Hello, everybody.
I was promised clear skies from some weather websites for the last night of April 2021.
Therefore I set up my William Optics 158 mm F/7 apochromatic refractor to observe 1 triple star and 2 doubles in Leo in the back garden.
Sunset occurred at 20.52 LT and I had a clear sky at that point. Wind speeds were low ranging from 6 to 3 km/h. The air temperature was +2˚ Celsius.
Some clouds did arrive at various times when I was observing – which proved rather annoying as I had quite a list of doubles to check out.
But I have to state the triple and the 2 double stars were thrilling to behold and each of these can be found near the 3.4 magnitude star Eta Leonis (Adhafera).
All figures are from
www.stelledoppie.it
1. A 2367 is a true binary but, at the same time, an uncertain triple. Surprisingly A and B are a true binary. But the C is an uncertain double very close to B. Weird! Magnitudes: A = 9.9. B = 10.8. C = 11.5. Sep’s = 60.8” and 1.6”. As you might imagine, seeing A and B was easy to see at 40x. However to see that tiny C star right next to B with some black space between the two stars, I required a full 280X. The separation proved to be so tight after all. I was so pleased to have accomplished this feat. The designation A stands for the American Robert Aitken who lived from 1864 to 1961 and worked in Lick Observatory in California.
2. These last 2 doubles were a pure delight – even though I had plenty of hassle with the clouds. Thankfully these fluffy fellows kept moving from the east to the west sky where my beloved Leo was residing. Eventually I had a very clear sky but it was midnight at that point. STF (Struve) 1413 is quite a stunning beauty I would have to say. It is a true binary with magnitudes: A = 9.8. B = 9.8. Sep = 1.8”. PA = 270˚. I was nearly getting a clean split at 112X. Which of course I had black space at 140X and 167X. Nice!
3. Lastly STT 215 is a true binary. Magnitudes: A = 7.3. B = 7.5. Sep = 1.48”. PA = 175˚. What a spectacular double it truly is! I hadn’t quite got a clean split at 112X – although I could see there were 2 white stars stuck together. So once again my 140X eyepiece came up with the goods. 167X proved to be stunning too. Here we have a real beauty. Has anyone else observed it? Right now it is slowly widening.
Sadly that’s my lot for now as midnight had arrived.
I hope to see more doubles in Leo before a large tree stops me.
Comments are always welcome.
Clear skies from Aubrey.
