The Andromeda Galaxy with a Pair of Binoculars

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Feature illustration:  The Andromeda Galaxy Sky Area. Excerpted from https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php.  The excerpt is set to November 24, 2023 at 9:00 PM from Reston, VA, but any time and location may be selected.  Notice the Great Square of Pegasus and the red oval above it.

Article by and illustrations courtesy of FMN Stephen Tzikas

The Andromeda Galaxy is an object often mentioned in sci-fi films and

Illustration by author: 1979 sketch of Andromeda Galaxy, using a 60mm Selsi refractor telescope and 187.5 magnification.

literary works.  It is our closest galaxy (not including Milky Way satellite galaxies) and can be seen by the naked eye in a dark sky location.  I was thrilled to see it through my childhood telescope.  With binoculars it is a fuzzy patch-like object.  That little patch is just the central core or brightest part of the galaxy.  The rest of the galaxy is so dim because of its 2.5 million light year distance.  If we could brighten the galaxy, it would be four full Moon lengths across the sky.  The central core of the Andromeda Galaxy with a pair of binoculars looks very similar to my 1979 illustration of it through a Selsi 60mm telescope.  The area around the Andromeda Galaxy is also home to other surprises too.

Close-up of the Andromeda Galaxy Sky Area.  Nu-And (magnitude 4.5) is the bright star to the upper left of the Andromeda Galaxy outline. The diagram’s center bright star, with green constellation line underneath, is Mu-And (magnitude 3.9).  The bright star in the center-left is Mirach (magnitude 2.1) with NGC 404 (red dot) next to it.  This illustration is also excerpted from https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php for Nov. 24, 2023 at 9:00 PM.

A pair of binoculars can see EG Andromedae (EG And), a variable star. You can take measurements of it brightening and dimming via a visual comparison to nearby stars that are fixed in brightness. You can obtain a detailed star chart for measuring magnitude changes through the Variable Star Plotter at the AAVSO website and then inputting EG And. You can submit your measurements to their database. See https://app.aavso.org/vsp/

With a small telescope a little larger than binoculars, two more interesting objects can be seen nearby.  One is a beautiful

Excerpted from http://informationaboutstars.com/starinfo.dc/star/id-36618/.  The website is from “about the stars Planetarium” on HIP 3495, a.k.a. EG Andromedae in the constellation Andromeda. The star varies in magnitude from 6.97 to 7.8, and is circled adjacent to the Andromeda Galaxy.  In another blue circle, Nu And is to the upper left of EG And. 

double star named gamma Andromedae, or Almach. Through the telescope it appears as a bright, golden-yellow star next to a dimmer blue star. Some observers may get the impression that the blue star has a green hue. This green hue is an optical illusion caused by the contrast of the colors on the eyes and is very rare to see.  In actuality, there are no green stars, because any star emitting radiation in the green spectrum is also emitting enough red and blue radiation to combine and form white light. This double star, along with the double star named Albireo in the constellation Cygnus, are often described as the most visually colorful double stars in the sky.

The other nearby interesting object is beta Andromedae, or Mirach. It is a prominent orange/red hue star northeast of the Great Square of Pegasus. The galaxy NGC 404, also known as Mirach’s Ghost, is seven arcminutes away from Mirach. In a small telescope, it appears as a fuzzy star.  NGC 404 is located about 10 million light years away, or about 4 times Andromeda Galaxy’s distance.  Though NGC 404 is not as large or bright as the Andromeda Galaxy, is still worth a look.  It is easy to find, and a one of the brighter magnitude galaxies to observe in the sky.

Winter Tree Identification at The Clifton Institute, January 13th

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Image Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, January 13, 2024
1:00 – 3:00 pm
Program is Free

Registration is required!

6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

Winter is a great time of year to learn how to identify trees and to practice looking at bark and twigs. The program will start with a brief presentation indoors about the tips and tricks to identify the most common trees in the forests. Then instructors will take participants on a mile-long walk in the woods to practice. This program is meant for beginners. Advanced botanists are welcome! If you would like to start practicing now or if you would like to bring some resources with you, we recommend the book Winter Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts and Tom Watts and the Flora of Virginia app.

Bench Dedication Honors McGlone

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Photos and Article By FMN Susan Laume

A group of Fairfax Master Naturalists gathered on Saturday afternoon, December 2nd, to recognize the contributions of retired Virginia forester Dr. Jim McClone.  A bench was dedicated in his honor on a Mason Neck State Park trail, where McClone regularly took naturalists in training to learn tree identification.

Bench plaque expresses gratitude for McGlone’s many years of service to the FMN chapter

Recently retired in June, McGlone is credited with working to establish the Fairfax County chapter, serving as chapter advisor, and teaching dendrology to hundreds of Virginia Master Naturalists students.

Attending with his wife, who McGlone credits with steering him toward his long time career. McGlone also received the thanks of Officer Taylore Willis, representing the State Park. Following the remarks, McGlone again led a winter tree identification; perhaps proving his gum balls don’t yet fall far from his favorite Black Gum trees.

Fairfax Master Naturalists gather to recognize retired forester Jim McClone

 

Officer Taylore Willis makes remarks on behalf of Mason Neck State Park

McGlone and his wife, who he thanked during the dedication, look forward to spending retirement time together

 

Controlling English Ivy Saves Trees and Combats Climate Change

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Photo: Plant NoVa Natives

Article by Elaine Kolish, Vice Chair, Fairfax County Tree Commission, Certified Master Naturalist

English Ivy is everywhere, in our neighborhoods, along our roads, and in our parks. It climbs over fences, covers sheds, and carpets forest floors. Unfortunately, many people think English Ivy is a benign plant that grows in the shade, where nothing else grows.

The truth is English Ivy is harmful in many ways. Even if well-manicured and contained on the ground, English Ivy provides a resting spot for mosquitos on hot days or hides puddles where they can breed, and who wants that! More importantly, when it covers forest floors it displaces native plants, and eliminates needed and productive biodiversity. When it climbs trees it harms and eventually kills them, which eliminates the important environmental benefits trees provide, such as wildlife habitat, preventing stormwater from entering streams, cooling our environment, and combatting climate change.

Trees are one of our best tools for capturing carbon dioxide, which is necessary to fight global warming. According to the US Forest Service, America’s forests sequester about 16% of the annual emissions from the United States. Because trees are such excellent carbon sinks, there are large scale reforestation efforts underway. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan calls for more than one billion new trees to be planted over the next 10 years. In addition, the government’s experts know that controlling invasive species that kill trees is an important strategy for enhancing carbon capture.

We as individuals also have an important role to play in controlling English Ivy at home and in our natural areas. Otherwise it covers everything in its path, and when left unchecked, English Ivy grows vertically (by rootlets on the stem). On trees, the weight of the vine weakens and breaks limbs, which can make trees more susceptible to infections, and over time the vines cover trees so totally that they die. But that’s not all. When English Ivy goes vertical it matures. It then will flower and set fruit. Birds then eat and disperse the fruit, spreading the English Ivy invasion.

Homeowners can protect their costly landscaping and help the environment by eliminating English Ivy from their gardens or, at a minimum, by keeping it from growing up trees. Wearing gloves, cut all the vines on a tree about two feet up and again at ground level. There is no need to pull the vines off the tree. Deprived of water and nutrients from the soil, the vines will wither. You will have to repeat this occasionally if you do not remove all the ivy. Hand pulling after a rain softens the soil is the best way to get rid of English Ivy. The debris should go in the trash. Do not compost it or put it out with the brush collection as it will continue to grow and spread in these locations.

The good news is that there are lots of alternative native ground covers that will support pollinators and our environment. You can find excellent suggestions in the Native Plants for Northern Virginia guide, such as Virginia Creeper and ferns.

You also can help our neighborhoods, forests, and parks by becoming a Tree Rescuer, or by working with organizations that do invasive management including pulling ivy. Working together, we can ensure the health of our wonderful trees and improve our environment, as well as our personal well-being, by spending time in nature.

The How and Who of Urban Wildlife Conservation with Dr. Charles Nilon, January 7th

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Sunday, January 7, 2024
3 – 4 pm
Virtual
FREE but registration required.

Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for a virtual Audubon Afternoon that features the first of their Stretch Our Parks Lectures featuring Dr. Charles Nilon, an ecologist and professor from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Nilon’s decades of research and service have combined two of his lifelong passions – understanding how to safeguard urban biodiversity and making conservation biology more inclusive. He has been a lead researcher on projects combining data from more than 150 of the world’s cities to assess how ecological and socioeconomic factors influence birds in urban environments. He will share his ideas about what actions cities and towns might take to protect biodiversity as human density increases, and why making conservation efforts more diverse, inclusive, and just is paramount to their success.

Stretch Our Parks is a community-based conservation initiative. Given that northern Virginia is increasingly urbanizing, with more than a million new residents added since 1990, and that the diversity of our residents also has increased, it is fitting that Dr. Nilon presents the first Stretch Our Parks Lecture.

Dr. Nilon has a B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College, a Masters of Forest Science with an emphasis on wildlife from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology/Wildlife Ecology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Dr. Nilon was awarded the Ecological Society of America’s Commitment to Human Diversity in Ecology Award in 2014. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Audubon Center at Riverlands, a Migratory Bird Sanctuary approximately 20 miles north of St. Louis.

Preventing Avian Extinctions: What Works with Dr. David Luther, January 11th

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Photo: Cerulean Warbler by Matt Felperin

Thursday, January 11, 2024
7 – 8 pm
Virtual
ASNV Members: $10
Non-members: $15
Register here.

Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and Dr. David Luther for a program on preventing avian extinctions. More species in the world are threatened with extinction today than at any other time in recent history. However, at the same time, a number of programs have made great strides in successfully conserving threatened species and preventing their extinctions. Dr. Luther will explore the state of birds globally, the threats they face, and what is working in the field of conservation biology to prevent the extinction of endangered bird species. The talk will focus on global and local examples of successful conservation efforts, his research on conserving endangered species in the United States and around the world, and future conservation opportunities.

David Luther is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at George Mason University and a member of the ASNV board. He teaches courses on ornithology, community ecology, and animal behavior. His research applies principles from animal behavior and ecology to examine conservation biology problems. Current projects focus on how climate change and habitat loss are affecting birds in the Amazon as well as the mechanisms that make conservation actions succeed in preventing extinctions of threatened species.