BackBayAstro@groups.io | Double Stars

Jonathan Scheetz

#53170

I used to think that I wasn't a big fan of double stars. But I find I keep adding them to my favorites list so I guess I have become a fan. I have a list of about 25 favorites and I see that I have added these to my list.

Name	Kind
Albireo	Double star, Yellow giant with blue dwarf. Considered one of the best for color contrast.
Almach	Double star. Primary yellow, secondary blue.
Mu Cephei (Garnet star)	Double star. Very bright orange variable, carbon.
Ras Algethi	Double star, bright orange primary with pale green secondary.
Delta Cephei	Double star, first Cepheid variable discovered. Pretty orange primary with brilliant blue secondary.
Beta Monocerotis	Triple star
Epsilon1 Lyrae (the Double-Double)	Shown at almost every star party. Two doubles where each double has its own harder to resolve double.

jimcoble2000

#53173

They are a lot of fun and they supercharge your ability to estimate magnitude and separations after a while. If you can try to get a copy of Sissy Haas' book "Double Stars". It, like so many astronomy publications, is now out of print. It tends to go for far too much money but that is what they get now for out of print books. It was the best guide to doubles printed in my humble opinion. No pictures but a very large and accessible catalog by constellation. I have a lot of miles on mine with lots of notes in it.

Kent and I have a ton of doubles under the belt. Seeing sub arc second stars and/or large magnitude differences can become addictive. This can lead to finding and hunting down old design eyepieces on the used market. These eyepieces that do doubles better than the modern wide field eyepieces. The good news is they are also a lot cheaper than the 400.00 tin can size eyepieces so popular now. Think Abbe orthos, Kellners, RKE, Volcano tops, Galens (quite rare) and the discontinued Vixen high power range of 3.4 to 1.6mm.

Good luck on your double trip. Here is a link to the guide: https://www.amazon.com/Double-Stars-Small-Telescopes-Stargazing/dp/1931559325

I paid about 30.00 when mine was new. I should have bought and resold the entire printing

Show quoted text

On Tuesday, September 7, 2021, 08:00:24 AM EDT, Jonathan Scheetz <jonathan@...> wrote:

I used to think that I wasn't a big fan of double stars. But I find I keep adding them to my favorites list so I guess I have become a fan. I have a list of about 25 favorites and I see that I have added these to my list.

Name	Kind
Albireo	Double star, Yellow giant with blue dwarf. Considered one of the best for color contrast.
Almach	Double star. Primary yellow, secondary blue.
Mu Cephei (Garnet star)	Double star. Very bright orange variable, carbon.
Ras Algethi	Double star, bright orange primary with pale green secondary.
Delta Cephei	Double star, first Cepheid variable discovered. Pretty orange primary with brilliant blue secondary.
Beta Monocerotis	Triple star
Epsilon1 Lyrae (the Double-Double)	Shown at almost every star party. Two doubles where each double has its own harder to resolve double.