Comments on: A white dwarf in the making http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2008/07/a-white-dwarf-in-the-making/ If you aren't going to care about something, may as well not care about astronomy Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:48:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: michael http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2008/07/a-white-dwarf-in-the-making/#comment-412112 michael Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:09:02 +0000 http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/?p=426#comment-412112 Yes, it is a bit dim lately, isn't it. But that could change! :) Yes, it is a bit dim lately, isn’t it. But that could change! :)

]]> By: phornby http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/2008/07/a-white-dwarf-in-the-making/#comment-411219 phornby Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:04:47 +0000 http://www.slackerastronomy.org/wordpress/?p=426#comment-411219 Sure, you can take a look for yourself, but you'll need a pretty large telescope. The star is currently below 15th magnitude, so something in the 16"-20" range, or larger, would be advisable. And you'll need a better chart than the AAVSO one linked here, which is for a small telescope and only shows stars down to magnitude 10. But, that said, FG Sge is certainly an amazing variable. I remember observing it in the 1970s, when it was an easy object in a small telescope. Even at that time, the idea that it seemed to be racing across the HR diagram like an express train seemed totally unbelievable. Peter Hornby Sure, you can take a look for yourself, but you’ll need a pretty large telescope. The star is currently below 15th magnitude, so something in the 16″-20″ range, or larger, would be advisable. And you’ll need a better chart than the AAVSO one linked here, which is for a small telescope and only shows stars down to magnitude 10.

But, that said, FG Sge is certainly an amazing variable. I remember observing it in the 1970s, when it was an easy object in a small telescope. Even at that time, the idea that it seemed to be racing across the HR diagram like an express train seemed totally unbelievable.

Peter Hornby

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