Thursday, March 7, 2024

24 february 2024

A clear night but with average seeing and a steady marine haze, so I used the 6-inch.  It took a while to star align, which was frustrating, but eventually settled in for a decent night.  Ended with views of the just-past full moon, with plenty of interesting crates and mountains on the moon.  

STF 834 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide near equal.  -23% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 04m 34.24s +30° 14' 04.0" P.A. 310.00 sep 22.8 mag 8.61,9.38 Sp A dist. 25.52 pc (83.25 l.y.)

STF 845 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, 2 Dm, light orange stars.  19% PRO, 705 AU WS, 2.2+1.9 Msol, RVD 0.7 < EV 3.2, it is probably binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 11m 36.59s +48° 42' 39.6" P.A. 358.00 sep 7.5 mag 6.16,6.86 Sp A1V+A6V dist. 102.46 pc (334.22 l.y.)

STF 862 AB: 152; 125x: Faint B seen with averted vision only well split. -45% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 12m 05.49s +29° 29' 31.7" P.A. 338.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.55,10.84 Sp G2Ib dist. 564.97 pc (1842.93 l.y.)

STF 865 AB: 152; 125x: Extremely faint, fairly close, seen best with averted vision.  97% PRO, 1,956 AU WS, 2.8+1.6 Msol, but the RVD 2.2 > EV 2.0.  An orbit should be tried if only to check the marginal results.
06h 14m 22.32s +51° 09' 59.3" P.A. 69.00 sep 5.2 mag 8.12,10.26 Sp B8 dist. 392.16 pc (1279.23 l.y.)

STF 872 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal pair, well split.  31% PRO, 872 AU WS, 1.8+1.5 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
06h 15m 39.06s +36° 08' 55.3" P.A. 216.00 sep 11.4 mag 6.89,7.38 Sp F4IV dist. 82.03 pc (267.58 l.y.)

STF 876 AB: 152; 125x: Faint B seen averted vision only, 2 Dm, wide.  -69% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 18m 30.80s +53° 39' 29.0" P.A. 41.00 sep 8.7 mag 9.23,11.80 Sp A5

STF 879 AB: 152; 125x: Extremely faint, seen with averted vision only, wide.  33% PRO, 1,819 AU WS, 1.5+1.1 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
06h 16m 18.79s +30° 04' 34.2" P.A. 70.00 sep 7.7 mag 10.10,11.40

STF 883 AB: 152; 200x: In a number five dice-face asterism, one of the corners.  Need averted vision to pull out the B star, close split even with 200x.  76% PRO, 765 AU WS, 1.7+1.6 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
06h 19m 08.03s +39° 46' 28.7" P.A. 265.00 sep 3.5 mag 9.27,9.70 Sp F0

STF 884 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, well split.  50% PRO, 4,484 AU WS, 2.9+2.7 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 20m 33.58s +47° 07' 13.0" P.A. 272.00 sep 8.9 mag 8.68,8.94 Sp A0 dist. 507.61 pc (1655.82 l.y.)

STF 888 AB-C: 152; 125x: Close, 2 Dm.  No parallax data for the primary.
06h 19m 58.96s +28° 25' 36.6" P.A. 265.00 sep 2.9 mag 7.46,9.63 Sp A6V dist. 132.98 pc (433.78 l.y.)

STF 890 AB: 152; 125x:  B is very wide, and with averted vision only.  -76% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 21m 40.95s +36° 06' 47.0" P.A. 271.00 sep 17.8 mag 9.71,12.35 Sp A0

STF 896 AB: 152; 125x: B seen with averted vision only.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 25m 52.92s +51° 52' 31.0" P.A. 81.00 sep 18.2 mag 9.17,9.64 Sp A5

STF 902 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, very faint.  -92% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 27m 30.57s +34° 57' 19.4" P.A. 152.00 sep 11.2 mag 9.65,10.48 Sp F8

STF 903 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide, faint 4 Dm B.  14% PRO, 9,371 AU WS, 4.8+1.8 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit. 
06h 24m 20.58s -12° 57' 43.0" P.A. 295.00 sep 23.1 mag 6.12,10.49 Sp B5Ve dist. 289.02 pc (942.78 l.y.)

STF 904 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, faint, well separated.  26% PRO, 1,523 AU WS, 1.6+1.4 Msol, and the RVD 0.5 < EV 1.9, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
06h 30m 12.03s +51° 46' 58.8" P.A. 165.00 sep 4.9 mag 10.30,11.21 Sp F0

STF 905 AB: 152; 200x: Faint B just seen direct, very closely split. -65% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 28m 53.76s +40° 07' 11.1" P.A. 130.00 sep 1.7 mag 8.21,9.95 Sp A1IV

STF 906 AB: 152; 125x: Close, 1 Dm, averted vision needed to bring out B.  82% PRO, 805 AU WS, 1.3+1.1 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit tried.
06h 28m 44.86s +37° 22' 50.6" P.A. 337.00 sep 6.5 mag 9.14,10.13 Sp F5

STF 907 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm faint pair, well separated.  20% PRO, 2.9+2.1 Msol, and the RVD 1.2 > EV 1.1, but only a little.  It is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 28m 09.96s +30° 25' 12.2" P.A. 302.00 sep 11.9 mag 9.40,10.38 Sp A0V

STF 908 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, faint, near equal.  -27% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 31m 16.69s +53° 50' 52.4" P.A. 358.00 sep 8.6 mag 10.71,10.70

STF 909 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, faint.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 28m 43.55s +35° 15' 42.9" P.A. 76.00 sep 15.5 mag 8.50,11.10 Sp F8 dist. 6666.67 pc (21746.68 l.y.)

STF 912 AB: 152; 200x: Faint, very closely split.  43% PRO, 1,037 AU WS, 2.3+1.5 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
06h 29m 46.47s +36° 36' 11.4" P.A. 28.00 sep 3.4 mag 8.76,10.90 Sp A0 dist. 420.17 pc (1370.59 l.y.)

STF 917 AB: 152; 125x: Superwide, very faint.  54% PRO, 2,526 AU WS, 1.0+0.7 Msol, but the RVD 1.6 > EV 1.1, it is not binary.
06h 33m 29.89s +52° 30' 25.8" P.A. 231.00 sep 27.7 mag 9.61,11.72

STF 918 AB: 152; 125x: Closely separated, 2 Dm.  -59% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 33m 57.62s +52° 27' 41.8" P.A. 336.00 sep 4.8 mag 7.26,8.19 Sp A3 dist. 90.58 pc (295.47 l.y.)

STF 928 AB: 152; 150x: Very close, near equal.  -1% PRO, it is not likely binary.
06h 34m 41.81s +38° 32' 24.5" P.A. 131.00 sep 3.4 mag 7.93,8.61 Sp F5 dist. 189.04 pc (616.65 l.y.)

Friday, March 1, 2024

8 february 2024 Monoceros Struves

Clear day and night, but with merely average transparency and slightly better seeing -- which seemed like a gift after so poor a season.  I observed the sun during the day, with the amazingly complex sunspot near the center of the disc (3576), very elongated and with an incredibly long and thin light bridge stretching along nearly the entire length.  Quite the sight.  Some nice prominences too.  I decided to start observing earlier in the evening, so I had about an hour before going into the house to wish the kids goodnight and take a short break.  Speaking of shorts, I seem to have one on my dew controller, as I burned through three fuses.  Fortunately, there wasn't much dew until the very end of the night, near 11pm, when a high thin haze started to spread across the sky.

STF 703 AB: 152; 125x: Extremely faint B seen averted vision only, wide.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 13m 08.25s +85° 36' 31.2" P.A. 57.00 sep 51.1 mag 9.19,11.85 Sp K5

STF 832 AB: 152; 125x: Faint B 1 Dm, averted vision only, wide.  Parallax data missing for the primary.
06h 01m 04.98s -14° 31' 22.1" P.A. 88.00 sep 24.7 mag 9.12,10.55 Sp F0V+A2Va

STF 841 AB: 152; 125x: B is very faint, averted vision only, well split.  -95% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 06m 10.75s +06° 28' 32.0" P.A. 15.00 sep 18.0 mag 9.44,12.24 Sp F8

STF 843 AB: 152; 125x: B is wide, very faint, averted vision needed to brighten, 2 Dm.  -92%PRO, it is not binary.
06h 05m 09.68s -14° 18' 34.0" P.A. 13.00 sep 24.0 mag 8.50,11.20 Sp K0III

STF 864 AC 152; 125x: Faint well split B, averted vision needed.  AB is J 1922, slightly unequal around 6" separation.  Lacks parallax data for the primary.
06h 10m 52.84s +20° 36' 33.7" P.A. 58.00 sep 22.1 mag 10.51,11.10 Sp B5+B

STF 869 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal wide pair.  0% PRO, it is not likely binary.
06h 10m 44.34s -09° 51' 08.3" P.A. 280.00 sep 24.5 mag 8.18,9.09 Sp A8V+F8V

STF 870 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, slightly unequal white stars.  -95% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 13m 23.44s +14° 06' 27.1" P.A. 172.00 sep 11.0 mag 9.60,10.60 Sp G5IV

STF 875 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, well split B, just barely visible with direct vision.  -95% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 12m 08.71s -13° 08' 53.3" P.A. 323.00 sep 4.6 mag 9.19,10.38 Sp K0

STF 910 AB: 152; 125x: Super wide, 3 Dm. BC not seen, 0.5" and narrowed since discovery, it might be binary.  Parallax missing for the B companion.  
06h 26m 43.39s +00° 27' 15.2" P.A. 152.00 sep 66.0 mag 6.99,8.11 Sp G5 dist. 207.47 pc (676.77 l.y.)

STF 911 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, wide.  -93% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 26m 52.75s +04° 04' 10.8" P.A. 155.00 sep 11.7 mag 8.65,9.04 Sp K0

STF 914 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, 2 Dm.  35% PRO, 2,436 AU WS, 2.4+1.3 Msol, but the RVD 2.2 > EV 1.6, it is not binary.
06h 26m 44.85s -07° 30' 43.0" P.A. 299.00 sep 21.1 mag 6.32,9.25 Sp A0Vn dist. 75.41 pc (245.99 l.y.)

STF 915 AB: 152; 125x: Well split, nearly 1 Dm.  A is V648 Mon.  -27% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 28m 13.96s +05° 16' 20.1" P.A. 43.00 sep 5.9 mag 7.60,8.52 Sp A1p dist. 269.54 pc (879.24 l.y.)

STF 919 AB: 60; 90x: Beta Mon. Crooked finger asterism three of near equal stars.  AB is closely but cleanly split.  Parallax data missing for B, but A and C have 77% PRO, 2,092 AU WS, 4.9+4.1 Msol, so if B is of overlapping parallax this would be a complex triple.  Would be good to have an orbit made.
06h 28m 49.07s -07° 01' 59.0" P.A. 133.00 sep 7.2 mag 4.62,5.00 Sp B4V+B2V dist. 207.47 pc (676.77 l.y.)

STF 920 AB: 152; 125x: Bright white A, wide B appears with averted vision, and I can hold it direct with foveal coaxing. 20% PRO, 6,342 AU WS, 4.6+2.3 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 30m 29.22s +04° 19' 56.8" P.A. 210.00 sep 9.5 mag 7.35,10.24 Sp B2IV-V dist. 14285.71 pc (46599.99 l.y.)

STF 921 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, 3 Dm, white.  -41% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 31m 09.56s +11° 15' 05.0" P.A. 3.00 sep 16.2 mag 6.12,9.09 Sp B2V:nne dist. 303.03 pc (988.48 l.y.)

STF 926 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, unequal, white.  74% PRO, 2,444 AU WS, 2.7+1.8 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 31m 40.54s +05° 46' 08.8" P.A. 287.00 sep 10.8 mag 7.23,8.62 Sp A1p dist. 71.38 pc (232.84 l.y.)

STF 927 AB: 152; 125x: Fairly close, B is faint, need averted vision to notice it.  -14% PRO, it is not likely binary.
06h 32m 07.33s +04° 58' 16.1" P.A. 85.00 sep 5.1 mag 9.16,10.30 Sp A3V

STF 930 AB: 152; 125x: Rich star field, many of which were pointlessly measured, since the parallax don't overlap.  AB is near equal, wide, -27% PRO and not binary.
06h 34m 09.26s +07° 59' 27.3" P.A. 277.00 sep 26.2 mag 8.38,9.87 Sp F8II dist. 223.71 pc (729.74 l.y.)

STF 931 AB: 152; 125x: In same field with STF930, wide 1 Dm.  -80% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 34m 20.10s +07° 59' 06.4" P.A. 23.00 sep 23.8 mag 9.64,10.51 Sp A2

STF 938 AB: 152; 125x: In same field with STF930.  Wide, 3 Dm, B seen with averted vision.  -41% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 34m 46.33s +07° 34' 21.0" P.A. 211.00 sep 11.0 mag 6.45,10.60 Sp A0Vs dist. 115.47 pc (376.66 l.y.)

STF 939 AB: 152; 125x: Very pretty asterism, forms one of an equal triangle of near equal stars.  AB -67% PRO, BC 26% PRO but the WS is 27,981 AU, far too apart to be binary.
06h 35m 55.14s +05° 18' 35.2" P.A. 107.00 sep 30.3 mag 8.39,9.20 Sp B1III dist. 621.12 pc (2026.09 l.y.)

STF 950 AB: 152; 125x: Nice cluster of a dozen near equal stars in a rough triangle asterism.  A bright star in the middle of the asterism has a close 2 Dm companion.  -15% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 40m 58.66s +09° 53' 44.7" P.A. 214.00 sep 3.0 mag 4.66,7.79 Sp O7Ve+B2: dist. 281.69 pc (918.87 l.y.)

STF 951 AB: 152; 125x: In the same field with STF950, wide 2 Dm.  No parallax or proper motion for the secondary. 
06h 40m 38.37s +09° 47' 16.0" P.A. 310.00 sep 21.3 mag 8.49,10.91 Sp B3Vnn

STF 952 MN: 152; 125x: Near equal, wide.  86% PRO, but a very wide 10,414 AU WS, 2.7+2.6 Msol might be enough to bind them, so it should be checked with an orbit.
06h 41m 10.38s +09° 53' 01.7" P.A. 116.00 sep 14.1 mag 9.75,10.05 Sp B9

STF 955 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, wide.  3% PRO with 3% error, 967 AU WS, 3.5+3.0 Msol, it should be checked with an orbit.
06h 41m 10.25s -07° 59' 26.1" P.A. 268.00 sep 1.2 mag 8.97,9.59 Sp B9

STF 956 AB: 125x: Excellent pair, the delicate close companion seen with low power, and actually disappeared at 150x, very fine and small.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 42m 40.55s +01° 42' 58.2" P.A. 194.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.96,10.69 Sp O8.5V dist. 1030.93 pc (3362.89 l.y.)

STF 965 AB: 152; 125x: Very lovely close pair, faint B is 1 Dm. There is a wide plus one star (AD), nearly same magnitude as B.  -21% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 47m 16.12s +10° 54' 59.0" P.A. 346.00 sep 6.0 mag 8.92,10.50 Sp G0

STF 967 AB: 152; 125x: B seen averted vision only, wide. -85% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 46m 46.53s -06° 08' 41.2" P.A. 190.00 sep 13.0 mag 8.35,11.24 Sp A0 dist. 269.54 pc (879.24 l.y.)

STF 969 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, well split.  -25% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 47m 57.37s -11° 06' 30.4" P.A. 317.00 sep 7.4 mag 7.80,9.83 Sp B9 dist. 483.09 pc (1575.84 l.y.)

STF 985 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, wide.
06h 53m 56.06s -04° 23' 32.8" P.A. 323.00 sep 32.6 mag 7.78,8.39 Sp K5 dist. 540.54 pc (1763.24 l.y.)

STF 986 AB: 152; 125x: Lovely unequal pair, well split, part of a long arc asterism of six stars.  84% PRO, 881 AU WS, 1.9+1.5 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
06h 54m 54.08s +09° 29' 56.5" P.A. 163.00 sep 5.5 mag 8.26,9.02 Sp A2

STF 987 AB: 152; 125x: Nice close split, seen with 125x but better at 200x, white, near equal.  47% PRO, only 265 AU WS, 2.5+2.7 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
06h 54m 08.59s -05° 51' 08.6" P.A. 177.00 sep 1.4 mag 7.07,7.20 Sp A6Vn dist. 163.67 pc (533.89 l.y.)

STF 988 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, near equal.  41% PRO, 18,886 AU WS, 2.5+2.5 Msol, it is very far away to be binary, but an orbit should be tried.
06h 53m 59.18s -10° 02' 12.8" P.A. 265.00 sep 33.2 mag 9.43,9.69 Sp A2

STF 989 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, well split.  -81% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 54m 47.88s +03° 33' 31.7" P.A. 215.00 sep 8.6 mag 9.74,10.60 Sp K0

STF 992 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, wide.  40% PRO, 1,317 AU WS, 1.3+1.0 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 55m 37.68s -09° 29' 23.0" P.A. 300.00 sep 13.9 mag 8.70,9.91 Sp G0 dist. 91.24 pc (297.62 l.y.)

STF 995 AB: 152; 125x: Superwide, equal.  -79% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 57m 12.90s +11° 00' 36.7" P.A. 293.00 sep 21.8 mag 9.68,10.44

STF 998 AB: 152; 125x: Very nice close white pair.  27% PRO, 876 AU WS, 2.2+2.1 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 56m 52.88s -05° 28' 44.6" P.A. 211.00 sep 3.2 mag 8.71,8.92 Sp A5 dist. 1162.79 pc (3793.02 l.y.)

STF 999 AB: 152; 125x: Listed in WDS as XMI 31.  1 Dm, wide.  -82% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 56m 44.52s -09° 00' 55.6" P.A. 309.00 sep 22.2 mag 9.00,11.40 Sp B7V

STF1003 AB: 152; 125x: Very delicate faint equal pair, close split at 125x.  6% PRO, 1,284 AU WS, 2.0+1.8 Msol, there is some possibility it's binary, an orbit should be tried.
06h 58m 34.62s -09° 10' 02.3" P.A. 321.00 sep 3.9 mag 9.57,9.92 Sp F2

STF1010 AC: 152; 125x: Equal, wide.  -78% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 01m 27.05s -03° 07' 03.3" P.A. 7.00 sep 22.3 mag 7.68,8.77 Sp O8.5IV dist. 49.68 pc (162.06 l.y.)

STF1015 AB: 152; 125x: Faint equal pair, well separated. -33% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 04m 55.36s -05° 46' 28.4" P.A. 199.00 sep 4.9 mag 9.41,9.40 Sp A0

D 12 AB: 152; 125x: Fairly bright A, 2 Dm B, rather wide.  90% PRO, 7,201 AU WS, 7.2+2.9 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
07h 05m 49.64s -10° 39' 36.3" P.A. 282.00 sep 6.4 mag 6.51,10.08 Sp B0.5V dist. 14285.71 pc (46599.99 l.y.)

STF1019 AC: 152; 125x: Fairly bright A, 2 Dm B, very wide.  13% PRO, 40,336 AU WS, 7.2+3.3 Msol, is is not likely binary due to the wide weighted separation, but an orbit should be tried all the same.
07h 05m 49.64s -10° 39' 36.3" P.A. 292.00 sep 38.2 mag 6.51,9.55 Sp B0.5V dist. 14285.71 pc (46599.99 l.y.)

STF1028 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, equal.  32% PRO, 11,464 AU WS, 4.8+2.6 Msol, but the RVD 3.5 > EV 1.1, it is not binary.
07h 08m 16.08s -10° 37' 25.8" P.A. 303.00 sep 11.0 mag 8.59,11.10 Sp G5

STF1029 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, hairline split with 125x, better seen 150x, light yellow-orange stars. 79% PRO, 337 AU WS, 2.5+2.2 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
07h 07m 56.87s -04° 40' 39.8" P.A. 26.00 sep 1.6 mag 7.47,7.95 Sp A9V dist. 225.23 pc (734.7 l.y.)

STF1030 AB: 152; 125x: Wide equal stars.  -92% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 08m 48.92s -08° 40' 36.6" P.A. 45.00 sep 15.8 mag 8.52,9.87 Sp K2III dist. 699.3 pc (2281.12 l.y.)

STF1034 AB: 152; 200x: Very fine, split 125x but better seen 200x, equal white stars, part of a rectangle asterism with of three other stars of similar magnitude, slightly fainter than STF1034A.  7% PRO, 281 AU WS, 1.3+1.1 Msol, there is a slim chance it is binary, an orbit should be tried.
07h 09m 21.70s -08° 18' 58.4" P.A. 9.00 sep 2.4 mag 9.43,9.89

STF1036 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, wide, white.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 10m 12.63s -06° 16' 42.9" P.A. 102.00 sep 17.4 mag 9.22,9.92 Sp F5

STF1043 AB: 152; 150x: Exquisite close split of equal white stars.  Forms the tip of a wide triangle asterism of similar magnitude stars.  Nice rich field.  84% PRO, 977 AU WS, 2.3+2.3 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
07h 12m 36.98s -00° 40' 46.4" P.A. 68.00 sep 2.4 mag 9.37,9.42 Sp A0

STF1045 AB: 152; 125x: Well split, 1 Dm.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 12m 42.24s -03° 10' 41.0" P.A. 236.00 sep 5.6 mag 8.01,9.08 Sp F5 dist. 73.48 pc (239.69 l.y.)

STF1049 AB: 152; 150x: Gorgeous faint unequal pair, close split at 125x, better seen 150x.  -51% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 13m 42.33s -08° 55' 31.0" P.A. 41.00 sep 3.6 mag 8.36,9.47 Sp B9.5V dist. 338.98 pc (1105.75 l.y.)

STF1052 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal wide pair, in a rich field. 40% PRO, 22,346 AU WS, 4.3+3.8 Msol, there is a chance it's binary and an orbit should be tried.
07h 14m 33.44s -10° 17' 33.5" P.A. 22.00 sep 19.9 mag 8.76,9.19 Sp B5III

STF1056 AB: 152; 125x: Pretty pair, unequal light-orange stars, 1 Dm. 79% PRO, 1,095 AU WS, 2.8+2.0 Msol, it might be binary and an orbit should be tried.
07h 15m 34.34s -01° 51' 36.8" P.A. 298.00 sep 3.9 mag 8.04,8.88 Sp G0 dist. 246.91 pc (805.42 l.y.)

STF1060 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, well split.  -20% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 16m 06.71s -09° 16' 10.9" P.A. 24.00 sep 6.9 mag 8.60,9.59 Sp B7V dist. 284.9 pc (929.34 l.y.)

STF1072 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide, slightly unequal.  -83% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 19m 36.68s -04° 26' 46.7" P.A. 110.00 sep 21.8 mag 9.37,10.81 Sp A2

STF1077 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, slightly unequal white stars.  -10% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 20m 59.96s -00° 40' 13.1" P.A. 319.00 sep 5.5 mag 9.89,9.78 Sp A3

STF1084 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, >1 Dm.  -93% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 24m 01.28s -03° 58' 44.0" P.A. 284.00 sep 14.8 mag 7.20,10.00 Sp K0 dist. 3225.81 pc (10522.59 l.y.)

STF1109 AB: 152; 150x: Closely separated faint pair, equal white stars. 38% PRO, 3,023 AU WS, 3.6+3.6 Msol, it is probably binary and needs an orbit.
07h 31m 54.40s -00° 31' 30.9" P.A. 17.00 sep 3.1 mag 9.26,9.26 Sp A0

STF1111 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, wide.  -1% PRO, and with 10,571 AU WS and RVD 1.1 > EV 1.0, this is not likely binary.
07h 31m 57.66s -08° 41' 14.2" P.A. 221.00 sep 19.9 mag 8.87,9.19 Sp K0II-III

STF1112 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide, 1 Dm.  87% PRO, 682 AU WS, 1.4+0.5 Msol, but the RVD 3.6 > EV 2.2, it is not binary.
07h 32m 05.82s -08° 52' 51.3" P.A. 113.00 sep 23.9 mag 6.03,8.73 Sp F5V dist. 27.92 pc (91.08 l.y.)

STF1128 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, wide.  70% PRO, 1,399 AU WS, 1.5+0.9 Msol, but RVD 2.0 > EV 1.8, it is probably not binary but an orbit should be tried, marginally possible.
07h 39m 48.82s -06° 14' 39.4" P.A. 168.00 sep 15.7 mag 7.89,10.01 Sp G4V dist. 101.21 pc (330.15 l.y.)

STF1132 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, wide, light orange stars.  -30% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 42m 12.50s -03° 31' 10.4" P.A. 234.00 sep 20.1 mag 8.13,8.49 Sp K5 dist. 288.18 pc (940.04 l.y.)

STF1133 AB: 152; 150x: Quite faint pair, closely separated, 1 Dm.  68% PRO, 958 AU WS, 1.9+1.5 Msol, and the RVD 0.8 < EV 2.5, it is very likely binary and needs an orbit tried.
07h 42m 34.02s -04° 01' 35.4" P.A. 107.00 sep 4.3 mag 8.88,9.96 Sp A5 dist. 152.21 pc (496.51 l.y.)

STF1152 AB: 152; 125x: B is quite fainter, 2 Dm, well split.  5% PRO, 1,693 AU WS, 2.5+1.6 Msol, but RVD 2.4 < EV 2.1, it is not binary.
07h 50m 59.24s -03° 07' 15.6" P.A. 313.00 sep 6.0 mag 8.41,10.29 Sp G5 dist. 316.46 pc (1032.29 l.y.)

STF1154 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm, close split. -16% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 52m 08.46s -03° 03' 14.9" P.A. 353.00 sep 2.8 mag 7.13,9.26 Sp A5 dist. 111.98 pc (365.28 l.y.)

STF1353 AB: 152; 150x: Faint near equal white stars, close split.  86% PRO, 339 AU WS, 1.1+1.1 Msol, it is likely binary and needs a binary.
09h 27m 39.28s +15° 44' 32.0" P.A. 125.00 sep 3.3 mag 9.91,9.98 Sp G5 dist. 96.06 pc (313.35 l.y.)

J388 AB: 152; 125x: = STF1354.  Very faint B seen with foveal coaxing, around 10" separation.  33% PRO, 2,321 AU WS, 3.2+1.6 Msol, but RVD 3.3 > EV 1.9, it is not binary.
09h 27m 32.84s +10° 53' 53.9" P.A. 351.00 sep 4.9 mag 8.62,11.80 Sp K0

STF1356 AB: 152; 200x: Hairline split in moments of good seeing, 1 Dm light orange stars.  No Gaia data for the companion.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 117.9-year period, it is near apistron now and will remain well split through 2060.
09h 28m 27.41s +09° 03' 24.4" P.A. 116.00 sep 0.9 mag 5.69,7.28 Sp F9IV dist. 33.17 pc (108.2 l.y.)

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

27 february 2024

All in all a frustrating night.  Seeing was predicted to be good but it was variable.  It was to be excellent after 1am but I didn't notice a big improvement so wrapped up at 12:30am.  Since I was on the 20-inch I dwelled on the "movement" list, a very challenging list of known binaries which would exhibit movement over the next 20 years.  The are nearly all <0.5", most <0.3".  I could not get good results, and my pointing accuracy was off.  

I spent most of the night though going after Procyon B.  My white whale.  It's supposed to be at 5" separation to the north, and now through 2026 is the prime time to go for it.  I made another occulting eyepiece using a 9mm orthoscopic, and this time I'm happy it has a crisp edge and doesn't flare, though there is one area where it presents a ghost image (but I check for it by rotating the eyepiece).  I looked long and hard with just the 9mm and with a 2x barlow, and checked all quadrants, and nothing.  A couple times I noticed a hard point within one of the spider vane spikes, but after waiting an hour did not see it move off the spike.  The occulting band (a strip of tin foil) has a slightly uneven part which I found useful in hiding the primary behind to show more than 90-degrees of sky -- but no sign of the star.  I hope for a better night.  Perhaps it was the transparency, causing the sky to be too bright to show the faint companion.  It didn't help there was a waning moon rising at around 10pm.

I observed, or tried to, a few items from the movement list, but the conditions didn't support it.  I observed a couple of them which are beyond detectability, only to put a marker in them to compare years from now when they are.

STF1223 AB: 508; 150x: Near equal bright white stars, well separated. -8% PRO, 551 AU WS, 2.4+2.4 Msol, divergent proper motion, it is not binary. 
08h 26m 47.08s +26° 56' 07.8" P.A. 218.00 sep 5.2 mag 6.16,6.21 Sp A3V+A6V dist. 84.53 pc (275.74 l.y.)

STF1171 AB: 508; 300x: Very delicate faint B, closely separated from bright light-yellow A. -18% PRO, and even though there is only 186 AU WS, it is not likely binary.
08h 01m 00.78s +23° 34' 59.2" P.A. 326.00 sep 2.1 mag 6.48,9.95 Sp K1III-IV dist. 87.95 pc (286.89 l.y.)

COU 384 AB: 508; 1200x: Single at all powers.  No parallax data for the companion.  SOC grade 3 orbit, it is now closing rapidly and not likely to be detectible until apastron in 2050.  40.43-year period.
09h 18m 16.92s +18° 46' 51.7" P.A. 56.00 sep 0.125" mag 8.20,8.30 Sp F0 dist. 135.87 pc (443.21 l.y.)
RST3603 AB: 508; 850x: Very barest of splits with seeing, which is stable only in fleeting moments.  No parallax data for the companion.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 99-year period, it is just coming off apastron and will tighten to undetectability by 2040. 
08h 43m 07.66s -12° 25' 19.0" P.A. 317.00 sep 0.353" mag 7.80,9.61 Sp F3/5IV dist. 110.13 pc (359.24 l.y.)
MTG 1 AB: 508; 1200x: Single all powers, will widen rapidly from now to 2030 apastron and should be splitable.  No Gaia data.  Worth an annual look.  16.19-year period, SOC grade 3 orbit.
07h 11m 11.44s +43° 29' 58.1" P.A. 190.00 sep 0.06" mag 9.80,9.90 Sp M6.5+M6.5
KUI  23 AB: 508; 1200x: Single all powers.  SOC grade 2 orbit, it is at periastron now but will rapidly widen to apastron in 2028 and should be splitable.  No Gaia data.
06h 04m 07.22s +23° 15' 49.1" P.A. 358.00 sep 0.093" mag 4.77,5.50 Sp G7III dist. 47.55 pc (155.11 l.y.)
COU 292 AB: 508; 1200x: Single all powers.  No Gaia data.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 25.02-year orbit, it will tighten and not be detectible again until 2045 apastron, and even then it will be ~0.185"
10h 26m 54.22s +19° 30' 44.9" P.A. 50.00 sep 0.173" mag 8.42,8.79 Sp F8 dist. 79.05 pc (257.86 l.y.)

Friday, February 9, 2024

6 february 2024

After more weeks of storms, we had a clear night finally.  Seeing was to be average and transparency poor.  Because of various chores I wasn't free until 9:30pm, and had resigned myself to watching YouTube videos.  But as the computer was turning on, I shamed myself into going outside to observe.  After all, getting a telescope was my way of not wasting my time in the evenings, to be in the world.  So I bundled up and in 10 minutes, after taking the scope's tarp off, I was observing with the 6-inch refractor.  It was dewy, and transparency really was poor, but seeing was ok in the 6-inch and I was even seeing airy disks and nice round diffraction rings with higher powers.  After aligning on Sirius then Dubhe, I proceeded to cover Struves in Ursa Major.  Then a C-shaped cloud, looking a lot like Barnard's Loop, covered that part of the sky, so I swung down to Canis Minor, until the whole sky was cloudy.  So much time has passed between sessions, Gemini is past meridian by the time I started.  I hope there will be a gap in the weather soon so I can go to a dark site.

STF1402 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, 1 Dm, red A.  There is a with a wide third another 1 Dm from B (GIR 2 AC).  -97% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 04m 54.93s +55° 29' 16.5" P.A. 105.00 sep 33.1 mag 7.91,8.92 Sp K5 dist. 520.83 pc (1698.95 l.y.)

STF1425 AB: 152; 150x: Close, faint, unequal white pair, half a delta magnitude, split with 125x but better seen 150x. -4% PRO, 1,395 AU WS, 1.7+1.5 Msol, and RVD 0.6 < EV 2.0.  It might be binary, an orbit should be tried.
10h 21m 34.14s +46° 09' 07.6" P.A. 358.00 sep 4.8 mag 9.89,10.74 Sp F5 dist. 144.51 pc (471.39 l.y.)

STF1427 AB: 152; 125x: Easy near equal, well separated.  PRO 0%, 1,322 AU WS, 1.8+1.6 Msol, RVD 0.4 < EV 2.1, so it might be binary and an orbit should be tried.
10h 22m 00.53s +43° 54' 19.3" P.A. 214.00 sep 9.3 mag 8.18,8.54 Sp F5V dist. 105.04 pc (342.64 l.y.)

STF1428 AB: 152; 150x: Close but not difficult unequal stars, best seen 150-200x.  86% PRO, 226 AU WS, 1.3+1.4 Msol, it is likely binary and an orbit should be tried.
10h 25m 59.00s +52° 37' 18.3" P.A. 88.00 sep 2.8 mag 8.02,8.44 Sp F6V dist. 87.11 pc (284.15 l.y.)

STF1430 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint and wide B seen with averted vision only.  -24% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 25m 41.11s +40° 54' 39.4" P.A. 272.00 sep 21.2 mag 8.20,12.10 Sp G5III dist. 510.2 pc (1664.27 l.y.)

STF1436 AB: 152; 125x: Faint wide B needs averted vision to see, then can hold direct.  81% PRO, 1,300 AU WS, 1.5+1.0, and RVD 1.5 < EV 1.8, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
10h 30m 22.86s +56° 21' 20.0" P.A. 254.00 sep 10.5 mag 8.78,10.39 Sp F5 dist. 118.48 pc (386.48 l.y.)

STF1460 AB: 152; 125x: Fairly close, but still easy with low power, white, unequal stars.  -14% PRO, 489 AU WS, 1.5+1.5 Msol, it is not likely binary.
10h 40m 35.04s +42° 09' 11.6" P.A. 161.00 sep 3.9 mag 8.72,8.90 Sp F2 dist. 185.87 pc (606.31 l.y.)

STF1461 AB: 152; 125x: Well separated >1 Dm, with STF1463 double in field.  -10% PRO, it is not likley binary.
10h 41m 59.31s +46° 38' 59.7" P.A. 137.00 sep 9.1 mag 8.61,10.31 Sp A5V dist. 423.73 pc (1382.21 l.y.)

STF1463 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, well separated.  In the same field as STF1461 and looks similar to it, a little more closely separated.  These two form an equal triangle with a star of similar magnitude, but which is not itself double. -85 PRO, it is not binary.
10h 42m 54.25s +46° 41' 25.2" P.A. 258.00 sep 7.9 mag 9.30,10.42 Sp G5

STF1462 AB: 152; 125x: B is faint but easily seen with low power, well separated, white.  6% PRO, 904 AU WS, 1.9+1.0 Msol, RVD 2.5 > EV 2.4.  Hard to say it's binary and not just comoving, an orbit should be tried.
10h 42m 52.23s +50° 47' 57.3" P.A. 174.00 sep 8.1 mag 7.41,10.10 Sp A8IV dist. 129.2 pc (421.45 l.y.)

STF1465 AB: 152; 150x: Close near equal light orange stars, can split at 125x but better seen 150x.  23% PRO, 1,884 AU WS, 3.4+3.1 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
10h 43m 13.35s +44° 37' 41.6" P.A. 11.00 sep 2.2 mag 9.79,10.10 Sp K2

STF1467 AB: 152; 125x: Close pair, significant delta magnitude, white.  25% PRO, 1,425 AU WS, 2.8+1.5 Msol, it's possibly binary and needs an orbit.
10h 45m 15.60s +44° 58' 11.2" P.A. 288.00 sep 3.9 mag 8.58,10.76 Sp K0III dist. 239.23 pc (780.37 l.y.)

STF1475 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide, faint B seen with averted vision only.  -93% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 49m 25.90s +41° 23' 24.2" P.A. 186.00 sep 26.6 mag 7.89,11.30 Sp G0 dist. 96.34 pc (314.26 l.y.)

STF1483 AB: 152; 150x: Faint near equal light orange stars.  -31% PRO it is not binary. 
10h 54m 30.84s +47° 29' 35.8" P.A. 243.00 sep 2.3 mag 9.52,9.61 Sp G5 dist. 52.85 pc (172.4 l.y.)

STF1484 AB: 152; 125x: Wide B seen with averted vision.  -93% PRO, it is not binary.  BC is not binary either, -41% PRO.
10h 54m 36.71s +45° 27' 57.3" P.A. 4.00 sep 18.3 mag 10.10,12.60 Sp K0

STF1485 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, faint, needs averted vision. -80% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 54m 37.97s +43° 34' 58.9" P.A. 218.00 sep 18.6 mag 8.74,11.50 Sp K0 dist. 531.91 pc (1735.09 l.y.)

STF1486 AB: 152; 125x: Wide near equal stars.  -81% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 55m 01.14s +52° 07' 18.2" P.A. 100.00 sep 31.6 mag 8.45,9.69 Sp K5 dist. 420.17 pc (1370.59 l.y.)

STF1488 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, faint B, need averted vision to see better.  -30% PRO, it is not binary.
10h 56m 47.77s +52° 11' 00.9" P.A. 214.00 sep 20.0 mag 8.17,11.20 Sp A3 dist. 109.29 pc (356.5 l.y.)

STF1494 AB: 152; 125x: Wide pair, B is faint seen with averted vision then can hold direct.  1% PRO, 520 AU WS, 0.9+0.6 Msol, RVD 1.3 < EV 2.3, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.
10h 58m 25.63s +37° 01' 43.8" P.A. 331.00 sep 10.7 mag 8.85,10.62 Sp G5 dist. 53.73 pc (175.27 l.y.)

STF1525 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent near equal pair, faint, medium power is best since high power blurs the image.  Good close split, with seeing.  65% PRO, 521 AU WS, 1.6+1.5 Msol, RVD 0.1 < EV 3.2, it is probably binary and needs an orbit.
11h 19m 29.37s +47° 28' 12.6" P.A. 173.00 sep 2.3 mag 9.90,9.93 Sp F5 dist. 325.73 pc (1062.53 l.y.)

STF1579 AB-C: 152; 125x: 2 Dm close companion, still split with low power.  -54% PRO, it is not binary (nor is AB-D, only AB is binary).
11h 55m 05.74s +46° 28' 36.6" P.A. 44.00 sep 3.7 mag 6.68,8.32 Sp A3Vn dist. 211.86 pc (691.09 l.y.)

STF1541 AB: 152; 125x: Faint B 2 Dm, well split.  -14% PRO, it si not binary.
11h 27m 39.46s +46° 17' 33.4" P.A. 27.00 sep 7.8 mag 7.97,10.13 Sp F8 dist. 89.29 pc (291.26 l.y.)

STF1542 AB: 152; 150x: Very pretty white and 2 Dm B, close but comfortably split with both 125x and 150x.  -9% PRO, it is not binary.
11h 27m 56.02s +44° 33' 57.0" P.A. 267.00 sep 3.9 mag 6.93,9.65 Sp F2V dist. 88.89 pc (289.96 l.y.)

STF1586 AB: 152; 200x: Excellent!  Split with seeing, a very good close split nearly 2 Dm, faint.  82% PRO, 285 AU WS, 1.8+1.2 Msol, it is very likely binary and an orbit should be tried.
11h 56m 53.86s +40° 21' 21.5" P.A. 255.00 sep 1.5 mag 8.83,10.37 Sp F8 dist. 147.49 pc (481.11 l.y.)

STF1515 AB: 152; 125x: = HJ  494, near equal, wide.  Parallax data missing for the companion.
11h 13m 03.64s +40° 11' 03.9" P.A. 140.00 sep 31.2 mag 10.70,10.85 Sp F8+G0

STF1543 AB: 152; 125x: Yellow-white, 2 Dm, well split.  12% PRO, 362 AU WS, 2.3+1.1 Msol, it could be binary and an orbit should be tried.
11h 29m 04.12s +39° 20' 13.1" P.A. 354.00 sep 5.5 mag 5.35,10.67 Sp A2V dist. 65.23 pc (212.78 l.y.)

STF1569 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent, faint unequal pair, dark yellow.  Close split at 125x & 150x. -7% PRO, it is not binary.  
11h 44m 18.43s +39° 00' 24.5" P.A. 321.00 sep 3.7 mag 8.83,10.59 Sp F0 dist. 307.69 pc (1003.68 l.y.)

STF1533 A-BC: 152; 125x: Easy wide pair, near equal.  -81% PRO, it is not binary.  
11h 22m 07.07s +37° 05' 15.1" P.A. 173.00 sep 23.1 mag 9.25,9.43 Sp G0 dist. 374.53 pc (1221.72 l.y.)

STF1524 AB: 152; 125x: Very unequal, well split. Alula Borealis.  87% PRO, 926 AU WS, 5.4+1.3 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit tried.
11h 18m 28.74s +33° 05' 39.5" P.A. 147.00 sep 7.0 mag 3.64,10.10 Sp K3IIIBaO dist. 122.4 pc (399.27 l.y.)

STF1182 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, well split.  60% PRO, 1,336 AU WS, 2.9+2.2 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
08h 05m 24.43s +05° 49' 38.9" P.A. 75.00 sep 4.9 mag 7.48,8.76 Sp B9 dist. 328.95 pc (1073.03 l.y.)

STF1185 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, slightly unequal, close split.  24% PRO, 348 AU WS, 1.1+0.9 Msol, RVD 0.5 < EV 3.2, it is probably binary and needs an orbit.
08h 07m 07.38s +01° 20' 46.5" P.A. 94.00 sep 3.8 mag 9.59,10.26 Sp K0

STF1198 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, wide.  -90% PRO, it is not binary.
08h 11m 15.97s +01° 16' 05.5" P.A. 338.00 sep 33.4 mag 8.72,8.77 Sp G0

Friday, January 19, 2024

17 january 2024

We've had a long stretch of cloudy weather, so I haven't been able to observe much.  There were a few clear nights but with poor seeing and transparency, so I didn't bother.  I regret that, because I could have still observed with the 6-inch and tackled some of the more routine Struve pairs.  Tuesday night was one such, and I decided to observe, heavy dew and all, since it seemed to be the last clear night for a couple weeks.  I'm glad I went out, as there were many fine pairs.  I started out with the moon, and marveled at the scope's excellent contrast and all the fine detail visible.  Jupiter looked good too.  Moved on to more Struves.

STF 848 AB: 152; 150x: The main pairing of the "37" cluster, NGC 2169, it lays near the base of the "3" asterism.  Nearly 1 Dm, A is light orange.  Very pretty.  83% PRO, 2,625 AU WS, 5.8+4.7 Msol, it is probably binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 08m 30.36s +13° 58' 15.8" P.A. 110.00 sep 2.6 mag 7.28,8.15 Sp B1V+B2V dist. 300.3 pc (979.58 l.y.)

 STF 837 AB: 152; 125x: = STF833. Light orange-yellow A, 2 Dm very wide B.  -68% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 03m 38.86s +04° 18' 50.3" P.A. 226.00 sep 19.6 mag 8.05,10.60 Sp A0

STF 844 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, very wide pair.  In the "37" cluster, NGC 2169.   -79% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 08m 18.38s +13° 59' 50.3" P.A. 9.00 sep 23.4 mag 8.49,9.29 Sp B5

STF 854 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, well separated white stars.  -81% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 08m 32.08s +05° 48' 01.2" P.A. 321.00 sep 5.7 mag 8.81,9.78 Sp A2

STF 852 AB: 152; 150x: Very faint near equal, well separated, B seen with averted vision at first then can hold.  18% PRO, 3,010 AU WS, 1.8+1.5 Msol, and the RVD 0.9 < EV 1.4, it might be binary and an orbit is needed.
06h 08m 36.21s +07° 17' 50.0" P.A. 319.00 sep 9.3 mag 9.92,10.90 Sp F5

STF 849 AB: 152; 250x: Difficult, high power only, I see a distinct split of near equal stars.  = STF828.  Gaia DR3 lacks parallax data for the companion; given the close separation an orbit should be tried.
06h 08m 44.48s +17° 24' 07.0" P.A. 241.00 sep 0.9 mag 9.18,9.48 Sp G0

STF 856 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, B appears with foveal coaxing then cab be held direct, well separated. 80% PRO, 5,079 AU WS, 3.0+1.7 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
06h 09m 07.83s +07° 03' 19.5" P.A. 50.00 sep 10.3 mag 8.50,10.99 Sp A0 dist. 373.13 pc (1217.15 l.y.)

STF 853 AB: 152; 125x: Faint but easily seen, wide, equal magnitude.  -72% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 09m 09.51s +11° 39' 19.0" P.A. 8.00 sep 38.2 mag 8.49,8.98 Sp G5 dist. 134.77 pc (439.62 l.y.)

STF 859 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal white stars, very wide.  = STF863. Gaia DR3 lacks parallax data for B, and there has been a linear solution found, it is not likely binary.
06h 09m 35.88s +05° 40' 07.6" P.A. 242.00 sep 45.2 mag 8.49,8.97 Sp G0 dist. 28.79 pc (93.91 l.y.)

STF 867 AB: 152; 150x: Exquisite close pair, 1 Dm, A is light blue.  There is a third star, wide, approximately same magnitude as B.  5% PRO with 3% error, only 762 AU WS, 3.1+2.4, it might be binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 11m 39.01s +17° 22' 39.3" P.A. 159.00 sep 2.3 mag 7.53,8.88 Sp B9.5III

STF 877 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal white stars, well split.  5% PRO, 1,114 AU WS, 2.4+2.1 Msol, and RVD 0.5 < EV 2.7, there is some chance it's binary and an orbit should be tried.
06h 14m 42.67s +14° 35' 10.8" P.A. 263.00 sep 5.7 mag 7.55,7.96 Sp B9.5V dist. 150.83 pc (492.01 l.y.)

STF 880 AB: 152; 125x: B seen with averted vision, close separation.  -3% PRO with 3% error, and while the other data are promising it is not likely binary.
06h 15m 29.13s +10° 34' 42.4" P.A. 55.00 sep 5.6 mag 8.40,8.71 Sp G5

STF 885 AB: 152; 125x: Quite a delicate pair, unequal, well split, at the bottom of a U-shaped arrangement of stars like CrB constellation asterism.  76% PRO, 8,715 AU WS, 3.6+2.4 Msol, so there is some possibility it is binary and needs an orbit.
06h 16m 51.65s +05° 59' 45.6" P.A. 297.00 sep 10.1 mag 8.99,10.52 Sp A0

STF 891 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint B seen averted vision only, wide.  36% PRO, 8,213 AU WS, 3.2+1.4 Msol, it is possible they are binary and an orbit is needed.
06h 19m 41.14s +12° 17' 33.7" P.A. 294.00 sep 22.0 mag 7.67,11.30 Sp B8V dist. 400 pc (1304.8 l.y.)

STF 895 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint, wide.  V1056 Ori.  -84% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 20m 48.34s +05° 44' 26.2" P.A. 58.00 sep 29.1 mag 8.26,9.62 Sp M3Ib-II dist. 884.96 pc (2886.74 l.y.)

STF892 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint, very wide.  -94% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 19m 51.49s +12° 17' 34.8" P.A. 41.00 sep 39.5 mag 10.54,10.75 Sp K2V+A0

STF 898 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal wide pair.  51% PRO, 4,985 AU WS, 3.5+3.0 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
06h 21m 57.42s +10° 58' 16.5" P.A. 122.00 sep 6.2 mag 9.00,9.61 Sp B8

STF 901 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal wide pair.  -82% PRO, it is not binary.
06h 25m 00.98s +10° 31' 03.3" P.A. 246.00 sep 20.0 mag 7.84,10.38 Sp B9IV dist. 1265.82 pc (4129.1 l.y.)

STF 822 AB: 152; 125x: Wide 2 Dm pair.  62% PRO, very wide 12,819 AU WS, 4.2+2.0 Msol, but the RVD 3.1 > EV 0.9, it is not binary.
06h 00m 14.04s +43° 10' 53.0" P.A. 56.00 sep 15.1 mag 8.29,10.80 Sp B9

STF 825 AB: 152; 125x: 2 Dm, well separated, faint B seen averted vision then can hold direct.  17% PRO, 1,974 AU WS, 2.5+1.8 Msol, there is some chance it is binary and needs an orbit.
06h 01m 37.21s +36° 30' 55.7" P.A. 146.00 sep 8.0 mag 7.90,9.08 Sp A0 dist. 66.49 pc (216.89 l.y.)

STF1086 AB: 152; 125x: Faint unequal wide pair.  -59% PRO, it is not binary.
07h 28m 31.32s +42° 45' 09.0" P.A. 103.00 sep 12.2 mag 8.01,10.11 Sp K0 dist. 317.46 pc (1035.55 l.y.)

STF1079 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint unequal pair, wide.  65% PRO, 1,434 AU WS, 1.7+1.3 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
07h 24m 35.82s +37° 48' 41.0" P.A. 333.00 sep 5.6 mag 9.45,10.40 Sp A5

STF1042 AB: 152; 125x: 2 Dm, well separated.  19% PRO, 3,944 AU WS, 2.0+1.2 Msol, it might be binary and needs an orbit.
07h 15m 53.23s +42° 08' 54.8" P.A. 42.00 sep 11.9 mag 9.86,11.05 Sp K0

STF1024 AB: 152; 200x: At high power only, touching disks with momentary to hairline splits, near equal magnitude stars. Gaia DR3 lacks parallax data for the secondary.  Due to its closeness, an orbit should be tried.
07h 10m 12.99s +38° 07' 50.2" P.A. 315.00 sep 1.4 mag 8.97,9.16 Sp G0

STF1021 A-BC: 152; 150x: Faint pair, equal, closely separated.  Gaia DR3 lacks parallax data for the secondary, but it's not likely binary.
07h 09m 38.52s +38° 28' 27.1" P.A. 17.00 sep 4.0 mag 9.54,9.60

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

The rest of it

I made many other observations from TB on Friday night, mainly because it reaches dark so early.  I used my 4- & 8-inch combo refractor, along with the 3x magnifier on the PVS-14:

EGB 1 (Ellis-Grayson-Bond) = HDW 1 (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger): 01 07 08 73 33 24:  This object has been the subject of some recent discussion on internet forums.  It was initially cataloged as a planetary nebula from inspection of the POSS plates (which presents an amorphous oval cloud).  But recent studies identify it as ionized IFM, which seems closer to how the nebula appears with contemporary imaging, which show a bright illuminated wall of gas and dust with several cometary globules, and a large Ha-bright wing fanning out from the object.  I observed it first with the 4-inch, and it was visible with just Ha but appeared brighter with the Ha+OIII dual band, though it was itself very faint and I needed to pan the scope to make sure the cloud stayed with the sky, and check the star field on my finder chart, before I confirmed the sighting.  The 4-inch image was small scale, and it appeared as the oval, mottled, and ragged-edged very thick "C" shaped cloud, with the open part facing the northeast.  With the 8-inch and further study, I could see the extremely faint, very diffuse fan shaped nebulous area extending out about 2x the main cloud's size from the "cave" or open side of the nebula.

Sh2-191: 02 36 38.7 +59 38 14 2', = Maffei I: Being a galaxy, and a very small one at that, I viewed this with the 8-inch unfiltered, and it appeared as a very small and elongated glow with a bright core.  I first confirmed the rich star field but could see the elongation which distinguished it from the stars.  

Sh2-197: 02 41 54.8 +59 38 46 5': = Maffei II: A very small, elongated smudge, bright core.  8-inch unfiltered and needed to confirm the star field on the chart (meaning, it was not noticed at first glance).

Strottner-Drechsler-Sainty 1: This is the OIII cloud recently discovered near M31.  I wanted to reconfirm the observation I made a few months ago.  Like before, using the 4-inch, it appeared to view when flipping between filters to the Ha+OIII dual band.  It's a faint, long glow running between Upsilon And and 32 And, on the M32 side of the galaxy, with the brighter end near Upsilon.  I it has two brighter streaks or filaments near the middle, and fades out slowly near 32 And.  It curves away from M31 to make a very gentle arc.  M31 showed three dust bands unfiltered, and I could see both M31's twist along with M110's.

HFG 1 (Heckathorn-Fesen-Gull) 03h 03 48 +64 53 28 15'x15': 8-inch, Ha-OIII dual band, it appeared as a very vague, irregularly round glow, with a brighter half along its southeast side.  Diffuse edges.  Did not see the arc of nebula separated from the main to the southeast.

HDW 2: (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger): 03 11 00 62 48 00, = Sh2-200.  8-inch Ha+OIII dual band.  Extremely faint, small mottled round glow around an arc of stars 4-5 stars of similar magnitude.  Found by locating the nearby open cluster (Tr 3) and the bright star it lies between.   

HDW 3: (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger) 03h 27 15 +45 24 19 9'x9'.  = HW 4.  Very extremely faint glimmer, 8-inch and Ha+OIII dual band only, and only by confirming the star field and panning the telescope.   

Jones 1: 23 35 53.60 +30 28 02 5': 4-inch dual band, it appeared pretty large but faint, shaped like a C-clip with a thin closed end to the west, open to the east, and thicker & brighter arms.  

MWP 1: (Motch-Werner-Pakull) 21h 17 07 +34 12 40, 13x9': Very weak curved glow originating from a single star, medium-sized.  In a triangle asterism of similar magnitude stars, which is how I identified it from the chart.  8-inch dual band.

IsWe 2: (Ishida-Weinberger) 22 13 22.0 +65 53 55 16'x14': Large, ill-defined round glow or contrast change with the background sky, moves with the sky. 8-inch Ha.  Pretty difficult.

Dengel-Hartl 5: 22h 19 34 +70 56 01, 9'x9':  =DHW 5.  Very small and faint wispy glowing arc above a relatively bright star.  8-inch Ha.

Lacerta Molecular Cloud / Sh2-126: This appears prominently on Finkbeiner but only the brightest portion is listed on most atlases (Sh2-126).  The actual nebula seen (with 3x magnifier and Ha) is more than twice the size of Sh2-126's published dimensions.  It has a bent wishbone appearance but thicker--like the Gumby character--and with a diffuse cloud wafting from it to the south.  The whole nebula is grainy, not smooth, appearing distinctly dusty.
  


Sh2-216 & Sh2-221: While panning with the 3x, I navigated to Capella and could see the large round glow (appeared small) of this very large planetary nebula, and even the distinct brighter edge along the eastern quarter.  More amazing still, between this and Capella I saw another large nebula, more elongated, filamentary and faint, which is Sh2-221 (SNR 160.4+02.8).  I saw the brighter half which is toward Capella, making it appear thinner than the image below.  All in the same small scale field and all with just 3x! This is the best image (credit to "Max S.") I could find, but it is a larger image scale -- at 3x it took only a quarter of the field.

Sh2-310: 07 24 -25 35 30, 480' diameter.   Using 3x and Ha, the nebula is huge!  A pinched "C" shape with the open end to the south, with thick arms, the brightest one to the west, and a bright knot at an to the north elbow where it makes rather a sharp turn.  The whole nebula is streaked with filaments and mottling.  Vogel's description is worth repeating in full: "Distance: 1500 pc, Size: 209.8 pc.  This vast nebula, one of the largest single HII regions known in the Milky Way, is ionised by two multiple star 
systems (Tau Canis Majoris and UW Canis Majoris) each made up of several O-class stars. This image shows only the brightest part of the enormous Sh 2-310 complex. The intense radiation from the Tau Canis Majoris and UW Canis Majoris star systems has created a cavity in the molecular clouds at the centre of Sh 2-310, which is located beyond the upper right of the image. At least one scientific paper notes the "arrow-shaped bright rim" shown in this image. Perhaps Sh 2-310 should be known as the Arrowhead nebula? The extremely luminous red supergiant VY Canis Majoris is located near the bright rim. (This incredible star is green in this false colour image because of the infrared radiation emitted by the large dust cloud it ejects.)  Tau Canis Majoris, which may be one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way, is sometimes called the "Mexican jumping bean star," allegedly because of the way it moves around in the eyepiece of amateur telescopes."

Sh2-303: 06 54 00.9 -22 25 31, 90' diameter.  4-inch and Ha, it appears as a weak, ragged shallow curve arc of nebulosity, like a broken-up vapor trail, running east to west, curved to the south.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 15.1 pc.  Along with Sh2-304 and Sh2-308, this HII region is ionised by WR 6 (EZ CMa)."

Sh2-304: 06 43 26.3 -24 07 59, 200' diameter.  In same area as the last, also like a broken-up vapor trail but wider, it appears faint band of nebulosity running NW-SE.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 33.5 pc.  Along with Sh2-303 and Sh2-308, this HII region is ionised by WR 6 (EZ CMa)."

Sh2-305: 07 30 08.1 -18 31 31, 4' diameter: 8-inch Ha.  Small, very faint puff of nebulosity, off the tip of a triangle of stars, which helped me to locate it in the field.  Only saw the bright round part of the nebula, not the fainter "stem" as in the POSS.  Vogel: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 4.4 pc.  RCW 8 is part of a huge molecular cloud complex with a distance of 4200 pc and is ionised by at least two O-class 
stars, and possibly two B0 class stars as well."

Sh2-306 & Sh2-309: 8-inch, Ha.  -306 is large, diffuse, very faint, irregularly round with mottling throughout and diffuse edges.  -309 in the field is bright by comparison, more compact, round with soft edges, and with a bright streak running N-S on its E side.  
-306: 07 30 36.4 -19 06 35, 30' diameter: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 36.7 pc. part of the GS234-02 supershell.
-309: 07 32 06.1 -19 25 47, 12' diameter: Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 14.7 pc. part of the GS234-02 star forming supershell

Sh2-307: 07 35 32.0 -18 45 13, 6'. 8-inch Ha, Small, round, faint doughnut nebula punctuated with a bright patch on the eastern rim.  Vogel: Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 7.3 pc.  The exciting star for this nebula is the B0V star MFJ Sh 2-307 3 and the nebula contains the infrared cluster candidate [DBS2003] 8. It is part of the same giant molecular cloud complex that includes S299, S300, S305, S306 and S309.

Sh2-308: 06 54 08.9 -23 56 31, 35' diameter.  8-inch and Ha+OIII, Fairly large grey contrast change with the sky, forms a bubble shape with to stars inside it, one in the north and brighter in the center.  The western rim is brighter, and the eastern is barely detected.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 5.9 pc.  This ring nebula surrounds the Wolf-Rayet star WR 6."

Sh2-309: 07 32 06.1 -19 25 47, 12': 8-inch and Ha+OIII.  Very subtle contrast change with the sky, irregularly round.  Vogel: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 14.7 pc. This HII region is part of the GS234-02 star forming supershell."

Sh2-311: 07 52 20.4 -26 26 28, 45' =NGC2467.  Round, bright, with star and dark intrusions.  Very mottled, chunks coming off it.  8-inch Ha for detail, in the 4-inch it looks like a comet with a wide tail to the east.  Vogel: Distance: 4850 pc, Size: 10.6 pc.  "sometimes called the Mandrill nebula, is ionised by the O6 star HD 64315 and includes the star clusters Haffner 18ab and Haffner 19. The bright foreground star on the far left of the image is the B8 IV subgiant HD 64455."

Sh2-283: 06 38 38.6 +00 42 45, 3': 8-inch Ha.  Very faint, very small, oval, mingled with an N-S arc of four similar magnitude stars.  Vogel: "Distance: 9100 pc, Size: 7.9 pc.  Includes the infrared cluster [BDS2003] 84."

Sh2-312: 09 25 00 -28 00 00.  3x and Ha.  Wow!  Giant, fills two fields of view, like a comet starting from a fine bright tip and extending in a long wispy fan shape like a comet with a very long tail.  Brighter streaks highlight the tail, especially in the central area.  This is the last Sharpless observation, what a way to go out.  Vogel: "It is the fourth object in the Sharpless catalog by area of apparent sky covered. As this is in the general direction of the Vela Molecular Ridge, perhaps it is a fragment of the even larger Gum nebula?"

Saturday, December 9, 2023

Beyond Barnard's Loop

Having discovered the Finkbeiner sky map last year, I've been fascinated to make observations of the many filaments which appear to connect the brighter nebula in the sky.  Of particular interest to me is the Orion-Eridanus super bubble, of which Barnard's Loop is only a part.  The super bubble is a series of nested shells of supernova remnants and resulting ionizing of the gas; it appears large on the sky because it is relatively nearby.  While I had visually observed small bits and pieces of Barnard's Loop, the brightest section of Eridanus A, and the Lambda Orionis nebula, it is only with night vision that I hoped to see not just these relatively brighter structures better, but also the faint connecting filaments.

Friday night was my chance, so I headed out to a location on the central coast, which has no light domes south or west.  Transparency was average and seeing poor.  I feared for heavy dew, but it turned out to be light and froze to frost by 11pm.  SQML was 21.3.  While I waited for Orion to culminate, I busied myself with some large planetary nebula (more of which in a different report).  I used the PVS-14 at 1x with a 7nm Ha filter, though the nebula were rather weak.  I had the best views with a 3nm Ha filter front-mounted to a 3x magnifier screwed to the PVS-14's objective.  I used a mirror mount for a steadier (but flipped) view, and also a monopod.  The 3x's field of view captured all of the Lambda Orionis nebula with room to spare.

I found it easiest to navigate by finding a bright and familiar nebula, then following any filaments I noticed coming off it.  Using the below image as reference (I didn't have it in front of me but have memorized it): Barnard's Loop was bright, thick, and heavily knotted.  The northern fork, which flows to Betelgeuse, was easy.  The bright & mottled eastern part of the "C" had a haze of nebula coming off it to the east, like a fog evaporating from ice.  I could not see individual filaments, but by panning the device north-to-south, I could easily distinguish the faint, subtly mottled nebula from the darker sky background -- it had a soft but distinct edge.  Following the trail to the east led me just north of the Seagull (which showed not just the bright body and wings, but the wider, fainter extensions which form a complete bubble in themselves).  I then panned to the north following the diffuse knots of Sivan 5 & 7, then three bright Sharpless nebula leading to the Rosette and the Fox Fur.  The Rosette was very bright, shot through with dark lanes, numerous inner and outer ring crenelations, and had bowed extensions forming a twisted path to the large and diffuse Fox Fur.  I could make out the Christmas Tree cluster and the bright star forming the tip of the Cone Nebula, and with some concentration could see a hint of the dark nebula itself (at small scale).

Back to the Lambda Orionis, or Angelfish nebula: I could see its dark eye, and the dark lanes which separate the dorsal and pectoral fins.  There was a small round bright nebula (Sh2-63) near its mouth like a piece of bait.  From the dorsal fin I followed a moderately bright fission of nebula which hooked west and -- to my amazement -- went through the southern half of the Hyades!  Continuing east the nebula stream thickened and brightened and then turned sharply south -- this was the eastern arm of the Eridanus nebula, Eri A.  It dimmed somewhat further south, but I distinguished where it forks with the western arm, Eri B, and followed that until it petered out.  Moving back to the fork, I followed the dim diffuse nebula fog as it made its broken way back toward the southwest end of Barnard's Loop below Rigel.

Back to Lambda Orionis, on the southeast side there is a faint haze which organizes into a flow to the west, barely detected.  I did not see this clearly, but the haze flows (what appears to be) behind Eri A and connects to the tip and body of Eri B.  To my eye, this forms one large, quarter section of a unified bubble, though the paper I referenced labels these as merely "high latitude clouds."

The whole thing is enormous and engrossing, and probably the most satisfying observation I've ever made.



But wait, there's more!

After making the Orion-Eridanus observation, I moved on to finish up my Sharpless Catalog observations (I'm happy to say I've now made observations of all the Sharpless Catalog!).  The last item was Sh2-312, which was in Pyxis (09 25 00 -28 00 00).  Once it had risen sufficiently, I made my observation, again with the 3x and Ha.  OMG what a beautiful nebula!  It filled more than 2 fields (roughly 15-degrees long and 5-degrees wide) and looks like a comet: starting from a bright point in the southeast, it fans out to the northwest and forks into two relatively bright filaments, which then fade and fan out slowly.  Here's what it looks like in the Finkbeiner all-sky map (a little brighter and more detailed than as I saw it):


Well, that got me panning around the area and it turns out I could see the upper loops of the Gum Nebula (Gum 12)!  The bright claw-like body in the upper right is Sh2-310, which lies behind the "feet" of Canis Major.  I saw the two bright N-S mottled loops below it, along with the bright patches to the east (RCW-19, -20, 27, & -33).  


The entirety of Gum 12 is now on my bucket-list.  I need to head south and get a view of this enormous structure, which is as large as the Orion-Eridanus super bubble, but much brighter, at least as Finkbeiner illustrates: