[vsnet-chat 1784] Re: (fwd) object identification request

[bas@lowell.Lowell.Edu (Brian Skiff)]

     Ordinary galactic novae of course persist for some weeks typically,
so what you saw was not one of those.  Recently Brad Schaefer has argued
that there should be very rare flares of tremendous amplitude from Sun-like
stars---this has got some press in the last few months.  I am skeptical
about these, however, I _have_ seen one short duration flare (a few seconds
total rise-to-fall, about two magnitudes amplitude) from a star in a field
I was observing visually at high power in a 25cm telescope.  This was
specifically the mag. 13 star that lies on the west side of the large
planetary nebula IC 1295 in Scutum.  My notes at the time are:

     "...the mag. 13 star flared about 2.5 mag. while viewing the field,
followed by slight irregular flickering; other stars in the field did not
flare.  duration of the flare about 1 second....15 March 1981 from Anderson
Mesa, Flagstaff AZ"

     ...which is where I am now observing asteroids.  One time I mentioned
this observation to Brian Marsden of CBAT, evidently in a skeptical tone.
He said, "And you would discount it?"   ...well, I've learned not to trust
my vision!  But who knows?!

\Brian

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