Draco Doubles Delight

[cloudsweeper]

10.00pm - clear, mild - got the ST120 out of the shed, ready to go.  Between Athebyne and Vega is a kite pattern of stars, and at the top:

Kuma, SAO 030450, (2)+(2), but visual binary, matched, 62", so easy at x17, showing N-S separation.

Between "the kite" (the Dragon's head) and Polaris lie Alahakan and Aldhiba, with a very interesting, tight "M-shaped" pattern of stars between/below.  On however, hopping through star patterns to:

Sigma 2308 or 41 Dra, SAO 008996, another (2)+(2) matched visual binary, 19", very tight at x17, better x60.

Then I started at Edasich, and again hopped through patterns to:

Sigma 1882, SAO 016478, a 1+2 visual triple, 12" and 7.2", with the companions much fainter.  In fact, I only saw one of them, in AV, at x100.

From Alahakan again, a hop led to:

Sigma 2302, SAO 008999, another visual triple, 5" and 23", again with fainter companions, and again only one was seen, above the primary, at x60.

Scanning round, I spotted a clear, tight double, fairly well matched, just split at x17.  From Stellarium I identified it as:

Dziban (Psi 1 Dra A and B), SAO 008890, double, 30".

To finish off, I took a look at Jupiter.  The equatorial belts were clear, as usual.  The Galilean moons were in a straight line with it, Io getting very close.  The view was fuzzy at x150, but good at x100.  I masked off the aperture to reduce the glare and CA, but by then everything was dewing up, so there was no point waiting for the occultation of Io in about an hour, and I finished at midnight.

Another rewarding session, using guide stars as starting points and Stellarium to hop around.  (But I'm also fond of GoTo.....)

Doug.

[wookie1965]

I must visit Draco again packed with doubles. Great report thanks for sharing. 

[cotterless45]

Super report ! Sissy Haas has 47 binaries detailed, such a rich area ,

Nick.

[cloudsweeper]

15 minutes ago, cotterless45 said:

Super report ! Sissy Haas has 47 binaries detailed, such a rich area ,

Nick.

Thanks Nick - do you reckon it's worth getting the Haas book as well as CDSA?  I find that several "doubles" are not listed in CDSA, but suspect that is because they are way too tight, or even perhaps very distant (and maybe just "line of sight"), or have very high magnitude components.  Any thoughts on that from your experience?

Doug.

[domstar]

An inspiring report. It's good to hear about people using their different scopes. How was it without goto? Did you enjoy the hop or would you prefer goto every day? Was it nostalgic and have your star-hopping skills waned? I find Draco quite intimidating. It certainly needs research before I have a look there.

[cloudsweeper]

39 minutes ago, domstar said:

An inspiring report. It's good to hear about people using their different scopes. How was it without goto? Did you enjoy the hop or would you prefer goto every day? Was it nostalgic and have your star-hopping skills waned? I find Draco quite intimidating. It certainly needs research before I have a look there.

Thanks Dom.  Hopping is fine as long as the sky is dark enough to find a close-ish starting point, and then as you move towards the target, if there are prominent stars in the field.  I do enjoy it, starting with the 36/72 Hyperion (giving over 4deg of true field) because it is a sort of basic approach, but - and this is just between you and me - I am very fond of GoTo because it saves time and generally removes uncertainty.

Doug.

[wookie1965]

I have CDSA but I much prefer Haas great book 

[John]

Great report Doug

I've put my big refractor out to cool so hope to tackle some of these later !

[cloudsweeper]

10 minutes ago, John said:

Great report Doug

I've put my big refractor out to cool so hope to tackle some of these later !

Thanks John.  Two favourable things for me today - ordered the Sissy Haas book (found it at a sensible price, i.e. not Amazon), and got a replacement GPS unit so I can get to things a bit faster.  (Although I do enjoy a hop now and then!)

Hope you have a good session - it's looking good here too, so I might get out in the early hours.

Doug.

 

[Eastman]

Great report Doug, some nice triple 's too.