Antares B with a Skymax 127

[Nik271]

Last evening I managed to split Antares for the first time! I didn't have high expectations, since I had tried numerous times over the past 5 years without success. Last evening it was a clear warm and still, at 10pm there are not that many targets available, so I thought - let's try it again.

Antares rises  only 11 degrees above the horizon for me and I have just a 45 minutes window of observation from our house while it moves between two big trees on the other side of the road.

As I said I didn't have high hopes so I just brought the simple AZ5 mount on a surveyor tripod and set up the tube 20 minutes early to cool.

Ar 10pm I had trouble spotting Antares with naked eyes, but the finder showed it just clearing the first tree. I focused with a 20mm EP giving x75 and it was noticeable that the orange star was very steady. Encouraged I decided 'to go all in' and went back inside and fetched my 6mm EP which gives x250 in the Skymax, about its maximal magnification.

At other times Antares was just a dancing orange blob but this evening I was treated to a reasonably well defined diffraction pattern, with occasional shimmer around the first diffraction ring. And just outside it was a tiny green spark showng intermittently! Wow, I could not belive my eyes! I stayed at the scope for 10 minutes and the secondary kept appearing and disappearing but always in the same position west of the orange primary. It was 10:20pm, still quite light. I went inside the house to bring my partner but when we tried again just 10 munutes later the seeing had deteriorated and Antares was back to a blob. 

Having seen it,  I believe that this double is not that hard from a more southern lattitude. The separation is similar to Delta Cyg with a bit more of magnitude difference, I think its perfectly doable in good seeing with any quality scope of 100mm aperture. From the UK the single most important factor is the seeing at this low elevation. 11 degrees is just brutal.

So keep trying, you never know when the seeing will cooperate!

Clear skies,

 

Nik

Edited July 8, 2023 by Nik271
typos

[John]

Excellent report and result Nik 😃

I tried Antares with my 130mm refractor last night (about all I did try before being clouded out) but it was very unsteady. 

I had much more luck a couple of weeks or so back with my 100mm so seeing conditions (both local and more widespread) are vital I think. My view of Antares is similar to yours with regard to altitude and using a gap between a house and trees to see it:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/385898-what-did-you-see-tonight/?do=findComment&comment=4389314

Very satisfying when it comes together though 👍

Edited July 8, 2023 by John

[Paz]

Great report, that's a good result and a good reminder of what is possible.

[Nik271]

It was pure luck for me, I had almost stopped trying. The Thames is 1km away to the south and I've noticed there is some local air movement when the weather is still. Usually it brings mist in winter but also in the summer cool air moves in and disturbs the seeing. I'm so glad I gave it a go yesterday. 

[Space Hopper]

Well done Nik. Good work 🫡 🔭👍🏼

I've been trying for years with no luck, Sirius as well.

But i'm further north still, in Derby, so its only around 10º or so, and like you say, at that sort of elevation its just brutal.

 

[JeremyS]

Congratulations Nik. Glad to see your persistence has paid off! 👍🏻

[The60mmKid]

Well done! I wrote it off a few years ago since I've always lived pretty far up north... I look at it, see it frenetically twinkling, and think, "Maybe someday." Now you've inspired me to try again 🤩