Is this an asterism?

Hi All,

As some of you know I have been spending time in and around Bootes. Most recently, (Monday 13th) I had an incredible night observing several objects in this area of the sky. However, I am unsure whether what I observed are indeed asterisms.

The first one is close to M53. It contains several stars, some of which are as follows:

* HIP 64751
* HIP 64781
* HIP 64849
* HIP 64855
* TYC 1454 -698-1
* TYC 1454 -395-1

In a way it reminds me of a miniature version of Auriga, but with one of the kids having gone AWOL. As I observed it at 37.5X there was also a double-star in my FOV: HIP 64779. 

The other 'asterism' that I stumbled across on Monday night was very close to Eta Bootis / Muphrid. Some of the stars in this star pattern include: 

* 6 Bootis
* HIP 67543
* HIP 67540
* HIP 67591
* HIP 67551
TYC 1466 -105-1

For you consideration I have submitted two sketches, each illustrate what I saw. Both images were sketched between 22:18 and 22:40  Tuesday 14th April Irish Summer Time (IST) because I spent Monday night observing the stars; not sketching them. And I'm very glad I did because from the get-go it was a brilliant session. For example, I first looked through the eyepiece (32mm Plossl with a 52° AFOV) at 23:20  IST. The target was Arcturus. Thanks to the wonderful conditions, and the newly cleaned primary mirror in my 6-inch Newtonian reflector - many thanks Aubrey - the star was so clear and sharp. But what was about to happen stopped me in my tracks. Within a few seconds a meteor blazed through Picot 1. There was even a nice tail...I could not believe my luck! I took it as a positive sign, so I decided to try and split Izar. Unlike previous sessions, I managed to split it. It required 200X, and the split looked best at 266X. There was shimmering, but I could clearly make out the black space between the blue and yellow stars. At that point the clouds could have rolled in...I was a very happy man.

Thankfully the sky remained clear. So, on I went...M3, M53, and two other nice arrangements. The first one was bordering Virgo. It was a beautiful chain of stars; one of which was a double: HIP 64954. For the life of me I can't locate the other one. It had one central star that sat in the middle of a triangle of stars. Quite striking!

So, Monday night's session was fantastic. I was going to write about it on Monday, but it ended up being quite late before I got in - 01:04 IST. More importantly, I wanted to go back out on Tuesday to sketch what I saw for you, with the hope that some of you might know whether what I observed are indeed asterisms.

 Clear skies to all,

Darren.

 

Thank you very much for posting these 2 sketches, Darren.
Multiple congratulations on finally splitting Izar at 200X!!

Unfortunately, the only asterism I know of in Bootes is Picot 1.

Maybe others might know.

I too observed M3 in Canes Venatici on Tuesday night at the end of my observing session. At 167X, I could resolve the stars all the way to the centre.
M3 has half a million stars contained in it.

Clear skies from Aubrey.

Hi Darren

The top picture could be an asterism, to me it looks like a pentagram, a lot of patterns in the sky can be asterisms, it just needs a little imagination.  
Here is a link to an asterism I discovered a couple of years back while searching for binocular double stars, I stumbled across it in Vulpecula:
www.cloudynights.com/topic/624795-asteri...sterism#entry8708627

It you want to observe more, here is a link to the Astronomy League's asterism list:
www.astroleague.org/files/u220/Asterism_List_4.pdf
I have observed almost all of them, some of them require a lot of imagination, the Gas Pump Handle confused me.  There are some real treats, the "37" cluster in Orion, the Mini Coathanger in Ursa Minor, the Little Orion in Cygnus and the Mini Cassiopeia in Draco.  My favourites are the Smiley Face in Auriga and Stargate in Corvus.

Paul

Hi Aubrey and Paul,

Very many thanks for your messages. Amazing to think you can resolve those stars in M3 from your back garden Aubrey. In my scope M3 is a 'faint fuzzy'. I reckon I need more aperture, or a dark site to resolve some of the stars in cluster. 

Paul, thank you very much for providing that link... That's really helpful, and I'm looking forward to going through it later. More importantly, congratulations on finding your 'mini dipper'.. That's pretty cool!

Chat soon, and clear skies, 

Darren. 

Hey Darren!
I've just noticed there is a nice true binary beside 6 Bootis.
And I have observed in the past.
Its designation is S 656.
You may check it out on www.stelledoppie.it

Clear skies,

Aubrey.

Hi Aubrey,

I was wondering about whether that was a double star, but I knew someone would know ; ) So many thanks for clarifying that for me. Together, those five or so stars are a striking arrangement. And I made time to have a quick peek at them last night through my 10X50s.

Speaking of striking arrangements, one member on the sketching forum on Cloudy Nights kindly informed me that the other grouping of stars that I sketched is indeed a recognised asterism. He supplied the name of the book that mentions it: 'Asterisms for small telescopes and binoculars', and it was written by John C. Raymond. Unfortunately, the book is no longer available. I don't suppose anyone here is familiar with the book as I'd love to hear more about the asterism near M53, particularly its name. In terms of the other one (the one with S 656), I've yet to hear anything about it except for your post. To me it bears a resemblance to a hatchet. What do you think? 

Kindest regards,

Darren.