14 November 2020 | New Scientist | 51The back pages
DREWBUCKLEY/ALAMYThese articles are
posted each week at
newscientist.com/makerAbigail Beall is a science writer
in Leeds, UK. She is the author
of The Art of Urban Astronomy
@abbybeall
What you need
Binoculars
A stargazing app,
such as SkyView Lite
SPACE is full of clouds of dust and
gas called nebulae. Some are the
aftermath of a supernova, when
a giant star has gone through the
explosive end of its life. Others,
like the Orion Nebula, represent
the opposite end of the stellar life
cycle: they are cosmic nurseries
in which stars are being born.
The Orion Nebula, or M42, is
visible from most parts of the
world from November to February,
which is when the constellation of
Orion (pictured) is in the night sky.
To first locate this constellation,
look for the three stars in a row
that make up its well-known belt.
These sit between the bright,
red-coloured star Betelgeuse
and the blue star Rigel, Orion’s
brightest member. But do
remember: their position in
the sky changes depending
on where you are.
Take a closer look at Orion’s belt
and you will see a line of stars that
appears to be falling down from
it, known as Orion’s sword. The
nebula can be found halfway
down this “sword”.
From the UK, the constellation
rises at about 9 pm GMT at the
moment, getting earlier as the
days pass. It remains visible
until dawn. If your skies are
dark enough, and there is no
moonlight, you can see the nebula
with the naked eye. However, on a
clear night, even a fairly standard
pair of binoculars will give you a
much more detailed view.
Nebulae like Orion form stars
when gravity forces the material
inside them together. To witness
the next stage of stellar evolution,In November, you should be able to use your eyes to spot
a place where stars are still forming, says Abigail BeallStargazing at home
See new suns being born
we can look for a star cluster,
which is a group of young stars
sitting close together.
One of the most recognisable
of these clusters is the Pleiades. It
can be seen with the naked eye. In
fact, computer simulations have
shown that this cluster probably
started out looking like the Orion
Nebula. The Pleiades can be found
near Orion in the night sky, in
the constellation of Taurus.
To locate it, just follow these
steps. From Orion’s belt, draw an
imaginary line from left to right in
the northern hemisphere, or right
to left in the southern hemisphere.
Extending this with your eyes
through Orion’s bow, you will see a
bright star that is close to the line.
This is Aldebaran, which is the
brightest star in Taurus. (Look in
the wrong direction and you willjust find Sirius, the brightest star
in the night sky.) Once you have
found Aldebaran, just keep going
and you should spot a small
cluster of five bright stars together.
You have reached the Pleiades.
And don’t forget, you can easily
confirm what you have identified
using a stargazing app. Although
five of the stars in the Pleiades
cluster stand out clearly, it is
possible to see up to 14 of them
with the naked eye when you are
watching the sky in areas with no
light pollution.
Grab some binoculars and you
will see a whole lot more, though
you would be pushed to see all of
the 3000 stars in the cluster. ❚Feedback
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