3 Very Different Doubles In Auriga

[cloudsweeper]

2.10am Friday, clear (for a change), very cold, 8SE cooled in Dobhouse, aligned on Capella.  (Southern sky poor with light dome from intense "security" lights.)

Note to self: Do not breathe on the eyepiece!

Struve 718 - perfectly matched 7th mag stars, 7.7" separation.  GoTo OK - only did one-star, so target was in the 1.28deg FOV.  Easily spotted at x56 in a field of fainter stars.  (Nearby 10th mag stars were very faint indeed.)  Clear split, very close, lovely equal pair, secondary at 7 o'clock.

Struve 736 - 7th and 8th mag pair, 2.6".  Much trickier - tighter, mismatched.  Went up to x135 and spotted the faint secondary at 11 o'clock in moments of good seeing - clear split, though very close.

Struve 768 - yet another 7th mag primary, but a much fainter (10th mag) secondary, 19".  The sec. should have been evident at x56 except for the background brightness, so I raised the mag to x102 for better contrast, and there it was, at 5 o'clock, very faint, very clear split, but only noticed in moments of good seeing, also with AV and getting focus spot on.  The trickiest of the three!

Other than some easy, popular examples, doubles can be difficult for various reasons, but that is the pleasure and reward they bring.

Finished after 1.5 hours, frozen stiff, ice on tube, but very satisfied.

Thanks for reading.

Doug.

Edited January 15, 2021 by cloudsweeper

[Pete Presland]

Nice report,  i do love a nice double. Auriga is full of things to see, not managed a single session yet this year.

[John]

Nice report Doug !

Where are you getting this clear sky from ?

I've had pretty much 100% cloud cover here for the past week or more. I'm starting to get astro-withdrawal symptoms

Still, it's nice to be reminded that there are still some stars up there if the pesky grey blanket shifts one day !

 

[mikeDnight]

I love your reports Doug. Doubles are really wonderful things to study but can be problematic for someone with Obsessive Compulsive disorder. When i read your adventures i think to myself "I should really invest in a microguide eyepiece"!  Stars in general are fascinating and just about as beautiful as any astronomical object gets. It seems ironic that most observers pay little or no attention to them. I'm guilty of being intermittent in this regard myself! Thanks for posting!!

[NGC 1502]

Thx Doug 👍 I’m a double star fan, so I’ll check those out when I can.....if we ever get a clear slot in Essex.

Ed.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Nice report Doug. Like John I wonder whether I will see a clear night again. If I do I think I will observe these doubles you mention.

[cloudsweeper]

53 minutes ago, John said:

Nice report Doug !

Where are you getting this clear sky from ?

I've had pretty much 100% cloud cover here for the past week or more. I'm starting to get astro-withdrawal symptoms

Still, it's nice to be reminded that there are still some stars up there if the pesky grey blanket shifts one day !

 

Thanks John.  The very clear sky came as a shock, which is why I shot out at daft o'clock and took advantage!

Doug.

[Jiggy 67]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

"I should really invest in a microguide eyepiece"!

I’ve be become a double star fan and have been considering the exact same purchase 

[cloudsweeper]

54 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I love your reports Doug. Doubles are really wonderful things to study but can be problematic for someone with Obsessive Compulsive disorder. When i read your adventures i think to myself "I should really invest in a microguide eyepiece"!  Stars in general are fascinating and just about as beautiful as any astronomical object gets. It seems ironic that most observers pay little or no attention to them. I'm guilty of being intermittent in this regard myself! Thanks for posting!!

Thanks Mike.  I occasionally use the zoom to stay on target for very tight examples, and it would help me if I did a two-star alignment thus getting closer to the targets.  (Still seem to manage to recognise patterns though!)  Microguide - Yes, but my wife might have something to say about yet further outlay!

I initially turned my nose up at doubles, but am now well and truly hooked.  Just as well, since poor skies limit my ability to see the fuzzier stuff.  As you say, they are fascinating.  You look at a pair of spots that might be further apart than Pluto/Sun, and take thousands of years to orbit each other.  And they could have planets around them......  

Doug.

[Epick Crom]

21 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Thanks Mike.  I occasionally use the zoom to stay on target for very tight examples, and it would help me if I did a two-star alignment thus getting closer to the targets.  (Still seem to manage to recognise patterns though!)  Microguide - Yes, but my wife might have something to say about yet further outlay!

I initially turned my nose up at doubles, but am now well and truly hooked.  Just as well, since poor skies limit my ability to see the fuzzier stuff.  As you say, they are fascinating.  You look at a pair of spots that might be further apart than Pluto/Sun, and take thousands of years to orbit each other.  And they could have planets around them......  

Doug.

Hi Doug. I too never used to observe double stars. However since I got my 10" dob three months ago every in the night sky is fair game, and I've found myself becoming addicted to observing double stars. They are indeed breathtaking in their beauty, colours and configurations. Glad you got some clear skies 👍

Regards 

Joe

 

 

 

[cloudsweeper]

1 hour ago, Epick Crom said:

Hi Doug. I too never used to observe double stars. However since I got my 10" dob three months ago every in the night sky is fair game, and I've found myself becoming addicted to observing double stars. They are indeed breathtaking in their beauty, colours and configurations. Glad you got some clear skies 👍

Regards 

Joe

Joe - I was pleased with the GoTo/SCT combo this morning, although fracs give sharper star images.  The 10" Dob does well too, and has the advantage of combating poor seeing and revealing fainter secondaries.  I'll use it next time out, I reckon!

Doug.

[bish]

I"ve been a bit lazy since the conjunction. Perhaps doubles should be my new targets. Even got a double star atlas  (hardly used!).

[cloudsweeper]

36 minutes ago, bish said:

I"ve been a bit lazy since the conjunction. Perhaps doubles should be my new targets. Even got a double star atlas  (hardly used!).

Open it, use it - it contains a lifetime's supply of variety, delights, and challenges!  😉

Doug.

Edited January 15, 2021 by cloudsweeper

[bish]

1 hour ago, cloudsweeper said:

Open it, use it - it contains a lifetime's supply of variety, delights, and challenges!  😉

Doug.

Sounds like good advice!

[Whistlin Bob]

Just a quick thanks for posting this report. Was looking for some nice doubles far away from the moon as it rose over the house and here were three new ones to me. Got the first two no problems at all, but couldn't hop to the third as the sky seemed to go misty. Turned out afterwards I'd breathed in my finder. Never mind- the first two were lovely.

[cloudsweeper]

9 hours ago, Whistlin Bob said:

Just a quick thanks for posting this report. Was looking for some nice doubles far away from the moon as it rose over the house and here were three new ones to me. Got the first two no problems at all, but couldn't hop to the third as the sky seemed to go misty. Turned out afterwards I'd breathed in my finder. Never mind- the first two were lovely.

Thanks Bob.  This gives me the opportunity to mention one I got last night - not enough to merit a separate report, but it was good to be out at all after recent poor weather.  The wind was still a problem though!

Sigma 1103 CMi - 7th and 8th mags, 4.2" sep - 8SE in use for ease of using GoTo - this is a pretty pair in a busy field of fainter stars - going from x48 to x81 gave the split - very close at that mag, secondary appeared much fainter, at 8 o'clock.

Plenty of new targets lined up for further sessions!

Doug.