A serious double star challenge

Hi Dave. I have tried to see the companion of Sirius on numerous occasions over the years, including last year -all to no avail. I have even read a lot of comments on www.cloudynights.com by many serious amateur astronomers. Some suggest trying to see Sirius' companion before the sky gets really dark. I think both components would be easily visible if Sirius A would stop twinkling so terribly violently. I am sure you would have less trouble with it in your 12" SCT.
But I have to say, I do enjoy separating Rigel at 112X on many winter nights, and I adore Castor in Gemini.

good auld castor, never fails to impress, and the third companion red dwarf always finishes it off nicely,
I'm hoping to give Sirius b a run for its money this winter,

Aubrey/Dave

what's the separation between Sirius A and B? And the mag difference? And has anyone seperated them visually?

Hi Dave,

It's not so much separating them (they're 11" apart) as finding the rather dim B (8. in the big, messy blob that is A (mag -1.5).

I attempted it years ago with a 16" SCT on a night of excellent seeing. Trouble was that at 14° altitude above the horizon, everything was still a mess. My notes:

Alpha Canis Major Sirius 06/02/2007 00:00 UT; Pickering 9, NELM 5
406mm SCT @ 375X

Even in exceptional seeing and under high magnification, Sirius A is still a big, messy blob. No sign of a B component (or rather, signs of just about everything -- but nothing that would stay put).

Cheers,
Jeff

thanks for the report Jeff, just shows us what were up against.
it was far harder if not practically impossible back in the early 2000s as the separation was 4-5 arc seconds, the have since widened and will do so more in the coming years.
I'm sure these will be splitable/visible, but you'll need a good dose of lady luck for it to happen. Didnt mean to hijack your thread Aubrey.

Ooops, I misquoted. The maximum separation is about 11"; current is closer to 9".

Several folks have mentioned using filters (an OIII or a red filter seem to be popular) to reduce the glare. Not sure if it would help from Ireland, where it's so close to the horizon.

Cheers,
Jeff.