From Mariner to Astronomer....(not really)

[Mariner]

Hi all,
Being at sea so much I miss a lot of good observing nights. I have had a 6 inch Mak for about 6 months and due to leave always coinciding with bad weather since I have had it, I have only had 3-4 times using it...:(

Anyway, as a sailor I have had the great pleasure of navigating ships using Rigil Kent (being about the third brightest star with which to pull down for a sight, as well as being part of the southern cross) for the last 15 odd yrs but have never split it. It has for some reason always been behind clouds or I have not wanted to ruin the beautiful illusion of this ethereal "singular" celestial body when I have had the opportunity; it has always remained Rigil Kent and its partner Hadar accompanying me on watch of an evening or night.....

Well, tonight I have had the rarest of glimpses between clouds from my too brightly lit back porch (combination of moon and lights), of Alpha Centauri A & B. Seeing is pretty good - not fantastic, and transparency is good until it is not..... Using an Orion 6" Mak and XW 10mm (180x) I was easily able to see clear space between them - amazing..... with both a little happiness and sadness (the emotional equivalent of hungry/thirsty I suppose) I will never look at RK with a sailors eyes again.......

On a slightly different note, M7 was pretty awesome too as was Saturn earlier on in the evening.....what would we do without the heavens to marvel at????

[niko]

great little yarn Frank -thanks for sharing.

Despite all the high tech gear and frustrations of setting it up and imaging I often still just sit and stare up all the skies above amazed at how much is out there and how fast it's all whizzing around.

We live in remarkable times.

Safe travelling out there on the briney blue!

niko

[FJA]

It was the sight of the dark, starry skies far out at sea which rekindled my interest in astronomy just over 20 years ago. :)

[barx1963]

Love the story Frank. Nice to know there are people still able to navigate by the stars.
One minor point, Rigel Kent, also known as Alpha Centauri, along with Beta Centauri (Hadar) are actually in Centaurus, not Crux (the Southern Cross). Sorry to be pedantic!:)

Splitting Alpha Cent was one of the first things I did with a scope and it was a magic feeling to see 2 blazing suns.

Malcolm

[Paddy]

When I first pointed a scope at Rigel Kent, I didn't know it was a double and thought there was something wrong with my scope. It is a stunning sight.

I used to do a lot of offshore sailing in the late 70's and early 80's and the night sky was one of the great things about it. I was always impressed by the navigator's skill with the stars.

Thanks for the story.

[Mariner]

Hi Malcolm,
You are absolutely correct sir. I have always avoided it (in the last 2 or 3 years that I have had a scope), but you are described it perfectly - the 2 blazing suns.....of which, does anyone know when they are likely to crash into one another and light the night sky up a little - I hope not in my life time..... they most probably won't for another few billion I suppose?

[Mariner]

Nice one Paddy, I can see how you could easily think that. Lovely sight for me - all the stars out in the blue water, as you would know, you never get sick of it. Makes you feel good to be alive.

[barx1963]

Frank.
As I understand it, Alpha Centauri A and B orbital period is about 80 years. So they are quite well seperated. I am not aware of any figures on when they may merge but I would be thinking it would be billions of years at the soonest. Given that both stars are similar in size to the sun they will be white dwarfs long before that. When they do merge it will create a nice Type 1a supernova I would imagine. Of course the may not be anywhere near the sun when taht happens!

Malcolm