[vsnet-chat 5127] Curious observations

["Mike Simonsen" <mikesimonsen@mindspring.com>]

It seems to me that many "curious" observations can be grouped into three
categories.

1- Typos- I have a hard time proof-reading my reports before I send
them in because I am so tired by the time I am done typing them. I hit
'send' and hope for the best some mornings.

It would be better for me to do them after I have had some sleep, but I try
to report outbursts that may be of interest to observers west of me as soon
as possible.

The names of the stars, the reported magnitudes and the date and time are
all subject to slips of the finger.

2-Mis-identifications- There are a number of fields like AK Cnc, LL Lyr, FN
And, V1454 Cyg, etc., that have
very similar asterisms close by. If you land on the wrong one it is a
hopeless cause. More often than not, if you retrace your steps you will end
up in the same wrong place. It is usually best to skip it and move on, or
come back fresh later.

Sometimes it's as simple as looking at the wrong star in the right field. I
have been guilty of this more often than I like to admit. I have made two
observations of R Tau in the last year and they both were misidentifications
of a close field star. Surely, if I make this mistake again I will be banned
from observing this star forever!

Close doubles are a whole other can of worms, and there are a lot of these.
Only recently Marc Biesmans uncovered the fact that WX CMi has a faint 15th
magnitude companion. So while most observers are reporting 15th magnitude
minima WX CMi actually gets as faint as 19th magnitude! New charts are being
prepared for this Mira.
Z Tau and VV Gem will have new charts and sequences released soon because of
this same problem with close companions.

Some positions listed in the GCVS are erroneous. This can lead to
mis-identifications also. Not long ago I sky checked a new chart for the EB
FL Ori. You can imagine my surprise as I watched the nearby comp star I had
so carefully selected for the sequence fade to 14th magnitude at the
predicted time for an eclipse!

3- Observers using different sequences and charts- This is one area where
vast improvements could be made if all the VS organizations got together and
agreed on the sequences used for observing stars. Steps are already being
taken in this direction. Through a cooperative effort we have documented all
the charts and sequences for program stars common to the AAVSO, BAAVSS and
RASNZ. In some cases there are widely divergent magnitudes assigned to the
same comp stars. Work has begun on revising these sequences.

On some AAVSO d scale charts, close field stars are not plotted that fall
below the limiting magnitude of the chart. It is best to consult the e and f
charts (if they exist) to see if there are impostors hiding close by. KU Cas
and RX And come to mind immediately.

Most amateurs do this because it is fun, but deep down I think many of us do
it because it is also challenging and sometimes difficult. If it were too
easy it would be boring. So mistakes will happen.

And this leads straight to one of the strong points of VSNET.

Observers can check their own observations against what other observers are
reporting, and others may note your mistakes and report them to you to
correct. As long as it is done in a courteous and professional manner I
don't think anyone minds. We're all friends here.

Clear skies and good luck to all,
Mike Simonsen

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