The Night Sky
May 2021
Over the past year or so, if you looked up into the night sky on a dark Embsay evening you may have been able to shake off for a moment the unsettling and distressing events of the pandemic around you. The calmness and familiarity of the patterns passing across the sky for me was as reassuring and comforting as an old friend, perhaps highlighting that in the huge timescale of the universe this period was just a blink of the eye. I’m glad that I am again able to share some of the excitement and wonder of what is the greatest show not on Earth!
If you are new to stargazing and want to develop an interest, then here are a few tips. Binoculars are a good start to the hobby. Portable, a good wide view and easy to use. There are also so many free apps and charts that you are able to access to help you find your way around the night sky. Become familiar with the position of one star that never seems to move, Polaris or the North Star. Then try to become familiar with four or five patterns or constellations that are always visible. The rest will develop if you succumb to the night sky. I will help you with these simple steps and if not already, appreciate the wonder and what we can all enjoy freely above Embsay.
In astronomy the best instrument to use are just your eyes. So with nothing else starting from the centre of Embsay, find North. This is just to the right of Embsay Crag. Facing in that direction cast your eyes from the horizon to directly above your head. As you do this just over half way up between these two points is a star at the end of what looks like pan shape (Diagram A). This is Polaris, not the brightest star in the sky but everything you see appears to spin around this point anti-clockwise. During this time of year the ‘pan handle’ is pointing downwards late evening. The pan being a pattern called URSA MINOR. It is important to become adept at locating Polaris if you want to find your way around the sky.
Having found Polaris we are going to seek out something that can only be spotted with your naked eyes in a place like Embsay on a moonless, dark clear night. A bit of a challenge!
From Embsay looking in the direction of Bolton Abbey or towards Low Lane you will be facing East. Half way up in the sky this month you will find a keystone shape. (Diagram B) . This is at the centre of a constellation called Hercules. This keystone shape contains what looks like an orb of fuzzy light, called M13 or the Great Cluster in Hercules. This is a globe of half a million stars! It is so far away that it takes 25,000 years at the speed of light for its light to get to us. On November 16th 1974 people on Earth sent a deliberate message towards this Cluster using a powerful radio transmitter. The multitude of suns offered the best chance of being heard by the planets that must be orbiting each sun. A bit of a long shot when you consider that is a 50,000 year return call! I can’t remember the calls I made last week!
M13(The Great Cluster) Image Astrosurf.com
Although the dark nights are shortening and the opportunity to have long periods of darkness are reducing there is still lots to see and I hope I’ll help you develop your interest with these regular articles.
Clear Skies
Milan Davidovic
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