The Companion of Sirius (3-5-2011)

Tonight I saw the companion of Sirius for the first time. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky (partly because it is only 8.6 light years away). It is a double star, and the dim companion is a white dwarf, the second white dwarf star ever discovered. The white dwarf has about the mass of the sun but is about the size of the earth. The dwarf star does not appear that close to Sirius, but the brighter star overwhelms its companion. In the 15" dob, however, at 380x, all that became academic. There was the dim companion, shining clearly outside the glare of the primary star! I'd never seen it in many years of observing. I've never had a scope that would show it. The eyepiece used was a 5mm Vixen Lanthanum.