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Sunday, May 21

Early last month I had the good fortune to visit Hawaii, specifically the Kailua-Kona area on the northwest side of the Big Island. From latitude 19.4 degrees north, a 20- to 30-degree swath of southern sky is plainly visible. Being extremely rich in stars, star clusters and nebulas it is a rewarding region to explore with even a modest pair of binoculars.

One very noticeable object looks like a wooly star to the naked eye, but in binoculars appears distinctly "granular." This is the great globular cluster Omega Centauri, a sphere of millions of gravitationally bound stars, and one of the most magnificent sights in the sky.

About four degrees north of Omega Centauri is Centaurus A, a weird-looking galaxy that is also an intense radio source. Binoculars show it as sizeable ball of gray, diffuse light. Telescopes, however, reveal a wide lane of dark dust crossing its girth. Apparently, the center of this galaxy is undergoing many violent explosions due to an ongoing spate of star formation.

Dropping down to Crux, look for the beautiful Jewel Box star cluster dangling from Mimosa. Its name is most appropriate. There are about 50 stars in this aggregate, mostly blue and red, looking like scattered rubies and sapphires.

An interesting study in contrasts lies just south of the Jewel Box, where we see the starless void of the Coal Sack, a cloud of dense interstellar dust.

If you can't travel to the Southern Hemisphere anytime soon, the next best thing is to find yourself in the southerly realm of the Northern Hemisphere this spring where you can catch tantalizing sights of the celestial vistas on the "other side" of the sky.

Sky Note: While in Hawaii, I had the occasion to visit the Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center. The center is an inspiring place for children to learn about working in space and what it means to be an astronaut. Check it out while you're there. It's conveniently located within walking distance of the Kona Airport.

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Jeff Kanipe is the author of A Skywatcher's Year, an astronomy guide just published by Cambridge University Press. He is a former editor at Astronomy and StarDate magazines and a writer for the Earth & Sky radio series.

The images in Skywatch are produced by Starry Night software.