[vsnet-chat 2595] Re: FK Pup

[Mati Morel <morel@ozemail.com.au>]

>Date: Fri, 23 Jan. 2000  11:47:46
>To: vsnet-chat@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.
>From: Mati Morel <morel@ozemail.com.au> (by way of Mati Morel
<morel@ozemail.com.au>)
>Subject: Re: FK Pup
>
>[This post was originally prepared a couple of days ago, to be sent to John
Greaves,
>privately. I could not send due to some problem with my ISP, so I am
routing it through
>VSNET-CHAT. In view of recent remarks by Brian Skiff (vsnet-chat 2591), re
"hot" carbon
>stars, I don't think John will mind. Others may enjoy this post.]
>
>Hi John,
>        Thanks for your in-depth discussion of FK Pup and like stars. I get the
>gist of your post, mostly, but some things are beyond my understanding (eg IRAS
>classifications). I am a humble drawer of charts, and my main focus is
correctness
>of catalogue data, obviously important when my charts may be still in use
in 20-30
>years time. Years ago (age 18-20) I may have fancied myself as becoming
some sort of
>expert on matters of theory, but soon found that my bent is largely practical,
>so for 25 years I have concentrated on collecting catalogues and datasets, and
>applying these to production of charts for the VSS, RASNZ.
>        As for the misclassification of Carbon stars as F stars, the sample
is yet
>very small. To find out if there is some systematic tendency towards
misclassification
>perhaps some clever computer person could take Stephenson's catalogue of
Carbon stars
>and run them past the SAO and (PPM?) catalogues in the hope of finding more
examples.
>It is still possible that the spectral class of some other, unrelated, star
was wrongly
>recorded. There are numerous examples of anomalies in the HD; you only have
to read
>the remarks in the back of the various volumes of the Michigan Spectral
Catalogues - a
>lot of discrepancies have been found in the program to reclassify southern
HD stars.
>        
>SAO 198860 : F5.   The code in the SAO cat. gives the source of the
spectral type as
>G.G. Cillie (whom I have never heard of). Star is NOT in HD.
>SAO 251015 : F0.   Classification made by A. Cannon, but is NOT one of the
HD stars.     
>        I will study your post carefully, but I am afraid that I tend not
to delve
>too deeply into the finer details of spectral classifications - I just
don't have the
>need, nor the time. 
>
>        Sure, if you come across any more anomalies such as we have
discussed, or
>more info. as to why some spectral classifications can be so way out, drop
me a line.
>Compiling lists of errata in catalogues is not the most glamorous of
pursuits, and a
>major problem (before the internet) was: where do you publish the results?
Vsnet may
>now provide a medium for publication, but most people would rather spend
their time
>observing.
>
>*** Brian Skiff's remarks re the Yale spectral classifications leave me
open-mouthed
>with astonishment, even though I did suspect that work in southern zones
could be a 
>bit sloppy. Not deliberate falsification I hope? I wonder why they bothered
to include
>spectral types which were no better than guesses. Still, why should I
grumble? It's
>the resolution of these sorts of conundrums that keeps me interested in
astronomy. And
>there are plenty more out there in the old literature.
*******
>
>Regards,   
>
/Mati

  /=====================================\
  |  MOREL ASTROGRAPHICS                |
  |  Stellar Data & Information Centre  |
  |  c/o M. Morel                       |
  |  6 Blakewell Road,                  |
  |  Thornton  NSW 2322  AUSTRALIA      |
  |  Tel./fax: (02) 4966 2078                                   |
  |  151d38'33" E, 32d46'47"S           |
  |  e-mail: morel@ozemail.com.au       |
  \=====================================/

VSNET Home Page

Return to Daisaku Nogami

---

vsnet-adm@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp