27 june 2022

Had a relatively short session, since it's summer, from around 9:45pm to 11:15pm, but still plenty of pairs observed with the 6-inch.  I'm pretty efficient now with the Nexus to bring up targets in order of RA and using the laptop with ST just to type in the observation.  Very good transparency, good seeing (airy disks at 200x).

STF1662 AB: 152; 125x: Pretty light orange A, 2 Dm deeper orange B, wide.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -38% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

12h 35m 48.64s +56° 34' 42.4" P.A. 243.00 sep 19.3 mag 7.83,9.75 Sp K0III dist. 167.22 pc (545.47 l.y.)

STF1691 AB: 152;125x: White and nearly 2 Dm B, very wide.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and there is 99% overlap of the parallax ranges, 2,660 AU weighted separation, 1.6+1.2 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 1.1 is less than the escape velocity 1.4, so it is likely binary.

12h 54m 59.60s +58° 09' 37.6" P.A. 276.00 sep 18.7 mag 8.58,9.80 Sp F0IV dist. 68.17 pc (222.37 l.y.)

STF1695 AB: 152; 150x: White A and light-yellow B, nearly 2 Dm, closely separated.  Split at 125x but higher power showed nice airy disks and a clearer image.  WDS says it's physical, and there is 77% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 324 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.5 Msol, so it is likely binary.

12h 56m 17.64s +54° 05' 58.1" P.A. 280.00 sep 3.7 mag 6.04,7.75 Sp A5m dist. 86.66 pc (282.68 l.y.)

STF1732 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, very wide, about 1 Dm.  WDS says physical, but notes "parallax indicates physical, Proper motion indicates non-physical."  There is 2% parallax range overlap, 1,936 AU weighted separation, 1.2+0.5 Msol, but the radial velocity delta 3.3 exceeds the escape velocity 1.2, and this explains why it is not binary.

13h 12m 37.57s +58° 26' 56.6" P.A. 127.00 sep 25.9 mag 8.68,10.42 Sp F7V dist. 82.51 pc (269.15 l.y.)

STF1752 AB: 152; 250x: Difficult, with seeing and high power, 1 Dm but seems fainter due to its closeness to A, around 1" separation.  WDS grade 5 orbit, 500-year period.  Unfortunately, Gaia shows there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -26%, and in spite of the 73 AU weighted separation and 8.0+1.3 Msol, it is not likely binary.

13h 28m 49.82s +59° 55' 41.7" P.A. 103.60 sep 0.9 mag 8.19,9.90 Sp F8 dist. 73.42 pc (239.5 l.y.)

STF1754 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, very wide B on the edge of detectably, it appears as a fine point, brightens with averted vision.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -92% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

13h 29m 58.81s +60° 21' 12.5" P.A. 14.00 sep 24.3 mag 8.18,10.61 Sp G5 dist. 387.6 pc (1264.35 l.y.)

STF1770 AB: 152; 175x: Beautiful close pair, light orange stars, 2 Dm.  Split with lower magnifications but best seen 175x.  WDS says it is physical, but there is no -60% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

13h 37m 42.92s +50° 42' 53.5" P.A. 123.00 sep 1.7 mag 6.93,8.18 Sp K3III: dist. 434.78 pc (1418.25 l.y.)

STF1774 AB: 152, 125x: Light yellow-white A and 2 Dm wide B.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -30% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

13h 40m 23.35s +50° 31' 09.4" P.A. 135.00 sep 17.3 mag 6.34,10.51 Sp F7.7V dist. 25.33 pc (82.63 l.y.)

STF1784 AB: 152: 125x: White A and much fainter B, >2Dm, well split.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no overlap (-86%) of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

13h 44m 25.25s +69° 13' 11.8" P.A. 204.00 sep 9.1 mag 8.12,10.82 Sp F5 dist. 124.53 pc (406.22 l.y.)

STF1795 AB: 152; 125x: White A and 3 Dm well separated B.  WDS uncertain, but there is 21% parallax range overlap, 1,288 AU weighted separation, 2.5+1.2 Msol, so it is likely binary.

13h 58m 55.41s +53° 06' 23.2" P.A. 2.00 sep 8.0 mag 6.91,9.83 Sp A3IV-V dist. 156.49 pc (510.47 l.y.)

STF1820 AB: 152; 125x: Excellent close pair, <1 Dm, very light orange stars.  WDS showing two orbital solutions, but both are impossibly close and cannot refer to AB.  There is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -92%, so it is not binary.  

14h 13m 00.76s +55° 19' 31.1" P.A. 123.00 sep 2.8 mag 9.06,9.42 Sp K2 dist. 38.26 pc (124.8 l.y.)

STF1827 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, near equal, wide, white.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, and there is 68% overlap of the parallax ranges, 2,294 AU weighted separation, 1.6+1.5 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.3 is less than the escape velocity 1.5, so it is very likely binary.  

14h 14m 11.87s +59° 14' 34.2" P.A. 209.00 sep 11.3 mag 9.62,9.91 Sp G5

STF1845 AB: 152: 125x: Wide and very much fainter B, seen with averted vision and can then hold it direct.  WDS says it is not physical, and there is -99% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

14h 23m 43.36s +61° 56' 13.5" P.A. 311.00 sep 44.1 mag 8.34,12.04 Sp F8 dist. 77.88 pc (254.04 l.y.)

STF1892 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, very closely split, near equal.   WDS uncertain, and there is 2% parallax range overlap, only 399 AU weighted separation, 1.2+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.6 is less than the escape velocity 3.2, so it is likely binary.

14h 52m 37.33s +59° 03' 03.8" P.A. 236.00 sep 3.1 mag 9.68,10.48 Sp G5

STF1898 AB 152; 175x: Very beautiful close pair, nearly 2Dm, best seen with moderate power.  WDS uncertain, but there is 34% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 306 AU weighted separation, 1.5+1.0 Msol, so it is possibly binary.

14h 56m 29.60s +59° 22' 47.6" P.A. 217.00 sep 2.9 mag 8.26,10.32 Sp F8 dist. 102.04 pc (332.85 l.y.)

STF1918 AB: 152; 125x: PX Dra, the primary has a range of 6.82-6.95 V.  Bright white A and faint wide B, about 3 Dm.  WDS says not physical, and there is -37% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

15h 07m 50.16s +63° 07' 01.6" P.A. 20.00 sep 17.8 mag 6.89,10.29 Sp F5IV-V dist. 95.42 pc (311.26 l.y.)

STF1927 AB: 152; 125x: White stars, near equal, wide.  BV Dra, 7.88 - 8.48 V over 8.4 hours!  WDS says parallax indicates physical, and there is 19% overlap of the parallax ranges, 988 AU weighted separation, 1.2+1.0 Msol, so it is likely binary.

15h 11m 50.36s +61° 51' 25.3" P.A. 354.00 sep 16.0 mag 8.12,8.81 Sp F9V+B0 dist. 70.52 pc (230.04 l.y.)

STF1948 AB: 152; 125x: Ice-blue A and orangish B, 1 Dm, well separated.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, but there is -55% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

15h 26m 34.86s +54° 53' 56.5" P.A. 48.00 sep 12.9 mag 8.71,9.65 Sp A5 dist. 127.71 pc (416.59 l.y.)

STF1975 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint B seen with averted vision only, white A, wide.  WDS says it is not physical, and there is -87% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

15h 42m 41.93s +67° 03' 59.8" P.A. 43.00 sep 18.9 mag 8.09,11.80 Sp K5 dist. 1030.93 pc (3362.89 l.y.)

STF1976 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, near equal, wide.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical.  There is just 1% of parallax range overlap, 6,163 AU weighted separation, 1.9+1.8 msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.2 is less than the escape velocity 1.0.  This might be binary, but the near lack of parallax overlap is not in its favor.

15h 44m 54.96s +59° 25' 42.9" P.A. 72.00 sep 19.3 mag 9.66,9.92 Sp A8V

STF1996 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, wide, <1 Dm.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, and there is 96% overlap of the parallax ranges, 4,362 AU weighted separation, 1.4+1.3 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.4 is less than the escape velocity 1.0, so this is likely binary, though the weighted separation is a bit far.

15h 56m 31.13s +57° 16' 57.7" P.A. 108.00 sep 19.4 mag 10.22,10.65 Sp F8+K

STF2006 AC 152; 125x: Wide pair one delta.  Did not see AB 8.48/9.96 1.5".  AC has no parallax range overlap, -95%, so it is not binary.  Nor does AB, -79%.

16h 00m 18.28s +58° 56' 03.0" P.A. 211.00 sep 48.0 mag 8.48,9.74 Sp A3 dist. 206.19 pc (672.59 l.y.)

STF2009 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, wide stars.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, but the parallax ranges do not overlap, -1%.  2,971 AU weighted separation, 1.5+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta equals the escape velocity, 1.2.  Some question whether this is binary, as opposed to co-moving.

16h 01m 59.06s +60° 28' 57.3" P.A. 301.00 sep 17.0 mag 9.42,10.71 Sp F8

STF2045 AB: 152; 125x: Exceptionally fine close pair, >1 Dm, cream-white A and blue B.  WDS says this is not physical, but there is 31% parallax range overlap, only 302 AU weighted separation, 1.5+1.1 Msol, so it is possible it is binary.

16h 20m 18.35s +61° 29' 46.0" P.A. 186.00 sep 2.2 mag 8.80,10.18 Sp F8

STF2046 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, 1 Dm, well split.  WDS says this is physical, but there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -34%, it is not binary.

16h 20m 53.83s +64° 21' 45.7" P.A. 221.00 sep 8.0 mag 9.73,10.30 Sp F8

STF2060 AB: 152; 125x: Faint near equal pair, closely split.  WDS says this is not physical, but there is 85% parallax range overlap, 1,131 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.6 Msol, so it very likely is binary.

16h 28m 32.06s +56° 44' 07.9" P.A. 247.00 sep 3.8 mag 10.19,10.26 Sp G5 dist. 307.69 pc (1003.68 l.y.)

STF2092 AB: 152; 125x: Pretty white and 2 Dm, well split B.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and there is 6% parallax range overlap, 1,271 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.3 Msol, so it is possible to be binary.

16h 39m 03.98s +60° 41' 58.8" P.A. 5.00 sep 8.2 mag 8.69,9.64 Sp G1IV dist. 118.34 pc (386.03 l.y.)

STF2099 AB: 152; 125x: Quite faint B seen with averted vision at first then can just hold direct, well separated from white A.  WDS says this is physical, but there is no -53% parallax overlap, it is not binary.

16h 38m 21.31s +70° 20' 18.4" P.A. 216.00 sep 9.8 mag 9.45,10.90 Sp K0

STF2108 AB: 152; 125x: 2 Dm wide pair.  WDS says proper motion indicates it is physical.  There is 87% parallax range overlap, 1,757 AU weighted separation, 1.0+0.7 Msol, but the radial velocity delta 1.7 is more than the escape velocity 1.3 -- is it probable this is a co-moving pair.

16h 48m 36.08s +55° 07' 45.7" P.A. 350.00 sep 26.6 mag 8.97,11.24 Sp G5 dist. 64.31 pc (209.78 l.y.)

STF2116 AB: 152; 125x:  Wide, white, near equal.  WDS uncertain, but there is 11% parallax range overlap, 4,080 AU weighted separation, a little far, 1.7+1.4 Msol, so it is somewhat possible this is binary.

16h 55m 13.49s +63° 31' 41.6" P.A. 4.00 sep 19.1 mag 9.40,10.12 Sp G5 dist. 81.43 pc (265.62 l.y.)

STF3084 AB: 152; 125x: White A and wide faint B, needed foveal coaxing to hold B.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no, -78%, parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

14h 21m 54.20s +62° 15' 29.6" P.A. 15.00 sep 30.5 mag 8.62,11.08 Sp A0

new dark site

An observing acquaintence let some of us in the area know of a good observing spot only a 2-3 hour drive from the Bay Area.  I decided to give it a try Thursday night.  I had planned to go to GSSP, but the satellites were showing a lot of high level moisture, and it would be cloudy on Saturday, so I decided it wasn't worth the 6-7 hour (one way) travel.  The site is pretty good, slightly darker than Pinnacles, so it might be worth the trip when ideal conditions are called for.

I used my 4-/8-inch combo bent refractor.  I noticed a thin crescent moon about to set over a nearby cliff, so I trained the scope on it and watched one rock cover over the other, with some trees on the cliff edge silloutetted in the earthshine.  It stayed warm through most of the night, and pretty dark at 21.62 SQML.  Transparency was 4.5/5, but after 2pm I could smell wetness in the air, and the transparency started to fail, the SQML reading went to 21.2.  The setting circles still don't work on my MaxLoad, likely because of insufficient resolution, so I star hopped.  I decided to view what this scope and night vision do best, HII regions, so I pulled out the Vogel's Sharpless guide (from which many of the photos were taken) and started from the top.

IC 4628: I observed this a few years ago from Willow Springs using a 10-inch and HBeta filter.  It was much fainter then.  Now with just the 4-inch and not quite astronomical dark, I could see the bright sweeping arc, streamers falling from it toward an open cluster, and a very bright knot floating above it.  This time I could see faint clouds drifting away from these two main nebula, something only visible in photos.  

Sh2-1: With 4-inch and 3nm, a vague haze to the south of Pi Scorpii, with a pillar of nebulosity hooking up north along the west edge of the FOV.  The edges of the nebulosity are brighter and sharper along the sides near the star.  With 8-inch can more clearly see a bifircation of the nebula to the south west, and the edges away from the star have more diffuse nebula coming off the edges.  Reflection nebula ~650 ly distant.

Sh2-2: Very vague large cloud which appears as a mottling of the darkness, surrounding a triangle of similar magnitude stars.  Overall it has the appearance of a pair of lungs, with a dark lane running N-S.  Vogel notes: "This HII region is a wind blown bubble surrounding the O6.5 Ia star and prominent X-ray eclipsing binary HD 153919 and is in the same direction (but much further) as the star cluster NGC 6281."  4-inch 3nm.

NGC 6256: This globular cluster was nearby so I had a look.  With the 8-inch unfiltered, the GC had an intensely bright and concentrated center, with a dense ball of stars surrounding that, and vast streams of stars radiating from it in all directions.  What's more there were so many stars in the intensely rich 2-degree FOV.  Stunning.  Globulars will be my next project after Sharpless...

Sh2-3: Relatively small, viewed in the 8-inch.  It has an S-shaped appearance starting with a faint coil of nebulosity around a bright star, then wending to the south where there is a thicker and brighter section.  The sourthern edge is deliniated by a bright streak.  In the 4-inch with a wider field, there is a near circle of nebulosity surronding it, brightest to the southwest.  Vogel notes this object is 4.5pc in size, and "is ionised by an O6 V star, most likely CGO 439."

Sh2-4: Appears as a bright knot in a wider sweep of nebulosity, quite easy in the 4-inch.  It is said to be ionized by and physically associated with the stars of open cluster Havlen-Moffat 1, which lies ~15' to the northwest.  In this Aladin screen capture HM1 is under the reticle and the nebula is to the southwest.  In the scope, HM1 appeared as a small clump of stars, much like many others in the field, and it didn't draw much attention.  The nebula is also known as RCW 121.  The nebula is in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way, 

Sh2-5: Large, fairly bright, no discernable shape other than vague cloud forms.  In the southwest section the nebulosity seems to sweep out in a fan shape from one star.  Also ionized by HM1.  

Sh2-6: NGC 6302, The Bug Nebula.  With the 4-inch it was very small in the 4-degree field, but easily seen and already showing an S-curve eminating from a bright central region.  In the 8-inch and using a 20mm eyepiece to increase the image scale, unfiltered, the amount of detail seen was stunning.  Both wings from the bright center were bifurcated or forked, and accentuated with bright knots, and there were many fine filaments woven throughout these wings.

Sh2-7: Long mottled streak eminating to the southwest from Delta Scorpii, breaking up into spreading filaments near a group of three bright stars.  Best in the wide field.  

Sh2-8: NGC 6334, Cat's Paw.  Having never observed this area before, I was completely shocked at the amount and brightness of nebulocity here.  The amazing nebula came alive with the 8-inch and 3nm.  Everything was mottled and full of detail!  Each "toe" was a a bright puff of nebulosity and mottled in its own way.  The southern one spread in a fan shape from a bright star and seemed rippled with bow shocks.  The southwest was dense and closely mottled, and the northern was a complex of streamers and dense curds.  The northwest fragment slowly diffused, as if wind blown, to the west.  A very remarkable area.  With the wider FOV in the 4-inch there were faint trails nebulosity which seemed to connect it to other bright nearby HII regions NGC 6357 and Sh2-10. 

Sh2-10: Three degrees WNW of the Cat's Paw, it is a large mottled cloud seemingly centered on a relatively bright star in the field.  Vogel notes the nebula "is in the same direction as the Wolf-Rayet star WR 88."  Best in the 4-inch.

Sh2-11: = NGC 6357, and with the 4-inch I can get Sh2-8, -10, and -11 in the same dramatic field.  It has three main large bright mottled knots and a C-shaped curved structure with many fine filaments reaching up from it.  The center is sprinkled with many small stars (Pismis 24 open cluster).  

Sh2-12: A very large, bean shaped cloud with ragged edges and dense mottling, curved around a bright star -- which has several fainter stars densely packed around it.  This is open cluster NGC 6383.  Vogel notes that  Sh2-12 is ionised by the binary O-star (O7V + O7V) HD 159176, which is in the star cluster NGC 6383, which in turn is in Sgr OB1.  M6 the Butterfly Cluster is in the same FOV with the 4-inch.

Sh2-13: A very large cloud mottled cloud centered on a star, with the denser / brighter region forming a cap to the north.  A larger field of nebulosity is closeby to the southwest.   

Sh2-15: A mainly round nebula, darker in the middle and with streams of faint nebulosity escaping from the weak northeast wall.  8-inch shows the bright, thick south eastern arc and dark nebula intruding in the western section, a club-like clound and a very dark hole.  The center of the nebula was crennlated with dark lobes.   Vogel: "This HII region is ionised by the O8 V star HD 161853 and is part of the S15-S20 complex of HII regions. This region is also called W25 or Gum 69."

At this point I took a break and looked at the Milky Way with my night vision at 1x and 3x using my mirror mount.  Simply stunning.  The dark nebula were especially prominent, and in some sections seemed to be an evaporating fog off the stream of the Milky Way.  Using a 5nm filter I traced all the nebulous clouds from the southern horizon through Cygnus and into Cepheus.  What struck me was seeing a bridge of faint nebulosity which seemed to connect Sh2-119 behind the North American Nebula all the way to IC 1396 in Cepheus.  This photo I found online (by Kotz Tar) kind of shows hints of the nebulosity, in red, but for me it was a very obvious, if faint, stream that very much seemed to connect the two.  It wasn't just the star stream, it was definitely nebulous. This image also shows the Veil, including Pickering's Triangle, in the same field -- which I could see too.  Pretty amazing.

I also saw a very large round nebula of around 10-degrees diameter centered on a bright star north of Scorpio's claws.  The brighter portions are Sh2-27 & LBN 30.  I observed these with the 4-inch at Spring CalStar, but only in pieces since the field of view was too small.  Now with 1x I could see Sh2-27 and LBN30 as brightenings in a much larger round cloud of mottled nebulosity.  (Image Project Nightflight)

Sh2-16: Small box shaped nebula with ragged edges, with a fairly dense area of faint stars on the southern end (which is Collinder 347 open cluster).  

Sh2-17: Very faint, small knot of nebula in a dense star field, difficult to find as there's no brighter stars nearby.  

Sh2-18 -19: Faint nebula which sprouts from two stars in a fan shape to the north, with a faint ragged flap drifting off to the northeast.  

Sh2-20: Very faint, small, forked knot of nebulosity, also in a dense field of stars.

Sh2-21: Very faint, very small, irregular round glow, difficult.  Took a long time to find and needed the 8-inch to bring it out.  Vogel says "this HII region is located near the galactic nucleus and is associated with a giant molecular cloud and two star clusters."  8000pc distant.

Sh2-22: Large, thick parenthesis of nebula, very strongly mottled, surrounding a bright star. Vogel: "This is a ring nebula surrounding the O-star HD 162978."  (image Jim Brunell)

Sh2-25: Lagoon Nebula.  What can be said but so much detail, so much to be seen.  Dark nebula smoking, a fizz of nebula round it, with arcs and bridges.  Vogel: "The Lagoon nebula (M8 = NGC 6523-NGC 6530) is a large HII region mainly ionized by two O-class stars, 9 Sagitarii [O4V((f))] and HD 165052 (O6.5V + O7.5V). It is embedded within a molecular cloud which extends to the star cluster NGC 6530. Within M8’s core lies a distinctive bipolar nebula called the Hourglass, a blister-type HII region which has been produced by the O7.5V star Herschel 36 (Her 36). Note that RCW 146 also includes Gum 75 (Sh 2-29, Sh 2-31, and Sh 2-32), the nebula complex next to the Lagoon nebula....In 2003, an infrared cluster was reported in NGC 6559, which is part of Sh 2-29. Sh 2-29, Sh 2-31, and Sh 2-32 all appear to be part of the same nebula complex although the associated CO elocities suggest that these objects may have quite different distances."

Sh2-33: Extremely dim, ripples of nebulsity seen only when moving the scope, very large, in the 4-inch.  Vogel: "The faint red glow of the nearby molecular cloud MBM 38."

Sh2-34: Patchy nebula above the Lagoon, like a broken-up contrail.

Sh2-37: A bright, raggedly round nebula centered on a bright star.  It is separated by a dark lane from a very large curving stream of nebulosity which is Sh2-35, which is fractured and crazed with many wisps of dark nebula.  Vogel: "Sh 2-35 and Sh 2-37 are associated with a 130 thousand solar mass giant molecular cloud at a distance of 1800 pc and appear to be part of the Sagittarius OB7 association. Sh 2-37 is visible through a hole in this molecular cloud. This is a very active star formation region. Sh 2-37 is also known as IC 1283/1284 and the powerful radio source W34. Sharpless notes that this HII region is associated with the bright stars HD 167722 (B5), HD 167815 (B2) and HD 313098 (B5)."

Sh2-36: Extremely faint, looks like streamers hanging down from a cloud when it rains.  Vogel: "The faint rusty red glow of nearby giant molecular cloud MBM 39."

Sh2-38: Small, extremely faint haze, in a dipper-like asterism, 8-inch.  Vogel: "This appears to be the same as the reflection nebula VdB 114 surrounding the B8/B9Ib star HD 165811. It shows a strong (if small) image in hydrogen-alpha, however, so perhaps there is both emission and reflection in this little 

nebula. Sh 2-38, Sh 2-40, Sh-41 and Sh 2-42 all appear to be embedded in the Sagittarius OB4 association."

Sh2-39 & -41: Sh2-41 is a very large glow streaming through very dark and dramatic dark nebulae B92 & 92 (which are white in this negative image).  Sh2-39 is on the southern edge of Sh2-41and appears as a faint nebulous patch.  

Sh2-40: faint, bifurcated faint nebula.  Two close stars sprout the brighter wing of the nebula which sweeps to the south.  The norther nebula is fainter and is fan shaped, with the wider section to the west.  Vogel: "A look at this region in hydrogen-alpha shows that Sh 2-40 appears to be several bright knots of nebulosity extending north from the much larger nebula Sh 2-41. Sh 2-40 lies in the same direction as the powerful radio source W33, but the distance estimate for W33 is about 4000 pc. So there seem to be two objects here in the same field of view, one visible only at radio frequencies.  Sh 2-38, Sh 2-40, Sh-41 and Sh 2-42 all appear to be embedded in the Sagittarius OB4 association. The massive protostellar object IRAS 18089-1732 is in the same area of sky but is located at a distance of 3600 pc.

Sh2-42: I tried very hard for this one, including using 8-inch with the 20mm eyepiece and flipping through all the filters.  No luck.  It is a PNe and I probably would get it with an OIII filter.  

Transparency began to suffer at around 2am, I could smell wetness in the air, and the SQML readings were 21.2.

Sh2-43: Fairly faint, irregularly round cloud, just to the west of a bright star, seen in both 4-inch and 8-inch.  Vogel: "This faint diffuse nebula is in the same location as the suspected supernova remnant GAL 013.1-00.5 and appears to be located in an empty region bordered by the OB regions SGR OB1, SGR OB7 and SCT OB3. There is a 0.3 degree difference between the positions of RCW 156 and Sh 2-43. Sharpless gives the diameter of Sh 2-43 as 15 minutes = 0.25 degrees. RCW gives the diameter of RCW 156 as 50x50 minutes. These objects may not be part of the same nebula, but they are clearly very close in the sky."

Sh2-44: Very large, pretty bright, strongly mottled round cloud, with many stars and dark patches within.  Vogel: "This nebula is connected to the Oe star HD 167633 (which Humphreys connects to the Serpens OB1 association) and may be part of the Scutum supershell in the inner galaxy."

Sh2-45: M17, the Omega Nebula.  Wow!  Tons of detail, mottling, etc.  Too much to describe.  Vogel: This is M17, the Omega nebula, also called W38, the Swan nebula, and the Lobster nebula among other names. M17 is ionised by an O4V-O4V double star system (Kleinmann's star) at the core of the massive young cluster NGC 6618 (about one million years old), which contains over 800 stars, including 2 O5V star systems and 100 stars hotter than B9 (by comparison, Orion has 8 stars hotter than B9). The total ultraviolet flux is about 25 times higher than for Orion. A large part of the nebula is hidden by a dark dust lane the runs near the central cluster and splits the main visible nebula from two attached nebulae on the other side of the dust lane (IC 4706 and IC 4707). M17 is a blister on the side of a much larger 

giant molecular cloud and star formation region (M17SW) that contains 30 thousand solar masses of molecular hydrogen.

25 june 2022

Observed with the 20-inch last night.  I ran the ServoCat from a battery, and I found the problem of the power cutting out is not from a dirty ground board, but from a kind of power failure in the unit when it tries to draw a lot of power when it starts a fast slew.  It happens in both alt and az.  I think the unit is about to fail.  In any case I will reset the slew rates to be very low, so as not to draw too much power, and hopefully get by using it until the next generation of controller is released.

I also experimented with SkyTools, and had the same problems with Real Time as before.  The object sorting makes no sense.  I will give it another try and see if the software owner can correct the problem.  Otherwise, I'll revert to SkyTools3 or find a different program to use.

I found only two items from the physical pairs list:

STF2106 AB: 508; 500x: Light orange stars, nearly 2 Dm, close but nicely split, PA near due south.  Spectral class F7IV (yellow-white).  WDS grade 4 orbit, 1270-year period.  0.841" now.  There is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -56%, and in spite of a very low 48 AU weighted separation, 1.6+1.3 Msol, it is probable this is not binary.

16h 51m 07.42s +09° 24' 15.5" P.A. 170.20 sep 0.8 mag 7.07,8.20 Sp F7IV dist. 64.23 pc (209.52 l.y.)

HU 580 AB: 508; 600x: With apodising mask and polarizing filter, I see a very weakly notched snowman with best seeing, PA ENE, a mere bump on the bright a star.  WDS grade 1 (definitive) orbit, 21.94-years, 0.154" now.  Unfortunately, there is no parallax data for either star.  It will be at apastron in 2024, so have another go at this soon, then dive to periastron by 2030.  Worth an annual visit.

15h 41m 33.09s +19° 40' 13.8" P.A. 58.50 sep 0.1 mag 5.35,5.22 Sp B9V+A1V dist. 58.28 pc (190.11 l.y.)

24 june 2025

Seeing was supposed to be better than it was, but after a hot day it's no surprise there was a lot of radiational cooling. I used the 6-inch and continued to observe some Struve pairs.  There was some haze in the sky and seeing seemed to get worse.  I felt tired so only observed to 10:30pm.

STF2381 AB: 152; 125: White A and 2 Dm, well split B.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no overlap -3% of the parallax ranges, and the radial velocity delta 2.8 exceeds the escape velocity 1.7, so it is not likely binary.
18h 45m 30.77s +28° 15' 24.3" P.A. 122.00 sep 8.9 mag 8.27,10.36 Sp G8III/IV dist. 259.74 pc (847.27 l.y.)

STF2386 AB 152; 125x: Faint pair, near equal, wide.  WDS says it is not physical, and there is no -92% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.
18h 45m 14.35s +35° 32' 21.1" P.A. 18.00 sep 21.1 mag 9.42,10.04 Sp A0

STF2387 AB: 152; 125x: White A and 2 Dm wide B, attractive pair.  No records found in WDS.

STF2390 AB: 152; 125: Very pretty, pure white A, and 2 Dm B, closely split around 4".  WDS uncertain, but there is 59% parallax range overlap, 1,323 AU weighted separation, 3.2+2.2 Msol, so it is likely binary.
18h 45m 49.83s +34° 31' 06.6" P.A. 155.00 sep 4.3 mag 7.37,8.56 Sp A7V dist. 357.14 pc (1164.99 l.y.)

STF2392 AB 152; 150x: Very finely split 2 Dm pair, B is faint but is just detectable with direct vision, suspect at 125x, better view at higher power.  WDS uncertain, but there is no parallax range overlap, -40%, so in spite of the 1,229 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.6 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 1.4 is less than the escape velocity 2.4, it is not likely to be binary.
18h 45m 09.99s +39° 13' 32.8" P.A. 319.00 sep 2.5 mag 9.25,11.07 Sp A2 dist. 934.58 pc (3048.6 l.y.)

STF2393 AB: 152; 125x: Very much fainter B, around 3 Dm, wide.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -92% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.
18h 45m 10.84s +38° 18' 54.6" P.A. 24.00 sep 18.2 mag 7.80,10.40 Sp K5III dist. 689.66 pc (2249.67 l.y.)

STF2394 AB: 152; 125x: Faint pair, fairly well spilt, 1 Dm.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, but in fact Gaia DR3 indicates there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -63%, they are not binary.
18h 45m 28.48s +42° 02' 07.4" P.A. 203.00 sep 6.9 mag 9.61,9.96

STF2395 AB: 152; 125x: 2 Dm, B is quite faint but can see with direct vision, well split, looks like a planet in relation to A.  WDS says this is physical, but there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, and the radial velocity delta 2.1 exceeds the escape velocity 1.8, it is not binary.
18h 45m 03.66s +46° 08' 07.5" P.A. 308.00 sep 8.5 mag 7.89,10.49 Sp A0 dist. 236.97 pc (773 l.y.)

STF2397 AB: 152; 125x: Light yellow A and 2 Dm B, fairly closely split around 4".  WDS is uncertain, but there is 14% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,098 AU weighted average separation, 3.2+1.8 Msol, so this is likely binary.
18h 47m 13.09s +31° 24' 20.2" P.A. 269.00 sep 3.9 mag 7.47,9.08 Sp G3III dist. 271 pc (884 l.y.)

STF2406 AB: 152; 125x: Comparatively bright white A, B is very faintly visible with foveal coaxing but it fades quickly, cannot hold it direct.  WDS says this is physical, but there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -25%, and in spite of the small 690 AU weighted separation, 2.3+0.9 Msol, and nearly equivalent radial velocity delta 2.9 vs. 3.0 escape velocity, it is not likely binary.

18h 49m 55.77s +26° 25' 30.6" P.A. 4.00 sep 4.6 mag 7.12,11.21 Sp A3V dist. 118.34 pc (386.03 l.y.)

20 june 2022

Observed with the 20-inch, as seeing was supposed to be above average. But with the surroundings needing to cool off after a long hot day, there was still a lot of disturbance in the air, so I masked down to 7-inches. The powered ground board on this scope is still giving me trouble, and it seems there are more sections which are losing power. I have no choice now but to tear the whole scope down. It will be for the best because it needs maintenance.

Another frustration is SkyTools4. It eliminated the ability to sort columns within Realtime observing, making it much more difficult to narrow an observing list (like the long-term project lists I use). I checked on their website and the comments from the owner were really condescending, saying he removed the function because, in his opinion, an object not in optimal position is not worth observing. What an ass. I wanted to join his discussion forum to tell him off, but resisted. Who the hell is he to tell us how to observe? I found a rough work around but it is not to my satisfaction. I will probably shop for a different software.

I observed a few Struves but became increasingly frustrated with the scope power interruptions, and ended at 11pm. Very little darkness this time of year.

STFA 26 AB: 178; 125x: White stars, wide 3 Dm B.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and there is only (given their closeness to us) 6% parallax range overlap, 1,144 AU weighted separation, 1.8+0.8 Msol, so this might be binary.
14h 16m 10.07s +51° 22' 01.3" P.A. 33.00 sep 39.0 mag 4.76,7.39 Sp A7IV+K0V dist. 29.07 pc (94.83 l.y.)

STF1806 AB: 178; 125x: Faint stars, significant delta, pretty wide.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, but in fact there is no -10% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.
14h 08m 44.98s +48° 30' 24.5" P.A. 173.00 sep 13.1 mag 10.08,11.03 Sp F8

STF2093 AB: 178; 125x: A quick tumbling satellite went through the finder field as I was centering this star, like a dash line.  Pale yellow and bright A, and faint wide B.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -64% parallax range overlap, it is not.
16h 42m 53.76s +38° 55' 20.1" P.A. 266.00 sep 116.4 mag 3.58,11.72 Sp G8IIIb dist. 33.31 pc (108.66 l.y.)

STF1961 AB: 178; 125x: Very wide equal magnitude.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -97% parallax range overlap.
15h 34m 35.33s +43° 31' 28.6" P.A. 20.00 sep 28.6 mag 10.07,10.17 Sp K2

STF1920 AB: 178; 125x: Wide near equal.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, but there is no -81% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.
15h 10m 48.36s +46° 51' 00.6" P.A. 109.00 sep 18.7 mag 9.92,9.98 Sp K0+K0 dist. 73.1 pc (238.45 l.y.)

STF1874 AB: 178; 125x: Light orange stars, wide, 2 Dm.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -87% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.
14h 42m 09.70s +49° 07' 27.4" P.A. 289.00 sep 27.2 mag 8.82,10.17 Sp G5 dist. 448.43 pc (1462.78 l.y.)

STF1843 AB: 178; 125x: Ice blue-white A, wide 2 Dm B.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and there is 52% parallax range overlap, 1,909 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.1 Msol, so it is likely binary.
14h 24m 38.91s +47° 49' 50.0" P.A. 186.00 sep 19.8 mag 7.68,9.23 Sp F4V dist. 92.08 pc (300.36 l.y.)

STF1826 AB: 178; 125x: Light yellow stars, well separated, about 1 Dm.  WDS says not physical, but there is 62% parallax range overlap, only 802 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.4 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.8 is less than the escape velocity, 2.6, so it certainly is binary.
14h 15m 12.13s +46° 58' 26.6" P.A. 310.00 sep 4.5 mag 8.94,9.69 Sp F8 dist. 176.99 pc (577.34 l.y.)

STF1809 AB: 178; 200x: Very faint B needed foveal coaxing to detect and hold, closely separated around 4", almost 3 Dm.  WDS uncertain, but there is 58% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,199 AU weighted separation, 1.9+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 2.1 is equal to the escape velocity, so chances favor this being binary.
14h 08m 54.59s +46° 08' 03.4" P.A. 196.00 sep 4.3 mag 9.42,11.98 Sp G0 dist. 353.36 pc (1152.66 l.y.)

STF1815 AB: 178; 125x: More than 1 Dm, wide.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no overlap -89% of the parallax ranges, is it not binary.
14h 12m 36.22s +45° 11' 52.5" P.A. 151.00 sep 9.0 mag 9.58,10.92 Sp K0 dist. 170.07 pc (554.77 l.y.)

STF1814 AB: 178; 125x: White stars, significant delta, fairly wide.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, and there is 89% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,304 AU weighted separation, 1.3+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.6 is less than the escape velocity 1.8, it is very likely binary.
14h 11m 00.99s +50° 15' 08.3" P.A. 256.00 sep 11.2 mag 9.25,9.83 Sp G5+G5

STF1929 AB: 178; 125x: Faint pair, 2 Dm, well separated.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -51% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.
15h 16m 38.79s +33° 39' 07.2" P.A. 8.00 sep 6.5 mag 9.79,11.80 Sp G5

STF1901 AB: 178; 125x: White and very wide 2 Dm B.  WDS says not physical, and there is no -91% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.  

15h 00m 57.70s +31° 22' 38.2" P.A. 184.00 sep 19.0 mag 8.71,10.55 Sp M dist. 1754.39 pc (5722.82 l.y.)

14 june 2022

Clear night, fairly good seeing though it became worse after 10:30pm.  Observed Struves in Lyra with the 6-inch f/15 refractor.  I noticed Gaia DR3 is now published on VizieR, so that is what I will use going forward.  

STF2304 AB: 152; 150x: Very lovely faint pair, very light orange A and light blue B, about 6" separation, about 1 Dm.  WDS claims it's physical, and there is 5% parallax range overlap, 1,780 AU weighted separation, 2.6+1.9 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 1.7 is less than the escape velocity 2.1, so it very likely is binary.

18h 17m 06.98s +40° 15' 21.2" P.A. 69.00 sep 5.1 mag 8.75,9.75 Sp K0 dist. 275.48 pc (898.62 l.y.)

STF2327 AB: 152; 150x: Nice pair, wide, large magnitude difference, B needs averted vision, white.  WDS asserts it's physical, and there is 6% parallax range overlap, 10,164 AU weighted separation, 3.5+1.6 Msol, however the radial velocity delta 4.0 exceeds the escape velocity, so it is not likely binary.

18h 29m 10.63s +29° 55' 24.9" P.A. 314.00 sep 19.6 mag 8.49,12.20 Sp K0

STF2328 AB: 152; 200x: Close pair around 4", less than 1 Dm.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, but in reality there is no overlap of their parallax ranges, -78%, so it is not binary.

18h 29m 27.87s +29° 55' 27.2" P.A. 72.00 sep 3.7 mag 9.00,9.50 Sp A2

STF2333 AB: 152; 150x: Slightly unequal white stars widely separated.  WDS uncertain, and there is no overlap -12% of the parallax ranges, it is not likely binary.

18h 31m 06.94s +32° 14' 43.4" P.A. 333.00 sep 6.3 mag 7.82,8.57 Sp B9IV dist. 216.92 pc (707.59 l.y.)

STF2338 AB: 152; 150x: Fairly bright white A, and well separated very faint B.  WDS says not physical, but there is 21% overlap of the parallax ranges, 6,406 AU weighted separation, 2.4+2.3 Msol, is it is very likely to be binary.

18h 30m 54.75s +38° 39' 33.8" P.A. 301.00 sep 12.1 mag 9.30,11.20 Sp K2

STF2340 AB: 152; 150x: Widely separated 1 Dm faint stars.  WDS says not physical, and there is no overlap -97% of the parallax ranges, so it is not binary.

18h 33m 01.30s +31° 35' 43.0" P.A. 105.00 sep 25.1 mag 9.21,10.24 Sp F2 dist. 423.73 pc (1382.21 l.y.)

STF2349 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent pair.  Blazing white A and a very faint B, around 7" separation, around 5 Dm.  WDS uncertain, but there is 48% parallax range overlap, 1,188 AU weighted separation, 3.6+1.2 Msol, so it is likely binary.

18h 36m 37.34s +33° 28' 08.5" P.A. 204.00 sep 7.2 mag 5.39,9.40 Sp B8II-IIIp dist. 154.56 pc (504.17 l.y.)

STF2351 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal white stars, well separated around 5".  WDS uncertain, but there is no overlap -15% of the parallax ranges, is it not likely binary.

18h 36m 12.00s +41° 16' 41.2" P.A. 160.00 sep 5.0 mag 7.60,7.64 Sp A1V+A0V dist. 206.61 pc (673.96 l.y.)

STF2352 AB: 152; 150x: White A and nearly Dm B which can been seen with direct vision, but brightens with averted vision.

18h 36m 57.43s +34° 51' 59.0" P.A. 287.00 sep 15.9 mag 8.06,10.63 Sp K0

STF2354 AB: 152; 150x: Very close to Vega, in its glare.  Faint stars, A is seen well, B is on the edge of direct vision, better seen with averted vision, widely separated.  No results found in WDS. 

STF2356 AB 152; 150x: Faint pair, just barely split with seeing, about half a magnitude difference.  WDS uncertain, and there is no overlap -33% of the parallax ranges, so it is not binary.

18h 38m 22.51s +28° 41' 49.7" P.A. 63.00 sep 1.0 mag 8.79,9.23 Sp F0 dist. 598.8 pc (1953.29 l.y.)

STF2358 CD: 152: 150x: Very closely split, half delta mag, nice.  In a triangle of three similar magnitude stars.  WDS uncertain, but there is no overlap -12% of the parallax ranges, it is probably not binary.

18h 38m 35.04s +30° 43' 20.1" P.A. 224.00 sep 2.5 mag 9.81,10.19 Sp F8

STF2359 AB: 152; 150x: In the same FOV as STF2358, one of the triangle stars.  A 9th magnitude A star with a very wide, 3 Dm B star which appears with averted vision only. 

18h 38m 35.50s +30° 45' 37.2" P.A. 293.00 sep 24.5 mag 9.06,11.70 Sp A

STF2362 AB: 152; 150x: Lovely, well separated 1 Dm, white stars.  WDS is uncertain, but there is 27% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 428 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.3 Msol, so it is likely it is binary.

18h 38m 25.70s +36° 03' 11.3" P.A. 187.00 sep 4.4 mag 7.53,8.72 Sp A5 dist. 105.26 pc (343.36 l.y.)

STF2371 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal white stars, faint, wide.  WDS uncertain, but there is 34% parallax range overlap, 6,674 AU weighted separation, 2.8+2.6 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.2 is less than the escape velocity 1.2, so it is most likely binary.

18h 42m 12.44s +27° 38' 32.3" P.A. 56.00 sep 10.0 mag 9.68,9.96 Sp A0

STF2372 AB: 152; 150x: Bright white and very wide 2 Dm B, in a rich field.  WDS says parallax indicates the components are non-physical, and there is 1% parallax range overlap but with a 52% error, and 11,995 AU weighted separation, probably not binary.

18h 42m 08.09s +34° 44' 46.7" P.A. 82.00 sep 25.0 mag 6.45,7.73 Sp B5V dist. 456.62 pc (1489.49 l.y.)

STF2374 AB: 152: 150x: Faint stars, very slight delta mag, wide.  WDS says not physical, and there is no overlap -96% of the parallax ranges, so indeed not binary.

18h 43m 27.56s +27° 42' 54.6" P.A. 40.00 sep 13.4 mag 9.64,10.43 Sp F2

STF2376 AB: 152; 150x: Wide near equal.  WDS says it is physical, and there is 85% overlap of the parallax ranges, 7,173 AU weighted separation, 2.4+2.0 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.7 is less than the escape velocity 1.0, so it is binary.

18h 43m 42.26s +30° 24' 16.9" P.A. 63.00 sep 22.3 mag 8.66,9.31 Sp A0 dist. 202.84 pc (661.66 l.y.)

STF2378 AB: 152; 150x: Very slight delta mag, wide.  WDS says parallax indicates physical, and there is 62% overlap of the parallax ranges, 3,228 AU weighted separation, 2.1+1.7 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 1.0 is less than the escape velocity 1.4, so it certainly is binary.

18h 43m 21.93s +35° 32' 55.3" P.A. 190.00 sep 11.5 mag 8.91,9.88 Sp A dist. 153.14 pc (499.54 l.y.)

STF2380 AB: 152: 150x: Light yellow A and 1 Dm wide B.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and the parallax ranges overlap 71%, 3,307 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.4 Msol, however the radial velocity delta 2.2 exceeds the escape velocity 1.4, so it may not be binary.

18h 42m 55.42s +44° 55' 30.9" P.A. 8.00 sep 25.5 mag 7.28,8.70 Sp G8III dist. 138.12 pc (450.55 l.y.)

6 june 2022, hercules struves

Observed last night with the 6-inch refractor, in good seeing for it (but not good enough for the 20-inch).  Went Struving in Hercules.  I'm quite happy with the Nexus DSC, I was landing in the FOV all the time last night, which greatly increased the number of observations I could make.  Started at 9:30pm and stopped shortly after 11pm.

STF 1982 AB: 152; 150x: Faint pair, 1 Dm, around 4" separation.  WDS says physical, and there is 78% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,090 AU weighted separation, 1.5+1.4 Msol, so it is likely binary.
15h 49m 51.25s +42° 47' 19.6" P.A. 299.00 sep 4.8 mag 9.95,10.12 Sp F8 dist. 270.27 pc (881.62 l.y.)

STF 1991 AB: 152; 150x: Close split around 3", faint, 1 Dm.  WDS says it is physical, but there is no overlap of the parallax ranges -14%, in spite of the low 627 AU weighted separation, it is not likely to be binary.
15h 57m 26.92s +41° 39' 42.9" P.A. 195.00 sep 3.0 mag 9.45,10.41 Sp F5 dist. 178.89 pc (583.54 l.y.)

STF 2001 AB: 152; 150x: Faint pair, 1Dm and very wide companion.  WDS uncertain, however there is 90% overlap of the parallax ranges, 2,315 AU weighted separation, 1.4+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.9 is less than the escape velocity 1.4, so this is almost certain to be binary -- need plenty of future measures to confirm.
16h 01m 13.23s +41° 50' 01.7" P.A. 168.00 sep 11.6 mag 10.01,10.98 Sp G

STF 2010 AB: 152; 150x: Very pretty goldenrod colored stars, 2 Dm, wide.  Spectral class G7III+K0I (yellow/yellow-orange).  WDS says proper motion indicates non-physical, but more telling is there not being any overlap of the parallax ranges, -40%.
16h 08m 04.55s +17° 02' 49.2" P.A. 14.00 sep 26.8 mag 5.10,6.21 Sp G7III+K0I dist. 112.74 pc (367.76 l.y.)

STF 2014 AB: 152; 150x: Faint light yellow A, 2 Dm blue B, widely separated.  WDS says physical, and there is  23% overlap of the parallax ranges, 2,137 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.4 Msol, so it is likely binary. 
16h 08m 37.85s +40° 03' 11.2" P.A. 91.00 sep 8.4 mag 8.62,10.41 Sp F2 dist. 255.75 pc (834.26 l.y.)

STF 2015 AB: 152; 300x: Blue-white A, closely separated 2 Dm B needed 300x to split.  WDS uncertain, but there is 59% overlap of parallax ranges, only 311 AU weighted separation, 1.5+1.2 Msol, so it is likely binary.
16h 08m 54.75s +45° 21' 11.8" P.A. 159.00 sep 3.0 mag 8.24,9.52 Sp F5 dist. 97.56 pc (318.24 l.y.)

STF 2016 AB: 152; 150x: Widely separated around 6", light yellow stars, 2 Dm.  WDS calls it physical, but there is barely 1% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,187 AU weighted separation, 1.7+1.4 Msol, so it should be called uncertain instead.
16h 12m 07.05s +11° 54' 39.2" P.A. 147.00 sep 7.5 mag 8.49,9.60 Sp A3 dist. 172.12 pc (561.46 l.y.)

STF 2017 AB: 152; 150x: White stars, wide, half a delta mag.  WDS says it is not physical, and there is no -88% overlap of the parallax ranges, confirming it is not binary.
16h 12m 08.39s +14° 32' 56.0" P.A. 258.00 sep 29.9 mag 8.60,9.13 Sp K2 dist. 322.58 pc (1052.26 l.y.)

STF 2021 AB: 152; 150x: Brilliant white near equal pair, closely split around 3".  WDS grade 4 orbit, 949-year period.  There is 22% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 101 AU weighted separation, 0.9+0.9 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.7 is less than the escape velocity 5.6, so it is certainly binary.

16h 13m 18.45s +13° 31' 37.2" P.A. 358.40 sep 4.0 mag 7.43,7.48 Sp G9V dist. 23.58 pc (76.92 l.y.)

STF 2023 AB: 152; 200x: Very closely separated, 1 Dm white stars.  WDS uncertain, but there is 18% parallax range overlap, only 216 AU weighted separation, 1.4+1.2 Msol, so it is likely binary.
16h 14m 30.89s +05° 31' 21.0" P.A. 222.00 sep 1.8 mag 8.70,9.38 Sp F5

STF 2024 AB: 152; 150x: Bright light orange A star, and 5 Dm faint blue B star, wide.  An unusual large delta mag pair from Struve.  WDS says it's physical, and there is 25% overlap of the parallax ranges, a large 5,377 AU weighted separation, 4.3+1.2 Msol -- given the large mass of the primary is it possible this is binary.  
16h 11m 47.60s +42° 22' 28.2" P.A. 44.00 sep 23.6 mag 5.86,10.73 Sp K4III dist. 193.8 pc (632.18 l.y.)

STF 2025 AB: 152; 150x: Nice!  White A, very faint B closely separated around 3".  WDS says it's physical, but there is borderline 0% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 386 AU weighted separation, 1.9+1.1 Msol, so it is possible it is binary. 
16h 11m 11.71s +47° 33' 36.1" P.A. 164.00 sep 2.6 mag 8.03,9.75 Sp F0 dist. 141.64 pc (462.03 l.y.)

STF 2026 AB: 152; 150x: Faint stars, near equal, around 5" separation.  WDS grade 3 orbit 433-year period.  There is 34% overlap of the parallax ranges, only 89 AU weighted separation, 0.6+0.6 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.9 is less than the escape velocity 5.0, so it certainly is binary.  
16h 15m 57.07s +07° 21' 24.8" P.A. 15.90 sep 3.6 mag 9.48,9.86 Sp K5 dist. 26.04 pc (84.94 l.y.)

STF 2027 AB: 152; 200x: Faint stars, slightly unequal, very closely separated.  WDS uncertain, yet there is 22% parallax range overlap, only 373 AU weighted separation, 1.8+1.8 Msol, so it is likely binary.
16h 15m 16.64s +04° 15' 46.6" P.A. 81.00 sep 1.9 mag 8.77,8.86 Sp F0 dist. 271 pc (884 l.y.)

STF 2030 AB: 152; 150x: Around 3 Dm wide faint companion to the primary.  WDS calls it physical, and there is 27% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,088 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.2 MSol, so it is probably binary.

16h 12m 43.21s +40° 46' 54.1" P.A. 239.00 sep 5.7 mag 7.91,10.16 Sp A0 dist. 139.47 pc (454.95 l.y.)

STF 2035 AB: 152; 200x: Nice close pair, B is 2 Dm, split with 150x but better view at 200x.  WDS says it's physical, and there is 19% parallax range overlap, 711 AU weighted separation, 1.8+1.4 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.6 is less than the escape velocity 2.6, so it is binary.

16h 18m 09.39s +25° 51' 41.2" P.A. 36.00 sep 2.7 mag 9.71,10.90 Sp F5

STF 2037 AB: 152; 300x: Very faint pair, nearly 1 Dm, very closely split around 1" separation.  WDS uncertain, and surprisingly there is no overlap of the parallax ranges -62%, so it is not binary.

16h 18m 49.03s +17° 23' 58.3" P.A. 256.00 sep 1.1 mag 9.82,9.86 Sp G5 dist. 167.5 pc (546.38 l.y.)

STF 2038 AB: 152; 200x: B is very faint, at the edge of detection, very wide.  WDS uncertain, and there is no overlap -88% of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

16h 23m 31.48s +02° 12' 52.5" P.A. 213.00 sep 17.6 mag 9.10,11.30 Sp K0 dist. 416.67 pc (1359.18 l.y.)

STF 2040 AB: 152; 150x: White A and 2 Dm wide B.  WDS uncertain, but there is 62% overlap of the parallax ranges, 1,201 AU weighted separation, 2.0+1.2 Msol, so it is very likely binary.

16h 23m 05.73s +13° 50' 23.3" P.A. 313.00 sep 7.0 mag 8.11,10.14 Sp F2 dist. 195.69 pc (638.34 l.y.)

STF 2042 AB: 152; 150x: White A, 3 Dm wide B.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -94% overlap of the parallax ranges, it is not binary.

16h 25m 50.78s +05° 42' 07.1" P.A. 134.00 sep 9.7 mag 8.59,11.40 Sp F0 dist. 180.83 pc (589.87 l.y.)

STF 2043 AB: 152; 150x: White and extremely fine faint B, well separated.  Quite an extraordinary match.  WDS says it's physical, but surprisingly there is no parallax range overlap -18%, so it is not likely binary.

16h 25m 26.90s +17° 18' 10.6" P.A. 85.00 sep 10.0 mag 8.03,11.44 Sp G0 dist. 107.07 pc (349.26 l.y.)

STF 2047 AB: 152; 200x: Exquisite pair, near equal, closely split with 150x, better view 200x.  WDS says it's physical, and there is 10% parallax range overlap, only 250 AU weighted separation, 1.6+1.6 Msol, so it is likely binary.

16h 23m 08.85s +47° 37' 48.4" P.A. 325.00 sep 1.8 mag 8.54,8.65 Sp F8 dist. 185.53 pc (605.2 l.y.)

STF 2049 AB: 152; 300x: Beautiful pair, cream white A and light blue B, 1 Dm, closely split.  WDS uncertain, and there is no parallax range overlap -33%, so it is not binary.
16h 27m 54.63s +25° 59' 03.4" P.A. 195.00 sep 1.1 mag 7.33,8.10 Sp A2.5V dist. 132.8 pc (433.19 l.y.)

STF 2051 AB: 152; 150x: Pretty pair, white A and light blue wide B.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no parallax range overlap -72%, it is neither physical nor binary.
16h 29m 25.06s +10° 35' 31.4" P.A. 19.00 sep 13.8 mag 7.68,9.42 Sp G5III dist. 218.82 pc (713.79 l.y.)

STF 2052 AB: 152; 150x: Very nice light-yellow stars, near equal, around 3" separation.  WDS grade 2 orbital solution 229-year period.  38% parallax range overlap, only 40 AU weighted separation, 0.8+0.7 Msol, certainly binary.  

16h 28m 52.67s +18° 24' 50.6" P.A. 117.60 sep 2.5 mag 7.69,7.91 Sp K1V dist. 19.66 pc (64.13 l.y.)

STF 2053 AB: 152; 150x: Faint stars, 1 Dm, wide.  WDS says they're physical, and unfortunately there is no Gaia parallax data for the secondary.

16h 28m 21.06s +31° 08' 08.9" P.A. 351.00 sep 21.6 mag 9.95,10.84 Sp G0

STF 2056 AB: 152; 150x: White A and light yellow B, 1 Dm, wide.  WDS says it's physical, but there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, -57%, so it is not binary.

16h 31m 38.54s +05° 26' 01.3" P.A. 313.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.76,9.22 Sp A3 dist. 118.34 pc (386.03 l.y.)

STF 2057 AB: 152; 150x: Faint pair, near equal, well split.  STF 2058 in the same field.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and there is 23% overlap of the parallax ranges, 535 AU weighted separation, 0.9+0.9 Msol, but the radial velocity delta 5.5 exceeds the escape velocity 2.5, so it is not, or will not remain, binary.

16h 31m 34.41s +19° 16' 37.9" P.A. 269.00 sep 4.9 mag 10.49,10.63 Sp K0

STF 2058 AB: 152; 150x: Faint stars, more than 1 Dm, B seen with averted vision only, closely split.  STF 2057 in the same field.  -49% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

16h 31m 43.32s +19° 18' 36.5" P.A. 352.00 sep 1.8 mag 10.37,10.55 Sp K0

STF 2059 AB: 152; 600x: I want to say I see an elongation, but it is not certain.  WDS grade 4 orbital soltuion, 955-year period, and frustratingly there is Gaia data for the B star.  

16h 30m 55.71s +38° 03' 52.6" P.A. 173.60 sep 0.2 mag 8.75,8.79 Sp F5 dist. 203.25 pc (663 l.y.)

STF 2061 AB: 152; 300x: Nice!  3 Dm B appears with foveal coaxing only, then can hold direct, very much fainter and closely separated.  WDS says it's physical, but surprisingly there is no parallax range overlap -84%, so it cannot be binary.

16h 33m 12.49s +30° 54' 27.0" P.A. 29.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.92,10.44 Sp F2 dist. 121.21 pc (395.39 l.y.)

STF 2062 AB: 152; 200x: Excellent pair, 2 Dm, very closely separated.  WDS uncertain, and the parallax ranges just barely touch 0% overlap, but there is only 411 AU weighted separation, 1.6+1.1 Msol, and the radial velocity delta 0.1 is less than the escape velocity 3.4, so it is very likely binary.

16h 34m 44.14s +08° 45' 54.2" P.A. 109.00 sep 2.5 mag 9.07,10.61 Sp G0

 

STF 2063 AB: 152: 150x: Bright white A and light blue B, 2 Dm, wide.  WDS says it's physical, and there is 37% parallax range overlap, 1,156 AU weighted separation, 2.2+1.1 Msol, so it is very likely binary.

16h 31m 47.23s +45° 35' 53.8" P.A. 195.00 sep 16.3 mag 5.69,8.70 Sp A2V dist. 69.3 pc (226.06 l.y.)

STF 2064 AB: 152; 150x: Faint stars, very wide, 1 Dm.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -96% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

16h 34m 34.57s +16° 12' 01.6" P.A. 312.00 sep 70.5 mag 10.76,11.21

STF 2065 AB: 152; 150x: Faint stars, near equal, wide.  WDS uncertain, but there is no -95% parallax range overlap, it is not binary.

16h 32m 40.81s +39° 59' 14.1" P.A. 215.00 sep 32.0 mag 9.16,9.68 Sp F2 dist. 389.11 pc (1269.28 l.y.)