andrew@cadomin.UUCP (Andrew Folkins) (12/13/85)
Well, it was clear out last night, so I dug up my 10x50's and went out
into the back yard. Two minutes later, there it was (Boy, that was a
lot easier than when I looked a month ago!). It was about fifth magnitude,
and maybe half a degree across, extending towards the northeast.
The seeing was fairly good, if you don't mind a limiting magnitude of 2
because of light pollution. (At least I'm outside the city.)
To those who want to try their luck, here's an attempt at reproducing
the finder chart given in December's Sky & Telescope :
@
Square of
Pegasus @
@
@
*
Pisces - *
| , , x ' x = Dec 11
Circlet -| ,
| , *
- x x = Dec 15
. .
. x x = Dec 19
The Square of Pegasus is fairly easy to spot, it should be high in the
southwest after sunset, about 45 degrees above the horizon. It's pretty
empty looking, and about the width of your hand across.
The Circlet of Pisces is a bit more difficult to spot, the stars are third and
fourth magnitude (I couldn't see any of them with the naked eye last night).
Just scan the area underneath Pegasus, looking for a circle of stars with
a bright fuzzy patch inside. The circlet is about six degrees across,
which is about the same size, or maybe a bit larger, than the field of view
of an average pair of binoculars.
Happy hunting! (Gawd, I wish I was in Alice Springs.)