TheSkySearchers

If you have any ideas for the January 2020 challenge we would love to hear them!

Please posts your suggestions to this thread, we will put them in the hat for the draw at the end of December/beginning of January!

Remember to be sure they are visible from both hemispheres and easily found with smaller scopes under moderately light-polluted skies.

Looking forward to your suggestions!!!

This months challenge is here: https://www.theskysearchers.com/viewtop ... =83&t=5505

This is an absolutely mesmerizing object. Every time I look at it I can't stop staring at it. I'm talking about Hind's crimson star, R Leporis.

From APOD 10/31/18:
The star's discoverer, 19th-century English astronomer John Russell Hind, reported that it appeared in a telescope "... like a drop of blood on a black field." Located 1,360 light-years away in the constellation Lepus the star is a Mira-type variable, changing its brightness over a period of about 14 months. R Leporis is now recognized as a carbon star, a very cool and highly evolved red giant with an extreme abundance of carbon. Extra carbon in carbon stars is created by helium fusion near the dying stellar core and dredged up into the stars' outer layers. The dredge-up results in an overabundance of simple carbon molecules, like CO, CH, CN, and C2. While it's true that cool stars radiate most of their energy in red and infrared light, the carbon molecules strongly absorb what little blue light is left and give carbon stars an exceptionally deep red color. R Leporis is losing its carbon-rich atmosphere into the surrounding interstellar material through a strong stellar wind though and could be near the transition to a planetary nebula.

Cheers,
JT

Get your submissions in soon! Only a few days left!

How about Mr Messier's No. 1 target, the Crab nebula?

Regards

Graeme

How about one of these. NGC 2359 Thors Helmet or IC443 the Jellyfish

Eskimo Nebula.

Steve

Happy New Year !!!

I propose IC 434 (Horsehead Nebula)

BABO