Some doubles and a Tal surprise

[RobertI]

It was a clear night last night with a bright first quarter moon and some clouds scudding across the sky, so I decided to go out and do some double star observing. I setup the C8 and Tal 100 RS on either side of the Skytee2, not really intending to use the Tal, but was in for a surprise later in the session! Armed with SkySafari and a hot thermos mug of tea, I ventured forth.

 

 

Putting a 5 mm BST in the Tal giving 200x and a 10 mm Hyperion in the C8 also giving 200x, I pointed to the Trapezium with the goal of seeing the E and F components. Unfortunately it was only about 5° above my neighbour's roof top so not ideal. The E component eventually became visible in the C8 - it was a bit like planetary observing, waiting for the brief moment of calm to see it, but eventually could be seen tiny and faint, but definitely there. The Tal was not so clear, I think if I didn't know the location I might have struggled to spot it at all. The F component was much more difficult. I eventually saw it in the C8, and in the moments of calm it was definitely there, but only fleetingly in the turbulence. Never quite managed it in the Tal, although I didn't spend as much time on it.

Revisited Sigma Orionis, a lovely wide multiple of four stars which I discovered by accident last year.

Next stop Mintaka. A wide double with a bright white primary and secondary and easy split in both scopes. By this time I was appreciating the slow motion controls at these relatively high powers.

Then on to Alnitak, a much closer double. Again the rooftop haze presented a problem and I was unable to clearly see the split in the C8 although I could see some elongation. However in the Tal the split was clear as day with a clear dark gap between the two. Back to the C8 and I tried pretty much all eyepieces and the zoom, but the more I looked the more it wasn't there. Back to the Tal and the split was clear as bell. I had heard that small apertures can best larger ones under the right conditions but I had never seen this with my own eyes! The Tal is right back in my good books.

Next to the Lambda Orionis or Meissa at the head of Orion. A reasonably close double with a bright grey-white primary and a dimmer grey-white secondary. In the Tal the primary showed a lovely diffraction ring.

Eta Geminorum had a primary which was a lovely orange in the Tal and more yellow in C8. In the C8 I thought I could just about make out a very dim and close companion roughly in the direction of drift westwards (PA=270 degrees?) - looking up in Sky Safari the PA was 252 so was in the right place, I'll call this a suspected sighting but really not sure! In the Tal I was not convinced - I felt that the diffraction ring looked a bit brighter in the west but I'll call this one a fail.

Clouds coming in the thick and fast so a quick look at the moon. I'm sure I spotted the Lunar X, but a long way from the terminator - I assumed it was invisible during the Lunar day, but perhaps not. Perhaps others have spotted it during the day?

Thanks for reading.

[Stu]

Nice report Robert. A frac and SCT side by side is an excellent combination in my experience. I've also found that fracs punch above their weight, particularly on doubles and when seeing is not so good.

I can see E in my Tak fairly easily, but F is something I'm still not convinced about. Like you I feel that I'm perhaps seeing something because I know it is there!  I certainly don't consider it as nailed in this scope.

My understanding is that the Lunar X is only visible for a few hours when it is right on the terminator, so I suspect it was another formation that you saw.

[cotterless45]

Propus is a devilish split , currently 1.6" from the glare of the primary. Nice report , all comes down to atmosphere in the end !

Nick.

[kerrylewis]

Very interesting report Rob. I have been meaning to put my SCT and a refractor alongside each other and now you've spurred me on! 

[Alan White]

Robert, looking at that set up is giving me thoughts for a second scope on my Skytee 2 now.
I was out yesterday evening a little south of you and had a very enjoyable Lunar session.
I did take a look at the Trapezium but got no more than the A-D as cloud was creeping in a bit and the sky was deteriorating as was my concentration by then.

 

[RobertI]

Thanks Everyone.

@Stu the experience has made me think about an 100ED refractor again, must try to bag a look through one sometime

@cotterless45 sounds like you know this one well! Do you think it is something I could split with my equipment or am I being overly hopeful?

@kerrylewis yes it was great fun and I can see now that the two scopes can complement each other under the right conditions, especially for double stars.

@Alan White It would be rude not to put a second scope on, as long as you have enough eyepieces.

[Alan White]

Robert, indeed it would, thanks for the note about eyepieces, I had not factored that one in.