Late yesterday afternoon I attended my third planetarium show at the facility in Santa Fe College, here in Gainesville. Once again James Albury hosted the event, which featured a movie adapted for domed theaters about black holes...narrated by Lian Neeson. It was O.K., I suppose, although I've gotten more information and enlightenment on the subject from watching Science Channel shows like Wormhole. Still, I enjoyed the experience of going inside the planetarium, sitting down in a comfortable chair, and digging the surroundings. And at the conclusion of the program, Mr. Albury once again gave a synopsis of the night sky for this time of year...and with a special addition.
Our host announced that a few days ago, a nova explosion was detected in the constellation Delphinus, located a little northeast of Aquila. The star, which was originally "seen" at magnitude +17, much too dim for the naked eye, suddenly brightened to where it is, at last report, +4.9...not exactly bright against the background of stars but still visible to the naked eye and certainly detectable to one (like myself) who is very familiar with the normal star patterns of that region of the sky. Last night I went out to see it, but as luck would have it, the sky was overcast...as it currently is today so far. Later this evening I'll go check it out, if the clouds have cleared out...
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