This image is looking
            due south from -27S latitude in Pauls Back yard. Centered in
            this wide angle shot is Sigma Octans, the south pole star. Sigma
            is quite faint - a class F star of 5.5 magnitude and not visible
            to us from his somewhat light polluted sky overlooking Brisbane.
            In binoculars, its not too difficult, and photographically in
            this 30s exposure you can see it clearly. Even more interesting
            is that while Sigma is still a degree away from the true pole,
            there is a very red class M4 type star, at 6.9 magnitude that
            is only 15 arcminutes from the current pole. This star designated
            HD110994 would make a great star to bore sight with an equatorial
            mount for alignment.

            
Compare this with
            our northern pole star, Polaris which is a bright 2nd magnitude
            and 3/4 degree from the true north pole in the sky.
 

            
Here is the original image, looking due south
over a huge pine tree in the backyard.
Select an image size for a larger view:


1290 x 960



            
In this image I have labeled the constellations
and the two polar stars of interest.
Select an image size for a larger view:


1290 x 960



            

When we zoom in on sigma octans you
can see that HD110994 has a very red
color.


Lens:  Sigma 18 - 200 @ f/5.6 and 18mm
Camera:  Canon 10D @ ISO800
Mount:  Camera Tripod
Exposure:  30s
Filters:  None
Location:  Caboolture, QLD, Aus
Elevation:  50 ft.
Sky:  Seeing  7/10, Transparency 6/10
Outside Temperature:  60F
Processing Tools:  Photoshop CS2, Maxim DL
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