There is a nice little treasure to be discovered by the binocular observer. It is a ring with a shiny diamond, called: the Engagement Ring. The diamond is a star we all know so well: Polaris. Just point your pair of binoculars at Polaris and you will see that the Pole Star is part of a 40’ circle of fainter stars. I wonder if any romantic astronomer ever shared this treasure with his beloved? Northern hemisphere observers can see the ring any time of the year!

Site : Sourbrodt, Belgium
Date : May 5, 2008
Time : around 23.00UT
Binoculars : Bresser 8x56
FOV: 5.9°
Filter : none
Mount : Trico Machine Sky Window
Seeing : 2.5/5
Transp. : 4/5
Nelm : 6.0
Sketch Orientation : N in the middle, W (I don't know?).
Digital sketch made with PhotoPaint, based on a raw pencil sketch.