[sigmaOri courtesy of DSS]
Given a visual acuity (VA) of 150" a 10x binocular will potentially split doublestars with separations as close as 15" (150/10), and 5" at 30x.
Doubles with equal or near equal mags are easier to blackline than those with a significantly brighter glare from the primary.
Color interpretations are often subjective for several reasons including sky conditions, color sensitivity, contrast effects, and aperture.
Equally impressive in low power scopefields, this collection of brighter targets for northern observers is arranged by constellation and decreasing separation. Pocket Sky Atlas chart references are included.
Andromeda psa 2/3
56 0156+3715 5.7, 6.0 @ 190"
59 0211+3902 6.5, 7.0 @ 16.6"
gamma 0204+4220 2.3, 5.5 @ 9.8"
stf79 0100+4443 6.0, 7.0 @ 7.8"
Aquarius psa 76
94 2319-1327 5.3, 7.3 @ 13"
107 2346-1840 5.5, 6.5 @ 6.6"
Aquila psa 65/66/67
15 1905-0402 5.5, 7.2 @ 38"
57 1955-0814 5.8, 6.5 @ 36"
stf2654 2015-0330 6.0, 7.5 @ 14.2"
5 1847-0057 5.5, 7.5 @ 13"
Aries psa 4
30 0237+2439 6.6, 7.4 @ 38.6"
lambda 0158+2336 4.9, 7.7 @ 37"
gamma 0154+1918 4.8, 4.8 @ 7.8"
Auriga psa 12
stf698 0525+3451 6.5, 7.5 @ 31.2"
stf764 0541+2929 6.5, 7.0 @ 26"
14 0515+3231 5.1, 7.4 @ 14.6"
stf872 0616+3609 6.9, 7.9 @ 11.3"
41 0612+4843 5.0, 7.0 @ 7.7"
stf918 0634+5227 6.5, 7.5 @ 4.7"
Bootes psa 42/44/53
mu 1525+3723 4.3, 6.5 @ 108"
s656 1350+2117 6.8, 7.3 @ 86"
iota 1416+5122 4.9, 7.5 @ 38"
stf1850 1429+2817 6.0, 7.0 @ 25.6"
kappa 1414+5147 4.6, 6.6 @ 13.4"
xi 1451+1906 4.7, 7.0 @ 6.9"
stf1835 1423+0827 5.1, 7.6 @ 6.2"
pi 1441+1625 4.9, 5.8 @ 5.6"
Camelopardalis psa 11/12/31
11/12 0506+5858 5.4, 6.5 @ 180"
s436 0349+5707 6.5, 7.3 @ 58"
32 1249+8325 5.3, 5.8 @ 21.6"
1 0432+5355 5.7, 6.8 @ 10.3"
Cancer psa 24
b584 0840+1933 6.9, 7.2 @ 45"
iota 0847+2846 4.2, 6.6 @ 30"
stf1245 0836+0637 6.0, 7.2 @ 10.3"
zeta 0812+1739 5.6, 6.0 @ 5.9"
phi2 0827+2656 6.3, 6.3 @ 5.1"
Canes Venatici psa 32
17 1310+3830 6.0, 6.2 @ 84"
alpha 1256+3819 2.9, 5.5 @ 19.4"
Canis Major psa 27
h3945 0717-2320 5.0, 5.8 @ 26.8"
Capricornus psa 66
beta1/2 2021-1447 3.4, 6.2 @ 205"
omicron 2030-1834 6.0, 6.5 @ 21.9"
Cassiopeia psa 1
oss26 0220+6002 6.9, 7.4 @ 63"
stf3053 0003+6605 6.0, 7.7 @ 15.2"
eta 0049+5749 3.4, 7.5 @ 12"
Cepheus psa 71/73
delta 2229+5825 3.9, 6.3 @ 41"
stf2840 2152+5547 5.5, 7.3 @ 18.3"
beta 2129+7034 3.2, 7.9 @ 13.3"
xi 2204+6438 4.4, 6.5 @ 7.7"
stf2816 2139+5729 5.6, 7.7, 7.8 @ 11.7", 121"
Cetus psa 6
66 0213-0224 5.7, 7.5 @ 16.5"
Coma Berenices psa 45
17 1229+2555 5.3, 6.6 @ 145"
32/33 1252+1704 6.3, 6.7 @ 95"
24 1235+1823 5.2, 6.7 @ 20.3"
Corona Borealis psa 53
zeta 1539+3638 5.1, 6.0 @ 6.3"
sigma 1615+3352 5.6, 6.6 @ 6.2"
Corvus psa 47
stf 1669 1241-1300 6.0, 6.1 @ 5.4"
Cygnus psa 62/63
31 2014+4644 3.8, 7.0, 4.8 @ 107", 338"
16 1942+5031 6.0, 6.2 @ 40.0"
beta 1931+2758 3.1, 5.1 @ 34.4"
61 2107+3845 5.2, 6.0 @ 28"
stf2486 1912+4951 6.6, 6.8 @ 7.9"
Delphinus psa 64
s752 2030+1925 6.6, 7.0 @ 106"
gamma 2047+1607 4.4, 5.0 @ 9.1"
Draco psa 41/52/61
16/17 1636+5255 5.4, 5.5 @ 108"
39 1824+5848 5.0, 7.4 @ 89"
oss123 1327+6444 6.7, 7.0 @ 69"
nu 1732+5511 4.9, 4.9 @ 62"
omicron 1851+5923 4.8, 7.8 @ 34.2"
psi 1742+7209 4.9, 6.1 @ 30.3"
40/41 1800+8000 5.7, 6.1 @ 19.3"
stf2452 1854+7546 6.6, 7.4 @ 5.6"
Equuleus psa 75
epsilon 2059+0418 6.0, 7.1 @ 11"
Eridanis psa 16/17
55 0444-0848 6.7, 6.8 @ 9.2"
32 0354-0257 4.7, 6.2 @ 6.8"
Gemini psa 25
20 0632+1747 6.3, 6.9 @ 20.0"
38 0655+1311 4.7, 7.7 @ 7.1"
Hercules psa 52/54/55/65
37 1641+0413 5.8, 7.0 @ 70"
kappa 1608+1703 5.3, 6.5 @ 28"
100 1808+2606 5.9, 6.0 @ 14.2"
95 1802+2136 5.0, 5.1 @ 6.3"
alpha 1715+1423 3.5, 5.4 @ 4.7"
rho 1724+3709 4.6, 5.6 @ 4.1"
Lacerta psa 72
8 2236+3938 5.7, 6.5 22.4"
Leo psa 34/35
alpha 1008+1158 1.4, 7.7 @ 177"
tau 1128+0251 5.0, 7.4 @ 91"
83 1127+0300 6.2, 7.8 @ 28.5"
54 1056+2445 4.5, 6.3 @ 6.5"
gamma 1020+1951 2.2, 3.5 @ 4.4"
Lepus psa 16
gamma 0545-2227 3.7, 6.3 @ 96"
h3780 0539-1751 6, 9, 8, 8 @ 89", 76", 129"
s476 0519-1831 6.2, 6.4 @ 39"
Libra psa 57
alpha 1451-1602 3.0, 5.0 @ 231"
shj179 1426-1958 6.6, 6.6 @ 16"
stf1962 1539-0847 6.5, 6.6 @ 11.9"
Lynx psa 23
5 0627+5825 5.3, 7.9 @ 96"
19 0723+5517 5.6, 6.5 @ 14.8"
stf958 0648+5542 6.3, 6.3 @ 4.8"
Lyra psa 63
epsilon1/2 1844+3940 5.0, 5.2 @ 208"
beta 1850+2948 3.5, 7.0 @ 46.6"
oss525 1855+3358 6.0, 7.7 @ 45"
zeta 1845+3736 4.3, 5.9 @ 44"
Monoceros psa 25/26/27
zeta 0809-0259 4.3, 7.8 @ 67"
epsilon 0624+0436 4.5, 6.5 @ 27"
beta 0629-0702 4.7, 5.2 @ 7.3"
Ophiuchus psa 54/56
rho 1626-2327 5, 8, 7 @ 151", 156"
s694 1752+0107 6.9, 7.1 @ 82"
53 1735+0935 5.5, 7.5 @ 41.3"
61 1745+0235 6.2, 6.6 @ 20.6"
Orion psa 14/16
delta 0532-0018 2.5, 6.5 @ 52.6"
theta2 0535-0525 5.0, 6.5 @ 52"
shj49 0459+1432 6.0, 7.5 @ 39.4"
stf747 0535-0600 4.8, 5.7 @ 35.7"
23 0523+0333 5.0, 7.1 @ 32"
stf855 0609-0230 6.0, 7.0 @ 29.5"
sigma 0539-0236 4.0, 8.8, 6.5, 6.6 @ 11", 13", 42"
iota 0536-0555 2.8, 6.9 @ 11.3"
theta1 0535-0523 6.7, 7.9, 5.1, 6.7 @ 8.8", 13.0", 21.5"
lambda 0535+0956 3.6, 5.5 @ 4.4"
Pegusus psa 74/75
stf2841 2154+1943 6.4, 7.9 @ 22.3"
stf2978 2308+3249 6.3, 7.5 @ 8.4"
Perseus psa 12/13
57 0433+4304 6.1, 6.8 @ 116"
stf331 0301+5221 5.3, 6.7 @ 12.1"
Pisces psa 5
77 0106+0455 6.8, 7.6 @ 33"
psi1 0106+2128 5.6, 5.8 @ 30"
zeta 0114+0735 5.6, 6.5 @ 23"
35 0015+0849 6.0, 7.6 @ 11.6"
65 0050+2743 6.3, 6.3 @ 4.4"
Sagitta psa 64
bu139 1913+1651 6.5, 7.5 @ 113"
theta 2010+2055 6.5, 7.4 @ 84"
Scorpius psa 56
nu 1612-1928 4.3, 6.4 @ 41"
beta 1605-1948 2.5, 5.0 @ 13.7"
xi 1604-1122 4.8, 7.3 @ 7.6"
Serpens psa 55/65
stf1919 1513+1918 6.7, 7.6 @ 23.9"
theta 1856+0412 4.6, 4.9 @ 22.1"
Sextans psa 34
35 1043+0445 6.3, 7.4 @ 6.8"
Taurus psa 14/15
21/22 0346+2432 5.6, 6.4 @ 168"
eta 0348+2406 2.9, 6.3 @ 117"
hvi98 0416+0611 6.3, 7.0 @ 66"
chi 0423+2538 5.5, 7.6 @ 19.4"
stf401 0331+2734 6.4, 6.9 @ 11.3"
118 0529+2509 5.8, 6.6 @ 4.8"
Ursa Major psa 31/42/43
stf1831 1416+5643 6.6, 7.1 @ 108"
65 1155+4629 6.5, 6.7 @ 63"
stf1415 1018+7104 6.7, 7.3 @ 16.7"
zeta 1324+5456 2.3, 4.0 @ 14.4"
Ursa Minor psa 51
alpha 0231+8915 2.0, 9.0 @ 18.4"
pi1 1529+8027 6.6, 7.3 @ 31"
Virgo psa 47
stf1627 1218-0357 6.6, 6.9 @ 20.1"
54 1314-1849 6.5, 7.2 @ 5.3"
Vulpecula psa 75
stf2769 2111+2409 6.5, 7.5 @ 17.9"
*****
| Double Stars |
How many are already cringing at the mere mention of the word astrologer?
It's almost a gag reflex for some of us. But then, amateur astronomers are practically bred to criticize all things astrologic, and to discourage others from following that blasphemous starpath.
I've certainly done more than my fair share of astrology-bashing (Saber's Fractured Horoscopes is probably still floating around the internet somewhere).
So while it is certainly not my intention to leave readers with a grudging admiration of astrology and its practitioners, I would like to share some accumulated- albeit hard to swallow- perspectives regarding them.
Astrologers used to have one of the best gigs in town. Before telescopes came along, they were considered experts in philosophy, theology, and psychology, as well as masters of the stars. But the problem with being held in such high regard was that they eventually became the scapegoats for the kings' and emperors' bad decisions. This usually meant death or exile, causing many to shy away from professional astrology as a career goal. Still, there seemed to be marked personality characteristics common to different individuals whether it had to do with the stars or not. People continued to explore this, although they would never again bet their lives on it.
Meanwhile, in attempts to explain or disprove the correlation between heavenly bodies and Earthly existence, critical stargazers were noticing discrepancies in the movement of Sol and Luna among the other points of light in the sky. Made aware of these compounding eccentricities, even kings realized that the sky's motion was no longer a viable way to plan their day- much less start a war or run an empire.
Galileo may have turned the world on its ear with his Jovian observations, but he also made it chic to discover new facts about the stars and their motions. And although astrologers had already named most of the constellations and bright stars, the newly motivated astronomers continued using the already familiar terms. Ironically, this shared terminology is pretty much the reason many grit their teeth at astrology. And except for the shared terminology modern astrology and astronomy are totally different animals. They just happened to have been born in the same celestial jungle.
Astrology's relation to the physical universe is purely symbolic. Horoscopes and starsigns, for example, don't allow for precession. I used to joke that the Head Astrologers were simply lazy, and content to wait 13,000 years for the silly ecliptic to realign itself. In actuality, they simply don't care. It's not even fundamental to their pursuit. Horoscopes themselves, like fortune cookies, almost always give vague but sensible, positive advice. Accuracy is only rated by how well it helps one get through their life.
Also, there is no bad publicity. Without astrology and daily horoscopes in thousands of newspapers, how much media attention would the constellations and star-stuff get? Not much except for the occasional Pluto Status Update and some new planet pics every couple of years. Maybe we should instead be thanking astrologers for their misguided but prolific advertising.
While I admire the passionate and thorough spanking Phil Platt (of Bad Astronomy) gives astrology, I've nevertheless conceded two practical- if peripheral- benefits of horoscopes; It's often a daily reminder of- and many people's first exposure to- astronomical terms. And the 12 classic zodiac constellations are usually at least listed in proper order. Good reinforcement for learning ones way around the ecliptic.
Realizing or wanting to realize these astronomy-based benefits is another matter.
As a veteran starparty host, I've also found that astrology fans are some of the most appreciative guests at ones scope, assuming they're not scoffed at once they reveal their own stellar connection.
Lastly, any animosity toward astrology, or anything so innocent in life, only takes up that many more brain cells that could be used to enjoy ones own pursuits and passions. Especially the stars.
And if I've offended anyone over the course of this article I apologize. Unfortunately it's in my nature. I am, after all, a Scorpio.
Stephen Saber does not practice astrology, but defends its existence.
He curses the clouds from his home in Rock Island, Illinois.
*****
| Articles |
Jack and Jill went up to our moon to fetch a pail of water.
(After breaking his crown and her tumbling after they both got really weird.)
Jill set off to search the far side, while Jack was to take the pail and scout the near side.
Quite suddenly, Jack ran into Luna's only other inhabitant, the Mutant Beaver.
Formerly representing the constellation Beavius (now occupied by the Pleiades), the Mutant Beaver had been forever banished to our moon by Cepheus for gnawing on Perseus' ankle during his fight with Cetus to save the lovely Andromeda.
Finally having someone to talk to, the Mutant Beaver refuses to let Jack pass until he's heard every silly astronomy joke he's been making up during his exile.
Jack, to this day, endures the Mutant Beaver's ramblings.
Jill was last reported near the crater H.G. Wells.
Stephen Saber is an Astronomical League Master Observer and author of the 'Starhoppers Guide to the Herschel 400'.
He curses the clouds from his home in Rock Island, Illinois.
Watch for the children's book Saber's Fractured Astro Mythology coming soon.
*****
| Outreach |
This beautiful parade of 7th and 8th magnitude stars wind south and east from etaTau in the Pleiades.
I imagine this stellar chain as the flowing locks of Lady Alcyone.
Best enjoyed thru binoculars and widefield scopes, the asterism is centered at RA 03 47.5 DEC 23 45.
[image courtesy of DSS]
*****
| Deepsky |
*****
