Martin Howell wrote:
[snip] I have posted an image
which labels the stars in the immediate area of Messier 57 with their
magnitudes on my website. My 12.5 inch dob has revealed the 14.7 magnitude
star and using averted vision I can sometimes convince myself that the
neighboring 15.3 magnitude star is hinting at its presence.

To see the image, go to http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell and click
on "Other stuff"

Here's a link to photometry for the field stars around M57:
http://c3po.cochise.cc.az.us/astro/deepsky02.htm

It was compiled by USNO's Arne Henden using the 1.0-meter at the observatory's
Flagstaff station. A link directly to Henden's data file is embedded within the
above page. Folks can check Martin's artwork against this and also add more
star magnitudes as needed.

I use the trio of faint stars that point at the western edge of the Ring to
determine if conditions are right for seeing the ~15.2 magnitude central star.
When these have been visible in my 10-inch, the central star has been visible
intermittently as the seeing steadies. The 15.6 magnitude star 40 arcseconds
south of M57 is another useful benchmark.

M57 central star observation with 10-inch:
http://members.aol.com/billferris/m57.html

Regards,
Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
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