Astronomy / Space Finding a star from coordinates.

popuptoaster

P
Hey guys, got a question for you experts, friend of mine died last year and one of my other friends bought his widow a star in his name.

I am aware that the companies that sell these are not officially recognised and they don't give out proper catalogue numbers but i was wondering if you could help me find out the official designation.

Obviously i don't want to go pointing out to his widow that she hasn't really got a star named after him but she did ask me if i could find out any more information about it.

I used SkyView to check the coordinates the company gave,

RA 9h 8m 6.3s D +1 8' 47.2"

and these does appear to be a star bang in the middle, but i wouldn't know how to work out what its official catalogue number is.

Any chance anyone can help?
 

PacalB

PacalB
popuptoaster said:
Hey guys, got a question for you experts, friend of mine died last year and one of my other friends bought his widow a star in his name.

I am aware that the companies that sell these are not officially recognised and they don't give out proper catalogue numbers but i was wondering if you could help me find out the official designation.

Obviously i don't want to go pointing out to his widow that she hasn't really got a star named after him but she did ask me if i could find out any more information about it.

I used SkyView to check the coordinates the company gave,

RA 9h 8m 6.3s D +1 8' 47.2"

and these does appear to be a star bang in the middle, but i wouldn't know how to work out what its official catalogue number is.

Any chance anyone can help?
Click to expand...

Yes, this little puppy seems to be in the Hydra constellation and of an apparent magnitude: 14.8

Thats not good because at that faint magnitude you/they will never be able to see it. At best you/they will be able to point to Hydra and say I have a star up there named to your friend (do you really have to pay to do that?). I truly despise these kinds of companies, they are total rip offs and just abusing people. :(

Use the link below and copy/paste: USNOA2 0900-06295262
(N.B. it's the USNO catalog number)

Click the constellation button and use to the zoom function to get a good idea of its relative position in Hydra.

http://server7.wikisky.org/?locale=EN

I hope this helps. Just tell her its a faint star in Hydra (which it is) and go out on a clear night with a pair of binoculars and a warm flask of hot coco and look for Hydra! :) Enjoy the beautiful night sky and the memories of your friend.
 
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