Friday, May 21, 7:00pm
Recording will also be available on our Youtube Channel after the event.
Program Description:
In May, the constellation Virgo dominates the sky - it’s the second largest constellation in terms of area. Constellations are not just funny connect-the-dot shapes; we use them to designate regions in the night sky, the way state and city borders signify regions on a map. The Virgo region of the sky is jam-packed with deep-sky objects visible through small telescopes, and even binoculars in some cases. Many of these objects are galaxies that are part of the massive Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally-bound systems in the Universe, and thus are fascinating laboratories for exploring fundamental questions about gravity. However, you don’t have to be an expert on gravity to enjoy the diverse beauty of these galaxies!
About AstroNights:
AstroNights is a live, family-friendly exploration of your night sky that you can join from the comfort of your home. View live on YouTube or join the Zoom Webinar for extra interactive features! Our educators leave audiences with simple advice for observing your real night sky when the program is over. From the colorful characters in our own solar system to the weird and wonderful things far beyond, each program is sure to contain something of interest to armchair astronomers of all ages. Monthly each 3rd Friday. Click here for more information about past AstroNights events, including how to access recordings.
Resources
The links below include resources mentioned during the program, suggested follow-up activities, and more!
The Messier Catalog: When Charles Messier assembled his category of deep-sky objects in the late 18th century, he wasn’t sure what most of these objects were (but he was certain they were NOT comets). Today, with beautiful, detailed images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, we know that they represent a wide range of celestial objects, including many of the distant galaxies of the Virgo Cluster. Check out stunning HST images and a useful map of the distribution of Messier Objects.
Virgo Cluster on APOD - a beautiful image hosted on Astronomy Picture of the Day with dozens of galaxies labelled.
M60-UCD1 - a tiny galaxy hiding out next to much-larger M60 is the densest galaxy ever observed! Results from Hubble & Chandra.
Laniakea, Our Home Super-Supercluster - This video from Nature Video will help you understand the heiracharcical structure of galaxies, small galaxies groups, galaxy clusters, superclusters and beyond. It’s a short and cool video, but slightly advanced.
Laniakea on APOD - See the computer generated of the massive structure Laniakea, of which the Virgo Cluster (and the Virgo Supercluster, and us) is just a tiny part
Supermassive Black Hole in M87 - Check out Zooming into the Heart of M87, a great video from ESO showing increasing more detail from a variety of data sources, and this incredible visualization from Goddard Media Studios that will help you understand why the black hole image looks the way it does.
Event Horizon Telescope - official page of the EHT collaboration where you can find more information and resources, including the March 2021 results about the SMBH in M87