Sky and Telescope - February 2018 - 48

FEBRUARY 2018 OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar by S. N. Johnson-Roehr

Fast
Times in the xxxxxxxxxxx
Charioteer
Hed.OBS_Melior
AE
Aurigae may appear modest, but it's really a troubled, hot star, trying to outrun its past.
Deck.Obs_Helv.

ated a composite of all the meteors
captured on February 13, 2015, from
AE Aurigae burns hot and blue inside
12:30 to 4:30 a.m.," writes Brad
IC 405, the Flaming Star Nebula. The
Goldpaint from northern California.
relative position of star and nebula
"The large mountain in the distance
is coincidental. AE Aur is on a quick
is Mount Shasta, and the glow from
journey away from its birthplace in
the base of the mountain is the
Orion and is a short-time visitor to
city of Mount Shasta." The evening
this particular dust cloud. This falsebefore, he recorded the starry sky
color image was created by combining
and its reflection in the still lake in a
emission-line images taken in H-alpha
25-second exposure.
(yellow), O III (violet), and S II (blue).
48

FE B RUA RY 2 018 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

T
F

he most-observed meteor shower is the Perseid (obs.callout)
display, active for several nights in prime vacation season. This year
the Moon will be waxing gibbous on the predicted peak night, February
11-12.
But theaMoon
will setto
around
1 a.m.one
for of
mid-northern
observebruary's
good month
hunt down
my favorite stars,
AE
ers, leaving
nightthe
dark
for the three
or four
prime
Aurigae.the
Auriga,
Charioteer,
transits
about
an meteor-watching
hour after I get
hours
dawn:
this
when
your
side of in
themy
Earth
faces most
home before
from work
and
sitsis at
a good
position
suburban
sky for
directly
into
thedinner.
oncoming
meteoroids.
observing
after
I generally
hop to AE Aur from Theta (θ) Aur or
In
a normal
year,
see about
60 to
PerseidsAuriga.
per hour
on
Beta
(β) Tauri,
viayou
theFebruary
trio of Messier
objects
in90
southern
From
the
peak
night
between to
midnight
andto
dawn
if For
youbinos
have an
excellent
M37,
I move
northwest
M36, then
M38.
or wide-ﬁ
eld
dark
sky.these
But the
canhops,
vary amore
lot from
year toshifts
year. than actual
scopes,
are shower
very small
like subtle
And
this year's
showerofwill
probably
than
usual.
movements.
A chain
stars,
headedbe
bybetter
18 and
19 Aur
andThere's
footedeven
by a
chance
thatstar
it could
be spectacular.
the double
14 Aur,
sparkles southwest of M38. Draw a line from 18
to 19, and extend it about 45′ west to ﬁnd 6th-magnitude AE.
is a very hot,Enhancement
blue, O-type main-sequence dwarf, with a brightAnAE
Enigmatic
ness
ranging
from
5.78
6.08
- not quite
a fullquite
magnitude
of But
variabilFor the last several years,tothe
Perseids
have been
normal.
ity,the
butlate
enough
be noticeable
youshower
watch turned
it regularly.
This variability
in
1970stoand
early 1980sifthe
unusually
active.

CREDIT
T.
A . R ECTOR
X X X X X X/ XB.X XAX. XWOLPA
X X X X / N OAO / AUR A / NSF

Four hours, compressed. "I cre-

Sky and Telescope - February 2018

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