observing again

It's been quite a drought of observing weather lately.  But finally last night offered clear skies if not very good seeing or transparency.  The next several days should improve on all fronts, and so I'll be out as much as possible to make up for lost time.

With the 12.5-inch, starting out at 277x and then up to 443x, I went for some doubles in Leo Minor then Coma Berenices, slicing through the large open cluster Mel 111.  I only tried for doubles plotted in the CDSA as the seeing was not very good, Pickering 5-6.  It was still twilight at 9pm when I started.  It did get better at the end, when I spent some time gazing at Jupiter.

at 277x
STF 1524: Tight white near equal pair.  [Seems I did not see it or had some internal reflections; the pairs are faint -- or maybe I was just on the wrong star?]

STF 1523: Orange and 3-4 delta mag B.  B looks orb-like, dull, as if it has no light of its own and is illuminated by A.  [I need to try this one again, since it is a complex multiple.  AB is 1.8" near equal. I'm not really sure what I saw.  Maybe I'm just rusty!]

at 443x
Anonymous to the west of STF 1523: Just split, very faint B.

62 UMa / STT 575: Bright and 3 delta mag wide B.  [5.79/9.75, 46.4", 310°]

STF 1555 / h503: Nice! AB tight hair-split white pair, with fainter & wide separated C in a row to the east.  I wonder if STF is AB, and h is AC?  [AB 6.41/6.78, 0.7", 150°.  AB,C 11.17, 22.5", 158°]

STF 1596: Yellow-white A, 2 delta mag B.  Pretty wide.  [6.18/7.48, 3.7", 235°]

Sh 143: White-yellow A, wide, 3 delta mag B to north.  3rd to the east.  [Likely saw AC, 4.86/8.90, 59", 168° -- way off on PA.  AB is 11.8 and not seen, AD and DE too wide or faint to see.]

STF 1639: Close but well split, 1.5 delta mag, ~2.5", PA to south. [AB 6.74/7.83, 1.8", 323° seen.  AC is 11.42 & 91" not seen.]

STF 1633: Yellow-white, equal brightness, wide separation to NE.  [7.04/7.13, 8.7", 245°]

STT 245: Yellow-white A with very faint B due west, wide separation.  [5.7/10.7, 8.4" 282°]

EI 21: Is it the very wide white to the west?  Feel like there is a very faint near the brighter star, glimpsed when seeing stills.  [don't find this designation on Stelle Doppie]

23 Com: No dice!  [4.96/6.9, 0.4"]

STF 1687: Orange and blue, 3 delta mag, very wide separation to the east.  [saw AC, 5.15/9.76, 28.5 127°.  AB should have been doable, 5.15/7/18, 1.2".  Try again.]

STF 1685: Wide white pair, 1 delta mag, to south.  [AB 7.31/7.78, 15.8", 200°.  AC and BC are 8th mag and very widely spread.]

24 Com / STF 1657: Pretty orange and blue pair, 2 delta mag, very wide to the west.  [5.11/6.33, 20.1", 270°]

STT 21.  Same as 33 & 32 Com?  Very wide 1 delta mag.  [can't find in stelle doppie]

STF 1678: Wide separation near equal white pair, PA to south.  [7.16/7.68, 37.4" 170°]

STF 1689: Orange and blue, PA to south, very wide separation.  [7.11/9.13, 29.2" 228°]

STF 1728 / Alpha Com: Bright yellow, very faint blue B, to north.  [AB,C 4.43/11.45, 84.8", 349°]

M53, globular cluster: Round haze with brighter middle shot through with resolved strings of stars seen with averted vision.  AV turns the haze grainy with wanting-to-resolve stars.  Bright star on northern edge

Jupiter: Very good detail on Jupiter.  GRS and the darkened fork after it, light area in between.  Thin band leading to it and thicker behind.  Swirls, festoons, ovals, dark brarges.  Striations in the polar bands.  GRS is a red orange with some darker areas.  There's a moon moving into eclipse.  As it gets closer you can almost see it move toward Jupiter's limb.  It seemed to bend the limb as it approached.  It lingered on the limb a long time as a dot, then half a disk.  I had the illusion that I could see it through Jupiter's atmosphere. [Io entered occultation behind Jupiter at 10:46pm local time].