There's more to the sky than constellations...!

CHALLENGE #8:
SKY HUNT.

Look up at the night sky with a good map of the stars and find your sign of the zodiac. (Or find a friend's sign, if yours isn't up at this time of year.)

Using a MicroObservatory telescope, how many interesting objects can you find in your constellation? Send us your best images and we'll display them here. Following are some suggestions... but the sky's the limit!


  • Scorpio: Can you find a "globular cluster" of stars near Antares -- the red eye of the Scorpion?

  • Libra: Try to image a double star system in this constellation -- two stars orbiting each other. There's a pair here you might just make out with your naked eye. If you lived in this star system, you'd see two suns in the sky. Most stars in the Universe orbit one or more companions. Our own Sun is a loner!

  • Virgo: Send us your best image of the famous Virgo cluster of galaxies. Can you make out any features of these distant galaxies? Galaxies are so distant from our own Milky Way galaxy that even in the science fiction show Star Trek, the Enterprise never made it to another galaxy.

  • Leo: Can you find "twin" spiral galaxies in Leo? They make a beautiful image...

  • Cancer: A stunning cluster of stars -- the "Beehive" -- hides here.

  • Gemini: Two clusters of stars make a beautiful image. A bigger challenge: Can you find the cast-off remains of a dying star? See if you can image the Eskimo Nebula -- and find the dying star at its center. You'll need dark skies and skill at image processing.

  • Taurus: The famous Hyades and Pleiades star clusters are here. A challenge: find the Crab Nebula -- the remains of a star that exploded almost a thousand years ago.

  • Aries: Can you find double stars in this tiny constellation?

  • Pisces: See if you can find a spiral galaxy seen face on.

  • Aquarius: A globular cluster of stars can be found here.

  • Capricorn: This is the home of many globular clusters of stars. Can you image them?

  • Sagittarius: The best star clouds in the Milky Way can be found in this constellation. You'll find globular clusters here, too.