Little Pup Sirius B again.

[John Baars]

Here on the Dutch forum we seem to do a little conquest: who is the first one to see Sirius B and report it on the local Forum this winter? While most of the time individuals usually win, this time Rijswijk Observatory was a clear winner with seven observers who saw the little doggie.

During last observatory's club evening we were on the roof terrace of Rijswijk observatory with about a dozen amateurs. Nine of them gathered around the 130 mm Astrophysics Starfire on EQ6 on column. Jupiter was of course one of the objects. Remarkable detail, especially if you look seriously and a bit longer. In the trapezium of Orion, the E and F stars loomed with ease. When especially the last two did not present much of a problem because of the calm seeing, the idea arose spontaneously to go looking for the Pup near Sirius: Sirius B.

Of the nine observers who participated, seven eventually crossed the finish line. One remained in doubt whether he had seen it or not, one did not see it, the others saw it immediately or after a second attempt. A nice score.

As usual, it was quite a search for the tiny dot that kept popping up in the same spot right next to Sirius. In the telescope east of the main star ( with prism tilted to the east ) at nine o'clock. One observer talked about a tiny stable core point, always appearing in the same spot, in contrast to the moving speckles and bulges around it. And with that observation he hit the nail on the head. Another spoke of a case of severe self-torture to be able to see this tiny pinpoint spot. That, of course, was also close to the truth. In the end we agreed that it was more difficult than often thought, but once seen it is a bit easier.


We found the little Pup with the 130mm Astrophysics Starfire triplet refractor at about 75X - 90X magnification and a Leica ASPH zoom 18-9mm eyepiece. Together, these obviously make a "winning combination".

Who will follow?

[KingClinton]

Thanks for this report John.
Congratulations on your conquest of Sirius B along with your companions at Rijswijk observatory. Seems your group had a very successful night for the most part.
You got me wondering if I might have a shot at it from my backyard.
Congratulations once again John!

[Lady Fraktor]

A very good group sighting John!

[messier 111]

fine read , thx .

[helicon]

Great report John on observing the pup. Kudos are in order for the seven of you that were able to pick it out of the primary's glow. Congratulations John on winning a well-deserved VROD for the day!

[Bigzmey]

Sounds like a fun evening. Congrats on catching the Pup again and on the VROD!

[John Donne]

Congratulations John !
I have enjoyed reading your report.

[kt4hx]

Nice report John and congrats on the VROD.