Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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John Fitzgerald United States of America
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Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#1

Post by John Fitzgerald »

Most of these would probably be easily seen in perfect seeing, but my seeing is usually much worse.
I have had a run of decent seeing nights, where the temperature dropped to 75 deg F (24C) or so, by 10 PM, and just stayed there, as an overnight low.
Scope is a 6" f/8 apo refractor.

First, the non Cygnus ones:
On the evening of 18 Aug 2021:

STT 371 in Lyra, m 7.0, 7.6, sep 0.9", PA 151 deg. I got a "black line split" on this one using my WO UWAN 4mm eyepiece for about 304x.

STT 525 in Lyra, m 6.1, 9.1, sep 1.8" at PA 130. Note says not too difficult at 243x (5mm TV Delite) and 304x, almost steadily held.

On the evening of 24 Aug:

Ho 131 Delphini (SAO 106138) m 6.9, 10.6, sep 3.4" at PA 331 deg. This one proved most difficult to more than fleetingly glimpse at 243x, but I was able to see it well enough to confirm the PA. I have seen it well, in the past, in a 15" reflector.

Cygnus doubles:
STT 376 Cygni, m 7.5, 10.4, sep 3.0" at PA 233. The secondary was well seen at 243x, then confirmed at 173x, using my 7mm Delite eyepiece.

STT 377 Cyg, m 9.4, 9.4, sep 0.9" at PA 34 deg. Seen as a well defined "peanut shape at 243x. I suspect I could have achieved a "black line split", had I gone a bit higher in magnification.

STT 385 Cyg, m 7.8, 9.6, sep 1.2" at PA 51. Split at 243x.

STT 386 Cyg, m 8.5, 8.6, sep 0.9" at PA 70. Saw at 243x, black line split confirmed at 304x.

Evening of 25 Aug 2021:

STT 403 Cyg, m 7.3, 7.6, sep 1.0" at PA 171 deg. Complete split barely achieved at 203x, with TV Radian 6mm ep.

STT 408 Cyg, m 6.7, 9.4, sep 1.6" at PA 193 deg. The secondary was difficult, but definitely seen at 304x.

STT 410 Cyg, m 6.7, 6.8, sep 0.9" at PA 3 deg. Complete split seen at 304x.

From the vening of 26 Aug 2021:

STT 418 Cyg, m 8.2, 8.3, sep 1.0" at PA 283. Clean split at 304x.

STT 419 Cyg, m 7.2, 10.0, sep 1.6" at PA 23. Seen with difficulty at 304x, but correct PA confirmed.

STT 420 Cyg, m 6.7, 10.5, sep 5.5" at PA 2 degrees. Best seen at 173x.

STT 432 Cyg, m 7.8, 8.1, sep 1.4" at PA 115. Complete split seen at 203x.

STT 438 Cyg, m 8.3, 10.3, sep 2.3" at PA 0 (north). Cleanly split at 203x.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading this rather long summary.
Last edited by John Fitzgerald on Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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John Baars Netherlands
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#2

Post by John Baars »

Lots of very difficult ones! Sub-one- arcsecond and one arcsecond- splits!
Great report and observations!
Congratulations and Chapeau!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#3

Post by SpyderwerX »

Nice work, John! Yea, your skies sound about like mine. :)
~Frankie~ My mind: Always on...Slightly off. :?
Celestron CPC1100 SCT....Celestron Evolution 8 SCT...TeleVue-85 apo...SkyWatcher ST150 achro..ST102 achro..ST80 achro.
Celestron AVX...Orion Atlas EQ-G...SkyTee-2...Twilight-1.
Baader BBHS prism and mirror diagonals + Vernonscope quartz 1.25"
EPs: TeleVue oldie (NJ) & modern Plossls, Widefields, and Naglers + 3-6 zoom & Brandons 6-32.
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#4

Post by Lady Fraktor »

A very nice report and list of targets, well done :)
Gabrielle
See Far Sticks: Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser 127/1200 BV, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS 100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, SXP2, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II, Stellarvue M2C, Argo Navis encoders on both
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#5

Post by helicon »

Great report John and congrats on winning the TSS Visual Report of the Day for your doubles observations!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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Post by John Baars »

Congratulations on the VROD.
Well deserved!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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Post by John Fitzgerald »

Here are a few more Cygnus doubles viewed last evening 27 Aug 2021:

STT(A) 207 Cyg m 6.4, 8.8, sep 1.6" at PA 357. At 243x, I was able to get enough glimpses of the secondary to deduce the PA to be about 355 without looking beforehand.

Dawes 14 Cyg, m 8.9, 11.4, sep 3.9" at PA 350. Steadily seen at 173x.

Dawes 15 Cyg, m 7.6, 10.1, sep 1.6" at PA 71. suspected at 173x, confirmed at 203x. PA estimated at ENE before verification.

My double star lists for northern summer skies are running thin now. I need to compile some new ones.
Last edited by John Fitzgerald on Sat Aug 28, 2021 8:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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Post by Unitron48 »

Great session, John...and some really super splits! I love pressing the limits with my fracs!!!

Congrats on the VROD award.

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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Post by Makuser »

Hello John. A very nice observing report with the 6" apo refractor. This is a very extensive listing and includes many rather difficult doubles to split. Thanks for sharing your well written report with us John, and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD Award today.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

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Post by KingNothing13 »

Congrats on the VROD, John!
-- Brett

Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
List Counts: Messier: 75; Herschel 400: 30; Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#11

Post by Bigzmey »

Nice haul of satisfying splits John. You are getting good use out of your 6" APO. What model it is again?

Congrats on VROD!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.
Solar: HA: Lunt 50mm single stack, W/L: Meade Herschel wedge.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2437, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 257
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John Fitzgerald United States of America
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Re: Some summer challenge doubles for 5 to 6 inch class scopes

#12

Post by John Fitzgerald »

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 9:43 pm Nice haul of satisfying splits John. You are getting good use out of your 6" APO. What model it is again?

Congrats on VROD!
ES 152mm f/8 carbon fiber triplet with true 3 inch focuser. :popcorn:
Double and multiple star observer. Over 3,500 unique pairs logged.

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