Podcast: Night-sky targets for February 27-March 6, 2009

The constellation Columba, globular cluster NGC 1851, and spiral galaxy NGC 1808 are nicely visible in this week's sky.

By Michael E. Bakich — Published: February 26, 2009

Columba the Dove, pictured here, is the only surviving constellation named after an object in the Bible. Columba represents the dove that Noah sent out to test whether the waters from the Great Flood had receded. The point in the sky away from which our Sun seems to be heading, known as the solar antapex, lies within the boundaries of this constellation.

Photo by Linda Hall Library

Each week, Astronomy magazine Senior Editor Michael Bakich, a master at explaining how to observe, posts a podcast about three objects or events you can see in the sky.

In each episode, Michael highlights:

One object you can see without any optical aid
One object you can see with a small (4-inch) telescope
One object you can see with at least an 8-inch telescope

Targets for February 27-March 6, 2009

Naked eye:

Small telescope:

8-inch or larger telescope:

Listen to the podcast:

Downloadable File(s)

Podcast Columba NGC 1851 and NGC 1808 (7142 kB)

Subscribe to Astronomy magazine podcasts through iTunes.

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Podcast transcript
This episode's transcript contains additional links to resources within Astronomy.com to help your observing.

StarDome
Check out the Astronomy.com's interactive star chart to see an accurate map of your sky. This tool will help you locate this week's targets.

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Observing talk
After you listen to the podcast and try to find the objects, be sure to share your observing experiences with us by leaving a comment at the blog or in the Reader forums.

Previous episodes:

February 20-27, 2009: Beehive Cluster, open cluster M50, and the Rosette Nebula
February 13-20, 2009: Open cluster M41, the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster, and Thor's Helmet
February 6-13, 2009: Canis Minor, M78, and the Witch Head Nebula
January 30-February 6, 2009: Heavenly G, NGC 2112, and the Double Bubble Nebula
January 23-30, 2009: Lepus, the Crab Nebula, and the Raspberry Nebula

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