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(1) e Bootes (7-15-01) (2) z Bootes (6-25-01) (3) e Lyra (7-14-01) (4) Albireo (7-21-01) (5) a Hercules (7-24-01) (6) d Hercules (7-24-01) (7) 95 Hercules (7-26-01) (8) g Ursa Minor (8-2-01) (9) d Lyra (8-2-01) (10) g Andromeda (8-2-01) (11) g Delphinus (8-8-01) (12) e Draco (8-10-01) (13) z Lyra (8-14-01) (14) eta Cassiopeia (8-15-01) (15) a Geminorum (2-13-02) My method for taking these images is to attempt them during periods of good seeing and transparency. The best color is achieved at higher power which makes both seeing and transparency critical. Steady seeing is necessary to avoid spikes in the images and good transparency is required to capture the color. Despite good seeing, usually one of several hundred images is usable. These survivors are processed using simple unsharp masking and blur in Picture Window. Sometimes I brighten an image to highlight the color of the lower magnitude star. |
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e Bootes (Pulcherrima) imaged
7-15-01.
e Bootes imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho, 5X Powermate.
Single image. Primary magnitude 2.9, secondary magnitude 4.3, separation 2.9 arc
seconds. Discovered in 1829 by Struve who gave it the poetic title of
"Pulcherrima" in appreciation of its beautiful color contrast. Burnham described
the primary as yellow-orange and the smaller star as bluish but often seeming
slightly greenish. It took many attempts to capture the beautiful colors and I
finally did so by using the Hi format of my Nikon.
z Bootes imaged
6-25-01.
z Bootes imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950, UO 18mm Ortho and Orion 3X Barlow. Single image. Primary magnitude
4.5, secondary magnitude 4.7, separation 0.8 arc seconds. The separation of this
double is very close to the 0.74 arc second theoretical resolution (Dawes Limit)
of my refractor. This image was captured during a moment of very stable seeing.
Epsilon Lyrae, the Double-Double,
imaged 7-14-01
Imaged using AP 155, Nikon
CP950, 2.5X Powermate and 18mm UO Ortho for background image and 5X Powermate
with 18mm UO Ortho for inset magnified images of Epsilon 1 and 2. Epsilon 1
consists of 5.1 & 6.2 magnitude stars separated by 2.6 arc seconds. Epsilon
2 comprises 5.3 & 5.5 magnitude stars separated by 2.3 arc seconds. The
separation between Epsilon 1 and 2 is 3.5'.
Albireo (Beta Cygnus) imaged
7-21-01.
Albireo imaged with AP 155, Nikon
CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho, 5X Powermate. Single
image. Primary magnitude 3.08, secondary magnitude 5.1, separation 34 arc
seconds. Described as orange primary and blue secondary.
Alpha Hercules (Ras Algethi) imaged
7-24-01.
a Hercules imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 12.5mm Ortho, 5X Powermate.
Two images combined. Primary magnitude 3.2, secondary magnitude 5.4, separation
4.6 arc seconds. Described as orange-red primary and green secondary.
Delta Hercules imaged 7-24-01 by Roland
Christen.
d Hercules imaged with
Astro-Physics 10" Mak-Cass, ST10E at 2x2 binning, 13 micron pixels, shutter
speed of .11 seconds. Primary magnitude 3.1, secondary magnitude 8.2, separation
8.9 arc seconds. Described variously as green-white or yellow-white primary and
blue-violet secondary. A remarkable image considering the tight separation
relative to the difference in magnitudes. Image courtesy of Roland Christen,
Astro-Physics.
95 Hercules imaged
7-26-01.
95 Hercules imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho, 5X Powermate.
Windy with unsteady seeing so I didn't attempt a larger image. Single image.
Primary magnitude 5, secondary magnitude 5.2, separation 6.3 arc seconds.
Described as green primary and pale red secondary. This double is famous for its
chameleon-like color perceptions by various observers. According to Burnham, the
pair was first recorded as "bluish-white and white" by Herschel in 1780;
"bluish-white and reddish" by J. Herschel in 1825, "greenish yellow and reddish
yellow" by Struve in 1828-32 and Pickering in 1878. In the latter 1800's they
were described as "apple green and cherry red" but were also thought by some to
change for brief periods to identical white or identical pale yellow. A very
interesting pair.
Gamma Ursa Minor (Pherkad) imaged
8-2-01.
g Ursa Minor and 11 Ursa Minor
imaged with AP 155, Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm
Ortho at 3X optical zoom. Single image. Primary magnitude 3.0, secondary
magnitude 5.1, separation 17'. Described as blue primary and red secondary.
Delta Lyra imaged
8-2-01.
d Lyra imaged with AP 155, Nikon
CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho at below 1.5X optical
zoom. Single image. Primary magnitude 4.3, secondary magnitude 5.6, separation
20'. Described as red primary and blue secondary.
Gamma Andromeda (Almach) imaged
8-2-01.
g Andromeda imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 5X Powermate.
Single image. Primary magnitude 2.1, secondary magnitude 4.8, separation 9.8 arc
seconds. Described as golden-yellow primary and greenish-blue secondary.
Discovered ca 1778 by J.T. Mayer. This beautiful double has an especially
striking color contrast.
Gamma Delphinus imaged
8-8-01.
g Delphinus imaged with AP 155,
Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 5X Powermate.
Single image. Primary magnitude 4.0, secondary magnitude 5.0, separation 10.4
arc seconds. Described as yellow primary and emerald-green secondary. Discovered
in 1830 by Struve, it is considered the most beautiful double in Delphinus and
forms an intriguing Delphinus "Double-Double" with another pair of double stars
only 15' to the south.
Epsilon Draco imaged
8-10-01.
e Draco imaged with AP 155, Nikon
CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 2.5X Powermate.
Single image. Primary magnitude 4.0, secondary magnitude 7.5, separation 3 arc
seconds. Described as yellow primary and blue secondary. I had a lot of
difficulty with this one due to unsteady seeing and the tight separation
combined with a significant difference in magnitudes. But the image did capture
the yellow in the primary and bluish tinge in the secondary. Unfortunately, the
unsteady seeing also produced a bluish flare in the primary. I may try this one
again when the seeing is better.
Zeta Lyra imaged
8-14-01.
z Lyra imaged with AP 155, Nikon
CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 2.5X Powermate.
Single image. Primary magnitude 4.5, secondary magnitude 5.5, separation 44 arc
seconds. Described as topaz primary and green secondary.
Eta Cassiopeia imaged
8-15-01.
eta Cassiopeia imaged with AP
155, Nikon CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 2.5X
Powermate. Single image. Primary magnitude 3.5, secondary magnitude 7.2,
separation 12.9 arc seconds. Described as yellow primary and red secondary. A
beautifully contrasting pair and one of my visual favorites. Visually the colors
are readily apparent and I always see a bright yellow primary and deep, ruby-red
secondary. The contrast is both pronounced and beautiful. A pair clearly
deserving far more recognition.
Alpha Geminorum (Castor) imaged
2-13-02.
Castor imaged with AP 155, Nikon
CP950 (attached with ScopeTronix Digi-T), UO 18mm Ortho and 5X Powermate. Single
image. Primary magnitude 1.9, secondary magnitude 2.9, separation 3.9 arc
seconds. Both described as bluish-white.
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