Resources
Our members are from Hanwell and NewMaryland. Our host members (Chris, James, Detlef, and Allan) are members of William Brydone Jack Unit of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
To get on the alert list for observing sessions, or to contact us for
directions to our observing site or more information, send an e-mail to
stars@hanwell.nb.ca.
INTRO to ASTERISMS:
During a couple of observing sessions we noticed that a fair number of the public had a many "wow's" looking at the "coat hanger" and other asterisms in the night sky. After a few days of researching asterism, it was evident that there are not a lot of web sites nor books discussing asterisms (other than our constellations and varients - ie The Big Dipper vs Ursa Major) until I came across a website hosted by John A. Chiravalle, author of the handbook "Pattern Asterisms - A New Way to Chart the Stars" (http://patternasterismssite.com/ contains an overview of his book, a brief discussion about asterisms and some sample asterisms updated monthly). In addition to John's current book (targetted at binocular and smaller telescopes) John is compiling a list of asterisms for 8-12" telescopes.
MORE INFO TO FOLLOW SHORTLY!
JANUARY Asterism Challenge
2. The Fish Hook pattern asterism in Taurus the Bull ( page 53 ) is another wide field item for binoculars and small telescopes.
3. The Rabbit open cluster Tr 2 in Perseus will be a challenge to find and moderate telescopes ( 6 to 8 inch ) will be needed. ( page 44 )
4. The Funnel pattern asterism is a group of 7 stars ( page 68 ) in Lepus easy to spot small telescopes ( 4 to 6 inch )
Links:
Hanwell Astronomy page - stars.hanwell.nb.ca
WBJU - ca.geocities.com/frederictonastronomy/
Royal Astronomical Society - rasc.ca
New Brunswick Centre - nb.rasc.ca/
Hanwell clear sky clock - cleardarksky.com/c/HnwllNBkey.html?1
John Chiravalle's Asterism Website and book - patternasterismssite.com
International Dark Sky Association - Lighting - darksky.org
Maps of Hanwell exit ramps and of Eaglewood Subdivision:
General area map showing access ramps to Hanwell
Square on this map show the observing lot on Falcon (Detlef's house)
Observing tools for the event:
Sky and Telescope sky chart site
Skymaps.com Sky chart site
RASC - Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Build your own Planisphere
Build your own star clock
Getting started in Astronomy
RASC Members Sky Clocks
Heaven's Above (including ISS location - 'International Space Station')
Stargazing in Fredericton NB
Skyhound.com observing webpage (comet chasing and other objects)
SkyTonight