Cas Doubles - Nice Early Start To The Day

[cloudsweeper]

Looked out at 5.00am to see a clear sky with Orion and Taurus SW and W, although from the ground Orion was sinking behind trees.  Never mind.  Ursa Major was standing "on end" in the NE.  All very promising, but I went for some doubles in Cassiopeia, targeting those that are close to major stars thus making it very easy to locate them.  The 102S frac was ready in the Astroshed.

Sigma 182 - matched 8th magnitude pair, 3.6" of separation.  The heavy ES 30/82 is great for starting off, giving x20 at 4.10deg.  I used Segin as the starter star, the target being in the same FOV, in a rich field.  Going up to x100, I just got the split - fine match, secondary at 2 o'clock.

Sigma 163 - 6th, 9th, and 10th mag components to this triple, with 34" and 114" degrees of wide separation.  Same FOV as Segin again, with target in a field of relatively faint stars.  At x20, the brighter two were split, with the second component at 11 o'clock.  So up to x60 for better contrast, and the very faint third member appeared, further away, at 7 o'clock.  The primary star was a lovely orange colour.  This is not a physical system.  It appears in Sissy Haas and Turn Left, not the Cambridge Atlas, but is nevertheless a pleasing sight.

I would have gone on, but after an hour, the sky was lightening.  In for breakfast after a very enjoyable early start.  Must get up at 4.00am next time!

Doug.

[wookie1965]

Nice one Doug I saw that myself Seven sisters Hyades Orion Gemini Leo coming up and ursa major stood up cracking sight. 

[cloudsweeper]

33 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Nice one Doug I saw that myself Seven sisters Hyades Orion Gemini Leo coming up and ursa major stood up cracking sight. 

Thanks Paul.  Yes, it was very clear, with more stars on show than usual.  And going for targets within 4 deg of a guidestar makes it easy when not using GoTo.  The Bresser frac performed well, giving really sharp star images.

I'm wondering if a 150 GoTo Mak might be worth considering for nailing more doubles.....

Doug.

[wookie1965]

I don't know about the marks they have those central obstruction not sure whether a 6" would be an improvement over the 5" frac maybe someone more familiar with maks can answer better.