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Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club       #4907812 - 11/10/11 12:59 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   After a couple of false starts over the past month, I believe I understand proper PA and celestial coordinates in each of my two scopes now and have officially started work on the Astronomical League Double Star Club list. Gamma Delphini and 57 Aquilae logged and sketched. Both are easily separated, primary only slightly brighter than secondary in both. The main component of Gamma Delphini did appear to have a ruddy hue, no other significant colors noted. 2 down, 98 to go. Post Extras:       blb Post Laureate Reged: 11/25/05 Loc: Piedmont NC Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4908109 - 11/10/11 08:39 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This is a great observing club. I completed it a couple of years ago from my heavely light polluted sky at home in town. You can easily complete it in a year or less. Congratulations on starting this wonderful trip. You'll have fun observing these stars. Post Extras:       desertstars Reged: 11/05/03 Loc: Tucson, AZ Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: blb]       #4908159 - 11/10/11 09:06 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: This is a great observing club. Yes, it is! I've logged a bit over 70% of them to date. Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: desertstars]       #4910194 - 11/11/11 11:15 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Last evening I added 65 Piscium, Psi 1 Piscium and Zeta Piscium to the log, bringing my ALDS total to 5. The most attractive pair of this batch was Zeta Piscium, with a yellowish-white primary and a reddish-purple secondary. The sky was extremely washed out due to strong moon glow. Post Extras:       piyro member Reged: 05/14/10 Loc: Canary Islands, Spain Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4910745 - 11/11/11 05:00 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have logged 89 out of 100 with my Firstscope in almost one year. Those 11 remaining are the most difficult ones (Sirius, Rigel, Mintaka, alpha Pis, Izar, gamma cet, ...) Pedro. Post Extras:       C_Moon Pooh-Bah Reged: 10/23/09 Loc: Virginia Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4910989 - 11/11/11 07:44 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Last evening I added 65 Piscium, Psi 1 Piscium and Zeta Piscium to the log, bringing my ALDS total to 5. The most attractive pair of this batch was Zeta Piscium, with a yellowish-white primary and a reddish-purple secondary. The sky was extremely washed out due to strong moon glow. Appreciate your post as you have inspired me to start for the pin as well! As for Pisces, wait to you see Alpha Piscium (if you haven't already), I just love it! Post Extras:       blb Post Laureate Reged: 11/25/05 Loc: Piedmont NC Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: piyro]       #4911071 - 11/11/11 08:57 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I have logged 89 out of 100 with my Firstscope in almost one year. Those 11 remaining are the most difficult ones (Sirius, Rigel, Mintaka, alpha Pis, Izar, gamma cet, ...) Pedro. Pedro, are you sure that your doing the Astronomical League's Double Star Club? The reasion I ask is that Sirius is not on the AL Double Star List. As for the other stars, I completed the list using my 4" TV102 refractor. What are you using to observe these double stars? Post Extras:       piyro member Reged: 05/14/10 Loc: Canary Islands, Spain Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: blb]       #4911406 - 11/12/11 04:18 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Quote: I have logged 89 out of 100 with my Firstscope in almost one year. Those 11 remaining are the most difficult ones (Sirius, Rigel, Mintaka, alpha Pis, Izar, gamma cet, ...) Pedro. Pedro, are you sure that your doing the Astronomical League's Double Star Club? The reasion I ask is that Sirius is not on the AL Double Star List. As for the other stars, I completed the list using my 4" TV102 refractor. What are you using to observe these double stars? Hello Buddy, The list on the AL server (http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/dblstar/dblstar2.html) has Sirius in position 33 Most of the observations have been made with the Firstscope (see my signature). The main problem, for me, is its aperture I am very astigmatic, even with my glasses on -i am also myopic-, so when the primary is very brilliant my astigmatism causes me problems. Clear skies, Pedro Post Extras:       RLTYS Post Laureate Reged: 12/18/04 Loc: New York (Long Island) Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: piyro]       #4911500 - 11/12/11 07:44 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Pedro, I just checked the list and No. 33 on the AL Double Star observing list is Epsilon Canis Major. Sirus is not part of the program. But I must admit I found Epsilon the most difficult double on the whole list to observe. Rich (RLTYS) Post Extras:       piyro member Reged: 05/14/10 Loc: Canary Islands, Spain Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: RLTYS]       #4911920 - 11/12/11 12:32 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Aaargh Of course is epsilon and not alpha. Thank you Buddy and Rich, I was absolutely sure that it was alpha CMa. Pedro. Post Extras:       blb Post Laureate Reged: 11/25/05 Loc: Piedmont NC Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: piyro]       #4912987 - 11/12/11 11:30 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Still though Sirus would be a good chalenge for the next couple of years with the separation widening to it's maximum separation. It will be doable but hard with the magnitude difference. I will be trying to see this one this winter with my 4-inch refractor. Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: blb]       #4915203 - 11/14/11 10:20 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I made the mistake of fabricating an off-axis aperture mask for my SCT... It has been cloudy and/or extremely windy since and the forecast isn't looking good out until Thursday. Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4919502 - 11/16/11 05:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I have a Tasco 7TE-5 2.4" F/16.7 on the way and am thinking about starting over on the AL Double Star Club list strictly using this refractor. Has anyone else completed the list with a 2.4" 'scope? Post Extras:       piyro member Reged: 05/14/10 Loc: Canary Islands, Spain Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4920882 - 11/17/11 01:28 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I have a Tasco 7TE-5 2.4" F/16.7 on the way and am thinking about starting over on the AL Double Star Club list strictly using this refractor. Has anyone else completed the list with a 2.4" 'scope? No, at least not now. But quoting the Astronomical League Double Star Club page: Just do the best you can and report what you see All my observations have been made with my cheap Celestron Firstscope, not the best telescope for double stars, and so far I have logged 89 out of 100. Some of them have been much easier with my 60 mm refractor than with the 75 mm reflector. I doubt I will ever be able to split Alpha Pis, Gamma Cet, Zeta Ori (Alnitak), Theta Aur, 38 Lyn, Gamma Vir (Porrima), Epsilon CMa , Delta Gem and Epsilon Boo (Izar) Keep in mind that the Double Star List is a little dated and several separations and PAs have changed: Alpha Pis, Alpha Gem (Castor), Gamma Leo (Algieba), Gamma Vir (Porrima), Mu Dra, 70 Oph, Epsilon Lyr and Zeta Aqr. Pedro Post Extras:       blb Post Laureate Reged: 11/25/05 Loc: Piedmont NC Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: piyro]       #4920960 - 11/17/11 02:19 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Pedro, you should be able to split stars with 2" seperation and as faint as mag. 11.5 from a dark sky with that 60mm refractor. Do not give up and keep trying. You will find that some nights are better than others and one night you will be able to separate those close double stars. Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: blb]       #4922193 - 11/18/11 08:10 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The F/16.7 Tasco is on schedule for a Tuesday delivery courtesy UPS, just in time for a 5-day long Thanksgiving weekend! Post Extras:       tlogan6680 super member Reged: 01/31/05 Loc: Monterey, CA Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4928332 - 11/21/11 06:20 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A 60mm f16.7 refractor would be a kick! I too am just starting officailly on the AL Double star list. I started drawing double stars in 1988 with a 105x445 Astroscan, a real widefield scope. The smallest eyepiece i had was a 7mm ortho which gave me 63.5 power. Did about 50 with the Astroscan, tho many are not in the AL list- like 23 Ori. And though i now use a 6 in SCT and an Astrosky 10 in dob, the old Astroscan was real fun. tom in cloudy CA Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: tlogan6680]       #4931602 - 11/23/11 03:58 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The F/16.7 60mm Tasco arrived yesterday. I also have a Tasco 76mm F/15.8 in the works for those doubles the 60mm can't handle. And then in Feb, a D&G 5" F/15 will be ordered but that may take a few months to arrive. Maybe I'll be done with refractors then. Maybe. Post Extras:       RAKing Postmaster Reged: 12/28/07 Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4948497 - 12/03/11 06:50 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Congrats on your start. I think that once you get rolling, you will become hooked on doubles. I have always been interested in doubles and did the AL list a couple years ago. Then I just kept going! I have a little over 350 on my list now and I find new ones in every book I read. BTW - Epsilon Canis Majoris is Adhara and even though it's not as tough as Sirius, it's a very challenging contrast double in its own right. Enjoy! Ron Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: RAKing]       #4952507 - 12/05/11 11:52 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Reality has set in regarding the D&G, "a few months to arrive" may be a little off Nevertheless, my double star logging has been on hold lately. Around the time I received the Tasco I came down with a major cold/flu bug that kept me indoors, and the weather has been atrocious since I have recovered. I did get a few test nights out with the Tasco 60mm and it is on the sidelines waiting on a few upgrades. The 73 mm Tasco has been delayed until January. I think my bright idea of working on the AL list strictly with a small diameter refractor is going to be abandoned. I will continue with whatever scope I have at hand, otherwise it may take me a few decades to get the pin, hah. Post Extras:       RAKing Postmaster Reged: 12/28/07 Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4969913 - 12/16/11 04:33 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I hope you feel better soon. FWIW - it took me about 8 or 9 months to complete the AL list and I used at least six different scopes while I was working on it. Because I observe from my back deck and have a limited look at the sky, I had to wait for some of the doubles to clear my house before I could bag them. There is only one AL target each in the 0900, 1100, and 1300 hours (RA). It was this waiting time that encouraged me to go find more on my own and by the time I finished the AL list, I had an extra 100 on my personal list. Once you get hooked on doubles, you will NEVER run out of new ones to observe. Cheers, Ron Post Extras:       jrbarnett Eyepiece Hooligan Reged: 02/28/06 Loc: Petaluma, CA Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #4970506 - 12/16/11 11:46 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Back awhile ago I ordered a 5" D&G and it took ~19 months to show up. It sounds like this is still the case. I think that working the list with whatever scope is appropriate and available for a given double sounds like a winner. The 60mm is great in that it'll deploy and cool almost instantaneously and still be able to net you the majority of doubles on the list. Then when you have more time and more aperture, you can finish things up. Hang in there, and I hope your weather improves soon. - Jim Post Extras:       MadHungarian sage Reged: 11/18/10 Loc: Cloudy WA Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #5057809 - 02/06/12 01:20 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   And i've just started mine too. Split a couple last night in Orion, after 2 hours chasing craters on the moon for the Lunar II certificate. I'm hoping the weather holds out tomorrow night, so i can get the rest of the Orion double stars on the list. Lambda Orionis was the more interesting of the two, because it was the closest one i've seen yet, at 4.4". Using 15mm TV plossl (187x), i got a clean split in my poor driveway viewing conditions. My separation guestimate was 5"-10". But any suggestions for better estimating separation? My estimates aren't very good yet -- my Polaris guestimate was off by 400% or so. 3 down, 97 to go... Post Extras:       bandhunter super member Reged: 12/01/09 Loc: North Carolina Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: MadHungarian]       #5074784 - 02/16/12 12:29 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I've always wanted to do this. I noticed they have one for binoculars as well. When I'm finally finished with school I hope to get started. Daniel Post Extras:       Rich_W member Reged: 09/07/09 Loc: Philadelphia, PA Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: bandhunter]       #5086318 - 02/22/12 08:43 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This was the first AL list I did, took me about a year, and I learned a lot along the way. Sissy Haas's book was very helpful and I've made it a kind of lifetime target list (which I know is unrealistic, like most of my lifetime goals). But a very enjoyable project for urban skies. Post Extras:       MadHungarian sage Reged: 11/18/10 Loc: Cloudy WA Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: MadHungarian]       #5682796 - 02/16/13 03:33 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: And i've just started mine too. Split a couple last night in Orion, after 2 hours chasing craters on the moon for the Lunar II certificate. I'm hoping the weather holds out tomorrow night, so i can get the rest of the Orion double stars on the list. 3 down, 97 to go... A year later -- 97 down, 3 to go. Post Extras:       drbyyz sage Reged: 11/04/12 Loc: Summerville, SC Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: MadHungarian]       #5691273 - 02/20/13 04:31 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I recently started this list along with the bino list as well. I really enjoy when the two lists overlap, fun to get two(or more!) perspectives on the same system. I think my favorite part of this list so far is that it is enhancing my ability to judge distances while looking at objects. I'm getting much better at recognizing 25" versus 10" versus 100" etc. Post Extras:       CelestronDaddy sage Reged: 08/22/09 Loc: Central Texas Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: Ain Soph Aur]       #5691346 - 02/20/13 05:08 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Downloaded the list today and will begin the quest! Post Extras:       RLTYS Post Laureate Reged: 12/18/04 Loc: New York (Long Island) Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: CelestronDaddy]       #5692303 - 02/21/13 07:46 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   To All, there is also the AL Binocular Double Star program. Rich (RLTYS) Post Extras:       StarDusty sage Reged: 10/02/07 Loc: Parsippany, NJ Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: RLTYS]       #5698783 - 02/24/13 06:52 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   A few years ago, I started the AL double star list. I made a detailed list of the AL doubles for use out in the dark. I also kept my logs. Both can be downloaded at: http://www.clearskyobserver.com/index.php/component/content/article/22-double... Post Extras:       Ain Soph Aur sage Reged: 08/11/11 Loc: Tennessee Re: Finally made a start on the AL Double Star Club [Re: StarDusty]       #5700809 - 02/25/13 11:44 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Wow, this is an old thread! After getting side-tracked with many other projects, I am about to get started on a new round of AL Double Star logs. I lost the handful of logs from 2011 in a move last year, so started this program over from scratch in October 2012. I then got side tracked working the AL Lunar I program in November which I finished up earlier this month, so am ready to start back up on the Double Star program. Right now I am at 32 of 100. Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all)

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