Chi Cygni

I saw this naked eye last night at about magnitude 3.7, brighter than eta !

Keith..

Same here. Pulled into a bog road at half past midnight in a really dark area of the countryside, and the bent neck of the Swan was very evident. Even to inexperienced variable star observers, any decent astronomer should notice this nova by naked eye!

Hi,
Michael, nice animation of Chi Cyg.

A few general notes:
As with all Long Period Variables (LPV's) such as Chi Cygni the given range maxima and minima are averages after analysing the light curves over many years. The means are 5.2-13.5. That is why it's so interesting to observe, unlike Cepheids you never know are bright (or faint) the star will get.

Likewise for these LPV's the period is also an average, any particular cycle maybe longer or shorter.

It's nice to see it so visible clearly to the naked-eye. Even from my location in Rush (so near Dublin) it's no problem. You don't even need any optical aid to make an estimate. As Keith noted use the AAVSO charts
(free download).

If anybody has any magnitude estimates I would be glad to receive them.
Good Observing,

John O'Neill
Director, VSOG

Michael,
Thanks for posting the animation. It was a great help for a beginner like myself.
I've never observed a variable before and it's kind of fun trying to guesstimate it's mag. every night.
It was this thread about Chi Cygnus that bought me to this forum.

I saw it there a few minutes ago (~4.25am), its definitely brighter then eta, maybe half a mag brighter ?!? thanks for the heads up Keith.

the skies turning blue, the sun's on its way up, its time to go to bed.

It is still reported to be magnitude 3.8, and it's been quoted as the brightest showning of this star in 148 years! :shock:

Keith..