Waiting for T CrB aka the Blaze star

[Gfamily]

9 hours ago, MalcolmP said:

 I am not sure why or where the wheels fell of this wagon, but lets try again ! : 

Gfamily > a WD weighing 1.3 ish solar masses would have started from a 2 solar mass star,  This was an incorrect statement

Apologies for the inadvertent confusion. 

Edited September 4 by Gfamily
spelling

[Capt Slog]

I'm not up to the standard of most of the above, but was happy enough to be able find the Blaze Star as the faintest dot with my telescope just now.

I look on this as practise for when it does go nova.  I look forward to the possibility of showing it to my eldest grandchild who is four. I know he won't understand what I'm showing him but it brings a lump to my throat to think that he might recall the event when it comes around next time.

[Paul M]

1 hour ago, Capt Slog said:

I'm not up to the standard of most of the above, but was happy enough to be able find the Blaze Star as the faintest dot with my telescope just now.

I look on this as practise for when it does go nova.  I look forward to the possibility of showing it to my eldest grandchild who is four. I know he won't understand what I'm showing him but it brings a lump to my throat to think that he might recall the event when it comes around next time.

This is what it's all about.

Some here are technically able and inclined to do some real science, photometry and spectroscopy for example. For most of us it's a spectacle to enjoy and remember, and as you say, share.

Unfortunately my western sky from home is filled by a neighbours house and my remote allsky camera in Cumbria is losing Corona Borealis to the murk and trees on the horizon. I'm already feeling defeated for this season's observational window

I did get a glimpse through the Cumbrian clouds yesterday evening and confirmed for myself, if not the greater scientific world, that T CrB aint blazing yet!

[Capt Slog]

9 hours ago, Paul M said:

Unfortunately my western sky from home is filled by a neighbours house and my remote allsky camera in Cumbria is losing Corona Borealis to the murk and trees on the horizon. I'm already feeling defeated for this season's observational window

I realised after I went to bed that the 'practise' bit of my post sounded a bit odd, because although it's very faint now, the Blaze will of course be easy to find once it switches on.

But I'm in a similar position with regards to viewing as Paul M, most of my garden has obscured views of the western sky.  Those bits where it is possible, the ground underfoot makes using the telescope there very difficult, the going would be described as 'soft'.

The one usable place from my property is up against the house wall, with the tripod at it's tallest and me standing on a small set of steps to see into it!  If it doesn't hurry up, the best view for me will be out of one of the bedroom windows.

[Geoff Lister]

Using the Time/Date settings on Stellarium, roughly at the start of December, T CrB is going to go from being a post-dusk westerly target, to a pre-dawn easterly target. This will get me clear above the boundary scenery, and give my Dwarf 2 and Seestsr S50 a chance to plate-solve with the Sun below the horizon. As CrB is not far from Boo, a quick spot of Arcturus gets me close to the correct patch of sky for a binocular view.

With the Dwarf 2, and T CrB towards the bottom of the FOV, I should be able to keep (magnitude 4-ish) epsilon CrB in the frame; much more difficult, or impossible with the S50. Fortunately, a nova event should be obvious with 1 or 2 stacked images.

Geoff

[lunator]

I had a look at T CrB. I had thought it might go 'pop' whilst I was building the submarine to cope with all the rain we have had down here.... but still nothing. 

Also had a look at some clusters in Casseiopeia.

Cheers

Ian

[JeremyS]

Here’s a note I wrote about a British amateur astronomer who independently discover the 1946 eruption of T CrB when he was only 15:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad7ba8

[Nik271]

 

47 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Here’s a note I wrote about a British amateur astronomer who independently discover the 1946 eruption of T CrB when he was only 15:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ad7ba8

Thank you, interesting bit of history! So according to these observations the star decreased almost 2 magnitudes, from 1.7 to 3.4 in about 10 hours. Need to be very lucky to catch it at its peak this time.

[Geoff Lister]

1 hour ago, Nik271 said:

Need to be very lucky to catch it at its peak this time.

I live in hope!

[lunator]

Still no sign of an outburst tonight...