In this episode of Star Hopping with Kissimmee
Park Observatory, we'll look at the Summer
Triangle region, and show you how to find
these beautiful deep sky objects:
The Ring Nebula
The Dumbell Nebula
And Globular Cluster Messier 15
Alright, Let's Go Star Hopping!

Hey Hello Hi and welcome to Episode 3 of Star
Hopping with Kissimmee Park Observatory!
I'm Dave Hearn, and I'm very pleased to be
your host.
In this series of programs we'll show you
the most beautiful sights in the night sky,
and explain exactly how to find them with
your binoculars or telescope.
Now that we are well into Autumn, the stars
of Summer are starting to slide westward.
The night sky is kind of a time machine with
the Present being anchored in the Eastern
sky around 8 PM in the evening.
As you look west, you are seeing into the
Past - stars that were in the East at 8 PM
a couple months ago.
And if you check out the Eastern stars late
at night, you're looking into the Future at
stars that will be rising at 8 PM in a few
months.
Make sense?
So, if you look straight up at the zenith
at 8 or 9 PM in October, you will see the
bright stars of Summer and the Milky Way,
starting their progression toward the horizon,
giving way to the stars of Autumn now appearing
in the East in the early evening.
So let's hang on to Summer a little longer
and check out some of the brightest stars
in the sky, which form the Summer Triangle.
So while locating this set of deep sky objects
for this episode, you'll be straining your
neck to look straight up!
Very possibly a chaise lounge might be in
order!
In the early evening, directly above you,
you will see three very bright stars: Vega,
in the constellation of Lyra the harp, Deneb,
in the constellation of Cygnus the swan, and
Altair, the brightest star in the constellation
of Aquila the eagle.
This trio of stellar beacons that rise in
the East in June and July form the famous
Summer Triangle.
Summer skies hold lots of star clusters and
nebulae associated with the Milky Way.
Nebulae can be found in several types, based
on the point in the life cycles of the stars
associated with them.
When nebulae contain newly formed stars, they
glow, excited by the radiation of the stars
within them.
These are called emission nebula, because
they emit light themselves.
As the stars grow older and finally use up
their internal nuclear fuel, other nebulae
are formed when a star expels its outer shell,
as it approaches the end of its life.
These bubbles of gas around these dying stars
often appear round, and in a telescope, they
sometimes look like a planet.
For this reason these types of objects are
called Planetary Nebulae.
We'll be locating two famous planetary nebulae
which lie within the Summer Triangle, and
the most famous is the Ring Nebula in Lyra.
The Ring is also known as Messier 57, and
it's our first target for this episode.
So let's have at it, shall we?
A nice bright star is great to use to start
a star hop, and for this one we will use Vega,
at the top of the constellation of Lyra.
Vega is a brilliant hot blue star and is the
5th brightest star in the sky, and will be
glorious to see as it dances in your telescope's
eyepiece.
So now that we're here, I would be remiss
in my duties if I didn't at least mention
the star just to the left of Vega, which is
Epsilon Lyrae, also known as the Double Double.
This apparently single star to the naked eye,
resolves into two double stars, really four
actual stars, when looked at in a moderately
sized telescope with very high power.
So don't miss it while you are in the neighborhood.
So, in our search for the Ring, we will move
down from the blinding star Vega about two
degrees to Zeta 1 Lyrae.
(PAUSE) Next we move about 10 degrees downward
to the star Sheliak.
(PAUSE) About two degrees to the left of Sheliak
is another star about the same brightness,
named Sulafat.
This pair is easily seen and outlines the
base of the Harp.
So now we are close to our target.
Looking with your telescope exactly halfway
on the line between these two stars, you will
spy what appears as a small ghostly smoke
ring.
Put in a higher magnification eyepiece, say,
100X, and you will recognize the famous Ring
Nebula!
This one is a big hit at an observing session
with kids.
I tell them I'm going to show them a smoke
ring, and I love the reactions when they see
it in the scope!
So like most planetary nebulae, the Ring requires
a little magnification to see it properly.
Our next target is much larger, and it is
known as the Dumbell or Apple Core Nebula,
in the faint constellation of Vulpecula the
fox.
The Dumbell is number 27 on the famous Messier
list and is the second largest and second
brightest planetary nebula in the sky.
This star hop to locate the Dumbbell is challenging,
as we will be dealing with faint stars and
will cover a lot of sky in the process.
But it won't be faint stars right at the beginning.
We'll start at the brilliant star Altair,
the second point of the Summer Triangle and
the 12th brightest star in the sky.
So let's do it.
From Altair, let's make our first move to
Tarazed, an orangey star about 2 degrees to
the upper right from Altair.
(PAUSE)
Now the going gets tough, and you'll need
a relatively dark sky to be successful with
this one.
Looking about 7 or 8 degrees toward the zenith,
you will hopefully see the faint constellation
of Sagitta the arrow.
It is made up of four main stars, two at one
end that forms the feathers, a center star,
and then another single star which represents
the tip of the arrow.
This tip star is Gamma Sagitta, and is where
we want to move our scope next.
(PAUSE)
The next star is even a bit fainter - let's
move the scope to 12 Vulpecula, about 2 degrees
to the upper right.
(PAUSE) Now we're getting close but there
is still a ways to go in our search for M27.
At a little less than 90 degrees to the left,
and about 3 degrees away, lies the star 14
Vulpecula.
(PAUSE) From 14, make a hard left about 2
more degrees, and the ghostly Dumbell Nebula
will appear in your eyepiece!
Phew!
Don't worry; after you go through this process
a few times it will be easier to locate.
It just takes some practice.
The Dumbell is a beautiful object in astrophotos
like this one taken with the KPO reflector.
Ready for a easier and brighter object?
Yeah, I thought so.
A couple episodes ago we looked at M22 in
Sagittarius, a globular cluster.
Today's last target is also a globular, M15
in Pegasus.
This one is also near the zenith, so your
scope will be pointed pretty much straight
up when you find it.
Let's start from the lower right star in the
great square of Pegasus, named Markab.
To the right of Markab there are three fairly
bright stars, each about 10 degrees apart,
successively named Homam, (PAUSE) Baham, (PAUSE)
and then to the upper right, Enif.
Make your way to Enif.
Move about 5 degrees past Enif in the same
direction and you should run into the fuzzy
star that is M15.
Put in a higher power eyepiece and you will
be rewarded to see this pretty globular resolved
to the core, with many outlying stars spidering
outward from it.
This is one of my favorite globulars because
of the way it spills out in to the surrounding
blackness.
Now that wasn't so bad after finding the Dumbell,
right?
Ok, so those were our three targets in and
around the Summer Triangle for this episode.
Before we close out, I wanted to throw out
a question to you all.
We'd love to know what kinds of optical equipment
you use to look at the night skies.
Do you actually have a telescope, or some
binoculars, or just your eyes?
That type of information will help us to focus
in on how to tailor these astronomy tutorials
to better meet your needs.
Go ahead and put your responses down below
and we can chat about it.
Also, if you have any ideas on some things
you'd like to see on Star Hopping, please
let us know!
Trailer
I hope you've enjoyed star hopping around
the Milky Way.
We're continue to bring you these astronomy
tutorials to you every couple of weeks, and
if we get inspires, sometimes more often.
They will be designed to help you find deep
sky objects that are up in the sky at the
time we post them to YouTube.
If you found this video useful, please consider
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AND POINT TO LOWER LEFT), click the Thumbs
Up, and please share it out to your friends
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The more the merrier!
Also, as I just mentioned, please feel free
to leave any question or comment below, and
we will be sure to respond quickly.
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informed about upcoming astronomical events.
We'd love to hear from you to discuss all
this great stuff up in the sky.
All the links to these places including our
website kpobservatory.org, can be found below
in the Episode Notes as well.
And finally, if you feel this video provides
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more great astronomy tutorials like this one.
Well thanks again for watching, and we'll
see you next time on Star Hopping with Kissimmee
Park Observatory.
