49 Leonis and 38 Lyncis

Hello double star enthusiasts.

It was my 2nd night in a row I did some more observing with my 158mm apo on Thursday night.

1. I did observe Iota Leonis once again. This time I was splitting at a mere 112X. But it is much nicer at 140X and 167X.
The separation is 2.1". A= 4.1, B=6.7. PA= 96 degrees.
2. Then I travelled over to Regulus and headed southeast to 49 Leonis. It has been a few years since I split this one, and it is a goodie. A= 5.8, B= 7.9. The separation is also 2.1" -but because A is fainter than the A component of Iota, it is easier to split at 112X. It is rather elegant at 140X and 167X. Both stars are white to myself and Valerie. I did discover that the Mike Casey split these 2 double stars 2 years ago at high power. Perhaps we could have another opportunity to separate them with medium magnification.
3. But my 3rd double star from last night is an astounding gem: 38 Lyncis. I had never observe this beauty in my long history. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there was a fine double star in Lynx. And on Wednesday night, I was simply looking directly upwards at the various bright pairs of stars in Ursa Major when I saw this extra pair lower down from the others. I checked Guide 8 and stelledoppie.goaction.it, and it is just north of Alpha Lyncis, I could see this star 38 Lyncis with my own eye. So without maps, I got the scope on it. At 112X, I was welcomed by a very dramatic sight. The position angel (PA) is 224 degrees; which from my observing point the B component gives a lovely teardrop effect straight down from A. A= 3.9, B= 6.1. Valerie and I then checked for colours. There are both very slight -A is golden white and B is blue- they are not strong in colour. However this double is excellent also at 140X and 167X. I do not know if anyone has split this star from Ireland. Please come back to me about it. The separation is 2.6".

By the way, did anyone look at the Moon on Thursday night. There was a bright star near it -it was +2 magnitude Gamma Geminorum. However the Moon did not occult it.

Thank you for reading.

Clear skies

Aubrey.

19 Lyncis is another beauty in that constellation Aubrey, easy at 15" separation and the secondary a distinct blue.

It's been a great spell of clear if not exactly transparent skies. Got in another observation of Nova Sgr 2015 before dawn on Wednesday, it's still obvious hovering around mag 5 and now appears to have had at least 3 different episodes of brightening and fading. A fascinating object, latest distance estimates I've seen ~15000 LY.

Scanning upwards the Sagittarius Star Cloud looked amazing in 15 x 70 binos, in fact the whole southern region stands out more against darker skies than you would get in mid-summer; the Milky Way around Scutum just jaw-dropping and of course my old favourite M11.

Added to that and on various other nights, further observations of Lovejoy (mag 7.5), Saturn now rising around midnight and too many cluster and galaxies to mention. The only disappointment really being the Lyrids, I only managed maybe 7 in a 2-hour spell & some of those very faint.

Clear skies,
Finbarr (Fermidox)

Oh yes, I shall always remember 2015 for Comet Lovejoy. And I did enjoy M11 last year -a very fine star cluster

Thank you, Finbarr.

Aubrey.

Great report, with tantalising targets, as always, Aubrey. I haven't observed many doubles in Lynx, and haven't checked 38 Lyn - given your recommendation, I'll definitely check it out. Of the few doubles in Lynx that I have logged, my favourites were STF1282 and 12 Lyn.

STF1282 (7.6, 7.8, 3.5") is a pair of almost equal, yellow stars, split by a hair at 90x. Just 41' distant STF1272 (8.1, 10.2, 20.5") is a very unequal pair of yellow stars, that is very wide at 90x.

12 Lyn (5.4, 6.0, 7.1, 1.9", 8.5") is a lovely triple system, with two similar bright white stars, very close at 215x, and a slightly fainter yellow companion. It makes a very nice combination with STF946 (7.3, 9.1, 3.9"), an unequal double of yellow stars, with all the components resolved in the field of a Hyperion eyepiece at 215x.

I have managed several good observing sessions this year, but haven't found the time to post many reports here. Hopefully, I'll rectify that soon.

Best regards, Mike.

Thank you so much for these recommendations, Mike.

I like the sound of that triple star 12 Lyncis. As you well know I adore Tegmine (Zeta Cancri). It is a marvellous gem at 225X. I probably would not need that for 12 Lyncis. I must check Guide 8 for its location. We have just had major tree surgery beside our back garden today -so watch this space.

Aubrey.

flt158 wrote: I travelled over to Regulus and headed southeast to 49 Leonis. It has been a few years since I split this one, and it is a goodie. A= 5.8, B= 7.9. The separation is also 2.1" -but because A is fainter than the A component of Iota, it is easier to split at 112X.

Just resurrecting this thread as a reminder that this double star is being occulted tonight around 10 minutes after midnight.