BBC Stargazing LIVE Part 4: 5 amazing night sky sights

Has BBC Stargazing LIVE left you itching to get out there and observe the heavens? Then get your binoculars, telescopes and imaging equipment at the ready and see how many of these night sky gems you can spot!

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1. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

The Andromeda Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the northern hemisphere and can be seen with the naked eye on clear, dark nights away from city and town lights.

The Andromeda Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the northern hemisphere and can be seen with the naked eye on clear, dark nights away from city and town lights.

Hemisphere: Northern

Right Ascension: 00h 42m 44s

Declination:  +41° 16′ 9″

M31 or the Andromeda Galaxy is the brightest galaxy in the northern hemisphere and can be seen with the naked eye on clear, dark nights away from city and town lights. Binoculars will show its bright central core as a fuzzy patch of light and a medium sized telescope will start to show some structure in the spiral arms. The best time to see it is during the months of October and November when it’s high up in the south. It is the furthest object which can be seen with the naked eye, laying some 2.5 million light years away from Earth and extends in total over 4 times the width of the full Moon as seen in the sky.

2. The Great Orion Nebula (M42)

Visible to the naked eye as a faint misty patch of light, the Orion Nebula can be found in the 'Sword Belt' of the constellation of Orion the Hunter.

Visible to the naked eye as a faint misty patch of light, the Orion Nebula can be found in the ‘Sword Belt’ of the constellation of Orion the Hunter.

Hemisphere: Northern and Southern

Right Ascension: 05h 35m 17s

Declination: -05h 23′ 28″

Probably the most famous nebula in the entire night sky, the Great Orion Nebula is a huge area of dust and gas in space; a star forming region. Over millions of years the gas and dust comes together and eventually when the object is massive enough nuclear reactions begin in the core and the star switches on. It is the 42nd object in Charles Messier’s list and it too is visible to the naked eye as a faint misty patch of light in the ‘Sword Belt’ of the constellation of Orion the Hunter. Binoculars will show it much more clearly and a small telescope with a medium power will reveal the ‘Trapezium’ stars born from the gas and dust.

3. Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis)

Red supergiant star, Betelgeuse, is expected to die in a spectacular supernova explosion, with recent observations leading astronomers to predict it might happen within the next million years

Red supergiant star, Betelgeuse, is expected to die in a spectacular supernova explosion, with recent observations leading astronomers to predict it might happen within the next million years.

Hemisphere: Northern and Southern

Right ascension: 05h, 55m, 10s

Declination: +07 deg, 24’, 25”

Betelgeuse is a huge red supergiant star nearing the end of its life. It’s expected to die in a spectacular supernova explosion, with recent observations leading astronomers to predict it might happen within the next million years. Unfortunately, this will punch one of the pivotal dots out of one of the most beautiful constellations. Constraining the star’s colossal size is tricky, but astronomers believe it might be large enough to swallow everything inside the orbit of Saturn if it replaced our Sun.

 4. Jupiter

The largest planet in our solar system, shown in this NASA Cassini spacecraft image, Jupiter can be viewed with the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes and is a rewarding view with any of these.

The largest planet in our solar system, shown in this NASA Cassini spacecraft image, Jupiter can be viewed with the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes and is a rewarding view with any of these.

Hemisphere: Northern and Southern

Right Ascension: Varies

Declination:  Varies

The largest planet in our solar system can be viewed with the naked eye, binoculars or telescopes and is a rewarding view with any of these.  In binoculars you can see the disc and the moons of Jupiter. In a small telescope you’ll see cloud belts and maybe the Great Red Spot.

5. 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)

NGC 104 is easily visible to the naked eye and appears about the size of the full Moon.

NGC 104 is easily visible to the naked eye and appears about the size of the full Moon.

Hemisphere: Southern

Right Ascension: 00h 24m 06s

Declination:  -72° 04′ 53″

The second brightest globular cluster in the whole sky, 47 Tucanae is easily visible to the naked eye and appears about the size of the full Moon. It’s noted for having a very bright, dense core. A small telescope will start to resolve many of the stars in the cluster.

Images courtesy of NASA/JPL/University of Arizona (Jupiter), NASA/ESA (Orion Nebula), Adam Evans (Andromeda Galaxy), Southern African Large Telescope (47 Tucanae)

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