Astronomy and astrophotography by Val Ricks for the love of the sky and its Creator. For a better view, toggle F11 and turn off the lights.
September 19, 2011
Double Star Observing, SV80ED (September 19, 2011)
Tonight I viewed most of the fine "Double Stars of Autumn" identified by James Mullaney in the October S&T. I carried the SV80ED and Vixen Polaris into the backyard (in one trip) and stayed out for about 90 minutes. Here are my notes of the double stars (and a few deep sky objects close by): 61 Cygni (underwhelming); Gamma Andromedae (always nice); Beta Lyrae (visual double; a very nice sight); M57 (a fully resolved ring at 112x, looks ghostly); Gamma Delphini & Struve 2725 (in the same view at 56x, and Gamma Delphini has a nice color contrast: light yellow and light green); Zeta Aquarii (my favorite of this list, just 2.2" apart, and nearly even in brightness, at 112x like headlights blasting through the heavens); Struve 3053 in Cassiopeia (underwhelming, easily split but far apart at 112x, and the secondary dim enough not to show much color); Epsilon Lyrae (cleanly split at 112x; one component similar to Zeta Aquarii); Eta Cassiopeiae (nice color contrast); M2 (cute but at 112x maybe just one star on the edge of being resolved; this is an object for the big dob).
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2 comments:
Sounds like you had a fun evening! I bet that SV80ED is a gem. I'm going to make an effort to go out and do some observing and/or imaging this weekend.
Absolutely, Rory! It's a great little scope! There is nothing quite like the star shape put up by a good refractor. In fact, it's got me looking at larger refractors in the far-off future. And any time under the stars is well-spent!
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