25 august 2021

Had a really nice night out with the 6-inch. Seeing was good, and transparency was a little hurt by wildfire smoke and later the marine layer. But really lovely images from the scope and very satisfying.

STF 2758 AB: 152; 175x: 61 Cyg. Stunning pair, yellow A and orange B, half delta mag, wide. Spectral class K5V+K7V (yellow-orange/yellow-orange). Only 11.38 light years away! Physical with a 618.6911-year period, it is now at apastron.  There are 18 stars in the system but none of the visible ones are, and those only detected in K-band are uncertain.
21h 06m 53.95s +38° 44' 57.9" P.A. 153.50 sep 31.9 mag 5.20,6.05 Sp K5V+K7V dist. 3.49 pc (11.38 l.y.)

Sei 1445 AB: 152; 175x: White A, wide faint B is visible with averted vision only.  WDS says physical, and there is 90% parallax range overlap.  Weighted distance is a bit far, at 15,647 AU, however the primary star is 4.24 solar mass and the companion 1.46, so it likely is.
21h 12m 29.51s +38° 33' 59.4" P.A. 23.00 sep 27.9 mag 7.32,11.90 Sp B9 dist. 2325.58 pc (7586.04 l.y.)

STT 434 AB: 152; 175x: Yellow-white and almost red color faint & wide B.  WDS says physical but there's no parallax data, so that's based on proper motions only.
21h 19m 00.03s +39° 44' 57.6" P.A. 122.00 sep 24.4 mag 6.67,9.93 Sp B9V dist. 143.88 pc (469.34 l.y.)

STT 432 AB: 152; 175x: Very fine split, 1 delta mag, blue-white A.  WDS uncertain, but there is no parallax overlap (-71%), so not gravitationally bound -- just a very close line of sight split.

21h 14m 18.94s +41° 08' 48.0" P.A. 116.00 sep 1.3 mag 7.78,8.05 Sp F8V dist. 244.5 pc (797.56 l.y.)

STTA 214 AB: 152; 175x: Wide, 2 delta mag, yellow-white.  WDS physical on proper motion, don't find the B star's data

21h 03m 52.13s +41° 37' 41.4" P.A. 185.00 sep 57.4 mag 6.37,8.64 Sp F3IV dist. 96.34 pc (314.26 l.y.)

STT 423 AB: 152; 175x: Excellent, 2 delta mag close pair, white, nice split.  WDS uncertain, but it is almost certain to be gravitationally bound: 46% parallax range overlap, 1,239 AU weighted separation, 3.96 & 2.25 solar mass.

20h 55m 17.96s +42° 30' 48.6" P.A. 76.00 sep 2.7 mag 7.12,9.64 Sp B9 dist. 418.41 pc (1364.85 l.y.)

STT 414 AB: 152; 175x: Wide 1 delta yellow-white pair.  WDS uncertain but likely physical: 27% parallax range overlap, 4,686 AU weighted separation, 3.78/2.65 solar mass.
20h 47m 09.92s +42° 24' 35.4" P.A. 95.00 sep 9.9 mag 7.43,8.93 Sp B7V dist. 353.36 pc (1152.66 l.y.)

Stu 13 AB: 152; 175x: 2 delta mag, wide, white.  WDS says physical based on proper motion, but there is no parallax range overlap, so it is not.

20h 34m 56.52s +41° 43' 04.1" P.A. 196.00 sep 27.2 mag 7.57,10.13 Sp B9

STT 410 AB: 152; 245x: Near equal, hairline split at best moments at 175x, good split at 245x.  Blue-white stars with perfect airy disks!  Physical with 1152-year period, is is nearing periastron and will make a relatively quick turn around the primary in the coming decades.

20h 39m 33.31s +40° 34' 46.8" P.A. 3.20 sep 0.9 mag 6.73,6.83 Sp B8IIIpMn dist. 283.29 pc (924.09 l.y.)

STF 2731 AB: 152; 175x: Faint and fairly wide B, 2 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, and there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, so not physical.

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.)

STF 2762 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow and 2 delta mag deeper yellow-orange B, in the middle a Sagitta-like asterism.  V389 Cyg.  WDS physical based on proper motions; however there is no overlap in their parallax ranges, so they are not.

21h 08m 38.87s +30° 12' 20.5" P.A. 303.00 sep 3.4 mag 5.70,8.10 Sp B9V dist. 115.74 pc (377.54 l.y.)

BU 445 AB: 152; 175x: Easy, wide faint B.  WDS physical based on proper motions.  There's only 2% parallax range overlap, however it's only 911 AU separated with 2.91 and 1.02 solar masses, so very likely gravitationally bound.  Discovered with the 18.5-inch Dearborn at 4.6"

21h 03m 29.53s +29° 05' 33.0" P.A. 109.00 sep 4.7 mag 7.00,11.14 Sp G8III dist. 197.24 pc (643.4 l.y.)

BU 167 AB: 152; 175x: B seen with averted vision only, well separated.  WDS says physical but surprisingly there is no parallax range overlap, not.  Discovered with 6-inch at 1.5"

21h 36m 13.98s +30° 03' 19.5" P.A. 89.00 sep 1.7 mag 6.37,9.95 Sp G8III dist. 110.86 pc (361.63 l.y.)

STF 2822 AB: 152; 175x: Very pretty color contrast, yellow and orange, 2 delta mag.  Physical with a 692.0588-year period, it is coming off periastron and will slowly widen.

21h 44m 08.57s +28° 44' 33.4" P.A. 323.40 sep 1.5 mag 4.75,6.18 Sp F6V+G2V dist. 22.24 pc (72.55 l.y.)

 

BU 692 AB: 152; 175x: Extremely faint ghost of a point, very close about 2" separated.  WDS uncertain, and there is no overlap in their parallax range.  Discovered with 18.5-inch at 2.5"

21h 50m 05.37s +31° 50' 52.4" P.A. 10.00 sep 2.9 mag 7.47,11.03 Sp K0 dist. 181.16 pc (590.94 l.y.)

HO 178 AB: 152; 175x: Extremely faint B seen averted vision only, close but fairly well split.  WDS physical based on proper motions, but there is no overlap in the parallax range, so not.

22h 11m 28.36s +32° 05' 09.9" P.A. 221.00 sep 3.4 mag 7.40,11.16 Sp F0 dist. 121.8 pc (397.31 l.y.)

STF 2881 AB: 152; 175x: Nice!  Hairline at best moments, unequal <1 delta mag.  Physical with a 1345-year period, it will very slowly widen. 

22h 14m 34.67s +29° 34' 20.6" P.A. 70.50 sep 1.2 mag 7.65,8.24 Sp F6III dist. 171.53 pc (559.53 l.y.)

I spent some time looking at Jupiter, which was really good and detailed, and watched Io very slowly disappear behind Jupiter's limb.  Ganymede was near to Io and it was very easy to tell a size difference between the two, Io about half the size.  I switched over to the moon which had just cleared a neighbors roof, and it looked foreign in this post-full stage.  Europa was to do a shadow transit later but the marine layer moved in to close the show.

10 august 2021

Was able to spend some time with the 6-inch last night, the seeing being too average for the 20.  But still some pretty difficult pairs seen.

STF 2570 AB-C: 152; 175x: Light orange A and blue B, nice separation, 2 delta mag.  AB is AGC 10, 0.2" 8.43/8.42
19h 44m 56.78s +10° 46' 30.6" P.A. 277.00 sep 4.3 mag 7.62,9.81 Sp B3IV-V dist. 170.94 pc (557.61 l.y.)

STF 2562 AB: 152; 175x: Easy wide light yellow A and 1 delta mag blue B.  WDS says physical but no orbit yet.  These are likely gravitationally bound: 48% parallax range overlap, 1,660 AU separation, and the radial velocity is less than the escape velocity.
19h 42m 45.86s +08° 22' 57.5" P.A. 251.00 sep 27.2 mag 6.95,8.69 Sp F8V+G0V dist. 66.45 pc (216.76 l.y.)

STF 2543 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange A and much fainter, wide B, just seen with direct vision.  WDS uncertain but these do not share any parallax, so they are not.
19h 36m 12.61s +06° 00' 26.7" P.A. 151.00 sep 11.5 mag 6.76,10.45 Sp G8III dist. 201.61 pc (657.65 l.y.)

BU 139 AB: 152; 456x: Very subtle notched unequal elongation at all powers.  Physical with a 587-year period, currently coming of apastron, it will continue to tighten.  Component of STT 177.  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch in at 0.5", about what it is now, an astounding catch.
19h 12m 34.45s +16° 50' 47.2" P.A. 135.80 sep 0.6 mag 7.11,7.95 Sp B9IV dist. 242.72 pc (791.75 l.y.)

HO 91 AB: 152; 175x: Very pretty light orange A, wide faint B. FF Aql.
18h 58m 14.75s +17° 21' 39.4" P.A. 146.00 sep 7.0 mag 5.44,10.12 Sp F8II dist. 473.93 pc (1545.96 l.y.)

STF 2540 AB: 152; 175x: White A and very light orange, 2 delta mag B, off of the Coat hanger asterism. WDS uncertain, however they do not share the same parallax range.
19h 33m 17.05s +20° 24' 50.5" P.A. 145.00 sep 5.4 mag 7.52,9.23 Sp A3 dist. 152.67 pc (498.01 l.y.)

STF 2504 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow A and light blue B, wide 2 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, but there is a good chance they are gravitationally bound: 13% parallax range overlap, 542 AU separation, and stellar mass of 1.57/0.97.
19h 20m 59.85s +19° 08' 43.4" P.A. 282.00 sep 8.6 mag 7.00,9.03 Sp F5V dist. 62.7 pc (204.53 l.y.)

STF 2523 AB: 152; 175x: Equal white stars, well separated.  WDS says physical, however they do not share the same parallax ranges, so they are not.
19h 26m 48.38s +21° 09' 46.2" P.A. 148.00 sep 6.3 mag 7.95,8.05 Sp B3V+B7V dist. 1470.59 pc 
(4797.06 l.y.)

BU 248 AB: 152; 245x: 2 Vul. Nice!  B seen just outside bright A's diffraction as a very small fine point, 3 delta mag.   WDS is uncertain, but there's a good chance they are gravitationally bound: 24% parallax range overlap, 985 AU separation, 6.47/2.98 mass.
19h 17m 43.64s +23° 01' 32.0" P.A. 128.00 sep 1.8 mag 5.43,8.75 Sp B0.5IV dist. 373.13 pc (1217.15 l.y.)

STF 2727 AB: 152; 175x: Gam2 Del.  Gorgeous, light yellow-orange A and blue-green B, I like this better than Albireo.  Physical with 3249-year period, it will slowly tighten the next couple of hundred years.
20h 46m 39.50s +16° 07' 27.4" P.A. 264.70 sep 8.9 mag 4.36,5.03 Sp K1IV+F7V dist. 38.73 pc (126.34 l.y.)

BU 681 AB: 152; 175x: ! What a difficult pair.  Did not get a convincing view at higher powers, though there seemed a brightening in diffraction with averted vision.  Going to 175x I saw the B star and an especially fine point cleanly separated.  WDS says physical, but very disappointingly they do not overlap their parallax ranges.  Burnham discovered with the Dearborn 18.5-inch, at 2.5"
21h 13m 16.58s +16° 55' 08.4" P.A. 243.00 sep 2.8 mag 7.48,10.92 Sp K3III dist. 213.68 pc (697.02 l.y.)

BU 74 AB: 152; 245x: Very minute and faint B just within A's diffraction.  Discovered with 6-inch at 
1.5".  WDS uncertain, there is no EDR3 data for the B star.
21h 35m 11.99s +21° 24' 14.9" P.A. 338.00 sep 1.0 mag 7.45,9.05 Sp F5V dist. 85.18 pc (277.86 l.y.)

STF 2799 AB: 152; 175x: Very nice near equal yellow-white stars, closely separated, near M15.  WDS uncertain, their parallax ranges do not overlap.
21h 28m 52.79s +11° 05' 05.2" P.A. 258.10 sep 1.9 mag 7.37,7.44 Sp F4V dist. 105.04 pc (342.64 l.y.)

BU 163 AB: 152; 245x: B is just detectable, very, very faint, tangent to or touching A.   Physical with a 78.54-year period, it is at apastron and will remain there for another 20 years before making a rapid closure.
21h 18m 34.85s +11° 34' 08.2" P.A. 77.10 sep 0.9 mag 7.31,8.88 Sp G0V+G6V dist. 47.66 pc (155.47 l.y.)

9 august 2021

I needed to cut last night short as one of the family was not feeling well. It wasn't a particularly great night -- it was transparent, but seeing was average to poor and only moderately improved later in the night.  Used the 7-inch mask most of the time.

BU 420 AB: 178; 205x: Very, very fine pair of faint stars, about 2" separation and 1 delta mag.  Burnham discovered in 1872 with his 6-inch at 4.0" and called it "Probably fixed" -- though it has narrowed to 1.8" since!  WDS uncertain after 33 measures.  They do not share the same parallax range.
18h 30m 01.39s +37° 09' 44.1" P.A. 274.00 sep 1.8 mag 9.79,11.28 Sp F2

TRA 1 AB: 178; 205x: Appeared as an ordinary white star.  There was no secondary listed in SkyTools so I didn't know what to look for, and didn't notice the 11.90 B star listed in WDS (it was probably too faint for 7-inch anyway).  TRA is Veselka Trajkovska who has this one discovery to her name (but numerous measurements made of other stars) using the 25-inch refractor at the Belgrade Observatory.  The B star might not be in Gaia, but if I have it correctly it is 13.02 mag and they do not share the same parallax range, so they are not gravitationally bound.
18h 37m 53.41s +35° 05' 44.8" P.A. 164.00 sep 9.4 mag 8.47,11.90 Sp K0 dist. 251.26 pc (819.61 l.y.)

HU 945 AB: 508; 205x: Fine split, around half a mag delta, about 1" separation.  WDS uncertain, but they do not share the same parallax range, not gravitationally bound.
19h 32m 08.62s +32° 21' 06.9" P.A. 24.00 sep 1.2 mag 9.75,10.39 Sp A5

HU 946 AB: 508; 205x: Easy light yellow A and bluish B, wide, 2 delta.  Not physical.
19h 32m 22.44s +34° 17' 02.6" P.A. 214.00 sep 8.7 mag 8.21,9.93 Sp G0

HU 949 AB: 508; 667x: Hairline split at 533x, nice clean split at 667x, 1 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, I don not find data for the B star in Gaia.
19h 33m 28.96s +33° 05' 23.6" P.A. 87.00 sep 0.5 mag 9.75,9.63 Sp F8

HJ 1414 AB: 508; 205x: Very pretty yellow and blue stars, wide, 1 delta.  Almost didn't look since it's a wide Herschel.  Unfortunately it is not physical.
19h 33m 32.75s +36° 10' 14.1" P.A. 33.00 sep 14.3 mag 9.43,10.77

STT 376 AB: 508; 205x: White A and 2 delta ruddy B, well separated.  WDS uncertain; they do not share the same parallax range, so not gravitational.
19h 35m 07.46s +34° 11' 59.5" P.A. 237.00 sep 2.9 mag 7.56,10.41 Sp A2 dist. 129.7 pc (423.08 l.y.)

AG 234 AB: 508; 205x: White near equal, nice split.  Not physical.
19h 35m 39.62s +36° 17' 20.9" P.A. 320.00 sep 2.7 mag 9.99,10.16

STT 377 AB: 508; 333x: White equal stars, elongated at 205x, cleanly split with 333x.  WDS uncertain; unfortunately they do not share parallax ranges, so not gravitational.

19h 36m 17.16s +35° 39' 34.4" P.A. 34.00 sep 0.9 mag 9.37,9.42 Sp A0

8 august 2021

Another clear night but unfortunately the seeing was rather poor, average at best. So I kept my 7-inch mask on most of the night. I switched over to the 6-inch in order to observe an occultation of the Galilean moons Europa and Ganymede, since Jupiter was too low and to the east for the 20-inch. This was a pretty special observation and I'm really glad the 6-inch was available to me to see it.

STF2253 AB: 178; 205x: Light orange A and wide 3 delta mag faint B, can just hold direct.  Not physical.
17h 58m 22.84s +14° 36' 50.9" P.A. 76.00 sep 11.0 mag 8.52,10.69 Sp M dist. 266.67 pc (869.88 l.y.)

STF2336 AB: 178; 205x: White A and >1 delta mag B, wide.  WDS claims physical on the proper motions, but the stars do not share the same parallax range, so they cannot be gravitationally bound.
18h 32m 49.25s +13° 49' 05.8" P.A. 9.00 sep 6.8 mag 9.16,10.23 Sp F0

STF2409 AB: 178; 333x: Very nice, 2 delta, very finely split pair, excellent.  WDS uncertain, and unfortunately no Gaia data for the B star.
18h 51m 43.74s +13° 31' 06.9" P.A. 22.00 sep 0.9 mag 8.46,9.64 Sp G5 dist. 261.1 pc (851.71 l.y.)

STF2411 AB: 178; 205x: Bright light yellow and 3 delta bluish B, wide.  In a rich field.  WDS uncertain but the Gaia data looks promising: 9% parallax range overlap, 1,913 AU separation, higher mass 2.74/1.24, and the radial velocity delta is *just* less than the escape velocity.
18h 52m 18.63s +14° 32' 08.0" P.A. 95.00 sep 13.3 mag 6.63,9.61 Sp G9III dist. 111.11 pc (362.44 l.y.)

STF2412 AB: 178; 205x: Nice!  Very fine near equal pair, <2".  WDS uncertain, but the Gaia data seems good: 40% parallax range overlap, 491 AU separation, high stellar mass 2.48/2.49, so they are likely gravitationally bound.
18h 52m 35.04s +14° 00' 12.2" P.A. 57.00 sep 1.4 mag 8.96,9.03 Sp K2

STF2206 AB: 178; 205x: Pretty difficult, barest of splits with 205x and very noticeable delta mag.  Seeing is not good so there are worse star images higher powers.  WDS uncertain, but the stars do not share the same parallax ranges, -30%, so not gravitationally bound.
17h 44m 32.13s +18° 59' 31.8" P.A. 248.00 sep 0.9 mag 8.83,9.82 Sp B9 dist. 584.8 pc (1907.62 l.y.)

KU 56 AB: 508; 205x: <1 delta mag, well split.  Not physical.
17h 53m 17.67s +19° 03' 37.4" P.A. 127.00 sep 2.9 mag 10.21,10.90 Sp A2

HO 562 AB: 178; 205x: Fine faint pair, well separated, half delta mag.  WDS physical, and the Gaia data confirms: 49% parallax range overlap, 994 AU separation, 1.46/1.26 stellar mass, and the radial velocity delta is less than the escape velocity.
17h 53m 22.77s +20° 55' 32.1" P.A. 257.00 sep 3.6 mag 10.53,11.10

HU 320 AB: 178; 205x: Very faint close pair, can just hold direct.  WDS uncertain, however the stars do not share the same parallax range.
18h 28m 39.80s +16° 13' 42.5" P.A. 144.00 sep 2.0 mag 10.41,10.85 Sp F8 dist. 110.62 pc (360.84 l.y.)

MIL 5 AB: 178; 205x: Fine faint close pair, 3", <2 delta mag.  WDS uncertain, but the two stars do not share the same parallax range.
18h 39m 25.51s +15° 39' 32.9" P.A. 58.00 sep 3.2 mag 10.07,10.69 Sp G5IV dist. 72.78 pc (237.41 l.y.)

STF2400 AB: 178; 205x: White and 2 delta mag wide B, in a rich field.  Not physical.  
18h 48m 54.88s +16° 15' 24.4" P.A. 159.00 sep 9.7 mag 8.08,11.10 Sp G0 dist. 128.7 pc (419.82 l.y.)

HU 328 AB: 178; 205x: AD Her. 1 delta faint B noticed with averted vision, but can then hold direct.  Well separated.  WDS uncertain, however there is 27% parallax range overlap, 2,583 AU separation, and 2.54/2.01 stellar mass, so they are likely gravitationally bound.
18h 50m 00.30s +20° 43' 16.5" P.A. 187.00 sep 4.8 mag 9.76,11.16 Sp A4V+K2 dist. 1149.43 pc (3749.44 l.y.)

STF2182 AB: 178; 205x: Pretty faint, 1 delta mag, wide.  WDS physical, and there is 8% parallax range overlap, 1,021 AU weighted separation, and 1.69/1.36 stellar mass, so they likely are.
17h 32m 27.74s +23° 52' 04.3" P.A. 1.00 sep 5.3 mag 9.06,9.96 Sp G0

HU 1285 AB: 508; 533x: Hairline split at 445x, better split at 533x and 667x.  White, slightly unequal.  Physical with an 825-year period, it will make a very rapid periastron pass over the next couple of decades and appear on the opposite side, so it is worth watching.
17h 43m 38.76s +22° 36' 43.2" P.A. 209.60 sep 0.5 mag 8.88,9.17 Sp F5 dist. 156.74 pc (511.29 l.y.)

WFC 196 AB: 178; 205x: Faint 1 delta, fairly wide stars.  WDS physical, and they do share 51% of their parallax ranges, 4,763 AU weighted separation, stellar masses 2.65/2.37, and the radial velocity is less than the escape velocity, so they are gravitationally bound.
17h 35m 14.42s +25° 45' 21.9" P.A. 104.00 sep 7.8 mag 9.93,10.48 Sp G5

STF2364 AB: 178; 205x: Pretty white stars, 2 delta mag wide B.  WDS physical, however the stars do not share the same parallax range, -73%, so they are not gravitationally bound.
18h 40m 05.13s +24° 42' 12.4" P.A. 174.00 sep 10.6 mag 8.09,10.32 Sp K0 dist. 129.53 pc (422.53 l.y.)

HO 416 AB: 178; 205x: B just seen with direct vision, well split, 2 delta, light orange stars.  Not physical.
17h 27m 46.17s +30° 23' 43.7" P.A. 98.00 sep 4.5 mag 8.85,10.60 Sp F5

STF2174 AB: 178; 205x: Faint stars for a Struve, unequal 1 delta mag, fairly wide.  WDS uncertain, but the stars do not share the same parallax range, -22%, so not physical.  In the same field as STF2175.
17h 29m 25.08s +32° 45' 51.8" P.A. 331.00 sep 5.4 mag 11.13,12.40

STF2175 AB: 178; 205x: Blue-white A and bluish B, wide, 2 delta mag.  In the same field as STF2174.  WDS physical, and while there is a 100% parallax range overlap, 3,460 AU separation, 2.10/1.37 stellar mass, the radial velocity difference (6.33) far exceeds the escape velocity (1.33), so these are not or will not remain gravitationally bound.

17h 29m 26.85s +32° 42' 33.8" P.A. 9.00 sep 13.3 mag 8.79,10.64 Sp F3+F7 dist. 131.58 pc (429.21 l.y.)

Europa was occulted by Ganymede.  Europa had reached the apastron of its orbit and had apparently slowed to a standstill, allowing Ganymede to overtake it.  When I started my observation with the 6-inch, they appeared as a squat snowman, with one of the moons being smaller than the other.  I could also perceive a slight color difference, with the smaller moon being more orange.  As time passed the elongation shifted to the side, and the notch between them grew stronger, until there was a hairline and then a good clean split -- a clear lateral movement.  Once separated the size difference was very apparent, with the smaller (Europa, 970 mile radius) about half the size of the other (Ganymede, 1,637 mile radius).   I don't recall seeing an occultation of two moons, so this was really neat to see.

BL Lac and more

Yesterday afternoon an onshore wind started and cleared out the high smoke which had been hovering over the Bay Area the last couple of days, giving us the gift of a clear sky.  The seeing was forecasted to be good so I opened up the 20-inch.  To my surprise the seeing was good, enough to go after some challenging pair.

I'll mention it first, but it was my second to last observation of the night: BL Lac has brightened to 12th magnitude, the brightest in a century, so I had a look at it with the aid of an AAVSO finder chart.  It looked like any of the faint 12-13th magnitude stars in the field, but once found I wondered at the 900 million year old photons from the active galaxy I could see from my back yard.

HU 940 AB: 508; 667x: Hairline at 445x, split with 667x, slightly unequal white stars.  Physical with 111.6-year period, it will tighten in the next couple of decades.
19h 05m 30.86s +33° 52' 21.5" P.A. 186.50 sep 0.4 mag 9.18,9.78 Sp F8 dist. 93.63 pc (305.42 l.y.)

A 703 AB: 508; 533x" B is a very fine small point which resolves within A's diffraction ring with seeing only.  A is a light yellow white. Very tough.  No Gaia data on the B star.

19h 07m 12.17s +44° 50' 30.4" P.A. 189.00 sep 0.6 mag 9.01,9.28 Sp G0 dist. 543.48 pc (1772.83 l.y.)

A 152 AB: 508; 205x: Attractive triple, the close pair is around 2" and near equal, C is wide and one delta.  All the stars are white.  Not physical.
19h 10m 33.10s +37° 00' 51.1" P.A. 3.00 sep 2.6 mag 10.54,10.64 Sp A5

SE 2 BC: 508; 1334x: This is a component of STF2481 which I viewed through the 6-inch recently.  I see a very slight elongation to B all powers, but no resolution or notching.  Physical with a 62.79-year period, it will thankfully widen and be a far easier target (at 0.3") by 2030.

19h 11m 07.99s +38° 46' 52.4" P.A. 256.10 sep 0.2 mag 8.31,9.40 Sp G5V dist. 52.85 pc (172.4 l.y.)

HU 941 AB: 508; 533x: Very much fainter B lies on yellow-orange A' diffraction ring.  There is no parallax overlap, -53%, so these are not gravitationally bound
19h 12m 14.80s +32° 15' 10.0" P.A. 146.00 sep 1.1 mag 7.45,11.01 Sp A1V dist. 334.45 pc (1090.98 l.y.)

DA 13 AB: 508; 445x: Very delicate light yellow-orange A and bluish B, very much fainter, <2", a nice fine point.  Unfortunately they do not share parallax ranges, so not gravitational.
19h 44m 44.02s +44° 55' 44.0" P.A. 274.00 sep 2.0 mag 7.42,11.60 Sp K0

STT 385 AB: 508; 205x: Bright white A and 2 delta mag B just separated at low power.  This one is likely gravitational, 94% parallax overlap, 757 AU weighted separation, high stellar mass 4.01/2.67.
19h 45m 48.77s +40° 33' 18.9" P.A. 51.00 sep 1.2 mag 7.77,9.58 Sp B7IV dist. 793.65 pc (2588.89 l.y.)

A 601 AB: 508; 205x: 1 delta mag well split white stars.  Not physical, no parallax overlap.

19h 45m 57.37s +41° 44' 56.7" P.A. 156.00 sep 1.2 mag 10.40,11.40 Sp F0

Closed with a look at Saturn which had just cleared the meridian tree, the view was pretty good be seeing was worse lower in altitude.  Packed it in a 12:30am.

1 august 2021

Back out last night with the 6-inch, and boy I'm glad I persevered in setting it up. Seeing was mediocre for the 20-inch but pretty good for the 6. It stayed clear so I was able to observe until 12:30am, and went through my first full 2-hour cycle in the tracking.

STF 2166 AB: 152; 175x: Blue-white A and wide 1 delta mag red B.  WDS says physical and that's probably correct, 41% parallax range overlap and 3,225 AU weighted separation.  2.03/1.47 stellar mass. 

17h 27m 52.25s +11° 23' 25.8" P.A. 282.00 sep 27.2 mag 7.15,8.58 Sp A5V dist. 115.07 pc (375.36 l.y.)

STF 2140 AB: 152; 175x: Rasalgethi.  Wow best ever view, perfect disks with no flaring.  Light orange A and 2 delta mag light aqua B.  Physical with a 3600-year period.

17h 14m 38.86s +14° 23' 24.9" P.A. 102.50 sep 4.6 mag 3.48,5.40 Sp M5Ib-II dist. 110.25 pc (359.64 l.y.)

I decided to point the scope further up in altitude, and searched for someplace I hadn't explored, so I searched for a bright star south of Lyra.  I found one and pointed the scope to it -- only to see it moving across the field.  I thought the tracking might be off but the rest of the stars stayed still.  It was a slow moving, tumbling satellite.  I followed it for a while in the telescope, then in the finder, then just naked eye.  It brightened to about 5th magnitude for about three seconds then quickly faded out to invisibility.  It was moving slowly enough I called Lin out to have a look.  After another 10 minutes it went into the earth's shadow.  I think it was Cosmos 2195, a Russian rocket body, but the Heaven's Above chart seems too fast for what I saw.

STF 2525 AB: 152; 175x: Close near equal white stars.  Physical with 289-year period.
19h 26m 33.71s +27° 19' 21.9" P.A. 289.00 sep 2.2 mag 8.19,8.39 Sp F8 dist. 64.52 pc (210.46 l.y.)

BU 248 AB: 152; 285x: Blue-white A and very faint B at A's diffraction ring.  B is hazy but resolves to a point when the seeing firms.  Seen at 175x, better at 285x.  Burnham called it "A fine pair with a moderate aperture."  WDS uncertain, but there is 24% overlap, 985 AU weighted separation, and pretty high stellar mass 6.47/2.98, so it is likely gravitationally bound.

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

BU 139 AB: 152; 456x: V338 Sge.  Very slightly notched elongation at all powers, unequal.  Tough!  Physical with 587-year period.  Burnham discovered with 6-inch at 0.5"

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

HO 91 AB: 152; 175x: FF Aql.  Lovely deep orange A with very faint bluish well separated B, just detected and held with direct vision.  WDS is uncertain, but there is 8% parallax overlap, 3,508 AU weighted separation, and high stellar mass 6.74/1.75, so may well be gravitationally bound.
18h 58m 14.75s +17° 21' 39.4" P.A. 146.00 sep 7.0 mag 5.44,10.12 Sp F8II dist. 473.93 pc (1545.96 l.y.)

STTA 178 AB: 152; 175x: Subtle light orange A and stronger blue B, 2 delta mag, super wide.  Finder split.  WDS uncertain.  There is 33% parallax overlap, and a pretty far 16,757 AU weighted separation, but stellar mass are on the high end, 3.89/2.27, so it might be gravitational.

19h 15m 20.09s +15° 05' 01.2" P.A. 267.00 sep 89.6 mag 5.69,7.64 Sp G8II-III dist. 212.31 pc (692.56 l.y.)

STF 2489 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow A and 2 delta mag yellow-orange B, wide.  WDS says physical, but there is no parallax overlap -60%, it is not.

19h 16m 26.78s +14° 32' 40.6" P.A. 347.00 sep 8.3 mag 5.67,9.30 Sp B9.5V dist. 125.63 pc (409.81 l.y.)

M71: Fairly well resolved mist of stars with some brighter before it.

STF 2596 AB: 152; 175x: Light yellow A and light blue B, nicely separated, very pretty.  Physical with a 2971-year period.  

19h 54m 01.95s +15° 17' 31.7" P.A. 296.30 sep 2.0 mag 7.29,8.68 Sp F8V dist. 82.58 pc (269.38 l.y.)

M27: Seen in finder as a patch of haze.  In the scope I can see the apple core shape, and with OIII filter the nebula brightens with some striations radiating from the center, and one side of the apple core is brighter, thicker, and all the nebula has a greenish tinge.

DJU 4 AB: 152; 285x: Gorgeous!  Bright A and 3 delta mag B appears as a fine point just beyond A's diffraction.  Seen at 175x, best at 285x.  Physical with a 615-year period, at apastron.

19h 53m 27.69s +24° 04' 46.6" P.A. 247.00 sep 1.4 mag 4.63,7.37 Sp B9.5III dist. 102.56 pc (334.55 l.y.)

STT 395 AB: 152; 456x: Slightly unequal snowman at all powers.  Notching increases in strength with increasing power. Physical with 1201-year period.

20h 02m 01.45s +24° 56' 16.8" P.A. 127.80 sep 0.8 mag 5.83,6.19 Sp F2III dist. 67.98 pc (221.75 l.y.)

STF 2570 AB-C: 152; 175x: 2 delta mag, light orange AB and blue B.  AB is AGC 10, 0.2" 8.43/8.42 and would be a good target for the 20-inch.  

19h 44m 56.78s +10° 46' 30.6" P.A. 277.00 sep 4.3 mag 7.62,9.81 Sp B3IV-V dist. 170.94 pc (557.61 l.y.)

STF 2590 AB: 152; 175x: Fairly bright ice-blue A and very faint reddish B, just seen direct, wide.  WDS uncertain, there is 19% parallax overlap, 6,246 AU weighted separation, and pretty high stellar mass 4.67/1.80, so might be gravitationally bound.

19h 52m 15.58s +10° 21' 05.8" P.A. 308.00 sep 13.6 mag 6.50,10.31 Sp B7V dist. 325.73 pc (1062.53 l.y.)

BU 266 AB: 152; 175x: B seen with averted vision only, wide.  What's cool is that not jus the B star is revealed with averted vision, but the whole field sparkles with more stars with AV!  WDS says physical and there is 17% parallax overlap, 2,874 AU weighted separation, and stellar mass 2.29/0.96, so may be gravitationally bound.

19h 57m 56.15s +11° 24' 53.0" P.A. 166.00 sep 15.8 mag 7.57,11.50 Sp A3 dist. 198.41 pc (647.21 l.y.)

STF 2613 AB: 152; 175x: Lovely near equal white stars, good split.  Physical with 2106-year period.

20h 01m 26.66s +10° 44' 54.8" P.A. 355.20 sep 3.5 mag 7.48,8.02 Sp F5V+F5V dist. 80.58 pc (262.85 l.y.)

I closed the night with good views of Saturn and Jupiter.  I could see brightening and color variation in Saturn's rings, and the rugby shirt banding.  Jupiter had a GRS transit in progress, and it showed brightening in the eye.  The opposite ring was a very dark blood red (dried blood). 

6-inh f/15 second light

I traced the shakiness I observed in the 6-inch refractor to the wooden tripod mount I built.  There was inadequate lateral support in the top where it met with the adapter plate.  With so much weight at the top end and such a solid connection to the ground, the middle/top of the tripod was the weakest point and the top could not help but vibrate.  So I tore the tripod apart and used the wood to build a tall table or stand type of structure, using steel connectors usually used to build tall hunting blinds.  I reused the cast aluminum tripod that came with the Byers, and strapped it to the stand with plumbing straps.  Each leg is staked to the ground with #5 rebar.  Not it is totally steady and there is no vibration from the support, only from any backlash in the gears.  I impressed myself with the polar alignment because the tracking is amazingly good -- I can hold Jupiter in the center of the field as it rises in the east, a very difficult test.  I used the scope the last couple of nights to get used to it and will make some refinements (like dressing the wires, adding the setting circles, etc.).  But I'm very happy it's done.

Seeing and transparency were not very good either night, but in any case this is the scope I'll use for these mediocre nights -- but especially for solar observing.  The star test looked really good, and the star images are all I can ask for.  I'm looking forward to many productive years with this scope.

STT 371 AB-C: 152;  104x: Nice close 2 delta white stars.  Not physical.  Power too low to notice AB is 0.9" 7.05/7.55 and physical.

19h 15m 56.96s +27° 27' 21.4" P.A. 269.00 sep 47.2 mag 7.03,9.77 Sp B8V dist. 277.01 pc (903.61 l.y.)

M56: Haze of faint stars with some brighter scattered ahead of them, fairly large a half field of view.  

M57: Ring Nebula, can see the annulus and one side thicker/brighter, and a light grey-green color.

BU 648 AB: 152; 104x: Fairly bright red-orange star, B resolves as a very tiny point inside A's diffraction.

STF 2461 AB: 152; 175x: Elongation only up to 380x

19h 07m 25.58s +32° 30' 06.2" P.A. 281.00 sep 3.2 mag 5.26,9.10 Sp F0V dist. 41.58 pc (135.63 l.y.)

BU 975 BC: 152; 175x: Fine split, near equal white.  No data on the B star in Gaia.  Components of STF 2351.

19h 14m 29.16s +34° 33' 51.0" P.A. 262.00 sep 1.0 mag 9.70,9.80 Sp K0V dist. 66.58 pc (217.18 l.y.)

STF 2362 AB: 152; 175x: 1 delta mag, blue-white A and ruddy B, well split.  WDS is uncertain but this is probably gravitationally bound: 28% parallax overlap, 428 AU weighted separation, 1.72/1.32 solar masses.

18h 38m 25.70s +36° 03' 11.3" P.A. 187.00 sep 4.4 mag 7.53,8.72 Sp A5 dist. 105.26 pc (343.36 l.y.)

 

STT 525 AB: 152; 285x: Suspected at 175x, best seen 285x.  Orange A, subtle elongation to notched with best seeing, unequal.  Wide SHJ 282 AC also seen.  WDS uncertain but there is a -34% parallax overlap, so it's not possible to be.

18h 54m 52.52s +33° 58' 06.9" P.A. 130.00 sep 1.8 mag 6.14,9.12 Sp A8+G5III dist. 358.42 pc (1169.17 l.y.)

STF 2481 A-BC: 152; 175x: Near equal, white, wide.  BC is SE 2 and 0.2" 8.31/9.40 63-year period -- a great target for my 20-inch.  

19h 11m 07.90s +38° 46' 48.4" P.A. 18.00 sep 4.8 mag 8.39,8.31 Sp G6V dist. 52.85 pc (172.4 l.y.)

STF 2469 AB: 152; 175x: Faint A and very faint, 2 delta mag B, split with seeing with 175x, a steady and close split with 285x.  WDS is uncertain but it very likely is gravitationally bound: 30% parallax overlap, 181 AU weighted average, stellar mass 1.85/1.43.

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

STF 2534 AB: 152; 175x: Very slight magnitude difference, blue-white, wide.  WDS is uncertain, but there is -38% parallax overlap, so it is not.

19h 27m 40.63s +36° 31' 44.4" P.A. 63.00 sep 6.9 mag 8.21,8.39 Sp B9III dist. 900.9 pc (2938.74 l.y.)

STF 2624 AB: 152; 175x: Very slightly unequal magnitude, close white stars.  WDS uncertain, but there is 22% overlap and a rather wide 4,020 AU weighted separation, and very high stellar mass 8.58/7.70 -- so maybe

20h 03m 29.42s +36° 01' 28.6" P.A. 174.00 sep 1.9 mag 7.09,7.73 Sp O9.5IIIe dist. 862.07 pc (2812.07 l.y.)

STT 394 AB: 152; 175x: Light orange A and a faint wide companion.  WDS calls it physical, no data for B in Gaia.

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

STF 2609 AB: 152; 175x: Wide 1 delta mag.  WDS is uncertain, 3% parallax range overlap, 660 AU weighted separation, 3.81/3.01 stellar mass -- maybe.

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

STF 2666 AB: 152; 175x: 2 delta mag, quite close, white A and bluish B.  WDS uncertain, 32% overlap, 2,749 AU weighted separation, very high stellar mass 7.63/4.80 -- likely to be gravitationally bound. 

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

STF 2663 AB: 152; 175x: Pretty close near equal.  WDS uncertain, 3% parallax overlap, 3,216 AU weighted average, high stellar mass 3.60/3.09.

20h 16m 48.53s +39° 41' 50.4" P.A. 323.00 sep 5.4 mag 8.20,8.66 Sp A0II dist. 2702.7 pc (8816.21 l.y.)

BU 677 AB: 152; 285x: Did not see the 10th magnitude companion, 4.94 mag primary.

20h 47m 10.72s +34° 22' 26.8" P.A. 120.00 sep 10.0 mag 4.94,10.03 Sp K3III dist. 136.43 pc (445.03 l.y.)

STT 413 AB: 152; 175x: Very unequal mag snowman.  Physical with an 800-year period.

20h 47m 24.53s +36° 29' 26.7" P.A. 0.10 sep 0.9 mag 4.73,6.26 Sp B5Ve dist. 235.85 pc (769.34 l.y.)

STF 2736 AB: 152; 175x: 52 Cyg, the Veil Nebula double.  Dramatic light orange A and very faint, wide blue B.  WDS uncertain, 61% parallax overlap, 1,058 AU weighted separation, 2.07/1.62 stellar mass, likely gravitational.
20h 56m 43.74s +12° 59' 33.8" P.A. 219.00 sep 5.3 mag 8.34,9.36 Sp F2 dist. 294.99 pc (962.26 l.y.)

BU 67 AB: 152; 175x: Very faint B, with seeing and averted vision only.  WDS uncertain, but -8% parallax overlap.  Burnham discovered with his 6-inch.  

20h 50m 36.05s +30° 54' 45.7" P.A. 310.00 sep 1.5 mag 6.85,9.87 Sp A8III dist. 120.05 pc (391.6 l.y.)

STT 418 AB: 152; 285x: Incredibly fine split, near equal.  Suspected at 175x.  Physical with a 709-year period.

20h 54m 49.84s +32° 42' 23.2" P.A. 283.20 sep 0.9 mag 8.23,8.27 Sp G0 dist. 60.72 pc (198.07 l.y.)