Weather has been variable from a teasing haze to thin overcast, so not much observing done. I had about an hour earlier this week on the moon with Big Blue, under good seeing at 553x, scanning the terminator. The most striking view was Clavius, which was filled mostly with shadow except for craters C & D: the complete rims of both these craterlets were illuminated and shown like crisp rings of light over the dark. As time passed a faint, thin strip appeared to connect the two, and a rough slope to the south of D emerged. The western rim of Clavius appeared as a bright, ragged parenthesis. To top it, at the moon's southernmost limb, an illuminated mountain range floated separate from the rest of the moon, above the surrounding shadow; it was probably part of the ring mountain Drygalski, which according to Rukl is only partly visible during favorable librations.
I've been gathering materials to retrofit my 20-inch with motors and tracking, and hope to have that project completed soon.
Friday, December 29, 2017
Thursday, December 21, 2017
some aries doubles
Had a brief but satisfying session with Big Blue last night, trying to restore my sanity after a stressful work week. Transparency was 3/5, seeing 6/10, and cold, but it was satisfying nonetheless. 277x except for one observation. I poked around at random a bit, noticing a lot of yellow and orange carbon stars in the area; they seem particularly dense in this area.
Gamma Ari = STF 180: equal yellow-white, wide, bright. [AB seen, 4 stars in system]
01H 53M 31.76S +19° 17' 38.6" P.A. 1 SEP 7.4 MAG 4.52,4.58 SP A1PSI+B9V DIST. 50.3 PC (164.08 L.Y.)
STF 240: Equal white ~9th mag, ~5"
02H 17M 15.74S +23° 52' 24.8" P.A. 53 SEP 4.8 MAG 8.32,8.60 SP F0 DIST. 111.86 PC (364.89 L.Y.)
Hjl 1019: New designation for me. I assume the pair is a very wide separation, 1-2 delta mag star to the west-ish. I tried to see something close to A but no luck. [Correct on the wide pairing; B is a 0.4" pair!]
02H 29M 13.68S +23° 28' 08.4" P.A. 323 SEP 217.1 MAG 6.10,9.61 SP A5M DIST. 95.24 PC (310.67 L.Y.)
STFA 5: Near equal light orange, very wide. [AB seen. B has a C pair 0.6" and 4 delta mag -- should try it on the 20-inch]
02H 37M 00.52S +24° 38' 50.0" P.A. 275 SEP 37.8 MAG 6.50,7.02 SP F5V+F7V DIST. 41.75 PC (136.19 L.Y.)
BU 306: ! Very nice white and 3 delta mag bluish B, nicely seen 4". I think this is my first Burnham at 277x. [AB seen. AC too faint.]
02H 43M 51.25S +25° 38' 18.0" P.A. 19 SEP 3 MAG 6.40,10.36 SP A3V DIST. 104.28 PC (340.16 L.Y.)
BU 525: Star is decidedly not round but does not show shape other than a stretching, even at 553x. If not a close pair it would be the faint blue star very wide separation. [It's the close pair; evidently seeing not good enough to split; I have split 0.6" before.]
02H 58M 53.11S +21° 37' 03.9" P.A. 277 SEP 0.48 MAG 7.47,7.45 SP A3 DIST. 151.52 PC (494.26 L.Y.)
STF 333: Equal bright white -- stacked offset to each other -- just split with seeing. [AB seen. AC wider separation.]
02H 59M 12.73S +21° 20' 25.6" P.A. 209.9 SEP 1.33 MAG 5.17,5.57 SP A2VS+A2VS DIST. 101.94 PC (332.53 L.Y.)
Tau Ari = Cou 259: Bright, maybe oval? Pair the faint and very wide instead? [Marginal; saw the deformation to the disk but not the actual star, which might split clean in better seeing or the 20-inch]
03H 21M 13.63S +21° 08' 49.5" P.A. 217 SEP 0.9 MAG 5.34,8.09 SP B5IV DIST. 156.01 PC (508.9 L.Y.)
STF 381: ! Orange-yellow with 2x fainter B, very close split, with seeing; tough one. [Good catch considering the seeing]
03H 23M 19.33S +20° 58' 13.9" P.A. 108 SEP 1 MAG 7.56,8.75 SP G5
63 Ari: Seems to be very close, very much fainter B, but comes and goes with seeing. [Doubtful, too close.]
03H 22M 45.24S +20° 44' 31.4" P.A. 296 SEP 0.3 MAG 5.28,8.13 SP K3III DIST. 97.37 PC (317.62 L.Y.)
Gamma Ari = STF 180: equal yellow-white, wide, bright. [AB seen, 4 stars in system]
01H 53M 31.76S +19° 17' 38.6" P.A. 1 SEP 7.4 MAG 4.52,4.58 SP A1PSI+B9V DIST. 50.3 PC (164.08 L.Y.)
STF 240: Equal white ~9th mag, ~5"
02H 17M 15.74S +23° 52' 24.8" P.A. 53 SEP 4.8 MAG 8.32,8.60 SP F0 DIST. 111.86 PC (364.89 L.Y.)
Hjl 1019: New designation for me. I assume the pair is a very wide separation, 1-2 delta mag star to the west-ish. I tried to see something close to A but no luck. [Correct on the wide pairing; B is a 0.4" pair!]
02H 29M 13.68S +23° 28' 08.4" P.A. 323 SEP 217.1 MAG 6.10,9.61 SP A5M DIST. 95.24 PC (310.67 L.Y.)
STFA 5: Near equal light orange, very wide. [AB seen. B has a C pair 0.6" and 4 delta mag -- should try it on the 20-inch]
02H 37M 00.52S +24° 38' 50.0" P.A. 275 SEP 37.8 MAG 6.50,7.02 SP F5V+F7V DIST. 41.75 PC (136.19 L.Y.)
BU 306: ! Very nice white and 3 delta mag bluish B, nicely seen 4". I think this is my first Burnham at 277x. [AB seen. AC too faint.]
02H 43M 51.25S +25° 38' 18.0" P.A. 19 SEP 3 MAG 6.40,10.36 SP A3V DIST. 104.28 PC (340.16 L.Y.)
BU 525: Star is decidedly not round but does not show shape other than a stretching, even at 553x. If not a close pair it would be the faint blue star very wide separation. [It's the close pair; evidently seeing not good enough to split; I have split 0.6" before.]
02H 58M 53.11S +21° 37' 03.9" P.A. 277 SEP 0.48 MAG 7.47,7.45 SP A3 DIST. 151.52 PC (494.26 L.Y.)
STF 333: Equal bright white -- stacked offset to each other -- just split with seeing. [AB seen. AC wider separation.]
02H 59M 12.73S +21° 20' 25.6" P.A. 209.9 SEP 1.33 MAG 5.17,5.57 SP A2VS+A2VS DIST. 101.94 PC (332.53 L.Y.)
Tau Ari = Cou 259: Bright, maybe oval? Pair the faint and very wide instead? [Marginal; saw the deformation to the disk but not the actual star, which might split clean in better seeing or the 20-inch]
03H 21M 13.63S +21° 08' 49.5" P.A. 217 SEP 0.9 MAG 5.34,8.09 SP B5IV DIST. 156.01 PC (508.9 L.Y.)
STF 381: ! Orange-yellow with 2x fainter B, very close split, with seeing; tough one. [Good catch considering the seeing]
03H 23M 19.33S +20° 58' 13.9" P.A. 108 SEP 1 MAG 7.56,8.75 SP G5
63 Ari: Seems to be very close, very much fainter B, but comes and goes with seeing. [Doubtful, too close.]
03H 22M 45.24S +20° 44' 31.4" P.A. 296 SEP 0.3 MAG 5.28,8.13 SP K3III DIST. 97.37 PC (317.62 L.Y.)
Sunday, December 17, 2017
abandoned trip
I went down to Fremont Peak again tonight, full of hope to get more of a hang of the scope but especially to chase some special objects. Wispy clouds swept the sky on the drive down, and upon getting to the observatory I could see most of the north horizon was clouded. I opened up anyway, and ate my dinner. I was able to get internet signal, so I checked the satellite and saw the solid white wall coming down from the north. I suppose I could have stayed, and tried the setting circles, and at least a few objects, but I knew my heart wasn't in it, so I closed up (making sure of the turnbuckles and the other closing items...). I did pan around with my Vixens for a while, to get some astro satisfaction. Of course the sky remained more or less clear, making me second guess my decision. If I didn't know I'd have a long and difficult day at work tomorrow I would have stuck it out, but you can't win every battle. There will be other times.
Thursday, December 14, 2017
challenges with the challenger
Hungry for some deep sky viewing, I headed up to Fremont Peak Tuesday night 12 December to use the Challenger. I wanted to learn how to set and use the setting circles, and had a list of some objects to find, but no fixed agenda. I arrived at 4:30pm and opened up, setting a fan behind the primary and collimated the focusers, one of which was far off. I read through the user manual for the setting circles and thought I knew how it worked. The sky looked pretty good; a north wind blew away most of the southern California wildfire smoke, and as the satellite predicted there was a bubble of good transparency above.
I went about trying the star alignment. The first star is Polaris, but I could not, for the life of me, get the Challenger to point to it. Challenger is on an English cross axis mount, which means anything viewed along the meridian has an awkward eyepiece position; also the scope movements are not intuitive. I eventually assumed if I just let the scope sit on top of the axis and remain level, it would automatically be pointed to Polaris (or North Celestial Pole, to be precise) – which probably is incorrect but it was the best I could come up with. Then I followed the instructions to align first to Altair and then to Aldebaran. So far so good. I tried to select an object and see if I could move the scope to it, supposing I should watch the screen to see if the coordinates would change as I moved the scope and move to zero – but I could find no such function. I was pretty frustrated and just turned the computer off. I was frustrated too trying to move the scope into a good position to observe, and be able to reach the eyepiece, and to star hop (which was a real challenge). I did eventually find only one intended target, a PN in Cepheus; the rest of the night I poked around in Eridanus since it was a more convenient place to look.
I just hate the mount, it is too difficult to move manually and the eyepiece positions are often inaccessible or uncomfortable. And I can’t figure out the DSC to find things. The scope it too awkward to move for star hopping, and the finders are not conveniently placed. On the plus side: it’s a 30-inch scope, so it shows a lot. The tracking is rock steady; even at 900x everything stayed still. One of the finders is a 6-inch refractor which puts up very beautiful images. It’s in a convenient location, and has an attached room to get warm or take a nap. It’s on a mountain so the sky is not too bad… I want to love this scope but so far it has not won me over. I’m willing to give it more time.
All the same, it was a very good session, with some very “challenging” objects:
KjPn 6 = PN G111.2+07.0 = K 4-58.
R.A.: 22h49m02.2s Dec.: +67°01'39"
Magnitude: 18.2. B mag = 16.5, R mag 12.4. 10”x6”
30-inch f/4.8, Fremont Peak. 12/12/2017, 7:30-8:30pm
Trans: 4/5, Seeing 6-7/10. SQML 20.72. Haze from wildfire smoke mostly cleared in early evening but some extinction remained.
It took a long effort to wrestle the Challenger telescope to point to Iota Cephi, then to star hop through the eyepiece at 118x, using a printed finder chart and the telescope’s slow motion control paddle, into the correct position. The target lay to the south of a flattened dipper asterism which arcs above it. No hint of the PN at 281x or 457x; OIII, Hbeta, or UHC filters did not help. As on the finder chart, just north of the PN is an arc of three stars N-S, curved like a parenthesis. The closest and brightest star in this curve is 23” to the north of the PN (as I found later on Aladin). I could see the brighter two stars at 281x and the third, the faintest and furthest north, at 457x with direct vision. Adding a barlow, at 915x, I still had no hint of the PN for about 10 minutes of peering into the eyepiece. Then, while dropping my eye downward, a small, excessively faint grey mass formed itself in the correct position in relation to the arc of stars. I saw it almost without meaning to: after filling my eyes with light then glancing slightly and slowly away, it emerged of its own accord. The PN was very small but slightly larger than the three now somewhat bloated reference curve stars, and I registered the PN had a N-S elongation. Filters had no effect, and in fact the three reference curve stars disappeared in OIII and UHC. The PN was very intermittent and seeing-dependant; over the next 20 minutes I saw it appear 4 times, but palpably enough to convince me of its reality. I did not view a photo in advance, just the AAVSO finder; my field sketch matches the DSS image pretty closely. For now I’ll take this as a marginal observation until I can repeat it.
HCG 30:
a = MCG+00-12-051: moderately bright, small, elongated 3:1 NW-SE, diffuse halo and brighter core; star close to the SE. 12.6v
b = MCG+00-12-054: slightly south west of a, as bright but smaller, 2:1 elongation.
c = PGC 15624: on-stellar small smudge to the north of a, very faint and small.
d = PGC 15636: excessively faint and very small non stellar puff to the NE of b, averted vision only and only about 50% of the time.
Arp 67 = UGC 00892, irregular galaxy. Faint, small, somewhat distorted, round halo and brighter elongated core with averted vision. I sense some “cometary” haze emerging from the outer SE halo [this appears to be an elongation of the spiral arm]
NGC 1653: Round, quasi stellar nucleus, bright round core, diffuse halo. Moderately large and bright. There is a star in the west haze of the halo. E0, 12.0
NGC 1681: Bright, distorted bean shaped core, near stellar nucleus, diffuse mottled halo, 2:1 W-E. Sb, 12.9V
I went about trying the star alignment. The first star is Polaris, but I could not, for the life of me, get the Challenger to point to it. Challenger is on an English cross axis mount, which means anything viewed along the meridian has an awkward eyepiece position; also the scope movements are not intuitive. I eventually assumed if I just let the scope sit on top of the axis and remain level, it would automatically be pointed to Polaris (or North Celestial Pole, to be precise) – which probably is incorrect but it was the best I could come up with. Then I followed the instructions to align first to Altair and then to Aldebaran. So far so good. I tried to select an object and see if I could move the scope to it, supposing I should watch the screen to see if the coordinates would change as I moved the scope and move to zero – but I could find no such function. I was pretty frustrated and just turned the computer off. I was frustrated too trying to move the scope into a good position to observe, and be able to reach the eyepiece, and to star hop (which was a real challenge). I did eventually find only one intended target, a PN in Cepheus; the rest of the night I poked around in Eridanus since it was a more convenient place to look.
I just hate the mount, it is too difficult to move manually and the eyepiece positions are often inaccessible or uncomfortable. And I can’t figure out the DSC to find things. The scope it too awkward to move for star hopping, and the finders are not conveniently placed. On the plus side: it’s a 30-inch scope, so it shows a lot. The tracking is rock steady; even at 900x everything stayed still. One of the finders is a 6-inch refractor which puts up very beautiful images. It’s in a convenient location, and has an attached room to get warm or take a nap. It’s on a mountain so the sky is not too bad… I want to love this scope but so far it has not won me over. I’m willing to give it more time.
All the same, it was a very good session, with some very “challenging” objects:
KjPn 6 = PN G111.2+07.0 = K 4-58.
R.A.: 22h49m02.2s Dec.: +67°01'39"
Magnitude: 18.2. B mag = 16.5, R mag 12.4. 10”x6”
30-inch f/4.8, Fremont Peak. 12/12/2017, 7:30-8:30pm
Trans: 4/5, Seeing 6-7/10. SQML 20.72. Haze from wildfire smoke mostly cleared in early evening but some extinction remained.
It took a long effort to wrestle the Challenger telescope to point to Iota Cephi, then to star hop through the eyepiece at 118x, using a printed finder chart and the telescope’s slow motion control paddle, into the correct position. The target lay to the south of a flattened dipper asterism which arcs above it. No hint of the PN at 281x or 457x; OIII, Hbeta, or UHC filters did not help. As on the finder chart, just north of the PN is an arc of three stars N-S, curved like a parenthesis. The closest and brightest star in this curve is 23” to the north of the PN (as I found later on Aladin). I could see the brighter two stars at 281x and the third, the faintest and furthest north, at 457x with direct vision. Adding a barlow, at 915x, I still had no hint of the PN for about 10 minutes of peering into the eyepiece. Then, while dropping my eye downward, a small, excessively faint grey mass formed itself in the correct position in relation to the arc of stars. I saw it almost without meaning to: after filling my eyes with light then glancing slightly and slowly away, it emerged of its own accord. The PN was very small but slightly larger than the three now somewhat bloated reference curve stars, and I registered the PN had a N-S elongation. Filters had no effect, and in fact the three reference curve stars disappeared in OIII and UHC. The PN was very intermittent and seeing-dependant; over the next 20 minutes I saw it appear 4 times, but palpably enough to convince me of its reality. I did not view a photo in advance, just the AAVSO finder; my field sketch matches the DSS image pretty closely. For now I’ll take this as a marginal observation until I can repeat it.
HCG 30:
a = MCG+00-12-051: moderately bright, small, elongated 3:1 NW-SE, diffuse halo and brighter core; star close to the SE. 12.6v
b = MCG+00-12-054: slightly south west of a, as bright but smaller, 2:1 elongation.
c = PGC 15624: on-stellar small smudge to the north of a, very faint and small.
d = PGC 15636: excessively faint and very small non stellar puff to the NE of b, averted vision only and only about 50% of the time.
Arp 67 = UGC 00892, irregular galaxy. Faint, small, somewhat distorted, round halo and brighter elongated core with averted vision. I sense some “cometary” haze emerging from the outer SE halo [this appears to be an elongation of the spiral arm]
NGC 1653: Round, quasi stellar nucleus, bright round core, diffuse halo. Moderately large and bright. There is a star in the west haze of the halo. E0, 12.0
NGC 1681: Bright, distorted bean shaped core, near stellar nucleus, diffuse mottled halo, 2:1 W-E. Sb, 12.9V
Thursday, December 7, 2017
seeing through poor seeing
Tonight's weather is clear and cold, but there's a haze of smoke come all the way from the fires near Los Angeles. The Santa Ana winds carried the thick smoke out over the Pacific and they made a hook to the north and east into northern California. So it's a surprise smoke out night. It gives me a chance to write up observations from earlier this week with Big Blue. Seeing was rather bad, 5,6/10, 7/10 at best, clear and cold, no dew. I tried some clean up in Cygnus, which is getting low, in the early evening, but seeing was at its worst then.
12/4 / 553x
STTA 254 = WZ Cas: Pretty, deep orange A and very wide half delta mag B, white. [4 stars in system, faint and wide.]
00H 01M 15.85S +60° 21' 19.0" P.A. 89 SEP 57.7 MAG 7.40,8.33 SP NIAB:P DIST. 877.19 PC (2861.39 L.Y.)
H V 79: Bright white and very faint superwide pair. [Maybe I didn't see it; B is fainter than 12th mag which is limit of my scope...4 star system]
00H 04M 13.66S +62° 17' 15.5" P.A. 331 SEP 83.1 MAG 5.92,12.58 SP A1III DIST. 1190.48 PC (3883.35 L.Y.)
STF 3053: Pretty, orange and blue like Alberio. 1.5 delta mag. [AB seen, AC too wide and faint]
00H 02M 36.08S +66° 05' 56.3" P.A. 71 SEP 15.3 MAG 5.96,7.17 SP G9III+A1V DIST. 1369.86 PC (4468.48 L.Y.)
BU 392: ! Yellow A star. 12th mag B swims into view with averted vision and seeing, then can hold it direct as a bluish point. [AB seen. Not physical pair, sadly.]
00H 16M 57.05S +61° 31' 59.5" P.A. 71 SEP 19.5 MAG 5.73,12.48 SP G4II DIST. 190.11 PC (620.14 L.Y.)
BU 1094: No deformation noticed, not seen.
00H 30M 19.91S +59° 58' 39.2" P.A. 290 SEP 0.3 MAG 6.07,8.45 SP B9IIIN DIST. 235.85 PC (769.34 L.Y.)
BU 1227: ! Yellow and 3 delta mag B, orange, comes into view direct vision but only with seeing, 2-3". Two more stars wide at 90 degree PA from the closer pair. [AB seen. AC and AD are the two other stars, correct PA noted. Two more stars, making six in the system, too faint.]
00H 32M 21.78S +58° 20' 19.1" P.A. 193 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.21,10.64 SP F3V DIST. 80.65 PC (263.08 L.Y.)
BU 1: !! Right triangle of equal stars; the foot star has a very faint, 2-3 delta mag star very close ~1", faint split. Some fainter stars wreathed about it. [AB seen, while AC, AD appear to be the other triangle stars. 17 visible stars in the system, which I suppose ought to be called a cluster.]
00H 52M 49.22S +56° 37' 39.5" P.A. 83 SEP 1.5 MAG 8.58,9.33 SP O6.5V DIST. 3030.3 PC (9884.84 L.Y.)
BU 1098: Bright yellow and very much fainter 4 delta mag B
00H 55M 00.19S +58° 58' 22.1" P.A. 61 SEP 17.8 MAG 4.96,12.50 SP K2III DIST. 100.7 PC (328.48 L.Y.)
BU 1028 = Gamma Cas: Payed with placing the star beyond the field stop in the cardinal directions to see if the faint B would pop out. I bet this is how Burnham did it, or he used an occulting bar, just to see if something popped out. Star is called Tsih -- wonder how it got that name
00H 56M 42.50S +60° 43' 00.3" P.A. 259 SEP 2.1 MAG 2.20,10.90 SP B0IVE+F6V DIST. 168.35 PC (549.16 L.Y.)
BU 497: Super wide and faint. Who would think it is double and not some random line of sight... [6 stars in the system, not a cluster?]
00H 53M 04.28S +61° 07' 24.8" P.A. 170 SEP 144.6 MAG 4.85,9.79 SP F7V DIST. 18.74 PC (61.13 L.Y.)
STT 553: Super wide and faint. Why?
01H 11M 06.16S +55° 08' 59.6" P.A. 143 SEP 126.4 MAG 4.34,11.31 SP A7V DIST. 40.95 PC (133.58 L.Y.)
STF 16: White and blue-white, wide.
00H 16M 41.65S +54° 39' 36.5" P.A. 41 SEP 5.9 MAG 7.68,8.78 SP A3 DIST. 123.92 PC (404.23 L.Y.)
A 1253: Tried pretty hard for this one, but could not see faint B
00H 07M 37.40S +52° 46' 22.7" P.A. 84 SEP 3.8 MAG 7.70,11.28 SP G0IV DIST. 591.72 PC (1930.19 L.Y.)
HU 502: Hint of something, a bit of a smear in the diffraction.
00H 05M 57.04S +49° 37' 20.4" P.A. 108 SEP 2.4 MAG 7.66,10.61 SP F0V DIST. 146.63 PC (478.31 L.Y.)
ES 41: ! B appeared while putting my eye to the eyepiece -- then disappeared. B is averted vision to see -- can barely hold it direct vision. Wide, 4 delta mag.
00H 18M 21.55S +49° 30' 35.1" P.A. 221 SEP 6.3 MAG 7.96,11.16 SP F8 DIST. 115.61 PC (377.12 L.Y.)
STF 30: Obvious wide bright pair. [AB seen, 5 stars in system]
00H 27M 12.45S +49° 59' 08.6" P.A. 314 SEP 12.8 MAG 6.96,8.92 SP B9III DIST. 248.14 PC (809.43 L.Y.)
BU 394: ! Very fine, pop split with seeing, near equal.
00H 30M 45.56S +47° 31' 47.5" P.A. 277.4 SEP 0.82 MAG 8.49,8.77 SP G0 DIST. 49.33 PC (160.91 L.Y.)
STF 45: Easy wide orange and blue, 3 delta mag. [AB seen. AC is BU 1347, very faint and super wide -- again why would anyone think it's part of the system to bother taking a measure?]
00H 38M 41.60S +46° 57' 24.6" P.A. 90 SEP 19.2 MAG 6.85,10.06 SP G9III DIST. 112.23 PC (366.09 L.Y.)
STT 16: wide and faint.
00H 39M 09.89S +49° 21' 16.5" P.A. 22 SEP 12.3 MAG 5.62,10.48 SP K4III DIST. 641.03 PC (2091.04 L.Y.)
BU 232: ! Neat near equal orange and yellow. Split with seeing, 1". Is it a 2+1 system? [AB close pair, AB,C the triple]
00H 50M 25.10S +50° 37' 49.6" P.A. 255.5 SEP 0.86 MAG 8.46,8.79 SP F5 DIST. 101.11 PC (329.82 L.Y.)
ES 940: Orange A with very faint pin prick B, with seeing, 3 delta mag, wide. [AB see, 4 stars in system]
00H 57M 20.19S +52° 14' 23.7" P.A. 359 SEP 62 MAG 7.27,10.11 SP K2 DIST. 869.57 PC (2836.54 L.Y.)
A 812: Suspect a brightening in diffraction when seeing stills, but not certain. Orange star.
00H 51M 47.06S +48° 03' 23.6" P.A. 326 SEP 1.7 MAG 7.67,11.11 SP K0 DIST. 226.24 PC (737.99 L.Y.)
ES 45: ! Orange-yellow A, need averted vision to flash B out, barely hold with direct vision.
01H 01M 27.04S +49° 32' 39.1" P.A. 244 SEP 7.9 MAG 6.60,10.80 SP G5 DIST. 322.58 PC (1052.26 L.Y.)
12/6: Clear and cold, sky not as steady as I would wish. 553x
S 790: Bright star with wide very faint companion, and a 3rd forming a triangle. [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.)
STF 2802: Seeing poor; orange stars, near equal, ~4"
21H 31M 48.94S +33° 48' 56.2" P.A. 10 SEP 3.9 MAG 8.60,8.70 SP A5 DIST. 214.13 PC (698.49 L.Y.)
HO 164: Appears as an elongation in poor seeing, near equal 4"; splits with averted vision.
21H 41M 01.95S +35° 04' 44.7" P.A. 70 SEP 4.3 MAG 9.51,9.80 SP K0
BLL 55 = RV Cyg: Orange in finder, vivid in eyepiece. 2 delta mag very wide B; 3rd star as faint makes a triangle.
21H 43M 16.33S +38° 01' 03.0" P.A. 117 SEP 143.2 MAG 8.43,10.92 SP CII DIST. 1562.5 PC (5096.88 L.Y.)
HO 161: Elongation but nothing more, seeing too poor.
21H 31M 23.29S +40° 03' 54.3" P.A. 12 SEP 2.7 MAG 7.54,11.05 SP F3V DIST. 97.56 PC (318.24 L.Y.)
KUI 108: Not a chance -- but a lovely star field.
21H 42M 22.94S +41° 04' 37.3" P.A. 0.5 SEP 0.2 MAG 6.33,6.72 SP A0V DIST. 126.42 PC (412.38 L.Y.)
KUI 109: Seeing too poor...
21H 43M 25.63S +38° 17' 01.0" P.A. 155 SEP 1.5 MAG 5.69,11.10 SP A0V DIST. 84.18 PC (274.6 L.Y.)
75 Cyg star chain: WOW! Finder view of a line of stars from just west of 75 Cyg (which is a yellow orange star and double AC 20, not split) running north. 8 stars near equal space in wandering line like a fallen string, or Hansel & Gretel's breadcrumbs. Upon coming inside I find it is set above a dark nebulous area between the North America Nebula and Lacerta, which accounts for the lack of other stars. B 159 sprouts off 75 Cyg to the west; B 158 is above that and Barnard himself mentions dark areas to the north of this -- where the chain is -- but doesn't mention the chain itself.
BU 694: ! 2 delta mag, just resolves, 1" [AB seen; 5 faint wide stars in system]
22H 02M 56.68S +44° 38' 59.8" P.A. 7 SEP 1 MAG 5.71,7.76 SP A0IV DIST. 151.06 PC (492.76 L.Y.)
From here on it's 277x:
S 393: Orange-yellow A, 2 delta mag very wide B
01H 06M 11.20S +32° 10' 53.3" P.A. 295 SEP 60 MAG 6.42,10.61 SP K0 DIST. 172.71 PC (563.38 L.Y.)
STF 98: Yellow-orange and 1 delta mag B. Could be a multiple system: some stars on other side of A making a triangle, 2-3 times fainter. [4 stars in system]
01H 12M 52.98S +32° 04' 31.7" P.A. 249 SEP 19.6 MAG 7.02,8.14 SP A0V+A3IV DIST. 131.58 PC (429.21 L.Y.)
GIC 2: New designation to me... Harry Giclas, Lowell proper motion survey -- the man who hired Burnham! Faint yellow-orange star with fainter and very wide companion; possible 3rd to make a triangle. [AB seen, 4 stars in system]
00H 09M 15.74S +25° 16' 55.0" P.A. 237 SEP 29.5 MAG 7.77,11.46 SP G0 DIST. 51.41 PC (167.7 L.Y.)
STF 24: Near equal white ~5-6"
00H 18M 30.59S +26° 08' 25.1" P.A. 247 SEP 5 MAG 7.79,8.44 SP A2 DIST. 154.8 PC (504.96 L.Y.)
STF 28: Near equal yellow A, white B, wide. Could be a 3rd of similar magnitude. [AB seen; yes on the 3rd, which is FYM 12.]
00H 23M 53.23S +29° 30' 09.1" P.A. 224 SEP 33.2 MAG 8.32,8.55 SP F7V+F8V DIST. 84.6 PC (275.97 L.Y.)
AC 1: wide finder split, yellow orange A. No close by stars in the eyepiece. Why the designation? [Not seen; closer split, confirmed physical pair.]
00H 20M 54.10S +32° 58' 40.9" P.A. 288.8 SEP 1.84 MAG 7.27,8.26 SP F5V DIST. 67.93 PC (221.59 L.Y.)
STF 3056: Orange-yellow A with 2 possible pairings. [Did not see 0.7" AB; 7 stars in system]
00H 04M 40.09S +34° 15' 54.7" P.A. 141.7 SEP 0.71 MAG 7.72,8.08 SP G8III DIST. 177.3 PC (578.35 L.Y.)
STF 3050: Nice near equal yellow-white, ~3"
23H 59M 29.33S +33° 43' 26.9" P.A. 340.7 SEP 2.41 MAG 6.46,6.72 SP F8V DIST. 28.93 PC (94.37 L.Y.)
At this point I needed a little break, and moved the scope up to look at the Pleiades. I used the 13mm Ethos in my 80mm finder, for a nice 3.5 exit pupil and 4.3° field. The heavy eyepiece is almost more than the finder can take, but the view is so pleasing, sharp, and steady. I plan to keep the finder on the scope no matter how much counterweight is needed, just to have that view ready wherever I happen to be looking.
12/4 / 553x
STTA 254 = WZ Cas: Pretty, deep orange A and very wide half delta mag B, white. [4 stars in system, faint and wide.]
00H 01M 15.85S +60° 21' 19.0" P.A. 89 SEP 57.7 MAG 7.40,8.33 SP NIAB:P DIST. 877.19 PC (2861.39 L.Y.)
H V 79: Bright white and very faint superwide pair. [Maybe I didn't see it; B is fainter than 12th mag which is limit of my scope...4 star system]
00H 04M 13.66S +62° 17' 15.5" P.A. 331 SEP 83.1 MAG 5.92,12.58 SP A1III DIST. 1190.48 PC (3883.35 L.Y.)
STF 3053: Pretty, orange and blue like Alberio. 1.5 delta mag. [AB seen, AC too wide and faint]
00H 02M 36.08S +66° 05' 56.3" P.A. 71 SEP 15.3 MAG 5.96,7.17 SP G9III+A1V DIST. 1369.86 PC (4468.48 L.Y.)
BU 392: ! Yellow A star. 12th mag B swims into view with averted vision and seeing, then can hold it direct as a bluish point. [AB seen. Not physical pair, sadly.]
00H 16M 57.05S +61° 31' 59.5" P.A. 71 SEP 19.5 MAG 5.73,12.48 SP G4II DIST. 190.11 PC (620.14 L.Y.)
BU 1094: No deformation noticed, not seen.
00H 30M 19.91S +59° 58' 39.2" P.A. 290 SEP 0.3 MAG 6.07,8.45 SP B9IIIN DIST. 235.85 PC (769.34 L.Y.)
BU 1227: ! Yellow and 3 delta mag B, orange, comes into view direct vision but only with seeing, 2-3". Two more stars wide at 90 degree PA from the closer pair. [AB seen. AC and AD are the two other stars, correct PA noted. Two more stars, making six in the system, too faint.]
00H 32M 21.78S +58° 20' 19.1" P.A. 193 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.21,10.64 SP F3V DIST. 80.65 PC (263.08 L.Y.)
BU 1: !! Right triangle of equal stars; the foot star has a very faint, 2-3 delta mag star very close ~1", faint split. Some fainter stars wreathed about it. [AB seen, while AC, AD appear to be the other triangle stars. 17 visible stars in the system, which I suppose ought to be called a cluster.]
00H 52M 49.22S +56° 37' 39.5" P.A. 83 SEP 1.5 MAG 8.58,9.33 SP O6.5V DIST. 3030.3 PC (9884.84 L.Y.)
BU 1098: Bright yellow and very much fainter 4 delta mag B
00H 55M 00.19S +58° 58' 22.1" P.A. 61 SEP 17.8 MAG 4.96,12.50 SP K2III DIST. 100.7 PC (328.48 L.Y.)
BU 1028 = Gamma Cas: Payed with placing the star beyond the field stop in the cardinal directions to see if the faint B would pop out. I bet this is how Burnham did it, or he used an occulting bar, just to see if something popped out. Star is called Tsih -- wonder how it got that name
00H 56M 42.50S +60° 43' 00.3" P.A. 259 SEP 2.1 MAG 2.20,10.90 SP B0IVE+F6V DIST. 168.35 PC (549.16 L.Y.)
BU 497: Super wide and faint. Who would think it is double and not some random line of sight... [6 stars in the system, not a cluster?]
00H 53M 04.28S +61° 07' 24.8" P.A. 170 SEP 144.6 MAG 4.85,9.79 SP F7V DIST. 18.74 PC (61.13 L.Y.)
STT 553: Super wide and faint. Why?
01H 11M 06.16S +55° 08' 59.6" P.A. 143 SEP 126.4 MAG 4.34,11.31 SP A7V DIST. 40.95 PC (133.58 L.Y.)
STF 16: White and blue-white, wide.
00H 16M 41.65S +54° 39' 36.5" P.A. 41 SEP 5.9 MAG 7.68,8.78 SP A3 DIST. 123.92 PC (404.23 L.Y.)
A 1253: Tried pretty hard for this one, but could not see faint B
00H 07M 37.40S +52° 46' 22.7" P.A. 84 SEP 3.8 MAG 7.70,11.28 SP G0IV DIST. 591.72 PC (1930.19 L.Y.)
HU 502: Hint of something, a bit of a smear in the diffraction.
00H 05M 57.04S +49° 37' 20.4" P.A. 108 SEP 2.4 MAG 7.66,10.61 SP F0V DIST. 146.63 PC (478.31 L.Y.)
ES 41: ! B appeared while putting my eye to the eyepiece -- then disappeared. B is averted vision to see -- can barely hold it direct vision. Wide, 4 delta mag.
00H 18M 21.55S +49° 30' 35.1" P.A. 221 SEP 6.3 MAG 7.96,11.16 SP F8 DIST. 115.61 PC (377.12 L.Y.)
STF 30: Obvious wide bright pair. [AB seen, 5 stars in system]
00H 27M 12.45S +49° 59' 08.6" P.A. 314 SEP 12.8 MAG 6.96,8.92 SP B9III DIST. 248.14 PC (809.43 L.Y.)
BU 394: ! Very fine, pop split with seeing, near equal.
00H 30M 45.56S +47° 31' 47.5" P.A. 277.4 SEP 0.82 MAG 8.49,8.77 SP G0 DIST. 49.33 PC (160.91 L.Y.)
STF 45: Easy wide orange and blue, 3 delta mag. [AB seen. AC is BU 1347, very faint and super wide -- again why would anyone think it's part of the system to bother taking a measure?]
00H 38M 41.60S +46° 57' 24.6" P.A. 90 SEP 19.2 MAG 6.85,10.06 SP G9III DIST. 112.23 PC (366.09 L.Y.)
STT 16: wide and faint.
00H 39M 09.89S +49° 21' 16.5" P.A. 22 SEP 12.3 MAG 5.62,10.48 SP K4III DIST. 641.03 PC (2091.04 L.Y.)
BU 232: ! Neat near equal orange and yellow. Split with seeing, 1". Is it a 2+1 system? [AB close pair, AB,C the triple]
00H 50M 25.10S +50° 37' 49.6" P.A. 255.5 SEP 0.86 MAG 8.46,8.79 SP F5 DIST. 101.11 PC (329.82 L.Y.)
ES 940: Orange A with very faint pin prick B, with seeing, 3 delta mag, wide. [AB see, 4 stars in system]
00H 57M 20.19S +52° 14' 23.7" P.A. 359 SEP 62 MAG 7.27,10.11 SP K2 DIST. 869.57 PC (2836.54 L.Y.)
A 812: Suspect a brightening in diffraction when seeing stills, but not certain. Orange star.
00H 51M 47.06S +48° 03' 23.6" P.A. 326 SEP 1.7 MAG 7.67,11.11 SP K0 DIST. 226.24 PC (737.99 L.Y.)
ES 45: ! Orange-yellow A, need averted vision to flash B out, barely hold with direct vision.
01H 01M 27.04S +49° 32' 39.1" P.A. 244 SEP 7.9 MAG 6.60,10.80 SP G5 DIST. 322.58 PC (1052.26 L.Y.)
12/6: Clear and cold, sky not as steady as I would wish. 553x
S 790: Bright star with wide very faint companion, and a 3rd forming a triangle. [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.)
STF 2802: Seeing poor; orange stars, near equal, ~4"
21H 31M 48.94S +33° 48' 56.2" P.A. 10 SEP 3.9 MAG 8.60,8.70 SP A5 DIST. 214.13 PC (698.49 L.Y.)
HO 164: Appears as an elongation in poor seeing, near equal 4"; splits with averted vision.
21H 41M 01.95S +35° 04' 44.7" P.A. 70 SEP 4.3 MAG 9.51,9.80 SP K0
BLL 55 = RV Cyg: Orange in finder, vivid in eyepiece. 2 delta mag very wide B; 3rd star as faint makes a triangle.
21H 43M 16.33S +38° 01' 03.0" P.A. 117 SEP 143.2 MAG 8.43,10.92 SP CII DIST. 1562.5 PC (5096.88 L.Y.)
HO 161: Elongation but nothing more, seeing too poor.
21H 31M 23.29S +40° 03' 54.3" P.A. 12 SEP 2.7 MAG 7.54,11.05 SP F3V DIST. 97.56 PC (318.24 L.Y.)
KUI 108: Not a chance -- but a lovely star field.
21H 42M 22.94S +41° 04' 37.3" P.A. 0.5 SEP 0.2 MAG 6.33,6.72 SP A0V DIST. 126.42 PC (412.38 L.Y.)
KUI 109: Seeing too poor...
21H 43M 25.63S +38° 17' 01.0" P.A. 155 SEP 1.5 MAG 5.69,11.10 SP A0V DIST. 84.18 PC (274.6 L.Y.)
75 Cyg star chain: WOW! Finder view of a line of stars from just west of 75 Cyg (which is a yellow orange star and double AC 20, not split) running north. 8 stars near equal space in wandering line like a fallen string, or Hansel & Gretel's breadcrumbs. Upon coming inside I find it is set above a dark nebulous area between the North America Nebula and Lacerta, which accounts for the lack of other stars. B 159 sprouts off 75 Cyg to the west; B 158 is above that and Barnard himself mentions dark areas to the north of this -- where the chain is -- but doesn't mention the chain itself.
BU 694: ! 2 delta mag, just resolves, 1" [AB seen; 5 faint wide stars in system]
22H 02M 56.68S +44° 38' 59.8" P.A. 7 SEP 1 MAG 5.71,7.76 SP A0IV DIST. 151.06 PC (492.76 L.Y.)
From here on it's 277x:
S 393: Orange-yellow A, 2 delta mag very wide B
01H 06M 11.20S +32° 10' 53.3" P.A. 295 SEP 60 MAG 6.42,10.61 SP K0 DIST. 172.71 PC (563.38 L.Y.)
STF 98: Yellow-orange and 1 delta mag B. Could be a multiple system: some stars on other side of A making a triangle, 2-3 times fainter. [4 stars in system]
01H 12M 52.98S +32° 04' 31.7" P.A. 249 SEP 19.6 MAG 7.02,8.14 SP A0V+A3IV DIST. 131.58 PC (429.21 L.Y.)
GIC 2: New designation to me... Harry Giclas, Lowell proper motion survey -- the man who hired Burnham! Faint yellow-orange star with fainter and very wide companion; possible 3rd to make a triangle. [AB seen, 4 stars in system]
00H 09M 15.74S +25° 16' 55.0" P.A. 237 SEP 29.5 MAG 7.77,11.46 SP G0 DIST. 51.41 PC (167.7 L.Y.)
STF 24: Near equal white ~5-6"
00H 18M 30.59S +26° 08' 25.1" P.A. 247 SEP 5 MAG 7.79,8.44 SP A2 DIST. 154.8 PC (504.96 L.Y.)
STF 28: Near equal yellow A, white B, wide. Could be a 3rd of similar magnitude. [AB seen; yes on the 3rd, which is FYM 12.]
00H 23M 53.23S +29° 30' 09.1" P.A. 224 SEP 33.2 MAG 8.32,8.55 SP F7V+F8V DIST. 84.6 PC (275.97 L.Y.)
AC 1: wide finder split, yellow orange A. No close by stars in the eyepiece. Why the designation? [Not seen; closer split, confirmed physical pair.]
00H 20M 54.10S +32° 58' 40.9" P.A. 288.8 SEP 1.84 MAG 7.27,8.26 SP F5V DIST. 67.93 PC (221.59 L.Y.)
STF 3056: Orange-yellow A with 2 possible pairings. [Did not see 0.7" AB; 7 stars in system]
00H 04M 40.09S +34° 15' 54.7" P.A. 141.7 SEP 0.71 MAG 7.72,8.08 SP G8III DIST. 177.3 PC (578.35 L.Y.)
STF 3050: Nice near equal yellow-white, ~3"
23H 59M 29.33S +33° 43' 26.9" P.A. 340.7 SEP 2.41 MAG 6.46,6.72 SP F8V DIST. 28.93 PC (94.37 L.Y.)
At this point I needed a little break, and moved the scope up to look at the Pleiades. I used the 13mm Ethos in my 80mm finder, for a nice 3.5 exit pupil and 4.3° field. The heavy eyepiece is almost more than the finder can take, but the view is so pleasing, sharp, and steady. I plan to keep the finder on the scope no matter how much counterweight is needed, just to have that view ready wherever I happen to be looking.
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