7 more doubles + 8th carbon in Cassiopeia

Good evening, everyone.

It was a windy night in my back garden as I set up my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor on its Berlebach Planet altazimuth mount. My finder scope is a William Optics 70 mm F/6 small apo. Mirror diagonals are fitted to both scopes. My north is to the left and my east is up.

All my figures are from www.stelledoppie.it

1. Sigma Cassiopeia was my first port of call. I have reported on it before, but what an exquisite delight it is. Astronomers are not quite sure if it is a true binary. The magnitudes are: A = 5. B = 7.2. Sep = 3.1". PA = 326 degrees. Perfectly split at 112X. Both stars appear to be white.

2. STTA 251 is supposed to be a triple star even though its 3 components are optical. But I could not see the C star at all no matter what magnifications I used - up to 280X. According to stelle doppie, the magnitudes are: A = 6.9. B = 9.1. C = 11.7. There is another star which has a magnitude of 9.5 very close by to the north, but that one does not appear to be of any concern to our famous double star website. There is no D star. So maybe we have a mystery. Comments are very welcome.

3. ES 1125 might be an uncertain double, but it is a good test for seeing conditions. The magnitudes are: A = 10.9. B = 11.1. Sep = 4.5". PA = 333 degrees. My scope managed to split cleanly at 140X and 167X. ES stands for Rev. Thomas Espin.

4. ES 2735 is a true binary. The magnitudes are: A = 8.9. B = 10.7. Sep = 12.6 ". PA = 99 degrees. I could just about split the 2 stars split at 40X. 112X was much more satisfying.

5. ES 1124 is an optical double star. The magnitudes are: A = 10.4. B = 10.9. Sep = 2.8". PA = 247 degrees. What an extremely attractive system it is! The 2 stars point downwards and were lovely and tight at 112X and 140X.

6. ES 700 is an uncertain double. The magnitudes are: A = 7.2. B = 11. Sep = 14.7". PA = 35 degrees. Good split at 112X.

7. ARY 33 is a true binary even though its separation is wide. The magnitudes are: A = 7.3. B = 8.1. Sep = 100.1". PA = 139 degrees. 40X is enough to see the 2 stars. But to check the colours I used 112X. The spectral classes are: A = G5. B = K2. Yellow and orange were the colours I observed. ARY stands for Robert Argyle.

8. And finally, I do have a carbon star for you all. TYC 3651-650-1 is positioned down near STTA 251. I could not see it at 40X. But I was successful at 112X. It is so faint; its magnitude is 11.4. Its orange hue was evident at 140X, 167X, 225X and 280X. It is my 8th observed carbon star in Cassiopeia. My 79th overall. I shall ask on www.cloudynights.com as to what its spectral class is. There is a red star immediately above it. Its designation is 3UC284-268448. Its magnitude is a slightly brighter at 11.1. So all in all,  it is quite a nice optical double  

Thank you for reading.
Comments are very welcome.

Clear skies from Aubrey.

Hello Aubrey,

I hope all is well.

Congratulations on observing your 79th carbon star last night! I know TYC 3651-650-1 was on you list for a while now, so it must have felt great to have observed it. I very much like how you explain how it is not visible at 40X, but it is at 112X. The idea that it is 'hidden' at 40X, but reveals itself at high magnifications, in a way, reminds me of Galileo's quote:

"Facts which at first seem improbable will, even on scant explanation, drop the cloak which has hidden them and stand forth in naked and simple beauty." 

From your description of TYC 3651-650-1, it sounds like the red star above it adds extra beauty to the FOV.

Also, I'm looking forward to reading what other people say about the mystery star in STTA 251 - keep us posted on it Aubrey!

As for the arrangement of ES 1124 and its companion, it sounds very nice indeed. What colours did you detect?

Very many thanks for bringing us another detailed report for us to read - it was a really good one!

Clear skies,

Darren.

I did not see any colours whatsoever on ES 1124, Darren.
Both stars are plain white.
Stelle Doppie gives no colours or spectral class either.
Indeed all other doubles on Tuesday night were simply white except ARY 33 and the carbon star TYC 3651-650-1 and the other red star above it.
Oh - and the primary of STTA 251.
That faint 11.7 magnitude C star should have been visible a tiny bit closer to the primary that the B star. 46.6" versus 48.1". But I had no sign of it. And yet the carbon star and its red optical companion were observed reasonably easily.

By the way, I do have a 9th carbon star to seek out in Cassiopeia. (I wonder if there is a 10th.)
It has a truly unorthodox designation.
I will come back to you all about it very soon.

Thank you, everyone, for all the "likes".

As we were entertaining on Wednesday night, I am only informing www.cloudynights.com today.

Clear skies,

Aubrey.

Very many thanks Aubrey for your email, and that C star sound very interesting. Best of luck with that 10th carbon star in Cassiopeia. 

Speaking of luck, I could do with some. I've just returned from my back garden. 1hour 20minutes ago I set up my scope; collimated the mirrors; and sharpened my pencils with the plan to sketch the Orion nebula. All looked quite promising. However, after waiting 30 minutes for the mirror to cool the clouds blew in and covered Orion. I waited another 45 minutes to see if it would clear, but no luck. That's my second attempt this week to do some observing. 

Fingers crossed we get a clear sky tomorrow evening. 

Kindest regards, 

Darren. 

Hello everyone.

I can relax now.
On Tuesday night 28th January I observed once again STTA 251 and I did find the C star in its correct location. (I was looking in the wrong place.)
It was very cold in my back garden using my William Optics 158 mm apochromatic refractor.
It was +3 degrees Celsius which felt more like -1.
There was a 20 mph wind swirling around.
I had 6 layers of warm clothing on.

Anyway, that C star is extremely faint at 11.7 magnitude.
Its PA is 135 degrees. ( www.stelledoppie.it )
Separation was good: 46.6".
I needed 167X to spot it.
225X was good also.
There was no need to go higher.
Besides it was too windy.
Next time I must observe a carbon star.

So did anyone get out to do some observing on Tuesday night?
It is highly likely we will have to endure many cloudy nights for the next while.

Kindest regards,

Aubrey.

Very well done on observing that 11.7 mag star Aubrey, particularly with the wind playing havoc. 

Unfortunately, I've not been out since the last meet-up session at the Sugar Loaf. That been said, I've spent the last view nights cleaning eyepieces, and reading through the Moon Atlas you recommended... Great resource! 

Here's hoping we get some clear skies soon

Darren.