Sky & Telescope - December 2018 - 43

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Binocular Highlight by Mathew Wedel

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WHEN TO
USE THE MAP

Late Oct
Early Nov
Late Nov
Early Dec
Late Dec

Midnight*
10 p.m.
9 p.m.
8 p.m.
7 p.m.

*Daylight-saving time

A

tik is Arabic for "the shoulder," and it's traditionally been the name for a bright star about 9°
north of the Pleiades. But which star? Some sources
- including my beloved Pocket Sky Atlas - apply
the name to Zeta (ζ) Persei, whereas others identify
Omicron (ο) Persei, 2° west of Zeta, as Atik. Even
that's complicated, because Omicron Persei is a
multiple system with at least three stars. In 2016 the
International Astronomical Union laid the matter to
rest: Omicron Persei A is Atik.
Why am I going on about this? It's because I want
you to go look at both Zeta and Omicron Persei, and
the surrounding Milky Way. Zeta is a superluminous
B1 supergiant, lying roughly 1,000 light-years away. At
the tender age of 9 million years, it has already started
shutting down hydrogen fusion in its core, and sometime in the next million years it will blow itself apart
in a Type II supernova. Omicron Persei A is also a B1
giant, somewhat smaller than Zeta, but likewise fated
to go out in a blaze of glory.
We won't be around for that, but there's plenty
to see right now. Look for several chains of stars
radiating away from Zeta Persei to the northwest.
These rays of stars are just chance alignments, but
they're pretty, and they're spangled with orange
and yellow K-class giants. Then have a close look at
Omicron Persei. A scant 10′ to the southeast lies the
tiny star-forming region IC 348. At 7th magnitude,
this compact wisp of light should be visible in most
instruments under good conditions - if you can pull
it out of the glare of Atik. Stars are being born there,
right now, and that is always a momentous and
humbling thought.
¢ MATT WEDEL is bushwhacking through the hinterlands of Perseus. He's expected back any day now.
sk yandtelescope.com * DECE MBE R 2 018

43
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Sky & Telescope - December 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - December 2018
