Poll Question

4
(I got my nerve)

wrote in message
...
If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could
you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

"Robin R. Wier" wrote in message
...
4
(I got my nerve)

wrote in message
...
If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could
you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

What is so great about naming stars? I'm not caught up in the recent fad of
dredging up star names that were never commonly used in the past. I don't
want Asmidiske or Bogardus. Let's use Bayer and Flamsteed letters for
everything except the generally recognized navigational stars.

Having said that... I could probably name about 10 stars that are in the sky
right now. From memory: Algol, Alpheratz, Enif, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius,
Castor, Pollux, Procyon... there must be a couple more.

"Robin R. Wier" wrote in message
...
4
(I got my nerve)

wrote in message
...
If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could
you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

What is so great about naming stars? I'm not caught up in the recent fad of
dredging up star names that were never commonly used in the past. I don't
want Asmidiske or Bogardus. Let's use Bayer and Flamsteed letters for
everything except the generally recognized navigational stars.

Having said that... I could probably name about 10 stars that are in the sky
right now. From memory: Algol, Alpheratz, Enif, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius,
Castor, Pollux, Procyon... there must be a couple more.

"Robin R. Wier" wrote in message
...
4
(I got my nerve)

wrote in message
...
If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could
you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

What is so great about naming stars? I'm not caught up in the recent fad of
dredging up star names that were never commonly used in the past. I don't
want Asmidiske or Bogardus. Let's use Bayer and Flamsteed letters for
everything except the generally recognized navigational stars.

Having said that... I could probably name about 10 stars that are in the sky
right now. From memory: Algol, Alpheratz, Enif, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius,
Castor, Pollux, Procyon... there must be a couple more.

"Robin R. Wier" wrote in message
...
4
(I got my nerve)

wrote in message
...
If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could
you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

What is so great about naming stars? I'm not caught up in the recent fad of
dredging up star names that were never commonly used in the past. I don't
want Asmidiske or Bogardus. Let's use Bayer and Flamsteed letters for
everything except the generally recognized navigational stars.

Having said that... I could probably name about 10 stars that are in the sky
right now. From memory: Algol, Alpheratz, Enif, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Sirius,
Castor, Pollux, Procyon... there must be a couple more.

Sam Wormley wrote:

" wrote:

If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

40-50

I include planets and visible Messier objects in my counts.

Sam Wormley wrote:

" wrote:

If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

40-50

I include planets and visible Messier objects in my counts.

Sam Wormley wrote:

" wrote:

If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

40-50

I include planets and visible Messier objects in my counts.

Sam Wormley wrote:

" wrote:

If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

40-50

I include planets and visible Messier objects in my counts.

"Sam Wormley" wrote in message
...
Sam Wormley wrote:

" wrote:

If you had mag 6.5+ skies tonight. How many stars could you name
without a chart, strictly from memory?

40-50

I include planets and visible Messier objects in my counts.

OK, I went out and checked. Not including planets or M-objects, but
including some stars that I can name only by Bayer letter, I came up with
the following:

Alpheratz
Gamma Andr.
Beta,
Alpha,
Gamma,
Delta,
Epsilon,
Iota Cass.
Alpha Per.
Algol
Polaris
Kochab
Aldebaran
Merope
Capella
Beta Tauri
Rigel
Betelgeuse
Sigma Ori.
Theta Ori.
Sirius
Procyon
Castor
Pollux
Alula Borealis,
Alula Australis (yes, I know this is a weird one!)

That's 26 stars that were in the sky at 11 p.m. at my latitude.