Hi everyone from over here in S Africa . . .
I've been awfully quiet on the observer forums of late, though I've peeked in regularly to see what you blokes are up to. I took up the reins of our deep-sky journal over here,
Nightfall, and bit off a lot more than I can chew. Nonetheless, nibble by nibble the feast is turning into a snack, so I figure to treat you to a little munchie: A new Southern observer's challenge list. Here goes:
Once we've been through the Messier list, the various Herschel 400 lists, the 150 globulars list, and maybe tasted from A to Z in the Abell and Zwicky catalogs . . . what's next?
Come to think of it, has anyone come up with a new observer's catalogue lately?
*Nightfall* <
https://assa.saao.ac.za/sections/deep-sky/nightfall/>, the deep-sky journal of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, has now compiled just such a list: 45 O runaway stars visible naked eye or everyday binoculars. "Riding with the Valkyries" is a not-too-technical explanation of why O runaways exist and what gives them their speed. Following this is a 9-page table of the 45 O runaways. The table is peppered with interesting facts and links to original source material.
The 17 MB article is available for free download here
<
https://mega.nz/#!uGQHRKpY!70eyexOev..._o4QjDIDY2ESjk>.
Happy hunting,
Doug Bullis, editor
assa.nightfall@gmail.com