Poll Question

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:37:04 GMT,
"
wrote:

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

Depending on the time of the year.

if i see a lot of constellations that i am familiar with 30 or so.
otherwise i maight only get 20.

james

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:37:04 GMT,
"
wrote:

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

Depending on the time of the year.

if i see a lot of constellations that i am familiar with 30 or so.
otherwise i maight only get 20.

james

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 17:37:04 GMT,
"
wrote:

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

Depending on the time of the year.

if i see a lot of constellations that i am familiar with 30 or so.
otherwise i maight only get 20.

james

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

Lots: Joe, Fred, Mary, Tom, Liz, Harold, etc.

Oh, the usual conventional names. Well, if you mean the proper names,
I doubt that dark skies matter. With the exception of the deeply
variable Mira-types, the stars with proper names all are bright enough
to see under indifferent skies. (Maybe not inner urban skies, though.)

My guess is that I could pick off perhaps 50 to 100 proper names, given
enough time. If you let me use Bayer letters and Flamsteed numbers,
probably several times that many. But I've got a fairly deep interest
in star names, so I'm probably not typical.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

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

Lots: Joe, Fred, Mary, Tom, Liz, Harold, etc.

Oh, the usual conventional names. Well, if you mean the proper names,
I doubt that dark skies matter. With the exception of the deeply
variable Mira-types, the stars with proper names all are bright enough
to see under indifferent skies. (Maybe not inner urban skies, though.)

My guess is that I could pick off perhaps 50 to 100 proper names, given
enough time. If you let me use Bayer letters and Flamsteed numbers,
probably several times that many. But I've got a fairly deep interest
in star names, so I'm probably not typical.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

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

Lots: Joe, Fred, Mary, Tom, Liz, Harold, etc.

Oh, the usual conventional names. Well, if you mean the proper names,
I doubt that dark skies matter. With the exception of the deeply
variable Mira-types, the stars with proper names all are bright enough
to see under indifferent skies. (Maybe not inner urban skies, though.)

My guess is that I could pick off perhaps 50 to 100 proper names, given
enough time. If you let me use Bayer letters and Flamsteed numbers,
probably several times that many. But I've got a fairly deep interest
in star names, so I'm probably not typical.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

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

Lots: Joe, Fred, Mary, Tom, Liz, Harold, etc.

Oh, the usual conventional names. Well, if you mean the proper names,
I doubt that dark skies matter. With the exception of the deeply
variable Mira-types, the stars with proper names all are bright enough
to see under indifferent skies. (Maybe not inner urban skies, though.)

My guess is that I could pick off perhaps 50 to 100 proper names, given
enough time. If you let me use Bayer letters and Flamsteed numbers,
probably several times that many. But I've got a fairly deep interest
in star names, so I'm probably not typical.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

ultralightbackpacker posted:

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

Oh, probably somewhere between 25 and 30. It depends a little on the time of
year, although winter seems to have more the the brighter ones visible. Clear
skies to you.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 11th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 18-23, 2004, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

ultralightbackpacker posted:

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

Oh, probably somewhere between 25 and 30. It depends a little on the time of
year, although winter seems to have more the the brighter ones visible. Clear
skies to you.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 11th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 18-23, 2004, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************

ultralightbackpacker posted:

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

Oh, probably somewhere between 25 and 30. It depends a little on the time of
year, although winter seems to have more the the brighter ones visible. Clear
skies to you.

--
David W. Knisely
Prairie Astronomy Club: http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org
Hyde Memorial Observatory: http://www.hydeobservatory.info/

**********************************************
* Attend the 11th Annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY *
* July 18-23, 2004, Merritt Reservoir *
* http://www.NebraskaStarParty.org *
**********************************************