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Re: (IAAC) Asterisms
Penny Fischer (via Lew Gramer) wrote:
snip
> Lew, William, Andrew, etc
>
> I've seen several really beautiful asterisms around Ursa Major. I think the
> reason they are so apparent there is because the Big Dipper is in a
> star-poor area, and faint patterns of stars stand out clearly.
>
> There's one asterism near Alkaid or it rather can be called a poor cluster?
> It's about a degree away from Alkaid. I see it every time I star hop to the
> Whirlpool. I haven't seen a name for it. Is there a name for the cluster?
>
> The reason I think that mini asterisms do not get named is because they
> cannot be seen naked eye, most consist of 8th or 9th magnitude stars.
>
> A few months ago (maybe a year ago) S&T ran an article by Phil Harrington
> about mini asterisms. I met the guy at the SJStar Party who found two of
> them, one was "The Little Queen" after the W-shaped Cassieopea. The other
> was like a Corona Borealis ring shape.
>
> I use asterisms frequently as landmarks when star hopping. I do notice
> them, but then again, I am an avid observer :)
>
> Clear skies!
>
> Penny
Phil Harrington's article appeared in the May 1998 S & T. The Little Queen, the
Dolphin's Diamonds, the Mini-Coathanger (discovered by fellow Pennsylvanian Tom
Whiting), and other asterisms were discussed. I observed many of these on
7/1/98 UT. For more asterisms see Phil's books _Touring the Universe Through
Binoculars_ and _The Deep Sky: An Introduction_.
Dave Mitsky
ASH, DVAA
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