 2754 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-95/" | |
| 2755 | }, | |
| 2756 | { | |
| 2757 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 95", | |
| 2758 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m095.html" | |
| 2759 | } | |
| 2760 | ] | |
| 2761 | }, | |
| 2762 | { | |
| 2763 | "id": "m96", | |
| 2764 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2765 | "title": "M96", | |
| 2766 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Leo", | |
| 2767 | "facts": [ | |
| 2768 | { | |
| 2769 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2770 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2771 | "source": 0 | |
| 2772 | }, | |
| 2773 | { | |
| 2774 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2775 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 2776 | "source": 0 | |
| 2777 | }, | |
| 2778 | { | |
| 2779 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2780 | "value": "35 million light-years", | |
| 2781 | "source": 0 | |
| 2782 | }, | |
| 2783 | { | |
| 2784 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2785 | "value": "10.1", | |
| 2786 | "source": 0 | |
| 2787 | }, | |
| 2788 | { | |
| 2789 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2790 | "value": "6′ × 4′", | |
| 2791 | "source": 1 | |
| 2792 | }, | |
| 2793 | { | |
| 2794 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2795 | "value": "NGC 3368", | |
| 2796 | "source": 1 | |
| 2797 | }, | |
| 2798 | { | |
| 2799 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2800 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2801 | "source": 0 | |
| 2802 | } | |
| 2803 | ], | |
| 2804 | "essay": "M96 is a spiral galaxy in Leo, about 35 million light-years away, with roughly the mass and size of the Milky Way. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781, and Messier added it to his catalogue four days later.\n\nM96 is very asymmetric. Its dust and gas are unevenly spread through its weak spiral arms, and its core is not exactly at the galaxy's centre. These irregularities are thought to come from the gravitational pull of neighbouring galaxies in the M96 Group, also called Leo I, which includes M95 and M105. It is the nearest group to contain both bright spirals and a bright elliptical. Hubble's 2025 observations recorded light from ionised hydrogen and nitrogen. Pink bubbles of gas surround hot young stars in a ring of star formation in the galaxy's outer parts, and astronomers use the data to study how stars form inside dusty gas clouds.\n\nAt magnitude 10.1, M96 appears dim in the sky and is best seen with a medium-sized telescope, with M95 and M105 nearby. It shows as an oval glow with a bright centre. It is best seen in April.", | |
| 2805 | "image": { | |
| 2806 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw2534a.jpg", | |
| 2807 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, D. Calzetti", | |
| 2808 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2809 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw2534a/", | |
| 2810 | "caption": "Hubble's 2025 view of M96, with pink bubbles of ionised gas marking a ring of star formation." | |
| 2811 | }, | |
| 2812 | "drawing": { | |
| 2813 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2814 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2815 | "sizeArcmin": 6.0 | |
| 2816 | }, | |
| 2817 | "link": { | |
| 2818 | "messier": 96 | |
| 2819 | }, | |
| 2820 | "sources": [ | |
| 2821 | { | |
| 2822 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 96", | |
| 2823 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-96/" | |
| 2824 | }, | |
| 2825 | { | |
| 2826 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 96", | |
| 2827 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m096.html" | |
| 2828 | } | |
| 2829 | ] | |
| 2830 | }, | |
| 2831 | { | |
| 2832 | "id": "m97", | |
| 2833 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2834 | "title": "M97", | |
| 2835 | "subtitle": "Owl Nebula · planetary nebula in Ursa Major", | |
| 2836 | "facts": [ | |
| 2837 | { | |
| 2838 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2839 | "value": "Planetary nebula", | |
| 2840 | "source": 0 | |
| 2841 | }, | |
| 2842 | { | |
| 2843 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2844 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2845 | "source": 0 | |
| 2846 | }, | |
| 2847 | { | |
| 2848 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2849 | "value": "2,600 light-years", | |
| 2850 | "source": 0 | |
| 2851 | }, | |
| 2852 | { | |
| 2853 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2854 | "value": "9.9", | |
| 2855 | "source": 0 | |
| 2856 | }, | |
| 2857 | { | |
| 2858 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2859 | "value": "3.4′ × 3.3′", | |
| 2860 | "source": 0 | |
| 2861 | }, | |
| 2862 | { | |
| 2863 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2864 | "value": "NGC 3587", | |
| 2865 | "source": 0 | |
| 2866 | }, | |
| 2867 | { | |
| 2868 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2869 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2870 | "source": 0 | |
| 2871 | } | |
| 2872 | ], | |
| 2873 | "essay": "The Owl Nebula, M97, is a planetary nebula in Ursa Major. It is the expanding shell of gas cast off by a dying star, lit by the hot central star that remains. Pierre Méchain discovered it on 16 February 1781. It is one of four planetary nebulae in the Messier catalogue. Lord Rosse named it in 1848 after the two dark patches in its disc, which look like an owl's eyes.\n\nIts distance is uncertain. Published estimates range from about 1,300 to 12,000 light-years, and the SEDS Messier database adopts 2,600. The nebula is thought to be a cylindrical shell seen at an angle, so that its less dense ends appear as the two dark \"eyes\". A fainter outer halo surrounds it. Its central star is about 16th magnitude, and the nebula's expansion suggests it is about 6,000 years old. Hubble does not have a Messier catalogue page for M97; the image here is from Kitt Peak.\n\nM97 lies near Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris), in the bowl of the Big Dipper, and the galaxy M108 fits in the same telescopic field. At magnitude 9.9 the Owl is visible in a small telescope as a round, pale disc about 3′ across. Larger telescopes may show the two darker eyes.", | |
| 2874 | "image": { | |
| 2875 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m97.jpg", | |
| 2876 | "credit": "NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 2877 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 2878 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m97/", | |
| 2879 | "caption": "Kitt Peak 0.9-metre telescope image of the Owl Nebula, a round planetary nebula with two darker patches." | |
| 2880 | }, | |
| 2881 | "drawing": { | |
| 2882 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2883 | "type": "planetary", | |
| 2884 | "sizeArcmin": 3.4 | |
| 2885 | }, | |
| 2886 | "link": { | |
| 2887 | "messier": 97 | |
| 2888 | }, | |
| 2889 | "sources": [ | |
| 2890 | { | |
| 2891 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 97", | |
| 2892 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m097.html" | |
| 2893 | }, | |
| 2894 | { | |
| 2895 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M97, NGC 3587", | |
| 2896 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m97/" | |
| 2897 | } | |
| 2898 | ] | |
| 2899 | }, | |
| 2900 | { | |
| 2901 | "id": "m98", | |
| 2902 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2903 | "title": "M98", | |
| 2904 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 2905 | "facts": [ | |
| 2906 | { | |
| 2907 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2908 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2909 | "source": 0 | |
| 2910 | }, | |
| 2911 | { | |
| 2912 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2913 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 2914 | "source": 0 | |
| 2915 | }, | |
| 2916 | { | |
| 2917 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2918 | "value": "44 million light-years", | |
| 2919 | "source": 0 | |
| 2920 | }, | |
| 2921 | { | |
| 2922 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2923 | "value": "10.1", | |
| 2924 | "source": 0 | |
| 2925 | }, | |
| 2926 | { | |
| 2927 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2928 | "value": "9.5′ × 3.2′", | |
| 2929 | "source": 1 | |
| 2930 | }, | |
| 2931 | { | |
| 2932 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 2933 | "value": "NGC 4192", | |
| 2934 | "source": 1 | |
| 2935 | }, | |
| 2936 | { | |
| 2937 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 2938 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 2939 | "source": 0 | |
| 2940 | } | |
| 2941 | ], | |
| 2942 | "essay": "M98 is a spiral galaxy about 44 million light-years away. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster but lies just inside the neighbouring constellation Coma Berenices. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. We see it nearly edge-on, so it appears as a long, narrow oval.\n\nM98 contains about a trillion stars, along with a large amount of neutral hydrogen gas and interstellar dust. That supply of gas supports many star-forming regions, especially in the nucleus and arms. The nucleus is active, more luminous than the rest of the galaxy. Unlike most galaxies, M98 is moving toward the Milky Way. Hubble's observations of M98 were part of a study of the cores of Virgo Cluster galaxies.\n\nAt magnitude 10.1, M98 is one of the fainter objects in Messier's catalogue, and at least a medium-sized telescope is needed to see it well. It is best located from the 5th-magnitude star 6 Comae Berenices, just east of it. It appears as a thin streak of light with a slightly brighter centre. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 2943 | "image": { | |
| 2944 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m98.png", | |
| 2945 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, V. Rubin (Carnegie Institution of Washington)", | |
| 2946 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2947 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-98/", | |
| 2948 | "caption": "Hubble view of part of M98 near its core, taken in 1995 with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2." | |
| 2949 | }, | |
| 2950 | "drawing": { | |
| 2951 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 2952 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 2953 | "sizeArcmin": 9.5 | |
| 2954 | }, | |
| 2955 | "link": { | |
| 2956 | "messier": 98 | |
| 2957 | }, | |
| 2958 | "sources": [ | |
| 2959 | { | |
| 2960 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 98", | |
| 2961 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-98/" | |
| 2962 | }, | |
| 2963 | { | |
| 2964 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 98", | |
| 2965 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m098.html" | |
| 2966 | } | |
| 2967 | ] | |
| 2968 | }, | |
| 2969 | { | |
| 2970 | "id": "m99", | |
| 2971 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 2972 | "title": "M99", | |
| 2973 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 2974 | "facts": [ | |
| 2975 | { | |
| 2976 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 2977 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 2978 | "source": 0 | |
| 2979 | }, | |
| 2980 | { | |
| 2981 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2982 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 2983 | "source": 0 | |
| 2984 | }, | |
| 2985 | { | |
| 2986 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2987 | "value": "55 million light-years", | |
| 2988 | "source": 0 | |
| 2989 | }, | |
| 2990 | { | |
| 2991 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2992 | "value": "10.4", | |
| 2993 | "source": 0 | |
| 2994 | }, | |
| 2995 | { | |
| 2996 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 2997 | "value": "5.4′ × 4.8′", | |
| 2998 | "source": 1 | |
| 2999 | }, | |
| 3000 | { | |
| 3001 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3002 | "value": "NGC 4254", | |
| 3003 | "source": 1 | |
| 3004 | }, | |
| 3005 | { | |
| 3006 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3007 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3008 | "source": 0 | |
| 3009 | } | |
| 3010 | ], | |
| 3011 | "essay": "M99 is a spiral galaxy about 55 million light-years away in Coma Berenices, part of the Virgo Cluster. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. It is a grand-design spiral, with long, clearly defined arms, seen almost face-on. In the 1840s it was one of the first galaxies in which Lord Rosse recognised spiral structure.\n\nOne object in M99 has resisted classification. PTF 10fqs, discovered in April 2010, brightened more than a nova but less than a supernova. Proposed explanations include a giant planet falling into its parent star. Hubble imaged the region in June 2010, while the outburst was fading, to pin down the star's position so that other telescopes could return to it later.\n\nAt magnitude 10.4, M99 needs a moderately sized telescope. It lies close to M98 and M100, which Méchain found on the same night in March 1781. A small telescope shows a round glow with a brighter middle, and larger apertures under dark skies hint at the arms. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 3012 | "image": { | |
| 3013 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1223a.jpg", | |
| 3014 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: Matej Novak", | |
| 3015 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3016 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1223a/", | |
| 3017 | "caption": "Hubble view of the spiral arms on one side of M99, in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light." | |
| 3018 | }, | |
| 3019 | "drawing": { | |
| 3020 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3021 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3022 | "sizeArcmin": 5.4 | |
| 3023 | }, | |
| 3024 | "link": { | |
| 3025 | "messier": 99 | |
| 3026 | }, | |
| 3027 | "sources": [ | |
| 3028 | { | |
| 3029 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 99", | |
| 3030 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-99/" | |
| 3031 | }, | |
| 3032 | { | |
| 3033 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 99", | |
| 3034 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m099.html" | |
| 3035 | } | |
| 3036 | ] | |
| 3037 | }, | |
| 3038 | { | |
| 3039 | "id": "m100", | |
| 3040 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3041 | "title": "M100", | |
| 3042 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices", | |
| 3043 | "facts": [ | |
| 3044 | { | |
| 3045 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3046 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 3047 | "source": 0 | |
| 3048 | }, | |
| 3049 | { | |
| 3050 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3051 | "value": "Coma Berenices", | |
| 3052 | "source": 0 | |
| 3053 | }, | |
| 3054 | { | |
| 3055 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3056 | "value": "56 million light-years", | |
| 3057 | "source": 0 | |
| 3058 | }, | |
| 3059 | { | |
| 3060 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3061 | "value": "10.1", | |
| 3062 | "source": 0 | |
| 3063 | }, | |
| 3064 | { | |
| 3065 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3066 | "value": "7′ × 6′", | |
| 3067 | "source": 1 | |
| 3068 | }, | |
| 3069 | { | |
| 3070 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3071 | "value": "NGC 4321", | |
| 3072 | "source": 1 | |
| 3073 | }, | |
| 3074 | { | |
| 3075 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3076 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3077 | "source": 0 | |
| 3078 | } | |
| 3079 | ], | |
| 3080 | "essay": "M100 is a grand-design spiral galaxy about 56 million light-years away in Coma Berenices. It is one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. Its prominent arms are marked by dust lanes and active star formation, and they contain several small black holes, including the youngest yet observed in our cosmic neighbourhood.\n\nM100 has a place in Hubble's history. Images taken in 1993 with the original camera were blurred by the flaw in the telescope's main mirror. After the first servicing mission in December 1993 installed a camera with corrective optics, M100 was photographed again and came into sharp focus. Hubble then resolved individual Cepheid variable stars in its arms. The time a Cepheid takes to complete one pulsation indicates its true brightness, and comparing that with how bright it appears gave a distance to the galaxy of 56 million light-years.\n\nAt magnitude 10.1, M100 can be seen through small telescopes, but only as a faint, round patch of light with a brighter centre. Its light is spread over about 7′. Larger telescopes under dark skies show the spiral structure. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 3081 | "image": { | |
| 3082 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA15910/PIA15910~orig.jpg", | |
| 3083 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 3084 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3085 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA15910", | |
| 3086 | "caption": "Spitzer infrared view of M100 showing its well-defined spiral arms." | |
| 3087 | }, | |
| 3088 | "drawing": { | |
| 3089 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3090 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3091 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 3092 | }, | |
| 3093 | "link": { | |
| 3094 | "messier": 100 | |
| 3095 | }, | |
| 3096 | "sources": [ | |
| 3097 | { | |
| 3098 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 100", | |
| 3099 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-100/" | |
| 3100 | }, | |
| 3101 | { | |
| 3102 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 100", | |
| 3103 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m100.html" | |
| 3104 | } | |
| 3105 | ] | |
| 3106 | }, | |
| 3107 | { | |
| 3108 | "id": "m101", | |
| 3109 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3110 | "title": "M101", | |
| 3111 | "subtitle": "Pinwheel Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Ursa Major", | |
| 3112 | "facts": [ | |
| 3113 | { | |
| 3114 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3115 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 3116 | "source": 0 | |
| 3117 | }, | |
| 3118 | { | |
| 3119 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3120 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 3121 | "source": 0 | |
| 3122 | }, | |
| 3123 | { | |
| 3124 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3125 | "value": "25 million light-years", | |
| 3126 | "source": 0 | |
| 3127 | }, | |
| 3128 | { | |
| 3129 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3130 | "value": "7.9", | |
| 3131 | "source": 0 | |
| 3132 | }, | |
| 3133 | { | |
| 3134 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3135 | "value": "22′", | |
| 3136 | "source": 1 | |
| 3137 | }, | |
| 3138 | { | |
| 3139 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3140 | "value": "NGC 5457", | |
| 3141 | "source": 1 | |
| 3142 | }, | |
| 3143 | { | |
| 3144 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3145 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3146 | "source": 0 | |
| 3147 | } | |
| 3148 | ], | |
| 3149 | "essay": "M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, is a face-on spiral galaxy about 25 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. The disc is about 170,000 light-years across, nearly twice the diameter of the Milky Way, and contains at least one trillion stars.\n\nIts arms are lined with large star-forming nebulae inside giant clouds of molecular hydrogen, and with young clusters of hot blue stars. Because it is close and seen face-on, M101 is a standard target for studies of galaxy structure. Hubble's mosaic of the galaxy was assembled from 51 exposures taken over nearly ten years. More recently, Webb's infrared observations of its centre have been used to study polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, complex carbon-based molecules found in the smallest dust grains.\n\nM101 has an overall magnitude of 7.9, but its light is spread across about 22′, so its surface brightness is low and it is hard to see under light-polluted skies. It lies near the end of the Big Dipper's handle. Under a dark sky a small telescope shows a large, faint glow around a brighter core. Larger instruments show the arms and the brightest knots of star formation within them. It is best seen in June.", | |
| 3150 | "image": { | |
| 3151 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/missions/hubble/galaxies/spiral/M101_HST_MIRI_V3_flat_FINAL.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 3152 | "credit": "NASA, CSA, ESA, D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts - Amherst), C. Clark (Space Telescope Science Institute - ESA - JWST), K. Kuntz (The John Hopkins University), and B. Shappee (University of Hawaii) ; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 3153 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3154 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-101/", | |
| 3155 | "caption": "Combined Hubble and Webb view of the centre of M101 in ultraviolet, visible and infrared light." | |
| 3156 | }, | |
| 3157 | "drawing": { | |
| 3158 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3159 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3160 | "sizeArcmin": 22.0 | |
| 3161 | }, | |
| 3162 | "link": { | |
| 3163 | "messier": 101 | |
| 3164 | }, | |
| 3165 | "sources": [ | |
| 3166 | { | |
| 3167 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 101", | |
| 3168 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-101/" | |
| 3169 | }, | |
| 3170 | { | |
| 3171 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 101", | |
| 3172 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m101.html" | |
| 3173 | } | |
| 3174 | ] | |
| 3175 | }, | |
| 3176 | { | |
| 3177 | "id": "m102", | |
| 3178 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3179 | "title": "M102", | |
| 3180 | "subtitle": "Identity disputed · probably the Spindle Galaxy, a lenticular galaxy in Draco", | |
| 3181 | "facts": [ | |
| 3182 | { | |
| 3183 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3184 | "value": "Lenticular galaxy", | |
| 3185 | "source": 0 | |
| 3186 | }, | |
| 3187 | { | |
| 3188 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3189 | "value": "Draco", | |
| 3190 | "source": 0 | |
| 3191 | }, | |
| 3192 | { | |
| 3193 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3194 | "value": "44 million light-years", | |
| 3195 | "source": 0 | |
| 3196 | }, | |
| 3197 | { | |
| 3198 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3199 | "value": "10.7", | |
| 3200 | "source": 0 | |
| 3201 | }, | |
| 3202 | { | |
| 3203 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3204 | "value": "5.2′ × 2.3′", | |
| 3205 | "source": 1 | |
| 3206 | }, | |
| 3207 | { | |
| 3208 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3209 | "value": "NGC 5866 (if M102 is the Spindle Galaxy)", | |
| 3210 | "source": 1 | |
| 3211 | }, | |
| 3212 | { | |
| 3213 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3214 | "value": "Disputed: probably Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier, 1781; William Herschel independently, 1788", | |
| 3215 | "source": 1 | |
| 3216 | } | |
| 3217 | ], | |
| 3218 | "essay": "The identity of M102 is disputed. Pierre Méchain reported the object in 1781, and Messier listed it without checking it himself or giving a position. In 1783 Méchain wrote that M102 was an accidental duplicate of M101. However, Messier's description, and a position he later added by hand to his own copy of the catalogue, point to the lenticular galaxy NGC 5866 in Draco. NASA and many modern lists adopt NGC 5866 as M102; others leave the entry as a duplicate of M101. The facts here describe NGC 5866.\n\nNGC 5866, the Spindle Galaxy, is about 44 million light-years away and seen almost exactly edge-on. Hubble images show a crisp dust lane dividing the galaxy into two halves. The lane is slightly warped relative to the disc of stars, which suggests a past gravitational encounter with a neighbour; NGC 5866 is the largest member of a small galaxy group. Its outer halo contains many globular clusters, and more distant galaxies show through it.\n\nNGC 5866 lies about 3° southwest of Iota Draconis. At magnitude 10.7, it can be found with a small telescope as a bright, thin streak with a brighter centre. The dust lane needs a larger telescope. It is best seen in June.", | |
| 3219 | "image": { | |
| 3220 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ngc5866.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 3221 | "credit": "NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)", | |
| 3222 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3223 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-102/", | |
| 3224 | "caption": "Hubble view of NGC 5866, the Spindle Galaxy, with its thin dust lane seen edge-on." | |
| 3225 | }, | |
| 3226 | "drawing": { | |
| 3227 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3228 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3229 | "sizeArcmin": 5.2 | |
| 3230 | }, | |
| 3231 | "link": { | |
| 3232 | "messier": 102 | |
| 3233 | }, | |
| 3234 | "sources": [ | |
| 3235 | { | |
| 3236 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 102", | |
| 3237 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-102/" | |
| 3238 | }, | |
| 3239 | { | |
| 3240 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 102", | |
| 3241 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m102.html" | |
| 3242 | } | |
| 3243 | ] | |
| 3244 | }, | |
| 3245 | { | |
| 3246 | "id": "m103", | |
| 3247 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3248 | "title": "M103", | |
| 3249 | "subtitle": "Open cluster in Cassiopeia", | |
| 3250 | "facts": [ | |
| 3251 | { | |
| 3252 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3253 | "value": "Open cluster", | |
| 3254 | "source": 0 | |
| 3255 | }, | |
| 3256 | { | |
| 3257 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3258 | "value": "Cassiopeia", | |
| 3259 | "source": 0 | |
| 3260 | }, | |
| 3261 | { | |
| 3262 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3263 | "value": "8,500 light-years", | |
| 3264 | "source": 0 | |
| 3265 | }, | |
| 3266 | { | |
| 3267 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3268 | "value": "7.4", | |
| 3269 | "source": 0 | |
| 3270 | }, | |
| 3271 | { | |
| 3272 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3273 | "value": "6′", | |
| 3274 | "source": 0 | |
| 3275 | }, | |
| 3276 | { | |
| 3277 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3278 | "value": "NGC 581", | |
| 3279 | "source": 0 | |
| 3280 | }, | |
| 3281 | { | |
| 3282 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3283 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3284 | "source": 0 | |
| 3285 | } | |
| 3286 | ], | |
| 3287 | "essay": "M103 is an open cluster in Cassiopeia, about 8,500 light-years away, one of the more distant open clusters in Messier's catalogue. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. Messier added it to his catalogue from Méchain's report without observing it himself. It was one of the last three entries in his original published list, with M101 and M102.\n\nHarlow Shapley once suspected M103 was a chance grouping of unrelated stars. Measurements showing that its stars share a common motion through space have since confirmed it as a real cluster. Estimates of its membership range from about 25 stars to 172 in a modern catalogue. Its brightest members are a blue supergiant and a blue giant of about 10th magnitude. It also contains one red giant, which stands out in colour images. Age estimates range from about 9 to 25 million years. The bright double star Struve 131 at its northwest edge is not a member.\n\nM103 lies about 1° east-northeast of Ruchbah (Delta Cassiopeiae), the star at the left end of Cassiopeia's W. At magnitude 7.4 it is easy to find in binoculars as a small, fan-shaped haze, and a small telescope resolves a compact group of stars about 6′ across. Hubble does not have a Messier catalogue page for M103; the image here is from Kitt Peak.", | |
| 3288 | "image": { | |
| 3289 | "url": "https://storage.noirlab.edu/media/archives/images/screen/noao-m103.jpg", | |
| 3290 | "credit": "Hillary Mathis, N.A.Sharp/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA", | |
| 3291 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3292 | "page": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m103/", | |
| 3293 | "caption": "Kitt Peak image of the open cluster M103, with the bright, unrelated double star Struve 131 at upper right." | |
| 3294 | }, | |
| 3295 | "drawing": { | |
| 3296 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3297 | "type": "open", | |
| 3298 | "sizeArcmin": 6.0 | |
| 3299 | }, | |
| 3300 | "link": { | |
| 3301 | "messier": 103 | |
| 3302 | }, | |
| 3303 | "sources": [ | |
| 3304 | { | |
| 3305 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 103", | |
| 3306 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m103.html" | |
| 3307 | }, | |
| 3308 | { | |
| 3309 | "title": "NOIRLab image: M103, NGC 581", | |
| 3310 | "url": "https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-m103/" | |
| 3311 | } | |
| 3312 | ] | |
| 3313 | }, | |
| 3314 | { | |
| 3315 | "id": "m104", | |
| 3316 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3317 | "title": "M104", | |
| 3318 | "subtitle": "Sombrero Galaxy · spiral galaxy in Virgo", | |
| 3319 | "facts": [ | |
| 3320 | { | |
| 3321 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3322 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 3323 | "source": 0 | |
| 3324 | }, | |
| 3325 | { | |
| 3326 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3327 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 3328 | "source": 0 | |
| 3329 | }, | |
| 3330 | { | |
| 3331 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3332 | "value": "28 million light-years", | |
| 3333 | "source": 0 | |
| 3334 | }, | |
| 3335 | { | |
| 3336 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3337 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 3338 | "source": 0 | |
| 3339 | }, | |
| 3340 | { | |
| 3341 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3342 | "value": "9′ × 4′", | |
| 3343 | "source": 1 | |
| 3344 | }, | |
| 3345 | { | |
| 3346 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3347 | "value": "NGC 4594", | |
| 3348 | "source": 1 | |
| 3349 | }, | |
| 3350 | { | |
| 3351 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3352 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3353 | "source": 0 | |
| 3354 | } | |
| 3355 | ], | |
| 3356 | "essay": "M104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy about 28 million light-years away in Virgo, seen nearly edge-on. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781. It was not in Messier's published catalogue; Messier added it by hand to his own copy in May 1781, and it joined the official list in the 20th century.\n\nIts appearance comes from a bright, bulging core encircled by a thick lane of dust that marks the spiral arms and is where the galaxy forms stars. With a mass of about 800 billion Suns, it is one of the most massive objects in the Virgo galaxy cluster. It has nearly 2,000 globular clusters, ten times as many as the Milky Way, aged 10 to 13 billion years, and Hubble resolves many of them. A smaller disc, tilted relative to the main disc, is embedded in the core, and X-ray emission points to material falling onto a massive black hole at the centre.\n\nAt magnitude 8.0, M104 is beyond naked-eye visibility but easy in small telescopes, which show a bright, spindle-shaped glow. We see it from only about 6° below the plane of its disc, which is why the dust lane appears as a thin dark rim. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 3357 | "image": { | |
| 3358 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sombrero-galaxy-hubble.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 3359 | "credit": "NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)", | |
| 3360 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3361 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-104/", | |
| 3362 | "caption": "Hubble mosaic of the Sombrero Galaxy: a bright white core ringed by a thick, dark dust lane." | |
| 3363 | }, | |
| 3364 | "drawing": { | |
| 3365 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3366 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3367 | "sizeArcmin": 9.0 | |
| 3368 | }, | |
| 3369 | "link": { | |
| 3370 | "messier": 104 | |
| 3371 | }, | |
| 3372 | "sources": [ | |
| 3373 | { | |
| 3374 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 104", | |
| 3375 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-104/" | |
| 3376 | }, | |
| 3377 | { | |
| 3378 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 104", | |
| 3379 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m104.html" | |
| 3380 | } | |
| 3381 | ] | |
| 3382 | }, | |
| 3383 | { | |
| 3384 | "id": "m105", | |
| 3385 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3386 | "title": "M105", | |
| 3387 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Leo", | |
| 3388 | "facts": [ | |
| 3389 | { | |
| 3390 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3391 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 3392 | "source": 0 | |
| 3393 | }, | |
| 3394 | { | |
| 3395 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3396 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 3397 | "source": 0 | |
| 3398 | }, | |
| 3399 | { | |
| 3400 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3401 | "value": "32 million light-years", | |
| 3402 | "source": 0 | |
| 3403 | }, | |
| 3404 | { | |
| 3405 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3406 | "value": "10.2", | |
| 3407 | "source": 0 | |
| 3408 | }, | |
| 3409 | { | |
| 3410 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3411 | "value": "2′", | |
| 3412 | "source": 1 | |
| 3413 | }, | |
| 3414 | { | |
| 3415 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3416 | "value": "NGC 3379", | |
| 3417 | "source": 1 | |
| 3418 | }, | |
| 3419 | { | |
| 3420 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3421 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3422 | "source": 0 | |
| 3423 | } | |
| 3424 | ], | |
| 3425 | "essay": "M105 is an elliptical galaxy in Leo, about 32 million light-years away. It is the largest elliptical in the Messier catalogue outside the Virgo Cluster. It belongs to the M96 or Leo I Group with M95 and M96. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781, a few days after M95 and M96, but it was not in Messier's original catalogue. Helen Sawyer Hogg added it in 1947 after finding a letter in which Méchain described it.\n\nM105 looks smooth and featureless, but Hubble found that stars near its centre are moving very fast. They orbit a supermassive black hole of up to about 200 million solar masses. Matter falling into the black hole makes the nucleus an active galactic nucleus, brighter than its surroundings. Hubble also found young stars and star clusters in M105, so star formation is still continuing in a galaxy once thought to have stopped forming stars.\n\nAt magnitude 10.2, M105 can be spotted with a small telescope near M95 and M96, as a round glow with a bright centre. Larger telescopes show two fainter galaxies close to it, NGC 3384 and NGC 3389. It is best seen in April.", | |
| 3426 | "image": { | |
| 3427 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m105.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 3428 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI, and C. Sarazin (University of Virginia)", | |
| 3429 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3430 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-105/", | |
| 3431 | "caption": "Hubble view of the elliptical galaxy M105, smooth and featureless with a bright centre." | |
| 3432 | }, | |
| 3433 | "drawing": { | |
| 3434 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3435 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3436 | "sizeArcmin": 2.0 | |
| 3437 | }, | |
| 3438 | "link": { | |
| 3439 | "messier": 105 | |
| 3440 | }, | |
| 3441 | "sources": [ | |
| 3442 | { | |
| 3443 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 105", | |
| 3444 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-105/" | |
| 3445 | }, | |
| 3446 | { | |
| 3447 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 105", | |
| 3448 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m105.html" | |
| 3449 | } | |
| 3450 | ] | |
| 3451 | }, | |
| 3452 | { | |
| 3453 | "id": "m106", | |
| 3454 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3455 | "title": "M106", | |
| 3456 | "subtitle": "Spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici", | |
| 3457 | "facts": [ | |
| 3458 | { | |
| 3459 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3460 | "value": "Spiral galaxy", | |
| 3461 | "source": 0 | |
| 3462 | }, | |
| 3463 | { | |
| 3464 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3465 | "value": "Canes Venatici", | |
| 3466 | "source": 0 | |
| 3467 | }, | |
| 3468 | { | |
| 3469 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3470 | "value": "24 million light-years", | |
| 3471 | "source": 0 | |
| 3472 | }, | |
| 3473 | { | |
| 3474 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3475 | "value": "9.1", | |
| 3476 | "source": 0 | |
| 3477 | }, | |
| 3478 | { | |
| 3479 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3480 | "value": "19′ × 8′", | |
| 3481 | "source": 1 | |
| 3482 | }, | |
| 3483 | { | |
| 3484 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3485 | "value": "NGC 4258", | |
| 3486 | "source": 1 | |
| 3487 | }, | |
| 3488 | { | |
| 3489 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3490 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3491 | "source": 0 | |
| 3492 | } | |
| 3493 | ], | |
| 3494 | "essay": "M106 is a spiral galaxy about 24 million light-years away in Canes Venatici. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781, though it was not included in Messier's catalogue until the 20th century.\n\nMost spiral galaxies have one pair of arms. M106 has an additional pair that shows up as red wisps of glowing gas in images. Unlike the main arms, these are made of hot gas rather than stars. Astronomers attribute them to the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's centre, as an indirect effect of the violent churning of matter around it. Hubble has also observed M106 in its Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), an ultraviolet survey of star-forming galaxies in the nearby universe.\n\nAt magnitude 9.1, M106 is relatively bright and can be spotted with a small telescope. It lies in the northern part of Canes Venatici, south of the Big Dipper's bowl. A small telescope shows a long oval glow, about 19′ by 8′, with a bright core. A larger telescope is needed to see detail in the arms. It is best seen in May.", | |
| 3495 | "image": { | |
| 3496 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/heic1302a.jpg", | |
| 3497 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team). Acknowledgment: J. GaBany", | |
| 3498 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3499 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/heic1302a/", | |
| 3500 | "caption": "Hubble and ground-based view of M106, with red wisps of hot gas forming an extra pair of arms." | |
| 3501 | }, | |
| 3502 | "drawing": { | |
| 3503 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3504 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3505 | "sizeArcmin": 19.0 | |
| 3506 | }, | |
| 3507 | "link": { | |
| 3508 | "messier": 106 | |
| 3509 | }, | |
| 3510 | "sources": [ | |
| 3511 | { | |
| 3512 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 106", | |
| 3513 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-106/" | |
| 3514 | }, | |
| 3515 | { | |
| 3516 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 106", | |
| 3517 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m106.html" | |
| 3518 | } | |
| 3519 | ] | |
| 3520 | }, | |
| 3521 | { | |
| 3522 | "id": "m107", | |
| 3523 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3524 | "title": "M107", | |
| 3525 | "subtitle": "Globular cluster in Ophiuchus", | |
| 3526 | "facts": [ | |
| 3527 | { | |
| 3528 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3529 | "value": "Globular cluster", | |
| 3530 | "source": 0 | |
| 3531 | }, | |
| 3532 | { | |
| 3533 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3534 | "value": "Ophiuchus", | |
| 3535 | "source": 0 | |
| 3536 | }, | |
| 3537 | { | |
| 3538 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3539 | "value": "20,000 light-years", | |
| 3540 | "source": 0 | |
| 3541 | }, | |
| 3542 | { | |
| 3543 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3544 | "value": "8.9", | |
| 3545 | "source": 0 | |
| 3546 | }, | |
| 3547 | { | |
| 3548 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3549 | "value": "13′", | |
| 3550 | "source": 1 | |
| 3551 | }, | |
| 3552 | { | |
| 3553 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3554 | "value": "NGC 6171", | |
| 3555 | "source": 1 | |
| 3556 | }, | |
| 3557 | { | |
| 3558 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3559 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1782", | |
| 3560 | "source": 0 | |
| 3561 | } | |
| 3562 | ], | |
| 3563 | "essay": "M107 is a globular cluster in Ophiuchus, about 20,000 light-years away. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1782, and William Herschel found it independently a year later. It was the last Messier object to be discovered. M104 through M109 were all found by Méchain and were known as \"Méchain objects\" until Helen Sawyer Hogg added them to the Messier catalogue in 1947.\n\nM107 is one of about 150 globular clusters around the Milky Way. Each contains hundreds of thousands of very old stars and ranks among the oldest objects in the galaxy. As globulars go, M107 is not especially dense. Compared with tightly packed clusters such as M53 or M54, its stars are more spread out and stand apart from one another, which shows clearly in Hubble's image.\n\nAt magnitude 8.9, M107 can be spotted through a small telescope or binoculars. Small telescopes show a round glow. Because the cluster is loosely concentrated, medium apertures begin to resolve its stars. It is best seen in July.", | |
| 3564 | "image": { | |
| 3565 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1229a.jpg", | |
| 3566 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 3567 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3568 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1229a/", | |
| 3569 | "caption": "Hubble view of the centre of M107, a loosely packed globular cluster." | |
| 3570 | }, | |
| 3571 | "drawing": { | |
| 3572 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3573 | "type": "globular", | |
| 3574 | "sizeArcmin": 13.0 | |
| 3575 | }, | |
| 3576 | "link": { | |
| 3577 | "messier": 107 | |
| 3578 | }, | |
| 3579 | "sources": [ | |
| 3580 | { | |
| 3581 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 107", | |
| 3582 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-107/" | |
| 3583 | }, | |
| 3584 | { | |
| 3585 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 107", | |
| 3586 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m107.html" | |
| 3587 | } | |
| 3588 | ] | |
| 3589 | }, | |
| 3590 | { | |
| 3591 | "id": "m108", | |
| 3592 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3593 | "title": "M108", | |
| 3594 | "subtitle": "Surfboard Galaxy · barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major", | |
| 3595 | "facts": [ | |
| 3596 | { | |
| 3597 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3598 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 3599 | "source": 0 | |
| 3600 | }, | |
| 3601 | { | |
| 3602 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3603 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 3604 | "source": 0 | |
| 3605 | }, | |
| 3606 | { | |
| 3607 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3608 | "value": "46 million light-years", | |
| 3609 | "source": 0 | |
| 3610 | }, | |
| 3611 | { | |
| 3612 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3613 | "value": "10.0", | |
| 3614 | "source": 0 | |
| 3615 | }, | |
| 3616 | { | |
| 3617 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3618 | "value": "8′ × 1′", | |
| 3619 | "source": 1 | |
| 3620 | }, | |
| 3621 | { | |
| 3622 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3623 | "value": "NGC 3556", | |
| 3624 | "source": 1 | |
| 3625 | }, | |
| 3626 | { | |
| 3627 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3628 | "value": "Pierre Méchain, 1781", | |
| 3629 | "source": 0 | |
| 3630 | } | |
| 3631 | ], | |
| 3632 | "essay": "M108, sometimes called the Surfboard Galaxy, is a barred spiral about 46 million light-years away in Ursa Major. Seen nearly edge-on, it shows no obvious bulge or bright core. Pierre Méchain discovered it in 1781, three days after M97. Messier noted it but never measured an accurate position, and Owen Gingerich added it to the catalogue in 1953.\n\nThe galaxy has no well-defined spiral pattern, but it is classified as a barred spiral with loosely wound arms. Hubble images show young star clusters against a mottled, detailed background. M108 also contains supershells, large shells of gas driven out by bursts of star formation and the supernovae that follow. At the centre is a black hole of about 24 million solar masses. The Chandra X-ray Observatory found several X-ray sources in the galaxy, the brightest possibly an intermediate-mass black hole that is actively pulling in material.\n\nM108 lies near Merak (Beta Ursae Majoris), just under the bowl of the Big Dipper, and the Owl Nebula, M97, fits in the same telescopic field. At magnitude 10, it shows in small telescopes as an elongated streak of light with a brighter middle. Telescopes 8 inches or larger reveal more detail. It is best seen in April.", | |
| 3633 | "image": { | |
| 3634 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/hubble-m108-1-flat-final-new.jpg", | |
| 3635 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (The Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 3636 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3637 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-108/", | |
| 3638 | "caption": "Hubble view of part of M108, showing young star clusters against a mottled background." | |
| 3639 | }, | |
| 3640 | "drawing": { | |
| 3641 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3642 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3643 | "sizeArcmin": 8.0 | |
| 3644 | }, | |
| 3645 | "link": { | |
| 3646 | "messier": 108 | |
| 3647 | }, | |
| 3648 | "sources": [ | |
| 3649 | { | |
| 3650 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 108", | |
| 3651 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-108/" | |
| 3652 | }, | |
| 3653 | { | |
| 3654 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 108", | |
| 3655 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m108.html" | |
| 3656 | } | |
| 3657 | ] | |
| 3658 | }, | |
| 3659 | { | |
| 3660 | "id": "m109", | |
| 3661 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3662 | "title": "M109", | |
| 3663 | "subtitle": "Barred spiral galaxy in Ursa Major", | |
| 3664 | "facts": [ | |
| 3665 | { | |
| 3666 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3667 | "value": "Barred spiral galaxy", | |
| 3668 | "source": 0 | |
| 3669 | }, | |
| 3670 | { | |
| 3671 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3672 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 3673 | "source": 0 | |
| 3674 | }, | |
| 3675 | { | |
| 3676 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3677 | "value": "60 million light-years", | |
| 3678 | "source": 0 | |
| 3679 | }, | |
| 3680 | { | |
| 3681 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3682 | "value": "9.8", | |
| 3683 | "source": 0 | |
| 3684 | }, | |
| 3685 | { | |
| 3686 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3687 | "value": "7′ × 4′", | |
| 3688 | "source": 1 | |
| 3689 | }, | |
| 3690 | { | |
| 3691 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3692 | "value": "NGC 3992", | |
| 3693 | "source": 1 | |
| 3694 | }, | |
| 3695 | { | |
| 3696 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3697 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1781", | |
| 3698 | "source": 0 | |
| 3699 | } | |
| 3700 | ], | |
| 3701 | "essay": "M109 is a barred spiral galaxy about 60 million light-years away in Ursa Major. It is the brightest member of the Ursa Major galaxy group of roughly 80 galaxies. It contains about a trillion stars, and its structure may be shaped by interactions with three satellite galaxies. Charles Messier observed it in 1781, but it was not formally added to his catalogue until 1953. Its history is tangled: research in 2006 suggested that Méchain had actually reported the nearby galaxy NGC 3953, so Messier may have been the first to see NGC 3992.\n\nThe galaxy has a clear central bar inside a ring of arms, a shape often compared to the Greek letter theta. Hubble observed its bright core as part of a study of supermassive black holes in a wide range of galaxies.\n\nM109 lies just southeast of Phecda (Gamma Ursae Majoris), the corner of the Big Dipper's bowl nearest the handle, and a wide-field eyepiece can show both in the same view. At magnitude 9.8 it is dim and diffuse and hard to pick out in light-polluted skies. Under dark skies a small telescope shows a faint streak, and larger telescopes show the nucleus within a fuzzy haze. It is best seen in spring.", | |
| 3702 | "image": { | |
| 3703 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/hubble-m109-wfc3-2flat.jpg?w=1600", | |
| 3704 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, and J. Walsh (Texas A&M University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)", | |
| 3705 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3706 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-109/", | |
| 3707 | "caption": "Hubble view of the bright core of M109 in visible and infrared light." | |
| 3708 | }, | |
| 3709 | "drawing": { | |
| 3710 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3711 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3712 | "sizeArcmin": 7.0 | |
| 3713 | }, | |
| 3714 | "link": { | |
| 3715 | "messier": 109 | |
| 3716 | }, | |
| 3717 | "sources": [ | |
| 3718 | { | |
| 3719 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 109", | |
| 3720 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-109/" | |
| 3721 | }, | |
| 3722 | { | |
| 3723 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 109", | |
| 3724 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m109.html" | |
| 3725 | } | |
| 3726 | ] | |
| 3727 | }, | |
| 3728 | { | |
| 3729 | "id": "m110", | |
| 3730 | "section": "deep-sky", | |
| 3731 | "title": "M110", | |
| 3732 | "subtitle": "Elliptical galaxy in Andromeda", | |
| 3733 | "facts": [ | |
| 3734 | { | |
| 3735 | "label": "Object type", | |
| 3736 | "value": "Elliptical galaxy", | |
| 3737 | "source": 0 | |
| 3738 | }, | |
| 3739 | { | |
| 3740 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3741 | "value": "Andromeda", | |
| 3742 | "source": 0 | |
| 3743 | }, | |
| 3744 | { | |
| 3745 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3746 | "value": "2.7 million light-years", | |
| 3747 | "source": 0 | |
| 3748 | }, | |
| 3749 | { | |
| 3750 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3751 | "value": "8.0", | |
| 3752 | "source": 0 | |
| 3753 | }, | |
| 3754 | { | |
| 3755 | "label": "Apparent size", | |
| 3756 | "value": "17′ × 10′", | |
| 3757 | "source": 1 | |
| 3758 | }, | |
| 3759 | { | |
| 3760 | "label": "NGC number", | |
| 3761 | "value": "NGC 205", | |
| 3762 | "source": 1 | |
| 3763 | }, | |
| 3764 | { | |
| 3765 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 3766 | "value": "Charles Messier, 1773", | |
| 3767 | "source": 0 | |
| 3768 | } | |
| 3769 | ], | |
| 3770 | "essay": "M110 is a small elliptical galaxy and a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy, M31. It is about 2.7 million light-years away and a member of the Local Group. Charles Messier observed it in 1773 and included it in his drawing of M31 and its companions, but never listed it in his catalogue. Caroline Herschel found it independently in 1783. Kenneth Glyn Jones added it as M110 in 1966, the last object to join the list.\n\nM110 contains about 10 billion stars and at least eight globular clusters. Elliptical galaxies usually lack spiral arms, gas and new stars, and are often described as dead. M110 is an exception: it contains clouds of gas and dust, visible as dark patches in Hubble images, and there is evidence of a population of young blue stars at its centre.\n\nM110 is easy to find because it lies close to the core of the Andromeda Galaxy, on the opposite side from the smaller satellite M32. At magnitude 8.0 it can be seen in binoculars under dark skies as a faint, elongated glow. Small telescopes show a diffuse patch, and larger telescopes show an oval shape with a slightly brighter core. It is best seen in November.", | |
| 3771 | "image": { | |
| 3772 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/m110.png", | |
| 3773 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, STScI and D. Geisler (Universidad de Concepción)", | |
| 3774 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 3775 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-110/", | |
| 3776 | "caption": "Hubble view of part of M110, with its core at lower right and dark clouds of dust near the centre." | |
| 3777 | }, | |
| 3778 | "drawing": { | |
| 3779 | "kind": "deep-sky", | |
| 3780 | "type": "galaxy", | |
| 3781 | "sizeArcmin": 17.0 | |
| 3782 | }, | |
| 3783 | "link": { | |
| 3784 | "messier": 110 | |
| 3785 | }, | |
| 3786 | "sources": [ | |
| 3787 | { | |
| 3788 | "title": "NASA Hubble Messier Catalog: Messier 110", | |
| 3789 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-110/" | |
| 3790 | }, | |
| 3791 | { | |
| 3792 | "title": "SEDS Messier Database: Messier 110", | |
| 3793 | "url": "http://www.messier.seds.org/m/m110.html" | |
| 3794 | } | |
| 3795 | ] | |
| 3796 | } | |
| 3797 | ] | |
| \ No newline at end of file | ||
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/dwarf-planets.json added +346
| @@ -0,0 +1,346 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "ceres", | |
| 4 | "section": "dwarf-planets", | |
| 5 | "title": "Ceres", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Dwarf planet in the asteroid belt", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 10 | "value": "2.768 AU (414 million km)", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Dimensions", | |
| 15 | "value": "965 × 961 × 891 km (mean radius about 476 km)", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 20 | "value": "0.000157 × Earth (9.39 × 10²⁰ kg)", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 25 | "value": "9.074 h", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 30 | "value": "4.60 Earth years (1,682 days)", | |
| 31 | "source": 0 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 35 | "value": "0 (NASA, April 2025)", | |
| 36 | "source": 1 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 40 | "value": "About 4°", | |
| 41 | "source": 1 | |
| 42 | }, | |
| 43 | { | |
| 44 | "label": "Discovery", | |
| 45 | "value": "1 January 1801, by Giuseppe Piazzi", | |
| 46 | "source": 0 | |
| 47 | } | |
| 48 | ], | |
| 49 | "essay": "Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, about 940 km across, and the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system. Giuseppe Piazzi found it on 1 January 1801. It was classed as an asteroid for two centuries until the International Astronomical Union made it a dwarf planet in 2006.\n\nNASA's Dawn spacecraft orbited Ceres from 2015 to 2018, the first visit to a dwarf planet. Dawn found a dark surface of rock, ice and salts, covered in small craters but with none larger than about 280 km. The shortage of large craters suggests that ice beneath the surface lets big craters slowly flatten. The bright spots in Occator Crater are salt deposits, mostly sodium carbonate, left where briny water reached the surface and evaporated. Ceres may be as much as 25 percent water, mostly as ice in a mantle around a rocky core, and it has a very thin atmosphere that contains water vapour.\n\nCeres has no moons. At a favourable opposition it reaches about magnitude 7, so it is within reach of binoculars, although it looks like a star. Plotting its position over a few nights shows it moving against the background stars.", | |
| 50 | "image": { | |
| 51 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA21906/PIA21906~medium.jpg", | |
| 52 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA", | |
| 53 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 54 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA21906", | |
| 55 | "caption": "Ceres from Dawn's low-altitude mapping orbit, centred on Occator Crater and its bright salt deposits." | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "drawing": { | |
| 58 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 59 | "radiusKm": 476, | |
| 60 | "rings": false, | |
| 61 | "axialTiltDeg": 4, | |
| 62 | "color": "#8A8580" | |
| 63 | }, | |
| 64 | "link": {}, | |
| 65 | "sources": [ | |
| 66 | { | |
| 67 | "title": "NASA Asteroid Fact Sheet", | |
| 68 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/asteroidfact.html" | |
| 69 | }, | |
| 70 | { | |
| 71 | "title": "NASA Science: Ceres Facts", | |
| 72 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/ceres/facts/" | |
| 73 | } | |
| 74 | ] | |
| 75 | }, | |
| 76 | { | |
| 77 | "id": "pluto", | |
| 78 | "section": "dwarf-planets", | |
| 79 | "title": "Pluto", | |
| 80 | "subtitle": "Dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt", | |
| 81 | "facts": [ | |
| 82 | { | |
| 83 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 84 | "value": "39.5 AU (5.9 billion km)", | |
| 85 | "source": 0 | |
| 86 | }, | |
| 87 | { | |
| 88 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 89 | "value": "1,188 km", | |
| 90 | "source": 0 | |
| 91 | }, | |
| 92 | { | |
| 93 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 94 | "value": "0.0022 × Earth", | |
| 95 | "source": 0 | |
| 96 | }, | |
| 97 | { | |
| 98 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 99 | "value": "6.39 days (153.3 h), retrograde", | |
| 100 | "source": 0 | |
| 101 | }, | |
| 102 | { | |
| 103 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 104 | "value": "247.94 Earth years", | |
| 105 | "source": 0 | |
| 106 | }, | |
| 107 | { | |
| 108 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 109 | "value": "5 (NASA, September 2026)", | |
| 110 | "source": 1 | |
| 111 | }, | |
| 112 | { | |
| 113 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 114 | "value": "119.51°", | |
| 115 | "source": 0 | |
| 116 | }, | |
| 117 | { | |
| 118 | "label": "Distance range", | |
| 119 | "value": "About 30 to 49.3 AU from the Sun", | |
| 120 | "source": 2 | |
| 121 | } | |
| 122 | ], | |
| 123 | "essay": "Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in 1930 and was counted as the ninth planet until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union defined the term planet and placed Pluto in the new dwarf planet category. It is the largest known object in the Kuiper Belt. Its 248-year orbit is elongated and tilted 17° to the plane of the planets, ranging from about 30 AU, slightly inside Neptune's orbit, out to 49 AU.\n\nNASA's New Horizons flew past on 14 July 2015. It found a varied, geologically active surface. The bright plain Sputnik Planitia, the western half of the heart-shaped Tombaugh Regio, is a basin filled with nitrogen ice that slowly overturns in convection cells. Mountains of water ice rise several kilometres, and a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide forms layers of haze. Pluto turns once every 6.4 days in the retrograde direction.\n\nPluto has five known moons. Charon is about half Pluto's diameter, so the two orbit a point in space between them and each keeps the same face toward the other. Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx are much smaller. Pluto shines at around magnitude 14 to 15 and needs a telescope of about 25 cm aperture and a detailed chart.", | |
| 124 | "image": { | |
| 125 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19952/PIA19952~medium.jpg", | |
| 126 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute", | |
| 127 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 128 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA19952", | |
| 129 | "caption": "Enhanced-colour view of Pluto from New Horizons on 14 July 2015, with colours exaggerated to show surface variation." | |
| 130 | }, | |
| 131 | "drawing": { | |
| 132 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 133 | "radiusKm": 1188, | |
| 134 | "rings": false, | |
| 135 | "axialTiltDeg": 119.51, | |
| 136 | "color": "#CDB79E" | |
| 137 | }, | |
| 138 | "link": { | |
| 139 | "body": "pluto" | |
| 140 | }, | |
| 141 | "sources": [ | |
| 142 | { | |
| 143 | "title": "NASA Pluto Fact Sheet", | |
| 144 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/plutofact.html" | |
| 145 | }, | |
| 146 | { | |
| 147 | "title": "NASA Science: Pluto Moons", | |
| 148 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/moons/" | |
| 149 | }, | |
| 150 | { | |
| 151 | "title": "NASA Science: Pluto Facts", | |
| 152 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/facts/" | |
| 153 | } | |
| 154 | ] | |
| 155 | }, | |
| 156 | { | |
| 157 | "id": "haumea", | |
| 158 | "section": "dwarf-planets", | |
| 159 | "title": "Haumea", | |
| 160 | "subtitle": "Fast-spinning dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt", | |
| 161 | "facts": [ | |
| 162 | { | |
| 163 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 164 | "value": "About 43 AU (6.5 billion km)", | |
| 165 | "source": 0 | |
| 166 | }, | |
| 167 | { | |
| 168 | "label": "Equatorial diameter", | |
| 169 | "value": "About 1,740 km", | |
| 170 | "source": 0 | |
| 171 | }, | |
| 172 | { | |
| 173 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 174 | "value": "About 4 h", | |
| 175 | "source": 0 | |
| 176 | }, | |
| 177 | { | |
| 178 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 179 | "value": "285 Earth years", | |
| 180 | "source": 0 | |
| 181 | }, | |
| 182 | { | |
| 183 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 184 | "value": "2, Hi'iaka and Namaka (NASA, April 2025)", | |
| 185 | "source": 0 | |
| 186 | }, | |
| 187 | { | |
| 188 | "label": "Rings", | |
| 189 | "value": "One, announced in 2017", | |
| 190 | "source": 0 | |
| 191 | } | |
| 192 | ], | |
| 193 | "essay": "Haumea is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, orbiting the Sun at an average distance of about 43 AU once every 285 years. It spins once in about 4 hours, one of the fastest rotations of any large body in the solar system, and the spin has stretched it into an elongated, rugby-ball shape. Its surface is bright, and spectra show that it is covered largely in water ice.\n\nTwo teams claimed the discovery from observations made in 2003 and 2004. The IAU lists the discovery site as Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain but names no discoverer. The object, first designated 2003 EL61, was named in 2008 after the Hawaiian goddess of fertility, and its two moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka, both discovered in 2005, after her daughters. One explanation for the fast spin and the moons is a large impact billions of years ago, which may also have produced a family of smaller icy objects that share Haumea's orbit.\n\nIn 2017, astronomers who watched Haumea pass in front of a star announced that it has a ring, the first found around a Kuiper Belt object. At about magnitude 17, Haumea is beyond the reach of small telescopes.", | |
| 194 | "image": { | |
| 195 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/apod/apod/2008/september/haumea_nasa_big.jpg", | |
| 196 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 197 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 198 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2008-september-23-haumea-of-the-outer-solar-system/", | |
| 199 | "caption": "NASA illustration of large Kuiper Belt objects drawn before they were named; Haumea is labelled 2003 EL61, at lower left, with its two moons." | |
| 200 | }, | |
| 201 | "drawing": { | |
| 202 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 203 | "radiusKm": 870, | |
| 204 | "rings": true, | |
| 205 | "color": "#D9D9D9" | |
| 206 | }, | |
| 207 | "link": {}, | |
| 208 | "sources": [ | |
| 209 | { | |
| 210 | "title": "NASA Science: Haumea", | |
| 211 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/haumea/" | |
| 212 | } | |
| 213 | ] | |
| 214 | }, | |
| 215 | { | |
| 216 | "id": "makemake", | |
| 217 | "section": "dwarf-planets", | |
| 218 | "title": "Makemake", | |
| 219 | "subtitle": "Dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt", | |
| 220 | "facts": [ | |
| 221 | { | |
| 222 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 223 | "value": "45.8 AU (6.85 billion km)", | |
| 224 | "source": 0 | |
| 225 | }, | |
| 226 | { | |
| 227 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 228 | "value": "About 715 km", | |
| 229 | "source": 0 | |
| 230 | }, | |
| 231 | { | |
| 232 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 233 | "value": "About 22.5 h", | |
| 234 | "source": 0 | |
| 235 | }, | |
| 236 | { | |
| 237 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 238 | "value": "305 Earth years", | |
| 239 | "source": 0 | |
| 240 | }, | |
| 241 | { | |
| 242 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 243 | "value": "1 provisional, S/2015 (136472) 1 (NASA, April 2025)", | |
| 244 | "source": 0 | |
| 245 | }, | |
| 246 | { | |
| 247 | "label": "Surface ices", | |
| 248 | "value": "Frozen methane and ethane", | |
| 249 | "source": 0 | |
| 250 | } | |
| 251 | ], | |
| 252 | "essay": "Makemake is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, about 1,430 km across and slightly smaller than Pluto. Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz first observed it at Palomar Observatory in March 2005, a few days after Easter, and nicknamed it Easterbunny before it received the designation 2005 FY9. Together with Eris, its discovery led the International Astronomical Union to define the term planet in 2006 and create the dwarf planet category. It is named after the creator god of the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island.\n\nMakemake orbits at an average distance of 45.8 AU and takes about 305 years to go around the Sun. It rotates in about 22.5 hours, close to the length of a day on Earth or Mars. Its surface is reddish brown, like Pluto's, and coated in frozen methane and ethane. It may develop a very thin nitrogen atmosphere when it is closest to the Sun.\n\nIn Hubble images taken in April 2015, astronomers found a small, dark moon, provisionally designated S/2015 (136472) 1 and nicknamed MK 2. It is more than 1,300 times fainter than Makemake and about 160 km across. After Pluto, Makemake is the brightest Kuiper Belt object as seen from Earth, but at about magnitude 17 it requires a large telescope.", | |
| 253 | "image": { | |
| 254 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/apod/apod/2008/september/haumea_nasa_big.jpg", | |
| 255 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 256 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 257 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2008-september-23-haumea-of-the-outer-solar-system/", | |
| 258 | "caption": "NASA illustration of large Kuiper Belt objects drawn before they were named; Makemake is labelled 2005 FY9, at upper right." | |
| 259 | }, | |
| 260 | "drawing": { | |
| 261 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 262 | "radiusKm": 715, | |
| 263 | "rings": false, | |
| 264 | "color": "#B5715A" | |
| 265 | }, | |
| 266 | "link": {}, | |
| 267 | "sources": [ | |
| 268 | { | |
| 269 | "title": "NASA Science: Makemake", | |
| 270 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/makemake/" | |
| 271 | } | |
| 272 | ] | |
| 273 | }, | |
| 274 | { | |
| 275 | "id": "eris", | |
| 276 | "section": "dwarf-planets", | |
| 277 | "title": "Eris", | |
| 278 | "subtitle": "Massive dwarf planet beyond the Kuiper Belt", | |
| 279 | "facts": [ | |
| 280 | { | |
| 281 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 282 | "value": "About 68 AU (10 billion km)", | |
| 283 | "source": 0 | |
| 284 | }, | |
| 285 | { | |
| 286 | "label": "Equatorial diameter", | |
| 287 | "value": "About 2,400 km", | |
| 288 | "source": 0 | |
| 289 | }, | |
| 290 | { | |
| 291 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 292 | "value": "0.00278 × Earth (1.66 × 10²² kg; 1.27 × Pluto)", | |
| 293 | "source": 1 | |
| 294 | }, | |
| 295 | { | |
| 296 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 297 | "value": "25.9 h", | |
| 298 | "source": 0 | |
| 299 | }, | |
| 300 | { | |
| 301 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 302 | "value": "557 Earth years", | |
| 303 | "source": 0 | |
| 304 | }, | |
| 305 | { | |
| 306 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 307 | "value": "1, Dysnomia (NASA, April 2025)", | |
| 308 | "source": 0 | |
| 309 | }, | |
| 310 | { | |
| 311 | "label": "Orbital inclination", | |
| 312 | "value": "43.9°", | |
| 313 | "source": 2 | |
| 314 | } | |
| 315 | ], | |
| 316 | "essay": "Eris is one of the largest dwarf planets, close to Pluto in size at about 2,400 km across but 27 percent more massive. Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz found it on 5 January 2005 in Palomar Observatory images taken in October 2003. Because it seemed at least as large as Pluto, it forced a decision on what counts as a planet, and the International Astronomical Union vote of August 2006 classified both Eris and Pluto as dwarf planets. It is named after the Greek goddess of discord.\n\nEris follows an elongated orbit inclined about 44° to the plane of the planets. It averages about 68 AU from the Sun and takes 557 years to complete one orbit, and it is currently about three times as far from the Sun as Pluto. Its surface is probably rocky with a covering of ice, similar to Pluto's, and its thin atmosphere is thought to freeze onto the surface as snow when it is far from the Sun and thaw as it comes closer.\n\nIts one known moon, Dysnomia, was found in 2005 and circles Eris in about 16 days. Measuring Dysnomia's orbit with Hubble and the Keck telescopes in 2006 gave the mass of Eris, 1.66 × 10²² kg. Eris is around magnitude 19 and needs a large telescope to detect.", | |
| 317 | "image": { | |
| 318 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA17307/PIA17307~medium.jpg", | |
| 319 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 320 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 321 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA17307", | |
| 322 | "caption": "Artist's concept of Eris and its moon Dysnomia, with the distant Sun appearing as a small star." | |
| 323 | }, | |
| 324 | "drawing": { | |
| 325 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 326 | "radiusKm": 1200, | |
| 327 | "rings": false, | |
| 328 | "color": "#E6E6E6" | |
| 329 | }, | |
| 330 | "link": {}, | |
| 331 | "sources": [ | |
| 332 | { | |
| 333 | "title": "NASA Science: Eris", | |
| 334 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/eris/" | |
| 335 | }, | |
| 336 | { | |
| 337 | "title": "Brown & Schaller (2007), The Mass of Dwarf Planet Eris, Science 316, 1585 (NASA-hosted copy)", | |
| 338 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/missions/hubble/releases/2007/06/STScI-01EVSRQ7G3BR52R50A5AFG41M7.pdf" | |
| 339 | }, | |
| 340 | { | |
| 341 | "title": "JPL Small-Body Database: 136199 Eris", | |
| 342 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=136199" | |
| 343 | } | |
| 344 | ] | |
| 345 | } | |
| 346 | ] | |
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/missions.json added +2851
| @@ -0,0 +1,2851 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "sputnik-1", | |
| 4 | "section": "missions", | |
| 5 | "title": "Sputnik 1", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Soviet Union · First artificial satellite, 1957–1958", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 10 | "value": "Soviet Union (design team led by Sergei Korolev)", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 15 | "value": "4 October 1957, from the site now called Baikonur Cosmodrome", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 20 | "value": "R-7 (an intercontinental ballistic missile)", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 25 | "value": "184 lb (about 83 kg)", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 30 | "value": "About 90 minutes", | |
| 31 | "source": 0 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Transmitter stopped", | |
| 35 | "value": "26 October 1957 (batteries exhausted)", | |
| 36 | "source": 0 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Re-entry", | |
| 40 | "value": "4 January 1958", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite. The Soviet Union launched it on 4 October 1957 from the site in Kazakhstan now known as the Baikonur Cosmodrome, as a contribution to the International Geophysical Year. The rocket was an R-7, built as an intercontinental ballistic missile. Sergei Korolev had planned a larger scientific satellite, but when that project fell behind he had a much simpler one designed and built quickly.\n\nThe satellite was a pressurized aluminium-alloy sphere weighing 184 lb (about 83 kg). It carried no scientific instruments, only a radio transmitter whose beeping signal amateur operators around the world could pick up. Even so, tracking it was useful: how long it stayed in orbit gave information on the density of the upper atmosphere, and its signals tested radio propagation and tracking methods. It went around Earth about every 90 minutes. The rocket's large core stage also reached orbit, and because it was more reflective, most observers who saw something in the sky were watching the rocket rather than the satellite.\n\nThe batteries ran out on 26 October 1957 and Sputnik re-entered the atmosphere on 4 January 1958. Its launch prompted congressional hearings in the United States that led to the creation of NASA in 1958.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S76-22361/S76-22361~large.jpg", | |
| 47 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 48 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/S76-22361", | |
| 50 | "caption": "Full-scale mockup of Sputnik 1 on display at the Paris Air Show in 1975." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 54 | "status": "complete", | |
| 55 | "launch": "1957-10-04" | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "link": {}, | |
| 58 | "sources": [ | |
| 59 | { | |
| 60 | "title": "NASA: 65 Years Ago, Sputnik Ushers in the Space Age", | |
| 61 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/history/65-years-ago-sputnik-ushers-in-the-space-age/" | |
| 62 | }, | |
| 63 | { | |
| 64 | "title": "NASA: Sputnik 1", | |
| 65 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/sputnik-1/" | |
| 66 | } | |
| 67 | ] | |
| 68 | }, | |
| 69 | { | |
| 70 | "id": "explorer-1", | |
| 71 | "section": "missions", | |
| 72 | "title": "Explorer 1", | |
| 73 | "subtitle": "United States · First US satellite, 1958", | |
| 74 | "facts": [ | |
| 75 | { | |
| 76 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 77 | "value": "US Army Ballistic Missile Agency with JPL", | |
| 78 | "source": 0 | |
| 79 | }, | |
| 80 | { | |
| 81 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 82 | "value": "31 January 1958, 10:48 p.m. EST (1 February, 03:48 UTC)", | |
| 83 | "source": 0 | |
| 84 | }, | |
| 85 | { | |
| 86 | "label": "Launch site", | |
| 87 | "value": "Cape Canaveral, Florida", | |
| 88 | "source": 0 | |
| 89 | }, | |
| 90 | { | |
| 91 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 92 | "value": "Jupiter-C (Juno 1)", | |
| 93 | "source": 0 | |
| 94 | }, | |
| 95 | { | |
| 96 | "label": "Last transmission", | |
| 97 | "value": "23 May 1958", | |
| 98 | "source": 0 | |
| 99 | }, | |
| 100 | { | |
| 101 | "label": "Key result", | |
| 102 | "value": "Detected the radiation belts now named after James Van Allen", | |
| 103 | "source": 1 | |
| 104 | } | |
| 105 | ], | |
| 106 | "essay": "Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States. It went up from Cape Canaveral on a Jupiter-C rocket at 10:48 p.m. EST on 31 January 1958, a little under four months after Sputnik 1. The rocket came from the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville under Wernher von Braun: a modified Redstone missile topped with upper stages of clustered solid-propellant motors built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The urgency came partly from the failure of the Navy's Vanguard rocket, which exploded on the pad in December 1957.\n\nThe science payload was designed by James Van Allen of the University of Iowa. It included a cosmic-ray detector, temperature sensors, a micrometeorite microphone and erosion gauges, and two transmitters. The cosmic-ray detector returned counts that pointed to belts of charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field, now called the Van Allen radiation belts.\n\nOnce orbit was confirmed, Pickering, Van Allen and von Braun announced the success at a press conference in Washington in the early hours of 1 February. The satellite's last transmission came on 23 May 1958.", | |
| 107 | "image": { | |
| 108 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04601/PIA04601~medium.jpg", | |
| 109 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 110 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 111 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA04601", | |
| 112 | "caption": "Explorer 1, the first US satellite." | |
| 113 | }, | |
| 114 | "drawing": { | |
| 115 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 116 | "status": "complete", | |
| 117 | "launch": "1958-02-01" | |
| 118 | }, | |
| 119 | "link": {}, | |
| 120 | "sources": [ | |
| 121 | { | |
| 122 | "title": "NASA Science: Explorer 1", | |
| 123 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/explorer-1/" | |
| 124 | }, | |
| 125 | { | |
| 126 | "title": "NASA: Story of Explorer 1", | |
| 127 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/history/story-of-explorer-1/" | |
| 128 | } | |
| 129 | ] | |
| 130 | }, | |
| 131 | { | |
| 132 | "id": "vostok-1", | |
| 133 | "section": "missions", | |
| 134 | "title": "Vostok 1", | |
| 135 | "subtitle": "Soviet Union · First human spaceflight, 1961", | |
| 136 | "facts": [ | |
| 137 | { | |
| 138 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 139 | "value": "Soviet Union", | |
| 140 | "source": 0 | |
| 141 | }, | |
| 142 | { | |
| 143 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 144 | "value": "12 April 1961, 9:07 a.m. Moscow time", | |
| 145 | "source": 1 | |
| 146 | }, | |
| 147 | { | |
| 148 | "label": "Crew", | |
| 149 | "value": "Yuri Gagarin", | |
| 150 | "source": 0 | |
| 151 | }, | |
| 152 | { | |
| 153 | "label": "Flight", | |
| 154 | "value": "One orbit of Earth, 108 minutes", | |
| 155 | "source": 0 | |
| 156 | }, | |
| 157 | { | |
| 158 | "label": "Speed in orbit", | |
| 159 | "value": "About 27,400 km/h", | |
| 160 | "source": 0 | |
| 161 | }, | |
| 162 | { | |
| 163 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 164 | "value": "Saratov region, about 26 km south-west of Engels", | |
| 165 | "source": 1 | |
| 166 | } | |
| 167 | ], | |
| 168 | "essay": "Vostok 1 carried the first person into space. Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union lifted off at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time on 12 April 1961, made a single orbit of Earth and was back on the ground 108 minutes later. In orbit the spacecraft travelled at about 27,400 km/h.\n\nThe flight was largely automated. Re-entry was controlled by a computer on board rather than flown by hand. The landing also differed from the early American human spaceflight programme. Instead of riding the capsule all the way down, Gagarin ejected from the spacecraft during the descent and landed separately under his own parachute, in the Saratov region of the Soviet Union about 26 km south-west of the town of Engels.\n\nThe mission came three and a half years after Sputnik 1 and showed that a person could be launched into orbit, survive weightlessness and the heat of re-entry, and be recovered safely. Every later crewed programme, from Mercury and Apollo to the International Space Station, built on that first single orbit.", | |
| 169 | "image": null, | |
| 170 | "drawing": { | |
| 171 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 172 | "status": "complete", | |
| 173 | "launch": "1961-04-12" | |
| 174 | }, | |
| 175 | "link": {}, | |
| 176 | "sources": [ | |
| 177 | { | |
| 178 | "title": "NASA: April 1961 – First Human Entered Space", | |
| 179 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/april-1961-first-human-entered-space/" | |
| 180 | }, | |
| 181 | { | |
| 182 | "title": "NASA StarChild: The launch of Vostok 1", | |
| 183 | "url": "https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/vostok1.html" | |
| 184 | } | |
| 185 | ] | |
| 186 | }, | |
| 187 | { | |
| 188 | "id": "mariner-2", | |
| 189 | "section": "missions", | |
| 190 | "title": "Mariner 2", | |
| 191 | "subtitle": "NASA · Venus flyby, 1962", | |
| 192 | "facts": [ | |
| 193 | { | |
| 194 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 195 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 196 | "source": 0 | |
| 197 | }, | |
| 198 | { | |
| 199 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 200 | "value": "27 August 1962, 06:53:14 UTC", | |
| 201 | "source": 0 | |
| 202 | }, | |
| 203 | { | |
| 204 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 205 | "value": "Atlas-Agena B, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 206 | "source": 0 | |
| 207 | }, | |
| 208 | { | |
| 209 | "label": "Venus flyby", | |
| 210 | "value": "14 December 1962 at 34,854 km", | |
| 211 | "source": 0 | |
| 212 | }, | |
| 213 | { | |
| 214 | "label": "Last contact", | |
| 215 | "value": "3 January 1963, at 86.7 million km from Earth", | |
| 216 | "source": 0 | |
| 217 | }, | |
| 218 | { | |
| 219 | "label": "Spacecraft mass", | |
| 220 | "value": "203.6 kg", | |
| 221 | "source": 0 | |
| 222 | } | |
| 223 | ], | |
| 224 | "essay": "Mariner 2 was the first successful planetary mission: the first spacecraft to return data from a close pass of another planet. It was launched on 27 August 1962, 36 days after its twin Mariner 1 was lost shortly after launch, and carried the same set of instruments.\n\nThe spacecraft had no camera. Its main instruments were microwave and infrared radiometers, a magnetometer, a cosmic dust detector, a solar plasma spectrometer and energetic particle detectors. After a course correction on 4 September, it passed Venus on 14 December 1962 at a range of 34,854 km. During a 42-minute scan the radiometers swept across the night side, the terminator and the day side of the planet.\n\nThe readings showed little difference in temperature between the day and night sides, and the microwave radiometer indicated values well above 200 °C, far hotter than many scientists had expected. Mariner 2 also found a dense cloud layer roughly 56 to 80 km above the surface and detected no planetary magnetic field, though it may simply have been too far away to see one. It also made measurements of the interplanetary medium during the cruise to Venus and after the flyby. NASA kept in contact until 3 January 1963, when the probe was 86.7 million km from Earth, then a record distance for a deep space probe.", | |
| 225 | "image": { | |
| 226 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04594/PIA04594~orig.jpg", | |
| 227 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 228 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 229 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA04594", | |
| 230 | "caption": "Artist's concept of Mariner 2, the first spacecraft to fly past Venus." | |
| 231 | }, | |
| 232 | "drawing": { | |
| 233 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 234 | "status": "complete", | |
| 235 | "launch": "1962-08-27" | |
| 236 | }, | |
| 237 | "link": {}, | |
| 238 | "sources": [ | |
| 239 | { | |
| 240 | "title": "NASA Science: Mariner 2", | |
| 241 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-2/" | |
| 242 | }, | |
| 243 | { | |
| 244 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mariner 2", | |
| 245 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-041A" | |
| 246 | } | |
| 247 | ] | |
| 248 | }, | |
| 249 | { | |
| 250 | "id": "mariner-4", | |
| 251 | "section": "missions", | |
| 252 | "title": "Mariner 4", | |
| 253 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars flyby, 1964–1967", | |
| 254 | "facts": [ | |
| 255 | { | |
| 256 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 257 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 258 | "source": 0 | |
| 259 | }, | |
| 260 | { | |
| 261 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 262 | "value": "28 November 1964, 14:22:01 UTC", | |
| 263 | "source": 0 | |
| 264 | }, | |
| 265 | { | |
| 266 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 267 | "value": "Atlas-Agena D, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 268 | "source": 0 | |
| 269 | }, | |
| 270 | { | |
| 271 | "label": "Mars flyby", | |
| 272 | "value": "15 July 1965, 01:00:57 UTC, at 9,846 km", | |
| 273 | "source": 0 | |
| 274 | }, | |
| 275 | { | |
| 276 | "label": "Images returned", | |
| 277 | "value": "21 full images plus 22 lines of a 22nd", | |
| 278 | "source": 0 | |
| 279 | }, | |
| 280 | { | |
| 281 | "label": "Last contact", | |
| 282 | "value": "31 December 1967", | |
| 283 | "source": 0 | |
| 284 | }, | |
| 285 | { | |
| 286 | "label": "Spacecraft mass", | |
| 287 | "value": "260.8 kg", | |
| 288 | "source": 0 | |
| 289 | } | |
| 290 | ], | |
| 291 | "essay": "Mariner 4 made the first successful flyby of Mars and returned the first close-up pictures of another planet. Its twin, Mariner 3, launched three weeks earlier but its payload shroud failed to separate, leaving it inert in solar orbit. Mariner 4 flew with a redesigned all-metal shroud and had no such problem.\n\nAfter a single course correction in December 1964, the spacecraft passed Mars on the evening of 14 July 1965 US time at a range of 9,846 km. About 40 minutes before closest approach its TV camera began taking 21 images, plus 22 lines of a 22nd, through red and green filters. The pictures showed an old, heavily cratered surface more like the Moon than the Earth. Before the computers had finished processing the first frame, team members printed the raw numbers on strips of paper and coloured them in by hand.\n\nAfter the flyby Mariner 4 passed behind Mars as seen from Earth, so its radio signal travelled through the Martian atmosphere. The result showed a very low surface pressure, which meant future landers would need rockets as well as parachutes. The probe also measured daytime surface temperatures of about −100 °C. Contact continued intermittently until 31 December 1967.", | |
| 292 | "image": { | |
| 293 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA02979/PIA02979~orig.jpg", | |
| 294 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 295 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 296 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA02979", | |
| 297 | "caption": "Mariner 4 image of the 151 km Mars crater later named Mariner after the spacecraft." | |
| 298 | }, | |
| 299 | "drawing": { | |
| 300 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 301 | "status": "complete", | |
| 302 | "launch": "1964-11-28" | |
| 303 | }, | |
| 304 | "link": {}, | |
| 305 | "sources": [ | |
| 306 | { | |
| 307 | "title": "NASA Science: Mariner 4", | |
| 308 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-4/" | |
| 309 | }, | |
| 310 | { | |
| 311 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mariner 4", | |
| 312 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1964-077A" | |
| 313 | } | |
| 314 | ] | |
| 315 | }, | |
| 316 | { | |
| 317 | "id": "luna-9", | |
| 318 | "section": "missions", | |
| 319 | "title": "Luna 9", | |
| 320 | "subtitle": "Soviet Union · Moon lander, 1966", | |
| 321 | "facts": [ | |
| 322 | { | |
| 323 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 324 | "value": "Soviet Union", | |
| 325 | "source": 0 | |
| 326 | }, | |
| 327 | { | |
| 328 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 329 | "value": "31 January 1966", | |
| 330 | "source": 0 | |
| 331 | }, | |
| 332 | { | |
| 333 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 334 | "value": "3 February 1966, 18:44:52 UTC", | |
| 335 | "source": 0 | |
| 336 | }, | |
| 337 | { | |
| 338 | "label": "Landing site", | |
| 339 | "value": "Oceanus Procellarum, 7.08° N, 295.63° E", | |
| 340 | "source": 0 | |
| 341 | }, | |
| 342 | { | |
| 343 | "label": "Key result", | |
| 344 | "value": "First survivable landing on the Moon and first photographs from its surface", | |
| 345 | "source": 1 | |
| 346 | } | |
| 347 | ], | |
| 348 | "essay": "Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon without being destroyed and the first to send back pictures from the lunar surface. It was launched by the Soviet Union on 31 January 1966 and touched down on 3 February 1966 at 18:44:52 UTC in Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms, at 7.08° N, 295.63° E.\n\nEarlier Soviet attempts had shown how hard this was. Luna 5, 7 and 8, launched in 1965, all hit the Moon instead of landing softly, and Luna 6 missed it entirely. Luna 9 succeeded where they had failed. Once on the surface, its small lander transmitted close-up photographs of the ground around it. Together with later landers such as Luna 13, the purpose of these images was to study the lunar surface at close range and help judge whether crewed landings would be feasible.\n\nNSSDCA holds photographic data from Luna 9 along with images from Luna 3, 13, 21 and 22 and several Zond flights. Luna 9 belongs to a Soviet lunar programme that achieved several firsts, including the first impact on the Moon, the first images of the far side, the first soft landing and the first lunar orbiter.", | |
| 349 | "image": { | |
| 350 | "url": "https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/psd/lunar-science/2023/08/luna9close_big.jpg", | |
| 351 | "credit": "National Space Science Data Center", | |
| 352 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 353 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/resource/first-photo-from-the-surface-of-the-moon/", | |
| 354 | "caption": "Close-up of the surface of Oceanus Procellarum taken by the Luna 9 lander in February 1966." | |
| 355 | }, | |
| 356 | "drawing": { | |
| 357 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 358 | "status": "complete", | |
| 359 | "launch": "1966-01-31" | |
| 360 | }, | |
| 361 | "link": {}, | |
| 362 | "sources": [ | |
| 363 | { | |
| 364 | "title": "NSSDCA: Soviet Missions to the Moon", | |
| 365 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html" | |
| 366 | }, | |
| 367 | { | |
| 368 | "title": "NASA Science: First Photo from the Surface of the Moon", | |
| 369 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/resource/first-photo-from-the-surface-of-the-moon/" | |
| 370 | } | |
| 371 | ] | |
| 372 | }, | |
| 373 | { | |
| 374 | "id": "apollo-8", | |
| 375 | "section": "missions", | |
| 376 | "title": "Apollo 8", | |
| 377 | "subtitle": "NASA · First crewed lunar orbit, 1968", | |
| 378 | "facts": [ | |
| 379 | { | |
| 380 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 381 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 382 | "source": 0 | |
| 383 | }, | |
| 384 | { | |
| 385 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 386 | "value": "21 December 1968, 12:51 UTC", | |
| 387 | "source": 1 | |
| 388 | }, | |
| 389 | { | |
| 390 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 391 | "value": "Saturn V, Kennedy Space Center", | |
| 392 | "source": 1 | |
| 393 | }, | |
| 394 | { | |
| 395 | "label": "Lunar orbit insertion", | |
| 396 | "value": "24 December 1968", | |
| 397 | "source": 1 | |
| 398 | }, | |
| 399 | { | |
| 400 | "label": "Lunar orbits", | |
| 401 | "value": "10", | |
| 402 | "source": 1 | |
| 403 | }, | |
| 404 | { | |
| 405 | "label": "Splashdown", | |
| 406 | "value": "27 December 1968, Pacific Ocean", | |
| 407 | "source": 1 | |
| 408 | }, | |
| 409 | { | |
| 410 | "label": "Mission duration", | |
| 411 | "value": "147 h 0 min 42 s", | |
| 412 | "source": 1 | |
| 413 | } | |
| 414 | ], | |
| 415 | "essay": "Apollo 8 was the first crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit and reach the Moon, and the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket. Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders lifted off on 21 December 1968 and entered lunar orbit on 24 December.\n\nThe flight tested the Apollo command and service module, with its communications, tracking and life-support systems, in deep space and in lunar orbit. No lunar module flew on this mission; a test article of the same mass was carried in its place as ballast. After a first elliptical orbit the spacecraft settled into a near-circular orbit about 110 km above the surface and completed 10 orbits in all. The crew photographed both the near side and the far side to map landmarks and terrain for later landing missions, and made six live television broadcasts, including a reading from the book of Genesis on Christmas Eve.\n\nOn 24 December Anders photographed Earth rising over the lunar horizon. The picture is known as Earthrise. The engine burn to leave lunar orbit came on 25 December, and the command module splashed down in the Pacific on 27 December 1968 after a flight of just over six days. The command module is now on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.", | |
| 416 | "image": { | |
| 417 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/as08-14-2383/as08-14-2383~large.jpg", | |
| 418 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 419 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 420 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/as08-14-2383", | |
| 421 | "caption": "Earthrise: Earth above the lunar horizon, photographed from Apollo 8 on 24 December 1968." | |
| 422 | }, | |
| 423 | "drawing": { | |
| 424 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 425 | "status": "complete", | |
| 426 | "launch": "1968-12-21" | |
| 427 | }, | |
| 428 | "link": {}, | |
| 429 | "sources": [ | |
| 430 | { | |
| 431 | "title": "NASA: Apollo 8", | |
| 432 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-8/" | |
| 433 | }, | |
| 434 | { | |
| 435 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Apollo 8", | |
| 436 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1968-118A" | |
| 437 | } | |
| 438 | ] | |
| 439 | }, | |
| 440 | { | |
| 441 | "id": "apollo-11", | |
| 442 | "section": "missions", | |
| 443 | "title": "Apollo 11", | |
| 444 | "subtitle": "NASA · First crewed Moon landing, 1969", | |
| 445 | "facts": [ | |
| 446 | { | |
| 447 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 448 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 449 | "source": 0 | |
| 450 | }, | |
| 451 | { | |
| 452 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 453 | "value": "16 July 1969, 13:32 UTC, Kennedy Space Center pad 39A", | |
| 454 | "source": 0 | |
| 455 | }, | |
| 456 | { | |
| 457 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 458 | "value": "Saturn V (SA-504)", | |
| 459 | "source": 0 | |
| 460 | }, | |
| 461 | { | |
| 462 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 463 | "value": "20 July 1969, 20:17:40 UTC, Mare Tranquillitatis", | |
| 464 | "source": 0 | |
| 465 | }, | |
| 466 | { | |
| 467 | "label": "Time on the surface", | |
| 468 | "value": "21 h 36 min", | |
| 469 | "source": 0 | |
| 470 | }, | |
| 471 | { | |
| 472 | "label": "Samples returned", | |
| 473 | "value": "21.55 kg of lunar rock and soil", | |
| 474 | "source": 0 | |
| 475 | }, | |
| 476 | { | |
| 477 | "label": "Splashdown", | |
| 478 | "value": "24 July 1969, Pacific Ocean", | |
| 479 | "source": 0 | |
| 480 | } | |
| 481 | ], | |
| 482 | "essay": "Apollo 11 was the first mission to land people on the Moon and return them to Earth. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins launched on a Saturn V from Kennedy Space Center on 16 July 1969 and entered lunar orbit on 19 July.\n\nOn 20 July Armstrong and Aldrin separated in the lunar module Eagle while Collins stayed in orbit in the command module. Eagle landed in Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility, at 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong stepped onto the surface at 02:56 UTC on 21 July and Aldrin followed 19 minutes later. During a single moonwalk lasting a little over two hours they set up a package of scientific experiments, took photographs and collected 21.55 kg of rock and soil, covering about 250 m in total.\n\nEagle's ascent stage lifted off on 21 July after 21 hours 36 minutes on the surface and docked with the command module in lunar orbit. The crew left the Moon on 22 July and splashed down in the Pacific on 24 July, about 24 km from the recovery ship USS Hornet, after a flight of 195 hours 18 minutes. NASA described the spacecraft's performance as excellent throughout the mission.", | |
| 483 | "image": { | |
| 484 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/as11-44-6642/as11-44-6642~large.jpg", | |
| 485 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 486 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 487 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/as11-44-6642", | |
| 488 | "caption": "The Apollo 11 lunar module ascent stage returning from the surface, with Earth in the background, photographed from the command module." | |
| 489 | }, | |
| 490 | "drawing": { | |
| 491 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 492 | "status": "complete", | |
| 493 | "launch": "1969-07-16" | |
| 494 | }, | |
| 495 | "link": {}, | |
| 496 | "sources": [ | |
| 497 | { | |
| 498 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Apollo 11 Command and Service Module", | |
| 499 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059A" | |
| 500 | }, | |
| 501 | { | |
| 502 | "title": "NASA: Apollo 11", | |
| 503 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-11/" | |
| 504 | } | |
| 505 | ] | |
| 506 | }, | |
| 507 | { | |
| 508 | "id": "venera-7", | |
| 509 | "section": "missions", | |
| 510 | "title": "Venera 7", | |
| 511 | "subtitle": "Soviet Union · Venus lander, 1970", | |
| 512 | "facts": [ | |
| 513 | { | |
| 514 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 515 | "value": "Soviet Union", | |
| 516 | "source": 0 | |
| 517 | }, | |
| 518 | { | |
| 519 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 520 | "value": "17 August 1970", | |
| 521 | "source": 0 | |
| 522 | }, | |
| 523 | { | |
| 524 | "label": "Mission type", | |
| 525 | "value": "Lander", | |
| 526 | "source": 0 | |
| 527 | }, | |
| 528 | { | |
| 529 | "label": "Outcome", | |
| 530 | "value": "Success; first of its kind", | |
| 531 | "source": 0 | |
| 532 | }, | |
| 533 | { | |
| 534 | "label": "Key result", | |
| 535 | "value": "First successful soft landing of a spacecraft on another planet", | |
| 536 | "source": 1 | |
| 537 | }, | |
| 538 | { | |
| 539 | "label": "Measurements", | |
| 540 | "value": "Surface temperature and pressure", | |
| 541 | "source": 1 | |
| 542 | } | |
| 543 | ], | |
| 544 | "essay": "Venera 7 was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on another planet and send back data from its surface. The Soviet Union launched it toward Venus on 17 August 1970, and it reached the planet later the same year.\n\nIt followed a series of Soviet atmospheric probes. Venera 4 in 1967 was the first to return data on the composition of the Venusian atmosphere, and Veneras 5 and 6 in 1969 detected nitrogen and oxygen, but all three were crushed by the pressure before they reached the ground. Venera 7 was designed as a lander, and its capsule reached the surface.\n\nFrom the ground it measured the surface temperature and pressure of Venus, the first such measurements made on the surface of another planet. A companion attempt launched five days after Venera 7, Cosmos 359, failed. Later Soviet landers built on its design: Venera 8 measured wind speed during its descent in 1972, and Veneras 9 and 10 in 1975 combined landers with orbiters.", | |
| 545 | "image": { | |
| 546 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S91-50688/S91-50688~large.jpg", | |
| 547 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 548 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 549 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/S91-50688", | |
| 550 | "caption": "Global view of Venus built from Magellan radar, Pioneer Venus and Venera data." | |
| 551 | }, | |
| 552 | "drawing": { | |
| 553 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 554 | "status": "complete", | |
| 555 | "launch": "1970-08-17" | |
| 556 | }, | |
| 557 | "link": {}, | |
| 558 | "sources": [ | |
| 559 | { | |
| 560 | "title": "NASA Science: Venus Exploration", | |
| 561 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/venus/exploration/" | |
| 562 | }, | |
| 563 | { | |
| 564 | "title": "ESA: Past missions to Venus", | |
| 565 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envision/Past_missions_to_Venus" | |
| 566 | } | |
| 567 | ] | |
| 568 | }, | |
| 569 | { | |
| 570 | "id": "pioneer-10", | |
| 571 | "section": "missions", | |
| 572 | "title": "Pioneer 10", | |
| 573 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter flyby, 1972–2003", | |
| 574 | "facts": [ | |
| 575 | { | |
| 576 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 577 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by Ames Research Center)", | |
| 578 | "source": 0 | |
| 579 | }, | |
| 580 | { | |
| 581 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 582 | "value": "3 March 1972, 01:49 UTC (2 March in Florida)", | |
| 583 | "source": 1 | |
| 584 | }, | |
| 585 | { | |
| 586 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 587 | "value": "Atlas-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 588 | "source": 0 | |
| 589 | }, | |
| 590 | { | |
| 591 | "label": "Jupiter flyby", | |
| 592 | "value": "4 December 1973 at 130,354 km", | |
| 593 | "source": 0 | |
| 594 | }, | |
| 595 | { | |
| 596 | "label": "Routine contact ended", | |
| 597 | "value": "31 March 1997", | |
| 598 | "source": 0 | |
| 599 | }, | |
| 600 | { | |
| 601 | "label": "Last signal received", | |
| 602 | "value": "23 January 2003, from 12.23 billion km", | |
| 603 | "source": 0 | |
| 604 | }, | |
| 605 | { | |
| 606 | "label": "Spacecraft mass", | |
| 607 | "value": "258 kg", | |
| 608 | "source": 0 | |
| 609 | } | |
| 610 | ], | |
| 611 | "essay": "Pioneer 10 was NASA's first mission to the outer planets and the first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter. It was also the first to travel through the main asteroid belt, the first to fly beyond the orbit of Mars and the first to run entirely on nuclear electrical power, from two radioisotope thermoelectric generators.\n\nLaunched in March 1972, it left Earth faster than any previous human-made object. It entered the asteroid belt in July 1972 and emerged in February 1973, having met fewer dust impacts than expected. Closest approach to Jupiter came on 4 December 1973 at 130,354 km, at about 126,000 km/h. By then it was returning better pictures of the planet than any Earth-based telescope could take. Like Pioneer 11, it carries a metal plaque showing where and when it was built.\n\nJupiter's gravity put Pioneer 10 on a path out of the solar system. It crossed the orbit of Neptune on 13 June 1983. Routine tracking ended on 31 March 1997 for budget reasons, though occasional contact continued. The last signal arrived on 23 January 2003 from 12.23 billion km away, and a final attempt in February 2003 detected nothing. The spacecraft is heading in the general direction of the red star Aldebaran in Taurus, about 68 light years away.", | |
| 612 | "image": { | |
| 613 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/ARC-1973-AC73-9253/ARC-1973-AC73-9253~large.jpg", | |
| 614 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 615 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 616 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/ARC-1973-AC73-9253", | |
| 617 | "caption": "Jupiter photographed by Pioneer 10 from 2,584,000 km in December 1973, with a moon at upper right." | |
| 618 | }, | |
| 619 | "drawing": { | |
| 620 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 621 | "status": "complete", | |
| 622 | "launch": "1972-03-03" | |
| 623 | }, | |
| 624 | "link": { | |
| 625 | "spacecraft": "Pioneer 10" | |
| 626 | }, | |
| 627 | "sources": [ | |
| 628 | { | |
| 629 | "title": "NASA Science: Pioneer 10", | |
| 630 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-10/" | |
| 631 | }, | |
| 632 | { | |
| 633 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Pioneer 10", | |
| 634 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1972-012A" | |
| 635 | } | |
| 636 | ] | |
| 637 | }, | |
| 638 | { | |
| 639 | "id": "pioneer-11", | |
| 640 | "section": "missions", | |
| 641 | "title": "Pioneer 11", | |
| 642 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter and Saturn flyby, 1973–1995", | |
| 643 | "facts": [ | |
| 644 | { | |
| 645 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 646 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by Ames Research Center)", | |
| 647 | "source": 0 | |
| 648 | }, | |
| 649 | { | |
| 650 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 651 | "value": "6 April 1973, 02:11 UTC (5 April in Florida)", | |
| 652 | "source": 1 | |
| 653 | }, | |
| 654 | { | |
| 655 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 656 | "value": "Atlas-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 657 | "source": 0 | |
| 658 | }, | |
| 659 | { | |
| 660 | "label": "Jupiter flyby", | |
| 661 | "value": "3 December 1974 at about 42,500 km from the cloud tops", | |
| 662 | "source": 0 | |
| 663 | }, | |
| 664 | { | |
| 665 | "label": "Saturn flyby", | |
| 666 | "value": "1 September 1979", | |
| 667 | "source": 0 | |
| 668 | }, | |
| 669 | { | |
| 670 | "label": "Last engineering data", | |
| 671 | "value": "24 November 1995", | |
| 672 | "source": 0 | |
| 673 | }, | |
| 674 | { | |
| 675 | "label": "Spacecraft mass", | |
| 676 | "value": "258.5 kg", | |
| 677 | "source": 0 | |
| 678 | } | |
| 679 | ], | |
| 680 | "essay": "Pioneer 11 was the second spacecraft to visit Jupiter and the first to fly past Saturn. It was launched in April 1973, about a year after its twin, Pioneer 10.\n\nMid-course corrections sent it much closer to Jupiter than Pioneer 10 and over the planet's polar regions. On 3 December 1974 it passed about 42,500 km above the cloud tops at more than 171,000 km/h, then the fastest speed of any human-made object. Because it crossed the radiation belts so quickly, it spent less time in them than its twin despite flying closer. It returned the first pictures of Jupiter's polar regions, better views of the Great Red Spot and about 200 images of Jupiter's moons.\n\nJupiter's gravity then swung Pioneer 11 back across the solar system toward Saturn. It detected Saturn's bow shock on 31 August 1979, about 1.5 million km from the planet, which was the first firm evidence that Saturn has a magnetic field. Closest approach came on 1 September 1979, when its path through the outer ring region took it within about 21,000 km of Saturn. The spacecraft crossed the orbit of Neptune in 1990. NASA Ames made last contact on 30 September 1995, and the last engineering data arrived on 24 November 1995. Pioneer 11 is on a course out of the solar system.", | |
| 681 | "image": { | |
| 682 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/9139575/9139575~large.jpg", | |
| 683 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 684 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 685 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/9139575", | |
| 686 | "caption": "Atlas-Centaur rocket launching Pioneer 11 (then called Pioneer G) from Cape Canaveral in April 1973." | |
| 687 | }, | |
| 688 | "drawing": { | |
| 689 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 690 | "status": "complete", | |
| 691 | "launch": "1973-04-06" | |
| 692 | }, | |
| 693 | "link": { | |
| 694 | "spacecraft": "Pioneer 11" | |
| 695 | }, | |
| 696 | "sources": [ | |
| 697 | { | |
| 698 | "title": "NASA Science: Pioneer 11", | |
| 699 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-11/" | |
| 700 | }, | |
| 701 | { | |
| 702 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Pioneer 11", | |
| 703 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1973-019A" | |
| 704 | } | |
| 705 | ] | |
| 706 | }, | |
| 707 | { | |
| 708 | "id": "mariner-10", | |
| 709 | "section": "missions", | |
| 710 | "title": "Mariner 10", | |
| 711 | "subtitle": "NASA · Venus and Mercury flybys, 1973–1975", | |
| 712 | "facts": [ | |
| 713 | { | |
| 714 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 715 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 716 | "source": 0 | |
| 717 | }, | |
| 718 | { | |
| 719 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 720 | "value": "3 November 1973, 05:45 UTC", | |
| 721 | "source": 0 | |
| 722 | }, | |
| 723 | { | |
| 724 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 725 | "value": "Atlas-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 726 | "source": 0 | |
| 727 | }, | |
| 728 | { | |
| 729 | "label": "Venus flyby", | |
| 730 | "value": "5 February 1974 at 5,768 km", | |
| 731 | "source": 0 | |
| 732 | }, | |
| 733 | { | |
| 734 | "label": "Mercury flybys", | |
| 735 | "value": "29 March 1974, 21 September 1974, 16 March 1975", | |
| 736 | "source": 0 | |
| 737 | }, | |
| 738 | { | |
| 739 | "label": "Closest Mercury pass", | |
| 740 | "value": "327 km (third flyby)", | |
| 741 | "source": 0 | |
| 742 | }, | |
| 743 | { | |
| 744 | "label": "Last contact", | |
| 745 | "value": "24 March 1975", | |
| 746 | "source": 0 | |
| 747 | } | |
| 748 | ], | |
| 749 | "essay": "Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft sent to Mercury and the first to explore two planets on one mission. It was also the first to use the gravity of one planet to reach another: a close pass of Venus on 5 February 1974 bent its path toward Mercury. During that flyby it returned 4,165 photographs of Venus.\n\nMariner 10 flew past Mercury three times. The first encounter, on 29 March 1974 at 703 km, showed a heavily cratered, Moon-like surface with ridges and chaotic terrain. The magnetometers found a weak magnetic field, and an occultation experiment showed no significant atmosphere. After looping around the Sun, and with further course corrections, it returned to the planet on 21 September 1974 and again on 16 March 1975, the last pass at only 327 km. Between encounters the team used the pressure of sunlight on the solar panels and high-gain antenna to control the spacecraft's orientation, the first time a probe had relied on this as a major means of attitude control.\n\nAcross the three flybys Mariner 10 took more than 2,700 pictures covering nearly half of Mercury's surface, with detail down to about 100 m. The most striking feature was the Caloris basin, a ringed impact structure about 2,500 km across. Contact ended on 24 March 1975 when the attitude-control gas ran out. No other spacecraft visited Mercury for more than 30 years.", | |
| 750 | "image": { | |
| 751 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA23791/PIA23791~orig.jpg", | |
| 752 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 753 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 754 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA23791", | |
| 755 | "caption": "Venus photographed by Mariner 10 as it sped away from the planet in February 1974, reprocessed in 2020." | |
| 756 | }, | |
| 757 | "drawing": { | |
| 758 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 759 | "status": "complete", | |
| 760 | "launch": "1973-11-03" | |
| 761 | }, | |
| 762 | "link": {}, | |
| 763 | "sources": [ | |
| 764 | { | |
| 765 | "title": "NASA Science: Mariner 10", | |
| 766 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-10/" | |
| 767 | }, | |
| 768 | { | |
| 769 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mariner 10", | |
| 770 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1973-085A" | |
| 771 | } | |
| 772 | ] | |
| 773 | }, | |
| 774 | { | |
| 775 | "id": "viking-1", | |
| 776 | "section": "missions", | |
| 777 | "title": "Viking 1", | |
| 778 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars orbiter and lander, 1975–1982", | |
| 779 | "facts": [ | |
| 780 | { | |
| 781 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 782 | "value": "NASA (Langley Research Center and JPL)", | |
| 783 | "source": 0 | |
| 784 | }, | |
| 785 | { | |
| 786 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 787 | "value": "20 August 1975, 21:22 UTC", | |
| 788 | "source": 0 | |
| 789 | }, | |
| 790 | { | |
| 791 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 792 | "value": "Titan IIIE-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 793 | "source": 0 | |
| 794 | }, | |
| 795 | { | |
| 796 | "label": "Mars orbit insertion", | |
| 797 | "value": "19 June 1976", | |
| 798 | "source": 0 | |
| 799 | }, | |
| 800 | { | |
| 801 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 802 | "value": "20 July 1976, Chryse Planitia", | |
| 803 | "source": 0 | |
| 804 | }, | |
| 805 | { | |
| 806 | "label": "Orbiter shut down", | |
| 807 | "value": "7 August 1980", | |
| 808 | "source": 0 | |
| 809 | }, | |
| 810 | { | |
| 811 | "label": "Lander stopped operating", | |
| 812 | "value": "11 November 1982", | |
| 813 | "source": 0 | |
| 814 | } | |
| 815 | ], | |
| 816 | "essay": "Viking 1 made the first fully successful landing on Mars and returned the first images from its surface. The Soviet Mars 3 lander had reached the surface in 1971, but contact was lost seconds after touchdown.\n\nThe spacecraft had two parts: an orbiter derived from the Mariner design and a lander that resembled a much larger version of the Surveyor lunar lander, powered by two radioisotope generators. It entered Mars orbit on 19 June 1976. Orbiter photographs showed that the planned landing site in the Chryse region was rougher than expected, so the team chose a new site on the western slopes of Chryse Planitia. The lander touched down there on 20 July 1976 and took its first picture of rocks and soil minutes later.\n\nThe lander carried cameras, a weather station, a seismometer, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and a biology laboratory designed to look for signs of life in the soil. With its twin Viking 2, the mission's two orbiters returned 52,663 images and mapped about 97 percent of Mars at around 300 m resolution, while the two landers sent back 4,500 photographs. The Viking 1 orbiter was shut down on 7 August 1980 after running out of attitude-control propellant. The lander kept working until 11 November 1982, when a faulty command ended contact.", | |
| 817 | "image": { | |
| 818 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00381/PIA00381~orig.jpg", | |
| 819 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 820 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 821 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA00381", | |
| 822 | "caption": "The first photograph taken on the surface of Mars, by the Viking 1 lander minutes after touchdown on 20 July 1976." | |
| 823 | }, | |
| 824 | "drawing": { | |
| 825 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 826 | "status": "complete", | |
| 827 | "launch": "1975-08-20" | |
| 828 | }, | |
| 829 | "link": {}, | |
| 830 | "sources": [ | |
| 831 | { | |
| 832 | "title": "NASA Science: Viking 1", | |
| 833 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/viking-1/" | |
| 834 | }, | |
| 835 | { | |
| 836 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Viking 1 Orbiter", | |
| 837 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-075A" | |
| 838 | } | |
| 839 | ] | |
| 840 | }, | |
| 841 | { | |
| 842 | "id": "voyager-1", | |
| 843 | "section": "missions", | |
| 844 | "title": "Voyager 1", | |
| 845 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter, Saturn and interstellar space, 1977–present", | |
| 846 | "facts": [ | |
| 847 | { | |
| 848 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 849 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 850 | "source": 0 | |
| 851 | }, | |
| 852 | { | |
| 853 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 854 | "value": "5 September 1977, 12:56 UTC", | |
| 855 | "source": 0 | |
| 856 | }, | |
| 857 | { | |
| 858 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 859 | "value": "Titan IIIE-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 860 | "source": 0 | |
| 861 | }, | |
| 862 | { | |
| 863 | "label": "Jupiter closest approach", | |
| 864 | "value": "5 March 1979", | |
| 865 | "source": 0 | |
| 866 | }, | |
| 867 | { | |
| 868 | "label": "Saturn closest approach", | |
| 869 | "value": "12 November 1980", | |
| 870 | "source": 0 | |
| 871 | }, | |
| 872 | { | |
| 873 | "label": "Entered interstellar space", | |
| 874 | "value": "August 2012", | |
| 875 | "source": 0 | |
| 876 | }, | |
| 877 | { | |
| 878 | "label": "One light-day from Earth", | |
| 879 | "value": "18 November 2026 (25.902 billion km)", | |
| 880 | "source": 1 | |
| 881 | }, | |
| 882 | { | |
| 883 | "label": "Instruments operating (October 2026)", | |
| 884 | "value": "Magnetometer and plasma wave subsystem", | |
| 885 | "source": 1 | |
| 886 | } | |
| 887 | ], | |
| 888 | "essay": "Voyager 1 is the most distant human-made object. It was launched on 5 September 1977, about two weeks after its twin Voyager 2, but took a faster route and overtook it on 15 December 1977.\n\nAt Jupiter, which it passed on 5 March 1979, Voyager 1 discovered a thin ring around the planet and two new moons, Thebe and Metis. At Saturn, on 12 November 1980, it found five new moons and a new ring, the G ring. The Saturn encounter included a close pass of Titan, and the trajectory chosen for it sent the spacecraft up and out of the plane of the planets, ending its planetary tour.\n\nOn 17 February 1998 it passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant spacecraft, and in August 2012 it crossed the heliopause into interstellar space, the first spacecraft to do so. Its radioisotope generators lose power every year, so the team has been switching instruments off in a planned order. The latest, the low-energy charged particle instrument on 17 April 2026, left the magnetometer and plasma wave subsystem running. On 18 November 2026 Voyager 1 is due to be 25.902 billion km from Earth, the distance light travels in one day.", | |
| 889 | "image": { | |
| 890 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00144/PIA00144~orig.jpg", | |
| 891 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 892 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 893 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA00144", | |
| 894 | "caption": "Jupiter with its moons Io (left) and Europa, photographed by Voyager 1 on 13 February 1979." | |
| 895 | }, | |
| 896 | "drawing": { | |
| 897 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 898 | "status": "active", | |
| 899 | "launch": "1977-09-05" | |
| 900 | }, | |
| 901 | "link": { | |
| 902 | "spacecraft": "Voyager 1" | |
| 903 | }, | |
| 904 | "sources": [ | |
| 905 | { | |
| 906 | "title": "NASA Science: Voyager 1", | |
| 907 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/" | |
| 908 | }, | |
| 909 | { | |
| 910 | "title": "NASA Science: Where Are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 Now?", | |
| 911 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/" | |
| 912 | }, | |
| 913 | { | |
| 914 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Voyager 1", | |
| 915 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1977-084A" | |
| 916 | } | |
| 917 | ] | |
| 918 | }, | |
| 919 | { | |
| 920 | "id": "voyager-2", | |
| 921 | "section": "missions", | |
| 922 | "title": "Voyager 2", | |
| 923 | "subtitle": "NASA · Tour of the four giant planets, 1977–present", | |
| 924 | "facts": [ | |
| 925 | { | |
| 926 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 927 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 928 | "source": 0 | |
| 929 | }, | |
| 930 | { | |
| 931 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 932 | "value": "20 August 1977, 14:29 UTC", | |
| 933 | "source": 0 | |
| 934 | }, | |
| 935 | { | |
| 936 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 937 | "value": "Titan IIIE-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 938 | "source": 0 | |
| 939 | }, | |
| 940 | { | |
| 941 | "label": "Jupiter flyby", | |
| 942 | "value": "9 July 1979", | |
| 943 | "source": 0 | |
| 944 | }, | |
| 945 | { | |
| 946 | "label": "Saturn flyby", | |
| 947 | "value": "25 August 1981", | |
| 948 | "source": 0 | |
| 949 | }, | |
| 950 | { | |
| 951 | "label": "Uranus flyby", | |
| 952 | "value": "24 January 1986", | |
| 953 | "source": 0 | |
| 954 | }, | |
| 955 | { | |
| 956 | "label": "Neptune flyby", | |
| 957 | "value": "25 August 1989", | |
| 958 | "source": 0 | |
| 959 | }, | |
| 960 | { | |
| 961 | "label": "Instruments operating (October 2026)", | |
| 962 | "value": "Cosmic ray subsystem, magnetometer, plasma wave subsystem", | |
| 963 | "source": 2 | |
| 964 | } | |
| 965 | ], | |
| 966 | "essay": "Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four giant planets and the only one to have flown past Uranus and Neptune. It was launched on 20 August 1977, two weeks before Voyager 1.\n\nThe two Voyagers replaced a cancelled plan for a 'Grand Tour' of the outer planets. They were designed for Jupiter and Saturn, but in 1974 mission planners proposed that if the first spacecraft succeeded, the second could be sent on to Uranus and Neptune using gravity assists. Voyager 2 passed Jupiter on 9 July 1979, where it found a 14th moon, and Saturn on 25 August 1981. It reached Uranus on 24 January 1986, discovering 10 new moons and two new rings. At Neptune on 25 August 1989 it found five moons, four rings and a large storm called the Great Dark Spot. These remain the only close-up observations of either ice giant.\n\nVoyager 2 crossed the solar wind's termination shock on 30 August 2007 and entered interstellar space in 2018, becoming the second spacecraft to do so. Like its twin it carries the Golden Record of sounds and images from Earth. To save power, the team turned off its plasma science instrument in September 2024 and its low-energy charged particle instrument in March 2025. As of October 2026 the cosmic ray subsystem, magnetometer and plasma wave subsystem are still on.", | |
| 967 | "image": { | |
| 968 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA01492/PIA01492~large.jpg", | |
| 969 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 970 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 971 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA01492", | |
| 972 | "caption": "Neptune and its Great Dark Spot, from Voyager 2 images taken four days before closest approach in August 1989." | |
| 973 | }, | |
| 974 | "drawing": { | |
| 975 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 976 | "status": "active", | |
| 977 | "launch": "1977-08-20" | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | "link": { | |
| 980 | "spacecraft": "Voyager 2" | |
| 981 | }, | |
| 982 | "sources": [ | |
| 983 | { | |
| 984 | "title": "NASA Science: Voyager 2", | |
| 985 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/" | |
| 986 | }, | |
| 987 | { | |
| 988 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Voyager 2", | |
| 989 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1977-076A" | |
| 990 | }, | |
| 991 | { | |
| 992 | "title": "NASA Science: Where Are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 Now?", | |
| 993 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/where-are-voyager-1-and-voyager-2-now/" | |
| 994 | } | |
| 995 | ] | |
| 996 | }, | |
| 997 | { | |
| 998 | "id": "hubble-space-telescope", | |
| 999 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1000 | "title": "Hubble Space Telescope", | |
| 1001 | "subtitle": "NASA · Space telescope in Earth orbit, 1990–present", | |
| 1002 | "facts": [ | |
| 1003 | { | |
| 1004 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1005 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 1006 | "source": 0 | |
| 1007 | }, | |
| 1008 | { | |
| 1009 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1010 | "value": "24 April 1990", | |
| 1011 | "source": 0 | |
| 1012 | }, | |
| 1013 | { | |
| 1014 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1015 | "value": "Space Shuttle Discovery", | |
| 1016 | "source": 1 | |
| 1017 | }, | |
| 1018 | { | |
| 1019 | "label": "Orbit", | |
| 1020 | "value": "About 483 km altitude, ~27,000 km/h", | |
| 1021 | "source": 2 | |
| 1022 | }, | |
| 1023 | { | |
| 1024 | "label": "Primary mirror", | |
| 1025 | "value": "2.4 m diameter", | |
| 1026 | "source": 2 | |
| 1027 | }, | |
| 1028 | { | |
| 1029 | "label": "Servicing missions", | |
| 1030 | "value": "Five, from December 1993 to May 2009", | |
| 1031 | "source": 3 | |
| 1032 | }, | |
| 1033 | { | |
| 1034 | "label": "Observations made", | |
| 1035 | "value": "More than 1.7 million", | |
| 1036 | "source": 1 | |
| 1037 | }, | |
| 1038 | { | |
| 1039 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1040 | "value": "Operating", | |
| 1041 | "source": 0 | |
| 1042 | } | |
| 1043 | ], | |
| 1044 | "essay": "The Hubble Space Telescope is a 2.4 m reflecting telescope in low Earth orbit, about 483 km up. It was carried into space and released by the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990. It is about the size of a large school bus and weighs about 12,200 kg.\n\nIts first images were blurred. The edge of the primary mirror had been ground too flat by a fraction of the width of a human hair, because of a flaw in the test equipment used to check its shape. The first servicing mission in December 1993 installed a new camera with built-in corrective optics and a set of small mirrors to correct the other instruments. Four more servicing missions followed, the last in May 2009, replacing instruments and worn parts and extending the telescope's life.\n\nHubble has made more than 1.7 million observations, and more than 23,000 peer-reviewed papers have been published from its data. Its work ranges from measuring the composition of exoplanet atmospheres to the discovery of dark energy. It has observed galaxies more than 13.4 billion light-years away. It remains in operation, and engineers have used other sensors on the spacecraft to make up for gyroscopes that have failed.", | |
| 1045 | "image": { | |
| 1046 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/sts082-763-015/sts082-763-015~large.jpg", | |
| 1047 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 1048 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1049 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/sts082-763-015", | |
| 1050 | "caption": "The Hubble Space Telescope over Earth after release from Space Shuttle Discovery in February 1997." | |
| 1051 | }, | |
| 1052 | "drawing": { | |
| 1053 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1054 | "status": "active", | |
| 1055 | "launch": "1990-04-24" | |
| 1056 | }, | |
| 1057 | "link": {}, | |
| 1058 | "sources": [ | |
| 1059 | { | |
| 1060 | "title": "NASA Science: Hubble Space Telescope", | |
| 1061 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/" | |
| 1062 | }, | |
| 1063 | { | |
| 1064 | "title": "NASA Science: About Hubble", | |
| 1065 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/overview/about-hubble/" | |
| 1066 | }, | |
| 1067 | { | |
| 1068 | "title": "NASA Science: Hubble by the Numbers", | |
| 1069 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/overview/hubble-by-the-numbers/" | |
| 1070 | }, | |
| 1071 | { | |
| 1072 | "title": "NASA Science: The History of Hubble", | |
| 1073 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/overview/the-history-of-hubble/" | |
| 1074 | } | |
| 1075 | ] | |
| 1076 | }, | |
| 1077 | { | |
| 1078 | "id": "galileo", | |
| 1079 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1080 | "title": "Galileo", | |
| 1081 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter orbiter and probe, 1989–2003", | |
| 1082 | "facts": [ | |
| 1083 | { | |
| 1084 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1085 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1086 | "source": 0 | |
| 1087 | }, | |
| 1088 | { | |
| 1089 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1090 | "value": "18 October 1989", | |
| 1091 | "source": 0 | |
| 1092 | }, | |
| 1093 | { | |
| 1094 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1095 | "value": "Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34) with Inertial Upper Stage", | |
| 1096 | "source": 0 | |
| 1097 | }, | |
| 1098 | { | |
| 1099 | "label": "Jupiter arrival", | |
| 1100 | "value": "7 December 1995 (orbit insertion and probe entry)", | |
| 1101 | "source": 0 | |
| 1102 | }, | |
| 1103 | { | |
| 1104 | "label": "Orbits of Jupiter", | |
| 1105 | "value": "34", | |
| 1106 | "source": 0 | |
| 1107 | }, | |
| 1108 | { | |
| 1109 | "label": "Moon flybys", | |
| 1110 | "value": "Io 7, Europa 11, Ganymede 8, Callisto 8, Amalthea 1", | |
| 1111 | "source": 0 | |
| 1112 | }, | |
| 1113 | { | |
| 1114 | "label": "End of mission", | |
| 1115 | "value": "21 September 2003, deliberate impact into Jupiter", | |
| 1116 | "source": 0 | |
| 1117 | } | |
| 1118 | ], | |
| 1119 | "essay": "Galileo was the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet and the first to drop a probe into a giant planet's atmosphere. It was launched from the space shuttle Atlantis on 18 October 1989 and reached Jupiter by a roundabout route that used one flyby of Venus and two of Earth.\n\nOn the way it made the first flyby of an asteroid, Gaspra, in 1991, followed by Ida in 1993, and in July 1994 it made the first, and so far only, direct observation of a comet hitting a planet, as fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter. On 7 December 1995 it entered orbit, and its probe, released five months earlier, descended into the atmosphere at 47.6 km/s. The probe found that the relative abundances of elements in Jupiter's atmosphere differ from the Sun's.\n\nOver almost eight years the orbiter circled Jupiter 34 times and made 35 close flybys of its moons. It found that Io's volcanism may be about 100 times more active than Earth's and that Ganymede has its own magnetic field, the first moon known to have one. Its magnetic measurements pointed to salty liquid water beneath the surfaces of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. To keep the spacecraft from ever contaminating a possible ocean on Europa, NASA sent it into Jupiter's atmosphere on 21 September 2003.", | |
| 1120 | "image": { | |
| 1121 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA18176/PIA18176~large.jpg", | |
| 1122 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 1123 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1124 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA18176", | |
| 1125 | "caption": "Artist's rendering of the Galileo spacecraft passing Jupiter's volcanic moon Io." | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | "drawing": { | |
| 1128 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1129 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1130 | "launch": "1989-10-18" | |
| 1131 | }, | |
| 1132 | "link": {}, | |
| 1133 | "sources": [ | |
| 1134 | { | |
| 1135 | "title": "NASA Science: Galileo", | |
| 1136 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/galileo/" | |
| 1137 | } | |
| 1138 | ] | |
| 1139 | }, | |
| 1140 | { | |
| 1141 | "id": "ulysses", | |
| 1142 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1143 | "title": "Ulysses", | |
| 1144 | "subtitle": "ESA and NASA · Solar polar orbiter, 1990–2009", | |
| 1145 | "facts": [ | |
| 1146 | { | |
| 1147 | "label": "Agencies", | |
| 1148 | "value": "ESA and NASA", | |
| 1149 | "source": 0 | |
| 1150 | }, | |
| 1151 | { | |
| 1152 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1153 | "value": "6 October 1990, 11:47 UTC", | |
| 1154 | "source": 0 | |
| 1155 | }, | |
| 1156 | { | |
| 1157 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1158 | "value": "Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-41) with IUS and PAM-S upper stages", | |
| 1159 | "source": 0 | |
| 1160 | }, | |
| 1161 | { | |
| 1162 | "label": "Jupiter gravity assist", | |
| 1163 | "value": "8 February 1992 at about 378,400 km", | |
| 1164 | "source": 0 | |
| 1165 | }, | |
| 1166 | { | |
| 1167 | "label": "Maximum solar latitude", | |
| 1168 | "value": "80.2°", | |
| 1169 | "source": 0 | |
| 1170 | }, | |
| 1171 | { | |
| 1172 | "label": "Loss of contact", | |
| 1173 | "value": "30 June 2009", | |
| 1174 | "source": 0 | |
| 1175 | }, | |
| 1176 | { | |
| 1177 | "label": "Spacecraft mass", | |
| 1178 | "value": "371 kg", | |
| 1179 | "source": 0 | |
| 1180 | } | |
| 1181 | ], | |
| 1182 | "essay": "Ulysses was the first mission to study the space environment above and below the poles of the Sun. ESA built the spacecraft and NASA provided its radioisotope power source, the shuttle launch and tracking through the Deep Space Network; the instruments came from both sides.\n\nLeaving the plane of the planets takes a great deal of energy, so Ulysses first flew to Jupiter. After launch from the space shuttle Discovery in October 1990 it left Earth at about 15.4 km/s, then the fastest velocity achieved by a human-made object. Jupiter's gravity on 8 February 1992 bent its path steeply out of the ecliptic into an orbit that carried it over the Sun's south pole in 1994 and north pole in 1995, reaching 80.2° solar latitude.\n\nUlysses found that the solar wind blows faster over the poles than near the equator, and that the magnetic field at the Sun's poles is much weaker than had been assumed. It tracked the solar wind weakening to a 50-year low in 2008. By chance it flew through the tails of three comets, showing that comet tails can be much longer than expected. The mission completed nearly three orbits of the Sun over 18 years, more than four times its design life, and contact ended on 30 June 2009.", | |
| 1183 | "image": { | |
| 1184 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s41-601-009/s41-601-009~large.jpg", | |
| 1185 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 1186 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1187 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/s41-601-009", | |
| 1188 | "caption": "Ulysses and its upper stages moving away from Space Shuttle Discovery after release on 6 October 1990." | |
| 1189 | }, | |
| 1190 | "drawing": { | |
| 1191 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1192 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1193 | "launch": "1990-10-06" | |
| 1194 | }, | |
| 1195 | "link": {}, | |
| 1196 | "sources": [ | |
| 1197 | { | |
| 1198 | "title": "NASA Science: Ulysses", | |
| 1199 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ulysses/" | |
| 1200 | } | |
| 1201 | ] | |
| 1202 | }, | |
| 1203 | { | |
| 1204 | "id": "soho", | |
| 1205 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1206 | "title": "SOHO", | |
| 1207 | "subtitle": "ESA and NASA · Solar observatory at L1, 1995–present", | |
| 1208 | "facts": [ | |
| 1209 | { | |
| 1210 | "label": "Agencies", | |
| 1211 | "value": "ESA (lead) and NASA", | |
| 1212 | "source": 0 | |
| 1213 | }, | |
| 1214 | { | |
| 1215 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1216 | "value": "2 December 1995, 08:08 UTC", | |
| 1217 | "source": 0 | |
| 1218 | }, | |
| 1219 | { | |
| 1220 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1221 | "value": "Atlas IIAS-Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1222 | "source": 0 | |
| 1223 | }, | |
| 1224 | { | |
| 1225 | "label": "Orbit", | |
| 1226 | "value": "Halo orbit around the Sun–Earth L1 point, 1.5 million km from Earth", | |
| 1227 | "source": 0 | |
| 1228 | }, | |
| 1229 | { | |
| 1230 | "label": "L1 orbit insertion", | |
| 1231 | "value": "14 February 1996", | |
| 1232 | "source": 0 | |
| 1233 | }, | |
| 1234 | { | |
| 1235 | "label": "Comets discovered", | |
| 1236 | "value": "More than 5,000 (milestone reached March 2024)", | |
| 1237 | "source": 0 | |
| 1238 | }, | |
| 1239 | { | |
| 1240 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1241 | "value": "Operational", | |
| 1242 | "source": 1 | |
| 1243 | } | |
| 1244 | ], | |
| 1245 | "essay": "The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, is a joint ESA and NASA mission that has watched the Sun continuously since the 1990s. ESA leads the mission; NASA supplied three of its twelve instruments, the launch and flight operations support. SOHO sits about 1.5 million km from Earth, orbiting the Sun–Earth L1 point, where it has an uninterrupted view of the Sun.\n\nSOHO's instruments study the Sun from its core to its outer atmosphere. Helioseismology measurements probe the interior, ultraviolet telescopes image the hot corona, and the LASCO coronagraphs block the bright disc to show the outer corona and the coronal mass ejections that drive space weather at Earth. Among its findings is the origin of the fast solar wind at the edges of large magnetic cells near the Sun's poles.\n\nIts planned mission ended in 1998. In June of that year contact was lost for four months and the spacecraft was found spinning and short of power, but controllers recovered it, and after its gyroscopes failed ESA developed a way to point it using reaction wheels alone. Extended many times since, SOHO has now observed two full 11-year solar cycles and most of a third, and marked 30 years of operation in December 2025. Through LASCO, more than 70 people from 18 countries have used its images to find more than 5,000 comets, more than half of all comets known.", | |
| 1246 | "image": { | |
| 1247 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/9701591/9701591~orig.jpg", | |
| 1248 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 1249 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1250 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/9701591", | |
| 1251 | "caption": "Atlas IIAS rocket launching SOHO from Cape Canaveral on 2 December 1995." | |
| 1252 | }, | |
| 1253 | "drawing": { | |
| 1254 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1255 | "status": "active", | |
| 1256 | "launch": "1995-12-02" | |
| 1257 | }, | |
| 1258 | "link": {}, | |
| 1259 | "sources": [ | |
| 1260 | { | |
| 1261 | "title": "NASA Science: SOHO", | |
| 1262 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/soho/" | |
| 1263 | }, | |
| 1264 | { | |
| 1265 | "title": "ESA: SOHO", | |
| 1266 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/SOHO" | |
| 1267 | } | |
| 1268 | ] | |
| 1269 | }, | |
| 1270 | { | |
| 1271 | "id": "mars-pathfinder", | |
| 1272 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1273 | "title": "Mars Pathfinder", | |
| 1274 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars lander and rover, 1996–1997", | |
| 1275 | "facts": [ | |
| 1276 | { | |
| 1277 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1278 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1279 | "source": 0 | |
| 1280 | }, | |
| 1281 | { | |
| 1282 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1283 | "value": "4 December 1996", | |
| 1284 | "source": 0 | |
| 1285 | }, | |
| 1286 | { | |
| 1287 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1288 | "value": "Delta II 7925, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1289 | "source": 0 | |
| 1290 | }, | |
| 1291 | { | |
| 1292 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 1293 | "value": "4 July 1997, Ares Vallis", | |
| 1294 | "source": 0 | |
| 1295 | }, | |
| 1296 | { | |
| 1297 | "label": "Rover", | |
| 1298 | "value": "Sojourner, 10.6 kg", | |
| 1299 | "source": 0 | |
| 1300 | }, | |
| 1301 | { | |
| 1302 | "label": "Last transmission", | |
| 1303 | "value": "27 September 1997", | |
| 1304 | "source": 0 | |
| 1305 | }, | |
| 1306 | { | |
| 1307 | "label": "Images returned", | |
| 1308 | "value": "More than 16,500 from the lander and 550 from the rover", | |
| 1309 | "source": 0 | |
| 1310 | } | |
| 1311 | ], | |
| 1312 | "essay": "Mars Pathfinder delivered the first robotic rover to Mars. It began as a technology demonstration, testing a cheaper way to land on the planet and to explore it with a small free-roaming vehicle.\n\nPathfinder entered the atmosphere directly from its approach path rather than going into orbit first. A parachute slowed its descent through the thin atmosphere, and a cluster of large airbags inflated around the lander to cushion the impact. It hit the ground on 4 July 1997 at about 14 m/s and bounced about 15 times, as high as 15 m, before rolling to a stop roughly 1 km from where it first struck. It was the first time this airbag technique had been used.\n\nThe landing site was Ares Vallis. The 10.6 kg rover Sojourner rolled off the lander on a pair of deployable ramps and studied the rocks and soil nearby, while the lander analysed the atmosphere and weather. By the final transmission on 27 September 1997 the mission had returned more than 16,500 images from the lander, 550 from the rover, more than 15 chemical analyses of rocks and soil, and extensive weather data. Its findings suggested that Mars was once warm and wet.", | |
| 1313 | "image": { | |
| 1314 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00621/PIA00621~orig.jpg", | |
| 1315 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1316 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1317 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA00621", | |
| 1318 | "caption": "The Sojourner rover, still latched to the Mars Pathfinder lander, on the first day after landing." | |
| 1319 | }, | |
| 1320 | "drawing": { | |
| 1321 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1322 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1323 | "launch": "1996-12-04" | |
| 1324 | }, | |
| 1325 | "link": {}, | |
| 1326 | "sources": [ | |
| 1327 | { | |
| 1328 | "title": "NASA Science: Mars Pathfinder", | |
| 1329 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-pathfinder/" | |
| 1330 | }, | |
| 1331 | { | |
| 1332 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mars Pathfinder", | |
| 1333 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-068A" | |
| 1334 | } | |
| 1335 | ] | |
| 1336 | }, | |
| 1337 | { | |
| 1338 | "id": "cassini-huygens", | |
| 1339 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1340 | "title": "Cassini–Huygens", | |
| 1341 | "subtitle": "NASA, ESA and ASI · Saturn orbiter and Titan probe, 1997–2017", | |
| 1342 | "facts": [ | |
| 1343 | { | |
| 1344 | "label": "Agencies", | |
| 1345 | "value": "NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency (ASI)", | |
| 1346 | "source": 1 | |
| 1347 | }, | |
| 1348 | { | |
| 1349 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1350 | "value": "15 October 1997", | |
| 1351 | "source": 1 | |
| 1352 | }, | |
| 1353 | { | |
| 1354 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1355 | "value": "Titan IVB/Centaur, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1356 | "source": 1 | |
| 1357 | }, | |
| 1358 | { | |
| 1359 | "label": "Saturn arrival", | |
| 1360 | "value": "1 July 2004 (UTC)", | |
| 1361 | "source": 1 | |
| 1362 | }, | |
| 1363 | { | |
| 1364 | "label": "Huygens descent to Titan", | |
| 1365 | "value": "14 January 2005", | |
| 1366 | "source": 1 | |
| 1367 | }, | |
| 1368 | { | |
| 1369 | "label": "Saturn orbits", | |
| 1370 | "value": "294", | |
| 1371 | "source": 1 | |
| 1372 | }, | |
| 1373 | { | |
| 1374 | "label": "End of mission", | |
| 1375 | "value": "15 September 2017, deliberate plunge into Saturn", | |
| 1376 | "source": 0 | |
| 1377 | } | |
| 1378 | ], | |
| 1379 | "essay": "Cassini–Huygens was the first mission to orbit Saturn. NASA built the Cassini orbiter, ESA supplied the Huygens probe for Titan, and the Italian Space Agency contributed hardware. The spacecraft launched on a Titan IVB/Centaur on 15 October 1997 and reached Saturn on 1 July 2004 after gravity assists from Venus twice, Earth and Jupiter.\n\nHuygens separated on 24 December 2004 and descended through Titan's thick atmosphere on 14 January 2005. Over 13 years Cassini completed 294 orbits of Saturn, made 127 targeted flybys of Titan and 23 of Enceladus, and took 453,048 images. On Titan it found three seas and hundreds of small lakes, with methane rivers running into a methane sea. At Enceladus it found jets of ice and water vapour spraying from fractures near the south pole, fed by an ocean beneath the ice. The mission counts oceans at both Titan and Enceladus among its discoveries, along with six named moons.\n\nHaving used almost all of its propellant, Cassini ended its mission with a phase called the Grand Finale. On 15 September 2017 it was steered into Saturn's atmosphere so that it could never crash into, and contaminate, Enceladus or Titan. Lessons from its orbital tour were used to plan NASA's Europa Clipper mission.", | |
| 1380 | "image": { | |
| 1381 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA17172/PIA17172~large.jpg", | |
| 1382 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI", | |
| 1383 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1384 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA17172", | |
| 1385 | "caption": "Saturn, its rings and, far in the background, Earth, imaged by Cassini from Saturn's shadow on 19 July 2013." | |
| 1386 | }, | |
| 1387 | "drawing": { | |
| 1388 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1389 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1390 | "launch": "1997-10-15" | |
| 1391 | }, | |
| 1392 | "link": {}, | |
| 1393 | "sources": [ | |
| 1394 | { | |
| 1395 | "title": "NASA Science: Cassini-Huygens", | |
| 1396 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/" | |
| 1397 | }, | |
| 1398 | { | |
| 1399 | "title": "NASA Science: Cassini Quick Facts", | |
| 1400 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/quick-facts/" | |
| 1401 | } | |
| 1402 | ] | |
| 1403 | }, | |
| 1404 | { | |
| 1405 | "id": "international-space-station", | |
| 1406 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1407 | "title": "International Space Station", | |
| 1408 | "subtitle": "NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA · Crewed station in Earth orbit, 1998–present", | |
| 1409 | "facts": [ | |
| 1410 | { | |
| 1411 | "label": "Partner agencies", | |
| 1412 | "value": "NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, CSA (15 countries)", | |
| 1413 | "source": 1 | |
| 1414 | }, | |
| 1415 | { | |
| 1416 | "label": "First element", | |
| 1417 | "value": "Zarya, launched 20 November 1998", | |
| 1418 | "source": 2 | |
| 1419 | }, | |
| 1420 | { | |
| 1421 | "label": "First launch vehicle", | |
| 1422 | "value": "Proton-K", | |
| 1423 | "source": 2 | |
| 1424 | }, | |
| 1425 | { | |
| 1426 | "label": "Continuously occupied since", | |
| 1427 | "value": "November 2000", | |
| 1428 | "source": 1 | |
| 1429 | }, | |
| 1430 | { | |
| 1431 | "label": "Length", | |
| 1432 | "value": "109 m end to end", | |
| 1433 | "source": 1 | |
| 1434 | }, | |
| 1435 | { | |
| 1436 | "label": "Orbit", | |
| 1437 | "value": "About 400 km (250 miles) up, at about 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph)", | |
| 1438 | "source": 0 | |
| 1439 | }, | |
| 1440 | { | |
| 1441 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1442 | "value": "Operating", | |
| 1443 | "source": 0 | |
| 1444 | } | |
| 1445 | ], | |
| 1446 | "essay": "The International Space Station is a crewed laboratory in low Earth orbit, built and operated by five space agencies from 15 countries: NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency. The first module, the Russian-launched Zarya, went up on a Proton-K rocket on 20 November 1998. The station has been continuously occupied since November 2000, and on 2 November 2025 it marked 25 years of uninterrupted human presence.\n\nIts large modules and other parts were delivered on 42 assembly flights, 37 of them by the US space shuttle and five by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets. The finished structure is 109 m from end to end, close to the length of an American football field including the end zones, and its solar arrays span the same distance. It orbits about 400 km above Earth at roughly 28,000 km/h, circling the planet about every 90 minutes, or 16 times a day.\n\nA typical crew is seven people. Cargo arrives on several vehicles, including Northrop Grumman's Cygnus, SpaceX's Dragon and Russia's Progress, and up to eight spacecraft can be docked at once. Thousands of experiments have been carried out on board, leading to advances in medicine, materials science and climate research, and crews exercise at least two hours a day to limit the loss of muscle and bone in weightlessness. The station's path takes it over about 90 percent of the world's population, and NASA's Spot the Station app gives alerts for visible passes.", | |
| 1447 | "image": { | |
| 1448 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss056e201248/iss056e201248~large.jpg", | |
| 1449 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 1450 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1451 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/iss056e201248", | |
| 1452 | "caption": "The International Space Station photographed from a departing Soyuz spacecraft on 4 October 2018." | |
| 1453 | }, | |
| 1454 | "drawing": { | |
| 1455 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1456 | "status": "active", | |
| 1457 | "launch": "1998-11-20" | |
| 1458 | }, | |
| 1459 | "link": {}, | |
| 1460 | "sources": [ | |
| 1461 | { | |
| 1462 | "title": "NASA: International Space Station", | |
| 1463 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/" | |
| 1464 | }, | |
| 1465 | { | |
| 1466 | "title": "NASA: Space Station Facts and Figures", | |
| 1467 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-facts-and-figures/" | |
| 1468 | }, | |
| 1469 | { | |
| 1470 | "title": "NASA: Zarya Module", | |
| 1471 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/zarya-module/" | |
| 1472 | } | |
| 1473 | ] | |
| 1474 | }, | |
| 1475 | { | |
| 1476 | "id": "spirit-and-opportunity", | |
| 1477 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1478 | "title": "Spirit and Opportunity", | |
| 1479 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars Exploration Rovers, 2003–2019", | |
| 1480 | "facts": [ | |
| 1481 | { | |
| 1482 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1483 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1484 | "source": 0 | |
| 1485 | }, | |
| 1486 | { | |
| 1487 | "label": "Spirit launch", | |
| 1488 | "value": "10 June 2003, 17:58 UTC, Delta II, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1489 | "source": 0 | |
| 1490 | }, | |
| 1491 | { | |
| 1492 | "label": "Opportunity launch", | |
| 1493 | "value": "8 July 2003 (UTC), Delta II, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1494 | "source": 2 | |
| 1495 | }, | |
| 1496 | { | |
| 1497 | "label": "Spirit landing", | |
| 1498 | "value": "3 January 2004, Gusev crater", | |
| 1499 | "source": 0 | |
| 1500 | }, | |
| 1501 | { | |
| 1502 | "label": "Opportunity landing", | |
| 1503 | "value": "24 January 2004 (PST), Meridiani Planum", | |
| 1504 | "source": 1 | |
| 1505 | }, | |
| 1506 | { | |
| 1507 | "label": "Spirit", | |
| 1508 | "value": "7.73 km driven; mission ended 25 May 2011", | |
| 1509 | "source": 0 | |
| 1510 | }, | |
| 1511 | { | |
| 1512 | "label": "Opportunity", | |
| 1513 | "value": "45.16 km driven; mission ended 13 February 2019", | |
| 1514 | "source": 1 | |
| 1515 | } | |
| 1516 | ], | |
| 1517 | "essay": "Spirit and Opportunity were twin rovers, each about the size of a golf cart and weighing 185 kg. They were sent to opposite sides of Mars to sites thought to have been affected by liquid water, with the job of examining rocks and soil for clues to the planet's watery past. Both landed inside protective airbags in January 2004, and both worked far longer than planned: Spirit about 25 times its intended lifetime and Opportunity about 60 times.\n\nSpirit landed in Gusev crater and spent much of its mission in the Columbia Hills. In 2007, while dragging a jammed front wheel, it scraped up a patch of nearly pure silica, strong evidence that hot springs or steam vents had once existed there. In May 2009 it became stuck in soft soil near a plateau called Home Plate. It sent its last signal in March 2010, and NASA ended efforts to contact it on 25 May 2011, after six years, two months and 19 days of work.\n\nOpportunity landed in Meridiani Planum and found evidence that Mars may once have been able to support microbial life. It later drove to the 22 km Endeavour crater, arriving in August 2011, and became the first vehicle to cover a marathon distance on another world. A planet-wide dust storm cut off communication in June 2018, and NASA declared the mission over on 13 February 2019. Its distance record of 45.16 km stood until Perseverance passed it in October 2026.", | |
| 1518 | "image": { | |
| 1519 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA22222/PIA22222~medium.jpg", | |
| 1520 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 1521 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1522 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22222", | |
| 1523 | "caption": "Self-portrait of Opportunity in Perseverance Valley on Endeavour crater, taken with its Microscopic Imager for its 5,000th Martian day." | |
| 1524 | }, | |
| 1525 | "drawing": { | |
| 1526 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1527 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1528 | "launch": "2003-06-10" | |
| 1529 | }, | |
| 1530 | "link": {}, | |
| 1531 | "sources": [ | |
| 1532 | { | |
| 1533 | "title": "NASA Science: Spirit", | |
| 1534 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mer-spirit/" | |
| 1535 | }, | |
| 1536 | { | |
| 1537 | "title": "NASA Science: Opportunity", | |
| 1538 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mer-opportunity/" | |
| 1539 | }, | |
| 1540 | { | |
| 1541 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Opportunity", | |
| 1542 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-032A" | |
| 1543 | } | |
| 1544 | ] | |
| 1545 | }, | |
| 1546 | { | |
| 1547 | "id": "messenger", | |
| 1548 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1549 | "title": "MESSENGER", | |
| 1550 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mercury orbiter, 2004–2015", | |
| 1551 | "facts": [ | |
| 1552 | { | |
| 1553 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1554 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by Johns Hopkins APL)", | |
| 1555 | "source": 0 | |
| 1556 | }, | |
| 1557 | { | |
| 1558 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1559 | "value": "3 August 2004, 06:15:57 UTC", | |
| 1560 | "source": 0 | |
| 1561 | }, | |
| 1562 | { | |
| 1563 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1564 | "value": "Delta II 7925H, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1565 | "source": 0 | |
| 1566 | }, | |
| 1567 | { | |
| 1568 | "label": "Flybys en route", | |
| 1569 | "value": "Earth once, Venus twice, Mercury three times", | |
| 1570 | "source": 0 | |
| 1571 | }, | |
| 1572 | { | |
| 1573 | "label": "Mercury orbit insertion", | |
| 1574 | "value": "18 March 2011, 00:45 UTC", | |
| 1575 | "source": 0 | |
| 1576 | }, | |
| 1577 | { | |
| 1578 | "label": "Orbital images", | |
| 1579 | "value": "More than 200,000 by February 2014", | |
| 1580 | "source": 0 | |
| 1581 | }, | |
| 1582 | { | |
| 1583 | "label": "End of mission", | |
| 1584 | "value": "30 April 2015, impact on Mercury", | |
| 1585 | "source": 0 | |
| 1586 | } | |
| 1587 | ], | |
| 1588 | "essay": "MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) was the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury and the first mission to the planet since Mariner 10 three decades earlier. It was the seventh mission in NASA's Discovery programme.\n\nReaching Mercury means losing a great deal of speed, since anything falling toward the Sun accelerates. MESSENGER did this with six gravity-assist flybys over six and a half years: one of Earth, two of Venus and three of Mercury itself. It finally entered orbit on 18 March 2011 and began formal science operations in April.\n\nDuring more than four years in orbit it mapped the whole planet in monochrome and in colour, took more than 200,000 images, and measured Mercury's surface composition and its internal magnetic field, which turned out to be offset well to the north of the planet's centre. It found evidence of past volcanic activity and large amounts of water in Mercury's thin exosphere. It also confirmed that deposits in permanently shadowed craters near the poles are mostly water ice, preserved because Mercury's rotation axis is almost upright. When its propellant ran out, the spacecraft struck the surface on 30 April 2015.", | |
| 1589 | "image": { | |
| 1590 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA12371/PIA12371~orig.jpg", | |
| 1591 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington", | |
| 1592 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1593 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA12371", | |
| 1594 | "caption": "Mercury in true colour and in enhanced colour, from MESSENGER images." | |
| 1595 | }, | |
| 1596 | "drawing": { | |
| 1597 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1598 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1599 | "launch": "2004-08-03" | |
| 1600 | }, | |
| 1601 | "link": {}, | |
| 1602 | "sources": [ | |
| 1603 | { | |
| 1604 | "title": "NASA Science: MESSENGER", | |
| 1605 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/messenger/" | |
| 1606 | }, | |
| 1607 | { | |
| 1608 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: MESSENGER", | |
| 1609 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2004-030A" | |
| 1610 | } | |
| 1611 | ] | |
| 1612 | }, | |
| 1613 | { | |
| 1614 | "id": "new-horizons", | |
| 1615 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1616 | "title": "New Horizons", | |
| 1617 | "subtitle": "NASA · Pluto and Kuiper Belt flyby, 2006–present", | |
| 1618 | "facts": [ | |
| 1619 | { | |
| 1620 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1621 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by Johns Hopkins APL)", | |
| 1622 | "source": 0 | |
| 1623 | }, | |
| 1624 | { | |
| 1625 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1626 | "value": "19 January 2006, 19:00 UTC", | |
| 1627 | "source": 0 | |
| 1628 | }, | |
| 1629 | { | |
| 1630 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1631 | "value": "Atlas V 551, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1632 | "source": 0 | |
| 1633 | }, | |
| 1634 | { | |
| 1635 | "label": "Jupiter gravity assist", | |
| 1636 | "value": "28 February 2007", | |
| 1637 | "source": 0 | |
| 1638 | }, | |
| 1639 | { | |
| 1640 | "label": "Pluto flyby", | |
| 1641 | "value": "14 July 2015, closest approach 12,500 km", | |
| 1642 | "source": 0 | |
| 1643 | }, | |
| 1644 | { | |
| 1645 | "label": "Arrokoth flyby", | |
| 1646 | "value": "1 January 2019", | |
| 1647 | "source": 0 | |
| 1648 | }, | |
| 1649 | { | |
| 1650 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1651 | "value": "Extended mission in the Kuiper Belt, focused on heliophysics", | |
| 1652 | "source": 1 | |
| 1653 | } | |
| 1654 | ], | |
| 1655 | "essay": "New Horizons was the first spacecraft to explore Pluto and its moons up close. It was the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers programme and is powered by a radioisotope generator that was a spare from the Cassini mission.\n\nAn Atlas V and a solid-fuel upper stage sent it away from Earth on 19 January 2006 at about 58,500 km/h, the highest launch speed of any human-made object relative to Earth. A gravity assist from Jupiter on 28 February 2007 added about 14,000 km/h and cut three years off the journey. After more than nine years in flight it passed 12,500 km from Pluto on 14 July 2015. On the way it had also photographed Jupiter's moons Io, Europa and Ganymede during the 2007 flyby.\n\nOn 1 January 2019 it flew past Arrokoth, a small Kuiper Belt object that is the most distant body ever explored at close range. By October 2024 it was 60 times as far from the Sun as Earth is. NASA has extended the mission in a low-activity mode that focuses on heliophysics, measuring the outer heliosphere while preserving fuel in case a reachable flyby target is found, with operations planned until the spacecraft leaves the Kuiper Belt in 2028 or 2029.", | |
| 1656 | "image": { | |
| 1657 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19952/PIA19952~large.jpg", | |
| 1658 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute", | |
| 1659 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1660 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA19952", | |
| 1661 | "caption": "Enhanced-colour view of Pluto taken by New Horizons on 14 July 2015." | |
| 1662 | }, | |
| 1663 | "drawing": { | |
| 1664 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1665 | "status": "active", | |
| 1666 | "launch": "2006-01-19" | |
| 1667 | }, | |
| 1668 | "link": { | |
| 1669 | "spacecraft": "New Horizons" | |
| 1670 | }, | |
| 1671 | "sources": [ | |
| 1672 | { | |
| 1673 | "title": "NASA Science: New Horizons", | |
| 1674 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/" | |
| 1675 | }, | |
| 1676 | { | |
| 1677 | "title": "NASA: New Horizons to Continue Exploring Outer Solar System", | |
| 1678 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/missions/new-horizons/nasas-new-horizons-to-continue-exploring-outer-solar-system" | |
| 1679 | } | |
| 1680 | ] | |
| 1681 | }, | |
| 1682 | { | |
| 1683 | "id": "dawn", | |
| 1684 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1685 | "title": "Dawn", | |
| 1686 | "subtitle": "NASA · Vesta and Ceres orbiter, 2007–2018", | |
| 1687 | "facts": [ | |
| 1688 | { | |
| 1689 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1690 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1691 | "source": 0 | |
| 1692 | }, | |
| 1693 | { | |
| 1694 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1695 | "value": "27 September 2007, 11:34 UTC", | |
| 1696 | "source": 0 | |
| 1697 | }, | |
| 1698 | { | |
| 1699 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1700 | "value": "Delta II 7925H, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1701 | "source": 0 | |
| 1702 | }, | |
| 1703 | { | |
| 1704 | "label": "Vesta", | |
| 1705 | "value": "Arrived 16 July 2011; departed 5 September 2012", | |
| 1706 | "source": 0 | |
| 1707 | }, | |
| 1708 | { | |
| 1709 | "label": "Ceres", | |
| 1710 | "value": "Entered orbit 6 March 2015", | |
| 1711 | "source": 0 | |
| 1712 | }, | |
| 1713 | { | |
| 1714 | "label": "Propulsion", | |
| 1715 | "value": "Three xenon ion thrusters", | |
| 1716 | "source": 0 | |
| 1717 | }, | |
| 1718 | { | |
| 1719 | "label": "Communications ended", | |
| 1720 | "value": "31 October 2018", | |
| 1721 | "source": 0 | |
| 1722 | } | |
| 1723 | ], | |
| 1724 | "essay": "Dawn spent long periods in orbit around two very different worlds: Vesta, a giant asteroid, and Ceres, a dwarf planet. Both lie in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The mission's aim was to compare two very different survivors from the early solar system and learn about the conditions in which planets formed.\n\nTo reach both, Dawn used solar-electric ion propulsion: three thrusters, based on those of Deep Space 1, that accelerated ionized xenon. Its two solar wings spanned 19.7 m tip to tip. After a Mars gravity assist in February 2009 it reached Vesta on 16 July 2011 and spent more than a year mapping it from successively lower orbits.\n\nDawn left Vesta on 5 September 2012 and entered orbit around Ceres on 6 March 2015, eventually descending to a circular orbit just 375 km above the surface. The spacecraft's cameras, a visible and infrared mapping spectrometer and a gamma-ray and neutron detector measured the shape, composition and gravity of both worlds. Communications ended on 31 October 2018. Dawn remains in an orbit around Ceres that is expected to be stable for several hundred years.", | |
| 1725 | "image": { | |
| 1726 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA14778/PIA14778~orig.jpg", | |
| 1727 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA", | |
| 1728 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1729 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA14778", | |
| 1730 | "caption": "Asteroid Vesta photographed by Dawn's framing camera on 24 July 2011." | |
| 1731 | }, | |
| 1732 | "drawing": { | |
| 1733 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1734 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1735 | "launch": "2007-09-27" | |
| 1736 | }, | |
| 1737 | "link": {}, | |
| 1738 | "sources": [ | |
| 1739 | { | |
| 1740 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Dawn", | |
| 1741 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2007-043A" | |
| 1742 | }, | |
| 1743 | { | |
| 1744 | "title": "NASA Science: Dawn", | |
| 1745 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/" | |
| 1746 | } | |
| 1747 | ] | |
| 1748 | }, | |
| 1749 | { | |
| 1750 | "id": "kepler", | |
| 1751 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1752 | "title": "Kepler", | |
| 1753 | "subtitle": "NASA · Exoplanet survey telescope, 2009–2018", | |
| 1754 | "facts": [ | |
| 1755 | { | |
| 1756 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1757 | "value": "NASA (principal investigator at Ames Research Center)", | |
| 1758 | "source": 0 | |
| 1759 | }, | |
| 1760 | { | |
| 1761 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1762 | "value": "7 March 2009, 03:50 UTC (6 March in Florida)", | |
| 1763 | "source": 0 | |
| 1764 | }, | |
| 1765 | { | |
| 1766 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1767 | "value": "Delta II, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1768 | "source": 0 | |
| 1769 | }, | |
| 1770 | { | |
| 1771 | "label": "Orbit", | |
| 1772 | "value": "Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit, period 372.5 days", | |
| 1773 | "source": 0 | |
| 1774 | }, | |
| 1775 | { | |
| 1776 | "label": "Field of view", | |
| 1777 | "value": "About 150,000 stars in Cygnus and Lyra, monitored continuously", | |
| 1778 | "source": 1 | |
| 1779 | }, | |
| 1780 | { | |
| 1781 | "label": "Planets discovered", | |
| 1782 | "value": "More than 2,600", | |
| 1783 | "source": 1 | |
| 1784 | }, | |
| 1785 | { | |
| 1786 | "label": "Retired", | |
| 1787 | "value": "30 October 2018", | |
| 1788 | "source": 1 | |
| 1789 | } | |
| 1790 | ], | |
| 1791 | "essay": "Kepler was NASA's first mission dedicated to finding planets around other stars. It stared at a single patch of sky in Cygnus and Lyra, watching about 150,000 stars at once for the tiny, regular dips in brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of its star. To keep that field steadily in view it orbited the Sun rather than the Earth, trailing behind our planet. Its telescope had a 1.4 m mirror and fed what was then the largest digital camera launched into space.\n\nWithin six weeks it found its first five planets, and in 2010 it found Kepler-9, the first confirmed system with more than one planet transiting the same star. In May 2013 the second of its four reaction wheels failed, ending the original mission. Engineers then used the pressure of sunlight to help stabilize the spacecraft, and the extended K2 mission surveyed fields along the ecliptic instead. It completed 19 campaigns and raised the number of stars Kepler surveyed to more than 500,000.\n\nNASA retired Kepler on 30 October 2018 when it ran out of fuel. It discovered more than 2,600 planets and showed that the most common planet size in the galaxy is between those of Earth and Neptune, a size that does not occur in our solar system. Analysis of its data suggests that 20 to 50 percent of stars visible in the night sky may have small, possibly rocky planets in their habitable zones.", | |
| 1792 | "image": { | |
| 1793 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11825/PIA11825~orig.jpg", | |
| 1794 | "credit": "NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 1795 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1796 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA11825", | |
| 1797 | "caption": "Artist's concept of the Kepler spacecraft." | |
| 1798 | }, | |
| 1799 | "drawing": { | |
| 1800 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1801 | "status": "complete", | |
| 1802 | "launch": "2009-03-07" | |
| 1803 | }, | |
| 1804 | "link": {}, | |
| 1805 | "sources": [ | |
| 1806 | { | |
| 1807 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Kepler", | |
| 1808 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2009-011A" | |
| 1809 | }, | |
| 1810 | { | |
| 1811 | "title": "NASA Science: Kepler / K2", | |
| 1812 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/kepler/" | |
| 1813 | } | |
| 1814 | ] | |
| 1815 | }, | |
| 1816 | { | |
| 1817 | "id": "juno", | |
| 1818 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1819 | "title": "Juno", | |
| 1820 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter polar orbiter, 2016–present", | |
| 1821 | "facts": [ | |
| 1822 | { | |
| 1823 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1824 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1825 | "source": 1 | |
| 1826 | }, | |
| 1827 | { | |
| 1828 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1829 | "value": "5 August 2011, 16:25 UTC", | |
| 1830 | "source": 0 | |
| 1831 | }, | |
| 1832 | { | |
| 1833 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1834 | "value": "Atlas V 551, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1835 | "source": 0 | |
| 1836 | }, | |
| 1837 | { | |
| 1838 | "label": "Earth flyby", | |
| 1839 | "value": "9 October 2013", | |
| 1840 | "source": 0 | |
| 1841 | }, | |
| 1842 | { | |
| 1843 | "label": "Jupiter orbit insertion", | |
| 1844 | "value": "5 July 2016, 03:53 UTC (4 July in US time zones)", | |
| 1845 | "source": 0 | |
| 1846 | }, | |
| 1847 | { | |
| 1848 | "label": "Power", | |
| 1849 | "value": "Solar arrays, about 400 W at Jupiter", | |
| 1850 | "source": 0 | |
| 1851 | }, | |
| 1852 | { | |
| 1853 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1854 | "value": "Listed by NASA as an active mission; extended mission funded to September 2025", | |
| 1855 | "source": 1 | |
| 1856 | } | |
| 1857 | ], | |
| 1858 | "essay": "Juno is the first solar-powered spacecraft to operate at Jupiter and the first mission to orbit an outer planet from pole to pole. It was launched on 5 August 2011, used an Earth flyby in October 2013 to gain speed, and entered orbit around Jupiter on 5 July 2016 (4 July in the United States). Jupiter receives only about 4 percent as much sunlight as Earth, so Juno carries three large solar wings, and its electronics sit inside a titanium vault that shields them from Jupiter's intense radiation.\n\nIts long, looping orbits take it low over the cloud tops on each close pass. Juno found that the coloured bands of Jupiter's atmosphere extend about 3,000 km down into the planet, that the core is much larger than expected yet partly dissolved, and that the magnetic field is larger and more powerful than predicted. It also found previously unseen networks of large storms swirling around the poles.\n\nAfter completing its primary mission by mid-2021, Juno began an extended mission that added close flybys of three Galilean moons: Ganymede in June 2021, Europa in September 2022, where its data helped measure the thickness of the ice shell, and Io in December 2023 and February 2024. That extension was scheduled to run to September 2025. NASA's mission page still lists Juno as an active mission; when operations end, the spacecraft's orbit will decay and it will burn up in Jupiter's atmosphere.", | |
| 1859 | "image": { | |
| 1860 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA13746/PIA13746~large.jpg", | |
| 1861 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1862 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1863 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA13746", | |
| 1864 | "caption": "Artist's concept of the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter." | |
| 1865 | }, | |
| 1866 | "drawing": { | |
| 1867 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1868 | "status": "active", | |
| 1869 | "launch": "2011-08-05" | |
| 1870 | }, | |
| 1871 | "link": {}, | |
| 1872 | "sources": [ | |
| 1873 | { | |
| 1874 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Juno", | |
| 1875 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2011-040A" | |
| 1876 | }, | |
| 1877 | { | |
| 1878 | "title": "NASA Science: Juno", | |
| 1879 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juno/" | |
| 1880 | } | |
| 1881 | ] | |
| 1882 | }, | |
| 1883 | { | |
| 1884 | "id": "curiosity", | |
| 1885 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1886 | "title": "Curiosity", | |
| 1887 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars Science Laboratory rover, 2012–present", | |
| 1888 | "facts": [ | |
| 1889 | { | |
| 1890 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1891 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 1892 | "source": 0 | |
| 1893 | }, | |
| 1894 | { | |
| 1895 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1896 | "value": "26 November 2011", | |
| 1897 | "source": 1 | |
| 1898 | }, | |
| 1899 | { | |
| 1900 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1901 | "value": "Atlas V, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 1902 | "source": 1 | |
| 1903 | }, | |
| 1904 | { | |
| 1905 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 1906 | "value": "6 August 2012, Gale Crater", | |
| 1907 | "source": 0 | |
| 1908 | }, | |
| 1909 | { | |
| 1910 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 1911 | "value": "899 kg", | |
| 1912 | "source": 0 | |
| 1913 | }, | |
| 1914 | { | |
| 1915 | "label": "Power", | |
| 1916 | "value": "Radioisotope thermoelectric generator, 125 W at start of mission", | |
| 1917 | "source": 1 | |
| 1918 | }, | |
| 1919 | { | |
| 1920 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 1921 | "value": "Operating; reached 1 km of elevation gain on Mount Sharp on 26 August 2026", | |
| 1922 | "source": 0 | |
| 1923 | } | |
| 1924 | ], | |
| 1925 | "essay": "Curiosity is the rover of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. When it launched in November 2011 it was the largest and most capable rover sent to Mars: about the size of a small SUV, with a mass of 899 kg, a 2.2 m robotic arm, 17 cameras and 10 science instruments, including a laser that vaporizes pinpoint spots on rocks to read their chemistry. It is powered by a radioisotope generator rather than solar panels.\n\nIt landed in Gale Crater on 6 August 2012. The mission's central question is whether Mars ever had conditions able to support microbial life, and early in the mission its instruments found chemical and mineral evidence of past habitable environments in the rocks of Gale Crater. Curiosity drills into rock and delivers the powder to onboard laboratories; it has collected 42 drilled samples. In a mudstone sample called Cumberland it found decane, undecane and dodecane, the largest organic molecules yet detected on Mars, which researchers have suggested may be fragments of fatty acids.\n\nThe rover has since been climbing Mount Sharp, the mountain in the centre of Gale Crater, reading the layered rock record as it goes. On 26 August 2026 it reached an elevation gain of 1 km above its starting point. It remains in operation more than 14 years after landing.", | |
| 1926 | "image": { | |
| 1927 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA22207/PIA22207~large.jpg", | |
| 1928 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS", | |
| 1929 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1930 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA22207", | |
| 1931 | "caption": "Self-portrait of Curiosity on Vera Rubin Ridge, with Mount Sharp behind it." | |
| 1932 | }, | |
| 1933 | "drawing": { | |
| 1934 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 1935 | "status": "active", | |
| 1936 | "launch": "2011-11-26" | |
| 1937 | }, | |
| 1938 | "link": {}, | |
| 1939 | "sources": [ | |
| 1940 | { | |
| 1941 | "title": "NASA Science: Curiosity", | |
| 1942 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/" | |
| 1943 | }, | |
| 1944 | { | |
| 1945 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mars Science Laboratory", | |
| 1946 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2011-070A" | |
| 1947 | } | |
| 1948 | ] | |
| 1949 | }, | |
| 1950 | { | |
| 1951 | "id": "rosetta", | |
| 1952 | "section": "missions", | |
| 1953 | "title": "Rosetta", | |
| 1954 | "subtitle": "ESA · Comet orbiter and lander, 2004–2016", | |
| 1955 | "facts": [ | |
| 1956 | { | |
| 1957 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 1958 | "value": "ESA, with contributions from member states and NASA", | |
| 1959 | "source": 0 | |
| 1960 | }, | |
| 1961 | { | |
| 1962 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 1963 | "value": "2 March 2004", | |
| 1964 | "source": 1 | |
| 1965 | }, | |
| 1966 | { | |
| 1967 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 1968 | "value": "Ariane 5 G+", | |
| 1969 | "source": 1 | |
| 1970 | }, | |
| 1971 | { | |
| 1972 | "label": "Asteroid flybys", | |
| 1973 | "value": "Šteins (5 September 2008), Lutetia (10 July 2010)", | |
| 1974 | "source": 1 | |
| 1975 | }, | |
| 1976 | { | |
| 1977 | "label": "Arrival at comet 67P", | |
| 1978 | "value": "6 August 2014", | |
| 1979 | "source": 1 | |
| 1980 | }, | |
| 1981 | { | |
| 1982 | "label": "Philae landing", | |
| 1983 | "value": "12 November 2014", | |
| 1984 | "source": 1 | |
| 1985 | }, | |
| 1986 | { | |
| 1987 | "label": "End of mission", | |
| 1988 | "value": "30 September 2016, controlled descent onto the comet", | |
| 1989 | "source": 1 | |
| 1990 | } | |
| 1991 | ], | |
| 1992 | "essay": "Rosetta was the first mission to rendezvous with a comet, the first to follow one along its orbit around the Sun, and the first to put a lander on a comet's surface. Its target was comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. ESA led the mission, with contributions from its member states and NASA; the Philae lander was built by a consortium led by DLR, MPS, CNES and ASI.\n\nLaunched on an Ariane 5 in March 2004, Rosetta needed three Earth flybys and one Mars flyby to match the comet's orbit, and passed the asteroids Šteins and Lutetia on the way. To save power far from the Sun it spent 31 months in hibernation, from June 2011 to January 2014. It reached the comet on 6 August 2014 and released Philae on 12 November 2014.\n\nRosetta stayed with 67P through its closest approach to the Sun in August 2015, watching how solar heating changed the nucleus and its coma. It showed how the comet got its double-lobed shape, found molecular oxygen and nitrogen, and measured water with a different composition from the water in Earth's oceans. It also detected the amino acid glycine and phosphorus, both important ingredients for life. The mission ended on 30 September 2016, when the spacecraft was guided down onto the comet's surface.", | |
| 1993 | "image": { | |
| 1994 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2015/02/comet_on_31_january_2015_navcam/15241934-1-eng-GB/Comet_on_31_January_2015_NavCam_pillars.jpg", | |
| 1995 | "credit": "ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0", | |
| 1996 | "licence": "CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO", | |
| 1997 | "page": "https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2015/02/Comet_on_31_January_2015_NavCam", | |
| 1998 | "caption": "Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in a four-image mosaic from Rosetta's navigation camera, taken 28 km from the comet on 31 January 2015." | |
| 1999 | }, | |
| 2000 | "drawing": { | |
| 2001 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2002 | "status": "complete", | |
| 2003 | "launch": "2004-03-02" | |
| 2004 | }, | |
| 2005 | "link": {}, | |
| 2006 | "sources": [ | |
| 2007 | { | |
| 2008 | "title": "ESA: Rosetta", | |
| 2009 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta" | |
| 2010 | }, | |
| 2011 | { | |
| 2012 | "title": "ESA: Rosetta factsheet", | |
| 2013 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_factsheet" | |
| 2014 | }, | |
| 2015 | { | |
| 2016 | "title": "NASA Science: Rosetta-Philae", | |
| 2017 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/rosetta-philae/" | |
| 2018 | } | |
| 2019 | ] | |
| 2020 | }, | |
| 2021 | { | |
| 2022 | "id": "gaia", | |
| 2023 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2024 | "title": "Gaia", | |
| 2025 | "subtitle": "ESA · Astrometry observatory at L2, 2013–2025", | |
| 2026 | "facts": [ | |
| 2027 | { | |
| 2028 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2029 | "value": "ESA", | |
| 2030 | "source": 1 | |
| 2031 | }, | |
| 2032 | { | |
| 2033 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2034 | "value": "19 December 2013", | |
| 2035 | "source": 1 | |
| 2036 | }, | |
| 2037 | { | |
| 2038 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2039 | "value": "Soyuz-Fregat, Kourou", | |
| 2040 | "source": 1 | |
| 2041 | }, | |
| 2042 | { | |
| 2043 | "label": "Orbit", | |
| 2044 | "value": "Lissajous-type orbit around the Sun–Earth L2 point", | |
| 2045 | "source": 1 | |
| 2046 | }, | |
| 2047 | { | |
| 2048 | "label": "Science observations", | |
| 2049 | "value": "27 July 2014 to 15 January 2025", | |
| 2050 | "source": 0 | |
| 2051 | }, | |
| 2052 | { | |
| 2053 | "label": "Observations made", | |
| 2054 | "value": "More than three trillion, of about two billion objects", | |
| 2055 | "source": 0 | |
| 2056 | }, | |
| 2057 | { | |
| 2058 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2059 | "value": "Retired; data releases continue (DR4 expected December 2026)", | |
| 2060 | "source": 0 | |
| 2061 | } | |
| 2062 | ], | |
| 2063 | "essay": "Gaia was an ESA observatory built to measure the positions, distances and motions of stars with very high precision. From 27 July 2014 to 15 January 2025 it made more than three trillion observations of about two billion stars and other objects, roughly 1 percent of the stars in the Milky Way. For more than 99.9 percent of those objects, no accurate distance had been measured before.\n\nThe spacecraft worked from an orbit around the Sun–Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth. It spun slowly, sweeping two telescopes across the whole sky, and focused their light onto a single camera of nearly a billion pixels, the largest flown in space. Repeated measurements of the same stars over years revealed their tiny yearly shifts in position, from which distances follow, and their motions across the sky.\n\nGaia's data are released in stages; the latest full release came in June 2022. The results showed that the Milky Way merged with another large galaxy about 10 billion years ago, that the thick disc began forming 13 billion years ago, and that cooling white dwarfs turn solid. Gaia also improved the orbits of near-Earth asteroids and found new stellar streams, clusters and hypervelocity stars. Observations ended in January 2025. A fourth data release is expected in December 2026 and a final one not before the end of 2030.", | |
| 2064 | "image": { | |
| 2065 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2020/12/the_colour_of_the_sky_from_gaia_s_early_data_release_3/22358049-1-eng-GB/The_colour_of_the_sky_from_Gaia_s_Early_Data_Release_3_article.png", | |
| 2066 | "credit": "ESA/Gaia/DPAC; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Acknowledgement: A. Moitinho.", | |
| 2067 | "licence": "CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO", | |
| 2068 | "page": "https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/12/The_colour_of_the_sky_from_Gaia_s_Early_Data_Release_3", | |
| 2069 | "caption": "The whole sky in the brightness and colour of more than 1.8 billion stars measured by Gaia, from Early Data Release 3." | |
| 2070 | }, | |
| 2071 | "drawing": { | |
| 2072 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2073 | "status": "complete", | |
| 2074 | "launch": "2013-12-19" | |
| 2075 | }, | |
| 2076 | "link": {}, | |
| 2077 | "sources": [ | |
| 2078 | { | |
| 2079 | "title": "ESA: Gaia", | |
| 2080 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia" | |
| 2081 | }, | |
| 2082 | { | |
| 2083 | "title": "ESA: Gaia factsheet", | |
| 2084 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia/Gaia_factsheet" | |
| 2085 | }, | |
| 2086 | { | |
| 2087 | "title": "NASA Science: Gaia", | |
| 2088 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/gaia/" | |
| 2089 | } | |
| 2090 | ] | |
| 2091 | }, | |
| 2092 | { | |
| 2093 | "id": "osiris-rex", | |
| 2094 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2095 | "title": "OSIRIS-REx", | |
| 2096 | "subtitle": "NASA · Asteroid sample return, 2016–2023; continuing as OSIRIS-APEX", | |
| 2097 | "facts": [ | |
| 2098 | { | |
| 2099 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2100 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 2101 | "source": 0 | |
| 2102 | }, | |
| 2103 | { | |
| 2104 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2105 | "value": "8 September 2016, 23:05 UTC", | |
| 2106 | "source": 1 | |
| 2107 | }, | |
| 2108 | { | |
| 2109 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2110 | "value": "Atlas V 411, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 2111 | "source": 1 | |
| 2112 | }, | |
| 2113 | { | |
| 2114 | "label": "Arrival at Bennu", | |
| 2115 | "value": "3 December 2018", | |
| 2116 | "source": 0 | |
| 2117 | }, | |
| 2118 | { | |
| 2119 | "label": "Sample collection", | |
| 2120 | "value": "20 October 2020", | |
| 2121 | "source": 0 | |
| 2122 | }, | |
| 2123 | { | |
| 2124 | "label": "Sample delivered to Earth", | |
| 2125 | "value": "24 September 2023, Utah", | |
| 2126 | "source": 0 | |
| 2127 | }, | |
| 2128 | { | |
| 2129 | "label": "Sample mass", | |
| 2130 | "value": "121.6 g", | |
| 2131 | "source": 0 | |
| 2132 | }, | |
| 2133 | { | |
| 2134 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2135 | "value": "Spacecraft operating as OSIRIS-APEX, bound for asteroid Apophis (arrival June 2029)", | |
| 2136 | "source": 2 | |
| 2137 | } | |
| 2138 | ], | |
| 2139 | "essay": "OSIRIS-REx was the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid. Its target was Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid. Scientists hope the sample will show whether asteroids that struck the young Earth delivered water and other ingredients for life.\n\nLaunched in September 2016, the spacecraft reached Bennu on 3 December 2018 and entered orbit on 31 December, the smallest body ever orbited by a spacecraft. Close-up mapping showed a surface far rockier than expected, covered in boulders, which made finding a safe sampling spot difficult. The team chose a site called Nightingale inside a 140 m crater. On 20 October 2020 the spacecraft briefly touched the surface in a touch-and-go manoeuvre, firing a burst of nitrogen gas to stir loose rock and dust into its sampler head.\n\nOSIRIS-REx left Bennu in May 2021 and on 24 September 2023 released a capsule that parachuted onto the Utah Test and Training Range. It held 121.6 g of asteroid material, more than double the mission's requirement and the largest asteroid sample collected in space. The spacecraft itself was renamed OSIRIS-APEX and redirected to the asteroid Apophis. After an Earth flyby on 23 September 2025, it is due to arrive in June 2029, shortly after Apophis passes within about 32,000 km of Earth's surface.", | |
| 2140 | "image": { | |
| 2141 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/KSC-20160908-PH_SRJ02_0017/KSC-20160908-PH_SRJ02_0017~large.jpg", | |
| 2142 | "credit": "NASA/Sandy Joseph and Tim Terry", | |
| 2143 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2144 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-20160908-PH_SRJ02_0017", | |
| 2145 | "caption": "An Atlas V rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral with OSIRIS-REx on 8 September 2016." | |
| 2146 | }, | |
| 2147 | "drawing": { | |
| 2148 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2149 | "status": "active", | |
| 2150 | "launch": "2016-09-08" | |
| 2151 | }, | |
| 2152 | "link": {}, | |
| 2153 | "sources": [ | |
| 2154 | { | |
| 2155 | "title": "NASA Science: OSIRIS-REx", | |
| 2156 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/" | |
| 2157 | }, | |
| 2158 | { | |
| 2159 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: OSIRIS-REx", | |
| 2160 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2016-055A" | |
| 2161 | }, | |
| 2162 | { | |
| 2163 | "title": "NASA Science: OSIRIS-APEX", | |
| 2164 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-apex/" | |
| 2165 | } | |
| 2166 | ] | |
| 2167 | }, | |
| 2168 | { | |
| 2169 | "id": "parker-solar-probe", | |
| 2170 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2171 | "title": "Parker Solar Probe", | |
| 2172 | "subtitle": "NASA · Solar orbiter, 2018–present", | |
| 2173 | "facts": [ | |
| 2174 | { | |
| 2175 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2176 | "value": "NASA (Goddard Space Flight Center and Johns Hopkins APL)", | |
| 2177 | "source": 0 | |
| 2178 | }, | |
| 2179 | { | |
| 2180 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2181 | "value": "12 August 2018, 07:31 UTC", | |
| 2182 | "source": 0 | |
| 2183 | }, | |
| 2184 | { | |
| 2185 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2186 | "value": "Delta IV Heavy with upper stage, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 2187 | "source": 0 | |
| 2188 | }, | |
| 2189 | { | |
| 2190 | "label": "Venus flybys", | |
| 2191 | "value": "Seven, from 3 October 2018 to 6 November 2024", | |
| 2192 | "source": 1 | |
| 2193 | }, | |
| 2194 | { | |
| 2195 | "label": "Closest approach to the Sun", | |
| 2196 | "value": "About 6.2 million km from the surface", | |
| 2197 | "source": 0 | |
| 2198 | }, | |
| 2199 | { | |
| 2200 | "label": "Top speed", | |
| 2201 | "value": "About 700,000 km/h at closest approach", | |
| 2202 | "source": 0 | |
| 2203 | }, | |
| 2204 | { | |
| 2205 | "label": "Heat shield", | |
| 2206 | "value": "11.43 cm carbon-composite, rated to nearly 1,377 °C", | |
| 2207 | "source": 0 | |
| 2208 | }, | |
| 2209 | { | |
| 2210 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2211 | "value": "Operating", | |
| 2212 | "source": 0 | |
| 2213 | } | |
| 2214 | ], | |
| 2215 | "essay": "Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly through the Sun's corona, its outer atmosphere. NASA announced on 14 December 2021 that it had passed through the corona and sampled the particles and magnetic fields there. The mission is named for Eugene Parker, who proposed the existence of the solar wind in 1958; it was the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person.\n\nAfter launch on a Delta IV Heavy in August 2018, Parker used seven flybys of Venus, the last on 6 November 2024, to shrink its orbit step by step. Its closest passes, beginning on 24 December 2024, bring it within about 6.2 million km of the solar surface, at about 700,000 km/h.\n\nThe spacecraft survives behind an 11.43 cm carbon-composite heat shield that can withstand nearly 1,377 °C, while its solar arrays are actively cooled. Its four instrument suites measure electric and magnetic fields, energetic particles and the solar wind, and image the corona. The aim is to answer long-standing questions: why the corona is far hotter than the visible surface, how the solar wind is accelerated, and where high-energy solar particles come from. These measurements also help forecast space weather at Earth.", | |
| 2216 | "image": { | |
| 2217 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/NHQ201808120013/NHQ201808120013~large.jpg", | |
| 2218 | "credit": "NASA/Bill Ingalls", | |
| 2219 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2220 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ201808120013", | |
| 2221 | "caption": "A Delta IV Heavy rocket launching Parker Solar Probe from Cape Canaveral on 12 August 2018." | |
| 2222 | }, | |
| 2223 | "drawing": { | |
| 2224 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2225 | "status": "active", | |
| 2226 | "launch": "2018-08-12" | |
| 2227 | }, | |
| 2228 | "link": {}, | |
| 2229 | "sources": [ | |
| 2230 | { | |
| 2231 | "title": "NASA Science: Parker Solar Probe", | |
| 2232 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe/" | |
| 2233 | }, | |
| 2234 | { | |
| 2235 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Parker Solar Probe", | |
| 2236 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2018-065A" | |
| 2237 | } | |
| 2238 | ] | |
| 2239 | }, | |
| 2240 | { | |
| 2241 | "id": "tess", | |
| 2242 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2243 | "title": "TESS", | |
| 2244 | "subtitle": "NASA · Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, 2018–present", | |
| 2245 | "facts": [ | |
| 2246 | { | |
| 2247 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2248 | "value": "NASA (Explorer programme)", | |
| 2249 | "source": 1 | |
| 2250 | }, | |
| 2251 | { | |
| 2252 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2253 | "value": "18 April 2018", | |
| 2254 | "source": 1 | |
| 2255 | }, | |
| 2256 | { | |
| 2257 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2258 | "value": "Falcon 9, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 2259 | "source": 1 | |
| 2260 | }, | |
| 2261 | { | |
| 2262 | "label": "Survey targets", | |
| 2263 | "value": "About 200,000 of the brightest stars near the Sun", | |
| 2264 | "source": 1 | |
| 2265 | }, | |
| 2266 | { | |
| 2267 | "label": "Planets and candidates", | |
| 2268 | "value": "Nearly 6,000 identified by September 2025", | |
| 2269 | "source": 0 | |
| 2270 | }, | |
| 2271 | { | |
| 2272 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2273 | "value": "Operating, extended mission", | |
| 2274 | "source": 0 | |
| 2275 | } | |
| 2276 | ], | |
| 2277 | "essay": "The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, TESS, searches for planets around nearby bright stars. It looks for transits: the small, repeated dips in a star's brightness that occur when a planet passes in front of it.\n\nTESS was launched on a Falcon 9 on 18 April 2018. Its main survey targets are about 200,000 of the brightest stars near the Sun. Planets found around such nearby, bright stars give astronomers a rich set of targets for more detailed follow-up studies with other telescopes. Before launch the team expected thousands of planet candidates, around 300 of them no more than twice the size of Earth.\n\nTESS completed its two-year primary mission and has since continued in extended missions. By September 2025, at the end of its second extended mission, it had identified nearly 6,000 confirmed or candidate exoplanets. Its repeated wide-field images are also used to study many other objects that change in brightness, from nearby asteroids to pulsating stars and distant galaxies containing supernovae.", | |
| 2278 | "image": { | |
| 2279 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/KSC-20180418-PH_AWG07_0002/KSC-20180418-PH_AWG07_0002~large.jpg", | |
| 2280 | "credit": "NASA/Tony Gray", | |
| 2281 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2282 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-20180418-PH_AWG07_0002", | |
| 2283 | "caption": "A Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral with TESS on 18 April 2018." | |
| 2284 | }, | |
| 2285 | "drawing": { | |
| 2286 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2287 | "status": "active", | |
| 2288 | "launch": "2018-04-18" | |
| 2289 | }, | |
| 2290 | "link": {}, | |
| 2291 | "sources": [ | |
| 2292 | { | |
| 2293 | "title": "NASA Science: TESS", | |
| 2294 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tess/" | |
| 2295 | }, | |
| 2296 | { | |
| 2297 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: TESS", | |
| 2298 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2018-038A" | |
| 2299 | } | |
| 2300 | ] | |
| 2301 | }, | |
| 2302 | { | |
| 2303 | "id": "perseverance", | |
| 2304 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2305 | "title": "Perseverance", | |
| 2306 | "subtitle": "NASA · Mars 2020 rover, 2021–present", | |
| 2307 | "facts": [ | |
| 2308 | { | |
| 2309 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2310 | "value": "NASA (mission managed by JPL)", | |
| 2311 | "source": 0 | |
| 2312 | }, | |
| 2313 | { | |
| 2314 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2315 | "value": "30 July 2020, 11:50 UTC", | |
| 2316 | "source": 1 | |
| 2317 | }, | |
| 2318 | { | |
| 2319 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2320 | "value": "Atlas V 541, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 2321 | "source": 1 | |
| 2322 | }, | |
| 2323 | { | |
| 2324 | "label": "Landing", | |
| 2325 | "value": "18 February 2021, Jezero Crater", | |
| 2326 | "source": 0 | |
| 2327 | }, | |
| 2328 | { | |
| 2329 | "label": "Ingenuity first flight", | |
| 2330 | "value": "19 April 2021 (first powered flight on another planet)", | |
| 2331 | "source": 1 | |
| 2332 | }, | |
| 2333 | { | |
| 2334 | "label": "Distance driven", | |
| 2335 | "value": "45.22 km by 11 October 2026, the off-world record", | |
| 2336 | "source": 0 | |
| 2337 | }, | |
| 2338 | { | |
| 2339 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2340 | "value": "Operating", | |
| 2341 | "source": 0 | |
| 2342 | } | |
| 2343 | ], | |
| 2344 | "essay": "Perseverance is the rover of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. Its job is to look for signs of ancient microbial life and to collect cores of Martian rock and regolith that a future mission could bring back to Earth. It is based on the Curiosity design, with a mass of about 1,050 kg and a radioisotope power source.\n\nThe rover landed on 18 February 2021 in Jezero Crater, on the western edge of the Isidis Planitia basin. It carried a small helicopter, Ingenuity, which made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on 19 April 2021, hovering for 30 seconds at 3 m. A separate experiment, MOXIE, demonstrated making oxygen from the carbon dioxide atmosphere. In its first five years the rover collected more than two dozen geologically diverse rock samples and explored the history of water and habitable environments in the crater and on its rim.\n\nIn 2024 Perseverance sampled a rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls. After a year of peer review, a study published in Nature in September 2025 reported that the sample contains potential biosignatures: features that could have a biological origin but need more study before any conclusion can be drawn. On 11 October 2026 the rover's odometer reached 45.22 km, passing Opportunity's record for the longest distance driven on another world.", | |
| 2345 | "image": { | |
| 2346 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA24542/PIA24542~large.jpg", | |
| 2347 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS", | |
| 2348 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2349 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA24542", | |
| 2350 | "caption": "Perseverance's selfie with the Ingenuity helicopter, about 3.9 m away, on 6 April 2021." | |
| 2351 | }, | |
| 2352 | "drawing": { | |
| 2353 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2354 | "status": "active", | |
| 2355 | "launch": "2020-07-30" | |
| 2356 | }, | |
| 2357 | "link": {}, | |
| 2358 | "sources": [ | |
| 2359 | { | |
| 2360 | "title": "NASA Science: Mars 2020 Perseverance", | |
| 2361 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/" | |
| 2362 | }, | |
| 2363 | { | |
| 2364 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Mars 2020", | |
| 2365 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2020-052A" | |
| 2366 | } | |
| 2367 | ] | |
| 2368 | }, | |
| 2369 | { | |
| 2370 | "id": "lucy", | |
| 2371 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2372 | "title": "Lucy", | |
| 2373 | "subtitle": "NASA · Trojan asteroid flybys, 2021–present", | |
| 2374 | "facts": [ | |
| 2375 | { | |
| 2376 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2377 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 2378 | "source": 0 | |
| 2379 | }, | |
| 2380 | { | |
| 2381 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2382 | "value": "16 October 2021, 09:34 UTC", | |
| 2383 | "source": 1 | |
| 2384 | }, | |
| 2385 | { | |
| 2386 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2387 | "value": "Atlas V 401, Cape Canaveral", | |
| 2388 | "source": 1 | |
| 2389 | }, | |
| 2390 | { | |
| 2391 | "label": "Main-belt flybys", | |
| 2392 | "value": "Dinkinesh and Selam (1 November 2023); Donaldjohanson (20 April 2025)", | |
| 2393 | "source": 0 | |
| 2394 | }, | |
| 2395 | { | |
| 2396 | "label": "Trojan flybys planned", | |
| 2397 | "value": "Eurybates and Queta (11 August 2027) through Patroclus and Menoetius (3 March 2033)", | |
| 2398 | "source": 0 | |
| 2399 | }, | |
| 2400 | { | |
| 2401 | "label": "Asteroids to be visited", | |
| 2402 | "value": "11", | |
| 2403 | "source": 0 | |
| 2404 | }, | |
| 2405 | { | |
| 2406 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2407 | "value": "Operating, cruising toward the first Trojan flyby", | |
| 2408 | "source": 0 | |
| 2409 | } | |
| 2410 | ], | |
| 2411 | "essay": "Lucy is the first mission to explore the Jupiter Trojans, two swarms of asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, one leading the planet by 60° and one trailing it. The Trojans are thought to be remnants of the same material that formed the outer planets, preserved since the early solar system.\n\nThe spacecraft is more than 16 m from tip to tip, mostly because of its two circular solar arrays, each over 7 m across. It carries a high-resolution camera, a colour imager and infrared spectrometer, and a thermal infrared spectrometer. Lucy launched on 16 October 2021 and returned to Earth for gravity assists before heading out. On 1 November 2023 it passed the small main-belt asteroid Dinkinesh and found that it has a moon, now named Selam, which is itself a contact binary. On 20 April 2025 it flew past a second main-belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson.\n\nLucy's tour is planned to cover 11 asteroids in total, a record for a single mission. The first Trojan encounter, with Eurybates and its satellite Queta, is scheduled for 11 August 2027, followed by Polymele in September 2027, Leucus in 2028 and Orus in 2028. The tour ends with the binary pair Patroclus and Menoetius on 3 March 2033.", | |
| 2412 | "image": { | |
| 2413 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/NHQ202110160012/NHQ202110160012~large.jpg", | |
| 2414 | "credit": "NASA/Bill Ingalls", | |
| 2415 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2416 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ202110160012", | |
| 2417 | "caption": "An Atlas V rocket launching Lucy from Cape Canaveral before dawn on 16 October 2021." | |
| 2418 | }, | |
| 2419 | "drawing": { | |
| 2420 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2421 | "status": "active", | |
| 2422 | "launch": "2021-10-16" | |
| 2423 | }, | |
| 2424 | "link": {}, | |
| 2425 | "sources": [ | |
| 2426 | { | |
| 2427 | "title": "NASA Science: Lucy", | |
| 2428 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lucy/" | |
| 2429 | }, | |
| 2430 | { | |
| 2431 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Lucy", | |
| 2432 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2021-093A" | |
| 2433 | } | |
| 2434 | ] | |
| 2435 | }, | |
| 2436 | { | |
| 2437 | "id": "james-webb-space-telescope", | |
| 2438 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2439 | "title": "James Webb Space Telescope", | |
| 2440 | "subtitle": "NASA, ESA and CSA · Infrared space observatory at L2, 2021–present", | |
| 2441 | "facts": [ | |
| 2442 | { | |
| 2443 | "label": "Agencies", | |
| 2444 | "value": "NASA, ESA and CSA", | |
| 2445 | "source": 0 | |
| 2446 | }, | |
| 2447 | { | |
| 2448 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2449 | "value": "25 December 2021, 12:20 UTC", | |
| 2450 | "source": 1 | |
| 2451 | }, | |
| 2452 | { | |
| 2453 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2454 | "value": "Ariane 5 ECA, Kourou, French Guiana", | |
| 2455 | "source": 1 | |
| 2456 | }, | |
| 2457 | { | |
| 2458 | "label": "Arrival at L2", | |
| 2459 | "value": "24 January 2022", | |
| 2460 | "source": 0 | |
| 2461 | }, | |
| 2462 | { | |
| 2463 | "label": "Primary mirror", | |
| 2464 | "value": "18 gold-coated beryllium segments, 6.6 m across flat to flat", | |
| 2465 | "source": 1 | |
| 2466 | }, | |
| 2467 | { | |
| 2468 | "label": "Wavelength range", | |
| 2469 | "value": "0.6 to 29 micrometres", | |
| 2470 | "source": 1 | |
| 2471 | }, | |
| 2472 | { | |
| 2473 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2474 | "value": "Operating", | |
| 2475 | "source": 0 | |
| 2476 | } | |
| 2477 | ], | |
| 2478 | "essay": "The James Webb Space Telescope is a large infrared observatory built by NASA with the European and Canadian space agencies. It studies every phase of cosmic history, from the first galaxies that formed after the Big Bang to the formation of stars and planetary systems and the planets of our own solar system.\n\nWebb's primary mirror is made of 18 hexagonal segments of gold-coated beryllium that together span 6.6 m, with a collecting area of 25 square metres. The mirror and the five-layer sunshield, roughly 10 by 22 m, were folded to fit inside an Ariane 5 rocket and unfolded in space. To see faint infrared light the telescope must be very cold, so the sunshield keeps it permanently shaded from the Sun, Earth and Moon. Four main instruments cover wavelengths from 0.6 to 29 micrometres.\n\nWebb launched from Kourou on 25 December 2021. Unlike Hubble it does not orbit Earth: on 24 January 2022 it reached an orbit around the second Sun–Earth Lagrange point, L2, about 1.5 million km from Earth. Commissioning was completed and the observatory is operating normally; its station-keeping propellant is expected to last about 10 years. It is designed to look back more than 13.5 billion years to some of the first galaxies to form after the Big Bang.", | |
| 2479 | "image": { | |
| 2480 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/NHQ202112250015/NHQ202112250015~large.jpg", | |
| 2481 | "credit": "NASA/Bill Ingalls", | |
| 2482 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2483 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ202112250015", | |
| 2484 | "caption": "Ariane 5 rocket launching the James Webb Space Telescope from Kourou, French Guiana, on 25 December 2021." | |
| 2485 | }, | |
| 2486 | "drawing": { | |
| 2487 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2488 | "status": "active", | |
| 2489 | "launch": "2021-12-25" | |
| 2490 | }, | |
| 2491 | "link": {}, | |
| 2492 | "sources": [ | |
| 2493 | { | |
| 2494 | "title": "NASA Science: James Webb Space Telescope", | |
| 2495 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" | |
| 2496 | }, | |
| 2497 | { | |
| 2498 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: James Webb Space Telescope", | |
| 2499 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2021-130A" | |
| 2500 | } | |
| 2501 | ] | |
| 2502 | }, | |
| 2503 | { | |
| 2504 | "id": "dart", | |
| 2505 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2506 | "title": "DART", | |
| 2507 | "subtitle": "NASA · Double Asteroid Redirection Test, 2021–2022", | |
| 2508 | "facts": [ | |
| 2509 | { | |
| 2510 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2511 | "value": "NASA (built and operated by Johns Hopkins APL)", | |
| 2512 | "source": 1 | |
| 2513 | }, | |
| 2514 | { | |
| 2515 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2516 | "value": "24 November 2021, 06:21 UTC", | |
| 2517 | "source": 1 | |
| 2518 | }, | |
| 2519 | { | |
| 2520 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2521 | "value": "Falcon 9, Vandenberg, California", | |
| 2522 | "source": 1 | |
| 2523 | }, | |
| 2524 | { | |
| 2525 | "label": "Target", | |
| 2526 | "value": "Dimorphos (about 160 m), moon of the asteroid Didymos (about 780 m)", | |
| 2527 | "source": 0 | |
| 2528 | }, | |
| 2529 | { | |
| 2530 | "label": "Impact", | |
| 2531 | "value": "26 September 2022, 23:14 UTC, at about 6.6 km/s", | |
| 2532 | "source": 1 | |
| 2533 | }, | |
| 2534 | { | |
| 2535 | "label": "Result", | |
| 2536 | "value": "Orbit of Dimorphos shortened by 32 minutes, from 11 h 55 min to 11 h 23 min", | |
| 2537 | "source": 2 | |
| 2538 | } | |
| 2539 | ], | |
| 2540 | "essay": "DART, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, was the first mission to test a method of planetary defence: changing an asteroid's motion by deliberately crashing a spacecraft into it. Its target was Dimorphos, a moonlet about 160 m across that orbits a larger asteroid, Didymos, about 780 m across. Neither poses any threat to Earth. Because Dimorphos orbits Didymos, any change in its speed shows up as a change in its orbital period, which telescopes on Earth can measure.\n\nDART launched on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg in November 2021. It carried one instrument, the DRACO camera, which fed images to an autonomous navigation system that steered the spacecraft onto Dimorphos during the last hours. Fifteen days before impact the Italian Space Agency's LICIACube cubesat separated to follow about three minutes behind and photograph the collision. On 26 September 2022 DART hit Dimorphos at about 6.6 km/s, about 11 million km from Earth, sending back images until about two seconds before impact.\n\nNASA had set a minimum target of shortening the orbit by 73 seconds. Measurements showed that the impact cut the orbital period by 32 minutes, from 11 hours 55 minutes to 11 hours 23 minutes. That was more than 25 times the minimum. ESA's Hera mission is planned to visit the system to study the result in more detail.", | |
| 2541 | "image": { | |
| 2542 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA25329/PIA25329~large.jpg", | |
| 2543 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben", | |
| 2544 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2545 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA25329", | |
| 2546 | "caption": "Illustration of DART approaching the Didymos system before impact on Dimorphos." | |
| 2547 | }, | |
| 2548 | "drawing": { | |
| 2549 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2550 | "status": "complete", | |
| 2551 | "launch": "2021-11-24" | |
| 2552 | }, | |
| 2553 | "link": {}, | |
| 2554 | "sources": [ | |
| 2555 | { | |
| 2556 | "title": "NASA Science: DART", | |
| 2557 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/" | |
| 2558 | }, | |
| 2559 | { | |
| 2560 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: DART", | |
| 2561 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2021-110A" | |
| 2562 | }, | |
| 2563 | { | |
| 2564 | "title": "NASA: NASA Confirms DART Mission Impact Changed Asteroid's Motion in Space", | |
| 2565 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-confirms-dart-mission-impact-changed-asteroids-motion-in-space/" | |
| 2566 | } | |
| 2567 | ] | |
| 2568 | }, | |
| 2569 | { | |
| 2570 | "id": "artemis-i", | |
| 2571 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2572 | "title": "Artemis I", | |
| 2573 | "subtitle": "NASA · Uncrewed lunar flight test, 2022", | |
| 2574 | "facts": [ | |
| 2575 | { | |
| 2576 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2577 | "value": "NASA, with ESA providing Orion's service module", | |
| 2578 | "source": 0 | |
| 2579 | }, | |
| 2580 | { | |
| 2581 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2582 | "value": "16 November 2022, 06:47 UTC, Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center", | |
| 2583 | "source": 0 | |
| 2584 | }, | |
| 2585 | { | |
| 2586 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2587 | "value": "Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1", | |
| 2588 | "source": 1 | |
| 2589 | }, | |
| 2590 | { | |
| 2591 | "label": "Spacecraft", | |
| 2592 | "value": "Orion (uncrewed)", | |
| 2593 | "source": 0 | |
| 2594 | }, | |
| 2595 | { | |
| 2596 | "label": "Maximum distance from Earth", | |
| 2597 | "value": "432,210 km (268,563 miles)", | |
| 2598 | "source": 0 | |
| 2599 | }, | |
| 2600 | { | |
| 2601 | "label": "Splashdown", | |
| 2602 | "value": "11 December 2022, Pacific Ocean off San Diego", | |
| 2603 | "source": 0 | |
| 2604 | }, | |
| 2605 | { | |
| 2606 | "label": "Mission duration", | |
| 2607 | "value": "25 days, 10 hours, 53 minutes", | |
| 2608 | "source": 0 | |
| 2609 | } | |
| 2610 | ], | |
| 2611 | "essay": "Artemis I was the first integrated flight test of NASA's new deep-space system: the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center. It flew without a crew to prove the hardware before astronauts used it.\n\nThe SLS lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at 1:47 a.m. EST on 16 November 2022. Its upper stage sent Orion toward the Moon and released ten small cubesats on separate missions. Orion flew close past the Moon, then entered a wide orbit that took it 70,000 km (43,471 miles) beyond the lunar far side. At its farthest it was 432,210 km from Earth. It then returned and splashed down in the Pacific off San Diego on 11 December 2022, after 25 days, 10 hours and 53 minutes.\n\nThe SLS met or exceeded its performance targets, and Orion completed 161 test objectives, including 20 added during the flight. The European-built service module produced about 20 percent more power than expected. Engineers found more charring than predicted on Orion's heat shield, and the analysis fed into changes for later missions. The success of Artemis I led to Artemis II, which carried four astronauts around the Moon in 2026.", | |
| 2612 | "image": { | |
| 2613 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/art001e000675/art001e000675~large.jpg", | |
| 2614 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 2615 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2616 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/art001e000675", | |
| 2617 | "caption": "Orion, with Earth and the Moon in view, on flight day 13 of Artemis I, when it reached its maximum distance from Earth." | |
| 2618 | }, | |
| 2619 | "drawing": { | |
| 2620 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2621 | "status": "complete", | |
| 2622 | "launch": "2022-11-16" | |
| 2623 | }, | |
| 2624 | "link": {}, | |
| 2625 | "sources": [ | |
| 2626 | { | |
| 2627 | "title": "NASA: Artemis I", | |
| 2628 | "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-i/" | |
| 2629 | }, | |
| 2630 | { | |
| 2631 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Artemis 1", | |
| 2632 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2022-156A" | |
| 2633 | } | |
| 2634 | ] | |
| 2635 | }, | |
| 2636 | { | |
| 2637 | "id": "europa-clipper", | |
| 2638 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2639 | "title": "Europa Clipper", | |
| 2640 | "subtitle": "NASA · Jupiter orbiter for Europa flybys, 2024–present", | |
| 2641 | "facts": [ | |
| 2642 | { | |
| 2643 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2644 | "value": "NASA", | |
| 2645 | "source": 0 | |
| 2646 | }, | |
| 2647 | { | |
| 2648 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2649 | "value": "14 October 2024, 12:06 p.m. EDT", | |
| 2650 | "source": 0 | |
| 2651 | }, | |
| 2652 | { | |
| 2653 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2654 | "value": "Falcon Heavy, Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center", | |
| 2655 | "source": 0 | |
| 2656 | }, | |
| 2657 | { | |
| 2658 | "label": "Gravity assists", | |
| 2659 | "value": "Mars (2025), Earth (planned 3 December 2026)", | |
| 2660 | "source": 0 | |
| 2661 | }, | |
| 2662 | { | |
| 2663 | "label": "Jupiter arrival", | |
| 2664 | "value": "April 2030 (planned)", | |
| 2665 | "source": 0 | |
| 2666 | }, | |
| 2667 | { | |
| 2668 | "label": "Europa flybys planned", | |
| 2669 | "value": "49", | |
| 2670 | "source": 0 | |
| 2671 | }, | |
| 2672 | { | |
| 2673 | "label": "Size", | |
| 2674 | "value": "More than 30 m across with solar arrays deployed", | |
| 2675 | "source": 0 | |
| 2676 | }, | |
| 2677 | { | |
| 2678 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2679 | "value": "In cruise to Jupiter", | |
| 2680 | "source": 0 | |
| 2681 | } | |
| 2682 | ], | |
| 2683 | "essay": "Europa Clipper is the first mission designed to study Jupiter's moon Europa in detail. Its main goal is to find out whether there are places beneath Europa's icy surface that could support life. Scientists think a salty ocean lies under the ice that may hold more than twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans combined.\n\nThe spacecraft is solar-powered. With its arrays deployed it spans more than 30 m, about the length of a basketball court. Its main body consists of an avionics vault, a radio frequency module and a propulsion module, and it has a 3 m high-gain antenna. It carries nine science instruments plus a gravity experiment that uses its radio system, and all the instruments will operate together on every pass.\n\nEuropa Clipper launched on a Falcon Heavy on 14 October 2024. It flew past Mars in 2025 and is due to swing past Earth on 3 December 2026 for a final gravity assist before arriving at Jupiter in April 2030, after a journey of about 2.9 billion km. It will not orbit Europa itself. Instead it will orbit Jupiter and make 49 close flybys of the moon, using an orbital tour design derived from the way Cassini explored Saturn's moons.", | |
| 2684 | "image": { | |
| 2685 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA26445/PIA26445~orig.jpg", | |
| 2686 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 2687 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2688 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA26445", | |
| 2689 | "caption": "Artist's concept of Europa Clipper approaching Jupiter and Europa." | |
| 2690 | }, | |
| 2691 | "drawing": { | |
| 2692 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2693 | "status": "active", | |
| 2694 | "launch": "2024-10-14" | |
| 2695 | }, | |
| 2696 | "link": {}, | |
| 2697 | "sources": [ | |
| 2698 | { | |
| 2699 | "title": "NASA Science: Europa Clipper", | |
| 2700 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/" | |
| 2701 | }, | |
| 2702 | { | |
| 2703 | "title": "NASA Science: Cassini-Huygens", | |
| 2704 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/" | |
| 2705 | } | |
| 2706 | ] | |
| 2707 | }, | |
| 2708 | { | |
| 2709 | "id": "juice", | |
| 2710 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2711 | "title": "JUICE", | |
| 2712 | "subtitle": "ESA · Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, 2023–present", | |
| 2713 | "facts": [ | |
| 2714 | { | |
| 2715 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2716 | "value": "ESA, with NASA participation", | |
| 2717 | "source": 0 | |
| 2718 | }, | |
| 2719 | { | |
| 2720 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2721 | "value": "14 April 2023", | |
| 2722 | "source": 0 | |
| 2723 | }, | |
| 2724 | { | |
| 2725 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2726 | "value": "Ariane 5, Europe's Spaceport, French Guiana", | |
| 2727 | "source": 0 | |
| 2728 | }, | |
| 2729 | { | |
| 2730 | "label": "Gravity assists", | |
| 2731 | "value": "Moon and Earth (August 2024), Venus (August 2025), Earth (28 September 2026), Earth (January 2029)", | |
| 2732 | "source": 0 | |
| 2733 | }, | |
| 2734 | { | |
| 2735 | "label": "Jupiter arrival", | |
| 2736 | "value": "July 2031 (planned)", | |
| 2737 | "source": 0 | |
| 2738 | }, | |
| 2739 | { | |
| 2740 | "label": "Instruments", | |
| 2741 | "value": "10", | |
| 2742 | "source": 0 | |
| 2743 | }, | |
| 2744 | { | |
| 2745 | "label": "Moon flybys planned", | |
| 2746 | "value": "35", | |
| 2747 | "source": 0 | |
| 2748 | }, | |
| 2749 | { | |
| 2750 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2751 | "value": "In cruise to Jupiter", | |
| 2752 | "source": 0 | |
| 2753 | } | |
| 2754 | ], | |
| 2755 | "essay": "JUICE, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, is ESA's mission to Jupiter and three of its large moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. All three are thought to have oceans beneath their ice. The mission will study them both as worlds in their own right and as possible habitats, explore Jupiter's environment, and treat the Jupiter system as a model for gas giants around other stars. NASA is collaborating on the ESA-led mission.\n\nJuice launched on an Ariane 5 from French Guiana on 14 April 2023. Its route uses a series of gravity assists. In August 2024 it made a combined lunar-Earth flyby, and in August 2025 it flew past Venus. On 28 September 2026 it passed 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean, and its JANUS camera, one of 10 instruments on board, photographed a long strip of southern Africa as Earth turned below. A final Earth flyby in January 2029 will send it on to Jupiter.\n\nJuice is due to arrive in July 2031. It carries solar wings with a total area of 85 square metres to generate power so far from the Sun. The plan includes 35 close flybys of Jupiter's moons, with the aim of characterizing Ganymede, Callisto and Europa as planetary objects and as possible habitats.", | |
| 2756 | "image": { | |
| 2757 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2026/10/fly_over_africa_with_juice/27579386-1-eng-GB/Fly_over_Africa_with_Juice_card_full.png", | |
| 2758 | "credit": "ESA/Juice/JANUS. Acknowledgements: Processing: L. Penasa", | |
| 2759 | "licence": "CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO", | |
| 2760 | "page": "https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/10/Fly_over_Africa_with_Juice", | |
| 2761 | "caption": "A strip of southern Africa from Madagascar to the Gulf of Guinea, imaged by Juice's JANUS camera during its Earth flyby on 28 September 2026." | |
| 2762 | }, | |
| 2763 | "drawing": { | |
| 2764 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2765 | "status": "active", | |
| 2766 | "launch": "2023-04-14" | |
| 2767 | }, | |
| 2768 | "link": {}, | |
| 2769 | "sources": [ | |
| 2770 | { | |
| 2771 | "title": "ESA: Juice", | |
| 2772 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice" | |
| 2773 | }, | |
| 2774 | { | |
| 2775 | "title": "ESA: Fly over Africa with Juice", | |
| 2776 | "url": "https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/10/Fly_over_Africa_with_Juice" | |
| 2777 | }, | |
| 2778 | { | |
| 2779 | "title": "NASA Science: JUICE", | |
| 2780 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juice/" | |
| 2781 | } | |
| 2782 | ] | |
| 2783 | }, | |
| 2784 | { | |
| 2785 | "id": "psyche", | |
| 2786 | "section": "missions", | |
| 2787 | "title": "Psyche", | |
| 2788 | "subtitle": "NASA · Metal asteroid orbiter, 2023–present", | |
| 2789 | "facts": [ | |
| 2790 | { | |
| 2791 | "label": "Agency", | |
| 2792 | "value": "NASA (Discovery programme; spacecraft operations by JPL)", | |
| 2793 | "source": 1 | |
| 2794 | }, | |
| 2795 | { | |
| 2796 | "label": "Launch", | |
| 2797 | "value": "13 October 2023, 14:19:43 UTC", | |
| 2798 | "source": 1 | |
| 2799 | }, | |
| 2800 | { | |
| 2801 | "label": "Launch vehicle", | |
| 2802 | "value": "Falcon Heavy, Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center", | |
| 2803 | "source": 0 | |
| 2804 | }, | |
| 2805 | { | |
| 2806 | "label": "Mars gravity assist", | |
| 2807 | "value": "15 May 2026", | |
| 2808 | "source": 0 | |
| 2809 | }, | |
| 2810 | { | |
| 2811 | "label": "Arrival at asteroid Psyche", | |
| 2812 | "value": "August 2029 (planned)", | |
| 2813 | "source": 0 | |
| 2814 | }, | |
| 2815 | { | |
| 2816 | "label": "Propulsion", | |
| 2817 | "value": "Solar-electric, four SPT-140 Hall-effect thrusters using xenon", | |
| 2818 | "source": 1 | |
| 2819 | }, | |
| 2820 | { | |
| 2821 | "label": "Status (October 2026)", | |
| 2822 | "value": "In cruise to the asteroid belt", | |
| 2823 | "source": 0 | |
| 2824 | } | |
| 2825 | ], | |
| 2826 | "essay": "Psyche is a NASA mission to the asteroid of the same name, a body in the main asteroid belt whose surface appears to contain a large amount of metal rather than rock or ice. Scientists think it may be part of the metal core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of the early planets. Psyche is the first mission to explore such a world, and its results should improve our knowledge of iron cores, a previously unexplored building block of planet formation.\n\nThe spacecraft is box-shaped and, with its solar arrays deployed, almost as large as a tennis court. Its arrays drive a solar-electric propulsion system of Hall-effect thrusters that use xenon propellant. It carries a multispectral imager, a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer and a magnetometer, and will measure the asteroid's gravity through its radio signal. It also carries the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, NASA's test of laser communication beyond the Moon.\n\nPsyche launched on a Falcon Heavy on 13 October 2023. On 15 May 2026 it flew past Mars, using the planet's gravity to gain speed and tilt its trajectory, and photographed Mars to calibrate its instruments for the work ahead. It is due to reach the asteroid in August 2029 and will spend about two years in a series of orbits, mapping the surface and measuring its composition, gravity and magnetic field to test whether Psyche is an exposed core.", | |
| 2827 | "image": { | |
| 2828 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA24473/PIA24473~large.jpg", | |
| 2829 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU", | |
| 2830 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 2831 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA24473", | |
| 2832 | "caption": "Illustration of the Psyche spacecraft." | |
| 2833 | }, | |
| 2834 | "drawing": { | |
| 2835 | "kind": "mission", | |
| 2836 | "status": "active", | |
| 2837 | "launch": "2023-10-13" | |
| 2838 | }, | |
| 2839 | "link": {}, | |
| 2840 | "sources": [ | |
| 2841 | { | |
| 2842 | "title": "NASA Science: Psyche", | |
| 2843 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/" | |
| 2844 | }, | |
| 2845 | { | |
| 2846 | "title": "NSSDCA Master Catalog: Psyche", | |
| 2847 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2023-157A" | |
| 2848 | } | |
| 2849 | ] | |
| 2850 | } | |
| 2851 | ] | |
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/moons.json added +1593
| @@ -0,0 +1,1593 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "moon", | |
| 4 | "section": "moons", | |
| 5 | "title": "The Moon", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Earth's only natural satellite", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 10 | "value": "Earth", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 15 | "value": "1,737.4 km", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Mean distance from Earth", | |
| 20 | "value": "384,400 km", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Orbital period (sidereal)", | |
| 25 | "value": "27.32 days", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Synodic month (phase cycle)", | |
| 30 | "value": "29.53 days", | |
| 31 | "source": 0 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Surface gravity", | |
| 35 | "value": "1.62 m/s² (0.165 × Earth)", | |
| 36 | "source": 0 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Recession from Earth", | |
| 40 | "value": "3.8 cm per year", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "The Moon orbits Earth at a mean distance of 384,400 km and has a mean radius of 1,737.4 km, a little over a quarter of Earth's. It turns once on its axis for each orbit, so the same hemisphere always faces Earth. The far side was first seen when a Soviet spacecraft flew past in 1959. One orbit relative to the stars takes 27.32 days, but the cycle of phases from one new moon to the next takes 29.53 days, because Earth moves along its own orbit in the meantime.\n\nThe surface is rock and dust, marked by impact craters and by the maria, dark plains of cooled lava that fill old impact basins. There is no breathable atmosphere, only a very thin exosphere. Water ice has been found in permanently dark craters near the poles. Apollo astronauts brought back 382 kg of rock and soil, which are still being studied. The Moon is moving away from Earth by about 3.8 cm per year.\n\nTo the eye, the maria form the dark patches on the near side. Binoculars or a small telescope show the most detail away from full moon, when low sunlight along the terminator, the line between day and night, picks out crater walls and mountains.", | |
| 45 | "image": { | |
| 46 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00405/PIA00405~medium.jpg", | |
| 47 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/USGS", | |
| 48 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 49 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/earths-moon/", | |
| 50 | "caption": "The Moon in enhanced colour from the Galileo spacecraft in 1992, with the bright rayed crater Tycho near the bottom." | |
| 51 | }, | |
| 52 | "drawing": { | |
| 53 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 54 | "radiusKm": 1737.4, | |
| 55 | "rings": false, | |
| 56 | "axialTiltDeg": 6.68, | |
| 57 | "color": "#A8A39D" | |
| 58 | }, | |
| 59 | "link": { | |
| 60 | "body": "moon" | |
| 61 | }, | |
| 62 | "sources": [ | |
| 63 | { | |
| 64 | "title": "NASA Moon Fact Sheet", | |
| 65 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | { | |
| 68 | "title": "NASA Science: Moon Facts", | |
| 69 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/" | |
| 70 | } | |
| 71 | ] | |
| 72 | }, | |
| 73 | { | |
| 74 | "id": "phobos", | |
| 75 | "section": "moons", | |
| 76 | "title": "Phobos", | |
| 77 | "subtitle": "Larger moon of Mars", | |
| 78 | "facts": [ | |
| 79 | { | |
| 80 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 81 | "value": "Mars", | |
| 82 | "source": 1 | |
| 83 | }, | |
| 84 | { | |
| 85 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 86 | "value": "11.08 km", | |
| 87 | "source": 1 | |
| 88 | }, | |
| 89 | { | |
| 90 | "label": "Mean distance from Mars", | |
| 91 | "value": "9,375 km", | |
| 92 | "source": 2 | |
| 93 | }, | |
| 94 | { | |
| 95 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 96 | "value": "0.319 days (7 h 39 m)", | |
| 97 | "source": 2 | |
| 98 | }, | |
| 99 | { | |
| 100 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 101 | "value": "1877, Asaph Hall", | |
| 102 | "source": 3 | |
| 103 | }, | |
| 104 | { | |
| 105 | "label": "Dimensions", | |
| 106 | "value": "27 × 22 × 18 km", | |
| 107 | "source": 0 | |
| 108 | }, | |
| 109 | { | |
| 110 | "label": "Largest crater", | |
| 111 | "value": "Stickney, about 9.7 km across", | |
| 112 | "source": 0 | |
| 113 | } | |
| 114 | ], | |
| 115 | "essay": "Phobos is the larger and inner of the two moons of Mars. It is an irregular body about 27 by 22 by 18 km, with a mean radius of 11.08 km, and it orbits only 9,375 km from the centre of Mars, about three times a day. It is so close to the planet that from some places on Mars it cannot always be seen.\n\nIts largest feature is Stickney, a crater about 9.7 km wide named after Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, the mathematician wife of Asaph Hall, who discovered both Martian moons in 1877. A giant impact in the past nearly shattered Phobos. The moon is dark, with a composition similar to carbonaceous asteroids, and its surface has been ground into fine dust by meteoroid impacts. That dust holds little heat: measured temperatures run from about −4 °C on the sunlit side to −112 °C on the dark side.\n\nPhobos is moving closer to Mars by about 1.8 m every hundred years. At that rate it will either strike the planet or break up into a ring in about 50 million years. It has no atmosphere. It may be a captured asteroid, although some evidence argues against that origin.", | |
| 116 | "image": { | |
| 117 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA10368/PIA10368~medium.jpg", | |
| 118 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona", | |
| 119 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 120 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/phobos-from-6800-kilometers-color/", | |
| 121 | "caption": "Phobos in colour from the HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2008, with Stickney crater at lower right." | |
| 122 | }, | |
| 123 | "drawing": { | |
| 124 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 125 | "radiusKm": 11.08, | |
| 126 | "rings": false, | |
| 127 | "color": "#7A6A5C" | |
| 128 | }, | |
| 129 | "link": {}, | |
| 130 | "sources": [ | |
| 131 | { | |
| 132 | "title": "NASA Science: Phobos", | |
| 133 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/phobos/" | |
| 134 | }, | |
| 135 | { | |
| 136 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 137 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 138 | }, | |
| 139 | { | |
| 140 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 141 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 142 | }, | |
| 143 | { | |
| 144 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 145 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 146 | } | |
| 147 | ] | |
| 148 | }, | |
| 149 | { | |
| 150 | "id": "deimos", | |
| 151 | "section": "moons", | |
| 152 | "title": "Deimos", | |
| 153 | "subtitle": "Smaller moon of Mars", | |
| 154 | "facts": [ | |
| 155 | { | |
| 156 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 157 | "value": "Mars", | |
| 158 | "source": 1 | |
| 159 | }, | |
| 160 | { | |
| 161 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 162 | "value": "6.2 km", | |
| 163 | "source": 1 | |
| 164 | }, | |
| 165 | { | |
| 166 | "label": "Mean distance from Mars", | |
| 167 | "value": "23,457 km", | |
| 168 | "source": 2 | |
| 169 | }, | |
| 170 | { | |
| 171 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 172 | "value": "1.262 days (30 h 18 m)", | |
| 173 | "source": 2 | |
| 174 | }, | |
| 175 | { | |
| 176 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 177 | "value": "1877, Asaph Hall", | |
| 178 | "source": 3 | |
| 179 | }, | |
| 180 | { | |
| 181 | "label": "Dimensions", | |
| 182 | "value": "15 × 12 × 11 km", | |
| 183 | "source": 0 | |
| 184 | }, | |
| 185 | { | |
| 186 | "label": "Regolith depth", | |
| 187 | "value": "Up to about 100 m", | |
| 188 | "source": 0 | |
| 189 | } | |
| 190 | ], | |
| 191 | "essay": "Deimos is the smaller and outer of the two moons of Mars. It measures about 15 by 12 by 11 km, with a mean radius of 6.2 km, and orbits 23,457 km from the centre of Mars once every 30 hours. Asaph Hall discovered it in August 1877, a few days before he found Phobos. Hall named the pair after the sons of Ares, the Greek counterpart of Mars: Deimos means dread and Phobos means fear.\n\nLike Phobos, Deimos is a dark, reddish body with surface material similar to the C-type asteroids of the outer asteroid belt. It looks smoother than Phobos because a thick layer of loose rock and dust, perhaps as deep as 100 m, has partly filled its craters. Its largest crater is about 2.3 km across, a fifth the size of the largest on Phobos, and it lacks the grooves and ridges seen on its neighbour.\n\nDeimos has too little gravity to keep the debris thrown up by impacts. That material stays in orbit around Mars close to the moon's own path, and much of it is later swept up again and settles back on the surface as dust. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Deimos in colour in 2009.", | |
| 192 | "image": { | |
| 193 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11826/PIA11826~orig.jpg", | |
| 194 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona", | |
| 195 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 196 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/martian-moon-deimos-in-high-resolution/", | |
| 197 | "caption": "Two enhanced-colour views of Deimos taken by the HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in February 2009." | |
| 198 | }, | |
| 199 | "drawing": { | |
| 200 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 201 | "radiusKm": 6.2, | |
| 202 | "rings": false, | |
| 203 | "color": "#8C7B6B" | |
| 204 | }, | |
| 205 | "link": {}, | |
| 206 | "sources": [ | |
| 207 | { | |
| 208 | "title": "NASA Science: Deimos", | |
| 209 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/deimos/" | |
| 210 | }, | |
| 211 | { | |
| 212 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 213 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 214 | }, | |
| 215 | { | |
| 216 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 217 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 218 | }, | |
| 219 | { | |
| 220 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 221 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 222 | } | |
| 223 | ] | |
| 224 | }, | |
| 225 | { | |
| 226 | "id": "io", | |
| 227 | "section": "moons", | |
| 228 | "title": "Io", | |
| 229 | "subtitle": "Innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter", | |
| 230 | "facts": [ | |
| 231 | { | |
| 232 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 233 | "value": "Jupiter", | |
| 234 | "source": 1 | |
| 235 | }, | |
| 236 | { | |
| 237 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 238 | "value": "1,821.49 km", | |
| 239 | "source": 1 | |
| 240 | }, | |
| 241 | { | |
| 242 | "label": "Mean distance from Jupiter", | |
| 243 | "value": "421,800 km", | |
| 244 | "source": 2 | |
| 245 | }, | |
| 246 | { | |
| 247 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 248 | "value": "1.763 days (42 h 18 m)", | |
| 249 | "source": 2 | |
| 250 | }, | |
| 251 | { | |
| 252 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 253 | "value": "1610, Galileo Galilei", | |
| 254 | "source": 3 | |
| 255 | }, | |
| 256 | { | |
| 257 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 258 | "value": "3.528 g/cm³", | |
| 259 | "source": 1 | |
| 260 | }, | |
| 261 | { | |
| 262 | "label": "Tidal flexing of surface", | |
| 263 | "value": "Up to about 100 m", | |
| 264 | "source": 0 | |
| 265 | } | |
| 266 | ], | |
| 267 | "essay": "Io is the innermost of the four large moons of Jupiter that Galileo Galilei discovered in 1610. Its mean radius is 1,821.5 km, slightly larger than Earth's Moon, and it orbits 421,800 km from Jupiter every 1.76 days, keeping one face toward the planet.\n\nIo is the most volcanically active world in the Solar System. Regular pulls from Europa and Ganymede keep its orbit slightly elliptical, so Jupiter's tides raise and lower the surface by as much as 100 m and heat the interior. Hundreds of volcanoes erupt, some with lava fountains tens of kilometres high, and lakes of molten lava fill depressions, so impact craters do not last. The thin atmosphere is mostly sulfur dioxide. Voyager 1 found the first evidence of active volcanism in 1979, and Galileo and Juno have since studied the moon at close range.\n\nAs Jupiter's magnetic field sweeps past, it strips about a tonne of material from Io every second. The material is ionised and spreads into a ring of charged particles along Io's orbit called the plasma torus. In binoculars Io is one of four star-like points lined up beside Jupiter, and its position changes visibly from night to night.", | |
| 268 | "image": { | |
| 269 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA02308/PIA02308~medium.jpg", | |
| 270 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/University of Arizona", | |
| 271 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 272 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/global-image-of-io-true-color/", | |
| 273 | "caption": "Io in approximately true colour, assembled from Galileo images taken in July 1999." | |
| 274 | }, | |
| 275 | "drawing": { | |
| 276 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 277 | "radiusKm": 1821.49, | |
| 278 | "rings": false, | |
| 279 | "color": "#D9C46A" | |
| 280 | }, | |
| 281 | "link": {}, | |
| 282 | "sources": [ | |
| 283 | { | |
| 284 | "title": "NASA Science: Io Facts", | |
| 285 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/io/facts/" | |
| 286 | }, | |
| 287 | { | |
| 288 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 289 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 290 | }, | |
| 291 | { | |
| 292 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 293 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 294 | }, | |
| 295 | { | |
| 296 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 297 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 298 | } | |
| 299 | ] | |
| 300 | }, | |
| 301 | { | |
| 302 | "id": "europa", | |
| 303 | "section": "moons", | |
| 304 | "title": "Europa", | |
| 305 | "subtitle": "Ice-covered ocean moon of Jupiter", | |
| 306 | "facts": [ | |
| 307 | { | |
| 308 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 309 | "value": "Jupiter", | |
| 310 | "source": 1 | |
| 311 | }, | |
| 312 | { | |
| 313 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 314 | "value": "1,560.8 km", | |
| 315 | "source": 1 | |
| 316 | }, | |
| 317 | { | |
| 318 | "label": "Mean distance from Jupiter", | |
| 319 | "value": "671,100 km", | |
| 320 | "source": 2 | |
| 321 | }, | |
| 322 | { | |
| 323 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 324 | "value": "3.53 days", | |
| 325 | "source": 2 | |
| 326 | }, | |
| 327 | { | |
| 328 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 329 | "value": "1610, Galileo Galilei", | |
| 330 | "source": 3 | |
| 331 | }, | |
| 332 | { | |
| 333 | "label": "Ice shell thickness", | |
| 334 | "value": "About 15–25 km (estimated)", | |
| 335 | "source": 0 | |
| 336 | }, | |
| 337 | { | |
| 338 | "label": "Ocean depth", | |
| 339 | "value": "About 60–150 km (estimated)", | |
| 340 | "source": 0 | |
| 341 | } | |
| 342 | ], | |
| 343 | "essay": "Europa is the smallest of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, with a mean radius of 1,560.8 km, a little smaller than Earth's Moon. It orbits 671,100 km from Jupiter every 3.53 days. Galileo Galilei discovered it in 1610.\n\nThe surface is water ice, brighter than Earth's Moon and crossed by long cracks and ridges, with few large impact craters, which indicates that it is young. The Galileo spacecraft found that Jupiter's magnetic field is disturbed around Europa in a way best explained by an electrically conducting layer under the ice, most likely a global ocean of salt water. Current estimates put the ice shell at 15 to 25 km thick over an ocean 60 to 150 km deep. That ocean would hold about twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans.\n\nHubble Space Telescope observations suggest that thin plumes of water may sometimes rise from the surface, and in 2019 a team using the Keck Observatory reported water vapour above Europa. NASA launched Europa Clipper in October 2024 to make dozens of close flybys and assess whether the ocean could support life. In binoculars Europa is one of the four star-like moons beside Jupiter.", | |
| 344 | "image": { | |
| 345 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19048/PIA19048~medium.jpg", | |
| 346 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute", | |
| 347 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 348 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/europas-stunning-surface-2/", | |
| 349 | "caption": "Europa in approximate natural colour, reprocessed in 2014 from Galileo images taken in the late 1990s." | |
| 350 | }, | |
| 351 | "drawing": { | |
| 352 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 353 | "radiusKm": 1560.8, | |
| 354 | "rings": false, | |
| 355 | "color": "#C9B79C" | |
| 356 | }, | |
| 357 | "link": {}, | |
| 358 | "sources": [ | |
| 359 | { | |
| 360 | "title": "NASA Science: Europa Facts", | |
| 361 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/europa/europa-facts/" | |
| 362 | }, | |
| 363 | { | |
| 364 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 365 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 366 | }, | |
| 367 | { | |
| 368 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 369 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 370 | }, | |
| 371 | { | |
| 372 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 373 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 374 | } | |
| 375 | ] | |
| 376 | }, | |
| 377 | { | |
| 378 | "id": "ganymede", | |
| 379 | "section": "moons", | |
| 380 | "title": "Ganymede", | |
| 381 | "subtitle": "Largest moon of Jupiter", | |
| 382 | "facts": [ | |
| 383 | { | |
| 384 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 385 | "value": "Jupiter", | |
| 386 | "source": 1 | |
| 387 | }, | |
| 388 | { | |
| 389 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 390 | "value": "2,631.2 km", | |
| 391 | "source": 1 | |
| 392 | }, | |
| 393 | { | |
| 394 | "label": "Mean distance from Jupiter", | |
| 395 | "value": "1,070,400 km", | |
| 396 | "source": 2 | |
| 397 | }, | |
| 398 | { | |
| 399 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 400 | "value": "7.16 days", | |
| 401 | "source": 2 | |
| 402 | }, | |
| 403 | { | |
| 404 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 405 | "value": "1610, Galileo Galilei", | |
| 406 | "source": 3 | |
| 407 | }, | |
| 408 | { | |
| 409 | "label": "Magnetic field", | |
| 410 | "value": "Its own, detected by Galileo in 1996", | |
| 411 | "source": 0 | |
| 412 | }, | |
| 413 | { | |
| 414 | "label": "Subsurface ocean", | |
| 415 | "value": "About 100 km thick, under ~150 km of ice", | |
| 416 | "source": 0 | |
| 417 | } | |
| 418 | ], | |
| 419 | "essay": "Ganymede is the largest moon in the Solar System. Its mean radius of 2,631.2 km makes it bigger than the planet Mercury and the dwarf planet Pluto. It orbits 1,070,400 km from Jupiter every 7.16 days and is third in distance from the planet among the four Galilean moons, which Galileo Galilei discovered in 1610.\n\nIt is the only moon known to have its own magnetic field, a discovery made by the Galileo spacecraft in 1996. The field is generated in a metallic iron core and produces auroras around the moon's poles. Hubble observations of how those auroras rock back and forth as Jupiter's magnetic field changes gave strong evidence for an underground ocean of salt water, estimated at about 100 km thick and buried under roughly 150 km of mostly ice crust. It may hold more water than all the water on Earth's surface.\n\nThe surface has two kinds of terrain: older, dark, heavily cratered regions and younger, lighter regions crossed by grooves and ridges from tectonic deformation. NASA's Juno spacecraft made a close flyby in June 2021 and later identified mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface. In binoculars Ganymede is one of the four star-like moons near Jupiter.", | |
| 420 | "image": { | |
| 421 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00716/PIA00716~orig.jpg", | |
| 422 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 423 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 424 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/ganymede-color-global/", | |
| 425 | "caption": "Ganymede in natural colour from the Galileo spacecraft's first encounter in 1996, showing dark cratered and lighter grooved terrain." | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | "drawing": { | |
| 428 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 429 | "radiusKm": 2631.2, | |
| 430 | "rings": false, | |
| 431 | "color": "#8F8478" | |
| 432 | }, | |
| 433 | "link": {}, | |
| 434 | "sources": [ | |
| 435 | { | |
| 436 | "title": "NASA Science: Ganymede Facts", | |
| 437 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/ganymede/facts/" | |
| 438 | }, | |
| 439 | { | |
| 440 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 441 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 442 | }, | |
| 443 | { | |
| 444 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 445 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 446 | }, | |
| 447 | { | |
| 448 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 449 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 450 | } | |
| 451 | ] | |
| 452 | }, | |
| 453 | { | |
| 454 | "id": "callisto", | |
| 455 | "section": "moons", | |
| 456 | "title": "Callisto", | |
| 457 | "subtitle": "Outermost Galilean moon of Jupiter", | |
| 458 | "facts": [ | |
| 459 | { | |
| 460 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 461 | "value": "Jupiter", | |
| 462 | "source": 1 | |
| 463 | }, | |
| 464 | { | |
| 465 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 466 | "value": "2,410.3 km", | |
| 467 | "source": 1 | |
| 468 | }, | |
| 469 | { | |
| 470 | "label": "Mean distance from Jupiter", | |
| 471 | "value": "1,882,700 km", | |
| 472 | "source": 2 | |
| 473 | }, | |
| 474 | { | |
| 475 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 476 | "value": "16.69 days", | |
| 477 | "source": 2 | |
| 478 | }, | |
| 479 | { | |
| 480 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 481 | "value": "1610, Galileo Galilei", | |
| 482 | "source": 3 | |
| 483 | }, | |
| 484 | { | |
| 485 | "label": "Surface age", | |
| 486 | "value": "About 4 billion years", | |
| 487 | "source": 0 | |
| 488 | }, | |
| 489 | { | |
| 490 | "label": "Possible ocean", | |
| 491 | "value": "About 250 km below the surface", | |
| 492 | "source": 0 | |
| 493 | } | |
| 494 | ], | |
| 495 | "essay": "Callisto is Jupiter's second-largest moon and the third-largest moon in the Solar System, with a mean radius of 2,410.3 km, almost the size of Mercury. It is the outermost of the four Galilean moons, orbiting 1,882,700 km from Jupiter every 16.69 days. Galileo Galilei discovered it in 1610.\n\nIts surface is about 4 billion years old and is the most heavily cratered in the Solar System. Craters range from simple bowls to large basins surrounded by multiple rings. Because the craters have not been erased, the moon appears to have had little geological activity, with no volcanoes or tectonic shifting. Bright spots across the dark surface are thought to be crater peaks capped with water ice.\n\nMagnetic measurements by the Galileo spacecraft in the 1990s suggest a salty ocean may lie about 250 km below the surface, possibly in contact with rock. Later research allows that the ocean may be deeper than first thought, or may not exist. Oxygen has been detected in Callisto's thin exosphere. Of the four Galilean moons, Callisto moves farthest from Jupiter, which makes it easy to pick out in binoculars when it is near its greatest distance from the planet.", | |
| 496 | "image": { | |
| 497 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA03456/PIA03456~orig.jpg", | |
| 498 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/DLR", | |
| 499 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 500 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/global-callisto-in-color/", | |
| 501 | "caption": "The only complete global colour image of Callisto taken by Galileo, from May 2001." | |
| 502 | }, | |
| 503 | "drawing": { | |
| 504 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 505 | "radiusKm": 2410.3, | |
| 506 | "rings": false, | |
| 507 | "color": "#5E554C" | |
| 508 | }, | |
| 509 | "link": {}, | |
| 510 | "sources": [ | |
| 511 | { | |
| 512 | "title": "NASA Science: Callisto Facts", | |
| 513 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/callisto/facts/" | |
| 514 | }, | |
| 515 | { | |
| 516 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 517 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 518 | }, | |
| 519 | { | |
| 520 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 521 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 522 | }, | |
| 523 | { | |
| 524 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 525 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 526 | } | |
| 527 | ] | |
| 528 | }, | |
| 529 | { | |
| 530 | "id": "mimas", | |
| 531 | "section": "moons", | |
| 532 | "title": "Mimas", | |
| 533 | "subtitle": "Innermost major moon of Saturn", | |
| 534 | "facts": [ | |
| 535 | { | |
| 536 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 537 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 538 | "source": 1 | |
| 539 | }, | |
| 540 | { | |
| 541 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 542 | "value": "198.2 km", | |
| 543 | "source": 1 | |
| 544 | }, | |
| 545 | { | |
| 546 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 547 | "value": "186,000 km", | |
| 548 | "source": 2 | |
| 549 | }, | |
| 550 | { | |
| 551 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 552 | "value": "0.942 days (22 h 37 m)", | |
| 553 | "source": 2 | |
| 554 | }, | |
| 555 | { | |
| 556 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 557 | "value": "1789, William Herschel", | |
| 558 | "source": 3 | |
| 559 | }, | |
| 560 | { | |
| 561 | "label": "Herschel crater", | |
| 562 | "value": "130 km across", | |
| 563 | "source": 0 | |
| 564 | }, | |
| 565 | { | |
| 566 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 567 | "value": "1.150 g/cm³", | |
| 568 | "source": 1 | |
| 569 | } | |
| 570 | ], | |
| 571 | "essay": "Mimas is the smallest and innermost of Saturn's major moons, with a mean radius of 198.2 km. It orbits 186,000 km from Saturn in 22 h 37 m and keeps the same face toward the planet. William Herschel discovered it in 1789 using his 40-foot reflecting telescope. Its low density, 1.15 g/cm³, indicates that it is made almost entirely of water ice, the only substance detected on its surface. It is not quite large enough to pull itself into a round shape and is slightly egg-shaped.\n\nAlmost the whole surface is covered in impact craters. The largest, Herschel, is 130 km across, about a third of the moon's diameter, with walls about 5 km high and a central peak about 6 km high. The impact that formed it probably came close to breaking Mimas apart. Cassini's closest flyby, in 2010, produced the images that show the crater most clearly.\n\nMimas orbits closer to Saturn than Enceladus does and on a more elongated orbit, so it should be heated more by tides. Yet Enceladus erupts water while Mimas has one of the most heavily cratered and oldest-looking surfaces in the Solar System. Any explanation of the heat inside Enceladus has to account for this difference.", | |
| 572 | "image": { | |
| 573 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA12570/PIA12570~medium.jpg", | |
| 574 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute", | |
| 575 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 576 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/flying-by-the-death-star-moon/", | |
| 577 | "caption": "Mimas and its 130 km Herschel crater, from Cassini's closest flyby in February 2010." | |
| 578 | }, | |
| 579 | "drawing": { | |
| 580 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 581 | "radiusKm": 198.2, | |
| 582 | "rings": false, | |
| 583 | "color": "#BDBDBD" | |
| 584 | }, | |
| 585 | "link": {}, | |
| 586 | "sources": [ | |
| 587 | { | |
| 588 | "title": "NASA Science: Mimas", | |
| 589 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/mimas/" | |
| 590 | }, | |
| 591 | { | |
| 592 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 593 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 594 | }, | |
| 595 | { | |
| 596 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 597 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 598 | }, | |
| 599 | { | |
| 600 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 601 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 602 | } | |
| 603 | ] | |
| 604 | }, | |
| 605 | { | |
| 606 | "id": "enceladus", | |
| 607 | "section": "moons", | |
| 608 | "title": "Enceladus", | |
| 609 | "subtitle": "Geyser moon of Saturn", | |
| 610 | "facts": [ | |
| 611 | { | |
| 612 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 613 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 614 | "source": 1 | |
| 615 | }, | |
| 616 | { | |
| 617 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 618 | "value": "252.1 km", | |
| 619 | "source": 1 | |
| 620 | }, | |
| 621 | { | |
| 622 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 623 | "value": "238,400 km", | |
| 624 | "source": 2 | |
| 625 | }, | |
| 626 | { | |
| 627 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 628 | "value": "1.370 days (32 h 53 m)", | |
| 629 | "source": 2 | |
| 630 | }, | |
| 631 | { | |
| 632 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 633 | "value": "1789, William Herschel", | |
| 634 | "source": 3 | |
| 635 | }, | |
| 636 | { | |
| 637 | "label": "Plume speed", | |
| 638 | "value": "About 400 m/s", | |
| 639 | "source": 0 | |
| 640 | }, | |
| 641 | { | |
| 642 | "label": "Surface temperature", | |
| 643 | "value": "About −201 °C", | |
| 644 | "source": 0 | |
| 645 | } | |
| 646 | ], | |
| 647 | "essay": "Enceladus is a small icy moon of Saturn with a mean radius of 252.1 km. It orbits 238,400 km from Saturn, between Mimas and Tethys, once every 32.9 hours. William Herschel discovered it in 1789. Its surface reflects more sunlight than that of any other body in the Solar System, and because it absorbs so little, its temperature is about −201 °C.\n\nIn 2005 the Cassini spacecraft found jets of water vapour and ice grains leaving the south polar region at about 400 m/s. They come from warm fractures known informally as the tiger stripes. Most of the material falls back as snow, keeping the surface white, and the rest supplies Saturn's E ring. Gravity measurements showed that the jets are fed by a global ocean under an ice shell 20 to 25 km thick on average and perhaps only 1 to 5 km thick at the south pole.\n\nCassini flew through the plume and sampled it. It found water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, salts, silica and organic material, and the results point to hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. The heat comes from tides: Enceladus orbits twice for every orbit of Dione, and this resonance keeps its orbit slightly elongated, so Saturn's pull on the moon varies along its path.", | |
| 648 | "image": { | |
| 649 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA06254/PIA06254~medium.jpg", | |
| 650 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 651 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 652 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/zooming-in-on-enceladus-mosaic/", | |
| 653 | "caption": "False-colour Cassini mosaic of Enceladus from July 2005, showing fractured terrain and the south polar tiger stripes at bottom." | |
| 654 | }, | |
| 655 | "drawing": { | |
| 656 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 657 | "radiusKm": 252.1, | |
| 658 | "rings": false, | |
| 659 | "color": "#F2F4F5" | |
| 660 | }, | |
| 661 | "link": {}, | |
| 662 | "sources": [ | |
| 663 | { | |
| 664 | "title": "NASA Science: Enceladus", | |
| 665 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/enceladus/" | |
| 666 | }, | |
| 667 | { | |
| 668 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 669 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 670 | }, | |
| 671 | { | |
| 672 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 673 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 674 | }, | |
| 675 | { | |
| 676 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 677 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 678 | } | |
| 679 | ] | |
| 680 | }, | |
| 681 | { | |
| 682 | "id": "tethys", | |
| 683 | "section": "moons", | |
| 684 | "title": "Tethys", | |
| 685 | "subtitle": "Icy mid-sized moon of Saturn", | |
| 686 | "facts": [ | |
| 687 | { | |
| 688 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 689 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 690 | "source": 1 | |
| 691 | }, | |
| 692 | { | |
| 693 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 694 | "value": "531.1 km", | |
| 695 | "source": 1 | |
| 696 | }, | |
| 697 | { | |
| 698 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 699 | "value": "295,000 km", | |
| 700 | "source": 2 | |
| 701 | }, | |
| 702 | { | |
| 703 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 704 | "value": "1.888 days (45 h 18 m)", | |
| 705 | "source": 2 | |
| 706 | }, | |
| 707 | { | |
| 708 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 709 | "value": "1684, Giovanni Domenico Cassini", | |
| 710 | "source": 3 | |
| 711 | }, | |
| 712 | { | |
| 713 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 714 | "value": "0.984 g/cm³", | |
| 715 | "source": 1 | |
| 716 | }, | |
| 717 | { | |
| 718 | "label": "Odysseus crater", | |
| 719 | "value": "400 km across", | |
| 720 | "source": 0 | |
| 721 | } | |
| 722 | ], | |
| 723 | "essay": "Tethys is Saturn's fifth-largest moon, with a mean radius of 531.1 km. It orbits 295,000 km from Saturn every 45.3 hours, keeping one face toward the planet. Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered it in 1684. Its density, 0.984 g/cm³, is slightly lower than that of water, so it must be almost entirely water ice with only a small amount of rock.\n\nTwo large features dominate the surface. Odysseus is an impact crater 400 km across, nearly two-fifths of the moon's diameter. Its rim and central peak have largely collapsed, leaving a shallow basin, which suggests the interior was still partly soft when it formed. Ithaca Chasma is a valley about 100 km wide, 3 to 5 km deep and 2,000 km long that runs roughly from pole to pole. It may have opened as water inside the moon froze and expanded, or it may be linked to the Odysseus impact.\n\nTethys shares its orbit with two small moons. Telesto stays 60 degrees ahead of it and Calypso 60 degrees behind, at stable Lagrange points. Tethys is very bright, partly because ice grains from Saturn's E ring, which originate in the jets of Enceladus, constantly coat its surface.", | |
| 724 | "image": { | |
| 725 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07738/PIA07738~medium.jpg", | |
| 726 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 727 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 728 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/tethys-in-full-view/", | |
| 729 | "caption": "Cassini mosaic of Tethys from 2005 showing the south polar region, with the rift Ithaca Chasma crossing the disk." | |
| 730 | }, | |
| 731 | "drawing": { | |
| 732 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 733 | "radiusKm": 531.1, | |
| 734 | "rings": false, | |
| 735 | "color": "#D8D8D4" | |
| 736 | }, | |
| 737 | "link": {}, | |
| 738 | "sources": [ | |
| 739 | { | |
| 740 | "title": "NASA Science: Tethys", | |
| 741 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/tethys/" | |
| 742 | }, | |
| 743 | { | |
| 744 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 745 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 746 | }, | |
| 747 | { | |
| 748 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 749 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 750 | }, | |
| 751 | { | |
| 752 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 753 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 754 | } | |
| 755 | ] | |
| 756 | }, | |
| 757 | { | |
| 758 | "id": "dione", | |
| 759 | "section": "moons", | |
| 760 | "title": "Dione", | |
| 761 | "subtitle": "Icy moon of Saturn", | |
| 762 | "facts": [ | |
| 763 | { | |
| 764 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 765 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 766 | "source": 1 | |
| 767 | }, | |
| 768 | { | |
| 769 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 770 | "value": "561.4 km", | |
| 771 | "source": 1 | |
| 772 | }, | |
| 773 | { | |
| 774 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 775 | "value": "377,700 km", | |
| 776 | "source": 2 | |
| 777 | }, | |
| 778 | { | |
| 779 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 780 | "value": "2.737 days (65 h 41 m)", | |
| 781 | "source": 2 | |
| 782 | }, | |
| 783 | { | |
| 784 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 785 | "value": "1684, Giovanni Domenico Cassini", | |
| 786 | "source": 3 | |
| 787 | }, | |
| 788 | { | |
| 789 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 790 | "value": "1.478 g/cm³", | |
| 791 | "source": 1 | |
| 792 | }, | |
| 793 | { | |
| 794 | "label": "Co-orbital moons", | |
| 795 | "value": "Helene (ahead) and Polydeuces (behind)", | |
| 796 | "source": 0 | |
| 797 | } | |
| 798 | ], | |
| 799 | "essay": "Dione has a mean radius of 561.4 km and orbits Saturn at 377,700 km, close to the distance between Earth and the Moon, once every 2.74 days. Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered it in 1684. Its density of 1.48 g/cm³ suggests that about a third of the moon is a dense core, probably silicate rock, and the rest is water ice. At its average temperature of about −186 °C the ice is hard and behaves like rock.\n\nVoyager images showed bright, wispy lines across Dione. From 2005 the Cassini spacecraft resolved them as bright ice cliffs and canyon walls, some several hundred metres high, formed when the crust cracked. They are evidence of tectonic activity in the past. The trailing hemisphere is more heavily cratered than the leading one, the reverse of what is expected, which has led to the idea that an impact once turned the moon around.\n\nTwo small moons share Dione's orbit: Helene, 60 degrees ahead, and Polydeuces, 60 degrees behind. Dione is also in resonance with Enceladus, which completes exactly two orbits for each one of Dione's. That resonance keeps Enceladus's orbit slightly elongated and helps drive the tidal heating behind its jets.", | |
| 800 | "image": { | |
| 801 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07746/PIA07746~medium.jpg", | |
| 802 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 803 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 804 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/dione-in-full-view/", | |
| 805 | "caption": "Cassini mosaic of Dione from October 2005, showing cratered terrain and tectonic fractures near the right edge." | |
| 806 | }, | |
| 807 | "drawing": { | |
| 808 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 809 | "radiusKm": 561.4, | |
| 810 | "rings": false, | |
| 811 | "color": "#CFCFCB" | |
| 812 | }, | |
| 813 | "link": {}, | |
| 814 | "sources": [ | |
| 815 | { | |
| 816 | "title": "NASA Science: Dione", | |
| 817 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/dione/" | |
| 818 | }, | |
| 819 | { | |
| 820 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 821 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 822 | }, | |
| 823 | { | |
| 824 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 825 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 826 | }, | |
| 827 | { | |
| 828 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 829 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 830 | } | |
| 831 | ] | |
| 832 | }, | |
| 833 | { | |
| 834 | "id": "rhea", | |
| 835 | "section": "moons", | |
| 836 | "title": "Rhea", | |
| 837 | "subtitle": "Second-largest moon of Saturn", | |
| 838 | "facts": [ | |
| 839 | { | |
| 840 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 841 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 842 | "source": 1 | |
| 843 | }, | |
| 844 | { | |
| 845 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 846 | "value": "763.5 km", | |
| 847 | "source": 1 | |
| 848 | }, | |
| 849 | { | |
| 850 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 851 | "value": "527,200 km", | |
| 852 | "source": 2 | |
| 853 | }, | |
| 854 | { | |
| 855 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 856 | "value": "4.52 days", | |
| 857 | "source": 2 | |
| 858 | }, | |
| 859 | { | |
| 860 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 861 | "value": "1672, Giovanni Domenico Cassini", | |
| 862 | "source": 3 | |
| 863 | }, | |
| 864 | { | |
| 865 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 866 | "value": "1.237 g/cm³", | |
| 867 | "source": 1 | |
| 868 | }, | |
| 869 | { | |
| 870 | "label": "Surface temperature", | |
| 871 | "value": "About −174 °C (sunlit) to −220 °C (shade)", | |
| 872 | "source": 0 | |
| 873 | } | |
| 874 | ], | |
| 875 | "essay": "Rhea is Saturn's second-largest moon, with a mean radius of 763.5 km, less than a third of Titan's. It orbits 527,200 km from Saturn every 4.52 days, keeping one face toward the planet. Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered it in 1672. Its density of 1.24 g/cm³ points to a body about three-quarters ice and one-quarter rock, and Cassini gravity measurements suggest the two are mixed rather than separated into a rocky core and icy mantle.\n\nRhea is farther from Saturn than Dione and Tethys and receives too little tidal heating to have resurfaced much, so it is more heavily cratered than either. Like them, it has bright wispy markings, which Cassini showed in 2006 to be fracture cliffs exposing clean ice. Surface temperatures range from about −174 °C in sunlight to −220 °C in shadow.\n\nIn 2010 Cassini detected a very thin exosphere of oxygen and carbon dioxide around Rhea. It was the first time a spacecraft had directly sampled an oxygen atmosphere at a world other than Earth. The oxygen is released when charged particles trapped in Saturn's rotating magnetic field strike the icy surface. Its density at the surface is about 5 trillion times lower than that of Earth's air.", | |
| 876 | "image": { | |
| 877 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA07763/PIA07763~medium.jpg", | |
| 878 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 879 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 880 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/rhea-full-moon/", | |
| 881 | "caption": "Cassini mosaic of 21 images showing the full cratered disk of Rhea, with the ancient Tirawa basin above and right of centre." | |
| 882 | }, | |
| 883 | "drawing": { | |
| 884 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 885 | "radiusKm": 763.5, | |
| 886 | "rings": false, | |
| 887 | "color": "#C4C2BD" | |
| 888 | }, | |
| 889 | "link": {}, | |
| 890 | "sources": [ | |
| 891 | { | |
| 892 | "title": "NASA Science: Rhea", | |
| 893 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/rhea/" | |
| 894 | }, | |
| 895 | { | |
| 896 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 897 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 898 | }, | |
| 899 | { | |
| 900 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 901 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 902 | }, | |
| 903 | { | |
| 904 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 905 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 906 | } | |
| 907 | ] | |
| 908 | }, | |
| 909 | { | |
| 910 | "id": "titan", | |
| 911 | "section": "moons", | |
| 912 | "title": "Titan", | |
| 913 | "subtitle": "Largest moon of Saturn", | |
| 914 | "facts": [ | |
| 915 | { | |
| 916 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 917 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 918 | "source": 1 | |
| 919 | }, | |
| 920 | { | |
| 921 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 922 | "value": "2,574.76 km", | |
| 923 | "source": 1 | |
| 924 | }, | |
| 925 | { | |
| 926 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 927 | "value": "1,221,900 km", | |
| 928 | "source": 2 | |
| 929 | }, | |
| 930 | { | |
| 931 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 932 | "value": "15.95 days", | |
| 933 | "source": 2 | |
| 934 | }, | |
| 935 | { | |
| 936 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 937 | "value": "1655, Christiaan Huygens", | |
| 938 | "source": 3 | |
| 939 | }, | |
| 940 | { | |
| 941 | "label": "Surface pressure", | |
| 942 | "value": "About 60% higher than on Earth", | |
| 943 | "source": 0 | |
| 944 | }, | |
| 945 | { | |
| 946 | "label": "Atmosphere", | |
| 947 | "value": "About 95% nitrogen, 5% methane", | |
| 948 | "source": 0 | |
| 949 | } | |
| 950 | ], | |
| 951 | "essay": "Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Ganymede. Its mean radius is 2,574.8 km, larger than the planet Mercury. It orbits 1,221,900 km from Saturn every 15.95 days, keeping one face toward the planet. Christiaan Huygens discovered it in 1655.\n\nIt is the only moon with a dense atmosphere. The gas is about 95 percent nitrogen and 5 percent methane, and the pressure at the surface is about 60 percent higher than at sea level on Earth. Sunlight and charged particles break up methane high in the atmosphere, and the fragments recombine into organic compounds that form an orange haze hiding the surface. Titan has a cycle of liquids like Earth's water cycle, but with methane and ethane: clouds, rain, rivers, lakes and seas. Fields of dunes made of dark hydrocarbon grains cover much of the equatorial region.\n\nGravity measurements by Cassini, and radio data from ESA's Huygens probe, which landed in 2005, point to an ocean of salty water 55 to 80 km below the icy crust. NASA's Dragonfly rotorcraft is planned to launch in 2028 and land at several sites on the surface. In a small telescope Titan appears as a star-like point near Saturn.", | |
| 952 | "image": { | |
| 953 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA14602/PIA14602~orig.jpg", | |
| 954 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute", | |
| 955 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 956 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/hazy-orange-orb/", | |
| 957 | "caption": "Titan in natural colour from Cassini, its surface hidden by orange haze, with the north polar hood at top." | |
| 958 | }, | |
| 959 | "drawing": { | |
| 960 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 961 | "radiusKm": 2574.76, | |
| 962 | "rings": false, | |
| 963 | "color": "#D9A54A" | |
| 964 | }, | |
| 965 | "link": {}, | |
| 966 | "sources": [ | |
| 967 | { | |
| 968 | "title": "NASA Science: Titan Facts", | |
| 969 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/titan/facts/" | |
| 970 | }, | |
| 971 | { | |
| 972 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 973 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 974 | }, | |
| 975 | { | |
| 976 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 977 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | { | |
| 980 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 981 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 982 | } | |
| 983 | ] | |
| 984 | }, | |
| 985 | { | |
| 986 | "id": "iapetus", | |
| 987 | "section": "moons", | |
| 988 | "title": "Iapetus", | |
| 989 | "subtitle": "Two-toned moon of Saturn", | |
| 990 | "facts": [ | |
| 991 | { | |
| 992 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 993 | "value": "Saturn", | |
| 994 | "source": 1 | |
| 995 | }, | |
| 996 | { | |
| 997 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 998 | "value": "734.3 km", | |
| 999 | "source": 1 | |
| 1000 | }, | |
| 1001 | { | |
| 1002 | "label": "Mean distance from Saturn", | |
| 1003 | "value": "3,561,700 km", | |
| 1004 | "source": 2 | |
| 1005 | }, | |
| 1006 | { | |
| 1007 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1008 | "value": "79.33 days", | |
| 1009 | "source": 2 | |
| 1010 | }, | |
| 1011 | { | |
| 1012 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1013 | "value": "1671, Giovanni Domenico Cassini", | |
| 1014 | "source": 3 | |
| 1015 | }, | |
| 1016 | { | |
| 1017 | "label": "Albedo", | |
| 1018 | "value": "0.03–0.05 leading side, 0.5–0.6 trailing side", | |
| 1019 | "source": 0 | |
| 1020 | }, | |
| 1021 | { | |
| 1022 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1023 | "value": "1.089 g/cm³", | |
| 1024 | "source": 1 | |
| 1025 | } | |
| 1026 | ], | |
| 1027 | "essay": "Iapetus is Saturn's third-largest moon, with a mean radius of 734.3 km. It orbits far from the planet, at 3,561,700 km, taking 79.33 days, and like most of Saturn's large moons it keeps one face toward Saturn. Its orbit is inclined, so from Iapetus the rings would be seen at an angle rather than edge-on. Its density of 1.09 g/cm³ shows that it is mostly ice.\n\nThe two hemispheres differ sharply in brightness. The leading side, which faces forward along the orbit, is as dark as coal, with an albedo of 0.03 to 0.05. The trailing side is about ten times brighter, at 0.5 to 0.6. Giovanni Domenico Cassini noticed this when he discovered the moon in 1671: he could see it only when it was on the west side of Saturn, and he correctly concluded that one side was darker and always faced the same way.\n\nThe Cassini spacecraft's flyby in 2007 showed that thermal segregation is the main cause. Dark material, possibly dust from the outer moon Phoebe, gathers on the leading side. It absorbs sunlight and warms during the long day, so ice evaporates from it and refreezes on colder, brighter ground. The dark areas become darker and the bright areas brighter.", | |
| 1028 | "image": { | |
| 1029 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA08384/PIA08384~medium.jpg", | |
| 1030 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 1031 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1032 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/the-other-side-of-iapetus/", | |
| 1033 | "caption": "False-colour Cassini mosaic of the bright trailing hemisphere of Iapetus from September 2007, with the transition to the dark leading hemisphere along the right side." | |
| 1034 | }, | |
| 1035 | "drawing": { | |
| 1036 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1037 | "radiusKm": 734.3, | |
| 1038 | "rings": false, | |
| 1039 | "color": "#9C8F7A" | |
| 1040 | }, | |
| 1041 | "link": {}, | |
| 1042 | "sources": [ | |
| 1043 | { | |
| 1044 | "title": "NASA Science: Iapetus", | |
| 1045 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/iapetus/" | |
| 1046 | }, | |
| 1047 | { | |
| 1048 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1049 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1050 | }, | |
| 1051 | { | |
| 1052 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1053 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1054 | }, | |
| 1055 | { | |
| 1056 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1057 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1058 | } | |
| 1059 | ] | |
| 1060 | }, | |
| 1061 | { | |
| 1062 | "id": "miranda", | |
| 1063 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1064 | "title": "Miranda", | |
| 1065 | "subtitle": "Innermost major moon of Uranus", | |
| 1066 | "facts": [ | |
| 1067 | { | |
| 1068 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1069 | "value": "Uranus", | |
| 1070 | "source": 1 | |
| 1071 | }, | |
| 1072 | { | |
| 1073 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1074 | "value": "235.8 km", | |
| 1075 | "source": 1 | |
| 1076 | }, | |
| 1077 | { | |
| 1078 | "label": "Mean distance from Uranus", | |
| 1079 | "value": "129,846 km", | |
| 1080 | "source": 2 | |
| 1081 | }, | |
| 1082 | { | |
| 1083 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1084 | "value": "1.413 days (33 h 55 m)", | |
| 1085 | "source": 2 | |
| 1086 | }, | |
| 1087 | { | |
| 1088 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1089 | "value": "1948, Gerard Kuiper", | |
| 1090 | "source": 3 | |
| 1091 | }, | |
| 1092 | { | |
| 1093 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1094 | "value": "1.178 g/cm³", | |
| 1095 | "source": 1 | |
| 1096 | }, | |
| 1097 | { | |
| 1098 | "label": "Deepest canyons", | |
| 1099 | "value": "Up to 12 times the depth of the Grand Canyon", | |
| 1100 | "source": 0 | |
| 1101 | } | |
| 1102 | ], | |
| 1103 | "essay": "Miranda is the smallest and innermost of the five major moons of Uranus, with a mean radius of 235.8 km. It orbits 129,846 km from Uranus every 1.41 days, on an orbit slightly more inclined than those of the other four. Gerard Kuiper discovered it in 1948 on photographs taken at McDonald Observatory in Texas. It was the last moon of Uranus found before Voyager 2 reached the planet in 1986.\n\nVoyager 2 showed a surface far more varied than expected for a body this small. Three large regions called coronae, lightly cratered collections of ridges and valleys, meet older, heavily cratered terrain at sharp boundaries. Fault canyons reach as much as 12 times the depth of the Grand Canyon. In Miranda's low gravity, a rock dropped from the highest cliff would take about 10 minutes to reach the bottom.\n\nScientists disagree about how these features formed. One idea is that a large impact shattered Miranda and the pieces reassembled. Another, considered more likely, is that impacts partly melted the icy interior and slushy water rose to the surface in episodes and refroze. Like the other large Uranian moons, Miranda is thought to be made of roughly equal amounts of water ice and silicate rock.", | |
| 1104 | "image": { | |
| 1105 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA01490/PIA01490~medium.jpg", | |
| 1106 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/USGS", | |
| 1107 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1108 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/south-polar-view-of-miranda/", | |
| 1109 | "caption": "Voyager 2 mosaic of Miranda's south polar region from January 1986, showing coronae next to older cratered ground." | |
| 1110 | }, | |
| 1111 | "drawing": { | |
| 1112 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1113 | "radiusKm": 235.8, | |
| 1114 | "rings": false, | |
| 1115 | "color": "#9A9A96" | |
| 1116 | }, | |
| 1117 | "link": {}, | |
| 1118 | "sources": [ | |
| 1119 | { | |
| 1120 | "title": "NASA Science: Miranda", | |
| 1121 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/miranda/" | |
| 1122 | }, | |
| 1123 | { | |
| 1124 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1125 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | { | |
| 1128 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1129 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1130 | }, | |
| 1131 | { | |
| 1132 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1133 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1134 | } | |
| 1135 | ] | |
| 1136 | }, | |
| 1137 | { | |
| 1138 | "id": "ariel", | |
| 1139 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1140 | "title": "Ariel", | |
| 1141 | "subtitle": "Brightest major moon of Uranus", | |
| 1142 | "facts": [ | |
| 1143 | { | |
| 1144 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1145 | "value": "Uranus", | |
| 1146 | "source": 1 | |
| 1147 | }, | |
| 1148 | { | |
| 1149 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1150 | "value": "578.9 km", | |
| 1151 | "source": 1 | |
| 1152 | }, | |
| 1153 | { | |
| 1154 | "label": "Mean distance from Uranus", | |
| 1155 | "value": "190,929 km", | |
| 1156 | "source": 2 | |
| 1157 | }, | |
| 1158 | { | |
| 1159 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1160 | "value": "2.520 days (60 h 29 m)", | |
| 1161 | "source": 2 | |
| 1162 | }, | |
| 1163 | { | |
| 1164 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1165 | "value": "1851, William Lassell", | |
| 1166 | "source": 3 | |
| 1167 | }, | |
| 1168 | { | |
| 1169 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1170 | "value": "1.539 g/cm³", | |
| 1171 | "source": 1 | |
| 1172 | }, | |
| 1173 | { | |
| 1174 | "label": "Surface", | |
| 1175 | "value": "Youngest of the major Uranian moons", | |
| 1176 | "source": 0 | |
| 1177 | } | |
| 1178 | ], | |
| 1179 | "essay": "Ariel has a mean radius of 578.9 km and orbits Uranus at 190,929 km every 2.52 days, on an orbit with low inclination and eccentricity. It keeps the same face toward Uranus. William Lassell, an English amateur astronomer who paid for his telescopes with money from brewing, discovered it in 1851. John Herschel named it at Lassell's request after characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest and Pope's The Rape of the Lock.\n\nAriel has the brightest surface of the five major Uranian moons, although none of them reflects more than about a third of the sunlight that reaches it, which suggests dark carbon-rich material on their surfaces. Ariel also appears to have the youngest surface. It has few large craters and many small ones, and it is crossed by graben, valleys bounded by faults. These point to the most recent geological activity among the large moons of Uranus. Voyager 2 took its best colour image of Ariel in January 1986 from 170,000 km.\n\nLike its neighbours, Ariel is thought to be roughly half water ice and half silicate rock, and carbon dioxide has been detected on its surface. In the past it was heated enough for heavier material to sink toward the centre, possibly through tidal interaction with Uranus.", | |
| 1180 | "image": { | |
| 1181 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00041/PIA00041~orig.jpg", | |
| 1182 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1183 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1184 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/ariel-highest-resolution-color-picture/", | |
| 1185 | "caption": "Ariel's southern hemisphere in Voyager 2's best colour image, taken in January 1986, with fault valleys near the terminator." | |
| 1186 | }, | |
| 1187 | "drawing": { | |
| 1188 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1189 | "radiusKm": 578.9, | |
| 1190 | "rings": false, | |
| 1191 | "color": "#A9A6A0" | |
| 1192 | }, | |
| 1193 | "link": {}, | |
| 1194 | "sources": [ | |
| 1195 | { | |
| 1196 | "title": "NASA Science: Ariel", | |
| 1197 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/ariel/" | |
| 1198 | }, | |
| 1199 | { | |
| 1200 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1201 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1202 | }, | |
| 1203 | { | |
| 1204 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1205 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1206 | }, | |
| 1207 | { | |
| 1208 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1209 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1210 | } | |
| 1211 | ] | |
| 1212 | }, | |
| 1213 | { | |
| 1214 | "id": "umbriel", | |
| 1215 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1216 | "title": "Umbriel", | |
| 1217 | "subtitle": "Darkest major moon of Uranus", | |
| 1218 | "facts": [ | |
| 1219 | { | |
| 1220 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1221 | "value": "Uranus", | |
| 1222 | "source": 1 | |
| 1223 | }, | |
| 1224 | { | |
| 1225 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1226 | "value": "584.7 km", | |
| 1227 | "source": 1 | |
| 1228 | }, | |
| 1229 | { | |
| 1230 | "label": "Mean distance from Uranus", | |
| 1231 | "value": "265,986 km", | |
| 1232 | "source": 2 | |
| 1233 | }, | |
| 1234 | { | |
| 1235 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1236 | "value": "4.14 days", | |
| 1237 | "source": 2 | |
| 1238 | }, | |
| 1239 | { | |
| 1240 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1241 | "value": "1851, William Lassell", | |
| 1242 | "source": 3 | |
| 1243 | }, | |
| 1244 | { | |
| 1245 | "label": "Reflectivity", | |
| 1246 | "value": "About 16% of incoming light", | |
| 1247 | "source": 0 | |
| 1248 | }, | |
| 1249 | { | |
| 1250 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1251 | "value": "1.523 g/cm³", | |
| 1252 | "source": 1 | |
| 1253 | } | |
| 1254 | ], | |
| 1255 | "essay": "Umbriel has a mean radius of 584.7 km, slightly larger than Ariel, and orbits Uranus at 265,986 km every 4.14 days, keeping one face toward the planet. William Lassell discovered it in 1851, the same year he found Ariel. It is named after a spirit in Alexander Pope's poem The Rape of the Lock.\n\nIt is the darkest of the five major Uranian moons. Its surface reflects only about 16 percent of the light that falls on it, similar to the highland regions of Earth's Moon, while the other large moons of Uranus are noticeably brighter. The process that darkened it is not known. Its surface is old and heavily cratered, and of the five large moons it shows the least sign of geological activity.\n\nEverything known about Umbriel's surface comes from Voyager 2, which passed through the Uranus system in January 1986. Its most detailed image, taken from 557,000 km with a resolution of about 10 km, shows the cratered southern hemisphere. Voyager 2 also found a bright ring about 140 km across on the dark surface. What made it is unclear, but it may be a frost deposit associated with an impact crater. Like the other large Uranian moons, Umbriel is thought to be roughly half ice and half rock.", | |
| 1256 | "image": { | |
| 1257 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00040/PIA00040~orig.jpg", | |
| 1258 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1259 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1260 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/umbriel-at-closest-approach/", | |
| 1261 | "caption": "Voyager 2's most detailed image of Umbriel, taken in January 1986, showing its heavily cratered southern hemisphere." | |
| 1262 | }, | |
| 1263 | "drawing": { | |
| 1264 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1265 | "radiusKm": 584.7, | |
| 1266 | "rings": false, | |
| 1267 | "color": "#5F5F5C" | |
| 1268 | }, | |
| 1269 | "link": {}, | |
| 1270 | "sources": [ | |
| 1271 | { | |
| 1272 | "title": "NASA Science: Umbriel", | |
| 1273 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/umbriel/" | |
| 1274 | }, | |
| 1275 | { | |
| 1276 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1277 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1278 | }, | |
| 1279 | { | |
| 1280 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1281 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1282 | }, | |
| 1283 | { | |
| 1284 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1285 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1286 | } | |
| 1287 | ] | |
| 1288 | }, | |
| 1289 | { | |
| 1290 | "id": "titania", | |
| 1291 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1292 | "title": "Titania", | |
| 1293 | "subtitle": "Largest moon of Uranus", | |
| 1294 | "facts": [ | |
| 1295 | { | |
| 1296 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1297 | "value": "Uranus", | |
| 1298 | "source": 1 | |
| 1299 | }, | |
| 1300 | { | |
| 1301 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1302 | "value": "788.9 km", | |
| 1303 | "source": 1 | |
| 1304 | }, | |
| 1305 | { | |
| 1306 | "label": "Mean distance from Uranus", | |
| 1307 | "value": "436,298 km", | |
| 1308 | "source": 2 | |
| 1309 | }, | |
| 1310 | { | |
| 1311 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1312 | "value": "8.71 days", | |
| 1313 | "source": 2 | |
| 1314 | }, | |
| 1315 | { | |
| 1316 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1317 | "value": "1787, William Herschel", | |
| 1318 | "source": 3 | |
| 1319 | }, | |
| 1320 | { | |
| 1321 | "label": "Longest fault valleys", | |
| 1322 | "value": "About 1,600 km", | |
| 1323 | "source": 0 | |
| 1324 | }, | |
| 1325 | { | |
| 1326 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1327 | "value": "1.653 g/cm³", | |
| 1328 | "source": 1 | |
| 1329 | } | |
| 1330 | ], | |
| 1331 | "essay": "Titania is the largest moon of Uranus, with a mean radius of 788.9 km. It orbits 436,298 km from the planet every 8.71 days, keeping one face toward Uranus. William Herschel discovered it in January 1787, the same year he found Oberon. It is named after the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.\n\nVoyager 2 photographed Titania in January 1986, almost 200 years after its discovery, from about 500,000 km. The images show impact craters and a system of fault valleys, some about 1,600 km long. The valleys break the crust in two directions, which indicates that it was stretched, and shows that Titania was geologically active at some point. Deposits of bright material along the valley walls that face the Sun may be frost.\n\nTitania is a neutral grey colour, typical of the major Uranian moons. Like them, it is thought to be made of roughly equal amounts of water ice and rock, and its density is 1.65 g/cm³. None of the large moons of Uranus reflects more than about a third of the sunlight that reaches it, which suggests that dark, carbon-rich material coats their surfaces. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus, so its images remain the only close views of Titania.", | |
| 1332 | "image": { | |
| 1333 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00036/PIA00036~orig.jpg", | |
| 1334 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1335 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1336 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/titania-high-resolution-color-composite/", | |
| 1337 | "caption": "Voyager 2 colour composite of Titania from January 1986, with a large trench-like valley near the terminator." | |
| 1338 | }, | |
| 1339 | "drawing": { | |
| 1340 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1341 | "radiusKm": 788.9, | |
| 1342 | "rings": false, | |
| 1343 | "color": "#A39E95" | |
| 1344 | }, | |
| 1345 | "link": {}, | |
| 1346 | "sources": [ | |
| 1347 | { | |
| 1348 | "title": "NASA Science: Titania", | |
| 1349 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/titania/" | |
| 1350 | }, | |
| 1351 | { | |
| 1352 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1353 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1354 | }, | |
| 1355 | { | |
| 1356 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1357 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1358 | }, | |
| 1359 | { | |
| 1360 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1361 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1362 | } | |
| 1363 | ] | |
| 1364 | }, | |
| 1365 | { | |
| 1366 | "id": "oberon", | |
| 1367 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1368 | "title": "Oberon", | |
| 1369 | "subtitle": "Outermost major moon of Uranus", | |
| 1370 | "facts": [ | |
| 1371 | { | |
| 1372 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1373 | "value": "Uranus", | |
| 1374 | "source": 1 | |
| 1375 | }, | |
| 1376 | { | |
| 1377 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1378 | "value": "761.4 km", | |
| 1379 | "source": 1 | |
| 1380 | }, | |
| 1381 | { | |
| 1382 | "label": "Mean distance from Uranus", | |
| 1383 | "value": "583,511 km", | |
| 1384 | "source": 2 | |
| 1385 | }, | |
| 1386 | { | |
| 1387 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1388 | "value": "13.46 days", | |
| 1389 | "source": 2 | |
| 1390 | }, | |
| 1391 | { | |
| 1392 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1393 | "value": "1787, William Herschel", | |
| 1394 | "source": 3 | |
| 1395 | }, | |
| 1396 | { | |
| 1397 | "label": "Tallest known mountain", | |
| 1398 | "value": "About 6 km", | |
| 1399 | "source": 0 | |
| 1400 | }, | |
| 1401 | { | |
| 1402 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 1403 | "value": "1.664 g/cm³", | |
| 1404 | "source": 1 | |
| 1405 | } | |
| 1406 | ], | |
| 1407 | "essay": "Oberon is the outermost of the five major moons of Uranus and the second largest, with a mean radius of 761.4 km. It orbits 583,511 km from Uranus every 13.46 days, keeping one face toward the planet. William Herschel discovered it in 1787, and his son John Herschel later named it after the king of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.\n\nLittle was known about Oberon until Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in January 1986. Voyager's best image of it, taken from 660,000 km, shows features as small as 12 km. The surface is heavily cratered, like Umbriel's and more so than those of Ariel, Titania and Miranda. Several large craters are surrounded by bright rays similar to those on Jupiter's moon Callisto, and Oberon has at least one mountain that rises about 6 km above the surface.\n\nLike the other large moons of Uranus, Oberon is thought to be roughly half ice and half rock, and its density is 1.66 g/cm³. Its surface, like theirs, reflects no more than about a third of the sunlight that reaches it, which suggests that carbon-rich material has darkened it. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus, so its images remain the only close views of Oberon.", | |
| 1408 | "image": { | |
| 1409 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00034/PIA00034~orig.jpg", | |
| 1410 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 1411 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1412 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/oberon-at-voyager-closest-approach/", | |
| 1413 | "caption": "Voyager 2's best image of Oberon, from January 1986, showing large craters with bright rays." | |
| 1414 | }, | |
| 1415 | "drawing": { | |
| 1416 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1417 | "radiusKm": 761.4, | |
| 1418 | "rings": false, | |
| 1419 | "color": "#8A7F74" | |
| 1420 | }, | |
| 1421 | "link": {}, | |
| 1422 | "sources": [ | |
| 1423 | { | |
| 1424 | "title": "NASA Science: Oberon", | |
| 1425 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/oberon/" | |
| 1426 | }, | |
| 1427 | { | |
| 1428 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1429 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1430 | }, | |
| 1431 | { | |
| 1432 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1433 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1434 | }, | |
| 1435 | { | |
| 1436 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1437 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1438 | } | |
| 1439 | ] | |
| 1440 | }, | |
| 1441 | { | |
| 1442 | "id": "triton", | |
| 1443 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1444 | "title": "Triton", | |
| 1445 | "subtitle": "Largest moon of Neptune", | |
| 1446 | "facts": [ | |
| 1447 | { | |
| 1448 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1449 | "value": "Neptune", | |
| 1450 | "source": 1 | |
| 1451 | }, | |
| 1452 | { | |
| 1453 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1454 | "value": "1,352.6 km", | |
| 1455 | "source": 1 | |
| 1456 | }, | |
| 1457 | { | |
| 1458 | "label": "Mean distance from Neptune", | |
| 1459 | "value": "354,800 km", | |
| 1460 | "source": 2 | |
| 1461 | }, | |
| 1462 | { | |
| 1463 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1464 | "value": "5.88 days", | |
| 1465 | "source": 2 | |
| 1466 | }, | |
| 1467 | { | |
| 1468 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1469 | "value": "1846, William Lassell", | |
| 1470 | "source": 3 | |
| 1471 | }, | |
| 1472 | { | |
| 1473 | "label": "Orbit direction", | |
| 1474 | "value": "Retrograde", | |
| 1475 | "source": 0 | |
| 1476 | }, | |
| 1477 | { | |
| 1478 | "label": "Surface temperature", | |
| 1479 | "value": "About −235 °C", | |
| 1480 | "source": 0 | |
| 1481 | } | |
| 1482 | ], | |
| 1483 | "essay": "Triton is the largest moon of Neptune, with a mean radius of 1,352.6 km. It orbits 354,800 km from Neptune every 5.88 days and keeps one face toward the planet. William Lassell discovered it in 1846, 17 days after Neptune itself was found.\n\nIt is the only large moon in the Solar System that orbits in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. This retrograde orbit is one reason scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt object that Neptune captured, and it has much in common with Pluto. Its density, about 2.06 g/cm³, is higher than that of most moons of the outer planets, which implies a larger share of rock inside. Because of the tilt of its orbit, both of its poles take turns facing the Sun.\n\nVoyager 2, the only spacecraft to visit, flew past in 1989. It measured a surface temperature of about −235 °C and found active geysers. The surface is a crust of frozen nitrogen over an icy mantle, with few craters, smooth volcanic plains and pits formed by icy lava flows. Nitrogen frost reflects about 70 percent of the sunlight that reaches it. A thin atmosphere of nitrogen with a little methane is thought to come from activity driven by seasonal heating from the Sun.", | |
| 1484 | "image": { | |
| 1485 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00317/PIA00317~medium.jpg", | |
| 1486 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/USGS", | |
| 1487 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1488 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/global-color-mosaic-of-triton/", | |
| 1489 | "caption": "Global colour mosaic of Triton assembled from Voyager 2 images taken in 1989." | |
| 1490 | }, | |
| 1491 | "drawing": { | |
| 1492 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1493 | "radiusKm": 1352.6, | |
| 1494 | "rings": false, | |
| 1495 | "color": "#D8C9C0" | |
| 1496 | }, | |
| 1497 | "link": {}, | |
| 1498 | "sources": [ | |
| 1499 | { | |
| 1500 | "title": "NASA Science: Triton", | |
| 1501 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/moons/triton/" | |
| 1502 | }, | |
| 1503 | { | |
| 1504 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1505 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1506 | }, | |
| 1507 | { | |
| 1508 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1509 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1510 | }, | |
| 1511 | { | |
| 1512 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1513 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1514 | } | |
| 1515 | ] | |
| 1516 | }, | |
| 1517 | { | |
| 1518 | "id": "charon", | |
| 1519 | "section": "moons", | |
| 1520 | "title": "Charon", | |
| 1521 | "subtitle": "Largest moon of Pluto", | |
| 1522 | "facts": [ | |
| 1523 | { | |
| 1524 | "label": "Parent body", | |
| 1525 | "value": "Pluto", | |
| 1526 | "source": 1 | |
| 1527 | }, | |
| 1528 | { | |
| 1529 | "label": "Mean radius", | |
| 1530 | "value": "606 km", | |
| 1531 | "source": 1 | |
| 1532 | }, | |
| 1533 | { | |
| 1534 | "label": "Mean distance from Pluto", | |
| 1535 | "value": "19,600 km", | |
| 1536 | "source": 2 | |
| 1537 | }, | |
| 1538 | { | |
| 1539 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 1540 | "value": "6.39 days", | |
| 1541 | "source": 2 | |
| 1542 | }, | |
| 1543 | { | |
| 1544 | "label": "Discovered", | |
| 1545 | "value": "1978, James Christy", | |
| 1546 | "source": 3 | |
| 1547 | }, | |
| 1548 | { | |
| 1549 | "label": "Size relative to parent", | |
| 1550 | "value": "About half the diameter of Pluto", | |
| 1551 | "source": 0 | |
| 1552 | }, | |
| 1553 | { | |
| 1554 | "label": "Rotation", | |
| 1555 | "value": "Mutually tidally locked with Pluto", | |
| 1556 | "source": 0 | |
| 1557 | } | |
| 1558 | ], | |
| 1559 | "essay": "Charon is the largest of Pluto's five moons, with a mean radius of 606 km, about half the size of Pluto. That makes it the largest known moon relative to its parent body, and the pair is sometimes described as a double dwarf planet. It orbits 19,600 km from Pluto every 6.39 days.\n\nPluto and Charon are mutually tidally locked. Each always shows the same face to the other, and Charon's orbital period is the same as Pluto's rotation period, so as seen from Pluto, Charon neither rises nor sets but stays over the same spot. James Christy discovered Charon in 1978 at the US Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, while he and Robert Harrington were working to refine Pluto's orbit. He noticed that images of Pluto were elongated, and that the direction of the elongation cycled with a period of 6.39 days.\n\nNASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past in July 2015. Its images show that Charon has less variety of colour than Pluto, apart from a reddish north polar region informally named Mordor Macula. Christy proposed the name Charon, the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology, partly because its first four letters match the name of his wife, Charlene.", | |
| 1560 | "image": { | |
| 1561 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA19968/PIA19968~medium.jpg", | |
| 1562 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute", | |
| 1563 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 1564 | "page": "https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/charon-in-enhanced-color/", | |
| 1565 | "caption": "Charon in enhanced colour from New Horizons just before closest approach in July 2015, with the reddish north polar region at top." | |
| 1566 | }, | |
| 1567 | "drawing": { | |
| 1568 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 1569 | "radiusKm": 606.0, | |
| 1570 | "rings": false, | |
| 1571 | "color": "#9C9792" | |
| 1572 | }, | |
| 1573 | "link": {}, | |
| 1574 | "sources": [ | |
| 1575 | { | |
| 1576 | "title": "NASA Science: Charon", | |
| 1577 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/moons/charon/" | |
| 1578 | }, | |
| 1579 | { | |
| 1580 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters", | |
| 1581 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/" | |
| 1582 | }, | |
| 1583 | { | |
| 1584 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Mean Elements", | |
| 1585 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/elem/" | |
| 1586 | }, | |
| 1587 | { | |
| 1588 | "title": "JPL Solar System Dynamics: Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances", | |
| 1589 | "url": "https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/discovery.html" | |
| 1590 | } | |
| 1591 | ] | |
| 1592 | } | |
| 1593 | ] | |
| \ No newline at end of file | ||
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/planets.json added +591
| @@ -0,0 +1,591 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "mercury", | |
| 4 | "section": "planets", | |
| 5 | "title": "Mercury", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Closest planet to the Sun", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 10 | "value": "0.387 AU (57.9 million km)", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 15 | "value": "2,440.5 km", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 20 | "value": "0.0553 × Earth", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 25 | "value": "58.65 days (sidereal)", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Length of day", | |
| 30 | "value": "175.94 Earth days (sunrise to sunrise)", | |
| 31 | "source": 0 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 35 | "value": "87.97 days", | |
| 36 | "source": 0 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 40 | "value": "0 (NASA fact sheet, January 2024)", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | }, | |
| 43 | { | |
| 44 | "label": "Orbital eccentricity", | |
| 45 | "value": "0.2056, the highest of the planets", | |
| 46 | "source": 0 | |
| 47 | } | |
| 48 | ], | |
| 49 | "essay": "Mercury is the smallest planet and the closest to the Sun. Its orbit is the most eccentric of the eight planets, carrying it between 46 and 70 million km from the Sun. It rotates exactly three times for every two orbits, so one solar day, from sunrise to sunrise, lasts about 176 Earth days, twice as long as its year.\n\nWith almost no atmosphere to hold heat, Mercury has the widest temperature range of any planet: the sunlit side exceeds 400 °C while the night side falls to about −180 °C. The surface is heavily cratered, like the Moon's, but Mercury's high density of 5,429 kg/m³ shows that a large iron core makes up most of its interior. Mariner 10 flew past three times in 1974 and 1975, and MESSENGER orbited from 2011 to 2015, mapping the whole planet and finding water ice in permanently shadowed craters near the poles.\n\nBecause it never appears more than about 28° from the Sun, Mercury is seen only low in the twilight sky, after sunset or before sunrise, near its greatest elongations. It looks like a bright star, reaching magnitude −2.4, and a small telescope shows its changing phase.", | |
| 50 | "image": { | |
| 51 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA15162/PIA15162~medium.jpg", | |
| 52 | "credit": "NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington", | |
| 53 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 54 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA15162", | |
| 55 | "caption": "Global mosaic of Mercury from MESSENGER images, centred on 0° N, 180° E." | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "drawing": { | |
| 58 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 59 | "radiusKm": 2439.7, | |
| 60 | "rings": false, | |
| 61 | "axialTiltDeg": 0.034, | |
| 62 | "color": "#8C8C8C" | |
| 63 | }, | |
| 64 | "link": { | |
| 65 | "body": "mercury" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | "sources": [ | |
| 68 | { | |
| 69 | "title": "NASA Mercury Fact Sheet", | |
| 70 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/mercuryfact.html" | |
| 71 | } | |
| 72 | ] | |
| 73 | }, | |
| 74 | { | |
| 75 | "id": "venus", | |
| 76 | "section": "planets", | |
| 77 | "title": "Venus", | |
| 78 | "subtitle": "Second planet from the Sun", | |
| 79 | "facts": [ | |
| 80 | { | |
| 81 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 82 | "value": "0.723 AU (108.2 million km)", | |
| 83 | "source": 0 | |
| 84 | }, | |
| 85 | { | |
| 86 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 87 | "value": "6,051.8 km", | |
| 88 | "source": 0 | |
| 89 | }, | |
| 90 | { | |
| 91 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 92 | "value": "0.815 × Earth", | |
| 93 | "source": 0 | |
| 94 | }, | |
| 95 | { | |
| 96 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 97 | "value": "243.0 days, retrograde (sidereal)", | |
| 98 | "source": 0 | |
| 99 | }, | |
| 100 | { | |
| 101 | "label": "Length of day", | |
| 102 | "value": "116.75 Earth days", | |
| 103 | "source": 0 | |
| 104 | }, | |
| 105 | { | |
| 106 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 107 | "value": "224.70 days", | |
| 108 | "source": 0 | |
| 109 | }, | |
| 110 | { | |
| 111 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 112 | "value": "0 (NASA fact sheet, January 2024)", | |
| 113 | "source": 0 | |
| 114 | }, | |
| 115 | { | |
| 116 | "label": "Surface conditions", | |
| 117 | "value": "92 bar; average 464 °C", | |
| 118 | "source": 0 | |
| 119 | } | |
| 120 | ], | |
| 121 | "essay": "Venus is close to Earth in size, with 95 percent of its radius and 82 percent of its mass, but its surface conditions are very different. A carbon dioxide atmosphere with a surface pressure of 92 bar traps heat so effectively that the average surface temperature is 464 °C, hotter than the day side of Mercury. Clouds of sulfuric acid cover the planet completely, so its surface has been mapped by radar, most thoroughly by NASA's Magellan orbiter from 1990 to 1994. The Soviet Venera landers returned the only photographs taken on the surface.\n\nVenus rotates in the opposite direction to most planets, once every 243 Earth days, which is longer than its 225-day year. Together these give a solar day of about 117 Earth days. Magellan's radar maps show volcanic plains, large shield volcanoes and relatively few impact craters, which points to a geologically young surface.\n\nAfter the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest natural object in the sky, reaching magnitude −4.8. It appears as the evening or morning star, never more than about 47° from the Sun. Binoculars or a small telescope show its phases, which change from a small, nearly full disk to a large, thin crescent as Venus comes closer to Earth.", | |
| 122 | "image": { | |
| 123 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00104/PIA00104~medium.jpg", | |
| 124 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 125 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 126 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA00104", | |
| 127 | "caption": "Global view of the surface of Venus centred at 180° east longitude, built from Magellan radar data." | |
| 128 | }, | |
| 129 | "drawing": { | |
| 130 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 131 | "radiusKm": 6051.8, | |
| 132 | "rings": false, | |
| 133 | "axialTiltDeg": 177.36, | |
| 134 | "color": "#E3C16F" | |
| 135 | }, | |
| 136 | "link": { | |
| 137 | "body": "venus" | |
| 138 | }, | |
| 139 | "sources": [ | |
| 140 | { | |
| 141 | "title": "NASA Venus Fact Sheet", | |
| 142 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html" | |
| 143 | } | |
| 144 | ] | |
| 145 | }, | |
| 146 | { | |
| 147 | "id": "earth", | |
| 148 | "section": "planets", | |
| 149 | "title": "Earth", | |
| 150 | "subtitle": "Third planet from the Sun", | |
| 151 | "facts": [ | |
| 152 | { | |
| 153 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 154 | "value": "1.000 AU (149.6 million km)", | |
| 155 | "source": 0 | |
| 156 | }, | |
| 157 | { | |
| 158 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 159 | "value": "6,378.1 km", | |
| 160 | "source": 0 | |
| 161 | }, | |
| 162 | { | |
| 163 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 164 | "value": "5.9722 × 10²⁴ kg", | |
| 165 | "source": 0 | |
| 166 | }, | |
| 167 | { | |
| 168 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 169 | "value": "23 h 56 m 4 s (sidereal)", | |
| 170 | "source": 0 | |
| 171 | }, | |
| 172 | { | |
| 173 | "label": "Length of day", | |
| 174 | "value": "24 h", | |
| 175 | "source": 0 | |
| 176 | }, | |
| 177 | { | |
| 178 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 179 | "value": "365.256 days (sidereal)", | |
| 180 | "source": 0 | |
| 181 | }, | |
| 182 | { | |
| 183 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 184 | "value": "1 (NASA fact sheet, November 2024)", | |
| 185 | "source": 0 | |
| 186 | }, | |
| 187 | { | |
| 188 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 189 | "value": "23.44°", | |
| 190 | "source": 0 | |
| 191 | } | |
| 192 | ], | |
| 193 | "essay": "Earth is the largest of the four rocky planets and the only world known to have liquid water on its surface and life. Oceans cover about 71 percent of the surface. The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, with a surface pressure of about 1 bar, and the average surface temperature is 15 °C.\n\nEarth's mean density of 5,513 kg/m³ is the highest of any planet. It reflects an iron-nickel core, and motion in the liquid outer core generates a global magnetic field. The field and the atmosphere together shield the surface from much of the solar wind and cosmic radiation; where charged particles reach the upper atmosphere near the magnetic poles, they produce aurorae. The crust is divided into plates that move a few centimetres a year, building mountains and recycling old crust into the mantle.\n\nThe seasons come from the 23.44° tilt of Earth's axis, not from changes in its distance from the Sun; Earth is in fact closest to the Sun in early January. The planet turns once relative to the stars in 23 h 56 m, and the extra four minutes in a 24-hour solar day come from its movement along its orbit. Its one natural satellite, the Moon, is large compared with the planet it orbits.", | |
| 194 | "image": { | |
| 195 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/as17-148-22727/as17-148-22727~medium.jpg", | |
| 196 | "credit": "NASA", | |
| 197 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 198 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/as17-148-22727", | |
| 199 | "caption": "Earth photographed by the Apollo 17 crew on 7 December 1972, showing Africa, Arabia and the Antarctic ice cap." | |
| 200 | }, | |
| 201 | "drawing": { | |
| 202 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 203 | "radiusKm": 6371.0, | |
| 204 | "rings": false, | |
| 205 | "axialTiltDeg": 23.44, | |
| 206 | "color": "#2E6FD8" | |
| 207 | }, | |
| 208 | "link": {}, | |
| 209 | "sources": [ | |
| 210 | { | |
| 211 | "title": "NASA Earth Fact Sheet", | |
| 212 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html" | |
| 213 | } | |
| 214 | ] | |
| 215 | }, | |
| 216 | { | |
| 217 | "id": "mars", | |
| 218 | "section": "planets", | |
| 219 | "title": "Mars", | |
| 220 | "subtitle": "Fourth planet from the Sun", | |
| 221 | "facts": [ | |
| 222 | { | |
| 223 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 224 | "value": "1.524 AU (228.0 million km)", | |
| 225 | "source": 0 | |
| 226 | }, | |
| 227 | { | |
| 228 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 229 | "value": "3,396.2 km", | |
| 230 | "source": 0 | |
| 231 | }, | |
| 232 | { | |
| 233 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 234 | "value": "0.107 × Earth", | |
| 235 | "source": 0 | |
| 236 | }, | |
| 237 | { | |
| 238 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 239 | "value": "24 h 37 m 22 s (sidereal)", | |
| 240 | "source": 0 | |
| 241 | }, | |
| 242 | { | |
| 243 | "label": "Length of day", | |
| 244 | "value": "24 h 39 m 35 s", | |
| 245 | "source": 0 | |
| 246 | }, | |
| 247 | { | |
| 248 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 249 | "value": "686.98 days (1.881 Earth years)", | |
| 250 | "source": 0 | |
| 251 | }, | |
| 252 | { | |
| 253 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 254 | "value": "2, Phobos and Deimos (NASA, November 2024)", | |
| 255 | "source": 1 | |
| 256 | }, | |
| 257 | { | |
| 258 | "label": "Surface pressure", | |
| 259 | "value": "6.36 mb at mean radius (4.0–8.7 mb by season)", | |
| 260 | "source": 0 | |
| 261 | } | |
| 262 | ], | |
| 263 | "essay": "Mars is about half Earth's diameter and has a tenth of its mass. Its thin carbon dioxide atmosphere has a mean surface pressure of about 6 millibar, under 1 percent of Earth's. Iron oxide in the dust gives the surface its red colour. Water ice is found in the polar caps and below the surface, and dry river valleys, deltas and lakebeds show that liquid water flowed there billions of years ago.\n\nMars has the largest volcano known in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and a canyon system, Valles Marineris, about 4,000 km long. Its day lasts 24 h 40 m and its axis is tilted 25°, close to Earth's, so it has seasons, each lasting about twice as long as Earth's because the Martian year is 1.88 Earth years. NASA's Perseverance rover is exploring Jezero Crater, an ancient lake basin, and collecting rock samples.\n\nMars reaches opposition about every 26 months, when it lies opposite the Sun and is visible all night. Near opposition it is a bright orange-red point, as bright as magnitude −2.9 at its best, and a small telescope can show a polar cap and dark surface markings. Its two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, are thought to be captured asteroids or debris from the early solar system.", | |
| 264 | "image": { | |
| 265 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00407/PIA00407~medium.jpg", | |
| 266 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/USGS", | |
| 267 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 268 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA00407", | |
| 269 | "caption": "Mosaic of Viking Orbiter images showing Mars with the Valles Marineris canyon system across the centre." | |
| 270 | }, | |
| 271 | "drawing": { | |
| 272 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 273 | "radiusKm": 3389.5, | |
| 274 | "rings": false, | |
| 275 | "axialTiltDeg": 25.19, | |
| 276 | "color": "#C1440E" | |
| 277 | }, | |
| 278 | "link": { | |
| 279 | "body": "mars" | |
| 280 | }, | |
| 281 | "sources": [ | |
| 282 | { | |
| 283 | "title": "NASA Mars Fact Sheet", | |
| 284 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/marsfact.html" | |
| 285 | }, | |
| 286 | { | |
| 287 | "title": "NASA Science: Mars Moons", | |
| 288 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/mars/moons/" | |
| 289 | } | |
| 290 | ] | |
| 291 | }, | |
| 292 | { | |
| 293 | "id": "jupiter", | |
| 294 | "section": "planets", | |
| 295 | "title": "Jupiter", | |
| 296 | "subtitle": "Fifth planet from the Sun", | |
| 297 | "facts": [ | |
| 298 | { | |
| 299 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 300 | "value": "5.203 AU (778.5 million km)", | |
| 301 | "source": 0 | |
| 302 | }, | |
| 303 | { | |
| 304 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 305 | "value": "71,492 km (1 bar level)", | |
| 306 | "source": 0 | |
| 307 | }, | |
| 308 | { | |
| 309 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 310 | "value": "317.83 × Earth", | |
| 311 | "source": 0 | |
| 312 | }, | |
| 313 | { | |
| 314 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 315 | "value": "9 h 55 m 30 s (System III)", | |
| 316 | "source": 0 | |
| 317 | }, | |
| 318 | { | |
| 319 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 320 | "value": "4,332.59 days (11.86 Earth years)", | |
| 321 | "source": 0 | |
| 322 | }, | |
| 323 | { | |
| 324 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 325 | "value": "115 recognised by the IAU (NASA, September 2026)", | |
| 326 | "source": 1 | |
| 327 | }, | |
| 328 | { | |
| 329 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 330 | "value": "3.13°", | |
| 331 | "source": 0 | |
| 332 | }, | |
| 333 | { | |
| 334 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 335 | "value": "1,326 kg/m³", | |
| 336 | "source": 0 | |
| 337 | } | |
| 338 | ], | |
| 339 | "essay": "Jupiter is the largest planet, with 318 times the mass of Earth, more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined. It is a gas giant made mostly of hydrogen and helium and has no solid surface. Deep inside, the hydrogen is compressed into a liquid that conducts electricity, and this generates a magnetic field much stronger than Earth's. Jupiter rotates in under 10 hours, the shortest day of any planet, and the fast spin flattens it at the poles and draws its clouds into parallel belts and zones.\n\nThe Great Red Spot is a storm larger than Earth that has been observed for more than 150 years and has been shrinking. Jupiter also has faint rings, found by Voyager 1 in 1979. Galileo discovered the four largest moons in 1610: Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system; Europa, which probably has a liquid water ocean under its ice; Ganymede, which is larger than Mercury; and Callisto. NASA's Juno spacecraft went into orbit around Jupiter in 2016, and Europa Clipper launched in 2024.\n\nJupiter is usually the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus, reaching magnitude −2.9. Binoculars held steady show the Galilean moons as points of light in a line beside the planet, and a small telescope shows the cloud belts.", | |
| 340 | "image": { | |
| 341 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA04866/PIA04866~medium.jpg", | |
| 342 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 343 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 344 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA04866", | |
| 345 | "caption": "True-colour mosaic of Jupiter from Cassini's narrow-angle camera, taken during its December 2000 flyby." | |
| 346 | }, | |
| 347 | "drawing": { | |
| 348 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 349 | "radiusKm": 69911, | |
| 350 | "rings": true, | |
| 351 | "axialTiltDeg": 3.13, | |
| 352 | "color": "#C99E6E" | |
| 353 | }, | |
| 354 | "link": { | |
| 355 | "body": "jupiter" | |
| 356 | }, | |
| 357 | "sources": [ | |
| 358 | { | |
| 359 | "title": "NASA Jupiter Fact Sheet", | |
| 360 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html" | |
| 361 | }, | |
| 362 | { | |
| 363 | "title": "NASA Science: Jupiter Moons", | |
| 364 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/jupiter-moons/" | |
| 365 | } | |
| 366 | ] | |
| 367 | }, | |
| 368 | { | |
| 369 | "id": "saturn", | |
| 370 | "section": "planets", | |
| 371 | "title": "Saturn", | |
| 372 | "subtitle": "Sixth planet from the Sun", | |
| 373 | "facts": [ | |
| 374 | { | |
| 375 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 376 | "value": "9.54 AU (1.43 billion km)", | |
| 377 | "source": 0 | |
| 378 | }, | |
| 379 | { | |
| 380 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 381 | "value": "60,268 km (1 bar level)", | |
| 382 | "source": 0 | |
| 383 | }, | |
| 384 | { | |
| 385 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 386 | "value": "95.16 × Earth", | |
| 387 | "source": 0 | |
| 388 | }, | |
| 389 | { | |
| 390 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 391 | "value": "10 h 39 m (10.656 h)", | |
| 392 | "source": 0 | |
| 393 | }, | |
| 394 | { | |
| 395 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 396 | "value": "10,755.7 days (29.45 Earth years)", | |
| 397 | "source": 0 | |
| 398 | }, | |
| 399 | { | |
| 400 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 401 | "value": "293 confirmed (NASA, as of August 2026)", | |
| 402 | "source": 1 | |
| 403 | }, | |
| 404 | { | |
| 405 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 406 | "value": "26.73°", | |
| 407 | "source": 0 | |
| 408 | }, | |
| 409 | { | |
| 410 | "label": "Mean density", | |
| 411 | "value": "687 kg/m³, less than water", | |
| 412 | "source": 0 | |
| 413 | } | |
| 414 | ], | |
| 415 | "essay": "Saturn is the second-largest planet. Its mean density, 687 kg/m³, is the lowest of any planet and less than that of water. Like Jupiter it is made mostly of hydrogen and helium, and it rotates quickly, in about 10.7 hours. The spin makes Saturn the most flattened planet: its equatorial radius is about 10 percent larger than its polar radius.\n\nThe main rings span hundreds of thousands of kilometres but are mostly only about 10 metres thick. They are made of countless pieces of water ice, from grains to boulders, with a little rock and dust. Saturn has 293 confirmed moons, more than any other planet. Titan, the largest, has a thick nitrogen atmosphere and lakes of liquid methane and ethane, and Enceladus vents water from an ocean beneath its south polar ice. The Cassini spacecraft orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, and its Huygens probe landed on Titan in 2005.\n\nSaturn is easy to see with the unaided eye as a steady, yellowish point, usually between magnitude 0 and 1. A small telescope at 25× or more shows the rings. Because the planet's axis is tilted 26.7°, the angle at which we see the rings changes over its 29.5-year orbit; they were edge-on in 2025 and are now opening again.", | |
| 416 | "image": { | |
| 417 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11141/PIA11141~medium.jpg", | |
| 418 | "credit": "NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute", | |
| 419 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 420 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA11141", | |
| 421 | "caption": "Saturn and its rings in natural colour, a Cassini mosaic released in 2008." | |
| 422 | }, | |
| 423 | "drawing": { | |
| 424 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 425 | "radiusKm": 58232, | |
| 426 | "rings": true, | |
| 427 | "axialTiltDeg": 26.73, | |
| 428 | "color": "#E3CF9A" | |
| 429 | }, | |
| 430 | "link": { | |
| 431 | "body": "saturn" | |
| 432 | }, | |
| 433 | "sources": [ | |
| 434 | { | |
| 435 | "title": "NASA Saturn Fact Sheet", | |
| 436 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/saturnfact.html" | |
| 437 | }, | |
| 438 | { | |
| 439 | "title": "NASA Science: Saturn Moons", | |
| 440 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/" | |
| 441 | } | |
| 442 | ] | |
| 443 | }, | |
| 444 | { | |
| 445 | "id": "uranus", | |
| 446 | "section": "planets", | |
| 447 | "title": "Uranus", | |
| 448 | "subtitle": "Seventh planet from the Sun", | |
| 449 | "facts": [ | |
| 450 | { | |
| 451 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 452 | "value": "19.19 AU (2.87 billion km)", | |
| 453 | "source": 0 | |
| 454 | }, | |
| 455 | { | |
| 456 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 457 | "value": "25,559 km (1 bar level)", | |
| 458 | "source": 0 | |
| 459 | }, | |
| 460 | { | |
| 461 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 462 | "value": "14.54 × Earth", | |
| 463 | "source": 0 | |
| 464 | }, | |
| 465 | { | |
| 466 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 467 | "value": "17 h 14 m, retrograde", | |
| 468 | "source": 0 | |
| 469 | }, | |
| 470 | { | |
| 471 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 472 | "value": "30,685 days (84.01 Earth years)", | |
| 473 | "source": 0 | |
| 474 | }, | |
| 475 | { | |
| 476 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 477 | "value": "29 recognised (NASA, as of August 2026)", | |
| 478 | "source": 1 | |
| 479 | }, | |
| 480 | { | |
| 481 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 482 | "value": "97.77°", | |
| 483 | "source": 0 | |
| 484 | } | |
| 485 | ], | |
| 486 | "essay": "Uranus was the first planet discovered with a telescope, by William Herschel in 1781. It is an ice giant: under an atmosphere of hydrogen, helium and methane lies a dense fluid of water, methane and ammonia surrounding a small rocky core. Methane in the upper atmosphere absorbs red light, which gives the planet its blue-green colour.\n\nThe rotation axis is tilted 97.77°, so Uranus effectively rolls along its orbit on its side. Over its 84-year orbit, each pole has about 42 years of continuous sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness. A giant collision early in the planet's history is the usual explanation for the tilt. Uranus rotates in 17 h 14 m, in the retrograde direction. It has 13 known rings, mostly narrow and dark, and 29 recognised moons named after characters in the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited, flying past in 1986.\n\nNear opposition Uranus reaches magnitude 5.4 to 5.6, at the limit of naked-eye visibility under a dark sky, and it is easy to locate in binoculars with a finder chart. A telescope shows a small, featureless greenish disk about 3.8 arcseconds across.", | |
| 487 | "image": { | |
| 488 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA18182/PIA18182~medium.jpg", | |
| 489 | "credit": "NASA/JPL-Caltech", | |
| 490 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 491 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA18182", | |
| 492 | "caption": "Uranus imaged by Voyager 2 in 1986." | |
| 493 | }, | |
| 494 | "drawing": { | |
| 495 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 496 | "radiusKm": 25362, | |
| 497 | "rings": true, | |
| 498 | "axialTiltDeg": 97.77, | |
| 499 | "color": "#AFDBE3" | |
| 500 | }, | |
| 501 | "link": { | |
| 502 | "body": "uranus" | |
| 503 | }, | |
| 504 | "sources": [ | |
| 505 | { | |
| 506 | "title": "NASA Uranus Fact Sheet", | |
| 507 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/uranusfact.html" | |
| 508 | }, | |
| 509 | { | |
| 510 | "title": "NASA Science: Uranus Moons", | |
| 511 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/moons/" | |
| 512 | } | |
| 513 | ] | |
| 514 | }, | |
| 515 | { | |
| 516 | "id": "neptune", | |
| 517 | "section": "planets", | |
| 518 | "title": "Neptune", | |
| 519 | "subtitle": "Eighth planet from the Sun", | |
| 520 | "facts": [ | |
| 521 | { | |
| 522 | "label": "Mean distance from the Sun", | |
| 523 | "value": "30.07 AU (4.5 billion km)", | |
| 524 | "source": 0 | |
| 525 | }, | |
| 526 | { | |
| 527 | "label": "Equatorial radius", | |
| 528 | "value": "24,764 km (1 bar level)", | |
| 529 | "source": 0 | |
| 530 | }, | |
| 531 | { | |
| 532 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 533 | "value": "17.15 × Earth", | |
| 534 | "source": 0 | |
| 535 | }, | |
| 536 | { | |
| 537 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 538 | "value": "16 h 7 m (16.11 h)", | |
| 539 | "source": 0 | |
| 540 | }, | |
| 541 | { | |
| 542 | "label": "Orbital period", | |
| 543 | "value": "60,189 days (164.79 Earth years)", | |
| 544 | "source": 0 | |
| 545 | }, | |
| 546 | { | |
| 547 | "label": "Known moons", | |
| 548 | "value": "16 recognised (NASA, September 2026)", | |
| 549 | "source": 1 | |
| 550 | }, | |
| 551 | { | |
| 552 | "label": "Axial tilt", | |
| 553 | "value": "28.32°", | |
| 554 | "source": 0 | |
| 555 | }, | |
| 556 | { | |
| 557 | "label": "Temperature at 1 bar", | |
| 558 | "value": "72 K (−201 °C)", | |
| 559 | "source": 0 | |
| 560 | } | |
| 561 | ], | |
| 562 | "essay": "Neptune was the first planet found by prediction rather than by searching. Urbain Le Verrier calculated its position from small irregularities in the motion of Uranus, and Johann Galle found it in 1846 within about a degree of the predicted place. It is an ice giant, slightly smaller than Uranus but more massive and denser. It takes 164.8 years to orbit the Sun and completed its first orbit since discovery in 2011.\n\nNeptune has the fastest winds measured on any planet, over 2,000 km/h. Voyager 2, the only spacecraft to visit, flew past in 1989 and photographed the Great Dark Spot, a storm about the size of Earth that had disappeared by the time the Hubble Space Telescope looked in 1994. The planet has five main rings, which are faint and clumpy, and 16 recognised moons. The largest, Triton, orbits in the direction opposite to Neptune's rotation, which suggests it was captured from the Kuiper Belt, and Voyager saw geyser-like plumes on its frozen nitrogen surface.\n\nAt magnitude 7.7, Neptune is too faint for the unaided eye but visible in binoculars with a finder chart. A small telescope at high magnification shows a tiny bluish disk about 2.3 arcseconds across.", | |
| 563 | "image": { | |
| 564 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA01492/PIA01492~medium.jpg", | |
| 565 | "credit": "NASA/JPL", | |
| 566 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 567 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA01492", | |
| 568 | "caption": "Neptune from Voyager 2 in August 1989, showing the Great Dark Spot and its bright companion cloud." | |
| 569 | }, | |
| 570 | "drawing": { | |
| 571 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 572 | "radiusKm": 24622, | |
| 573 | "rings": true, | |
| 574 | "axialTiltDeg": 28.32, | |
| 575 | "color": "#3E66C9" | |
| 576 | }, | |
| 577 | "link": { | |
| 578 | "body": "neptune" | |
| 579 | }, | |
| 580 | "sources": [ | |
| 581 | { | |
| 582 | "title": "NASA Neptune Fact Sheet", | |
| 583 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/neptunefact.html" | |
| 584 | }, | |
| 585 | { | |
| 586 | "title": "NASA Science: Neptune Moons", | |
| 587 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/neptune/moons/" | |
| 588 | } | |
| 589 | ] | |
| 590 | } | |
| 591 | ] | |
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/stars.json added +3569
| @@ -0,0 +1,3569 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "sirius", | |
| 4 | "section": "stars", | |
| 5 | "title": "Sirius", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "Alpha Canis Majoris", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 10 | "value": "Canis Major", | |
| 11 | "source": 2 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 15 | "value": "−1.46 (V)", | |
| 16 | "source": 1 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 20 | "value": "0.00", | |
| 21 | "source": 1 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 25 | "value": "A0mA1Va", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 30 | "value": "8.60 light-years, from parallax 379.21 ± 1.58 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 31 | "source": 0 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 35 | "value": "1.711 ± 0.013 × Sun (VLTI interferometry)", | |
| 36 | "source": 3 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Name", | |
| 40 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 41 | "source": 2 | |
| 42 | } | |
| 43 | ], | |
| 44 | "essay": "Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is a white main-sequence star of spectral type A, about twice the Sun's radius, and at 8.6 light-years it is one of the nearest stars to the Sun. Its brightness comes mainly from that closeness rather than from great intrinsic power.\n\nSirius has a white dwarf companion, Sirius B. Friedrich Bessel inferred an unseen companion in 1844 from a slow wobble in Sirius's motion across the sky, and Alvan Graham Clark first saw it through a telescope in 1862. The two stars orbit each other in about 50 years. Sirius B has roughly the mass of the Sun packed into a body about the size of the Earth, and it is hard to see next to the glare of the primary.\n\nTo find Sirius, follow the three stars of Orion's Belt to the southeast; the line leads to the brightest point in that part of the sky. When Sirius is low on the horizon, turbulence in the atmosphere often makes it flash different colours. The name comes from the Greek for \"scorching\" or \"glowing\".", | |
| 45 | "image": null, | |
| 46 | "drawing": { | |
| 47 | "kind": "star", | |
| 48 | "spectralType": "A0mA1Va", | |
| 49 | "colorIndex": 0.0 | |
| 50 | }, | |
| 51 | "link": { | |
| 52 | "hr": 2491 | |
| 53 | }, | |
| 54 | "sources": [ | |
| 55 | { | |
| 56 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2491", | |
| 57 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2491" | |
| 58 | }, | |
| 59 | { | |
| 60 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2491", | |
| 61 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2491" | |
| 62 | }, | |
| 63 | { | |
| 64 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 65 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | { | |
| 68 | "title": "Kervella et al. 2003, The interferometric diameter and internal structure of Sirius A, A&A 408, 681", | |
| 69 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0306604" | |
| 70 | } | |
| 71 | ] | |
| 72 | }, | |
| 73 | { | |
| 74 | "id": "canopus", | |
| 75 | "section": "stars", | |
| 76 | "title": "Canopus", | |
| 77 | "subtitle": "Alpha Carinae", | |
| 78 | "facts": [ | |
| 79 | { | |
| 80 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 81 | "value": "Carina", | |
| 82 | "source": 2 | |
| 83 | }, | |
| 84 | { | |
| 85 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 86 | "value": "−0.72 (V)", | |
| 87 | "source": 1 | |
| 88 | }, | |
| 89 | { | |
| 90 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 91 | "value": "+0.15", | |
| 92 | "source": 1 | |
| 93 | }, | |
| 94 | { | |
| 95 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 96 | "value": "A9II", | |
| 97 | "source": 0 | |
| 98 | }, | |
| 99 | { | |
| 100 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 101 | "value": "About 310 light-years (range 290–330), from parallax 10.55 ± 0.56 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 102 | "source": 0 | |
| 103 | }, | |
| 104 | { | |
| 105 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 106 | "value": "About 12,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 94.79 pc)", | |
| 107 | "source": 3 | |
| 108 | }, | |
| 109 | { | |
| 110 | "label": "Name", | |
| 111 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 112 | "source": 2 | |
| 113 | } | |
| 114 | ], | |
| 115 | "essay": "Canopus is the second-brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius. It is a bright giant of spectral type A9/F0, white with a faint yellow tint, about 310 light-years away. Its luminosity is many thousands of times the Sun's, so unlike Sirius it is bright because it is powerful rather than because it is near.\n\nBecause Canopus is bright and lies far from the ecliptic, many spacecraft have used it as a reference star for attitude control, locking a star tracker onto it to keep their orientation fixed.\n\nCanopus lies at declination −53°, about 36° south of Sirius, in the constellation Carina, the keel of the old ship Argo. It never rises for observers north of about latitude 37° N. From the southern United States, North Africa and similar latitudes it appears briefly low on the southern horizon on winter evenings. From the Southern Hemisphere it is high in the sky in the summer months and is circumpolar from far southern latitudes.", | |
| 116 | "image": null, | |
| 117 | "drawing": { | |
| 118 | "kind": "star", | |
| 119 | "spectralType": "A9II", | |
| 120 | "colorIndex": 0.15 | |
| 121 | }, | |
| 122 | "link": { | |
| 123 | "hr": 2326 | |
| 124 | }, | |
| 125 | "sources": [ | |
| 126 | { | |
| 127 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2326", | |
| 128 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2326" | |
| 129 | }, | |
| 130 | { | |
| 131 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2326", | |
| 132 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2326" | |
| 133 | }, | |
| 134 | { | |
| 135 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 136 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 137 | }, | |
| 138 | { | |
| 139 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 140 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=30438" | |
| 141 | } | |
| 142 | ] | |
| 143 | }, | |
| 144 | { | |
| 145 | "id": "arcturus", | |
| 146 | "section": "stars", | |
| 147 | "title": "Arcturus", | |
| 148 | "subtitle": "Alpha Boötis", | |
| 149 | "facts": [ | |
| 150 | { | |
| 151 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 152 | "value": "Boötes", | |
| 153 | "source": 2 | |
| 154 | }, | |
| 155 | { | |
| 156 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 157 | "value": "−0.04 (V)", | |
| 158 | "source": 1 | |
| 159 | }, | |
| 160 | { | |
| 161 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 162 | "value": "+1.23", | |
| 163 | "source": 1 | |
| 164 | }, | |
| 165 | { | |
| 166 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 167 | "value": "K1.5IIIFe-0.5", | |
| 168 | "source": 0 | |
| 169 | }, | |
| 170 | { | |
| 171 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 172 | "value": "36.7 light-years, from parallax 88.83 ± 0.54 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 173 | "source": 0 | |
| 174 | }, | |
| 175 | { | |
| 176 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 177 | "value": "25.4 ± 0.2 × Sun", | |
| 178 | "source": 3 | |
| 179 | }, | |
| 180 | { | |
| 181 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 182 | "value": "1.08 ± 0.06 × Sun", | |
| 183 | "source": 3 | |
| 184 | }, | |
| 185 | { | |
| 186 | "label": "Name", | |
| 187 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 188 | "source": 2 | |
| 189 | } | |
| 190 | ], | |
| 191 | "essay": "Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern half of the celestial sphere and the fourth-brightest star in the night sky. It is an orange giant of spectral type K1.5 III, about 37 light-years away. Having exhausted the hydrogen in its core, it has expanded to about 25 times the Sun's radius, though its mass is only slightly greater than the Sun's.\n\nDetailed spectroscopic studies show that Arcturus has about a third of the Sun's abundance of iron and an age of around 7 billion years. It also moves quickly across the sky relative to most bright stars, by more than 2 arcseconds per year. Its composition and motion mark it as a member of the Milky Way's thick disk, an older population of stars than the Sun's.\n\nTo find Arcturus from the Northern Hemisphere, follow the curve of the Big Dipper's handle away from the bowl; the arc leads to Arcturus, in the constellation Boötes. It is prominent in spring and summer evenings, and its orange colour is plain to the eye. The name comes from the Greek for \"guardian of the bear\", from its position following Ursa Major across the sky.", | |
| 192 | "image": null, | |
| 193 | "drawing": { | |
| 194 | "kind": "star", | |
| 195 | "spectralType": "K1.5IIIFe-0.5", | |
| 196 | "colorIndex": 1.23 | |
| 197 | }, | |
| 198 | "link": { | |
| 199 | "hr": 5340 | |
| 200 | }, | |
| 201 | "sources": [ | |
| 202 | { | |
| 203 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 5340", | |
| 204 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+5340" | |
| 205 | }, | |
| 206 | { | |
| 207 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5340", | |
| 208 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5340" | |
| 209 | }, | |
| 210 | { | |
| 211 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 212 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 213 | }, | |
| 214 | { | |
| 215 | "title": "Ramírez & Allende Prieto 2011, Fundamental parameters and chemical composition of Arcturus, ApJ 743, 135", | |
| 216 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/1109.4425" | |
| 217 | } | |
| 218 | ] | |
| 219 | }, | |
| 220 | { | |
| 221 | "id": "rigil-kentaurus", | |
| 222 | "section": "stars", | |
| 223 | "title": "Rigil Kentaurus", | |
| 224 | "subtitle": "Alpha Centauri A", | |
| 225 | "facts": [ | |
| 226 | { | |
| 227 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 228 | "value": "Centaurus", | |
| 229 | "source": 2 | |
| 230 | }, | |
| 231 | { | |
| 232 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 233 | "value": "−0.01 (V)", | |
| 234 | "source": 1 | |
| 235 | }, | |
| 236 | { | |
| 237 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 238 | "value": "+0.71", | |
| 239 | "source": 1 | |
| 240 | }, | |
| 241 | { | |
| 242 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 243 | "value": "G2V", | |
| 244 | "source": 1 | |
| 245 | }, | |
| 246 | { | |
| 247 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 248 | "value": "4.34 light-years, from parallax 750.81 ± 0.38 mas (Akeson et al. 2021)", | |
| 249 | "source": 0 | |
| 250 | }, | |
| 251 | { | |
| 252 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 253 | "value": "1.2234 ± 0.0053 × Sun (VLTI interferometry)", | |
| 254 | "source": 3 | |
| 255 | }, | |
| 256 | { | |
| 257 | "label": "Name", | |
| 258 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 6 November 2016", | |
| 259 | "source": 2 | |
| 260 | } | |
| 261 | ], | |
| 262 | "essay": "Rigil Kentaurus is Alpha Centauri A, the brighter member of the nearest star system to the Sun, 4.3 light-years away. It is a yellow main-sequence star of spectral type G2 V, the same type as the Sun, with a radius about 22 percent larger, measured with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer.\n\nAlpha Centauri A and B (Toliman) orbit each other every 80 years, with a separation that ranges from about 11 to 35 times the Earth–Sun distance. To the naked eye they merge into a single point, which appears as the third-brightest star in the night sky. A third star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, lies about 2 degrees away on the sky; radial-velocity measurements show it is gravitationally bound to the pair, on an orbit lasting roughly 550,000 years. A small telescope splits A and B.\n\nThe system lies at declination −61° and cannot be seen from north of about latitude 29° N. In the southern sky, Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar are the two bright Pointers that lead to the Southern Cross; Rigil Kentaurus is the one farther from the Cross. The name comes from the Arabic for \"foot of the centaur\".", | |
| 263 | "image": { | |
| 264 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1635a.jpg", | |
| 265 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 266 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 267 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1635a/", | |
| 268 | "caption": "Alpha Centauri A (left) and B (right), imaged by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2." | |
| 269 | }, | |
| 270 | "drawing": { | |
| 271 | "kind": "star", | |
| 272 | "spectralType": "G2V", | |
| 273 | "colorIndex": 0.71 | |
| 274 | }, | |
| 275 | "link": { | |
| 276 | "hr": 5459 | |
| 277 | }, | |
| 278 | "sources": [ | |
| 279 | { | |
| 280 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cen", | |
| 281 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Cen" | |
| 282 | }, | |
| 283 | { | |
| 284 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5459", | |
| 285 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5459" | |
| 286 | }, | |
| 287 | { | |
| 288 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 289 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 290 | }, | |
| 291 | { | |
| 292 | "title": "Kervella et al. 2017, The radii and limb darkenings of Alpha Centauri A and B, A&A 597, A137", | |
| 293 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.06185" | |
| 294 | } | |
| 295 | ] | |
| 296 | }, | |
| 297 | { | |
| 298 | "id": "vega", | |
| 299 | "section": "stars", | |
| 300 | "title": "Vega", | |
| 301 | "subtitle": "Alpha Lyrae", | |
| 302 | "facts": [ | |
| 303 | { | |
| 304 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 305 | "value": "Lyra", | |
| 306 | "source": 2 | |
| 307 | }, | |
| 308 | { | |
| 309 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 310 | "value": "0.03 (V)", | |
| 311 | "source": 1 | |
| 312 | }, | |
| 313 | { | |
| 314 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 315 | "value": "0.00", | |
| 316 | "source": 1 | |
| 317 | }, | |
| 318 | { | |
| 319 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 320 | "value": "A0V", | |
| 321 | "source": 0 | |
| 322 | }, | |
| 323 | { | |
| 324 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 325 | "value": "25.0 light-years, from parallax 130.23 ± 0.36 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 326 | "source": 0 | |
| 327 | }, | |
| 328 | { | |
| 329 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 330 | "value": "2.71 ± 0.02 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 331 | "source": 3 | |
| 332 | }, | |
| 333 | { | |
| 334 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 335 | "value": "53.1 ± 2.7 × Sun", | |
| 336 | "source": 3 | |
| 337 | }, | |
| 338 | { | |
| 339 | "label": "Name", | |
| 340 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 341 | "source": 2 | |
| 342 | } | |
| 343 | ], | |
| 344 | "essay": "Vega is a white main-sequence star of spectral type A0 V, 25 light-years away, and the fifth-brightest star in the night sky. It has long served as a reference point for astronomical brightness: the standard photometric magnitude systems were set up so that Vega has a magnitude close to zero in every band. It was the first star other than the Sun to be photographed, in 1850, and the first to have its spectrum photographed, in 1872.\n\nVega rotates fast enough to flatten it noticeably, and we view it almost pole-on, so its poles appear hotter than its equator. In 1983 the IRAS satellite found that Vega emits more infrared light than a bare star should, which was traced to a disk of cold dust around it. Similar debris disks have since been found around many stars.\n\nVega is the brightest corner of the Summer Triangle, with Deneb and Altair, and stands high overhead on summer evenings at mid-northern latitudes. Because of the precession of the Earth's axis, it was close to the north celestial pole around 12,000 BCE and will be again in about 12,000 years. The name derives from an Arabic phrase meaning \"the swooping eagle\".", | |
| 345 | "image": null, | |
| 346 | "drawing": { | |
| 347 | "kind": "star", | |
| 348 | "spectralType": "A0V", | |
| 349 | "colorIndex": 0.0 | |
| 350 | }, | |
| 351 | "link": { | |
| 352 | "hr": 7001 | |
| 353 | }, | |
| 354 | "sources": [ | |
| 355 | { | |
| 356 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 7001", | |
| 357 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+7001" | |
| 358 | }, | |
| 359 | { | |
| 360 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 7001", | |
| 361 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=7001" | |
| 362 | }, | |
| 363 | { | |
| 364 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 365 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 366 | }, | |
| 367 | { | |
| 368 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 369 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=172167" | |
| 370 | } | |
| 371 | ] | |
| 372 | }, | |
| 373 | { | |
| 374 | "id": "capella", | |
| 375 | "section": "stars", | |
| 376 | "title": "Capella", | |
| 377 | "subtitle": "Alpha Aurigae", | |
| 378 | "facts": [ | |
| 379 | { | |
| 380 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 381 | "value": "Auriga", | |
| 382 | "source": 2 | |
| 383 | }, | |
| 384 | { | |
| 385 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 386 | "value": "0.08 (V)", | |
| 387 | "source": 1 | |
| 388 | }, | |
| 389 | { | |
| 390 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 391 | "value": "+0.80", | |
| 392 | "source": 1 | |
| 393 | }, | |
| 394 | { | |
| 395 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 396 | "value": "G3III:", | |
| 397 | "source": 0 | |
| 398 | }, | |
| 399 | { | |
| 400 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 401 | "value": "42.8 light-years, from parallax 76.20 ± 0.46 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 402 | "source": 0 | |
| 403 | }, | |
| 404 | { | |
| 405 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 406 | "value": "Aa 11.98 ± 0.57, Ab 8.83 ± 0.33 × Sun", | |
| 407 | "source": 3 | |
| 408 | }, | |
| 409 | { | |
| 410 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 411 | "value": "Aa 78.7 ± 4.2, Ab 72.7 ± 3.6 × Sun", | |
| 412 | "source": 3 | |
| 413 | }, | |
| 414 | { | |
| 415 | "label": "Name", | |
| 416 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 417 | "source": 2 | |
| 418 | } | |
| 419 | ], | |
| 420 | "essay": "Capella looks like a single yellow star but is a system of four. The bright light comes from two giant stars of nearly equal mass, each about two and a half times the Sun's, orbiting each other every 104 days. The pair is too close to split with a telescope, but it has been resolved by interferometry and its orbit measured in detail. A second, much fainter pair of red dwarfs lies far from the giants and shares their motion through space.\n\nThe two giants are at different stages of evolution. The cooler and larger one, about 12 times the Sun's radius, has already passed through the red giant phase and is burning helium in its core; the hotter one, about 9 times the Sun's radius, is crossing the stage just before. Each gives off roughly 75 times the Sun's light. The system is 43 light-years away.\n\nCapella is the brightest star in Auriga and the sixth-brightest in the night sky. It is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 44° N and stands nearly overhead on winter evenings at mid-northern latitudes. The name is Latin for \"little she-goat\".", | |
| 421 | "image": null, | |
| 422 | "drawing": { | |
| 423 | "kind": "star", | |
| 424 | "spectralType": "G3III:", | |
| 425 | "colorIndex": 0.8 | |
| 426 | }, | |
| 427 | "link": { | |
| 428 | "hr": 1708 | |
| 429 | }, | |
| 430 | "sources": [ | |
| 431 | { | |
| 432 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1708", | |
| 433 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1708" | |
| 434 | }, | |
| 435 | { | |
| 436 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1708", | |
| 437 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1708" | |
| 438 | }, | |
| 439 | { | |
| 440 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 441 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 442 | }, | |
| 443 | { | |
| 444 | "title": "Torres et al. 2015, Capella (alpha Aurigae) revisited: new binary orbit, physical properties, and evolutionary state", | |
| 445 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.07461" | |
| 446 | } | |
| 447 | ] | |
| 448 | }, | |
| 449 | { | |
| 450 | "id": "rigel", | |
| 451 | "section": "stars", | |
| 452 | "title": "Rigel", | |
| 453 | "subtitle": "Beta Orionis", | |
| 454 | "facts": [ | |
| 455 | { | |
| 456 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 457 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 458 | "source": 2 | |
| 459 | }, | |
| 460 | { | |
| 461 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 462 | "value": "0.12 (V)", | |
| 463 | "source": 1 | |
| 464 | }, | |
| 465 | { | |
| 466 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 467 | "value": "−0.03", | |
| 468 | "source": 1 | |
| 469 | }, | |
| 470 | { | |
| 471 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 472 | "value": "B8Ia", | |
| 473 | "source": 0 | |
| 474 | }, | |
| 475 | { | |
| 476 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 477 | "value": "About 860 light-years (range 790–950), from parallax 3.78 ± 0.34 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 478 | "source": 0 | |
| 479 | }, | |
| 480 | { | |
| 481 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 482 | "value": "74.1 ± 6.1 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 483 | "source": 3 | |
| 484 | }, | |
| 485 | { | |
| 486 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 487 | "value": "About 62,000 × Sun (± 11,000)", | |
| 488 | "source": 3 | |
| 489 | }, | |
| 490 | { | |
| 491 | "label": "Name", | |
| 492 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 493 | "source": 2 | |
| 494 | } | |
| 495 | ], | |
| 496 | "essay": "Rigel is a blue-white supergiant of spectral type B8 Ia, marking the left foot of Orion as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually the brightest star in Orion and the seventh-brightest in the night sky. Its distance from the Hipparcos parallax is about 860 light-years, with an uncertainty of roughly ten percent.\n\nAt that distance Rigel is tens of thousands of times as luminous as the Sun, with a radius around 74 times the Sun's, measured with the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer. It is a young, massive star that has left the main sequence and will probably end its life as a supernova. Its brightness varies slightly and irregularly as its outer layers pulsate.\n\nRigel has a companion, Rigel B, about 9.5 arcseconds away, which is itself a close binary. It can be seen in a small telescope on a steady night, despite Rigel's glare.\n\nRigel sits diagonally opposite Betelgeuse across Orion's Belt. The contrast between the two, blue-white and orange-red, is easy to see with the naked eye. The name comes from the Arabic for \"foot\".", | |
| 497 | "image": null, | |
| 498 | "drawing": { | |
| 499 | "kind": "star", | |
| 500 | "spectralType": "B8Ia", | |
| 501 | "colorIndex": -0.03 | |
| 502 | }, | |
| 503 | "link": { | |
| 504 | "hr": 1713 | |
| 505 | }, | |
| 506 | "sources": [ | |
| 507 | { | |
| 508 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1713", | |
| 509 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1713" | |
| 510 | }, | |
| 511 | { | |
| 512 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1713", | |
| 513 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1713" | |
| 514 | }, | |
| 515 | { | |
| 516 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 517 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 518 | }, | |
| 519 | { | |
| 520 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 521 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=34085" | |
| 522 | } | |
| 523 | ] | |
| 524 | }, | |
| 525 | { | |
| 526 | "id": "procyon", | |
| 527 | "section": "stars", | |
| 528 | "title": "Procyon", | |
| 529 | "subtitle": "Alpha Canis Minoris", | |
| 530 | "facts": [ | |
| 531 | { | |
| 532 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 533 | "value": "Canis Minor", | |
| 534 | "source": 2 | |
| 535 | }, | |
| 536 | { | |
| 537 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 538 | "value": "0.38 (V)", | |
| 539 | "source": 1 | |
| 540 | }, | |
| 541 | { | |
| 542 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 543 | "value": "+0.42", | |
| 544 | "source": 1 | |
| 545 | }, | |
| 546 | { | |
| 547 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 548 | "value": "F5IV-V+DQZ", | |
| 549 | "source": 0 | |
| 550 | }, | |
| 551 | { | |
| 552 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 553 | "value": "11.5 light-years, from parallax 284.56 ± 1.26 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 554 | "source": 0 | |
| 555 | }, | |
| 556 | { | |
| 557 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 558 | "value": "2.048 ± 0.025 × Sun (VLTI interferometry)", | |
| 559 | "source": 3 | |
| 560 | }, | |
| 561 | { | |
| 562 | "label": "Name", | |
| 563 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 564 | "source": 2 | |
| 565 | } | |
| 566 | ], | |
| 567 | "essay": "Procyon is the brightest star in Canis Minor and the eighth-brightest in the night sky. At 11.5 light-years it is one of the Sun's nearer neighbours. It is a yellow-white star of spectral type F5 IV-V, about twice the Sun's radius. The \"IV\" class marks it as a subgiant: it is at the end of its main-sequence life, with hydrogen in its core nearly used up, and has begun to expand.\n\nLike Sirius, Procyon has a white dwarf companion. Friedrich Bessel noted irregularities in Procyon's motion in 1844, and John Martin Schaeberle saw the companion, Procyon B, at Lick Observatory in 1896. The two orbit each other every 40.8 years. Procyon B is very faint and lies close to the primary, which makes it a difficult target.\n\nProcyon forms the Winter Triangle with Sirius and Betelgeuse. It lies east of Betelgeuse and northeast of Sirius. The name is Greek for \"before the dog\": seen from mid-northern latitudes, Procyon rises shortly before Sirius, the Dog Star.", | |
| 568 | "image": null, | |
| 569 | "drawing": { | |
| 570 | "kind": "star", | |
| 571 | "spectralType": "F5IV-V+DQZ", | |
| 572 | "colorIndex": 0.42 | |
| 573 | }, | |
| 574 | "link": { | |
| 575 | "hr": 2943 | |
| 576 | }, | |
| 577 | "sources": [ | |
| 578 | { | |
| 579 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2943", | |
| 580 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2943" | |
| 581 | }, | |
| 582 | { | |
| 583 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2943", | |
| 584 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2943" | |
| 585 | }, | |
| 586 | { | |
| 587 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 588 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 589 | }, | |
| 590 | { | |
| 591 | "title": "Kervella et al. 2004, The diameter and evolutionary state of Procyon A, A&A 413, 251", | |
| 592 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0309148" | |
| 593 | } | |
| 594 | ] | |
| 595 | }, | |
| 596 | { | |
| 597 | "id": "achernar", | |
| 598 | "section": "stars", | |
| 599 | "title": "Achernar", | |
| 600 | "subtitle": "Alpha Eridani", | |
| 601 | "facts": [ | |
| 602 | { | |
| 603 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 604 | "value": "Eridanus", | |
| 605 | "source": 2 | |
| 606 | }, | |
| 607 | { | |
| 608 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 609 | "value": "0.46 (V)", | |
| 610 | "source": 1 | |
| 611 | }, | |
| 612 | { | |
| 613 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 614 | "value": "−0.16", | |
| 615 | "source": 1 | |
| 616 | }, | |
| 617 | { | |
| 618 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 619 | "value": "B6Vpe", | |
| 620 | "source": 0 | |
| 621 | }, | |
| 622 | { | |
| 623 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 624 | "value": "About 139 light-years (range 136–143), from parallax 23.39 ± 0.57 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 625 | "source": 0 | |
| 626 | }, | |
| 627 | { | |
| 628 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 629 | "value": "About 2,800 × Sun (from SED fitting at 42.75 pc)", | |
| 630 | "source": 3 | |
| 631 | }, | |
| 632 | { | |
| 633 | "label": "Name", | |
| 634 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 635 | "source": 2 | |
| 636 | } | |
| 637 | ], | |
| 638 | "essay": "Achernar is a hot blue-white star of spectral type B6 at the southern end of the constellation Eridanus, the river, about 140 light-years away. It is the ninth-brightest star in the night sky.\n\nAchernar rotates very fast, close to the speed at which material at its equator would be flung off. Interferometric observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer in 2003 showed that its equatorial diameter is about one and a half times its polar diameter, making it one of the most flattened stars known. It is a Be star: from time to time it sheds gas from its equator into a disk, which produces emission lines in its spectrum. A fainter companion star has been detected close to it.\n\nAchernar lies at declination −57° and is not visible from north of about latitude 33° N. For observers in the Southern Hemisphere it is high in the sky on spring evenings and is circumpolar from latitudes south of about 33° S. It sits roughly between Canopus and Fomalhaut, in a part of the sky with few other bright stars. The name comes from the Arabic for \"end of the river\".", | |
| 639 | "image": null, | |
| 640 | "drawing": { | |
| 641 | "kind": "star", | |
| 642 | "spectralType": "B6Vpe", | |
| 643 | "colorIndex": -0.16 | |
| 644 | }, | |
| 645 | "link": { | |
| 646 | "hr": 472 | |
| 647 | }, | |
| 648 | "sources": [ | |
| 649 | { | |
| 650 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 472", | |
| 651 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+472" | |
| 652 | }, | |
| 653 | { | |
| 654 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 472", | |
| 655 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=472" | |
| 656 | }, | |
| 657 | { | |
| 658 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 659 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 660 | }, | |
| 661 | { | |
| 662 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 663 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=7588" | |
| 664 | } | |
| 665 | ] | |
| 666 | }, | |
| 667 | { | |
| 668 | "id": "betelgeuse", | |
| 669 | "section": "stars", | |
| 670 | "title": "Betelgeuse", | |
| 671 | "subtitle": "Alpha Orionis", | |
| 672 | "facts": [ | |
| 673 | { | |
| 674 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 675 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 676 | "source": 2 | |
| 677 | }, | |
| 678 | { | |
| 679 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 680 | "value": "0.50 (V), variable", | |
| 681 | "source": 1 | |
| 682 | }, | |
| 683 | { | |
| 684 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 685 | "value": "+1.85", | |
| 686 | "source": 1 | |
| 687 | }, | |
| 688 | { | |
| 689 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 690 | "value": "M1-M2Ia-Iab", | |
| 691 | "source": 0 | |
| 692 | }, | |
| 693 | { | |
| 694 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 695 | "value": "About 500 light-years (range 440–570), from parallax 6.55 ± 0.83 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 696 | "source": 0 | |
| 697 | }, | |
| 698 | { | |
| 699 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 700 | "value": "About 74,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 152.67 pc)", | |
| 701 | "source": 3 | |
| 702 | }, | |
| 703 | { | |
| 704 | "label": "Name", | |
| 705 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 706 | "source": 2 | |
| 707 | } | |
| 708 | ], | |
| 709 | "essay": "Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-M2 marking Orion's right shoulder (upper left as seen from the Northern Hemisphere). It is one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye: if it replaced the Sun, its visible surface would extend beyond the orbit of Mars. Its distance is uncertain; the Hipparcos parallax gives about 500 light-years, with a range of about 440 to 570.\n\nBetelgeuse is a semiregular variable. Its brightness changes over periods of several hundred days as its distended outer layers pulsate and large convection cells come and go on its surface. From late 2019 to early 2020 it faded to about magnitude 1.6, well below its usual range. Images taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope showed the southern part of the star darkened, and the dimming has been attributed to a cloud of dust that formed from gas the star had ejected. It returned to its usual brightness in 2020.\n\nAs a massive star near the end of its life, Betelgeuse is expected eventually to explode as a supernova. Its orange-red colour is obvious to the eye next to blue-white Rigel. The name derives from an Arabic phrase meaning \"the hand of al-Jauzā'\", a figure that occupied this part of the sky.", | |
| 710 | "image": { | |
| 711 | "url": "https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso2003a.jpg", | |
| 712 | "credit": "ESO/M. Montargès et al.", | |
| 713 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 714 | "page": "https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2003a/", | |
| 715 | "caption": "The surface of Betelgeuse imaged with SPHERE on ESO's Very Large Telescope in December 2019, during its dimming." | |
| 716 | }, | |
| 717 | "drawing": { | |
| 718 | "kind": "star", | |
| 719 | "spectralType": "M1-M2Ia-Iab", | |
| 720 | "colorIndex": 1.85 | |
| 721 | }, | |
| 722 | "link": { | |
| 723 | "hr": 2061 | |
| 724 | }, | |
| 725 | "sources": [ | |
| 726 | { | |
| 727 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2061", | |
| 728 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2061" | |
| 729 | }, | |
| 730 | { | |
| 731 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2061", | |
| 732 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2061" | |
| 733 | }, | |
| 734 | { | |
| 735 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 736 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 737 | }, | |
| 738 | { | |
| 739 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 740 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=27989" | |
| 741 | } | |
| 742 | ] | |
| 743 | }, | |
| 744 | { | |
| 745 | "id": "hadar", | |
| 746 | "section": "stars", | |
| 747 | "title": "Hadar", | |
| 748 | "subtitle": "Beta Centauri", | |
| 749 | "facts": [ | |
| 750 | { | |
| 751 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 752 | "value": "Centaurus", | |
| 753 | "source": 2 | |
| 754 | }, | |
| 755 | { | |
| 756 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 757 | "value": "0.61 (V)", | |
| 758 | "source": 1 | |
| 759 | }, | |
| 760 | { | |
| 761 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 762 | "value": "−0.23", | |
| 763 | "source": 1 | |
| 764 | }, | |
| 765 | { | |
| 766 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 767 | "value": "B1III", | |
| 768 | "source": 0 | |
| 769 | }, | |
| 770 | { | |
| 771 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 772 | "value": "About 390 light-years (range 370–420), from parallax 8.32 ± 0.50 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 773 | "source": 0 | |
| 774 | }, | |
| 775 | { | |
| 776 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 777 | "value": "About 37,000 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 120.19 pc)", | |
| 778 | "source": 3 | |
| 779 | }, | |
| 780 | { | |
| 781 | "label": "Name", | |
| 782 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 21 August 2016", | |
| 783 | "source": 2 | |
| 784 | } | |
| 785 | ], | |
| 786 | "essay": "Hadar is a hot blue-white giant of spectral type B1 III, about 390 light-years away, and the brighter of the two Pointers to the Southern Cross. It is the second-brightest star in Centaurus and the eleventh-brightest in the night sky.\n\nHadar is a multiple star. The main star is itself a pair of similar hot B-type giants in a close orbit, separated by too little for a conventional telescope to split but resolved by long-baseline interferometers. A third, fainter star lies about an arcsecond away. Together the stars emit tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nThe Pointers make Hadar easy to find. Hadar and Rigil Kentaurus lie close together in the southern Milky Way, and a line drawn from Rigil Kentaurus through Hadar leads to the Southern Cross; Hadar is the one closer to the Cross. Although the two Pointers look like a pair, Hadar is roughly ninety times farther away than Rigil Kentaurus. Hadar lies at declination −60° and is not visible from north of about latitude 30° N.", | |
| 787 | "image": null, | |
| 788 | "drawing": { | |
| 789 | "kind": "star", | |
| 790 | "spectralType": "B1III", | |
| 791 | "colorIndex": -0.23 | |
| 792 | }, | |
| 793 | "link": { | |
| 794 | "hr": 5267 | |
| 795 | }, | |
| 796 | "sources": [ | |
| 797 | { | |
| 798 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 5267", | |
| 799 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+5267" | |
| 800 | }, | |
| 801 | { | |
| 802 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5267", | |
| 803 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5267" | |
| 804 | }, | |
| 805 | { | |
| 806 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 807 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 808 | }, | |
| 809 | { | |
| 810 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 811 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=68702" | |
| 812 | } | |
| 813 | ] | |
| 814 | }, | |
| 815 | { | |
| 816 | "id": "altair", | |
| 817 | "section": "stars", | |
| 818 | "title": "Altair", | |
| 819 | "subtitle": "Alpha Aquilae", | |
| 820 | "facts": [ | |
| 821 | { | |
| 822 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 823 | "value": "Aquila", | |
| 824 | "source": 2 | |
| 825 | }, | |
| 826 | { | |
| 827 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 828 | "value": "0.77 (V)", | |
| 829 | "source": 1 | |
| 830 | }, | |
| 831 | { | |
| 832 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 833 | "value": "+0.22", | |
| 834 | "source": 1 | |
| 835 | }, | |
| 836 | { | |
| 837 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 838 | "value": "A7Vn", | |
| 839 | "source": 0 | |
| 840 | }, | |
| 841 | { | |
| 842 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 843 | "value": "16.7 light-years, from parallax 194.95 ± 0.57 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 844 | "source": 0 | |
| 845 | }, | |
| 846 | { | |
| 847 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 848 | "value": "1.82 ± 0.01 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 849 | "source": 3 | |
| 850 | }, | |
| 851 | { | |
| 852 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 853 | "value": "10.1 ± 0.5 × Sun", | |
| 854 | "source": 3 | |
| 855 | }, | |
| 856 | { | |
| 857 | "label": "Name", | |
| 858 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 859 | "source": 2 | |
| 860 | } | |
| 861 | ], | |
| 862 | "essay": "Altair is a white main-sequence star of spectral type A7 V, 16.7 light-years away, and the brightest star in Aquila, the eagle. It is the southern corner of the Summer Triangle, with Vega and Deneb.\n\nAltair spins very fast, completing a rotation in less than ten hours, compared with about 25 days for the Sun. The rotation flattens it, so its equatorial diameter is noticeably larger than its polar diameter. In 2007 astronomers using the CHARA interferometer produced images of Altair's surface, the first of a main-sequence star other than the Sun. They show the flattened disk and a darker, cooler equator, an effect called gravity darkening: material at the equator is farther from the centre, feels weaker gravity, and is cooler.\n\nAltair is easy to recognise because it sits between two fainter stars, Tarazed and Alshain, forming a short line across the sky. It is well placed on summer and autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere and lies close to the celestial equator, so it can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth. The name comes from the Arabic for \"the flying eagle\".", | |
| 863 | "image": null, | |
| 864 | "drawing": { | |
| 865 | "kind": "star", | |
| 866 | "spectralType": "A7Vn", | |
| 867 | "colorIndex": 0.22 | |
| 868 | }, | |
| 869 | "link": { | |
| 870 | "hr": 7557 | |
| 871 | }, | |
| 872 | "sources": [ | |
| 873 | { | |
| 874 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 7557", | |
| 875 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+7557" | |
| 876 | }, | |
| 877 | { | |
| 878 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 7557", | |
| 879 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=7557" | |
| 880 | }, | |
| 881 | { | |
| 882 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 883 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 884 | }, | |
| 885 | { | |
| 886 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 887 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=187642" | |
| 888 | } | |
| 889 | ] | |
| 890 | }, | |
| 891 | { | |
| 892 | "id": "aldebaran", | |
| 893 | "section": "stars", | |
| 894 | "title": "Aldebaran", | |
| 895 | "subtitle": "Alpha Tauri", | |
| 896 | "facts": [ | |
| 897 | { | |
| 898 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 899 | "value": "Taurus", | |
| 900 | "source": 2 | |
| 901 | }, | |
| 902 | { | |
| 903 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 904 | "value": "0.85 (V)", | |
| 905 | "source": 1 | |
| 906 | }, | |
| 907 | { | |
| 908 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 909 | "value": "+1.54", | |
| 910 | "source": 1 | |
| 911 | }, | |
| 912 | { | |
| 913 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 914 | "value": "K5+III", | |
| 915 | "source": 0 | |
| 916 | }, | |
| 917 | { | |
| 918 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 919 | "value": "66.6 light-years, from parallax 48.94 ± 0.77 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 920 | "source": 0 | |
| 921 | }, | |
| 922 | { | |
| 923 | "label": "Name", | |
| 924 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 925 | "source": 2 | |
| 926 | } | |
| 927 | ], | |
| 928 | "essay": "Aldebaran is an orange giant of spectral type K5 III, about 67 light-years away, and the brightest star in Taurus. It is a star that has used up the hydrogen in its core and swollen to a size many times the Sun's, with a cool surface that gives it its orange colour. Its brightness varies slightly and irregularly.\n\nAldebaran appears among the V-shaped Hyades cluster that forms the bull's face, but it is not a member. The Hyades are about 150 light-years away, more than twice as far as Aldebaran, which lies in the foreground by chance.\n\nAldebaran is close to the ecliptic, so the Moon passes in front of it during some years, a series of occultations that can be timed precisely. To find it from the Northern Hemisphere, follow the line of Orion's Belt up and to the right (northwest) to the first bright orange star. Continuing the line further leads to the Pleiades. The name comes from the Arabic for \"the follower\", because it appears to follow the Pleiades across the sky.", | |
| 929 | "image": null, | |
| 930 | "drawing": { | |
| 931 | "kind": "star", | |
| 932 | "spectralType": "K5+III", | |
| 933 | "colorIndex": 1.54 | |
| 934 | }, | |
| 935 | "link": { | |
| 936 | "hr": 1457 | |
| 937 | }, | |
| 938 | "sources": [ | |
| 939 | { | |
| 940 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1457", | |
| 941 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1457" | |
| 942 | }, | |
| 943 | { | |
| 944 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1457", | |
| 945 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1457" | |
| 946 | }, | |
| 947 | { | |
| 948 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 949 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 950 | } | |
| 951 | ] | |
| 952 | }, | |
| 953 | { | |
| 954 | "id": "antares", | |
| 955 | "section": "stars", | |
| 956 | "title": "Antares", | |
| 957 | "subtitle": "Alpha Scorpii", | |
| 958 | "facts": [ | |
| 959 | { | |
| 960 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 961 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 962 | "source": 2 | |
| 963 | }, | |
| 964 | { | |
| 965 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 966 | "value": "0.96 (V), variable", | |
| 967 | "source": 1 | |
| 968 | }, | |
| 969 | { | |
| 970 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 971 | "value": "+1.83", | |
| 972 | "source": 1 | |
| 973 | }, | |
| 974 | { | |
| 975 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 976 | "value": "M1.5Iab+B2Vn", | |
| 977 | "source": 0 | |
| 978 | }, | |
| 979 | { | |
| 980 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 981 | "value": "About 550 light-years (range 470–670), from parallax 5.89 ± 1.00 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 982 | "source": 0 | |
| 983 | }, | |
| 984 | { | |
| 985 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 986 | "value": "About 66,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 169.78 pc)", | |
| 987 | "source": 3 | |
| 988 | }, | |
| 989 | { | |
| 990 | "label": "Name", | |
| 991 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 992 | "source": 2 | |
| 993 | } | |
| 994 | ], | |
| 995 | "essay": "Antares is a red supergiant of spectral type M1.5, the brightest star in Scorpius, marking the scorpion's heart. Its distance is uncertain; the Hipparcos parallax gives about 550 light-years, with a range of roughly 470 to 670. It is one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye, hundreds of times the Sun's radius, and is a semiregular variable whose brightness changes slowly by a few tenths of a magnitude.\n\nAntares has a hot blue-white companion, Antares B, about 3 arcseconds away. The companion is more than four magnitudes fainter and difficult to separate from the glare of the supergiant; it needs a good telescope and steady air.\n\nIn 2017 astronomers used ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer to map the surface of Antares and the motions of gas in its atmosphere, producing the most detailed image of any star other than the Sun at the time.\n\nAntares lies close to the ecliptic, so the Moon and planets pass near it. Its name means \"rival of Ares\", the Greek counterpart of Mars, because its reddish colour resembles that of the planet. It is best seen on summer evenings from mid-northern latitudes, low in the south, and much higher from the Southern Hemisphere.", | |
| 996 | "image": { | |
| 997 | "url": "https://cdn.eso.org/images/screen/eso1726a.jpg", | |
| 998 | "credit": "ESO/K. Ohnaka", | |
| 999 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1000 | "page": "https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1726a/", | |
| 1001 | "caption": "A reconstructed view of the surface of Antares from observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer." | |
| 1002 | }, | |
| 1003 | "drawing": { | |
| 1004 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1005 | "spectralType": "M1.5Iab+B2Vn", | |
| 1006 | "colorIndex": 1.83 | |
| 1007 | }, | |
| 1008 | "link": { | |
| 1009 | "hr": 6134 | |
| 1010 | }, | |
| 1011 | "sources": [ | |
| 1012 | { | |
| 1013 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 6134", | |
| 1014 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+6134" | |
| 1015 | }, | |
| 1016 | { | |
| 1017 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 6134", | |
| 1018 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=6134" | |
| 1019 | }, | |
| 1020 | { | |
| 1021 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1022 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1023 | }, | |
| 1024 | { | |
| 1025 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1026 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=80763" | |
| 1027 | } | |
| 1028 | ] | |
| 1029 | }, | |
| 1030 | { | |
| 1031 | "id": "spica", | |
| 1032 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1033 | "title": "Spica", | |
| 1034 | "subtitle": "Alpha Virginis", | |
| 1035 | "facts": [ | |
| 1036 | { | |
| 1037 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1038 | "value": "Virgo", | |
| 1039 | "source": 2 | |
| 1040 | }, | |
| 1041 | { | |
| 1042 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1043 | "value": "0.98 (V)", | |
| 1044 | "source": 1 | |
| 1045 | }, | |
| 1046 | { | |
| 1047 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1048 | "value": "−0.23", | |
| 1049 | "source": 1 | |
| 1050 | }, | |
| 1051 | { | |
| 1052 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1053 | "value": "B1V", | |
| 1054 | "source": 0 | |
| 1055 | }, | |
| 1056 | { | |
| 1057 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1058 | "value": "About 250 light-years (range 240–260), from parallax 13.06 ± 0.70 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1059 | "source": 0 | |
| 1060 | }, | |
| 1061 | { | |
| 1062 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1063 | "value": "About 17,000 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 76.57 pc)", | |
| 1064 | "source": 3 | |
| 1065 | }, | |
| 1066 | { | |
| 1067 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1068 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 1069 | "source": 2 | |
| 1070 | } | |
| 1071 | ], | |
| 1072 | "essay": "Spica is the brightest star in Virgo and appears as a single blue-white point, but it is a close binary of two hot B-type stars. The stars orbit each other every 4.01 days, so close that they distort each other into slightly egg-shaped forms. As the pair turns, the visible area of each star changes, and the combined light varies a little in brightness. The more massive star also pulsates; it is a Beta Cephei variable. Together they give off more than ten thousand times as much light as the Sun. The system is about 250 light-years away.\n\nSpica lies only about 2 degrees from the ecliptic, so the Moon passes in front of it in some years, and the planets pass close by.\n\nTo find Spica from the Northern Hemisphere, follow the curve of the Big Dipper's handle to Arcturus, then continue the curve the same distance again to reach Spica. It is prominent in spring evenings. The name is Latin for \"ear of grain\", which the figure of Virgo is traditionally shown holding.", | |
| 1073 | "image": null, | |
| 1074 | "drawing": { | |
| 1075 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1076 | "spectralType": "B1V", | |
| 1077 | "colorIndex": -0.23 | |
| 1078 | }, | |
| 1079 | "link": { | |
| 1080 | "hr": 5056 | |
| 1081 | }, | |
| 1082 | "sources": [ | |
| 1083 | { | |
| 1084 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 5056", | |
| 1085 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+5056" | |
| 1086 | }, | |
| 1087 | { | |
| 1088 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5056", | |
| 1089 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5056" | |
| 1090 | }, | |
| 1091 | { | |
| 1092 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1093 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1094 | }, | |
| 1095 | { | |
| 1096 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1097 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=65474" | |
| 1098 | } | |
| 1099 | ] | |
| 1100 | }, | |
| 1101 | { | |
| 1102 | "id": "pollux", | |
| 1103 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1104 | "title": "Pollux", | |
| 1105 | "subtitle": "Beta Geminorum", | |
| 1106 | "facts": [ | |
| 1107 | { | |
| 1108 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1109 | "value": "Gemini", | |
| 1110 | "source": 2 | |
| 1111 | }, | |
| 1112 | { | |
| 1113 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1114 | "value": "1.14 (V)", | |
| 1115 | "source": 1 | |
| 1116 | }, | |
| 1117 | { | |
| 1118 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1119 | "value": "+1.00", | |
| 1120 | "source": 1 | |
| 1121 | }, | |
| 1122 | { | |
| 1123 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1124 | "value": "K0IIIb", | |
| 1125 | "source": 0 | |
| 1126 | }, | |
| 1127 | { | |
| 1128 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1129 | "value": "33.8 light-years, from parallax 96.54 ± 0.27 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1130 | "source": 0 | |
| 1131 | }, | |
| 1132 | { | |
| 1133 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 1134 | "value": "9.06 ± 0.03 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 1135 | "source": 3 | |
| 1136 | }, | |
| 1137 | { | |
| 1138 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1139 | "value": "32.7 ± 1.6 × Sun", | |
| 1140 | "source": 3 | |
| 1141 | }, | |
| 1142 | { | |
| 1143 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1144 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 15 December 2015", | |
| 1145 | "source": 2 | |
| 1146 | } | |
| 1147 | ], | |
| 1148 | "essay": "Pollux is an orange giant of spectral type K0 III, about 34 light-years away, and the brightest star in Gemini. Although Bayer labelled it Beta Geminorum, it is brighter than its twin, Castor (Alpha Geminorum). It is a star that has finished burning hydrogen in its core and expanded to about nine times the Sun's radius, measured with the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer.\n\nPollux has a planet. In 2006 two teams independently reported a regular variation in its radial velocity with a period of about 590 days, caused by a giant planet of at least a few times Jupiter's mass. In 2015 the IAU's NameExoWorlds contest gave the planet the name Thestias, and the star's traditional name Pollux was formally recognised in the same process.\n\nPollux and Castor form the heads of the twins and are about 4.5 degrees apart. Castor appears white and Pollux slightly orange. They are well placed on winter and spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, northeast of Orion. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers, the Dioscuri.", | |
| 1149 | "image": null, | |
| 1150 | "drawing": { | |
| 1151 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1152 | "spectralType": "K0IIIb", | |
| 1153 | "colorIndex": 1.0 | |
| 1154 | }, | |
| 1155 | "link": { | |
| 1156 | "hr": 2990 | |
| 1157 | }, | |
| 1158 | "sources": [ | |
| 1159 | { | |
| 1160 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2990", | |
| 1161 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2990" | |
| 1162 | }, | |
| 1163 | { | |
| 1164 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2990", | |
| 1165 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2990" | |
| 1166 | }, | |
| 1167 | { | |
| 1168 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1169 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1170 | }, | |
| 1171 | { | |
| 1172 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 1173 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=62509" | |
| 1174 | } | |
| 1175 | ] | |
| 1176 | }, | |
| 1177 | { | |
| 1178 | "id": "fomalhaut", | |
| 1179 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1180 | "title": "Fomalhaut", | |
| 1181 | "subtitle": "Alpha Piscis Austrini", | |
| 1182 | "facts": [ | |
| 1183 | { | |
| 1184 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1185 | "value": "Piscis Austrinus", | |
| 1186 | "source": 2 | |
| 1187 | }, | |
| 1188 | { | |
| 1189 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1190 | "value": "1.16 (V)", | |
| 1191 | "source": 1 | |
| 1192 | }, | |
| 1193 | { | |
| 1194 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1195 | "value": "+0.09", | |
| 1196 | "source": 1 | |
| 1197 | }, | |
| 1198 | { | |
| 1199 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1200 | "value": "A4V", | |
| 1201 | "source": 0 | |
| 1202 | }, | |
| 1203 | { | |
| 1204 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1205 | "value": "25.1 light-years, from parallax 129.81 ± 0.47 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1206 | "source": 0 | |
| 1207 | }, | |
| 1208 | { | |
| 1209 | "label": "Age", | |
| 1210 | "value": "440 ± 40 million years", | |
| 1211 | "source": 3 | |
| 1212 | }, | |
| 1213 | { | |
| 1214 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 1215 | "value": "1.92 ± 0.02 × Sun", | |
| 1216 | "source": 3 | |
| 1217 | }, | |
| 1218 | { | |
| 1219 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1220 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 15 December 2015", | |
| 1221 | "source": 2 | |
| 1222 | } | |
| 1223 | ], | |
| 1224 | "essay": "Fomalhaut is a white main-sequence star of spectral type A4 V, 25 light-years away, and the brightest star in Piscis Austrinus. It is about twice the Sun's mass and roughly 440 million years old.\n\nFomalhaut is surrounded by a ring of cold dust and debris, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004 and 2008 and later by ALMA, Herschel and the James Webb Space Telescope. The ring's sharp inner edge and offset from the star suggest that planets may shape it. In 2008 a faint object inside the ring was reported as a possible planet, Fomalhaut b; later Hubble observations showed it fading and spreading out, and it is now generally interpreted as an expanding cloud of dust from a collision between bodies.\n\nFomalhaut has two distant stellar companions. The orange dwarf TW Piscis Austrini, about 2 degrees away on the sky, and the red dwarf LP 876-10, about 6 degrees away, share its motion through space and are gravitationally bound to it.\n\nFrom mid-northern latitudes Fomalhaut is low in the south on autumn evenings, alone in a region with few bright stars. A line through the western side of the Square of Pegasus, extended south, points toward it. The name comes from the Arabic for \"mouth of the fish\".", | |
| 1225 | "image": null, | |
| 1226 | "drawing": { | |
| 1227 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1228 | "spectralType": "A4V", | |
| 1229 | "colorIndex": 0.09 | |
| 1230 | }, | |
| 1231 | "link": { | |
| 1232 | "hr": 8728 | |
| 1233 | }, | |
| 1234 | "sources": [ | |
| 1235 | { | |
| 1236 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 8728", | |
| 1237 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+8728" | |
| 1238 | }, | |
| 1239 | { | |
| 1240 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 8728", | |
| 1241 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=8728" | |
| 1242 | }, | |
| 1243 | { | |
| 1244 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1245 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1246 | }, | |
| 1247 | { | |
| 1248 | "title": "Mamajek 2012, On the age and binarity of Fomalhaut, ApJ 754, L20", | |
| 1249 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/1206.6353" | |
| 1250 | } | |
| 1251 | ] | |
| 1252 | }, | |
| 1253 | { | |
| 1254 | "id": "deneb", | |
| 1255 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1256 | "title": "Deneb", | |
| 1257 | "subtitle": "Alpha Cygni", | |
| 1258 | "facts": [ | |
| 1259 | { | |
| 1260 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1261 | "value": "Cygnus", | |
| 1262 | "source": 2 | |
| 1263 | }, | |
| 1264 | { | |
| 1265 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1266 | "value": "1.25 (V)", | |
| 1267 | "source": 1 | |
| 1268 | }, | |
| 1269 | { | |
| 1270 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1271 | "value": "+0.09", | |
| 1272 | "source": 1 | |
| 1273 | }, | |
| 1274 | { | |
| 1275 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1276 | "value": "A2Ia", | |
| 1277 | "source": 0 | |
| 1278 | }, | |
| 1279 | { | |
| 1280 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1281 | "value": "About 1,400 light-years (range 1,200–1,600), from parallax 2.31 ± 0.32 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1282 | "source": 0 | |
| 1283 | }, | |
| 1284 | { | |
| 1285 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1286 | "value": "About 43,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 432.9 pc)", | |
| 1287 | "source": 3 | |
| 1288 | }, | |
| 1289 | { | |
| 1290 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1291 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 1292 | "source": 2 | |
| 1293 | } | |
| 1294 | ], | |
| 1295 | "essay": "Deneb is a white supergiant of spectral type A2 Ia and the brightest star in Cygnus. It is among the most luminous stars visible to the naked eye, but its distance is poorly known. The Hipparcos parallax gives about 1,400 light-years, with a range of roughly 1,240 to 1,640; other methods give different values. At any of these distances, Deneb gives off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nDeneb is the prototype of the Alpha Cygni variables, supergiants whose brightness and spectra change slightly and irregularly as their outer layers pulsate in several modes at once.\n\nDeneb forms the northeastern corner of the Summer Triangle, with Vega and Altair. It is fainter to the eye than Vega and Altair, even though it is far more luminous, because it is dozens of times more distant. It marks the tail of the swan, and the head of the Northern Cross asterism, whose long axis runs along the Milky Way. Deneb is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 45° N. The name comes from the Arabic for \"tail\".", | |
| 1296 | "image": null, | |
| 1297 | "drawing": { | |
| 1298 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1299 | "spectralType": "A2Ia", | |
| 1300 | "colorIndex": 0.09 | |
| 1301 | }, | |
| 1302 | "link": { | |
| 1303 | "hr": 7924 | |
| 1304 | }, | |
| 1305 | "sources": [ | |
| 1306 | { | |
| 1307 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 7924", | |
| 1308 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+7924" | |
| 1309 | }, | |
| 1310 | { | |
| 1311 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 7924", | |
| 1312 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=7924" | |
| 1313 | }, | |
| 1314 | { | |
| 1315 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1316 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1317 | }, | |
| 1318 | { | |
| 1319 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1320 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=102098" | |
| 1321 | } | |
| 1322 | ] | |
| 1323 | }, | |
| 1324 | { | |
| 1325 | "id": "mimosa", | |
| 1326 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1327 | "title": "Mimosa", | |
| 1328 | "subtitle": "Beta Crucis", | |
| 1329 | "facts": [ | |
| 1330 | { | |
| 1331 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1332 | "value": "Crux", | |
| 1333 | "source": 2 | |
| 1334 | }, | |
| 1335 | { | |
| 1336 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1337 | "value": "1.25 (V)", | |
| 1338 | "source": 1 | |
| 1339 | }, | |
| 1340 | { | |
| 1341 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1342 | "value": "−0.23", | |
| 1343 | "source": 1 | |
| 1344 | }, | |
| 1345 | { | |
| 1346 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1347 | "value": "B1IV", | |
| 1348 | "source": 0 | |
| 1349 | }, | |
| 1350 | { | |
| 1351 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1352 | "value": "About 280 light-years (range 260–300), from parallax 11.71 ± 0.98 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1353 | "source": 0 | |
| 1354 | }, | |
| 1355 | { | |
| 1356 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1357 | "value": "About 15,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 85.4 pc)", | |
| 1358 | "source": 3 | |
| 1359 | }, | |
| 1360 | { | |
| 1361 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1362 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1363 | "source": 2 | |
| 1364 | } | |
| 1365 | ], | |
| 1366 | "essay": "Mimosa, Beta Crucis, is a hot blue-white star of spectral type B1, about 280 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in the Southern Cross. It gives off more than ten thousand times as much light as the Sun.\n\nMimosa is a Beta Cephei variable: it pulsates in several modes with periods of a few hours, changing its brightness by a few hundredths of a magnitude, too little to notice by eye. Such pulsations are common among massive stars of its type and are used to probe their interiors.\n\nMimosa marks the eastern (left-hand) end of the crossbar of the Southern Cross. About a degree to its southeast is the Jewel Box, the open star cluster NGC 4755, which shows well in binoculars. Mimosa lies at declination −60° and is not visible from north of about latitude 30° N. From the Southern Hemisphere it is visible most of the year and is circumpolar from latitudes south of about 30° S. With Acrux, Gacrux and the fainter Imai (Delta Crucis), it forms the main figure of the Cross.", | |
| 1367 | "image": null, | |
| 1368 | "drawing": { | |
| 1369 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1370 | "spectralType": "B1IV", | |
| 1371 | "colorIndex": -0.23 | |
| 1372 | }, | |
| 1373 | "link": { | |
| 1374 | "hr": 4853 | |
| 1375 | }, | |
| 1376 | "sources": [ | |
| 1377 | { | |
| 1378 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 4853", | |
| 1379 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+4853" | |
| 1380 | }, | |
| 1381 | { | |
| 1382 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 4853", | |
| 1383 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=4853" | |
| 1384 | }, | |
| 1385 | { | |
| 1386 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1387 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1388 | }, | |
| 1389 | { | |
| 1390 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1391 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=62434" | |
| 1392 | } | |
| 1393 | ] | |
| 1394 | }, | |
| 1395 | { | |
| 1396 | "id": "acrux", | |
| 1397 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1398 | "title": "Acrux", | |
| 1399 | "subtitle": "Alpha Crucis", | |
| 1400 | "facts": [ | |
| 1401 | { | |
| 1402 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1403 | "value": "Crux", | |
| 1404 | "source": 2 | |
| 1405 | }, | |
| 1406 | { | |
| 1407 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1408 | "value": "1.33 (V)", | |
| 1409 | "source": 1 | |
| 1410 | }, | |
| 1411 | { | |
| 1412 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1413 | "value": "−0.24", | |
| 1414 | "source": 1 | |
| 1415 | }, | |
| 1416 | { | |
| 1417 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1418 | "value": "B0.5IV", | |
| 1419 | "source": 1 | |
| 1420 | }, | |
| 1421 | { | |
| 1422 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1423 | "value": "About 322 light-years (range 307–339), from parallax 10.13 ± 0.50 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1424 | "source": 0 | |
| 1425 | }, | |
| 1426 | { | |
| 1427 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1428 | "value": "About 37,000 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 98.72 pc)", | |
| 1429 | "source": 3 | |
| 1430 | }, | |
| 1431 | { | |
| 1432 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1433 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1434 | "source": 2 | |
| 1435 | } | |
| 1436 | ], | |
| 1437 | "essay": "Acrux, Alpha Crucis, is the brightest star in the Southern Cross and the southernmost first-magnitude star in the sky. It is about 320 light-years away. What looks like one blue-white star is a multiple system. A small telescope splits it into two stars about 4 arcseconds apart, both hot B-type stars. The brighter of the two is itself a spectroscopic binary. Together they give off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nAcrux marks the foot of the Southern Cross. The long axis of the Cross, from Gacrux through Acrux, points roughly toward the south celestial pole, which lies about four and a half times the length of the Cross beyond Acrux. This makes the Cross a traditional way of finding south at night in the Southern Hemisphere.\n\nAcrux lies at declination −63° and is not visible from north of about latitude 27° N. From much of Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa and South America it is circumpolar. The name is a contraction of its Bayer designation, Alpha Crucis.", | |
| 1438 | "image": null, | |
| 1439 | "drawing": { | |
| 1440 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1441 | "spectralType": "B0.5IV", | |
| 1442 | "colorIndex": -0.24 | |
| 1443 | }, | |
| 1444 | "link": { | |
| 1445 | "hr": 4730 | |
| 1446 | }, | |
| 1447 | "sources": [ | |
| 1448 | { | |
| 1449 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cru", | |
| 1450 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Cru" | |
| 1451 | }, | |
| 1452 | { | |
| 1453 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 4730", | |
| 1454 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=4730" | |
| 1455 | }, | |
| 1456 | { | |
| 1457 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1458 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1459 | }, | |
| 1460 | { | |
| 1461 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1462 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=60718" | |
| 1463 | } | |
| 1464 | ] | |
| 1465 | }, | |
| 1466 | { | |
| 1467 | "id": "toliman", | |
| 1468 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1469 | "title": "Toliman", | |
| 1470 | "subtitle": "Alpha Centauri B", | |
| 1471 | "facts": [ | |
| 1472 | { | |
| 1473 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1474 | "value": "Centaurus", | |
| 1475 | "source": 2 | |
| 1476 | }, | |
| 1477 | { | |
| 1478 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1479 | "value": "1.33 (V)", | |
| 1480 | "source": 1 | |
| 1481 | }, | |
| 1482 | { | |
| 1483 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1484 | "value": "+0.88", | |
| 1485 | "source": 1 | |
| 1486 | }, | |
| 1487 | { | |
| 1488 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1489 | "value": "K1V", | |
| 1490 | "source": 1 | |
| 1491 | }, | |
| 1492 | { | |
| 1493 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1494 | "value": "4.34 light-years, from parallax 750.81 ± 0.38 mas (Akeson et al. 2021)", | |
| 1495 | "source": 0 | |
| 1496 | }, | |
| 1497 | { | |
| 1498 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 1499 | "value": "0.8632 ± 0.0037 × Sun (VLTI interferometry)", | |
| 1500 | "source": 3 | |
| 1501 | }, | |
| 1502 | { | |
| 1503 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1504 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 10 August 2018", | |
| 1505 | "source": 2 | |
| 1506 | } | |
| 1507 | ], | |
| 1508 | "essay": "Toliman is Alpha Centauri B, the fainter of the two Sun-like stars in the nearest star system to the Sun, 4.3 light-years away. It is an orange main-sequence star of spectral type K1 V, slightly smaller and cooler than the Sun, with a radius about 86 percent of the Sun's, measured with ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer.\n\nToliman and Rigil Kentaurus (Alpha Centauri A) orbit each other every 80 years. To the naked eye they appear as one star; a small telescope separates them. A third member, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, is gravitationally bound to the pair at a much greater distance.\n\nIn 2012 astronomers reported an Earth-mass planet orbiting Toliman, but later analysis of the same data showed the signal was most likely an artefact of the way the observations were sampled. Searches for planets around both stars continue.\n\nThe name Toliman is an old name for the Alpha Centauri pair, of Arabic origin. The IAU Working Group on Star Names adopted it for component B in 2018. The system lies at declination −61° and is not visible from north of about latitude 29° N.", | |
| 1509 | "image": { | |
| 1510 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/potw1635a.jpg", | |
| 1511 | "credit": "ESA/Hubble & NASA", | |
| 1512 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 1513 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/potw1635a/", | |
| 1514 | "caption": "Alpha Centauri A (left) and B (right), imaged by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2." | |
| 1515 | }, | |
| 1516 | "drawing": { | |
| 1517 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1518 | "spectralType": "K1V", | |
| 1519 | "colorIndex": 0.88 | |
| 1520 | }, | |
| 1521 | "link": { | |
| 1522 | "hr": 5460 | |
| 1523 | }, | |
| 1524 | "sources": [ | |
| 1525 | { | |
| 1526 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Cen", | |
| 1527 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Cen" | |
| 1528 | }, | |
| 1529 | { | |
| 1530 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5460", | |
| 1531 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5460" | |
| 1532 | }, | |
| 1533 | { | |
| 1534 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1535 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1536 | }, | |
| 1537 | { | |
| 1538 | "title": "Kervella et al. 2017, The radii and limb darkenings of Alpha Centauri A and B, A&A 597, A137", | |
| 1539 | "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.06185" | |
| 1540 | } | |
| 1541 | ] | |
| 1542 | }, | |
| 1543 | { | |
| 1544 | "id": "regulus", | |
| 1545 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1546 | "title": "Regulus", | |
| 1547 | "subtitle": "Alpha Leonis", | |
| 1548 | "facts": [ | |
| 1549 | { | |
| 1550 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1551 | "value": "Leo", | |
| 1552 | "source": 2 | |
| 1553 | }, | |
| 1554 | { | |
| 1555 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1556 | "value": "1.35 (V)", | |
| 1557 | "source": 1 | |
| 1558 | }, | |
| 1559 | { | |
| 1560 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1561 | "value": "−0.11", | |
| 1562 | "source": 1 | |
| 1563 | }, | |
| 1564 | { | |
| 1565 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1566 | "value": "B8IVn", | |
| 1567 | "source": 0 | |
| 1568 | }, | |
| 1569 | { | |
| 1570 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1571 | "value": "79.3 light-years, from parallax 41.13 ± 0.35 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1572 | "source": 0 | |
| 1573 | }, | |
| 1574 | { | |
| 1575 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 1576 | "value": "4.35 ± 0.10 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 1577 | "source": 3 | |
| 1578 | }, | |
| 1579 | { | |
| 1580 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1581 | "value": "316.2 ± 16.7 × Sun", | |
| 1582 | "source": 3 | |
| 1583 | }, | |
| 1584 | { | |
| 1585 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1586 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 1587 | "source": 2 | |
| 1588 | } | |
| 1589 | ], | |
| 1590 | "essay": "Regulus is the brightest star in Leo, a blue-white star of spectral type B8 IV about 79 light-years away. It rotates very quickly, once every 16 hours or so, with an equatorial speed over 300 km/s. Interferometric observations with the CHARA array in 2005 showed that this rotation flattens the star, with the equator noticeably wider than the poles and cooler than them.\n\nRegulus is a multiple system. The bright star has a close, faint companion in a 40-day orbit, detected from the star's radial-velocity motion and probably a white dwarf. A pair of much fainter stars, a K-type dwarf and an M-type dwarf, lies about 3 arcminutes away and shares its motion through space.\n\nRegulus sits almost on the ecliptic, so the Moon often passes in front of it, and planets pass close by. It marks the bottom of the Sickle, a backward question mark of stars that forms the lion's head and mane. It is well placed on spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The name is Latin for \"little king\".", | |
| 1591 | "image": null, | |
| 1592 | "drawing": { | |
| 1593 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1594 | "spectralType": "B8IVn", | |
| 1595 | "colorIndex": -0.11 | |
| 1596 | }, | |
| 1597 | "link": { | |
| 1598 | "hr": 3982 | |
| 1599 | }, | |
| 1600 | "sources": [ | |
| 1601 | { | |
| 1602 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 3982", | |
| 1603 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+3982" | |
| 1604 | }, | |
| 1605 | { | |
| 1606 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 3982", | |
| 1607 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=3982" | |
| 1608 | }, | |
| 1609 | { | |
| 1610 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1611 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1612 | }, | |
| 1613 | { | |
| 1614 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 1615 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=87901" | |
| 1616 | } | |
| 1617 | ] | |
| 1618 | }, | |
| 1619 | { | |
| 1620 | "id": "adhara", | |
| 1621 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1622 | "title": "Adhara", | |
| 1623 | "subtitle": "Epsilon Canis Majoris", | |
| 1624 | "facts": [ | |
| 1625 | { | |
| 1626 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1627 | "value": "Canis Major", | |
| 1628 | "source": 2 | |
| 1629 | }, | |
| 1630 | { | |
| 1631 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1632 | "value": "1.50 (V)", | |
| 1633 | "source": 1 | |
| 1634 | }, | |
| 1635 | { | |
| 1636 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1637 | "value": "−0.21", | |
| 1638 | "source": 1 | |
| 1639 | }, | |
| 1640 | { | |
| 1641 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1642 | "value": "B1.5II", | |
| 1643 | "source": 0 | |
| 1644 | }, | |
| 1645 | { | |
| 1646 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1647 | "value": "405 light-years, from parallax 8.05 ± 0.14 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1648 | "source": 0 | |
| 1649 | }, | |
| 1650 | { | |
| 1651 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1652 | "value": "About 21,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 124.22 pc)", | |
| 1653 | "source": 3 | |
| 1654 | }, | |
| 1655 | { | |
| 1656 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1657 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 21 August 2016", | |
| 1658 | "source": 2 | |
| 1659 | } | |
| 1660 | ], | |
| 1661 | "essay": "Adhara, Epsilon Canis Majoris, is a hot blue-white bright giant of spectral type B1.5 II, about 400 light-years away. It is the second-brightest star in Canis Major and gives off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nAdhara is the brightest source of extreme ultraviolet radiation in the sky, as measured by NASA's Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite in the 1990s. Extreme ultraviolet light is normally absorbed by neutral hydrogen in interstellar space. Adhara is seen through a region of unusually thin gas around the Sun, which lets its radiation reach us.\n\nAdhara has a companion of about magnitude 7.5, roughly 7.5 arcseconds away, which can be seen in a telescope despite the glare.\n\nAdhara lies about 12 degrees south-southeast of Sirius and forms a triangle with Wezen and Aludra in the hindquarters of the great dog. It is well placed on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere and summer evenings in the Southern Hemisphere. The name comes from the Arabic for \"the virgins\".", | |
| 1662 | "image": null, | |
| 1663 | "drawing": { | |
| 1664 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1665 | "spectralType": "B1.5II", | |
| 1666 | "colorIndex": -0.21 | |
| 1667 | }, | |
| 1668 | "link": { | |
| 1669 | "hr": 2618 | |
| 1670 | }, | |
| 1671 | "sources": [ | |
| 1672 | { | |
| 1673 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2618", | |
| 1674 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2618" | |
| 1675 | }, | |
| 1676 | { | |
| 1677 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2618", | |
| 1678 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2618" | |
| 1679 | }, | |
| 1680 | { | |
| 1681 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1682 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1683 | }, | |
| 1684 | { | |
| 1685 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1686 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=33579" | |
| 1687 | } | |
| 1688 | ] | |
| 1689 | }, | |
| 1690 | { | |
| 1691 | "id": "shaula", | |
| 1692 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1693 | "title": "Shaula", | |
| 1694 | "subtitle": "Lambda Scorpii", | |
| 1695 | "facts": [ | |
| 1696 | { | |
| 1697 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1698 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 1699 | "source": 2 | |
| 1700 | }, | |
| 1701 | { | |
| 1702 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1703 | "value": "1.63 (V)", | |
| 1704 | "source": 1 | |
| 1705 | }, | |
| 1706 | { | |
| 1707 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1708 | "value": "−0.22", | |
| 1709 | "source": 1 | |
| 1710 | }, | |
| 1711 | { | |
| 1712 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1713 | "value": "B2IV+DA7.9", | |
| 1714 | "source": 0 | |
| 1715 | }, | |
| 1716 | { | |
| 1717 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1718 | "value": "About 570 light-years (range 500–660), from parallax 5.71 ± 0.75 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1719 | "source": 0 | |
| 1720 | }, | |
| 1721 | { | |
| 1722 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1723 | "value": "About 48,000 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 175.13 pc)", | |
| 1724 | "source": 3 | |
| 1725 | }, | |
| 1726 | { | |
| 1727 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1728 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1729 | "source": 2 | |
| 1730 | } | |
| 1731 | ], | |
| 1732 | "essay": "Shaula, Lambda Scorpii, marks the stinger at the end of the scorpion's tail and is the second-brightest star in Scorpius. It is a hot blue-white star of spectral type B2 IV. Its distance is uncertain; the Hipparcos parallax gives about 570 light-years, with a range of roughly 500 to 660.\n\nShaula is a multiple system of at least three stars, detected through spectroscopy and interferometry. The brightest component is a Beta Cephei variable, pulsating with a period of a few hours and changing brightness by a few hundredths of a magnitude. The stars together give off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nShaula has a fainter neighbour, Lesath (Upsilon Scorpii), less than a degree away, and the two look like a pair of eyes at the tip of the tail. The tail of Scorpius curves down and to the left from Antares, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, and ends at Shaula. From mid-northern latitudes it stays low in the south on summer evenings; from the Southern Hemisphere it passes almost overhead. The name comes from the Arabic for \"the raised tail\".", | |
| 1733 | "image": null, | |
| 1734 | "drawing": { | |
| 1735 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1736 | "spectralType": "B2IV+DA7.9", | |
| 1737 | "colorIndex": -0.22 | |
| 1738 | }, | |
| 1739 | "link": { | |
| 1740 | "hr": 6527 | |
| 1741 | }, | |
| 1742 | "sources": [ | |
| 1743 | { | |
| 1744 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 6527", | |
| 1745 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+6527" | |
| 1746 | }, | |
| 1747 | { | |
| 1748 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 6527", | |
| 1749 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=6527" | |
| 1750 | }, | |
| 1751 | { | |
| 1752 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1753 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1754 | }, | |
| 1755 | { | |
| 1756 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1757 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=85927" | |
| 1758 | } | |
| 1759 | ] | |
| 1760 | }, | |
| 1761 | { | |
| 1762 | "id": "gacrux", | |
| 1763 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1764 | "title": "Gacrux", | |
| 1765 | "subtitle": "Gamma Crucis", | |
| 1766 | "facts": [ | |
| 1767 | { | |
| 1768 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1769 | "value": "Crux", | |
| 1770 | "source": 2 | |
| 1771 | }, | |
| 1772 | { | |
| 1773 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1774 | "value": "1.63 (V)", | |
| 1775 | "source": 1 | |
| 1776 | }, | |
| 1777 | { | |
| 1778 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1779 | "value": "+1.59", | |
| 1780 | "source": 1 | |
| 1781 | }, | |
| 1782 | { | |
| 1783 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1784 | "value": "M3.5III", | |
| 1785 | "source": 0 | |
| 1786 | }, | |
| 1787 | { | |
| 1788 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1789 | "value": "88.6 light-years, from parallax 36.83 ± 0.18 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1790 | "source": 0 | |
| 1791 | }, | |
| 1792 | { | |
| 1793 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1794 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1795 | "source": 2 | |
| 1796 | } | |
| 1797 | ], | |
| 1798 | "essay": "Gacrux, Gamma Crucis, is the top star of the Southern Cross and a red giant of spectral type M3.5 III, about 89 light-years away. It is a cool, expanded star that has exhausted the hydrogen in its core. Its orange-red colour stands out against the blue-white of the other main stars of the Cross, which are hot young stars several times farther away.\n\nThe line from Gacrux through Acrux, the long axis of the Southern Cross, points toward the south celestial pole. Extending it about four and a half times the length of the Cross reaches the pole's position, which has no bright star of its own.\n\nGacrux lies at declination −57° and is not visible from north of about latitude 33° N. From the Southern Hemisphere it is visible most of the year and best placed on autumn evenings. The name is a contraction of its Bayer designation, Gamma Crucis.", | |
| 1799 | "image": null, | |
| 1800 | "drawing": { | |
| 1801 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1802 | "spectralType": "M3.5III", | |
| 1803 | "colorIndex": 1.59 | |
| 1804 | }, | |
| 1805 | "link": { | |
| 1806 | "hr": 4763 | |
| 1807 | }, | |
| 1808 | "sources": [ | |
| 1809 | { | |
| 1810 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 4763", | |
| 1811 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+4763" | |
| 1812 | }, | |
| 1813 | { | |
| 1814 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 4763", | |
| 1815 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=4763" | |
| 1816 | }, | |
| 1817 | { | |
| 1818 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1819 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1820 | } | |
| 1821 | ] | |
| 1822 | }, | |
| 1823 | { | |
| 1824 | "id": "bellatrix", | |
| 1825 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1826 | "title": "Bellatrix", | |
| 1827 | "subtitle": "Gamma Orionis", | |
| 1828 | "facts": [ | |
| 1829 | { | |
| 1830 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1831 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 1832 | "source": 2 | |
| 1833 | }, | |
| 1834 | { | |
| 1835 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1836 | "value": "1.64 (V)", | |
| 1837 | "source": 1 | |
| 1838 | }, | |
| 1839 | { | |
| 1840 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1841 | "value": "−0.22", | |
| 1842 | "source": 1 | |
| 1843 | }, | |
| 1844 | { | |
| 1845 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1846 | "value": "B2III", | |
| 1847 | "source": 0 | |
| 1848 | }, | |
| 1849 | { | |
| 1850 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1851 | "value": "About 252 light-years (range 243–263), from parallax 12.92 ± 0.52 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1852 | "source": 0 | |
| 1853 | }, | |
| 1854 | { | |
| 1855 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1856 | "value": "About 9,200 × Sun (from SED fitting at 77.4 pc)", | |
| 1857 | "source": 3 | |
| 1858 | }, | |
| 1859 | { | |
| 1860 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1861 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 1862 | "source": 2 | |
| 1863 | } | |
| 1864 | ], | |
| 1865 | "essay": "Bellatrix, Gamma Orionis, is a hot blue-white giant of spectral type B2 III, about 250 light-years away, marking Orion's left shoulder (upper right as seen from the Northern Hemisphere). It is the third-brightest star in Orion and gives off thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nBellatrix is much closer than most of the bright stars of Orion. Rigel, Alnilam, Alnitak, Mintaka and Saiph are several hundred to a couple of thousand light-years away, and many of them belong to the Orion OB1 association of young massive stars. Bellatrix is in the foreground and is not part of that group.\n\nBellatrix forms the top right corner of the main rectangle of Orion, with Betelgeuse on the other shoulder and Rigel and Saiph at the feet. Its blue-white colour contrasts with orange Betelgeuse about 7.5 degrees to the east. Orion lies on the celestial equator and can be seen from almost anywhere on Earth; it is best placed on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The name is Latin for \"female warrior\".", | |
| 1866 | "image": null, | |
| 1867 | "drawing": { | |
| 1868 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1869 | "spectralType": "B2III", | |
| 1870 | "colorIndex": -0.22 | |
| 1871 | }, | |
| 1872 | "link": { | |
| 1873 | "hr": 1790 | |
| 1874 | }, | |
| 1875 | "sources": [ | |
| 1876 | { | |
| 1877 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1790", | |
| 1878 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1790" | |
| 1879 | }, | |
| 1880 | { | |
| 1881 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1790", | |
| 1882 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1790" | |
| 1883 | }, | |
| 1884 | { | |
| 1885 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1886 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1887 | }, | |
| 1888 | { | |
| 1889 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 1890 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=25336" | |
| 1891 | } | |
| 1892 | ] | |
| 1893 | }, | |
| 1894 | { | |
| 1895 | "id": "elnath", | |
| 1896 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1897 | "title": "Elnath", | |
| 1898 | "subtitle": "Beta Tauri", | |
| 1899 | "facts": [ | |
| 1900 | { | |
| 1901 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1902 | "value": "Taurus", | |
| 1903 | "source": 2 | |
| 1904 | }, | |
| 1905 | { | |
| 1906 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1907 | "value": "1.65 (V)", | |
| 1908 | "source": 1 | |
| 1909 | }, | |
| 1910 | { | |
| 1911 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1912 | "value": "−0.13", | |
| 1913 | "source": 1 | |
| 1914 | }, | |
| 1915 | { | |
| 1916 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1917 | "value": "B7III", | |
| 1918 | "source": 0 | |
| 1919 | }, | |
| 1920 | { | |
| 1921 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1922 | "value": "134 light-years, from parallax 24.36 ± 0.34 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1923 | "source": 0 | |
| 1924 | }, | |
| 1925 | { | |
| 1926 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1927 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1928 | "source": 2 | |
| 1929 | } | |
| 1930 | ], | |
| 1931 | "essay": "Elnath, Beta Tauri, is a blue-white giant of spectral type B7 III, about 134 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in Taurus. It marks the tip of the bull's northern horn.\n\nFor centuries Elnath was shared between two constellations: it was also counted as Gamma Aurigae, completing the pentagon of Auriga. When the IAU fixed the constellation boundaries in 1930, it was placed in Taurus. To the eye it still reads as the bottom corner of Auriga's pentagon, with Capella at the opposite corner.\n\nElnath lies a few degrees from the galactic anticentre, the point in the sky directly opposite the centre of the Milky Way. Looking in this direction we see through the outer parts of the Galaxy's disk.\n\nTo find Elnath, look about halfway between Betelgeuse and Capella, or follow the bull's horns up and to the left from Aldebaran and the Hyades, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere. It is well placed on winter evenings. The name comes from the Arabic for \"the butting one\", referring to the bull's horn.", | |
| 1932 | "image": null, | |
| 1933 | "drawing": { | |
| 1934 | "kind": "star", | |
| 1935 | "spectralType": "B7III", | |
| 1936 | "colorIndex": -0.13 | |
| 1937 | }, | |
| 1938 | "link": { | |
| 1939 | "hr": 1791 | |
| 1940 | }, | |
| 1941 | "sources": [ | |
| 1942 | { | |
| 1943 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1791", | |
| 1944 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1791" | |
| 1945 | }, | |
| 1946 | { | |
| 1947 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1791", | |
| 1948 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1791" | |
| 1949 | }, | |
| 1950 | { | |
| 1951 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 1952 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 1953 | } | |
| 1954 | ] | |
| 1955 | }, | |
| 1956 | { | |
| 1957 | "id": "miaplacidus", | |
| 1958 | "section": "stars", | |
| 1959 | "title": "Miaplacidus", | |
| 1960 | "subtitle": "Beta Carinae", | |
| 1961 | "facts": [ | |
| 1962 | { | |
| 1963 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 1964 | "value": "Carina", | |
| 1965 | "source": 2 | |
| 1966 | }, | |
| 1967 | { | |
| 1968 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 1969 | "value": "1.68 (V)", | |
| 1970 | "source": 1 | |
| 1971 | }, | |
| 1972 | { | |
| 1973 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 1974 | "value": "0.00", | |
| 1975 | "source": 1 | |
| 1976 | }, | |
| 1977 | { | |
| 1978 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 1979 | "value": "A1III-", | |
| 1980 | "source": 0 | |
| 1981 | }, | |
| 1982 | { | |
| 1983 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 1984 | "value": "113 light-years, from parallax 28.82 ± 0.11 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 1985 | "source": 0 | |
| 1986 | }, | |
| 1987 | { | |
| 1988 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 1989 | "value": "About 210 × Sun (from SED fitting at 34.7 pc)", | |
| 1990 | "source": 3 | |
| 1991 | }, | |
| 1992 | { | |
| 1993 | "label": "Name", | |
| 1994 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 1995 | "source": 2 | |
| 1996 | } | |
| 1997 | ], | |
| 1998 | "essay": "Miaplacidus, Beta Carinae, is a white giant of spectral type A1 III, about 113 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in Carina. It is a star that has recently left the main sequence and gives off a couple of hundred times as much light as the Sun.\n\nMiaplacidus is one of the more southerly bright stars, at declination −70°. It cannot be seen from north of about latitude 20° N. From latitudes south of about 20° S it is circumpolar and never sets. From Australia, southern Africa and southern South America it is visible all year.\n\nIt lies in a rich part of the southern Milky Way. To find it, start at the False Cross, an asterism of four stars in Carina and Vela that is larger and less sharply shaped than the Southern Cross; Miaplacidus lies about 10 degrees to the south of the False Cross's southern end. It is also the brightest star in the Diamond Cross, a smaller asterism in Carina. Northeast of it is the Carina Nebula, visible as a bright patch to the naked eye from a dark site.", | |
| 1999 | "image": null, | |
| 2000 | "drawing": { | |
| 2001 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2002 | "spectralType": "A1III-", | |
| 2003 | "colorIndex": 0.0 | |
| 2004 | }, | |
| 2005 | "link": { | |
| 2006 | "hr": 3685 | |
| 2007 | }, | |
| 2008 | "sources": [ | |
| 2009 | { | |
| 2010 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 3685", | |
| 2011 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+3685" | |
| 2012 | }, | |
| 2013 | { | |
| 2014 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 3685", | |
| 2015 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=3685" | |
| 2016 | }, | |
| 2017 | { | |
| 2018 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2019 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2020 | }, | |
| 2021 | { | |
| 2022 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2023 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=45238" | |
| 2024 | } | |
| 2025 | ] | |
| 2026 | }, | |
| 2027 | { | |
| 2028 | "id": "alnilam", | |
| 2029 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2030 | "title": "Alnilam", | |
| 2031 | "subtitle": "Epsilon Orionis", | |
| 2032 | "facts": [ | |
| 2033 | { | |
| 2034 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2035 | "value": "Orion", | |
| 2036 | "source": 2 | |
| 2037 | }, | |
| 2038 | { | |
| 2039 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2040 | "value": "1.70 (V)", | |
| 2041 | "source": 1 | |
| 2042 | }, | |
| 2043 | { | |
| 2044 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2045 | "value": "−0.19", | |
| 2046 | "source": 1 | |
| 2047 | }, | |
| 2048 | { | |
| 2049 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2050 | "value": "B0Ia", | |
| 2051 | "source": 0 | |
| 2052 | }, | |
| 2053 | { | |
| 2054 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2055 | "value": "About 2,000 light-years (range 1,600–2,700), from parallax 1.65 ± 0.45 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2056 | "source": 0 | |
| 2057 | }, | |
| 2058 | { | |
| 2059 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2060 | "value": "About 260,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 606.06 pc)", | |
| 2061 | "source": 3 | |
| 2062 | }, | |
| 2063 | { | |
| 2064 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2065 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2066 | "source": 2 | |
| 2067 | } | |
| 2068 | ], | |
| 2069 | "essay": "Alnilam, Epsilon Orionis, is the middle star of Orion's Belt and a blue supergiant of spectral type B0 Ia. Its distance is poorly determined. The Hipparcos parallax gives about 2,000 light-years, with a range of roughly 1,550 to 2,700, and at that distance it gives off hundreds of thousands of times as much light as the Sun. It is one of the most luminous stars visible to the naked eye.\n\nAlnilam is a young, massive star that is losing mass through a strong stellar wind. It is a member of the Orion OB1 association, a group of young massive stars that also includes the other two Belt stars and the stars of the Orion Nebula region. Like most stars of its type, it will probably end its life as a supernova.\n\nThe three stars of Orion's Belt, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, lie in a straight line about 3 degrees long. They are the easiest way to find Orion, and the line of the Belt points southeast to Sirius and northwest to Aldebaran. The Belt lies on the celestial equator and can be seen from everywhere on Earth. The name Alnilam comes from the Arabic for \"string of pearls\".", | |
| 2070 | "image": null, | |
| 2071 | "drawing": { | |
| 2072 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2073 | "spectralType": "B0Ia", | |
| 2074 | "colorIndex": -0.19 | |
| 2075 | }, | |
| 2076 | "link": { | |
| 2077 | "hr": 1903 | |
| 2078 | }, | |
| 2079 | "sources": [ | |
| 2080 | { | |
| 2081 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1903", | |
| 2082 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1903" | |
| 2083 | }, | |
| 2084 | { | |
| 2085 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1903", | |
| 2086 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1903" | |
| 2087 | }, | |
| 2088 | { | |
| 2089 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2090 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2091 | }, | |
| 2092 | { | |
| 2093 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2094 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=26311" | |
| 2095 | } | |
| 2096 | ] | |
| 2097 | }, | |
| 2098 | { | |
| 2099 | "id": "alnair", | |
| 2100 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2101 | "title": "Alnair", | |
| 2102 | "subtitle": "Alpha Gruis", | |
| 2103 | "facts": [ | |
| 2104 | { | |
| 2105 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2106 | "value": "Grus", | |
| 2107 | "source": 2 | |
| 2108 | }, | |
| 2109 | { | |
| 2110 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2111 | "value": "1.74 (V)", | |
| 2112 | "source": 1 | |
| 2113 | }, | |
| 2114 | { | |
| 2115 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2116 | "value": "−0.13", | |
| 2117 | "source": 1 | |
| 2118 | }, | |
| 2119 | { | |
| 2120 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2121 | "value": "B6V", | |
| 2122 | "source": 0 | |
| 2123 | }, | |
| 2124 | { | |
| 2125 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2126 | "value": "101 light-years, from parallax 32.29 ± 0.21 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2127 | "source": 0 | |
| 2128 | }, | |
| 2129 | { | |
| 2130 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2131 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2132 | "source": 2 | |
| 2133 | } | |
| 2134 | ], | |
| 2135 | "essay": "Alnair, Alpha Gruis, is a blue-white star of spectral type B6 V, about 101 light-years away, and the brightest star in the southern constellation Grus, the crane. It is a hot main-sequence star several times the Sun's mass. Like many B-type stars, it rotates rapidly.\n\nAlnair lies at declination −47°, so it is not visible from north of about latitude 43° N and stays low in the south for observers in the southern United States, southern Europe and similar latitudes. From the Southern Hemisphere it is well placed on spring evenings and is circumpolar from latitudes south of about 43° S.\n\nAlnair lies about 20 degrees south-southwest of Fomalhaut. Its neighbour Beta Gruis (Tiaki), about 6 degrees to the east, is a red giant of similar brightness, and the contrast in colour between the two is easy to see. The constellation Grus was introduced in the late 16th century from the observations of Dutch navigators. Alnair's name comes from the Arabic for \"the bright one\", from a description of it as the bright star of the fish's tail, when these stars were counted as part of Piscis Austrinus.", | |
| 2136 | "image": null, | |
| 2137 | "drawing": { | |
| 2138 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2139 | "spectralType": "B6V", | |
| 2140 | "colorIndex": -0.13 | |
| 2141 | }, | |
| 2142 | "link": { | |
| 2143 | "hr": 8425 | |
| 2144 | }, | |
| 2145 | "sources": [ | |
| 2146 | { | |
| 2147 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 8425", | |
| 2148 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+8425" | |
| 2149 | }, | |
| 2150 | { | |
| 2151 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 8425", | |
| 2152 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=8425" | |
| 2153 | }, | |
| 2154 | { | |
| 2155 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2156 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2157 | } | |
| 2158 | ] | |
| 2159 | }, | |
| 2160 | { | |
| 2161 | "id": "alioth", | |
| 2162 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2163 | "title": "Alioth", | |
| 2164 | "subtitle": "Epsilon Ursae Majoris", | |
| 2165 | "facts": [ | |
| 2166 | { | |
| 2167 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2168 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2169 | "source": 2 | |
| 2170 | }, | |
| 2171 | { | |
| 2172 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2173 | "value": "1.77 (V)", | |
| 2174 | "source": 1 | |
| 2175 | }, | |
| 2176 | { | |
| 2177 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2178 | "value": "−0.02", | |
| 2179 | "source": 1 | |
| 2180 | }, | |
| 2181 | { | |
| 2182 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2183 | "value": "A1III-IVpkB9", | |
| 2184 | "source": 0 | |
| 2185 | }, | |
| 2186 | { | |
| 2187 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2188 | "value": "82.6 light-years, from parallax 39.51 ± 0.20 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2189 | "source": 0 | |
| 2190 | }, | |
| 2191 | { | |
| 2192 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2193 | "value": "About 110 × Sun (from SED fitting at 25.31 pc)", | |
| 2194 | "source": 3 | |
| 2195 | }, | |
| 2196 | { | |
| 2197 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2198 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 2199 | "source": 2 | |
| 2200 | } | |
| 2201 | ], | |
| 2202 | "essay": "Alioth, Epsilon Ursae Majoris, is the brightest star in the Big Dipper and in Ursa Major. It is a white A-type star about 83 light-years away.\n\nAlioth is a chemically peculiar Ap star. It has a strong magnetic field, and elements such as chromium are concentrated in patches on its surface. As the star rotates, every 5.1 days, these patches move into and out of view, causing small changes in its brightness and spectrum. This makes it an Alpha² Canum Venaticorum variable.\n\nAlioth belongs to the Ursa Major moving group, a set of stars that share a common motion through space and probably formed together. Five of the seven Big Dipper stars belong to the group; Dubhe and Alkaid do not.\n\nAlioth is the first star of the Dipper's handle, next to the bowl. It is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 34° N and visible all year from Europe, North America and northern Asia. Following the curve of the handle leads to Arcturus and then to Spica.", | |
| 2203 | "image": null, | |
| 2204 | "drawing": { | |
| 2205 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2206 | "spectralType": "A1III-IVpkB9", | |
| 2207 | "colorIndex": -0.02 | |
| 2208 | }, | |
| 2209 | "link": { | |
| 2210 | "hr": 4905 | |
| 2211 | }, | |
| 2212 | "sources": [ | |
| 2213 | { | |
| 2214 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 4905", | |
| 2215 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+4905" | |
| 2216 | }, | |
| 2217 | { | |
| 2218 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 4905", | |
| 2219 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=4905" | |
| 2220 | }, | |
| 2221 | { | |
| 2222 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2223 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2224 | }, | |
| 2225 | { | |
| 2226 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2227 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=62956" | |
| 2228 | } | |
| 2229 | ] | |
| 2230 | }, | |
| 2231 | { | |
| 2232 | "id": "mirfak", | |
| 2233 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2234 | "title": "Mirfak", | |
| 2235 | "subtitle": "Alpha Persei", | |
| 2236 | "facts": [ | |
| 2237 | { | |
| 2238 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2239 | "value": "Perseus", | |
| 2240 | "source": 2 | |
| 2241 | }, | |
| 2242 | { | |
| 2243 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2244 | "value": "1.79 (V)", | |
| 2245 | "source": 1 | |
| 2246 | }, | |
| 2247 | { | |
| 2248 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2249 | "value": "+0.48", | |
| 2250 | "source": 1 | |
| 2251 | }, | |
| 2252 | { | |
| 2253 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2254 | "value": "F5Ib", | |
| 2255 | "source": 0 | |
| 2256 | }, | |
| 2257 | { | |
| 2258 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2259 | "value": "About 506 light-years (range 493–520), from parallax 6.44 ± 0.17 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2260 | "source": 0 | |
| 2261 | }, | |
| 2262 | { | |
| 2263 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2264 | "value": "About 3,800 × Sun (from SED fitting at 155.28 pc)", | |
| 2265 | "source": 3 | |
| 2266 | }, | |
| 2267 | { | |
| 2268 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2269 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2270 | "source": 2 | |
| 2271 | } | |
| 2272 | ], | |
| 2273 | "essay": "Mirfak, Alpha Persei, is a yellow-white supergiant of spectral type F5 Ib, about 500 light-years away, and the brightest star in Perseus. It gives off thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nMirfak is the brightest member of the Alpha Persei Cluster, also catalogued as Melotte 20, a loose group of young blue-white stars spread over a few degrees of sky. The cluster is too large for most telescopes but shows well in binoculars, which give a field of bright stars around Mirfak against the Milky Way.\n\nPerseus lies along the Milky Way between Cassiopeia and Auriga. To find Mirfak from the Northern Hemisphere, follow a line from Cassiopeia's W toward Capella; Mirfak is the brightest star along the way. It is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 40° N, and is well placed on autumn and winter evenings. Algol, the eclipsing binary star, lies about 9 degrees to its south-southwest. The name comes from the Arabic for \"elbow\".", | |
| 2274 | "image": null, | |
| 2275 | "drawing": { | |
| 2276 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2277 | "spectralType": "F5Ib", | |
| 2278 | "colorIndex": 0.48 | |
| 2279 | }, | |
| 2280 | "link": { | |
| 2281 | "hr": 1017 | |
| 2282 | }, | |
| 2283 | "sources": [ | |
| 2284 | { | |
| 2285 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 1017", | |
| 2286 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+1017" | |
| 2287 | }, | |
| 2288 | { | |
| 2289 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 1017", | |
| 2290 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=1017" | |
| 2291 | }, | |
| 2292 | { | |
| 2293 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2294 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2295 | }, | |
| 2296 | { | |
| 2297 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2298 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=15863" | |
| 2299 | } | |
| 2300 | ] | |
| 2301 | }, | |
| 2302 | { | |
| 2303 | "id": "dubhe", | |
| 2304 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2305 | "title": "Dubhe", | |
| 2306 | "subtitle": "Alpha Ursae Majoris", | |
| 2307 | "facts": [ | |
| 2308 | { | |
| 2309 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2310 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2311 | "source": 2 | |
| 2312 | }, | |
| 2313 | { | |
| 2314 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2315 | "value": "1.79 (V)", | |
| 2316 | "source": 1 | |
| 2317 | }, | |
| 2318 | { | |
| 2319 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2320 | "value": "+1.07", | |
| 2321 | "source": 1 | |
| 2322 | }, | |
| 2323 | { | |
| 2324 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2325 | "value": "G9III+A7.5", | |
| 2326 | "source": 0 | |
| 2327 | }, | |
| 2328 | { | |
| 2329 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2330 | "value": "123 light-years, from parallax 26.54 ± 0.48 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2331 | "source": 0 | |
| 2332 | }, | |
| 2333 | { | |
| 2334 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 2335 | "value": "17.03 ± 0.13 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 2336 | "source": 3 | |
| 2337 | }, | |
| 2338 | { | |
| 2339 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2340 | "value": "165.1 ± 8.3 × Sun", | |
| 2341 | "source": 3 | |
| 2342 | }, | |
| 2343 | { | |
| 2344 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2345 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 2346 | "source": 2 | |
| 2347 | } | |
| 2348 | ], | |
| 2349 | "essay": "Dubhe, Alpha Ursae Majoris, is an orange giant of spectral type G9 III, about 123 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in the Big Dipper. It has expanded to about 17 times the Sun's radius, measured with the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer. It has a fainter companion, an A-type star in a close orbit, detected spectroscopically.\n\nDubhe is one of the two Big Dipper stars, with Alkaid, that are not members of the Ursa Major moving group, the set of stars that share a common motion and form the rest of the Dipper. Over tens of thousands of years, these differing motions will change the Dipper's shape.\n\nDubhe and Merak form the outer edge of the Dipper's bowl and are known as the Pointers. A line from Merak through Dubhe, extended about five times their separation, leads to Polaris and north. Dubhe is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 28° N and is visible all year from Europe, North America and northern Asia. The name comes from the Arabic for \"bear\".", | |
| 2350 | "image": null, | |
| 2351 | "drawing": { | |
| 2352 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2353 | "spectralType": "G9III+A7.5", | |
| 2354 | "colorIndex": 1.07 | |
| 2355 | }, | |
| 2356 | "link": { | |
| 2357 | "hr": 4301 | |
| 2358 | }, | |
| 2359 | "sources": [ | |
| 2360 | { | |
| 2361 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 4301", | |
| 2362 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+4301" | |
| 2363 | }, | |
| 2364 | { | |
| 2365 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 4301", | |
| 2366 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=4301" | |
| 2367 | }, | |
| 2368 | { | |
| 2369 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2370 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2371 | }, | |
| 2372 | { | |
| 2373 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 2374 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=95689" | |
| 2375 | } | |
| 2376 | ] | |
| 2377 | }, | |
| 2378 | { | |
| 2379 | "id": "wezen", | |
| 2380 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2381 | "title": "Wezen", | |
| 2382 | "subtitle": "Delta Canis Majoris", | |
| 2383 | "facts": [ | |
| 2384 | { | |
| 2385 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2386 | "value": "Canis Major", | |
| 2387 | "source": 2 | |
| 2388 | }, | |
| 2389 | { | |
| 2390 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2391 | "value": "1.84 (V)", | |
| 2392 | "source": 1 | |
| 2393 | }, | |
| 2394 | { | |
| 2395 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2396 | "value": "+0.68", | |
| 2397 | "source": 1 | |
| 2398 | }, | |
| 2399 | { | |
| 2400 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2401 | "value": "F8Ia", | |
| 2402 | "source": 0 | |
| 2403 | }, | |
| 2404 | { | |
| 2405 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2406 | "value": "About 1,600 light-years (range 1,400–2,000), from parallax 2.03 ± 0.38 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2407 | "source": 0 | |
| 2408 | }, | |
| 2409 | { | |
| 2410 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2411 | "value": "About 37,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 492.61 pc)", | |
| 2412 | "source": 3 | |
| 2413 | }, | |
| 2414 | { | |
| 2415 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2416 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2417 | "source": 2 | |
| 2418 | } | |
| 2419 | ], | |
| 2420 | "essay": "Wezen, Delta Canis Majoris, is a yellow-white supergiant of spectral type F8 Ia. Its distance is poorly determined; the Hipparcos parallax gives about 1,600 light-years, with a range of roughly 1,350 to 2,000. At that distance it gives off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nWezen is a massive star that has finished burning hydrogen in its core and is now crossing toward the red supergiant stage. Stars of its mass spend a short time as yellow supergiants, so they are relatively rare. It is expected to end its life as a supernova.\n\nWezen is the third-brightest star in Canis Major. It forms a triangle with Adhara and Aludra in the dog's hindquarters, about 10 degrees southeast of Sirius. It is well placed on winter evenings from mid-northern latitudes, where it stays low in the south, and much higher from the Southern Hemisphere. The name comes from the Arabic for \"weight\".", | |
| 2421 | "image": null, | |
| 2422 | "drawing": { | |
| 2423 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2424 | "spectralType": "F8Ia", | |
| 2425 | "colorIndex": 0.68 | |
| 2426 | }, | |
| 2427 | "link": { | |
| 2428 | "hr": 2693 | |
| 2429 | }, | |
| 2430 | "sources": [ | |
| 2431 | { | |
| 2432 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2693", | |
| 2433 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2693" | |
| 2434 | }, | |
| 2435 | { | |
| 2436 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2693", | |
| 2437 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2693" | |
| 2438 | }, | |
| 2439 | { | |
| 2440 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2441 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2442 | }, | |
| 2443 | { | |
| 2444 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2445 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=34444" | |
| 2446 | } | |
| 2447 | ] | |
| 2448 | }, | |
| 2449 | { | |
| 2450 | "id": "kaus-australis", | |
| 2451 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2452 | "title": "Kaus Australis", | |
| 2453 | "subtitle": "Epsilon Sagittarii", | |
| 2454 | "facts": [ | |
| 2455 | { | |
| 2456 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2457 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 2458 | "source": 2 | |
| 2459 | }, | |
| 2460 | { | |
| 2461 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2462 | "value": "1.85 (V)", | |
| 2463 | "source": 1 | |
| 2464 | }, | |
| 2465 | { | |
| 2466 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2467 | "value": "−0.03", | |
| 2468 | "source": 1 | |
| 2469 | }, | |
| 2470 | { | |
| 2471 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2472 | "value": "B9.5III", | |
| 2473 | "source": 1 | |
| 2474 | }, | |
| 2475 | { | |
| 2476 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2477 | "value": "143 light-years, from parallax 22.76 ± 0.24 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2478 | "source": 0 | |
| 2479 | }, | |
| 2480 | { | |
| 2481 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2482 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2483 | "source": 2 | |
| 2484 | } | |
| 2485 | ], | |
| 2486 | "essay": "Kaus Australis, Epsilon Sagittarii, is the brightest star in Sagittarius. It is a blue-white giant of spectral type B9.5 III, about 143 light-years away.\n\nThe brightest stars of Sagittarius form the asterism known as the Teapot. Kaus Australis is the bottom corner of the spout side of the Teapot. The spout points toward the centre of the Milky Way, which lies about 10 degrees to its northwest, behind the thick star clouds and dark dust lanes of this region.\n\nKaus Australis lies at declination −34°. From mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on summer evenings, and from the Southern Hemisphere it passes high overhead in winter. The Teapot is easiest to see from the Southern Hemisphere or from low northern latitudes, where it stands well clear of the horizon haze. The name combines the Arabic word for \"bow\" with the Latin for \"southern\": it marks the southern part of the archer's bow, alongside Kaus Media (the middle) and Kaus Borealis (the northern part).", | |
| 2487 | "image": null, | |
| 2488 | "drawing": { | |
| 2489 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2490 | "spectralType": "B9.5III", | |
| 2491 | "colorIndex": -0.03 | |
| 2492 | }, | |
| 2493 | "link": { | |
| 2494 | "hr": 6879 | |
| 2495 | }, | |
| 2496 | "sources": [ | |
| 2497 | { | |
| 2498 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 6879", | |
| 2499 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+6879" | |
| 2500 | }, | |
| 2501 | { | |
| 2502 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 6879", | |
| 2503 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=6879" | |
| 2504 | }, | |
| 2505 | { | |
| 2506 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2507 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2508 | } | |
| 2509 | ] | |
| 2510 | }, | |
| 2511 | { | |
| 2512 | "id": "alkaid", | |
| 2513 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2514 | "title": "Alkaid", | |
| 2515 | "subtitle": "Eta Ursae Majoris", | |
| 2516 | "facts": [ | |
| 2517 | { | |
| 2518 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2519 | "value": "Ursa Major", | |
| 2520 | "source": 2 | |
| 2521 | }, | |
| 2522 | { | |
| 2523 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2524 | "value": "1.86 (V)", | |
| 2525 | "source": 1 | |
| 2526 | }, | |
| 2527 | { | |
| 2528 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2529 | "value": "−0.19", | |
| 2530 | "source": 1 | |
| 2531 | }, | |
| 2532 | { | |
| 2533 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2534 | "value": "B3V", | |
| 2535 | "source": 0 | |
| 2536 | }, | |
| 2537 | { | |
| 2538 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2539 | "value": "104 light-years, from parallax 31.38 ± 0.24 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2540 | "source": 0 | |
| 2541 | }, | |
| 2542 | { | |
| 2543 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 2544 | "value": "3.40 ± 0.50 × Sun (NPOI interferometry)", | |
| 2545 | "source": 3 | |
| 2546 | }, | |
| 2547 | { | |
| 2548 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2549 | "value": "594.0 ± 31.1 × Sun", | |
| 2550 | "source": 3 | |
| 2551 | }, | |
| 2552 | { | |
| 2553 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2554 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 2555 | "source": 2 | |
| 2556 | } | |
| 2557 | ], | |
| 2558 | "essay": "Alkaid, Eta Ursae Majoris, marks the end of the Big Dipper's handle. It is a hot blue-white main-sequence star of spectral type B3 V, about 104 light-years away, with a radius about three and a half times the Sun's and several hundred times its luminosity.\n\nAlkaid is younger and hotter than the other Dipper stars. It is one of the two Big Dipper stars, with Dubhe, that are not members of the Ursa Major moving group, the set of stars that share a common motion through space. Over tens of thousands of years this difference in motion will change the shape of the Dipper.\n\nAlkaid is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 41° N. Following the curve of the handle onward from Alkaid leads to Arcturus. M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, lies about 3.5 degrees southwest of Alkaid. The name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning \"the leader of the daughters of the bier\", in which the bowl was seen as a bier and the stars of the handle as mourners.", | |
| 2559 | "image": null, | |
| 2560 | "drawing": { | |
| 2561 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2562 | "spectralType": "B3V", | |
| 2563 | "colorIndex": -0.19 | |
| 2564 | }, | |
| 2565 | "link": { | |
| 2566 | "hr": 5191 | |
| 2567 | }, | |
| 2568 | "sources": [ | |
| 2569 | { | |
| 2570 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 5191", | |
| 2571 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+5191" | |
| 2572 | }, | |
| 2573 | { | |
| 2574 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 5191", | |
| 2575 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=5191" | |
| 2576 | }, | |
| 2577 | { | |
| 2578 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2579 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2580 | }, | |
| 2581 | { | |
| 2582 | "title": "Baines et al. 2018, Fundamental parameters of 87 stars from the NPOI, AJ 155, 30 (VizieR J/AJ/155/30)", | |
| 2583 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/AJ/155/30/table5&HD=120315" | |
| 2584 | } | |
| 2585 | ] | |
| 2586 | }, | |
| 2587 | { | |
| 2588 | "id": "avior", | |
| 2589 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2590 | "title": "Avior", | |
| 2591 | "subtitle": "Epsilon Carinae", | |
| 2592 | "facts": [ | |
| 2593 | { | |
| 2594 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2595 | "value": "Carina", | |
| 2596 | "source": 2 | |
| 2597 | }, | |
| 2598 | { | |
| 2599 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2600 | "value": "1.86 (V)", | |
| 2601 | "source": 1 | |
| 2602 | }, | |
| 2603 | { | |
| 2604 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2605 | "value": "+1.28", | |
| 2606 | "source": 1 | |
| 2607 | }, | |
| 2608 | { | |
| 2609 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2610 | "value": "K3:III+B2:V", | |
| 2611 | "source": 0 | |
| 2612 | }, | |
| 2613 | { | |
| 2614 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2615 | "value": "About 610 light-years (range 560–660), from parallax 5.39 ± 0.42 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2616 | "source": 0 | |
| 2617 | }, | |
| 2618 | { | |
| 2619 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2620 | "value": "About 14,000 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 185.53 pc)", | |
| 2621 | "source": 3 | |
| 2622 | }, | |
| 2623 | { | |
| 2624 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2625 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2626 | "source": 2 | |
| 2627 | } | |
| 2628 | ], | |
| 2629 | "essay": "Avior, Epsilon Carinae, is a binary star about 600 light-years away. Its spectrum combines that of an orange giant of spectral type K3 III with that of a hot blue-white star of type B2. The two stars are too close together to separate with a telescope; their presence is revealed by the composite spectrum.\n\nTogether the two stars give off more than ten thousand times as much light as the Sun. To the naked eye Avior appears orange-white.\n\nAvior is the southwestern star of the False Cross, an asterism of four stars in Carina and Vela. The False Cross is larger and dimmer than the Southern Cross and lacks a central fifth star. Its long axis does not point to the south celestial pole, which is why navigators distinguished it from the real Cross.\n\nAvior lies at declination −60° and is not visible from north of about latitude 30° N. From the Southern Hemisphere it is well placed on summer and autumn evenings. The name is a modern one, introduced in the 20th century for navigation, rather than a traditional name of Arabic or classical origin.", | |
| 2630 | "image": null, | |
| 2631 | "drawing": { | |
| 2632 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2633 | "spectralType": "K3:III+B2:V", | |
| 2634 | "colorIndex": 1.28 | |
| 2635 | }, | |
| 2636 | "link": { | |
| 2637 | "hr": 3307 | |
| 2638 | }, | |
| 2639 | "sources": [ | |
| 2640 | { | |
| 2641 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 3307", | |
| 2642 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+3307" | |
| 2643 | }, | |
| 2644 | { | |
| 2645 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 3307", | |
| 2646 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=3307" | |
| 2647 | }, | |
| 2648 | { | |
| 2649 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2650 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2651 | }, | |
| 2652 | { | |
| 2653 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2654 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=41037" | |
| 2655 | } | |
| 2656 | ] | |
| 2657 | }, | |
| 2658 | { | |
| 2659 | "id": "sargas", | |
| 2660 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2661 | "title": "Sargas", | |
| 2662 | "subtitle": "Theta Scorpii", | |
| 2663 | "facts": [ | |
| 2664 | { | |
| 2665 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2666 | "value": "Scorpius", | |
| 2667 | "source": 2 | |
| 2668 | }, | |
| 2669 | { | |
| 2670 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2671 | "value": "1.87 (V)", | |
| 2672 | "source": 1 | |
| 2673 | }, | |
| 2674 | { | |
| 2675 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2676 | "value": "+0.40", | |
| 2677 | "source": 1 | |
| 2678 | }, | |
| 2679 | { | |
| 2680 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2681 | "value": "F1III", | |
| 2682 | "source": 0 | |
| 2683 | }, | |
| 2684 | { | |
| 2685 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2686 | "value": "About 300 light-years (range 260–350), from parallax 10.86 ± 1.49 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2687 | "source": 0 | |
| 2688 | }, | |
| 2689 | { | |
| 2690 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2691 | "value": "About 1,200 × Sun (from SED fitting at 92.08 pc)", | |
| 2692 | "source": 3 | |
| 2693 | }, | |
| 2694 | { | |
| 2695 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2696 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 21 August 2016", | |
| 2697 | "source": 2 | |
| 2698 | } | |
| 2699 | ], | |
| 2700 | "essay": "Sargas, Theta Scorpii, is a yellow-white giant of spectral type F1, about 300 light-years away, and the third-brightest star in Scorpius. It gives off about a thousand times as much light as the Sun.\n\nSargas marks the deepest point of the scorpion's curved tail, where the tail turns back up toward the stinger at Shaula. The tail of Scorpius lies in the Milky Way close to the direction of the galactic centre, and the region around Sargas is rich in star clusters, including the open clusters M6 and M7, visible to the naked eye from a dark site about 8 to 11 degrees to the north-northeast.\n\nSargas lies at declination −43°. From mid-northern latitudes it stays very low on the southern horizon on summer evenings and cannot be seen north of about latitude 47° N. From the Southern Hemisphere it passes high overhead in winter. The IAU Working Group on Star Names adopted the name in 2016.", | |
| 2701 | "image": null, | |
| 2702 | "drawing": { | |
| 2703 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2704 | "spectralType": "F1III", | |
| 2705 | "colorIndex": 0.4 | |
| 2706 | }, | |
| 2707 | "link": { | |
| 2708 | "hr": 6553 | |
| 2709 | }, | |
| 2710 | "sources": [ | |
| 2711 | { | |
| 2712 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 6553", | |
| 2713 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+6553" | |
| 2714 | }, | |
| 2715 | { | |
| 2716 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 6553", | |
| 2717 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=6553" | |
| 2718 | }, | |
| 2719 | { | |
| 2720 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2721 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2722 | }, | |
| 2723 | { | |
| 2724 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2725 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=86228" | |
| 2726 | } | |
| 2727 | ] | |
| 2728 | }, | |
| 2729 | { | |
| 2730 | "id": "menkalinan", | |
| 2731 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2732 | "title": "Menkalinan", | |
| 2733 | "subtitle": "Beta Aurigae", | |
| 2734 | "facts": [ | |
| 2735 | { | |
| 2736 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2737 | "value": "Auriga", | |
| 2738 | "source": 2 | |
| 2739 | }, | |
| 2740 | { | |
| 2741 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2742 | "value": "1.90 (V)", | |
| 2743 | "source": 1 | |
| 2744 | }, | |
| 2745 | { | |
| 2746 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2747 | "value": "+0.03", | |
| 2748 | "source": 1 | |
| 2749 | }, | |
| 2750 | { | |
| 2751 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2752 | "value": "A1IV-Vp", | |
| 2753 | "source": 0 | |
| 2754 | }, | |
| 2755 | { | |
| 2756 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2757 | "value": "81.1 light-years, from parallax 40.21 ± 0.23 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2758 | "source": 0 | |
| 2759 | }, | |
| 2760 | { | |
| 2761 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2762 | "value": "About 84 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 24.87 pc)", | |
| 2763 | "source": 3 | |
| 2764 | }, | |
| 2765 | { | |
| 2766 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2767 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2768 | "source": 2 | |
| 2769 | } | |
| 2770 | ], | |
| 2771 | "essay": "Menkalinan, Beta Aurigae, is the second-brightest star in Auriga, about 81 light-years away. It is a binary of two nearly identical white stars of spectral type A1, each a little over twice the Sun's mass, orbiting each other every 3.96 days. The orbit is seen nearly edge-on, so each star partly eclipses the other, causing small dips in the combined brightness of about a tenth of a magnitude. That is too small to see easily by eye.\n\nMenkalinan was one of the first spectroscopic binaries discovered. In 1889 Antonia Maury, working at Harvard College Observatory, saw its spectral lines double and merge periodically, showing two stars in orbit.\n\nMenkalinan forms one corner of the pentagon of Auriga, with Capella about 7.5 degrees to its west. It is circumpolar from latitudes north of about 45° N and well placed on winter evenings. The name comes from the Arabic for \"shoulder of the rein-holder\", Auriga being the charioteer.", | |
| 2772 | "image": null, | |
| 2773 | "drawing": { | |
| 2774 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2775 | "spectralType": "A1IV-Vp", | |
| 2776 | "colorIndex": 0.03 | |
| 2777 | }, | |
| 2778 | "link": { | |
| 2779 | "hr": 2088 | |
| 2780 | }, | |
| 2781 | "sources": [ | |
| 2782 | { | |
| 2783 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2088", | |
| 2784 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2088" | |
| 2785 | }, | |
| 2786 | { | |
| 2787 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2088", | |
| 2788 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2088" | |
| 2789 | }, | |
| 2790 | { | |
| 2791 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2792 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2793 | }, | |
| 2794 | { | |
| 2795 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2796 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=28360" | |
| 2797 | } | |
| 2798 | ] | |
| 2799 | }, | |
| 2800 | { | |
| 2801 | "id": "atria", | |
| 2802 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2803 | "title": "Atria", | |
| 2804 | "subtitle": "Alpha Trianguli Australis", | |
| 2805 | "facts": [ | |
| 2806 | { | |
| 2807 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2808 | "value": "Triangulum Australe", | |
| 2809 | "source": 2 | |
| 2810 | }, | |
| 2811 | { | |
| 2812 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2813 | "value": "1.92 (V)", | |
| 2814 | "source": 1 | |
| 2815 | }, | |
| 2816 | { | |
| 2817 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2818 | "value": "+1.44", | |
| 2819 | "source": 1 | |
| 2820 | }, | |
| 2821 | { | |
| 2822 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2823 | "value": "K2IIb-IIIa", | |
| 2824 | "source": 1 | |
| 2825 | }, | |
| 2826 | { | |
| 2827 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2828 | "value": "391 light-years, from parallax 8.35 ± 0.15 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2829 | "source": 0 | |
| 2830 | }, | |
| 2831 | { | |
| 2832 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2833 | "value": "About 3,900 × Sun (from SED fitting at 119.76 pc)", | |
| 2834 | "source": 3 | |
| 2835 | }, | |
| 2836 | { | |
| 2837 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2838 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2839 | "source": 2 | |
| 2840 | } | |
| 2841 | ], | |
| 2842 | "essay": "Atria, Alpha Trianguli Australis, is an orange bright giant of spectral type K2, about 390 light-years away, and the brightest star in Triangulum Australe, the southern triangle. It is a star that has exhausted the hydrogen in its core and expanded, giving off thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nTriangulum Australe is a small, compact triangle of three stars, much more conspicuous than its northern counterpart Triangulum. It was introduced in the late 16th century from the observations of Dutch navigators.\n\nAtria lies at declination −69° and cannot be seen from north of about latitude 21° N. From Australia, southern Africa and southern South America it is circumpolar or nearly so. To find it, look east-southeast of the Pointers, Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar; Atria is the brightest corner of the triangle that lies there. Its orange colour distinguishes it from the white stars nearby. The name is a contraction of its Bayer designation, Alpha Trianguli Australis.", | |
| 2843 | "image": null, | |
| 2844 | "drawing": { | |
| 2845 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2846 | "spectralType": "K2IIb-IIIa", | |
| 2847 | "colorIndex": 1.44 | |
| 2848 | }, | |
| 2849 | "link": { | |
| 2850 | "hr": 6217 | |
| 2851 | }, | |
| 2852 | "sources": [ | |
| 2853 | { | |
| 2854 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 6217", | |
| 2855 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+6217" | |
| 2856 | }, | |
| 2857 | { | |
| 2858 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 6217", | |
| 2859 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=6217" | |
| 2860 | }, | |
| 2861 | { | |
| 2862 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2863 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2864 | }, | |
| 2865 | { | |
| 2866 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2867 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=82273" | |
| 2868 | } | |
| 2869 | ] | |
| 2870 | }, | |
| 2871 | { | |
| 2872 | "id": "alhena", | |
| 2873 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2874 | "title": "Alhena", | |
| 2875 | "subtitle": "Gamma Geminorum", | |
| 2876 | "facts": [ | |
| 2877 | { | |
| 2878 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2879 | "value": "Gemini", | |
| 2880 | "source": 2 | |
| 2881 | }, | |
| 2882 | { | |
| 2883 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2884 | "value": "1.93 (V)", | |
| 2885 | "source": 1 | |
| 2886 | }, | |
| 2887 | { | |
| 2888 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2889 | "value": "0.00", | |
| 2890 | "source": 1 | |
| 2891 | }, | |
| 2892 | { | |
| 2893 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2894 | "value": "A1.5IV+", | |
| 2895 | "source": 0 | |
| 2896 | }, | |
| 2897 | { | |
| 2898 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2899 | "value": "About 110 light-years (range 100–120), from parallax 29.84 ± 2.23 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2900 | "source": 0 | |
| 2901 | }, | |
| 2902 | { | |
| 2903 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2904 | "value": "About 160 × Sun (from SED fitting at 33.51 pc)", | |
| 2905 | "source": 3 | |
| 2906 | }, | |
| 2907 | { | |
| 2908 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2909 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2910 | "source": 2 | |
| 2911 | } | |
| 2912 | ], | |
| 2913 | "essay": "Alhena, Gamma Geminorum, is a white star of spectral type A1, about 110 light-years away, and the third-brightest star in Gemini. It is a spectroscopic binary: the bright star has a fainter companion detected from the periodic shift of its spectral lines, with an orbit lasting several years.\n\nAlhena marks the foot of Pollux, one of the twins. With Castor and Pollux at the heads, Alhena and Mebsuta mark the feet, and the bodies of the twins run in two roughly parallel lines toward Orion.\n\nTo find Alhena, start at Betelgeuse and look about 14 degrees to the east-northeast, or follow the line of the twins' bodies from Castor and Pollux toward Orion. Its white colour is similar to Castor's and differs from the faint orange of Pollux. It is well placed on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The name comes from an Arabic word meaning \"the brand\" or \"mark\", probably referring to a mark on a camel's neck.", | |
| 2914 | "image": null, | |
| 2915 | "drawing": { | |
| 2916 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2917 | "spectralType": "A1.5IV+", | |
| 2918 | "colorIndex": 0.0 | |
| 2919 | }, | |
| 2920 | "link": { | |
| 2921 | "hr": 2421 | |
| 2922 | }, | |
| 2923 | "sources": [ | |
| 2924 | { | |
| 2925 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2421", | |
| 2926 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2421" | |
| 2927 | }, | |
| 2928 | { | |
| 2929 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2421", | |
| 2930 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2421" | |
| 2931 | }, | |
| 2932 | { | |
| 2933 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 2934 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 2935 | }, | |
| 2936 | { | |
| 2937 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 2938 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=31681" | |
| 2939 | } | |
| 2940 | ] | |
| 2941 | }, | |
| 2942 | { | |
| 2943 | "id": "peacock", | |
| 2944 | "section": "stars", | |
| 2945 | "title": "Peacock", | |
| 2946 | "subtitle": "Alpha Pavonis", | |
| 2947 | "facts": [ | |
| 2948 | { | |
| 2949 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 2950 | "value": "Pavo", | |
| 2951 | "source": 2 | |
| 2952 | }, | |
| 2953 | { | |
| 2954 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 2955 | "value": "1.94 (V)", | |
| 2956 | "source": 1 | |
| 2957 | }, | |
| 2958 | { | |
| 2959 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 2960 | "value": "−0.20", | |
| 2961 | "source": 1 | |
| 2962 | }, | |
| 2963 | { | |
| 2964 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 2965 | "value": "B2IV", | |
| 2966 | "source": 0 | |
| 2967 | }, | |
| 2968 | { | |
| 2969 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 2970 | "value": "About 179 light-years (range 174–184), from parallax 18.24 ± 0.52 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 2971 | "source": 0 | |
| 2972 | }, | |
| 2973 | { | |
| 2974 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 2975 | "value": "About 1,400 × Sun (from SED fitting at 54.82 pc)", | |
| 2976 | "source": 3 | |
| 2977 | }, | |
| 2978 | { | |
| 2979 | "label": "Name", | |
| 2980 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 2981 | "source": 2 | |
| 2982 | } | |
| 2983 | ], | |
| 2984 | "essay": "Peacock, Alpha Pavonis, is a hot blue-white star of spectral type B2 IV, about 180 light-years away, and the brightest star in Pavo, the peacock. It gives off more than a thousand times as much light as the Sun. It is a spectroscopic binary: the bright star has a companion in a close orbit, revealed by the periodic shifting of its spectral lines.\n\nPavo is one of the southern constellations introduced in the late 16th century from the observations of Dutch navigators, and Peacock is its only bright star.\n\nPeacock lies at declination −57° and is not visible from north of about latitude 33° N. From the Southern Hemisphere it is well placed on winter and spring evenings and is circumpolar from latitudes south of about 33° S. To find it, look about 30 degrees south-southeast of the Teapot of Sagittarius; it is the brightest star in that part of the sky. The name Peacock is a modern one, introduced in the 20th century for air navigation.", | |
| 2985 | "image": null, | |
| 2986 | "drawing": { | |
| 2987 | "kind": "star", | |
| 2988 | "spectralType": "B2IV", | |
| 2989 | "colorIndex": -0.2 | |
| 2990 | }, | |
| 2991 | "link": { | |
| 2992 | "hr": 7790 | |
| 2993 | }, | |
| 2994 | "sources": [ | |
| 2995 | { | |
| 2996 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 7790", | |
| 2997 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+7790" | |
| 2998 | }, | |
| 2999 | { | |
| 3000 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 7790", | |
| 3001 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=7790" | |
| 3002 | }, | |
| 3003 | { | |
| 3004 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3005 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3006 | }, | |
| 3007 | { | |
| 3008 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3009 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=100751" | |
| 3010 | } | |
| 3011 | ] | |
| 3012 | }, | |
| 3013 | { | |
| 3014 | "id": "alsephina", | |
| 3015 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3016 | "title": "Alsephina", | |
| 3017 | "subtitle": "Delta Velorum", | |
| 3018 | "facts": [ | |
| 3019 | { | |
| 3020 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3021 | "value": "Vela", | |
| 3022 | "source": 2 | |
| 3023 | }, | |
| 3024 | { | |
| 3025 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3026 | "value": "1.96 (V)", | |
| 3027 | "source": 1 | |
| 3028 | }, | |
| 3029 | { | |
| 3030 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3031 | "value": "+0.04", | |
| 3032 | "source": 1 | |
| 3033 | }, | |
| 3034 | { | |
| 3035 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3036 | "value": "A2IV+A4V", | |
| 3037 | "source": 0 | |
| 3038 | }, | |
| 3039 | { | |
| 3040 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3041 | "value": "80.6 light-years, from parallax 40.49 ± 0.39 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3042 | "source": 0 | |
| 3043 | }, | |
| 3044 | { | |
| 3045 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3046 | "value": "About 83 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 24.7 pc)", | |
| 3047 | "source": 3 | |
| 3048 | }, | |
| 3049 | { | |
| 3050 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3051 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 5 September 2017", | |
| 3052 | "source": 2 | |
| 3053 | } | |
| 3054 | ], | |
| 3055 | "essay": "Alsephina, Delta Velorum, is a white star about 81 light-years away, the brightest star in the southern part of Vela. It is a multiple system. The main pair, components Aa and Ab, are A-type stars in a 45-day orbit, seen nearly edge-on so that they eclipse each other. A third star, B, lies about half an arcsecond away.\n\nThe eclipses were discovered in 1997, when the star tracker on NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which used Delta Velorum as a reference star, recorded drops in its brightness. Ground-based observers then confirmed it as an eclipsing binary. It is one of the brightest eclipsing binaries in the sky, though its eclipses are infrequent.\n\nAlsephina forms the northwestern corner of the False Cross, an asterism of four stars in Carina and Vela that is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross. It lies at declination −55° and is not visible from north of about latitude 35° N. The IAU Working Group on Star Names approved the name in 2017. It is derived from an Arabic word for \"the ship\", referring to the old constellation Argo Navis, of which Vela was a part.", | |
| 3056 | "image": null, | |
| 3057 | "drawing": { | |
| 3058 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3059 | "spectralType": "A2IV+A4V", | |
| 3060 | "colorIndex": 0.04 | |
| 3061 | }, | |
| 3062 | "link": { | |
| 3063 | "hr": 3485 | |
| 3064 | }, | |
| 3065 | "sources": [ | |
| 3066 | { | |
| 3067 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 3485", | |
| 3068 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+3485" | |
| 3069 | }, | |
| 3070 | { | |
| 3071 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 3485", | |
| 3072 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=3485" | |
| 3073 | }, | |
| 3074 | { | |
| 3075 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3076 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3077 | }, | |
| 3078 | { | |
| 3079 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3080 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=42913" | |
| 3081 | } | |
| 3082 | ] | |
| 3083 | }, | |
| 3084 | { | |
| 3085 | "id": "castor", | |
| 3086 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3087 | "title": "Castor", | |
| 3088 | "subtitle": "Alpha Geminorum", | |
| 3089 | "facts": [ | |
| 3090 | { | |
| 3091 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3092 | "value": "Gemini", | |
| 3093 | "source": 2 | |
| 3094 | }, | |
| 3095 | { | |
| 3096 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3097 | "value": "1.98 (V)", | |
| 3098 | "source": 1 | |
| 3099 | }, | |
| 3100 | { | |
| 3101 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3102 | "value": "+0.03", | |
| 3103 | "source": 1 | |
| 3104 | }, | |
| 3105 | { | |
| 3106 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3107 | "value": "A1V", | |
| 3108 | "source": 1 | |
| 3109 | }, | |
| 3110 | { | |
| 3111 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3112 | "value": "About 51 light-years (range 48–54), from parallax 64.12 ± 3.75 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3113 | "source": 0 | |
| 3114 | }, | |
| 3115 | { | |
| 3116 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3117 | "value": "About 47 × Sun (combined light of the system, from SED fitting at 15.6 pc)", | |
| 3118 | "source": 3 | |
| 3119 | }, | |
| 3120 | { | |
| 3121 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3122 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 3123 | "source": 2 | |
| 3124 | } | |
| 3125 | ], | |
| 3126 | "essay": "Castor, Alpha Geminorum, is the second-brightest star in Gemini, about 51 light-years away. To the eye it is a single white star, but it is a system of six. A small telescope shows two white stars, Castor A and Castor B, a few arcseconds apart, which orbit each other over several centuries. Each of these is itself a close spectroscopic binary. A third pair, Castor C, lies about 70 arcseconds away: two red dwarfs that eclipse each other every 19.5 hours, catalogued as the variable star YY Geminorum.\n\nAlthough Bayer gave Castor the designation Alpha, it is slightly fainter than Pollux.\n\nCastor and Pollux form the heads of the twins, about 4.5 degrees apart. Castor is the northern of the two and appears white, while Pollux is slightly orange. They are well placed on winter and spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, northeast of Orion. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were twin brothers, the Dioscuri, protectors of sailors.", | |
| 3127 | "image": null, | |
| 3128 | "drawing": { | |
| 3129 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3130 | "spectralType": "A1V", | |
| 3131 | "colorIndex": 0.03 | |
| 3132 | }, | |
| 3133 | "link": { | |
| 3134 | "hr": 2891 | |
| 3135 | }, | |
| 3136 | "sources": [ | |
| 3137 | { | |
| 3138 | "title": "SIMBAD: alf Gem", | |
| 3139 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=alf+Gem" | |
| 3140 | }, | |
| 3141 | { | |
| 3142 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2891", | |
| 3143 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2891" | |
| 3144 | }, | |
| 3145 | { | |
| 3146 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3147 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3148 | }, | |
| 3149 | { | |
| 3150 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3151 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=36850" | |
| 3152 | } | |
| 3153 | ] | |
| 3154 | }, | |
| 3155 | { | |
| 3156 | "id": "mirzam", | |
| 3157 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3158 | "title": "Mirzam", | |
| 3159 | "subtitle": "Beta Canis Majoris", | |
| 3160 | "facts": [ | |
| 3161 | { | |
| 3162 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3163 | "value": "Canis Major", | |
| 3164 | "source": 2 | |
| 3165 | }, | |
| 3166 | { | |
| 3167 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3168 | "value": "1.98 (V)", | |
| 3169 | "source": 1 | |
| 3170 | }, | |
| 3171 | { | |
| 3172 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3173 | "value": "−0.23", | |
| 3174 | "source": 1 | |
| 3175 | }, | |
| 3176 | { | |
| 3177 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3178 | "value": "B1II-III", | |
| 3179 | "source": 0 | |
| 3180 | }, | |
| 3181 | { | |
| 3182 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3183 | "value": "About 493 light-years (range 477–510), from parallax 6.62 ± 0.22 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3184 | "source": 0 | |
| 3185 | }, | |
| 3186 | { | |
| 3187 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3188 | "value": "About 24,000 × Sun (from SED fitting at 151.06 pc)", | |
| 3189 | "source": 3 | |
| 3190 | }, | |
| 3191 | { | |
| 3192 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3193 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 3194 | "source": 2 | |
| 3195 | } | |
| 3196 | ], | |
| 3197 | "essay": "Mirzam, Beta Canis Majoris, is a hot blue-white giant of spectral type B1, about 490 light-years away. It gives off tens of thousands of times as much light as the Sun.\n\nMirzam pulsates with periods of a few hours, changing its brightness by a few hundredths of a magnitude. For a time such stars were called Beta Canis Majoris variables after it; they are now known as Beta Cephei variables. Their pulsations are used to study the interiors of massive stars.\n\nMirzam lies about 5 degrees west of Sirius and marks the dog's forepaw. Because it lies west of Sirius, it rises a little earlier, and the name comes from the Arabic for \"the herald\", announcing the rising of Sirius. It is well placed on winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere and summer evenings in the Southern Hemisphere, and lies close enough to the celestial equator to be seen from most of the world.", | |
| 3198 | "image": null, | |
| 3199 | "drawing": { | |
| 3200 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3201 | "spectralType": "B1II-III", | |
| 3202 | "colorIndex": -0.23 | |
| 3203 | }, | |
| 3204 | "link": { | |
| 3205 | "hr": 2294 | |
| 3206 | }, | |
| 3207 | "sources": [ | |
| 3208 | { | |
| 3209 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 2294", | |
| 3210 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+2294" | |
| 3211 | }, | |
| 3212 | { | |
| 3213 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 2294", | |
| 3214 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=2294" | |
| 3215 | }, | |
| 3216 | { | |
| 3217 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3218 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3219 | }, | |
| 3220 | { | |
| 3221 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3222 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=30324" | |
| 3223 | } | |
| 3224 | ] | |
| 3225 | }, | |
| 3226 | { | |
| 3227 | "id": "alphard", | |
| 3228 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3229 | "title": "Alphard", | |
| 3230 | "subtitle": "Alpha Hydrae", | |
| 3231 | "facts": [ | |
| 3232 | { | |
| 3233 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3234 | "value": "Hydra", | |
| 3235 | "source": 2 | |
| 3236 | }, | |
| 3237 | { | |
| 3238 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3239 | "value": "1.98 (V)", | |
| 3240 | "source": 1 | |
| 3241 | }, | |
| 3242 | { | |
| 3243 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3244 | "value": "+1.44", | |
| 3245 | "source": 1 | |
| 3246 | }, | |
| 3247 | { | |
| 3248 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3249 | "value": "K3IIIa", | |
| 3250 | "source": 0 | |
| 3251 | }, | |
| 3252 | { | |
| 3253 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3254 | "value": "180 light-years, from parallax 18.09 ± 0.18 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3255 | "source": 0 | |
| 3256 | }, | |
| 3257 | { | |
| 3258 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3259 | "value": "About 790 × Sun (from SED fitting at 55.28 pc)", | |
| 3260 | "source": 3 | |
| 3261 | }, | |
| 3262 | { | |
| 3263 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3264 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 3265 | "source": 2 | |
| 3266 | } | |
| 3267 | ], | |
| 3268 | "essay": "Alphard, Alpha Hydrae, is an orange giant of spectral type K3, about 180 light-years away, and the brightest star in Hydra, the largest constellation in the sky. It is a star that has exhausted the hydrogen in its core and expanded, giving off several hundred times as much light as the Sun.\n\nHydra stretches more than 100 degrees across the sky, but most of its stars are faint. Alphard is the only bright star in a large region with few others, and its name comes from the Arabic for \"the solitary one\".\n\nTo find Alphard, look about 23 degrees south-southwest of Regulus, in an area with no other bright stars. Its orange colour helps confirm it. The head of Hydra, a small group of fainter stars, lies about 16 degrees to its northwest. Alphard lies just south of the celestial equator and can be seen from almost anywhere on Earth; it is best placed on late winter and spring evenings in the Northern Hemisphere.", | |
| 3269 | "image": null, | |
| 3270 | "drawing": { | |
| 3271 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3272 | "spectralType": "K3IIIa", | |
| 3273 | "colorIndex": 1.44 | |
| 3274 | }, | |
| 3275 | "link": { | |
| 3276 | "hr": 3748 | |
| 3277 | }, | |
| 3278 | "sources": [ | |
| 3279 | { | |
| 3280 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 3748", | |
| 3281 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+3748" | |
| 3282 | }, | |
| 3283 | { | |
| 3284 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 3748", | |
| 3285 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=3748" | |
| 3286 | }, | |
| 3287 | { | |
| 3288 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3289 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3290 | }, | |
| 3291 | { | |
| 3292 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3293 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=46390" | |
| 3294 | } | |
| 3295 | ] | |
| 3296 | }, | |
| 3297 | { | |
| 3298 | "id": "hamal", | |
| 3299 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3300 | "title": "Hamal", | |
| 3301 | "subtitle": "Alpha Arietis", | |
| 3302 | "facts": [ | |
| 3303 | { | |
| 3304 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3305 | "value": "Aries", | |
| 3306 | "source": 2 | |
| 3307 | }, | |
| 3308 | { | |
| 3309 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3310 | "value": "2.00 (V)", | |
| 3311 | "source": 1 | |
| 3312 | }, | |
| 3313 | { | |
| 3314 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3315 | "value": "+1.15", | |
| 3316 | "source": 1 | |
| 3317 | }, | |
| 3318 | { | |
| 3319 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3320 | "value": "K2-IIIbCa-1", | |
| 3321 | "source": 0 | |
| 3322 | }, | |
| 3323 | { | |
| 3324 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3325 | "value": "65.8 light-years, from parallax 49.56 ± 0.25 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3326 | "source": 0 | |
| 3327 | }, | |
| 3328 | { | |
| 3329 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3330 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 20 July 2016", | |
| 3331 | "source": 2 | |
| 3332 | } | |
| 3333 | ], | |
| 3334 | "essay": "Hamal, Alpha Arietis, is an orange giant of spectral type K2 III, about 66 light-years away, and the brightest star in Aries. It is a star that has exhausted the hydrogen in its core and expanded to several times the Sun's radius.\n\nAries is a small, faint constellation, and Hamal is its most noticeable star. With Sheratan and Mesarthim, it forms a short bent line that marks the ram's head.\n\nAries holds an old place in astronomy. About two thousand years ago the vernal equinox, the point where the Sun crosses the celestial equator moving north, lay in Aries, and this point is still called the First Point of Aries. Precession of the Earth's axis has since carried the equinox westward into Pisces.\n\nTo find Hamal, look east of the Square of Pegasus, about halfway from Alpheratz to the Pleiades. It is well placed on autumn and early winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere. The name comes from the Arabic word for \"the ram\", once used for the whole constellation.", | |
| 3335 | "image": null, | |
| 3336 | "drawing": { | |
| 3337 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3338 | "spectralType": "K2-IIIbCa-1", | |
| 3339 | "colorIndex": 1.15 | |
| 3340 | }, | |
| 3341 | "link": { | |
| 3342 | "hr": 617 | |
| 3343 | }, | |
| 3344 | "sources": [ | |
| 3345 | { | |
| 3346 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 617", | |
| 3347 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+617" | |
| 3348 | }, | |
| 3349 | { | |
| 3350 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 617", | |
| 3351 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=617" | |
| 3352 | }, | |
| 3353 | { | |
| 3354 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3355 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3356 | } | |
| 3357 | ] | |
| 3358 | }, | |
| 3359 | { | |
| 3360 | "id": "polaris", | |
| 3361 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3362 | "title": "Polaris", | |
| 3363 | "subtitle": "Alpha Ursae Minoris", | |
| 3364 | "facts": [ | |
| 3365 | { | |
| 3366 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3367 | "value": "Ursa Minor", | |
| 3368 | "source": 2 | |
| 3369 | }, | |
| 3370 | { | |
| 3371 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3372 | "value": "2.02 (V)", | |
| 3373 | "source": 1 | |
| 3374 | }, | |
| 3375 | { | |
| 3376 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3377 | "value": "+0.60", | |
| 3378 | "source": 1 | |
| 3379 | }, | |
| 3380 | { | |
| 3381 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3382 | "value": "F8Ib", | |
| 3383 | "source": 0 | |
| 3384 | }, | |
| 3385 | { | |
| 3386 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3387 | "value": "433 light-years, from parallax 7.54 ± 0.11 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3388 | "source": 0 | |
| 3389 | }, | |
| 3390 | { | |
| 3391 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3392 | "value": "About 2,600 × Sun (from SED fitting at 132.63 pc)", | |
| 3393 | "source": 3 | |
| 3394 | }, | |
| 3395 | { | |
| 3396 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3397 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 30 June 2016", | |
| 3398 | "source": 2 | |
| 3399 | } | |
| 3400 | ], | |
| 3401 | "essay": "Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the North Star. It lies less than a degree from the north celestial pole, so it stays almost still while the rest of the sky turns around it, and its altitude above the horizon is close to the observer's latitude. It cannot be seen from the Southern Hemisphere.\n\nPolaris is a yellow-white supergiant of spectral type F7-F8, about 430 light-years away according to the Hipparcos parallax, though other methods have given different distances. It is the nearest classical Cepheid variable: it pulsates with a period of about 4 days, though its brightness changes by only a few hundredths of a magnitude. Cepheids are used to measure distances to other galaxies.\n\nPolaris is a triple star. Polaris B, about 18 arcseconds away, is visible in a small telescope. A third star, Polaris Ab, orbits much closer and was first imaged directly by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006.\n\nTo find Polaris, follow the Pointers, Merak and Dubhe at the outer edge of the Big Dipper's bowl, about five times their separation. Polaris is the end of the Little Dipper's handle. Precession will carry the pole closest to Polaris around the year 2100.", | |
| 3402 | "image": { | |
| 3403 | "url": "https://cdn.esahubble.org/archives/images/screen/opo0602a.jpg", | |
| 3404 | "credit": "NASA, ESA, N. Evans (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), and H. Bond (STScI)", | |
| 3405 | "licence": "CC BY 4.0", | |
| 3406 | "page": "https://esahubble.org/images/opo0602a/", | |
| 3407 | "caption": "Hubble images of the Polaris system, resolving the close companion Polaris Ab next to the bright primary." | |
| 3408 | }, | |
| 3409 | "drawing": { | |
| 3410 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3411 | "spectralType": "F8Ib", | |
| 3412 | "colorIndex": 0.6 | |
| 3413 | }, | |
| 3414 | "link": { | |
| 3415 | "hr": 424 | |
| 3416 | }, | |
| 3417 | "sources": [ | |
| 3418 | { | |
| 3419 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 424", | |
| 3420 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+424" | |
| 3421 | }, | |
| 3422 | { | |
| 3423 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 424", | |
| 3424 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=424" | |
| 3425 | }, | |
| 3426 | { | |
| 3427 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3428 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3429 | }, | |
| 3430 | { | |
| 3431 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3432 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=11767" | |
| 3433 | } | |
| 3434 | ] | |
| 3435 | }, | |
| 3436 | { | |
| 3437 | "id": "nunki", | |
| 3438 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3439 | "title": "Nunki", | |
| 3440 | "subtitle": "Sigma Sagittarii", | |
| 3441 | "facts": [ | |
| 3442 | { | |
| 3443 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3444 | "value": "Sagittarius", | |
| 3445 | "source": 2 | |
| 3446 | }, | |
| 3447 | { | |
| 3448 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3449 | "value": "2.02 (V)", | |
| 3450 | "source": 1 | |
| 3451 | }, | |
| 3452 | { | |
| 3453 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3454 | "value": "−0.22", | |
| 3455 | "source": 1 | |
| 3456 | }, | |
| 3457 | { | |
| 3458 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3459 | "value": "B2.5V", | |
| 3460 | "source": 0 | |
| 3461 | }, | |
| 3462 | { | |
| 3463 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3464 | "value": "About 228 light-years (range 223–232), from parallax 14.32 ± 0.29 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3465 | "source": 0 | |
| 3466 | }, | |
| 3467 | { | |
| 3468 | "label": "Luminosity", | |
| 3469 | "value": "About 1,400 × Sun (from SED fitting at 69.83 pc)", | |
| 3470 | "source": 3 | |
| 3471 | }, | |
| 3472 | { | |
| 3473 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3474 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 21 August 2016", | |
| 3475 | "source": 2 | |
| 3476 | } | |
| 3477 | ], | |
| 3478 | "essay": "Nunki, Sigma Sagittarii, is a hot blue-white main-sequence star of spectral type B2.5 V, about 230 light-years away, and the second-brightest star in Sagittarius. It gives off more than a thousand times as much light as the Sun.\n\nNunki lies about 3.5 degrees from the ecliptic, close enough that the Moon passes in front of it in some years, and the planets pass nearby.\n\nThe brightest stars of Sagittarius form the Teapot asterism, and Nunki marks the handle. The spout, on the other side, points toward the centre of the Milky Way. The Sagittarius star clouds lie to the west of the Teapot; they are thousands of light-years away, far beyond Nunki and the other Teapot stars. Nunki lies at declination −26°; from mid-northern latitudes it is low in the south on summer evenings, and from the Southern Hemisphere it passes nearly overhead in winter. The IAU Working Group on Star Names adopted the name in 2016.", | |
| 3479 | "image": null, | |
| 3480 | "drawing": { | |
| 3481 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3482 | "spectralType": "B2.5V", | |
| 3483 | "colorIndex": -0.22 | |
| 3484 | }, | |
| 3485 | "link": { | |
| 3486 | "hr": 7121 | |
| 3487 | }, | |
| 3488 | "sources": [ | |
| 3489 | { | |
| 3490 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 7121", | |
| 3491 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+7121" | |
| 3492 | }, | |
| 3493 | { | |
| 3494 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 7121", | |
| 3495 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=7121" | |
| 3496 | }, | |
| 3497 | { | |
| 3498 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3499 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3500 | }, | |
| 3501 | { | |
| 3502 | "title": "McDonald, Zijlstra & Boyer 2012, Fundamental parameters and infrared excesses of Hipparcos stars, MNRAS 427, 343 (VizieR J/MNRAS/427/343)", | |
| 3503 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=J/MNRAS/427/343/table2&HIP=92855" | |
| 3504 | } | |
| 3505 | ] | |
| 3506 | }, | |
| 3507 | { | |
| 3508 | "id": "diphda", | |
| 3509 | "section": "stars", | |
| 3510 | "title": "Diphda", | |
| 3511 | "subtitle": "Beta Ceti", | |
| 3512 | "facts": [ | |
| 3513 | { | |
| 3514 | "label": "Constellation", | |
| 3515 | "value": "Cetus", | |
| 3516 | "source": 2 | |
| 3517 | }, | |
| 3518 | { | |
| 3519 | "label": "Apparent magnitude", | |
| 3520 | "value": "2.04 (V)", | |
| 3521 | "source": 1 | |
| 3522 | }, | |
| 3523 | { | |
| 3524 | "label": "Colour index (B−V)", | |
| 3525 | "value": "+1.02", | |
| 3526 | "source": 1 | |
| 3527 | }, | |
| 3528 | { | |
| 3529 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 3530 | "value": "G9.5IIICH-1", | |
| 3531 | "source": 0 | |
| 3532 | }, | |
| 3533 | { | |
| 3534 | "label": "Distance", | |
| 3535 | "value": "96.3 light-years, from parallax 33.86 ± 0.16 mas (Hipparcos, van Leeuwen 2007)", | |
| 3536 | "source": 0 | |
| 3537 | }, | |
| 3538 | { | |
| 3539 | "label": "Name", | |
| 3540 | "value": "Approved by the IAU Working Group on Star Names, 21 August 2016", | |
| 3541 | "source": 2 | |
| 3542 | } | |
| 3543 | ], | |
| 3544 | "essay": "Diphda, Beta Ceti, is an orange giant of spectral type G9.5 III, about 96 light-years away, and the brightest star in Cetus, the whale or sea monster. Though designated Beta, it is brighter than Menkar, Alpha Ceti. It is a star that has exhausted the hydrogen in its core and expanded.\n\nDiphda is also known as Deneb Kaitos, \"the tail of the whale\", and in older references the two names are used interchangeably. The IAU Working Group on Star Names adopted Diphda in 2016. The name comes from the Arabic for \"frog\".\n\nDiphda sits in a part of the sky with few bright stars, so it is easy to identify once found. Extending the eastern side of the Square of Pegasus, from Alpheratz through Algenib, southward by roughly two and a half times its length leads close to Diphda, slightly to the east of the line. It is well placed on autumn evenings in the Northern Hemisphere and spring evenings in the Southern Hemisphere and lies close enough to the celestial equator to be seen from almost everywhere.", | |
| 3545 | "image": null, | |
| 3546 | "drawing": { | |
| 3547 | "kind": "star", | |
| 3548 | "spectralType": "G9.5IIICH-1", | |
| 3549 | "colorIndex": 1.02 | |
| 3550 | }, | |
| 3551 | "link": { | |
| 3552 | "hr": 188 | |
| 3553 | }, | |
| 3554 | "sources": [ | |
| 3555 | { | |
| 3556 | "title": "SIMBAD: HR 188", | |
| 3557 | "url": "https://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=HR+188" | |
| 3558 | }, | |
| 3559 | { | |
| 3560 | "title": "Yale Bright Star Catalogue, 5th revised ed. (VizieR V/50): HR 188", | |
| 3561 | "url": "https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-5?-source=V/50/catalog&HR=188" | |
| 3562 | }, | |
| 3563 | { | |
| 3564 | "title": "IAU Catalog of Star Names (IAU Working Group on Star Names)", | |
| 3565 | "url": "https://www.pas.rochester.edu/~emamajek/WGSN/IAU-CSN.txt" | |
| 3566 | } | |
| 3567 | ] | |
| 3568 | } | |
| 3569 | ] | |
Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/sun.json added +78
| @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ | ||
| 1 | [ | |
| 2 | { | |
| 3 | "id": "sun", | |
| 4 | "section": "sun", | |
| 5 | "title": "The Sun", | |
| 6 | "subtitle": "The star at the centre of the solar system", | |
| 7 | "facts": [ | |
| 8 | { | |
| 9 | "label": "Mean distance from Earth", | |
| 10 | "value": "1 AU (149.6 million km)", | |
| 11 | "source": 0 | |
| 12 | }, | |
| 13 | { | |
| 14 | "label": "Radius", | |
| 15 | "value": "695,700 km (109.2 × Earth)", | |
| 16 | "source": 0 | |
| 17 | }, | |
| 18 | { | |
| 19 | "label": "Mass", | |
| 20 | "value": "332,900 × Earth (1.9884 × 10³⁰ kg)", | |
| 21 | "source": 0 | |
| 22 | }, | |
| 23 | { | |
| 24 | "label": "Rotation period", | |
| 25 | "value": "25.38 days at 16° latitude (609.12 h)", | |
| 26 | "source": 0 | |
| 27 | }, | |
| 28 | { | |
| 29 | "label": "Orbit around the galactic centre", | |
| 30 | "value": "About 230 million years", | |
| 31 | "source": 1 | |
| 32 | }, | |
| 33 | { | |
| 34 | "label": "Moons", | |
| 35 | "value": "None; orbited by 8 planets and at least 5 dwarf planets (NASA, 2026)", | |
| 36 | "source": 1 | |
| 37 | }, | |
| 38 | { | |
| 39 | "label": "Effective temperature", | |
| 40 | "value": "5,772 K", | |
| 41 | "source": 0 | |
| 42 | }, | |
| 43 | { | |
| 44 | "label": "Spectral type", | |
| 45 | "value": "G2 V", | |
| 46 | "source": 0 | |
| 47 | } | |
| 48 | ], | |
| 49 | "essay": "The Sun is a G2 V main-sequence star about 4.6 billion years old, and it holds 99.8 percent of the mass in the solar system. It is a ball of hydrogen and helium plasma. The visible surface, the photosphere, has an effective temperature of 5,772 K, while the core reaches about 15 million °C, hot enough for hydrogen to fuse into helium. Light leaving the photosphere takes about 8 minutes 20 seconds to reach Earth.\n\nBecause the Sun is not solid, it does not rotate as one body: the equator turns once in about 25 days and the poles in about 36. Above the photosphere are the thin chromosphere and the corona, which reaches about 2 million °C, far hotter than the surface below it. The corona flows outward as the solar wind and inflates the heliosphere, a bubble that extends beyond the orbits of the planets. Spacecraft including SOHO, the Solar Dynamics Observatory and Parker Solar Probe observe it continuously.\n\nNever look at the Sun directly, or through binoculars or a telescope, without a certified solar filter covering the front of the instrument. With a proper filter, a small telescope shows sunspots, which rise and fall in number over a cycle of about 11 years.", | |
| 50 | "image": { | |
| 51 | "url": "https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000759/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000759~medium.jpg", | |
| 52 | "credit": "NASA/SDO", | |
| 53 | "licence": "Public domain", | |
| 54 | "page": "https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000759", | |
| 55 | "caption": "The Sun in extreme ultraviolet light from the Solar Dynamics Observatory on 16 March 2015, with dark coronal holes near both poles." | |
| 56 | }, | |
| 57 | "drawing": { | |
| 58 | "kind": "planet", | |
| 59 | "radiusKm": 695700, | |
| 60 | "rings": false, | |
| 61 | "axialTiltDeg": 7.25, | |
| 62 | "color": "#F9D71C" | |
| 63 | }, | |
| 64 | "link": { | |
| 65 | "body": "sun" | |
| 66 | }, | |
| 67 | "sources": [ | |
| 68 | { | |
| 69 | "title": "NASA Sun Fact Sheet", | |
| 70 | "url": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html" | |
| 71 | }, | |
| 72 | { | |
| 73 | "title": "NASA Science: Sun Facts", | |
| 74 | "url": "https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/" | |
| 75 | } | |
| 76 | ] | |
| 77 | } | |
| 78 | ] | |
THIRD_PARTY.org +4
| @@ -8,3 +8,7 @@ | ||
| 8 | 8 | | Natural Earth 1:110m coastline v5.1.2 | =Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/SkyRenderer/Resources/coastline.json= | Public domain | https://www.naturalearthdata.com | |
| 9 | 9 | | Launch Library 2 (The Space Devs) | fetched at runtime by =server/= | Free API; credit shown in the app | https://thespacedevs.com/llapi | |
| 10 | 10 | | JPL Horizons spacecraft vectors (Voyager 1, 2, Pioneer 10, 11, New Horizons) | =Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/SkyRenderer/Resources/spacecraft.json= | NASA/JPL, no published restrictions | https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/ | |
| 11 | | Library images: NASA | =Packages/MoonriseKit/Sources/Library/Resources/pages/*.json= (remote URLs) | Public domain; credit per image | https://images.nasa.gov | | |
| 12 | | Library images: ESA/Hubble, NOIRLab, ESO | same | CC BY 4.0; credit per image | https://esahubble.org, https://noirlab.edu, https://eso.org | | |
| 13 | | Library images: ESA (Rosetta, Gaia, JUICE) | same | CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO; credit per image | https://www.esa.int | | |
| 14 | | Library images: Urania's Mirror (1825), Library of Congress | same | Public domain (no known restrictions) | https://www.loc.gov | | |