Vega and the Double Double - April, May 2008

General astronomy-related discussion (publicly viewable)
User avatar
BobSikes
15+ Years Member
Posts: 426
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:57 pm

Vega and the Double Double - April, May 2008

Unread post by BobSikes »

You say Wega and I say Vega
Spring in New England is rarely warm, but a bright star in the East can warm the heart when you first see it each year. Summer is on the way! Let's see who can be first to make a nice description of Vega (brightness, color, etc.). A little to the north of Vega is Epsilon Lyra. It looks like a star, but look carefully with the naked eye, binoculars and as small a scope as possible. Is it one, two or fours stars that you see at each level of magnification. Who will split these first, and with the least magnification.
Rating:
Vega: Easy -- Not as bright as Sirius, but plenty bright in the NE after about 11pm.
Epsilon Lyra: Easy to Moderately Hard For first timers figuring out which of the stars is eps Lyra is a nice first step. Then confirming it as a double with binoculars will give you a nice sense of accomplishment (Some can see the double naked eye, but it takes keen eyes). With a four inch scope and good seeing you can resolve each of these two stars into close double stars. For more information: http://seds.org/Maps/Stars_en/Fig/lyra.html
Image
Last edited by BobSikes on Sun May 11, 2008 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
BobSikes
15+ Years Member
Posts: 426
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:57 pm

A VERY wide Double Star

Unread post by BobSikes »

If you have a low horizon, or can find gaps between houses and trees, you can spot the Winter Star sinking into the west while the Summer Star has poked up over the eastern horizon. But not for long. Get out there at about 10pm.

But first, check out my shot of this very widely placed pair of stars (an optical double for The Exorcist Girl) :shock: . Be sure to scroll the image horizontally. :arrow:

http://home.comcast.net/~sikesassne101/ ... 20Vega.jpg

[The Stars are 160 degress apart and both only 13 deg above the horizon. Good Luck! Shot with my new Olympus E510 - f2.8 35mm lens, 2 sec exposures and lots of stitching with HP panorama maker]
User avatar
Rotorhead
Life Member
Posts: 2177
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:30 pm

Unread post by Rotorhead »

Bob, that shot is a riot!!! Very similar to the view in my Antares W70 34mm, isn't that right Mark???? :)
Bob M
15" f5 Starsplitter Dob/80mm Finder
5" Explore Scientific triplet APO on a Vixen Sphinx GEM
________
"He numbers all the stars, and calls each one by name." Ps 147:4
User avatar
Mark G
15+ Years Member
Posts: 3069
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:57 pm

Unread post by Mark G »

Bob M,

Hehehe close Bob it's a wider field EP but not that wide! :lol: :lol:

Bob S,

Does splitting both componants of Epsilon Lyra at 11:45p on 4/16 with a 30 mm EP work for you? It works out to 135.466666666x. And I think about 20 degrees off the horizon. Again Bob M, Joe, & myself confirmed this.
Clear skies,

Mark

iOptron CEM25P w/ Tri-pier
CGEM DX
LXD750 w/ CDS #1697
LXD75 w/ #497 autostar Hypertuned
Antares 8" f/5 Newt
Antares 4" f/15 "Vixen Spec" long focus refractor
Orion 4" f/7 ED refractor
Astro-Tech 65mm Quad APO
and so much more
User avatar
BobSikes
15+ Years Member
Posts: 426
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:57 pm

Nice with low power

Unread post by BobSikes »

Nice job with a 30 mm eye piece! I always have to use a 12mm= to really split it with the 8"

What was the scope, focal length, mag?

BobS
User avatar
Rotorhead
Life Member
Posts: 2177
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:30 pm

Unread post by Rotorhead »

Oh, you had to ask. Ummm, well, we were using the 16" at UMD. :D
Bob M
15" f5 Starsplitter Dob/80mm Finder
5" Explore Scientific triplet APO on a Vixen Sphinx GEM
________
"He numbers all the stars, and calls each one by name." Ps 147:4
User avatar
Galactus
15+ Years Member
Posts: 2973
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:01 am

Unread post by Galactus »

Nice shot on the panorama Bob! And Mark, you Joe and Bob, eh? :wink:
Galactus, Devourer of Worlds
AKA, George H
8" Meade LX90
66mm AT Guide Scope, cameras, etc.
25X100 Zhumell Binos w/Pete's Pipes
Bolt of Light Technologies Laser
Friends to observe with=Priceless
User avatar
Mark G
15+ Years Member
Posts: 3069
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:57 pm

Re: Nice with low power

Unread post by Mark G »

BobSikes wrote:Nice job with a 30 mm eye piece! I always have to use a 12mm= to really split it with the 8"

What was the scope, focal length, mag?

BobS
16" LX200 at UMD f.l. is 4064 mm so 135.5x. The seeing wasn't good at all so close to the horizon.

It was a very impromptu gathering. All works fine at the observatory, and we even called the police to let them know we would be there.
Clear skies,

Mark

iOptron CEM25P w/ Tri-pier
CGEM DX
LXD750 w/ CDS #1697
LXD75 w/ #497 autostar Hypertuned
Antares 8" f/5 Newt
Antares 4" f/15 "Vixen Spec" long focus refractor
Orion 4" f/7 ED refractor
Astro-Tech 65mm Quad APO
and so much more
User avatar
BobSikes
15+ Years Member
Posts: 426
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:57 pm

First with 16"

Unread post by BobSikes »

:D First to Split the Double Double -- 16" Scope Division Winners

Contrats to our first winners. Now how about first to split the double double with a 12", 10", 8", 5", 4", 90mm, 60mm, Light Thimble, etc.

Go for it folks!

As Mark pointed out, Vega is pretty low in the sky right now. The higher it gets in the sky the better your chance is to split it.

BobS
User avatar
Paul D
Equipment Manager
Posts: 2108
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 2:13 pm

Unread post by Paul D »

As Mark pointed out, Vega is pretty low in the sky right now. The higher it gets in the sky the better your chance is to split it.
Oh come on now... Vega is only low if your looking at it at 11:00PM. When I was outside at 4:00AM Vega was right overhead, almost at zenith. :lol: :lol: :lol:
Paul...

16" f/5 Night Sky Truss (Midnight Mistress)
10" f/5 Home built Dob with Parks mirror.
Pre-Meade PST
Celestron Skymaster Binos 25-125x80
Meade Travelview Binos 10x50

See that 16" in the sleek black dress? She is all mine. :)
Locked