15 october 2021

It was an astronomy filled day yesterday.  From 11am to noon I watched the sun through the 6-inch refractor, both white light (one large spot foreshortened and stretched on the limb with crazed cracks around it, and more cracks elsewhere) and in H-alpha, with many interesting prominences like electric forests.  It is dark early now, 7:30pm, so again with the 6-inch I viewed Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon in their turn as they culminated (they were all on an arc not far from each other).  Great views and good contrast despite a thin marine haze blowing in.  The marine haze spoiled the night a little and I wished I was at a higher elevation, but it was still good enough to continue with some double stars.  Seeing was predicted to be good so I opened the 20-inch and from 9-11pm tried my luck.  The haze shrouded very faint stars but I did observe some interesting pairs.  Seeing was variable and I found myself putting on and removing the mask as conditions dictated.  I stayed pointed just west of meridian, in Cygnus, to avoid roof currents.

STF2610 AB: 508; 205x: Wide, white, near equal.  Not physical. 

19h 59m 07.47s +35° 32' 10.1" P.A. 296.00 sep 4.3 mag 8.76,9.24 Sp B9V dist. 358.42 pc (1169.17 l.y.)

A   719 AB: 508; 205x: Well split, noticeably unequal stars, A is light orange.  WDS uncertain, however there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, -34%

20h 00m 16.61s +46° 20' 19.0" P.A. 109.00 sep 3.0 mag 9.90,10.43 Sp A0

STT 394 AB: 508; 205x: Wide, 3 delta mag light yellow A and blue B, pretty.  WDS says physical, and there is 28% overlap in their parallax ranges, 2,011 AU weighted separation, 2.77/1.22 Msun, so possible it is gravitational.

20h 00m 11.43s +36° 24' 50.8" P.A. 294.00 sep 11.0 mag 7.14,10.27 Sp K1III dist. 152.44 pc (497.26 l.y.)

BU  439 AB: 508; 205x: Not easy, I can just see B with direct vision, very faint and rather closely split to light yellow A.  WDS uncertain, and unfortunately there is no parallax range overlap, -52%.  Burnham discovered with the Dearborn 18.5-inch. 

20h 00m 46.25s +29° 49' 19.4" P.A. 222.00 sep 3.3 mag 7.89,12.70 Sp G0V

STF2619 AB: 508; 205x: Pale yellow-white stars, well split, near equal.  Several other wider pairs.  WDS says physical.  My calculator says there is a -1% parallax range overlap, but all the upper and lower limits are 54 parsecs, and there is only 226 AU weighted separation with 0.99/0.98 Msun, so this very possibly is gravitational. 

20h 01m 01.69s +48° 15' 28.5" P.A. 239.00 sep 4.0 mag 8.91,8.92 Sp G5 dist. 60.02 pc (195.79 l.y.)

BU  426 AB: 508; 205x: Part of a neat double-double with BU 427 CD, all of which Burnham discovered with the 6-inch.  Equilateral triangle of equal magnitude stars, two of which are doubles which look very similar, both with 2 delta mag companions but one with twice (BU 426) the still close separation as the other (BU 427).  Their PAs are about 45-degrees different, each pointed away from the third star in the triangle which unfortunately is not double.  WDS says this one is not physical, but they're wrong: 44% parallax range overlap, 995 AU weighted separation, 1.94/1.20 Msun -- points to gravitational.  If they rejected based on proper motion they may not have considered the direction of the orbit...

20h 02m 07.92s +54° 38' 28.0" P.A. 307.00 sep 5.9 mag 8.53,10.50 Sp K0

BU 427 CD: 508; 205x: Double-double with BU 426.  WDS says not physical, and there is -16% parallax range overlap, so it is not (and the radial velocity delta exceeds the escape velocity anyway).

20h 02m 22.85s +54° 40' 07.5" P.A. 336.00 sep 3.1 mag 8.39,10.18 Sp F2III

HO  454 AB: 508; 205x: B visible with averted vision, wide, 4 delta mag.  WDS says physical, and there is 0% overlap in their parallax ranges, 1,295 AU weighted separation, and 2.51/1.05 Msun, so could be gravitational. 

20h 03m 13.50s +50° 27' 53.7" P.A. 53.00 sep 5.9 mag 7.55,11.36 Sp A0 dist. 194.55 pc (634.62 l.y.)

A  1413 AB: 508; 205x: Pretty tough in a dense field of faint stars, closely separated and 1 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, but it is likely gravitational: 78% parallax range overlap, 1,376 AU weighted separation, 2.46/1.99 Msun.

20h 04m 34.48s +36° 40' 49.1" P.A. 139.00 sep 2.4 mag 9.97,10.60 Sp A7V

STH    A: 508; 205x: Near equal fairly well separated -- I don't find any matches for this in WDS.  This is H. Struve, whom I am guessing is Hermann, Otto's uncle.  

BU 1480 AB: 508; 205x: White A and 2 delta B, well separated.  WDS says not physical, and I can't find the companion in Gaia.

20h 05m 09.84s +38° 57' 06.1" P.A. 328.00 sep 8.2 mag 9.22,11.40 Sp A3

BU 1481 AB: 508; 205x: Faint and very wide   i wonder at the interest, proper motions? WDS says not physical

20h 05m 09.78s +38° 28' 42.4" P.A. 240.00 sep 42.7 mag 6.17,13.20 Sp G3V dist. 18.79 pc (61.29 l.y.)

BEW 3: AB: 508; 205x: B is just on edge of detectability, very busy filed.  Not physical.  Bastian, U., Eisloeffel, J., & Wiese, K., a German amateur group.  Not physical.

19h 44m 19.61s +30° 20' 45.5" P.A. 302.00 sep 11.5 mag 11.80,12.50

GYL  23 AB: 508; 205x: Very faint wide B.  Not physical.

20h 06m 32.99s +33° 02' 17.0" P.A. 180.00 sep 13.3 mag 10.97,12.05 Sp F5

STT 398 AB: 158; 445x: With clear disks and still a bit wavering seeing, I can split this nicely, the stars are 2 delta mag, dull blue-white A and blue B.  Spectral class O9.5III+ (blue).  WDS uncertain, but they likely are not gravitational: -28% parallax range overlap.  

20h 07m 23.69s +35° 43' 05.9" P.A. 82.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.45,9.20 Sp O9.5III+ dist. 628.93 pc (2051.57 l.y.)

A  1416 AB: 178; 205x: B emerges to view with averted vision and foveal coaxing, really nice, 3 delta mag, well separated around 5".  WDS uncertain, but it is not likely gravitational: -71% parallax range overlap.

20h 07m 34.39s +38° 37' 51.5" P.A. 42.00 sep 4.7 mag 8.34,11.20 Sp A3V

A   382 AB: 178; 445x: A bit difficult, A is fairly bright, B is significantly fainter and resolves with seeing, fairly well separated around 2".  WDS calls it physical, but there is -37% parallax range overlap. 

20h 08m 01.18s +42° 23' 06.0" P.A. 96.00 sep 1.7 mag 7.21,9.49 Sp K0 dist. 200.4 pc (653.7 l.y.)

A   721 AB: 508; 205x: Large magnitude difference of 3 delta, white stars, well split.  WDS uncertain, but there is -88% parallax range overlap, no not physical.

20h 08m 27.15s +46° 22' 29.6" P.A. 43.00 sep 4.0 mag 8.42,11.52 Sp Am dist. 393.7 pc (1284.25 l.y.)

30 september 2021

Seeing was forecast to be average, and in any case I was too late to open up the 20-inch for it to cool properly, so the 6-inch it was.  Beautiful star images, as typical.  

STF 2986 AB: 152; 175x: Red A and around 3 delta mag B, no other stars in the field.  CDSA notes say "Local solar type double; very dark field.  AB: ps = 1,070 AU."  WDS notes say "Proper motion indicates physical, parallax indicates non-physical."  In reality there is 46% parallax range overlap, it's only 789 AU weighted separation, and 1.10/0.52 solar mass.  BUT there difference in radial velocity (16.02) far exceeds the escape velocity of the system (1.91) -- and this is the reason they are not gravitational.

23h 09m 57.10s +14° 25' 35.6" P.A. 270.00 sep 31.4 mag 6.61,8.88 Sp G0V dist. 24.83 pc (81 l.y.)

STT 483 AB: 152; 175x: 52 Peg.  Very slightly out of round, not notched, weaker at one end.  254-year period.

22h 59m 11.82s +11° 43' 43.8" P.A. 31.70 sep 0.5 mag 6.11,7.27 Sp A8III dist. 94.34 pc (307.74 l.y.)

STF 2958 AB: 152;175x: White A and very faint blue, closely split around 3", nice.  WDS says physical, and there is 10% parallax range overlap, 341 AU weighted separation, 1.96/1.08 solar mass.
22h 56m 51.47s +11° 50' 54.0" P.A. 15.00 sep 4.0 mag 6.63,9.09 Sp A3Vs dist. 98.81 pc (322.32 l.y.)

STTA 241 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, faint, near equal.  WDS says physical, but there is no overlap in their parallax ranges (-84%), and they are fairly distant 8,944 AU weighted separation, 1.57/1.45 solar mass.  

22h 58m 33.60s +12° 03' 04.4" P.A. 160.00 sep 84.9 mag 8.28,8.37 Sp F2 dist. 111.48 pc (363.65 l.y.)

HO 296 AB: 152; 175x: Subtly out of round, no notch, very slightly weaker on one side.  20.83-year period, it is tightening.  

22h 40m 52.71s +14° 32' 57.5" P.A. 27.10 sep 0.3 mag 6.14,7.22 Sp G4V dist. 33.8 pc (110.26 l.y.)

BU 701 AB: 152; 380x: No resolution at all powers up to seeing limit at 380x.  554-year period, Burnham discovered with the 18.5-inch Dearborn, and noted "The companion is evidently moving with it."  Unfortunately no parallax data in EDR3.
22h 28m 07.24s +12° 14' 55.5" P.A. 174.70 sep 1.0 mag 7.34,9.62 Sp K0V dist. 66.4 pc (216.6 l.y.)

STF 2869 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow A, B seen with averted vision at first then held direct, wide.  WDS says physical, but there is no parallax range overlap (-78%).
22h 10m 22.02s +14° 37' 47.7" P.A. 254.00 sep 20.8 mag 6.33,12.40 Sp K0III dist. 135.69 pc (442.62 l.y.)

STF 2854 AB: 152; 175x: Nice!  Very fine near equal blue-white stars.  WDS uncertain, but they are likely gravitational with 45% parallax range overlap, 130 AU weighted separation, 1.42/1.37 solar mass.  

22h 04m 22.52s +13° 38' 53.4" P.A. 84.00 sep 1.6 mag 7.77,7.89 Sp F6V dist. 72.1 pc (235.19 l.y.)

STF 2908 AB: 152; 175x: White A and 1 delta mag, rather wide B.  WDS uncertain, and they might be gravitational, 4% parallax range overlap, 2,139 AU weighted separation, 2.72/1.66 solar mass.

22h 28m 11.55s +17° 15' 47.9" P.A. 114.00 sep 9.0 mag 7.74,9.68 Sp G9III dist. 462.96 pc (1510.18 l.y.)

COU 240 AB: 152; 285x: Very unequal snowman at 285x, seeing did not support higher powers.  WDS uncertain, and the primary lacks data in EDR3.

22h 56m 23.71s +22° 57' 21.2" P.A. 289.00 sep 0.8 mag 7.73,8.82 Sp F0 dist. 185.53 pc (605.2 l.y.)

HO 482 AB: 152; 285x: Notched elongation, blue-green stars.  383-year period, missing data in EDR3.

22h 51m 26.66s +26° 23' 27.9" P.A. 13.60 sep 0.6 mag 7.34,8.29 Sp A9V dist. 132.63 pc (432.64 l.y.)

STF 2952 AB: 152; 175x: Wide light yellow A and blue B, 2 delta mag.  WDS says physical, but there is no overlap in parallax range (-17%).  Otherwise, there is a moderate 1,191 AU weighted separation and 1.38/0.73 solar mass, and the radial velocity difference (0.39) is less than the escape velocity (1.77) -- only time will tell if this resolves into an orbit.
22h 54m 11.41s +28° 00' 59.8" P.A. 139.00 sep 17.6 mag 7.74,10.47 Sp F8V dist. 50.84 pc (165.84 l.y.)

BU 396 AB: 152; 285x: Doubtful.  I see a glint in the first diffraction but it did not firm up.  Discovered with 6-inch at 1.2".  Lack of data for the secondary in EDR3. 

01h 03m 37.01s +61° 04' 29.4" P.A. 67.00 sep 1.3 mag 6.06,8.62 Sp F0II dist. 613.5 pc (2001.24 l.y.)

BU 258 AB: 152; 175x: Very fine, 2 delta mag, just split.  WDS uncertain, Burnham discovered with his 6-inch at 0.8"!  Sadly there is no parallax range overlap (-72%).

01h 13m 09.82s +61° 42' 22.3" P.A. 263.00 sep 1.6 mag 6.50,8.80 Sp B9V dist. 201.61 pc (657.65 l.y.)

ARY 8 AB: 152; 175x: Wide trio of near equal mag stars.  AB and AC are physical per WDS.  Per EDR3, AB has 44% shared parallax ranges, but a very wide 16,943 AU weighted separation, 3.12/2.75 solar mass, so time will need to tell.  I do not find data on C.  I did not notice AC the Burnham pair, which has a low catalog number indicating 6-inch era discovery, but the year is 1889 which puts it at the Lick 36-inch, discovery separation 0.4".

AB: 00h 10m 37.25s +58° 44' 53.6" P.A. 101.00 sep 39.2 mag 8.13,8.63 Sp B3IV

AC: 00h 10m 37.25s +58° 44' 53.6" P.A. 43.00 sep 104.7 mag 8.13,8.29 Sp B7V

BU 485 Ca-Cb: 00h 10m 46.36s +58° 46' 10.2" P.A. 257.00 sep 0.1 mag 8.77,9.50 Sp B7V dist. 591.72 pc (1930.19 l.y.)

STF 3062 & STF 3057: 152; 175x: A nice double-double, one is near equal and closely split, the other is 2 delta mag, rather wide, yellow.  STF 3062 is a short 106.7-year period pair (which I did not sketch!) now coming off apastron and which will tighten and make a quarter turn by the 2040s.  STF 3057 is uncertain, but the chances are they are physical, with 79% parallax range overlap, 1,650 AU weighted separation, 4.33/2.29 solar mass.

STF 3062: 00h 06m 15.81s +58° 26' 12.5" P.A. 7.10 sep 1.5 mag 6.42,7.32 Sp G3V dist. 21.48 pc (70.07 l.y.)

STF 3057: 00h 04m 54.98s +58° 31' 55.8" P.A. 298.00 sep 3.9 mag 6.70,9.30 Sp B3V dist. 840.34 pc (2741.19 l.y.)

STF 7 AB: 152; 175x: Surprise!  Very fine white stars, <1 delta mag, very closely split.  WDS is uncertain, but there is 86% overlap of parallax ranges, only 546 AU weighted separation, 3.14/2.78 solar mass, so likely gravitational.
00h 11m 38.91s +55° 57' 40.9" P.A. 210.00 sep 1.3 mag 7.99,8.46 Sp B8V dist. 598.8 pc (1953.29 l.y.)

STF 3049 AB: 152; 175x: Cream white A and light yellow, 2 delta mag B, well split.  WDS is uncertain, but there is no parallax range overlap (-12%).

23h 59m 00.53s +55° 45' 17.8" P.A. 326.00 sep 3.1 mag 4.99,7.24 Sp B1V dist. 1388.89 pc (4530.56 l.y.)

MRI 31 AB: 152; 175x: Very wide pair, slightly unequal, reddish color.  The B star has two close 12th magnitude companions

00h 34m 35.58s +62° 35' 25.7" P.A. 9.00 sep 115.4 mag 8.12,9.01 Sp F7V+F8V dist. 63.01 pc (205.54 l.y.)

STF 10 AB: 152; 175x: Wide near equal.  WDS says physical, but there is no overlap of parallax ranges (-32%).

00h 14m 49.33s +62° 50' 25.5" P.A. 176.00 sep 17.6 mag 8.04,8.55 Sp A2V

29 september 2021

A little out of order but it's been a busy time.  This was from the other night; seeing was good enough to open up the 20-inch but not good enough to push the magnifications very high.  Typical haze from the bay built up by 11pm.

STF2726 AB: 508; 205x: 52 Cyg.  Very bright light yellow-orange A and much fainter, obvious B, well split, same color.  WDS uncertain, however there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, so not gravitational.

20h 45m 39.76s +30° 43' 10.8" P.A. 72.00 sep 5.9 mag 4.33,9.53 Sp G9III dist. 61.65 pc (201.1 l.y.)

STF2716 AB: 508; 205x: 49 Cyg.  Light orange pair, about 2 delta mag.  Spectral class G2III (yellow).  WDS uncertain, there is only 1% parallax range overlap, 757 AU weighted separation, and large 4.62/2.40 solar mass.  

20h 41m 02.54s +32° 18' 26.3" P.A. 44.00 sep 2.7 mag 5.75,8.10 Sp G2III dist. 244.5 pc (797.56 l.y.)

A   378 AB: 508; 205x: Excellent near equal split, light orange stars.  Spectral class G5 (yellow).  WDS 591-year period, and it appears to be starting to make a rapid closure to periastron by 2060.  There is 37% parallax range overlap, 139 AU weighted separation, and 1.84/1.56 solar mass.

19h 59m 22.02s +32° 06' 28.0" P.A. 291.40 sep 0.8 mag 8.48,8.98 Sp G5

BU 1133 AB: 508; 445x: B glimpsed with seeing at 445x, a solid point in some flaring from A.  Suspected at 333x.  WDS says physical, and unfortunately there is no parallax data on the companion.  Burnham discovered on the Lick 36-inch at 0.9".

19h 59m 39.13s +31° 49' 35.4" P.A. 342.00 sep 1.1 mag 6.67,9.91 Sp A0 dist. 158.98 pc (518.59 l.y.)

A   379 AB: 508; 205x: Very nice, White A holding a steady disk, and faint B is nicely separated, <3", around 4 delta mag.  WDS says not physical, and there is no parallax data on the companion.

19h 59m 41.80s +30° 54' 50.2" P.A. 227.00 sep 2.6 mag 7.58,11.08 Sp B6II dist. 450.45 pc (1469.37 l.y.)

BU 1258 AB: 508; 333x: Very fine, 3 delta mag, 2" separation, white A and dull yellow B.  WDS uncertain, and there is no parallax data for the companion.  Burnham discovered on the Lick 36-inch at 1.5" while attempting to measure BU 439.  

20h 00m 15.54s +29° 55' 14.3" P.A. 143.00 sep 1.4 mag 7.47,10.90 Sp A0V dist. 213.22 pc (695.52 l.y.)

L    32 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal, well split, seems double... rich field with many other wide type pairs.  WDS says not physical, and there is no overlap (-64%) of the parallax ranges. 

20h 00m 59.11s +29° 55' 30.9" P.A. 129.00 sep 3.3 mag 10.85,11.00 Sp A8V

AG  245 AB: 5087; 205x: Easy, very wide, two delta.  WDS uncertain, but there is no parallax range overlap (-78%).

20h 01m 52.19s +31° 39' 12.4" P.A. 21.00 sep 16.7 mag 8.67,10.20 Sp F5V

HO  117 AB: 508; 205x: Unequal, wide, 1 delta.  WDS uncertain, but it may well be gravitational: 27% parallax range overlap, 1,284 AU weighted separation, 1.46/1.06 solar mass.

20h 02m 29.65s +33° 40' 56.5" P.A. 314.00 sep 5.2 mag 10.41,11.70 Sp F8

COU1806 AB: 508; 333x: Excellent near equal pair, faint and very close, split with 205x, wider with 333x.  WDS uncertain, and there is no parallax range overlap (-25%).

20h 05m 18.16s +33° 07' 00.9" P.A. 288.00 sep 1.2 mag 10.61,10.62 Sp B9

ES  498 AB: 508; 205x: Like many Espins, this B star needed averted vision to show itself.  Very faint, wide.  WDS uncertain, but there is no parallax range overlap (-97%)

20h 05m 42.33s +30° 19' 39.3" P.A. 309.00 sep 8.3 mag 8.86,12.50 Sp F5V dist. 82.99 pc (270.71 l.y.)

A  1197 AB: 508; 445x: Nice light orange stars at the tip of a triangle of similar mag stars, split with 333x with seeing,  wider with 445x, noticeably unequal.  WDS uncertain, and surprisingly no parallax range overlap, -59%.

20h 05m 50.59s +29° 46' 04.9" P.A. 331.00 sep 0.8 mag 9.87,10.07 Sp F6V

BU  440 AB: 508; 205x: In a busy open cluster. 

20h 05m 57.32s +35° 47' 18.2" P.A. 63.00 sep 6.9 mag 6.78,12.00 Sp O9.5Iab dist. 826.45 pc (2695.88 l.y.)

GYL  88 AB: 508; 205x: Unremarkable faint wide pair.  A.N. Goyal.  WDS says physical, and there is 19% parallax range overlap, but a very wide 16,756 AU weighted separation, 2.67/2.41 solar mass.  Needs more time and observations before calling it.

20h 06m 05.68s +34° 17' 00.7" P.A. 152.00 sep 9.9 mag 11.46,11.76 Sp B8

STF2633 AB: 508; 205x: White, fairly wide, unremarkable Struve, 2 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, but it may be gravitational: 46% parallax range overlap, 10,621 AU weighted separation, 4.72/2.33 solar mass.

20h 07m 57.93s +32° 35' 10.8" P.A. 101.00 sep 11.6 mag 7.95,11.01 Sp B8III dist. 558.66 pc (1822.35 l.y.)

A   281 AB: 508; 205x: White stars, obvious, 1 delta mag, well split.  WDS uncertain, but there is 79% parallax range overlap, 572 AU weighted separation, 1.51/1.36 solar mass, so likely gravitational.

20h 10m 36.85s +34° 52' 03.9" P.A. 173.00 sep 4.2 mag 9.01,9.45 Sp F7V dist. 171.53 pc (559.53 l.y.)

COU1474 AB: 508; 205x: White A, very faint B just on the edge of direct vision, well split 3".  WDS uncertain, but there is 92% parallax range overlap, 1,125 AU weighted separation, 2.08/1.24 solar mass and is likely gravitational.  

20h 11m 46.73s +31° 08' 07.7" P.A. 59.00 sep 3.0 mag 9.30,10.50 Sp F5

HO  120 AB: 508; 333x: Very fine, nicely split with seeing, 2 delta, light yellow-orange A.  WDS uncertain, but there is no parallax range overlap -57%

20h 11m 58.71s +34° 35' 39.5" P.A. 114.00 sep 1.2 mag 9.12,10.65 Sp G8IV

AG  401 AB: 508; 205x: 1 delta fairly wide.  Not physical. 

20h 12m 20.11s +29° 22' 44.4" P.A. 306.00 sep 4.0 mag 9.41,10.20 Sp A0

short period night

The forecast last night was for clear skies, above average transparency, and excellent seeing -- and for once that last forecast did not disappoint.  Except for a pleasant twenty minutes on Jupiter when it was at culmination, I spent all my time observing short period binaries, with good results.  Apodising mask used throughout, since it wasn't quite perfection, but it was pretty close.

BU 1129 AB: 508; 889x: Light orange stars, obviously not single at 445x, and the disks separated as I powered up.  Less than 1 delta mag, the best view with 889x, which showed a constant hairline split even with wavering seeing, PA NNW.  A really nice pair.  Spectral class A8III (white).  121.7-year period, currently 0.328" separated, it is approaching apastron now and will hang there until the 2050s.  Burnham discovered in 1889 on the Lick 36-inch at 0.3" and noted "If [the proper motion in Ast. Gess. Catalogue]...is substantially correct, this is a physical system."   

19h 21m 36.09s +52° 22' 34.9" P.A. 339.20 sep 0.3 mag 7.69,7.84 Sp A8III dist. 205.34 pc (669.82 l.y.)

STT 400 AB: 508; 445x: Easy, nice clean disks, nicely split, 1 delta magnitude cream white A and light orange B, three field stars forming a triangle around it as reference.  PA to NW.  Spectral class G3V (yellow).  Physical with 85.61-year period, it is 0.647" separated at apastron now and with make a quarter turn and tighten to 0.2" in the 2040s.  

20h 10m 13.32s +43° 56' 44.2" P.A. 325.40 sep 0.7 mag 7.60,9.83 Sp G3V dist. 51.33 pc (167.44 l.y.)

MCA 55 Aa-Ac: 508; 445-1778x: Alberio A.  Using all powers at both 20-inch and 7-inch, A is consistently out of round with the weaker end in the southern direction.  Alberio B remains relatively round in the diffraction dance.  Currently 0.365", it is widening to apastron by 2035 and might even be splitable by then.

19h 30m 43.29s +27° 57' 34.9" P.A. 239.40 sep 0.4 mag 3.37,5.16 Sp K3III+B0V dist. 133.16 pc (434.37 l.y.)

COU1962 AB: 508; 889x: Very tough, light orange stars, just barely split at best moments, almost 1 delta mag, PA to S.  =V2425 Cyg, for which I don't find a light curve on AAVSO -- I assume it's easier to observe the split when this is at minima.  Spectral class K0 (yellow-orange).  Currently 0.119" !  Only a 20.414-year period, it will make a quarter turn and widen slightly by 2028, and reach apastron by 2033.  

20h 31m 07.72s +33° 32' 33.6" P.A. 121.80 sep 0.1 mag 9.03,9.51 Sp K0 dist. 48.85 pc (159.35 l.y.)

STT 533 ?: 508; 889x: Split disks within diffraction, light yellow orange A, B is more orange, 2 delta mag, PA to S.  Spectral class G1IV+K2IV (yellow/yellow-orange).  WDS does not give any close pairing; they reference proper motions differences indicating--presumably--the wide pair is optical, but again no pairing listed for a ~0.5" binary.  WDS notes say "Gontcharov & Kiyaeva (2010) detect variation in Hipparcos data which they conclude is due to an unseen companion, orbiting the primary with a period of 45 +/- 5 years. The companion is >4 mag fainter than the primary; spectral type estimated as WD or RD, mass 0.4 +/- 0.3 Msun."  The Sixth Orbital Catalog provides the orbital solution for the Gontcharov pair, shown here, which nearly matches my observation however what I see is much brighter than ">4 mag fainter." and definiely "seen" not "unseen."  I think this is a case where a direct observation (speckle interferometry or more visual observations) need to be made.

KUI 102 AB: 508; 667x: Overlapping disks, strongly notched, white stars, PA to south.  Currently 0.22" it will continue to widen into the 2040s.  58.4-year period.

21h 00m 03.95s +07° 30' 58.2" P.A. 193.20 sep 0.2 mag 6.23,8.13 Sp F1Vp dist. 75.82 pc (247.32 l.y.)

SE 2 BC: 508; 667x: Component of STF2481, which are light yellow-orange near equal well split stars.  High power showed maybe one of them (which I mistook for the primary) was out of round? This is SE 2.  PA of the main pair is nearly N-S, so in my sketch I noted the out of round perpendicular to this, which is nearly correct to the current SW PA.  62.79-year period, currently 0.17" it will make a half circuit and substantially widen by 2050 so it's worth coming back to.

19h 11m 07.99s +38° 46' 52.4" P.A. 256.10 sep 0.2 mag 8.31,9.40 Sp G5V dist. 52.85 pc (172.4 l.y.)

BU  696 AB: 508; 667x: At finest moments very clean clear split, round disks, 1.5 delta, PA just west of north, with two field stars forming a triangle.  160.3-year period, it is approaching apastron and will widen by 2050, currently 0.329".  Burnham discovered in 1877 with the Dearborn 18.5-inch at 0.5" and says: "Obviously the movement of both stars is the same."

22h 04m 30.12s +15° 51' 28.6" P.A. 354.00 sep 0.3 mag 7.95,9.63 Sp G0V dist. 93.37 pc (304.57 l.y.)

HEI 88 AB: 508; 889x: Difficult observation and my notes are a very simple "Maybe?" showing a PA to the SSW.  This turns out to be correct!  35.46-year period, near apastron now, it will widen and turn slightly north to a more westerly PA by 2030.  Currently 0.256".

23h 20m 52.91s +16° 42' 39.2" P.A. 207.70 sep 0.3 mag 9.05,9.84 Sp F7V dist. 77.7 pc (253.46 l.y.)

BU 1099 AB: 508; 889x: Obvious elongation but no notching, PA seems NNE, in a lot of diffraction.  83.1-year period, currently 0.157", it will make more than a quarter turn and widen to 0.2" by 2038.  Burnham discovered in 1889 with the Lick 36-inch at 0.2" and says it's a "close and difficult" pair.  

00h 56m 46.94s +60° 21' 46.3" P.A. 44.00 sep 0.2 mag 6.10,6.57 Sp B7V+B7V dist. 165.02 pc (538.3 l.y.)

BU 1026 AB: 508; 533x: Split with seeing, 2 delta mag, fairly difficult, PA WNW.   Currently 0.345" it will tighten and have a northerly PA by 2040.  

00h 12m 08.05s +53° 37' 26.1" P.A. 326.30 sep 0.3 mag 7.25,8.46 Sp A7Vn+F2V dist. 119.9 pc (391.11 l.y.)

22 september 2021

This was a night with seeing forecasted as being merely average, so I observed with the 6-inch.  I spent a while on the double-double in Lyra, admiring the perfect star images and single diffraction rings.  I observed many more throughout Lyra which I knew I had observed before, so I didn't take notes.  I started taking notes when I cam across a striking pair in southern Lyra:

BU 1326 AB: 152; 175x: Very extremely fine B is split with seeing and with averted vision only, blue to A's white.  Very, very fine.  WDS is uncertain, and I can't find data on the primary in Gaia.

18h 26m 40.93s +26° 26' 57.2" P.A. 107.00 sep 5.5 mag 6.48,12.10 Sp B3V dist. 321.54 pc (1048.86 l.y.)

STT 359 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange near equal stars, notched elongation, overlapping disks.  Physical with a 219-year period, at apastron now.  Again no Gaia data.

18h 35m 30.40s +23° 36' 19.9" P.A. 3.50 sep 0.8 mag 6.35,6.62 Sp G9III-IV dist. 144.3 pc (470.71 l.y.)

STF 2401 AB: 152; 175x: White, 2 delta mag, well separated.  
18h 48m 57.83s +21° 10' 01.3" P.A. 38.00 sep 4.1 mag 7.27,9.27 Sp B3V dist. 2941.18 pc (9594.13 l.y.)

STF 2360 AB: 152; 175x: ! very fine, faint 1 delta mag light yellow-orange, close split.

18h 39m 19.16s +20° 55' 58.9" P.A. 358.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.97,9.16 Sp B5IV dist. 2500 pc (8155 l.y.)

STF 2415 AB: 152; 175x: ! Light yellow-white A and blue B closely split, just a little more than 1 delta mag, very fine.

18h 54m 32.84s +20° 36' 55.1" P.A. 290.00 sep 2.0 mag 7.07,8.73 Sp A0IV dist. 194.93 pc (635.86 l.y.)

STF 2445 AB: 152; 175x: Clean white A and slightly red B, 1 delta mag, wide.  A slightly fainter red star is at the edge of the field.  

19h 04m 38.50s +23° 19' 45.5" P.A. 262.00 sep 12.4 mag 7.25,8.57 Sp B2Ve dist. 476.19 pc (1553.33 l.y.)

STF 2457 AB: 152; 175x: Very faint B seen with averted vision only, around 2" separation.

19h 07m 08.02s +22° 35' 03.7" P.A. 201.00 sep 10.2 mag 7.46,9.52 Sp A7IV dist. 95.15 pc (310.38 l.y.)

BU 248 AB: 152; 175x: Bright yellow-white A and very faint B, just seen with direct vision, closely split.  

19h 17m 43.64s +23° 01' 32.0" P.A. 128.00 sep 1.8 mag 5.43,8.75 Sp B0.5IV dist. 373.13 pc (1217.15 l.y.)

catching up

I had a couple nights this week when I observed with the 20-inch.  Seeing was poor each night so most of the time was spent masked to 7-inches.  For certain the refractor gives the best star images, but when seeing cooperates the reflector can really push the limits.  So I have the best of both worlds.  I've become a bit of a conditions snob: if seeing is predicted to be merely average I use the refractor, and will only open the 20-inch if the seeing is predicted to be above average or excellent.

BU 139 AB: 178; 445x: Snowman only even at best moments of seeing, around 2 delta mag.  Physical with a 587-year period now coming off apastron.  

19h 12m 34.45s +16° 50' 47.2" P.A. 135.80 sep 0.6 mag 7.11,7.95 Sp B9IV dist. 242.72 pc (791.75 l.y.)

STF2437 AB: 178; 333x: Light orange, snowman only.  Physical with a 804.6-year period, 
19h 01m 53.16s +19° 10' 11.7" P.A. 1.50 sep 0.6 mag 8.41,8.83 Sp G5 dist. 84.39 pc (275.28 l.y.)

STF2460 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, wide, about 1 delta mag.  Physical
19h 07m 59.39s +19° 45' 19.7" P.A. 198.00 sep 9.5 mag 10.02,10.25 Sp A0

STF2475 AB: 178; 205x: B is faint, can just hold direct vision brightens with averted vision, 2 delta mag and wide.  WDS uncertain.
19h 10m 25.71s +17° 44' 09.5" P.A. 321.00 sep 6.8 mag 9.19,11.30 Sp F0+G5

A 151 AB: 178; 205x: Very subtle notched elongation, white stars, seeing not supporting higher powers.  WDS uncertain, 
19h 11m 22.81s +21° 15' 39.2" P.A. 158.00 sep 0.6 mag 8.55,9.56 Sp B9.5V dist. 775.19 pc (2528.67 l.y.)

STF2484 AB: 178; 205x: Cream white A and yellow B, 2" separation, 2 delta mag, very pretty.  Physical with a 1500-year period.
19h 14m 15.66s +19° 03' 50.3" P.A. 240.90 sep 2.1 mag 7.93,9.51 Sp F8 dist. 67.2 pc (219.21 l.y.)

STF2488 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, quite closely separated, 1 delta mag, very nice.  WDS uncertain
19h 15m 28.07s +20° 01' 53.2" P.A. 352.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.08,9.99 Sp G5

STF2552 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta mag, well separated white stars.  WDS says physical.
19h 37m 55.00s +19° 21' 32.2" P.A. 195.00 sep 5.3 mag 8.49,9.11 Sp A2 dist. 740.74 pc (2416.29 l.y.)

HU 342 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta mag, well separated white stars fairly faint.  WDS says physical.

19h 37m 07.56s +17° 23' 11.0" P.A. 256.00 sep 4.6 mag 9.83,10.36 Sp F8

STF2563 AB: 178; 205x: White, 1 delta mag, well separated.  WDS says physical.
19h 42m 28.87s +17° 25' 38.9" P.A. 286.00 sep 6.0 mag 8.66,9.52 Sp G0

STF2500 A-BC; 178; 205x: White A and very faint wide B, not physical.  Not seen, BC is COU 421, 0.4" 11.50/11.50.  
19h 19m 26.19s +19° 43' 06.1" P.A. 23.00 sep 20.0 mag 8.21,10.74 Sp A0 dist. 200.4 pc (653.7 l.y.)

STF2482 AB: 178; 205x: B is very faint and flashes with averted vision, and I can barely hold it direct, very closely split.  WDS uncertain.
19h 13m 02.20s +19° 08' 20.6" P.A. 341.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.03,10.20 Sp F0V dist. 186.22 pc (607.45 l.y.)

HO 573 AB: 178; 205x: Fairly wide, white A and faint B which brightens with averted vision.  WDS uncertain.
19h 13m 17.36s +19° 33' 47.7" P.A. 127.00 sep 7.7 mag 9.75,10.20 Sp A5

HU 345 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow-orange stars, 1 delta mag, well split, nice!  WDS says physical.
19h 46m 45.89s +17° 33' 09.0" P.A. 104.00 sep 3.8 mag 8.98,9.98 Sp K

ENG 66 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow A and super-wide B.  This pair must have been suggested by proper motion data.  WDS says not physical
19h 07m 57.32s +16° 51' 12.1" P.A. 288.00 sep 132.3 mag 6.15,10.78 Sp G5V dist. 21.43 pc (69.9 l.y.)

BLL 37 AB: 178; 205x: Light orange and faint super-wide B.  Not physical.
19h 15m 33.36s +18° 30' 58.9" P.A. 165.00 sep 139.4 mag 6.67,12.44 Sp M2III dist. 257.73 pc (840.72 l.y.)

AG 432 AB: 178; 205x: White and super wide B.  WDS uncertain.  
19h 18m 48.41s +19° 36' 37.7" P.A. 318.00 sep 92.8 mag 6.50,9.68 Sp B9V dist. 239.81 pc (782.26 l.y.)

HO 105 AB: 178; 205x: Excellent pair at this aperture, close split and 3 delta mag, just steady and bright enough to see despite haze and full moon.  WDS says not physical.
19h 22m 12.87s +16° 39' 45.0" P.A. 189.00 sep 2.8 mag 8.91,9.94 Sp B9 dist. 854.7 pc (2788.03 l.y.)

H N 84 AB: 178; 205x: Very pretty orange A and neon blue B, 1 delta mag, very wide

19h 39m 25.33s +16° 34' 16.0" P.A. 301.00 sep 28.4 mag 6.38,9.46 Sp K4Ib dist. 1265.82 pc (4129.1 l.y.)

HO 112 AB: 178; 205x: Very faint, almost ghostly, near equal, split, really nice.  Not physical.
19h 41m 29.50s +18° 38' 03.2" P.A. 259.00 sep 2.8 mag 10.17,10.22 Sp F2

OL 72 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, well split, slight magnitude difference.  Not physical.
19h 46m 42.32s +18° 38' 49.7" P.A. 9.00 sep 7.1 mag 10.50,10.60

STT 396 AB: 178; 205x: Light orange and super-wide B.  Not physical.

20h 03m 16.40s +18° 30' 03.6" P.A. 208.00 sep 46.6 mag 6.13,10.38 Sp K3II-III dist. 248.14 pc (809.43 l.y.) 

19 september 2021

I didn't pay attention to the weather and it turned out to be relatively clear.  Seeing was average.  All the same, I thought it would be better to get out and observe than sitting inside watching TV, so I uncovered the 6-inch and spent a bit more than an hour out.

STF 2968 AB: 152; 175x: White A and blue B, 3 delta mag, close split.  WDS uncertain, there is 8% parallax range overlap, 565 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass of 2.75/1.52, so may be gravitational.

23h 00m 42.41s +31° 04' 58.7" P.A. 93.00 sep 3.2 mag 6.69,9.48 Sp B9pMn dist. 135.5 pc (442 l.y.)

BU 78 AB: 152; 175x: White A and fairly wide B which appears brightly but only with averted vision.  WDS calls it physical, and there is 47% parallax range overlap, 2,179 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass 1.89/0.82, so might be.  Burnham discovered in 1872 with his 6-inch at 10" separation, so it has changed considerably.

23h 07m 55.22s +31° 27' 31.7" P.A. 54.00 sep 18.4 mag 7.47,11.09 Sp A5V dist. 92.25 pc (300.92 l.y.)

HJ 5532 AB-C: 152; 175x: White A and very wide, 2 delta mag B.  I did not notice that A is BU 385, 0.7" 7.44/8.23.  WDS calls the HJ physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap.

23h 10m 17.15s +32° 29' 13.4" P.A. 77.00 sep 57.9 mag 7.10,9.43 Sp B9V dist. 327.87 pc (1069.51 l.y.)

STF 2978 AB: 152; 175x: Ice blue A and ruddy, 2 delta mag, wide B.  WDS says physical, and there is 10% parallax overlap, 1,156 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass 2.63/1.85. 

23h 07m 27.73s +32° 49' 31.3" P.A. 145.00 sep 8.3 mag 6.35,7.46 Sp A3V dist. 163.4 pc (533.01 l.y.)

STF 2974 AB: 152; 175x: Lovely near equal blue-white stars, just split.  WDS says uncertain, but there is very strong 95% parallax range overlap, 673 AU weighted separation, and 2.39/2.21, so very likely gravitational.

23h 05m 01.12s +33° 23' 08.0" P.A. 168.00 sep 2.7 mag 8.07,8.46 Sp A0V+A3V dist. 244.5 pc (797.56 l.y.)

BU 720 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange, probably elongated, but seeing is too poor to resolve.  Physical with a 492 year period.  Spectral class K4IIIb (yellow-orange)

23h 33m 57.19s +31° 19' 31.0" P.A. 107.70 sep 0.6 mag 5.67,6.11 Sp K4IIIb dist. 168.35 pc (549.16 l.y.)

STF 3018 AB-C: 152; 175x: Light orange stars, 1 delta mag, wide.  Spectral class F7V (yellow-white).  AB is BU 1266, 0.2" 8.35/8.14.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and unfortunately there is no parallax data for the primary.

23h 30m 26.29s +30° 49' 54.6" P.A. 202.00 sep 18.8 mag 7.43,9.75 Sp F7V dist. 68.07 pc (222.04 l.y.)

BU 858 AB: 152; 175x: White star, not round.  Physical with a 779-year period, but no data for the secondary.  Burnham discovered at 1.1" with the 18.5-inch Dearborn refractor and said: "A more difficult pair than the distance and magnitude would indicate."  

23h 41m 17.56s +32° 33' 39.9" P.A. 219.50 sep 0.8 mag 7.81,8.78 Sp A1V dist. 208.33 pc (679.57 l.y.)

STF 3058 AB: 152; 175x: Wide 1 delta mag.  WDS says physical, however the data says otherwise.  4% parallax range overlap, 1,899 AU weighted separation, 2.01/1.39 stellar mass, but its radial velocity delta exceeds the escape velocity, so it won't be gravitationally bound.

00h 05m 09.24s +30° 19' 44.5" P.A. 51.00 sep 12.6 mag 7.81,9.21 Sp F3V+F6V dist. 253.16 pc (825.81 l.y.)

STF 24 AB: 152; 175x: Clean split, near equal, yellow-white stars.  WDS says physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap -22%.

00h 18m 30.59s +26° 08' 25.1" P.A. 247.00 sep 5.0 mag 7.79,8.44 Sp A2 dist. 154.8 pc (504.96 l.y.)

STF 28 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, slight mag difference.  WDS says physical, but their parallax ranges do not overlap (-68%).

00h 23m 53.23s +29° 30' 09.1" P.A. 224.00 sep 33.0 mag 8.32,8.55 Sp F7V+F8V dist. 84.6 pc (275.97 l.y.)

AC 1 AB: 152; 175x: Around half a delta mag, nice and close split.  Physical with a 525-year period.  At apastron.

00h 20m 54.10s +32° 58' 40.9" P.A. 288.90 sep 1.9 mag 7.27,8.26 Sp F5V dist. 67.93 pc (221.59 l.y.)

STT 11 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, near equal finder split.  WDS says physical, but they are not: the parallax ranges do not overlap -15%, 29,447 AU weighted separation, 2.14/2.08 stellar mass.

00h 30m 39.88s +32° 08' 11.4" P.A. 317.00 sep 197.6 mag 7.57,7.70 Sp F2 dist. 159.49 pc (520.26 l.y.)

HJ 5451 AB: 152; 175x: Orange star, wide 1 delta mag B.  Spectral class K1III (yellow-orange).  WDS says physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap, -13%.

00h 31m 25.64s +33° 34' 53.9" P.A. 86.00 sep 55.3 mag 6.01,9.34 Sp K1III dist. 116.14 pc (378.85 l.y.)

STF 19 AB: 152; 175x: Exceptional!  White A, B is very faint and only 1" separated, seen direct vision but just barely.  WDS uncertain, but there is 44% parallax overlap, only 312 AU weighted separation, and 2.15/1.29 stellar mass.

00h 16m 43.02s +36° 37' 47.4" P.A. 141.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.12,9.48 Sp A2V dist. 126.42 pc (412.38 l.y.)