Observations - 2nd October 2020

Good evening, everyone.

I did get out to do some observing on Friday night 2nd October 2020 for 2 hours with my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor in the back garden under Bortle 9 skies from 9 till 11 pm. There was very little wind about. Therefore there were no complaints about the 4 degrees Celsius temperature. As I do have a mirror diagonal fitted, my north is to the left and my east is directly downwards.

I only observed a total of 5 celestial objects all in Cassiopeia. But there are all goodies!

None of these doubles appear in Robert Burnham's Celestial Handbook Volume 1 or in Sissy Haas' Double Stars for Small Telescopes. That's probably because each of them is an optical double star.

1. HJ 1906 has magnitudes: A = 10.1. B = 11.1. Sep = 13.6". PA = 349 degrees. What a faint double this is. I could see the primary at 40X alright. But 112X showed the secondary very nicely and not too far away from A. The 2 stars sat side by side. HJ stands for John Herschel.

2. ES 1932 has magnitudes: A = 10.4. B = 10.7. Sep = 6.6". PA = 341 degrees. This double is quite a bit tighter than the previous one. But I could still easily split it at 112X. Again the 2 stars sat side by side. But as the 2 stars were almost equal in brightness they did look very similar as 2 eyes looking back at me. ES stands for Thomas Espin.

3. I have kept the best double to last. STF 3038 has magnitudes: A = 10.1. B = 10.1. Sep = 4.4". PA = 275 degrees. But the colours - oh the colours! A is an M1 class star. And B is OB in spectral class. Therefore it's red and blue to me in my apochromatic refractor. I don't believe I have ever seen such a combination before. My scope split it at 112X at first. But what was so thrilling was to see those colours more accentuated at magnifications 167X, 225X and 280X. What a little cracker STF 3038 is. I wonder what Friedrich Wilhelm Struve thought when he first observed this optical double.

Oh by the way, I could fit both STF 3038 and HJ 1906 in the same field of view at 112X. Sweet!

4. I went on to observe M52 with my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor on Friday night 2nd October 2020 at powers up to 280X. I hadn't observed this open cluster for many a year with a previous reflector which is now gone. But I have to say I am quite a fan of M52 - even if I'm under Bortle 9 skies with a very bright Full Moon. Straight away I could see its bright star SAO 20606 which is of 8.3 magnitude. Its spectral class is F8 and it did appear yellow to my eyes. The rest of the stars appeared white and there weren't too many of them within the confines of NGC 7654. And I very much agree that M52 is large, rich and has a moderately compressed centre. It has a magnitude of 6.9 and its angular diameter is 13 arc minutes. It's a good one in my opinion! And I do recommend it to everyone here.

5. I had printed off a Guide 9.1 DVD to help me look for Case 30 which is another carbon star in Cassiopeia. Case 30 has a spectral class of C6. Its magnitude is much brighter than Case 270 at a smidgen brighter of 11.0. I don't believe the star is a variable. Case 30 has alternative designations GSC 04018-03344 and TYC 4018-3344-1. I could see a very tiny star at 40X above a slightly variable reddish M1 star called KN Cassiopeia whose magnitude is about 9.4 or 9.5. Above that star there was an even fainter magnitude 10 star called TYC 4018 2378. Case 30 sits directly above these 2 stars. The field is delightful to behold. I needed to increase the magnifications up to 112X, 140X, 167X, 225X and 280X to discover that Case 30 is indeed a rich orange carbon star. I personally perceive it to be a real gem! Case 30 is my 12th observed carbon star in Cassiopeia and my 89th carbon star overall.

Thank you for reading.

Comments, corrections and especially images are very welcome.

Clear skies from Aubrey.

Hello Aubrey, 

I very much enjoyed reading report. Very many thanks for pointing us in the direction STF 3038, it sounds like a real beauty. Also, M52 will be an object that I'll take a look at next night out. 

Take care and chat soon, 

Darren. 

Really enjoyed your observation report. I was on Stelarium but I couldn't find some of these doubles. Do I need to use some of the other sites you mention and do they provide Star Hopping advice to get to your Double stars
regardsstephen

Hello Stephen.
I'm sorry I neglected to state this time round.
But you can check out all these doubles on www.stelledoppie.it
This website is less complex than the Washington Double Star Catalogue and is even staffed by the same people.
It is completely free.
They ask for voluntary donations only.
The only suggestion I can give you is to log in in the first place.
You will never regret it!
See how you get on, Stephen.
I can take further questions if required.

Very best regards to you all from Aubrey.

Until_then-Goodnight! wrote: Hello Aubrey, 

I very much enjoyed reading report. Very many thanks for pointing us in the direction STF 3038, it sounds like a real beauty. Also, M52 will be an object that I'll take a look at next night out. 

Take care and chat soon, 

Darren. 

Yes, Darren.
M52 ought to look better in your 10" Dobsonian than my refractor. 
My only advice is to use high magnification on it. 
But I have to say STF 3038 was the "star" of the show. 
I have no idea as to when Irish night skies are going to be clear again.
Maybe we could have semi clear skies over the next few nights. 

I also very keen to have a look at Mars soon. 

Clear skies (when?)

Aubrey.  

Hi Aubrey, 

I hope you are keeping well. Very many thanks for your advice on using a high powered eyepiece on M52. I'll keep that in mind when I'm out next. Not sure when that'll be as the weather for the next week looks fairly bleak. I'm hoping that we'll get a bit of luck for Mars though. I'd love to try and sketch the Red Planet, and I'd be equally keen to hear how you get on with it. 

Kindest regards, 

Darren.