Hello, everyone.
Last Thursday night after I had observed the planet Jupiter, I set out to observe 4 double stars that are all nearby.
Sky conditions started bad with a lot of turbulence coming from the houses on my street. (Including my own).
But by 11 pm Local Time, conditions were greatly improving.
1. Porrima (Gamma Virginis) was easily split at 112X in my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor.
Component A is white; B is yellow. The magnitudes are both +3.5. PA is now almost precisely 1 degree. It sure is lovely to observe the 2 stars in a north -south direction with a separation of 2.4 arc seconds. I know that many of you double star admirers are hugely enjoying it at present. Because Jupiter is less than 6 degrees away from Porrima, I could still see the star before I could see it naked eye in my William Optics apo.
2. Struve 1690 is nearby also. It is only 2 degrees from the Giant Planet.
It is easily split at 40X. The primary is slightly grey in colour. The separation is 5.9 arc seconds. The PA is 149 degrees. I reckon this double has a character all its own.
3. 44 Virginis is 2.25 degrees from Jupiter. With my 2" 38 mm eyepiece, I can see it and the planet in the same FOV. Jupiter, though, is currently moving away from it. 44 Vir appears to be a true binary; this is suggested on stelle doppie. The separation is less than 21 arc seconds, and the PA is 54 degrees. The magnitudes are very dissimilar. A is 5.8 and slightly blue; B is a dim 10.3. At 40X, A and B are easy to see. However 112X is very nice too.
4. Finally, I can just about fit Jupiter and Theta Virginis in my 70 mm scope. They are about 6 degrees apart. I have observed this triple system a few years ago when Mars was nearby. A and B are tight. I require 112X to see them both. C is very easy to see even at 40X. The magnitudes are 4.4, 9.4 and 10.4. The separations are 6.8 and 71 arc seconds. The PA’s are 342 and 300 degrees. All 3 stars are white and I would say it will be very admirable to first time observers.
There might be other doubles nearby. But these are the only ones I have come across on my Guide 9 programme.
So if any of you can pull yourselves from the biggest planet in the Solar System, there are rewarding sights to be had!
Thank you for reading.
Clear skies from Aubrey.
