Red Giants

[Barry-W-Fenner]

Hi all,

Hope you are keeping well.

I am quite keen to try and view some Red Giants. I have been reading about the variable star Mira (Omicron O Ceti)  Which from the pictures is a stunning looking Ruby Red in colour, It also has a white Dwarf companion which if possible to see, Should give a nice contrast in colour from Mira.

I dont think I am going to get to see these stars until later in the year due to there current position, Can anyone advise if the companion star is visible?

Also are there any other Bright Red old stars that are worth a look now? With our lack of darkness this would be an ideal target.

I have seen some great White/Blue/Yellow and Orange stars but dont recall viewing anything Red in Colour.

Thank you

Barry

 

 

[John]

Antares ?:

[Waddensky]

Mira B is currently separated from the primary by only 0.47", I doubt that is within reach of amateur equipment.

Antares is a nice red giant currently visible. But if you like deep red stars, look into carbon stars! They're wonderful.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Waddensky
Link to S&T article on carbon stars added

[Barry-W-Fenner]

11 minutes ago, John said:

Antares ?:

Antares is a good shout John. I don't think it is in a very good position until about 2am here 😂

[Barry-W-Fenner]

15 minutes ago, Waddensky said:

Mira B is currently separated from the primary by only 0.47", I doubt that is within reach of amateur equipment.

Antares is a nice red giant currently visible. But if you like deep red stars, look into carbon stars! They're wonderful.

Thanks for the heads up regarding the separation Waddensky.  I need to have a read about carbon stars now then

[Kyle Allen]

Have a look at Mu Cephei, also known as the Garnet Star, in Cepheus. It is a stunning deep red in a telescope or binoculars. Apparently, it is one of the most luminous stars known and if it was put in place of the Sun, it would engulf all of the inner planets as well as Jupiter!

[markse68]

1 hour ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Antares is a good shout John. I don't think it is in a very good position until about 2am here 😂

I think it’s reaching peak altitude around 11.30 at the moment Baz- at least that’s when it started dipping when i was tracking it a few nights ago. the trouble is it never gets very high so tends to be a boiling mess of atmospherics but i will persevere and one day i will see the b star- might have to take my scope on a trip (a lot) further south though 😉

[markse68]

just had another look at Mu Ceph and I don’t know if it’s my light polluted skies but it’s a deep orange to me 🤷‍♂️ I remember looking at it through a uhc in the past and it was very red though. Antares was spectacularly boiling tonight through I assume the jet stream 😂 and i’ve never seen Jupiter and Saturn look so bad- they had a lot more horizontal stripes than normal 🤦‍♂️ Not the best seeing but thankful for a brief glimpse through my scope at the start of what looks to be a dismal week 😞

[Pixies]

Try the carbon star, T-Lyrae. It's part of  Lyra (obviously) so well placed just now.

Edited June 29, 2020 by Pixies

[Kyle Allen]

Most red giants are variable stars. They look their reddest when at minimum brightness. It could be that Mu Cephei is near maximum brightness and that is the reason for it looking orange not red. 

[Stu]

Not well placed currently but worth looking for when Orion is back around, and that is Hind’s Crimson star. Colour index of +5.7 which is pretty red! The Garnet star by comparison is +2.24.

[Pete Presland]

13 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Antares is a good shout John. I don't think it is in a very good position until about 2am here 😂

You can have a look at Jupiter and Saturn a little later as well :-) 

[Pete Presland]

15 minutes ago, Stu said:

Not well placed currently but worth looking for when Orion is back around, and that is Hind’s Crimson star. Colour index of +5.7 which is pretty red! The Garnet star by comparison is +2.24.

Another reason to look forward to winter :-)

[John]

Antares is a "between the houses" job for me

And of course it's tint is usually "augmented" by the amount of atmosphere we have to view it through from the UK.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

10 hours ago, Pixies said:

Try the carbon star, T-Lyrae. It's part of  Lyra (obviously) so well placed just now.

Thank you, I have been spending a bit of time in the Lyra  recently so this will be idea! When the weather clears of course. 

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I look forward to hunting these stars down when they all come around again! 

I am also interested to find out a bit more about these carbon stars now!

Baz

[Stardaze]

Good read and carbon stars are a new one for me to explore. Antares is also ‘between the houses’ for me too but didn’t look too bad the other week. 
It didn’t look like it was going to be an option tonight good but it’s currently quite clear. Definitely a night I could do with a grab and go system 😂

edit: a good view of Antares from a top bedroom window right now in the binoculars.

Edited July 2, 2020 by Stardaze

[Waddensky]

A nice introduction to carbon star observing is Y Canum Venaticorum. It's one of the brightest carbon stars, visible all year for many northern hemisphere observers and called La Superba for good reason!

[ollypenrice]

Carbon stars are utterly staggering to observe. 'Red giants' are orange. Carbon stars are red.

😁lly