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Visual observations of new nova V5669 Sagittarii
First clear sky last night for a few days, so I set out to find this new nova in Sagittarius. It is the first one I have set out to observe and I was a little apprehensive that I would be able to identify a mag 9 approx point of light amongst the busy star field.
Actually, it turned out to be quite easy once I had established the sight line between Gamma1 Sagittarii and the small open cluster NGC 6520. The nova forms a low isosceles triangle with 8th mag HD164405 and 9th mag HD164846 with the nova at the apex pointing almost directly at NGC 6520. This triangle is close to the cluster and on the sight line to Gamma1 Sgr. The nova appeared approx mag 9.
It was an interesting FOV at low power with the pretty mag 7.6 open cluster nearby shrouded in a faint cloud of nebulosity and the adjacent dark nebula B86, The Ink Spot clearly visible and bounded by a bright yellow/white star on the side opposite the cluster.
Best/most interesting viewing was at 40X magnification with my 140mm refractor.
So I have bagged my first visual nova.
Cheers
Steve.
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