Heads up ! Starcount !

[cotterless45]

As there may be a chance of clear skies , a bit of time counting the visible stars in Orion. You can also add suitable comments . Be interesting to report back with some numbers ,Nick.

https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-do/countryside/dark-skies/star-count-2019?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=campaigns-update-2019-jan&utm_content=Campaigns+Update+2019+Jan

[John]

I've been practicing this over the past couple of clear nights. I got 21 stars on the 28 Jan and 22/23 stars a couple of nights back. I reckon I could do a little better on a really good night. I doubt I'll get to 30+ though !

 

[Stargazer33]

I'll be lucky to get to 10 I reckon!

[Jkulin]

I really looked hard and Wednesday and got 6!!! ?

[Mark at Beaufort]

I have already set up the 12" Dob for tonight so I will also count the stars in Orion. I think I will wear my observing hood and sit back in a reclining chair and see how many stars I can count. I will  first undertake a transparency assessment using the attached guidelines and if its 6 I will submit my results.

[happy-kat]

I read the links a couple days ago and they read you included the framing stars. Then on breakfast news this morning the lady from star count said you don't include them then at the latter part of her TV slot said you did. Farce!

So are you or are you not including the framing stars?

[knobby]

Agreed ... It's not very clear !

[JamesF]

Last time I did this I don't think they asked for the observer's age.  I'd have thought that would be quite relevant.  I'd bet my teenage children would count more stars than I can see.

James

[John]

58 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

I read the links a couple days ago and they read you included the framing stars. Then on breakfast news this morning the lady from star count said you don't include them then at the latter part of her TV slot said you did. Farce!

So are you or are you not including the framing stars?

I think it's fairly clear that you don't include the framing (corner) stars:

".....count the number of stars you can see within the rectangle made by the four corner stars. You should not count the corners, but you can count the three stars in the middle – the belt......"

 

[happy-kat]

Thank you.

If I'm lucky that probably means 3 for me which makes a joke of my bortle 5 sky.

[avtaram]

I went out into the darkest part of my garden at 8pm tonight and let my eyes adjust for about 10 - 15 minutes and spent about half an hour looking at Orion. I only counted 8 stars, these included the 3 belt stars and the remaining 5 stars were all observed below the belt. I did not see any stars above the belt.

Avtar

[John]

Good night here tonight (no Horsehead though ). I counted 24 stars in total, excluding the corner marker ones. Those included 52 and 32 Orionis. 52 is mag 5.3 I think which is close to the limit here tonight. That was after about 20 mins dark adaptation from a dark corner of the garden.

Made the submission to CPRE.

[DavidJM]

I managed 12, meter reckons a sqm of 18.52, not sure how good that it is but outskirts of town, great view of orion nebula though through scope with filter

[geoflewis]

13 minutes ago, DavidJM said:

I managed 12, meter reckons a sqm of 18.52, not sure how good that it is but outskirts of town, great view of orion nebula though through scope with filter

As well as submitting your star count to BAA/CPRE, this is also a useful resource (both to use and to submit) as it shows how many stars you should be able to see at each magnitude range.

https://www.globeatnight.org/webapp/

Your 12 stars suggests somewhere in the mag 4-5 range, which I think is consistent with your sqm reading and Bortle 6-7.

[DavidJM]

4 minutes ago, geoflewis said:

As well as submitting your star count to BAA/CPRE, this is also a useful resource (both to use and to submit) as it shows how many stars you should be able to see at each magnitude range.

https://www.globeatnight.org/webapp/

Your 12 stars suggests somewhere in the mag 4-5 range, which I think is consistent with your sqm reading and Bortle 6-7.

Great info thanks, will do!

[Mark at Beaufort]

I went out just after 7pm and did the star count every 30 minutes. At 9.15pm and  fully dark adapted I counted 24. My transparency test showed all 7 stars in Ursa Minor.

[geoflewis]

I've been clouded out all night, but an astro friend in west Norfolk about 30 miles away has had pristine skies... ?. Theres a continuous band of rain cloud moving due south off the North Sea that won't leave me alone ?

[DaveS]

I've been getting 22-24 over several attempts, but I have my doubts about the quality of my vision, as the stars are very slightly soft, even with my distance glasses. Also Orion is starting to sink into the Bridport light pollution.

[DavidJM]

1 minute ago, geoflewis said:

I've been clouded out all night, but an astro friend in west Norfolk about 30 miles away has had pristine skies... ?. Theres a continuous band of rain cloud moving due south off the North Sea that won't leave me alone ?

Feel your pain, tonight has been the first night I've had decent skies in what feels like months

[geoflewis]

5 hours ago, happy-kat said:

I read the links a couple days ago and they read you included the framing stars. Then on breakfast news this morning the lady from star count said you don't include them then at the latter part of her TV slot said you did. Farce!

So are you or are you not including the framing stars? 

As I understand it you DO NOT include the 4 corner stars, clockwise Belelgeuse, Belatrix, Rigel and Saiph. This is from the BAA website...

Hope this helps.

Geof

[geoflewis]

4 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I've been getting 22-24 over several attempts, but I have my doubts about the quality of my vision, as the stars are very slightly soft, even with my distance glasses. Also Orion is starting to sink into the Bridport light pollution.

That's pretty much what I've been getting excluding the 4 corner stars, but that was before the survey started and tonight I have 0 stars.....!!

[John]

25 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

I went out just after 7pm and did the star count every 30 minutes. At 9.15pm and  fully dark adapted I counted 24. My transparency test showed all 7 stars in Ursa Minor.

I got the same result Mark - we must have similar skies tonight although mine are getting a little more milky now. Probably won't be out much longer.

 

[DaveS]

I've come in now as my feet are getting cold.

I think someone younger would count at least another two stars.

[geoflewis]

11 minutes ago, DaveS said:

I think someone younger would count at least another two stars.

I'm sure. When I was about 10 years old (that's some 55 years ago), living in North Norfolk, I recall that my best effort was counting 17 naked eye stars in the Pleiades - now I'm luck to count 7...!! The skies are nowhere as pristine and my eyes are even worse, especially having to look through my specs....!!

[carastro]

Well from my lovely Bortle 8 location, I counted the 3 in the belt only with occasional blinks from one in the sword so that makes 4.

I used to be able to see M42 fuzz from here, but that's long gone.  Even M45 I struggle to identify these days.  I wonder whether it is the LED lighting that was installed 2 or 3 years ago.  

Carole