Monday 7th to Sunday 13th August 2023
It's worth staying up to around 2am on the early morning of Wednesday 9th as there will be a nice treat for the naked eye - no telescope necessary. Look towards the east and you will see three targets - running left to right - the Pleiades open cluster of stars, a waning Crescent Moon and Jupiter.
The Pleiades is at the top of the constellation of Taurus. If you really feel the urge to dig out your telescope, aim it that direction and locate the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus. To the right of Aldebaran will be the Hyades open cluster.
If you'd prefer an activity earlier in the evening, look high up towards the south east after dark anytime next week and find the constellation of Cygnus, the "Swan". Below the tail of Cygnus will be two small constellations called Vulpecula and Sagitta. When lines are drawn to show the shapes of constellations, Vulpecula looks like a straight line and Sagitta looks like an arrow.
My reason for sending you towards these two unremarkable constellations is that between them you will find an asterism or recognisable pattern of stars known as the "Coat Hanger". It will take a bit of looking for and will actually appear to be upside down.
The asterism consists of ten main stars and is officially known as "Brocchi's Cluster". This is a bit of a misnomer though, as the stars are not thought to be gravitationally tied to each other, so technically they are not a cluster! With the naked eye, the asterism will only look like a faint patch of light - binoculars or a small telescope will be needed to resolve the detail. Just need some clear sky to be able to do it!
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
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