29 september 2020

There are new fires in California, throwing ever more smoke into the air.  Most of it has gone over the ocean, and with some luck we had a wind from the south push it all north of us.  It was clear enough to observe for most of the night, but a foggy haze built up through the night, illuminated by the full moon which spread a bright glow all around.  Seeing was variable, generally getting better through the session but there were times when it was really unstable.  Overall a good night with many interesting pairs.  I ended the night looking at Mars, which was getting fairly high, and saw a wealth of detail around the Mare Erythraeum and surrounds, including bright mountains of Noctis Labyrinthus.  Observed from 8:30pm to midnight.

STT 426 AB: 508; 205x: 60 Cyg. Brilliant white A and much fainter ashen B, close ~2" but well split.
21H 01M 10.93S +46° 09' 20.8" P.A. 159 SEP 2.9 MAG 5.40,9.53 SP B1VE DIST. 467.29 PC (1524.3 L.Y.)

HO 600 AB: 508; 333x: Light yellow orange A star, and very faint greyish B star appears ~2" separated.  Suspected with 205x, but needed 333x and apodising mask to reduce A's disk size to clearly resolve it.
21H 01M 47.44S +44° 11' 13.6" P.A. 97 SEP 2.1 MAG 6.70,10.90 SP AM DIST. 70.13 PC (228.76 L.Y.)

BU 156 AB: 508; 533x: Using apodising mask.  Extraordinarily fine, B is a tiny faint point where light orange A's first diffraction ring would be -- ~1" -- but I need the diffraction ring to disappear, with seeing, to resolve it.  1.2" at discovery at 1873 with his 6-inch!
21H 00M 49.84S +46° 34' 42.8" P.A. 235 SEP 0.9 MAG 7.37,9.24 SP B5V DIST. 341.3 PC (1113.32 L.Y.)

COU 2650 AB: 508; 205x: Very significant delta mag, ~1 delta or more, ~2", white stars, very fine 

21H 01M 52.59S +48° 02' 19.4" P.A. 255 SEP 1.9 MAG 10.57,11.40

BU 1138 AB: 508; 1067x: Notched elongation with seeing and apodising mask, white, can tell A and B's orientation by difference in magnitude.  Current separation 0.155".  314 year period, it will only make modest position angle change in my time.  Burnham discovered in 1888 with the Lick 36-inch at 0.3"!  It seems Hough also discovered it in 1888 but published his results later, HO 282.

21H 02M 48.62S +45° 50' 56.0" P.A. 181.8 SEP 0.155" MAG 7.10,7.30 SP B3VN DIST. 400 PC (1304.8 L.Y.)

STF 2757 AB: 508; 205x: Very attractive white A and light yellow B, ~2", ~2 delta mag. 

21H 04M 34.72S +52° 23' 59.2" P.A. 264 SEP 1.9 MAG 7.82,9.24 SP B9.5V DIST. 227.79 PC (743.05 L.Y.)

ES 96 AB: 508; 205x: ! Extremely faint companion on edge of direct vision, wide separation.  White stars, very large delta mag.  Not physical. 

21H 04M 35.43S +50° 28' 13.7" P.A. 253 SEP 8.2 MAG 8.28,12.20 SP A1V DIST. 272.48 PC (888.83 L.Y.)

BU 680 AB: 508; 333x: Finely split, slight magnitude difference.  C is very wide and ~2 delta. Very nice pair.  Discovered in 1877 with the Dearborn 18.5-inch at 0.5"
21H 05M 30.82S +53° 40' 05.5" P.A. 284 SEP 0.6 MAG 8.70,9.38 SP A0 DIST. 335.57 PC (1094.63 L.Y.)

BU 158 AB: 508; 205x: Bright white A star and faint B star, just visible with direct vision, widely separated. In same field of view planetary nebula NGC 7026, fairly bright considering full moon and haze, rectangular with diffuse edges and strings of nebulosity stretching from either side.  It is close a light orange star (TYC 3592-2787-1, 9.59v).  
21H 05M 43.99S +47° 48' 17.0" P.A. 304 SEP 11 MAG 7.45,12.00 SP B9V DIST. 247.52 PC (807.41 L.Y.)

ES 816 AB: 508; 205x: Faint white pair, near equal, well separated.  Not physical.
21H 05M 33.29S +47° 58' 10.2" P.A. 36 SEP 2.6 MAG 9.86,10.83

BU 679 AB: 508; 533x: Very tough faint pair, poor transparency not helping, appears as a hazy elongation most of the time but it does tighten & resolve with seeing, close split.  Burnham: "This close and exceedingly minute pair was discovered with the [Dearborn] 18.5-inch" in 1878 at an astonishing 0.38"
21H 05M 50.42S +43° 40' 54.0" P.A. 75 SEP 0.7 MAG 11.50,11.90

A 1691 Aa-Ab: 508; 533x: Extremely tough, marginal, a fleeting brightening within first diffraction with seeing, only intermittently.  Tried foveal coaxing and all my other tricks.

21H 06M 00.69S +54° 21' 54.5" P.A. 276 SEP 0.7 MAG 9.20,13.20 SP F8

ES 2705 AB: 508; 205x: Blue-white A and ruddy ~2 delta mag B, wide.  Not physical
21H 06M 13.61S +53° 07' 34.3" P.A. 19 SEP 9 MAG 9.55,10.10 SP A7

BU 836 AB: 508; 333x: Suspected at 205x, better view at 333x.  Very fine split, faint pair, nearly 1 delta mag.  Burnham: "The principal pair was discovered with the 15.5-inch of the Washburn Observatory, and it was then stated that C might also be double.  This was verified with the 36-inch in 1888, thus making a pretty but difficult quadruple group."  Unfortunately I didn't bother with the AC pair since it was widely separated, so I missed observing CD 11.28/12.30 1.4" (1.2" when suspected at Washburn & later verified at Lick).  Amazing.
21H 06M 32.69S +48° 23' 12.4" P.A. 177 SEP 0.8 MAG 9.98,9.64 SP A

ES 512 AB: 508; 205x: Faint B star, wide, brilliant white A, dense field.  Not physical

21H 08M 57.85S +47° 16' 15.6" P.A. 2 SEP 13.4 MAG 7.01,12.30 SP F3III DIST. 68.49 PC (223.41 L.Y.)

TDT 2786 AB: 508; 1067x:  Light orange star, subtle elongation only at all powers up to 1067x, I think it is <0.2".  Listed in SkyTools using 1991 measure at 0.4" and 0.7" in Stelle Doppie using 2007 measure.  Maybe its period is so short it's only a few years to tighten?  
21H 09M 09.30S +47° 36' 52.8" P.A. 240 SEP 0.7 MAG 10.11,10.54

COU 2545 AB: 508; 333x: Nice, very clean split, near equal white stars, an attractive pair 

21H 09M 43.58S +48° 20' 39.3" P.A. 74 SEP 0.7 MAG 10.68,10.65

SMA 128 AB: 508; 205x: Bright white A star and faint companion, wide
21H 09M 46.42S +46° 23' 37.5" P.A. 170 SEP 12.3 MAG 8.42,11.40 SP B3IV

A 884 AB: 508; 533x: Excellent pair, nicely split, nearly 1 delta mag, white A and blue-white B

21H 13M 20.32S +46° 54' 55.5" P.A. 114 SEP 0.4 MAG 8.72,9.48 SP F0

COU 2299 AB: 508; 1067x: Hairline split at 667x, no question steady split with 1067x.  Light orange-yellow stars, nearly one delta.
21H 13M 56.67S +44° 00' 16.9" P.A. 43 SEP 0.3 MAG 9.16,9.37 SP F5

AGC 13 AB: 203; 667x: Tau Cyg.  I get a persistent brightening in A's diffraction.  The brightening holds steady in one spot of A's diffraction wobble, and it's a different color: orange compared with A's yellow-white.  Needed the 8-inch mask to reduce A's disk size.
21H 14M 47.49S +38° 02' 43.1" P.A. 187.9 SEP 0.99 MAG 3.83,6.57 SP F3V+F7V DIST. 20.34 PC (66.35 L.Y.)

ES 147 AB: 508; 205x: Close pair, bright white A and yellow B, ~3" and ~2 delta mag.  Busy field with other possible wide pairs. [4 stars in the uncertain system.]

22H 24M 28.46S +54° 52' 03.7" P.A. 25 SEP 2.6 MAG 8.55,10.57 SP B9

A 1463 AB: 508; 533x: Split with 333x but had a better look with 533x, light orange stars, well split, 1" ~2 delta.  Good pair 

22H 25M 40.03S +56° 30' 34.1" P.A. 336 SEP 1.1 MAG 8.73,9.83 SP K0

ES 687 AB: 508; 205x: Near equal wide, white.  Physical.
22H 25M 38.72S +48° 07' 43.5" P.A. 267 SEP 4.4 MAG 9.45,9.88 SP A3

LEO 53 AB: 508; 205x: Bright yellow A and very faint B is noticed right away, well separated.  Not physical

2H 29M 53.47S +52° 24' 59.6" P.A. 298 SEP 13 MAG 6.63,11.50 SP G8III DIST. 124.07 PC (404.72 L.Y.)

HU 1318 AB: 508; 333x: Suspected at 205x, nice clean split at 333x, white near equal stars. Physical
22H 29M 59.61S +51° 22' 10.2" P.A. 13 SEP 1 MAG 9.86,9.92 SP A0

ES 1022 AB: 508; 205x: Faint pair, ~1 delta mag, wide split.  Not physical
22H 30M 05.36S +54° 04' 59.1" P.A. 131 SEP 6.5 MAG 10.32,11.31 SP F0V

STF 2917 AB: 508' 205x: White near equal, well split.  Physical
22H 30M 35.57S +53° 31' 43.3" P.A. 70 SEP 4.9 MAG 8.28,8.56 SP F0IV DIST. 374.53 PC (1221.72 L.Y.)

HLD 54 AB: 508; 205x: Easy pair, should have been a Struve.  White stars, ~1 delta, ~2" 

22H 50M 40.50S +51° 06' 57.8" P.A. 17 SEP 1.9 MAG 8.74,9.55 SP A0 DIST. 568.18 PC (1853.4 L.Y.)

BU 1332 AB: 508; 205x: Fine pair, white stars, near equal, >1"  
22H 50M 55.99S +53° 02' 38.3" P.A. 129 SEP 1.6 MAG 9.26,9.53 SP F2

ES 1032 BC: 508; 333x: AB is no problem, A bright yellow and B faint and wide.  BC is very cool, very faint, split ~2", near equal, seen directly but brightens with averted vision.
22H 51M 49.40S +53° 11' 08.6" P.A. 181 SEP 2.2 MAG 13.82,14.00 DIST. 106.16 PC (346.29 L.Y.)

ES 925 AB: 508; 205x: Easy wide, ~2 delta mag.  Not physical.

23H 18M 02.55S +49° 51' 37.6" P.A. 64 SEP 6.2 MAG 9.55,10.40 SP G5

A 202 AB: 508; 205x: Pretty blue-white A and slightly buff B,  ~2 delta mag, wide.  Not physical
23H 18M 23.56S +47° 15' 41.9" P.A. 257 SEP 2.7 MAG 9.00,10.46 SP B9II DIST. 243.9 PC (795.6 L.Y.)

ES 1042 AB: 508; 205x: Easy wide dull white pair, significant mag difference.  Not Physical
23H 18M 44.12S +52° 44' 08.5" P.A. 313 SEP 3 MAG 10.20,10.78

STT 493 AB: 508; 205x:  3 relatively bright stars in a wide triangle, this one the faintest of the bunch, with a faint ~3 delta mag wide companion. 
23H 18M 56.99S +48° 29' 45.2" P.A. 25 SEP 8.3 MAG 7.67,10.66 SP A8II DIST. 223.71 PC (729.74 L.Y.)

A 639 AB: 508; 333x: Suspected at 205x, split with seeing at 333x, white stars, significant magnitude difference ~1 delta, a bit less than 1".   

23H 19M 02.87S +47° 26' 12.7" P.A. 103 SEP 0.8 MAG 10.68,10.83 SP G5

ES 108 AB: 508; 205x: Lies in the middle of an arc of three stars, the pair is well separated white stars with slight delta mag.

23H 25M 38.60S +52° 40' 59.7" P.A. 245 SEP 2.7 MAG 10.29,9.76

24 september 2020

Seeing was pretty rough last night, windy both at ground level and higher up.  I used the 8-inch mask throughout the session.  I did some investigative observations of BU 677 for a thread on Cloudy Nights.  I remained pointed nearly overhead to get the best seeing.  There are many 10th and 11th magnitude pairs in this part of the sky, but with only 8-inch I didn't try them.  The marine haze thickened as the night drew on, so I closed up at 10:30pm.  Tonight will have better seeing but with the moon the sky will be bright -- so I plan an shallow sky session, especially since Mars is big and bright now.

BU 677 AC: 508; 333x: T Cyg.  No trouble to see both AB and AC.  A is a pretty orange star, with two much fainter blue stars well separated at 333x, forming a near right triangle.  B is one delta brighter than C, and C is separated from A at approximately twice the distance B is.   Burnham discovered AB with the 18.5-inch, and the AC with the 36-inch. 

20H 47M 10.72S +34° 22' 26.8" P.A. 211 SEP 16.8 MAG 4.94,11.20 SP K3III DIST. 136.43 PC (445.03 L.Y.)

BU 677 AC: 203; 333x: Tight disks in poor seeing.  B is seen easily, but C was barely direct vision.

BU 677 AB: 152; 175x: Could not detect B or C in average seeing and transparency.  Suburban location with some haze in the sky and a quarter moon.

BU 694 AB: 203; 333x: V1942 Cyg.  Split with seeing, very much fainter B at the rim of A's diffraction, blue-white stars.  Burnham discovered in 1878 at 0.5" with the Dearborn 18.5-inch 

22H 02M 56.68S +44° 38' 59.8" P.A. 6 SEP 1 MAG 5.71,7.76 SP A0IV DIST. 151.06 PC (492.76 L.Y.)

AC 20 AB: 203; 205x: 75 Cyg.  I detect a brightening knot on the outside of A's diffraction.  Seeing does not resolve it to a point.  Both stars are orange.  Alvin Clark discovered in 1860 at 2.9" -- don't know what aperture.

21H 40M 11.11S +43° 16' 25.8" P.A. 327 SEP 2.7 MAG 5.28,10.10 SP M2III DIST. 123.76 PC (403.71 L.Y.)

BU 274 AB: 203; 205x: Delicate pair, white A and ~3 delta mag B, well separated ~4".  Very pretty, but not physical.
21H 41M 18.85S +39° 28' 26.4" P.A. 181 SEP 3.7 MAG 8.24,9.94 SP K0 DIST. 224.72 PC (733.04 L.Y.)

HU 693 AB: 203; 333x: Very tight split with seeing, faint pair with considerable magnitude difference (not near equal as in SkyTools) 
21H 43M 53.99S +50° 33' 43.9" P.A. 232 SEP 1.1 MAG 9.23,9.96 SP F8

ARG 43 AB: 203; 205x: Wide, pretty pair, ~1 delta mag, very light yellow A and very light blue B 
21H 44M 45.10S +49° 30' 46.4" P.A. 20 SEP 29.2 MAG 8.63,9.01 SP A0 DIST. 355.87 PC (1160.85 L.Y.)

STF 2832 AB: 203; 205x: White, wide, slight magnitude difference.  Physical.
21H 49M 14.48S +50° 30' 54.2" P.A. 212 SEP 13.1 MAG 7.77,8.32 SP B9IV DIST. 152.44 PC (497.26 L.Y.)

STT 456 AB: 203; 205x: Very nice tight pair, very close split, ~1 delta mag. white stars.  Physical.
21H 55M 31.59S +52° 31' 40.7" P.A. 37 SEP 1.6 MAG 8.25,8.93 SP F2V DIST. 252.53 PC (823.75 L.Y.)

HO 175 AB: 203; 333x: Notched elongation at 333x & 533x.  Seeing not good enough to resolve. 
22H 00M 55.66S +43° 38' 06.6" P.A. 323 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.86,9.55 SP A5 DIST. 166.67 PC (543.68 L.Y.)

ES 530 AB: 203; 205x: B seen with averted vision only, can't quite hold it direct.  Bright white A, widely separated ~8".  Lampens (1998) LMP 46 AC not seen, 8.08/13.45 24.6" -- though this is not physical.   
22H 03M 25.12S +48° 41' 02.9" P.A. 190 SEP 8.5 MAG 8.08,11.24 SP A0 DIST. 598.8 PC (1953.29 L.Y.)

BU 375 AB: 203; 333x: With seeing I get the barest of splits, >2 delta mag, very small scale and tight.  
22H 09M 05.98S +50° 46' 32.8" P.A. 301 SEP 1 MAG 8.95,10.44 SP A0 DIST. 2127.66 PC (6940.43 L.Y.)

STT 465 AB: 203; 205x: Easy brilliant white and fainter stars.  Not physical

22H 11M 57.53S +50° 11' 46.2" P.A. 315 SEP 12.7 MAG 7.30,10.55 SP F0II DIST. 649.35 PC (2118.18 L.Y.)

BU 991 AB: 203; 533x: Hairline split with seeing, near equal. 

22H 13M 35.37S +52° 33' 50.8" P.A. 136 SEP 0.7 MAG 9.21,9.05 SP B9

ES 1113 AB: 203; 205x: Part of an equilateral triangle of similar magnitude stars, this is a ~2 delta mag pair, pretty wide ~6".  Physical

22H 15M 24.49S +51° 03' 32.3" P.A. 221 SEP 7.1 MAG 9.80,10.95 SP A2

22 september 2020

Seeing last night was not very good, so I masked down to 8-inches.  Even then seeing did not support well above 333x.  Some thin clouds moved in very slowly from the west, slow enough where I could have a good session all the same.  I added a baffle to the upper back of the mirror box, which I think helped prevent light scattering from behind the scope and improve contrast.  Some dew but not bad.  The clouds finally moved over the hole in which I was viewing at around 10:30pm.

AG 241 AB; 203; 205x: Faint pair, one delta, wide.  Not physical.
19H 53M 19.36S +08° 20' 24.7" P.A. 217 SEP 8.6 MAG 10.40,10.56 SP A0

STF 2593 AB; 203; 205x: Almost a delicate pair, >1 delta mag, wide, both light orange.  I missed BC, 10.1/11.4 3.7" -- transparency not good enough for fainter stars.

19H 53M 16.93S +11° 50' 04.3" P.A. 242 SEP 12 MAG 8.76,10.30 SP A0

STF 2615 AB: 203; 205x: White A and much fainter reddish B, wide.  Not physical.
20H 02M 54.05S +08° 23' 50.7" P.A. 301 SEP 8.9 MAG 7.61,10.29 SP B9

DA 1 BC: 508; 533x: This is part of STF 2690 A-BC, which is a white, wide, near equal, pair (7.12/7.39 17.7") observed with 8-inch at 205x.  I suspected BC at 8-inch 333x, & had overlapping disks with 8-inch 533x.  With 20-inch 533x I see a hairline split, slight magnitude difference. Seeing is not supporting it well, but it's clear.  Very nice.  Dawes discovered in 1840 at 0.7" -- probably with his 8-inch Cooke refractor [correction: DA 1 was discovered when Dawes was working at "Mr Bishop's observatory" in London, from 1839 to 1844.] It had a 7-inch refractor by Dollond (1836) who had made both mounting and telescope. -- so at current 0.369" it's not surprising I only had overlapping disks at 8-inch.  It's a physical pair, with a 236.52 year period, and will widen another 0.1" in the next 15 years.
20H 31M 11.94S +11° 15' 33.7" P.A. 189.3 SEP 0.369" MAG 7.90,8.00 SP AM DIST. 59.99 PC (195.69 L.Y.)

J 1 AB: 203; 205x: Nice close pair, well split ~2", equal.  Physical, at apastron, 528.391 year period (to be exact!)
20H 32M 52.76S +11° 44' 37.2" P.A. 55.5 SEP 2.12 MAG 10.04,10.57

SCJ 27 AB: 203; 205x: An obvious pair, I wonder why Struve did not note it.  Wide, ~6", ~1 delta mag.  A is light orange and B a slightly deeper orange.  Lies in a dense arrow shaped asterism.  Hans Schjellerup was a 19th century Danish astronomer who was something of a polymath, who compiled a list of red stars, and studied Chinese and other languages in order to study old astronomic records. 
20H 39M 13.04S +10° 58' 42.0" P.A. 263 SEP 6.2 MAG 8.67,10.03 SP F8 DIST. 146.41 PC (477.59 L.Y.)

STF 2713 AB: 203; 205x: Easy equal white pair, ~5" 
20H 40M 55.07S +10° 34' 29.1" P.A. 63 SEP 5.1 MAG 9.80,9.80 SP B9

STF 2715 AB: 203; 205x: Obvious ~3 delta mag, wide, white.  Physical.
20H 41M 46.01S +12° 31' 07.1" P.A. 2 SEP 12.4 MAG 7.80,10.22 SP F8 DIST. 92.42 PC (301.47 L.Y.)

STF 2718 AB: 203; 205x: Easy wide, white, near equal  Psychical.

20H 42M 33.47S +12° 43' 41.9" P.A. 88 SEP 8.6 MAG 8.28,8.39 SP F5 DIST. 144.51 PC (471.39 L.Y.)

STF 2720 AB: 203; 205x: Fine pair, near equal, wide ~5", white
20H 43M 27.91S +16° 56' 41.9" P.A. 178 SEP 4 MAG 9.22,9.56 SP F8 DIST. 100.5 PC (327.83 L.Y.)

STF 2721 AB: 203; 205x: Well split ~3", ~2 delta mag. 
20H 43M 29.80S +19° 52' 52.2" P.A. 22 SEP 2.6 MAG 7.80,9.90 SP G5

STF 2723 AB: 203; 333x: Very nice, light blue A and light yellow B, fine split, almost 2 delta mag. Really nice pair.
20H 44M 54.58S +12° 18' 45.6" P.A. 140 SEP 1 MAG 7.01,8.30 SP A3IV DIST. 209.21 PC (682.44 L.Y.)

STF 2725 AB: 203; 205x: OR Del. Light yellow stars, half delta mag, wide.  Physical pair with a  2945.18 year period.  In same field with bright pair STF 2727.  

STF 2727 AB: 203; 205: Gam 2 Del.  In same field with STF 2725.  Bright light yellow stars, ~1 delta mag, wide.  Physical with 3249 year period.

19 september 2020

I started the night using my 6-inch f/15 to look at Jupiter and Saturn.  Seeing was quite good; the Galilean moons showed their different colors and sizes.  They were all on one side of Jupiter, so no shadow transits or other events.  Saturn looked nice and sharp.  I accidentally broke one of the universal joints on the Hargreaves strut, so I decided not to use this scope for this night (which turned out to be a good thing).  I'm also shopping for encoders so I can use DSC on this scope, so it will be more useful -- more to come.  

I used the 20-inch the rest of the night, from 9:30pm to 12:15am.  It was a good steady night, 8/10 at high magnifications during the start of the night, degrading a bit after 11pm.  There was a haze in the sky, from both water vapor and high smoke -- the airliners on approach to Oakland airport cast light beams ahead of them.  I'm sure it hurt some of the fainter pairs, but the seeing made up for it.  I had some interruptions with the ServoCAT motors, it cuts out when moving in azimuth -- some kind of kink in the gear or electrical signal -- I'll have to check that.

I ended the night looking at Mars at 333x, with both the 8-inch mask and at full 20-inch, with apodising mask.  A really small, sharp bright white polar cap, and I could see wonderful darker swirls in the mountains.  A bit awkward to view this in the 20-inch, pointed over the eastern fence--hence the 6-inch refractor.

BU 287 AB: 508; 205x: Deneb el okab. B quite easily seen as a faint companion to brilliant white A, wide ~7", very large delta mag.  Burnham discovered it with the 26-inch at the USNO in 1874 during a short stint there -- at 5.53" so it was tougher and probably needed that aperture to discover.

19H 05M 24.61S +13° 51' 49.4" P.A. 46 SEP 7.2 MAG 2.96,12.00 SP A0VN DIST. 25.46 PC (83.05 L.Y.) 

HEI 275 AB: 508; 553x: Very fine but definite split, near equal, white.  Discovered by W.D. Heintz in 1984 with the Swarthmore College 61-cm refractor; only four observations in WDS so no firm orbit has been determined.  

20H 20M 49.74S +13° 27' 13.7" P.A. 92 SEP 0.3 MAG 10.61,10.45 SP A2

COU 327 AB: 508; 1067x: The AB-C pair is easy at 205x, C is a faint star ~4" separated from bright A (8.41/11.97 4.0"). AB is much more difficult.  At 1067x it is mostly overlapping disks & I can tell its orientation.  But at repeated best moments, I get an instant of the finest hairline split with noticeable magnitude difference & I can estimate an orientation relative to nearby stars.  It's PA [246°] is nearly perpendicular to AB-C [131°] -- this is how I confirmed I have it.  Cocteau discovered it in 1968 with the Nice 30-inch refractor at 0.2".  42.46 year period, last observation in 2005, with grade 3 orbit (which is certain but not definitive).  It is currently coming off apastron with the current orbital solution at 0.167" separation.  It will tighten very rapidly the next few years, but even on the opposite side of it's orbit it will not be detectable by me, I need to wait until 2050 to try again -- but since the PA will be similar I won't notice that change.  I can only look forward to the tightening and maybe detectability again.  If is the 0.167" is correct I have exceeded the Raleigh, Dawes, and Sparrow criteria and it's a new personal best -- and given I did not split some similar pairs later in the night, I was very lucky with the seeing at the time of the observation.

20H 21M 35.69S +19° 29' 40.1" P.A. 246.1 SEP 0.17 MAG 9.10,9.10 SP F8 DIST. 188.68 PC (615.47 L.Y.)

HEI 77 AB: 508; 205x: Very fine near equal white pair, really nice. 
20H 39M 15.21S +15° 31' 29.5" P.A. 41 SEP 1.4 MAG 10.91,10.72

HU 362 AB: 508; 333x: Hairline split, white, near equal.  Very nice pair.
20H 39M 29.33S +18° 56' 55.3" P.A. 312 SEP 0.7 MAG 9.40,9.78 SP K2

HEI 278 AB: 508; 333x: Easy wide, near equal. 

20H 40M 31.91S +12° 40' 15.6" P.A. 135 SEP 3.4 MAG 11.06,11.10

HDS2947 AB: 508; 1067x: With apodising mask.  Not round is best I can say; marginal.   Coming off apastron and only getting more difficult.  Discovered 1991 by the Hipparcos satellite at 0.2".
20H 40M 35.25S +15° 38' 35.3" P.A. 118.1 SEP 0.155 MAG 7.27,8.14 SP F5 DIST. 71.63 PC (233.66 L.Y.)

J 191 AB: 508; 205x: Well split, >1", half delta mag, slight color difference of very light blue and orange.  Discovered 1895 at 4.5", it has tightened considerably, through binarity is uncertain.
20H 40M 52.16S +17° 37' 59.2" P.A. 167 SEP 1.3 MAG 10.90,11.20

COU 226 AB: 508; 533x: Wow really nice 2+1 system.  The +1 is a faint wide star (AC, 8.58/11.50, 13.5").  The AB is a very tight double, ~0.5", split, white, near equal.

20H 41M 51.24S +19° 31' 13.6" P.A. 54 SEP 0.4 MAG 8.00,8.30 SP A2

MLB 620 AB: 508; 205x: ~2 delta mag, wide, white A and ruddy B   
21H 36M 06.03S +27° 16' 15.4" P.A. 243 SEP 7.5 MAG 9.80,10.80 SP G0

HO 165 AB: 508; 333x: Beautiful close split, ~1 delta mag white stars, <1".  Suspected at 205x.
21H 42M 34.56S +18° 59' 37.2" P.A. 63 SEP 0.8 MAG 8.99,9.19 SP A2

HO 166 AB: 508; 667x: Snowman / overlapping disks at 667x & 1067x.  Cleaner view at 667x & I can tell which one is A and which is B, and their orientation to other stars.  Discovered 1886 at 0.4" it has a 79.29 year period, and I should be able to detect a quarter turn in the next 15 years and it will widen slightly. 
21H 43M 54.25S +27° 50' 48.8" P.A. 250.7 SEP 0.218" MAG 8.36,8.25 SP F6V DIST. 95.15 PC (310.38 L.Y.)

A 299 AB: 508; 533x: Quite difficult given the B's faintness, close split ~1", ~2 delta mag.  Discovered 1901 at 0.8" at Lick, so it's easier now. 

21H 43M 31.64S +27° 20' 37.3" P.A. 66 SEP 1.1 MAG 9.95,10.47 SP G0

BU 692 AB: 508; 333x: V201 Peg.  A is a bright light orange, B much fainter, blue, but an easy wide ~3".   Discovered in 1878 at 2.48" with the Dearborn 18.5-inch.

21H 50M 05.37S +31° 50' 52.4" P.A. 10 SEP 2.9 MAG 7.47,11.03 SP K0 DIST. 181.16 PC (590.94 L.Y.)

HO 171 AB; 508; 333x: Lovely near equal white stars, well split. 

21H 52M 08.95S +27° 48' 02.2" P.A. 342 SEP 0.8 MAG 9.36,9.50 SP A3 DIST. 512.82 PC (1672.82 L.Y.)

HO 609 AB: 508; 333x: Very light orange stars, ~1 delta mag, <3" 

21H 55M 12.36S +29° 43' 33.1" P.A. 356 SEP 3.3 MAG 12.00,11.90

A 1226 AB: 508; 1067x: Olive shape at 667x & 1067x, best I can see.  It's a physical pair but it won't make an appreciable change in its 120.4 year period in my time.  

21H 57M 17.70S +32° 40' 32.4" P.A. 355.8 SEP 0.213" MAG 9.29,9.90 SP A3 DIST. 1063.83 PC (3470.21 L.Y.)

pretty good night

The seeing was forecasted for above average, and for once it was correct.  A good 7/10 at 9pm, about 8/10 at 10pm.  Transparency was forecasted to be even better, but a gauze of wildfire smoke floated overhead, cutting views of fainter pairs.  Nevertheless it was a good outing and nice to be back under the stars for a more normal time.  I packed it in at 11:30pm which the haze was noticeably thick and illuminated by the moon; it was like trying to view through the Orion nebula.

BU 151 AB: 508; 1067x: Rotanev, Beta Delphinus.  Best I can get is a slight snowman, with and without apodising mask.  26.68y period.  Burnham discovered at 0.7" in his 6-inch in August 1873, and when compiling his catalog in 1899 noted it had made substantially one revolution.  This will widen through this decade and should be resolvable in a few years, getting back to ~0.7" in 2030.

20H 37M 32.87S +14° 35' 42.7" P.A. 220 SEP 0.22 MAG 4.11,5.02 SP F5IV+F2V DIST. 30.93 PC (100.89 L.Y.)

STF 2665 A-BC: 508; 333x: White and light white, ~2 delta mag, ~3".  BC is A 1672, 10.10/10.80, currently 0.1" but at 0.2" at discovery in 1907 -- no orbit given so don't know when this will separate to detectability again. 
20H 19M 21.16S +14° 22' 14.6" P.A. 12 SEP 3.3 MAG 6.88,9.55 SP KIII+BV+ DIST. 167.79 PC (547.33 L.Y.)

A 1673 AB: 508; 333x: Finely split, ~1 delta mag, white stars.
20H 19M 40.14S +15° 21' 31.1" P.A. 55 SEP 1 MAG 9.89,10.82 SP F8

STF 2673 AB: 508; 333x: Bright white stars, ~2 delta mag, ~2" separation. 

20H 22M 43.76S +13° 20' 25.4" P.A. 326 SEP 2.4 MAG 8.29,9.75 SP F2

A 288 AB: 508; 1067x: Hairline split, noticeable mag difference, white. Very fine pair.  163y period, it won't make an appreciable change in my time, though it will widen to the 1901 discovery separation of 0.3" in 2075.  
20H 23M 08.98S +20° 51' 51.1" P.A. 306.1 SEP 0.22 MAG 8.72,8.98 SP F2 DIST. 251.89 PC (821.67 L.Y.)

HU 1198 AB: 508; 333x: Very finely split at 333x, obvious at 533x, significant magnitude difference.
20H 24M 23.10S +13° 00' 35.4" P.A. 33 SEP 0.6 MAG 8.54,10.04 SP B9 DIST. 813.01 PC (2652.04 L.Y.)

A 1209 AB: 508; 333x: Very cool!  A is obviously split with a ~1 delta white companion <1" -- this turns out to be WOR 33 Aa-Ab, 8.60/9.30 0.7".  At the opposite side is the wider fainter companion, which is A 1209 AB.  WOR 33 was 0.3" at discovery in 1970 and it has widened very considerably since; so this might be "only" a high proper motion star.*  C.E. Worley was a well loved astronomer at the US Naval Observatory, his obituary is here http://astro.gsu.edu/wds/worley.html

WOR 33 Aa-Ab: 20H 24M 26.64S +12° 12' 44.8" P.A. 132 SEP 0.7 MAG 8.60,9.30 SP F8

A 1209 AB: 20H 24M 26.64S +12° 12' 44.8" P.A. 324 SEP 1.9 MAG 9.22,10.63 SP F8
** Could someone remind me how to show the proper motion layer in Aladin?

J 841 AB: 508; 333x: Easy wide near equal pair.  Unfortunately I did not check the details of this one; there's an AB-C pair 10.4.0/11.40 0.2" which I didn't realize was there to go after -- in any case I didn't notice anything unusual with the disk at 333x. 

20H 24M 56.07S +13° 08' 58.0" P.A. 83 SEP 8.4 MAG 10.00,10.70 SP F8

TDS1072 AB: 508; 333x: Very fine split, faint, near equal pair, ~1".  Two observations since discovery in 1991. 
20H 24M 59.46S +15° 31' 52.6" P.A. 161 SEP 0.9 MAG 11.54,11.58

BRT1343 AB: 508; 333x: Easy near equal wide
20H 27M 30.17S +14° 56' 28.0" P.A. 335 SEP 4.5 MAG 11.00,11.00

AG 256 AB: 508; 333x: White A and slightly brown-red B, ~1 delta, wide 
20H 27M 55.81S +09° 57' 34.9" P.A. 351 SEP 5.2 MAG 9.44,10.61 SP A2

HO 131 AB: 508; 333x: Bright light yellow A and ~3 delta mag yellow B, ~3" 
20H 28M 18.64S +18° 46' 10.2" P.A. 334 SEP 3.4 MAG 6.97,10.60 SP G1V DIST. 38.52 PC (125.65 L.Y.)

BU 987 AB: 508; 333x: Bright white A and much fainter B, ~3 delta mag & ~3" separation.  Discovered in 1880 with the Dearborn 18.5-inch at 2.32"
20H 30M 14.44S +19° 25' 15.7" P.A. 128 SEP 2.5 MAG 6.80,11.10 SP B7IV DIST. 386.1 PC (1259.46 L.Y.)

A 610 AB: 508; 333x: Very finely split, white near equal,  nice.   170.62y period, will make less than a quarter turn the next couple of decades.
20H 29M 02.58S +07° 09' 29.3" P.A. 94.2 SEP 0.46 MAG 9.52,9.91 SP G0 DIST. 78.12 PC (254.83 L.Y.)    

BU 63 AB: 508; 533x: 1 Del.  B seen within A's diffraction at 533x and apodising mask, <1", ~2 delta.

20H 30M 17.95S +10° 53' 45.3" P.A. 347 SEP 0.9 MAG 6.20,8.02 SP BE+B DIST. 227.79 PC (743.05 L.Y.)

AG 408 AB: 508; 333x: Easy wide, ~2 delta.  Not physical

20H 30M 36.26S +14° 04' 09.9" P.A. 285 SEP 5.1 MAG 9.30,10.80 SP F5

STF 2688 AB: 508; 333x: Gold A and blue B, half delta mag.  Very like Albireo, and like Albireo it is not physical. 
20H 30M 48.26S +13° 47' 02.4" P.A. 175 SEP 8 MAG 9.35,10.41 SP G0

J 3 AB: 508; 333x: Faint, ~2 separated, noticeable mag difference.  

20H 31M 33.39S +11° 50' 24.8" P.A. 130 SEP 2.1 MAG 11.90,12.10

A 1677 AB: 508; 333x: B plainly visible, pale yellow to bright white A, ~2 delta mag, ~1"
20H 32M 07.67S +15° 11' 12.2" P.A. 184 SEP 1.3 MAG 8.14,10.90 SP G0 DIST. 96.9 PC (316.09 L.Y.)

BU 670 AB: 508; 333x: Nicely split, noticeable magnitude difference, <1"

20H 32M 55.22S +13° 56' 40.0" P.A. 5 SEP 0.8 MAG 9.44,9.87 SP F8

BU 1208 AB: 508; 533x: With apodising mask to suppress bright white A's brightness, and with foveal coaxing due to its very faintness, B emerges into view ~3", a very small fine point.  Likely tougher than it should have been due to the sky haze -- indeed after seeing it as above, when I went back down to 333x I could see B direct vision, knowing where and what to look for.  Discovered with the Lick 36-inch in 1890 at 2.94".

20H 34M 31.81S +06° 52' 41.1" P.A. 332 SEP 3.1 MAG 6.95,11.00 SP B3IV DIST. 308.64 PC (1006.78 L.Y.)

TDT2394 AB: 508; 533x: Hairline split, considerable magnitude difference.
20H 34M 54.35S +11° 20' 13.7" P.A. 3 SEP 0.5 MAG 9.23,9.52 SP G0

COU 223 AB: 508; 533x: Elongation with 333x, very finely split with 533x, wider split with 667x.  Very faint, more than just a little delta mag.,  slightly orange stars
20H 34M 46.33S +17° 25' 38.7" P.A. 155 SEP 0.4 MAG 11.10,11.20 SP F8

STF 2701 AB: 508; 333x: White, near equal, well separated
20H 36M 58.85S +12° 02' 55.3" P.A. 221 SEP 2.1 MAG 8.32,8.59 SP G5 DIST. 117.65 PC (383.77 L.Y.)

AG 258 AB: 508; 333x: White, wide, half delta mag. 
20H 36M 37.44S +10° 27' 03.2" P.A. 11 SEP 4.2 MAG 9.32,10.00 SP G0

HEI 586 AB: 508; 333x: Split, near equal, white  

20H 37M 29.88S +10° 49' 43.3" P.A. 222 SEP 0.5 MAG 10.26,10.18 SP F5

A 1680 AB: 508; 333x: Light yellow A and faint ~3 delta mag blue B, wide ~4".  Not physical
20H 37M 12.89S +12° 49' 41.7" P.A. 295 SEP 3.8 MAG 8.99,12.20 SP G0

BU 1491 AB: 508; 333x: White A, B appears with foveal coaxing and and then I can hold it direct 

20H 38M 15.10S +10° 43' 24.9" P.A. 87 SEP 3.2 MAG 8.82,11.60 SP AM

BU 435 AB: 508; 333x: Easy white and yellow, wide ~3, ~2 delta mag.

20H 38M 50.10S +15° 00' 26.3" P.A. 119 SEP 3.1 MAG 8.34,10.78 SP G0 DIST. 273.97 PC (893.69 L.Y.)

3 september 2020

Three weeks ago there was a lightning storm than moved through the Bay Area in the early morning. It was fun to watch, with bright forking bolts streaming across the sky and loud thunder rolls. But, it started hundreds of fires, some of which combined into large fires on Mt. Hamilton, the Santa Cruz mountains, and around Lake Berryessa. The Mt. Hamilton fire nearly consumed the Lick Observatory, but it was saved. For us in the valley the problem was the smoke, which for most days was like a fog. We stayed indoors and tried to make due with idleness. There were some times when the air at ground level was relatively clear, and we could go in the back yard to shoot baskets or play with the neighborhood cat, but there was always a persistent smog in the sky, so astronomy was impossible. I could see Jupiter naked eye but I could not see Saturn. I worked on a taller central column for the CI-700 mount. The air started to clear Wednesday night, but the marine layer moved in by 9pm. Last night the air was clear enough to breathe but there was still some extinction, but it was good enough to get out for a session.

The taller column is about 6-inches too tall, but I plan to use it anyway. I need to stand on a ladder to reach the eyepiece for low altitude objects like the planets. Seeing was middling but the view was good at 140x. I looked at Jupiter and then Saturn -- there was a deep black shadow of the planet falling on the ring. Contrast is very good. I then pointed up to Altair to begin star hopping for various doubles, which I do by moving the hand controller -- a bit slow, but it works. Toward 11pm the marine layer was moving in so I had a look at the moon, just past full, and really pleased with the view.

Here are the doubles observed:

STF 2570 AB-C: 152; 285x: Easily split, white A and much fainter ruddy B. [Did not see AB, which is near equal mag. 0.2", which I could get with the 20-inch on a good night.
19H 44M 56.78S +10° 46' 30.6" P.A. 277 SEP 4.3 MAG 7.62,9.81 SP B3IV-V DIST. 170.94 PC (557.61 L.Y.)

STF 2583 AB: 152; 285x: Pi Aql. Very pretty near equal light blue stars, cleanly separated

19H 48M 42.05S +11° 48' 57.3" P.A. 106 SEP 1.4 MAG 6.34,6.75 SP A3V+F9III DIST. 157.73 PC (514.52 L.Y.)

BU 266 AB: 152; 285x: Pale white star with with a wide, much fainter ~4 delta mag blue companion

19H 57M 56.15S +11° 24' 53.0" P.A. 166 SEP 15.8 MAG 7.57,11.50 SP A3 DIST. 198.41 PC (647.21 L.Y.)

STF 2613 AB: 152; 285x: White, ~1 delta mag, nice wide split.

20H 01M 26.66S +10° 44' 54.8" P.A. 352.1 SEP 4.14 MAG 7.48,8.02 SP F5V+F5V DIST. 80.58 PC (262.85 L.Y.)

BU 488 AB: 152; 456x: Suspect elongation at 285x, notched and possibly split at 456x at best moments, noticeable magnitude difference. [Solar type double with F giant.]

20H 06M 43.37S +12° 56' 12.1" P.A. 356 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.55,9.13 SP F4III

STF 2664 AB: 152; 285x: Wide, white, slight magnitude difference.

20H 19M 38.48S +13° 00' 17.2" P.A. 321 SEP 27.1 MAG 8.07,8.34 SP K0 DIST. 409.84 PC (1336.9 L.Y.)

STF 2665 A-BC: 152; 285x: Wide, white, near equal, one of these has a close faint blue pair

20H 19M 21.16S +14° 22' 14.6" P.A. 12 SEP 3.3 MAG 6.88,9.55 SP KIII+BV+ DIST. 167.79 PC (547.33 L.Y.)

STF 2727 AB 152; 285x: Gam 2 Del. ! Most beautiful light orange-yellow A and ~1 delta mag blue-green B. 

20H 46M 39.50S +16° 07' 27.4" P.A. 264.8 SEP 8.9 MAG 4.36,5.03 SP K1IV+F7V DIST. 38.73 PC (126.34 L.Y.)

STF 2725 AB: 152; 285x: OR Del. Near equal, pale orange A and blue B

20H 46M 13.31S +15° 54' 26.4" P.A. 11.9 SEP 6.16 MAG 7.54,8.20 SP K0 DIST. 36.46 PC (118.93 L.Y.)

I tried Beta Delphinus since it was marked on the atlas as double, and there were some fainter stars about which might fit.  Looking it up today there is BU 151 which is 4.11/5.02 0.2" -- doable in the 20-inch but not with 6-inch.  Burnham discovered it with his 6-inch but it was 0.7" at the time.  It's great to have such a fine telescope to use for planets and such, especially when seeing is poor, but it's even better to have a 20-inch at my disposal to go after very difficult pairs.