The Pup At Last!

[Epick Crom]

Hi my fellow stargazers! The sky last night wasn't the best, partly cloudy with high haze. This did not deter me though as it's been over a week since my last observing session due to overcast skies.

Seeing a few breaks in the clouds, I rushed outside like a mad man, much to my wife and kids amusement. Alpha Centauri was shining through a gap so I turned my 10" on it and got a nice split. Twin pale yellow headlights in a mist! This is our closest neighbour at just over four light years away ( Proxima in the same system is a bit closer). Lovely sight. Seeing Sirius shining overhead and relatively cloud free, I took a look. Gasp! Clearly saw the elusive Pup glowing feebly to the right of Sirius! Yelled out in excitement, prompting my wife and kids to come outside to see what the fuss was about 😊 They all had a look as I explained that the Pup is a white dwarf star, they were facinated. So glad to have seen it after so long trying. I think Sirius being up so high helped. Soon it completely clouded over I think my entire session lasted 10min max but what a 10 min! The Pup was smaller and a bit further from Sirius than I had imagined. Checked Sky Safari and it confirmed that I did see the Pup in the exact location. Very satisfying 😍. Thanks for reading fellow Astronomers and clear skies to you all!

Joe

[Kon]

Congrats! It has eluded me the last few sessions so well done!

[John]

Well done !

You are lucky to have Sirius so high up down there. Here it's a "viewing between the trees / houses" job !

[Epick Crom]

Thanks Kon and John! It is a tough split, but now I've got it I was wondering how I missed it previously. I think it can get covered by the diffraction spikes. I'm sure you will spot it soon Kon good luck! Having Sirius almost overhead here is a big help John, sorry about the trees/ houses combination you are dealing with! 

[Voyager 3]

Do you remember the mag(s)@Epick Crom ? 

[Epick Crom]

1 hour ago, Voyager 3 said:

Do you remember the mag(s)@Epick Crom ? 

Hi Voyager 3. I used a magnification of 267x to spilt Sirius.

[Voyager 3]

Best of luck @Epick Crom   . 

[Sunshine]

Great session! I think it's great you woke the neighborhood in the process! 🤣