VMs: Re: Re: The Star Chart on f68r3

["Robert Teague" <rteague@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> The stars that you identified - are they the brightest and best known ones
> in that segment?

Well, some of the identified stars have the Greek letter-name, so those
would be the 'best known', I guess.

> Are there any brighter stars that are *in* your sky segment, but *not on*
> the VMS star diagram?

No, all of the stars in that area seem to be around +3 to +6 mag.

> Are there many 4th, 3d etc magnitudes that the VMS-author left out?

If you compare the diagram with the sky, the four artistic segments
isolate the stars in question. Aldebaran is located outside the lowest
artistic segment.

> (Magnitude decreases (linearly) as brightness increases (exponentially) -
am I right?)

An increase of one number of magnitude equals an increase of 2.512 times
the brightness. Mag +6 is the limit of visibility, while the brightest star
Sirius
is at -2.5, the full Moon at -13, and the Sun at -27.

> And if you enlarge the segment to 30, 40, 50 degrees, would you get a
better
> match with some other, brighter stars?

It rapidly becomes confused with other stars. I suppose it's possible for
the
star behind the Pleiades to be Atak, in Perseus, 7 degrees away, and then
the two NE stars would be Botein and Epsilon in Aries. But no triangle is
readily apparent to the SE at that scale, nor the four to the SW. Besides,
it doesn't "look right" that way. I think they were drawn to scale.

> I would be interested in a .jpg and could post it if you don't have
webspace
> of your own (and so could many others on the list).

I don't have webspace (I won't bother until I think I have something to
say that's worth putting on a site).  The .jpg is only 33k, but I noted the
rule not to
send attachments to the list, which is why I offered to send it to
individuals
instead. Send me a note at rteague@xxxxxxxxxxxxx if you want one.

> Could you also add an
> enlarged segment of the Pleiades, to see if the VMS-author has drawn the
> relative positions of the 7 stars correctly?

Yes, I could do that, but Starry Night Pro automatically adds fainter stars
as you zoom in, which could cloud the issue. The Pleiades is actually 60
or so (if I remember right) stars. Six are normally visible, seven to
someone
with exceptional eyesight. I still can if you want, though.

> Thanks for the exciting hypothesis!

I do what I can. : )

> Just to raise a small counter-argument - it is strange that there is a
> simple sequence of stars (1, 2, 3, 4) if you go clockwise through the
> segments.

I agree. Perhaps it's meant as an aid to finding them in the sky.

> Also notice that they are all 7-pointed stars. If you look at the SE
segment
> it looks like the author first made a 6-pointed star and then added the
7th
> point afterwards.

Perhaps to differentiate between real stars and artistic ones.

Robert

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