R Leporis magnitude?

Hello all variable star observers. Twice in the last 7 days, I have had fun observing Hind's Crimson Star or R Leporis, and I am wondering what is its current magnitude? Just to the west of it is a 7.4 magnitude star Hip 23129. I definitely think R Leporis is brighter than the star; making it 7.2 or 7.3 magnitude. Does anyone else have an opinion? I observed first last Tuesday 11th March and tonight Saturday 15th.

Aubrey.

Hi Aubrey and potential VSOs,

Great you are estimating R Lep. If you look at AAVSO Light-Curve generator you see there is a lot of scatter in the estimates.

Actually very red stars like R are difficult to estimate accurately.

A few notes about observing red stars may help. It is best to avoid a bright moonlit sky. Also throw the star a little out of focus. This mitigates the Purkinje effect.

You will find comparison charts online for free at Variable Star Plotter . It is more accurate to interpolate an estimate between two comparison stars rather than extrapolate from one star, if at all possible.

Good observing,
John
AAVSO & VSOG

Thank you, John, for the information you have given me. I did just this week Google the words "R Leporis light curve", and I came across an extremely detailed chart from the AAVSO.
The website did give estimates of R Leporis from various astronomers. One observer did give a magnitude reading of 7.1. While most others gave as low as 8.6. But I still feel very certain that R Leporis was brighter than the nearby star Hip 23129. And therefore, my estimate still stands. However, do offer you own opinion, and anyone else out there.
I shall try again if I can during the coming week. Thank you again, John. Perhaps Sarah can do an estimate too.

Aubrey.

Thank you, John, for the information you have given me. I did just this week Google the words "R Leporis light curve", and I came across an extremely detailed chart from the AAVSO.
The website did give estimates of R Leporis from various astronomers. One observer did give a magnitude reading of 7.1. While most others gave as low as 8.6. But I still feel very certain that R Leporis was brighter and bigger than the nearby star Hip 23129. And therefore, my estimate still stands. However, do offer you own opinion, and anyone else out there.
I shall try again if I can during the coming week. Thank you again, John. Perhaps Sarah can do an estimate too.
I mean to state also that all I have said up to now was from observing through my 6.2" apo at 40X and 112X. Last Saturday night, I did pay attention to the fact that the star Hip 23129 was barely visible in the guidescope at 11X as it is quite low to the horizon, and that R Leporis was very much easier to see than the nearby star.

Aubrey.