In spite of the nearly full moon, I was able to spot Nova Delphini 2013 with my Canon Rebel XT and 300mm lens. The new nova (redundant?) isn't blowing apart like a supernova, but stealing enough gas from its neighbor to temporarily flare up much brighter than normal (10,000x brighter in a matter of days). The star itself is a white dwarf normally too faint to see with even some pretty hefty equipment (approximately +17 magnitude). I took a series of images and stacked them for a total exposure time of about 1 minute.
![nova del 2013 nova delphini 2013](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGeTeNr7yYDQzMyCHdY6g5GoS3K7a_wrqSyfLOY_oIpCOONcDb3JfMI-89L83uKkUW-DFFBOoRI6V6sq_SriaKaDEGTHxRrj26eGiyQNu7K8I2gK3Npvxgj_n7VIuGcxoJhkFh5C0cv2G/s400/NovaDel2013.jpg) |
Stack of 79 light frames 1.3 sec each, 300mm, f/5.6, ISO 1600 (30 dark, 20 bias) |
Judging by the known magnitude of nearby stars, I'd estimate it at about +5.6 (but then again I've never estimated the magnitude of a nova before).
I used a
chart from the
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) to identify the magnitudes of several other stars in my image, then tried to place N Del 2013 on a spectrum between them. This process is described in more detail
here.
As it so happens, my guess of 5.6 plots perfectly on the AAVSO light curve for N Del 2013. Indiana time is 4 hours behind UTC, and I took my photos at 10:30pm on August 21 - so that puts me smack dab in the middle of the green dots just after midnight UTC on August 22.
![nova delphini 2013 light curve graph nova delphini 2013 light curve graph](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkNyWB4TsLNz0mnVwr6z3wg0sVEUPSAtY8WgoIuuG8v_rROTnLaWztdXccUKv1ylYlXrEvmtjiN74VjKABlaOaSZn7l0dhpqitw8navI9Ucq11O5KaVWkwuOpYIFBQfHpTrXo0UdL76Ky/s400/nova+del+2013+light+curve.png) |
Light curve for N Del 2013, data from www.aavso.org
My observation (red circle) added in Photoshop |
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![n del 2013 with delphinus n del 2013 with delphinus](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipB1KlrPO7uY4Vr7ghjU4jryYp8cez-qEZAhfnMVHmgGI6CKryLBb8LuNgfDSfe0mRKVQNlzFcatCkfKKe3Vr4Ty1-FlVr97xNcKbj9TfSToGRzOZz4sNLxFrbpJFjwSF6_WzvYkAd-uDR/s400/WideNovaDel_label.jpg) |
A wider shot of Nova Delphini 2013 showing location relative to Delphinus
21 subs, 19 darks each at 75mm, f/4.5, 4 sec, ISO 1600 |
Check out the light pollution from the moon in this last image! On my camera's LCD screen I could barely make out Delphinus, but I'm glad it showed up in my image.
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