June 16, 2018 – Johnathan

Kitt Peak Nightly Observing Program

Splendors of the Universe on YOUR Night!

Many pictures are links to larger versions.
Click here for the “Best images of the OTOP” Gallery and more information.

M13 Hercules Globular

M13, the “Great Globular Cluster in Hercules” was first discovered by Edmund Halley in 1714, and later catalogued by Charles Messier in 1764. It contains 300,000 stars, and is 22,000 light-years away. Light would need over a century to traverse its diameter.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, a “gas giant” 11 Earth-diameters across. Its atmosphere contains the Great Red Spot, a long-lived storm 2-3 times the size of the Earth. The 4 large Galilean satellites and at least 63 smaller moons orbit Jupiter.

Moon

The same side of the Moon always faces Earth because the lunar periods of rotation and revolution are the same. The surface of the moon is covered with impact craters and lava-filled basins. The Moon is about a fourth of Earth’s diameter and is about 30 Earth-diameters away.

Saturn

Saturn, the second-largest planet in the Solar System, is known for its showy but thin rings made of ice chunks as small as dust and as large as buildings. Its largest moon, Titan, has an atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes; at least 61 smaller moons orbit Saturn.

Venus

Venus, the second planet, is the brightest natural object in the sky other than the Sun and Moon and is often erroneously called the “morning star” or “evening star.” It is completely wrapped in sulfuric acid clouds and its surface is hot enough to melt lead.

Double Double (ε Lyr)

The Double-Double (ε Lyrae) looks like two stars in binoculars, but a good telescope shows that both of these two are themselves binaries. However, there may be as many as ten stars in this system! The distant pairs are about 0.16 light-year apart and take about half a million years to orbit one another. The Double-Double is about 160 light-years from Earth.

Your Telescope Operator and Guide. Thank you for joining me this evening! See you soon!!

The web page for the program in which you just participated is at
Nightly Observing Program. Most of the above images were taken as
part of
the Overnight Telescope Observing Program. For more information on this unique experience please visit Overnight Telescope Observing Program.
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