On or about 2008-04-23,
OG illuminated us with:



"*Paul" wrote in message
...
Hi,

We have recently been 'bought' a star and presented with a elaborate
certificate from the International Star Registry. The star was bought in
honor of our son who last year was born premature and unfortunately didn't
make it. I hope the star exists as I would really like to see it. Before
I go out and buy a telescope, I was hoping that someone in here would be
kind enough to verify that the star is actually real using the
'coordinates' given above (if this is even possible).


Hi Paul
I've no doubt that the star is real - and that it represents a very kind and
thoughtful gift.

To find out which star has been selected in honour of your son we would also
need to know the 'epoch' of the coordinates - because of the movement of the
Earth in its orbit, the position of stars in the sky changes very slightly
from year to year, so catalogues should be given with an epoch date.

Though typing those coordinates into Google Earth in sky mode[1] shows at
least one possible candidate. Depending on which one it is, it may be
beyond the resolution power of most amateur kit and/or you'll need
somewhere very remote to see it.

[1] View menu. Switch to sky. Click location search. Type the location
as shown.
--
Mark
Real email address | I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there
is mark at | when it happens. -Woody Allen
ayliffe dot org |