Observing report-HR 6819.

[KingClinton]

Some clear skies presented last night. I did a sketch of IC 2602 and that took up most of my session under a near full moon. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9863

I did however have a star on my observing wishlist that could not wait. So before sketching, I aimed the scope at HR 6819 since it has been grabbing the headlines this last week.

HR 6819, Star in Telescopium, magnitude 5.3, also known as QV Telescopii


This star is not naked eye visible from my backyard, so a star hop from Beta Ara was required, fortunately the path is well littered with bright stars that are easy breadcrumbs to follow and find HR 6819.
Nothing to see here folks, move along then.
Just a 5th magnitude star staring back at me. The story behind the star is just fascinating though!
It orbits the closest black hole to Earth!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HR_6819

Question, since we cannot see a black hole because light cannot escape from it, if I saw nothing, did I see it?

Like I said, just a single star in my eyepiece that is actually two stars locked in a dance with a black hole.
Worth taking a look at this special star for me!


Here is a screenshot from Skysafari 6pro showing HR6819's location in our southern skies.

Thanks for reading this very brief report.

[Makuser]

Hello Clinton. A very nice informative report on HR 6819 from the southern hemisphere. This was an interesting read Clinton, and thanks for posting it on here.

[Falcon 63]

G'day Clinton, sounds like a great night out. IC 2602 is an impressive sight.

[John Baars]

A very interesting and informative report.
I immediately searched for it in Google and on Sky Safari

[chasmanian]

https://www.space.com/closest-black-hol ... xy%20alone.

watch the video. its phenomenal.