Nova in Cas

[JeremyS]

24 minutes ago, Stu said:

It seems not John. I assume there are relatively rapid small changes in brightness as well as the longer term trends, is that correct @JeremyS?

One of the fascinating aspects about cataclysmic variables (a nova is one type of CV) is that they vary on all times from a few minutes to hours, days and weeks. They are always “doing” something. That’s why I like them so much.

A little while ago I wrote an article about CVs: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2018JBAA..128...75S

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by JeremyS

[Stu]

Thanks very much @JeremyS, I’ll have a read of that went I get a chance.

[HollyHound]

4 hours ago, JeremyS said:

A little while ago I wrote an article about CVs: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/2018JBAA..128...75S

Very detailed and informative article… thank you for sharing 👍

Great to see inside your observatory too and your “main” rig… I love that you have the little FS-60CB onboard as a finder too 😀

[JeremyS]

9 hours ago, HollyHound said:

Very detailed and informative article… thank you for sharing 👍

Great to see inside your observatory too and your “main” rig… I love that you have the little FS-60CB onboard as a finder too 😀

Thanks Gary. 
I’m tempted to say that “The Tiddler”, I.e the FS 60, gives better views than the C11. But I might save that discussion for another thread 🤣

[John]

Nova observed with my 100mm frac at 37.5x. I'd go for magnitude 7.5ish tonight. Just a touch brighter than the star HD220770 which is mag 7.8.

 

 

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, John said:

Nova observed with my 100mm frac at 37.5x. I'd go for magnitude 7.5ish tonight. Just a touch brighter than the star HD220770 which is mag 7.8.

 

 

It’s bouncing around a bit isn’t it John?

[John]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

It’s bouncing around a bit isn’t it John?

Yep - could keep us hanging on all Summer

 

[JeremyS]

All good entertainment 👍🏻

[John]

On 24/05/2021 at 22:46, John said:

Nova observed with my 100mm frac at 37.5x. I'd go for magnitude 7.5ish tonight. Just a touch brighter than the star HD220770 which is mag 7.8.

 

 

Same again tonight I think. 120mm frac at 37.5x used.

 

[Stu]

Thanks John. Cloudy here  

[PeterW]

Right Prof @JeremyS what’s it going to do next?!

Peter

[JeremyS]

57 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Right Prof @JeremyS what’s it going to do next?!

Peter

Your guess is as good as mine Peter!

My money is on a second brightening, but who knows? The unpredictability of a nova like this is part of the attraction!
 

Keep watching.....

 

[Davey-T]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Your guess is as good as mine Peter!

My money is on a second brightening, but who knows? The unpredictability of a nova like this is part of the attraction!
 

Keep watching.....

 

Hope so as I haven't even managed to see it yet as it's been lurking in light pollution from here since first discovered, just about getting high enough to see.

Dave

[Pixies]

Surprise clear night, although not really dark. Waited till 1am.

Nova brightness half-way between HD220770 (7.8) and HD220167 (7.2) - so I'd say 7.5 tonight.

 

[John]

Nova observed with 130mm refractor this evening at 50x. It still seems a little brighter than HD220770 so I'd estimate magnitude 7.5 or thereabouts, again.

 

[Davey-T]

Set up ready in clear skies to catch it but clouded over as soon as it got dark, maybe tomorrow.

Dave

[Captain Scarlet]

I had it just now through 15x56 bins (after an actual telescope session!) as a bit dimmer than hd220167, I’d say 7.3 to my eye.

Magnus

[Marki]

Out with my Skywatcher 150 ED tonight. At 60x, Nova looks a touch brighter than HD 220770.  Maybe a tad brighter, but not much in it. I did have a little intermittent high thin haze here though, soooo don't know if thats affecting my seeing (albeit pretty much gone now). Seeing steadyish but not great transparency up til now.

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by Marki

[JeremyS]

I've just downloaded this light curve from the BAA VSS database. Looks like a slight brightening in the last few days:

 

[PeterW]

Looks like you might have been right… fascinating!

Peter

[JeremyS]

It’s only a modest brightening atm, Peter. Definitely worth following, though 

[Captain Scarlet]

My problem with getting views and readings for this is that I have to go along a side-alley off my street and view from there, which has two problems:

1. It’s regularly used as a dark place for late-night pub-returners to, er, let’s say “make themselves more comfortable” against the alley wall;

2. If one were to choose a place to be able to look directly WITH BINOCULARS AT NIGHT into the back windows of the houses in that direction along the street, my Nova Cas spot would be it.

So if I suddenly go quiet pleas

 

[John]

Stepping over the recumbent drunkards laying around our patio tonight .....

 

ED120 frac @ 37.5x = nova is very close in brightness to the mag 7.15 star HD 220167 to my eye. Definitely a bit brighter than HD 220270.

So mag 7.3 perhaps ?

 

[Pixies]

Talking about:

43 minutes ago, John said:

recumbent drunkards

It's still not dark enough here, yet. If it doesn't hurry up I'll have had one too many beers to be of any use. But still - it's warm enough to be outside in a T-shirt!

 

[Stu]

I had some good views of the nova tonight through the Tak. I thought it relatively close to 220057 at 6.9, and quite a lot brighter than 220770. I’ll say 7.2 for me.