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I've
completed several of the observing programs offered by the Astronomical
League. My favorite is easily the Double
Star Club. Every amateur astronomer has spent countless hours
observing deep sky objects such as those found in the Messier Catalog
or the New General Catalog (NGC). Double stars tend to be
overlooked or merely brief stops in the star-hopping articles found in Sky &
Telescope or Astronomy.
Through the Double
Star Club, I gained a new appreciation for these stellar
companions. Therefore, I decided to publish my Double Star Log
online in hopes of giving you an appreciation for double stars as well.
Below is the list of the 100 double and multiple stars that make up the
Astronomical League's list. I've broken the log into ten
parts. To explore my observations just click on the page number
link at the top of each section. To give you a better
understanding of what each grouping looks like I created a figure for
each observation. The figures are based on my original
sketches. The separations are not to scale, but should give you a
general idea of what the systems eyepiece appearance. The colors
are just my best guesses based on my notes. To give you a sense
of the magnitude differences I created the following scale:
Only one star on the list is brighter than magnitude 1 (Rigel) and only
two stars are fainter than magnitude 9, so that's why I set my scale
for magnitudes 1 - 9. One thing I was notoriously bad about was
making a note of north on my sketches. If you really need to know
then just use the positions angles given in the list below. My
goal wasn't to keep systematic observations, but just to enjoy each
double star in a purely aesthetic sense.
The only telescope I used for the Double Star Club was my Meade 10"
f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope. A much smaller telescope is
capable of observing most, if not all, of the double stars on the
list. In fact, I've been able to resolve several of the pairings
through my Tele Vue Pronto (70 mm refractor). All the
observations were made in and around Kalamazoo County (Michigan).
Kalamazoo Township is my own backyard, which is pretty light polluted.
There are, of course, thousands of other double stars within reach of
most amateur telescopes, but the objective of the Double Star Club is
to introduce you to those that are easy to find and resolve. If
you want to go beyond the double stars contained in the list below then
I highly recommend The Night Sky
Observer's Guide (Volume 1 & 2) or Volume 1 of the Webb Society
Deep-Sky Observer's Handbook
(out of print). They contain enough double and multiple systems
to keep you busy for a LONG
time!
So, enjoy browsing through my observations. I hope you take the
time to actually get out under a clear starry sky and check out the
real thing!
|
|
| OBJECT |
SAO |
RA |
DEC
|
MAGS |
SEP |
PA |
| Eta Cassiopeiae |
21732 |
00h 49.1m |
+57° 49' |
3.4, 7.5 |
12" |
307° |
| 65
Piscium |
74295
|
00h
49.9m |
+27°
43' |
6.3,
6.3 |
4.4"
|
297°
|
| Psi 1 Piscium |
74482 |
01h 05.6m |
+21° 28' |
5.6, 5.8 |
30" |
159° |
| Zeta
Piscium |
109739
|
01h
13.7m |
+07°
35' |
5.6,
6.5 |
23"
|
63°
|
Gamma Arietis
|
92680 |
01h 53.5m |
+19° 18' |
4.8, 4.8 |
7.8" |
0° |
| Lambda
Arietis |
75051
|
01h
57.9m |
+23°
36' |
4.9,
7.7 |
37"
|
46°
|
| Alpha Piscium |
110291 |
02h 02.0m |
+02° 46' |
4.2, 5.1 |
1.7" |
50° |
| Gamma
Andromedae |
37734
|
02h
03.9m |
+42°
20' |
2.3,
5.5 |
9.8"
|
63°
|
| Iota Trianguli |
55347 |
02h 12.4m |
+30° 18' |
5.3, 6.9 |
3.9" |
71° |
| Alpha
Ursae Minoris |
308
|
02h
31.8m |
+89°
16' |
2.0,
9.0 |
18.4"
|
218°
|
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Gamma Ceti |
110707 |
02h 43.3m |
+03° 14' |
3.5, 7.3 |
2.8" |
294° |
| Eta
Persei |
23655
|
02h
50.7m |
+55°
54' |
3.8,
8.5 |
28.3"
|
300°
|
| Struve 331 |
23763 |
03h 00.9m |
+52° 21' |
5.3, 6.7 |
12.1" |
85° |
| 32
Eridani |
130805
|
03h
54.3m |
-02°
57' |
4.8,
6.1 |
6.8"
|
347°
|
| Chi Tauri |
76573 |
04h 22.6m |
+25° 38' |
5.5, 7.6 |
19.4" |
24° |
| 1
Camelopardalis |
24672
|
04h
32.0m |
+53°
55' |
5.7,
6.8 |
10.3"
|
308°
|
| 55 Eridani |
131442 |
04h 43.6m |
-08° 48' |
6.7, 6.8 |
9.2" |
317° |
| Beta
Orionis |
131907
|
05h
14.5m |
-08°
12' |
0.1,
6.8 |
9.5"
|
202°
|
| 118 Tauri |
77201 |
05h 29.3m |
+25° 09' |
5.8, 6.6 |
4.8" |
204° |
| Delta
Orionis |
132220
|
05h
32.0m |
-00°
18' |
2.2,
6.3 |
52.6"
|
359°
|
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Struve 747 |
132298 |
05h 35.0m |
-06° 00' |
4.8, 5.7 |
35.7" |
223° |
| Lambda
Orionis |
112921
|
05h
35.1m |
+09°
56' |
3.6,
5.5 |
4.4"
|
43°
|
| Theta 1 Orionis |
- |
05h 35.3m |
-05° 23' |
6.7, 7.9, 5.1, 6.7 |
8.8", 13", 21.5" |
31°, 132°,
96° |
| Iota
Orionis |
132323
|
05h
35.4m |
-05°
55' |
2.8,
6.9 |
11.3"
|
141°
|
| Theta 2 Orionis |
132322 |
05h 35.4m |
-05° 25' |
5.2, 6.5 |
52" |
92° |
| Sigma
Orionis |
132406
|
05h
38.7m |
-02°
36' |
4.0,
7.5, 6.5 |
12.9",
43" |
84°,
61° |
| Zeta Orionis |
132444 |
05h 40.8m |
-01° 57' |
1.9, 4.0, 9.9 |
2.4", 58" |
162°, 10° |
| Gamma
Leporis |
170759
|
05h
44.5m |
-22°
27' |
3.7,
6.3 |
96"
|
350°
|
| Theta Aurigae |
58636 |
05h 59.7m |
+37° 13' |
2.6, 7.1 |
3.6" |
313° |
| Epsilon
Monocerotis |
113810
|
06h
23.8m |
+04°
36' |
4.5,
6.5 |
13.4"
|
27°
|
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Beta Monocerotis |
133316 |
06h 28.8m |
-07° 02' |
4.7, 5.2 |
7.3" |
132° |
| 12
Lyncis |
25939
|
06h
46.2m |
+59°
27' |
5.4,
7.3 |
8.7"
|
308°
|
| Epsilon Canis
Majoris |
172676 |
06h 58.6m |
-28° 58' |
1.5, 7.4 |
7.5" |
161° |
| Delta
Geminorum |
79294
|
07h
20.1m |
+21°
59' |
3.5,
8.2 |
6.8"
|
211°
|
| 19 Lyncis |
26311 |
07h 22.9m |
+55° 17' |
5.6, 6.5 |
14.8" |
315° |
| Alpha
Geminorum |
60198
|
07h
34.6m |
+31°
53' |
1.9,
2.9 |
2.2"
|
171°
|
| Kappa Puppis |
174198 |
07h 38.8m |
-26° 48' |
4.5, 4.7 |
9.9" |
318° |
| Zeta
Cancri |
97645
|
08h
12.2m |
+17°
39' |
5.6,
6.0 |
5.9"
|
89°
|
| Iota Cancri |
80415 |
08h 46.7m |
+28° 46' |
4.2, 6.6 |
30" |
307° |
| 38
Lyncis |
61391
|
09h
18.8m |
+36°
48' |
3.9,
6.6 |
2.7"
|
229°
|
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Alpha Leonis |
98967 |
10h 08.4m |
+11° 58' |
1.4, 7.7 |
177" |
307° |
| Gamma
Leonis |
81298
|
10h
20.0m |
+19°
51' |
2.2,
3.5 |
4.4"
|
122°
|
| 54 Leonis |
81583 |
10h 55.6m |
+24° 45' |
4.5, 6.3 |
6.5" |
110° |
| N
Hydrae |
179967
|
11h
32.3m |
-29°
16' |
5.8.
5.9 |
9.2"
|
210°
|
| Delta Corvi |
157323 |
12h 29.9m |
-16° 31' |
3.0, 9.2 |
24.2" |
214° |
| 24
Comae Berenices |
100160
|
12h
35.1m |
+18°
23' |
5.2,
6.7 |
20.3"
|
271°
|
| Gamma Virginis |
138917 |
12h 41.7m |
-01° 27' |
3.5, 3.5 |
3.6" |
293° |
| 32
Camelopardalis |
2101
|
12h
49.2m |
+83°
25' |
5.3,
5.8 |
21.6'
|
326°
|
| Alpha Canum
Venaticorum |
63256 |
12h 56.0m |
+38° 19' |
2.9, 5.5 |
19.4" |
229° |
| Zeta
Ursae Majoris |
28737 |
13h
23.9m |
+54°
56' |
2.3,
4.0, 4.0 |
14.4",
709" |
152°,
71° |
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Kappa
Boötis |
29045 |
14h
13.5m |
+51°
47' |
4.6,
6.6 |
13.4" |
236° |
| Iota
Boötis |
29071 |
14h
16.2m |
+51°
22' |
4.9,
7.5 |
38" |
33° |
| Pi
Boötis |
101138 |
14h
40.7m |
+16°
25' |
4.9,
5.8 |
5.6" |
108° |
| Epsilon
Boötis |
83500
|
14h
45.0m |
+27°
04' |
2.5,
4.9 |
2.8" |
339° |
| Alpha
Librae |
158836 |
14h
50.9m |
-16°
02' |
2.8,
5.2 |
231" |
314° |
| Xi
Boötis |
101250 |
14h
51.4m |
+19°
06' |
4.7,
7.0 |
6.9" |
332° |
| Delta
Boötis |
64589 |
15h
15.5m |
+33°
19' |
3.5,
8.7 |
105" |
79° |
| Mu
Boötis |
64686 |
15h
24.5m |
+37°
23' |
4.3,
7.0 |
108" |
171° |
| Delta
Serpentis |
101623 |
15h
34.5m |
+10°
32' |
4.2,
5.2 |
3.9" |
178° |
| Zeta
Coronae
Borealis |
64833 |
15h
39.4m |
+36°
38' |
5.1,
6.0 |
6.3" |
305° |
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Xi
Scorpii |
159665 |
16h
04.4m |
-11°
22' |
4.8,
7.3 |
7.6" |
51° |
| Struve
1999 |
159670 |
16h
04.4m |
-11°
27' |
7.4,
8.1 |
11.6" |
99° |
| Beta
Scorpii |
159682 |
16h
05.4m |
-19°
48' |
2.6,
4.9 |
13.6" |
21°
|
| Kappa
Herculis |
101951 |
16h
08.1m |
+17°
03' |
5.3,
6.5 |
28" |
12°
|
| Nu
Scorpii |
159763
|
16h
12.0m |
-19°
28' |
4.3,
6.4 |
41" |
337°
|
| Sigma
Coronae
Borealis |
65165 |
16h
14.7m |
+33°
52' |
5.6,
6.6 |
6.2" |
233° |
| 16
/ 17 Draconis |
30012 |
16h
36.2m |
+52°
55' |
5.4,
6.4, 5.5 |
3.4",
90" |
108°,
194° |
| Mu
Draconis |
30239 |
17h
05.3m |
+54°
28' |
5.7,
5.7 |
2.0" |
42° |
| Alpha
Herculis |
102680 |
17h
14.6m |
+14°
23' |
3.5,
5.4 |
4.7" |
107°
|
| Delta
Herculis |
84951
|
17h
15.0m |
+24°
50' |
3.1,
8.2 |
8.9" |
236° |
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| 36
Ophiuchi |
185199 |
17h
15.3m |
-26°
36' |
5.1,
5.1 |
4.4" |
154° |
| Omicron
Ophiuchi |
122387 |
17h
18.0m |
-24°
17' |
5.4,
6.9 |
10.3" |
355° |
| Rho
Herculis |
66000 |
17h
23.7m |
+37°
09' |
4.6,
5.6 |
4.1" |
316° |
| Nu
Draconis |
30447 |
17h
32.2m |
+55°
11' |
4.9,
4.9 |
62" |
312° |
| Psi
Draconis |
8890 |
17h
41.9m |
+72°
09' |
4.9,
6.1 |
30.3" |
15°
|
| 40
/ 41 Draconis |
8994 |
18h
00.2m |
+80°
00' |
5.7,
6.1 |
19.3" |
232° |
| 95
Herculis |
85647 |
18h
01.5m |
+21°
36' |
5.0,
5.1 |
6.3" |
258° |
| 70
Ophiuchi |
123107 |
18h
05.5m |
+02°
30' |
4.2,
6.0 |
2.8" |
72° |
| Epsilon
Lyrae |
67310 |
18h
44.3m |
+39°
40' |
5.0,
6.1, 5.2, 5.5 |
208",
2.6", 2.3" |
357°,
94°,
173° |
| Zeta
Lyrae |
67321 |
18h
44.8m |
+37°
36' |
4.3,
5.9 |
44" |
150° |
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| Beta
Lyrae |
67451 |
18h
50.1m |
+33°
22' |
3.4,
8.6 |
46" |
149° |
| Struve
2404 |
104170 |
18h
50.8m |
+10°
59' |
6.9,
8.1 |
3.6" |
183° |
| Otto
Struve 525 |
67566 |
18h
54.9m |
+33°
58' |
6.0,
7.7 |
45" |
350° |
| Theta
Serpentis |
124068 |
18h
56.2m |
+04°
12' |
4.5,
5.4 |
22.3" |
104° |
| Beta
Cygni |
87301 |
19h
30.7m |
+27°
58' |
3.1,
5.1 |
34.4" |
54° |
| 57
Aquilae |
143898 |
19h
54.6m |
-08°
14' |
5.8,
6.5 |
36" |
170° |
| 31
Cygni |
49337 |
20h
13.6m |
+46°
44' |
3.8,
6.7, 4.8 |
107",
337" |
173°,
323° |
| Alpha
Capricorni |
163422 |
20h
18.1m |
-12°
33' |
3.6,
4.2 |
378" |
29° |
| Beta
Capricorni |
163481 |
20h
21.0m |
-14°
47' |
3.4,
6.2 |
206" |
267° |
| Gamma
Delphini |
106475 |
20h
46.7m |
+16°
07' |
4.5,
5.5 |
9.6" |
268° |
|
OBJECT
|
SAO
|
RA
|
DEC
|
MAGS
|
SEP
|
PA
|
| 61
Cygni |
70919 |
21h
06.9m |
+38°
45' |
5.2,
6.0 |
28" |
146° |
| Beta
Cephei |
10057
|
21h
28.7m |
+70°
34' |
3.2,
7.9 |
13.3" |
249° |
| Struve
2816 |
33626 |
21h
39.0m |
+57°
29' |
5.6,
7.7, 7.8 |
11.7",
20" |
121°,
339° |
| Epsilon
Pegasi |
127029 |
21h
44.2m |
+09°
52' |
2.4,
8.4 |
142" |
320° |
| Xi
Cephei |
19827 |
22h
03.8m |
+64°
38' |
4.4,
6.5 |
7.7" |
277° |
| Zeta
Aquarii |
146107 |
22h
28.8m |
-00°
01' |
4.3,
4.5 |
1.8" |
266° |
| Delta
Cephei |
34508 |
22h
29.2m |
+58°
25' |
3.9,
6.3 |
191.9" |
192° |
| 8
Lacertae |
72509 |
22h
35.9m |
+39°
38' |
5.7,
6.5 |
22.4" |
186° |
| 94
Aquarii |
165625 |
23h
19.1m |
-13°
28' |
5.3,
7.3 |
12.7" |
350° |
| Sigma
Cassiopeiae |
35947 |
23h
59.0m |
+55°
45' |
5.0,
7.1 |
3" |
326° |
|
|
![[Double Star Log]](Images/dslog.jpg)
![[Magnitude Scale]](Images/scale.jpg)