14 december 2020

 Jupiter and Saturn are headed for a very close conjunction, with closest separation on 21 December.  Apparently it won't happen again for another 800 years.  Since it's predicted to be rainy and cloudy much of the next week, I took advantage of relatively clear skies yesterday evening to have a look through my Springsonian.  

The two were a bit more than half a FOV apart, so I guess around 1-1/4 degrees.  Jupiter was very bright as were its moons -- three of which were on the western side and formed a very tight triangle, the fourth on the other side.  Of the three close together I could clearly see size and subtle color differences -- sort of a mini conjunction within the main event.  Saturn was very much smaller in size and a greenish brown color, and the two moons I saw were smaller and much dimmer.  Normally one could easily tell these differences by slewing between one and the other, but having them in the same eyepiece field makes the comparison obvious.

I put the mount in the shed so it's easier to bring out and set-up, so if we do have some good weather coming I can quickly have a look.

7 december 2020

Seeing last night was particularly poor, with high winds in the upper atmosphere.  Transparency was good, and while it was cold there was no dew.  I didn't have high expectations so I used my 8-inch mask and low power (for me) 121x.  All the same it was an excellent session with some surprising pairs.  I observed from 9pm to a little after 11pm.

Two nights ago I finally ran a TPAS (or "super calibration") on my Argo Navis.  I only got to about 130 stars, and I hoped I did it correctly -- and it took a long time, about five hours.  I could tell during last night's session the pointing accuracy was much improved, especially correcting an error in declination which had been plaguing me.  So I'm quite happy.  I will probably redo it sometime soon, since now that I know what to do I hope to be more efficient.

STT 55 AB: 203; 121x: Bright white A and a tiny fleck of star for B, well separated and large delta mag.  Not physical

03H 29M 26.28S +46° 56' 16.3" P.A. 295 SEP 31.1 MAG 6.23,11.39 SP B7V DIST. 195.31 PC (637.1 L.Y.)

ES 2599 AB: 203; 121x: Wide equal white pair of 9th magnitude stars, physical.  Aa-Ab is a close Cocteau pair I could try with my 20-inch on a better night.
03H 29M 46.98S +50° 01' 05.1" P.A. 299 SEP 19.2 MAG 9.97,10.18 SP F2

HLD 8 AB: 203; 121x: Fine pair, slight magnitude difference, nicely split ~3", appears closely split at this magnification 
03H 30M 34.67S +49° 47' 21.2" P.A. 177 SEP 2.4 MAG 9.42,9.79 SP F0

ES 560 AB: 203; 121x: A fine pair, white A and three delta mag dull B, wide.  Physical.  There appears to be a stream of faint stars to the side of this star in the field of view, and also visible in the finder -- this star is on the southern edge of open cluster Mel 20, so it is a rich area.
03H 33M 13.49S +46° 15' 26.5" P.A. 142 SEP 9.5 MAG 8.33,11.29 SP K2 DIST. 34.39 PC (112.18 L.Y.)

ES 561 AB: 203; 121x: Wide one delta mag white stars, nice.  Physical
03H 33M 33.18S +45° 45' 12.5" P.A. 39 SEP 8.1 MAG 9.09,10.35 SP G

SMA 37 AB: 203; 121x: Wide ~1 delta mag pair.  A has a fainter companion, closer by half of B's distance, slightly askew in PA -- this is the AC pair. 

03H 33M 52.18S +43° 51' 01.9" P.A. 288 SEP 31.6 MAG 9.50,10.78 SP A0

BU 787 AB: 203; 121x:  Very nice, white and very large delta mag B, but seen plainly with low magnification.  Physical, 655.8 year period.  

03H 34M 12.97S +48° 37' 02.9" P.A. 294.3 SEP 4.8 MAG 7.38,11.90 SP B9.5V DIST. 261.1 PC (851.71 L.Y.)

HU 102 AB: 203; 121x: Very fine, ~2 delta mag, very closely but well split ~3", very nice
03H 36M 42.80S +48° 39' 05.4" P.A. 64 SEP 3.2 MAG 9.70,11.10 SP A0

HLD 9 AB: 203; 121x: Faint, nearly 10th magnitude stars.  This pair is very tough this aperture and magnification, very finely hairline split, very noticeable delta magnitude.  A very faint ~10th magnitude tumbling satellite moved slowly through through the side of the FOV. 
03H 37M 43.01S +48° 07' 02.5" P.A. 55 SEP 1.3 MAG 9.56,9.81 SP F7IV/V DIST. 174.83 PC (570.3 L.Y.)

STT 59 AB: 203; 121x:  Sharp pair, A is a very light yellow-white, B is more yellow, nearly 2 delta mag, ~3", very nice
03H 40M 40.62S +46° 01' 24.1" P.A. 356 SEP 2.8 MAG 7.90,8.85 SP G5 DIST. 111.36 PC (363.26 L.Y.)

HU 103 AB: 203; 205x: Elongated with 121x, strongly notched overlapping disks with 205x, significant magnitude difference.  Seeing doesn't support higher powers. 

03H 45M 22.61S +49° 51' 42.4" P.A. 203 SEP 1.2 MAG 8.70,8.86 SP A0 DIST. 265.25 PC (865.25 L.Y.)

ES 465 AB: 203; 121x: Typical Espin, wide, ~1 delta mag.  Not physical
03H 45M 54.74S +50° 25' 09.2" P.A. 266 SEP 9.9 MAG 9.50,10.00 SP A5

STT 63 AB: 203; 121x: Very bright white A and very much fainter B, which appears direct vision with best focus and brightens with averted vision and foveal coaxing.  A challenge for this aperture. 
03H 48M 18.08S +50° 44' 12.4" P.A. 269 SEP 6.7 MAG 6.19,11.20 SP B8VNE DIST. 250.63 PC (817.56 L.Y.)

HU 209 AB: 203; 205x: Elongated to very fine small scale near equal snowman with 121x, elongated more with 205x, with hairline split at moments of best seeing, ~1 delta mag. 
03H 49M 13.09S +50° 23' 17.4" P.A. 106 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.29,10.38 SP G0

STF 446 AB: 203; 121x: ~2 delta mag, wide, nice pair
03H 49M 27.57S +52° 39' 19.4" P.A. 254 SEP 8.8 MAG 6.86,9.90 SP B0.5III DIST. 1098.9 PC (3584.61 L.Y.)

STF 462 AB: 203; 121x: Strikingly faint for a Struve, wide, ~1 delta mag. 
03H 55M 46.11S +52° 22' 07.6" P.A. 320 SEP 8.1 MAG 10.70,11.60 SP A0

KU 16 AB: 203; 121x: Wow!  Very fine pair, slight mag difference, faint ~10th magnitude, well split B resolves with seeing.
03H 56M 18.22S +51° 07' 58.7" P.A. 268 SEP 2.4 MAG 10.49,11.16 SP B8

STF 465 AB: 203; 121x: Off-white stars, >1 delta mag, pretty wide.  Physical
03H 56M 40.78S +47° 28' 59.9" P.A. 236 SEP 5.7 MAG 8.13,10.03 SP F5 DIST. 155.52 PC (507.31 L.Y.)

STF 469 AB: 203; 121x: White and slightly red B, wide, ~3 delta mag.
03H 57M 16.29S +41° 52' 50.3" P.A. 146 SEP 8.8 MAG 6.90,9.92 SP A2 DIST. 121.07 PC (394.93 L.Y.)

STF 471 AB: 203; 121x: Very bright white A, and B is far enough away and just the right blue-green color to look like a planet. 

03H 57M 51.22S +40° 00' 36.9" P.A. 10 SEP 9.1 MAG 2.85,8.88 SP B0.5V+A2V DIST. 195.69 PC (638.34 L.Y.)

ES 878 AB: 203; 121x: Light orange A, B is very faint, a fleck of light, well separated.
03H 58M 51.30S +51° 29' 56.5" P.A. 226 SEP 12.2 MAG 7.92,11.08 SP K2IB DIST. 2040.82 PC (6657.15 L.Y.)

STF 477 AB: 203; 121x: Very fine white pair, ~1 delta mag.  Very close but nicely separated white stars.  Not physical.

04H 02M 04.77S +41° 50' 56.7" P.A. 212 SEP 3.1 MAG 8.49,9.45 SP A2

HLD 10 AB: 203; 121: Wow! good one.  ~2 delta mag, ~4", very fine B.  Nice pair -- but not physical! 
04H 02M 27.53S +48° 23' 43.1" P.A. 91 SEP 4.2 MAG 9.44,10.80 SP F2 DIST. 289.02 PC (942.78 L.Y.)

ES 466 AB: 203; 121: A challenge with this aperture and magnification.  White A, B appears with averted vision only, well separated, just faint
04H 04M 08.38S +49° 48' 52.6" P.A. 54 SEP 4.3 MAG 9.46,12.48 SP A0 DIST. 293.26 PC (956.61 L.Y.)

STF 521 AB: 203; 205x: Very fine light yellow stars, ~2 delta mag, ~2", very nice looking pair.

04H 21M 45.39S +50° 02' 06.5" P.A. 257 SEP 2.1 MAG 7.44,9.17 SP G0 DIST. 813.01 PC (2652.04 L.Y.)

30 november 2020

Continuing winter conditions last night: foggy haze in the air and mediocre seeing.  I kept the 8-inch mask on throughout.  From 8-9pm I viewed a variety of doubles, some very interesting, using the Tour mode on the Argo.  No notes, however, just tourist mode.  After 9pm I observed from my lists, some good pairs despite the conditions -- however the proximity of the nearly full moon kept the fainter pairs out of reach.

STF 333 AB: 203; 205x: Eps Ari: Beautiful split of white stars, less than 1 delta mag, a little more than 1".  Very nice pair.  Physical with a 1215 year period. 

02H 59M 12.73S +21° 20' 25.6" P.A. 210 SEP 1.32 MAG 5.17,5.57 SP A2VS+A2VS DIST. 101.94 PC (332.53 L.Y.)

STT 49 AB: 203; 205x: 50 Ari.  Very fine pair, white A and dull B, ~3 delta mag, ~2", very pretty.   Physical, it has widened from 1.2" since discovery in 1865.

03H 00M 31.51S +18° 00' 18.1" P.A. 50 SEP 2.3 MAG 6.80,9.92 SP A0 DIST. 122.4 PC (399.27 L.Y.)

STF 346 AB: 203; 333x: What a great set!  The closest are a near equal pair of white stars, elongated with a slight notch, There's a faint C ~5" and slight more than a right angle in PA.  Interesting set.  Physical with 227 year period.

03H 05M 26.69S +25° 15' 18.7" P.A. 258.6 SEP 0.51 MAG 6.21,6.19 SP B7V DIST. 165.29 PC (539.18 L.Y.)

AG 61 AB: 203; 333x: Minute pair, split at best moments, light orange stars, noticeable mag difference.
03H 06M 52.47S +20° 51' 43.1" P.A. 23 SEP 0.8 MAG 9.21,9.43 SP G0 DIST. 374.53 PC (1221.72 L.Y.)

BU 1030 AB: 203; 333x: Good clean split, slight magnitude difference, small pair.  Really good.  Physical with 571 year period.  

03H 10M 06.57S +21° 44' 49.5" P.A. 100.6 SEP 0.8 MAG 7.81,9.67 SP F0 DIST. 118.06 PC (385.11 L.Y.)

GLP 1 AB: 203; 205x: Faint but easy pair of white stars, near equal, well split.  Physical.  S. Glasenapp, active in France during the 1890s.
03H 10M 48.97S +15° 08' 07.5" P.A. 89 SEP 4.5 MAG 10.42,10.65 SP F8

BU 530 BC: 203; 333x: Component of STF 366.  Faint, and is mostly a hazy elongation which brightens each end with seeing --- difficult on such a night as this with poor seeing and transparency.  It makes me wonder how Struve missed it?  There are 26 observations in WDS so it should have been determined to be physical by now... 

03H 14M 18.93S +22° 57' 48.0" P.A. 191 SEP 1.9 MAG 10.43,11.10 DIST. 146.2 PC (476.9 L.Y.)

STF 376 AB: 203; 205x: Easy wide pair, white stars
03H 20M 20.64S +19° 43' 49.3" P.A. 252 SEP 7.2 MAG 8.33,8.44 SP A2V DIST. 123.15 PC (401.72 L.Y.)

STF 375 AB: 203; 333x: Easy wide pair, ~3", ~2 delta, white and bluish
03H 20M 21.23S +23° 41' 21.9" P.A. 316 SEP 2.7 MAG 7.62,9.90 SP A7IV DIST. 104.6 PC (341.21 L.Y.)

STF 377 AB: 203; 333x: Faint in poor conditions, ~1 delta mag., ~1" 
03H 20M 34.14S +19° 10' 49.5" P.A. 110 SEP 1.1 MAG 8.78,9.31 SP A2.5V DIST. 194.17 PC (633.38 L.Y.)

STF 379 AB: 203; 205x: Very wide, near equal white stars.  Physical

03H 22M 51.83S +29° 49' 06.3" P.A. 101 SEP 10.4 MAG 8.59,8.80 SP A2 DIST. 205.34 PC (669.82 L.Y.)

STF 381 AB: 203; 205x: Very fine split, white and blue stars, ~1 delta mag, ~1" 
03H 23M 19.33S +20° 58' 13.9" P.A. 109 SEP 1.1 MAG 7.56,8.75 SP G5

STF 271 AB: 203; 205x: Pretty white star and much fainter wide B
02H 30M 32.31S +25° 14' 06.8" P.A. 183 SEP 12.8 MAG 5.93,9.94 SP F6IV DIST. 51.76 PC (168.84 L.Y.)

STF 273 AB: 203; 205x: Prototypical Struve: White, wide, ~1 delta mag. 
02H 32M 02.89S +18° 22' 25.2" SEP 7.2 MAG 8.56,9.12 SP F5 DIST. 110.86 PC (361.63 L.Y.)

HLD 63 AB: 203; 205x: Fine pair, split with seeing, ~1", light orange, slight magnitude difference. 
02H 34M 23.36S +11° 48' 16.9" P.A. 292 SEP 1.5 MAG 9.68,10.01 SP F8

STF 287 AB: 203; 205x: White and wide, ~2 delta mag.  Physical
02H 38M 59.78S +14° 51' 37.6" P.A. 74 SEP 6.8 MAG 7.36,9.61 SP G5 DIST. 271 PC (884 L.Y.)

STF 291 AB: 203; 205x: White stars, near equal, close but well split, makes a 2+1 with a ~2 delta mag, very wide C

02H 41M 06.59S +18° 48' 00.7" P.A. 118 SEP 3.4 MAG 7.66,7.50 SP B9.5V DIST. 735.29 PC (2398.52 L.Y.)

I looked at the moon for a while with bino-viewers, but the seeing and conditions did not really hold up, so I packed it in after 20 minutes or so.