Below you will see two charts for R CrB. This star has the distinction of having a very bright maximum (indicated by the circle on either chart. The brightness of the star at maximum makes finding suitable companion stars very difficult in the telescope. Binoculars should be used on this object near maximum.
The second difficulty, not just with the location of comparison stars, but with others as well is field recognition. The problem is that frequently, what is seen in the eyepiece and what is seen on the chart is difficult to reconcile. Note the two charts below. The first uses fat stars, while the second uses less fat stars. AAVSO (d) chart is closer to the first chart, while what is seen in the eyepiece is closer to the second.
When I first examined the field for R CrB, I saw two bright stars. What I did not know at the time was that R CrB was near maximum, and the 7.2 magnitude field star (in the lower left quadrant of the chart) and R CrB were the two bright stars. The AAVSO chart only showed the location of R CrB, not it's potential size. The chart I show you below is nice in that regard. It was produced using Guide 7.
What finally led me to the conclusion that the second bright star was R CrB was the "cursive" V in the lower right quadrant of the field. I followed the string of stars up and to the left. They pointed straight to the bright star, which I then recognized as R CrB.
