BTW, Sirius B was the first White Dwarf discovered in 1862, and I think Joe was basically correct in that most Planetary Nebulas do have a White Dwarf and those that do not contain the Degenerate White Dwarfs (the universe does contain degenerates, ha ha). I have only seen the central star in the Ring a few times, as I recall several people saw it with the Grim one night. Sirius B is a challenge, but several SLASer's have the refractors for it, Patrick, Siegfried, and Bob Moore come into mind. I also wonder why my e-mails get bounced, I seem to be able to reply but not able to generate my own posting. Thank You to Rich and Patrick for eventually getting them posted. Erik --- chuck.hards@gmail.com wrote: From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] White dwarfs and YOU Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:04:27 -0700 Rich, thanks for making sure Erik's posts came through. Funny because I was getting them as recently as a few days ago. I think the key to what Bishop wrote (Observer's Handbook 2009 edition, pg. 309, "Expired Stars") and my recollections, is that Sirius B and Omicron 2 Eridani B are the only white-dwarves *easily seen with a small telescope. *You're not going to see the central star in M57 from your backyard with a 6-inch Newtonian, nor are you going to find the companions of cataclysmic variables with a similar set-up. These two are also very close, as such things go. Om 2 Eri B is only 16.5 light-years distant, Sirius B is what, 8.5? These objects are virtually in our own "back yard". And Om 2 Eri B has the advantage of not rubbing shoulders with the second-brightest star in Earth's sky- it's much more easily seen in the eyepiece. It's a good star-party target that is easily found. "Who wants to see a dead star, one that no longer glows from nuclear fusion?!" I sure would if I were a jr. high kid interested in science. That only leaves the definition of a "small telescope" as grist for the nit-picker's mill. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
This one got through right away, Erik. What I've read is that the planetary nebula itself is usually dissipated before the actual white dwarf stage is reached. On Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 2:28 PM, <zaurak@digis.net> wrote:
BTW,
Sirius B was the first White Dwarf discovered in 1862, and I think Joe was basically correct in that most Planetary Nebulas do have a White Dwarf and those that do not contain the Degenerate White Dwarfs (the universe does contain degenerates, ha ha). I have only seen the central star in the Ring a few times, as I recall several people saw it with the Grim one night. Sirius B is a challenge, but several SLASer's have the refractors for it, Patrick, Siegfried, and Bob Moore come into mind.
I also wonder why my e-mails get bounced, I seem to be able to reply but not able to generate my own posting. Thank You to Rich and Patrick for eventually getting them posted.
Erik
--- chuck.hards@gmail.com wrote:
From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] White dwarfs and YOU Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:04:27 -0700
Rich, thanks for making sure Erik's posts came through. Funny because I was getting them as recently as a few days ago.
I think the key to what Bishop wrote (Observer's Handbook 2009 edition, pg. 309, "Expired Stars") and my recollections, is that Sirius B and Omicron 2 Eridani B are the only white-dwarves *easily seen with a small telescope. *You're not going to see the central star in M57 from your backyard with a 6-inch Newtonian, nor are you going to find the companions of cataclysmic variables with a similar set-up. These two are also very close, as such things go. Om 2 Eri B is only 16.5 light-years distant, Sirius B is what, 8.5? These objects are virtually in our own "back yard". And Om 2 Eri B has the advantage of not rubbing shoulders with the second-brightest star in Earth's sky- it's much more easily seen in the eyepiece. It's a good star-party target that is easily found. "Who wants to see a dead star, one that no longer glows from nuclear fusion?!" I sure would if I were a jr. high kid interested in science.
That only leaves the definition of a "small telescope" as grist for the nit-picker's mill. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
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