Observing Basics: Glenn Chaple bids a final farewell

What do you consider your worst Observing Basics article?

Well, when it comes to negative reader feedback, my worst Observing Basics article might be the one that appeared in the August 2004 issue. Titled “A ring and a triangle,” it included my opinion about the visibility of M57 (the Ring Nebula in Lyra). More specifically, I wrote that “Its annular (ring) appearance is visible only through 6-inch scopes or larger.” Several readers emailed to inform me that they had seen the ring with telescopes having apertures as small as 3 to 4 inches. One disgruntled reader went straight to the internet with a piece called “The Ring-ness of the Ring Nebula.” He blasted me for my obvious lack of astronomical knowledge, took my editor to task for not spotting such an egregious mistake, and stated that he was canceling his subscription to Astronomy. Ouch! (By the way, I was able to make out the ring with a 4-inch apochromatic refractor, so I humbly stand corrected. You learn as you go.) A young lady in the front row has a question.

In your final column, is there any December sky sight you’d like to spotlight?

I’ll close my tenure as Observing Basics columnist with the gorgeous naked-eye open cluster M45, better known as the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. This swarm of cosmic fireflies offers a unique observing experience whether you study it with unaided eye, binoculars, or a telescope.

In December, the Pleiades appears high above the eastern horizon after sunset. From urban areas, this cluster may be a washout with even its brightest member, 3rd-magnitude Alcyone, hidden by light-polluted skies. On a moonless night, suburban skygazers will be able to see Alcyone and four or five fainter Pleiades. For keen-eyed folks observing from pristine dark-sky locales, that number can rise to a dozen or more! Binoculars and low-power, rich-field telescopes bring out the best in the Pleiades. While adding a few dozen more cluster members, they’re able to capture the entire group as well as the surrounding dark sky — a spectacular sight!

If you’re fortunate enough to live in an area blessed with dark skies, see if you can pick out the nebulosity that surrounds much of the Pleiades. A large-aperture telescope equipped with a medium- to high-power eyepiece doesn’t offer the most appealing view at first glance. (The cluster barely fits in such a field of view!) But take another look and you’ll see a number of double and multiple stars, several of which I described in the January 1980 issue of Deep Sky Monthly.

Look next to Alcyone to observe a striking, wide triple system comprised of stars shining at magnitudes 6.3, 8.2, and 8.7. With Alcyone and a handful of fainter stars, it forms a multiple system identified in star atlases by the Wilhelm Struve catalog designation Σ I 8, or in the Washington Double Star Catalog as STFA 8.
Since there are no more raised hands, let me offer some closing comments. Writing this column has been a dream come true for that 11-year-old youngster who made a book on dinosaurs. I hope that during my two decades of writing Observing Basics, I helped a few beginners enter a lifelong love and pursuit of backyard astronomy, and that I also encouraged a few veterans to try something new.

Best wishes to whomever picks up where I left off. And a huge thank you to Dave Eicher and all the other Astronomy staffers as they continue to put out the world’s greatest astronomy magazine. This includes the editors and copy editors who took over Mr. Gardner’s job and helped my writing be the best it could be.
Finally, a special thanks to you, the readers. Without your encouragement, suggestions, and, yes, even criticisms, putting together this column wouldn’t have been the rewarding experience it was.

To all of you, a heartfelt “Clear skies!”