Astroblog: Mira, Mira in the sky

Friday, February 23, 2007

Mira, Mira in the sky

Western horizon as seen from Southern Hemisphere at 9:30 pm local daylight saving time. Click image to enlarge. The red circle shows the location of the variable star Mira.

Mira is at maxium at the moment. Mira is an iconic variable star, the second one to be described. Mira is a red giant that pulsates over a period of about 331 days, and whose magnitude can rise to s much as 2.0 and fall as low as 10.00 (well below unaided eye visibiliyy). For most of the year Mira is hard to see or too dim to see with the unaided eye. Currently it is around magnitude 2, not startlingly bright, but bright enough to see near the end of nautical twilight without any difficulty. Here is a great APOD image from the northern hemisphere. If you watch over a couple of weeks you can see Mira fade from view. If you like you can try and plot the changes in brightness.

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:53 pm

Comments:

I live in adeladie south australia, approx. 4.30 am on 21st march 2009 I saw a bright white / red pulsating image approx. nnw 35-40 degrees from horizon. I was amazed. Would this have been MIRA that I was viewing? I would like to know.
c k.

# posted by