Gingerjo’s Blog

For the first time since the last full moon we’ve had clear skies and no seriously light reflecting snow. I’ve been waiting all month for a chance to see Mars at ‘opposition’. Apparently this is as close as Mars will get to the Earth for at least the next 26 months so I was very keen to witness it. And I couldn’t miss it! There Mars was shining brightly with a red tinge not far from the Moon in the constellation of Cancer. The dead red world.

Being new to this stargazing malarkey I’m easily impressed. Most stargazers probably wouldn’t choose a spot in a field in the middle of Manchester (a seriously light polluted place) to view this, especially not when the moon is so bright. But it worked for Mark and I. We drove the few short miles to Sale Water Park and parked up. It has the advantage of being one of the few places very near to where we live where two important things can be found. Firstly a large field away from bright lights and tall trees, and secondly a nice pub. A short walk over the bridge into the middle of the field, with the grass crunchy under our feet from the frost, and we were ready to gaze up at the heavens.

At the moment Mars is only about 62 million miles away (with a magnitude of -1.2) so it rivals Sirius, the brighest star in the sky which has a magnitude of -1.47 (according to my book). To be honest it just looked like a really bright star to the naked eye, but that’s not the point. I can officially say I have witnessed Mars at opposition and lived to tell the tale. Obviously though I had to double check the January 2010 edition of the Sky at Night magazine with my new red light LED torch to be 100% certain that I’d identified it correctly. But what’s the point in buying an unusual torch off eBay if you’re not going to use it?

I also practiced my basic stargazing skills. I identified Sirius in Canis Major and the constellation of Orion, including the red tinged star Betelguese (which seemed about the same colour as Mars, or maybe even redder). I then found the consellation Auriga, with it’s bright star Capella and the nearby Kids. I saw Aldebaran in Taurus, although it wasn’t possible to see any other stars in Taurus because of the light pollution. Procyon in Canis Minor was easy to spot and helped me navigate my way to Castor and Pollux in Gemini. Again, these were the only stars in these constellations I could see with the bright lights of Manchester on the one hand, and the bright fat moon on the other.

As usual the Plough (or Ursa Major) was easy to find; I learned this one as a child. It seemed particularly huge tonight, and yet strangely faint. From here I found Polaris, the pole star, before getting reaquainted with Cassiopeia. We studied the story of Cassiopeia in primary school, and while I’d once been able to find her constellation I’d lost forgotten how to recognise her over the years. But she’s still there. Finally I was able to pick out Perseus which I’d never seen before, so overall I was very pleased with my progress.

I pointed out, well tried to point out, these various stars and constellations to Mark. We’ve settled on one constellation at a time so they can sink in gently. Tonight he learned Sirius and Orion. Then we went to the pub, had a pint and huddled up against the heater to warm up. All in all, it was a very pleasant trip out stargazing.

I may have got carried away, but there’s a series of short courses at the OU that I’ve been wanting to do for ages, but couldn’t really while I was committed to the CIM Professional Diploma. A couple of them are related to my new found, possible new hobby of stargazing, so I thought I’d look them up, see how much their price has gone up. It turns out they are running four of the courses I want to do for the final time this year, so I’ve got to get a move on or I’ll miss my chance.

Hence, I’ve signed up to two of them tonight. The first is Introducing Astronomy and the second is Fossils and the History of Life. I’ll do the one on Planets in May and the one on Understanding the Universe later in the year. I start in February and I’ve got five months to complete them. I’m very excited about getting back to learning about stuff just for pleasure and because I’m interested in it, not because work’s got my arm up my back!

I just have to hope now that I have passed the final CIM module or I’m going to be very busy studying three courses! Oh well, I’ve done it before and the reviews say on the one on fossils is really easy. It’ll be fine.

A friend bought me a book called ‘The Stargazer’s Guide’ by Emily Winterburn this Christmas. She said I’d once mentioned it as something I thought I’d be interested in but didn’t know where to start. I don’t recall that conversation but I’m glad she did.

It took me a while to get used to her style but have now voraciously read to whole book. It seems the winter is a good time to start with the persuit because it’s dark seemingly all the time.

Being trapped in the city centre isn’t as bad as it might seem either. The light pollution means you can only see the very bright stars. Apparently this is helpful to beginners because you get to learn the major constellations more easily - they’re the only ones you can see. Then once you’ve got to grips with the basics you need to find somewhere darker so you can start filling in the gaps.

Nor do you need a telescope. You should learn your constellations by eye first then maybe get a good pair of binoculars. If after a few years you want more then you can start saving for a telescope.

As it was a clear night tonight I figured there’s no time like the present. Our little terrace is surrounded by streetlights and buildings so I couldn’t see a great many stars (and the big fat moon didn’t help any either) but I could clearly make out the brightest stars in Orion, including his shoulders, belt and legs (but not his arms) and, I think, all of the constellation Auriga, the Charioteer. I’m fairly sure I also identified the stars Sirius, Procyon and Aldebaran.

Not bad for a first attempt. I’m rather pleased!