By: Steve Goldberg (Posted 9/13/2019)
Asterism: a grouping of stars that form a recognizable pattern.
Constellation: Ursa Minor
Right Ascension: 16h 29m 37.9s
Declination: +80° 16' 19"
Magnitude: 9 to 11
Size: 20’
This month’s asterism is the “Mini Coat Hanger”. The more famous “Coat Hanger” is in Vulpecula, a nice binocular or low power asterism. The “Mini Coat Hanger” is just that, a mini version.
The asterism located just off a line from Zeta ζ Ursa Minor, a corner star in the bowl, and Epsilon ε Ursa Minor, the first bright star in the handle.
In this medium power eyepiece you can definitely see how the “mini” coat hanger resembles the “major” coat hanger.
Doing a Google search for “Mini Coat Hanger”, the first in the list points to our own Guidestar article from May, 2017, written by the Guidestar Editor, Bill Pellerin. The link is: https://www.astronomyhouston.org/newsletters/guidestar/shallow-sky-object-month-mini-coathanger
