V1, 2 CrB - Pleasing, Loose, Yellowish Optical Pair

[cloudsweeper]

Just a brief session before mealtime - Bresser Dob - the Hercules Keystone Asterism became visible about 5.40pm - targeted Zeta Her, then hopped about 7deg W to this pair in Corona Borealis - they form an optical pair (line of sight, not a gravitationally bound "double") - very loose, both 5th mag, and both distinctly yellowish, very nice. 

CDSA does not list these, although Sissy Haas does, since there are several optical doubles in that book.  Stellarium has V2 as a double however, and indeed a faint star was easily spotted nearby, about a quarter of the way to V1.

I planned on viewing another V1, 2 pair in Bootes, but trees got in the way!

The CrB pairing reminded me of Mizar and Alcor in UMa - this is a proper "double", in fact a sextuple/visual triple - so I swung across for a reminder and there were the main two stars, with Mizar easily split into A and the fainter, close companion B some 15" away.  The fourth clear star in this little grouping is the fainter Ludwig's Star - not part of the double system, and believed in the 18th century to be a newly-found planet, so named after King Ludwig V.  (Formal name: Sidus Ludovicianum.)

Doug.