Author Archives: Gustav Holmberg
V538 Cas
A preprint of my short paper on V538 Cas, accepted for publication in JAAVSO, is now available at arxiv.
1000 observations and counting
I just passed the 1 000 mark of observations reported to SVO, the Swedish variable star database. Two thirds are CCD observations, remotely controlled, and one third visual observations mostly using 15×70 binoculars, a 6 cm refractor and a 20 … Continue reading
Meeting of variable star observers in Gothenburg
There will be a meeting of Swedish variable star observers in Gothenburg in mid-April. I really look forward to it!
Two eyes are better than one
Just before Christmas, I bought a telescope. (Statistically, telescope sales must be going up in December.) A 20 cm Newtonian with 120 cm focal length on a Dobsonian mount. I really like the scope, and observing with it is a … Continue reading
The fading of SU Tau
SU Tau has put on a remarkable show this last month, dropping from 10.5-11 in late November to 16.5. I caught most of it using the 61 cm Sierra Cassegrain telescope: Mike Simonsen recently wrote an interesting blog post about … Continue reading
Lunar eclipse
Here in Lund in southern Sweden, the Moon rose totally eclipsed last Saturday. Because of clouds close to the horizon, I couldn’t see the Moon while in totality. However, the clouds soon cleared and the Moon became visible. The partial … Continue reading
V538 Cas revisited
V538 Cas has a diverse history. It was discovered to have variations of about 0.6 magnitude, but more recent observations showed very small variations. In order to throw some further light on this object, I thought it would be interesting … Continue reading
The companion of W Aurigae
Looking up W Aurigae in the Simbad database, we find that it is a double star, Cou 1725. Paul Couteau discovered the double star nature of W Aur in 1979, when he measured the star on three nights. The stars … Continue reading
V370 And
The discovery and observation of variables are sometimes the byproducts of astronomical projects and instruments doing other things. Current examples include the Kepler and CoRot missions. Hipparcos, the very successful European space astrometry telescope, also measured photometry, and it found … Continue reading
