observational astronomy using skynet - duke universitymkruse/phy105_s11/projects...observational...
TRANSCRIPT
Casey Long
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Observational Astronomy Using Skynet
Introduction to Observational Astronomy Everybody has been an observational astronomer at some point in their lives.
For most people this consists of simply observing the brightest stars and planets in
the night sky. Professionals have access to cutting edge technology allowing them to
probe deeper and deeper into the sky, unlocking a world of galaxies and nebulae.
With such a vast number of observable objects, effective communication between
fellow astronomers is necessary. The two most important properties for identifying
an object are name and location. To standardize these properties, astronomers have
developed coordinate systems and naming schemes to promote easy
communication.
Celestial Coordinate Systems
For casual stargazers, it is convenient to use the horizontal coordinate
system for defining the location of celestial objects. In this system, an object’s
location is described by its Altitude and Azimuth. Altitude is a degree measure from
0° (the horizon) to 90° (directly overhead) of the “height” of the object relative to
the ground. Azimuth is a degree measure of direction from North (0°), to East (90°),
to South (180°), to West (270°). This system is useful because the observer needs
no special equipment to make a fairly good estimate at where an object is.
The problem with this system, however, is coordinates differ for different
observers as well as over time. That is, horizontal coordinates are only valid in one
location and at one time for a given celestial object. To overcome this obstacle, the
equatorial coordinate system can be used. In this system, Earth’s equator and poles
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are projected onto the sky. A measure called Declination (DEC) (from ‐90° (S) to
+90° (N)) measures an object’s position relative to the celestial equator, much like
lines of latitude on Earth’s surface. Due to Earth’s rotation, longitudinal coordinates
cannot be projected as simply. An arbitrary starting point synonymous with Earth’s
Prime Meridian must be defined as a constant reference point. This point was
chosen to be the location of the Sun during the vernal equinox. From this point,
Right Ascension (RA) is measured from 0° to 360°, although this is often reported as
sidereal time from 0 to 24 hours (approximate rotation of the Earth in one day).
The advantage of this coordinate system lies in its consistency for all observers at all
times. Although star locations will slightly change due to the procession of the
equinoxes, this effect is extremely subtle. Recalibrations are necessary only once
every 50 or so years, even for distant objects.
Astronomical Catalogues
While many major stars and celestial objects have common names, there are
simply too many to make this system practical for naming everything in the night
sky. Most visible stars, even those with common names, are referred to by their
constellation preceded by a Greek character indicating its brightness relative to
other stars in the constellation. For example, the star commonly known as Antares
is also known as α Scorpii because it is the brightest star in the constellation
Scorpius. For deep sky objects, much less are known by common names, making
catalogues even more necessary. The famous Messier Objects (M1 – M110) were
catalogued by comet hunter Charles Messier in 1781 to help differentiate potential
comets from fixed objects. The list contains a collection of galaxies, star clusters,
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and nebulae that are among the brightest and easiest to see deep sky objects.
However, this list is extremely limited and more extensive catalogues were needed
to keep track of all the observable deep sky objects. The New General Catalogue of
Nebulae and Clusters of Stars includes 7,840 objects designated by the initials NGC
followed by a four‐digit number. The even larger Catalogue of Principal Galaxies
contains 73,197 galaxies designated by the initials PGC followed by a five‐digit
number. Many objects are included in multiple of these catalogues and can be
referenced with many names. For example, the famous Andromeda Galaxy is also
known as M31, NGC 224, and PGC 2557. While many other astronomical catalogues
exist, these three were sufficient for referencing all of the objects I was looking for.
Observing
Once you know what an objects name is, and where it is located in the sky,
you can observe it using appropriate equipment. For bright stars and planets,
horizontal coordinates are generally enough to find objects with the naked eye. For
deep sky objects, telescopes are usually necessary. Most advanced telescopes are
computer‐controlled to improve accuracy and easy use. For these systems,
equatorial coordinates are preferred for their consistency. When taking images, a
computerized system has additional benefits. Due to Earth’s rotation, an object’s
position in the sky is always changing slightly. Telescope mounts with computer‐
controlled motors keep the telescope focused on the object during long exposure
shots. This eliminates streaks and blurs that would distort stationary photographs
over long exposures.
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Skynet System
The Skynet system is composed of an extensive collection of computer‐
operated telescopes from around the world. Users log on to the Skynet website
where they electronically request images to be taken. The program is maintained by
staff at UNC and generously allows students from other universities and high
schools to utilize the service. Thanks to some inside connections, I was lucky
enough to get to try the program out myself. The following is an overview of the
regular procedure I used to collect images.
Image Taking Process
The first step for getting images was picking a target in the night sky. Using
the free software Stellarium, I was able to see what the night sky looked like in Chile
and could target specific objects visible to the telescopes. After finding an object of
interest that was visible this time of year, I logged onto the Skynet website. Using
the Observation Manager, finding objects’ coordinates was very easy. The following
screenshot shows what a typical search would return. In this example the
Andromeda Galaxy (M31) was searched.
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Screen Shot of SKYNET Observation Manager
After searching for an object, the computer does much of the heavy lifting. It
searches its archives and finds accurate coordinates using the equatorial coordinate
system. It defaults to a maximum airmass of 3. Airmass is a relative measure of
how much atmosphere light has to penetrate. By definition, the airmass at the
zenith (straight up) is equal to 1. Basically this restricts the telescopes from taking
images of objects too close to the horizon. At these low points in the sky, light must
travel through a significantly greater amount of atmosphere distorting images.
Another default is the maximum sun elevation, set at ‐18°. In short, this ensures the
picture is taken at night. There are a variety of filter options, but for galaxies, an
open filter usually suffices, which is what I chose for all observations.
After searching for an object, the following graph appears:
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Observation Manager M31 Visibility Graph
This graph shows the visibility of the given object from the locations of
various telescopes. Most of my images were taken from the Prompt telescopes
labeled CTIO in the above graph (red line). For this example, the Andromeda Galaxy
is not visible for any of the telescopes. Lines are only plotted for nighttime hours,
and if they do not go above the 20° elevation/3.0 airmass barrier, they will not
return good images. So for this time of year, M31 simply does not get high enough
in the sky during dark hours to allow image taking. The following is a graph of the
Sombrero Galaxy’s (M104’s) visibility, showing what a visible object’s graph looks
like.
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Observation Manager M104 Visibility Graph
As you can see, this galaxy is visible for most of the night, especially for the
Prompt telescopes. If an object is sufficiently visible and all the parameters are set,
pressing “Next” yields the following screen.
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Telescope Selection Screen
On this screen, you can choose which of the available telescopes you want to
use to take images. My first choice was always the Prompt Telescopes, as they
reportedly return the best images. If multiple telescopes are chosen, the first to
become available during your specific visibility window is used to capture your
desired images. After selecting your telescopes, pressing “Next” brings you to the
exposure page.
Add Exposures Page
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On this page, you can select various exposure times as well as the number of
exposures. For particularly bright objects, or if a bright star was in an objects field
of view, a message appears setting a maximum exposure time. This is mainly to
protect light sensitive instruments from overexposure to bright objects. Even for
faint objects, the absolute maximum exposure time allowed is 80 seconds for the
Prompt telescopes. In my earlier observations, I often selected a wide range of
exposure times until I got a feel for appropriate exposure times for a given object.
For example, my first target was the Sombrero Galaxy. It is roughly 30 Mly away
and has an apparent magnitude of about 8.98. I decided to take images at exposure
times of 20, 40, and 60 seconds. These times yielded the following images.
The Sombrero Galaxy at 3 different exposure times
As you can see, there is not a dramatic difference, however the 20‐second
exposure definitely has the lowest contrast. The halo around the galaxy is most well
defined with 60 seconds of exposure. For most objects I simply chose 60 seconds,
since this gave the best results. For extremely bright objects, like the Orion Nebula, I
was restricted to shorter exposure times. Conversely, for the very faint Hoag’s
Object, I chose to use closer to the maximum allowable 80‐second exposure.
M104 – 40s M104 – 20s M104 – 60s
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After this page, you are brought to a confirmation page where you can either
send your request for observation, or cancel if you realize a mistake in your inputs.
Once a request is submitted, your observation will automatically happen at the
earliest possible time. Most requests were processed the night after submission,
unless cloud cover or high telescope use delayed them.
Telescopes
Most of my observations were completed on Prompt telescopes (Prompt1 –
Prompt5). This set of smaller telescopes is part of the Cerro Tololo Interamerican
Observatory (CTIO) in central Chile. Nestled in the Andes at over 2,000 m, the site is
an ideal location for telescopes. Its elevation minimizes the amount of distorting
atmosphere, while its isolation removes unwanted light pollution.
Prompt Telescopes http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/23791558.jpg
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All of my images were taken from Prompt telescopes except for the
Whirlpool Galaxy, which needed to be taken with an ARO telescope due to visibility
constraints. Basic properties for all telescopes used to take images are outlined in
the chart below:
Telescope ARO ‐ 30 Prompt1 Prompt3 Prompt4 Location ARO CTIO CTIO CTIO
Field of View (arcminutes) 16.3 10 10 10
Pixel Scale (arcseconds per pixel)
.96 .59 .59 .59
Max Exposure Time (s) 300 80 80 80
Basic Telescope Properties
Field of view is simply a measure of how zoomed in the telescope can get on a
given object. Measures are reported as angular fields of view. The pixel scale is
basically a measure of resolution. It reports how many arcseconds each pixel takes
up. Exposure time is how long the telescope actively accepts light for a given image.
Celestial Objects
Beyond the easily visible stars and planets lies a world of star clusters,
galaxies and nebulae filling the sky in all directions. Most of my observations were
galaxies of different shapes and sizes. Imaging nebulae works best with special
filters and at non‐visible wavelengths not available through the Skynet system. Star
clusters are fairly easily observable, but aren’t quite as unique and interesting as
galaxies.
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Elliptical/Lenticular Galaxies
Most galaxies can be described as one of three types based of their observed
appearance. The simplest are elliptical galaxies, which feature continuous, even star
distributions over an elliptical shape. These can be further divided by ellipticity,
from nearly circular, to extremely ovoid. Under the Hubble Sequence Classification
System, elliptical galaxies are given a number from 0 to ~7 based off their shape.
For example a galaxy classified as E0 would be very circular while one classified as
E6 would be much more elliptical. Galaxies may also be classified as lenticular.
Like ellipticals, these do not have any distinct spiral distributions, however they
contain a bright central bulge of stars, which taper to a thin disk at their outer
reaches. There is often some overlap between elliptical and lenticular galaxies. The
following four pages (13‐16) consist of elliptical galaxies in increasing order of
ellipticity. Page 17 has Centaurus A, the lenticular/giant elliptical galaxy that has
much debate over its classification.
Each observed object contained in this report is displayed on its own page
following the same format. Centered at the top of the page is my image from one of
Skynet’s telescopes captioned with the telescope name, date of capture, and
exposure time. The middle table gives basic properties and relevant information for
each object. The bottom picture is a professionally taken photo from larger
telescopes and/or satellites. Some are purely visible light, but many include other
spectrums to enhance the images. They are provided to give a clearer view of the
object and as a standard to compare my images to.
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Prompt 1 – April 19, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M89, NGC 4552 Type Elliptical Galaxy (E0) RA 12:35:39.9 DEC +12:33:21.7
Distance 50 ± 3 Mly Apparent Magnitude 10.73
http://www.sciencephotolibrary.com/images/download_lo_res.html?id=828200463
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Prompt 4 – April 19, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M87, NGC 4486
Common Name Virgo A Type Supergiant Elliptical Galaxy (E0) RA 12:30:49.4 DEC +12:23:28.0
Distance 53.5 ± 1.63 Mly Apparent Magnitude 9.59
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Messier_87_Hubble_WikiSky.jpg
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Prompt 1 – April 19, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M49, NGC 4472
Type Elliptical (E4)/Lenticular Galaxy RA 12:29:46.8 DEC +08:00:01.5
Distance 55.9 ± 2.3 Mly Apparent Magnitude 9.4
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/M49a.jpg
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Prompt 4 – April 19, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M59, NGC 4621
Type Elliptical Galaxy (E5) RA 12:42:02.3 DEC +11:38:49.0
Distance 60 ± 5 Mly Apparent Magnitude 10.6
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Messier59.jpg
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Prompt 1 ‐ April 8, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations NGC 5128
Common Name Centaurus A Type Lenticular/Giant Elliptical RA 13:25:27.6 DEC ‐43:01:08.8
Distance 10‐16 Mly Apparent Magnitude 6.84
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/14/image/d/format/web/
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Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxies make up most of the rest of the observable galaxies. They
contain the central bulge found in lenticular galaxies, and in addition have a spiral
formation outside this core. Spiral galaxies can be further classified based off a
number of criteria. One of the most visually distinguishable classifications is
between barred and unbarred galaxies. Barred galaxies have a nuclear bar that
passes through the central bulge connecting spiral arms on either side, while
unbarred galaxies lack this. Galaxies in between these two extremes are sometimes
referred to as weakly barred spiral or intermediate spiral galaxies. Other
observable measures such as tightness can be used to describe the shape and
distribution of stars. Galaxies with particularly well‐defined arms are often called
grand design spiral galaxies.
The next five pages (19‐23) feature a wide range of spiral galaxies, starting
with barred and gradually transitioning to unbarred. Pages 24 and 25 show
examples of two grand design galaxies, the latter of which is an example of an
interacting galaxy pair. This image contains the much larger Whirlpool Galaxy with
the smaller NGC 5159 at the end of one of its arms. These companion galaxies are of
much interest to astronomers and astrophysicists for their insight into galactic
structure and interactions. Radio astronomy has proven that the two are in fact
interacting, not just two galaxies along the same visual line from our perspective.
The Whirlpool Galaxy is one of the most recognizable and unique of the easily
observable galaxies.
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Prompt 3 ‐ April 13, 2011 – Exposure Time = 70s
Catalogue Designations M83, NGC 5236
Common Name Southern Pinwheel Galaxy Type Barred Spiral Galaxy RA 13:37:00.9 DEC ‐29:51:56.7
Distance 14.7 Mly Apparent Magnitude 7.54
http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0136a/
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Prompt 1 ‐ April 8, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designation NGC 6744
Type Intermediate Spiral Galaxy RA 19:09:46.1 DEC ‐63:51:27.1
Distance 31 ± 5.2 Mly Apparent Magnitude 9.14
http://www.capella‐observatory.com/images/Galaxies/NGC6744.jpg
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Prompt 1 ‐ April 8, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M64, NGC 4826
Common Name Black Eye Galaxy Type Tightly Bound Spiral Galaxy RA 12:56:43.7 DEC +21:40:57.6
Distance 24 ± 2 Mly Apparent Magnitude 9.36
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2004004a/web/
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Prompt 4 ‐ April 6, 2011 ‐ Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M104, NGC 4594
Common Name Sombrero Galaxy Type Unbarred Spiral Galaxy RA 12:39:59.4 DEC ‐11:37:23.0
Distance 29.3 ± 1.6 Mly Apparent Magnitude 8.98
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2003028a/web/
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Prompt 4 ‐ April 13, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M99
Type Unbarred Spiral Galaxy RA 12:18:49.6 DEC +14:24:59.4
Distance 50.2 ± 5.5 Mly Apparent Magnitude 10.4
http://www.freewebs.com/skyimager/m99‐lrgb%20cropped.jpg
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Prompt 4 ‐ April 13, 2011 – Exposure Time = 70s
Catalogue Designations M100, NGC 4321
Type Grand Design Spiral Galaxy RA 12:22:54.9 DEC +15:49:20.6
Distance 55 Mly Apparent Magnitude 10.1
http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso0608a/
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ARO‐30 ‐ April 13, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations M51, NGC 5194 / NGC 5159
Common Name Whirlpool Galaxy Type Interacting, Grand Design Spiral Galaxy RA 13:29:52.7 DEC +47:11:42.9
Distance 23 ± 4 Mly Apparent Magnitude 8.4
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2005012a/web/
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Irregular Galaxies
Certain rare galaxies do not fit the common mold of spiral, elliptical, or
lenticular types. These are clumped together as irregular galaxies. Most are
asymmetric groupings with little or no distinctive pattern or shape. However, some
have a clear pattern and shape, but simply do not fit under any of the three common
categories. A subset of this group are known as ring galaxies. Intrigued by their
shape I decided to take aim at Hoag’s Object, a ring galaxy ~600 million light years
away. I was not expecting much, but was surprised to find a faint tiny ring with a
dot in the middle, the same shape I was expecting after seeing more precise photos
online.
Still skeptical, I decided to check if it was about the right size relative to the
field of view of the image. The image was taken by Prompt1, whose field of view is
10 arcminutes (or 600 arcseconds). The outer diameter of Hoag’s Object is about 45
arcseconds, so theoretically it should take up roughly 7.5% of the width of the
image. Taking measurements on my computer screen (since relative values are all
that really matter), the total width of the image was roughly 9.5”, while Hoag’s
Object’s diameter was about 3/4”. Dividing gives 7.9% which agrees very well with
the projected value. Given its similar size and shape, I think the image is in fact
Hoag’s Object. While not visually stunning, I was very surprised it came out at all
and was excited with the results. (Note: the image on the next page was cropped to
focus in on Hoag’s Object, so the ~7.5% ratio does not hold)
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Prompt 1 ‐ April 8, 2011 – Exposure Time = 75s
Catalogue Designations PGC 54559
Common Name Hoag’s Object Type Ring Galaxy RA 15:17:12.8 DEC +21:35:03.1
Distance 600 ± 30 Mly Apparent Magnitude 16.0
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100822.html
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Globular Clusters
Globular clusters are gravitationally bound star systems that orbit around
galaxies. Omega Centauri (page 29) is the largest of the many globular clusters
orbiting our Milky Way Galaxy. With an apparent magnitude of 3.7, it is easily
visible in the southern hemisphere, though individual stars are not resolvable so it
appears more or less as a fuzzy star.
Nebulae
Nebulae are collections of dust and ionized gases loosely bound by gravity.
Over time, if large enough masses of gas collapse, stars and planets can form. These
stellar nurseries are some of the most visually stunning observable objects in the
universe however specific equipment is required to get high quality images. I
decided to target the Orion Nebula since it is very bright and nearby. There are an
estimated ~700 stars in formation at several different stages of stellar evolution. Its
lack of any definitive boundaries makes it an example of a diffuse nebula, the most
common nebula type.
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Prompt 4 ‐ April 9, 2011 – Exposure Time = 60s
Catalogue Designations NGC 5139
Common Name Omega Centauri Type Globular Cluster RA 13:26:47.3 DEC ‐47:28:46.1
Distance 15.8 ± 1.1 kly Apparent Magnitude 3.7
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/14/image/a/format/web/
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Prompt 4 ‐ April 12, 2011 – Exposure Time = 15s
Catalogue Designations M42, NGC 1976
Common Name Orion Nebula Type Diffuse Nebula RA 05:35:17.3 DEC ‐05:23:28.0
Distance 1,344 ± 20 ly Apparent Magnitude 4.0
http://www.adventuresinastrophotography.com/2007/10/17/first‐images‐orion‐nebula/
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Conclusion
I have always been very interested in observational astronomy but have
never gotten the chance to look deeper than my eyes or handheld binoculars had to
offer. This project was a great opportunity to delve into some of the amazing objects
that lie out of sight. It has only increased my interest in the field. Before obtaining
my first image (M104), I was highly skeptical of how well the pictures would turn
out. On the whole, I was blown away with the results. A lot of variables contributed
to the quality of the images. First and foremost, the distance to an object along with
its apparent magnitude played a big part. Additionally the time of year plays a role.
Best images will come from objects directly overhead during the darkest hours in
the middle of the night. These objects have the least interference from the sun, and
have minimal atmospheric distortion. While conditions were not always ideal, most
of the images were at least comparable to professional photos in terms of shape and
light distribution.
Experiencing the image taking process first hand has given me a whole new
appreciation of the field of observational astronomy. Its amazing to think that just
plugging some numbers into a website can control a telescope to take an image of
any celestial object, let alone a galaxy over 500 million light‐years away. The Skynet
system is very user friendly and I am very grateful to have been given a chance to
work with it. Overall, collecting images was an informative, rewarding process that
increased my interest and understanding of observational astronomy.
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Observation Log
Date Object Type RA DEC Filter Exposure 4/6 M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) Galaxy 12:39:59.4 ‐11:37:23.0 Open 20 4/6 M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) Galaxy 12:39:59.4 ‐11:37:23.0 Open 40 4/6 M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) Galaxy 12:39:59.4 ‐11:37:23.0 Open 60 4/8 NGC 6744 Galaxy 19:09:46.1 ‐63:51:27.1 Open 10 4/8 NGC 6744 Galaxy 19:09:46.1 ‐63:51:27.1 Open 20 4/8 NGC 6744 Galaxy 19:09:46.1 ‐63:51:27.1 Open 30 4/8 NGC 6744 Galaxy 19:09:46.1 ‐63:51:27.1 Open 60 4/8 NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) Galaxy 13:25:27.6 ‐43:01:08.8 Open 5 4/8 NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) Galaxy 13:25:27.6 ‐43:01:08.8 Open 15 4/8 NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) Galaxy 13:25:27.6 ‐43:01:08.8 Open 25 4/8 NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) Galaxy 13:25:27.6 ‐43:01:08.8 Open 60 4/8 M64 (Black Eye Galaxy) Galaxy 12:56:43.7 +21:40:57.6 Open 10 4/8 M64 (Black Eye Galaxy) Galaxy 12:56:43.7 +21:40:57.6 Open 20 4/8 M64 (Black Eye Galaxy) Galaxy 12:56:43.7 +21:40:57.6 Open 30 4/8 M64 (Black Eye Galaxy) Galaxy 12:56:43.7 +21:40:57.6 Open 60 4/8 PGC 54559 (Hoag's Object) Galaxy 15:17:12.8 +21:35:03.1 Open 25 4/8 PGC 54559 (Hoag's Object) Galaxy 15:17:12.8 +21:35:03.1 Open 50 4/8 PGC 54559 (Hoag's Object) Galaxy 15:17:12.8 +21:35:03.1 Open 75
4/9 NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri) Globular Cluster 13:26:47.3 ‐47:28:46.1 Open 30
4/9 NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri) Globular Cluster 13:26:47.3 ‐47:28:46.1 Open 60
4/12 M42 (Orion Nebula) Nebula 05:35:17.3 ‐05:23:28.0 Open 1 4/12 M42 (Orion Nebula) Nebula 05:35:17.3 ‐05:23:28.0 Open 5 4/12 M42 (Orion Nebula) Nebula 05:35:17.3 ‐05:23:28.0 Open 15 4/13 M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Galaxy 13:29:52.7 +47:11:42.9 Open 30 4/13 M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Galaxy 13:29:52.7 +47:11:42.9 Open 60 4/13 M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Galaxy 13:29:52.7 +47:11:42.9 Open 30 4/13 M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) Galaxy 13:29:52.7 +47:11:42.9 Open 60
4/13 M83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) Galaxy 13:37:00.9 ‐29:51:56.7 Open 70
4/13 M100 Galaxy 12:22:54.9 +15:49:20.6 Open 70 4/13 M99 Galaxy 12:18:49.6 +14:24:59.4 Open 30 4/13 M99 Galaxy 12:18:49.6 +14:24:59.4 Open 60 4/19 M59 Galaxy 12:42:02.3 +11:38:49.0 Open 60 4/19 M89 Galaxy 12:35:39.9 +12:33:21.7 Open 60 4/19 M87 Galaxy 12:30:49.4 +12:23:28.0 Open 60 4/19 M49 Galaxy 12:29:46.8 +08:00:01.5 Open 60
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Works Cited
Celestial Object Information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombrero_Galaxy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6744
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Eye_Galaxy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoag's_Object
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_83
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_99
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurus_A
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_100
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Centauri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_59
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_89
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_87
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_49
SKYNET System
Various links and pages from: http://skynet.unc.edu/index.php
Skynet Authorship Policy Images and data obtained from images taken by a user with Skynet may only be used by that user or by others designated by that user. However, at least the first three people from the Skynet builders list and at least the first two people from each used telescope's builders list must be included as authors on any publications, unless waived by the Director of the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network (currently Reichart) in writing.
Builders Lists
Skynet: Daniel E. Reichart, Kevin M. Ivarsen, and Joshua B. Haislip
Prompt: Melissa C. Nysewander, Aaron P. LaCluyze