Observed the Nova again this morning. Just visible to the naked eye with averted vision. Still a lovely sight in binoculars. Looked more whitish to my eye. It is certainly putting on a good show for us.
0405 to 0425 hrs AEST Fri 3-1-2014 (1805 to 1825 hrs UT Sun 2-1-2014)
Mostly cloudy as twilight brightened the sky. Due to overcast conditions this has been the first chance to observe V1369 Cen since Monday. We are just past New Moon at the moment.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at Mag 4.8 - it was difficult to assess with the passing clouds. There was no obvious colour when viewed through binoculars. I watched as the stars faded from view to get a more accurate gauge of its magnitude. Nova Cen 2013 is almost on par with HIP70264 (at Mag 4.75) 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.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 12-01-2014 at 02:21 AM.
Reason: Fixed up the year - should read as 2014
Not visible to the unaided eye for me either this morning. In this pic looks reddish compared to Hadar, Beta Centauri. FS Nikon D70s, CLS filter, ED80, single frame.
0430 hrs AEST Sat 4-1-2014 (1830 hrs UT Fri 3-1-2014)
A completely clear sky with slightly cooler and less humid conditions. We are just past New Moon (8%) at the moment.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at Mag 4.3 with no obvious colour when viewed through binoculars. Nova Cen 2013 is very close to HIP70069 (at Mag 4.28) in brightness. My earlier assessment (see below) was incorrect as highlighted by watching the stars fade with the morning twilight.
Earlier this morning, I found it hard to gauge V1369 Cen's apparent magnitude against the triangle of stars formed HIP70069, HIP69618 and HIP70264. I put it down to a lack of sleep.
Assessment of Apparent Magnitude was incorrect
0235 hrs AEST Sat 4-1-2014 (1625 hrs UT Fri 3-1-2014)
A mostly clear sky after a early evening thunderstorm. It is very warm and humid this morning with Brisbane expecting its hottest day on record when the Sun rises. We are just past New Moon at the moment.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at Mag 4.8. There was no obvious colour when viewed through binoculars. Nova Cen 2013 is almost on par with HIP70264 (at Mag 4.75) and circled in red.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 12-01-2014 at 02:20 AM.
Reason: Fixed up the year - should read as 2014
0415 hrs AEST Sun 5-1-2014 (1815 hrs UT Sat 4-1-2014)
95% cloud cover this morning with some patches of clear sky to the South.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at least on par but possibly a little brighter than HIP70069 / HD125288 (at Mag 4.28) in apparent magnitude. I only had a very short chance to observe V1369 Cen in the same 7 degree FOV as HIP70069 / HD125288, HIP 69618 / HD124367 and HIP70264 / HD 125628. The cloud cover did not allow me to watch the stars fade into the twilight for a more accurate gauge of magnitude.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 12-01-2014 at 02:19 AM.
Reason: Fixed up the year - should read as 2014
0130 hrs AEST Sun 12-1-2014 (1530 hrs UT Sat 11-1-2014)
A clear sky tonight. Great to get some perfect weather after the recent cloudy nights. The Moon phase is at 82% Waxing Gibbous although it had just set when this observation was made so its impact was not noticed.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - To my eyes V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at App Mag 5.1 with it being between HIP69618 (at Mag 5.00) and HIP70035 (at Mag 5.21) in apparent magnitude. No colour was observed.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 12-01-2014 at 02:48 AM.
0330 hrs AEST Mon 13-1-2014 (1730 hrs UT Sun 12-1-2014)
A mostly clear sky this morning. The Moon phase is at 89% Waxing Gibbous although it had already set when this observation was made so its impact was not noticed.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - To my eyes V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) is at App Mag 5.0 with it being between on par with HIP69618 (at Mag 5.00) in brightness. No colour was observed.
Got up early yesterday morning to see the nova in moon-free skies. I was very well dark-adapted as I stumbled out into the backyard and was amazed to see that the nova was still a little gem naked-eye. The skies were very dark and the stars were brilliant! Then I ruined it all by fiddling with the camera - after that I could barely see it!
Anyway, I made it out at mag 4.9 naked-eye (4.8, 5.1 - AAVSO comp stars). I've added another spectrum to the spectroscopy thread, but here's a saturation-enhanced widefield view of the nova, cropped & reduced size. Looking quite reddish. Bright stars are the Pointers, V1369 Cen is marked with lines. Canon 650D, 55mm lens, 4 x 10 sec, ISO 6400, F/5.6.
0100 hrs AEST Sat 18-1-2014 (1500 hrs UT Fri 17-1-2014)
25% cloud cover this morning with a clear sky to the South and a 98% Waning Gibbous Moon. The light dome from Brisbane was very noticeable tonight.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) was at App Mag 4.9 this morning. It was a little brighter than HIP 69618 / HD124367 (at Mag 5.0) but not quite as bright as HIP70264 / HD 125628 (at Mag 4.75). There was no obvious colour when observed through binoculars. I resorted to viewing with out of focus binoculars as I found it easier to compare the brightness of 'fuzzy' stars as opposed to points of light.
I have just checked my assessment against the AAVSO light curve. Visual observations of apparent magnitude for this nova appear to be less consistant than they have in the recent past. http://www.aavso.org/lcg/plot?auid=0...2=&mean=&vmean=
This seems to highlight the subjective nature of each persons visual observations than a genuine daily shift in apparent magnitude. As the nova dims it must become harder for visual observers to agree on a figure.
The images attached to this post are from Starry Night Enthusiast V 6.4.3 planetarium software.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 18-01-2014 at 08:07 AM.
. I resorted to viewing with out of focus binoculars as I found it easier to compare the brightness of 'fuzzy' stars as opposed to points of light.
Yes, this is how it is done in photometry too. Points aren't very helpful - defocusing gets more consistent results.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shark Bait
I have just checked my assessment against the AAVSO light curve. Visual observations of apparent magnitude for this nova appear to be less consistant that they have in the recent past. http://www.aavso.org/lcg/plot?auid=0...2=&mean=&vmean=
This seems to highlight the subjective nature of each persons visual observations than a genuine daily shift in apparent magnitude. As the nova dims it must become harder for visual observers to agree on a figure.
You could be right. On the other hand there is a possibility that the nova is entering a new phase of oscillations of around 1/2 a mag every 1.5 days. There's the hint of that in the light curve this week.
Stu, here's what I was talking about when I was speculating about more rapid oscillations. Using the polynomial fit tool of VStar on the AAVSO visual and V data you can see the pattern to what might seem random leaps.
0020 hrs AEST Mon 20-1-2014 (1420 hrs UT Sun 19-1-2014)
There was a haze over the entire sky this morning. Along with the poor transparency, the fainter stars were lost to visual observation. The hazy conditions had scattered the light from Brisbane's LP dome higher into the sky. Along with the scattered light from the Moon it made viewing a little more challenging. On the other hand there was less to distract the eye when comparing the nova to other stars of similar brightness. The Moon phase was at 90% Waning Gibbous.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - To my eyes V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) was at App Mag 5.3 this morning. It appeared to be a little brighter than HIP 66849 (at Mag 5.37) but not quite as bright as HIP70035 (at Mag 5.21). There was no obvious colour when observed through binoculars. Due to the poor transparency, I decided to split the difference in making my visual assessment of the apparent magnitude.
The images attached to this post are from Starry Night Enthusiast V 6.4.3 planetarium software.
Thanks for your feedback Jon. Your comments and chart regarding oscillations in V1369's magnitude were helpful. It has been an interesting ride keeping tabs on the nova (my first). My wording regarding inconsistant visual observations could have been better chosen. I should have typed 'Could this indicate', instead of 'This seems to highlight'. That is what happens when posting a report at silly times in the morning.
Thanks to RobK and Von Tom for sharing your images. It is good to see some colour in images taken with longer exposure times. I have to be content with Starry Night for records of my observations.
0315 hrs AEST Tue 21-1-2014 (1715 hrs UT Mon 20-1-2014)
50% cloud cover tonight with good sized gaps between the clouds to the South. The altitude of the nova at 0315 hrs was high enough to be above the worst of Brisbane's light pollution dome. The transparency of this mornings sky was much better than yesterday with a lot less light scatter. The Moon phase was at 83% Waning Gibbous.
Unaided eye - Not seen.
7x50 Binoculars - V1369 Cen (Nova Cen 2013) was at App Mag 5.2 this morning. It was on par with HIP70035 (at Mag 5.21) in brightness. There was no obvious colour when observed through binoculars.
The images attached to this post are from Starry Night Enthusiast V6.4.3 planetarium software.
Edit: Just had another look at 0400 to 0405 hrs. The sky was cloud free and a satellite passed from the East travelling to the West through my 7 degree field of view when I had another look at V1369 Cen. It was spinning on its own axis and brightening approx every 10 seconds. There were a couple of bright flashes from its reflective surfaces. This satellite doesn't show up in Starry Night V6.4.3 but it is probably a safe bet to call it an Iridium. A very nice object to follow with binoculars even it was a distraction from my goal.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 21-01-2014 at 05:28 AM.
Took some wide shots with the lens at 28mm while there's still a 3/4 moon in the sky. Maybe this would be a good finder for those that haven't seen it yet?
Nikon full spectrum D70s, 2 minutes at ISO400, Tamron 28-105mm lens at 28mm.
