Ah so we might see a little planetary nebula around it at some stage?
The Firework Nebula (attached) is one of the more famous planetary nebulae that are nova remnants.
Also, novae are recurrent. Maybe every 10,000 years or so (although dwarf novae and other cataclysmic variables can erupt every few years). But each eruption contributes more to the expanding gas cloud.
Type Ia supernovae happen in the same broad type of system as novae - a white dwarf/red main sequence star in close orbit. But the type Ia supernovae blow themselves to bits. That leaves a bit of a mess of a nebula, too :-)
0200 hrs AEST Wed 25-12-2013 (1600 hrs UT Tues 24-12-2013)
A partially clear sky this morning after showers earlier in the evening. It has been five days since I last observed Nova Cen 2013, so I have missed the lastest round of dimming and increase in brightness. Brisbane's light dome is not as obvious tonight and the 59% Waning Gibbous Moon is behind cloud.
Unaided eye - Just visible. If you were casually scanning the sky and did not know the nova was there it would probably be missed by suburban dwellers.
7x50 Binoculars - To my eyes, Nova Cen 2013 is close to Mag 4.3 this morning with just the slightest hint of colour. At the moment, it looks to be on par in brightness with HIP70069 (Mag 4.28) which is marked in red on the attached Starry Night screen grab. I am using SN Enthusiast so I cannot plot the location of the Nova itself.
Edit: At 0250 hrs it is almost clouded out. Lucky to see it when I did.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 29-12-2013 at 06:28 AM.
Reason: Date correct - day wrong. Now corrected.
Hi Stu, I'm not very sensitive to colour myself. It appears mostly white to me. The nova has a strong Ha line in it's spectra, which is probably why it has a red tinge to it in the photos, more so in the full spectrum camera than the pentax.
Repo of the above nova pic, cropped and with minimal processing to try and show the colours better. I am getting a bit of CA from the Mak corrector also which is hard to avoid. It's a bit noisy, but it's summer in the tropics and I'm running an uncooled camera. I good mind to put the thing in the freezer before I take pics with it!
Here's one I took last night (25 Dec 2013). Short subs, crop from 55mm image with Canon 650D, saturation raised to show colours better. Shows a pinky-red. The bright stars are the Pointers to the Southern Cross.
I'm imaging the nova right now. It definitely looks pinkish in the RGB frames. Very cool to see a pink star
I'll post the combined image once it's finished.
0330 hrs AEST Fri 27-12-2013 (1730 hrs UT Thurs 26-12-2013)
It is approx 50% overcast this morning with the heavier cloud cover to the South. It has been two days since I last observed Nova Cen 2013. Moon phase - 38% Waning Crescent.
Unaided eye - Just visible from my suburban sky.
7x50 Binoculars - To my eyes, Nova Cen 2013 seems to have brightened a little since Xmas and looks to be at Mag 4.0 showing a slight pink hue in colour. It appears to be a little brighter than HIP70069 (Mag 4.28) which is marked in red on the attached Starry Night screen grab. I am using SN Enthusiast so I cannot plot the location of the Nova itself.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 29-12-2013 at 06:27 AM.
Reason: Date correct - day wrong. Now corrected.
Definitely a notch or two brighter than lambda Crucis at 4.5. I took a lot of photometry frames through drifting cloud around 4am. I'll sort out some decent ones and report a measurement.
So, V magnitude at 4am this morning (17:00 UT 26 December) was bang on 4.2. B was around 4.35. Will this continue to brighten to become a third-magnitude star for the third time in a month?
Hmmmm
Yes, why not!
These fluctuations in my readings don't seem to fit the established criteria (AAVSO write-up etc)...maybe it still has to reach max???
There are lots of strange ones. V5588 Sgr a couple of years ago had a series of amazing BIG spikes in brightness, short lived, well spaced out and very unlike the variations in V1369 Cen. The AAVSO database doesn't show it too well as coverage at the critical times was lacking, but this adaptation of their light curve shows what it was like. There was some pro monitoring of some of these spikes, particularly from Japan - those obs aren't in the AAVSO database but complement the lines I've drawn in.
0400 to 0435 hrs AEST Sun 29-12-2013 (1800 to 1835 hrs UT Sat 28-12-2013)
A clear sky this morning which was unexpected considering the overcast conditions from earlier in the night. The current Moon phase is at 18% Waning Crescent.
Unaided eye - Just visible from my suburban sky with twilight well underway.
7x50 Binoculars - Nova Cen 2013 is currently at Mag 4.0 to 4.1 with no obvious colour, probably due to the brightening sky.
This morning I tried something different to get an accurate gauge on the magnitude of Nova Cen 2013. I waited for the morning twilight to wash out the sky and let the stars used for comparison fade from sight. The nova was definetely brighter than HIP70069 (Mag 4.28) and Lamda Crucis (Mag 4.59). Nova Cen 2013 was still visible along with Mu1 Crucis (Mag 4.0) at 0435 hrs local time when the fainter stars were washed out and lost from sight. Mu1 Crucis is circled in red on the attached Starry Night screen grab. I am using SN Enthusiast so I cannot plot the location of the Nova itself.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 29-12-2013 at 06:38 AM.
while I am not in the league of gentlemen taking spectra I was lucky enough this morning to have obtained some images of the nova before the southerly change moved in - it was a race with clouds coming in from the south. managed to get 3 3min shots.
pushing the colour I do get a pink hue, ok wasn't much data but i take what i can get and its no "Rolf" effort that's for sure
0130 hrs AEST Mon 30-12-2013 (1530 hrs UT Sun 29-12-2013)
A mostly clear sky this morning after the thunderstorms from earlier in the night. The current Moon phase is at 11% Waning Crescent although it will not rise for another hour. Some low lying cloud on the Southern Horizon is reflecting the light pollution from Brisbane's CBD.
Unaided eye - Just visible / hard to pick up due to Brisbane's light pollution dome.
7x50 Binoculars - Nova Cen 2013 appears to be around Mag 4.2 - not quite as bright as last night. No colour was observed. The closest star that appeared to match Nova Cen 2013 in brightness was HIP70069 which is circled in red on the exported Starry Night image. The location for Nova Cen 2013 is marked with a green circle.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 30-12-2013 at 05:49 AM.
0430 hrs AEST Mon 30-12-2013 (1830 hrs UT Sun 29-12-2013)
A clear sky as twilight takes hold. The current Moon phase is at 11% Waning Crescent and it is 24deg above the horizon.
Unaided eye - Not seen due to the brightening sky.
7x50 Binoculars - Nova Cen 2013 (V1369 Cen) is at Mag 4.2 - not quite as bright as last night. I watched as the stars faded from view to get a more accurate gauge of its magnitude. Nova Cen 2013 is a touch brighter than HIP70069 (at Mag 4.28) and circled in red. I've worked out how to get SN Enthusiast V6.4.3 to show the location for Nova Cen 2013 - it is marked with a green circle.
and its no "Rolf" effort that's for sure
