CSOG - Clear Skies Observing Guides

[Clear Skies]

Now available at www.clearskies.eu

4 1/2 years of work: Thousands of objects, thousands of observing guides, matching tours (Autostar, NexRemote and EQMOD) and AstroPlanner planfiles.
More information on the website.

Clear Skies(.eu),


Victor van Wulfen

[Preston Pendergraft]

Does the Carbon Star guide include every Carbon Star for the size scope visible? I ask because many of them are variables. I am working on the Carbon Star list from the Astronomical League, just want to make sure all the stars from the list are in the guide.

[Clear Skies]

Hi Preston,

The CSOG concept aims to include every object visible in a given telescope aperture: 5-6", 8-10" and 12". For carbon stars the star's brightest magnitude (where data on its variability was available) was used as a guideline.
As noted on the Objects page the limit for carbon stars in the 5-6" guides is mag. 9.0, 9.5 for 8-10" and mag. 11.0 for 12". All carbon stars in CSOG are included in the CGCS catalogue: Cool Galactic Carbon Stars.
While fainter stars are obviously visible in these apertures, I used these limits for carbon stars to assure color of stars is still observable. By personal experience I know that in a 12" SCT mag. 11 carbon stars sometimes give away a hint of color, but that really is pusing the limits.

Five of the stars in the Astronomical League Carbon Star list are not included in CSOG as they, to the best of my knowledge (CGCS catalogue + SIMBAD) are not carbon stars. They are nr. 17 - XX Camelopardalis, nr. 33 - FU Monocerotis, nr. 66 - AC Herculis, nr. 89 - CY Cygni and nr. 97 - RU Aquarii.

Some carry a different name in CSOG:
nr. 3 - SAO109003 = CGCS6003
nr. 6 - NSV 15196 = CGCS135
nr. 10 - SAO129989 = CGCS378
nr. 57 - SAO157721 = CGCS3335
nr. 61 - SAO46574 = CGCS3795
nr. 75 - NSV 11960 = CGCS4247
nr. 90 - SAO106516 = CGCS4978
nr. 91 - NSV 13571 = CGCS6882
nr. 99 - TX Piscium = 19 Piscium (TX Piscium is added as a synonym)
nr. 100 - SAO128396 = CGCS5937

Apart from the five mentioned above, all of the stars in the list are part of CSOG. In fact they are part of even the smallest aperture edition, the 5-6" Northern (192 carbon stars).
As you may have read on the website CSOG is not a plain list of object names, sorted by right ascension like most lists are. CSOG is a concept, with object sorted by constellation, by object category and then generally by right ascension. Every object has a DSS image, as a realistic image says more than a thousand words. To aid in locating the objects tours and AstroPlanner planfiles are included.


Victor

[Preston Pendergraft]

Thanks Victor. I am working on the AL list right now. Most of the time I can find the star I am wanting to observe, but there have been a few I could not find because either RA DEC may have been wrong OR the star was at min magnitude being a variable. I really wish the Astro League books would have a picture of the object in them. I have been pretty disappointed with the H400 guide and the Globular Star Cluster guides. I imagine the lack of pictures is because they print everything and that costs money.

Anyway, I have been poking through the guide from you. This was exactly what I was looking for!