A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - Meteors in 1869,1870 and 1871

 Academy, Saturday 7^th March 1874 

When Captain Tupman, R.M.A. communicated to the Royal Astronomical Society the results of his observations of meteors during the three years 1869, 1870, and 1871, spent in a cruise in the Mediterranean, the wish was very generally expressed that the observations themselves should be published. This has now been done by the liberality of the British Association, and the details of 2,000 meteor tracks observed are made available for further discussion at any future time. Perhaps the most interesting point is that out of 102 radiants, corresponding to meteor streams observed by Captain Tupman, no less that 79 are identical with those determined by previous observers, leading to the conclusion that the catalogue of these strange streams of small bodies is now nearly complete. This valuable mass of observations shows what can be done, even without instrumental means, provided one object be kept steadily in view.

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A little ramble through Hercules

 One of the oldest sky figures Hercules  is in a very confusing part of the sky there are no bright marker stars but essentially it is made up of a quadrilateral of stars between Vega and Corona Borealis. Hercules is the 5th largest constellation and because of the legends associated with Hercules it should be a very prominent constellation sadly its not.

Hercules was not known by this name to the early Greek astronomers, but he was seen as the Phantom or Kneeling One. Around 700 BCE his 12 labours were seen to refer to the Sun’s journey through the 12 signs of the zodiac. Around 500 BCE Hercules was introduced in the heavens as a member of the crew of the Argo.  It was only around 200 BCE that the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes is said to have described the Hercules and his 12 labours that we recognise today.

The image we see today of Hercules kneeling and holding a club dates to the Farnese Globe which was made around 150 CE and shows Atlas holding a celestial globe. Although it probably was a copy of an earlier piece of work produced in Greece around 150 BCE by Hipparchus..

In ancient Phoenicia the constellation was said to represent the great sea god Melkarth.

The Arab astronomers saw Hercules as either Al Rakis the Dancer or Al Jathiyy a’la Rukbataihi the One who Kneels on Both Knees.

The brightest star alpha is known by it Arabic name as Ras Algethi of The Kneeler’s Head. Nomadic Arabs knew is as Al Kalb al Ra I, The Shepherd’ s Dog.  

The Chinese knew the star as Ti Tso or the Emperor’s Seat.

Ras Algethi is a semi regular variable star varying in brightness between magnitude 2.7-4.0 these changes can be followed with the naked eye in a period of between 80-140 days. It is a M red supergiant star lying at a distance of 360 light years.  

Beta or Korneforos which means ‘Club Bearer’ this term is often given to the whole figure of Hercules. The star lies at a distance of 139 light years. The star is a G giant star and has a magnitude of 2.8.

To the Chinese this star was Ho Chung which means in the River.

Nova 1934 discovered by English amateur JPM Prentice on December 13th, 1934, at mag 3.0 and reached its peak brightness on December 22nd, 1934, at mag 1.5. It remained visible to the naked eye for several months.

There are two Messier objects to look for in Hercules.  Located below the star eta is Messier 13 which is probably the finest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere. Globular Clusters are groups of very old stars. M13 can just be seen with the naked eye if the sky is very clear when it is high up in the summer months. It is very easy to find in binoculars M13 has a magnitude 5.8 and was discovered in 1764

M13 contains anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 stars spread out over 140 light years. It is relatively close to us at around 23,000 light years

M13 is sometimes called the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules If you have a small telescope M13 is fantastic to look at. It is always a target for astro- photographers.

Messier 92

A globular cluster only slightly inferior to M13, Messier 92 discovered in 1781 it lies at a distance of 26,700 light years magnitude 6.3. It contains about 330,000 stars. You will need at least a pair of binoculars to see M92

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Cooke Telescope Tales - telescope for Chester in 1865

 In 1865 Dr William Murray Dobie of Kings Buildings, Chester purchased a 6inch Telescope from Thomas Cooke &Sons. This telescope cost £120 

Dr Dobie was advertising for sale a 5.5 inch telescope that he had brought from Cookes in 1863. I have no idea why he was replacing this telescope as he described it as nearly new, it was only 2 years old and he described it as being of the first rate. He was selling this Cooke telescope for 65 guineas without its stand.

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A little ramble through 19th century astronomy - Uranus in 1874

 Academy Newspaper Saturday 17^th January 1874 

Mr. Marth, in a letter to Mr. Lassell published in the Astronomical Society’s Notices, has pointed out the favourable chances that observers may have during the present apparition of Uranus of contributing something towards the decisive settlement of the question respecting the existence of Sir William Herschel's additional satellites of the Georgium Sidus. The geocentric place of Uranus in the heavens is now only some twenty seconds south of that in which it appeared in 1790 at a three-days’ later date, so that the planet in its retrograde course passed on Thursday night (Jan. 15), and will pass on the night of February 6 the same stars which it passed on the evenings of January 18 and February 9, in 1790. Some of these stars were then supposed to be additional satellites. It seems certainly desirable that the opportunity for recovering these little stars, and also for ascertaining the effect of the neighbourhood of the planet upon their visibility, should not be allowed to slip away unused. It will be remembered that Sir W. Herschel announced the discovery of six satellites to Uranus, two only of which, viz., the second and fourth, have been confirmed by subsequent observations. Two inner satellites revolving within the first of Sir W, Herschel’s have been observed by Mr. Lassell (who named them Ariel and Umbriel) at Malta, to which place he transferred his large reflector on account of the great clearness of the atmosphere there, and by others. The existence of four of Sir W. Herschel’s satellites is therefore very uncertain, and it is to these that Mr. Marth refers.

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The Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio

 Join me, Martin Lunn MBE every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the award-winning Astronomy Show on Drystone Radio, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. 

I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the latest news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening only on Drystone Radio live online at www.drystoneradio.com DAB radio in Bradford and East Lancashire, or 102 and 103.5 FM and can also be heard later on the Drystone Radio Podcast.

 

A little ramble through the seasons - Mid Winter Day

 February 2nd marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the sprimng equinox. It's midwinter, a key date in the cycle of the year known to Christians as Candlemass and to pagans as the Festival of Lights. Daylight is steadingly increasing by 4 minutes per day. 

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A little ramble through the winter sky - Taurus the Bull

 One of the most ancient constellations. Taurus has been known to people throughout the world since the dawn of civilisation, for the bull’s attributes of strength and fertility mean that it has always held an honoured place in ceremony and religion.

Usually only the head of the bull is depicted, its face being formed by the V shaped cluster of stars known as the Hyades. Its glinting red eye is marked by the star Aldebaran, and its long horns are tipped by the stars beta and zeta. In addition to the Hyades, Taurus contains the celebrated cluster of the Pleiades or Seven Sisters.

Alpha, Aldebaran which means the ‘follower of the Pleiades’ is a K class giant with a temperature of 3,800’C, it is a variable star and varies between magnitude 0.7 and 0.9, Aldebaran lies 65 light years away

Beta El Nath which means the ‘butting one’, in the times of ancient Greece the star was shared by both Taurus and Auriga but since 1930 it has been permanently transferred to Taurus, its magnitude is  1.7, it is a class B class giant with a temperature of 13,500’C and is 134 light years away.

Zeta lies 440 light years away, it’s a B class giant with a temperature of 15,500’C, it has a magnitude of 3.0.

Gamma Prima Hyadum is the first of the Hyades, with a magnitude 3.6, lying 154 light years away. Gamma is a G class giant with a temperature of 4,600’C

The Hyades is a large and bright open cluster of about 200 stars. The brightest members form a noticeable V shape, easily visible to the naked eye. In mythology the Hyades were the daughters of Atlas and Aethyra, and half-sisters to the Pleiades. Some people think that Aldebaran is a member but while Aldebaran is 65 light years away The Hyades are about 150 light years away.

The Pleiades also known as the seven sisters is the brightest and most famous star cluster in the sky, it is listed as M45. In mythology the seven sisters are named after a group of nymphs the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. About 7 can be seen by keen eyed people but there are about 250 stars in the group. The seven sisters are about 430 light years away.

In Taurus occurred the famous supernova that was seen from Earth in 1054, which gave rise to the Crab Nebula, M1. This is the celebrated Crab Nebula named by Lord Rosse in 1844 using the 72 in telescope. No one is sure why he thought it looked like a crab. At the centre of the nebula is a neutron star.

 Between epsilon and omega lies NGC 1555 the faint Hind’s variable Nebula, discovered in October 1852 by the English astronomer John Russell Hind; at the centre of this nebula lies the star T Tauri, a prototype of a class of irregular variable stars believed to be stars in the process of forming into stars. It lies at a distance of 400 light years and varies between magnitude 9.4 to 13.0.

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