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From: dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: StarDate: July 27 Scorpius with Binoculars
Message-ID: <429@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 27-Jul-85 02:00:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.429
Posted: Sat Jul 27 02:00:43 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 28-Jul-85 06:18:24 EDT
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 42

Ordinary binoculars will make any constellation look better than ever.
More on what you'll see with binoculars in the constellation Scorpius
-- in just a moment.

July 27  Scorpius with Binoculars

Saturday night the moon is visible near the red star Antares -- the
fiery heart of the constellation Scorpius.

The rest of this constellation extends southward from Antares.  You'll
see it as a looping pattern of stars that really resembles a scorpion's
tail.

If you find Scorpius, and come to know it -- wait until some night when
the moon is down to look at the constellation through binoculars.
You'll be surprised at what you see.  First of all, binoculars bring
out the colors of stars.  The red star Antares -- the star at the
scorpion's heart -- will look even redder through binoculars.  At least
two other red stars lie within the body of the scorpion -- and
binoculars will help you see which ones they are.

Also, several stars in Scorpius that look single to the naked eye are
seen through binoculars to be double.

Finally, you can see a star cluster in Scorpius if you look in a very
dark sky.  This cluster can be found at the crook of the scorpion's
tail, at the place where it turns eastward.  The official name for the
cluster is NGC6231 -- but you don't need to remember that.  Just
remember to look at the crook of the scorpion's tail with binoculars
for something that looks hazy -- not like a star!  It's really a star
cluster.

And by the way, if you're looking in a dark sky, move your binoculars
slightly to the east to find the best binocular target of all -- the
glittering arc of the Milky Way -- now becoming very prominent in the
evening.


Script by Deborah Byrd.


(c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin