Blood Red Star

Varible star U Cygni
Sketch and Details by Math Heijen

Observing report

I read a few reports on the Internet last week, about U Cygni being a spectacular blood red star at the moment. On the night of the 18th of august it was clear outside, so I decided to go for it! I first tried to locate it with my 15×80 binoculars and the SkyWindow, but without success. But with the 300mm Dobson and the 35mm Panoptic (46x) the dim red star was immediately visible, next to an 8th magnitude white star (HIP100230), a striking pair with a beautiful contrast. U Cygni and HIP100230 are separated by only 1 minute of arc. As usual, I first tried all possible magnifications, but the 22 Nagler showed this little gem at its best. As other observers stated this week, U Cygni indeed was bright red, like a sparkling drop of blood. Simply amazing to really see a star as red as U Cygni with your own eyes. Very impressive! For more details on this observation and others, visit my website.

Date/ Time : 18/08/09 / 23.00

Observing location : Landgraaf (Netherlands)

Seeing / Transparency : 3 / 5

Telescope : Orion Optics UK 300mm

Eyepiece : 22mm Nagler Type 4

Magnification / Field of view ‘ : 72 / 68

Best regards,

Math Heijen