Jacana Astronomy Page

The Jacana Astronomy Site

The Antennae Galaxy

Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.

- Plato.

Sky Chart for this month

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The Solar System

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Nebulae

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The Astronomy Links Page

Links to a wide range of astronomy sites

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Interesting Articles Links to a wide range of interesting articles (page under development)

Astronomical Tables, Lists & Charts Charts, lists and links for stars, planets, Moon, comets, meteors, star charts, monthly event calendars, glossary, Messier & NGC lists, and much more...

Astronomical Quotations From some of the great minds in astronomy (and others)

The Hubble Space Telescope

The Spitzer Space Telescope

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Moon phases

2007 - 2010

Interesting article on

light pollution by Chris Johnson

Some interesting sightings seen from my home in Maun, Botswana

Planets

Jupiter & 4 moons

Mars

Mercury

Neptune

Pluto

Saturn

Uranus

Galaxies

Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31)

Black Eye Galaxy (Messier 64)

Centaurus A (Caldwell 77)

Satellite Galaxy of Andromeda (Messier 32)

Large Magellanic Cloud (Satellite galaxy)

Ring Tail Galaxy (Caldwell 70)

Small Magellanic Cloud (Dwarf galaxy)

Sombrero Galaxy (Messier 104)

Spindle Galaxy (Caldwell 53)

Sunflower Galaxy (Messier 63)

Whirlpool Galaxy (Messier 51)

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Galaxies - Caldwell: 40, 43, 48, 61, 72

Galaxies - Messier: 49, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 105, 108

Galaxies - NGC: 134, 2903, 4261

Nebulae

Bug Nebula (Caldwell 69)

Coal Sack Dark Nebula (in Crux)

Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27)

Eagle Nebula (Messier 16)

Eskimo Nebula (Caldwell 39, NGC 3292)

Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372)

Ghost of Jupiter Nebula (Caldwell 59)

Great Orion Nebula (Messier 42)

Helix Nebula (Caldwell 63, NGC 7293)

Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8)

Ring Nebula (Messier 57)

Swan Nebula (Messier 17)

Tarantula Nebula (Caldwell 103)

Trifid Nebula (Messier 20)

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Nebulae - Caldwell: 39, 74, 90, 109

Nebulae - NGC: 2438

Globular Clusters

47 Tucanae cluster (Caldwell 106, in Tucana)

Omega Centauri cluster (NGC 5139, in Centaurus)

Globular cluster in Aquarius, (Messier 2)

Globular cluster in Scorpius, (Messier 4)

Globular cluster in Pegasus, (Messier 15)

Globular cluster in Sagittarius (Messier 22)

Globular cluster in Hydra (Messier 68)

Globular cluster in Lepus (Messier 79)

Globular cluster in Hercules, (Messier 92)

Globular cluster in Pavo, (Caldwell 93, NGC 6752)

Open Clusters

Butterfly cluster (Messier 6, in Scorpius)

Hyades cluster (Caldwell 41, in Taurus)

Jewel Box cluster (Caldwell 94, NGC 4755, in Crux)

Pleiades cluster (Messier 45, Subaru, Seven Sisters)

Praesepe cluster (Beehive cluster, M44, in Cancer)

Ptolemy's cluster (Messier 7, in Scorpius)

Wild Duck cluster (Messier 11, in Scutum)

Wishing Well cluster (Caldwell 91, NGC 3532 in Carina)

Open cluster (Messier 35 in Gemini)

Open cluster (Messier 37 in Auriga)

Open cluster (Messier 41 in Canis Major)

Stars

Alpha Crux (in Crux)

Altair (in Aquila)

Antares (in Scorpius)

Achernar (in Eridanus)

Aldebaran (in Taurus)

Betelgeuse (in Orion)

Canopus (in Carina)

Castor (in Gemini)

Enif (in Pegasus)

Eta Carinae (in Carina)

Formalhaut (in Piscis Austrinus)

Mira (in Cetus)

Regulus (in Leo)

Rigil Kentaurus (in Centaurus)

Sirius (in Canus Major)

Spica (in Virgo)

Vega (in Lyra)

Double Stars

Albireo (in Cygnus)

Lee Ouzman with his Meade LX90-ACF 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain

in Maun, Botswana

Nature offers no greater splendour than the starry sky on a clear night. Silent and jewelled with the constellations of ancient myth and legend, the night sky has inspired wonder throughout the ages – a wonder that leads our imaginations far from the confines of Earth and the pace of the present day, and out into the distant reaches of space and cosmic time itself. Astronomy, born in response to that wonder, is built on two of the most basic instinct traits of human nature: the need to explore and the need to understand. Through the interplay of curiosity, discovery and analysis – the keys to exploration and understanding – people have sought answers to questions about the universe since the earliest times. Astronomy is the oldest of all the sciences, yet never has it been more exciting than it is today.
- Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan in their book Astronomy Today.