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Old 10-03-2018, 02:35 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Corvus: Double star constellation march 2018

Decided to skip Low Gemini and choose Corvus, so as to give those down in Southern Oz, a chance to report Doubles located at higher altitudes .

These are the ones selected by myself and Eugene for March..Weather has been lousy for most so give some, or even one of these a go; especially if its light polluted for anything else.

Use this for co-ordinates..
http://stelledoppie.goaction.it/index2.php?section=1

DOUBLE STARS for MARCH 2018:

DELTA CORVUS: This is a wide delightfuI pair mags 3,9.2 ; Sep.24.2” , PA 214°, easy to find, easy to see and an interesting coloured companion ..PURPLE?..can use large high power Binos.


QUADRUPLE HD109545 or AKA, Stf1659:

AB Separation 12.4", Mags ,6.7,15.5... at PA 248°, and Stars CD : Mags 7.9 , 8.34 at Sep 27.5" : PA 351°...So 4 stars!

ZETA CORVI : MAGS 5,13 at separation 11.2"

TRIPLE STAR
HR4821 and HR 4822 or called Struve 1669..........also called VV Corvi:
A beautiful trio of AB: Mags 6.0,6.1 at Sep 5.4” with C component, at mag 10.5 and Sep 59” in the FOV.

SOMBRERO GALAXY only 1.25 degrees north of VV CORVI!..take a peek!


TRIPLE STAR HD105590..AKA Stf 1604: AB Separation 11.2", Magnitudes 8.47 ,10 at PA 151°.... MAGS BC: 10, 6.8 at Sep 9.0" and PA 89°... YELLOW , Blue/ white What colour contrasts do you see?

DOUBLE STAR
HD107501 or also called ADS 8524 : Sep 5" mags 10, 10.2 WHITE, RED..and you?

DOUBLE STAR
HD106955 , AKA.. Bu 921, SAO180662: Mags .... 7,10.7 at Sep 3.4" at PA221°..Any colour Contrast?



DOUBLE STAR HD 103817 AKA...
h4481. This is an almost equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
*Easily split with medium power, I see them as LIGHT BLUE twins. 11h 58m 13s
-22° 38' 17

TRIPLE STAR
HR 4758 .. AKA... BU28 : Sep. 2.2” mags 6.5,9.6 YELLOWISH and WHITE in 130mm Apo at 275x with Tak 3.3mm Toe ..with another fainter mag companion north of field.




DOUBLE STAR HR 4661 or Bu 920 also called HD106612: Sep 1.9", mags AB 6.5,8.2 at PA 308°..tough but done at 150x with 6mm Tak Abbe or even 5mm Dual ED, easy with 3.2mm Dual ED at 285x


GAMMA CORVI : MAGS 2.6 9.7...at separation 1.1" and PA 106° VERY TOUGH!



PS: screenshots from SKYSAFARI BELOW...And report your observation in the proper reports section here...observations above done in average seeing and transperancy with moments of good seeing.

bigjoe.
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Last edited by bigjoe; 11-03-2018 at 10:42 PM. Reason: Adding more
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Old 11-03-2018, 08:05 AM
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Thanks Joe - could you please confirm the location of H4481? I can't get it on Stellarium, and HIP 4481, HD 4481 and HR 4481 send me to Cetus, Andromeda, and Ursa Major respectively. Cheers.
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Old 11-03-2018, 10:08 AM
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Surprise! I was greeted with a clear night yesterday, the very day you posted this list. Transparency was 9/10 but seeing perhaps 6/10 at best. So I was not very hopeful of completing the list.

Delta Corvi@ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - wide uneven pair easily seen. There is definitely a clear colour contrast between the white primary and the faint secondary, but I could not settle on the colour for the secondary and simply recorded it as a pale smokey white.

HD109545 @ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - pale yellow/white primary forms the tip of a very interesting symmetrical asterism of six stars with a striking resemblance to the Eiffel Tower. The 15th mag companion was well out of reach. The C&D companions you listed have me confused. The magnitudes seem to correspond to the two stars that form the first level of the “Eiffel Tower”. I need to revisit this target on a night of better seeing.

VV Corvi at 100X - very attractive, almost equal yellow pair with the very faint well separated C companion completing the trio.

As per your suggestion, I took a quick detour to The Sombrero in Virgo. Very nice as usual. That motivated me to flick over to the Antennae Galaxy back in Corvus. Again, very attractive with glimpses of the irregular structure in moments of better seeing. The seeing was improving with time.

HD105590 @ 100X - identified the two brighter stars and the much fainter this star. However, ....

A band of distinctly warmer air arrived without notice and within a matter of minutes the clear sky was completely clouded out.

... to be continued.
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Old 11-03-2018, 11:33 AM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaseous View Post
Thanks Joe - could you please confirm the location of H4481? I can't get it on Stellarium, and HIP 4481, HD 4481 and HR 4481 send me to Cetus, Andromeda, and Ursa Major respectively. Cheers.
Jeff ..

DOUBLE STAR HD 103817! ALSO AKA..
h4481. This is an almost equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
*Easily split with medium power, I see them as LIGHT BLUE twins. 11h 58m 14s
-22° 38' 17.

These coordinates may be older..few references to this one...added new screenshot!
bigjoe.

Last edited by bigjoe; 11-03-2018 at 11:49 AM. Reason: Adding
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Old 11-03-2018, 02:25 PM
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Great, got it now, thanks.

Pat.
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Old 11-03-2018, 05:45 PM
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My best chance to revisit the brighter ones on the list was on Wednesday 10 -11 pm EAST, Feb 7th.Conditions were 8/10 transparency and 8/10 seeing. All reports are Dob 10” F5 and 13mm Hyperion ep unless otherwise mentioned.
1. Delta Cor. nice contrast at 3 and 8.5 mag and an interesting colour contrast of a yellow and orange pair, widely separated.
2. STF 1659. A beautiful field with what appears an isosceles triangle of faint stars, with hints of yellow and grey encased in a larger triangle of two orange and one bluish star. This sits at the bottom of a Y-shaped group of mag 6 stars about 3°north of the naked-eye double of Delta and Eta Cor which leads to what I see as a thin dagger of mag 8 stars, containing STF 1664, a wide double and the handle of the ‘dagger’ that points to the striking Sombrero galaxy.
3. STF 1669. This is close to the previous double and easily split at medium power. A striking equal yellow pair. Failed to notice third star.
4. STF 1604, On my first visit to this stunning stellar triangle I was surprised at the neatness of this tight triangle of stars with the main white star outshining the others. A little hard to star hop to but worth the effort!
5. Burnham 920 and 921 not split.
6. H4481 not found yet.
7. Bonus double: Zeta Cor. This 5/13 mag pair sep 11.2” A wide yellow and orange pair cradled in an usual semicircle star field
Ambiance: pleasant windless night with little dew. A mooing cow repeated a plaintive call to the night air and during my last half hour four naval helicopters with landing lights on the ready disturbed my tranquillity. Happy hunting to all star splitters and long may the clear skies last. Eugene
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Old 11-03-2018, 09:48 PM
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H 4481 an easy star hop tonight as the dew arrived. Twin yellow pair, well separated with the northerly twin slightly deeper yellow. Interesting burnt orange star north in field. E
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Old 11-03-2018, 09:55 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Re double

Pat.

DOUBLE STAR HD 103817 ALSO AKA..
hj4481. This is an almost equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
Easily split with medium power, I see them as LIGHT BLUE twins. 11h 58m 14s
-22° 38' 17.

These coordinates may be older..few references to this one...added new screenshot!
bigjoe.
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Old 11-03-2018, 10:08 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bombardon View Post
My best chance to revisit the brighter ones on the list was on Wednesday 10 -11 pm EAST, Feb 7th.Conditions were 8/10 transparency and 8/10 seeing. All reports are Dob 10” F5 and 13mm Hyperion ep unless otherwise mentioned.
1. Delta Cor. nice contrast at 3 and 8.5 mag and an interesting colour contrast of a yellow and orange pair, widely separated.
2. STF 1659. A beautiful field with what appears an isosceles triangle of faint stars, with hints of yellow and grey encased in a larger triangle of two orange and one bluish star. This sits at the bottom of a Y-shaped group of mag 6 stars about 3°north of the naked-eye double of Delta and Eta Cor which leads to what I see as a thin dagger of mag 8 stars, containing STF 1664, a wide double and the handle of the ‘dagger’ that points to the striking Sombrero galaxy.
3. STF 1669. This is close to the previous double and easily split at medium power. A striking equal yellow pair. Failed to notice third star.
4. STF 1604, On my first visit to this stunning stellar triangle I was surprised at the neatness of this tight triangle of stars with the main white star outshining the others. A little hard to star hop to but worth the effort!
5. Burnham 920 and 921 not split.
6. H4481 not found yet.
7. Bonus double: Zeta Cor. This 5/13 mag pair sep 11.2” A wide yellow and orange pair cradled in an usual semicircle star field
Ambiance: pleasant windless night with little dew. A mooing cow repeated a plaintive call to the night air and during my last half hour four naval helicopters with landing lights on the ready disturbed my tranquillity. Happy hunting to all star splitters and long may the clear skies last. Eugene
Eugene...
Algorab definitely a deep purple secondary in the Triplet to me...seeing average, as is the transperancy.

Just also tried STF 1669 Eugene..and easily split at 73x in 12.5mm Tak Abbe..third component was surprisingly easy for the city at 30 deg elevation...LOVELY deep yellow twins forming an Isoceles triangle with faint C well clear at 59" in the 130mm Apo...will try rest again morrow.
PS : ADDED Gamma and Zeta to list

bigjoe .

Last edited by bigjoe; 11-03-2018 at 10:39 PM. Reason: Adding
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Old 11-03-2018, 10:46 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinderboxsky View Post
Surprise! I was greeted with a clear night yesterday, the very day you posted this list. Transparency was 9/10 but seeing perhaps 6/10 at best. So I was not very hopeful of completing the list.

Delta Corvi@ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - wide uneven pair easily seen. There is definitely a clear colour contrast between the white primary and the faint secondary, but I could not settle on the colour for the secondary and simply recorded it as a pale smokey white.

HD109545 @ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - pale yellow/white primary forms the tip of a very interesting symmetrical asterism of six stars with a striking resemblance to the Eiffel Tower. The 15th mag companion was well out of reach. The C&D companions you listed have me confused. The magnitudes seem to correspond to the two stars that form the first level of the “Eiffel Tower”. I need to revisit this target on a night of better seeing.

VV Corvi at 100X - very attractive, almost equal yellow pair with the very faint well separated C companion completing the trio.

As per your suggestion, I took a quick detour to The Sombrero in Virgo. Very nice as usual. That motivated me to flick over to the Antennae Galaxy back in Corvus. Again, very attractive with glimpses of the irregular structure in moments of better seeing. The seeing was improving with time.

HD105590 @ 100X - identified the two brighter stars and the much fainter this star. However, ....

A band of distinctly warmer air arrived without notice and within a matter of minutes the clear sky was completely clouded out.

... to be continued.
Just added Gamma and Zeta to the list Steve..they're tough, but decided to add anyhow...I'm having another shot morrow night.
bigjoe.
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Old 12-03-2018, 03:47 PM
Bombardon (Eugene)
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Joe, you will not be surprised to learn that Rev T.W. Webb circa 1825 listed the Algorab companion star as 'Lilac,' so you are on the money there. Not sure if he was using a reflector or refractor as he had both! Regards, Eugene
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Old 29-03-2018, 02:18 PM
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The waxing gibbous moon made the background very bright last night, and for my eyes tended to make it harder to determine the colours, particularly for faint companions. There was also a fair degree of wind hampering the stillness of the scope, and to cap things off, the air immediately around me was being polluted with industrial-strength obscenities as I attempted to use the Skywatcher Synscan Wifi adapter with Sky Safari for the first time. Having said that, how good is Sky Safari??? It tracks like the dickens, and once aligned is quite a bit easier to use than Stellarium in my opinion. Generally I was using my Baader zoom at 150x, but also used the ES 4.7mm for a bit more power, although I found the atmospheric conditions and breeze at 255x sometimes made the fainter stars almost disappear.

1. DELTA CORVUS - ALGORAB: This is a wide delightfuI pair mags 3,9.2 ; Sep.24.2” , PA 214°, easy to find, easy to see and an interesting coloured companion ..PURPLE?..can use large high power Binos.
Easy split, and while I wouldn’t say the companion star was purple to my eye, it definitely seemed to have a dusky glow to it.

2. QUADRUPLE HD109545 or AKA, Stf1659:

AB Separation 12.4", Mags ,6.7,15.5... at PA 248°, and Stars CD : Mags 7.9 , 8.34 at Sep 27.5" : PA 351°...So 4 stars!
Not sure if I got the right level of magnification for this, but I saw a small, faint isosceles triangle of stars, surrounded by a much larger and brighter inverted equilateral triangle of stars.

3. TRIPLE STAR
HR4821 and HR 4822 or called Struve 1669..........also called VV Corvi:
A beautiful trio of AB: Mags 6.0,6.1 at Sep 5.4” with C component, at mag 10.5 and Sep 59” in the FOV.
This is a nice little trio. Couldn’t detect any appreciable colour differences.

SOMBRERO GALAXY only 1.25 degrees north of VV CORVI!..take a peek!
Averted vision just made out a slight vertical slash of light, but certainly nothing to get the pulse racing under the conditions last night.

4. TRIPLE STAR HD105590..AKA Stf 1604: AB Separation 11.2", Magnitudes 8.47 ,10 at PA 151°.... MAGS BC: 10, 6.8 at Sep 9.0" and PA 89°... YELLOW , Blue/ white What colour contrasts do you see?
Made this out as yellow-white, blue-white, and maybe a dusky reddish colour. A French flag triple.

5. DOUBLE STAR
HD107501 or also called ADS 8524 : Sep 5" mags 10, 10.2 WHITE, RED..and you?
Quite an easy split for this one.

6. DOUBLE STAR
HD106955 , AKA.. Bu 921, SAO180662: Mags .... 7,10.7 at Sep 3.4" at PA221°..Any colour Contrast?
A pretty tight split for me, and the companion star was very dull compared to the main star.


7. DOUBLE STAR h4481 HD 103817: This is an almost equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194°. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
Easily split with medium power, I see them as LIGHT BLUE twins.
Just got this one, again no appreciable colour other than whitish.


8. TRIPLE STAR
HR 4758 .. AKA... BU28 : Sep. 2.2” mags 6.5,9.6 YELLOWISH and WHITE in 130mm Apo at 275x with Tak 3.3mm Toe ..with another fainter mag companion north of field.
Very difficult this one, but just got it.


9. DOUBLE STAR HR 4661 or Bu 920 also called HD106612: Sep 1.9", mags AB 6.5,8.2 at PA 308°..tough but done at 150x with 6mm Tak Abbe or even 5mm Dual ED, easy with 3.2mm Dual ED at 285x
This was probably easier than HR4758 – pretty easy split, and I was seeing white and orange.


Thanks BigJoe, looking forward to April's list.
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Old 29-03-2018, 04:56 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaseous View Post
The waxing gibbous moon made the background very bright last night, and for my eyes tended to make it harder to determine the colours, particularly for faint companions. There was also a fair degree of wind hampering the stillness of the scope, and to cap things off, the air immediately around me was being polluted with industrial-strength obscenities as I attempted to use the Skywatcher Synscan Wifi adapter with Sky Safari for the first time. Having said that, how good is Sky Safari??? It tracks like the dickens, and once aligned is quite a bit easier to use than Stellarium in my opinion. Generally I was using my Baader zoom at 150x, but also used the ES 4.7mm for a bit more power, although I found the atmospheric conditions and breeze at 255x sometimes made the fainter stars almost disappear.

1. DELTA CORVUS - ALGORAB: This is a wide delightfuI pair mags 3,9.2 ; Sep.24.2” , PA 214°, easy to find, easy to see and an interesting coloured companion ..PURPLE?..can use large high power Binos.
Easy split, and while I wouldn’t say the companion star was purple to my eye, it definitely seemed to have a dusky glow to it.

2. QUADRUPLE HD109545 or AKA, Stf1659:

AB Separation 12.4", Mags ,6.7,15.5... at PA 248°, and Stars CD : Mags 7.9 , 8.34 at Sep 27.5" : PA 351°...So 4 stars!
Not sure if I got the right level of magnification for this, but I saw a small, faint isosceles triangle of stars, surrounded by a much larger and brighter inverted equilateral triangle of stars.

3. TRIPLE STAR
HR4821 and HR 4822 or called Struve 1669..........also called VV Corvi:
A beautiful trio of AB: Mags 6.0,6.1 at Sep 5.4” with C component, at mag 10.5 and Sep 59” in the FOV.
This is a nice little trio. Couldn’t detect any appreciable colour differences.

SOMBRERO GALAXY only 1.25 degrees north of VV CORVI!..take a peek!
Averted vision just made out a slight vertical slash of light, but certainly nothing to get the pulse racing under the conditions last night.

4. TRIPLE STAR HD105590..AKA Stf 1604: AB Separation 11.2", Magnitudes 8.47 ,10 at PA 151°.... MAGS BC: 10, 6.8 at Sep 9.0" and PA 89°... YELLOW , Blue/ white What colour contrasts do you see?
Made this out as yellow-white, blue-white, and maybe a dusky reddish colour. A French flag triple.

5. DOUBLE STAR
HD107501 or also called ADS 8524 : Sep 5" mags 10, 10.2 WHITE, RED..and you?
Quite an easy split for this one.

6. DOUBLE STAR
HD106955 , AKA.. Bu 921, SAO180662: Mags .... 7,10.7 at Sep 3.4" at PA221°..Any colour Contrast?
A pretty tight split for me, and the companion star was very dull compared to the main star.


7. DOUBLE STAR h4481 HD 103817: This is an almost equal pair of mag. 8.0 and 8.1 stars, Sep 3.6” and PA 194°. Located near Epsilon Corvus.
Easily split with medium power, I see them as LIGHT BLUE twins.
Just got this one, again no appreciable colour other than whitish.


8. TRIPLE STAR
HR 4758 .. AKA... BU28 : Sep. 2.2” mags 6.5,9.6 YELLOWISH and WHITE in 130mm Apo at 275x with Tak 3.3mm Toe ..with another fainter mag companion north of field.
Very difficult this one, but just got it.


9. DOUBLE STAR HR 4661 or Bu 920 also called HD106612: Sep 1.9", mags AB 6.5,8.2 at PA 308°..tough but done at 150x with 6mm Tak Abbe or even 5mm Dual ED, easy with 3.2mm Dual ED at 285x
This was probably easier than HR4758 – pretty easy split, and I was seeing white and orange.


Thanks BigJoe, looking forward to April's list.
Thats GAS Gaseous..
Great results for all these VV CORVI is a very pretty find for anyone..AB both ORANGE TO ME.
AGREE No . 8 being easier than 9 as both its main components have a lesser MAGNITUDE DELTA..

And No. 4 STF 1604 ..Is indeed to many, the FRENCH FLAG COLOURS ..VIVA LA 1604!

Going.to have a crack at some of these again along with the Planets over this weekend..
ESP MARS SATURN AND M22 CONJUNCTIONS ON APRIL 1 AND 2..even the day before .
Weather here in Sydney has been very ORDINARY.
PS:SKYSAFARI ROCKS!
Cheers bigjoe
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Old 29-03-2018, 08:50 PM
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... to continue my previous interrupted observations on the 11th March:

I was out last night too - excellent seeing at 8, perhaps even 9/10 and 8/10 transparency in the clear gaps between slow moving banks of very high thin cloud. I had to wait patiently for the skies to clear beneath Corvus. Unfortunately the next band of cloud rolled over before I could complete all of the observations. As Patrick noted, the 11.5 day Moon only 45 degrees away meant the sky was quite bright.

I revisited HD 105590 first as I was interrupted at this point last time. The tight triangle of stars stood out nicely. The brightest a yellow/white, next a paler white and the 10 mag star a very pale white.

HD 107501: (mag 10&10@5”) at 160X - very pale, almost equal stars. Difficult to pick colour, perhaps a hint of yellow.

HD 106955 (mag 7&10.7@3.4”) at 160X - white/yellow primary with extremely faint companion perhaps a little washed out by the bright Moon.

HD 103817 (mag 8&8@3.6”) at 160X - equal yellow/white pair like a set of car headlamps off in the far distance.

HR 4758 (mag 7&9.5@2.2”) at 160X - yellow primary with fainter whitish companion close by. Extremely faint nearby star just visible, say mag11 approx.

... then the next band of high level cloud rolled in. It was time to pack up with two targets outstanding. I suspect the last target, Gamma Corvi might be beyond my 140mm aperture. I am attending an astronomy camp at a pristine dark site in Tassie at higher altitude in a fortnight and I’ll try for these last two observations then.

Scope: Vixen NA140SS and LVW5 eyepiece for 150X. Star hopping navigation using Sky Safari Plus.

Thanks for the list Joe. It is certainly the most time to date that I have spent exploring Corvus.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinderboxsky View Post
Surprise! I was greeted with a clear night yesterday, the very day you posted this list. Transparency was 9/10 but seeing perhaps 6/10 at best. So I was not very hopeful of completing the list.

Delta Corvi@ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - wide uneven pair easily seen. There is definitely a clear colour contrast between the white primary and the faint secondary, but I could not settle on the colour for the secondary and simply recorded it as a pale smokey white.

HD109545 @ 62X (stars not quite tight focused points) - pale yellow/white primary forms the tip of a very interesting symmetrical asterism of six stars with a striking resemblance to the Eiffel Tower. The 15th mag companion was well out of reach. The C&D companions you listed have me confused. The magnitudes seem to correspond to the two stars that form the first level of the “Eiffel Tower”. I need to revisit this target on a night of better seeing.

VV Corvi at 100X - very attractive, almost equal yellow pair with the very faint well separated C companion completing the trio.

As per your suggestion, I took a quick detour to The Sombrero in Virgo. Very nice as usual. That motivated me to flick over to the Antennae Galaxy back in Corvus. Again, very attractive with glimpses of the irregular structure in moments of better seeing. The seeing was improving with time.

HD105590 @ 100X - identified the two brighter stars and the much fainter this star. However, ....

A band of distinctly warmer air arrived without notice and within a matter of minutes the clear sky was completely clouded out.

... to be continued.
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Old 05-04-2018, 09:04 AM
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.... continuing from my last observations on the 29th March.

There was a small window of opportunity last night before high cloud rolled in. Seeing was 7 improving to 8/10 and transparency about 8/10. A bright 18 day Moon was about 50 degrees away.

HR4661 (mag6.5&8.2@1.9") - difficult but straight forward split at 160X. The primary was yellow and the very faint, very close in companion a pale white.

Gamma Corvi (mag2.6&9.7@1.1") - failed to split this difficult pair. I tried higher magnifications but it was obvious that the seeing was not good enough. I also suspect the pair requires more aperture to resolve given the large delta magnitude. I'll try again at our Astro camp weekend in a fortnight where we will be at a higher altitude and under pristine dark skies.

Scope Vixen NA140SS with LVW5 giving 160X.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinderboxsky View Post
... to continue my previous interrupted observations on the 11th March:

I was out last night too - excellent seeing at 8, perhaps even 9/10 and 8/10 transparency in the clear gaps between slow moving banks of very high thin cloud. I had to wait patiently for the skies to clear beneath Corvus. Unfortunately the next band of cloud rolled over before I could complete all of the observations. As Patrick noted, the 11.5 day Moon only 45 degrees away meant the sky was quite bright.

I revisited HD 105590 first as I was interrupted at this point last time. The tight triangle of stars stood out nicely. The brightest a yellow/white, next a paler white and the 10 mag star a very pale white.

HD 107501: (mag 10&10@5”) at 160X - very pale, almost equal stars. Difficult to pick colour, perhaps a hint of yellow.

HD 106955 (mag 7&10.7@3.4”) at 160X - white/yellow primary with extremely faint companion perhaps a little washed out by the bright Moon.

HD 103817 (mag 8&8@3.6”) at 160X - equal yellow/white pair like a set of car headlamps off in the far distance.

HR 4758 (mag 7&9.5@2.2”) at 160X - yellow primary with fainter whitish companion close by. Extremely faint nearby star just visible, say mag11 approx.

... then the next band of high level cloud rolled in. It was time to pack up with two targets outstanding. I suspect the last target, Gamma Corvi might be beyond my 140mm aperture. I am attending an astronomy camp at a pristine dark site in Tassie at higher altitude in a fortnight and I’ll try for these last two observations then.

Scope: Vixen NA140SS and LVW5 eyepiece for 150X. Star hopping navigation using Sky Safari Plus.

Thanks for the list Joe. It is certainly the most time to date that I have spent exploring Corvus.
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  #16  
Old 05-04-2018, 01:25 PM
bigjoe (JOSEPH)
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Re GAMMA CORVI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinderboxsky View Post
.... continuing from my last observations on the 29th March.

There was a small window of opportunity last night before high cloud rolled in. Seeing was 7 improving to 8/10 and transparency about 8/10. A bright 18 day Moon was about 50 degrees away.

HR4661 (mag6.5&8.2@1.9") - difficult but straight forward split at 160X. The primary was yellow and the very faint, very close in companion a pale white.

Gamma Corvi (mag2.6&9.7@1.1") - failed to split this difficult pair. I tried higher magnifications but it was obvious that the seeing was not good enough. I also suspect the pair requires more aperture to resolve given the large delta magnitude. I'll try again at our Astro camp weekend in a fortnight where we will be at a higher altitude and under pristine dark skies.

Scope Vixen NA140SS with LVW5 giving 160X.
HUGE mag delta indeed Steve..Dawes Limit no good here..
And yes, a bigger aperture, or EXCELLENT seeing will be whats needed here.
Your Vixen combo should do it in excellent seeing still..I didnt manage even a figure eight as seeing ordinary here..
Will attempt one more time..
PS:Getting ready to post Leo Doubles soon.
bigjoe.

Last edited by bigjoe; 05-04-2018 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Add
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