25 february 2021

 The last couple of weeks have not been good for observing.  When the sky was clear enough to try to observe, there was heavy haze and awful seeing -- even the moon at very low powers was not worth viewing.  I have enjoyed viewing the sun with my 80mm f/15 refractor and new Quark Ha filter, however.  There have been some amazingly large prominences showing so much detail, and today a gigantic arched prominence from two which had merged.  My Byers mount should arrive to me next week, and I'll work to set it up in the next couple of weeks to take more advantage of views.  The next several days will have poor transparency and seeing, though fingers crossed next week will have some better conditions.

Last night was the least-bad night, with moderately good seeing 6/10, but with heavy haze and a bright, nearly full moon hurting fainter stars.  I used my 7-inch mask for views of some easier Struve and other pairs, finishing with the moon.  

STF 950 AB: 178; 205x: Lovely white and 3 delta mag fainter B, approximately 4".  In NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster
06h 40m 58.66s +09° 53' 44.7" P.A. 214.00 sep 3.0 mag 4.66,7.79 Sp O7Ve+B2: dist. 281.69 pc (918.87 l.y.)

STF 949 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, well separated white stars with significant delta mag, almost 1 delta, about 5".  Not physical.
06h 41m 00.18s +05° 42' 26.7" P.A. 289.00 sep 3.6 mag 9.17,9.70 Sp B9V

STF 953 AB: 178; 205x: Easy light yellow pair, 1 delta mag, wide.  Near NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster
06h 41m 09.41s +08° 59' 05.0" P.A. 330.00 sep 7.3 mag 7.10,7.66 Sp F5 dist. 497.51 pc (1622.88 l.y.)

STF 954 AB: 178; 205x:  Nice white A, widely separated faint B, about 3 delta mag.  In NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster
06h 41m 09.60s +09° 27' 57.5" P.A. 153.00 sep 12.9 mag 7.15,10.23 Sp B2III:

STF3117 AB: 178; 205x: Very fine, split with seeing, dull white stars, significant delta mag, very close 1"  In NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster
06h 41m 22.05s +09° 43' 51.6" P.A. 77.00 sep 0.9 mag 9.17,9.76 Sp B9

STF3118 AB: 178; 205x: Faint but easy pair, wide, approximately 3" separation, almost 1 delta mag.  Not physical.  In NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster
06h 41m 30.09s +09° 49' 48.5" P.A. 174.00 sep 2.8 mag 9.78,9.87 Sp A2

STF 956 AB: 178; 205x: Faint B noticed with averted vision but can hold it with direct, a fine pair, A is in an arc of three similar magnitude stars.  Not physical.
06h 42m 40.55s +01° 42' 58.2" P.A. 194.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.96,10.69 Sp O8.5V dist. 1030.93 pc (3362.89 l.y.)

A 2823 AB: 178; 205x: White A and much fainter B, can see just see it with direct vision, wide about 5" and 3 delta mag.  It is sharper with seeing.  Not physical.
06h 43m 15.27s +06° 07' 01.0" P.A. 300.00 sep 4.5 mag 8.01,10.30 Sp B9V dist. 159.74 pc (521.07 l.y.)

A 2680 AB: 178; 205x: Nice!  Very fine, with seeing, close less than 2", around 1 delta mag, light orange A and white B.  A really fine pair. 
06h 45m 51.88s +03° 24' 01.3" P.A. 161.00 sep 1.6 mag 9.55,9.71 Sp A7 dist. 25000 pc (81550 l.y.)

A 2731 AB: 178; 205x: Excellent pair, around 2 two delta mag, more than 1" separated, very fine, dull white A and light yellow B.  Physical with a 247 year period.
06h 48m 39.38s +07° 37' 20.4" P.A. 67.60 sep 1.4 mag 8.24,9.53 Sp G5 dist. 53.13 pc (173.31 l.y.)

WFC 45 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, wide, 1 delta.  Does not seem like an obvious double
06h 49m 49.42s +06° 56' 04.2" P.A. 321.00 sep 7.0 mag 9.96,10.50 Sp K0III

J 56 AB: 178; 205x: Very fine near equal pair, 1.5" separation, really good
06h 52m 37.65s +03° 14' 17.8" P.A. 334.00 sep 1.5 mag 9.39,9.72 Sp A2

STF 986 AB: 178; 205x: Easy Struve, around 1 delta mag, wide, light blue-white stars.  Physical
06h 54m 54.08s +09° 29' 56.5" P.A. 163.00 sep 5.5 mag 8.26,9.02 Sp A2

BU 326 AB: 178; 333x: Seeing not great, so I only get a notched elongation at the highest mag the sky will support, only 333x.  Needs a better night.  Discovered at 1.2", so it has closed considerably, and I should not feel bad not seeing it with just 7-inch aperture.
06h 56m 11.96s +02° 18' 59.7" P.A. 341.00 sep 0.5 mag 8.00,9.50 Sp G5 dist. 709.22 pc (2313.48 l.y.)

J 278 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, just brightens enough to split with averted vision.
06h 58m 36.18s +06° 41' 10.9" P.A. 147.00 sep 2.4 mag 9.95,10.32 Sp B9

STF1066 AB: 178; 205x: Bright light yellow A and much fainter light orange B, wide about 6".  Physical.  
07h 20m 07.39s +21° 58' 56.4" P.A. 229.00 sep 5.5 mag 3.55,8.18 Sp A9III+K3V dist. 18.54 pc (60.48 l.y.)

STF1053 AB: 178; 205x: White A and very faint B, can barely see it direct, it brightens with averted, wide about 15".  Not physical.
07h 16m 48.52s +24° 32' 10.7" P.A. 316.00 sep 13.9 mag 7.35,10.83 Sp A0 dist. 163.67 pc (533.89 l.y.)

STF1061 AB: 178; 205x: Bright white A and very much fainter B which is a very fine wide point which sharpens with seeing
07h 18m 05.61s +16° 32' 25.7" P.A. 36.00 sep 9.3 mag 3.58,10.70 Sp A3V dist. 30.93 pc (100.89 l.y.)

STF1068 A fine faint pair, noticable mag difference, wide about five
07h 19m 49.31s +13° 22' 22.4" P.A. 350.00 sep 4.1 mag 9.29,9.80 Sp A2

STF1070 AB: 178; 205x: Seen at zenith, a fine white pair, 1 delta mag, about 3", nice
07h 21m 21.87s +34° 01' 36.2" P.A. 324.00 sep 1.7 mag 8.65,9.30 Sp A0 dist. 418.41 pc (1364.85 l.y.)

STF1081 AB: 178; 205x: Very pretty blue-white A and slightly orange B, well separated about 2" 
07h 24m 08.94s +21° 27' 28.0" P.A. 234.00 sep 1.9 mag 7.68,8.52 Sp B9 dist. 210.97 pc (688.18 l.y.)

STF1083 AB: 178; 205x: White stars, wide, 1 delta mag.  A nice, typical Struve
07h 25m 35.30s +20° 29' 42.6" P.A. 226.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.32,8.13 Sp A5 dist. 132.45 pc (432.05 l.y.)

STF1088 AB: 178; 205x: White A and two delta mag B, well separated.
07h 26m 02.42s +14° 06' 10.7" P.A. 195.00 sep 10.9 mag 7.38,9.37 Sp A0V dist. 458.72 pc (1496.34 l.y.)

STF1089 AB: 178; 205x: Near equal wide white, not physical
07h 26m 11.97s +14° 50' 25.3" P.A. 7.00 sep 7.2 mag 8.87,8.93 Sp A2 dist. 180.51 pc (588.82 l.y.)

STT 171 AB: 178; 333x:  ! Exceptionally fine, with seeing, white A and bluish B, 2 delta mag, B appears as a very fine point at A's diffraction ring, less than 1".  Suspected at 205x, best seen at 333x.
07h 26m 39.61s +31° 37' 11.9" P.A. 138.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.39,9.19 Sp G5 dist. 159.49 pc (520.26 l.y.)

STF1094 AB: 178; 205x: White, 1.5 delta mag, about 2", nice and cleanly split  
07h 27m 25.99s +15° 18' 59.0" P.A. 97.00 sep 2.5 mag 7.58,8.52 Sp A0V dist. 507.61 pc (1655.82 l.y.)

A 2868 AB: 178; 333x: ! Strongly notched to hairline at 205x, steady hairline split at 333x with seeing, very noticeable magnitude difference.
07h 29m 09.44s +12° 52' 45.5" P.A. 22.00 sep 0.7 mag 8.59,8.98 Sp G0

STF1102 AB: 178; 205x: Easy white A and ruddy B, wide, 1 delta.  Physical.
07h 30m 26.25s +13° 51' 54.0" P.A. 45.00 sep 7.7 mag 7.36,9.21 Sp F5 dist. 45.41 pc (148.13 l.y.)

STF1106 AB: 178; 205x: Easy wide white pair, noticeable magnitude difference
07h 31m 21.02s +16° 18' 38.6" P.A. 35.00 sep 10.7 mag 9.40,9.47 Sp G0

STF1108 AB: 178; 205x: Very lightly yellow A and very light blue B, wide, 2 delta, a pretty pair

07h 32m 50.63s +22° 53' 15.4" P.A. 179.00 sep 11.7 mag 6.62,8.21 Sp G8III dist. 136.61 pc (445.62 l.y.)

liftoff

 While observing the sun with my PST today, around 12:30pm, I noticed one bit of prominence which was separated from the limb.  It hovered like a small wisp of cloud, with a bright knot to one side of it.  I sketched it and wrote "liftoff?" in my notebook.  

Sure enough later on I found someone on CN had posted photos of it -- confirming what I saw.  Very neat, a first for me.

5 february 2021

Transparency and seeing were slightly better last night.  Between 8-9pm I used the Tour function on the Argo Navis to sample some doubles in Orion.  Some lovely pairs but I didn't bother to take notes on them.  After 9pm I observed a little higher up, mostly in Gemini.  I went to full aperture though with the apodising mask, and had to keep the magnifications low.  All the same, a good session.  Some dew, and it got cold, in the lower 40s.

BU 1059 BC: 508; 333x: A-BC is the very bright orange A star Mu Gem, which is itself a  with several faint widely separated stars around, the brightest of which is BC.  BC was quite faint, flashing a definite elongation but no separation with averted vision, significant delta mag.   Discovered in 1889 36-inch at 0.8", it has narrowed since.

06h 23m 02.65s +22° 29' 24.4" P.A. 265.00 sep 0.6 mag 11.50,12.40

OSB 3 AB: 508; 333x: Extremely faint B, approximately 2 delta mag.  B see with averted vision only, well separated.  It is a physical pair.  W.H. Osborn, who has eight discoveries to his name, about whom I can't find any further information (I assume he is not the railroad tycoon in the Google search results).
06h 22m 23.33s +22° 43' 07.4" P.A. 4.00 sep 7.9 mag 9.80,11.00

STT 519 AB: 508; 205x: Pretty 2 delta mag, wide, light yellow A and very light blue B.  Physical
06h 31m 17.74s +15° 44' 14.4" P.A. 78.00 sep 8.4 mag 8.36,10.90 Sp G5

J 1093 AB: 508; 333x:  Tough near equal pair, I have trouble to resolve the elongation which appears in all powers through 533x, though can tell this is double
06h 34m 43.85s +26° 05' 20.7" P.A. 4.00 sep 1.3 mag 9.77,10.50

VDK 1 AB: 508; 205x: Attractive pair, approximately 2 delta and 3", slightly light orange A, well split.  Sadly not physical.  One of three discoveries by J. Vanderdonck
06h 36m 29.25s +26° 43' 39.5" P.A. 43.00 sep 3.0 mag 10.30,11.40

STF 943 AB: 508; 205x: Not sure why this one was picked out as a double, it's such a rich field any could be any such pair.  Wide near equal white. 
06h 37m 47.00s +23° 10' 36.0" P.A. 135.00 sep 31.1 mag 9.17,9.42 Sp G0

A 511 AB: 508; 205x: Wonderfully close pair, looks like the small snowman's head popped off the body, close split, 1 delta mag, white stars 

06h 44m 20.42s +28° 22' 08.1" P.A. 157.00 sep 1.6 mag 9.63,10.43 Sp F8 dist. 167.79 pc (547.33 l.y.)

A 122 AB: 508; 533x: Nice light orange stars, hairline split with indifferent seeing, PA to the SW.  Slight magnitude difference.  Physical with 102.3-year period, I have the PA reversed in my estimate, it's to the NE -- still can claim it though.  It is coming off apastron and will close slightly in the next 20 years.  Aiken discovered in 1900 with the Lick 36-inch also at 0.4" -- 118 years since, so it has made a little more than one revolution.

06h 45m 27.02s +29° 21' 59.8" P.A. 22.00 sep 0.4 mag 8.89,9.39 Sp F8V dist. 77.04 pc (251.3 l.y.)

WFC 42 AB: 508; 205x: White stars, wide split, very slight delta mag, quite pretty.  Physical pair.
06h 45m 27.48s +33° 12' 55.4" P.A. 358.00 sep 4.5 mag 10.11,10.80

STF 981 AB: 508; 333x: Very finely split, white stars, nearly 1 delta mag.  Appeared as a rod at 205x.  Physical with a 1089.7-year period.  Discovered in 1831 at 3.7", near apastron, it has narrowed considerably since.
06h 55m 28.54s +30° 09' 42.3" P.A. 115.80 sep 0.9 mag 8.72,8.97 Sp G0 dist. 38.49 pc (125.55 l.y.)

STF 983 AB: 508; 205x: B is very faint for a Struve pair, it's wide, with a light orange A star, approximately 3 delta mag.  Not physical.

06h 56m 13.67s +34° 27' 32.7" P.A. 36.00 sep 10.7 mag 8.70,12.70 Sp B9

STF 984 AB: 508; 205x: This is a typical Struve, light yellow A, slightly orange B, approximately one delta mag and 4".  Not physical 

06h 56m 16.59s +32° 26' 41.4" P.A. 155.00 sep 3.3 mag 8.67,10.80 Sp G5

4 february 2021

 Last night was a bit of a bust.  Seeing was awful even when masked down to 7-inches, and transparency was so poor I had trouble seeing even 9th magnitude stars.  I did however figure out the vignetting I noticed before was coming from a focuser baffle being out of place, so I fixed that.

I observed for about 40 minutes before quitting.  There was one interesting pair seen: 

STF 541 AB, CD: 178; 203x: AB is a bright white pair, super wide, approximately 1 delta mag.  Nearly in between is a near equal faint pair of 10th magnitude stars, approximately 6" separated, with a PA slightly off-kilter to the AB pair.  The A star is an Aa-Ab pair, OCC 327, equal magnitudes but no separation given, from the Occulting Doubles Catalog -- I wonder if it would show out of round visually with aperture & high magnification.

Image from a poster on Cloudy Nights: