I am usually alone with the telescope, but last night I had company. I heard the scratchy sounds of its arrival, and my headlamp revealed a curious observer. It sat and watched for about five minutes, but offered no advice or commentary. This was not the first time it has kept me company under the stars.
 |
| Procyon lotor, the star raccoon. |
In the constellation Canes Venatici, which lies south of the Big Dipper, there is a deeply-red variable star with the nickname "La Superba". Its official designation is Y Canum Venaticorum. At magnitude 5.2, this star is one of the brightest examples of a "carbon star". These stars have high concentrations of carbon compounds in their atmospheres. These compounds absorb short-wavelength light and lead to the sunset-like coloration.
La Superba lies south of the handle of the Big Dipper, between Mizar and Cor Caroli, the two double stars featured in the previous post.
 |
| credit: SkySafariAstronomy.com |
Capturing this star's color in a wide-angle image is a bit of a challenge. Diffusion filters definitely help. A darker sky (sqml=19.8 last night) would also help.
 |
| Sony A7iii + Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 AFII + Softon filter. ISO 1600, 30 s. |
 |
| Olympus E-M1iii + 45mm f/1.8 + Sparkle-6 filter. ISO 1600, 30 s. |
The Hoya Sparkle-6 filter seems to produce the most accurate colors, although the six-pointed star patterns border on looking gimmicky. The Hoya Softon filter tends to render blue colors better than reds.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated.