Hey.

Hi.

I'm Shannon Silverman, astrophysicist at the Clay center.

And welcome to Almost Heavens.

Here in West Virginia, we're just about halfway between the North Pole and the equator.

That means we are in the perfect spot to view everything the northern skies have to offer.

And even a little of the southern skies.

Two stars, planets and the moon aren't the only things to be seen in the night sky.

Other features, which range from galaxies to nebulas to star clusters and beyond, are generall referred to as deep sky objects.

Although not all of these objects are truly deep in the sky, many of them are difficult to see, whether because they're far away, small in size, or both.

Many of these objects are bes observed with either binoculars or a telescope, but a few are visible to just the eye, especially at a dark sky site.

One of these deep sky objects i M50 one, the Whirlpool Galaxy.

Fortunately, this galaxy isn' too terribly difficult to find since it's very close to something familiar.

The Big Dipper find the Big Dipper then look for the last two stars in the handle.

Imagine about half the distance between these two stars.

Then aim your telescope about that distance below the very last star.

M51 is a face on spiral galaxy, which means that we can view it in all of its glory.

If you think of a spiral galaxy as being shaped like a plate, we aren' looking at the side of the plate or even as an angle but directly toward the center.

That means we can not only se the bright core of the galaxy, but the disk.

And with good enough conditions and a big enough telescope, you might even make out hints of the two spiral arms.

You may also see a second bright core off to the side of M51.

This is a second, much smaller galaxy that is interacting with M51.

Another great object is the Cat's Eye Nebula.

A planetary nebula formed by a star that is reaching the end of its life.

Despite the word planetary, a planetary nebul has nothing to do with planets and is formed as a star expels some of its outer layers in its later phases of life.

The cat's eye Nebula is a beautiful example of a complex planetary nebula with many different layers and structures.

That includes a bright core that gives the Cat's Eye Nebula its name.

This nebula is also a beautiful blue green color.

But to see it, you need bot good conditions and to find it.

The latter is often the trickiest part.

Look for the North star Polaris by following the two star at the front of the Big Dipper, then imagining the Big Dipper to be sitting flat.

Move from Polaris parallel in the direction of the Dipper's handle.

Stop when you're above the first star of the handle, then go a little up just a tiny bit.

The Cat's Eye Nebula is right around there, above the first star of the handle.

A little above parallel with Polaris, but the exact location can be tricky.

Don't give up.

This nebula is well worth the trouble.

Thank you for joining.

Keep an eye out for more almost heavens on our channel and our socials.

Until next time.