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Snaproll
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/20/04
Posts: 3471
Loc: Wisconsin
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Well Jim, it makes sense from what I saw. Both stars were probably about a minute away from Vega and around 10 magnitude. If those are the stars, they were not a very hard target in the 14, I would think they wouldn't be that hard to catch in an 8".
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-Jim-
Happiness is a clear sky and a Denk II
old AP images and some new C14 Hyperstar images
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AstroRealtor
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/26/08
Posts: 538
Loc: Terra Firma
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Jim,
I saw one bluish star last night and I'm not very efficient at estimating magnitudes but if my memory serves me correctly it was a little too far away from Vega from what I remember from the other night. Perhaps I had a higher power this time around and that would account for the distance difference.
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Clear Skies, Jim
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Discovering: Messier objects, Deep sky treasures, NGCs, Double stars, & Nebulae of all kinds.
Televue 85 "Polaris" Mount
Custom Crafted Newtonian Dob 8" f7 w/Feathertouch
Celestron Cometron Reflector 114mm f8
Zeiss Diafun 8 X 30 Binos
Zeiss 10 X 56 Binos
 Aldrich Astronomical Society
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Snaproll
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/20/04
Posts: 3471
Loc: Wisconsin
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Splitting binaries is always a fun way to widdle away the time. My favorite are the E and F stars in the Trap on M42 
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-Jim-
Happiness is a clear sky and a Denk II
old AP images and some new C14 Hyperstar images
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E_Look
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/06/08
Posts: 574
Loc: near New York
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Do you think this can be done with a 8" reflector?
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Ed
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Snaproll
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/20/04
Posts: 3471
Loc: Wisconsin
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Sure, I don't see why not depending on the magnification the 8" can reach. With my 8" SCT I could split stars to probably about 3 arc seconds (if I remember correctly), depending on the stability of the air. If the stars are 60 seconds apart, they definitely should be seen as long as they're not lost in the glare of Vega and the air is steady enough to see them.
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-Jim-
Happiness is a clear sky and a Denk II
old AP images and some new C14 Hyperstar images
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AstroTay
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/10/06
Posts: 943
Loc: Toronto, Canada
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These past two nights has been the best for observing at my site, clear, crisp, no clouds or moisture.
Looked at Vega again......used an 80A, 56 and moon filter (just for the heck of it)...this time maxed out with a 4mm EP. Still no companion to Vega.
Started over with a 20mm using a OIII and H-Beta filter to darken Vega...pumped up to 4mm again. I'll be honest....I think I may have detected something. Can't say for sure...those last two filters darkened the stars too much.
Well...I'm going to let this one go. Can't say for sure if Vega is a Visual Binary..  I give up.
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Meade 10"LX200R w UHTC "Ocean Liner Anne" + wireless Autostar II
DSI Pro w CCD Color Filter Set
Celestron NexStar 102 SLT "SteamShip Anne"
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AstroRealtor
professor emeritus
Reged: 03/26/08
Posts: 538
Loc: Terra Firma
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A valiant effort Astrotay! I think possibly you are not looking far enough away from Vega. The star I saw was well-separated from Vega by much more than a minute of arc, (I have no reliable way of accurately gaging position angles) easily detectable in almost any amateur scope. Also; what probably enabled me to see it so clearly was that it fell conveniently between some diffraction spikes that were blocking Vega's light before my scope was fully collimated.
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Clear Skies, Jim
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Discovering: Messier objects, Deep sky treasures, NGCs, Double stars, & Nebulae of all kinds.
Televue 85 "Polaris" Mount
Custom Crafted Newtonian Dob 8" f7 w/Feathertouch
Celestron Cometron Reflector 114mm f8
Zeiss Diafun 8 X 30 Binos
Zeiss 10 X 56 Binos
Aldrich Astronomical Society
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Snaproll
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/20/04
Posts: 3471
Loc: Wisconsin
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Quote:
A valiant effort Astrotay! I think possibly you are not looking far enough away from Vega. The star I saw was well-separated from Vega by much more than a minute of arc, (I have no reliable way of accurately gaging position angles) easily detectable in almost any amateur scope. Also; what probably enabled me to see it so clearly was that it fell conveniently between some diffraction spikes that were blocking Vega's light before my scope was fully collimated.
Agreed, I definitely saw two stars in the field and I'm guessing they were at least twice the distance between Polaris and it's companion, and if I remember right, that distance was about 35 arc seconds. So both stars would be some distance from Vega. Even though Vega was bright, they were still far enough away to be easily out of the glare.
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-Jim-
Happiness is a clear sky and a Denk II
old AP images and some new C14 Hyperstar images
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wrather1
AstroBear
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 2918
Loc: Dallas, Texas
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Haven't noticed a companion to Vega, but then I wasn't intentionally looking for one before. Just been using Vega for an alignment star.
Nothing jumped out at me like the "Polaris Pup" does.
But now my curiosity is aroused, so I'm gonna take a real good look when the seeing's good again...
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"Don't worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God's wondrous universe." - T. M. Back
Meade RCX400-12 on JMI trolley "Ursa Major"
TMB 130SS on EQ6 PRO "Ursus Polaris"
Orion ED80 "Ursa Minor", WO ZS66ED "grab-'n'-go"
Canon EOS 30D (Hutech), Meade DSI, Philips ToUcam Pro
North Texas Clear Sky Chart
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Skip
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 805
Loc: Austin, Texas, USA
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Jim, those Trap components are my favs too. Really exciting the first time I saw them with my 10". Now I use it as a guide to seeing conditions (during the winter). I'll give Vega a try this weekend at our public star party - after the crowds clear. 
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Skip
Celestron NexStar 6SE (Small Caliber)
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