Four days ago on the 20th May 2025 we had a clear evening here in Norfolk and I was again able to observe the long-period variable Z UMa. The moon was at last quarter and wouldn't rise until 01.38 UT on the 21st, however, it is now technically twilight all night. The skies were clear and the transparency was good but with some thin cloud in places.
Z was still bright and has not declined yet. In fact, I think it has increased in brightness again compared to my last estimate. This was what I saw with 7x50 binoculars:-
Z UMa, 22:27 UT, chart 217.02, =A, mag. 6.3
It seems that people at the BAA have finally woken up to the fact that Z appears to be exceptionally bright as John Toone sent out an alert yesterday that said "Since mid-May I have had Z UMa at 6.2mv, slightly brighter than comp star A. This is the brightest I have seen it since commencing monitoring in 1978."
All text and images © Duncan Hale-Sutton 2025
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