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Astronomy
An exclusive! We don't know
of any nearby B&B that can bring the heavens down to earth.
Weather permitting, we can give you
a free 30-60 minute guided tour of the cosmos through one of the largest amateur
telescopes around. We'll point out constellations; show you the moon and planets
that are up; and view a selection of heavenly baubles including open &
globular clusters, gas & planetary nebulae, and far-away galaxies. The
photos are black & white as that's the way we'll see them.
For those astronomically minded, we
have a 20" diameter Dobsonian and a 6" refractor.
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Open
star clusters
are groupings of stars which are gravitationally dependent on each other.
Open clusters are loosely formed groupings. The Pleiades, M45, in Taurus
(shown)
and The Hyades, the head of Taurus, are fine examples of these. Stellar
populations of open clusters contain from fewer than a dozen to several
hundred stars.
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Globular
clusters, are very tight
spherical formations containing hundreds of thousands of stars. M13 in
Hercules (shown) is one of the most notable examples.
These appear as dim, fuzzy spots in binoculars -- even the largest appear only ˝ the diameter of the Moon but are physically many billions of times larger!
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Diffuse
nebulae are interstellar dust
and gas clouds which provide raw materials for new stars and are
frequently called stellar nurseries. It is believed that over a third of
our galaxy's mass is in this form. The most well known nebula is the
irregularly shaped but starkly beautiful M42 in the constellation of
Orion. They are large objects, M42 (shown) is some 30 light-years wide (24,000
times the diameter of our planetary solar system)!
Others visible in binoculars are M8 and M17 in Sagittarius.
Once you know where these are, you’ll revisit them many times.
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Planetary
nebulas
have a rounded planet-like appearance. These usually result from a star
which became unstable and exploded (a nova), shedding its outer layers.
The Ring Nebula, M57, in Lyra (shown) and Rosette Nebula in Monoceros (NGC 2237)
are fine examples of such objects. Two are good for binoculars: M27 in
Vulpecula and the Helix nebula in Corvus -- the rest are telescopic
objects.
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Galaxies
are often referred to as cities of stars, the most famous being our own
Milky Way. Galaxies typically contain billions of stars. Our own Milky Way
or the Andromeda Galaxy, M31, (shown) are classified as spiral galaxies because of
their strong disk shaped, often whirlpool, appearance. Other forms are
elliptical and irregular. |
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