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DY Crucis
Hi Michael,
Glad your first experience with the 'scope was such a positive one. Hope it continues for many years to come.
The deep red star near Beta Crucis (Mimosa) (and if anyone dares to call it Beecrux I'll scream) is DY Crucis or EsB-365. The former is its variable star designation (its slight variability was only confirmed 10-odd years ago) and the latter is its designation within a list of exceptionally red stars and comes from a paper published many years ago. EsB stands for Espin-Birmingham.
It is an exceptionally red carbon star (like a drop of blood) with a B-V of +5.8. Probably the reddest I've seen. Hind's Crimson star (R Leporis) comes close though with a B-V of +5.7. By comparison, the red supergiant in the Jewel-Box cluster (NGC 4755) is has a spectral classification of M2Iab and a B-V of +2.16 -- it is also a designated variable star (DU Crucis).
Hope this helps.
Best,
Les D
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