IYA Live Telescope Today: Jupiter and Neptune Conjunction – M19

Hey, hey! We’re baaaack… Due to some technical difficulties, our eye on the southern sky has been down for a short time, but I’m happy to report that we’re back up and running again. If you missed our broadcast yesterday and today, have no fear. We recorded the Jupiter and Neptune conjunction for you and captured Messier 19 today, too! Come on… You know you want to look!

Even though it only looks like two dots hanging out on a black background, it’s knowing what those two dots are that counts. In order to get them both in the same frame, we used minimal magnification. Jupiter is the brightest and will appear at the bottom of the frame, while Neptune is fainter and at the top of the frame.

Ready for the next? Then step up to the eyepiece and view Messier Object 19….

(The following is a cut and paste from Wikipedia)

Messier 19 or M19 (also designated NGC 6273) is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus.

It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 and added to his catalogue of comet-like objects that same year.

M19 is the most oblate of the known globular clusters. It is at a distance of about 28,000 light-years from the Solar System, and is quite near to the Galactic Center, at only about 5,200 light-years away.

As always, you can visit the remote telescope by clicking on the IYA “LIVE Remote Cam” Logo to your right. Just remember if you get an error message, that means it is either daylight or cloudy… Or the scope or broadcasting system is dead and so are the volunteers running it. We’ll be broadcasting whenever skies are clear and dark in Central Victoria! Enjoy…

Factual information is copied from Wikipedia. Thank you so much!