Let's get the Double Star Forum goin'

[leicaguy]

Hi everyone,

It seems the double star forums are always very slow. Few members and infrequent posts. I am an avid binary observer and love to share stories and experiences about this interesting nitch of amateur astronomy. I use a TV NP101 and TV76 for doubles. My location is the mountain area of VA where the seeing is not always the best. I primarily observe binaries for pleasure of the “hunt” and the aesthetics of these beautiful gems. I do not perform scientific measurements although I do use the existing published data to help verify my subjects.

I’d love to see this forum become very active. BT’s new site looks great. They have obviously put a lot of thought and work into it. Let’s help make it a real success.

Bill Green

[Kevin]

Hello Bill,

I observe from upstate NY in average to sub average seeing most of the time and have always enjoyed the challenge of difficult doubles but like you don't do any astrometry or the like.

I find myself doing more and more double due to brightening sky in my semirural back yard as well as my lack of aperture. I used to have an obsession 15, that would really pull in the deep sky stuff. Although on a good nite, we are still hitting mag 5.7, just seems as though there is a bit more moisture in air, and more light pollution for last 4-5 years compared to before that. I use a Tak130. I do find it intersting that the Tak 130 does just as nice on deep sky objects, perhaps a bit better than a c8 I used to have, but not as nice as the c11. I would really like to get a 6-7" refractor.

Kevin

[leicaguy]

Kevin,

Thanks for taking the time to post. I too became interested in doubles in part because they are less susceptible to haze, moonlight, and light pollution. Although, I am not plagued by light pollution all that much.

I'm sure your Tak 130 rivals the C8 in many respects. I have an LX90 (8-inch) and my NP101 comes close in many respects due largely to the superior contrast.

And like you, my dream is to one day have a large (7-inch at least) refractor in a permanent observatory.

Bill

[Kevin]

I did find one thing, the TOA blows away the C8 on doubles. I had a pretty darn good C8, and had it critically collimated at very high mags in focus. But the TOA consistently splits much closer doubles.

Kevin

[suburbanskies]

Originally Posted by leicaguy

Hi everyone,

It seems the double star forums are always very slow. Few members <snip>

Hi Bill,

Haven't spent much time on doubles, although from my light-polluted location, I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea ...got any doubles that you'd recommend at this time of year? Anything with a nice color contrast?

Steady skies,
Mark

8" f/6 Dob

[pizwiz]

OK I admit it, I am an old Refractor Nut.
Refractors are still my first choice for most observing.
Even though I have built a Truss Dob this spring and also have a 10" F/5 on an Atlas mount, I still find myself using my Refractors most often.
I have been observing Doubles for years and do send reports to AAVSO whenever the skies permit.
For me, doubles fall into two categories: The spectacularly coloured variety, and the tough-to-resolve close doubles.
For the close doubles I use a 6" F/8 Achromat and for the colourful types I use my 120mm F/8.3 Achromat
Both are routinely used with a 2.5X Televue Powermate.
NOT for added magnification, but rather to eliminate Chromatic aberration. The 6" needs to run at about F/18 to F/20 to eliminate the false colour completely. The scope is then used with normal magnification and gives magnificent images. Of course, doing some fine tuning and collimation also helps. (BTW, you'd be surprised if you saw how many diagonals are out of collimation)
The Atlas mount does a wonderful Job with these Refractors. ( one of the all-time best buys in my book)
Luckily I still remember a lot of the old tricks from back when there was very little available to the Amateurs and we just had to make do with what we had.
But it has been fun all these years and I still enjoy the challenge of finding a new one.

Adolph

[PJ Anway]

Hi guys,

I'm a binary observer also and do so from my home in the U.P. of Michigan. Enjoy them mostly for their aesthetic beauty, but separating close pairs and the hunt itself add to the enjoyment. My weapons of choice are a Showa SD100 f/10 refractor and ortho eyepieces, though I regularly use good plossls. Besides the doubles themselves, I enjoy the history behind their discovery and have collected over the years several references that add to the appeal of these targets. Look forward to discussing pairs and experiences.

Regards,
PJ Anway

[pizwiz]

It is also fun to observe what I call "The Invisible Doubles" These are eclipsing Binaries where usually the smaller of the pair's orbit is in our line of sight and you can watch the primary change brightness as the secondary moves in front of it. You'll soon discover what the time of the orbit is. Most of these orbit times are also published in various catalogs so you can be ready when the eclipse occurs.
Try it, it's great fun to watch.

Adolph

[clydec]

Hey guys and gals,

I observer just north of the Manhattan city limits and my sky is quite stable, if not dark. I love doubles and though not technically a double, one of my favorite challenges is trying to see 6 stars in the Trap in my TV-85. I've done it 14 times in 5 years of trying, and I've tried a LOT! On five of those occasions, a buddy with his Tak 78 was set up beside me and we got 6 in his scope as well. Well, I got 6 five times. He got 6 on four of those nights, but couldn't get the F star one night. I'm younger and my eyes test better, so that probably does play a small part. At any rate, what are others folks' experience, if any, in seeing 6 stars in the Trap in any scope. I had a 6" f/8 Dob for several years, and seeing 6 in that scope I would call routine. In my 70mm Ranger, I've seen the E star many times, but never the F star.

Clyde

[pizwiz]

I started in Astronomy many years ago in the High Desert Country of Southern California. ( I miss those skies)
On very rare occasions in the wintertime I was able to see the six stars in the Trapezium with my 60mm Sans& Streiff Refractor, with the help of an excellent takahashi 0.965 Eyepiece which i still have today.

Adolph