Reach for the Stars/Stars and DSOs
 | This page is incomplete. |
The Reach for the Stars Star and DSO lists specify which stars and Deep Sky Objects are covered in the event in a particular year. Teams are expected to be able to identify these objects on star charts, HR diagrams (where applicable), planetariums (where applicable), or other forms of display. Teams should also be knowledgeable about the evolutionary stages of these stars and objects.
Star & DSO List
As of the 2023-2024 season, stars and Deep Sky Objects are no longer separated in the rules. This is the list of all objects on the rules (not in alphabetical order).
With multiple-star systems, the Apparent/Absolute Magnitude is the combined Apparent/Absolute Magnitude of the stars.
Each combined image of DSOs often contains the DSO in multiple wavelengths, sometimes examining different sections of the object. Information about the individual images can be found by clicking on the combined image.
| Name | Images | Object Type | Constellation | Magnitude | Distance | Coordinates | Links | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute | Apparent | Right Ascension | Declination | ||||||
| HD 95086 | 
|
Pre-Main Sequence Star | Carina | 2.6 | 7.36 | 282.0 ± 0.5 ly (86.5 ± 0.1 pc) | 10h 57m 03.02157s | −68° 40′ 02.4492″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_95086 |
| A-type pre-main-sequence star, with a gas giant exoplanet orbiting. | |||||||||
| NGC 3324 | 
|
Open Cluster | Carina | -5.12 | 6.7 | 9100 ly (2800 pc) | 10h 37m 20s | −58° 38′ 30″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_3324 |
| Pre-main-sequence star | |||||||||
| V1057 Cygni | [[]] | FU Orionis Variable | Cygnus | 2.6 | 12.43±0.03 | 3000 ± 100 ly (920 ± 30 pc) | 20h 58m 53.73367s | +44° 15′ 28.3847″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V1057_Cygni |
| Suspected binary star system. Variable star of FU Orionis-type | |||||||||
| 30 Doradus (Tarantula Nebula) | 
|
H II Region | Dorado | 8 | 160 ± 10 kly | 05h 38m 38s | −69° 05.7′ | [1] [2] [3] | |
| Large H II region. Also known as the Tarantula Nebula. It is found in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and has a magnitude of 8. | |||||||||
| HD 141569 | 
|
Herbig Ae/Be Star | Libra | 7.12 | 364 ± 1 ly (111.6 ± 0.4 pc) | 15h 49m 57.7483s | −03° 55′ 16.342″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_141569 | |
| Isolated Herbig Ae/Be star of spectral class A2Ve | |||||||||
| HD 100546 | 
|
Herbig Ae/Be Star | Musca | 6.68 – 6.87 | 353 ± 1 ly (108.1 ± 0.4 pc) | 11h 33m 25.441s | −70° 11′ 41.24″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_100546 | |
| Pre-main-sequence star of spectral type B8 to A0. Surrounded by circumstellar disk. Evidence for protoplanet forming at a distance of ~47 AU. | |||||||||
| Barnard 68 | 
|
Bok Globule | Ophiuchus | 0.25 ly | 17h 22m 38.2s | −23° 49′ 34″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard_68 | ||
| Molecular cloud dark absorption nebula, or Bok globule. Extremely cold with temperatures of about 16 K. Two solar masses | |||||||||
| FU Orionis | [[]] | FU Orionis Variable | Orion | 8.94 | 1360 ± 30 ly (416 ± 9 pc) | 05h 45m 22.362s | +09° 04′ 12.31″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FU_Orionis | |
| Variable and binary star system | |||||||||
| HOPS 383 | 
|
Protostar | Orion | 1400 ly (420 pc) | 5h 35m 29.81s | −4° 59′ 51.1″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOPS_383 | ||
| First class-0 protostar discovered to have an outburst; youngest protostar known to have an outburst | |||||||||
| Messier 42 | 
|
Diffuse Nebula | Orion | 4.0 | 1344±20 ly (412 pc) | 05h 35m 17.3s | −05° 23′ 28″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula | |
| Contains a very young open cluster known as the Trapezium. | |||||||||
| Stephan's Quintet | 
|
Galaxy Group | Pegasus | 22h 35m 57.5s | +33° 57′ 36″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephan%27s_Quintet | |||
| Visual group of five galaxies. Four of these are the first compact galaxy group to be discovered. | |||||||||
| NGC 1333 | 
|
Reflection Nebula | Perseus | 5.6 | 967 ly (296.5 pc) | 03h 29m 11.3s | +31° 18′ 36″ | NASA, APOD, Spitzer,[4] | |
| NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula, where starlight is reflected by interstellar dust. It currently contains hundreds of stars less than a million years old. | |||||||||
| Baby Boom Galaxy | 
|
Starburst Galaxy | Sextans | 12.477 billion Ly | 10h 00m 54.52s | +2° 34′ 35.17″ | Spitzer,[5] | ||
| The Baby Boom Galaxy is the record-holder for the brightest starburst galaxy (rapidly star-forming galaxy). It is forming stars at a rate of 4000 new stars per year (in comparison to the Milky Way's ~10 per year), and is thought to be a result of colliding galaxies. | |||||||||
| HL Tauri | 
|
T Tauri Star | Taurus | 450 ly (140 pc) | 04h 31m 38.437s | +18° 13′ 57.65″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HL_Tauri | ||
| Young T Tauri star in Taurus Molecular Cloud | |||||||||
| L1527 | [[]] | Protostar | Taurus | ||||||
| NGC 1555 | 
|
Variable Nebula | Taurus | 4h 21m 57.1s | +19° 32′ 7″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1555 | |||
| Aka Hind's Variable Nebula or Sh2-238 or HH 155; variable nebula 4 ly across, illuminated by T Tauri | |||||||||
| T Tauri | 
|
Variable Star | Taurus | 10.27 | ~600 ly | 04h 21m 59.43s | +19° 32′ 06.42″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_Tauri | |
| The prototype of all T Tauri variable stars. It was discovered in October 1852 by John Russell Hind. T Tauri appears from Earth amongst the Hyades cluster, but is actually 420 light years behind it and was not formed with the rest of them. T-Tauri stars have similar temperature compared to the main sequence star they will become, but are larger and therefore more luminous. They will follow the Hayashi Track onto the main sequence. | |||||||||
| HH 46/47 | 
|
Herbig-Haro Objects | Vela | 1470 ly (450 pc) | 08h 25m 43.6s | −51° 00′ 36″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HH_46/47 | ||
| Herbig-Haro objects in a Bok globule near Gum nebula. Discovered in 1977. Jets of partially ionised gas emerging from a young star produce visible shocks upon impact with ambient medium | |||||||||
| RCW 38 | 
|
HII Region | Vela | 08h 59m 05.50s | −47° 30′ 39.4″ | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCW_38 | |||
| HII region with massive star cluster. Stars were very recently formed, surrounded within dark cloud. Star bluster surrounded by clouds of brightly glowing gas. Has several short-lived massive stars, young stars, many protostars. Several O-type stars with masses much larger than sun's. Will explode as supernovae. RCW 38 includes Gum 22/23/24. | |||||||||
| J122051+491255 | [[]] | "Green Pea" Galaxy | Volans | ||||||
Past Objects
Objects which previously were included in the list, but have been replaced, are provided here.
Stars
2020-2021
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016-2017
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011-2012
Gliese 581- Gliese 581 is a red dwarf, M3V star about 20 LY away. The star has an apparent magnitude between 10.56 and 10.58 and is located in the constellation Libra. The star is well known for its planet Gliese 581 g, thought to be in the habitable zone of its star, but the planet's existence is disputed. Mira (o Ceti)- The famous variable star Mira is located on the "tale" of Cetus. It is a binary star, with the red giant Mira A and its companion Mira B. Nearly 7000 other stars are classified with the variable type "Mira", named after the star. The star fluctates between apparent magnitude 2.0 all the way down to the faint 10.1 magnitude. Mira is a red giant star with the spectral type M7. Recently, astronomers have been studying the transport of gases nearly 70 AU from Mira A to Mira B. Proxima Centauri- At only 4 light years, Proxima centauri is the nearest star to the sun. It is a type-M red dwarf star, and despite its distance, it is too dim to see with the naked eye, at magnitude 11.05. Proxima Centauri is part of a triple star system with its brighter neighbor Alpha Centauri A and B. It is a flare star, a variable type that changes brightness drastically. |
Deep Sky Objects
2020-2021
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
2016-2017
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011-2012
Andromeda Galaxy (M31, NGC 224)- About 2.5 million LY away, the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. In fact, it is one of the relatively few galaxies that are approaching the Sun, causing the light from its 1 trillion stars to be blue-shifted. With an apparent magnitude of 4.4, it's one the brightest Messier objects in the nighttime sky. The Andromeda Galaxy has a double nucleus: P1, a brighter nucleus with lots of reddish, cool stars, and P2, a supermassive black hole at the very center of the galaxy with more bluish, hotter stars. There was one recorded supernova in 1885. The name comes from the fact that the Andromeda Galaxy appear to be in the constellation Andromeda from our vantage point on Earth. Beehive Cluster (M44, Praesepe (Latin: manger), NGC 2632)- An open cluster in the constellation Cancer- possibly of similar origin to the Hyades- the Beehive Cluster is about 600 million years old. It spans 510-620 LY across, with big bright stars towards the center of the cluster and smaller, dimmer stars on the outside fringes. M44 contains red giants, main sequence stars, and white dwarfs; about 68% of the stars are M-class, 30% F, G, or K-class, and about 2% A-class. The brightest individual stars have an apparent magnitude of about 6 to 6.5, while the Beehive Cluster as a whole is about 3.1. Cassiopeia B (Tycho's SNR)- A supernova remnant, left over from a supernova detected in November 1572 which remained highly visible for 2 years, then faded. The supernova resulted from a white dwarf accumulating too much matter and exploding. It is called Tycho's SNR after the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was the most accurate observer of the supernova itself. Globular Cluster (M13, NGC 6205)- A globular cluster (hence the name) about 25,100 LY away and 145 LY across in the constellation Hercules. M13 has several hundred thousand stars, but is barely visible from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 5.8. Its brightest star is V11, which has an apparent magnitude of 11.95. Hyades Star Cluster- The Hyades are the closest open cluster to us at 151 LY away, located in the constellation Taurus. The 4 brightest stars in the Hyades (formerly A-class stars, now off the main sequence) form a V shape along with Aldebaran. It could share a common origin with the Beehive Cluster (M44). The name is from ancient Greek mythology- Hyades was the collective name of several weeping sisters who were turned into stars and therefore associated with rain. Milky Way Galaxy ("The Galaxy")- A barred spiral galaxy in the Local Group (which, in turn, is in the Virgo Supercluster) about 100,000 LY in diameter and 1,000 LY thick. Of the 200-400 billion stars in this galaxy, most are red dwarfs. The oldest ones are 12.8-14.4 billion years old. The galactic center is in the general direction of the constellation Sagittarius- in fact, Sagittarius A* is a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. It could collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in 3-4 billion years. The Milky Way can be seen as far north as Cassiopeia and as far south as Crux (the Southern Cross). Pleiades (M45, Maia Nebula)- Another open cluster in the constellation Taurus; one of the closest to Earth at about 440 LY away. Most of the stars in M45 are hot, blue stars formed in the last 100 million years or so, but there are also some brown dwarfs. The cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, then be dispersed by gravity. The name Pleiades is from Greek for either "sailing ones", "many", or "flock of doves". Whirlpool Galaxy (M51, NGC 5194)- A red-shifted galaxy (moving farther away from the Sun) in the constellation Canes Venatica about 23 million LY away, the Whirlpool Galaxy is famous for its distinct spiral shape. This is thought to be caused by interaction between M51 and a nearby galaxy, NGC 5195. There is also thought to be a black hole at the very center of the galaxy. In 2005, a supernova was detected in the Whirlpool Galaxy with highest apparent magnitude 14. |