Globe at Night 2018 Perseus and Grus Campaigns Begin Oct. 30

Summary: The Globe at Night 2018 Perseus and Grus campaigns begin Tuesday, Oct. 30, in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere, respectively.

Perseus the Hero constellation lies between distinctively shaped Cassiopeia the Seated Queen constellation and Auriga the Charioteer constellation’s brightest star, Capella: Learn to Skywatch @Learntoskywatch, via Twitter Oct. 9, 2017

The Globe at Night 2018 Perseus and Grus campaigns begin Tuesday, Oct. 30, and close Thursday, Nov. 8, as checks of light pollution effects on visibility of Perseus the Hero constellation in the Northern Hemisphere and on Grus the Crane constellation in the Southern Hemisphere.

The October-to-November constellation campaigns open as the first of two 2018 Perseus and Grus campaigns. The constellations’ second campaigns run from Thursday, Nov. 29, through Saturday, Dec. 8.

Perseus the Hero lies in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere, the northern half of the imaginary sphere projected by astronomy outward from Earth’s surface into space. Perseus resides north of the celestial equator, astronomy’s imaginary projection of Earth’s equator outward onto the abstract celestial sphere.

Perseus is the 24th largest of the 88 modern constellations by area. Grus occupies 45th place.

The Hero’s northern neighbors are Camelopardalis (Ancient Greek: κάμηλος, kamēlos, "camel" + πάρδαλις, pardalis, "leopard") the Giraffe and Cassiopeia the Seated Queen. Sprawling Camelopardalis rates as 18th largest modern constellation. Cassiopeia is the 25th largest.

Auriga the Charioteer stretches along the Hero’s eastern boundary. Andromeda the Chained Princess and Triangulum the Triangle share the Hero’s western borders. Andromeda and Auriga place as the 19th and 20th largest constellations, respectively. Triangulum qualifies for the bottom eighth, with an areal ranking of 78th place.

Perseus finds two Northern Celestial Hemisphere constellations, Taurus the Bull and Aries the Ram, as southern neighbors. A small part of the Ram’s southern border straddles the celestial equator. Taurus and Aries claim areal extremes of 17th and 39th place, respectively.

Globe at Night’s website describe Perseus as a “wishbone of brightest stars.” The wishbone’s straight line marks the Hero’s body and head. The wishbone’s six stars comprise binary star Gamma Persei (γ Persei; Gamma Per, γ Per), Alpha Persei (α Persei; Alpha Per, α Per), Delta Persei (δ Persei; Delta Per, δ Per), multiple star system Epsilon Persei (ε Persei; Epsilon Per, ε Per), three-star system Beta Persei (β Persei; Beta Per, β Per) and Zeta Persei (ζ Persei; Zeta Per, ζ Per).

Neighboring constellations also help in locating Perseus. Cassiopeia’s distinctive M or W shape and Auriga the Charioteer’s brightest star, Capella (Alpha Aurigae, α Aurigae; Alpha Aur, α Aur), frame the Hero’s constellation.

Eight magnitude charts cover views for magnitudes ranging from zero for a cloudy sky to seven for a starry sky. Auriga’s Capella offers visibility at all eight magnitudes for targeted latitudes 20 to 50 degrees north. Capella is observable at 0 to 10 degrees north latitude at magnitudes one to seven.

The Hero’s second brightest star, Algol (Beta Persei), becomes visible at magnitudes two through seven for all targeted latitudes.

Globe at Night’s simultaneous Southern Hemisphere campaign evaluates the visibility of Grus the Crane. Globe at Night is only conducting the 2018 Grus campaign in the Southern Hemisphere. Constellation Guide website places the Crane’s visibility in the Northern Hemisphere at latitudes south of 34 degrees north. The Crane’s visibility extends throughout the Southern Hemisphere.

Southern celestial hemisphere constellations Sculptor and Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish lie along the Crane’s northern boundary. The Crane’s southern boundary associates with Tucana the Toucan and Indus the Indian. Phoenix the Phoenix and Microscopium the Microscope are adjacent to the Crane’s eastern and western boundaries, respectively.

Globe at Night suggests finding Grus by way of an uneven line of four stars. The quartet conveniently lines up in brightness order. Canis Major the Greater Dog’s Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris, α CMa) perches a little higher above the other three and shines as the brightest star in Earth’s nighttime sky. Carina the Keel’s Canopus (Alpha Carinae, α Carinae; Alpha Car, α Car), nighttime sky’s second brightest star, and Eridanus the River’s brightest star, Achernar (Alpha Eridani, α Eridani; Alf Eri, α Eri), claim second and third places in the lineup. Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish’s brightest star, Fomalhaut (Alpha Piscis Austrini, α Piscis Austrini; Alpha PsA, α PsA), closes the line. The Crane lies between Achernar and Fomalhaut.

The takeaway for the Globe at Night 2018 Perseus and Grus campaigns, conducted Tuesday, Oct. 30, through Thursday, Nov. 8, is that both campaigns open as the first of two 2018 Hero and Crane campaigns.

Grus the Crane is a Southern Hemisphere constellation that allows visibility northward to about 34 degrees north latitude: Star-Name-Registry @starnamereg, via Twitter Oct. 3, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Perseus the Hero constellation lies between distinctively shaped Cassiopeia the Seated Queen constellation and Auriga the Charioteer constellation’s brightest star, Capella: Learn to Skywatch @Learntoskywatch, via Twitter Oct. 9, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/Learntoskywatch/status/917449847476760577

Grus the Crane is a Southern Hemisphere constellation that allows visibility northward to about 34 degrees north latitude: Star-Name-Registry @starnamereg, via Twitter Oct. 3, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/starnamereg/status/650272856111218688

For further information:

“Can You Find Grus?” Globe at Night > Finding Constellations.
Available @ https://www.globeatnight.org/finding/grus

“Can You Find Perseus?” Globe at Night > Finding Constellations.
Available @ https://www.globeatnight.org/finding/perseus

Christoforou, Peter. “Which Constellations Can Be Seen Along the Milky Way?” Astronomy Trek. Nov. 14, 2015.
Available @ https://www.astronomytrek.com/which-constellation-can-be-seen-along-the-milky-way/

Jay Love @JayBirdOne. “Facts About The Constellation Perseus.” Twitter. Dec. 6, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/JayBirdOne/status/938534095914549248

Learn to Skywatch ‏@Learntoskywatch. “Tonight's Target: The Constellation Perseus.” Twitter. Oct. 9, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Learntoskywatch/status/917449847476760577

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Bootes and Crux Campaigns Happen in May.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 9, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/globe-at-night-2018-bootes-and-crux.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Cygnus and Second Scorpius Campaigns Begin Aug. 2.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/globe-at-night-2018-cygnus-and-second.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Hercules and Third Crux Campaigns Begin June 4.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 30, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/05/globe-at-night-2018-hercules-and-third.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Leo Campaign Begins April 6 for Northern Latitudes.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, April 4, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/04/globe-at-night-2018-leo-campaign-begins.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Pegasus and Second Sagittarius Campaigns Begin Oct. 1.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/09/globe-at-night-2018-pegasus-and-second.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Sagittarius and Second Cygnus Campaigns Begin Sept. 1.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/08/globe-at-night-2018-sagittarius-and.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Globe at Night 2018 Scorpius and Second Hercules Campaigns Begin July 4.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, June 27, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/06/globe-at-night-2018-scorpius-and-second.html

Star-Name-Registry @starnamereg. “#Grus #constellation lies in the southern sky.” Twitter. Oct. 3, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/starnamereg/status/650272856111218688