Did I see polaris B?

[astoc]

I was out with the 70mm refractor again tonight and saw a few things - notably I saw M3 and M13, which displayed as very faint fuzzy spheres, but still awesome to see with such a low power scope.

Anyway, I was trying to split polaris. I understand the separation isn't all that tight, but that A overpowers B by a rediculous amount. Straining through the 20mm and with averted vision I was almost certain I could see a faint deep blue spot close to A. It was pretty

Would B look this colour? So far i'm used to seeing white-white doubles.

John

[lunator]

Astoc

It sounds like you did.

What mag were you using?

I have found that faint companions can have a bluish tint

Cheers

Ian

[astoc]

I first saw it at 45x, tried at 112x but there wasn't really enough contrast. At 45x I think I definitely saw 'something' bluish - could have been my imagination I suppose, haha.

'Turn Left at Orion' lists it as 'blue' but I was unsure if this would actually be visible through the scope.

Thanks dude

John

[John]

That sounds like Polaris's companion to me - well done !.

[FraserClarke]

Quite possibly. Polaris B is about 18" away, and mag 8.2. Perfectly visible in a 70mm telescope, though I doubt that would be bright enough to really see colour...

Depending on how pedantic you're feeling, you could check it wasn't an optical ghost from Polaris A (due to reflections off the various lenses in the eyepiece). Try the same observation on another star -- if you see a faint companion in the same place, it is probably an artifact of the eyepiece (may explain why you saw it at 45x and not 112x). These optical ghosts are often blue, because the anti-reflection coatings on the lenses aren't as good in the blue...

[kniclander]

a good way to check is to sketch where you think B was in relation to A and then check a star chart (remembering any mirror image etc adjustment).

also, what latitude are you? if you are south of the UK it would be easier I would think.

[astoc]

Depending on how pedantic you're feeling, you could check it wasn't an optical ghost from Polaris A (due to reflections off the various lenses in the eyepiece). Try the same observation on another star -- if you see a faint companion in the same place, it is probably an artifact of the eyepiece (may explain why you saw it at 45x and not 112x). These optical ghosts are often blue, because the anti-reflection coatings on the lenses aren't as good in the blue...

That's interesting! Next time I have a clear sky i'll try the same thing again and indeed give a quick sketch as also suggested.

Thanks guys,

John