I'm writing this post more as a memorandum to myself.
I always been interested to the universe and astronomy since I was a child, but I started to study constellations and other deep sky objects some years ago.
I always been interested to the universe and astronomy since I was a child, but I started to study constellations and other deep sky objects some years ago.
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| The Milky Way over Very Large Telescope, Chile. |
I'm not a scientist and all that I know about it comes from internet, some books, and general physics notions but I know enough to enjoy the beauty of the sky in a starry night, distinguishing a constellations from another.
So, the Earth has two hemispheres and there are some differences between the Northern and the Southern: for example, the cycle of the seasons or, more relevant to what I'm saying, the stars you could see.
Famous examples are the constellation of Ursa Minor with Polaris which marks the celestial North Pole, and the constellation of Crux which indicates the Southern one.
Most of the stars are settled in the Northern or in Southern sky, so if you never been in the opposite hemisphere you have never seen a lot of other stars.
This is why I'm excited about.
I never been in the Southern hemisphere and I'm really excited to watch all these "new" stars, also because the light pollution there is less pronounced so it's possible to admire stars that in London, for example, you could never watch.
So, the Earth has two hemispheres and there are some differences between the Northern and the Southern: for example, the cycle of the seasons or, more relevant to what I'm saying, the stars you could see.
Famous examples are the constellation of Ursa Minor with Polaris which marks the celestial North Pole, and the constellation of Crux which indicates the Southern one.
Most of the stars are settled in the Northern or in Southern sky, so if you never been in the opposite hemisphere you have never seen a lot of other stars.
This is why I'm excited about.
I never been in the Southern hemisphere and I'm really excited to watch all these "new" stars, also because the light pollution there is less pronounced so it's possible to admire stars that in London, for example, you could never watch.
 |
| Trifid Nebula from Hubble Telescope. |
Carina: its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was formerly part of the larger constellation of Argo Navis (the ship Argo) until that constellation was divided into three pieces, the other two being Puppis (the poop deck), and Vela (the sails of the ship). Carina contains Canopus, a white-hued supergiant that is the second brightest star in the night sky.
Centaurus: one of the largest constellations that contains Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the Sun. Traditionally called Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman, meaning "foot of the centaur".
Canis Major: in Greek Mythology, Canis Major represented the dog Laelaps, a gift from Zeus to Europa. The constellation contains Sirius, the brighter star we can see after the Sun. It also contains the largest star known (VY Canis Majoris).Sagittarius (known as "the Teapot" because of its shape): the Milky Way is at its densest near Sagittarius, as this is where the galactic center lies. Consequently, Sagittarius contains many star clusters and nebulae like the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and Trifid Nebula (M20).
Large and Small Magellanic Clouds: are a duo of irregular dwarf galaxies, may be orbiting our galaxy that look like "separated pieces" of the Milky Way to the naked eye. The Large Magellanic Cloud was host galaxy to a supernova (SN 1987A), the brightest observed in over four centuries.
-22 days to the beginning of the trip.
Sources: Wikipedia , Twanight, Bobmoler, Spacefellowship
Morgana.
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