Winter Astronomy

What to See in Northern Michigan's Night Skies

Jan. 15, 2016

Skygazing is a frequent pursuit in the summer months, when the weather’s warm and it’s easy to sit outdoors well past midnight. In the winter, it takes a little more effort to get out there and see what the night sky has to offer. Is it worth it? Our two experts definitely think so. Here’s the scoop from Mary Stewart Adams, program director for the Headlands International Dark Sky Park north of Harbor Springs, and Jerry Dobek, Northwestern Michigan College astronomy instructor in Traverse City.

GET EQUIPPED

"An advantage to the winter skies is that darkness occurs before midnight," explained Dobek. "During winter, since it’s darker earlier, many things can be viewed in the skies before the late evening news, and if you dress for the seasons, the cold is not so bothersome."

Dobek suggested dressing appropriately for a temperature 10 degrees colder than the thermometer reads, since astronomy is not a particularly active pursuit. Additionally, Adams recommends getting a star map or looking online before you go outside. There are star map apps for mobile phones, even ones with red lights so as not to interfere with your night vision, but Adams prefers the old-fashioned way.

"I don’t want to discourage technology, but finding things on your own brings a different quality to your skygazing experience," she said. "It’s like using GPS; you can let the voice tell you where to go, but then you’re not learning anything about your surroundings."

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is one of the showiest phenomenon of the night sky, lighting it up – especially in our region of the country – with shades of pink, orange and green.

"They are, of course, one of the most popular things to see in the winter night sky here," Adams said.

The most basic explanation is that it’s caused by electrons colliding with the upper regions of Earth’s atmosphere, a fleeting sight more frequent at high latitudes (the southern counterpart is called the aurora australis.)

Since solar activity can be a good indicator of when the northern lights will be visible, keep an eye on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, where you can watch a graph of geomagnetic activity; the higher the number, the better the chance (higher than 4 is best.) While sky objects that are farther away take more effort to see, they can be even more impressive.

GALAXY GAZING

The darkest skies in northern Michigan take place in February, Adams explained, which makes for great skygazing.

"In astronomy speak, the "˜seeing’ is good," she said. "It’s usually so cold we have less moisture and interference in the air."

Right around the new moon is the best time to see the Andromeda Galaxy, a sight that Adams said can be seen with little (binoculars) or no visual assistance.

"Look for the great square of the constellation Pegasus," she directed, "and the galaxy is just above the northeastern most point of that square." Andromeda is also one of Dobek’s favorites.

"It’s the furthest a person can see with the unaided eye," he said. "It’s about 2.5 million light years away."

Another superlative sky object Adams is looking forward to is Mu Cephei, or the Garnet Star, a red supergiant in the constellation of Cepheus. "It shows the deepest color you can see without a telescope," she said, "and it’s massive. It’s the largest star that we can see. If we put that star where our sun is, its surface would extend beyond Saturn."

PLANETS AND MORE

A big deal, astronomy-wise, for late January is the comet Catalina, which will be making its closest pass by Earth on Jan. 17, and will be best visible in the morning sky, with binoculars, between 4am and 6am if you’re looking east.

"Catalina was discovered back in 2013, but is only just now becoming visible to us," Adams said. "And it’s a one-time deal; because of its speed and trajectory, it’s never coming back around to our solar system."

She also pointed out that on Jan. 25, five planets will be visible to us at once.

"We don’t often get to see all five of these at the same time," she said.

Around one hour before sunrise, over the southern horizon, you should be able to see Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury, in that order.

In March, Jupiter will be back and in opposition with the sun, "so that, as the sun rises, it will be setting, and as the sun sets, it will be moving up the sky, which will make it visible all night," Adams said.

DOWN TO EARTH

You might notice that sky objects seem a lot brighter in the winter, too. Although, as Dobek pointed out, that’s more of an illusion, but a welcome one.

"The stars aren’t actually any brighter," he said. "It’s just that their appearance is more against the blackness of space, since in the winter the Earth’s orbit around the sun causes us to view in the direction opposite the central region of the milky way."

In spite of that, Adams said she feels winter skygazing is a completely different night sky viewing experience than people have in the summertime. "The dark just seems darker and you can feel the deepness of space, whereas in the summer, the sky seems lighter and closer," she said.

To add another, even more, human element, you can often actually see the International Space Station (ISS) cruising overhead (find out where and when it will be visible by visiting NASA’s Spot the Station web page.)

Seeing the ISS, much like finally settling your binoculars or telescope on a sky object you’ve only seen in photos or documentaries, is a surreal experience for most, bringing astronomy down to earth, as you realize the astronauts on the ISS are likely looking at us.

For more information on the Headlands International Dark Sky Park, visit midarkskypark.org, find them on Facebook or call the office at (231) 348-1713. The park is always open and most events are free. The NMC Joseph H. Rogers Observatory is generally used by students/faculty, but it does offer open viewing nights to the public at a suggested donation of $2 per person or $5 per family. For more information, visit nmc.edu or call (231) 995-2300.