Hello, everyone.
We may be having so many cloudy nights right now.
But I thought I should try and cheer you all up with my own personal observations from Tuesday night 26th November 2019 between 5 and 7 pm.
As you all know I am the delighted owner of a William Optics 158 mm apochromatic refractor seated on a Berlebach alt-az mount.
1. Epsilon 1,2 Lyrae looked superbly split at 112X into 4 stars.
The magnitudes are 5.2, 6.1, 5.3, 5.4. Separations: 2.3" and 2.4". PA's: 345 and 74.5 degrees. Don't forget there is an optical 5th companion called TYC 3122 1635 1 which is of 10.4 magnitude east of the Double - Double. all 5 stars are white to me.
2. Zeta Lyrae is very nearby and easily split at 11X and 40X. Magnitudes: 4.3 and 5.6. Sep: 43.7". PA: 150 degrees. White and yellow - white are the colours. A true binary alright
3. Off we go to Cassiopeia. Schedar (Alpha Cassiopeiae) is an optical double. Magnitudes: 2.4 and 9. Sep: 70.4". PA: 283 degrees. Colours: yellow orange and white. Very nice at 40X.
4. Achird (Eta Cassiopeiae) is a real stunner. Magnitudes: 3.5 and 7.4. Sep: 13.4". PA: 326 degrees. Colours: Yellow and almond brown. Yes, this is the one I mentioned at the Sugarloaf last Friday night. Why not have a go at it and those excellent colours? Easily split at 40X. But I go up to 167X for those colours. It is a true binary.
5. Struve 9 is a true binary too, but it is faint. However it is easy to split. Magnitudes: 9.3 and 9.3. Sep: 20.1". PA: 165 degrees. Easily split at 40X.
6. Right next door to Stf 9 we have a carbon star. ST Cassiopeiae has a decent orange tinge and is between 1500 and 2100 light years from Earth. Its spectral class is N3. It has not changed in magnitude for a few years, and I agree with the observer on
www.aavso.org
that it is of magnitude +9.1. I found its orangeness increases as I go up from 40X through to 167X. ST Cassiopeiae is my 74th observed carbon star.
7. I finally had the opportunity to study in some detail the 3 sets of triples which are positioned within the open cluster M103 near Ruchbah (Delta Cassiopeiae).
Okay - none of these are tight, but they still look well all the same.
Some components are extremely faint, but increased magnification solves that problem.
I start with BUP 22 as it immediately attracts the eye with its bright and orange, with a bit of red, primary star which we find very near the centre of M103. Its spectral class is M2.
BUP 22's magnitudes are: A = 8.7, B = 9.1 and C = 8.2. The C star is the brightest of this optical trio.
The separations are 60" and 146.8". The PA's are 187 degrees and 125 degrees.
All 3 observed at 40X, but of course everyone will want to increase that considerably for the rest.
8. Stf 131 is next. It is up in the northerly part of M103. At 167X, I can see its 3 components. The primary is a B5 class, but it is almost all white to me with the minimal suggestion of a blue tint. The magnitudes are: A = 7.3, B = 9.9 and C = 11.8. I required 167X to see C. Stf 131 is probably not a physical system.
9. Lastly to observe FLE 2, I first go back to the A component of Stf 131.
On
www.stelledoppie.it
this triple is a continuation Stf 131.So we have the A, D and E stars. I head southwards to see the tiny stars. 225X brought out these very faint suns, and they are some distance from the A component alright. The magnitudes are: A = 7.3, D = 11.8, E = 10.6. FLE 2 is probably not a physical system. The separations are 46.3" and 82.1". The PA's are 121 degrees and 136 degrees.
Can anyone tell me who is BUP and FLE?
They don't appear on my Double Star Catalogs list.
Just a small distance away from from M103. there is a very wide double star which, surprisingly, is a true binary. HJL 20 is easy to see at 40X. HJL stands for J.L. Halbwachs. The magnitudes are 8.6 and 9.1. Both stars are yellow - white (F8). Separation is 44.3". The PA is 79 degrees.
M103 is definitely on of those open clusters which encourages us to use the very highest magnifications as long as sky conditions allow. Its overall magnitude is 7.4 and is 6 arc minutes wide. I can see nearly 20 stars in a nice nearly round circle and it does appear quite rich.
10. Trumpler 1 is almost due north by about 40 arc minutes of the very open star cluster M103. I soon discovered I could increase my magnification up to 320X. The seeing was that good. I counted 8 stars between magnitudes 9.9 down to 12.1 at 320X. 4 of them are in a perfect line. As a deep sky object, I do reckon Trumpler 1 is worth having a look.
That's it, folks.
Thank you for reading.
Comments are always welcome.
Aubrey.
  