Hidden Wonders of the Southern Sky

Here in southern Arizona, we can theoretically see 92.4% of the celestial sphere. I say “theoretically” because atmospheric extinction, light pollution, local topography, and obstructions limit the amount of the celestial sphere that we can see well. Also, far southern objects (down to δ = -58° at φ = 32° N) spend very little time above our horizon each day.

Practically speaking, then, we see somewhat less than 92% of all that there is to see from spaceship Earth.

Percent of the Celestial Sphere Visible

\% = 50\left [ 1-sin\left ( \left|\varphi \right| -90^{\circ}\right ) \right ]

where |φ| is the absolute value of your latitude in degrees

What are the most prominent objects we are missing, and what objects that we can see are they closest to?

Alpha Centauri

Never visible north of latitude 27° N, the nearest star system beyond our solar system is Alpha Centauri. Alpha Centauri A & B are bright stars, having a visual magnitude of 0.0 and +1.3, respectively, and in 2023 they are separated by just 8 arcseconds, about 1/4 of the angular separation between Albireo A & B. While Alpha Centauri A & B—which orbit each other once every 79.8 years—lie just 4.36 ly away, a faint red dwarf companion, Proxima Centauri (shining at magnitude +11.1), is even closer at 4.24 light years. It is not yet known whether Proxima Centauri, discovered in 1915, is gravitationally bound to Alpha Centauri A & B, or just presently passing through the neighborhood. Proxima is a full 2.2° away (over four moon-widths) from Alpha Centauri A & B.

When Arcturus (α Boo) and Zubenelgenubi (α Lib) are crossing our celestial meridian, so are Alpha & Proxima Centauri below the southern horizon.

Large Magellanic Cloud

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the largest satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy and easily visible to the unaided eye, lies directly below our southern horizon when Rigel has crossed the meridian and Bellatrix is preparing to do so.

Small Magellanic Cloud

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), the second-largest satellite galaxy of the mighty Milky Way lies underneath our southern horizon when M31, the Great Andromeda Galaxy, crosses the meridian near the zenith.

47 Tucanae

The 2nd brightest globular cluster in the sky (after Omega Centauri) is impressive 47 Tucanae. It is just 2.3° west and a little north of the Small Magellanic Cloud, so crosses the meridian below our horizon just as M31 is nearing the meridian.

Eta Carinae Nebula

Four times larger and brighter than the Orion Nebula, NGC 3372, the Eta Carinae Nebula, is a spectacular star-forming region containing a supermassive (130 – 180 M) binary star (Eta Carinae) that may go supernova at any time. When Leo the Lion is straddling the meridian, the Eta Carinae Nebula sneaks across as well.


Any other spectacular objects I should be including that are south of declination -58°? If so, please post a comment here.

Milky Way Supernova Candidates

There is a supermassive binary star in our own Milky Way Galaxy that has the potential to create a super-supernova (hypernova?).  It could go off tomorrow—or a million years from now.  The star system’s name is Eta Carinae.  Currently 4th-magnitude and located some 7,500 ly away in the direction of the southern constellation Carina (“The Keel”), Eta Carinae consists of a 100-200 M star and a 30-80 M star in a highly-eccentric 5.54y orbit with the more massive star undergoing prodigious mass loss.  Eta Carinae never rises above the horizon unless you’re south of latitude 30° N.  So, if Eta Carina ever does go supernova while humans still walk the Earth, you’ll have to travel at least as far as southern Texas or southern Florida to see it.  And it will be an impressive sight, easily visible during the daylight hours.

Closer to home, there are seven prime candidates for the next relatively nearby supernova.  The nearest of these currently is IK Peg.  Keep in mind that over hundreds of thousands of years, stars move quite a lot, so what is close to us now will not necessarily be close to us when a supernova event finally does occur.

IK Pegasi, a binary system comprised of a white dwarf already near the Chandrasekhar limit, and a close-by soon-to-be-giant main-sequence star, lies just 147 to 155 ly away in the direction of the constellation Pegasus, the Winged Horse.  IK Peg appears to us visually as a 6th magnitude star located roughly ⅓ of the way from Delphinus to the Square of Pegasus.  As the giant star expands into the vicinity of the white dwarf, the white dwarf will accumulate enough material to put it over the Chandrasekhar limit, and a Type Ia supernova will ensue.

Spica (α Vir), located at a distance between 237 and 264 ly, is a massive binary system (10 M and 7M), with the two stars orbiting each other every four days.

Alpha Lupi (α Lup) is a massive star (~10 M) located between 454 and 476 ly from our solar system.

Antares (α Sco) is a massive star (~12 M, the supernova progenitor) orbited by another massive star (~7 M).  However, their orbital period is at least 1,200 years.  The Antares system lies between 473 and 667 ly from our solar system

Betelgeuse (α Ori) is a massive star (~12 M) between 500 and 900 ly away.  Incidentally, there is a lot of uncertainty about the distance to Betelgeuse, primarily because it’s angular size (44 mas) is an order of magnitude larger than its parallax (4.5 mas) (Harper et al. 2017).

Rigel (β Ori) is a massive star (~23 M) between 792 and 948 ly distant.

Gamma2 Velorum (γ2 Vel) is a binary system 1,013 to 1,245 ly distant containing two stars which will go supernova in the not-too-distant future.  The system consists of a 28.5 MO7.5 giant star and a 9.0 MWolf-Rayet star (the nearest, incidentally) orbiting each other every 78.5 days.  The Wolf-Rayet star will be the first to supernova, followed later by the O giant star.

Tomorrow—or a million years from now?  We have no way of accurately predicting.  But rest assured, in the unlikely event that any one of these stars goes supernova during our lifetimes, none will be close enough to harm us.  Instead, for a time, we will be treated to a object comparable to the Moon in brightness and visible both day and night.

References
Firestone, R.B., 2014, ApJ, 789, 29
Harper, G.M., Brown, A., Guinan, E.F., et al., 2017, AJ, 154, 11
Richardson, N.D., Russell, C.M.P., St-Jean, L., et al., 2017, MNRAS