[AZ-Observing] Re: A Red Betelgeuse this Morning
- From: Jeff Hopkins <phxjeff@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2004 09:53:21 -0700
At 05:35 -0700 9/26/04, Paul Dickson wrote:
>About 45 minutes ago I went out to collect the newspaper. Venus was
>fairly high up. Even higher was Saturn. Then there was a red object even
>higher. After moving away from the tree, the constellation was Orion, and
>the star was Betelgeuse.
>
>I don't recall seeing Betelgeuse so red before. It was a golden-red, not
>a deep red. The color was most noticeable when it was compared with other
>stars, which all generally appeared white. Perhaps it's just my eyes not
>focusing at this hour that makes it appear more red than usual.
>
> -Paul
Some of the bright stars can be surprising at times. Betelgeuse can
really stand out. As I mentioned in my presentation Friday,
Betelgeuse is a variable star and varies between 0.4 and 1.3
magnitudes. It may have been at a peak this morning.
I've been getting up at 3 AM to do photometry of Epsilon Aurigae and
have been watching Orion. I missed this morning because I was at the
star party in Prescott last night and didn't get home until late.
I'll check Betelgeuse tomorrow morning.
You might consider getting into photometry and observing Betelgeuse.
You would probably be the only one in the world doing so. It might
hold some surprises.
Jeff
--
Jeff Hopkins
HPO SOFT
http://www.hposoft.com/Astro/astro.html
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Hopkins Phoenix Observatory
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