The Northern Hemisphere skies may offer many treats for the eyes, but we who live under them often pine for the delights unique to the southern sky. Those lucky southern astronomers get to see the Milky Way’s core overhead rather than along the horizon, and enjoy many star clusters and nebulae that are hidden for us in the north. If you have the chance to travel to the Southern Hemisphere, be sure to check out some must-see highlights.
I had the opportunity in 2019 to view the July 2 total solar eclipse in Chile, where I also spent a week in the Atacama Desert. Using one of the telescopes in French expat Alain Maury’s sunflower field of Dobsonian-mounted reflectors at his Atacama Lodge outside San Pedro de Atacama, I observed several objects I had never seen before, along with familiar targets such as the Swan Nebula (M17) and the Lagoon Nebula (M8) lying almost directly overhead. The high altitude and dark sky made for some incredible nights of observing.
Some of my favorite objects to espy in big Dobs are globular clusters, and with a full view of the Milky Way’s core, the southern sky is replete with them. First and foremost is Omega Centauri (NGC 5139), a spectacular sight with some 10 million stars. It’s so big and bright that it was visible naked-eye even from our hotel in the large coastal town of La Serena, where we stayed before the eclipse. In a 28-inch reflector, it’s breathtaking. Another stunning glob is 47 Tucanae, the second-largest in the sky after Omega Centauri. I wrote in my logbook that it “seemed to spiral around in my eye.”
Of course, we can’t forget about the most impressive object in the southern sky — the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070), located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. One of the fascinating things about it is that it looks different at every magnification. Under low power, I wrote that it had “three chunks” and looked “dim and chunky.” With higher magnification, I was awestruck by its intricate structure and color, which is incredible considering it’s 160,000 light-years away. I wrote that the nebula “showed a green-blue color, forked with dark nebulous clouds spreading out from the middle.” If the Tarantula were as close to us as the Orion Nebula, it would be as large as 60 Full Moons side by side and would cast shadows!
It’s also worth stopping by the planets and northern-sky objects while in the Southern Hemisphere. I had some of the sharpest views I’ve ever seen of familiar targets as they appeared overhead, where there is the least atmosphere between you and space. I could see more structure in M17 than before, and Jupiter and Saturn were full of detail. I swung by the Silver Coin Galaxy (NGC 253) in Sculptor, which I noted looked “positively 3D … standing out against the background darkness.”
The good news for northern observers is that several objects commonly thought to be for southern observers only are actually visible from southern parts of the U.S. From my dark-sky property outside Tucson (latitude 32° north), I’ve observed Omega Centauri through binoculars and captured it with my astrophotography rig; it rises as high as 10° from there.
I’ve also observed it and the starburst galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) while at the Texas Star Party. The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) and the glittering Jewel Box Cluster (NGC 4755) are reportedly visible from the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, as is the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, in the summertime, if only a few degrees off the horizon.
Observing the southern skies from Chile is an experience I won’t forget. If you have a chance to travel south, take it! For those of us stuck in the north, we’ll have to make do with catching a few southern delights when they briefly sneak over the horizon.
