Thursday, August 13, 2020

12 august 2020

Last night was pretty frustrating. First I had problems with my pointing accuracy, and spent an hour trying to find stars to sync SkyTools to with the Argo. Finally I redid my star alignment and it worked ok. The back neighbors were having a party; while I don't mind them having a good time it's distracting to observe. They went in at around 11pm and it was much quieter -- though I could hear noise from the highway, and at one point what I think were pistol shots in the distance with a speeding car escaping. Also a bright flash followed by an explosion, someone lighting off a firework. It all settled down after midnight.

Another problem was the seeing was greatly variable. I needed to change magnification and masks frequently to find the right combination. Transparency grew worse as the night progressed, the bane of my sea level location. Still a good night with some interesting pairs. I observed until about 1:30am. I noticed a few Perseid meteors, a couple of which left smoke trails.

TDS 875 AB: 508; 205x: Very finely hair-split, slight magnitude difference, white stars
17H 37M 57.96S +28° 41' 33.7" P.A. 359 SEP 0.9 MAG 10.65,11.07

STF 2198 AB: 508; 205x: Bright light yellow A and ~3 delta orange B, wide  
17H 42M 38.37S +26° 33' 06.1" P.A. 25 SEP 7.7 MAG 7.63,11.22 SP K0III DIST. 176.68 PC (576.33 L.Y.)

HO 85 AB: 508; 205x: Blue-white A and slightly red B, wide, ~3 delta.  Did not notice HDS 2604 Aa-Ab, 0.7", 11.3 mag (though I probably could not have resolved it anyway).
18H 25M 20.37S +28° 04' 59.0" P.A. 196 SEP 4.9 MAG 8.68,12.00 SP B9 DIST. 641.03 PC (2091.04 L.Y.)

STF 2317 BC: 508; 533x: BC much cleaner on this night of better seeing, blue stars very close and faint 
18H 25M 19.45S +26° 04' 45.9" P.A. 315 SEP 1.4 MAG 12.50,12.70 DIST. 269.54 PC (879.24 L.Y.)

COU 815 AB: 508; 333x: B is a faint light orange star but is clearly separated from white A. Tough little pair
18H 25M 44.22S +26° 39' 25.0" P.A. 144 SEP 1.6 MAG 9.01,11.30 SP AP

HD 348678: 508; 205x: Neat equal white stars wide.  Not in WDS 

TDT 908 AB: 508; 205x: ~1 delta mag, fairly wide, white stars, B seen direct but brightens with averted vision. 
18H 29M 29.45S +23° 29' 14.4" P.A. 8 SEP 1.8 MAG 11.12,12.25

POU 3419 AB: 508; 205x: Easy pair, white stars, wide separation, ~3 delta mag
18H 32M 02.77S +25° 04' 01.7" P.A. 234 SEP 9.1 MAG 7.89,12.10 SP A5 DIST. 331.13 PC (1080.15 L.Y.)

POU3427 AB: 508; 205x: Easy wide near equal stars 
18H 32M 58.78S +24° 19' 49.7" P.A. 81 SEP 6.8 MAG 10.12,10.44 SP F5

COU 204 AB: 508; 205x:  Easy wide, ~1 delta mag. Not physical
18H 33M 31.63S +21° 02' 00.8" P.A. 130 SEP 11.9 MAG 10.16,10.70 SP F8

TDT 939 AB: 508; 205x: Beautiful clean split, half delta mag, white stars, very close
18H 34M 15.05S +21° 01' 05.0" P.A. 8 SEP 0.6 MAG 10.82,10.83

TDT 938 AB: 508; 533x: Very faint, exceptionally fine, split with seeing and B is slightly brighter with averted vision. 
18H 34M 18.40S +22° 58' 27.6" P.A. 74 SEP 0.6 MAG 11.50,11.79

COU 205 AB: 508; 1067x: Notched elongation, I have the impression of significant delta mag
18H 35M 17.64S +21° 44' 36.8" P.A. 152 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.37,10.67 SP A2 DIST. 158.73 PC (517.78 L.Y.)

COU 207 AB: 508; 333x: Light yellow A and light orange B, nicely split, ~2 delta mag. 
18H 38M 54.97S +22° 21' 58.7" P.A. 298 SEP 1.6 MAG 9.17,10.60 SP G0

BU 248 AB: 203; 205x: 2 Vul.  White A and light blue B, split outside first diffraction ~1.5" really pretty.  [Burnham discovered in 1876 with his 6-inch at 1.86", "a fine pair with a moderate aperture"]
19H 17M 43.64S +23° 01' 32.0" P.A. 128 SEP 1.8 MAG 5.43,8.75 SP B0.5IV DIST. 373.13 PC (1217.15 L.Y.)

COU 322 AB: 508; 533x: Near equal white stars, nice, split more than hairline, slight delta mag.
19H 18M 11.69S +22° 31' 06.4" P.A. 25 SEP 0.5 MAG 10.42,10.50 SP A0

STF 2499 AB: 508; 205x: White stars, near equal, wide
19H 18M 33.52S +21° 56' 51.6" P.A. 325 SEP 2.6 MAG 8.82,9.12 SP B8

ES 483 AB: 508; 205x: Z Vul.  Pale yellow A with slightly red color wide faint companion.  Not physical
19H 21M 39.11S +25° 34' 29.5" P.A. 3 SEP 13.8 MAG 7.30,12.00 SP B3 DIST. 191.94 PC (626.11 L.Y.)

BU 141 AB: 203; 205x: Very finely split, ~2 delta mag, pale white A and light blue B.  [Burnham discovered in 1875 with his 6-inch]
19H 21M 57.26S +22° 30' 23.2" P.A. 84 SEP 0.9 MAG 7.61,9.21 SP B4V DIST. 260.42 PC (849.49 L.Y.)

TDT 1416 AB: 508; 533x: Exceptionally fine, split with seeing, very faint ~1 delta mag.  B resolves at first diffraction, light orange stars. 
19H 23M 28.49S +22° 34' 19.7" P.A. 298 SEP 0.7 MAG 10.53,11.07 SP K5

STF 2515 AB: 508; 205x: Blue-white A and ~2 delta light orange B, wide.  Not physical
19H 24M 33.33S +21° 30' 57.3" P.A. 141 SEP 6.2 MAG 8.45,10.26 SP F2V DIST. 200.8 PC (655.01 L.Y.)

HO 448 AB: 508; 205x: Light yellow stars, ~3 delta mag, wide 
19H 24M 44.82S +23° 36' 56.1" SEP 7.7 MAG 8.46,10.72 SP G5 DIST. 781.25 PC (2548.44 L.Y.)

WSI 22 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal, wide. Not physical
19H 24M 53.90S +21° 26' 29.1" P.A. 272 SEP 15 MAG 10.32,10.47 SP G5

STF 3111 AB: 508; 205x: White stars, very slight magnitude difference, wide >2". Not physical
19H 25M 06.44S +21° 50' 03.4" P.A. 116 SEP 2.5 MAG 9.92,10.16 SP A0

COU 513 AB: 508; 1067x: Deeply notched overlapping disks -- I think it's hairline split at best moments -- slight mag difference 
19H 25M 08.84S +22° 12' 56.9" P.A. 3 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.22,9.92 SP B9 DIST. 549.45 PC (1792.31 L.Y.)

STF 2525 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal yellow-white stars, wide.  An amazingly precise 882.894 year period.  I will not notice the change...
19H 26M 33.71S +27° 19' 21.9" P.A. 289.2 SEP 2.2 MAG 8.19,8.39 SP F8 DIST. 64.52 PC (210.46 L.Y.)
grafico orbita
STF 2524 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal white stars, wide.  Not physical
19H 26M 35.78S +25° 29' 48.2" P.A. 82 SEP 5.4 MAG 9.15,9.53 SP A2 DIST. 346.02 PC (1128.72 L.Y.)

STF 2523 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal pale yellow stars, wide.  Physical.
19H 26M 48.38S +21° 09' 46.2" P.A. 148 SEP 6.4 MAG 7.95,8.05 SP B3V+B7V DIST. 1470.59 PC (4797.06 L.Y.)

A 2786 AB: 508; 1067x: Wow!  Exceptionally fine but clean split, ~1 delta split, best without apodising mask, nearly perfect seeing.  In the same FOV as STF 2523.
19H 26M 57.67S +21° 09' 02.7" P.A. 108 SEP 0.4 MAG 10.10,10.08 SP A2

A 159 AB: 508; 1067x: Super difficult.  B appears just within A's diffraction ring, extremely faint, with seeing which is 7/10.  Coalesces to a point at the correct PA, which I looked up during the observation to make sure I was looking at the correct quadrant of the star.  Part of STF 2527 AC.
19H 27M 20.85S +20° 40' 08.0" P.A. 336 SEP 0.8 MAG 8.50,10.43 SP B9 DIST. 384.62 PC (1254.63 L.Y.)

COU 514 AB: 508; 1067x: Subtle notched elongation, white stars, noticeable magnitude difference.
19H 27M 33.15S +20° 09' 17.3" P.A. 88 SEP 0.5 MAG 9.81,9.27 SP B8V

BU 983 AB: 508; 1067x: QR Vul.  Olive shape seen through "rain" of the diffraction. Even with 8-inch mask there is a definite misshape with a faint tail bump to the ball of A's disk.  [Burnham discovered with 18.5-inch Washburn @ 0.86", so it was easier for him!]
20H 15M 15.89S +25° 35' 31.1" P.A. 185 SEP 0.5 MAG 4.80,7.55 SP B3V DIST. 303.95 PC (991.48 L.Y.)

A 389 AB: 508; 205x: Beautiful well split white stars, slight magnitude difference
20H 16M 00.80S +27° 03' 10.8" P.A. 213 SEP 1.7 MAG 9.89,10.11 SP A5

COU 218 AB: 508; 667x: Hairline split, equal stars, light yellow-white
20H 16M 21.85S +23° 09' 03.0" P.A. 235 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.40,9.50 SP F0

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

11 august 2020

 Had a decent night last night, from about 9:15 to 11pm, when the marine layer started to move in.  Had some moments of surprisingly good seeing.  When it looked like the fog would roll in I slewed down to look at Saturn, very bright and with more moons than I could see in the 6-inch, but surprisingly with similar amounts of detail -- go figure.

POU3265 AB: 508; 205x: B seen with averted vision at first, and with some foveal coaxing I could hold it with direct vision.  ~1 delta mag and ~3"
17H 14M 44.25S +23° 56' 22.1" P.A. 170 SEP 3.9 MAG 11.81,13.00

STF 2139 AB: 508; 205x: Easy wide pair, ~3 delta mag, both are very light orange though B is a deeper color since it's fainter.  Not physical
17H 14M 09.65S +19° 18' 43.1" P.A. 335 SEP 8.3 MAG 9.60,11.70 SP K0 DIST. 198.02 PC (645.94 L.Y.)

HO 557 AB: 508; 205x: AK Her.  White A and much fainter orange B, interesting pair.  It is an uncertain pair yet WDS shows a period of 58.8 years, +/- 8 years.
17H 13M 57.81S +16° 21' 01.0" P.A. 323 SEP 4.5 MAG 8.57,12.00 SP F8 DIST. 106.27 PC (346.65 L.Y.)

COU 111 AB: 508; 533x: Clean, obvious split with apodising mask, not quite 1 delta mag.  Suspected elongation with 205x & hairline with apodising mask at 333x.  Very slightly orange-yellow stars. 
17H 13M 59.66S +21° 19' 10.0" P.A. 245 SEP 0.6 MAG 10.70,10.77

HU 488 AB: 508; 205x: Blue-white A and orange B, ~4", ~2 delta mag 
17H 14M 29.61S +19° 55' 52.3" P.A. 105 SEP 2.9 MAG 9.71,11.16 SP F2

POU3271 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal, pretty wide ~4", light yellow stars.  Not physical 
17H 15M 49.60S +23° 22' 05.8" P.A. 259 SEP 3.3 MAG 10.20,10.50

POU3272 AB: 508; 205x: B flashes an intense blue with averted vision, compared to A's white-yellow color.  I can barely hold B direct. Wide ~8".  Not physical
17H 15M 56.53S +24° 13' 39.4" P.A. 211 SEP 7.2 MAG 10.87,12.90

POU3273 AB: 508; 205x: Needed to use averted vision to see B, then can hold direct.  Wide ~10". Not physical
17H 15M 59.46S +24° 37' 19.7" P.A. 252 SEP 8.4 MAG 11.30,12.40

TDT 294 AB: 508; 333x: Hairline split, significant mag difference.  Faint pair. 
17H 16M 02.32S +17° 01' 37.6" P.A. 92 SEP 0.8 MAG 11.46,11.73

POU3277 AB: 508; 205x: Faint, but seen easily since they're wide, ~1 delta mag. Not physical
17H 17M 02.28S +24° 21' 10.3" P.A. 168 SEP 7.3 MAG 12.78,13.50

POU3278 AB: 508; 205x: Faint, but wide, ~1 delta mag. Physical
17H 17M 14.33S +24° 32' 08.9" P.A. 81 SEP 9.4 MAG 11.70,12.60

TDT 299 AB: 508; 667x: Very challenging.  Seeing became very good for this observation, good airy disks, and with averted vision a small condensation appeared within first diffraction ring, exceptionally close.  Seen well only with averted vision, there was just a slight brightening with direct.  Only one WDS observation.
17H 17M 59.69S +23° 16' 33.7" P.A. 64 SEP 0.5 MAG 10.83,11.17

J 452 AB: 508; 205x: Wide, nearly 2 delta mag, blue-white A 
17H 20M 47.25S +15° 21' 51.5" P.A. 300 SEP 2.8 MAG 10.80,12.20

COU 415 AB: 508; 1067x: Notched elongation at 533x & 667x.  I get an instantaneous split with perfect seeing at 1067x, it stays notched.  ~1 delta.  90 year period.
17H 22M 04.55S +23° 09' 40.4" P.A. 219.4 SEP 0.27 MAG 8.75,9.83 SP F5 DIST. 84.75 PC (276.45 L.Y.)
grafico orbita


COU 201 AC: 508; 205x: Bright light orange A and I notice B with averted vision, and then can hold it direct, wide, ~3 delta mag.  I did not notice AB, 0.5" 9.23/10.11, need to go back to it.
17H 22M 24.79S +20° 56' 03.7" P.A. 301 SEP 10.3 MAG 9.23,13.00 SP K0

TDT 322 AB: 508; 533x: B emerges with seeing to condense to a point outside A's diffraction, very large delta mag.
17H 22M 22.87S +14° 46' 59.7" P.A. 188 SEP 1.3 MAG 8.66,11.47 SP G5

COU 112 AB: 508; 205x: Just split, ~1 delta mag, good pair
17H 22M 48.68S +24° 27' 55.6" P.A. 24 SEP 1.4 MAG 10.04,11.80

STF 2157 AB-C: 508; 205x: Lovely ice blue and yellow pair, wide, ~2 delta mag.  AB is J 1248 0.1" and listed 9.0/9.0, I tried 667x and through I saw olive shape, but it could be confirmation bias.
17H 22M 52.73S +16° 27' 40.9" P.A. 208 SEP 3.4 MAG 8.92,10.17 SP G5 DIST. 118.62 PC (386.94 L.Y.)

A 2183 AB: 508; 333x: Clean split ~1", ~3 delta mag.  B is light orange, A is blue-white.  Physical.
17H 23M 30.10S +16° 54' 10.7" P.A. 137 SEP 1.2 MAG 7.67,10.60 SP A2V DIST. 178.57 PC (582.5 L.Y.)

J 1032 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal wide
17H 26M 48.25S +22° 37' 42.4" P.A. 351 SEP 4.1 MAG 11.30,11.60

TDT 952 AB: 508; 1067x: B appears with seeing within A's first diffraction, very faint, significant delta mag
18H 35M 54.54S +25° 41' 33.4" P.A. 178 SEP 0.7 MAG 11.36,11.59

HD 336513: 508; 333x: Not in WDS. B very faint, seen with averted vision only, ~4 delta mag, ~3"

BU 645 AB: 508; 205x: Pretty cream yellow-white A and slightly orange B, wide ~10", very large delta mag, >4 delta. 
18H 43M 14.48S +19° 27' 59.2" P.A. 305 SEP 9.3 MAG 7.29,12.10 SP B9.5IV-V DIST. 129.53 PC (422.53 L.Y.)

HU 325 AB: 508; 533x: Hairline split, ~1 delta mag, very fine pair
18H 44M 18.57S +20° 52' 17.8" P.A. 7 SEP 0.3 MAG 10.17,10.85 SP A0 DIST. 934.58 PC (3048.6 L.Y.)

Saturday, August 8, 2020

more short period pairs

Had good seeing last night, a solid 8/10 at 333x, so I was able to spend most of my time at full aperture and also going after short period and other challenging pairs.  I was glad of it, it was getting kind of boring to observe just with the 8-inch mask.  I observed from 9:30pm to 1am, when the moon cleared a neighbor's roof and the transparency had become poor -- the moon casting a bright haze across the sky, making fainter pairs harder to resolve.  After closing up the 20-inch I walked over to my newly mounted 6-inch f/15 refractor and spent some time on the moon, then Mars, both showing wonderful detail, and with high contrast despite the transparency.  

TDT 152 AB: 508; 333x: Discovered in 1991. Well split and resolved, fairly faint, slight mag difference.
16H 56M 17.57S +18° 52' 04.2" P.A. 89 SEP 0.8 MAG 11.98,12.12

LDS 986 AB: 508; 205x: Physical pair.  Wide separation, near equal pretty bright white stars
16H 56M 46.43S +25° 41' 02.0" P.A. 266 SEP 8.5 MAG 10.72,10.83

HEI 71 AB: 508; 205x: Close pair but easily split, light yellow stars, one delta mag.
16H 56M 53.03S +15° 40' 10.8" P.A. 253 SEP 1.3 MAG 10.39,11.40 SP G0

BRT2426 AB: 508; 205xx: Near equal easy pair, wide.  Not physical 
16H 57M 24.72S +21° 29' 40.1" P.A. 307 SEP 4.2 MAG 11.76,12.01

STT 320 AB: 508; 205x: White A, slightly orange B, wide, significant magnitude difference 
16H 58M 12.20S +25° 20' 18.6" P.A. 252 SEP 5.8 MAG 8.47,11.79 SP F0 DIST. 158.73 PC (517.78 L.Y.)

A 351 AB: 508; 333x: Very finely split with just 333x, near equal light orange stars.  Busy field, easy to make sketch to capture the orientation for short period project.  59 year period, near apastron, will tighten considerably by 2032.
17H 29M 20.05S +29° 23' 30.8" P.A. 60.6 SEP 0.568 MAG 9.70,9.95 SP K2 DIST. 23.76 PC (77.51 L.Y.)
grafico orbita

KUI 83 AB: 508; 667x: AC is an ordinary wide pair 2 delta mag ~10". AB is a hairline split with 533x, and an obvious well split with 667x. Light orange stars, ~1 delta mag. Short period, 24.1 years, nearly circular orbit so it will be fun to follow it around.
17H 37M 10.76S +27° 53' 47.1" P.A. 155.1 SEP 0.34 MAG 9.81,10.40 SP M0V:P DIST. 29.49 PC (96.2 L.Y.)

grafico orbita

A 235 AB: 508; 533x: Nice clean split, more than hairline, white stars, significant mag difference.  With apodising mask.   Currently at apastron, will make nearly half turn by 2040.
17H 53M 18.60S +24° 59' 29.0" P.A. 71.9 SEP 0.356 MAG 8.36,9.28 SP G8V DIST. 49.04 PC (159.97 L.Y.)
grafico orbita

HU 581 AB: 508; 1067x: Snowman at 533x & 667x, clean split at 1067x & apodising mask, one delta mag.  Amazing.  Coalesces into two points, can easily tell orientation & magnitude difference for sketch.  At apastron, it is on a nearly edge on orientation, will close rapidly within the next ten years to be too close for me to detect.
18H 22M 54.84S +14° 58' 11.0" P.A. 123.4 SEP 0.3 MAG 8.80,9.40 SP G0V DIST. 79.3 PC (258.68 L.Y.)
grafico orbita


HU 1191 AB: 508; 1067x: V595 Lyr. Very tough! In unsettled seeing it is an elongation or lopsided at all powers. However at best moments it tightens enough to show a very subtle notch & also different brightness and color, A being light orange-yellow, and ~1 delta mag B a deeper orange. Discovered in 1902 at 0.2, it has only a 14.64 year period, it will make a rapid circuit to the other side by 2026 (though only 0.1"), and "widen" to 0.2" again by 2030. Should be fun to observe!
18H 46M 34.62S +38° 21' 04.0" P.A. 311.8 SEP 0.256 MAG 8.67,9.42 SP G9V DIST. 35.61 PC (116.16 L.Y.)

grafico orbita

HO 581 AB: 508; 667x: Very subtly notched elongation at best, light orange stars. 25.63 year period, near apastron in a nearly circular orbit, it will widen slightly in the next 5 years and still be a detectable 0.2" in 2035.
19H 54M 58.40S +41° 52' 17.6" P.A. 49.1 SEP 0.31 MAG 8.03,8.72 SP G9V DIST. 46.23 PC (150.8 L.Y.)

grafico orbita

STT 371 AB: 203; 333x: Bright pair showed best masked down to 8-inches. Near equal, white stars,  perfect!
19H 15M 56.96S +27° 27' 21.4" P.A. 161 SEP 0.9 MAG 7.03,7.55 SP B8V DIST. 277.01 PC (903.61 L.Y.)

J 1263 BC: 508; 205x: AB is the easy bright light orange star and the very wide blue pair of BC, which are wide and ~1 delta mag. Not physical 

19H 11M 28.70S +29° 53' 10.2" P.A. 40 SEP 8.6 MAG 12.90,14.00 DIST. 492.61 PC (1606.89 L.Y.)

STF 2483 AB: 508; 205x: Easy wide A is greenish yellow-white, and B is ice blue.
19H 12M 23.60S +30° 20' 51.9" P.A. 317 SEP 10 MAG 7.97,9.09 SP B9IV DIST. 515.46 PC (1681.43 L.Y.)

STF 2491 AB: 203; 205x: A is white, B is slightly bluish, ~1.5 delta mag, ~1"
19H 16M 11.63S +28° 16' 50.2" P.A. 230 SEP 1.4 MAG 8.58,9.71 SP AM DIST. 230.95 PC (753.36 L.Y.)

COU 420 AB: 203; 205x: Finely split, <2 delta mag, bluish B.
19H 08M 17.42S +25° 55' 25.4" P.A. 97 SEP 1.2 MAG 8.74,10.75 SP A0 DIST. 297.62 PC (970.84 L.Y.)

STF 2459 AB: 203; 205x: Easy wide, ~1 delta  
19H 07M 22.01S +25° 58' 23.9" P.A. 232 SEP 13.8 MAG 9.12,10.07 SP A2

COU 1023 AB: 508; 1067x: Hairline split, very definite and consistent, near equal 
19H 20M 23.74S +26° 30' 58.8" P.A. 146 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.50,9.50 SP A0

A 267 AB: 508; 667x: White stars hairline split, ~1 delta mag.  Notched elongation at 533x.
19H 17M 31.08S +26° 37' 33.7" P.A. 181 SEP 0.4 MAG 10.00,10.40 SP B9

TDT 1250 AB: 508; 205x: Very finely split, faint blue pair, half delta mag.
19H 08M 51.33S +26° 03' 04.6" P.A. 172 SEP 1.2 MAG 11.92,12.10

HO 444 AB: 508; 333x: Close split <1", significant magnitude difference >1 delta.  White stars
19H 09M 13.70S +26° 56' 07.3" P.A. 67 SEP 1.3 MAG 8.66,10.48 SP F5

TDS 972 AB: 508; 333x: Faint, finely split, slight mag difference
19H 09M 37.79S +26° 40' 32.3" P.A. 311 SEP 0.7 MAG 11.11,11.34

TDT 1262 AB: 508; 533x: Very faint, B is difficult, split and resolved with seeing, helped with foveal coaxing and I can hold it direct after.  Noticeable magnitude difference, <1 delta. 
19H 09M 42.80S +27° 14' 41.1" P.A. 92 SEP 0.7 MAG 12.08,12.28

AG 373 AB: 508; 205x: Light yellow-white A and deeper yellow B, ~2 delta mag, wide
19H 11M 20.45S +27° 05' 28.7" P.A. 328 SEP 3 MAG 10.40,11.10 SP K0

HO 141 AB: 508; 205x: Pretty pair, significant delta mag, wide ~1.5"
20H 47M 05.66S +19° 17' 47.5" P.A. 293 SEP 1.6 MAG 9.53,11.19 SP A3

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

2 august 2020

This was a short night.  Seeing was ok but did not support high powers.  Transparency was the main issue, with a haze of both marine vapor and smoke from wildfires in the north causing problems.  So I only observed a few stars.  However, I did document KUI 79 short period, and re-observed curious HU 66.

STF 2163 AB: 508; 205x: White stars, nice split .1", near equal
17H 23M 21.04S +42° 09' 03.2" P.A. 73 SEP 1.4 MAG 10.25,10.49 SP F8

A 1880 AB: 508; 205x: At the end of an arc of three stars.  B is blue and faint but easily seen, well separated ~3" from bright white A, ~2 delta mag.
17H 38M 11.57S +52° 36' 22.8" P.A. 114 SEP 2.7 MAG 9.20,11.20 SP K0

ES 1743 BC: 508; 205x: AB is obvious, bright A with the faint B well separated.  BC is the tougher pair, faint blue stars ~3", ~1 delta mag.
17H 45M 34.09S +59° 14' 05.2" P.A. 76 SEP 2.5 MAG 11.40,12.40

MLB 1077 AB: 508; 205x: B seen faintly with direct vision, brightens with averted vision, ~5" separated & ~2 delta mag
17H 47M 57.47S +57° 06' 40.0" P.A. 213 SEP 4.5 MAG 9.24,11.10 SP G5

STT 351 AC: 508; 333x: Orange stars, noticeable magnitude difference ~0.5, separated just less than ~1".  What's curious is the AB pair is HU 66 AB listed as 7.90/8.40 0.1" currently, with HU 66 BC as 8.40/8.25 0.9".  So my question is, if AC is physical, and if BC are physical too, why is AC uncertain?  It would seem they should all be sharing orbits?  Perhaps it just cries out for additional measures -- AB is grade 4 and BC is grade 5, so they are confident of physicality but there's not enough data to nail it down.
18H 25M 18.20S +48° 45' 42.5" P.A. 29 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.90,8.25 SP G5 DIST. 144.72 PC (472.08 L.Y.)
grafico orbitagrafico orbita

KUI 79 AB: 508; 333x: Re-observed this pair in order to sketch its position after finding it is a short (13 year!) period.  It should be very easy to track the progress of this one.
17H 12M 07.78S +45° 39' 57.6" P.A. 280.8 SEP 0.76 MAG 10.02,10.25 SP K5 DIST. 5.98 PC (19.51 L.Y.)
grafico orbita



Saturday, August 1, 2020

The last couple of days have had some dramatic prominences on the sun, and I've been tracking them with my PST.  One very large spike, with an arch at its bottom, turned into a bright arch.  I wonder if the top lifted off.

Solar Prominence 30th July 2020 small.jpg
(image Ted Dobosz)

The night of the 29th I used the 6-inch on the moon, and then Jupiter, and was able to see Io emerge out of Jupiter's shadow -- a dim point, growing brighter in less than a minute.  Comparing to views through my 8-inch masked reflector last night, I would say for sure the refractor is better (more contrasty) than the reflector.  Though, the mirror needs a cleaning.

Seeing was not very good last night, about 5-6/10, and transparency was poor with the usual haze.  Marine layer fog started to drift in around 11:00pm, so I packed it in. 

STF 2323 AB: 203; 205x: 39 Dra.  Brilliant white A and slightly ruddy B, ~3 delta mag, ~4" sep.  3962.5 year period.  It's all about that half year!
18H 23M 54.65S +58° 48' 02.1" P.A. 348 SEP 3.74 MAG 5.06,8.07 SP A1V DIST. 56.47 PC (184.21 L.Y.)
grafico orbita
ES 187 AB: 203; 205x: Near equal, ~2", slightly ruddy stars.  Nice pair 
18H 23M 45.03S +51° 38' 55.8" P.A. 207 SEP 2.5 MAG 9.32,9.43 SP G5 DIST. 61.31 PC (199.99 L.Y.)

STT 351 AC: 203; 305x: Split, better with seeing, light orange stars, significant mag difference.  Did not notice HU 66 AB, 7.9/8.4 0.1" or HU 66 BC, 8.40/8.25 0.9 -- need to go back to this one!
18H 25M 18.20S +48° 45' 42.5" P.A. 29 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.90,8.25 SP G5 DIST. 144.72 PC (472.08 L.Y.)

TDT 896 AB: 203; 205x: Faint but easy pair, wide, <1 delta mag.  Not physical. 
18H 28M 16.85S +49° 30' 16.0" P.A. 152 SEP 8.8 MAG 10.57,11.41

HU 932 AB: 203; 205x: B appears with foveal coaxing, but can hold it direct.  ~3 delta mag to bright light yellow A, ~2"
18H 31M 19.01S +62° 32' 16.8" P.A. 76 SEP 2 MAG 7.26,10.85 SP F2 DIST. 131.06 PC (427.52 L.Y.)

ES 784 AB: 203; 205x: ~1 delta mag, fairly wide white stars.  Not physical
18H 31M 51.82S +51° 10' 47.8" P.A. 65 SEP 7.2 MAG 10.00,10.50

STF 2357 AB: 203; 205x: Wide ~1 delta mag white 
18H 32M 53.86S +63° 42' 33.0" P.A. 271 SEP 4.7 MAG 9.32,9.89 SP K0 DIST. 90.58 PC (295.47 L.Y.)

STF 2368 AB: 203; 205x: Brilliant white near equal stars, nicely separated ~2" 
18H 38M 51.27S +52° 20' 38.2" P.A. 321 SEP 1.9 MAG 7.63,7.77 SP A3 DIST. 263.16 PC (858.43 L.Y.)

A 1379 AB: 203; 205x: Faint pair, resolved with seeing, B is flickering between direct and averted vision. 
18H 38M 43.02S +52° 43' 27.6" P.A. 210 SEP 2.1 MAG 9.71,10.26 SP A3

ES 787 AB: 203; 205x: V410 Dra. B noticed with averted vision then held direct as a faint point, ~3 delta mag and wide, white stars.  Not physical 
18H 39M 56.26S +51° 05' 34.1" P.A. 37 SEP 8.2 MAG 8.93,11.69 SP G5 DIST. 117.51 PC (383.32 L.Y.)

HU 754 AB: 203; 205x: Very fine B, a tiny point outside brilliant white A's diffraction.  ~3 delta at least.
18H 41M 44.99S +51° 07' 33.6" P.A. 93 SEP 1.3 MAG 8.36,11.53 SP A2 DIST. 318.47 PC (1038.85 L.Y.)

STF 2398 AB: 203; 205x: Very light orange stars, ~1 delta mag, wide.  408 year period
18H 42M 46.69S +59° 37' 49.4" P.A. 181.6 SEP 11.04 MAG 9.11,9.96 SP M4+M4.5 DIST. 3.57 PC (11.65 L.Y.)
grafico orbita
STI2383 AB: 203; 205x: Faint near equal stars, wide, seems to be in a small cluster.  Physical pair.
18H 43M 19.16S +56° 36' 55.8" P.A. 343 SEP 14.5 MAG 11.06,11.19

STI2384 AB: 203; 205x: Very faint, barely there, averted vision hardly helps, but there are two hazy points, wide ~4".  Not physical 
18H 43M 58.14S +55° 58' 31.3" P.A. 142 SEP 3.8 MAG 11.80,11.80

STF 2403 AB: 508; 333x: Very tough.  B is a brightening or condensation on A's diffraction ring, when A settles down with seeing. 
18H 44M 18.25S +61° 02' 53.3" P.A. 278 SEP 1.1 MAG 6.25,8.35 SP G8III DIST. 109.53 PC (357.29 L.Y.)

MLB 1079 BC: 508; 205x: A-BC is relatively bright white A, wide separation.  The B of BC is easily but C is more difficult, fainter, but yet a steady point with seeing 
18H 45M 49.76S +59° 22' 27.2" P.A. 279 SEP 7.4 MAG 11.20,12.50

MLR 7 AB: 508; 333x: Extremely fine, ~1 delta, ~1" separation, resolved only with seeing when stars harden to points.
18H 46M 07.33S +61° 21' 10.6" P.A. 303 SEP 1.1 MAG 9.91,11.00 SP F5

HU 937 AB: 508; 333x: Hairline split at 205x, more definite split with 333x, ~1 delta mag.  A is yellow-white, B is a deeper yellow-orange.  225.53 year period
18H 46M 13.38S +64° 11' 44.4" P.A. 333 SEP 1.06 MAG 8.85,9.90 SP F8 DIST. 97.75 PC (318.86 L.Y.)
grafico orbita
STF 2410 AB: 508; 205x: White, ~1 delta mag, well split ~2" 
18H 46M 56.67S +59° 19' 52.0" P.A. 86 SEP 1.7 MAG 8.59,8.85 SP F8 DIST. 144.09 PC (470.02 L.Y.)

STI 865 AB: 508; 205x: Faint but well seen, nicely split ~4", nice hard points 
18H 51M 54.46S +59° 48' 56.6" P.A. 179 SEP 3.7 MAG 11.61,12.10

ES 1746 AB: 508; 205x: Fairly faint, slight mag difference, well split ~2" 
18H 52M 50.17S +58° 14' 48.9" P.A. 114 SEP 1.8 MAG 10.52,11.09

TDS 955 AB: 508; 333x: Very fine, resolved with seeing, ~1 delta mag ~1", pretty difficult.
18H 56M 21.13S +58° 54' 26.1" P.A. 146 SEP 0.9 MAG 10.50,11.11

STF 2438 AB: 508; 333x: Hairline split, white stars, near equal.  261.6 year period, look how fast it will move in the years 2150-2160!
18H 57M 28.47S +58° 13' 30.0" P.A. 357.1 SEP 0.86 MAG 7.01,7.44 SP A2IV DIST. 125.16 PC (408.27 L.Y.)
grafico orbita
TDT 1168 AB: 508; 205x: Nice white and blue pair, easily seen, ~2 delta ~2" 
18H 59M 17.70S +59° 28' 45.5" P.A. 250 SEP 1.8 MAG 9.56,11.47 SP F8

ES 1844 AB: 508; 205x: Faint pair, significant mag difference, B noticed with averted vision before holding direct, well split ~3" 
18H 59M 30.05S +63° 47' 34.5" P.A. 20 SEP 3 MAG 9.60,10.50

A 1387 AB: 508; 667x: Notched elongation, white stars.  Seeing not good enough to split 
18H 59M 20.43S +54° 50' 12.5" P.A. 351 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.05,10.02 SP A0

ES 1748 AB: 508; 205x: Easy ~1 delta mag wide pair 
18H 59M 44.10S +55° 43' 25.9" P.A. 55 SEP 6.6 MAG 9.45,10.80 SP G5

ARG 33 AB: 508; 205x: BH Dra.  White stars, ~1 delta mag, wide 
19H 03M 39.54S +57° 27' 25.9" P.A. 57 SEP 10.6 MAG 8.46,9.25 SP A0 DIST. 211.42 PC (689.65 L.Y.)

TDS 970 AB: 508; 333x: Hairline split, near equal.  Not in WDS