Stars over Sisters

While there are many different constellations that are visible in November, this month's is a challenge to locate because, 1) it skims about 15 degrees above the southern horizon, and 2) its brightest stars are still faint. Sculptor is interesting because it is home to several impressive galaxies, as well as the South Galactic Pole.

The best way to find Sculptor is to start with Fomalhaut, a first magnitude star situated near the eastern border of the neighboring constellation of Piscis Austrinus. From there, Sculptor extends eastward a distance of almost 30 degrees.

SSRO/PROMPT/CTIO

The Silver Coin Galaxy, located 11.4 million light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, is a dusty spiral galaxy currently undergoing rapid star formation.

The constellation's brightest star is Alpha Sculptoris, which shines only dimly at a magnitude of 4.3. It is a hot blue giant star which is actually 1,500 times brighter, 14 times larger, and 5 times more massive than the earth's sun. It lies at a distance of 780 light-years.

Sculptor's brightest galaxy is NGC 253, also known as the Silver Coin Galaxy, or the Sculptor Galaxy. NGC 253 is one of the easiest spiral galaxies for amateur astronomers to observe, along with the Andromeda Galaxy and M81. It resides just 11.4 million light-years from the earth.

To round out the galactic quintet are spiral galaxies NGC 300 and NGC 7793, located at distances of 6.1 million light-years and 12.7 million light-years, respectively, and barred spiral galaxy NGC 613 residing at 67 million light-years. Finally, Sculptor contains a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite body of the Milky Way, found just 290,000 light-years away.

The South Galactic Pole is located approximately two degrees southeast of the Silver Coin Galaxy. It marks the southern extent of earth's galaxy's axis of rotation.

Sculptor has no mythology surrounding it, most likely because it was discovered in the 1700s by French astronomer Nicolas Lacaille. Lacaille named it the Sculptor's Workshop, but its name was shortened to Sculptor by English astronomer John Herschel. The Sculptor's Workshop is a more accurate name since the constellation is supposed to look like a bust that is being carved by a sculptor. The constellation looks like an upside-down triangle that is very long on one side.

When planning a stargazing activity, be aware of any planets that may be visible in the evening/morning. In November, all five of the naked-eye planets can be viewed. Mercury, Venus, and Saturn will be evening objects, Mercury and Venus near the southwestern horizon an hour after sunset and Saturn at night high in the southern sky. Jupiter (in Taurus) and Mars (in Cancer) will appear in the morning.

Track the lunar phases to optimize viewing opportunities. Observe under dark skies, with little or no interfering moonlight. The new moon occurred on Friday, November 1, first quarter will be on the 9th, full moon on the 16th, and last quarter on the 24th.

Light pollution is a big issue that isn't hard to solve. Turning off lights shows the stars better, but also helps migrating birds. Lights on at night disrupt the birds' circadian rhythm, potentially causing more of them to die. Leaving lights on inside a building can cause birds to fly towards them and crash into the windows, injuring or killing the bird. Make sure all lights are off at night, both in and outside the house.