November 26th, 2017

Another day of thick high thins (Does that make sense?) and mild temperatures. The sky finally cleared nicely enough just prior to sunset.

Tonight I brought out both 5” scopes, the f/6.5 and f/9.4 in tandem on the Twilight II mount. I also brought out the ST80 on the Twilight I mount. I had a mind to put the little 80mm on the Cube-G mount and grab some video frames of the Moon to stack, but thinking about that business made me tired, so I left it configured for visual use.

After that, I got supper together for my wife (she’s home today) and then puttered around on the forum until the end of astronomical twilight. I then suited up and met Stubbs out at the scopes.

Must be Christmas spirit night here in the neighborhood. My neighbor to my immediate north set out two outdoor lawn ornament Christmas trees along with an illuminated snowman. Just as I was getting settled in, all three were switched on. Not terribly bothersome on this moony night, but if this had been a galaxy night, I would have been knocking on a door begging for some lights out.

And my neighbor to the west across the street was putting the finishing touches on his lighting outline of his house. That was turned on as well and the Holiday Super Nova was in full force. Fortunately, my house blocks the bulk of that. He stayed busy scrambling around on his roof doing final arrangements while I began my observing session.

I decided again this evening to throw caution to the wind and get some tunes going with my headphones and Pandora. 90’s grunge yet again.

Since I kinda like my little terminator tours as the Moon is waxing, I made that my first target this evening to get it out of the way, all in a “can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” effort.

1. Moon
(Moon of Earth in Aquarius, mag -9.9, 53.1% illuminated)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 18:54:07
Comment: Man, the seeing was rather poor this evening. Rapid-fire turbulence. Rupes Recta was the main feature of note this evening, looking like a dropped saber lying in the dust. I also enjoyed the jagged line of Montes Apenninus and Montes Caucasus, as well as Plato Crater. There is an interesting dark area just south of Eratosthenes Crater and Sinus Aestuum. I don’t know if this feature has a designation or not. I’ve noticed it in the past and always find it interesting. Anyway, know thine enemy and whatnot.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm, 8.8mm

After that, I popped over to the ST80 and dropped my ES 62° 9mm into the diagonal and panned around a bit. I sat on M45 for a short while and panned back and forth, up and down, evaluating the field of view and watching for aberrations and such. Did similarly with the Hyades. I shot over to the northeast and did similarly with Melotte 20. I also noticed a curious red star on the northern bounds of this large cluster.

2. σ Persei - NEW
(Variable Star in Perseus, mag 4.34)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:25:37
Comment: Not sure if this is a carbon star or not, but it does have a delightful copper hue to it and is quite bright.
Equipment: ST80, ES 62° 9mm

I don’t think this star is actually a carbon star, but that’s ok. I like it anyway.

Back over at the Twilight II, I decided to settle in and round up a few double stars. The Moon was really lighting the place up as if in competition with the holiday lighting on the ground.

Heard a bit of crunching back along the fence. I flipped on my white light and noticed a small possum working south along the fence row. Don’t see many possums in the yard. Better than a skunk I suppose.

Had a couple of doubles in Aries to knock out. This constellation is getting high, so I thought I’d better get these logged before it got any higher. That can be a chore with a long refractor.

I sighted Triangulum naked eye and located Sheratan (β Arietis). I centered on that star via Rigel QuickFinder and easily slid via RACI to my first double of the evening.

3. λ Arietis - NEW
(Double Star in Aries, mag 4.76 and 6.65, 37.2” at 47.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:32:52
Comment: Nice! The brighter star of the pairing appears a lemony yellow in color, while the dimmer component is a less brilliant silver hue. Well separated with the 14mm at 86×.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

Back across Sheratan to the south to my next target.

4. Mesarthim - γ Arietis - NEW
(Variable Double Star in Aries, mag 3.88 and 4.58, 7.1” at 1.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:37:58
Comment: Cool! A tighter pair, and both of a similar magnitude and hue. They look like a pair of distant eyes staring back at me.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

Good enough. I’m working from two doubles lists this evening: The RASC Coloured Doubles and the AL’s Double Stars. There is some overlap between the two. I decided to move northeast back into Perseus and round up the doubles there on these two lists.

Centered upon Mirfak (α Persei) in the midst of Melotte 20 and moved northwest via RACI to Al Fakhbir (γ Persei). Another 3° in that direction landed my next target. The star hopping to tonight’s doubles was rather easy as they all showed nicely in the RACI.

5. Miram - η Persei - NEW
(Variable Double Star in Perseus, mag 3.75 and 8.50, 31.4” at 295.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:44:32
Comment: Wow! Bright primary and a fine gold color! The secondary is much dimmer and appears a steel gray in hue.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

I next moved back across Melotte 20 headed southeast, touched ν Persei and landed on my next target about 3.5° away.

6. Adid Australis - ε Persei - NEW
(Variable Double Star in Perseus, mag 2.91 and 8.86, 8.7” at 10.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:48:58
Comment: A very brilliant and white primary star. Tucked up next to this is the much dimmer and tiny little secondary star.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

From there, a 1.5° slide southeast to my next double.

7. HD 25184 - NEW
(Double Star in Perseus, mag 7.69 and 9.21, 26.2” at 290.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:52:29
Comment: Mini Albireo alert! Here I have a fun, though dim, pairing. I’ve got a dim golden sun near a slightly dimmer silvery sun. Together they contrast to appear red and blue.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

While sliding into position on that double via RACI, I noticed, despite the bright moonlight looking over my shoulder, a large swath of slightly brighter space marking the position of a surprise object.

8. California Nebula - NGC 1499 - NEW
(Bright Nebula in Perseus, size 145’ x 40’)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 19:55:53
Comment: Not an expected object on a brightly lit night like this. But! I can see it in the RACI as a slightly bright swath of light between Menkib (ξ Persei) and HR 1234. Going wide-field in the shorter 5” with the 24mm, I think I can pick up a similar slight brightening, though only because I know it is there. That may be averted imagination.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm, AR127, ES 82° 24mm

That was fun! Might need to try NGC 1499 again with the AD12 on a darker night.

Checking my AL list for more Perseus doubles, I realized I passed by one way back to the northwest of Melotte 20. Moving back in that direction, I landed yet again on γ Persei, then took a turn to the southwest a little over a degree to my next target.

9. HR 890 - NEW
(Double Star in Perseus, mag 5.26 and 6.17, 11.9” at 85.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 20:01:10
Comment: Nice! The brighter of the pair is a pale yellow, while the dimmer star is a silvery white.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

That completed the Perseus contingent from my two lists.

A few in Taurus next, just escaping the clutches of my Shed and its associate, the Tree. Centering Elnath (β Tauri), I hopped southward a bit to land on my next double.

10. HR 1741 - NEW
(Double Star in Taurus, mag 6.09 and 9.66, 8.9” at 203.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 20:10:06
Comment: Holy cow! A bit tough to pick out the dim companion with this pair. The brighter primary is a pale gold, and close in and barely perceptible at this lower altitude, the dim little secondary appears steel grey.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

Using the Hyades as a pointer, I followed a line from γ Tauri to λ Tauri and moved further just over 3° in that direction to my next target.

11. e Tauri - NEW
(Variable Double Star in Taurus, mag 5.07 and 9.77, 9.6” at 58.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 20:15:32
Comment: Another bright/dim combo here. The primary is a very pale yellow, or maybe an old white. By contrast, the dim companion appears to be a blue-grey in hue.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

And checking the other list, I realized I’d shot myself in the foot again and had to backtrack to my next one.

Back to Elnath (rather an elvish name, in my mind), then due south 3.5° to nab my final target of the evening.

12. 118 Tauri - NEW
(Variable Double Star in Taurus, mag 5.84 and 6.68, 4.7” at 209.0°)
Observed: Nov 26, 2017 at 20:18:42
Comment: These are fun! A very tight pairing at 86×, but easily split. One obviously brighter than the other, both appear white in color. Again the appearance of two distant eyes, but looking to my north instead of directly at me.
Equipment: AR127L, ES 82° 14mm

Probably a few more I could nab hither and yon, but that was plenty for the evening. I think I get a clear one tomorrow too, so I’d better save some.

I sat in my chair for a short while and just soaked up the moonbeams and watched Stubbs try to pounce on something in the taller grass in the lot next door. Then I packed up my toys and we came inside.

A fairly relaxed, no-hurry session. I liked it. I enjoyed the star hopping and saw some nice things, along with a bonus of NGC 1499. A good night out.

That’s all I’ve got. Peace be with you, my friends.