Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude

Assessing NELM using Ursa Minor

(the W-Umi technique)
Using Chart NELM-1 locate Polaris, the Pole Star, in the Northern sky and decide in which direction the bent saucepan shape of Ursa Minor should lie. If you have the time, allow your eyes to become fully dark adapted. This can take up to thirty minutes but it really does make an enormous difference to what you can see. How many stars can you see in the rectangle that form the pan ? Use Chart NELM-2 to determine the brightness of the faintest star that you can see with the unaided eye, the naked eye limiting magnitude. If you can see all the labelled stars on Chart NELM-2, then, at magnitude 5, your sky is really quite good, certainly good enough to do some serious observing. If you can see still more stars then use Chart NELM-3 to see just how good your sky is. If you get beyond magnitude 6.0 - no cheating now - then you have great eyesight and a great sky. Enjoy them both !

Polaris, the Pole Star

the Pointers Ursa Minor

the Plough

Ursa Major

Chart NELM-1 Locating Polaris and Ursa Minor using the Pointers.

2.0

Polaris 2.0
4.3
4.3 4.2

3.1

5.0

Ursa Minor
stars to mag 6.5

2.0

Chart NELM-2 Estimating NELM to magnitude 5 using Ursa Minor.

4.8 4.3

2.0

Polaris 2.0
5.0

5.0

4.3
4.3 4.2 5.6 6.3 6.4 6.0 5.7

3.1

5.5 5.0

6.4

6.0

Ursa Minor
stars to mag 6.5

Chart NELM-3 Estimating NELM to magnitude 6.5 using Ursa Minor.