[X] My Assistant

[Andrei]

Well, I just wanted to post this in the thread with inaccuracies in reporting astronomy. I've seen the article on yahoo:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090128/ap_on_sc/sci_hot_planet
I got puzzled by the 1200 degrees or so change in the temperature while other sources were giving only about 700...till I finally realized it was in fahrenheit degrees...
But then, something else caught my eye

The star is visible from Earth near the Big Dipper. On Feb. 14, HD80606b will travel between the Earth and its star. There's a 15 percent chance that amateur astronomers using small telescopes could see it swing by, obscuring a tiny part of the star, Laughlin said.

That's cool...but don't know if it's really possible. And what to expect to see in a small amateur telescope?

EDIT: I know you can't really see the planet! That's impossible!
It will be like a slight drop in the stars light (at least I guess so).

[djellison]

This isn't really the best place for observational astronomy - ( http://www.bautforum.com/astronomical-obse...nt-accessories/ is very good ) - but I really don't imagine the average amateur is going to be able to see the occultation. They take instruments that measure the magnitude of the star over time, and see it decrease, very very slightly, during an event.

Doug

[Andrei]

This isn't really the best place for observational astronomy - ( http://www.bautforum.com/astronomical-obse...nt-accessories/ is very good )

Well, that's another reason I thought to post it in the inaccuracies thread

but I really don't imagine the average amateur is going to be able to see the occultation. They take instruments that measure the magnitude of the star over time, and see it decrease, very very slightly, during an event.
Doug

I thought so myself. But I don't know, is it possible to notice with the naked eye a drop of only 1 to few percents in a star's light?
Another aspect is that the transit might be to slow for a human to perceive it...it all depends on where in the it's orbit is the planet during the occultation.
But it will sure be cool for amateurs to see it!

[djellison]

, is it possible to notice with the naked eye a drop of only 1 to few percents in a star's light?

I would say no.