Observations - 7/03/21

Hello, everyone. 

On Sunday 7th March 2021 I set up my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor in my back garden. 
The Sun had set at 18.14 UT. 
The air temperature was 2 degrees Celsius. 
But there was no wind at all. 

Within 5 minutes after sunset I found Aldebaran. It makes me wonder if I could spot Alpha Tauri in my William Optics 70 mm F/6 apochromatic refractor well before sunset. 

Anyway, I had the desire to seek out my 6th observed carbon star in Taurus which has the designation C* 3239.  

I discovered on Simbad another alternative designation which is TYC 659-631-1. My Guide 9.1 DVD gives the same star one other designation: GSC 659 631. 

There is no problem with the spectral class. It's either C or R. 

This carbon star is seriously faint. The magnitude is +11.6. 

I did somehow manage to spot it at a fairly low 112X. (There was no Moon visible.) At that power the star was roughly halfway between TYC 659 1275 (mag = 9. and TYC 659 1081 (mag = 10.4). 

However I started to notice its tangy orange colour at 167X and 225X. 

But at that point C* 3239 was completely alone in the field of view. 

In closing I am delighted to say that this carbon star is the 98th I have observed. 

In my same field of view I found an optical double star with a new designation PLQ 47. www.stelledoppie.it states its magnitudes are: A = 9.8. B = 10.2. Sep = 39.7", PA = 330 degrees. Needless to say my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor could see plenty of black space between the 2 stars at 40X. PLQ stands for Emile Paloque who lived from 1891 to 1982. He was an observational astronomer in Toulouse from 1931 to 1960. (1960 was the year yours truly was born). 

Now when are we going to have another clear night?

Aubrey. 

Hi Aubrey,

What a great way to 'kick-off' the improved forum with all its new features - bagging you 98th Carbon star is a great achievement... Very well done 

Taurus is a beautiful constellation with some nice stars in it. And on that, PLQ is a new designation for me. So, thanks for sharing that information with us. I must try to find it when I'm out next.

Clear skies to you, 

Darren. 

Great to hear from you once again, Darren! 

It was an observer over on www.cloudynights.com who informed me who PLQ referred to.
He has Sky Safari on his smartphone.

We are due to have clear skies on Tuesday night coming 16/03/21.
We live in hope.
Therefore I hope to find another carbon star in Taurus then.

I'm still getting used to the new IFAS website.
It seems the spell check is a bit too complicated on my PC.
&nbsp keeps coming up when I do a spell check after every sentence.
Of course I delete these strange letters immediately. 
What it used to do was simply alerted me instantly whenever I did a misspelling.

Has anyone else found this?

Clear skies for Tuesday night. 

Aubrey. 
 

We are due to have clear skies on Tuesday night coming 16/03/21

 

It makes it very tempting to break lockdown, I think a group together on the Sugarloaf might attract too much attention.

Paul

Hi Aubrey,

I never managed to finish my reply last night, but I was saying that it is great to be chatting to you (and the rest of IFAS members) about astronomy on the forum again. 

I've just been out for spin in the car and the weather sure looks promising for tonight alright. So, I'm going tidy up the deck this afternoon, which is where I put together a little observing station last year, ahead of a good long session tonight. Observing Station is a bit of a stretch to be fair... it's more a desk and shelf, but it does a good job of keeping the eyepieces, and sketching pad etc. in one safe spot. 

On that, I hope you get to observe that Carbon star this evening...after all it sure is a nice day for a 99

In terms of the spell checking function, I haven't noticed those letters, but I have noticed that it's not as easy to copy and paste a full sentence when using a mobile device. 

I'm sure though there's another way to do it... I just need to figure it out. 

Best of luck for tonight, and hopefully we'll all be back to Sugar Loaf soon...I do miss those dark skies. 

All the best, 

Darren. 







 

Hello, Darren. 

I am somewhat surprised you are going to have a go at C* 3239 or TYC 659 631. 
However, if you must, then you must!
And I do wish you very best regards in your endeavours. 
I am certain you will "pick" it up in your 10" Dobsonian. 
And I am also delighted to learn of your new observing station.
It clearly is an excellent idea!
The only problem we might on Tuesday is high cloud.  
www.clearoutside.com has more details. 

But let's be optimistic. 

Aubrey.