I've become a little perplexed about Ho 50, which I've observed two times now over the last couple of weeks, each time failing to see an 8th magnitude B only 3" from the 6th mag A. So I was out again last night to have a go at it and some others. Seeing was ok 7/10, transparency 3/5 with some haze. All with big blue at 553x.
UC 2059: Pretty well separated, 1.5 delta mag, not remarkable as I hoped given the odd designation. [AB seen. I should give it another chance in dark skies; HSD1574 Aa,Ab is 0.2" and 11.06; Cou 1422 Ba,Bb is 0.6 and nearly matched 11th mag with it's pair...]
11H 01M 45.73S +36° 40' 41.6" P.A. 46 SEP 45.3 MAG 7.49,10.70 SP F0 DIST. 74.74 PC (243.8 L.Y.)
Skf 59: Orange-yellow star with very wide separated very faint B, need averted vision.
10H 54M 44.78S +36° 45' 31.7" P.A. 59 SEP 34.1 MAG 7.44,11.50 SP F2V DIST. 98.62 PC (321.7 L.Y.)
Ho 50: Tried again and can't see B. 553x, good disk with momentary perfection. Turned off drive to see where west and north were, checked north with averted vision, no. 6mm ortho with occulting bar -- still no. B must be variable?
11H 13M 40.09S +41° 05' 19.8" P.A. 35 SEP 3 MAG 6.47,8.36 SP K2III DIST. 114.03 PC (371.97 L.Y.)
Arg 101: White star 8th mag, with very faint 2 delta mag very wide B.
11H 51M 09.51S +33° 22' 30.0" P.A. 274 SEP 46.2 MAG 6.27,9.28 SP AM DIST. 65.49 PC (213.63 L.Y.)
HU 729: White star resolves to disk with seeing, but B not there. Apodizing--no. Tougher test than Ho 50; need to try on a moonless night.
11H 47M 50.02S +49° 49' 22.7" P.A. 348 SEP 1.6 MAG 7.14,10.89 SP A2V DIST. 147.93 PC (482.55 L.Y.)
STT 243: ! Super tight split ~1", faint, white, 1 delta mag. M109 is nearby just in of FOV; this pair just beneath its core [I thought a greyscale change I was seeing was the galaxy, but M109 is too far to be in the FOV.]
11H 59M 48.70S +53° 23' 52.1" P.A. 8 SEP 1.1 MAG 9.08,9.67 SP F8 DIST. 342.47 PC (1117.14 L.Y.)
STF 1630: ~2", half a delta mag, faint pair, nice.
12H 18M 53.81S +56° 22' 06.0" P.A. 169 SEP 2.4 MAG 9.50,10.26 SP G0 DIST. 105.71 PC (344.83 L.Y.)
STT 249: @738x very slightly notched elongation / overlapped disks. Tough to set focus and the FOV is very tiny. [AB,C is 12th mag 13"]
12H 23M 50.80S +54° 09' 30.5" P.A. 257 SEP 0.4 MAG 8.21,9.18 SP G5 DIST. 436.68 PC (1424.45 L.Y.)
HU 1136: Tried real hard, up to 885x, but can't say I have it. Thought I had a condensation in the diffraction when seeing settled but not consistent and not a point. While A is the same mag as Ho 50 A it seems brighter -- maybe H0 50 really is variable.
12H 05M 39.70S +62° 55' 59.3" P.A. 217 SEP 1.9 MAG 6.27,10.24 SP K1III-IV DIST. 117.92 PC (384.66 L.Y.)
Monday, May 28, 2018
Sunday, May 27, 2018
nice night
First clear weather in a couple weeks, but it stays light so long I only got an hour and a half in, from 10pm to 11:30pm. Still a varied and interesting night with Big Blue.
First, I had a peek at Venus before it set behind a tree; slightly gibbous phase with some shading.
While setting up and collimating, I saw a bright object in northern Bootes which shouldn't be there. Looking at it more closely, I saw it move smoothly and slowly, and then rapidly fade out. Must have been an Iridium flare!
I bengan doubles at 553x. Seeing was quite good 7/10 and improving to 8/10 later. There was a marine haze in the air:
STF 1483: Two near equal wide split, fairly faint, 9.5 mag.
10H 54M 30.84S +47° 29' 35.8" P.A. 243 SEP 2.2 MAG 9.52,9.61 SP G5 DIST. 52.85 PC (172.4 L.Y.)
STF 1467: Orange star with extremely faint wide split B. Needed averted vision to notice it as a smudge but could see it with direct vision as a small blue point when seeing stills. 2 delta mag.
10H 45M 15.60S +44° 58' 11.2" P.A. 292 SEP 4 MAG 8.58,10.76 SP K0III DIST. 239.23 PC (780.37 L.Y.)
STF 1465: Near equal well split ~3". 9th-10th mag.
10H 43M 13.35S +44° 37' 41.6" P.A. 12 SEP 2.2 MAG 9.79,10.10 SP K2
STF 1525: Near equal faint, 9th-10th mag, 3". Twin of STF 1465 but different PA
11H 19M 29.37S +47° 28' 12.6" P.A. 174 SEP 2.3 MAG 9.90,9.93 SP F5 DIST. 325.73 PC (1062.53 L.Y.)
STF 1541: Pretty yellow-white and slight blue, 1-1.5 delta mag, wide 4".
11H 27M 39.46S +46° 17' 33.4" P.A. 27 SEP 7.8 MAG 7.97,10.13 SP F8 DIST. 89.29 PC (291.26 L.Y.)
Ho 50: Tougher than it would seem. A resoles to disk, no diffranction, but B is not present even with seeing, averted vision, etc. Second time to try and fail.
11H 13M 40.09S +41° 05' 19.8" P.A. 35 SEP 3 MAG 6.47,8.36 SP K2III DIST. 114.03 PC (371.97 L.Y.)
Ho 378: !! Pretty cluster in the finder (~ 12 stars loose and poor, wide magnitude range, triangle shape). Fine split 1 delta mag 1", ice blue A and slightly yellow B.
11H 04M 57.29S +38° 24' 38.2" P.A. 236 SEP 1 MAG 8.25,9.14 SP F7V DIST. 136.05 PC (443.8 L.Y.)
Hzg 8: Very wide separation 1.5" mag. [this is AC of 51 UMa; AB is Ho 377 which is 6.04,11.60 and 8.2", and which I need to go back to give another go!].
11H 04M 31.28S +38° 14' 28.9" P.A. 84 SEP 150.6 MAG 6.04,7.56 SP A3III-IV DIST. 78.86 PC (257.24 L.Y.)
During the above session while looking in the finder a triangular squadron of satellites zipped through the view -- at least I think they were satellites. They were grey and small and a little large. Maybe they were birds, but the configuration seemed far too regular to be birds...
Now that the moon had cleared the meridian tree I had a view using my binoviewers, using 32mm plossls -- first time to try them out as my low power view. OMG WOW! the view was stunning. The moon was near full but I quickly adjusted to the brightness and could merge focus. The detail was beyond photographic. Most impressive was, as I noticed last time, the shade gradients in the mare and even the hills, the rays criss-crossing the surface, and especially the abundance of small white recent impact craters. Schroeder's Valley was in a low light angle and was just amazing. Even though this is the lowest power, it only gives about 2/3rds of the moon. Nevertheless it is totally worth the view.
I next tried Jupiter with the 10mm eyepieces in the binoviewers and had I think the best view I've ever had. Used the apodizing mask for the best view. There were huge purple festoons breaking like waves in the center. The GRS was near the center of the band, and a thin brown band was swept underneath it then sprayed behind the spot. Dark barges, white ovals, and even an Io shadow transit. For sure binoviewers are a great way to view the moon and planets.
First, I had a peek at Venus before it set behind a tree; slightly gibbous phase with some shading.
While setting up and collimating, I saw a bright object in northern Bootes which shouldn't be there. Looking at it more closely, I saw it move smoothly and slowly, and then rapidly fade out. Must have been an Iridium flare!
I bengan doubles at 553x. Seeing was quite good 7/10 and improving to 8/10 later. There was a marine haze in the air:
STF 1483: Two near equal wide split, fairly faint, 9.5 mag.
10H 54M 30.84S +47° 29' 35.8" P.A. 243 SEP 2.2 MAG 9.52,9.61 SP G5 DIST. 52.85 PC (172.4 L.Y.)
STF 1467: Orange star with extremely faint wide split B. Needed averted vision to notice it as a smudge but could see it with direct vision as a small blue point when seeing stills. 2 delta mag.
10H 45M 15.60S +44° 58' 11.2" P.A. 292 SEP 4 MAG 8.58,10.76 SP K0III DIST. 239.23 PC (780.37 L.Y.)
STF 1465: Near equal well split ~3". 9th-10th mag.
10H 43M 13.35S +44° 37' 41.6" P.A. 12 SEP 2.2 MAG 9.79,10.10 SP K2
STF 1525: Near equal faint, 9th-10th mag, 3". Twin of STF 1465 but different PA
11H 19M 29.37S +47° 28' 12.6" P.A. 174 SEP 2.3 MAG 9.90,9.93 SP F5 DIST. 325.73 PC (1062.53 L.Y.)
STF 1541: Pretty yellow-white and slight blue, 1-1.5 delta mag, wide 4".
11H 27M 39.46S +46° 17' 33.4" P.A. 27 SEP 7.8 MAG 7.97,10.13 SP F8 DIST. 89.29 PC (291.26 L.Y.)
Ho 50: Tougher than it would seem. A resoles to disk, no diffranction, but B is not present even with seeing, averted vision, etc. Second time to try and fail.
11H 13M 40.09S +41° 05' 19.8" P.A. 35 SEP 3 MAG 6.47,8.36 SP K2III DIST. 114.03 PC (371.97 L.Y.)
Ho 378: !! Pretty cluster in the finder (~ 12 stars loose and poor, wide magnitude range, triangle shape). Fine split 1 delta mag 1", ice blue A and slightly yellow B.
11H 04M 57.29S +38° 24' 38.2" P.A. 236 SEP 1 MAG 8.25,9.14 SP F7V DIST. 136.05 PC (443.8 L.Y.)
Hzg 8: Very wide separation 1.5" mag. [this is AC of 51 UMa; AB is Ho 377 which is 6.04,11.60 and 8.2", and which I need to go back to give another go!].
11H 04M 31.28S +38° 14' 28.9" P.A. 84 SEP 150.6 MAG 6.04,7.56 SP A3III-IV DIST. 78.86 PC (257.24 L.Y.)
During the above session while looking in the finder a triangular squadron of satellites zipped through the view -- at least I think they were satellites. They were grey and small and a little large. Maybe they were birds, but the configuration seemed far too regular to be birds...
Now that the moon had cleared the meridian tree I had a view using my binoviewers, using 32mm plossls -- first time to try them out as my low power view. OMG WOW! the view was stunning. The moon was near full but I quickly adjusted to the brightness and could merge focus. The detail was beyond photographic. Most impressive was, as I noticed last time, the shade gradients in the mare and even the hills, the rays criss-crossing the surface, and especially the abundance of small white recent impact craters. Schroeder's Valley was in a low light angle and was just amazing. Even though this is the lowest power, it only gives about 2/3rds of the moon. Nevertheless it is totally worth the view.
I next tried Jupiter with the 10mm eyepieces in the binoviewers and had I think the best view I've ever had. Used the apodizing mask for the best view. There were huge purple festoons breaking like waves in the center. The GRS was near the center of the band, and a thin brown band was swept underneath it then sprayed behind the spot. Dark barges, white ovals, and even an Io shadow transit. For sure binoviewers are a great way to view the moon and planets.
Monday, May 14, 2018
doubles near bear toes
Last night I opened up the shed to let Big Blue cool off, wondering if it would be possible to observe. Chunks of marine layer fog were drifting to the north, occasionally straying overhead. It turned out there was enough sky to observe, with occasional fog drifting through, threatening to shut me down any moment. While transparency was poor such that I missed seeing some fainter stars, seeing got better over the time I observed, which was exactly one arc of my equatorial platform. I thought conditions tonight would be the same, but no such luck, so I get to write last night's observations down.
STF 1427: 277x. 8th magnitude orange star and a very wide 1 delta mag B. Suspect a faint star ~2-3" from A; using 553x does not show it, but I really suspect it.
10H 22M 00.53S +43° 54' 19.3" P.A. 214 SEP 9 MAG 8.18,8.54 SP F5V DIST. 105.04 PC (342.64 L.Y.)
Shy 552: Perfect triangle of widely separated stars looking like Leo's rump. 8th, 8.5, and 9th mag. [Not all three stars in the system, is a binary pair.]
10H 16M 38.13S +41° 16' 33.0" P.A. 6 SEP 107.1 MAG 7.40,8.78 SP F5+F8 DIST. 55.8 PC (182.02 L.Y.)
A2142: !! Very fine, split, ~1-1.5". 8th magnitude and 1.5 delta mag B, close split, very nice pair. Seeing is getting better In the finder this is one of a triangle of equal magnitude stars.
10H 05M 43.55S +41° 02' 42.7" P.A. 296 SEP 1 MAG 7.97,8.83 SP F0 DIST. 137.55 PC (448.69 L.Y.)
STF 1405: 8th and 10th magnitudes. B is blurry with direct vision and flashes with averted. Wide split; A is white with a little yellow.
10H 05M 55.92S +39° 34' 55.7" P.A. 252 SEP 22 MAG 7.30,11.76 SP A9V DIST. 105.82 PC (345.18 L.Y.)
Sma 75: Wide finder pair, white and slight yellow. In the scope there are some more faint stars about, so it is likely a small cluster. [7 stars in the system.]
10H 43M 32.89S +46° 12' 13.9" P.A. 88 SEP 288.4 MAG 5.21,7.35 SP F5III DIST. 37.09 PC (120.99 L.Y.)
Jupiter: Really the first time I tried to look. I swung over before it went behind the meridian tree, though it was so low it was being apodized by the lattice running along the top of my fence. Weird moon configuration; all on one side but two were offset from the center and stacked on top of each other.
STF 1425: ! Very faint pair, ~4-5" orange and blue, 0.5 delta mag.
10H 21M 34.14S +46° 09' 07.6" P.A. 358 SEP 4.8 MAG 9.89,10.74 SP F5 DIST. 144.51 PC (471.39 L.Y.)
While looking in the finder, two satellites went zooming across the view, close together and next to each other...
Kui 50: I see one star but cannot find the pair, which is supposed to be 4" separation... [B is 12.6 mag, out of reach of Big Blue especially in poor transparency.]
10H 28M 03.88S +48° 47' 05.6" P.A. 22.6 SEP 3.82 MAG 6.40,12.60 SP F9V DIST. 22.91 PC (74.73 L.Y.)
STT 229: !! Just wider than a thin hair split of equal white stars, ~8th mag. 0.63"! [in 40 years it will be 0.2"...]
10H 48M 02.55S +41° 06' 35.8" P.A. 255.4 SEP 0.63 MAG 7.62,7.92 SP A5IV DIST. 165.56 PC (540.06 L.Y.)
Eng 45: Finder split, white, 0.5 delta mag. [AB seen; BC 14th mag]
11H 11M 48.95S +42° 49' 55.6" P.A. 247 SEP 135 MAG 7.24,8.30 SP F8+G5 DIST. 46.77 PC (152.56 L.Y.)
Ho 50: Pretty light orange star but can not find the 3" separated pair even with apodizing mask showing a perfect star image... [This one should have been doable...]
11H 13M 40.09S +41° 05' 19.8" P.A. 35 SEP 3 MAG 6.47,8.36 SP K2III DIST. 114.03 PC (371.97 L.Y.)
STF 1427: 277x. 8th magnitude orange star and a very wide 1 delta mag B. Suspect a faint star ~2-3" from A; using 553x does not show it, but I really suspect it.
10H 22M 00.53S +43° 54' 19.3" P.A. 214 SEP 9 MAG 8.18,8.54 SP F5V DIST. 105.04 PC (342.64 L.Y.)
Shy 552: Perfect triangle of widely separated stars looking like Leo's rump. 8th, 8.5, and 9th mag. [Not all three stars in the system, is a binary pair.]
10H 16M 38.13S +41° 16' 33.0" P.A. 6 SEP 107.1 MAG 7.40,8.78 SP F5+F8 DIST. 55.8 PC (182.02 L.Y.)
A2142: !! Very fine, split, ~1-1.5". 8th magnitude and 1.5 delta mag B, close split, very nice pair. Seeing is getting better In the finder this is one of a triangle of equal magnitude stars.
10H 05M 43.55S +41° 02' 42.7" P.A. 296 SEP 1 MAG 7.97,8.83 SP F0 DIST. 137.55 PC (448.69 L.Y.)
STF 1405: 8th and 10th magnitudes. B is blurry with direct vision and flashes with averted. Wide split; A is white with a little yellow.
10H 05M 55.92S +39° 34' 55.7" P.A. 252 SEP 22 MAG 7.30,11.76 SP A9V DIST. 105.82 PC (345.18 L.Y.)
Sma 75: Wide finder pair, white and slight yellow. In the scope there are some more faint stars about, so it is likely a small cluster. [7 stars in the system.]
10H 43M 32.89S +46° 12' 13.9" P.A. 88 SEP 288.4 MAG 5.21,7.35 SP F5III DIST. 37.09 PC (120.99 L.Y.)
Jupiter: Really the first time I tried to look. I swung over before it went behind the meridian tree, though it was so low it was being apodized by the lattice running along the top of my fence. Weird moon configuration; all on one side but two were offset from the center and stacked on top of each other.
STF 1425: ! Very faint pair, ~4-5" orange and blue, 0.5 delta mag.
10H 21M 34.14S +46° 09' 07.6" P.A. 358 SEP 4.8 MAG 9.89,10.74 SP F5 DIST. 144.51 PC (471.39 L.Y.)
While looking in the finder, two satellites went zooming across the view, close together and next to each other...
Kui 50: I see one star but cannot find the pair, which is supposed to be 4" separation... [B is 12.6 mag, out of reach of Big Blue especially in poor transparency.]
10H 28M 03.88S +48° 47' 05.6" P.A. 22.6 SEP 3.82 MAG 6.40,12.60 SP F9V DIST. 22.91 PC (74.73 L.Y.)
STT 229: !! Just wider than a thin hair split of equal white stars, ~8th mag. 0.63"! [in 40 years it will be 0.2"...]
10H 48M 02.55S +41° 06' 35.8" P.A. 255.4 SEP 0.63 MAG 7.62,7.92 SP A5IV DIST. 165.56 PC (540.06 L.Y.)
Eng 45: Finder split, white, 0.5 delta mag. [AB seen; BC 14th mag]
11H 11M 48.95S +42° 49' 55.6" P.A. 247 SEP 135 MAG 7.24,8.30 SP F8+G5 DIST. 46.77 PC (152.56 L.Y.)
Ho 50: Pretty light orange star but can not find the 3" separated pair even with apodizing mask showing a perfect star image... [This one should have been doable...]
11H 13M 40.09S +41° 05' 19.8" P.A. 35 SEP 3 MAG 6.47,8.36 SP K2III DIST. 114.03 PC (371.97 L.Y.)
Saturday, May 12, 2018
bit of escape
It was quite a long work week so I was looking forward to observing Friday night. Since I have weekend plans I reserved the Challenger. Weather was predicted to be clear but seeing was to be poor -- a jetstream flow moving in. Sometimes it's hard to judge the accuracy of the forecasts, so I went to the Peak anyhow.
I arrived after 7pm after fighting traffic on the way down. Ric was there set up for some astrophotography. I opened up the Challenger to let it cool down and had dinner. At 9pm I started the routine, aligning the finderscopes etc. I had hoped to chase some close doubles, but after starhopping (always somewhat of an ordeal) to STT 277 in Bootes, found the seeing was truly awful; bloated stars and dense diffraction. I applied more power and could see elongation in the mess -- it's 0.2" separation, equal 8th magnitude -- but no way to resolve, not this night. I was encouraged, though, that the scope should be able to resolve the pair on a better night.
I switched to some low power sweeps of the Virgo and Coma clusters, not with any particular intent, just for sight-seeing. There was one striking group with two large ellipticals, a small round one in the middle, and a long diffuse edge on up in the corner, somewhere in Virgo.
But by 11pm the wind gusts were continuing, and getting stronger, and the Challenger would start to move with the wind. I would be on the floor trying to star hop somewhere, and by the time I climbed the ladder the scope had moved well off course. It was getting dangerous so I closed up around 11pm.
I slept in the van, fitfully at first. At around 3:20am I woke to sounds of screeching tires -- I saw some headlights on the road. Seems some thrillseekers were racing up and down the Peak at top speed to see how fast they could take the turns.
Since I couldn't sleep I got up and found my Vixen 2.1x42 binos and sat on a bench to take in the Milky Way, which had risen well up by then. I scanned the dark lanes in Scorpius, up to Aquilla, and up further to Cygnus. Nice star clouds and fields of stars. Not really great like at a truly dark sky, but nice anyhow. Saw a couple meteors, one with a smoke trail. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars made their arc; at the start of the night Venus was high in the west. With that I was able to go back to sleep until nearly dawn.
I will heed the weather forecast better in the future, though I was nice to have a bit of escape. As I was driving down I realized I had forgotten all about work, so the night out did its trick.
I arrived after 7pm after fighting traffic on the way down. Ric was there set up for some astrophotography. I opened up the Challenger to let it cool down and had dinner. At 9pm I started the routine, aligning the finderscopes etc. I had hoped to chase some close doubles, but after starhopping (always somewhat of an ordeal) to STT 277 in Bootes, found the seeing was truly awful; bloated stars and dense diffraction. I applied more power and could see elongation in the mess -- it's 0.2" separation, equal 8th magnitude -- but no way to resolve, not this night. I was encouraged, though, that the scope should be able to resolve the pair on a better night.
I switched to some low power sweeps of the Virgo and Coma clusters, not with any particular intent, just for sight-seeing. There was one striking group with two large ellipticals, a small round one in the middle, and a long diffuse edge on up in the corner, somewhere in Virgo.
But by 11pm the wind gusts were continuing, and getting stronger, and the Challenger would start to move with the wind. I would be on the floor trying to star hop somewhere, and by the time I climbed the ladder the scope had moved well off course. It was getting dangerous so I closed up around 11pm.
I slept in the van, fitfully at first. At around 3:20am I woke to sounds of screeching tires -- I saw some headlights on the road. Seems some thrillseekers were racing up and down the Peak at top speed to see how fast they could take the turns.
Since I couldn't sleep I got up and found my Vixen 2.1x42 binos and sat on a bench to take in the Milky Way, which had risen well up by then. I scanned the dark lanes in Scorpius, up to Aquilla, and up further to Cygnus. Nice star clouds and fields of stars. Not really great like at a truly dark sky, but nice anyhow. Saw a couple meteors, one with a smoke trail. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars made their arc; at the start of the night Venus was high in the west. With that I was able to go back to sleep until nearly dawn.
I will heed the weather forecast better in the future, though I was nice to have a bit of escape. As I was driving down I realized I had forgotten all about work, so the night out did its trick.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
beautiful doubles in UMa
Monday night had a window of relatively clear skies, and surprisingly good seeing. I used Big Blue to chase down some close / wide delta mag doubles in UMa, and totally enjoyed the night -- I really needed it!
23 UMa / STF 1351: 270x. Lovely yellow-white and 3x fainter wide B, white. A third star further out. [It is a triple system, but since AC is 11th mag, did not see that.]
09H 31M 31.57S +63° 03' 42.5" P.A. 268 SEP 22.9 MAG 3.65,9.19 SP F0IV DIST. 23.82 PC (77.7 L.Y.)
Tau UMa / H V 75AB: 270x. Very wide; A a light yellow orange. Pretty. [Did not see the true pair, which is also 11th mag.]
09H 10M 55.05S +63° 30' 49.0" P.A. 36 SEP 52.1 MAG 4.68,11.42 SP AM DIST. 38.73 PC (126.34 L.Y.)
For the rest of the night, at 553x:
Arg 21: Two very faint stars, wide separation, ~0.5 delta mag, to south of an orange star. Roof currents affecting the seeing.
08H 55M 51.01S +64° 58' 21.6" P.A. 107 SEP 21.4 MAG 10.01,10.45 SP G0
BU 408: !! BU 408 is the fainter star in a pair pair of near equal stars in finder view, red-orange color. In the scope the B is a blue star 3" out from the orange star. Seen as near perfect disks.
08H 59M 00.62S +63° 25' 42.8" P.A. 344 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.35,9.59 SP G5 DIST. 196.46 PC (640.85 L.Y.)
STT 199 / 37 Lyn / Arn 71: Yellow with very faint wide reddish B, ~4 delta mag. Seen in same field with 37 Lyn, which I think is the STT 199 star, which is brightest, paired with the next brightest star wide separation. Arn 71 I think is the faintest star making an equilateral triangle with the other two.
STT 199 = 37 Lyn; AB: 09H 20M 43.76S +51° 15' 57.8" P.A. 138 SEP 5.6 MAG 6.19,10.00 SP F5V DIST. 27.45 PC (89.54 L.Y.). AC is 10.66 mag and 128.4". Arn 71 is AD, 7.89 mag and 231" -- so I had 37 Lyn and Arn 71 reversed in my description above. An interesting system! Galaxy NGC 2841 is just below Arn 71, but I could not see it in the light pollution -- the STT 199 system is the trio of stars in the upper right corner of this image]
STT 200: !! Light orange A, B a deeper orange, maybe because it's 2-3x fainter. B resolves from within A's diffraction when seeing settles, ~1". Wow!
09H 24M 55.67S +51° 34' 26.1" P.A. 337 SEP 1.2 MAG 6.53,8.57 SP G0IV DIST. 129.2 PC (421.45 L.Y.)
STT 209: ! Light orange-yellow disk with faint diffraction ring. Extremely faint blue B ~4"; can see it direct vision but it flashes forth with averted. 10th magnitude seems to be the limit tonight (transparency 3/5)
09H 53M 17.23S +50° 37' 16.3" P.A. 309 SEP 4.9 MAG 7.41,10.31 SP G8IV DIST. 196.85 PC (642.12 L.Y.)
Had a look at high proper motion star Groombridge 201 through the finder, and made a quick sketch.
STT 210: !! Yellow A and white B, very tight. Faint, seeing needs to be perfect to see B in the diffraction.
10H 02M 35.64S +46° 21' 42.5" P.A. 256 SEP 1.2 MAG 8.52,9.07 SP G5 DIST. 228.83 PC (746.44 L.Y.)
Cbl 38: Three stars in a row, middle is the brightest; one closer is 1 delta mag, the second on the other side is 1.5 delta mag. [Likely did not see, though it could have been the fainter, more widely separated star.]
09H 50M 29.75S +45° 05' 01.3" P.A. 11 SEP 53.1 MAG 7.46,11.71 SP F3VN DIST. 101.42 PC (330.83 L.Y.)
STF 1491: Orange and blue, pretty wide, ~3 delta mag. [AB seen; AC 14.9 mag, FYM 406]
10H 58M 50.42S +61° 42' 56.4" P.A. 30 SEP 14 MAG 8.39,11.33 SP K0 DIST. 1052.63 PC (3433.68 L.Y.)
STF 1512: Pretty near equal bluish-white stars
11H 09M 13.09S +62° 29' 51.0" P.A. 52 SEP 10 MAG 9.29,9.52 SP A2 DIST. 448.43 PC (1462.78 L.Y.)
STF 1469: White and 2x fainter B, wide.
10H 47M 43.86S +65° 27' 36.4" P.A. 324 SEP 10.6 MAG 7.74,10.42 SP F8V DIST. 86.88 PC (283.4 L.Y.)
ES 1905: White with 3x fainter, 11th mag, B. Very wide. How suspect it was binary? [AB seen. BC would be a challenge for the 20-inch, 11.6/13.4, 3.9"]
10H 30M 16.09S +63° 20' 55.4" P.A. 67 SEP 42.4 MAG 8.59,12.64 SP K0 DIST. 226.24 PC (737.99 L.Y.)
STF 1407: Near equal faint 10th-11th mag white stars, 4"
10H 09M 01.98S +64° 26' 40.6" P.A. 51 SEP 4.9 MAG 10.17,10.63 SP K7 DIST. 176.06 PC (574.31 L.Y.)
STF 1398: Near M81 & M82! Did not see the 11th mag, 3" B star, tried really hard. To the south is a tight = red pair.
10H 01M 32.06S +68° 43' 05.1" P.A. 103 SEP 3.1 MAG 8.09,11.39 SP F0 DIST. 159.24 PC (519.44 L.Y.)
STT 233: White with 3-4x fainter B, well separated. ~10th mag. Seeing needs to still. [AB seen; AC 12th mag 38"]
11H 18M 46.75S +66° 41' 03.3" P.A. 333 SEP 4.7 MAG 7.16,10.20 SP A8IV DIST. 124.38 PC (405.73 L.Y.)
STF 1514: Extremely fine! It is at the base of a kite asterism, the fainter star of four; the three arcing the top of the kite are equal magnitude. STF 1514 is a very tight 1.5" but clean split, 1 delta mag. Nice!
11H 11M 38.55S +66° 06' 48.0" P.A. 344 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.49,10.64 SP F2
STT 222: Extremely faint star, B seen with averted vision, PA to north.
10H 38M 19.89S +60° 07' 30.1" P.A. 336 SEP 4.3 MAG 7.00,11.70 SP F8 DIST. 75.41 PC (245.99 L.Y.)
STF 1519: !! 1 delta mag, tight 1.5" faint yellow stars.
11H 15M 36.65S +59° 46' 43.4" P.A. 290 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.03,9.95 SP F5 DIST. 250.63 PC (817.56 L.Y.)
STT 235: !! Nice! Yellow and orange, 1.5 delta mag, split when seeing shows perfect disks. The stars both show albedo effects, look like suns / globes with shadowing.
11H 32M 20.76S +61° 04' 57.9" P.A. 39.7 SEP 0.92 MAG 5.69,7.55 SP F8V DIST. 27.99 PC (91.3 L.Y.)
23 UMa / STF 1351: 270x. Lovely yellow-white and 3x fainter wide B, white. A third star further out. [It is a triple system, but since AC is 11th mag, did not see that.]
09H 31M 31.57S +63° 03' 42.5" P.A. 268 SEP 22.9 MAG 3.65,9.19 SP F0IV DIST. 23.82 PC (77.7 L.Y.)
Tau UMa / H V 75AB: 270x. Very wide; A a light yellow orange. Pretty. [Did not see the true pair, which is also 11th mag.]
09H 10M 55.05S +63° 30' 49.0" P.A. 36 SEP 52.1 MAG 4.68,11.42 SP AM DIST. 38.73 PC (126.34 L.Y.)
For the rest of the night, at 553x:
Arg 21: Two very faint stars, wide separation, ~0.5 delta mag, to south of an orange star. Roof currents affecting the seeing.
08H 55M 51.01S +64° 58' 21.6" P.A. 107 SEP 21.4 MAG 10.01,10.45 SP G0
BU 408: !! BU 408 is the fainter star in a pair pair of near equal stars in finder view, red-orange color. In the scope the B is a blue star 3" out from the orange star. Seen as near perfect disks.
08H 59M 00.62S +63° 25' 42.8" P.A. 344 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.35,9.59 SP G5 DIST. 196.46 PC (640.85 L.Y.)
STT 199 / 37 Lyn / Arn 71: Yellow with very faint wide reddish B, ~4 delta mag. Seen in same field with 37 Lyn, which I think is the STT 199 star, which is brightest, paired with the next brightest star wide separation. Arn 71 I think is the faintest star making an equilateral triangle with the other two.
STT 199 = 37 Lyn; AB: 09H 20M 43.76S +51° 15' 57.8" P.A. 138 SEP 5.6 MAG 6.19,10.00 SP F5V DIST. 27.45 PC (89.54 L.Y.). AC is 10.66 mag and 128.4". Arn 71 is AD, 7.89 mag and 231" -- so I had 37 Lyn and Arn 71 reversed in my description above. An interesting system! Galaxy NGC 2841 is just below Arn 71, but I could not see it in the light pollution -- the STT 199 system is the trio of stars in the upper right corner of this image]
STT 200: !! Light orange A, B a deeper orange, maybe because it's 2-3x fainter. B resolves from within A's diffraction when seeing settles, ~1". Wow!
09H 24M 55.67S +51° 34' 26.1" P.A. 337 SEP 1.2 MAG 6.53,8.57 SP G0IV DIST. 129.2 PC (421.45 L.Y.)
STT 209: ! Light orange-yellow disk with faint diffraction ring. Extremely faint blue B ~4"; can see it direct vision but it flashes forth with averted. 10th magnitude seems to be the limit tonight (transparency 3/5)
09H 53M 17.23S +50° 37' 16.3" P.A. 309 SEP 4.9 MAG 7.41,10.31 SP G8IV DIST. 196.85 PC (642.12 L.Y.)
Had a look at high proper motion star Groombridge 201 through the finder, and made a quick sketch.
STT 210: !! Yellow A and white B, very tight. Faint, seeing needs to be perfect to see B in the diffraction.
10H 02M 35.64S +46° 21' 42.5" P.A. 256 SEP 1.2 MAG 8.52,9.07 SP G5 DIST. 228.83 PC (746.44 L.Y.)
Cbl 38: Three stars in a row, middle is the brightest; one closer is 1 delta mag, the second on the other side is 1.5 delta mag. [Likely did not see, though it could have been the fainter, more widely separated star.]
09H 50M 29.75S +45° 05' 01.3" P.A. 11 SEP 53.1 MAG 7.46,11.71 SP F3VN DIST. 101.42 PC (330.83 L.Y.)
STF 1491: Orange and blue, pretty wide, ~3 delta mag. [AB seen; AC 14.9 mag, FYM 406]
10H 58M 50.42S +61° 42' 56.4" P.A. 30 SEP 14 MAG 8.39,11.33 SP K0 DIST. 1052.63 PC (3433.68 L.Y.)
STF 1512: Pretty near equal bluish-white stars
11H 09M 13.09S +62° 29' 51.0" P.A. 52 SEP 10 MAG 9.29,9.52 SP A2 DIST. 448.43 PC (1462.78 L.Y.)
STF 1469: White and 2x fainter B, wide.
10H 47M 43.86S +65° 27' 36.4" P.A. 324 SEP 10.6 MAG 7.74,10.42 SP F8V DIST. 86.88 PC (283.4 L.Y.)
ES 1905: White with 3x fainter, 11th mag, B. Very wide. How suspect it was binary? [AB seen. BC would be a challenge for the 20-inch, 11.6/13.4, 3.9"]
10H 30M 16.09S +63° 20' 55.4" P.A. 67 SEP 42.4 MAG 8.59,12.64 SP K0 DIST. 226.24 PC (737.99 L.Y.)
STF 1407: Near equal faint 10th-11th mag white stars, 4"
10H 09M 01.98S +64° 26' 40.6" P.A. 51 SEP 4.9 MAG 10.17,10.63 SP K7 DIST. 176.06 PC (574.31 L.Y.)
STF 1398: Near M81 & M82! Did not see the 11th mag, 3" B star, tried really hard. To the south is a tight = red pair.
10H 01M 32.06S +68° 43' 05.1" P.A. 103 SEP 3.1 MAG 8.09,11.39 SP F0 DIST. 159.24 PC (519.44 L.Y.)
STT 233: White with 3-4x fainter B, well separated. ~10th mag. Seeing needs to still. [AB seen; AC 12th mag 38"]
11H 18M 46.75S +66° 41' 03.3" P.A. 333 SEP 4.7 MAG 7.16,10.20 SP A8IV DIST. 124.38 PC (405.73 L.Y.)
STF 1514: Extremely fine! It is at the base of a kite asterism, the fainter star of four; the three arcing the top of the kite are equal magnitude. STF 1514 is a very tight 1.5" but clean split, 1 delta mag. Nice!
11H 11M 38.55S +66° 06' 48.0" P.A. 344 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.49,10.64 SP F2
STT 222: Extremely faint star, B seen with averted vision, PA to north.
10H 38M 19.89S +60° 07' 30.1" P.A. 336 SEP 4.3 MAG 7.00,11.70 SP F8 DIST. 75.41 PC (245.99 L.Y.)
STF 1519: !! 1 delta mag, tight 1.5" faint yellow stars.
11H 15M 36.65S +59° 46' 43.4" P.A. 290 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.03,9.95 SP F5 DIST. 250.63 PC (817.56 L.Y.)
STT 235: !! Nice! Yellow and orange, 1.5 delta mag, split when seeing shows perfect disks. The stars both show albedo effects, look like suns / globes with shadowing.
11H 32M 20.76S +61° 04' 57.9" P.A. 39.7 SEP 0.92 MAG 5.69,7.55 SP F8V DIST. 27.99 PC (91.3 L.Y.)
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
v392 persei!
This was the first clear-ish night since V392 Persei, a dwarf nova, was possible to be viewed from my backyard since going into nova outburst a couple days ago. Usually it only gets to 14v magnitude during outburst, but this time it became as bright as 6v. *
I started to look after 9am using 8x56 binoculars and had trouble finding the right star to hop from based on my AAVSO chart. I did eventually find the correct field, with a wide triangle of stars to the north. I did not see the nova for a while, but did glimpse it at around 9:45 with averted vision. It did become dark enough for a few minutes to be more steadily held with averted vision, but it was quickly setting into Oakland's light dome. I estimated the magnitude as around 8.1v. Looking up some observations online, this seems to conform to what others are seeing. Pretty awesome to see this, considering what is happening.
It should be clear again tomorrow and I'll give it another try, this time using my 10-inch Springsonian, since the star is hidden behind the neighbor's yew tree from where my 12.5-inch is mounted....
* "Only once in the history of dwarf novae observations has a star (V1213 Cen) transitioned to a nova. In a nova, material from the disk gets dumped onto the surface of the white dwarf, where it's compressed and heated to ignite in a much more powerful (and brighter) explosion. V392 Per shot up nearly 9 magnitudes and may brighten even more. Eruptions like this are predicted to recur on timescales of 10,000 to 1 million years."
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/dwarf-nova-v392-persei-goes-nova-now-binocular-bright/
I started to look after 9am using 8x56 binoculars and had trouble finding the right star to hop from based on my AAVSO chart. I did eventually find the correct field, with a wide triangle of stars to the north. I did not see the nova for a while, but did glimpse it at around 9:45 with averted vision. It did become dark enough for a few minutes to be more steadily held with averted vision, but it was quickly setting into Oakland's light dome. I estimated the magnitude as around 8.1v. Looking up some observations online, this seems to conform to what others are seeing. Pretty awesome to see this, considering what is happening.
It should be clear again tomorrow and I'll give it another try, this time using my 10-inch Springsonian, since the star is hidden behind the neighbor's yew tree from where my 12.5-inch is mounted....
* "Only once in the history of dwarf novae observations has a star (V1213 Cen) transitioned to a nova. In a nova, material from the disk gets dumped onto the surface of the white dwarf, where it's compressed and heated to ignite in a much more powerful (and brighter) explosion. V392 Per shot up nearly 9 magnitudes and may brighten even more. Eruptions like this are predicted to recur on timescales of 10,000 to 1 million years."
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/dwarf-nova-v392-persei-goes-nova-now-binocular-bright/
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