Joe Rao is Space.com's skywatching columnist, as well as a veteran meteorologist and eclipse chaser who also serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers' Almanac and other publications. Joe is an 8-time Emmy-nominated meteorologist who served the Putnam Valley region of New York for over 21 years. You can find him on Twitter and YouTube tracking lunar and solar eclipses, meteor showers and more. To find out Joe's latest project, visit him on Twitter.
. With binoculars, slowly continue along this line and eventually you should run across this cluster of stars.
You might call this cluster"Beehive squared." This week, at 7 p.m. local time, look to the northwest and about two-thirds of the way from the horizon to the point overhead, you'll see the familiar zigzag row of five stars marking the constellation of. Now going from top to bottom, the second and third stars are, respectively, Ruchbah and Gamma Cass. Stretch an imaginary line between these two stars and continue moving upward.
Astronomers estimate that the clusters' apparent brightness is dimmed by roughly 1.7 magnitudes compared to their actual brightness, thanks to interstellar dust. When we take this into account, it turns out that the 10 brightest stars of this Double Cluster are actually comparable to such brilliant luminaries as Betelgeuse and Rigel in the constellation Orion. Each cluster contains very massive blue stars and some of the brightest red stars known.
To the average eye, this group of stars looks at first like a shimmering little cloud of light. But further examination, aided by good eyesight, will reveal a tight knot of six or seven stars, though some have recorded 11 or more under excellent conditions. Alcyone is the brightest star in the cluster, while Merope is a star surrounded by a cloud of gas producing a blue reflection nebula.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stacey Solomon blushes as Joe Swash makes 'sexy' comments about her new lookStacey Solomon showed off her new black framed glasses yesterday - and it seems everyone, including husband-to-be Joe Swash, is a fan
Read more »
New 5-Minute Video Summarizes Joe Manchin's 'Brazen' CorruptionManchin 'repeatedly timed his key attacks on Biden's agenda to occur at events with his largest corporate donors,' MorePerfectUS shows in its new video.
Read more »
Joe Biden's approval rating among Black Americans is dropping: focus groupThe president's favorability among Black Americans under the age of 35 has fallen 25 points.
Read more »
Joe Biden takes different tone than Trump detailing killing of ISIS leaderIn a speech in 2019, former President Donald Trump said ISIS's prior leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, 'died like a dog,' during a strike.
Read more »
Spotify Needs Joe Rogan and Music FansHeard on the Street: Disappointing margin and subscriber forecasts sink Spotify's stock and show why the streaming platform needs all listeners tuned in
Read more »
Joe Wicks shares his response to edited Loose Women clip about himA dubbed clip of Loose Women was posted on social media this week which appeared to show panelist Carol McGiffin saying that she didn't like fitness coach Joe Wicks
Read more »