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Adventures with Binocular Double Stars

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#176 jrazz

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Posted 13 May 2022 - 12:06 AM

Colorado delivered... It was super windy tonight and COLD (50° and probably like 35 with wind chill) my hands are FROZEN.

 

Worth it though.

Transparency is spectacular. I would have stayed out longer but would have died of hypothermia.

 

 

What I saw:

36 UMa

10h 30m 37.58s +55° 58' 49.9" P.A. 303.00 sep 122.8 mag 4.88,8.86 Sp F6V dist. 12.78 pc (41.69 l.y.)

 

Really excellent target for the 20x65ED. It's fairly easy to see but a pain to find since there's no really good landmarks to follow. However, if you're in the area, look for the "Seven Arrows". A lopsided asterism that's actually really cool to look at! (https://articles.ads...000241.000.html)

 

STF 1368

09h 36m 04.95s +53° 17' 53.9" P.A. 220.00 sep 21.9 mag 8.79,10.45 Sp F5 dist. 109.89 pc (358.46 l.y.)

 

and 

STF 1366

09h 35m 42.47s +53° 17' 40.4" P.A. 321.00 sep 7.8 mag 8.44,10.09 Sp F2 dist. 95.51 pc (311.55 l.y.)

 

Could not split 1366. Had to get the telescope out. But 1368 is an excellent target. Pretty much at the limit of what I could do tonight. It's a very cool sight and not hard to find at all.

 

65 UMa / STF 1579 AB,D

11h 55m 05.74s +46° 28' 36.6" P.A. 114.00 sep 62.5 mag 6.68,6.97 Sp A3Vn dist. 211.86 pc (691.09 l.y.)

 

What a cool sight! Pretty and bright. There are a ton of doubles in that view but you really need a telescope to split them all.

 

Lastly I went after 

STT 575AB (62 UMa)

11h 41m 34.26s +31° 44' 45.8" P.A. 311.00 sep 44.0 mag 5.79,9.75 Sp F4V dist. 41.15 pc (134.23 l.y.)

 

Which, again, is a pain to find. I'm honestly not sure I got the right one but I did see a strong primary with a grayish dimmer secondary.

I think the cold had gotten to my brain by that time cause I don't understand my notes.

 

Fun night! 10/10 would do again with a space heater and more blankets!

 

 

BTW, do any of you observe with music? When I go to the remote sites I appreciate the silence but my back yard is LOUD (especially at night). I find that music helps me focus and isolates me from the world around.


Edited by jrazz, 13 May 2022 - 12:23 AM.

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#177 clastro8*

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Posted 18 May 2022 - 08:03 PM

Thanks to the informative post from jrazz, I am pretty sure I had very enjoyable visits with UMa 36 the last 2 evenings using both 10 x and 15 x unmounted but also with monopod.

 

It was fairly easy to find by using the Pocket Atlas which shows it about 4 deg west of Beta Uma.  I didn't see the 7 Arrows asterism, however, but will look for it again soon.

 

The hop from Beta to 36 is fairly straightforward, but even so two issues concern me a little bit.

 

One is, according to the mags, the A-star is about 40 x brighter than the companion, but as I viewed them, the difference did not seem that great and, for purposes of figuring the PA, about 300 degrees according to the spec, I had to ask myself which is which and really think that over.

 

Then for PA, I concluded the A-star is the westernmost star and the B-star is on the side of Polaris.  So, imagining a line drawn between them, it seems that line would extend sort of in the direction of Polaris which, if that were true, would mean the PA would be either 360 deg or 0 degrees which is the same thing.   But while the line does not seem to point directly at Polaris, in order to estimate a PA of 300, the line would need to be offset some 60 degrees from the direction to Polaris to hit the spec of 300 deg.

 

I suspect that is correct and, as in the case of the difference in mag, I just don't have the visual moxie yet to make these observations with confidence.

 

One more thing, on both evenings the AL transparency technique was that I could only see 2 Little Dipper stars with naked eye and neither one well.  Initially this was disconcerting but then I realized the technique is a great way to calibrate expectations about I would be able to see.


Edited by clastro8*, 18 May 2022 - 08:09 PM.

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#178 jrazz

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 12:07 AM

Tonight short session brought to you by Canes Venatici.

I really wanted more time but clouds rolled in and it looks like they are here to stay for the next couple of days. 

 

Aaaaaaanyway...

 

Let's start off with an easy one: STF1692AB (Cor Caroli)

12h 56m 01.67s +38° 19' 06.2" P.A. 230.00 sep 19.3 mag 2.85,5.52 Sp A0pSiEuHg dist. 35.2 pc (114.82 l.y.)

 

Kinda easy to find if. If you can find the dog you can find this star. Really rewarding too! The view shows the secondary to be slightly yellow but to me it seems just a dimmer white. 20" of separation is a good amount for 20x and I had no trouble seeing the spacing between them. The only tough part was the brightness of Cor which can be blinding even with a 3.2 exit pupil. 

 

In the same field of view you can find a lovely double with the lyrical name: STF 1702

12h 58m 31.97s +38° 16' 43.6" P.A. 83.00 sep 35.9 mag 8.72,9.41 Sp G5V+G6V dist. 44.21 pc (144.21 l.y.)

 

I honestly wasn't looking for it but while looking for the next star on the list I hopped on to it and IMHO, this was the prettiest of the night. It's framed nicely in this triangle of stars and if you move the FOV just so Cor is out of the picture it's super obvious. I loved it.

 

Next up was 17 CVn: STFA 24AB (17 CVn)

13h 10m 03.27s +38° 29' 55.9" P.A. 296.00 sep 275.6 mag 5.95,6.26 Sp A9IV dist. 63.29 pc (206.45 l.y.)

 

Meh. It's bright and obvious but too much separation for my taste. Could be an excellent target for a 10x binocular though.

 

Hopping right on down, I managed to find and see: HJ  529AB / SAO 63473

13h 19m 33.66s +35° 06' 34.9" P.A. 132.00 sep 17.8 mag 9.62,11.90 Sp M1V+M3V dist. 13.27 pc (43.29 l.y.)

 

I won't lie, this one was a challenge. Secondary is pretty dim and there is not a ton of separation. It is worth the it though! Both are fairly red/yellow and I can almost imagine them as a pair living on far into the future. Cute!

 

I then swung the binoculars around to try and catch M94 before the clouds rolled in. To do so you place the FOV so Cor and Chara are in the view and look for the fuzzy creating an isosceles triangle with them. If your sky is dark enough this shouldn't be an issue since the galaxy is plenty bright and big. Even at 20x.

 

However, this is doubles night and so go just slightly right of M94 and you can find: ES 2643 / SAO 44337

12h 49m 07.52s +42° 13' 25.4" P.A. 45.00 sep 45.1 mag 8.60,8.81 Sp G9III

 

This is fun to find since it sits in a 4 star asterism that almost looks like a cupped hand. Easy to find and a really nice looking pair.

  

Finally, another challenge which I planned but was unable to complete because of clouds: STF 1645

12h 28m 04.45s +44° 47' 39.5" P.A. 156.40 sep 9.7 mag 7.49,8.08 Sp F9V+KV dist. 43.61 pc (142.26 l.y.)

 

This is a close double (10" of sep) but fairly bright and even. I plan to hunt that down with my 25x100 when it arrives.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this stroll in the spring night sky near the zenith. I find that Canes Venatici is really fun and kinda off the beaten path. There are a ton of weird stuff to see there. Mainly galaxies but also sone neat doubles. Happy hunting!

 

 

EDIT:

Clouds parted so I snuck outside to see STF1645. I hate leaving somethings not done. I THINK I saw it. I'm 99% sure I was looking at the right star. There's a large(ish) galaxy (NGC 4460) just above it which I could see but the pair was so close I'm not sure I could see separation. Oh well. Still nice that I got a second chance tonight. Now to get my 4 hours of sleep before dog wakes me up. Good night flowerred.gif


Edited by jrazz, 19 May 2022 - 02:20 AM.

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#179 clastro8*

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 04:38 PM

I read most of the link from the above Post 176 to a NASA discussion of the Seven Arrows asterism.  At the end it's termed 'Exclusively a telescopic object' but probably means versus naked eye rather than versus binos.    I will be trying to see it but am guessing I won't be able to.

 

Using the Pocket Atlas and envisioning a line from Merak 4 deg west to 36, it's around the tiny dot (of a 7th mag star) a third of the way or so, with a larger dot directly above it, which must be Flamsteed 43.  The Atlas omits the asterism per se, but is intended for small telescopes and most binoculars (though presumably excluding BT's), so I plan to content myself using 10 x and 15 x if I can observe just those two objects and leave the more in-depth stuff for another time.


Edited by clastro8*, 19 May 2022 - 04:41 PM.

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#180 jrazz

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 05:15 PM

FWIW I pulled my description from the book "Deep Sky Wonders" by Sue French (published by Sky & Telescope). I like the book because it really walks you through the big ticket and some of the "littler" ticket items.

 

Here's the chart from the book (hope I don't get banned for posting this):

Seven Arrows1.jpg

 

As far as finding it, it's really close to UMa 43. Here you can see it in the Stellarium screen capture with Telrad circles:

stellarium-000.jpg   stellarium-001.jpg  stellarium-002.jpg

 

You can see the location right where the middle Telrad circle intersects the line going down from Merak.

You shouldn't have any issues seeing it with 15x and 10x is probably possible as well. It stands out when you know what to look for but, yeah, it's obscure enough that it's hard to find information on.

 

 

 

Oh, and there's always the possibility that I got this object completely wrong as well shrug.gif


Edited by jrazz, 19 May 2022 - 06:49 PM.

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#181 Fiske

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 10:22 PM

It was gorgeously clear last night (Wednesday 19 May 2022) so I got the 100XL-SD out for the first time in a number of weeks, along with the OB 4000 and and a select few from team 6-7x, 10x, and 15-25x. wink.gif

 

Thought I would see some of the sights called out in Ursa Major by Jordan, who is rapidly becoming a double star adventure maven. smile.gif

 

But Ursa Major is getting to the west and the dreaded Pines of Rome west of my driveway were being bothersome, and then(!) after such promising skies in the late afternoon, scuzzy clouds started appearing on the scene. So I decided to have a quick look at 24 Coma Berenices, which is a splendid spring double star that I observed last year after reading this topic in the Double Star forum, lovely colors of pastel yellow and blue.

 

I had a quick look at Sky Safari, deciding to work Arcturus and Muphrid over to Diadem / 42 Coma B on the way to 24 Coma B. And noticed that M 53 was quite near 42 Coma so decided to have a look for that on they way.

 

med_gallery_2707_15673_100393.jpg

 

It turns out that M 53 is extremely bright, easily seen with the 100XL-SD under Bortle 7 skies even with less than ideal transparency. I also easily saw it with the APM 16x70 and could even pick it out with the Maven 12x56. On a better evening it should not be a challenge for a 10x50 in suburban skies. Here is a simbad image of the star field.

 

med_gallery_2707_15673_161585.jpg

 

With the 100XL I noticed several bright nodes in the central area of the globular, which can't be seen in the image because the core is over exposed (which is typically the case for brighter objects). No stars resolved.

 

I lovely asterism of brighter stars can be seen north and just east of M 53, a fine binocular grouping. To the east and south of M 53, the globular cluster NGC 5053 can just be seen in this image as a faint granular patch. I did not see it last night, but it may be observable with binoculars from a darker site on a better evening.

 

I followed a chain of bright stars indicated in the chart above to reach 24 Coma B, coming across a splendid binocular double on the way.

 

STFA 23 / 32 Coma B

12h52m +17*04'

6.50/6.99 196.3" pa 51*

 

100XL-SD+Pentax20mmXW

Primary a deep orangish yellow and the secondary a warm white tending toward yellow. This double is easily seen even in smaller binoculars hand held.

 

STF 1657 / 24 Coma B

12h35m +18*23'

5.11/6.33 20.2" 272*

 

100XL-SD+20mmPentax20mmXW 

Lovely pastel yellow and blue. This double can be observed with 16x70 binoculars, but the stars are such a challenge to resolve that the colors are not well seen as in the larger binocular telescope. (Should look well in, say, a new Oberwerk 25x100 Deluxe, though. wink.gif )

 

I returned to 42 Coma and worked north to locate M 64, which is easily found near 35 Coma B with the aid of a four star asterism to pinpoint the position of the galaxy, which is easily seen with the 100XL in my suburban skies as a bright featureless oval. It could even be glimpsed with the APM 16x70.

 

I worked just south of 35 Coma to a pleasing asterism of stars and came across my find of the evening.

 

STF 1685

12h51m +19*10'

7.31/7.78 16" pa 202*

 

100XL-SD+Pentax20mmXW

Nearly even stars, the primary bright white and the secondary just slightly warmer in tone. Also resolved with the 16x70 and the Maven 12x56 as two stars in contact. This is a splendid binocular double for moderately larger instruments and might be observable with a 10x binocular, something I plan to try soon.

 

med_gallery_2707_15673_121370.jpg

 

So my quick visit to Coma Berenices in search of 24 Coma B turned into a pleasing excursion, despite the presence of hazy clouds. I finished up the evening with views of the large cluster Melotte 111 in the Maven 10x56, which is a particularly fun binocular object in suburban skies because no hint of it can be seen naked eye yet it leaps into view with even smaller binoculars.

 

Thank you for reading my report. flowerred.gif


Edited by Fiske, 19 May 2022 - 10:31 PM.

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#182 jrazz

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 11:00 PM

(Should look well in, say, a new Oberwerk 25x100 Deluxe, though. wink.gif

 

Noted flowerred.gif

I love Coma Berenice. Those targets sound like fun!


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#183 Fiske

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 11:12 PM

I'm particularly interested to know if the globular cluster NGC 5053 can be observed with binoculars from a darker site. smile.gif

 

Have it on my observing list for my next trip to Louisburg or maybe the ASKC dark sky site. Also, I've been rooting around in my journals going back to 2000. I have actually found a few sketches of 5053, done with telescopes from Louisburg. I failed to see it from midtown KC with a C11 (so probably not doable with binoculars from Bortle 7 skies lol.gif ). I know I was observing an NGC globular with a Nikon 8x42 LX premier years ago, but it was probably NGC 5466 near M3. 

 

Scott Harrington has probably observed it with his single sided 7x35 binocular. smirk.gif Another list I need to check...



#184 Fiske

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Posted 19 May 2022 - 11:43 PM

Ha!

 

 

NGC 5466 in Bootes

 

This faint GC is noticeably brighter in averted with the 10x42s than with the 8x42s, but can be seen in both instruments. When viewed through a telescope, it is a faint loose globular cluster that looks more like an open cluster than a globular. It's reminiscent of NGC 5053 in Coma Berenices. Considering how faint it is in telescope (even an 11-inch SCT), it's surprising that 5466 can be readily seen in 8x and 10x42mm binoculars. Part of the trick is knowing where to look. Although it's not that hard to see if you pinpoint the location, I think it would be extremely difficult to locate by sweeping across the field.

From 42mm Nikon Binocular Duel posted by a rather younger version of moi (29 June 2004). grin.gif


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#185 clastro8*

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Posted 20 May 2022 - 01:09 AM

jrazz, thanks very much for the additional information in #180. Unfortunately,  there were too many clouds tonight to see anything, I'm hoping it will be better tomorrow.

 

Just curious, in the data specs you reference just before the distance info in parsecs and beginning with SP, what does that signify?


Edited by clastro8*, 20 May 2022 - 01:12 AM.

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#186 jrazz

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Posted 20 May 2022 - 08:10 AM

jrazz, thanks very much for the additional information in #180. Unfortunately,  there were too many clouds tonight to see anything, I'm hoping it will be better tomorrow.

 

Just curious, in the data specs you reference just before the distance info in parsecs and beginning with SP, what does that signify?

You're welcome flowerred.gif

 

Sp stands for "spectral" or more completely "Spectral Classification": https://en.wikipedia..._classification



#187 jrazz

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Posted 23 May 2022 - 06:58 PM

Just picked up another cool way to find double stars: SkySafari!

 

I use SkySafari as my map. I find that it can be far more detailed and I can match the field of view and visible magnitude to match my setup. Since I can control the phone's brightness and it also has a "night mode" I find that it ruins my night vision less than using a map. 

 

In short, I like using it but now I found the killer feature. You can set up an observation planner. Basically click on the "observe" menu and then on planner. Then you can choose what you want to observe, magnitude, separation, constellation  etc... It makes producing a list so easy! 

 

Here's my list for tonight (Virgo) in case I the clouds allow:

SHJ 146

12h 31m 14.61s +01° 19' 37.0" P.A. 290.00 sep 49.5 mag 7.68,8.69 Sp A5 dist. 152.91 pc (498.79 l.y.)

 

STF1670AB (Porrima)

12h 41m 39.60s -01° 26' 57.9" P.A. 356.20 sep 3.0 mag 3.48,3.53 Sp F0V+F0V dist. 11.68 pc (38.1 l.y.)

* yes, this is optimistic at best because of the low separation but it's bright and easy to find! Let's see how the 25x100 does!

 

STF1704AB (44 Vir / k Virginis)

12h 59m 39.55s -03° 48' 43.0" P.A. 54.00 sep 20.6 mag 5.80,10.30 Sp B9.5V dist. 77.94 pc (254.24 l.y.)

 

STF1627

12h 18m 09.57s -03° 56' 55.6" P.A. 196.00 sep 20.1 mag 6.55,6.90 Sp F2V+F3V dist. 52.69 pc (171.87 l.y.)

 

STF1682

12h 51m 22.92s -10° 20' 17.5" P.A. 299.00 sep 29.6 mag 6.59,9.69 Sp G8III dist. 156.01 pc (508.9 l.y.)

 

3C 273

12h 30m 14.56s +01° 55' 47.9" mag 12.85 620Mpc (2e9 l.y.)

* Not a double but a cool and challenging target. It's the most luminous Quasar in the night sky I believe. It's dim enough to be a real challenge and cool because of the extreme distance (over 2 BILLION l.y. away)


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#188 Fiske

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Posted 23 May 2022 - 07:33 PM

I use Sky Safari on a Samsung S3 tablet, with a piece of red acetate covering the screen. I haven't tried the planning feature yet, so will give that a whirl. Thanks Jordan! waytogo.gif

 

And I'm now the proud owner of a Unihedron SQM-L. grin.gif  Ordered it through Amazon on Friday, and the predicted deliver was May 31 - June 4, but it arrived today! Guessing the metered readings from my suburban yard will be abysmal, but it will provide definite sky brightness info to accompany my observation reports. wink.gif


Edited by Fiske, 23 May 2022 - 07:34 PM.

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#189 The Ardent

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Posted 23 May 2022 - 08:14 PM

On Sky Safari , under settings>Stars
Show names - off
Name density 100%
Double stars - on

Will show every double in my field of view , whether binoculars or telescope. There are some rare inaccuracies .

With binoculars I look for the ones >30”
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#190 jrazz

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Posted 23 May 2022 - 08:41 PM

Thank you for the tip!

I like the challenge of learning about the stars and planning the trip around the constellation but that's a cool trick!



#191 Fiske

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Posted 24 May 2022 - 07:09 AM

During my observing session on Sunday night (22 May 2022) with the APM 16x70, OB 20x65ED and OB 25x100 Deluxe, I stumbled upon yet another excellent double star in Coma Berenices, a little south of STF 1685, my find from a few evenings before (see post #181 above), and suitable for mounted 10x binoculars.

 

STF 1678

12h45m +14*22'

7.16/7.68 37.5" pa 170*

Blue white primary with a yellow white secondary, both stars vivid and bright. A wonderful binocular double at 10x.

 

I observed it with both the Maven and Swarovski 10x56 binoculars in an on going project to compare the optical performance of the two, which are among the best 10x binoculars available. The two instruments are so close in sharpness and brightness that it is difficult to pick a winner in those characteristics. The Maven has consistently demonstrated better contrast and color, which held true with this observation. The colors of the primary and secondary are slightly more vivid with the Maven.

 

Both instruments also turned in fine performances on nearby 24 Coma B, which is a considerably more challenging double for 10x binoculars given the smaller separation and larger magnitude difference between the primary and secondary. The double was well resolved with both, the stars pinpoint sharp, and the colors of the yellow primary and blue secondary readily seen, a fun color reversal of STF 1678 as it happens.

 

STF 1657 / 24 Coma B

12h35m +18*23'

5.11/6.33 20.2" 272*

 

The globular cluster Messier 53 in Coma Berenices was also seen with both the Maven and Swaro, faint but held steadily in averted vision despite the light polluted suburban sky.


Edited by Fiske, 24 May 2022 - 08:24 AM.

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#192 jrazz

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Posted 02 June 2022 - 08:58 AM

Just one double yesterday... Busy looking at globular clusters and such...

 

STF1838

14h 24m 05.76s +11° 14' 49.1" P.A. 335.00 sep 9.4 mag 7.47,7.73 Sp F8V+G1V dist. 37.08 pc (120.95 l.y.)

 

This is a fantastic, challenging target for the 20x65ED. (the 25x100 is actually going back to OB to fund a bigger, better BT wink.gif )

It's very challenging to split but the magnitude is perfect. Yesterday transparency was average but the air was dead still and I could just make out a hair line split between the two.

Another plus for this double is that it's in the constellation Bootes. This has the fringe benefit of having every other star on the chart being marked as "x Boo." which is absolutely cute in my mind flowerred.gif


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#193 jrazz

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Posted 09 June 2022 - 01:09 AM

Moon is up so we are back to hunting doubles. Sky was at a disappointing 19.47 mpsas with the odd wispy cloud  rolling through. That being said, it's finally warm enough to warrant a simple hoodie rather than a thick coat. (I'm a weene, ok? If it's below 50° I get cold) At least there's not a lot of wind and the transparency seems fantastic.

 

I've been experimenting with folding down the rubber eye cups on the 20x65ED. That way I can see the entire FOV without physically touching the binocular. With the view dead still I can let my eyes "integrate" the view which leads to far sharper perception of the stars. This is, again, where I really like the 20x65ED. Just sharp across the view.

 

Anyway, back to our doubles. We start back in Boo:

 

STFA 26AB (Asellus secondus or Iota Boo)

14h 16m 10.07s +51° 22' 01.3" P.A. 33.00 sep 39.0 mag 4.76,7.39 Sp A7IV+K0V dist. 29.07 pc (94.83 l.y.)

 

Managed to see this with the 10x56, 15x70 and 20x65ED. Probably the best view was the 10x56 because the secondary is surprisingly dim. Way more than I expected. That being said, it's a really good warm up target. Separation is neat and it's very easy to find even in very bright sky.

 

STF1895

14h 57m 27.87s +40° 09' 42.2" P.A. 42.00 sep 12.7 mag 8.27,8.88 Sp A9IV dist. 125.63 pc (409.81 l.y.)

 

I really liked this pair. Tonight it was challenging. They're tight, dim and even. Not too hard to find but I had to employ the "no touchy" method to see them clearly. Once I did I simply stared at them for quite some time. It just seemed insane to see them so clearly. 

 

STF2063

16h 31m 47.23s +45° 35' 53.8" P.A. 195.00 sep 16.3 mag 5.69,8.70 Sp A2V dist. 69.3 pc (226.06 l.y.)

 

This pair was a challenge for a different reason. I don't think the magnitudes say the whole story. Maybe it was the clouds rolling around but the secondary was really hard to spot. Managed a sneak peak of it here and there but no "steady shot" as with STF1895. Maybe something to revisit.

 

 

 

That's all for today, good night! flowerred.gif


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#194 Fiske

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Posted 09 June 2022 - 01:41 AM

Just one double yesterday... Busy looking at globular clusters and such...

 

STF1838

14h 24m 05.76s +11° 14' 49.1" P.A. 335.00 sep 9.4 mag 7.47,7.73 Sp F8V+G1V dist. 37.08 pc (120.95 l.y.)

 

This is a fantastic, challenging target for the 20x65ED. (the 25x100 is actually going back to OB to fund a bigger, better BT wink.gif )

It's very challenging to split but the magnitude is perfect. Yesterday transparency was average but the air was dead still and I could just make out a hair line split between the two.

Another plus for this double is that it's in the constellation Bootes. This has the fringe benefit of having every other star on the chart being marked as "x Boo." which is absolutely cute in my mind flowerred.gif

After an evening with the Maven 18x56, I have decided to return it. More on that in probably the Team 15x-25x topic. 

 

BUT, not because of its performance on STF 1838 -- close but fully resolved by the Maven 18x thank you very much. grin.gif T Lyrae was gorgeously red. And I could just discern NGC 6543 in Draco, the Cat's Eye Nebula, as non-stellar. 

 

My skies were around 18.30 mpsas courtesy of the waxing gibbous moon.


Edited by Fiske, 09 June 2022 - 01:44 AM.

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#195 jrazz

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Posted 09 June 2022 - 01:49 AM

After an evening with the Maven 18x56, I have decided to return it. More on that in probably the Team 15x-25x topic. 

shocked.gif shocked.gif shocked.gif



#196 Fiske

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Posted 09 June 2022 - 11:01 PM

7 Her, Marsic - Beauty

21 Boo, Iota Bootis - not easy!

48 Cnc, Iota Cancri - nice.

Regards

Somehow overlooked this post from Maki back in March. No welcome to CN or anything. frown.gif

 

I was out for some quick peeks with the Maven 15x56, which I can already tell is going to be my defacto standard for 60 second astronomy (that inevitably turns into 45 minutes). Anyway, in addition to various DSOs, a few familiar doubles, and gorgeous views of the waxing gibbous moon with clouds drifting past and high hovering bats silhouetted against them, really a lot of fun, I stumbled on a beautiful double star and with the help of Sky Safari identified it as Marsic in Hercules, STF 2010.

 

STF 2010 / 7 Herculis

16h08m +17*03'

5.10/6.21 26.8" pa 14*

Yellow primary with warm white secondary.


Edited by sbradley07, 16 June 2022 - 10:00 PM.

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#197 Fiske

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Posted 11 June 2022 - 04:24 PM

Here is another outstanding Hercules double, that I noticed in my observing log from 30 October 2021. Probably the closest double I have resolved with 10x binoculars. The keys are that the stars are bright and evenly matched.

 

STF 2280 / 100 Herculis
18h07m +26*06' / SA2K: 8; UM2K: 67
5.81/5.84 14.3" pa 183*

 

A very pleasing double at 10x. Two brilliant blue white stars nestled together but fully resolved with the Canon 10x42L and the Maven 10x56 on the Oberwerk PM1 mount.


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#198 jrazz

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Posted 11 June 2022 - 04:53 PM

I love this thread just for the seer diversity!

 

I also find it hilarious that "Hercules" is shortened to "Her"...  Who's the strongest? grin.gif


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#199 Fiske

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Posted 11 June 2022 - 05:50 PM

I love this thread just for the seer diversity!

 

I also find it hilarious that "Hercules" is shortened to "Her"...  Who's the strongest? grin.gif

I am occasionally recognized as a seer...

 

I foresee Jordan with Her 100XL-SD attached to a 240XL Fork mount on a Manfrotto 161MK2B tripod. And she looks strong. wink.gif

 

med_gallery_2707_18605_50392.jpg


Edited by Fiske, 11 June 2022 - 05:54 PM.


#200 jrazz

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Posted 11 June 2022 - 05:56 PM

lol.gif lol.gif lol.gif

 

Silly spel checkerer 

 

 

 

But that fork does look shiny...


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