A quick tour in Perseus

[grjsk]

Three new observations in Perseus yesterday. Bortle 8, - 4 degrees C.

Double Cluster: I chose to start at the double cluster again this night. Very pleasant in the 32 mm Plossl, framing both of them as two fields of tiny diamonds. Switching to the Baader Zoom, a bit more details reveals itself. NGC 869 is the densest of the two, while NGC 884 has a few more stars with a bit of color; both yellow and orange stars appear when you get a bit closer. Both 90x and 120x works fine if you want a bit more details.

 Miriam (Eta Persei): A very nice double star, often compared to Albireo, since the colors and size of the two components are quite similar. The main component is a big K3 star, standing out as deep orange. Its fainter companion doesn’t look very blue to me, it’s mostly white, but perhaps with a very delicate blue aura. It’s splits at very low magnification, but I prefer it at 60x I think.

Theta Persei: The main star is a F7, and appears as light yellow. Separating is not really a problem, but its companion is very faint to me. For a while I wasn’t sure my eyes where playing with me or not, but when you first notice it, its easier. Looking the best at 120x I think.

Melotte 20: I have grown fond of very big open clusters. I’m not even close to framing the whole thing in the 32 mm. Quite a few white stars around. I enjoyed the southern parts quite a bit, using the yellow Mirfak and the slightly more orange Sigma Persei as anchors on each side of the eyepiece.

M34: Im almost getting a bird vibe. It looks like a predator bird in full attack mode, swooping down. A nice cluster, looked the best at 90x, but perhaps not the most eventful object out there.

Edited March 6, 2020 by grjsk

[GlenM]

Another very well written report, thank you.

 

Glen.

 

[Whistlin Bob]

A nice list with a few I'd like to check out- so thanks 😁

What scope were you using?

Edited March 15, 2020 by Whistlin Bob
Autocarrot

[grjsk]

11 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

A nice list with a few I'd like to check out- so thanks 😁

What scope were you using?

I was using my TS-Optics  ED 102 mm f/7 refractor

[Stu]

A very enjoyable read, thanks!