Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Serpens (Ser)  ·  Contains:  LBN 68
Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda, Dean Carr
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Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda

Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda, Dean Carr
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Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda

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Description

While preparing a new image of the M16 Eagle Nebula, I have been distracted by a rather annoying star near the nebula.

When compared to an image I took in 2016, the star has moved a significant distance relative to the surrounding star field.

Approximate recorded positions using integrated Ha images (J2000) are as follows:

2016-08-09: Ra: 18hrs 20min 11.3sec    Dec: -13⁰ 50’ 48.0” (S)

2022-08-25: Ra: 18hrs 20min 11.2sec    Dec: -13⁰ 50’ 49.6” (S) 

Although the movement of the star is obvious by inspection, calculating the proper motion is limited by the image scale and the ability to judge star centroids at that scale (and possibly my math). Nevertheless, my initial estimate is in the order of 400 mas (= 0.4”) per year, which is quite quick (but not in the same league as Barnard’s Star).

I have included a wider-field, stacked (but otherwise unprocessed) Ha image in the History to show the location of the star.

Anyway, it made for a fun GIF.

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  • Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda, Dean Carr
    Original
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  • Final
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    C

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Moderate/High Proper Motion Star in Serpens Cauda, Dean Carr