Washed-out Astronomy

Orion is not only the best known winter constellation, but it is also a great urban constellation. Thanks to its distinctive arrangement of rather bright stars, Orion shines through in heavily washed-out skies, even when few other constellations can recognized. It is also the home of the Great Orion Nebula (M42) big, bright, and easily visible even in washed-out skies. However, M42 is only the most famous of many interesting astronomical objects in Orion. And best of all for urban astronomers, quite a few of Orion's objects—like the constellation itself—can be enjoyed in light-polluted skies. Here is a run down...

Amazing! Another supernova within reach of urban amateur astronomers has appeared in galaxy M101 in Ursa Major. Supernova SN 2011fe (also known by its preliminary name of PTF11kly) is already brighter than SN 2011dn at maximum. As of August 28^th, it had reached magnitude 11.7 and was still brightening at roughly half a magnitude a day. Some predictions have SN 2011fe potentially surpassing 10^th magnitude, making it a fantastic opportunity to view even in small telescope. I've generated some finder charts to help you see SN 2011fe; however, you have to act fast if you want to see this supernova...

A new supernova, SN 2011dh, has appeared in M51 that is at this time (June 2011) visible from typical urban and suburban skies using moderately sized telescopes. This is a unique opportunity to see a star from another galaxy without having to travel to a dark-sky site. It is rare for an extragalactic supernova to appear as bright as this, and even rarer for it to appear in a relatively well known and easily located galaxy such as M51. And not only that, but it is well position for observing in the early evenings, making it an easy target in later June when the moon is well past full. Even with a nearly full moon, I've found SN 2011dh easy to see with my 10 inch Dob. I've generated some finder charts to make it easy for anyone to locate this supernova....

The Messier catalog lists some of the finest objects in the northern skies. Observing all of the Messier objects is one of the classic rites of passage for amateur astronomers. There are also a variety of challenges related to the Messier Catalog, the most famous of these being the Messier Marathon: a race to see all of the Messier objects in a single night. There are also binocular Messier challenges and photographic Messier challenges. My own addition to this is an Urban Messier Challenge: a list of Messier objects that are particularly challenging for urban and suburban observers dealing with skies washed-out by light pollution. In dark skies you can see all of the Messier objects with a 3 inch (75mm) aperture, but with heavily light-polluted skies you’ll have a hard time seeing the Messier objects on my urban challenge list even with significantly larger apertures. Here is the challenge list...