Cookies go great with the Milky Way

As much as the rain is needed, I would prefer clear skies. It is hard to make astronomical observations through clouds, or skies heavy with hazy humidity.

Now that summer is here, however, the evenings are much warmer and more comfortable for staying outside to observe. Except for the mosquitoes and other such creepy pests.

The Summer Triangle, an asterism, and the summer constellations are moving into prime position for viewing as is the broad band of starry light called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is the edge of our home galaxy.

If you hold a cookie up to eye level so that it is flat and parallel to the ground, the edge you are looking at would compare with what you are seeing in the Milky Way, the edge of our galaxy. The nice thing about using a cookie for this demonstration is you can eat it when you are finished.

If you are out at about 9:30 p.m. local time, look high in the south, almost overhead, for the "H" shaped constellation Hercules. It is home to one of the best and brightest globular star clusters estimated to contain more than a quarter of a million stars.

To find Hercules first find our old friend Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, the Herdsman (pronounced Bo-oh-tees). To find Arcturus first locate the Big Dipper and use the arc in the handle as a pointer. Follow the arc across the sky to the bright, orangey star.

Next, look eastward and locate the very bright Star Vega in the constellation Lyre, the Harp. It is the brightest of the three stars in the Summer Triangle, also the one farthest west. Now, draw a line from Vega to Arcturus and about one-third of the way along that line going from Vega; there is Hercules. The Hercules Cluster (M13 in Messier's catalog of things that are not comets) is on the upper right side of that "H" on that line drawn previously.

Although it can be dimly seen from a dark sky without any help, the cluster will be a fuzzy ball in binoculars. In a larger scope at high magnification, the stars in the cluster will take on individual identities.

Globular clusters are estimated to be somewhere around 12 billion years old. That is particularly ancient considering the whole universe is estimated at 13.7 billion years old.

While you are on that line between the two bright stars, look between Hercules and Bootes for a small arc-shaped constellation called Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. The line will cross its brightest star, Alpheca, sometimes called Gemma. Use your binoculars to roam around here for a while, there are some really nice double star combinations in this area.

SKY WATCH:

There could be a nice meteor shower in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 27. The Bootids are the left-over bits of periodic comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke. It is a rarely-seen shower and records of past appearances are sketchy, so we have no accurate way to predict how many blazing streaks of debris -- if any -- will be seen. In 1928 and 1997, Earth passed through the comet's debris stream shortly after the comet itself, but the Bootids failed to appear. However, in 1998 and again in 2004 there was a pretty decent showing.

If the stream is good, there is the possibility of seeing upwards of a meteor a minute. Find a nice dark-sky place, bring a blanket or sleeping bag, some munchies, a jug of hot chocolate or coffee and some friends to make a party of it. See who can count the most. If the shower fails to appear, have your binoculars handy and scan the Milky Way for an unforgettable view of our galaxy.

NEXT TIME:

More astronomical blathering.