python-astropy

Project Link: https://github.com/ratnesh2001/python-astropy/

Messier Objects

The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles ("Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters"). The catalogue consists of a diverse range of astronomical objects, from star clusters and nebulae to galaxies. For example, Messier 1 is a supernova remnant, known as the Crab Nebula, and the great spiral Andromeda Galaxy is M31.

Here is a picture of stars which are members of open star cluster M45:

Source: NASA, ESA and AURA/Caltech

In this project, we have plotted all the messier objects in Mollweide View, took a messier object as input, presented its details and also plotted the Sky View of it, in python with the help of the Astropy library.

Logic Used

We have used Right Ascension and Declination to identify the locations of all the Messier objects. For it, we have imported the data from the datasheet given in reference which had information about Right Ascension, Declination and Magnitude of all the Messier objects. Finally, we have plotted it in Mollweide projection and Sky View.

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Sample Output

1.

Region A: Objects in this part of the sky are Galaxies present in the Virgo SuperCluster.
Region B: Objects in the part of the sky lie at the center of Milkyway Galaxy.
Line C: Objects on this line from the Arc of Milkyway Galaxy as seen from Earth.

2.

ANDROMEDA GALAXY(M31): A spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away and the nearest major galaxy to the Milkyway with diameter 220K ly

3.

Crab Nebula (M1): At the center of the nebula lies the Crab Pulsar (Neutron Star) which emits pulses of radiation from gamma rays to radio waves.

Terminology

1. Mollweide Projection: The Mollweide is a pseudocylindrical projection in which the equator is represented as a straight horizontal line perpendicular to a central meridian one-half its length.
2. Astropy: Astropy is a collection of software packages written in the Python programming language and designed for use in astronomy.
3. Virgo SuperCluster: The Virgo Supercluster or the Local Supercluster is a mass concentration of galaxies containing the Virgo Cluster and Local Group, which in turn contains the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_object
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-messier-catalog