Alnitak- Zeta Orionis

[NGC 1502]

I’ve been using my smallest scope recently, my TeleVue Pronto. That’s because it’s not seen much starlight recently and it sets up in a jiffy just like its name suggests.

Double stars are one of my favourite objects. The whole sky is stuffed with them at all seasons. They show up well in our light polluted skies and when there’s a full moon around as last night.

Started off with one of my favourite triples, Beta Mon, east of Orion’s Belt.  Suspected double at 18x…..at 44x double confirmed, triple suspected……at 80x and up triple confirmed a lovely sight.

On to Alnitak, easternmost star in Orion’s Belt. My ED80 splits the A/B components if the seeing is half decent. But for some reason I’ve never tried it with the Pronto until last night. I got a suspected split at I20x. Put in my 2.5mm Vixen LV for 192x. I was delighted when the split was confirmed 😊

Unlike some I’m fortunate not to be hampered by eye floaters at tiny exit pupil sizes.

I was out with the Pronto the previous night too, that’s 2 clear nights in succession, not had that for a very long time!

Ed.

[josefk]

Alnitak looked wonderful last night Ed for me at an exit pupil of almost exactly 0.5mm with an 85mm scope. Perfect white marble primary with secondary sitting perfectly separated on the first quite faint diffraction ring with a second diffraction ring just outside of that and framing both components. Perfect seeing. 

You cant beat a small perfectly formed scope IMHO.