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Fast proper motion and orbiting stars.


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There are some fast proper motion stars up at the moment in Ursa Major.
Lalande 21185 (SAO 021185)at +7.5 shows the brightest red dwarf in ouf hemisphere. (RA 11h04m23s. +35 52′)At 8.31 light years away it is one of the nearest stars. It shows an enormous 4.78″ of proper movement per annum ( 8th largest motion)and has two giant planets of 5.8 and 30 year orbits.IMG_4618.thumb.JPG.e47f911380e9c6340be60dc70b669ed7.JPGIMG_4617.thumb.JPG.4ff17edd2d8a1767c482d4eb805c2e92.JPG

Another fast mover is Groombridge 1830 ( SAO 62738) A variable +6.4. (RA 11h53m51s. +37 37’25”)This has the third fastest motion of 7.04″ per annum. ( Barnards star at 10.29″ and Kapteyn’s at 8.7″) It’s 29.7 light years away, part of the galactic halo. Incredibly old at 10 billion years.

Fastest of all is Barnard’s star (+9.5), it’s the fourth closest and the nearest in the northern hemisphere at 5.9 lys distance.IMG_4539.thumb.JPG.a03f051a02f73362a9f133ade12395c8.JPGIMG_4614.thumb.JPG.9f43b0ff8af6d2d68d3af2d501620910.JPGIMG_4615.JPG.36e710ee7a6ae86560b87d1089bc3f2c.JPG

Of interest ,as regards observable motion,is Kruger 60 at the base of Cepheus, it orbits at 44.6 years.This is a wow pair of red dwarf binary for me ! Some of the smallest stellar masses known. RA 22h28m38s DEC +57 47′. Separation at 1.5″ at +9.8 and +8.3.

Not forgetting the fast moving companion to Castor, mentioned in another post, with Stu's pics.

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I find it fascinating that over a few years we can observe changes such as these in the sky. On the subject of fascination,

I was lucky enough to be handling some meteorites belonging to a friend the other day . Thinking about these not being any part of this planet was very moving. We are very lucky to have access to our Universe , to hold it in the hand is quite magical. You can collect your own micrometeorites by passing a magnet over any dry outdoor surface , such as rain gutters ,flat roof or that old paddling pool left out ! Small certified meteorites from dealers such as Flo are lovely to handle, something incredibly old and not of this place,

Nick.

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Interesting post Nick :icon_biggrin:

I've observed Barnards Star but not the others you mention so thanks for the future targets :thumbright:

I've been fascinated by meteorites for ages and, in the past, had some decent collections of specimens including some lunar and martian material. It is awesome to hold something in your hand that is older than any terrestrial rocks and that was comparatively recently floating through space :icon_biggrin:

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Great post!

Sometimes I'll have a quick relaxing session looking at individual stars. Sky Safari has a few pre-baked lists on the brightest stars, the nearest stars and the stars with proper names - a few hundred in all, with fascinating notes (often from the excellent Jim Kaler) on each. The list of nearest stars features quite a few high motion stars (as you'd imagine). Need to start sketching some of these and also some high motion doubles. Should be interesting to look back on.

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