Hello everyone.
On Wednesday evening 28th August 2019, I had clear skies overhead once again. My skies are Bortle 9.
The scope I use is a William Optics 158 mm f/7 apochromatic refractor which is supported by a Berlebach Planet altazimuth mount with mirror diagonals fitted at all times.
Having had an excellent time in Aquila 2 nights earlier, I thought I ought to spend time in the opposite end of the sky -in the north eastern part in fact.
What's there is only the utterly reliable constellation of Cassiopeia the infamous "W".
My Guide 9.1 DVD was used to print off the northern section of Cassiopeia.
All figures come from
www.stelledoppie.it
I start off with 2 of the most glorious triples: Iota Cassiopeiae and Psi Cassiopeiae.
1. Iota Cassiopeiae: Magnitudes: A =4.6. B =6.9. C =9.1. Sep =2.6" and 6.7". PA =227 degrees and 217 degrees. This familiar triple is well known to all double and triple star afficionados. At 112X I see all 3 stars nicely split. There is a 4th 8.5 companion further out but no one bothers about that star. C and D are optical. A and B are both white -a true binary. C is slightly blue. Yes -it definitely is a spectacular system. My wife is greatly impressed with Iota Cas.
2. Psi Cassiopeiae: Magnitudes: A =4.7. B is too dim -so no way am I going to see it. C =9.2. D =10. Sep =20.3" and 2.9". PA's =128 degrees and 253 degrees. A and C have the designation H 5 83. They are only optical. C and D are called Stf 117 and they are a true binary. At 40X A and C are already a double. But at 112X C and D are separated -they are so tiny. Psi Cas is a most interesting triple system. I find Psi slightly more captivating that Iota. But that is only my personal opinion. 140X and 167X eyepieces were also used. Let's leave C and D tight. A is orange. The other two are white.
Each of these next 5 doubles are very dim and difficult to find by starhopping. They are also first time observations for me.
3. HJ 2094: Magnitudes: 8.9 and 10.3. Sep =23.3". PA =269 degrees. 40X is sufficient to see both stars. A is yellow -white and B is slight orange. I used 112X to get the colours. It is an optical double. HJ stands for John Herschel.
4. Stf 169: Magnitudes: 9.1 and 10.6. Sep =5.3". PA =137 degrees. At 112X I am welcomed by a fine sight. B is so faint but so charming too. It is a true binary and A is yellow - white. Stf stands for F.W. Struve.
5. HJ 1075: Magnitudes: 10 and 10.4. Sep =7.8". PA =105 degrees. I can see A and B split at 40X! That did surprise me. But 112X is very good also.The 2 stars point downwards in my scope. Both stars are white.
6. HU 1025: Magnitudes: 10.1 and 10.5. Sep =2.8". PA =198 degrees. It might not be a certain double but it gives great rewards to all who seek it out. Split at 112X and admired even more at 140X and 167X. HU stands for William Hussey.
7. My final double is HJ 1084. Magnitudes: 10 and 11.4. Sep =15.6". PA =359 degrees. A and yellow orange. B is orange. At 40X I split them easily. But I greatly enjoyed the colours, so I increased from 112X all the way up to 225X. It might not be a true double, but those colours are very vivid.
Finally, 2 years ago Dave Mitsky highlighted Collinder 463 back in 2017 over on the Deep Sky forum on Cloudy Nights and I did bumped into it very nearby to all these doubles. It certainly stopped me in my tracks at 40X. So many of its stars have different hues. I am making it an absolute priority to seek out this glorious Collinder once again because I can use it to find some more doubles -even quadruples close by. Collinder star clusters are named after Per Collinder who was a Swedish astronomer.
Thank you for reading this report.
Comments are very welcome as always.
Clear skies from Aubrey.
  