The rest of it

I made many other observations from TB on Friday night, mainly because it reaches dark so early.  I used my 4- & 8-inch combo refractor, along with the 3x magnifier on the PVS-14:

EGB 1 (Ellis-Grayson-Bond) = HDW 1 (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger): 01 07 08 73 33 24:  This object has been the subject of some recent discussion on internet forums.  It was initially cataloged as a planetary nebula from inspection of the POSS plates (which presents an amorphous oval cloud).  But recent studies identify it as ionized IFM, which seems closer to how the nebula appears with contemporary imaging, which show a bright illuminated wall of gas and dust with several cometary globules, and a large Ha-bright wing fanning out from the object.  I observed it first with the 4-inch, and it was visible with just Ha but appeared brighter with the Ha+OIII dual band, though it was itself very faint and I needed to pan the scope to make sure the cloud stayed with the sky, and check the star field on my finder chart, before I confirmed the sighting.  The 4-inch image was small scale, and it appeared as the oval, mottled, and ragged-edged very thick "C" shaped cloud, with the open part facing the northeast.  With the 8-inch and further study, I could see the extremely faint, very diffuse fan shaped nebulous area extending out about 2x the main cloud's size from the "cave" or open side of the nebula.

Sh2-191: 02 36 38.7 +59 38 14 2', = Maffei I: Being a galaxy, and a very small one at that, I viewed this with the 8-inch unfiltered, and it appeared as a very small and elongated glow with a bright core.  I first confirmed the rich star field but could see the elongation which distinguished it from the stars.  

Sh2-197: 02 41 54.8 +59 38 46 5': = Maffei II: A very small, elongated smudge, bright core.  8-inch unfiltered and needed to confirm the star field on the chart (meaning, it was not noticed at first glance).

Strottner-Drechsler-Sainty 1: This is the OIII cloud recently discovered near M31.  I wanted to reconfirm the observation I made a few months ago.  Like before, using the 4-inch, it appeared to view when flipping between filters to the Ha+OIII dual band.  It's a faint, long glow running between Upsilon And and 32 And, on the M32 side of the galaxy, with the brighter end near Upsilon.  I it has two brighter streaks or filaments near the middle, and fades out slowly near 32 And.  It curves away from M31 to make a very gentle arc.  M31 showed three dust bands unfiltered, and I could see both M31's twist along with M110's.

HFG 1 (Heckathorn-Fesen-Gull) 03h 03 48 +64 53 28 15'x15': 8-inch, Ha-OIII dual band, it appeared as a very vague, irregularly round glow, with a brighter half along its southeast side.  Diffuse edges.  Did not see the arc of nebula separated from the main to the southeast.

HDW 2: (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger): 03 11 00 62 48 00, = Sh2-200.  8-inch Ha+OIII dual band.  Extremely faint, small mottled round glow around an arc of stars 4-5 stars of similar magnitude.  Found by locating the nearby open cluster (Tr 3) and the bright star it lies between.   

HDW 3: (Hartl-Dengel-Weinberger) 03h 27 15 +45 24 19 9'x9'.  = HW 4.  Very extremely faint glimmer, 8-inch and Ha+OIII dual band only, and only by confirming the star field and panning the telescope.   

Jones 1: 23 35 53.60 +30 28 02 5': 4-inch dual band, it appeared pretty large but faint, shaped like a C-clip with a thin closed end to the west, open to the east, and thicker & brighter arms.  

MWP 1: (Motch-Werner-Pakull) 21h 17 07 +34 12 40, 13x9': Very weak curved glow originating from a single star, medium-sized.  In a triangle asterism of similar magnitude stars, which is how I identified it from the chart.  8-inch dual band.

IsWe 2: (Ishida-Weinberger) 22 13 22.0 +65 53 55 16'x14': Large, ill-defined round glow or contrast change with the background sky, moves with the sky. 8-inch Ha.  Pretty difficult.

Dengel-Hartl 5: 22h 19 34 +70 56 01, 9'x9':  =DHW 5.  Very small and faint wispy glowing arc above a relatively bright star.  8-inch Ha.

Lacerta Molecular Cloud / Sh2-126: This appears prominently on Finkbeiner but only the brightest portion is listed on most atlases (Sh2-126).  The actual nebula seen (with 3x magnifier and Ha) is more than twice the size of Sh2-126's published dimensions.  It has a bent wishbone appearance but thicker--like the Gumby character--and with a diffuse cloud wafting from it to the south.  The whole nebula is grainy, not smooth, appearing distinctly dusty.

  

Sh2-216 & Sh2-221: While panning with the 3x, I navigated to Capella and could see the large round glow (appeared small) of this very large planetary nebula, and even the distinct brighter edge along the eastern quarter.  More amazing still, between this and Capella I saw another large nebula, more elongated, filamentary and faint, which is Sh2-221 (SNR 160.4+02.8).  I saw the brighter half which is toward Capella, making it appear thinner than the image below.  All in the same small scale field and all with just 3x! This is the best image (credit to "Max S.") I could find, but it is a larger image scale -- at 3x it took only a quarter of the field.

Sh2-310: 07 24 -25 35 30, 480' diameter.   Using 3x and Ha, the nebula is huge!  A pinched "C" shape with the open end to the south, with thick arms, the brightest one to the west, and a bright knot at an to the north elbow where it makes rather a sharp turn.  The whole nebula is streaked with filaments and mottling.  Vogel's description is worth repeating in full: "Distance: 1500 pc, Size: 209.8 pc.  This vast nebula, one of the largest single HII regions known in the Milky Way, is ionised by two multiple star 

systems (Tau Canis Majoris and UW Canis Majoris) each made up of several O-class stars. This image shows only the brightest part of the enormous Sh 2-310 complex. The intense radiation from the Tau Canis Majoris and UW Canis Majoris star systems has created a cavity in the molecular clouds at the centre of Sh 2-310, which is located beyond the upper right of the image. At least one scientific paper notes the "arrow-shaped bright rim" shown in this image. Perhaps Sh 2-310 should be known as the Arrowhead nebula? The extremely luminous red supergiant VY Canis Majoris is located near the bright rim. (This incredible star is green in this false colour image because of the infrared radiation emitted by the large dust cloud it ejects.)  Tau Canis Majoris, which may be one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way, is sometimes called the "Mexican jumping bean star," allegedly because of the way it moves around in the eyepiece of amateur telescopes."

Sh2-303: 06 54 00.9 -22 25 31, 90' diameter.  4-inch and Ha, it appears as a weak, ragged shallow curve arc of nebulosity, like a broken-up vapor trail, running east to west, curved to the south.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 15.1 pc.  Along with Sh2-304 and Sh2-308, this HII region is ionised by WR 6 (EZ CMa)."

Sh2-304: 06 43 26.3 -24 07 59, 200' diameter.  In same area as the last, also like a broken-up vapor trail but wider, it appears faint band of nebulosity running NW-SE.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 33.5 pc.  Along with Sh2-303 and Sh2-308, this HII region is ionised by WR 6 (EZ CMa)."

Sh2-305: 07 30 08.1 -18 31 31, 4' diameter: 8-inch Ha.  Small, very faint puff of nebulosity, off the tip of a triangle of stars, which helped me to locate it in the field.  Only saw the bright round part of the nebula, not the fainter "stem" as in the POSS.  Vogel: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 4.4 pc.  RCW 8 is part of a huge molecular cloud complex with a distance of 4200 pc and is ionised by at least two O-class 

stars, and possibly two B0 class stars as well."

Sh2-306 & Sh2-309: 8-inch, Ha.  -306 is large, diffuse, very faint, irregularly round with mottling throughout and diffuse edges.  -309 in the field is bright by comparison, more compact, round with soft edges, and with a bright streak running N-S on its E side.  

-306: 07 30 36.4 -19 06 35, 30' diameter: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 36.7 pc. part of the GS234-02 supershell.

-309: 07 32 06.1 -19 25 47, 12' diameter: Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 14.7 pc. part of the GS234-02 star forming supershell

Sh2-307: 07 35 32.0 -18 45 13, 6'. 8-inch Ha, Small, round, faint doughnut nebula punctuated with a bright patch on the eastern rim.  Vogel: Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 7.3 pc.  The exciting star for this nebula is the B0V star MFJ Sh 2-307 3 and the nebula contains the infrared cluster candidate [DBS2003] 8. It is part of the same giant molecular cloud complex that includes S299, S300, S305, S306 and S309.

Sh2-308: 06 54 08.9 -23 56 31, 35' diameter.  8-inch and Ha+OIII, Fairly large grey contrast change with the sky, forms a bubble shape with to stars inside it, one in the north and brighter in the center.  The western rim is brighter, and the eastern is barely detected.  Vogel: "Distance: 575 pc, Size: 5.9 pc.  This ring nebula surrounds the Wolf-Rayet star WR 6."

Sh2-309: 07 32 06.1 -19 25 47, 12': 8-inch and Ha+OIII.  Very subtle contrast change with the sky, irregularly round.  Vogel: "Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 14.7 pc. This HII region is part of the GS234-02 star forming supershell."

Sh2-311: 07 52 20.4 -26 26 28, 45' =NGC2467.  Round, bright, with star and dark intrusions.  Very mottled, chunks coming off it.  8-inch Ha for detail, in the 4-inch it looks like a comet with a wide tail to the east.  Vogel: Distance: 4850 pc, Size: 10.6 pc.  "sometimes called the Mandrill nebula, is ionised by the O6 star HD 64315 and includes the star clusters Haffner 18ab and Haffner 19. The bright foreground star on the far left of the image is the B8 IV subgiant HD 64455."

Sh2-283: 06 38 38.6 +00 42 45, 3': 8-inch Ha.  Very faint, very small, oval, mingled with an N-S arc of four similar magnitude stars.  Vogel: "Distance: 9100 pc, Size: 7.9 pc.  Includes the infrared cluster [BDS2003] 84."

Sh2-312: 09 25 00 -28 00 00.  3x and Ha.  Wow!  Giant, fills two fields of view, like a comet starting from a fine bright tip and extending in a long wispy fan shape like a comet with a very long tail.  Brighter streaks highlight the tail, especially in the central area.  This is the last Sharpless observation, what a way to go out.  Vogel: "It is the fourth object in the Sharpless catalog by area of apparent sky covered. As this is in the general direction of the Vela Molecular Ridge, perhaps it is a fragment of the even larger Gum nebula?"

Beyond Barnard's Loop

Having discovered the Finkbeiner sky map last year, I've been fascinated to make observations of the many filaments which appear to connect the brighter nebula in the sky.  Of particular interest to me is the Orion-Eridanus super bubble, of which Barnard's Loop is only a part.  The super bubble is a series of nested shells of supernova remnants and resulting ionizing of the gas; it appears large on the sky because it is relatively nearby.  While I had visually observed small bits and pieces of Barnard's Loop, the brightest section of Eridanus A, and the Lambda Orionis nebula, it is only with night vision that I hoped to see not just these relatively brighter structures better, but also the faint connecting filaments.

Friday night was my chance, so I headed out to a location on the central coast, which has no light domes south or west.  Transparency was average and seeing poor.  I feared for heavy dew, but it turned out to be light and froze to frost by 11pm.  SQML was 21.3.  While I waited for Orion to culminate, I busied myself with some large planetary nebula (more of which in a different report).  I used the PVS-14 at 1x with a 7nm Ha filter, though the nebula were rather weak.  I had the best views with a 3nm Ha filter front-mounted to a 3x magnifier screwed to the PVS-14's objective.  I used a mirror mount for a steadier (but flipped) view, and also a monopod.  The 3x's field of view captured all of the Lambda Orionis nebula with room to spare.

I found it easiest to navigate by finding a bright and familiar nebula, then following any filaments I noticed coming off it.  Using the below image as reference (I didn't have it in front of me but have memorized it): Barnard's Loop was bright, thick, and heavily knotted.  The northern fork, which flows to Betelgeuse, was easy.  The bright & mottled eastern part of the "C" had a haze of nebula coming off it to the east, like a fog evaporating from ice.  I could not see individual filaments, but by panning the device north-to-south, I could easily distinguish the faint, subtly mottled nebula from the darker sky background -- it had a soft but distinct edge.  Following the trail to the east led me just north of the Seagull (which showed not just the bright body and wings, but the wider, fainter extensions which form a complete bubble in themselves).  I then panned to the north following the diffuse knots of Sivan 5 & 7, then three bright Sharpless nebula leading to the Rosette and the Fox Fur.  The Rosette was very bright, shot through with dark lanes, numerous inner and outer ring crenelations, and had bowed extensions forming a twisted path to the large and diffuse Fox Fur.  I could make out the Christmas Tree cluster and the bright star forming the tip of the Cone Nebula, and with some concentration could see a hint of the dark nebula itself (at small scale).

Back to the Lambda Orionis, or Angelfish nebula: I could see its dark eye, and the dark lanes which separate the dorsal and pectoral fins.  There was a small round bright nebula (Sh2-63) near its mouth like a piece of bait.  From the dorsal fin I followed a moderately bright fission of nebula which hooked west and -- to my amazement -- went through the southern half of the Hyades!  Continuing east the nebula stream thickened and brightened and then turned sharply south -- this was the eastern arm of the Eridanus nebula, Eri A.  It dimmed somewhat further south, but I distinguished where it forks with the western arm, Eri B, and followed that until it petered out.  Moving back to the fork, I followed the dim diffuse nebula fog as it made its broken way back toward the southwest end of Barnard's Loop below Rigel.

Back to Lambda Orionis, on the southeast side there is a faint haze which organizes into a flow to the west, barely detected.  I did not see this clearly, but the haze flows (what appears to be) behind Eri A and connects to the tip and body of Eri B.  To my eye, this forms one large, quarter section of a unified bubble, though the paper I referenced labels these as merely "high latitude clouds."

The whole thing is enormous and engrossing, and probably the most satisfying observation I've ever made.

But wait, there's more!

After making the Orion-Eridanus observation, I moved on to finish up my Sharpless Catalog observations (I'm happy to say I've now made observations of all the Sharpless Catalog!).  The last item was Sh2-312, which was in Pyxis (09 25 00 -28 00 00).  Once it had risen sufficiently, I made my observation, again with the 3x and Ha.  OMG what a beautiful nebula!  It filled more than 2 fields (roughly 15-degrees long and 5-degrees wide) and looks like a comet: starting from a bright point in the southeast, it fans out to the northwest and forks into two relatively bright filaments, which then fade and fan out slowly.  Here's what it looks like in the Finkbeiner all-sky map (a little brighter and more detailed than as I saw it):

Well, that got me panning around the area and it turns out I could see the upper loops of the Gum Nebula (Gum 12)!  The bright claw-like body in the upper right is Sh2-310, which lies behind the "feet" of Canis Major.  I saw the two bright N-S mottled loops below it, along with the bright patches to the east (RCW-19, -20, 27, & -33).  

The entirety of Gum 12 is now on my bucket-list.  I need to head south and get a view of this enormous structure, which is as large as the Orion-Eridanus super bubble, but much brighter, at least as Finkbeiner illustrates:

20 november 2022, Camelopardalis Struves

Used the 6-inch refractor, weather cold but dry, transparent sky but the seeing was choppy early, improved after 10pm.

STF 419 AB 152; 150x: Near equal white stars, close split with low power, improved with 150x.  Split with 60mm 90x.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 42m 45.19s +69° 50' 44.3" P.A. 73.00 sep 2.9 mag 7.76,7.81 Sp A5IV dist. 310.56 pc (1013.05 l.y.)

STF 418 AB: 152; 125x: Dim pair, wide, forms a string of three, one of which brightens with averted vision (FOX 133 BC).  -84% PRO, it is not binary (nor is BC)

03h 46m 20.22s +75° 22' 30.7" P.A. 64.00 sep 24.2 mag 9.75,10.38 Sp G

STF 421 AB: 152; 150x: B appears with averted vision, can just barely hold it direct, wide.  -4% PRO, 2,290 AU WS, 2.8+1.1 Msol, but the RVD 4.3 > EV 1.7, it is not binary.

03h 46m 13.88s +71° 37' 05.3" P.A. 236.00 sep 12.5 mag 7.07,10.69 Sp G9III dist. 182.82 pc (596.36 l.y.)

STF 428 AB: 152; 125x: Dim unequal stars, wide, with third with averted vision (BU 1380).  -86% PRO, it is not binary.  

03h 47m 46.60s +70° 32' 57.7" P.A. 145.00 sep 25.3 mag 8.91,11.13 Sp A2 dist. 344.83 pc (1124.84 l.y.)

STF 455 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, unequal, wide.  -34% PRO, it is not binary (nor is AC).

03h 57m 07.09s +69° 30' 56.4" P.A. 166.00 sep 12.1 mag 8.56,9.16 Sp G5 dist. 229.36 pc (748.17 l.y.)

STF 373 AB: 152; 125x: Triangle of equal magnitude stars, one with a faint wide companion.  -37% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 22m 04.87s +62° 44' 29.2" P.A. 120.00 sep 20.0 mag 7.73,10.01 Sp F8 dist. 123.15 pc (401.72 l.y.)

STF 374 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, well split.  -8% PRO, 1,389 AU WS, 1.8+1.4 Msol, RVD 1.2 < EV 2.0, there is some chance it is binary and an orbit should be tried.

03h 24m 14.96s +67° 27' 18.6" P.A. 297.00 sep 11.2 mag 7.80,8.99 Sp F8 dist. 142.05 pc (463.37 l.y.)

STF 362 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal white stars, in a rich field (open cluster Stock 23, aka Pazmino's Cluster).  -64% PRO, it is not binary.  

03h 16m 17.37s +60° 02' 07.1" P.A. 142.00 sep 7.1 mag 8.31,8.60 Sp B3V

STF 378 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal wide pair.  -42% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 24m 27.21s +58° 25' 52.0" P.A. 314.00 sep 18.7 mag 9.55,10.64 Sp F

STF 384 AB: 152; 200x: Very fine, 1 Dm very close split, seen with 125x, best with high.  26% PRO, 1,410 AU WS, 4.8+3.4 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit tried.

03h 28m 29.05s +59° 54' 24.0" P.A. 273.00 sep 2.0 mag 8.13,8.85 Sp F8 dist. 757.58 pc (2471.23 l.y.)

STF 385 AB: 152; 125x: Could not resolve faint B, too close to the bright primary.  48% PRO, 2,302 AU WS, 11.7+4.6 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 29m 04.14s +59° 56' 25.2" P.A. 162.00 sep 2.3 mag 4.23,7.80 Sp B9Ia dist. 595.24 pc (1941.67 l.y.)

STF 400 AB: 152; 200x: Beautiful, close split with a large Dm.  -41% PRO, it is not binary, though there is a SOC grade 3 orbit 267-year period.

03h 35m 01.04s +60° 02' 29.0" P.A. 269.00 sep 1.6 mag 6.79,7.97 Sp F3V dist. 53.36 pc (174.06 l.y.)

STF 445 AB: 152; 150x: Close split, large Dm, in an arc of three stars of similar magnitude.  -48% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 50m 39.22s +60° 07' 22.8" P.A. 259.00 sep 3.1 mag 8.97,9.90 Sp B5 dist. 1149.43 pc (3749.44 l.y.)

STF 397 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, well split, unequal.  12% PRO, 2,395 AU WS, 2.5+1.7 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.

03h 33m 59.02s +60° 24' 31.9" P.A. 42.00 sep 5.2 mag 9.33,10.46 Sp A0 dist. 12500 pc (40775 l.y.)

STF 402 AB: 152; 125x: A is light orange, B flashes with averted vision, then can be held direct.  Well split.  -92% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 36m 03.81s +63° 17' 17.2" P.A. 165.00 sep 12.0 mag 7.58,10.49 Sp K4III dist. 1818.18 pc (5930.9 l.y.)

STF 389 AB: 152; 150x: Very light-yellow A and very light-blue B, about 1 Dm, split with 125x but better seen 150x.  Also hairline split with 60mm 90x.  -40% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 30m 10.93s +59° 21' 57.8" P.A. 72.00 sep 2.6 mag 6.42,7.89 Sp A2V dist. 95.15 pc (310.38 l.y.)

STF 396 AB: 152; 125x: Wide unequal pair, also split with 60mm 40x.  70% PRO, 1,925 AU WS, 2.1+1.5 Msol, and the RVD 1.1 < EV 1.8.  It is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 33m 32.19s +58° 45' 55.3" P.A. 245.00 sep 20.5 mag 6.43,7.68 Sp A4III dist. 21.34 pc (69.61 l.y.)

STF398 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint pair, averted vision only, near equal, well split. 10.3/10.3 9.6 very faint av only well split.  Gaia puts the magnitudes at 11.33/11.35.  -67% PRO, they are not binary.

03h 34m 15.03s +58° 17' 28.6" P.A. 332.00 sep 9.6 mag 10.30,10.30

STF 390 AB: 152; 125x: Bright white A and faint B, >3 Dm, well split.  -79% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 30m 00.23s +55° 27' 06.6" P.A. 159.00 sep 14.6 mag 5.06,10.02 Sp A1V dist. 60.9 pc (198.66 l.y.)

STF 461 AB: 152; 200x: Notched elongation, very small scale, with high power only. 65% PRO, 298 AU WS, 2.5+1.5 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbti.

03h 55m 24.47s +56° 30' 16.4" P.A. 121.00 sep 1.0 mag 8.58,10.33 Sp G0II

STF 472 BC: 152; 125x: Very faint near equal pair, well split, widely split another similar magnitude star (AB).  21% PRO, 2,824 AU WS, 1.9+1.7 Msol, and the RVD 0.6 < EV 1.5.  It is likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 06m 20.49s +72° 02' 17.7" P.A. 16.00 sep 6.9 mag 10.49,10.79 Sp G0

STF 474 AB: 152l 125x: Wide near equal.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 12m 33.44s +76° 14' 12.5" P.A. 151.00 sep 24.3 mag 9.54,9.84 Sp G5

STF 480 AB: 152; 125x: Excellent near equal close pair, split even with low power.  -35% PRO, it is not binary.  

04h 04m 29.36s +55° 44' 26.2" P.A. 327.00 sep 3.4 mag 9.33,9.53 Sp K0III dist. 378.79 pc (1235.61 l.y.)

STF 484 AG: 152; 125x: 3 Dm pairing withing the cluster NGC 1502, very wide.  -10% PRO, it is not binary.  There are many other stars in the cluster, almost all of non-overlapping parallax ranges, or with weighted separations too far apart to support binarity.

04h 07m 51.38s +62° 19' 48.4" P.A. 260.00 sep 59.9 mag 6.91,9.63 Sp B0III dist. 159.24 pc (519.44 l.y.)

STF 485 AE: 152; 125x: Bright white stars near equal wide in center of open cluster NGC 1502.  -66% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 07m 51.38s +62° 19' 48.4" P.A. 305.00 sep 18.0 mag 6.91,6.94 Sp B0II+B0II dist. 159.24 pc (519.44 l.y.)

STF 486 AB: 152; 125x: Very faint, unequal, seen first with averted vision then can hold, wide.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 19m 48.83s +79° 28' 57.7" P.A. 355.00 sep 8.2 mag 10.12,11.60 Sp A2

STF 490 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, nice wide split, white.  -52% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 10m 27.73s +60° 09' 23.8" P.A. 58.00 sep 4.7 mag 9.33,9.59 Sp F0

STF 496 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, wide, slightly unequal, one of three faint stars in a triangle.  -90% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 16m 29.93s +70° 30' 28.8" P.A. 58.00 sep 30.8 mag 11.33,10.89 Sp F6V+K2V

STF 498 AB: 152; 200x: Very difficult at this aperture, high power needed to separate two faint stars, with seeing only.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 12m 45.23s +53° 46' 19.3" P.A. 159.00 sep 1.4 mag 10.13,10.75 Sp A0 dist. 202.43 pc (660.33 l.y.)

STF 503 AB: 152; 150x: Faint unequal pair, seen directly but brightens with averted vision.  -38% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 17m 04.19s +64° 08' 18.5" P.A. 228.00 sep 4.9 mag 10.49,10.58

STF 504 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, fairly close separation. 39% PRO, 4,648 AU WS, 3.4+2.4 Msol, the RVD 1.5 = EV 1.5, so there's a chance it's binary and needs an orbit tried.

04h 18m 18.53s +67° 33' 49.4" P.A. 267.00 sep 7.0 mag 9.30,10.52 Sp K0

29 october 2023: Cygnus Struves

I almost didn't observe, but the night was clear and seeing not too bad.  I pointed the 6-inch refractor opposite of the rising, just past full moon, to keep the glare out of my eyes.  I covered many Struve pairs in Cygnus, which was still respectably high in the sky.  Transparency was tending poor as there was a constant stream of marine haze flowing, but seeing was ok, 6-7/10.  Some very nice pairs seen.  To end the night I scanned the moon's terminator which was close to the limb, and was amazed at the many seams between crater and mountain rangers created very dark, very thin lines.  The dark pools of shadow were darker than the sky beyond the limb.  Seeing held up enough to use 200x.  A very good night.

STF2669 AB: 152; 175x: Slightly unequal, wide.  76% PRO, 4,600 AU WS, 1.6+1.4 Msol, and the RVD 0.5 < EV 1.1, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

20h 19m 24.48s +56° 07' 17.8" P.A. 259.00 sep 23.4 mag 9.28,9.91 Sp F5

STF2668 AB-C: 152; 150x: Close B is dark yellow color, 2 Dm.  -1% PRO but with a 10% error, only 577 AU WS, 3.1+1.7 Msol, it is possible this is binary and needs an orbit.
20h 20m 15.22s +39° 24' 11.8" P.A. 280.00 sep 3.5 mag 6.34,8.49 Sp A1V dist. 180.51 pc (588.82 l.y.)

STF2681 AB: 152; 125x: Triple forming a right-angle triangle, AB is the closer pairing, 2 Dm, but has -42% PRO, it is not binary.  AC has an even more out of range parallax and is not binary either.  CD, while they seem to have similar parallax and proper motions, do not overlap parallax ranges, and are not binary.
20h 22m 49.54s +53° 25' 02.8" P.A. 39.00 sep 6.8 mag 7.97,10.61 Sp A0V dist. 448.43 pc (1462.78 l.y.)

STF2687 AB: 152; 125x: Wide B is considerably fainter, 2 Dm.  11% PRO, 5,864 AU WS, 3.3+2.1 Msol, there is a small possibility is it binary and an orbit should be tried.
20h 26m 23.47s +56° 38' 19.3" P.A. 118.00 sep 25.1 mag 6.37,8.31 Sp B9V dist. 189.04 pc (616.65 l.y.)

STF2693 AB: 152; 125x: Attractive pair, wide, nearly 1 Dm.  28% PRO, 3,649 AU WS, 2.4+1.9 Msol, it is possible to be binary and an orbit should be tried.
20h 28m 24.22s +54° 30' 05.4" P.A. 12.00 sep 13.7 mag 8.17,9.23 Sp A0

STF2691 AB: 152; 125x: Wide, near equal.  24% PRO, 10,985 AU WS, 3.7+3.5 Msol, there is a small chance it is binary and an orbit should be tried.
20h 29m 43.18s +38° 07' 31.5" P.A. 32.00 sep 16.3 mag 8.14,8.45 Sp B6V dist. 214.13 pc (698.49 l.y.)

STF2700 AB: 152; 125x: Light orange A and blue B, nearly 1 Dm, also seen with 60mm 40x.  -18% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 34m 44.60s +32° 30' 21.1" P.A. 284.00 sep 24.1 mag 6.99,8.75 Sp K2III dist. 57.9 pc (188.87 l.y.)

STF2702 AB: 152; 125x: Beautiful near equal white pair, good separation even with low power.  86% PRO, 809 AU WS, 2.1+2.0 Msol, it is very likely binary and needs an orbit.
20h 35m 34.94s +35° 10' 10.8" P.A. 208.00 sep 3.1 mag 8.70,8.99 Sp A0

STF2705 AB: 152; 150x: Gorgeous light blue, 1 Dm close pair, very nice.  48% PRO, 1,947 AU WS, 4.8+3.7 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
20h 37m 44.32s +33° 21' 59.4" P.A. 264.00 sep 3.1 mag 7.48,8.54 Sp K0IIb dist. 595.24 pc (1941.67 l.y.)

STF2717 AB: 152; 250x:  Very closely split, need high power and steady seeing.  A is bright, B emerges just outside the edge of A's diffraction with seeing.  -26% PRO, but only 583 AU WS, 3.3+1.8 Msol, it's a surprise to not likely to be binary.
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.)

STF2707 AB: 152; 125x: Ho Hum two stars in a dense field.  Wide, 1 Dm.  -85% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 37m 51.14s +47° 56' 41.9" P.A. 29.00 sep 21.8 mag 7.94,9.45 Sp A0 dist. 172.12 pc (561.46 l.y.)

STF2708 AB: 152; 125x: Triple forming a right-angle triangle, all different magnitudes.  -99% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 38m 40.19s +38° 38' 06.3" P.A. 323.00 sep 57.9 mag 6.83,8.67 Sp G2V dist. 27.16 pc (88.6 l.y.)

STF2711 AB: 152; 150x: Closely split, 1 Dm.  70% PRO, 867 AU WS, 2.8+2.2 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

20h 39m 35.12s +30° 30' 14.6" P.A. 223.00 sep 2.4 mag 8.17,9.24 Sp A2.5V dist. 344.83 pc (1124.84 l.y.)

STF2714 AB: 152; 125x: B is very faint, with averted vision only, wide, white. -38% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 40m 16.01s +29° 46' 49.0" P.A. 338.00 sep 6.8 mag 8.97,12.50 Sp F8

STF2719 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, unequal, wide.  89% PRO, 1,152 AU WS, 1.1+0.8 Msol, and the RVD 1.4 < EV 1.7, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
20h 40m 43.40s +43° 21' 00.2" P.A. 142.00 sep 14.2 mag 9.18,11.02 Sp G5

STF2716 AB: 152; 250x: Pretty light orange A and blue B, close separation, needed high power, 2 Dm.  1% PRO, 757 AU WS, 4.6+2.5 Msol, it is possible to be binary and an orbit should be tried.
20h 41m 02.54s +32° 18' 26.3" P.A. 45.00 sep 2.8 mag 5.75,8.10 Sp G2III dist. 244.5 pc (797.56 l.y.)

STF2726 AB: 152; 150x: Bright yellow-orange and very much fainter B, close separation, split with low power but better with higher.  -37% PRO, it is not binary.  
20h 45m 39.76s +30° 43' 10.8" P.A. 74.00 sep 5.8 mag 4.33,9.50 Sp K0III dist. 61.65 pc (201.1 l.y.)

STF2732 AB: 152; 125x: White unequal pair, nearly 1 Dm, closely split with low power.  52% PRO, 1,041 AU WS, 3.5+2.0 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.
20h 48m 42.74s +51° 54' 37.1" P.A. 73.00 sep 4.3 mag 6.38,8.63 Sp B8np dist. 222.72 pc (726.51 l.y.)

STF2731 AB: 152; 125x: Excellent pair, good split, nearly 2 Dm, white stars.  -11% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 49m 00.64s +39° 47' 29.9" P.A. 86.00 sep 4.1 mag 7.65,9.59 Sp B9IV dist. 497.51 pc (1622.88 l.y.)

STF2741 AB: 152; 250x: Beautiful unequal pair, A is dull white, B is 1 Dm and bluish white, very nice.  -13% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 58m 30.03s +50° 27' 42.4" P.A. 24.00 sep 2.0 mag 5.94,6.79 Sp B5Vn dist. 331.13 pc (1080.15 l.y.)

STF2743 AB: 152; 125x: A is yellow and bright, B wide and faint and appears blue.  -18% PRO, it is not binary.
20h 59m 49.55s +47° 31' 15.4" P.A. 353.00 sep 21.0 mag 4.74,9.43 Sp B1ne dist. 434.78 pc (1418.25 l.y.)

STF2746 AB: 152; 250x: Faint pair, split with seeing, highly unequal light orange stars.  71% PRO, 208 AU WS, 2.1+1.7 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
21h 01m 50.05s +39° 15' 38.4" P.A. 323.00 sep 1.2 mag 7.92,8.71 Sp F0 dist. 249.38 pc (813.48 l.y.)

H 4 113 AB: 152; 125x: = STF2748 Bright light orange A and wide faint B.  40% PRO, 12,128 AU WS, 6.2+4.7 Msol, but the RVD 4.7 > EV 1.1, it is not binary.
21h 02m 20.95s +39° 30' 32.5" P.A. 299.00 sep 18.9 mag 6.62,9.49 Sp K3II-III dist. 223.71 pc (729.74 l.y.)

STF2747 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, well split light-yellow stars.  -16% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 02m 21.92s +37° 39' 14.0" P.A. 266.00 sep 4.6 mag 8.45,8.66 Sp G5 dist. 44.39 pc (144.8 l.y.)

STF2757 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent unequal close pair, white.  -26% PRO, it is not binary.
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.)

STF2753 AB: 152; 125x: White A, and wide B flashes with averted vision and then fades like an ember.  With time I can hold it direct.  -87% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 04m 57.74s +35° 25' 46.0" P.A. 335.00 sep 29.3 mag 7.38,10.74 Sp F0 dist. 277.78 pc (906.12 l.y.)

STF2758 AB: 152; 125x: Very bright, light orange, wide stars.  Strangely, Gaia is not returning any results for these stars.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 704-year period -- only 11.37 light years distant.  
21h 06m 53.95s +38° 44' 57.9" P.A. 154.00 sep 32.0 mag 5.35,6.10 Sp K5V+K7V dist. 3.49 pc (11.38 l.y.)

STF2759 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, unequal, wide.  -82% PRO, it is not binary.

21h 06m 27.66s +32° 27' 11.5" P.A. 334.00 sep 19.0 mag 8.72,10.06 Sp G5 dist. 65.36 pc (213.2 l.y.)

STF2760 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, well split.  -90% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 06m 46.78s +34° 07' 56.2" P.A. 33.00 sep 5.6 mag 7.90,8.74 Sp A4III dist. 137.17 pc (447.45 l.y.)

STF2762 AB: 152; 200x: Bright white A has a 2 Dm close companion, best seen with high power.  The pair is in a Sagitta-like asterism of other faint stars.  -9% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 08m 38.87s +30° 12' 20.5" P.A. 303.00 sep 3.3 mag 5.70,8.10 Sp B9V dist. 115.74 pc (377.54 l.y.)

STF2772 AB: 152: 125x: Faint, well split, 1 Dm, B seen averted vision then can hold direct.  -78% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 09m 54.83s +44° 21' 30.9" P.A. 224.00 sep 12.4 mag 9.51,10.93 Sp M1

STF2773 AB: 152; 200x: Excellent unequal closely separated pair, in a line of other stars of different magnitudes.  Seen with 125x but better viewed 200x.  1% PRO with the same error, 1,452 AU WS, 2.9+2.5 Msol, it is not likely binary.
21h 10m 14.01s +43° 59' 51.7" P.A. 112.00 sep 3.3 mag 8.46,9.09 Sp A0

STF2779 AB: 152; 125x: Equal, well split.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 14m 26.00s +29° 05' 08.5" P.A. 164.00 sep 15.1 mag 9.74,9.83 Sp F0

STF2785 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent pair, >1 Dm, dull yellow, closely split.  -14% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 17m 36.79s +39° 44' 46.1" P.A. 234.00 sep 2.9 mag 7.94,9.94 Sp F2V dist. 222.72 pc (726.51 l.y.)

HJ 1634 AB: 152; 125x: =STF2782. Wide, near equal.  -96% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 18m 17.00s +42° 44' 04.3" P.A. 143.00 sep 28.9 mag 9.32,9.53 Sp K0

STF2789 AB: 152; 125x: Near equal, white, wide.  98% PRO, 565 AU WS, 1.6+1.5 Msol, and the RVD 0.0 < EV 3.1, it certainly is physical, if not binary.  SOC grade 5 orbit, 18,000-year period (which seems rather outlandishly long).
21h 19m 58.84s +52° 58' 44.1" P.A. 113.00 sep 6.9 mag 7.71,7.87 Sp F8V

STF2792 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, well split, with medium power due to faintness.  -16% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 23m 05.00s +28° 57' 18.3" P.A. 331.00 sep 7.4 mag 9.19,10.63 Sp A7 dist. 246.91 pc (805.42 l.y.)

STF2800 AB: 152; 125x: Slightly unequal, well split.  -69% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 28m 43.09s +49° 52' 06.6" P.A. 254.00 sep 9.1 mag 9.50,10.41 Sp A5 dist. 444.44 pc (1449.76 l.y.)

STF2803 AB: 152; 125x: Very wide, 1 Dm.  -80% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 29m 52.95s +52° 56' 01.8" P.A. 285.00 sep 25.9 mag 7.24,9.60 Sp B9.5IV-V

STF2802 AB: 152; 125x: Very nice, slightly unequal.  -19% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 31m 48.94s +33° 48' 56.2" P.A. 9.00 sep 3.9 mag 8.60,8.70 Sp A5 dist. 214.13 pc (698.49 l.y.)

STF2808 AC: 152; 125x: 3 Dm, very wide.  -91% PRO, it is not binary.
21h 35m 45.75s +31° 00' 34.9" P.A. 286.00 sep 42.8 mag 8.06,11.07 Sp K1V dist. 279.33 pc (911.17 l.y.)

STF2814 AB: 152; 125x: Faint, 1 Dm, well split.  68% PRO, 2,971 AU WS, 2.5+1.8 Msol, and the RVD 1.3 < EV 1.6, it is likely binary and an orbit should be tried.
21h 38m 56.31s +36° 22' 53.0" P.A. 160.00 sep 8.1 mag 8.77,9.87 Sp F0 dist. 392.16 pc (1279.23 l.y.)

STF2820 AB: 152; 125x: Exceptionally fine and faint B, wide, much fainter than bright A.  B seen directly and it brightens with averted vision.  79% PRO, 2,766 AU WS, 2.3+1.1 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.
21h 42m 34.15s +42° 26' 26.5" P.A. 230.00 sep 16.0 mag 7.48,10.56 Sp A0 dist. 153.85 pc (501.86 l.y.)

STF2822 AB: 152; 125x: Excellent if very close split with seeing and >200x only, significant delta magnitude.  No Gaia parallax data for the secondary.  SOC grade 3 orbit 692-year period.
21h 44m 08.57s +28° 44' 33.4" P.A. 325.00 sep 1.6 mag 4.75,6.18 Sp F6V+G2V dist. 22.24 pc (72.55 l.y.)

STF2832 AB: 152; 125x: Wide near equal, rich field.  -1% PRO, it is not likely binary.

21h 49m 14.48s +50° 30' 54.2" P.A. 213.00 sep 13.2 mag 7.77,8.32 Sp B9IV dist. 152.44 pc (497.26 l.y.)

STF2829 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, wide.  -70% PRO, it is not binary.
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.)

STF2846 AB: 152; 125x: Wide nearly 1 Dm, B brightens with averted vision.  No Gaia parallax data for the primary.
21h 54m 49.88s +45° 47' 29.8" P.A. 266.00 sep 3.6 mag 8.43,10.30 Sp A0 dist. 74.74 pc (243.8 l.y.)

11 november 2023

Last night turned out to be a very satisfying night.  Seeing was predicted to be above average, and it was good enough to go after some fairly close pairs, but not for the movement pairs.  Rather than run through my Struve list I went through Burnhams, and they provided plenty challenge pairs which the night could still support.

Another special sight was Jupiter, which had an Io shadow transit.  The shadow was about midway when I first looked at it, a little behind the Great Red Spot.  There was a great swirl and eddies of bands around the spot, and I could see a redder/darker section of it.  Over the next half hour or so the Spot continued to move towards the limb and the round shadow caught up to it along its lower edge -- and by that time I could see the bright yellow-orange disk of Io, which I then watched slip past the limb into open sky. 

STF 331 AB: 508; 150x: Bright white A, wide unequal B.  98% PRO, 1,799 AU WS, 3.5+2.5 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 00m 52.18s +52° 21' 06.5" P.A. 85.00 sep 12.0 mag 5.21,6.17 Sp B7V+B9V dist. 140.65 pc (458.8 l.y.)

BU 1175 AB: 508; 1270x: Light orange A, B is blue due to its faintness, nearly 2 Dm.  Suspected as a brightening in A's diffraction at 635x, seen clearly split at high power with seeing with PA nearly due west. No Gaia data for the secondary.

03h 05m 46.39s +43° 42' 08.9" P.A. 275.00 sep 0.7 mag 7.23,8.80 Sp F5+A3 dist. 197.63 pc (644.67 l.y.)

BU  526 AB: 508; 150x: Algol.  B star not hard to pick out with low power, very wide.  No Gaia data.

03h 08m 10.13s +40° 57' 20.3" P.A. 156.00 sep 59.4 mag 2.11,12.70 Sp B8V dist. 27.57 pc (89.93 l.y.)

BU 1293 AB: 508; 280x: Delicate, white A and B is faint and grey, small, well split, like a ghost.  -1% PRO with the same error, 581 AU WS, 3.4+1.5 Msol, it is not likely binary.

02h 54m 00.98s +47° 09' 39.2" P.A. 350.00 sep 2.1 mag 6.81,10.45 Sp B9 dist. 194.55 pc (634.62 l.y.)

BU  788 AB: 508; 280x: A probably paired with another wide bright star.  AB is closely separated, 2 Dm, very pretty.  Split with low power, better >250x.  6% PRO with 2% error, 1,773 AU WS, 3.1+2.0 Msol, it probably is not binary.

03h 35m 14.22s +42° 35' 26.9" P.A. 303.00 sep 2.6 mag 8.97,11.07 Sp A0 dist. 869.57 pc (2836.54 l.y.)

BU  533 AB: 508; 280x: Fine pair, near equal.  -12% PRO, 103 AU WS, 1.6+1.7 Msol, it is not binary.

03h 35m 37.81s +31° 40' 48.7" P.A. 221.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.55,7.74 Sp F4V dist. 85.98 pc (280.47 l.y.)

BU  535 AB: 178; 560x: Atik.  B appears as a persistent brightening on A's diffraction ring, resolves to a point with seeing, much fainter than A.  No Gaia data for the secondary.

03h 44m 19.13s +32° 17' 17.7" P.A. 21.00 sep 1.0 mag 3.91,6.70 Sp B1III dist. 343.64 pc (1120.95 l.y.)

BU  880 AB: 508; 280x: Gorgeous hairline split, unequal.  Atik in the corner of the field.  No Gaia data for the secondary.

03h 44m 34.19s +32° 09' 46.2" P.A. 18.00 sep 0.6 mag 9.28,9.51 Sp B5V dist. 151.98 pc (495.76 l.y.)

BU  263 AB: 508; 500x: Resolved with seeing, slightly unequal light orange stars.  No Gaia data for the pair.

03h 56m 27.06s +33° 10' 57.7" P.A. 109.00 sep 0.6 mag 9.03,9.24 Sp F8

BU  546 AB: 508; 280x: Perfect near equal white stars, nice split.  50% PRO, 159 AU WS, 1.5+1.5 Msol, it is very likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 11m 26.98s +41° 51' 35.2" P.A. 230.00 sep 1.0 mag 9.31,9.39 Sp F8 dist. 319.49 pc (1042.18 l.y.)

BU  310 AB: 508; 150x: Easy wide pair.  -21% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 22m 00.26s +39° 56' 03.3" P.A. 173.00 sep 18.9 mag 7.10,12.62 Sp F8 dist. 54.56 pc (177.97 l.y.)

BU  789 AB: 508; 280x: Lovely unequal, close split, white. No Gaia data for the secondary.

04h 31m 33.56s +37° 39' 08.7" P.A. 323.00 sep 0.9 mag 8.70,9.42 Sp F8 dist. 81.43 pc (265.62 l.y.)

BU  306 AB: 508; 280x: Bright A and much fainter blue B, well separated.  Best seen >200x to separate B from white A's diffraction.  -1% PRO, it is not likely binary.

02h 43m 51.25s +25° 38' 18.0" P.A. 19.00 sep 2.9 mag 6.40,10.36 Sp A3V dist. 104.28 pc (340.16 l.y.)

BU  307 AB: 508; 150x: Wide, much fainter B.  -76% PRO, it is not binary.

02h 47m 38.61s +29° 40' 42.8" P.A. 316.00 sep 16.0 mag 7.11,11.60 Sp B7III dist. 350.88 pc (1144.57 l.y.)

BU  525 AB: 508; 500x: Lovely close split, unequal, white.  No Gaia data.

02h 58m 53.11s +21° 37' 03.9" P.A. 275.00 sep 0.5 mag 7.47,7.45 Sp A3 dist. 151.52 pc (494.26 l.y.)

18 october 2023 short period pairs

Another pretty good night, drier with better transparency, but seeing was not quite as good as the night before.  I went after pairs in lower parts of the sky since I had already covered most of the higher elevations.  I observed to 11:30pm, being very tired from the night before and having fairly well tapped out the list.

BU  270 AB: 508; 635x: Hairline split with seeing, very tough, B very small and faint.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 106.78-year period, it is rapidly closing to periastron and will likely not be detectible after a couple more years through 2050.  It will be for a future generation to visually observe it again.

21h 13m 27.24s +07° 13' 04.9" P.A. 342.00 sep 0.366 mag 7.42,9.40 Sp A7V dist. 95.6 pc (311.85 l.y.)

STF2737 AB: 508; 1690x: Appears single through all powers.  SOC grade 2 orbit 104-year period, it will be at apastron in 2030 and not be visually observable again until the 2040s. 

20h 59m 04.54s +04° 17' 37.8" P.A. 125.00 sep 0.108" mag 5.96,6.31 Sp F6IV dist. 54.08 pc (176.41 l.y.)

A  617 AB: 508; 1690x: Very weak out of round olive through all powers, appears weakest in the SW.  SOC grade 2 orbit, a mere 6.03-year period, it will have apastron in 2025 at 0.174" (I might be able to see notching!) then close very rapidly.  I observed a weakness in the shape which might indicate the stars are not of equal magnitude (?).

21h 21m 21.56s +10° 19' 56.6" P.A. 45.00 sep 0.118: mag 7.50,7.50 Sp F7V dist. 47.89 pc (156.22 l.y.)

HU  767 AB: 508; 1690x: Can only see as single through all powers.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 34.33-year period, it will reach ~0.2" apastron by the mid-2030s. 

21h 13m 28.77s +15° 58' 56.8" P.A. 183.00 sep 0.11" mag 7.05,7.13 Sp A5V dist. 87.64 pc (285.88 l.y.)

COU 542 Aa-Ab: 508; 1690x: Component of POU5764, Seen as single all powers.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 30.95-year period, it will widen to ~0.2" apastron in 2032, and I hope to resolve the bugger then.

22h 57m 02.47s +24° 40' 55.9" P.A. 121.00 sep 0.18" mag 9.29,9.93 Sp K0 dist. 88.97 pc (290.22 l.y.)

HO  296 AB: 508; 1690x: Can only see as single all powers.  SOC grade 1 orbit, it is closing to 2025 periastron and will reach a resolvable ~0.3" apastron by 2035. 

22h 40m 52.71s +14° 32' 57.5" P.A. 26.00 sep 0.196" mag 6.14,7.22 Sp G4V dist. 33.8 pc (110.26 l.y.)

STF2912 AB: 508; 1690x:  37 Peg.  Can only see as single at all powers -- likely because of the >1 delta magnitude.  SOC grade 2 nearly edge on orbit, 123.53-year period, it will widen slightly to 0.38" by 2032 then close rapidly, resolvable again in the mid 2030s.  

22h 29m 57.93s +04° 25' 54.1" P.A. 298.00 sep 0.279 mag 5.75,7.26 Sp F2V+F2V dist. 51.87 pc (169.2 l.y.)

STT 536 AB: 508; 1270x: Snowman, slightly unequal light orange stars, PA to NNW.  SOC grade 2 orbit, nearly edge-on, 26-year period, it will widen to 0.279" in 2026 then close rapidly, resolvable again through the 2030s.  

22h 58m 35.08s +09° 21' 24.6" P.A. 347.00 sep 0.203" mag 7.00,7.30 Sp G2V+G4V dist. 32.56 pc (106.21 l.y.)

 

17 october 2023 short period pairs

Seeing last night was finally as predicted: good to excellent.  There was some haze and dew, and I had some atmospsheric dispersion -00 Dec, so I kept my targets a bit higher.  I was able to push to the limits of the scope and observed many interesting pairs.  I also had exellent views of Saturn and Jupiter, which looked very turbulent -- and for the first time noticed albedo on Callisto and Ganymede.  I saw Rhea, Dione, Titan, and Enceladus, Saturn's moons.  Because I was still having trouble with Gen3, I reverted back to my Gen2 servocat and argo navis, and it worked fine.   Better to have everything working as it should than waste time fiddling.  I observed from 9:30 to 1:30am.

A  1427 AB: 508; 850-1010x: Component of STF 2667, which is an easy, well separated (3.5") 2 delta magnitude pair, light orange A and blue B.  The Aitken appeared as a very slight bump with ESE PA, only at high power.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 82.61-year period, it is headed toward periastron and won't be detectable again until 2040.  Aitken discovered with the Lick 36-inch at apastron 0.3".

20h 20m 15.22s +39° 24' 11.8" P.A. 132.00 sep 0.146" mag 6.57,8.17 Sp A2V+A5V dist. 180.51 pc (588.82 l.y.)

STT 387 AB: 508; 635x: Very pretty light orange stars, 1 delta mag, split at 635x and suspected at lower powers, PA due east.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 165-year period, it will make nearly a quarter turn to and widen north by 2045.

19h 48m 43.81s +35° 18' 41.3" P.A. 94.00 sep 0.426" mag 7.12,7.90 Sp F6V dist. 63.69 pc (207.76 l.y.)

KUI  94 AB: 508; 1690x: In best seeing, which is maybe one instant in 30 seconds, I see two disks overlapping as a snowman, highly unequal, maybe 2 delta mag, PA ENE.  SOC grade 3 orbit which puts it over 0.4" -- I think this estimate is incorrect, if it was that far apart I would have split it with lower magnification.  I guess the current actual is closer to 0.2" based on my result.  I would not put much stock in my PA estimate, I am often not precise (visually estimated by drift method).  Last measure was in 2014, and this deserves an update.

19h 41m 57.63s +40° 15' 14.6" P.A. 158.00 sep 0.448" mag 6.50,7.80 Sp A6V dist. 81.57 pc (266.08 l.y.)

KUI 103 AB: 508; 635x: A is light red color, B is very faint B is noticed with averted vision then can hold, tough in the humid conditions, PA ENE.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 28.9-year period, it seems to be widening to the east, and should be an easier target for the next 10-15 years.

21h 00m 05.49s +40° 04' 12.3" P.A. 58.00 sep 1.0 mag 10.49,12.40 Sp M2V+M0.5V dist. 15.29 pc (49.88 l.y.)

BU  989 AB: 508; 1690x: Seen at all high powers as an elongated olive with PA ESE.  SOC grade 1 orbit, it will tighten to <0.1" periastron in 2026, then widen to ~0.25" apastron in 2033.

21h 44m 38.70s +25° 38' 42.0" P.A. 134.00 sep 0.237" mag 4.94,5.04 Sp F5V dist. 34.22 pc (111.63 l.y.)

STT 38 BC: 508; 635x: Component of STF 205 (Almach), to me this is the easily the most beautuful binary star in the sky.  Brilliant orange A, and a vivid blue B which becomes a 1 delta mag pair hairline split >600x, both stars blue.  Think of a more closely separated Alberio but where the companion is also a stunning pair.  STT 38 has a grade 2 SOC orbit, 62.63-year period, and is widening to 0.5" apastron in 2048.

02h 03m 53.92s +42° 19' 47.5" P.A. 120.00 sep 0.3 mag 5.30,6.50 Sp B8V+A0V dist. 120.48 pc (393.01 l.y.)

EGG 2 Aa-Ab: 508; 1690x: Component of STF 245 AB, I observed it as "feels elongated in the same N-S line as the STF pair."  Checking the data later, the PA for STF 245 is 293-degrees (WNW) and EGG 2 is 97 (ESE), so I'm fairly sure I have it.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 29.71-year period, it is to reach 0.246" apastron in 2028.  I felt it was more difficult than the current given 0.228" separation, so this is another one which needs to be measured (last measure was in 2014).

02h 18m 36.27s +40° 16' 43.7" P.A. 97.00 sep 0.228" mag 7.90,7.90 Sp F3V dist. 97.47 pc (317.95 l.y.)

A  2906 AB: 508; 1270x: "The primary has a bump, slightly off line of the main pair's PA, very tough."  The main pair is STF 314 which has PA 316-degrees.  A 2906 has a 2018 measure PA at 115-degrees, so I think I do have it (316-180=136, which is 21-degrees off the A 2906's line).  Given this is >1 delta magnitude, I don't think I could have resolved it any better than a "bump."

02h 52m 52.03s +52° 59' 50.6" P.A. 115.00 sep 0.237" mag 7.26,8.78 Sp B8III dist. 307.69 pc (1003.68 l.y.)

STT  53 AB: 508; 850x: Gorgeous light orange stars, good clean split at 850x, perfect airy disks, unequal by half a delta mag.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 114.3-years, it will rapidly close to periastron around 2040.

03h 17m 44.01s +38° 38' 21.1" P.A. 232.00 sep 0.518" mag 7.73,8.50 Sp G0 dist. 60.1 pc (196.05 l.y.)

A  1710 AB: 508; 500x: Lovely near equal light orange stars, well split.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 109.5-year period, it will close to a challenging 0.25" separation by 2045.

04h 06m 25.49s +43° 25' 05.4" P.A. 307.00 sep 0.584" mag 8.16,8.27 Sp G5 dist. 69.2 pc (225.73 l.y.)

STF 228 AB: 508; 850x: Perfect airy disks. light yellow-white unequal stars, split nicely.  SOG grade 2 orbit, nearly circular, 145.41-year period, it will make a quarter turn by 2045.

02h 14m 02.43s +47° 29' 03.3" P.A. 314.00 sep 0.497" mag 6.56,7.21 Sp F2V+F7V dist. 39.59 pc (129.14 l.y.)

A  655 AB: 508; 1690x: Very weak olive elongation at all high powers, PA seems to the north.   SOC grade 3 orbit, 153-year period, slightly oval orbit will make a quarter turn by 2045.

01h 11m 14.56s +41° 13' 17.3" P.A. 5.00 sep 0.231" mag 8.35,9.36 Sp G5 dist. 116.28 pc (379.31 l.y.)

STF3062 AB: 508; 150x: Super easy light yellow stars, more than 1 delta mag, PA to the north.  SOC grade 2 orbit, 106.7-year period, it will tighten to ~0.8" a quarter turn to the east by 2045.  

00h 06m 15.81s +58° 26' 12.5" P.A. 7.00 sep 1.5 mag 6.42,7.32 Sp G3V+G8V dist. 21.48 pc (70.07 l.y.)