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About My Travels Magellanic Clouds Southern Cross Southern Hemisphere Stargazing

Star Gazing in the Southern Hemisphere

Did you know that you can’t see the North Pole star after you cross the equator, midsouthern latitudes (15-45 degrees south), but the southern sky is brighter, and there are more stars to see!

Among the exciting celestial treasures that await the traveler who ventures deeper south is the Milky Way–well you say I can see it anywhere, but in the Southern sky it is brighter, especially in our summer, their winter. The Magellanic Clouds, though, can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. Never heard of the Magellanic Clouds?–

From the southern hemisphere the brightest galaxy to be seen is the Large Magellanic Cloud, a smaller galaxy than Andromeda (which we can see in the northern hemisphere), but 14 times brighter. With the naked eye the Large Magellanic Cloud looks like a gray patch in the sky, and the Small Magellanic Cloud nearby looks like a smaller gray patch.

In the 16th century , Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first to note the position and appearance of these two patches, remarking on their uniqueness in the heavens. Today we know they are satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, with the Large Magellanic Cloud about 5 percent of the mass of the Milky Way, and the Small Magellanic Cloud 1 percent of the mass of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Reference: Night Watch
A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson 4 Edition

On a recent trip across the equator I saw the Large Magellanic Cloud, but the most impressive celestial sight to me was my first sighting of the Southern Cross. Maybe it was impressive because I was also able to get pictures of it! Laying on a deck chair on the Sky Deck of a Cruise ship at 4 or 5 am is amazingly wonderful! You say you aren’t a morning person, well neither am I but I still marveled at the beauty of the sky at those hours, and got up without the aid of an alarm clock! I do have a great lady to Thank for opening my eyes to the southern sky; Famous HAL lecturer, Star Lady Donna. Check her out www.stargazing.ca
Another site to check Skyandtelescope.com for interesting articles, Sky at a glance, Interactive Sky Chart, etc. You can also get Sky Calender on Twitter http://twitter.com.skymaps, then buy yourself a Planisphere for your Latitude and go out and look at the stars!

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