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On the nights of December 8 and 9 2004 I observed some double stars in Auriga, Orion and Gemini. The seeing and transparency was not very good (4 out of 10) on these nights. Even the big clusters in Auriga, M 36, M 37, and M 38 where no real fun to observe, but for looking at some double stars, it was proved to be OK. I observed from my own backyard (visual limiting magnitude 4 on these nights) using my TAL 200K, an 8-inch Klevtzov-Cassegrain mounted on the EQ6, and the Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer. Below you find the sketches I made with the reports and basic data. They are arranged by RA and DEC. The brightest component of the double/multiple star is always at the centre of the sketch. The postion-angles are oriented as follows: 90° is East, 180° is South, 270° degrees is West and 0° is North (so 359° is almost North). |
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1: Omega Aurigae (Σ616)Observed on December 9 2004. RA 04h.59m, DEC +37°53'. The bright magnitude 5 A-component of Omega Aurigae is yellowish-white. At the postion-angle of 359° lies the magnitude 8 B-component. The separation between both stars is 5.4". I cannot tell the colour of the B-component. It looks like a faint white point of light. The eyepiece used is a 20mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 100x and a true field of view of 28.75'. |
2: Rigel or Beta OrionisObserved on December 8 2004. RA 05h.15m, DEC -08°12'. The bright magnitude 0.1 A-component of Rigel is a blazing bluish white star. For the first time ever I spotted the magnitude 6.8 B component at the postion-angle of 202°. The separation between both stars is 9.4" I cannot tell the colour of the B-component. The bright light of the A-component makes it very hard to tell the colour of it's companion. This was a difficult couple to split, but with a 10mm Vixen Lanthanum eyepiece, giving a magnification of 200x it was clearly visible. The true field of view is 15'. |
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3: Σ653 or 14 Aurigae A-C pair.Observed on December 8 2004. RA 05h.15m, DEC +32°31'. The magnitude 5.1 A-component of Σ653 is also part of another double, 14 Aurigae A-B pair. The A-component is yellowish. On both nights I could not detect the magnitude 11.1 B component of 14 Aurigae, that can be found at a position angle of 352° and is separated by 11.1". At the postion-angle of 226° lies the magnitude 7.4 C-component of 14 Aurigae, that forms Σ653 together with the A-component. The separation between both stars is 14.6". The C-component looks blue-white. The eyepiece used is a 15mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 133x. The true field of view is 22.5'. |
4: Σ698Observed on December 9 2004. RA 05h.25m, DEC +34°51'. The magnitude 6.60 A-component is yellow-orange. At the postion-angle of 345° lies the magnitude 8.7 B-component. The separation between both stars is 31.2". The B-component is too faint to detect any colour. The eyepiece used is a 20mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 100x. The true field of view is 28.75'. |
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5: 26 Aurigae (Σ1240)Observed on December 9 2004. RA 05h.38m, DEC +30°30'. The magnitude 6 AB-component (too close to split for amateur telescopes with a separation of 0.2") is yellow. At the postion-angle of 267° lies the magnitude 8 C-component of this easy double. The separation between both stars is 12.4". The C-component is too faint to detect any colour. The eyepiece used is a 32mm Televue Plossl, magnification 62.5x. The true field of view is 46.4'. |
6: Sigma OrionisObserved on December 8 2004. RA 05h.39m, DEC -02°36'. All components of this multiple star look bluish-white. The magnitude 3.8 AB-pair (not split) forms a nice triple with the D- and E component. The magnitude 7.5 D-component lies at a position angle of 84°. The separation between both stars is 12.9". The magnitude 6.5 E-component lies at a position angle of 61°. The separation between the AB pair and the D-component is 42.6". The trio can be found at the centre of the sketch with the D-component just to the east of the bright AB pair and the E-component a little to the east-northeast of the D-component. The magnitude 11.4 C-component was not detected. This faint member of this multiple star system lies at a postion angle of 238° of the bright AB-component. To the west of Sigma Orionis you see three stars, two close together and one a little more to the north. This trio forms the multiple star system Σ761. The eyepiece used is a 20mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 100x. The true field of view is 28.75'. |
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7: Nu AurigaeObserved on December 9 2004. RA 05h.51m, DEC +39°09'. The magnitude 3.97 A-component is bright yellow-orange. At the postion-angle of 206° lies the magnitude 9.5 B-component. The separation between both stars is 54.6". The B-component is too faint to detect any colour. The eyepiece used is a 12mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 166x. The true field of view is 18'. |
8: Delta AurigaeObserved on December 9 2004. RA 05h.59m, DEC +54°17'. The magnitude 3.72 A-component of this triple star is yellow-gold. At the postion-angle of 271° lies the magnitude 9.7 B-component. The separation between both stars is 115". At a position-angle of 67° lies the magnitude 9.7 C-component. The separation between the A- and C-components is 197" Both B- and C-components are too faint to detect any colour. In the sketch above, the B compenent lies to the west of the bright A-component and the C-component lies to east-northeast of the A-compnent at about 8 O'clock. The eyepiece used is a 15mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 133x. The true field of view is 22.5'. |
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9: Σ872
Observed on December 8 2004. RA 06h.15m, DEC +36°09'. The magnitude 6.9 A-component of this very fine double is is yellow. At the postion-angle of 217° lies the magnitude 7.1 B-component. The separation between both stars is 11.3". The B-component is seems too faint to detect any colour, but at 287x it still not looks white. I think I see some bluish or purple colour, but maybe thats just imagination. It remains hard to see colours in most stars.
The eyepiece used is a 20mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 100x. The true field of view is 28.75'.
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10: OΣ147Observed on December 9 2004. RA 06h.34m, DEC +38°05'. The magnitude 6.6 A-component of this triple star is yellow. At the postion-angle of 73° lies the magnitude 10 B-component. The separation between both stars is 43.2". At a position-angle of 117° lies the magnitude 10.6 C-component. The separation between the A- and C-components is 46.3" Both B- and C-components are too faint to detect any colour. In the sketch above, the B and -compenents both lie to the East of the bright A-component. The three components form a beautiful triangle in the eye-piece. The eyepiece used is a 15mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 133x. The true field of view is 22.5'. |
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11: CastorObserved on December 8 2004. RA 07h.34m, DEC +31°53'. The magnitude 1.9 A-component is bright white. At the postion-angle of 68° lies the magnitude 2.9 white B-component. The separation between both stars is 4". This is the first time I split this beautiful double. The eyepiece used is a 12mm Vixen Lanthanum, magnification 166x. The true field of view is 18'. |