Had a couple of nights with decent seeing in the back yard, though with some average transparency. There was a haze blowing in front of the waxing moon, and in fact I was shut down early tonight by some thin clouds or marine layer coming in. I'm working my last section of printed finder charts for doubles in Cygnus, which is still hanging on in the early evening; though I did poke around in Cassiopeia too. Big Blue, 553x unless otherwise noted.
11/27:
STF 3062: 277x Light yellow and a more orange yellow B, 3-4", 1 delta mag.
00H 06M 15.81S +58° 26' 12.5" P.A. 359.7 SEP 1.55 MAG 6.42,7.32 SP G3V DIST. 21.48 PC (70.07 L.Y.)
STF 3057: 277x. White with 2 delta mag blue-white B, 4-5".
00H 04M 54.98S +58° 31' 55.8" P.A. 297 SEP 3.8 MAG 6.70,9.30 SP B3V DIST. 840.34 PC (2741.19 L.Y.)
There's a chain of doubles going south from Beta Cas, a pretty finder view, like stepping stones. One closest to Beta Cas is Ary 8, which is actually a triple system of wide pairing.
NGC 7789: Open cluster. Large, loose OC seems like there is a hole in the middle. Many faint stars and a rim of brighter stars to the east.
STF 3049: 277x. White A to slight yellow B, 3-4", 1.5 delta mag. [AB seen; AC and BC? fainter and wide -- how can C be paired with both A and B?]
23H 59M 00.53S +55° 45' 17.8" P.A. 328 SEP 3.4 MAG 4.99,7.24 SP B1V DIST. 1388.89 PC (4530.56 L.Y.)
STT 9: 277x, Very close, in diffraction, ~1.5". Much fainter 3 delta mag B, a pin prick resolved with seeing. [AB seen, 5 stars in system]
00H 26M 12.04S +56° 46' 45.2" P.A. 51 SEP 2.1 MAG 6.87,9.67 SP G3III DIST. 180.18 PC (587.75 L.Y.)
A jet plane flew through the eyepiece view, flashing lights...
T Cas, pretty light orange
Bright satellite (ISS) travelling NNW, fast, bright as the lights of a jet it seemed to follow headed to Oakland airport...
Lambda Cas = STT 12: Not sure I have the correct star, maybe out of round? A could of faints very wide. [Probably not seen...]
00H 31M 46.32S +54° 31' 20.3" P.A. 230.8 SEP 0.16 MAG 5.33,5.62 SP B8V+B9V DIST. 115.74 PC (377.54 L.Y.)
STF 60: Nice yellow pair. A is a ruddy / tainted (pee colored) yellow, B is cleaner. [10 stars in system? really? I thought this was a high proper motion pair; is it like a swarm of bees?]
00H 49M 06.29S +57° 48' 54.7" P.A. 325 SEP 13.32 MAG 3.52,7.36 SP G1V+M DIST. 5.95 PC (19.41 L.Y.)
BU 396: ! Suspected in 277x, confirmed with 553x, Small much fainter blue B in A's diffraction -- yellow-white, 1", 3 delta mag.
01H 03M 37.01S +61° 04' 29.4" P.A. 67 SEP 1.3 MAG 6.06,8.62 SP F0II DIST. 613.5 PC (2001.24 L.Y.)
BU 258: ! White pair, B resolves with seeing, 2", 2-3 delta mag. [AB seen; there is an AC, LV 14, 12th mag, wide]
01H 13M 09.82S +61° 42' 22.3" P.A. 262 SEP 1.5 MAG 6.50,8.80 SP B9V DIST. 201.61 PC (657.65 L.Y.)
All of this in nearly the same FOV!:
STF 115: ! 553x Peanut, near equal. (VERY good, 0.4"! 01H 23M 21.27S +58° 08' 35.6" P.A. 157.2 SEP 0.42 MAG 7.10,7.30 SP F5V DIST. 58.82 PC (191.87 L.Y.)
Delta Cas 553x marked as double but don't resolve except faint & wide stars [No wonder, faint & super wide] 01H 25M 48.95S +60° 14' 07.0" P.A. 58 SEP 110.1 MAG 2.66,11.89 SP A5III-IVV DIST. 30.48 PC (99.43 L.Y.)
V 465 a pretty orange
NGC 457 OC a loose, moderately rich cluster with a moderate magnitude range, faint stars crossed by a dozen brighter which form a hoot and an arc.
Arn 55: Picking up a pinpoint in A's diffraction, very faint with seeing, <1", 3-4 delta mag, white. [Probably not seen, only 0.3" but maybe?]
01H 44M 17.96S +57° 32' 11.8" P.A. 305 SEP 0.34 MAG 6.29,8.68 SP A3V DIST. 84.96 PC (277.14 L.Y.)
M103: Triangular, red star in the middle; rather a poor cluster. Seen as a string of three stars in the finder; how did Messier see it?
11/29: 553x throughout, shut down early due to clouds
HO 600: Can see moments of steady disk, but no B. Could be the quarter moon? Too much delta mag for the sky
21H 01M 47.44S +44° 11' 13.6" P.A. 96 SEP 1.9 MAG 6.70,10.90 SP AM DIST. 70.13 PC (228.76 L.Y.)
STF 2748: Pretty orange with 3 delta mag blue B [no record found in Stelle Doppie?]
STF 2747: Light orange near equal, ~5"
21H 02M 21.92S +37° 39' 14.0" P.A. 266 SEP 4.7 MAG 8.45,8.66 SP G5 DIST. 44.39 PC (144.8 L.Y.)
HO 283: See three stars faintly, pop with averted vision, in a line with A. But not the close faint pair, need the 20-inch! [Might have seen AB, but Aa,Bb is 0.8 and 6.54/12.00]
21H 11M 03.77S +36° 17' 58.5" P.A. 211 SEP 20.8 MAG 6.54,12.10 SP B1VP DIST. 1149.43 PC (3749.44 L.Y.)
STT 433: Two faint / direct vision / stars, wide, white, 3rd on opposite side. [AB, AC are 10.8 and 9.95 and 219 and 184 PA, what I saw on one side; BC is also listed as a pair... Interesting orbits]
21H 17M 55.07S +34° 53' 48.8" P.A. 219 SEP 15.2 MAG 4.36,10.80 SP B2VNE DIST. 196.85 PC (642.12 L.Y.)
STF 2760: Slightly yellow pair, 0.5 delta mag, wide ~5" [AB seen, 7 stars in system]
21H 06M 46.78S +34° 07' 56.2" P.A. 33 SEP 5.1 MAG 7.90,8.74 SP A4III DIST. 137.17 PC (447.45 L.Y.)
HO 153: ! Faint, split with seeing, 1" 1 delta mag.
21H 17M 39.56S +33° 45' 29.8" P.A. 128 SEP 1 MAG 8.50,9.55 SP A5 DIST. 128.7 PC (419.82 L.Y.)
HO 286: Ha! not a chance, 0.2"...
21H 19M 22.18S +38° 14' 14.9" P.A. 237 SEP 0.2 MAG 6.60,6.60 SP F1II DIST. 662.25 PC (2160.26 L.Y.)
STF 2785: Suspect 3x fainter in the diffraction when seeing stills. Needs a steadier, darker night.
21H 17M 36.79S +39° 44' 46.1" P.A. 233 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.94,9.94 SP F2V DIST. 222.72 PC (726.51 L.Y.)
S 790: 3x fainter, very wide. [AB seen. 4 stars in system]
21H 25M 47.02S +36° 40' 02.5" P.A. 29 SEP 34.7 MAG 5.89,11.71 SP B0IB DIST. 2777.78 PC (9061.12 L.Y.)
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Friday, November 24, 2017
yosemite skies
Earlier this week we had a short couple of nights stay near Yosemite National Park for some hiking and family time. We stayed at the Yosemite View Lodge which is on the south end of the park, a couple miles outside the park boundary. I stepped outside after everyone went to bed one night to have a quick look at the sky.
The hotel unfortunately had a lot of lights, both streetlights and lights from the rooms, so while standing near the buildings I could only make out the same stars I would see from my back yard. I walked to the north end of the grounds where there was a field blocked by a chain link fence. I found my way around the fence; just getting out from under the streetlights improved the view. There was a shed further in the field and once I stood in its shadow the sky simply exploded with stars. It was such a dramatic change I could hardly believe it.
Orion shown like a giant open cluster. Dark nebulae were apparent in its middle and above the head. M31 was naked eye overhead, and the dark nebulae above Cygnus were still visible, though the sky to the west was poorer with a light dome from Mariposa.
I had my 2.1x42 Vixens, and studied Orion. Barnard's Loop was a thick dark arc, but did not show any bright nebulosity -- I regretted not bringing any filters. The dark nebulae were most striking, especially above Orion's head. And the profusion of stars along the shield. Dark nebulae in Taurus, and the Pleiades like a wreath in surrounding darkness. I fit M31 and M33 in the same field, M33 a misty small fat oval to the very large M31. The double cluster was a bright knot in the stream of stars.
I did not regret having a larger telescope; the seeing was very bad with a lot of stars flickering and a wind coming through the canyon where the hotel is located. And I was tired from the day's adventures. I was quite content with the binoculars, and the astonishing reminder of what a truly dark sky can offer.
The hotel unfortunately had a lot of lights, both streetlights and lights from the rooms, so while standing near the buildings I could only make out the same stars I would see from my back yard. I walked to the north end of the grounds where there was a field blocked by a chain link fence. I found my way around the fence; just getting out from under the streetlights improved the view. There was a shed further in the field and once I stood in its shadow the sky simply exploded with stars. It was such a dramatic change I could hardly believe it.
Orion shown like a giant open cluster. Dark nebulae were apparent in its middle and above the head. M31 was naked eye overhead, and the dark nebulae above Cygnus were still visible, though the sky to the west was poorer with a light dome from Mariposa.
I had my 2.1x42 Vixens, and studied Orion. Barnard's Loop was a thick dark arc, but did not show any bright nebulosity -- I regretted not bringing any filters. The dark nebulae were most striking, especially above Orion's head. And the profusion of stars along the shield. Dark nebulae in Taurus, and the Pleiades like a wreath in surrounding darkness. I fit M31 and M33 in the same field, M33 a misty small fat oval to the very large M31. The double cluster was a bright knot in the stream of stars.
I did not regret having a larger telescope; the seeing was very bad with a lot of stars flickering and a wind coming through the canyon where the hotel is located. And I was tired from the day's adventures. I was quite content with the binoculars, and the astonishing reminder of what a truly dark sky can offer.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
some more in cygnus
It's been a poor observing season, with clouds and rain and generally poor conditions. After a couple weeks there seemed to be a two day break, so I went back to the Carro Catalog to see where I should create more finder charts, and found I had yet prepared the north eastern quadrant of this huge constellation. So armed with about thirty finders, I set about observing last night with Big Blue, 553x, T 4/5, but S only 6-7/10.
The second night, which was tonight, was a bust. Earlier in the week I hopefully invited Steve and Mark to Willow Springs, but this morning it seemed there would only be a three hour window to observe, and this after four hours of darkness and waiting around in the cold. So Steve decided not to go. I was willing to go to Panoche Hills and in fact loaded up the car. But I felt tired and I had a slightly sore throat, and fearing I would catch Clara's cold, decided it was best not to over tire myself. It was a good thing: as I was unpacking the van I found I had forgotten to load my truss poles -- I would have driven the three hours to get there only to find I couldn't set up my scope.
BU 1210: Don't see AB (1.4" and 12th mag) too faint vs. the yellow-orange 7th mag A. But I see several stars, including a very faint close pair which averted vision brightens. After patiently waiting for seeing, I sense the AB star might be in a slightly off position angle as the two close faint stars? [STT 425 CD is 10.80/12.30 and 4.3" and might be the close pair; AC's PA is 27 degrees. BU 1210 AB is 7.34/12.20, 1.4", PA 104 -- might be too much of a difference since it did not seem more than a 90 degree difference in PA.]
21H 00M 06.61S +48° 40' 45.9" P.A. 104 SEP 1.4 MAG 7.34,12.20 SP B9P DIST. 158.98 PC (518.59 L.Y.)
ES 32: 14th magnitude may be too faint, but some stars in the area. [This is one for the 20-inch in a better sky.]
21H 06M 36.09S +47° 38' 54.3" P.A. 157 SEP 15.7 MAG 4.55,14.40 SP K3III DIST. 316.46 PC (1032.29 L.Y.)
ES 2710: I think I have it, very faint, need averted vision to notice but can hold direct vision. Other star near. Wide, 3-4 delta mag.
21H 24M 55.45S +49° 19' 23.4" P.A. 157 SEP 20.2 MAG 6.56,11.90 SP A0VPSR.. DIST. 184.84 PC (602.95 L.Y.)
ES 98: Three stars in an arc. [In fact four stars visible. AB, AC, BC seen; CD 14th mag not seen. Not physical according to proper motion]
21H 19M 24.47S +52° 19' 27.8" P.A. 309 SEP 25.9 MAG 7.31,10.16 SP B7V+A1I DIST. 231.48 PC (755.09 L.Y.)
A 1892: ! When seeing stills disk resolves with pin point <1" split, very fine. 1 delta mag. Had to go to Mu Cephei to get the star hop correct, a confusing field.
21H 23M 40.12S +55° 17' 38.7" P.A. 351 SEP 0.8 MAG 8.17,9.31 SP A1V DIST. 361.01 PC (1177.61 L.Y.)
STF 2803: Three stars, 2 delta mag; wide.
21H 29M 52.95S +52° 56' 01.8" P.A. 285 SEP 25.7 MAG 7.24,9.60 SP B9.5IV-V DIST. 182.15 PC (594.17 L.Y.)
HJ 1669: 2 delta mag and such a rich field, who would guess which is double? [Not binary.]
21H 36M 09.75S +50° 30' 07.5" P.A. 236 SEP 19.6 MAG 7.16,11.60 SP A2V: DIST. 190.48 PC (621.35 L.Y.)
ES 825: Pretty orange and 2 delta mag wide B, but again, who would guess which is double in rich field? [Quadruple system]
21H 39M 55.58S +49° 07' 58.0" P.A. 257 SEP 12.2 MAG 7.25,11.50 SP K1II DIST. 483.09 PC (1575.84 L.Y.)
ES 35 = RU Cyg: Pretty red orange, 3 delta mag B, averted only. Opposite side of an 11th mag star. Wide. [11 star system]
21H 40M 39.10S +54° 19' 29.0" P.A. 218 SEP 10 MAG 8.19,12.40 SP M8E DIST. 249.38 PC (813.48 L.Y.)
STT 456: Close but clean = mag, 1.5". Near several stars which make a mini Cygnus asterism, but with "Alberio" the brightest. [12 fold system]
21H 55M 31.59S +52° 31' 40.7" P.A. 37 SEP 1.6 MAG 8.25,8.93 SP F2V DIST. 252.53 PC (823.75 L.Y.)
The second night, which was tonight, was a bust. Earlier in the week I hopefully invited Steve and Mark to Willow Springs, but this morning it seemed there would only be a three hour window to observe, and this after four hours of darkness and waiting around in the cold. So Steve decided not to go. I was willing to go to Panoche Hills and in fact loaded up the car. But I felt tired and I had a slightly sore throat, and fearing I would catch Clara's cold, decided it was best not to over tire myself. It was a good thing: as I was unpacking the van I found I had forgotten to load my truss poles -- I would have driven the three hours to get there only to find I couldn't set up my scope.
BU 1210: Don't see AB (1.4" and 12th mag) too faint vs. the yellow-orange 7th mag A. But I see several stars, including a very faint close pair which averted vision brightens. After patiently waiting for seeing, I sense the AB star might be in a slightly off position angle as the two close faint stars? [STT 425 CD is 10.80/12.30 and 4.3" and might be the close pair; AC's PA is 27 degrees. BU 1210 AB is 7.34/12.20, 1.4", PA 104 -- might be too much of a difference since it did not seem more than a 90 degree difference in PA.]
21H 00M 06.61S +48° 40' 45.9" P.A. 104 SEP 1.4 MAG 7.34,12.20 SP B9P DIST. 158.98 PC (518.59 L.Y.)
ES 32: 14th magnitude may be too faint, but some stars in the area. [This is one for the 20-inch in a better sky.]
21H 06M 36.09S +47° 38' 54.3" P.A. 157 SEP 15.7 MAG 4.55,14.40 SP K3III DIST. 316.46 PC (1032.29 L.Y.)
ES 2710: I think I have it, very faint, need averted vision to notice but can hold direct vision. Other star near. Wide, 3-4 delta mag.
21H 24M 55.45S +49° 19' 23.4" P.A. 157 SEP 20.2 MAG 6.56,11.90 SP A0VPSR.. DIST. 184.84 PC (602.95 L.Y.)
ES 98: Three stars in an arc. [In fact four stars visible. AB, AC, BC seen; CD 14th mag not seen. Not physical according to proper motion]
21H 19M 24.47S +52° 19' 27.8" P.A. 309 SEP 25.9 MAG 7.31,10.16 SP B7V+A1I DIST. 231.48 PC (755.09 L.Y.)
A 1892: ! When seeing stills disk resolves with pin point <1" split, very fine. 1 delta mag. Had to go to Mu Cephei to get the star hop correct, a confusing field.
21H 23M 40.12S +55° 17' 38.7" P.A. 351 SEP 0.8 MAG 8.17,9.31 SP A1V DIST. 361.01 PC (1177.61 L.Y.)
STF 2803: Three stars, 2 delta mag; wide.
21H 29M 52.95S +52° 56' 01.8" P.A. 285 SEP 25.7 MAG 7.24,9.60 SP B9.5IV-V DIST. 182.15 PC (594.17 L.Y.)
HJ 1669: 2 delta mag and such a rich field, who would guess which is double? [Not binary.]
21H 36M 09.75S +50° 30' 07.5" P.A. 236 SEP 19.6 MAG 7.16,11.60 SP A2V: DIST. 190.48 PC (621.35 L.Y.)
ES 825: Pretty orange and 2 delta mag wide B, but again, who would guess which is double in rich field? [Quadruple system]
21H 39M 55.58S +49° 07' 58.0" P.A. 257 SEP 12.2 MAG 7.25,11.50 SP K1II DIST. 483.09 PC (1575.84 L.Y.)
ES 35 = RU Cyg: Pretty red orange, 3 delta mag B, averted only. Opposite side of an 11th mag star. Wide. [11 star system]
21H 40M 39.10S +54° 19' 29.0" P.A. 218 SEP 10 MAG 8.19,12.40 SP M8E DIST. 249.38 PC (813.48 L.Y.)
STT 456: Close but clean = mag, 1.5". Near several stars which make a mini Cygnus asterism, but with "Alberio" the brightest. [12 fold system]
21H 55M 31.59S +52° 31' 40.7" P.A. 37 SEP 1.6 MAG 8.25,8.93 SP F2V DIST. 252.53 PC (823.75 L.Y.)
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