3 december 2024

Conditions were to be the same as the night before, with good seeing and hazy, but workable, transparency.  I decided to open my 20-inch but when I went out after finishing the evening chores found the mirror had dewed over.  Probably just staying too cold during the day.  I decided to close up and planned to wash it the following day.  I uncovered the 6-inch and proceeded to observe more CDSA objects like the night before.  I didn't have any alignment issues and logged many items before taking a break at 9:00pm.  I continued until 11:00pm and logged more than 75 observations in all!  I essentially stayed in the same RA and just went down the list, moving the scope primarily in Dec.  The setting circles were dialed in so I could have the binaries in the high-powered field -- it was very efficient.   Had a quick view of the Trapezium at the end: E & F showed plainly, and each star in the field floated in the nebulous turbulence with perfect disks and nice round diffraction rings.  

AG   67 AB: 152; 150x: White A, wide 3 Dm B seen with averted vision and could then hold.  66% PRO, 4,590 AU WS, 2.7+1.1 Msol, but the RVD 4.2 > EV 1.2, it is not binary.

03h 28m 57.21s +40° 11' 11.3" P.A. 349.00 sep 23.5 mag 7.49,10.37 Sp G5

AG   68 AB: 152; 150x: White stars, very faint wide B.  31% PRO, 2,029 AU WS, 2.2+1.1 Msol, but RVD 2.5 > EV 1.7, it is not binary.

03h 32m 11.94s +11° 32' 32.7" P.A. 249.00 sep 16.9 mag 6.79,9.87 Sp A1V dist. 220.26 pc (718.49 l.y.)

BGH   2 AB: 152; 150x: Superwide, 2 Dm. -85% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 29m 30.35s +17° 51' 47.4" P.A. 9.00 sep 109.5 mag 6.95,9.06 Sp G5 dist. 46.4 pc (151.36 l.y.)

BU 12 AB: 152; 200x: Easy white A and faint blue B, split with 150x but better seen 200x.  -7% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 24m 24.60s -13° 59' 34.6" P.A. 281.00 sep 2.4 mag 7.02,9.13 Sp A2V dist. 197.24 pc (643.4 l.y.)

BU 84 AB: 152; 250x: Excellent close split high power, nearly 1 Dm.  No Gaia data for the secondary.  SOC grade 5 orbit, 1130-year period, anyone's guess.

03h 16m 00.86s -05° 55' 07.3" P.A. 7.00 sep 1.0 mag 6.38,7.93 Sp B9V dist. 201.61 pc (657.65 l.y.)

BU 88 AB: 152; 150x: Wide B seen with averted vision, then can hold.  -89% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 37m 36.13s -02° 28' 24.7" P.A. 75.00 sep 28.9 mag 5.22,11.80 Sp F0V dist. 29.43 pc (96 l.y.)

BU 184 AB: 152; 150x: Pretty yellow-white stars, unequal, close split with low power.  11% PRO, 218 AU WS, 2.0+1.8 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit tried.

04h 27m 55.32s -21° 30' 14.8" P.A. 248.00 sep 1.9 mag 7.40,7.70 Sp F6V dist. 100.7 pc (328.48 l.y.)

BU 401 AB: 152; 150x: Very faint wide B seen averted vision only.  3% PRO, 203 AU WS, 1.5+0.6 Msol, RVD 2.9 < EV 4.3, there is a small chance it's binary and an orbit should be tried.

03h 50m 16.10s -01° 31' 21.5" P.A. 253.00 sep 4.6 mag 6.54,10.51 Sp F2 dist. 43.67 pc (142.45 l.y.)

BU 527 AB: 152; 250x: Very finely split at 150x, better seen 250x, faint 1 Dm pair.  -69% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 06m 04.02s -13° 26' 05.5" P.A. 99.00 sep 1.4 mag 8.20,8.88 Sp F5V dist. 124.38 pc (405.73 l.y.)

BU  532 AB: 152; 250x: 3 Dm B seen averted vision only, very closely split.  -58% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 33m 15.55s -10° 03' 35.8" P.A. 270.00 sep 3.3 mag 8.61,12.11 Sp F2 dist. 185.19 pc (604.09 l.y.)

BU 749 AB: 152; 250x: Very finely split, 1 Dm, bluish B, very nice.  -68% PRO, it is not binary.

05h 07m 30.67s +55° 32' 24.2" P.A. 241.00 sep 1.3 mag 7.54,9.22 Sp F8 dist. 142.45 pc (464.67 l.y.)

The following three pairs are part of a very pretty group of stars in Taurus, which I saw as a whole in the 60mm scope.  BUP 62 is in the center of this Aladin screengrab, the bright star and the 3 Dm to its NNW.  ARN 36 is the bright pair with the companion to the SW.  STF 554 is the closely separated pair of this companion (and the only true binary of the group).  The second Aladin image shows the CPM of the stars.  Obviously, they formed in the same dust cloud and cluster, but most are to far apart to be gravitationally bound.

BUP  62 CH: 152; 125x: Super wide 3 Dm.  -94% PRO, it is not binary (but shares similar CPM).

04h 30m 38.83s +15° 41' 30.0" P.A. 339.00 sep 162.3 mag 5.48,8.94 Sp Am dist. 44.92 pc (146.53 l.y.)

ARN 36 CI: 152: 125x: 81 and 80 Tau, wide bright near equal.  -52% PRO, it is not binary (but is CPM)

04h 30m 38.83s +15° 41' 30.0" P.A. 246.00 sep 484.5 mag 5.48,5.70 Sp Am dist. 44.92 pc (146.53 l.y.)

STF 554 AB: 152; 250x: Delicate, 1 Dm close split.  15% PRO, 78 AU WS, 1.8+1.1 Msol, it is binary.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 172.5-year period, it will tighten in the same PA to less than 1" in the next 20 years.

04h 30m 08.60s +15° 38' 16.2" P.A. 15.00 sep 1.4 mag 5.70,8.12 Sp F0V+G0V dist. 45.83 pc (149.5 l.y.)

STTA45 AB: 60; 40x: 1 Dm, super wide.  77% PRO, 1,420 AU WS, 1.1+0.9 Msol, and RVD 0.5 < EV 1.6, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 15m 28.86s +06° 11' 13.6" P.A. 316.00 sep 64.6 mag 6.38,7.01 Sp G0IV+G3V dist. 21.33 pc (69.58 l.y.)

HJ  346 AB: 152; 125x: 4 Dm, super wide.  -43% PRO, 4,083 AU WS, 2.5+0.7 Msol, and the RVD 4.2 > EV 1.2, it is not binary.

04h 41m 19.76s +28° 36' 53.9" P.A. 55.00 sep 43.2 mag 5.73,10.72 Sp A2V dist. 116.96 pc (381.52 l.y.)

HJ  689 AB: 152; 150x: 3 Dm, wide.  -55% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 58m 10.90s -02° 12' 46.0" P.A. 277.00 sep 20.9 mag 6.35,11.90 Sp A2V dist. 133.33 pc (434.92 l.y.)

HJ 1139 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, super wide.  42% PRO, 6,448 AU WS, 2.0+1.2 Msol, but RVD 1.8 > EV 0.9, it is not binary.

03h 51m 43.79s +70° 30' 29.1" P.A. 177.00 sep 47.2 mag 7.52,9.61 Sp A3 dist. 147.71 pc (481.83 l.y.)

HJ 3548 AB: 152; 150x: Wide B seen with averted vision only.  -3% PRO, 722 AU WS, 1.4+0.6 Msol, but RVD 3.3 > EV 2.2, it is not binary.

03h 03m 47.04s -21° 21' 41.2" P.A. 125.00 sep 12.2 mag 7.54,11.17 Sp K0V dist. 58.31 pc (190.21 l.y.)

HJ 3555 AB: 152; 150x: Low to the horizon with shaky seeing, light-yellow stars, A bright and 4 Dm wide B.  -23% PRO, it would not seem to be binary.  Only 70 AU WS, however, 1.5+0.8 Msol, and RVD 2.5 < EV 7.6, and there is a SOC grade 3 orbit 268-year period which convincingly shows an orbit, it should be binary.  I think if the other data besides parallax are in favor, it should tip the scale toward binarity.

03h 12m 04.53s -28° 59' 15.4" P.A. 301.00 sep 5.4 mag 3.98,7.19 Sp F8V dist. 14.24 pc (46.45 l.y.)

HJ 3572 AB: 152; 150x: Faint unequal pair, well separated.  -33% PRO, 1,789 AU WS, 1.4+1.3 Msol, and RVD 0.3 < EV 1.6.  It is not likely binary given the parallax.

03h 23m 57.29s -26° 12' 58.1" P.A. 95.00 sep 20.7 mag 8.24,8.53 Sp F4V+F4V dist. 105.93 pc (345.54 l.y.)

HJ 3632 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, well separated.  94% PRO, 1,721 AU WS, 2.0+1.3 Msol, and RVD 1.4 < EV 1.9, it is binary and needs an orbit.

04h 15m 06.08s -30° 04' 19.0" P.A. 163.00 sep 11.0 mag 7.78,9.68 Sp A0V dist. 140.25 pc (457.5 l.y.)

HJ 5461 AB: 152; 150x: Very wide B is 4 Dm to A, seen direct but brightens with averted vision.  10% PRO, 3,504 AU WS, 3.0+1.0 Msol, there is a possibility it is binary, and an orbit should be tried.

04h 34m 37.99s +28° 57' 40.1" P.A. 102.00 sep 25.3 mag 5.87,10.32 Sp B9pHg dist. 148.81 pc (485.42 l.y.)

LDS  93 AB: 60; 40x: 1 Dm, wide, best seen in the 60mm. Both stars have planets!  HD20782, HD20781.  They share a very high common proper motion slightly off in both RA and Dec, but there is -30% PRO, 9,087 AU WS (a bit too far apart), 1.1+0.9 Msol, and RVD 0.9 > EV 0.6, it's not binary.  Interesting optical pair.

03h 20m 03.58s -28° 51' 14.7" P.A. 358.00 sep 253.0 mag 7.44,8.54 Sp G1.5V+G9V dist. 35.37 pc (115.38 l.y.)

LDS2246 AB: 60; 40x: Super wide, more than 1 Dm.  Only 4% PRO but a whopping 11,210 AU WS, 2.2+1.5 Msol, and RVD 1.3 > EV 0.8, it is not binary. 

04h 30m 33.63s +16° 11' 38.5" P.A. 131.00 sep 250.3 mag 4.78,6.54 Sp A6IV dist. 43.2 pc (140.92 l.y.)

OPI 5 AC 60; 40x: Component of HJ 1146 AB, PA to NNE, which actually has a closer separation, though fainter star (and is not binary, -96% PRO).  OPI 5 is PS to WNW, 1 Dm wide in the 60mm.  -62% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 38m 08.93s +71° 28' 12.0" P.A. 279.00 sep 111.9 mag 7.67,8.50 Sp A2 dist. 184.84 pc (602.95 l.y.)

S   430 AB: 152; 150x Unequal, super wide.  41% PRO, 5,773 AU WS, 2.2+2.0 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

03h 38m 18.83s +44° 48' 06.5" P.A. 96.00 sep 41.0 mag 7.21,7.53 Sp A0 dist. 152.67 pc (498.01 l.y.)

S   436 AB: 60; 40x: Unequal, super wide.  1% PRO but with 2.3% error, 9,679 AU WS, 2.8+2.4 Msol.  Given the mass there may be some possibility it's binary, and orbit should be tried.

03h 49m 19.76s +57° 07' 05.8" P.A. 76.00 sep 58.3 mag 6.46,7.17 Sp B9V+A0V dist. 148.59 pc (484.7 l.y.)

S   457 AB: 152; 125x: Super wide, near equal. -65% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 53m 04.82s -01° 16' 32.8" P.A. 355.00 sep 41.0 mag 7.93,8.07 Sp A dist. 181.16 pc (590.94 l.y.)

S   463 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, super wide.  -24% PRO, and RVD 2.7 > EV 0.9, it is not binary. 

05h 01m 47.66s +11° 22' 31.0" P.A. 29.00 sep 32.5 mag 7.18,10.13 Sp B8 dist. 465.12 pc (1517.22 l.y.)

SHJ 45 AB: 60; 40x: 3 Dm, super wide.  19% PRO, 3,684 AU WS, 2.7+1.2 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

04h 35m 39.23s +10° 09' 39.3" P.A. 300.00 sep 69.2 mag 4.27,7.84 Sp A5m dist. 47.89 pc (156.22 l.y.)

SHJ  49 AB 60; 40x: Nearly 2 Dm, wide.  23% PRO, but a very wide 14,864 AU WS, 4.7+3.3, it would be surprising if it's binary, but an orbit should be tried.  AC has 70% PRO, an even more extreme 21,203 AU WS, 4.7+2.1 Msol, and an orbit should be tried.  Perhaps the mass of the system is enough to maintain the large separation in AU.

04h 58m 59.41s +14° 32' 35.7" P.A. 306.00 sep 39.3 mag 6.06,7.43 Sp B7V dist. 349.65 pc (1140.56 l.y.)

STF 312 AB: 152; 250x: Finely split at 150x, better seen at 250x, 1 Dm.  -36% PRO, it is not binary, in spite of the SOC grade 5 orbit.  AC is fainter, wider, and forms a near right angle in PA (but does not share any parallax with the other two, not binary). 

02h 56m 11.32s +72° 53' 10.4" P.A. 48.00 sep 1.7 mag 8.16,8.92 Sp G0 dist. 65.96 pc (215.16 l.y.)

STF 320 AB; 152; 200x: Light-yellow, bright, 4 Dm well separated B.  24% PRO, 1,102 AU WS, 5.0+1.7 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

03h 06m 07.84s +79° 25' 06.7" P.A. 232.00 sep 4.6 mag 5.72,9.15 Sp M2.5III dist. 211.86 pc (691.09 l.y.)

STF 326 AB: 152; 150x: Pale orange stars, 2 Dm, well separated.  At the apex of an equilateral triangle, and the colors are richer with higher magnifications.  -28% PRO, though only 119 AU WS, 0.8+0.5 Msol, RVD 1.5 < EV 4.5.  SOC does not enough orbital elements to create a solution... but it is not likely binary given the parallax.

02h 55m 39.06s +26° 52' 23.6" P.A. 221.00 sep 4.6 mag 7.68,10.02 Sp K2IV+M0V dist. 23.49 pc (76.62 l.y.)

STF 330 AB: 152; 150x: Pale yellow stars, 2 Dm, well separated.  33% PRO, 1,362 AU WS, 2.4+1.3 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

02h 57m 10.61s -00° 34' 28.3" P.A. 192.00 sep 8.9 mag 7.25,9.06 Sp G8III dist. 186.92 pc (609.73 l.y.)

STF 333 AB: 152; 250x: Perfect star images, 1 Dm, clean split with 250x. No Gaia data for the secondary.  SOC grade 4 orbit, it should tighten moderately over the next 20 years.

02h 59m 12.73s +21° 20' 25.6" P.A. 210.00 sep 1.3 mag 5.17,5.57 Sp A2Vs+A2Vs dist. 101.94 pc (332.53 l.y.)

STF 334 AB: 152; 250x: Very fine close split, 1 Dm, white stars, suspect double at 150x, well seen 250x.  -1% PRO, it is not likely binary.

02h 59m 22.44s +06° 39' 07.8" P.A. 307.00 sep 1.1 mag 7.90,8.23 Sp F0 dist. 125.16 pc (408.27 l.y.)

STF 341 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm, wide.  -74% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 03m 01.79s -02° 05' 11.2" P.A. 221.00 sep 8.7 mag 7.57,9.97 Sp F5 dist. 53.33 pc (173.96 l.y.)

STF 349 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm, wide.  23% PRO, 463 AU WS, 1.4+1.2 Msol, it might be binary and needs an orbit.

03h 10m 50.30s +63° 47' 15.6" P.A. 322.00 sep 5.9 mag 7.92,8.59 Sp F5V dist. 84.18 pc (274.6 l.y.)

STF 367 AB: 152; 250x: Very fine close split, unequal.  No Gaia parallax for the secondary. SOC grade 3 orbit, 370-year period.  Little change the next 20 years.

03h 14m 02.91s +00° 44' 21.3" P.A. 129.00 sep 1.3 mag 8.14,8.17 Sp F8 dist. 65.75 pc (214.48 l.y.)

STF 401 AB: 152; 150x: Equal, wide white stars.  51% PRO, 1,177 AU WS, 2.1+2.0 Msol, and RVD 0.3 < EV 2.5, it is very likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 31m 20.76s +27° 34' 18.5" P.A. 270.00 sep 11.5 mag 6.58,6.93 Sp A2V dist. 97.47 pc (317.95 l.y.)

STF 406 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal, wide.  40% PRO, 1,374 AU WS, 2.1+1.4 Msol, and RVD 1.9 < EV 2.1, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 30m 47.66s +05° 09' 09.5" P.A. 126.00 sep 9.2 mag 7.56,9.33 Sp F0 dist. 182.48 pc (595.25 l.y.)

STF 479 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, well separated, with a faint third.  -47% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 00m 56.81s +23° 12' 05.4" P.A. 127.00 sep 7.5 mag 6.92,7.76 Sp B9V dist. 328.95 pc (1073.03 l.y.)

STF 541 152; 150x, CD the only challenging pair, well separated near equal faint stars, but -25% PRO, it is not binary.  AB is noted as "parallax indicates as physical, with 339" separation!   Kap02 Tau is it's secondary, but there is -56% PRO, it is not binary, CPM only.

04h 25m 23.28s +22° 14' 38.0" P.A. 329.00 sep 5.5 mag 10.60,10.00

STF 550 AB: 60; 40x: 1 Dm, wide. -19% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 32m 01.84s +53° 54' 39.0" P.A. 308.00 sep 10.4 mag 5.78,6.82 Sp B0III dist. 217.39 pc (709.13 l.y.)

STF 552 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, white, wide.  48% PRO, 2,663 AU WS, 3.5+3.2 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

04h 31m 24.10s +40° 00' 36.7" P.A. 116.00 sep 9.0 mag 6.78,7.18 Sp B8V dist. 369 pc (1203.68 l.y.)

STF 559 AB: 152; 150x: White near equal stars, well split.  -53% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 33m 33.04s +18° 01' 00.2" P.A. 275.00 sep 3.1 mag 6.97,7.02 Sp B9IVn dist. 134.23 pc (437.86 l.y.)

STF 560 AB: 152; 150x: 3 Dm, very wide.  39% PRO, 2,911 AU WS, 2.3+1.1 Msol, but RVD 2.5 > EV 1.4, it is not binary.  

04h 31m 25.85s -13° 38' 39.2" P.A. 45.00 sep 29.6 mag 6.26,9.33 Sp A2V dist. 112.87 pc (368.18 l.y.)

STF 562 AB: 152; 150x: Excellent close pair, suspected with 150x, best split at 250x, very faint bluish B closely separated from white A. -60% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 34m 45.44s +22° 41' 32.3" P.A. 285.00 sep 1.8 mag 6.82,9.94 Sp F5III dist. 159.49 pc (520.26 l.y.)

STF 565 AB: 152; 200x: Very finely separated, >1 Dm bluish B.  -18% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 38m 07.16s +42° 07' 02.1" P.A. 167.00 sep 1.4 mag 7.68,9.13 Sp K0

STF 570 AB: 152; 150x: White stars, 1 Dm, wide.  -70% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 35m 14.12s -09° 44' 10.9" P.A. 260.00 sep 12.8 mag 6.71,7.64 Sp A1m dist. 62.5 pc (203.88 l.y.)

STF 576 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal wide.  -44% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 37m 59.75s -13° 01' 44.0" P.A. 172.00 sep 12.3 mag 7.33,7.85 Sp B9.5IV dist. 118.2 pc (385.57 l.y.)

STF 584 AB: 152; 125x: 2 Dm wide B seen with averted vision then can hold. -17% PRO, it is not binary. 

04h 50m 05.46s +66° 32' 07.2" P.A. 123.00 sep 12.0 mag 7.61,9.40 Sp K0 dist. 250 pc (815.5 l.y.)

STF 590 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal wide.  -20% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 43m 35.17s -08° 47' 46.4" P.A. 318.00 sep 9.3 mag 6.74,6.78 Sp G5III dist. 653.59 pc (2132.01 l.y.)

STF 612 AB: 152; 150x: Slightly unequal wide.  43% PRO, 478 AU WS, 0.8+0.8 Msol, and RVD 0.1 < EV 2.5, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 54m 16.64s +07° 22' 22.9" P.A. 200.00 sep 16.0 mag 8.33,8.41 Sp K0

STF 616 AB: 152; 150x: White A and light-yellow B, well separated, 4 Dm.  4% PRO, 241 AU WS, 2.2+1.1 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit tried.

04h 59m 15.41s +37° 53' 24.9" P.A. 5.00 sep 4.7 mag 5.00,8.21 Sp A1V dist. 52.27 pc (170.5 l.y.)

STF 618 AB: 152; 150x: Near equal, wide.  -12% PRO, 1,053 AU WS, 1.0+0.9 Msol, and RVD 0.3 < EV 1.8.  There is a small chance it's binary, an orbit should be tried.

05h 03m 33.31s +63° 05' 09.3" P.A. 211.00 sep 33.3 mag 7.68,7.98 Sp G0 dist. 32.16 pc (104.91 l.y.)

STF 623 AB: 152; 150x:  2 Dm wide.  -54% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 59m 53.75s +27° 19' 32.2" P.A. 206.00 sep 20.5 mag 6.98,8.72 Sp B7V+A0V dist. 401.61 pc (1310.05 l.y.)

STF 631 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm, wide.  -20% PRO, it is not binary.

05h 00m 40.53s -13° 30' 13.3" P.A. 107.00 sep 5.8 mag 7.49,8.77 Sp A0 dist. 348.43 pc (1136.58 l.y.)

STF 636 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm, wide.  37% PRO, 681 AU WS, 2.6+1.8 Msol, it is probably binary and needs an orbit.

05h 03m 01.95s -08° 39' 47.4" P.A. 104.00 sep 3.7 mag 7.11,8.52 Sp A0V dist. 188.32 pc (614.3 l.y.)

STF 642 AC: 152; 150x: Very faint, very wide B with averted vision, then can hold direct.  No Gaia parallax data for the companion.  An orbit could be tried to test it.

05h 06m 45.65s -04° 39' 18.6" P.A. 10.00 sep 52.2 mag 5.12,10.80 Sp B9V+A1V dist. 94.7 pc (308.91 l.y.)

STFA  7 AB: 152; 150x: 1 Dm super wide.  -54% PRO, it is not binary. 

03h 31m 03.47s +27° 43' 53.6" P.A. 234.00 sep 44.1 mag 7.41,7.81 Sp B9 dist. 120.05 pc (391.6 l.y.)

STFA 10 AB: 60; 40x: Bright stars, super wide.  -59% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 28m 39.74s +15° 52' 15.2" P.A. 347.00 sep 336.9 mag 3.41,3.94 Sp A7III dist. 46.1 pc (150.38 l.y.)

STT  49 AB: 152; 200x: Very faint B outside of A's diffraction ring, reminds me of the brighter and smaller/fainter galaxies of M51.  -12% PRO, it is not likely binary.

03h 00m 31.51s +18° 00' 18.1" P.A. 48.00 sep 2.3 mag 6.80,9.92 Sp A0 dist. 122.4 pc (399.27 l.y.)

STT  67 AB: 152; 200x: Light orange stars, B very faint and very closely split, just outside A's diffraction ring.  7% PRO, 524 AU WS, 6.2+2.6, and RVD 3.3 < EV 5.4, is it possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.

03h 57m 08.32s +61° 06' 32.2" P.A. 49.00 sep 1.7 mag 5.25,8.06 Sp K3I-II dist. 448.43 pc (1462.78 l.y.)

STT  68 AB: 152; 150x: Wide near equal.  48% PRO, wide 11,385 AU WS, 2.8+1.9 Msol, it could be binary and an orbit should be tried.

03h 59m 44.66s +48° 09' 04.6" P.A. 176.00 sep 39.1 mag 7.78,9.22 Sp B9 dist. 259.74 pc (847.27 l.y.)

STT  71: 152; 380x: Tantalizingly too close to resolve, appears as two photocenters in the olive shape, B is hazy due to faintness.  No Gaia parallax data for the secondary.  An orbit should be tried to test it.

04h 06m 55.82s +33° 26' 47.0" P.A. 229.00 sep 0.7 mag 6.86,8.66 Sp B3V+B5V: dist. 291.55 pc (951.04 l.y.)

STT  84 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, well separated.  -36% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 31m 04.08s +06° 47' 28.7" P.A. 255.00 sep 9.5 mag 7.23,8.11 Sp K0IV dist. 84.1 pc (274.33 l.y.)

STT  90 AB: 152; 250x: Lovely close split, white A, bluish B, 2 Dm.  -4% PRO, 220 AU WS, 2.1+1.4 Msol, there is a small change it is binary, an orbit should be tried to test it. 

04h 54m 56.38s +08° 36' 00.0" P.A. 339.00 sep 1.8 mag 7.04,9.00 Sp A0 dist. 145.14 pc (473.45 l.y.)

STT  92 AB: 152; 200x: 3 Dm, wide.  -17% PRO, it is not binary.

05h 00m 18.35s +39° 23' 40.9" P.A. 285.00 sep 4.1 mag 6.02,9.50 Sp F5V dist. 59.74 pc (194.87 l.y.)

STT  95 AB: 152; 250x: Unequal, hairline split, white stars.  No Gaia parallax data for the companion.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 760-year period. 

05h 05m 32.08s +19° 48' 24.4" P.A. 293.00 sep 0.9 mag 7.02,7.56 Sp A5m dist. 137.74 pc (449.31 l.y.)

STT  98 AB: 152; 250x: Beautiful hairline split, unequal, perfect star images.  No Gaia parallax data for either star.  SOC grade 2, nearly circular orbit, 197-year period, it will make a 1/8th turn to the WSW by 2040. 

05h 07m 52.89s +08° 29' 54.3" P.A. 280.00 sep 1.0 mag 5.76,6.67 Sp F0p dist. 64.64 pc (210.86 l.y.)

STTA 36 A-BC: 152; 125: 1 Dm, super wide. -90% PRO, they are not binary.  BC is HU 1062, 8.8/9.3 0.2" and, while lacking Gaia parallax data for the companion, is likely binary because of its closeness.  Interestingly, Gaia has an 11.53 magnitude star 1.3" separated from A, which is not in the WDS, but which is -85% PRO and not binary.  

03h 39m 58.81s +63° 52' 13.4" P.A. 71.00 sep 45.9 mag 6.92,8.27 Sp F5V+G8V dist. 42.52 pc (138.7 l.y.)

STTA 40 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, super wide.  -42% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 49m 21.74s +24° 22' 51.8" P.A. 309.00 sep 86.8 mag 6.58,7.53 Sp B9.5V dist. 122.25 pc (398.78 l.y.)

STTA 44 AB: 152; 125x: Unequal, super wide. 36% PRO, very wide 62,201 AU WS, 6.3+5.2 Msol, it is too far weighted separation to be binary. 

04h 17m 19.77s +46° 13' 03.6" P.A. 321.00 sep 58.6 mag 7.12,7.99 Sp A2 dist. 1492.54 pc (4868.67 l.y.)

STTA 53 AB: 152; 125x: 1 Dm, super wide.  14% PRO, 4,976 AU WS, 1.4+1.4 Msol, and RVD 0.0 < EV 1.0, it is possibly binary and an orbit should be tried.

04h 37m 26.72s +00° 33' 11.2" P.A. 352.00 sep 78.8 mag 7.55,7.57 Sp G5 dist. 66.14 pc (215.75 l.y.)

2 december 2024

Quite the night on the 6-inch refractor.  Transparency hurt by the typical winter haze, but at least it did not dew over.  The seeing was quite good, constantly improving through the night.  I wasted some time dealing with alignment issues, but even with that I recorded more than 50 observations before closing up at 11:30pm.  Also had views of Jupiter, Rigel (BC, hinted at with high power), the Orion nebula, and Mars -- where I could see some dark markings and a polar ice cap, but little else.

BU    9 AB: 152; 250x: High power only, 2 Dm B appears as a brightening on A's diffraction ring.  No Gaia data for B.  SOC grade 5 orbit, 616-year period.

02h 47m 03.60s +35° 33' 17.3" P.A. 217.00 sep 0.9 mag 6.42,8.64 Sp F0IV dist. 50.61 pc (165.09 l.y.)

BU   87 AB: 152; 250x: Light orange star, with seeing very faint B appears as a solid point of light just outside of A's diffraction ring.  -9% PRO with 3.5% error, 981 AU WS, 6.6+3.1 Msol, it is not likely to be binary. Burnham noted the color as "A fine colored pair, J gives golden:blue" but also "the components are evidentially fixed" 

04h 22m 22.74s +20° 49' 16.4" P.A. 168.00 sep 1.9 mag 6.21,8.60 Sp B3V+K3II dist. 714.29 pc (2330.01 l.y.)

BU  310 AB: 152; 200x: Wide B seen with averted vision.  -21% PRO, it is not binary.  Burnham himself called it "fixed."

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  533 AB: 152; 250x: Just split with 250x, slightly unequal. -12% PRO 1% error, 103 AU WS, 1.6+1.7 Msol, it is not likely binary -- in spite of the SOC grade 4 orbit of 463-years.

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: 152; 250x: Difficult, with seeing, a solid form steady on A's diffraction ring, high power only. No Gaia data for B.  

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  547 AB: 152; 250x: At best moments of seeing only, light yellow-orange A and B at A's diffraction ring.  No Gaia data for B.  It would be worth to try an orbit.

04h 13m 56.39s +09° 15' 50.0" P.A. 339.00 sep 1.3 mag 5.05,7.32 Sp G5IV+A8V dist. 101.73 pc (331.84 l.y.)

BU  548 AB: 152; 200x: Wide B with averted vision only.  -1% PRO with 0.5% error, 1,406 AU WS, 2.6+1.0 Msol, RVD 3.5 > EV 2.1, it is not binary.  Burnham noted "No material change."

04h 16m 35.98s -10° 05' 08.8" P.A. 345.00 sep 6.2 mag 7.50,11.39 Sp A3III dist. 254.45 pc (830.02 l.y.)

ES  558 AB: 152; 150x: Faint B well separated.  -20% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 06m 47.76s +45° 45' 02.8" sep 8.4 mag 7.65,10.62 Sp B9 dist. 170.36 pc (555.71 l.y.)

HU  544 AB: 152; 250x: Exquisite light blue stars, closely separated at 150x, best seen 250x, almost 2 Dm.  Really pretty.  -49% PRO, it is not binary!  In spite of SOC grade 5 orbit.

03h 15m 48.70s +50° 57' 21.2" P.A. 103.00 sep 1.7 mag 6.72,8.20 Sp A0 dist. 134.95 pc (440.21 l.y.)

KUI  15 AB: 152; 250x: Excellent close pair, hairline split, unequal.  No Gaia parallax data for B.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 871-year period.

03h 52m 00.23s +06° 32' 05.6" P.A. 206.00 sep 0.8 mag 6.26,6.56 Sp B5V dist. 238.66 pc (778.51 l.y.)

LDS5535 AB: 152; 125x: Super-wide, 4 Dm.  -90% PRO, it is not binary. 

04h 17m 15.69s +20° 34' 43.5" P.A. 299.00 sep 180.7 mag 4.95,9.63 Sp A3 dist. 28.94 pc (94.4 l.y.)

STF 301 AB: 152; 150x: Easy, wide, 1 Dm, also seen with the 60-mm scope and 40x. -30% PRO, it is not binary.

02h 47m 38.75s +53° 56' 35.8" P.A. 17.00 sep 8.2 mag 7.85,8.70 Sp A0 dist. 990.1 pc (3229.71 l.y.)

STF 307 AB: 152; 150x: The primary is a beautiful light orange color, with many stars around, including wide 4 Dm B.  AC also seen with averted version at first but can then hold, more than twice as wide but with a similar PA.  AB -4% PRO but with 5.7% error, but weighted separation is 8,180 AU, likely too far even with the 8.2+2.3 Msol.  AC do not share parallax at all. 

02h 50m 41.81s +55° 53' 43.8" P.A. 301.00 sep 28.7 mag 3.76,8.50 Sp M3I+B9V dist. 269.54 pc (879.24 l.y.)

STF 336 AB: 152; 150x: Light yellow A and wide blue B, closely separated at low power. -35% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 01m 29.07s +32° 24' 45.8" P.A. 8.00 sep 8.7 mag 6.96,8.27 Sp G5IV dist. 168.07 pc (548.24 l.y.)

STF 337 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal wide.  81% PRO, 1,110 AU WS, 1.3+0.8 Msol, and RVD 1.5 < EV 1.8, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 02m 16.79s +41° 23' 45.7" P.A. 163.00 sep 17.6 mag 7.99,9.34 Sp F5 dist. 47.8 pc (155.92 l.y.)

STF 352 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, well separated.  64% PRO, 514 AU WS, 1.9+1.1 Msol, and RVD 1.6 < EV 3.2, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 08m 45.91s +35° 27' 31.1" sep 3.9 mag 7.80,9.65 Sp A0 dist. 155.52 pc (507.31 l.y.)

STF 360 AB: 152; 150x: Lovely closely split 1 Dm white stars, with low power.  -9% PRO with 2.5% error, 130 AU WS, 1.1+1.0 Msol, RVD 0.0 < EV 5.4.  SOC grade 4 orbit 1500-year period -- only time will tell whether it bears out being binary, but chances are reduced given the parallax.

03h 12m 09.59s +37° 13' 03.3" P.A. 124.00 sep 3.0 mag 8.02,8.29 Sp G0 dist. 39.92 pc (130.22 l.y.)

STF 375 AB: 200x: Close, but still easy split with 150x, better seen 200x, 2 Dm.  -34% PRO, it is not binary.  AC and AB-D do not share parallax and are not binary either.

03h 20m 21.23s +23° 41' 21.9" P.A. 316.00 sep 2.7 mag 7.62,9.90 Sp A7IV dist. 104.6 pc (341.21 l.y.)

STF 376 AB: 152; 150x: Equal wide.  62% PRO, 1,485 AU WS, and RVD 0.0 < EV 2.2, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 20m 20.64s +19° 43' 49.3" P.A. 251.00 sep 7.2 mag 8.33,8.44 Sp A2V dist. 123.15 pc (401.72 l.y.)

STF 381 AB: 152; 250x: 2 Dm very closely split, seen with low power but best with 250x.  No Gaia data for the secondary, but because the primary is roughly 554 light years distant, it is unlikely it is binary.

03h 23m 19.33s +20° 58' 13.9" P.A. 109.00 sep 1.1 mag 7.56,8.75 Sp G5

STF 408 AB: 152; 250x: Near equal, just barely split with 250x.  No Gaia parallax for the secondary.  The primary is roughly 396 light years distant, so it is possible to be binary, and an orbit should be tried.

03h 30m 39.31s -04° 16' 23.5" P.A. 320.00 sep 1.1 mag 8.23,8.41 Sp A3 dist. 113.12 pc (369 l.y.)

STF 422 AB: 152; 150x: Light yellow stars, 2 Dm, well separated.  -23% PRO, it is not binary, in spite of the SOC grade 4 orbit 1210-year period.

03h 36m 47.30s +00° 35' 15.9" P.A. 273.00 sep 6.7 mag 6.00,8.90 Sp G8V+K6 dist. 30.68 pc (100.08 l.y.)

STF 427 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, wide, white.  -61% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 40m 38.77s +28° 46' 24.0" P.A. 207.00 sep 7.0 mag 7.41,7.84 Sp A1V+A2V dist. 113.12 pc (369 l.y.)

STF 435 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, wide.  0% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 43m 06.52s +25° 40' 52.9" P.A. 3.00 sep 13.2 mag 7.20,8.87 Sp F3V

STF 444 AB: 152; 150x: 3 Dm, well split, unequal.  68% PRO, 485 AU WS, 2.3+1.1 Msol, and RVD 2.5 < EV 3.5, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 45m 48.82s +23° 08' 49.7" P.A. 338.00 sep 3.4 mag 6.91,10.09 Sp A0V dist. 121.36 pc (395.88 l.y.)

STF 460 AB: 152; 250x: Strongly notched snowman, 1 Dm, illusion of hairline split but I think it's just the appearance of two photocenters.  No Gaia data.  SOC grade 3 orbit 372-year period, nearly circular, little change in the next 25 years.  Current separation 0.662", below my resolution limit.

04h 10m 02.74s +80° 41' 55.2" P.A. 154.00 sep 0.662 mag 5.62,6.32 Sp G8III+A4V dist. 116.41 pc (379.73 l.y.)

STF 469 AB: 152; 150x: Well separated, 3 Dm, white.  68% PRO, 1,133 AU WS, 2.2+1.1 Msol, but RVD 2.4 > EV 2.3.  It just might be binary, an orbit should be tried.

03h 57m 16.29s +41° 52' 50.3" P.A. 146.00 sep 9.1 mag 6.90,9.92 Sp A2 dist. 121.07 pc (394.93 l.y.)

STF 470 AB: 152; 200x: Gorgeous colors, light orange A and light blue B, 1 Dm, wide. Pretty at all powers.  0% PRO, it isn't binary.

03h 54m 17.49s -02° 57' 17.0" P.A. 349.00 sep 6.9 mag 4.80,5.89 Sp G8III+A2V dist. 95.97 pc (313.05 l.y.)

STF 471 AB: 152; 150x: Very bright A, well separated 5 Dm B.  -10% PRO with 8% error, it is not binary.

03h 57m 51.22s +40° 00' 36.9" P.A. 12.00 sep 8.8 mag 2.85,8.88 Sp B0.5V+A2V dist. 195.69 pc (638.34 l.y.)

STF 483 AB: 152; 250x: Very closely split, 2 Dm. -46% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 04m 07.10s +39° 30' 35.0" P.A. 53.00 sep 1.6 mag 7.38,9.35 Sp G5 dist. 32.36 pc (105.56 l.y.)

STF 494 AB: 152; 150x: Equal white stars, well separated.  52% PRO, 595 AU WS, 1.8+1.8 Msol, and RVD 0.1 < EV 3.3, it is certainly binary and needs an orbit.

04h 08m 53.50s +23° 05' 55.1" P.A. 187.00 sep 5.5 mag 7.53,7.65 Sp A8IV+A8IV dist. 104.71 pc (341.56 l.y.)

STF 495 AB: 152; 150x: Well split, 2 Dm.  -54% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 07m 41.98s +15° 09' 46.1" P.A. 222.00 sep 3.6 mag 6.11,8.77 Sp F3V dist. 43.63 pc (142.32 l.y.)

STF 510 AB: 152; 150x: Well separated, 3 Dm. -72% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 12m 09.28s +00° 44' 08.1" P.A. 303.00 sep 10.4 mag 6.67,10.05 Sp G8III dist. 145.56 pc (474.82 l.y.)

STF 516 AB: 152: 150x: Pretty light orange A and 3 Dm blue B, well separated.  11% PRO, 450 AU WS, 2.8+1.1 Msol, but RVD 4.2 > EV 3.9, it is not binary.

04h 14m 23.69s -10° 15' 21.2" P.A. 143.00 sep 6.4 mag 5.03,8.53 Sp K2III dist. 74.29 pc (242.33 l.y.)

STF 517 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, well separated.  -16% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 16m 01.44s +00° 27' 13.9" P.A. 7.00 sep 3.2 mag 7.39,9.26 Sp A1V dist. 116.69 pc (380.64 l.y.)

STF 518 BC: 152; 200x: A is light orange, with a widely separated B.  But BC is the prize, more closely split, both faint, C appears best with averted vision.  -27% PRO, it is not binary, though there is a SOC grade 3 orbit 233-year period.  More time is needed for this one to sort out.

04h 15m 21.79s -07° 39' 29.1" P.A. 330.00 sep 8.2 mag 9.53,11.17 Sp DA2.9+M5V

STF 521 AB: 152; 200x: Pale white stars, 1 Dm, easy split.  -34% PRO, it is not split.

04h 21m 45.39s +50° 02' 06.5" P.A. 257.00 sep 2.1 mag 7.44,9.17 Sp G0 dist. 813.01 pc (2652.04 l.y.)

STF 531 AB: 152; 250x: Difficult with this aperture, <1" split, significant delta.  Just split at best moments of seeing.  87% PRO, 160 AU WS, 2.2+1.7 Msol, it is likely binary.  SOC grade 5 orbit, 1107-year period.  

04h 26m 46.23s +55° 38' 37.6" P.A. 325.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.69,8.76 Sp F4IV dist. 158.73 pc (517.78 l.y.)

STF 533 AB: 152; 150x: Very wide, 1 Dm, ordinary.  0% PRO with 3.2% error, and with 4,242 AU WS, 2.6+2.0 Msol, it is not likely binary.

04h 24m 24.85s +34° 18' 53.1" P.A. 62.00 sep 19.0 mag 7.30,8.49 Sp B8V dist. 221.73 pc (723.28 l.y.)

STF 534 AB: 152; 150x: Very wide, nearly 2 Dm, ordinary.  26% PRO, 6,153 AU WS, 3.3+2.2 Msol, it is possible to be binary and an orbit should be tried.

04h 23m 59.76s +24° 18' 03.7" P.A. 291.00 sep 29.1 mag 6.36,7.94 Sp B3V+A1V dist. 278.55 pc (908.63 l.y.)

STF 535 AB: 152; 250x: Exceptionally close split, light blue stars, 1 Dm, with high power and best seeing.  No Gaia data for the secondary.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 532-year period.

04h 23m 16.84s +11° 22' 40.5" P.A. 267.00 sep 1.1 mag 6.95,8.29 Sp A5III dist. 87.26 pc (284.64 l.y.)

STF 536 AB: 152; 200x: Unequal, closely separated.  -70% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 22m 10.21s -04° 40' 37.4" P.A. 193.00 sep 1.6 mag 7.94,8.73 Sp A7IV dist. 142.05 pc (463.37 l.y.)

STF 545 AB: 152; 150x: Wide, white, 2 Dm.  -65% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 27m 04.85s +18° 12' 27.1" P.A. 58.00 sep 19.0 mag 6.92,8.78 Sp A0V dist. 106.5 pc (347.4 l.y.)

STF 546 AB: 152; 150x: Unequal, well split.  30% PRO, 440 AU WS, 1.3+0.9 Msol, and RVD 1.5 < EV 3.0, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 27m 00.62s +19° 07' 03.6" P.A. 182.00 sep 7.0 mag 7.94,9.21 Sp G0 dist. 65.02 pc (212.1 l.y.)

STF3114 AB: 152; 150x: 2 Dm, nice close split. 47% PRO, 208 AU WS, 1.4+0.8, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

04h 09m 10.26s +40° 09' 40.5" P.A. 157.00 sep 3.1 mag 7.71,9.59 Sp F8V dist. 61.35 pc (200.12 l.y.)

STT  44 AB: 152; 250x: Very close split 1 Dm, in the middle of M34. -5% PRO with 2.2% error, not likely binary.

02h 42m 13.13s +42° 41' 57.2" P.A. 56.00 sep 1.4 mag 8.46,8.96 Sp B9Vp dist. 248.14 pc (809.43 l.y.)

STT  46 AB: 152; 250x: Faint, close companion is cleanly split, perfect star images with high power.  25% PRO, 302 AU WS, and RVD 3.2 < EV 3.7, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

02h 50m 00.31s +30° 31' 34.8" P.A. 75.00 sep 4.8 mag 6.78,10.79 Sp F0 dist. 62.42 pc (203.61 l.y.)

STT  64 AB: 152; 250x: Nice close split, 3 Dm.  C is nearly the same position angle and magnitude as B, but three times as widely separated.  AB 47% PRO, 447 AU WS, 2.3+1.1 Msol, likely binary and needs an orbit.  C has a similar parallax but not overlapping with A or B. 

03h 49m 58.06s +23° 50' 55.3" P.A. 234.00 sep 3.3 mag 6.81,10.15 Sp B9.5Vp dist. 146.84 pc (478.99 l.y.)

STT  69 AB: 152; 200x: 2 Dm, very closely split, B sits on A's diffraction ring.  -67% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 59m 39.97s +38° 49' 13.4" P.A. 323.00 sep 1.4 mag 6.60,9.13 Sp A1Vp: dist. 193.8 pc (632.18 l.y.)

STT  72 AB: 152; 150x: Light orange stars, well separated, >3 Dm.  18% PRO, 638 AU WS, 3.3+1.2 Msol, there is some possibility it is binary, an orbit should be tried.

04h 07m 59.42s +17° 20' 23.6" P.A. 327.00 sep 4.8 mag 6.10,9.71 Sp K5IIIb dist. 123.15 pc (401.72 l.y.)

STT  73 AB: 152; 150x: Light orange A, faint wide B.  -18% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 14m 53.86s +48° 24' 33.5" P.A. 349.00 sep 15.0 mag 4.24,10.28 Sp G0Ib dist. 276.24 pc (901.09 l.y.)

STT  81 AB: 152; 150x: Close split with low power, 1 Dm.  -57% PRO, it is not binary.

04h 24m 37.46s +33° 57' 34.9" P.A. 13.00 sep 4.2 mag 5.84,9.25 Sp F4V dist. 40.62 pc (132.5 l.y.)

STT  82 AB: 152; 250x: Very closely split, 1 Dm.  -38% PRO, it is not binary -- interesting there is a SOC grade 3 orbit, 247-year period.

04h 22m 44.10s +15° 03' 22.1" P.A. 323.00 sep 1.2 mag 7.31,8.63 Sp F9V dist. 43.63 pc (142.32 l.y.)

STT 531 AB: 152; 250x: Well separated at higher powers, 2 Dm.  No Gaia parallax data.  SOC grade 5 orbit, 590-year period, so it's anyone's guess.

04h 07m 34.35s +38° 04' 28.3" P.A. 353.00 sep 2.7 mag 7.32,9.69 Sp K1V dist. 20.38 pc (66.48 l.y.)

27 november 2024 assorted deep sky from home

Predicted perfectly transparent skies, but at my low altitude it was hazy.  Seeing was average at best.  I received an adapter to fit my Televue 40mm plossl to my filter wheel, intending to get closer image scale for night vision.  It worked, and I could reach focus no problem.  I intended to continue observations of flat galaxies, but something was off.  Not just my inaccurate pointing accuracy, but the combination of closer image scale, which made extended objects less contrasty, and the relatively small entrance pupil to the NV device, starving it of light, conspired to make the flat galaxies more difficult to observe.  I needed to stick with the brighter and larger objects on the list and soon ran out of suitable targets.  I observed a few other DSOs and had a worth-while night, but not all it could have been.

NGC 100: 00h 24m 02.7s  +16°29'11" 13.9 5.4 x 0.6' 

Extremely faint and diffuse, seen at first with high gain.  Non-stellar core and very thin tapered tips, 8x1 elongated NW-SW. 

NGC 1003: 02h 39m 16.89 +40° 52′ 20.25″ V = 11.5;  Size 5.5'x1.9'

Fairly bright, moderately large, significantly mottled, 3:1 nearly E-W, the core is offset to the W.  A faint star just off the NW of the core.

NGC 1023 = Arp 135: 02 40 23.8 +39 03 48 V = 9.4;  Size 8.7'x3.0'

Fairly large, bright, very bright core and small bright nucleus.  4:1 E-W, and the halo is slightly longer and mis-shaped on the W -- this is NGC 1023A, a faint dwarf companion.  Also saw IC 239, a face-on spiral, as a small round hazy glow nearly directly west at the edge of the field.

NGC 1055: 02 41 45.2 +00 26 31 V = 10.6; Size 7.6'x2.7'

Very pretty long bright edge on pointed at by a small triangle of stars and near a group of three bright ones... slightly inclined with the near side tilted upward, and a prominent, jagged dark lane.  3:1 E-W.  

NGC 1087: 02 46 25.1 -00 29 55 V = 10.9;  Size 3.7'x2.2'

Fairly large, moderately bright irregular oval cloud orientated N-S, noticeably mottled and misshaped. 

NGC 1160: 03 01 13.2 +44 57 18 V = 12.8;  Size 1.9'x0.9'

NGC 1161: 03 01 14.2 +44 53 50 V = 11.0;  Size 2.8'x2.0'

NGC 1160 is faint, small, 3:2 NE-SW and north of NGC 1161, which is a much brighter elliptical with a small bright nucleus and round core, thick extended tips.  Two bright stars are just off its western edge.

NGC 1245: 03 14 41 +47 14 18 V = 8.4;  Size 10'

Fairly large loose cluster of around 80 equal faint stars, well separated from the surrounding sky, with a few brighter stars forming a pentagon to frame the cluster. 

NGC 520 = Arp 157 01 24 34.4 +03 47 42 V = 11.4;  Size 4.5'x1.8'

Large bright elongated galaxy, NW-SE, with a dark lane (or perhaps an overlapping / interacting galaxy) cutting through the southern side, slicing off a small section.  There is very faint halo coming off the western edges and spreading most prominently south and more faintly north.

NGC 522: 01h 24m 45.9s  +09°59'42" 13.9b 2.7 x 0.4'

Faint, moderately large, bright nucleus, rounded core in the middle with long elongated tips, 6:1 NE-SW.  Did not see the smaller galaxies labelled in the image.

NGC 584: 01 31 20.7 -06 52 06 V = 10.5;  Size 4.2'x2.3'

Bright nucleus, 3:1 halo ENE-WSW, pretty bright.  Small non-stellar round galaxy nearby to the SE (NGC 586), and another smaller, fainter non-stellar glow about twice as distant as the first but to the NW, which Aladin identifies as LEDA 1028168, B 15.23, an Active Galaxy Nucleus Candidate. Best with the 685 filter. 

NGC 772 = Arp 78 01 59 19.8 +19 00 30 V = 10.3;  Size 7.2'x4.3'

I called this a "bright compact elliptical" but it is a distorted spiral with a strong brighter arm to the north, coming from a bright core region.  I did notice the "smaller, fainter non-stellar glow" to the SSW of it, NGC 769.  Steve notes "This is a companion to NGC 772 and may be the cause of its bright, disturbed spiral arm."

NGC 779 01 59 42.3 -05 57 51 V = 11.2;  Size 4.0'x1.2'

Bright round nucleus, highly inclined halo, 5:1 NNW-SSE. 

NGC 891 02 22 33.4 +42 21 03 V = 9.9;  Size 13.5'x2.5'

Very large and ghostly, fainter than I expected, it appears to float behind a screen of stars with its very prominent jagged dark lake running the entire length.  Super long, NNE-SSE.

NGC 936: 02 27 37.5 -01 09 19 V = 10.1;  Size 4.7'x4.1'

Bright nucleus slightly inclined NNE-SSW, with a faint oval halo NNW-SSE around it.  Odd. 

NGC 1275 03 19 48.1 +41 30 43 V = 11.9;  Size 2.2'x1.7'

Brightest and largest of a large group of small ellipticals in the Perseus Galaxy Cluster, AGC 426.  The more I looked the more I saw within the field; I counted 16.  This one is the Perseus A radio source due to the strong x-rays being emitted from its supermassive black hole.

Hubble image:

UGC 11994: 22h 20m 52.8s  +33°17'42" 14.9p 2.2 x 0.3' 

Very faint, first seen with gain turned up high.  Small, 6:1 NW-SE, faint star on SE tip, hint of a dark lane across the length, and a bulged, brighter core.  With 685 long pass filter and unfiltered.

UGC 12430: 23h 13m 43.2s  +29°00'32" 14.8p 2.2 x 0.2'

Very faint but seen immediately with medium gain, faint, small, 8:1 NNW-SSE with a brighter core and very faint tapering tips.  Slight offset from a row of three stars in a broken line.  Did not see UGC 12427 to the SW.

 

7 novemeber 2024

The nice thing about the time change in the fall is it is dark much earlier, and there is more time to observe.  Seeing was predicted to be above average, so I opened the 20-inch.  Actual seeing was ok to good, but not great, though I did observe some challenging pairs, some down to 0.4" separation.  I ended up switching back and forth between full and the 7-inch off-axis mask, depending on the conditions and difficulty.  I liked how the mask makes the 20-inch a versatile scope, and maybe more worth to bring out to someplace like Fremont Peak for observing.  I'll have to ponder that...

A  2100 AB: 508; 560x: Hairline split, PA to the southwest, white, 1 Dm.  SOC grade 2 orbit, it will hang in the SW for the next 20 years without significant change.  

23h 56m 47.29s +04° 43' 30.4" P.A. 252.00 sep 0.439 mag 7.40,7.90 Sp F0 dist. 111.98 pc (365.28 l.y.)

BU 6 178; 280x: 3 Dm B looks blue color, good close split.  84% PRO, 325 AU WS, 2.7+1.5 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.  

01h 44m 43.67s -06° 45' 58.2" P.A. 165.00 sep 2.2 mag 6.65,8.91 Sp G5III dist. 189.39 pc (617.79 l.y.)

BU  178 AB: 508; 635x: Near equal yellow, elongated only, barely a notch, PA north-south.  SOC grade 3 orbit, it is 0.507" now and will close over the next 20 years to periastron.  Burnham was correct in his assessment in the General Catalog: "The change, if any, is slow, but it can hardly fail to be a binary."  He discovered it near apastron, and as can be seen from the orbit it does hang there for around 40 years before moving significantly.

22h 55m 10.96s -04° 59' 16.4" P.A. 324.00 sep 0.5 mag 6.03,7.75 Sp G4:III dist. 83.4 pc (272.05 l.y.)

BU  235 AB: 178; 500x: Very fine close split, near equal, Dawes limit! SOC grade 4 orbit, 278-year period.  Unfortunately, there is no PRO (-61%), it is not binary.

01h 10m 34.31s +51° 00' 47.8" P.A. 142.00 sep 0.755 mag 7.54,7.82 Sp F5V dist. 104.6 pc (341.21 l.y.)

BU  258 AB: 178; 280x: Nice close split, needed >200x to separate the large delta pair.  -72% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 13m 09.82s +61° 42' 22.3" P.A. 263.00 sep 1.6 mag 6.50,8.80 Sp B9V dist. 201.61 pc (657.65 l.y.)

BU  279 AB: 508; 200x: B is a very fine hard point just outside bright white A's swollen, spiky image.  -40% PRO, it is not binary.

23h 42m 43.28s -14° 32' 41.1" P.A. 82.00 sep 5.3 mag 4.48,9.90 Sp B9.5V dist. 45.54 pc (148.55 l.y.)

BU  396 AB: 178; 280x: Very fine, 3 Dm B is just outside A's diffraction ring. Gaia lacks data for B, an orbit could be tried.

01h 03m 37.01s +61° 04' 29.4" P.A. 67.00 sep 1.3 mag 6.06,8.62 Sp F0II dist. 613.5 pc (2001.24 l.y.)

BU  852 BC, Aa-Ab:  BC seen rather easily at 500x, faint and bluish but no mistaking two stars rather well split.  Burnham discovered with 15.5-inch Washburn refractor.  BC has a SOC grade 5 orbit, but there is no PRO, -43%, it is not binary.  HDS 3301 Aa-Ab is much more difficult.  With best seeing and highest magnification, Ab appears as a fleck off of bright A, in a PA that is slightly more than 100-degrees off the AB's PA.  Very fine indeed.  No Gaia data for Ab.

BC: 23h 10m 38.20s +26° 31' 35.6" P.A. 319.00 sep 1.3 mag 10.50,11.00

Aa-Ab: 23h 10m 42.40s +26° 31' 23.0" P.A. 160.00 sep 0.8 mag 7.21,10.91 Sp A7IV dist. 85.32 pc (278.31 l.y.)

BU 1093 AB: 508; 500x: Lovely close pair, 2 Dm. No Gaia data for B.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 471-year period.

00h 20m 54.59s +10° 58' 36.8" P.A. 119.00 sep 0.8 mag 6.73,8.55 Sp A0V dist. 310.56 pc (1013.05 l.y.)

HDS3190 AB: 508; 200x: In choppy seeing, B appears as a fleck, fairly close to bright white A.  No Gaia data for B.

22h 30m 38.82s -10° 40' 40.7" P.A. 10.00 sep 3.7 mag 4.81,8.47 Sp A0IVs dist. 88.81 pc (289.7 l.y.)

HJ  644 AB: 178; 150x: Wide group of three stars which forms a nearly right triangle.  AB has 93% PRO, 3,076 AU WS, 2.7+0.9 Msol, so it might be binary.  AC does not share parallax ranges.  

01h 48m 40.61s +07° 41' 02.1" P.A. 279.00 sep 17.2 mag 7.18,11.70 Sp K0 dist. 172.41 pc (562.4 l.y.)

HJ 1088 AB: 178; 150x: 1 Dm, wide, white stars.  -25% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 42m 17.70s +58° 37' 39.8" P.A. 168.00 sep 19.5 mag 6.34,9.79 Sp B7III+Am dist. 598.8 pc (1953.29 l.y.)

HJ 5394 AB: 508; 150x: Bright white, 3 Dm wide B.  No Gaia data for B.

23h 19m 23.98s -05° 07' 27.7" P.A. 20.00 sep 11.0 mag 5.62,10.39 Sp F3V dist. 34.16 pc (111.43 l.y.)

S   398 AB: 178; 150x: 2 Dm super wide.  -72% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 28m 22.92s +07° 57' 40.9" P.A. 100.00 sep 68.9 mag 6.34,8.02 Sp K1III dist. 114.55 pc (373.66 l.y.)

D 2 AB: 508; 560x: Exquisitely close split, nearly 1 Dm yellow stars, and a very wide third (STF 39 AB-C).  No Gaia data for the primary, but a SOC grade 4 orbit, 777-year period.  It should widen slightly to due east in the next 20 years.

00h 34m 29.79s -04° 32' 47.5" P.A. 76.00 sep 0.3 mag 7.63,8.04 Sp G0IV dist. 77.46 pc (252.67 l.y.)

STF  59 AB: 178; 200x: Well split, nearly 2 Dm.  -27% PRO it is not binary.

00h 47m 59.03s +51° 26' 41.2" P.A. 149.00 sep 2.3 mag 7.24,8.06 Sp B9.5IV dist. 213.68 pc (697.02 l.y.)

STF  60 AB: 178; 250x: Light yellow A, 2 Dm orange B, very pretty pairing, seen with 150x but nicer and more colorful at higher power.  49% PRO, 77 AU WS, 1.1+0.5 Msol, it is likely binary.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 479-year orbit.

00h 49m 06.29s +57° 48' 54.7" P.A. 327.00 sep 13.4 mag 3.52,7.36 Sp G1V+M dist. 5.95 pc (19.41 l.y.)

STF  65 AB: 178; 150x: Slightly unequal white stars, well split.  73% PRO, 656 AU WS, 2.2+2.2 Msol, and RVD 0.0 < EV 3.5, it is certainly binary and needs an orbit.

00h 52m 45.61s +68° 51' 59.3" P.A. 221.00 sep 3.2 mag 8.00,8.02 Sp A2 dist. 255.75 pc (834.26 l.y.)

STF 102 AB: 508; 500x: Light yellow unequal stars, nice clean split at high power, with other fainter stars nearby. 67% PRO but with 18% error, 2,377 AU WS, 2.6+1.8 Msol.  It is likely binary but the parallax error is problematic, an orbit should be tried. The other nearby stars do not overlap parallax.

01h 17m 47.96s +49° 00' 30.5" P.A. 271.00 sep 0.5 mag 7.31,9.18 Sp B9.5V dist. 384.62 pc (1254.63 l.y.)

STF 113 A-BC: 178; 200x: Slightly unequal light yellow stars, close but easy split.  -47% PRO, it is not binary, in spite of the SOC grade 4 orbit.

01h 19m 48.30s -00° 30' 32.5" P.A. 21.00 sep 1.6 mag 6.45,6.99 Sp A2V+G4III dist. 100.7 pc (328.48 l.y.)

STF 115 AB: 508; 500x: Near equal light-yellow stars, tight split.  No Gaia data for the primary.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 222-year period, it should widen a little more to the SE in the next 20 years.

01h 23m 21.27s +58° 08' 35.6" P.A. 156.00 sep 0.5 mag 7.10,7.30 Sp F5V dist. 58.82 pc (191.87 l.y.)

STF 120 AB: 178; 150x: Easy bright white and wide faint B.  58% PRO, 824 AU WS, 2.1+1.0 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

01h 25m 00.59s -05° 56' 47.1" P.A. 278.00 sep 7.4 mag 6.83,10.00 Sp A0 dist. 112.36 pc (366.52 l.y.)

STF 136 AB: 178; 150x: White stars, 1 Dm, wide.  -54% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 34m 51.61s +12° 33' 31.2" P.A. 77.00 sep 15.6 mag 7.33,8.33 Sp A6V dist. 231.48 pc (755.09 l.y.)

STF 138 AB: 178; 200x: Closely split near equal white stars.  -25% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 36m 02.86s +07° 38' 42.9" P.A. 60.00 sep 1.7 mag 7.50,7.63 Sp F6V dist. 76.05 pc (248.08 l.y.)

STF 150 AB: 178; 150x: 2 Dm, wide seven.  7% PRO, 6,197 AU WS, 2.1+1.9 Msol, RVD 0.4 < EV 1.1, there is a small chance it's binary and an orbit should be tried.

01h 43m 22.43s -07° 04' 37.3" P.A. 196.00 sep 35.7 mag 7.73,8.19 Sp A

STF 317 AB: 152; 200x: Faint, fairly close, half delta magnitude.  -76% PRO, it is not binary.

02h 58m 07.08s +69° 11' 35.8" P.A. 82.00 sep 4.0 mag 7.93,9.82 Sp F2 dist. 80.45 pc (262.43 l.y.)

STF2920 AB: 508; 150x: 1 Dm, pale white A and yellow B, well split.  31% PRO, 2,324 AU WS, 2.2+1.6 Msol, and RVD 1.1 < EV 1.7, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

22h 34m 31.58s +04° 13' 20.6" P.A. 144.00 sep 13.7 mag 7.55,8.85 Sp B9.5V dist. 89.13 pc (290.74 l.y.)

STF2935 AB: 508; 150x: Nice close split, white A and yellow B, 2 Dm.  15% PRO, 402 AU WS, 2.6+2.0 Msol, there is some chance it's binary and needs an orbit tried.

22h 43m 03.40s -08° 18' 41.2" P.A. 307.00 sep 2.4 mag 6.79,7.88 Sp A5V dist. 146.63 pc (478.31 l.y.)

STF2936 AB: 508; 150x: Pretty pair, fairly closely split, white A and light yellow B, nearly 2 Dm.  -51% PRO, it is not binary.

22h 42m 58.09s +01° 13' 02.4" P.A. 50.00 sep 4.4 mag 7.04,9.60 Sp A6III dist. 144.93 pc (472.76 l.y.)

STF2939 AB: 508; 150x: White A, yellow B, 2 Dm, well split.  -17% PRO, 1,168 AU WS, 1.8+0.9 Msol, and RVD 2.4 > EV 2.0, it is not binary.

22h 45m 20.80s -09° 38' 40.3" P.A. 63.00 sep 11.0 mag 7.44,9.30 Sp A4V dist. 84.25 pc (274.82 l.y.)

STF2944 AB: 508; 200x: Nice near equal, light-yellow stars, with a 2 Dm wide faint third.  34% PRO, 70 AU WS, 1.0+1.1 Msol, it is likely binary, and there is a SOC grade 4 orbit 603-year period.

22h 47m 50.05s -04° 13' 43.6" P.A. 309.00 sep 1.8 mag 7.30,7.68 Sp G2V+G4 dist. 32.03 pc (104.48 l.y.)

STF2958 AB: 508; 150x: White A and 1 Dm nicely split B, well seen with low power.  10% PRO, 341 AU WS, 2.0+1.1 Msol, RVD 2.1 < EV 4.0, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit tried.

22h 56m 51.47s +11° 50' 54.0" P.A. 15.00 sep 4.0 mag 6.63,9.09 Sp A3Vs dist. 98.81 pc (322.32 l.y.)

STF2968 AB: 508; 500x: 3 DM, wide around 3" separation.  8% PRO, 565 AU WS, 2.8+1.5 Msol, it is possibly binary and an orbit can be tried.

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.)

STF2986 AB: 508; 150x: White A and wide 2 Dm B.  46% PRO, 789 AU WS, 1.1+0.5 Msol, but RBD 2.6 > EV 1.9, it is not binary.

23h 09m 57.10s +14° 25' 35.6" P.A. 269.00 sep 31.4 mag 6.61,8.88 Sp G0V dist. 24.83 pc (81 l.y.)

STF2995 AB: 508; 150x: Near equal white stars, like headlights.  88% PRO, 291 AU WS, 1.1+1.0 Msol, and RVD 0.3 < EV 3.6, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

23h 16m 35.24s -01° 35' 11.4" P.A. 32.00 sep 5.3 mag 8.20,8.61 Sp G5 dist. 64.68 pc (210.99 l.y.)

STF3007 AB: 508; 150x: White A and light orange well split B.  38% PRO, 226 AU WS, 1.3+0.7 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

23h 22m 48.67s +20° 33' 32.2" P.A. 92.00 sep 5.9 mag 6.74,9.78 Sp G2V+dK6 dist. 37.38 pc (121.93 l.y.)

STF3009 AB: 508; 150x: Light-yellow A and 2 DM well split B.  26% PRO, 1,678 AU WS, 3.5+1.8 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

23h 24m 16.47s +03° 42' 56.1" P.A. 230.00 sep 7.1 mag 6.87,8.76 Sp K2III dist. 223.71 pc (729.74 l.y.)

STF3023 AB: 508; 250x: White A and two delta, fairly closely split B.  -18% PRO, it is not binary.

23h 32m 24.68s +17° 24' 15.1" P.A. 280.00 sep 1.8 mag 7.23,9.11 Sp F4IV dist. 153.14 pc (499.54 l.y.)

STF3031 AB: 508; 150x: Near equal, wide.  54% PRO, 708 AU WS, 1.2+1.0 Msol, and RVD 0.7 < EV 2.3.  It is likely binary and needs an orbit.

23h 41m 11.47s +06° 15' 46.0" P.A. 311.00 sep 13.9 mag 7.80,8.58 Sp F8

STF3044 AB: 508; 150x: Wide, white unequal stars.  24% PRO, 1,841 AU WS, 1.8+1.5 Msol, and RVD 0.5 < EV 1.8, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

23h 52m 59.94s +11° 55' 27.4" P.A. 283.00 sep 18.7 mag 7.27,7.91 Sp F0 dist. 139.47 pc (454.95 l.y.)

STF3045 AB: 508; 150x: 1 Dm, nicely separated.  -34% PRO, it is not binary.

23h 54m 25.44s +02° 27' 50.0" P.A. 272.00 sep 1.8 mag 7.97,9.31 Sp A2 dist. 201.61 pc (657.65 l.y.)

STF3055 AB: 508; 150x: White A and 3 Dm well separated B.  76% PRO, 1,076 AU WS, 2.5+1.2 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

00h 04m 00.24s +12° 08' 45.0" P.A. 359.00 sep 5.7 mag 7.28,10.34 Sp F0III dist. 176.37 pc (575.32 l.y.)

STFB 12 A-BC: 508; 150x: Very wide, at least 4 Dm.  No Gaia data for BC.  Did not try for BU 1220 BC 10.5/10.7 0.4", which is a short period pair but closing to periastron and impossible for the next 30 years.

23h 15m 53.50s -09° 05' 15.9" P.A. 312.00 sep 48.9 mag 4.36,9.88 Sp K1III dist. 45.93 pc (149.82 l.y.)

STT  20 AB: 508; 500x: Slightly unequal white stars, closely split.  No Gaia data for the primary.  SOC grade 3 orbit, 343-year period, it will not move much over the next 20 years.

00h 54m 35.22s +19° 11' 18.4" P.A. 176.00 sep 0.6 mag 6.12,7.19 Sp A0V dist. 108.11 pc (352.65 l.y.)

STT  23 AB: 178; 150x: Easy white stars, wide, near equal.  -70% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 10m 07.56s +51° 44' 48.2" P.A. 191.00 sep 14.5 mag 8.14,8.59 Sp F8 dist. 70.87 pc (231.18 l.y.)

STT  31 AB: 178; 200x: Fine faint B well separated from A.  -39% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 33m 18.28s +08° 12' 31.5" P.A. 78.00 sep 3.9 mag 6.46,10.56 Sp K0III dist. 147.93 pc (482.55 l.y.)

STT 491 A-BC: 178; 150x: Very wide, 3 Dm.  16% PRO with BC, 9,051 AU WS, 1.7+0.8 Msol, likely binary and needs an orbit.  A 2299 BC is likely binary, 47% PRO, 94 AU WS, 0.8+0.7 Msol, it needs an orbit.

23h 13m 41.04s +02° 12' 12.8" P.A. 319.00 sep 118.4 mag 7.22,10.91 Sp F2 dist. 88.26 pc (287.9 l.y.)

STT 503 AB: 508; 250x: Finely split near equal white stars.  4% PRO, 127 AU WS, 1.6+1.5 Msol, it is possible to be binary and an orbit should be tried.

23h 42m 02.13s +20° 17' 47.3" P.A. 134.00 sep 1.0 mag 8.26,8.63 Sp F8 dist. 108.46 pc (353.8 l.y.)

STT 504 AB: 508; 150x: 2 Dm, wide.  -23% PRO, it is not binary.

23h 42m 31.33s +18° 39' 59.3" P.A. 176.00 sep 7.7 mag 7.39,10.33 Sp K0 dist. 202.02 pc (658.99 l.y.)

STT 505 AB: 508; 200x: Split with low power but better seen medium (appear more widely separated so as not to be in each other's glare.  Light yellow and 2 Dm. 36% PRO, 343 AU WS, 2.7+1.3 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

23h 45m 29.33s +20° 24' 55.6" P.A. 60.00 sep 2.4 mag 6.75,9.61 Sp G8III dist. 159.24 pc (519.44 l.y.)

STT 515 AB: 508; 500x: Using a blue filter and apodising mask to suppress the bright stars, split with PA to east, at least 1 Dm, difficult because of diffraction and seeing effects.  No Gaia data.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 554-year period.

01h 09m 30.12s +47° 14' 30.6" P.A. 114.00 sep 0.5 mag 4.59,5.61 Sp B7Ve dist. 219.78 pc (716.92 l.y.)

STTA 31 AB: 60; 40x: 1 Dm, super wide.  9% PRO, 18,368 AU WS, 2.8+2.4 Msol.  Weighted separation is far too large to be binary.

03h 00m 53.78s +59° 39' 57.4" P.A. 231.00 sep 73.9 mag 7.33,8.03 Sp B9p dist. 241.55 pc (787.94 l.y.)

STTA241 AB: 178; 150x: Wide, 1 Dm.  -84% PRO, it is not binary.

22h 58m 33.60s +12° 03' 04.4" P.A. 160.00 sep 84.9 mag 8.28,8.37 Sp F2 dist. 111.48 pc (363.65 l.y.)

new scope

This past week I've had my new-to-me GSO 10" f/12 Classical Cassegrain set-up in my backyard.  Besides trying out the scope, it's also the first time to set-up the Losmandy G11 -- altogether a fairly steep learning curve.  

I plan to use this set-up in the generally good seeing at Fremont Peak to observe planets and double stars unavailable to me from home, those either too far south or to the north.  Reviews indicate the optical quality is good, and I should be able to reach the 0.5" Dawes limit.  I set-up the scope with my 80mm f/7 ED as the finder scope -- I wanted to have the occasion to use this scope for both wide field and to resolve brighter binaries.  The payload is 43 pounds, still within the weight limit of the mount -- though I found some shakiness and find I need to really tighten everything down.  I might switch from my portable pier to a tripod.  The stock focuser on the 10-inch is horrible -- very mushy -- and I've bought an adapter so I can use a Feathertouch I have instead (which should allow me to reach focus with binoviewers too).  I collimated the scope fairly well, but I need more practice with it.  I've struggled learning how to use the Gemini 2 on the mount, the instructions are not clear.  I have been able to align it and figure out how to start modeling it, but here too I need more practice.  The motors seem unusually loud, and might be annoying (since I'd be slewing every few minutes, unlike an astrophotographer who just tracks for hours at a time...).  I made a few observations with it so far, as below.

I have thought that a good refractor would be a better choice -- cleaner views when in average seeing -- but I'll stick with this set-up and see what results can be had when it's performing at its best.  I suppose I would only be going up the Peak when seeing would be forecasted to be excellent in any case, so the aperture problem should not be a dealstopper.

Also in other news, I finally took the Dalton objective up to Chabot to have R3 tested.  It is not spherical, rather an oblate spheroid.  

My thoughts are: If Dalton could not get the easiest of the Rx figures correct, there is high probability the other surfaces need even more work.  Given there is no local resource willing to help, and that I don't have the patience to try to refigure this myself, I plan to sell or give away the Dalton and will buy a ready-made objective--with a push-pull cell--instead.  I picked up a 9-foot aluminum tube yesterday which someone kindly offered to me -- it had been in their house for 50 years waiting for a refractor project which never materialized.  Since it's a shorter tube, I can build a scope around it with an f/12 objective, and even re-use the Dalton tailpiece (the tube is the same diameter as the Dalton).  If someone takes the Dalton objective, they can have the tube.  Once I find and buy a new objective I'll offer-up the Dalton.

STF 182 AB: 250; 170x: Slightly unequal, well split.  -12% PRO, it is not binary.

01h 56m 23.56s +61° 16' 52.0" P.A. 124.00 sep 3.6 mag 8.31,8.35 Sp B7V dist. 1754.39 pc (5722.82 l.y.)

STF 443 AB: 250; 170x: Light orange wide stars, 1 Dm.  -79% PRO, it is not binary, in spite of grade 4 SOC orbit.

03h 47m 02.11s +41° 25' 38.1" P.A. 57.00 sep 6.8 mag 8.20,8.82 Sp K2V+K3V dist. 21.91 pc (71.47 l.y.)

STF 446 AB: 250; 170x: 2 Dm, wide.  41% PRO, 9,536 AU WS, 6.8+3.5 Msol, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.

03h 49m 27.57s +52° 39' 19.4" P.A. 254.00 sep 8.8 mag 6.86,9.90 Sp B0.5III dist. 1098.9 pc (3584.61 l.y.)

STF 448 AB: 250; 170x:  Very bright white A, well separated 3 Dm B.  -32% PRO, it is not binary.

03h 47m 52.66s +33° 35' 59.5" P.A. 13.00 sep 3.5 mag 6.68,9.36 Sp B2.5V dist. 325.73 pc (1062.53 l.y.)

STF 464 AB: 250; 170x: Bright white A, B was easy, well split.  56% PRO, 3,450 AU WS, 8.1+1.9, it is possibly binary and needs an orbit.  Slightly dimmer C and D further out. C shares similar parallax but does not overlap.  D is a widely varying parallax.

03h 54m 07.92s +31° 53' 01.2" P.A. 208.00 sep 12.8 mag 2.86,9.16 Sp B1Ib dist. 230.41 pc (751.6 l.y.)

STT  59 AB: 250; 170x: First observation made with the 10-inch CC.  Light orange stars, 1 Dm, well split.  52% PRO, 369 AU WS, 1.9+1.6 Msol, it is likely binary and needs an orbit.

03h 40m 40.62s +46° 01' 24.1" P.A. 355.00 sep 2.8 mag 7.90,8.85 Sp G5 dist. 111.36 pc (363.26 l.y.)

STT  66 AB: 250; 330x: Near equal white stars, good split.  92% PRO, 238 AU WS, 2.3+2.1 Msol, it is certainly binary.  SOC grade 4 orbit, 1198-year period.

03h 52m 04.69s +40° 47' 50.7" P.A. 146.00 sep 1.0 mag 8.11,8.54 Sp A2 dist. 236.41 pc (771.17 l.y.)