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Astronomy Quiz ! ! !



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 2nd 04, 12:07 AM
AA Institute
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Default Astronomy Quiz ! ! !

Listen up, you may win a prize if you get this right!!!

Question 1:
------------
What is the *second* *reddest* star in the entire night sky to shine
above fifth magnitude? Is it:-

A. Mu Cephei (William Herschel's "Garnet Star")
B. The variable star CE Tauri
C. The red supergiant Antares
D. None of these

Question 2:
-------------

Who was the *FIRST* to identify the *second* *reddest* star mentioned
in question 1 above? Was it:-

A. The English astronomer John Goodricke in 1775
B. Mullah Omar (the notorius Taliban leader in Afghanistan)
C. Sir Patrick Moore
D. Abdul Ahad of the AA Institute


Question 3:
-------------

Does anyone have any plans to observe the variability of the star
mentioned in Question 1 above, in the current season? Clue: The star
is just rising in the late evenings!

All answers invited!!!

AAI
  #8  
Old October 5th 04, 06:29 AM
Tom Polakis
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Where does Betelgeuse fit into this? It looks as red as a ruby as I
look up at Orion during my early A.M. strolls.

Double-A



B-V=1.5, so pretty orange, but not red.

Tom
  #9  
Old October 5th 04, 09:05 AM
AA Institute
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(Tom Polakis) wrote in message

D. None of these. TX Piscium is in second place. CE Tauri is the
fourth reddest star, if by "reddest" you mean has the largest B-V
value. Here's the listing by Hipparcos catalogue number:

HIP V B-V

52009 4.89 2.800
117245 4.95 2.508
107259 4.22 2.242
25945 4.32 2.060

HIP 52009 = U Hydrae -- the reddest star brighter than V=5
HIP 117245 = TX Piscium -- the second reddest brighter than V=5
HIP 25945 = CE Tauri -- the fourth reddest brighter than V=5 (still
very red)


I'm too tired or lazy to bother with the other three questions.

Tom


I need to clarify and perhaps re-phrase my analytical ranking of CE
Tauri as the *second* reddest star above magnitude 5. It's an
optimisation between *colour index* AND *brightness*. Yes TX Piscium
is redder, but have a look at its light curve over 5 years:-

http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/superst...i=on &ccdu=on

It spends most of its life well below magnitude 5. Also, carbon stars
are known to vary their redness in line with intrinsic brightness,
appearing redder at the *fainter* ends of their cycles.

Pulsating red M-type supergiants like Mu Cephei, CE Tauri, Antares,
Betelgeuse are in a different class altogether.

Generally speaking, *the* reddest naked eye star in the entire night
sky is undisputedly the Garnet Star in Cepheus (color index +2.35,
spectrum M2 Ia). The *second* reddest star in the entire night sky is
CE Tauri (color index +2.07, spectrum M2 Ib)... "The Ruby Star" as I
note here in my Red Stars Catalog:-

http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...r_catalog.html

Is the star that I look at night after night, through telescope after
telescope, binocular after binocular... all the way through winter
evenings! When I'm cold, it's warm, red colour draws me like... the
eyes of count dracula!!!

Abdul
  #10  
Old October 5th 04, 06:29 PM
Tom Polakis
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(AA Institute) wrote

I need to clarify and perhaps re-phrase my analytical ranking of CE
Tauri as the *second* reddest star above magnitude 5. It's an
optimisation between *colour index* AND *brightness*. Yes TX Piscium
is redder, but have a look at its light curve over 5 years:-

http://www.aavso.org/cgi-bin/superst...i=on &ccdu=on

It spends most of its life well below magnitude 5. Also, carbon stars
are known to vary their redness in line with intrinsic brightness,
appearing redder at the *fainter* ends of their cycles.

Pulsating red M-type supergiants like Mu Cephei, CE Tauri, Antares,
Betelgeuse are in a different class altogether.

Generally speaking, *the* reddest naked eye star in the entire night
sky is undisputedly the Garnet Star in Cepheus (color index +2.35,
spectrum M2 Ia). The *second* reddest star in the entire night sky is
CE Tauri (color index +2.07, spectrum M2 Ib)... "The Ruby Star" as I
note here in my Red Stars Catalog:-

http://uk.geocities.com/aa_spaceagen...r_catalog.html

Is the star that I look at night after night, through telescope after
telescope, binocular after binocular... all the way through winter
evenings! When I'm cold, it's warm, red colour draws me like... the
eyes of count dracula!!!




Okay, it you eliminate highly variable stars, then your "Ruby Star" is
clearly second place.

Tom
(really hoping not to provoke another sophomoric poem by "Brilliant
One")
 




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