All the same it was a big night. The very close Zeta Boo was a highlight. I also did a survey of Alpha Com. Many other close pairs to enjoy. After 11pm though, when neighbors and family had gone to sleep, I had to be mindful of not slewing too much or moving the ladder around, so as not to wake anyone.
A 2144 AB: 508; 205x: Light yellow-white A and B is easily seen, ~2" separation, yellow, almost two delta mag.
10h 09m 09.51s +21° 15' 29.9" P.A. 287 sep 2.7 mag 9.79,11.58
A 1988 AB: 508; 533x: Clean split with seeing, light orange stars, fairly equal but noticeable magnitude difference.
10h 09m 04.77s +25° 31' 03.2" P.A. 223 sep 0.4 mag 10.00,9.80 Sp K0 dist. 117.65 pc (383.77 l.y.)
COU 166 AB: 508; 333x: B flashes into view with averted vision. Close pair ~2" separation.
10h 07m 15.20s +22° 15' 17.2" P.A. 159 sep 2.5 mag 10.50,10.50 Sp F8
TDS 569 AB; 508; 333x: Easy, near equal blue-white stars, >2" separation [not physical]
10h 06m 33.24s +26° 01' 34.5" P.A. 89 sep 2.3 mag 10.94,11.08
TDS 6998 AB; 508; 533x: Elongation flashing with averted vision, but its hazy, not clear.
10h 04m 05.09s +27° 26' 54.3" P.A. 297 sep 0.8 mag 11.13,11.36
STF 1421 AB: 508; 333x: Wide pair, >1 delta mag, white tinged with yellow, ~5"
10h 18m 05.54s +27° 31' 27.9" P.A. 330 sep 4.6 mag 8.19,9.12 Sp F2 dist. 429.18 pc (1399.99 l.y.)
STF 1423 AB: 508; 533x: Split with seeing, light orange A and very faint, ~3 delta mag B, very close, within diffraction ring <1".
10h 19m 10.64s +20° 33' 48.1" P.A. 302.6 sep 0.6 mag 9.40,10.08 Sp K0 dist. 58.79 pc (191.77 l.y.)
HDS 1511 AB: 508; 1067x: Out of round olive, airy disk swimming in diffraction.
10h 32m 17.36s +24° 26' 32.1" P.A. 38 sep 0.1 mag 7.48,9.08 Sp F0 dist. 99.01 pc (322.97 l.y.)
HJ 484 AB: 508; 333x: B is seen with averted vision and I can barely hold it direct. Both A & B are a little blue due to their dimness. Wide. [not physical]
10h 32m 32.67s +27° 38' 50.0" P.A. 219 sep 12.3 mag 11.67,13.20
STF 1451 AB: 508; 333x: Easy pair, wide, ~1 delta mag
10h 35m 24.86s +26° 16' 09.7" P.A. 271 sep 8.5 mag 9.81,12.17 Sp G5
BAR 39 AB: 508; 533x: B appears with averted vision, very tight.
10h 39m 21.56s +22° 28' 02.3" P.A. 289 sep 1.1 mag 10.71,12.20
STT 225 AC; 508; 333x: Very light yellow-orange A and ~2 delta mag, wide B. Did not see PER 2 AB, 8.53/10.60 0.4".
10h 40m 03.23s +19° 14' 25.6" P.A. 357 sep 6.5 mag 8.53,10.38 Sp F8 dist. 101.73 pc (331.84 l.y.)
STT 230 AB: 508; 333x: Cool effect of B appearing with averted vision like a meteor out of the corner of my eye. Wide. [not physical]
10h 54m 32.46s +20° 46' 22.9" P.A. 40 sep 9.2 mag 8.71,11.95 Sp F5 dist. 153.61 pc (501.08 l.y.)
BU 597 AB: 508; 333x: ! ~2 delta mag and ~1" separation, light orange stars, very steady images. Really nice.
10h 54m 49.70s +23° 45' 20.7" P.A. 47 sep 0.9 mag 9.20,10.13 Sp A5 dist. 183.49 pc (598.54 l.y.)
BRT 2405 AB: 508; 333x: A is a blue star, B appearing with averted vision.
10h 56m 44.65s +22° 15' 27.2" P.A. 222 sep 4.2 mag 11.40,11.90
Alpha Com: STF 1728 AB:
13h 09m 59.28s +17° 31' 46.0" P.A. 192.2 sep 0.52 mag 4.85,5.53 Sp F5V+F6V dist. 17.83 pc (58.16 l.y.)
I spent some time going though different combinations on Alpha Com, and here is a table of my notes:
The conclusions I draw:
8-inch mask gave the cleanest images, but did not have enough resolving power in my conditions. 8-inch might have done better at a higher elevation site (I'm at sea level) or in even better seeing.
72% Central Obstruction mask gave the tightest disk images, and resolved pretty well, but the crazy cross hatch diffraction will take some getting used to. Will need to experiment with this more.
Apodizing mask: I lose some resolution but the images a better than full aperture
Full aperture: best resolution & brighter but the diffraction is more pronounced, so depends highly on the seeing.
STF 1865 AB: 508; 1067x: Zeta Boo. Short period.
First impression was moderately well notched overlapping disks (eg. not barely notched, but not strongly notched either). With more time observing & getting used to the image, and in moments of better seeing, the notch became more distinct. It would not separate in spite of moments of better seeing. I could also see the elongation, but only subtly notched due to the smaller scale, at 667x.
14h 41m 08.92s +13° 43' 42.0" P.A. 293.8 sep 0.53 mag 4.46,4.55 Sp A0V+A0V dist. 53.88 pc (175.76 l.y.)
STF 1888 AB: 508; 333x: Xi Boo. Short period. Richly colored yellow and orange stars, ~1 delta mag, ~5" separation, with several other stars in view. Very pretty.
14h 51m 23.38s +19° 06' 01.7" P.A. 297.9 sep 5.3 mag 4.76,6.95 Sp G8V+K5V dist. 6.71 pc (21.89 l.y.)
11h 32m 20.76s +61° 04' 57.9" P.A. 44.2 sep 0.95 mag 5.69,7.55 Sp F8V dist. 27.99 pc (91.3 l.y.)
STF 1523 AB: 508; 333x: Alula Australis. Short period. Pretty orange-yellow stars, ~half delta mag, ~2" separation.
11h 18m 10.90s +31° 31' 45.0" P.A. 156.5 sep 2.1 mag 4.33,4.80 Sp F9V+G9V dist. 10.42 pc (33.99 l.y.)
11h 18m 28.74s +33° 05' 39.5" P.A. 145 sep 7.8 mag 3.64,10.10 Sp K3IIIBaO dist. 122.4 pc (399.27 l.y.)
COU 1259 AB: 508; 533x: Smudgy elongation. Not quote resolved. Conditions seem to be deteriorating.
11h 20m 19.91s +36° 03' 58.3" P.A. 311 sep 0.7 mag 10.41,10.86
STF 1543 AB: 508; 333x: 57 UMa. A is a pale yellow, B a neat orange, ~3 delta, wide ~6"
11h 29m 04.12s +39° 20' 13.1" P.A. 354 sep 5.4 mag 5.35,10.67 Sp A2V dist. 65.23 pc (212.78 l.y.)
STT 234 AB: 508; 1067x: Surprisingly tough. Had indications of elongation at powers starting from 533x, but needed 1067x to get the clear bump, but even then it wasn't cleanly split.
11h 30m 49.91s +41° 17' 12.7" P.A. 186.3 sep 0.4 mag 7.45,8.13 Sp F6V dist. 74.79 pc (243.96 l.y.)
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