22 september 2021

This was a night with seeing forecasted as being merely average, so I observed with the 6-inch.  I spent a while on the double-double in Lyra, admiring the perfect star images and single diffraction rings.  I observed many more throughout Lyra which I knew I had observed before, so I didn't take notes.  I started taking notes when I cam across a striking pair in southern Lyra:

BU 1326 AB: 152; 175x: Very extremely fine B is split with seeing and with averted vision only, blue to A's white.  Very, very fine.  WDS is uncertain, and I can't find data on the primary in Gaia.

18h 26m 40.93s +26° 26' 57.2" P.A. 107.00 sep 5.5 mag 6.48,12.10 Sp B3V dist. 321.54 pc (1048.86 l.y.)

STT 359 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange near equal stars, notched elongation, overlapping disks.  Physical with a 219-year period, at apastron now.  Again no Gaia data.

18h 35m 30.40s +23° 36' 19.9" P.A. 3.50 sep 0.8 mag 6.35,6.62 Sp G9III-IV dist. 144.3 pc (470.71 l.y.)

STF 2401 AB: 152; 175x: White, 2 delta mag, well separated.  
18h 48m 57.83s +21° 10' 01.3" P.A. 38.00 sep 4.1 mag 7.27,9.27 Sp B3V dist. 2941.18 pc (9594.13 l.y.)

STF 2360 AB: 152; 175x: ! very fine, faint 1 delta mag light yellow-orange, close split.

18h 39m 19.16s +20° 55' 58.9" P.A. 358.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.97,9.16 Sp B5IV dist. 2500 pc (8155 l.y.)

STF 2415 AB: 152; 175x: ! Light yellow-white A and blue B closely split, just a little more than 1 delta mag, very fine.

18h 54m 32.84s +20° 36' 55.1" P.A. 290.00 sep 2.0 mag 7.07,8.73 Sp A0IV dist. 194.93 pc (635.86 l.y.)

STF 2445 AB: 152; 175x: Clean white A and slightly red B, 1 delta mag, wide.  A slightly fainter red star is at the edge of the field.  

19h 04m 38.50s +23° 19' 45.5" P.A. 262.00 sep 12.4 mag 7.25,8.57 Sp B2Ve dist. 476.19 pc (1553.33 l.y.)

STF 2457 AB: 152; 175x: Very faint B seen with averted vision only, around 2" separation.

19h 07m 08.02s +22° 35' 03.7" P.A. 201.00 sep 10.2 mag 7.46,9.52 Sp A7IV dist. 95.15 pc (310.38 l.y.)

BU 248 AB: 152; 175x: Bright yellow-white A and very faint B, just seen with direct vision, closely split.  

19h 17m 43.64s +23° 01' 32.0" P.A. 128.00 sep 1.8 mag 5.43,8.75 Sp B0.5IV dist. 373.13 pc (1217.15 l.y.)

catching up

I had a couple nights this week when I observed with the 20-inch.  Seeing was poor each night so most of the time was spent masked to 7-inches.  For certain the refractor gives the best star images, but when seeing cooperates the reflector can really push the limits.  So I have the best of both worlds.  I've become a bit of a conditions snob: if seeing is predicted to be merely average I use the refractor, and will only open the 20-inch if the seeing is predicted to be above average or excellent.

BU 139 AB: 178; 445x: Snowman only even at best moments of seeing, around 2 delta mag.  Physical with a 587-year period now coming off apastron.  

19h 12m 34.45s +16° 50' 47.2" P.A. 135.80 sep 0.6 mag 7.11,7.95 Sp B9IV dist. 242.72 pc (791.75 l.y.)

STF2437 AB: 178; 333x: Light orange, snowman only.  Physical with a 804.6-year period, 
19h 01m 53.16s +19° 10' 11.7" P.A. 1.50 sep 0.6 mag 8.41,8.83 Sp G5 dist. 84.39 pc (275.28 l.y.)

STF2460 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, wide, about 1 delta mag.  Physical
19h 07m 59.39s +19° 45' 19.7" P.A. 198.00 sep 9.5 mag 10.02,10.25 Sp A0

STF2475 AB: 178; 205x: B is faint, can just hold direct vision brightens with averted vision, 2 delta mag and wide.  WDS uncertain.
19h 10m 25.71s +17° 44' 09.5" P.A. 321.00 sep 6.8 mag 9.19,11.30 Sp F0+G5

A 151 AB: 178; 205x: Very subtle notched elongation, white stars, seeing not supporting higher powers.  WDS uncertain, 
19h 11m 22.81s +21° 15' 39.2" P.A. 158.00 sep 0.6 mag 8.55,9.56 Sp B9.5V dist. 775.19 pc (2528.67 l.y.)

STF2484 AB: 178; 205x: Cream white A and yellow B, 2" separation, 2 delta mag, very pretty.  Physical with a 1500-year period.
19h 14m 15.66s +19° 03' 50.3" P.A. 240.90 sep 2.1 mag 7.93,9.51 Sp F8 dist. 67.2 pc (219.21 l.y.)

STF2488 AB: 178; 205x: Faint pair, quite closely separated, 1 delta mag, very nice.  WDS uncertain
19h 15m 28.07s +20° 01' 53.2" P.A. 352.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.08,9.99 Sp G5

STF2552 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta mag, well separated white stars.  WDS says physical.
19h 37m 55.00s +19° 21' 32.2" P.A. 195.00 sep 5.3 mag 8.49,9.11 Sp A2 dist. 740.74 pc (2416.29 l.y.)

HU 342 AB: 178; 205x: 1 delta mag, well separated white stars fairly faint.  WDS says physical.

19h 37m 07.56s +17° 23' 11.0" P.A. 256.00 sep 4.6 mag 9.83,10.36 Sp F8

STF2563 AB: 178; 205x: White, 1 delta mag, well separated.  WDS says physical.
19h 42m 28.87s +17° 25' 38.9" P.A. 286.00 sep 6.0 mag 8.66,9.52 Sp G0

STF2500 A-BC; 178; 205x: White A and very faint wide B, not physical.  Not seen, BC is COU 421, 0.4" 11.50/11.50.  
19h 19m 26.19s +19° 43' 06.1" P.A. 23.00 sep 20.0 mag 8.21,10.74 Sp A0 dist. 200.4 pc (653.7 l.y.)

STF2482 AB: 178; 205x: B is very faint and flashes with averted vision, and I can barely hold it direct, very closely split.  WDS uncertain.
19h 13m 02.20s +19° 08' 20.6" P.A. 341.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.03,10.20 Sp F0V dist. 186.22 pc (607.45 l.y.)

HO 573 AB: 178; 205x: Fairly wide, white A and faint B which brightens with averted vision.  WDS uncertain.
19h 13m 17.36s +19° 33' 47.7" P.A. 127.00 sep 7.7 mag 9.75,10.20 Sp A5

HU 345 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow-orange stars, 1 delta mag, well split, nice!  WDS says physical.
19h 46m 45.89s +17° 33' 09.0" P.A. 104.00 sep 3.8 mag 8.98,9.98 Sp K

ENG 66 AB: 178; 205x: Light yellow A and super-wide B.  This pair must have been suggested by proper motion data.  WDS says not physical
19h 07m 57.32s +16° 51' 12.1" P.A. 288.00 sep 132.3 mag 6.15,10.78 Sp G5V dist. 21.43 pc (69.9 l.y.)

BLL 37 AB: 178; 205x: Light orange and faint super-wide B.  Not physical.
19h 15m 33.36s +18° 30' 58.9" P.A. 165.00 sep 139.4 mag 6.67,12.44 Sp M2III dist. 257.73 pc (840.72 l.y.)

AG 432 AB: 178; 205x: White and super wide B.  WDS uncertain.  
19h 18m 48.41s +19° 36' 37.7" P.A. 318.00 sep 92.8 mag 6.50,9.68 Sp B9V dist. 239.81 pc (782.26 l.y.)

HO 105 AB: 178; 205x: Excellent pair at this aperture, close split and 3 delta mag, just steady and bright enough to see despite haze and full moon.  WDS says not physical.
19h 22m 12.87s +16° 39' 45.0" P.A. 189.00 sep 2.8 mag 8.91,9.94 Sp B9 dist. 854.7 pc (2788.03 l.y.)

H N 84 AB: 178; 205x: Very pretty orange A and neon blue B, 1 delta mag, very wide

19h 39m 25.33s +16° 34' 16.0" P.A. 301.00 sep 28.4 mag 6.38,9.46 Sp K4Ib dist. 1265.82 pc (4129.1 l.y.)

HO 112 AB: 178; 205x: Very faint, almost ghostly, near equal, split, really nice.  Not physical.
19h 41m 29.50s +18° 38' 03.2" P.A. 259.00 sep 2.8 mag 10.17,10.22 Sp F2

OL 72 AB: 178; 205x: Faint, well split, slight magnitude difference.  Not physical.
19h 46m 42.32s +18° 38' 49.7" P.A. 9.00 sep 7.1 mag 10.50,10.60

STT 396 AB: 178; 205x: Light orange and super-wide B.  Not physical.

20h 03m 16.40s +18° 30' 03.6" P.A. 208.00 sep 46.6 mag 6.13,10.38 Sp K3II-III dist. 248.14 pc (809.43 l.y.) 

19 september 2021

I didn't pay attention to the weather and it turned out to be relatively clear.  Seeing was average.  All the same, I thought it would be better to get out and observe than sitting inside watching TV, so I uncovered the 6-inch and spent a bit more than an hour out.

STF 2968 AB: 152; 175x: White A and blue B, 3 delta mag, close split.  WDS uncertain, there is 8% parallax range overlap, 565 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass of 2.75/1.52, so may be gravitational.

23h 00m 42.41s +31° 04' 58.7" P.A. 93.00 sep 3.2 mag 6.69,9.48 Sp B9pMn dist. 135.5 pc (442 l.y.)

BU 78 AB: 152; 175x: White A and fairly wide B which appears brightly but only with averted vision.  WDS calls it physical, and there is 47% parallax range overlap, 2,179 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass 1.89/0.82, so might be.  Burnham discovered in 1872 with his 6-inch at 10" separation, so it has changed considerably.

23h 07m 55.22s +31° 27' 31.7" P.A. 54.00 sep 18.4 mag 7.47,11.09 Sp A5V dist. 92.25 pc (300.92 l.y.)

HJ 5532 AB-C: 152; 175x: White A and very wide, 2 delta mag B.  I did not notice that A is BU 385, 0.7" 7.44/8.23.  WDS calls the HJ physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap.

23h 10m 17.15s +32° 29' 13.4" P.A. 77.00 sep 57.9 mag 7.10,9.43 Sp B9V dist. 327.87 pc (1069.51 l.y.)

STF 2978 AB: 152; 175x: Ice blue A and ruddy, 2 delta mag, wide B.  WDS says physical, and there is 10% parallax overlap, 1,156 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass 2.63/1.85. 

23h 07m 27.73s +32° 49' 31.3" P.A. 145.00 sep 8.3 mag 6.35,7.46 Sp A3V dist. 163.4 pc (533.01 l.y.)

STF 2974 AB: 152; 175x: Lovely near equal blue-white stars, just split.  WDS says uncertain, but there is very strong 95% parallax range overlap, 673 AU weighted separation, and 2.39/2.21, so very likely gravitational.

23h 05m 01.12s +33° 23' 08.0" P.A. 168.00 sep 2.7 mag 8.07,8.46 Sp A0V+A3V dist. 244.5 pc (797.56 l.y.)

BU 720 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange, probably elongated, but seeing is too poor to resolve.  Physical with a 492 year period.  Spectral class K4IIIb (yellow-orange)

23h 33m 57.19s +31° 19' 31.0" P.A. 107.70 sep 0.6 mag 5.67,6.11 Sp K4IIIb dist. 168.35 pc (549.16 l.y.)

STF 3018 AB-C: 152; 175x: Light orange stars, 1 delta mag, wide.  Spectral class F7V (yellow-white).  AB is BU 1266, 0.2" 8.35/8.14.  WDS says proper motion indicates physical, and unfortunately there is no parallax data for the primary.

23h 30m 26.29s +30° 49' 54.6" P.A. 202.00 sep 18.8 mag 7.43,9.75 Sp F7V dist. 68.07 pc (222.04 l.y.)

BU 858 AB: 152; 175x: White star, not round.  Physical with a 779-year period, but no data for the secondary.  Burnham discovered at 1.1" with the 18.5-inch Dearborn refractor and said: "A more difficult pair than the distance and magnitude would indicate."  

23h 41m 17.56s +32° 33' 39.9" P.A. 219.50 sep 0.8 mag 7.81,8.78 Sp A1V dist. 208.33 pc (679.57 l.y.)

STF 3058 AB: 152; 175x: Wide 1 delta mag.  WDS says physical, however the data says otherwise.  4% parallax range overlap, 1,899 AU weighted separation, 2.01/1.39 stellar mass, but its radial velocity delta exceeds the escape velocity, so it won't be gravitationally bound.

00h 05m 09.24s +30° 19' 44.5" P.A. 51.00 sep 12.6 mag 7.81,9.21 Sp F3V+F6V dist. 253.16 pc (825.81 l.y.)

STF 24 AB: 152; 175x: Clean split, near equal, yellow-white stars.  WDS says physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap -22%.

00h 18m 30.59s +26° 08' 25.1" P.A. 247.00 sep 5.0 mag 7.79,8.44 Sp A2 dist. 154.8 pc (504.96 l.y.)

STF 28 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, slight mag difference.  WDS says physical, but their parallax ranges do not overlap (-68%).

00h 23m 53.23s +29° 30' 09.1" P.A. 224.00 sep 33.0 mag 8.32,8.55 Sp F7V+F8V dist. 84.6 pc (275.97 l.y.)

AC 1 AB: 152; 175x: Around half a delta mag, nice and close split.  Physical with a 525-year period.  At apastron.

00h 20m 54.10s +32° 58' 40.9" P.A. 288.90 sep 1.9 mag 7.27,8.26 Sp F5V dist. 67.93 pc (221.59 l.y.)

STT 11 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, near equal finder split.  WDS says physical, but they are not: the parallax ranges do not overlap -15%, 29,447 AU weighted separation, 2.14/2.08 stellar mass.

00h 30m 39.88s +32° 08' 11.4" P.A. 317.00 sep 197.6 mag 7.57,7.70 Sp F2 dist. 159.49 pc (520.26 l.y.)

HJ 5451 AB: 152; 175x: Orange star, wide 1 delta mag B.  Spectral class K1III (yellow-orange).  WDS says physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap, -13%.

00h 31m 25.64s +33° 34' 53.9" P.A. 86.00 sep 55.3 mag 6.01,9.34 Sp K1III dist. 116.14 pc (378.85 l.y.)

STF 19 AB: 152; 175x: Exceptional!  White A, B is very faint and only 1" separated, seen direct vision but just barely.  WDS uncertain, but there is 44% parallax overlap, only 312 AU weighted separation, and 2.15/1.29 stellar mass.

00h 16m 43.02s +36° 37' 47.4" P.A. 141.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.12,9.48 Sp A2V dist. 126.42 pc (412.38 l.y.)

11 september 2021

Another evening of average seeing, so more doubles with the 6-inch.  This time I tried stars to the far north, wholly invisible in the 20-inch as it is blocked by the house.  

STF 2666 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow A and orange B, 2 delta, nice.  WDS uncertain.  32% parallax range overlap (but with 13% error), 2,749 AU weighted separation, pretty high 7.63/4.80 solar mass.

20h 18m 06.99s +40° 43' 55.6" P.A. 245.00 sep 2.8 mag 5.96,8.24 Sp O9IV+B1.5 dist. 595.24 pc (1941.67 l.y.)

STT 403 AB: 152; 175x: Near equal hairline split, white, 2 delta mag.  Fainter C (STF 2657 AC) well split nearby.  WDS uncertain but there is 26% parallax range overlap, 372 AU weighted separation, and high 3.54/3.29 solar mass, so very likely gravitational.

20h 14m 21.53s +42° 06' 15.6" P.A. 171.00 sep 0.9 mag 7.31,7.64 Sp B9IV-V dist. 581.4 pc (1896.53 l.y.)

STT 400 AB: 152; 245x: Tough, notched elongation, near equal white stars.  Physical with 85-year period, it is at apastron now will close entirely in the next 30 years.

20h 10m 13.32s +43° 56' 44.2" P.A. 325.40 sep 0.7 mag 7.60,9.83 Sp G3V dist. 51.33 pc (167.44 l.y.)

STF 2607 AB-C: 152; 175x: Pretty light yellow-white A and reddish B, 2 delta mag, around 4".  Nice.  AB is STT 392 6.60/8.40 0.1", not seen (and only 0.2" at discovery in 1843; physical with a 270-year period).  AB-C is uncertain in WDS, but I find the stars do not share parallax ranges, -10%

19h 57m 56.12s +42° 15' 38.9" P.A. 289.00 sep 3.0 mag 6.56,9.09 Sp A3V dist. 325.73 pc (1062.53 l.y.)

 

STF 2609 AB: 152; 175x: Beautiful ice-blue A and yellow B, 1 delta mag, about 3" separation.  Spectral class B5IV (blue-white).  3% parallax range overlap, 660 AU weighted separation, 3.81/3.01 solar mass, so maybe gravitational.  

19h 58m 34.37s +38° 06' 20.8" P.A. 22.00 sep 1.9 mag 6.69,7.64 Sp B5IV dist. 440.53 pc (1437.01 l.y.)

STT 394 AB: 152; 245x: White star among several fainter stars, none which strike one as being the pair.  WDS is calling it physical, and they might be right: 28% parallax range overlap, 2,011 AU weighted separation, 2.77/1.22 solar mass.

20h 00m 11.43s +36° 24' 50.8" P.A. 294.00 sep 11.0 mag 7.14,10.27 Sp K1III dist. 152.44 pc (497.26 l.y.)

I took a pause at this moment to slew to Jupiter and catch the end of an Io shadow transit.  The small black shadow had about 1/5th of the disk to complete, and it only took around 15 minutes for it to get to the limb.  The speed of the transit, and the fact the moon casting the shadow was not very far from Jupiter, were indications it was Io.  The other three were all to one side so it was easy to tell size difference between them.   

STF 2 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange stars, very tight, hairline split, near equal mag.  Physical with a 540-year period it is to slowly widen.  22% parallax overlap, only 82 AU weighted separation, 2.16/2.10 solar mass.  

00h 09m 20.18s +79° 42' 52.4" P.A. 14.30 sep 0.9 mag 6.68,6.89 Sp A4IV dist. 105.49 pc (344.11 l.y.)

STF 3051 AB: 152; 175: Since this is close to the 0 hour line, the near beginning and end of Struve's catalog meet pretty close to each other in the sky here.  A is fairly bright, white, while B is wide and 2 delta mag.  WDS says physical, but they do not share parallax ranges, -72%.
00h 02m 46.53s +80° 16' 56.2" P.A. 24.00 sep 17.0 mag 7.74,9.47 Sp F2V dist. 148.81 pc (485.42 l.y.)

STT 481 AB: 152; 175x: Very faint, 2 delta mag, around 2" separation.  WDS uncertain, 4% parallax range overlap, 576 AU weighted separation, 2.76/1.72 solar mass.

22h 43m 50.72s +78° 31' 05.7" P.A. 276.00 sep 2.3 mag 7.46,9.54 Sp A0II-III dist. 390.63 pc (1274.24 l.y.)

STF 2801 AB: 152; 245x: Nice!  Light orange A and blue B, 1 delta mag, around 2" separation

21h 18m 31.05s +80° 21' 12.5" P.A. 272.00 sep 2.1 mag 7.87,8.62 Sp F6V dist. 82.24 pc (268.27 l.y.)

STF 2675 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow bright A, 2 delta mag orange B, well separated.  WDS physical, but they (just barely) don't share parallax range overlap, -3%.

20h 08m 53.32s +77° 42' 40.9" P.A. 120.00 sep 7.3 mag 4.39,8.34 Sp B9III dist. 96.53 pc (314.88 l.y.)

STF 2571 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, 1 delta mag white.  WDS says physical, but they don't share parallax range overlap -6%.

19h 29m 30.03s +78° 15' 55.8" P.A. 19.00 sep 11.2 mag 7.69,8.27 Sp F0IV dist. 202.43 pc (660.33 l.y.)

10 september 2021

Still feeling tired from the trip to Fremont Peak, I spent an hour and a half with the 6-inch, through good transparency and average seeing.  I could not push magnification too high, but there were still many worthwhile pairs to look at.  A perfect scope for such a night.

I spent most of the time in Cepheus, since it's a bit out of reach or within roof currents for the 20-inch.

STF 2806 AB: 152; 175x: Alfirk.  Bright yellow-green and 3 delta mag, bluish b, wide.  WDS uncertain, no Gaia data on the primary.

21h 28m 39.58s +70° 33' 38.5" P.A. 251.00 sep 13.5 mag 3.17,8.63 Sp B1IV dist. 210.08 pc (685.28 l.y.)

STF 2893 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange A and light blue 3 delta mag., very wide.  A feels like it's a snowman (no other companion to A).  WDS says physical, which is unusual for a wide separation, but it does share 23% parallax range overlap, 6,332 AU weighted separation but pretty high solar mass 3.74/2.03.

22h 12m 52.76s +73° 18' 25.9" P.A. 348.00 sep 28.9 mag 6.19,7.91 Sp G8III dist. 210.97 pc (688.18 l.y.)

BU 1092 AB AB: 152; 245x: AB is a near equal snowman to 245x, power limited by average seeing.  Wide 1 delta star, which is STTA AB-D, 7.56/8.42 42.2".  Physical with a 48.93-year period, currently at apastron and will close rapidly by 2040.  Burnham discovered with the 36-inch at 0.3" and later noted "The very recent measures of AB by Aitken with the 36-inch (power 1900) show decided change in angle and distance.  It is probably in rapid motion." 

22h 36m 08.65s +72° 52' 51.1" P.A. 222.50 sep 0.4 mag 8.30,8.30 Sp F5 dist. 84.46 pc (275.51 l.y.)

STF 2965 DE: 152; 175x: Finest 1 delta mag stars, fairly close.  WDS says physical, and this is likely correct: 99% parallax range overlap, 716 AU weighted separation, 2.18/1.80 solar mass. 

22h 55m 46.65s +72° 50' 35.6" P.A. 220.00 sep 2.9 mag 8.42,9.38 Sp A0 dist. 248.14 pc (809.43 l.y.)

STT 489 AB: 152, 380x: Pi Cep.  Round star image only, though I have feelings of brightening in the diffraction, but it does not resolve.  Physical with 556-year period.  

23h 07m 53.84s +75° 23' 15.3" P.A. 4.00 sep 1.1 mag 4.61,6.80 Sp G0IV dist. 75.64 pc (246.74 l.y.)

STF 2963 AB: 152; 245x: Noticeably unequal pair, faint and very close, about 1".  WDS is uncertain, however they probably are gravitational: 45% parallax range overlap, 256 AU weighted separation, 1.78/1.61 solar mass.
22h 54m 15.01s +76° 20' 17.4" P.A. 2.00 sep 1.9 mag 7.95,8.53 Sp A3 dist. 123 pc (401.23 l.y.)

STF 3017 AB: 245; 175x: Very faint 1 delta mag, split with seeing only.  WDS uncertain, but a strong case they are gravitational: 63% parallax overlap, 149 AU weighted separation, 1.78/1.48 solar mass.

23h 27m 42.90s +74° 07' 09.5" P.A. 19.00 sep 1.2 mag 7.64,8.51 Sp F1:V dist. 105.93 pc (345.54 l.y.)

STF 2984 AB: Light orange 2 delta mag stars, close, real nice!  WDS uncertain, but it likely is gravitational: 3% parallax range overlap, 1,193 AU weighted separation, 3.01/1.67 solar mass, and the radial velocity delta (1.68) is less than the escape velocity (2.63).  

23h 07m 22.27s +70° 39' 39.5" P.A. 295.00 sep 4.8 mag 7.63,9.82 Sp G8III dist. 293.26 pc (956.61 l.y.)

STF 3001 AB: Bright orange A seems out of round [this is AB].  2 delta mag bluish C, well separated.  Physical with a 2198-year period, B is slowly coming off periastron.  88% parallax range overlap, 204 AU weighted separation, 2.60/1.46 solar mass 

23h 18m 37.41s +68° 06' 41.1" P.A. 223.40 sep 3.4 mag 4.97,7.28 Sp G8III dist. 62.27 pc (203.12 l.y.)

STF 2948 AB: 152; 175x: Lovely ice-blue A, 1 delta mag B, close about 3".  WDS uncertain, however the parallax ranges do not overlap.  

22h 49m 36.21s +66° 33' 13.8" P.A. 3.00 sep 2.6 mag 7.26,8.60 Sp B6Vn dist. 261.78 pc (853.93 l.y.)

STTA 238 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, white, slight delta mag.  WDS says physical, however I don't find data on the secondary -- it is very close to us at only 192 light years, so maybe the very wide angular separation is less of an issue.

22h 52m 42.28s +67° 59' 24.5" P.A. 280.00 sep 69.2 mag 7.02,7.58 Sp F2 dist. 59 pc (192.46 l.y.)

STF 2923 AB: 152; 175x: Classic Struve.  White stars, fairly wide, 2 delta mag.  WDS says physical, however their parallax ranges do not overlap.

22h 33m 16.76s +70° 22' 25.3" P.A. 47.00 sep 9.6 mag 6.32,9.24 Sp A0V dist. 125.79 pc (410.33 l.y.)

STF 2883 AB: 152; 175x: Yellow-white A and 2 delta B, wide.  Spectral class F2V (yellow-white).  WDS says physical, and there is 93% parallax range overlap, 477 AU weighted separation, 1.58/0.79 solar mass, and the radial velocity delta (0.25) is less than the escape velocity (2.97), so they are very likely gravitational.

22h 10m 38.79s +70° 07' 57.2" P.A. 253.00 sep 14.2 mag 5.56,8.56 Sp F2V dist. 33.59 pc (109.57 l.y.)

ARY 45 AB: 152; 175x: Finder split with STF 2883 in the field, equal white, very wide.  WDS says physical based on shared proper motions, however they do not have any parallax range overlap (-27%), so they are not gravitational.

22h 08m 17.22s +69° 58' 56.4" P.A. 207.00 sep 66.7 mag 7.86,8.11 Sp B9.5V dist. 240.38 pc (784.12 l.y.)

STF 2903 AB; 152; 175x: Light yellow A, <1 delta mag B, fairly wide.  WDS uncertain, and they do not share their parallax overlap, -21%.  STT 470 in the same field, a double-double.

22h 21m 45.20s +66° 42' 22.6" P.A. 97.00 sep 4.1 mag 7.13,7.80 Sp A7V+G0III dist. 268.82 pc (876.89 l.y.)

STT 470 AB: 152; 175x: Double-double with STF 2903.  White stars, 3 delta mag, fairly close.  WDS uncertain, but they probably are gravitational: 8% parallax range overlap, 492 AU weighted separation, 1.91/1.02 solar mass.

22h 20m 57.68s +66° 57' 54.5" P.A. 351.00 sep 4.3 mag 7.37,9.77 Sp A7V dist. 104.82 pc (341.92 l.y.)

HDS3216 Aa-Ab: 152; 245x: Nice! very fine, 2 delta mag, just separated.  I was going for STT 475 but this is 16" separated, I'm surprised I got this closer pair.  Unfortunately they do not share the same parallax overalp.

22h 39m 04.59s +37° 22' 31.6" P.A. 50.00 sep 0.6 mag 6.83,10.52 Sp B2:V+SB dist. 5555.56 pc (18122.24 l.y.)

STF 2843 AB: 152; 245x: Very faint, near equal, just split.  Nice!  WDS uncertain, but very likely gravitational: 70% parallax range overlap, 122 AU weighted separation, 1.78/1.68 solar mass.

21h 51m 37.25s +65° 45' 09.9" P.A. 150.00 sep 1.4 mag 7.01,7.28 Sp A1m dist. 87.57 pc (285.65 l.y.)

8 september 2021

Observed from Fremont Peak on this weekday night, as it seemed to be the only reasonably clear night during the new moon period.  It's a bit of a sacrifice to observe during the weekday, with an early rise to get children to school, a busy workday, and then to drive through traffic for 2-3 hours to reach the site.  I needed to take a couple work calls once there and used up all my monthly data!  I arrived at 6pm to open up the hot observatory and give the 30-inch mirror some chance of being close to ambient by nightfall.  

After opening I hopped on the calls and ate my salad and sandwich, fending off a swarm of hornets who were after the food.  I then tried to plan my observing run.  Steve and Mark gave me some recommendations of some planetary nebulae, a few of which were plotted in my atlas.  I had intended to view GJJC1, a PNe in the great globular cluster Messier 22.  Even though I held the finder chart in my hand while packing for the outing, I did not find it in my bag.  So I tried to adjust accordingly.  Unfortunately, poor seeing and variable transparency--and the difficulties of moving the Challenger scope--forced me to change my plans through the night.

M22: Looked glorious at 166x, many fine stars, but I noticed some waves of seeing ripple through the view, a bad omen...

NGC 6642: Intensely bright, triangular core with many stars massed there, with more stars radiating out in all directions, but especially to east and west.  Fairly small.  Very rich field. 

NGC 6629: Small, round, intense blue color with sharp edges, blinking, central star easily seen. 

M27: Decided to point further up for better seeing and transparency.  With OIII, this is a very large, green colored nebula, looking like a dual-handled sippy cup, with many wisps and swirls and billowing bulks of cloud.  Several faint stars inside, and along the annulus. 

Abell 68: Small, round, blinking, fairly faint (as compared to NGC 6629), soft edges.  281x

IC 5097: Did not find a galaxy at this location as was plotted in Interstellarum, only some clumps of faint and barely resolved stars.  It turns out there is no galaxy, just the faint group of stars.

IC 1375: Elliptical with 3:2 and a choppy / mottled core.  281x. 

Zw II 123: I had the perception of a faint, very small, non-stellar smudge in the area this was supposed to be, using 281x.  In SIMBAD it is listed as a radio galaxy, Bmag 14.8.  Interstellarum sometimes does this, plotting objects based on catalog brightness without much differentiation as to visual appearance in amateur scopes. 

NGC 7077: Pretty bright core, elongated 3:2 ENE-WSW, thin diffuse halo.

NGC 7081: Moderately bright core, faint diffuse halo, nearly round, bracketed by a line of stars.  

Andromeda G1: Once found (a pretty long star hop from the core of M31), easily saw the triangle of the globular and two stars, the globular larger and non-stellar.  My first M31 glob.  I thought to make a project of it (I have a finder of M31 globs) but was discouraged by some patches of thin cloud starting to move in overhead. 

NGC 70 group. Not much to say about each individual galaxy, all "faint fuzzy" patches, but it was fun to spend time looking and having a new galaxy swim into view.  From my field sketch as this finder, which I looked at only later, I found NGCs 68, 70, 71, 67, 67A, 69, 72, 72A, 74.  Did not see the other catalog designations.

It was now near midnight and there was more high cloud starting to spread in from the west.  It was just early enough to decide to drive home without being over-tired, so I quickly closed up the observatory and headed home.  Happy to get out but disappointed I couldn't do more.

3 september 2021

An excellent night with the 6-inch.  Seeing was predicted to be average and that would limit the 20-inch, so I opted for the 6-inch instead.  One of the nice things is I have more access to the northern sky, and less impact from roof currents, with the 6-inch, so I decided to spend time up there.

BU 159: AB: 178; 175x: Extremely fine hairline split and 3 delta mag, light orange A, with another wide component (STTA 215 AC).  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch at 1.2", so it has tightened a little.  There is no parallax data for the companion.

21h 10m 30.96s +47° 41' 32.0" P.A. 314.00 sep 1.1 mag 6.55,9.07 Sp B6IV dist. 423.73 pc (1382.21 l.y.)

BU 369 AB: 178; 175x: White A, the B star is at the edge of detectability with averted vision only.  Discovered with the 6-inch at 10" it has since widened, and there are two even fainter components, not seen, which Burnham discovered later with the Lick 36-inch.  WDS says physical, and this is probably true: 93% parallax overlap, 3,746 AU weighted separation, 2.56/0.90 solar mass.

21h 26m 29.08s +52° 44' 52.7" P.A. 31.00 sep 16.0 mag 7.59,11.80 Sp B9.5V dist. 198.81 pc (648.52 l.y.)

STF 2789 AB: 178; 175x: Well separated equal pair.  WDS says physical with a 180 century period, and provides an orbit.  98% parallax range overlap, 565 AU weighted separation, 1.55/1.51 solar mass, and the delta radial velocity is less than the escape velocity, so that's a confirmed gravitational pair.

21h 19m 58.84s +52° 58' 44.1" P.A. 114.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.71,7.87 Sp F8V

SKF 346 AB: 178; 175x: Faint, very wide, 3 delta mag.  WDS says physical, and this is probably true though the weighted separation is a little far: 92% parallax range overlap, 6,547 AU weighted separation, 1.83/0.84 solar mass.
21h 17m 50.98s +52° 28' 33.1" P.A. 305.00 sep 55.9 mag 7.66,11.11 Sp F2 dist. 106.72 pc (348.12 l.y.)

STF 2757 AB: 178; 175x: Lovely 2 delta mag, very closely split pair, ice blue A (spectral class B9.5V blue-white).  WDS uncertain, and unfortunately there is no parallax range overlap, -26%.

21h 04m 34.72s +52° 23' 59.2" P.A. 264.00 sep 1.9 mag 7.82,9.24 Sp B9.5V dist. 227.79 pc (743.05 l.y.)

STF 2741 AB: 178; 175x: Light yellow A and light blue B, 1 delta mag, fairly bright so they shimmer in the seeing.  WDS says physical, however there is no parallax range overlap, -13%, so it is not.

20h 58m 30.03s +50° 27' 42.4" P.A. 25.00 sep 2.0 mag 5.94,6.79 Sp B5Vn dist. 331.13 pc (1080.15 l.y.)

BU 155 AB: 178; 380x: Can tell it is not single ay 175x, and appears slightly notched at 245x.  Strongly notched but not split at 380x.  WDS physical with a 764-year period; unfortunately there is no parallax data for the companion.  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch at 0.6" and notes "A fine pair, but no material change."  He does not say whether he split it, though to do so would require a night of exceptional seeing to carry high magnification.  Dembowski -- who had a 7-inch -- must also have had a good night to be able to put it under the wire for measurement.  The thing about Burnham is he was a very attentive observer, I could imagine many others passing this over had they not studied the airy disk carefully.

20h 51m 05.41s +51° 25' 01.7" P.A. 39.50 sep 0.7 mag 7.36,8.13 Sp A9IV dist. 124.53 pc (406.22 l.y.)

BU 152 AB: 178; 245x: Beautifully fine, 2 delta mag, just split with 175x, better split at 245x.  StelleDoppie says physical with a 737-year period, however there is no parallax range overlap (-25%), so they are not actually gravitationally bound!
20h 42m 16.81s +57° 23' 07.4" P.A. 81.50 sep 1.2 mag 7.21,8.80 Sp A4IV dist. 152.44 pc (497.26 l.y.)

STF 2671 AB: 178; 175x: Cream white A and light yellow, 1 delta mag B, well separated.  WDS uncertain, however there is 12% parallax overlap, 337 AU weighted separation, good 2.32/1.74 solar mass, so it likely is gravitationally bound.
20h 18m 24.76s +55° 23' 49.8" P.A. 337.00 sep 3.7 mag 6.01,7.51 Sp A2Vs dist. 90.5 pc (295.21 l.y.)

STF 2717 AB: 178; 175x: ! Light orange A and the tiniest fleck of a B star, finely split, >2 delta mag.  Spectral class G3III (yellow).  WDS uncertain, and very unfortunately there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, -26%, so not gravitationally bound.

20h 37m 48.12s +60° 45' 21.5" P.A. 259.00 sep 2.1 mag 7.34,9.46 Sp G3III dist. 263.16 pc (858.43 l.y.)

H I 48: 178; 245x: ! This was a surprise since most Herschel doubles are wide.  Can tell is not single at 175x, and I get a near equal hairline split at 245x.  

STF 2816 AC and STF 2829, double-double at the center of open cluster IC 1396.  STF 2816 is the brighter pair and closer, 2 delta mag.  STF 2829 is near equal and wider separation.  Both are said to be physical.  

21h 38m 57.61s +57° 29' 20.5" P.A. 121.00 sep 11.8 mag 5.73,7.48 Sp O6V+B1.5V dist. 606.06 pc (1976.97 l.y.)

21h 49m 23.85s +30° 45' 14.1" P.A. 15.00 sep 17.1 mag 8.91,9.66 Sp A0 dist. 125.79 pc (410.33 l.y.)

STF 2790 AB: 178; 175x: Light orange A with a very much fainter blue B, well separated.  Spectral classes M1I+B2+B3 (red/blue-white).  A is V381 Cep.  WDS uncertain, and unfortunately there is no parallax overlap ranges.

21h 19m 15.69s +58° 37' 24.6" P.A. 45.00 sep 4.6 mag 5.85,9.27 Sp M1I+B2+B3 dist. 591.72 pc (1930.19 l.y.)

POP 1233 AC: 178; 175x: Near equal wide.  AB is A 764, 8.23/10.69 1.0", not seen.   

21h 22m 20.42s +57° 33' 54.6" P.A. 192.00 sep 83.6 mag 8.23,8.69 Sp G5+K0 dist. 96.43 pc (314.55 l.y.)

STF 2783 AB: 178; 175x: Challenging.  Near equal white stars, elongated at lower powers, and I can get stronger notching with more magnification, until I had hairline split with seeing at 570x.  2.0" at discovery, so no problem for Struve!  WDS gives physical with a 1760-year period.  There is no parallax data for the primary, and the secondary is entirely missing.

21h 14m 04.90s +58° 17' 49.8" P.A. 349.40 sep 0.7 mag 7.71,8.07 Sp A3V dist. 127.88 pc (417.14 l.y.)

HJ 1791 AB: 178; 175x: Wide, 1 delta mag, light yellow A and blue B.  Spectral class 0 (yellow).  WDS physical, and this is correct: 43% parallax range overlap, 1,016 AU weighted separation, 1.33/0.83 solar mass, and the radial velocity delta is less than the escape velocity.

22h 35m 39.29s +56° 51' 40.2" P.A. 59.00 sep 17.1 mag 7.71,9.69 Sp G0

STT 480 AB: 178; 175x: Wide, <1 delta mag.  N7380 nearby as a triangular mist of stars.  WDS says physical, and this is likely correct: 10% parallax range overlap, 1,942 AU weighted separation, 1.36/1.08 solar mass, and the radial velocity delta 0.75 is less than the escape velocity (1.49).

22h 46m 05.29s +58° 04' 19.6" P.A. 116.00 sep 30.7 mag 7.65,8.64 Sp F8

STF 2953 AB: 178; 175x: White A and well separated, 2.5 delta mag blue B.  WDS uncertain, though it is likely physical, 27% parallax range overlap, 3,199 AU weighted separation, 3.49/1.80 solar mass.

22h 52m 45.80s +60° 54' 58.6" P.A. 137.00 sep 8.5 mag 7.63,9.52 Sp A0V+G0III dist. 247.52 pc (807.41 l.y.)

STF 2950 AB: 178; 245x: Wonderful hair split with 175x, nice very clean at 245x.  2 delta mag, light yellow A and blue.  WDS physical with a 817-year period, with 73% parallax range overlap, 102 AU weighted separation, 2.16/1.64 solar mass, for sure gravitationally bound.  It will have a dramatic and rapid closure to periastron in the coming few years, down to 0.2", and one worth tracking.

22h 51m 22.51s +61° 41' 47.9" P.A. 271.10 sep 1.0 mag 6.03,7.08 Sp G8III-IV dist. 72.73 pc (237.25 l.y.)

STF 2977 AB: 178; 175x: Fine 1" split, 2 delta mag, light yellow stars.  Spectral class F5V (yellow-white).  WDS physical, however there is no parallax range overlap, -22%.

23h 06m 28.56s +61° 26' 24.5" P.A. 355.00 sep 1.8 mag 6.80,10.33 Sp F5V dist. 112.99 pc (368.57 l.y.)

M52: Open cluster.  A fine, irregular mist of stars with some brighter stars punctuating the shape. 

STT 499 A-BC: 178; 175x: Fairly wide, 2 delta mag stars, yellow and blue.  Spectral class G5 (yellow).  BC is A 641 9.70/11.50 0.3".  WDS physical, unfortunately no parallax data for the companion.

23h 33m 12.21s +57° 24' 28.5" P.A. 77.00 sep 9.7 mag 7.55,9.54 Sp G5 dist. 106.95 pc (348.87 l.y.)

STT 490 AB: 178; 175x: Very faint B swims into view with seeing, 2 delta mag to A.  Very closely split.  Very challenging.  WDS uncertain, unfortunately there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, -48%.

23h 10m 09.51s +57° 26' 54.1" P.A. 298.00 sep 1.2 mag 7.22,9.15 Sp G3III-IV dist. 243.31 pc (793.68 l.y.)

HDS 3280 Aa,Ab / STT 485 AB: 178; 175x: A is obviously not round at 175x but does not resolve or notch up to 570x.  B is faint and well split.  

23h 02m 43.88s +55° 14' 10.9" P.A. 137.00 sep 0.6 mag 6.51,10.52 Sp B9III dist. 260.42 pc (849.49 l.y.) / WDS uncertain, and no data on the companion.

23h 02m 43.88s +55° 14' 10.9" P.A. 48.00 sep 18.8 mag 6.51,10.15 Sp B9III dist. 260.42 pc (849.49 l.y.) / WDS not physical and confirmed, no parallax range overlap -86%.

NGC 7662: Blue Snowball, planetary nebula.  Fount, grey, with very faintly thicker ring, distinct edge.  

STT 500 AB: 178; 175x: White A obviously not round at 175-245x, elongated at 380x.  Physical with a 351-year period.  No parallax data on the primary.

23h 37m 32.03s +44° 25' 44.5" P.A. 22.60 sep 0.4 mag 6.08,7.38 Sp B8V dist. 247.52 pc (807.41 l.y.)

31 august 2021

I set up both scopes last night, the 6-inch to view Calisto's shadow transit, and the 20-inch for some doubles.  Unfortunately the seeing was poor so I was masked to 7-inches throughout.  The Calisto transit was nice: I could see the elongated shadow and on the opposite limb of Jupiter I could see the moon itself.  Its gibbous phase helped give a dark contrast to Jupiter's disk and to soften the appearance of the moon itself so the moon's disk could be seen.  It struck me that the best time to try to see detail on the Galilean moons is during their transits, with Jupiter helping to provide the bright contrast backdrop.  Will try again later this Jupiter season with the 20-inch, if seeing and sky cooperate.

STF2385 AB: 178; 205x: White A and can see B first with averted vision and then can hold with direct, 3 delta mag, wide.  Not physical per WDS, but this is incorrect!  4% parallax range overlap but only 55 parsecs; 300 AU weighted separation, and 1.08/0.64 stellar mass; and the radial velocity delta (1.07) is less than the escape velocity (3.18), so it is gravitationally bound!
18h 46m 33.09s +16° 58' 59.5" P.A. 30.00 sep 5.5 mag 8.42,10.80 Sp G0

WFC 216 AB: 178; 205x: Slightly unequal white stars, framed with two 10th mag stars on either side, equidistant away.  WDS uncertain, but they do not share any parallax range overlap.
18h 55m 04.26s +16° 44' 20.3" P.A. 89.00 sep 12.0 mag 9.07,9.55 Sp A2

COG 1 AB: 178; 205x: Unremarkable, wide, 1.5 delta magnitude white stars, maybe in a triple as a third star a little farther out forms a triangle (this is AC).  Not physical per WDS, and no data on the companion in Gaia.  W.A. Cogshall, assistant to T.J.J. See at the Lowell Observatory, but by 1903 he was observing with the 12-inch at the Kirkwood observatory where this discovery was made, following a list made by Burnham of stars suspected to be double by the Albany observers.  
18h 55m 43.67s +12° 54' 30.1" P.A. 284.00 sep 26.2 mag 9.28,11.92 Sp A5V dist. 763.36 pc (2490.08 l.y.)

STF2485 AB: 178; 205x: White A, B seen with averted vision only, well separated.  WDS uncertain, but there is 75% parallax range overlap, 1,872 AU weighted separation, and 2.07/1.07 solar mass -- likely to be gravitationally bound.
19h 14m 12.81s +23° 08' 21.7" P.A. 320.00 sep 8.5 mag 8.54,11.40 Sp F2

STF3132 AB: 178; 205x: 2 delta B seen with averted vision only.  There are two other faint stars, WAL 113 AC and AD.  Forms a double-double with STF2530 in the same field.  WDS says physical, and there is 21% parallax overlap, 1,441 AU weighted separation, and 1.40/1.06 solar mass.  However the radial velocity delta (2.07) exceeds the escape velocity (1.74), so likely will not remain gravitationally bound.

19h 28m 12.76s +20° 12' 59.6" P.A. 39.00 sep 8.0 mag 10.10,11.80 Sp G5

STF2530 AB: 178;205x: 1.5 delta mag, about 4" separation, white stars.  In same field with STF2132.  WDS uncertain, but there is 77% parallax range overlap, 577 AU weighted separation, solar mass 1.17/0.92, and the radial velocity delta is less than the escape velocity, so they are very likely gravitationally bound.
19h 28m 22.08s +20° 19' 08.2" P.A. 155.00 sep 5.6 mag 9.44,10.70 Sp G0

ARY 19 AB: 178; 205x: Super-wide near equal.  Why thought of as double?  COU1028Aa-Ab is 0.3" 9.30/10.0, a good target for the 20-inch, and BD is COU1029, 7.4" 9.38/13.00.  AB not physical per WDS, 
19h 33m 18.55s +26° 28' 41.1" P.A. 13.00 sep 48.5 mag 8.86,9.38 Sp F2

STF2540 AB: 178; 205x: Pretty light yellow A and 2 delta reddish B, very nice.  WDS uncertain, but they do not share parallax ranges.
19h 33m 17.05s +20° 24' 50.5" P.A. 147.00 sep 5.4 mag 7.52,9.23 Sp A3 dist. 152.67 pc (498.01 l.y.)

STF2560 AB: 178; 205x: White A, B just barely seen with direct vision as a very small point, >3 delta mag, wide.  WDS says not physical, and they do not share parallax ranges.
19h 40m 39.58s +23° 43' 04.7" P.A. 299.00 sep 14.2 mag 6.64,10.51 Sp B6IV dist. 510.2 pc (1664.27 l.y.)