21 july 2021

Seeing was rather poor last night, so I stayed with the 7-inch mask for all but one observation.  There was a nearly full moon and haze thickened through the session, which I ended at 11:30pm.  I trimmed some branches from the apricot tree so I could see Lyra, which was well placed, so I spent the session there.  Pretty good overall!

STF2304 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, so the colors might be a little exaggerated.  Ice blue A and reddish B, wide.  Spectral is K0, yellow-orange.  WDS says it's physical, and it looks that way: only 5% parallax overlap, but a 1,790 AU separation, and the A star stellar mass is 2.6 and B is 1.9.  The difference in radial velocity is less than the escape velocity, so it may well be gravitationally bound.
18h 17m 06.98s +40° 15' 21.2" P.A. 70.00 sep 5.2 mag 8.75,9.75 Sp K0 dist. 275.48 pc (898.62 l.y.)

ES 2110 AB: 178; 205x: B is seen with averted vision only, white.  WDS uncertain; there is no parallax overlap so it is not.
18h 20m 58.41s +36° 30' 18.9" P.A. 96.00 sep 6.4 mag 9.30,10.80 Sp F5

BU 134 AB: 178; 205x: I get hints of a faint brightening in A's diffraction, but no resolution.  Seeing won't bear higher powers.  WDS uncertain; there is no parallax overlap, so surprisingly this is not physical.  Burnham "discovered" in 1851 with his 6-inch at 1.1", but notes: "it had been seen before at Poulkowa, and is STT 543."
18h 25m 17.50s +46° 53' 07.4" P.A. 126.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.99,9.70 Sp B9.5V dist. 227.27 pc (741.35 l.y.)

STF2328 AB: 178; 205x: Well split, almost wide, slight delta mag, white.  Near a brighter orange star.  WDS says "parallax indicates physical" but in fact there is no overlap in the parallax range, -78%.  
18h 29m 27.87s +29° 55' 27.2" P.A. 71.00 sep 3.6 mag 9.00,9.50 Sp A2

STF2338 AB: 178; 205x: Faint wide companion.  Not physical.
18h 30m 54.75s +38° 39' 33.8" P.A. 301.00 sep 12.1 mag 9.30,11.20 Sp K2

STF2335 AB: 178; 205x: Three stars, the more closely separated (but still wide) B is seen with averted vision.  White stars, around 2 delta mag, wide.  Not physical.
18h 30m 54.06s +34° 16' 30.9" P.A. 318.00 sep 11.7 mag 9.33,10.70 Sp F9V

SLE 209 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow-orange star.  With seeing and averted vision, a small point at A'd diffraction ring appears, >2 delta mag and slightly more than 1" separation.  Not physical.
18h 33m 55.17s +32° 07' 50.5" P.A. 26.00 sep 10.3 mag 8.22,12.00 Sp K0

STF2351 AB: 178; 205x: White, <1 delta mag, wide.  WDS uncertain; there is a -15% parallax overlap, so not physical.
18h 36m 12.00s +41° 16' 41.2" P.A. 161.00 sep 5.0 mag 7.60,7.64 Sp A1V+A0V dist. 206.61 pc (673.96 l.y.)

STF2349 AB: 178; 205x: Bright white A, B is a ghostly grey, faint but seen with direct vision, well separated.  WDS is uncertain; there is a 38% parallax overlap, 1,188 AU weighted separation, and the stellar masses are high, 3.58 & 1.22 -- so it may well be gravitationally bound.
18h 36m 37.34s +33° 28' 08.5" P.A. 204.00 sep 7.2 mag 5.39,9.40 Sp B8II-IIIp dist. 154.56 pc (504.17 l.y.)

STF2362 AB: 178; 205x: White A and light yellow B, wide, about 1.5 delta mag.  WDS is uncertain; there is 27% parallax overlap, a close 428 AU weighted separation, and sizable mass 1.72 & 1.32 -- it may well be gravitationally bound.
18h 38m 25.70s +36° 03' 11.3" P.A. 187.00 sep 4.4 mag 7.53,8.72 Sp A5 dist. 105.26 pc (343.36 l.y.)

STF2356 AB: 178; 205x: Exquisite!  Just split, 1 delta mag so it looks like a split snowman, light orange stars. Very nice.  WDS uncertain.  Sadly there is no parallax overlap, -33%, so these are not gravitational.
18h 38m 22.51s +28° 41' 49.7" P.A. 63.00 sep 1.0 mag 8.79,9.23 Sp F0 dist. 598.8 pc (1953.29 l.y.)

STF2358 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, near equal, very close but still split.  WDS uncertain; there is no parallax overlap.
18h 38m 35.04s +30° 43' 20.1" P.A. 224.00 sep 2.5 mag 9.81,10.19 Sp F8

STF2367 AB-C: 178; 205x: Light yellow-orange A and light blue B, >1 delta mag, very wide.  (Need to return to this one, AB is a short 94-year period 0.45", nearing apastron.)  WDS calls AB-C physical on the similar proper motions, unfortunately there is no parallax data for A.
18h 41m 16.36s +30° 17' 40.9" P.A. 192.00 sep 14.1 mag 7.05,8.75 Sp G3IV dist. 136.05 pc (443.8 l.y.)

STF2371 AB: 178; 205x: Easy near equal white pair.  WDS uncertain, but there is 34% parallax overlap, 6,674 AU weighted separation, which is kind of far, but stellar masses are 2.80 & 2.63, so maybe enough.  No radial velocity data.
18h 42m 12.44s +27° 38' 32.3" P.A. 56.00 sep 10.0 mag 9.68,9.96 Sp A0

STF2378 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta, white, wide.  WDS says its physical due to parallax, and indeed I find 62% overlap in the parallax ranges and a 3,228 AU weighted separation, stellar masses 2.13 & 1.67 -- so may be gravitational.  No radial velocity data.
18h 43m 21.93s +35° 32' 55.3" P.A. 190.00 sep 11.5 mag 8.91,9.88 Sp A dist. 153.14 pc (499.54 l.y.)

STF2374 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta mag, white, wide.  Not physical.
18h 43m 27.56s +27° 42' 54.6" P.A. 40.00 sep 13.4 mag 9.64,10.43 Sp F2

WEB 7 AB: 178; 205x: Near equal, white, wide, fairly faint.  WDS says physical from proper motions.  There is 34% parallax range overlap, a far 8,343 AU weighted separation, but higher stellar masses 2.94 and 2.57, so it might be gravitational.  Time will tell.
18h 44m 47.67s +44° 57' 37.8" P.A. 50.00 sep 11.3 mag 9.55,10.35 Sp A5

STF2395 AB: 178; 205x: White A and light blue B.  B is pretty faint, just barely seen direct.  WDS says physical, but there is -23% parallax overlap, so that's incorrect.
18h 45m 03.66s +46° 08' 07.5" P.A. 308.00 sep 8.5 mag 7.89,10.49 Sp A0 dist. 236.97 pc (773 l.y.)

STF2381 AB: 178; 205x: White A and light blue B, wide.  WDS says physical, but again no parallax overlap -3%.
18h 45m 30.77s +28° 15' 24.3" P.A. 122.00 sep 8.9 mag 8.27,10.36 Sp G8III/IV dist. 259.74 pc (847.27 l.y.)

HU 936 AB: 178; 205x: Excellent pair, clean and precise split with seeing, near equal blue-white stars, nicely split.   Struve should have got this.  WDS uncertain, I find no parallax range overlap.
18h 48m 42.19s +34° 01' 04.8" P.A. 101.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.66,9.85 Sp F8

POP 44 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, wide, noticeable delta.  WDS says physical, but there is -54% parallax overlap, so it is not.
18h 49m 33.16s +35° 11' 46.2" P.A. 230.00 sep 9.7 mag 10.62,12.30

STT 525 AB: 178; 205x: Extremely fine point shows just outside bright white A's first diffraction, only with best seeing and when A is a perfect disk.  WDS uncertain, however unfortunately there is -34% parallax overlap, it is not physical.
18h 54m 52.52s +33° 58' 06.9" P.A. 130.00 sep 1.8 mag 6.14,9.12 Sp A8+G5III dist. 358.42 pc (1169.17 l.y.)

STF2427 BC: 178; 205x: AB are near equal and wide, BC is very slightly fainter, well split itself. It appears as a slightly hooking line of three stars.  9 stars in the system.  WDS says this is physical due to parallax, and it appears it is: 3% of range overlap but it's only 549 AU separated, stellar mass 0.90/0.85, and the radial velocity delta is less than the escape velocity.
18h 58m 08.22s +38° 13' 47.6" P.A. 79.00 sep 7.2 mag 9.93,10.20 Sp K0

DA 9 AB: 178; 205x: I've seen this a few times, always a challenge in different apertures.  Very fine white point outside bright white A's diffraction, with seeing.  WDS says physical but sadly there is -5% parallax range overlap, not gravitationally bound.
19h 04m 15.72s +43° 52' 49.5" P.A. 172.00 sep 2.0 mag 7.05,10.22 Sp A0V dist. 233.64 pc (762.13 l.y.)

STF2453 AB: 178; 205x: White A and pretty wide faint B.  Not physical.
19h 05m 05.80s +40° 07' 33.1" P.A. 85.00 sep 13.4 mag 8.55,10.63 Sp A2 dist. 143.06 pc (466.66 l.y.)

ZUL 1 AB: 508; 205x: Discovered in 1984.  Elongated smear with 7-inch, with the 20-inch I had nicely split light yellow-orange near equal stars.  Very pretty.  D.J. Zulevic, of Serbia, who has two discoveries.  No data on the B star in Gaia.

19h 06m 34.88s +33° 55' 03.4" P.A. 165.00 sep 1.4 mag 10.50,10.50 

STF2469 AB: 178; 205x: Only get an elongation at this aperture, a bit too close and faint.  WDS uncertain, but its chances are good, 30% parallax overlap, 181 AU separation, 1.85/1.43 stellar mass.

19h 07m 47.60s +38° 55' 41.6" P.A. 126.00 sep 1.3 mag 7.93,9.13 Sp A3 dist. 139.08 pc (453.68 l.y.)

 

10 july 2021

Seeing was predicted to be good so I observed with hopes it would improve through the night.  I would check some challenging pair at high altitude every so often, but it was never steady enough.  So I kept the 7-inch mask on most of the night, still a good night.

STF1934 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, wide, slight mag difference, reddish color stars (Spectral G5, yellow)

15h 17m 22.50s +43° 47' 36.9" P.A. 13.00 sep 9.8 mag 9.46,9.63 Sp G5 dist. 114.29 pc (372.81 l.y.) 

STF1983 AB: 178; 205x" Faint white star with wide 2 delta fainter companion, seen with averted vision at first but then can easily hold it direct, 
15h 51m 57.93s +35° 27' 39.0" P.A. 64.00 sep 14.1 mag 10.19,11.74 Sp K2

AGC 7 AB: 178; 205x: Epsilon CrB.  I'm amazed I can get a tiny pinpoint to the north at low magnification, it holds steady just out of A's diffraction.  A is a light yellow-orange.  Spectral K2IIIab (yellow-orange).  Insufficient Gaia data on the secondary, but they put the magnitudes at 3.75/9.99 vs WDS following:
15h 57m 35.30s +26° 52' 40.9" P.A. 10.00 sep 2.0 mag 4.13,12.60 Sp K2IIIab dist. 67.89 pc (221.46 l.y.)

STT 293 AB: 178; 205x: White A and faint wide B.  WDS says physical, and it does overlap parallax range and is 840 AU separated.  No radial velocity for the B star.
15h 15m 27.22s +22° 32' 57.4" P.A. 345.00 sep 11.1 mag 8.55,11.93 Sp F8 dist. 69.54 pc (226.84 l.y.)

HO 547 AB: 178; 205x: The B star was first detected at 20-inch, but with 7-inch it was very difficult averted vision only.  WDS says physical and it does overlap parallax and 256 AU separation; no radial velocity for the B star.
15h 16m 25.62s +16° 47' 39.4" P.A. 290.00 sep 5.5 mag 7.75,11.45 Sp G0 dist. 41.91 pc (136.71 l.y.)

STF1930 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow-white A and wide 3 delta B.  WDS says physical and this is correct: 74% parallax overlap, 289 AU separation, and the radial velocity is less than the escape velocity. 
15h 19m 18.79s +01° 45' 55.5" P.A. 36.00 sep 11.1 mag 5.06,10.11 Sp F8V dist. 25.38 pc (82.79 l.y.)

BU 32 AB: 178; 205x: Bright yellow A and faint B hangs there outside the diffraction, around 3".  WDS says physical and it probably is: 41% parallax range overlap, 253 AU separation
15h 21m 02.00s +00° 42' 55.2" P.A. 23.00 sep 3.4 mag 5.53,8.78 Sp K2III dist. 73.37 pc (239.33 l.y.)

STF3092 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, B can barely be seen with direct visions, brightens with averted.  Wide.   WDS says physical but there is no parallax range overlap; the proper motions are similar so these are comoving only.
15h 21m 45.10s -02° 00' 50.4" P.A. 166.00 sep 14.1 mag 9.17,11.70 Sp G5

HO 264 AB: 178; 445x:  Difficult with 70inch.  Suspected at 205x as a brightening with averted vision, more certain split and visibility with 445x, but still averted vision only.  WDS says physical but there is no overlap in the parallax range; proper motions are a little divergent so it's not certain these are comoving or not.
15h 21m 54.91s +16° 30' 08.0" P.A. 298.00 sep 1.2 mag 8.24,11.01 Sp F4V dist. 79.05 pc (257.86 l.y.)

STF1943 AB: 178; 205x: Easy wide 1 delta.  WDS says physical, and there is strong 92% parallax overlap, only 450 AU separation, however the delta in radial velocity exceeds the escape velocity, so this is not a gravitationally bound pair.
15h 27m 37.68s +05° 22' 06.2" P.A. 148.00 sep 5.1 mag 9.29,9.58 Sp G5

STF1944 AB: 178; 445x: Hairline split wit seeing, significant magnitude difference, difficult.  Physical with a 1030-year period, on the historical measures alone since there is no Gaia data for the secondary.  It will continue to tighten to 0.4" by 2090, moving in the fastest part of its orbit.
15h 27m 42.14s +06° 06' 04.5" P.A. 292.20 sep 0.6 mag 8.32,8.79 Sp F8 dist. 196.08 pc (639.61 l.y.)

STF1952 AB-C: 178; 205x: Very wide one delta
15h 31m 54.80s +09° 39' 39.2" P.A. 220.00 sep 16.1 mag 8.70,10.12 Sp F8 dist. 187.27 pc (610.87 l.y.)

STF1953 AB: 178; 205x: Pretty wide 1 delta.  WDS says physical and this is probably correct: 14% parallax overlap, 2,044 AU separation, however no radial velocity for the primary.
15h 32m 57.15s +05° 30' 32.3" P.A. 253.00 sep 6.7 mag 9.65,10.58 Sp F5 dist. 641.03 pc (2091.04 l.y.)

AG 198 AB: 178; 205x: Wow!  Very fine direct vision, both disks are clear, white stars, 2 delta.  WDS uncertain of binarity, and I find they are not: no parallax range overlap, and the escape velocity exceeds the radial velocity. 
15h 45m 20.23s +04° 31' 56.5" P.A. 144.00 sep 2.2 mag 9.18,10.12 Sp F0 dist. 126.26 pc (411.86 l.y.)

STF1968 AB: 178; 205x: Easy wide 1 delta.  WDS says physical, and while there is 28% parallax overlap and 1,314 AU, the escape velocity is almost twice the radial velocity, so if they are bound they won't be for long.
15h 45m 23.29s -01° 23' 29.3" P.A. 93.00 sep 14.4 mag 9.49,10.49 Sp G5V+K0

BU 240 AB: 178; 205x: Very like AG 198 in appearance: 2 delta mag very close but very plain, excellent.  Unfortunately this is just a line of sight pair, there is no overlap of the parallax ranges.
15h 45m 31.73s +04° 01' 37.1" P.A. 131.00 sep 1.9 mag 8.78,10.16 Sp G5

STF1974 AB: 178; 205x: White stars, <1 delta mag, close but good separation <3".  24% parallax range overlap, 343 AU separation, so chances are good this is gravitationally bound.
15h 49m 11.99s -03° 14' 01.1" P.A. 159.00 sep 2.5 mag 8.95,9.12 Sp A0

STF3126 AB: 178; 205x: Challenging: near equal stars, one fades with seeing then when settled it makes a nice close around 2" split with the other.  This is gravitationally bound: 25% parallax overlap, 378 AU separation, and the escape velocity is less than the radial velocity difference.
15h 50m 04.27s -03° 10' 38.5" P.A. 279.00 sep 2.3 mag 10.39,10.29 Sp F5

STF1985 AB: 178; 205x: Ice blue color A and slightly red B, >1 delta mag, pretty wide.  2307.2358-year period, it will slowly widen.
15h 55m 54.63s -02° 09' 51.3" P.A. 354.80 sep 6.0 mag 7.03,8.65 Sp F8V dist. 36.9 pc (120.37 l.y.)

FOX 193 AB: 178; 205: Faint, wide, slight magnitude difference, white.  No parallax overlap.
16h 01m 37.81s +10° 24' 21.7" P.A. 18.00 sep 10.9 mag 10.84,11.50 Sp G0

STF2041 AB: 205x: Pretty tough, white A and nearly 3 delta mag yellow B, quite close, need seeing to settle.  No parallax overlap.
16h 21m 47.96s +01° 12' 56.4" P.A. 1.00 sep 2.6 mag 7.51,10.54 Sp K0

9 july 2021

Back out again last night, though the seeing was noticeably worse and there was a thicker haze.  We even had smoke blowing in from a fire somewhere in the area, but that cleared up at around 10pm.  I spent most of the time with the 7-inch mask on but did re-observe the STF2339 double-double, which was my goal for the night.

STF1959 AB: 178; 205x: Close and faint at this scale, B is 1 delta mag, white stars.  WDS uncertain, however there is no overlap in the parallax range, so not gravitationally bound.
15h 34m 44.13s +34° 43' 22.8" P.A. 244.00 sep 2.2 mag 9.79,10.81 Sp F8

COU 801 AB: 178; 205x: Faint and a bit difficult with the small aperture and low magnification, mostly elongated but does resolve and split with seeing.  This one is likely to be gravitationally bound, there is 45% overlap in the parallax range and 399 AU separation.
15h 48m 43.01s +32° 39' 36.4" P.A. 196.00 sep 1.5 mag 11.32,11.83

RS CrB: John Herschel's red stars.  A very dull weak orange

STF2023 AB: 178; 205x: Nice well split, almost 2 delta mag, light yellow stars.  Spectral class F5, yellow-white.  18% parallax overlap and 216 AU separation, this is likely gravitationally bound.
16h 14m 30.89s +05° 31' 21.0" P.A. 222.00 sep 1.8 mag 8.70,9.38 Sp F5

STF2027 AB: 178; 205x:  Tight but good split, near equal light yellow stars.  Spectral class F0, yellow-white.  22% parallax overlap, 373 AU separation, likely to be gravitationally bound.
16h 15m 16.64s +04° 15' 46.6" P.A. 81.00 sep 1.9 mag 8.77,8.86 Sp F0 dist. 271 pc (884 l.y.)

STF2026 AB: 178; 205x: Wide, <1 delta mag white stars.  433.7911-year period it is approaching apastron.  The AC pair is LEP 78 AC, sep 581.7 mag 9.48,17.49, discovered in 2000, which claims to be physical, however Gaia data shows there is no overlap in the parallax ranges and even the proper motions are divergent.

16h 15m 57.07s +07° 21' 24.8" P.A. 16.10 sep 3.6 mag 9.48,9.86 Sp K5 dist. 26.04 pc (84.94 l.y.)

 

KU 52 AB: 178; 205x: The b star is averted vision only, wide, 1 delta mag.  16% parallax overlap, 4,934 AU separation, with 2.18 solar mass, so likely to be gravitationally bound. 
16h 19m 44.39s +10° 54' 00.9" P.A. 50.00 sep 9.5 mag 10.14,11.50 Sp F0

STF2097 AB: 178; 205x: Fine slight delta pair, well split.  No parallax overlap.
16h 44m 47.22s +35° 44' 16.7" P.A. 79.00 sep 1.9 mag 9.37,9.55 Sp G5 dist. 125 pc (407.75 l.y.)

STF2101 AB: 178; 205x: Nice 2 delta wide pair, white A star and blue B.  4% parallax overlap and 243 AU separation, however the escape velocity exceeds the radial velocity delta, so it will not remain gravitationally bound.
16h 45m 48.14s +35° 37' 50.5" P.A. 48.00 sep 4.1 mag 7.51,9.39 Sp F6V dist. 58.82 pc (191.87 l.y.)

STF2104 AB: 178; 205x: Ice blue-white A and light red B, 2 delta, wide.  WDS uncertain but there is 67% parallax overlap and 1,114 AU separation, with the primary 2.45 and secondary 1.73 solar mass -- very likely to be gravitationally bound.
16h 48m 41.48s +35° 55' 19.3" P.A. 18.00 sep 5.7 mag 7.49,8.78 Sp F2 dist. 172.71 pc (563.38 l.y.)

BU 1250 AB: 178; 205x: Can see it steadily split at small scale at 205x, bluish stars at one corner of a triable of near equal magnitude stars.  I get a wider split but needing more averted vision at 445x.  Discovered with his 6-inch, Burnham notes: "It is the s star of a small equilateral triangle, all in the field."  No parallax overlap, not physical.
17h 24m 49.67s +30° 44' 24.0" P.A. 121.20 sep 1.9 mag 10.83,11.13

STF2165 AB: 178; 205x: Wide nearly 2 delta, blue-white A and slightly red B.  Not physical.
17h 26m 13.76s +29° 27' 20.4" P.A. 62.00 sep 10.4 mag 7.74,9.55 Sp Am dist. 231.48 pc (755.09 l.y.)

COU 498 AB: 508; 445x: Barest of hairline splits with seeing, near equal white stars.  WDS uncertain, and no Gaia data for either star.
17h 27m 36.36s +26° 23' 56.8" P.A. 40.00 sep 0.5 mag 10.35,10.32 Sp F2

HU 322 AB: 508; 889x: Very subtle notched elongation, PA on an E-W line but a little cocked from WAK 21.  Component of STF 2339 AB-CD.

18h 33m 45.62s +17° 43' 55.9" P.A. 92.50 sep 0.2 mag 7.74,8.91 Sp F6V dist. 183.49 pc (598.54 l.y.)

WAK 21 CD: 508; 889x: Clean split, near equal bluish color stars, PA E-W.  Component of STF 2339 AB-CD.  No Gaia data so can't determine if gravitationally bound.

18h 33m 45.62s +17° 43' 55.9" P.A. 263.00 sep 0.5 mag 9.30,9.56 Sp F6V dist. 183.49 pc (598.54 l.y.)

8 july 2021

Finally, a clear night with better than good seeing!  I was able to push the resolution limits of the 20-inch scope, and it justifies keeping it set up in the back (as I am feeling aperture-starved with only a 10-inch to bring to dark sky sites).

Seeing started out good and got better as the night progressed.  And the other nice thing about observing from home is when I feel a little hungry at midnight I can go inside for a slice of homemade cherry pie and a glass of milk.  And for a little break a 1am I can lay on the hammock for a while and enjoy looking at the summer triangle.  Thin clouds started to thicken around 2am, so that's when I turned in, otherwise I would have stayed out with the seeing.

COU 97 AB: 508; 889x: Notched elongation, near equal light orange stars.  Spectral class K0, so the color fits.  WDS is uncertain as to binarity, and unfortunately Gaia lacks any data on the companion star.
14h 30m 31.59s +20° 55' 15.5" P.A. 244.00 sep 0.3 mag 9.10,9.80 Sp K0

COU 407 AB: 508; 533x: Excellent hairline split at 445x and very steady wide at 533x, equal magnitude stars, very light yellow.  Spectral class F8, yellow-white.  WDS uncertain of binarity, however it most likely is gravitationally bound: 74% parallax range overlap, only 79 AU separation, 210 parsecs distant from us.  No radial velocity data so can't compare it to the escape velocity.
14h 41m 38.29s +27° 47' 19.9" P.A. 113.00 sep 0.4 mag 10.00,10.27 Sp F8

COU 607 AB: 508; 533x: B is quite faint, needed foveal coaxing to bring it forth, and seen only when A forms a steady disk.  WDS uncertain of binarity; unfortunately Gaia data shows there is no overlap of the parallax ranges, so it's not a binary.  

14h 44m 07.70s +31° 37' 59.1" P.A. 315.00 sep 0.7 mag 10.19,10.86 Sp G5

 

COU 608 AB: 508; 205x: Very fine, bright white A and grey B are nicely separated, using lower power helped control A's diffraction.  WDS uncertain of binarity, however Gaia data shows there is no overlap in the parallax ranges, so this is not physical.  
14h 49m 55.05s +31° 59' 41.4" P.A. 202.00 sep 1.7 mag 9.22,11.80 Sp F8

STF1891 AB: 508; 205x: Ice blue white A and slightly orange B, two delta mag, wide.  WDS calls this physical on the strength of the proper motion data, however Gaia shows there is no overlap in the parallax range, so it is not gravitationally bound.  Also the escape velocity far exceeds the radial velocity delta, so another strike against it.
14h 54m 30.04s +34° 05' 14.7" P.A. 246.00 sep 3.5 mag 8.69,10.07 Sp G0 dist. 90.99 pc (296.81 l.y.)

A 1627 AB: 508; 889x: Elongated at 533x, notched at 889x, stronger notch at 1334x.  Light orange A, light blue B, equal magnitude.  Currently 0.237", it has a 101.25-year period, seen nearly face in, and is at apastron to the SW and will make a quarter turn toward the W and tighten to <0.15" by 2041.  Interestingly Gaia lacks data for these stars, so the orbit must be derived from historical measures only.  
14h 55m 46.57s +39° 38' 54.3" P.A. 203.10 sep 0.2 mag 8.80,8.80 Sp F0 dist. 104.82 pc (341.92 l.y.)

STF1895 AB: 508; 205x: Wide white stars, half delta mag, one tip of triangle of slightly fainter stars.  WDS says this is physical on the strength of the proper motion data, but Gaia shows there is no overlap in the parallax range, so it is not gravitationally bound.
14h 57m 27.87s +40° 09' 42.2" P.A. 42.00 sep 12.7 mag 8.27,8.88 Sp A9IV dist. 125.63 pc (409.81 l.y.)

BU 612 AB: 508; 1334x: Elongated / bean shape at all powers, my sense of PA is is NE [orbital data show just south of east, so I'm a bit off].  0.09" currently, it has a 22.46-year period and is coming off periastron, reaching apastron in 2032 at a gettable 0.25".  Burnham discovered with the Dearborn 18.5-inch at an easy 0.3" and writes: "It was very soon apparent from the measures that this was a binary system in rapid motion.  In the twenty years covered by the measures, the companion has passed over an arc of 175-degrees.  Glasenapp…has computed an orbit from which he finds a period of 30.00 years....This represents the observations as well as could be desired, but evidently the arc was too short for any very accurate determination, and even now widely differing apparent orbits will satisfy the observed positions equally.  It is probably that the measures of the next ten years will furnish sufficient data for an orbit which shall substantially correct."  
13h 39m 34.68s +10° 44' 46.7" P.A. 49.20 sep 0.1 mag 6.35,6.47 Sp F1V dist. 59.99 pc (195.69 l.y.)

MLR 532 AB: 508; 533x: Beautifully split with 533x, very clear, slight delta mag, light orange stars.  It's a little challenging at this magnification with the small scale; the stars were elongated at 205x.  WDS uncertain of physicality; Gaia shows no parallax overlap, so sadly this is not.
14h 57m 34.23s +20° 40' 31.0" P.A. 230.00 sep 0.6 mag 11.13,11.09

A 1628 AB: 508; 205x: Attractive pair, easy, wide, white A and 2 delta mag B, light yellow stars.  Spectral class F5, yellow-white.  WDS uncertain, however there is no overlap in the parallax ranges, not physical.

14h 58m 19.14s +41° 05' 34.5" P.A. 97.00 sep 5.1 mag 8.56,11.63 Sp F5 dist. 74.79 pc (243.96 l.y.)

HU 907 AB: 508; 889x: Very subtly notched olive, very tough.  WDS says physical but Gaia lacks data on the stars.

15h 00m 10.00s +21° 28' 48.8" P.A. 302.90 sep 0.2 mag 10.19,10.20 Sp G0 dist. 158.73 pc (517.78 l.y.)

STF1744 D? 508; 889x: Elongation only all powers, PA seems to be NW.  I'm not sure what pair I'm looking at, WDS does not show a "D" which SkyTools shows as a close uneven pair.  

BU 355 AB: 508; 1334x: Subtle notch / peanut shape only at all powers, PA on EW line though difficult to tell which is the primary, light orange stars (spectral class K0, yellow-orange).  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch at 0.3" in 1876.  WDS uncertain of binarity, and unfortunately Gaia only has data for the primary.
16h 07m 59.39s +45° 22' 49.1" P.A. 287.00 sep 0.2 mag 7.45,8.82 Sp K0 dist. 234.74 pc (765.72 l.y.)

BU 130 AB: 178; 445x: 90 Her.  Light orange color and bright A, very minute greyish B lies just outside the first diffraction ring.  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch and writes: "…a beautiful pair, even with small aperture.  The components have a striking difference in color -- golden and blue….[due to common proper motion] there is little doubt of its being a physical system."  WDS uncertain after 49 measures; Gaia lacks data on the secondary.
17h 53m 18.03s +40° 00' 28.6" P.A. 110.00 sep 1.6 mag 5.28,8.76 Sp K3III dist. 108.46 pc (353.8 l.y.)

BU 1298 AB: 508; 445x: Nicely split, white stars, about 1 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, and frustratingly Gaia lacks data on primary.  Burnham discovered with the Yerkes 40-inch in 1901 at 0.3" and called it "a close and difficult double."
16h 59m 29.54s +09° 42' 12.3" P.A. 132.00 sep 0.4 mag 8.25,9.56 Sp F0 dist. 281.69 pc (918.87 l.y.)

COU 809 AB: 508; 205x: Excellent fine near equal pair, nicely separated, nice contrast with rich field of brighter stars.  WDS uncertain of binarity, but Gaia shows there is no overlap in the parallax ranges.  The proper motions are similar so these are comoving but not gravitationally bound.
18h 00m 30.13s +17° 33' 52.7" P.A. 26.00 sep 2.1 mag 11.43,11.62

A 1374 AB: 508; 205x: Very tough, the extraordinarily fine point of the B star appears with seeing. around 3 delta mag from light yellow A.  Spectral class G0, yellow.  Worth waiting for the seeing on this one.  Physical with a 139.53-year period, it is slowly widening and will take another 30 years to reach apastron.
18h 00m 17.93s +21° 53' 47.5" P.A. 29.50 sep 0.5 mag 8.90,10.90 Sp G0

COU 115 AB: 508; 889x:  Very fine hairline split, light yellow-orange near equal stars, really nice pair.  WDS uncertain, and unfortunately no Gaia data for the primary.
17h 59m 59.33s +24° 48' 39.0" P.A. 113.00 sep 0.3 mag 8.80,8.80 Sp G5

BU 640 AB: 178; 533x: Very much fainter B seen with averted vision and foveal coaxing only, can only hold it briefly. Physical with a 951.7127-year period (to be exact), it is now making a very fast turn around apastron -- though I think the orbital solution is predicting an incorrect position (too close to apastron at this moment) -- unfortunately I did not record the PA so I can't tell if it's on the west or east side of apastron.  Will need to re-observe this, since I don't think I'd see 0.2" at 533x (likely around >0.5" given the delta mag).
18h 20m 49.23s +27° 31' 48.3" P.A. 261.00 sep 0.2 mag 7.00,12.00 Sp G1V dist. 28.55 pc (93.13 l.y.)

HO 83 AB: 178; 445x: Pretty difficult, B appears with averted vision only and fades with direct.  Much fainter, about 1".  Physical with a 1699.9512-year period, it will soon make a turn toward periastron and tighten over the next few decades.  Discovered in 1883 at 0.3".
18h 23m 20.34s +27° 31' 24.1" P.A. 114.70 sep 0.8 mag 10.12,10.38 Sp F8

A 244 AB: 508; 533x: Extremely fine, half delta mag white stars, good clean spilt.  WDS says they are near equal but Gaia has 9.92/10.77.  No Gaia data on the secondary.

18h 24m 09.99s +28° 18' 21.4" P.A. 268.00 sep 0.6 mag 10.47,10.48 Sp G0

STF2339 AB,CD 178; 205x: Very pretty close >1 delta mag pair.   I need to re-observe!  AB is 7.74/8.91 0.2", and CD is 9.3/9.56 0.5", a double-double!
18h 33m 45.62s +17° 43' 55.9" P.A. 92.50 sep 0.2 mag 7.74,8.91 Sp F6V dist. 183.49 pc (598.54 l.y.)

COU 808 AB: 508; 445x: Very faint B <1", 2 delta mag but fainter since it's so close to A.  WDS uncertain, but no parallax range overlap.
17h 58m 51.90s +26° 19' 38.9" P.A. 155.00 sep 1.0 mag 9.30,11.40 Sp F8

GCB 30 AB: 508; 205x: A little more than 1 delta mag, well separated white stars.  No parallax range overlap.
18h 04m 01.86s +16° 12' 15.0" P.A. 155.00 sep 0.9 mag 12.00,12.50

A 2093 AB: 508; 533x: White stars, nicely split, >1 delta mag.  No parallax range overlap.
18h 05m 25.74s +16° 23' 42.3" P.A. 231.00 sep 0.6 mag 9.09,9.85 Sp A0 dist. 313.48 pc (1022.57 l.y.)

COU 417 AB: 508; 205x: Very finely split pair at this magnification and small scale, slight mag difference, small faint pair vs other brighter stars in the field.  WDS uncertain, but Gaia data show 25% parallax range overlap and only 543 AU separation, so it's likely this is gravitationally bound.
18h 06m 47.23s +23° 25' 52.2" P.A. 91.00 sep 1.5 mag 11.27,11.41 Sp G0

COU 504 AB: 508; 205x: Very near equal pair, well split, a fine close pair in a bright star field.  Good parallax range overlap, only 713 AU separation, so very likely gravitationally bound.
18h 08m 51.57s +24° 32' 48.8" P.A. 76.00 sep 2.1 mag 11.17,11.69

HU 316 AB: 508; 205x: Nice 1 delta, well split, white and dull white stars.  WDS is uncertain but the Gaia data show good parallax range overlap, a very close 336 AU separation, BUT the escape velocity exceeds the radial velocity delta, so it is not (or will not be for long) gravitationally bound.
18h 10m 19.94s +18° 16' 33.4" P.A. 157.00 sep 1.8 mag 10.03,11.02 Sp K0

A 238 AB: 508; 667x: Extraordinary pair.  With critical focus it pops into view with clear airy disks, nicely split light yellow orange A and blue B.  Seeing is steady for around 7 seconds before fuzzing out for longer stretches.  WDS uncertain, and Gaia lacks data for the secondary.

18h 11m 20.99s +25° 19' 18.6" P.A. 68.00 sep 0.6 mag 8.59,9.55 Sp G0IV dist. 534.76 pc (1744.39 l.y.)

COU1006 AB: 508; 667x: B is very much fainter and can only be seen when A is perfectly still and round, with seeing.  My PA is off, I have NNE and it's WNW.  Fairly well separated about 0.5", can tell PA with drift.  Physical with 119.2-year period, it is coming off periastron and slowly widening.
18h 12m 58.00s +33° 17' 53.9" P.A. 269.50 sep 0.4 mag 9.23,11.29 Sp G0 dist. 69.44 pc (226.51 l.y.)

HU 927 AB: 508; 667x: White stars, slight mag difference, hairline with 533x, nice good split with 667x.  WDS uncertain, and Gaia lacks data for the primary
18h 15m 04.79s +32° 49' 26.8" P.A. 101.00 sep 0.4 mag 10.20,10.20 Sp F2

A 241 AB: 508; 533x: Very fine pair, significant delta mag, well split but close with 533x.  WDS uncertain, however there is no overlap in parallax ranges.

18h 17m 10.10s +26° 40' 33.3" P.A. 288.00 sep 0.7 mag 10.56,10.70 Sp F2

pinnacles

Very late in the day yesterday I decided to head down to Pinnacles for some observing.  The marine layer has covered the sky each night for many nights, cutting off any chance to observe.  Also it's fire season, so future opportunities could be cut off from fire and smoke.  I decided to go at 4pm and headed out the door at 5pm, arriving at 7:30pm, to find three others acquaintances already there setting up.

It being summer, astronomical twilight dragged on and on.  I wanted to observe two supernovae in Virgo, which is setting fast.  Fortunately I was able to get these in first.  I used my 10-inch Springsonian:

Supernova SN 2021qvv in NGC 4442 galaxy: 10-inch at 84x:  The galaxy was faint, with a very small lozenge shaped core and very much fainter lenticular halo, 2:1 WSE-ENE.  The supernova is a type 1a and is a binary star system where a white dwarf pulls material away from its companion until it's mass reaches the point it collapses and explodes.  It was discovered on 22 June 2021 and is a week past maximum at 14.1 magnitude.  It appeared just west of the core, a little bright point consistently seen with direct vision next to this brightest portion of the galaxy -- the point itself was brighter than the core and the galaxy.  NGC 4442 is ~100 million light years away, so the explosion happened ~100 million years + a couple weeks to travel here.   Two other galaxies were seen in the same field, another small elongated NGC 4424, and a larger diffuse and oval NGC 4417 with a bright nucleus.

   

Supernova SN 2021pfs in NGC 5427 galaxy:  This one was much tougher since the galaxies are fainter.  The two galaxies are NGC 5427 which is a face-on spiral with a bright core, and NGC 5426, also a spiral but seen at a more inclined angle.  In Peter's 20-inch scope he was able to separate the two galaxies using his more light-gathering power and higher magnification, and to see spiral structure with averted vision.  He could easily detect the ~14th magnitude star in between the galaxies, which is a similar magnitude to the supernova.  In my scope the image scale is smaller and the halos of the galaxies appeared merged, with brightening in the grey halos to show the core.  With averted vision the specks of the star and the supernova appeared, but I could not hold them direct.  The galaxy / supernova are ~120 million light years distant.  It is also a 1a.

The rest of my time was spent sweeping and poking about rather aimlessly.  It's a very bad habit I've developed in the wake of not having large aperture to bring to dark sky sites.  Before I might observe everything on an atlas page; now I only observe what seems brightest or is maybe a challenge.  There were some nuggets found, and the time is worth it -- but I need to get back into some regular program to provide some structure to my observing.

Nearby to NGC 4442 I found NGC 4526, aka the "Lost" galaxy.  I've no idea why it has this nickname.  It is bright, elongated, fairly small in my small scale, with a stellar nucleus and a noticeably mottled halo.  It lies between two of three similar magnitude stars forming a nearly equatorial triangle.  In the same field was NGC 4535, which was a very large unevenly round glow, with small stars scattered through it.   It turns out this is a stunning bright barred spiral.  I wish I had the aperture!

I took a spin through the Virgo cluster, stopping especially at M86 and Markarian's chain.  The galaxies did not appear as bright as I recall.  My SQML read 21.3 max, while Peter's read 21.5.  Not quite as dark as the sky could get, likely due to some moisture in the air.  It was chilly, though I was warm enough with a fleece and a jacket.  The newly paved parking lot at Pinnacles held the daytime heat well into the night and kept my feet warm.  

I took in other highlight, especially Ptolomy's cluster, which is a favorite, and all the dark nebula and curtains and waves of stars forming the central part of the Milky Way.  M16, where I think I saw the "Lady of the Night" figure, or at least a darkening where the Pillars of Creation are.  Lagoon, Swan, Trifid nebulas.  Many random globular clusters.  Barnard's Galaxy, which appeared much weaker than what I saw at Willow Springs with Steve.  The North American nebula, and the Cocoon.  Gamma Cyngi area with a UHC, which showed the Crescent Nebula well.

The only other objects I took notes on was LBN 266, which was plotted in the atlas as a very weak, extended nebula in Cygnus not far from the Veil Nebula, and best viewed with an OIII filter.  I observed very weak small wisps of nebulosity, barely there in fact, spread over two eyepiece fields, with a comparatively brighter wise around one of the brighter stars.

The other was the Egg Nebula, CRL 2688, which is a bipolar protoplanetary nebula.  Its star is shining through a shell of dust and is polarized to create the strange shape.  I "think" I saw this, but am tentative.  I took several passes at star-hopping to the location just to make sure.  I attached a polarizing filter to my eyepiece then spun it around in the focuser while watching -- one patch of unevenly round small greyness consistently came into view then disappeared.  I've read this can be seen well in a 14-inch, but this seemed a very marginal observation.

At around 2am I found myself nodding off as I took breaks in my chair.  I had a look at Saturn and Jupiter (which were very far apart!  it was only a few months ago they were in conjunction), which looked nice in their respective star fields, but this is not the right telescope to make observations of them.  When the others decided to pack up I did the same.  I slept fitfully in my car until 5am when I drove off -- that helped as I beat some of the rush hour traffic back into the Bay Area.