Stargazer Photo Captures Star Cities Far Away

A panoramic view of a region of the Auriga constellation has been published by an amateur astronomer who peers into the night skies above Michigan, where he can see clear views of five star nebulas and two star clusters, including the well-known Flaming Star Nebula [IC405] and the Tadpoles [IC410]. 

The image, which astronomer Terry Hancock took over the course of two nights in March, is one of a collection taken of the night sky above Michigan by the stargazer, who took pictures via his backyard observatory in Fremont which he posted on his website, called “Downunder Observatory.”

The Auriga constellation, Latin for 'charioteer,' is often represented as a chariot in popular illustration, and was first documented by Ptolemy in the second century as one of 48 listed constellations. It is one of 88 constellations used in modern astronomy.

Hancock, who credits the late astronomer Sir Patrick Moore as his inspiration, explains that the name of the blog comes from his youth, which he spent stargazing in the southern Hemisphere. There he "spent many nights viewing the glory of the southern night skies from the remote outback of Australia where the light pollution is minimal and the Milky Way so bright it would cast a shadow."

The pictures are to be published in the next issue of Astronomy Magazine, as part of a guide for readers to "Explore the Virgo Cluster" next month. According to the experts, May is an ideal time to observe galaxies at night, allowing a view unimpeded by dust and gas since the densest part of the Milky Way, in Scorpius and Sagittarius, has not yet risen high in the sky.