A few nice doubles tonight

[F15Rules]

Monday 12th February.

A beautiful, clear cold night ( the second such night on the trot!).

Had a very enjoyable 90 minutes with the FS128 and a few eyepieces, Pentax zoom, XLs 7 & 10.5 and Vixen LVW 22mm.

First, just a quick word in tribute of the Tak 7x50 illuminated finder. It is superb. The crosshairs meet in the centre of the field but leave enough gap so as not to obscure the centred star/object. Also, the helical focuser is smooth and precise, and this finder retains excellent alignment..it's really a cracking little scope in it's own right..?

I've been concentrating on the area around Orion lately, making the most of it before the lighter nights take it away.

I began of course with M42 and was delighted to get all 6 of the main Trap stars with direct vision from x100 to x140 or so..a sure sign of good transparency.

I then took in the following:

ETA Orionis (Saiph - not to be confused with Kappa, down near Rigel at the bottom left of the main asterism, which is also sometimes known by that name). This is a close pair at around 1.8", both white stars with one noticeably brighter than the other. I got my best view at x208 (Pentax zoom with 1.6x barlow nosepiece).

Iota Orionis - a cracking triple, close to M42, with the two companions at 50" (mag 11) and 11" (mag 7). Sometimes overlooked (certainly by me), as it is so close to the glorious Trapezium.

I then moved over to Beta Monoceros, to the east of the belt. Not a conspicuous star, but a truly stunning triple through the scope, one of the very best I've seen. The main pair are just 2.8" apart and almost twins, (mag 4.6 and mag 4.7) with component C at 7.4" (mag 5.6). If you haven't viewed this system before, do search it out!

Also took in Theta Aurigae, I've not looked at this one before. Got a lovely split on this one, very bright primary with a tiny pinprick companion close, but clearly separated from the main star. The primary looked white to me, the companion golden yellow. Beautiful.

Clear skies ☺

Dave

 

[cotterless45]

Certainly was cracking out there, I was on beta Mon. and 15 Mon. will post in the morning . More than most , need beauty sleep ,old ?

[David Levi]

I was looking at Orion doubles last night. Eta Orionis was a tough one to split for me. At 200x magnification I could only just see the split when the seeing steadied a little as I allowed the pair to repeatedly drift across my view.

[wookie1965]

I love double hunting now struggling a bit at moment with my back getting injections in my spine in the next 5 weeks doctor said that's the maximum time I will wait probably 3 weeks he said. Unfortunately I cannot view orion as it is now in the south and I have a street light there. I have had to make a shield. 

[F15Rules]

That's a real shame Wookie, those lights are a nightmare. I hope your shield helps a bit ☺.

Dave