lyra doubles

These are from last week, when I started in on Lyra with Big Blue from the back yard.  553x throughout.  Some nice surprises here, although the seeing was only about 7/10 at its best and transparancy was off:

ALI 142:   Who is the discoverer? [Alaaeldin Ali, assistant professor of astronomy at United Arab Emirates University?]   Near equal to half a delta mag, light orange and a wide separation ~10".  Plainly it!  No other possible pair in the field.  Faint but seen immediately with direct vision.  18H 47M 40.34S +35° 59' 34.1" P.A. 127 SEP 12.7 MAG 11.40,11.63 SP K0V DIST. 81.5 PC (265.85 L.Y.)

BU 137:   Fine near equal light orange, ~2".  3rd fainter star 15".  Rich finder field; in Steph 1 open cluster.  Take a moment to enjoy it.  [AB seen.  AC wider and too faint.] 

18H 53M 57.56S +37° 22' 49.7" P.A. 169 SEP 1.5 MAG 8.69,9.02 SP G5III-IV

STF 2448:   Near equal white, 3-4" 

19H 03M 39.66S +35° 44' 34.4" P.A. 191 SEP 2.4 MAG 8.75,8.80 SP A3 DIST. 228.83 PC (746.44 L.Y.)

STF 2505:   Orange and blue, fainter.  Looks like Alberio.  Wide separation. [AB seen; AC wider and fainter, five stars total] 

19H 19M 52.83S +35° 32' 16.6" P.A. 316 SEP 11 MAG 8.31,9.46 SP A0+K DIST. 272.48 PC (888.83 L.Y.) 

STF 2338:  Split in finder.  In the scope one splits into a near equal pair.  A 4th star is nearby. [Curious Stelle Doppie data, with 5 stars visible: the closest separation is too far, and the delta mag too high; the one with equal mags is too far separated.  I wonder if I saw it?]  

ES 1651:   Challenging!  Faint elongated star with direct vision.  With averted vision it flashes a split, half delta mag, just split. 

18H 15M 49.67S +41° 06' 37.8" P.A. 5 SEP 2.4 MAG 11.19,12.36 SP F5V DIST. 225.73 PC (736.33 L.Y.)

STF 2393:   At first I took it to be a wide pair, but then a faint star shown 3" from one of them when seeing stilled.  Nice!  [AB seen.  AC and BC are with the brighter wider star first noticed.] 

18H 45M 09.99S +39° 13' 32.8" P.A. 319 SEP 2.5 MAG 9.25,11.07 SP A2 DIST. 934.58 PC (3048.6 L.Y.)  

STF 2393:   Pretty light orange and light blue!  Wide separation, 1.5 delta mag. [AB seen; AC & BC wider and fainter.] 

18H 45M 10.84S +38° 18' 54.6" P.A. 22 SEP 18.4 MAG 7.80,10.40 SP K5III DIST. 689.66 PC (2249.67 L.Y.)  

STF 2427:   Multiple.  Near equal the likely pair, foainter on the opposite side of bright star. [Not physical, though they list 9 stars in the system -- should be called an open cluster?]   

STF 2469:   Split when seeing stills.  <1", 1 delta mag.   [AB seen; a very faint and much wider AC not seen.] 

19H 07M 47.60S +38° 55' 41.6" P.A. 126 SEP 1.3 MAG 7.93,9.13 SP A3 DIST. 139.08 PC (453.68 L.Y.)

STF 2502:   Not seen, except for a messy diffraction. 

19H 18M 58.22S +39° 16' 01.8" P.A. 203 SEP 1.3 MAG 8.06,10.30 SP A7III DIST. 127.06 PC (414.47 L.Y.)

STF 2481:   Near equal wide white.  [6 stars, saw A,BC.] 

19H 11M 07.90S +38° 46' 48.4" P.A. 19 SEP 4.7 MAG 8.39,8.31 SP G6V DIST. 52.85 PC (172.4 L.Y.)  

STF 2394:   Pretty wide near equal white. 

18H 45M 28.48S +42° 02' 07.4" P.A. 202 SEP 6.7 MAG 9.61,9.96

STT 365:   Very fine but no mistake, white and blue stars, ~4", 3 delta mag.  Nice! [AB, C seen.  AB is 0.4" and would have shown elongation if the seeing was better and/or I was looking carefully.  AB,D a very wide separation.] 

18H 55M 57.14S +44° 13' 41.9" P.A. 258 SEP 2.7 MAG 6.97,10.52 SP A2 DIST. 186.57 PC (608.59 L.Y.)

BU 134:   2" separation, considerably fainter B, 2-3 delta mag, need the seeing to still 

18H 25M 17.50S +46° 53' 07.4" P.A. 126 SEP 1 MAG 7.99,9.70 SP B9.5V DIST. 227.27 PC (741.35 L.Y.)

HU 66:  Very fine near equal pair, yellowish A and blue-white B.  1" or less. [Interesting system: BU 66 = AB 0.1", BC, and STT 351 = AC. My description best matches BC since near equal and 0.9".  But AC is only 0.35 delta mag and 0.8".  So it should have been possible to see this pair too.] 

18H 25M 18.20S +48° 45' 42.5" P.A. 25.6 SEP 0.89 MAG 8.40,8.25 SP G5 DIST. 144.72 PC (472.08 L.Y.)

BU 1285:   White A and wide faint B.  Not sure I have it.  Mag 12.8 should be AV only or not see at all, but I clearly have a star in view. [I did not see AB which has the 12.8; but I did see AC which matches my description.] 

19H 03M 55.60S +34° 09' 04.6" P.A. 208 SEP 41 MAG 7.30,10.70 SP B3V DIST. 561.8 PC (1832.59 L.Y.)

ES 2489:   Faint and very faint, wide pair.  Needed averted to detect, then could hold direct vision. 

19H 20M 09.15S +37° 52' 36.9" P.A. 188 SEP 10.4 MAG 10.20,13.00 SP C

more hercules doubles

Out in the back yard last night with Big Blue again, chasing some doubles in eastern Hercules.  Seeing was only average 6/10 and transparency a hazy 3/5, some dewing.  A little more than an hour's session, with a couple BUs for highlights.  Toward the end of the night, around 10:30pm, the owl's screech was very loud overhead but I didn't see it.  Flocks of Canada geese were settling into the creek.  And a nice surprise, the highway noise was not too loud.

STF 2411: 553x.  Pretty orange A with 2 delta mag fainter B, ~7", a couple other stars in the view.  [Couple other stars might be WAL 97 but they seem fainter than what I sketched.]

18H 52M 18.63S +14° 32' 08.0" P.A. 95 SEP 13.5 MAG 6.63,9.61 SP G9III DIST. 111.11 PC (362.44 L.Y.) 

HU 676: 553x.  Nice orange star but nothing certain seen.  Suspected a very faint star ~10" but had only a couple of glimpses of it with averted vision. [Not seen, separation only 1.3"]

18H 57M 11.56S +14° 49' 58.9" P.A. 80 SEP 1.3 MAG 7.26,10.34 SP G5 DIST. 212.31 PC (692.56 L.Y.)

BU 641: 553x.  !! Extraordinary!  Moderately bright A and very much fainter B, 4-5 delta mag, <1" separation.  Seeing needs to still.

18H 21M 48.44S +21° 30' 27.9" P.A. 341 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.03,8.66 SP B9.5II DIST. 264.55 PC (862.96 L.Y.)

109 Her:  553x.  Pretty orange-yellow star.  Disk not quite round, but I don't notice any obvious pair. [AB = STT 587 a nearly 12th mag wide pair, not seen, along with spectroscopic pair or another faint/wide, AC] 

18H 23M 41.85S +21° 46' 11.0" P.A. 323 SEP 237.2 MAG 3.98,11.06 SP K2.5IIIAB DIST. 36.47 PC (118.97 L.Y.)

111 Her = ENG 64: 553x.  Nothing suspected except a string of three stars widely separated. [String is likely AB, AC, and AD.  Also a BC and a DJ -- equal wide pair.  Ten visible stars, I don't know why they just don't call it an open cluster?] 

18H 47M 01.26S +18° 10' 53.4" P.A. 241 SEP 110.6 MAG 4.36,11.60 SP A5III DIST. 28.89 PC (94.24 L.Y.)

110 Her = HJ 2839: 553x.  Fairly bright A, B flashes to view with averted vision but held with direct.  [Assume I saw AC as it was the brightest of four pairings, though the separation seems wider than what I sketched...] 

18H 45M 39.72S +20° 32' 46.7" P.A. 59 SEP 73 MAG 4.19,12.60 SP F6V DIST. 19.21 PC (62.66 L.Y.) 

STF 2415: 553x.  Pretty ruddy A and blue B, ~2", ~2 delta mag 

18H 54M 32.84S +20° 36' 55.1" P.A. 287 SEP 1.9 MAG 7.07,8.73 SP A0IV DIST. 194.93 PC (635.86 L.Y.)

112 Her = ISO 8: Nothing seen except the bright star. 

18H 52M 16.43S +21° 25' 30.6" P.A. 138 SEP 0.2 MAG 5.48, SP B9II-IIIP DIST. 124.38 PC (405.73 L.Y.)

STF 2401: 553x.  Not difficult, reddish A and blue B, ~5", 1 delta mag.  [AB seen, AC fainter and wider.] 

18H 48M 57.83S +21° 10' 01.3" P.A. 38 SEP 4.3 MAG 7.27,9.27 SP B3V DIST. 2941.18 PC (9594.13 L.Y.)

STF 2310: 553x.  ~3", 2 delta mag.  Nice pair. 

18H 20M 38.67S +22° 47' 50.7" P.A. 237 SEP 5 MAG 6.83,9.98 SP B8III DIST. 302.11 PC (985.48 L.Y.)

STF 2280 = 100 Her: 553x.  Very bright near equal white.  [AB seen; AC fainter and wider.] 

18H 07M 49.56S +26° 06' 04.4" P.A. 183 SEP 14.4 MAG 5.81,5.84 SP A3V DIST. 49.6 PC (161.8 L.Y.)

BU 640: 553x.  Suspect very faint B with averted vision only, pretty wide.  [Missed.  0.7" but at 14th mag I didn't have a chance -- maybe with the 20-inch.] 

18H 20M 49.23S +27° 31' 48.3" P.A. 322 SEP 0.7 MAG 7.00,12.00 SP G1V DIST. 28.55 PC (93.13 L.Y.)

STT 359: 553x.  Nice!  ~0.8" equal yellow-orange stars. 

18H 35M 30.40S +23° 36' 19.9" P.A. 4 SEP 0.75 MAG 6.35,6.62 SP G9III-IV DIST. 144.3 PC (470.71 L.Y.)

113 Her = BU 646: 553x.  Nice orange star but nothing noticed. [MKT 9 spectroscopic; missed the BU.  Three visible stars, AB, AC, BC, doing a dance.] 

18H 54M 44.88S +22° 38' 42.3" P.A. 37 SEP 34.4 MAG 4.59,11.10 SP G4III DIST. 144.72 PC (472.08 L.Y.) 

STF 2320: 553x.  Nice!  Blue-white stars, 1", 2 delta mag. 

18H 27M 45.89S +24° 41' 50.8" P.A. 1 SEP 0.9 MAG 7.14,8.90 SP B9V DIST. 256.41 PC (836.41 L.Y.)

STF 2259: 553x.  Orange and slightly blue tnged B, 2 delta mag, wide, 15" or more.  

17H 59M 03.63S +30° 02' 56.1" P.A. 278 SEP 19.8 MAG 7.27,8.44 SP G5II DIST. 446.43 PC (1456.25 L.Y.)

99 Her = AC 15: 553x.  Faint point seen in the diffraction of brighter star disk.  Two faint very wide stars in view. [7 star stystem, AB seen which is AC 15.  What is plotted in CDSA as AC 15 seems to be a different pair, maybe part of this sprawling system.] 

18H 07M 01.61S +30° 33' 42.7" P.A. 328.6 SEP 1.38 MAG 5.13,8.96 SP F7V DIST. 15.64 PC (51.02 L.Y.) 

ES 471: 553x.  Much fainter B star, 3 delta mag, wide separation.  Direct vision, but faint.  [AC seen.  AB in other direction, nearly the same separation, but much fainter still.  Six stars in the system.] 

18H 04M 39.08S +27° 06' 54.9" P.A. 44 SEP 24.5 MAG 7.21,10.20 SP A7III DIST. 169.2 PC (551.93 L.Y.)

STF 2315: 553x.  Near contact / overlapping disks, 0.5 delta mag.  [AB seen: a very good catch considering 0.6" separation.  5 stars in system, faint and far.] 

18H 24M 58.46S +27° 23' 41.3" P.A. 116.2 SEP 0.61 MAG 6.57,7.77 SP A0V+A4V DIST. 117.51 PC (383.32 L.Y.) 

challenging double-double in hercules

Cleaning up some double observations from last week, from the back yard with Big Blue, 553x.  There were some nice pair here, but especially a challenging double-double with PRY 2 and BU 822, each a challenge in its own right but more so by squeezing them into one FOV.

STT 318:  Pretty orange pair, 3 delta mag, ~3"

16H 56M 39.66S +14° 08' 24.9" P.A. 242 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.00,9.61 SP G9III DIST. 131.58 PC (429.21 L.Y.)

STFA 33: 80mm finder split, equal white.

17H 03M 39.31S +13° 36' 19.5" P.A. 117 SEP 304.9 MAG 5.91,6.17 SP A1V+K1III DIST. 76.75 PC (250.36 L.Y.)"

BU 954 = 54 Her:  Very faint, averted vision only B, pretty wide split to west.

AC seen, called FOX 196: 16H 55M 22.24S +18° 25' 59.5" P.A. 317 SEP 88.7 MAG 5.52,12.50 SP K4III-IV DIST. 120.05 PC (391.6 L.Y.) Did not see AB = BU 954,  P.A. 179 SEP 2.5 MAG 5.40,9.60 -- another for the 20-inch

PRY 2:   Blue-white and slightly reddish B, 3-4 delta mag, 1.5”.  Not hard at all!  Made a double-double with BU 822 at 277x -- highlight!

17H 04M 41.34S +19° 35' 56.7" P.A. 227 SEP 1.8 MAG 6.19,9.29 SP A0IV DIST. 176.68 PC (576.33 L.Y.)

BU 822:   Bright orange star with a consistent pin-prick point of light, stays still in occasional seeing shimmer.  Fainter than PRY 2's B.  1.5”.  Same PA as PRY 2's.  [AB seen; AC is super-wide & 11th mag] 

17H 03M 52.67S +19° 41' 25.8" P.A. 227 SEP 1.4 MAG 6.58,9.89 SP K4III DIST. 229.89 PC (749.9 L.Y.) 

BU 822 is close enough to PRY 2 I tried them as a double-double.  The trick is to maintain enough magnification to be able to keep the splits.  I went down to 277x 0.4° TFOV and could just squeeze the two within the field stop.  PRY 2 remained a very clean / clear split, while BU 822 was more challenging due to B being half magnitude fainter and slightly closer separation than the PRY 2 pair.  I could split BU 822 at 277x when in the center of the field, but I needed to wait for seeing to perfect and to bring it in a little from the field stop to avoid edge distortion.  But, for a few moments, I had these two in view as a double-double.  I'll try this again at CalStar in the 20-inch, it should resolve nicely.  Given the distance between the two pairs, they are just a line of sight double-double, but nice all the same.

STF 2109:  Orange and slightly green-blue, wide ~10", 4 delta mag.

16H 53M 45.78S +21° 10' 22.6" P.A. 313 SEP 5.7 MAG 7.52,10.30 SP K0 DIST. 188.68 PC (615.47 L.Y.)

STF 2137:  Easy if faint pair, 1 delta mag, 4"

17H 13M 53.67S +15° 57' 03.2" P.A. 144 SEP 4.1 MAG 9.15,10.03 SP A2 DIST. 416.67 PC (1359.18 L.Y.)

A 2184:  Wide faint pair  AC seen, LBU 5, 17H 27M 32.79S +16° 27' 24.5" P.A. 259 SEP 49.3 MAG 7.31,11.48 SP F0 DIST. 73.64 PC (240.21 L.Y.) AB is the Aitken, 2.0 sep 3.26 delta mag.

STF 2160:  White with 4 delta mag reddish B.  Nice.

17H 24M 33.80S +15° 36' 21.7" P.A. 66 SEP 3.7 MAG 6.40,9.28 SP B9V DIST. 153.37 PC (500.29 L.Y.)

A 2183:  Suggestion of a brightening in the diffraction, but not sure of a split.  This would be a tough one, maybe for the 20-inch

17H 23M 30.10S +16° 54' 10.7" P.A. 133 SEP 1.2 MAG 7.67,10.60 SP A2V DIST. 178.57 PC (582.5 L.Y.) 

KUI 81 = V640 Her:  Orange with two much fainter stars in a line, well separated.  AB & AC seen.  A is on one side, then B, then C.

AB 17H 25M 54.36S +16° 55' 03.2" P.A. 217 SEP 8.5 MAG 6.34,14.90 SP M4IIIAB DIST. 190.11 PC (620.14 L.Y.) AC PA. 218 SEP 23.2 MAG 6.34,13.80 SP M4IIIAB DIST. 190.11 PC (620.14 L.Y.)

STF 2135:  Dull orange and almost green B, wide, 2 delta mag. [AB seen, AC wide and faint]

17H 12M 06.06S +21° 13' 44.4" P.A. 194 SEP 8.6 MAG 7.59,8.88 SP K0 DIST. 152.44 PC (497.26 L.Y.) 

STF 3127:  Very bright and much fainter B, looks like a planet [AB seen, called Sarin.  AC and AD fainter and super-wide]

17H 15M 01.92S +24° 50' 22.5" P.A. 288 SEP 12.7 MAG 3.12,8.30 SP A3IV DIST. 23.04 PC (75.16 L.Y.) 

S 687 = 70 Her:  Round dist, nothing nearby.  Some fainter stars widely scattered.   [5 stars in the system, all wide and fairly faint -- more like a mini cluster.]

STF 2103:  White and 4 delta mag B, 4".  Nice! [AB seen, AC and AD too faint and far apart]

16H 49M 34.67S +13° 15' 40.3" P.A. 44 SEP 5.2 MAG 5.93,10.00 SP A1V DIST. 100.1 PC (326.53 L.Y.)

HO 557.  !! B only visible with averted vision.  As I drift from averted back to direct the star fades and I can only hold direct for a moment before it disappears.  Very interesting effect.  ~5” and 4 delta mag.

17H 13M 57.81S +16° 21' 01.0" P.A. 322 SEP 4.2 MAG 8.57,12.00 SP F8 DIST. 106.27 PC (346.65 L.Y.) "

STF 2140:  Bright orange and blue-green-grey B. 

17H 14M 38.86S +14° 23' 24.9" P.A. 102.9 SEP 4.64 MAG 3.48,5.40 SP M5IB-II DIST. 110.25 PC (359.64 L.Y.)

STTA 157:  Orange and blue, separated in finder.  See a near equal faint pair nearby at [AB seen.  Aa,Ab is a possibility in the 20-inch, 0.8" 3.8 delta mag.]

AB 17H 40M 41.23S +31° 17' 15.6" P.A. 106 SEP 118.3 MAG 6.43,7.92 SP K0III DIST. 130.38 PC (425.3 L.Y.)

STF 2194:  Orange and blue, fairly wide, 1-2 delta mag. [AB seen, AC fainter and wider]

17H 41M 05.50S +24° 30' 47.2" P.A. 9 SEP 16.5 MAG 6.51,9.28 SP K1III DIST. 161.81 PC (527.82 L.Y.) 

STF 2232:  Pretty bright A, 3 delta mag B, wide separation

17H 50M 15.00S +25° 17' 27.6" P.A. 138 SEP 6.3 MAG 6.71,8.85 SP A1V DIST. 147.49 PC (481.11 L.Y.)

DOR 1 = 72 Her.  Nope.  [Six star system!  Most faint and super wide.  I was trying for BC]

17H 20M 30.80S +32° 32' 49.6" P.A. 252 SEP 5.7 MAG 10.78,13.30

69 Her:  Bright A and very faint B, 4 delta mag, well split

17H 17M 40.25S +37° 17' 29.4" P.A. 143 SEP 0.9 MAG 4.62,8.53 SP A2V DIST. 53.79 PC (175.46 L.Y.)

STF 2178:   Orange and bluish, ~12", 2 delta mag.  [AB seen, AC wide and faint]

 17H 29M 28.15S +34° 56' 19.0" P.A. 128 SEP 10.6 MAG 7.29,9.05 SP K0 DIST. 128.53 PC (419.26 L.Y.) "

STT 329:  Wide pair, orange and blue 2-3 delta mag, wide separation; another star farther off.

17H 24M 27.11S +36° 57' 06.9" P.A. 12 SEP 33.5 MAG 6.35,9.88 SP G5III+F0V DIST. 230.41 PC (751.6 L.Y.)

STF 2220:  Bright white and 3-4 delta mag B, wide. [Complicated system, 5 visible stars]

17H 46M 27.51S +27° 43' 14.3" P.A. 249 SEP 35.5 MAG 3.49,9.78 SP G5IV+M3.5 DIST. 8.31 PC (27.11 L.Y.) 

STT 328:  Faint but steadily held B, ~8", 4 delta mag.  Nice!!

17H 17M 19.57S +33° 06' 00.4" P.A. 59 SEP 4.5 MAG 4.70,10.30 SP B1.5VP DIST. 204.08 PC (665.71 L.Y.)

STF 2161:  Bright white, 1 delta mag, ~4" [AB seen; A spectroscopic, AC fainter and wider]

17H 23M 40.97S +37° 08' 45.3" P.A. 320 SEP 4.1 MAG 4.50,5.40 SP B9.5III DIST. 120.63 PC (393.5 L.Y.)

STF 2181:  Orange with two possible pairs, ~2 delta mag, making a wide triangle.  Some others in the field.

AB 17H 31M 42.54S +30° 19' 05.3" P.A. 326 SEP 32.6 MAG 7.04,10.54 SP K0 DIST. 86.81 PC (283.17 L.Y.) AC P.A. 217 SEP 38.6 MAG 7.04,12.55 AD too far / faint

BU 632:  Wonder about my star hop?  Fairly bright A, wide and faint B, doesn't look like a Burnham.   [Likely saw AD = STT 336.  The two BUs AB and AC are fainter and closer in]

17H 47M 52.05S +34° 16' 40.3" P.A. 163 SEP 41 MAG 6.58,10.64 SP B3V DIST. 341.3 PC (1113.32 L.Y.)

BU 358:  Again with even wider separation, as a Burnham?  [Not seen, given my description]

 17H 47M 29.72S +34° 29' 49.2" P.A. 205 SEP 4.8 MAG 9.74,11.20 SP K2