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skysurfer
26-06-2012, 04:32 AM
Most double star lists on the internet are northern hemisphere only. I am looking for a complete list of the entire sky, which are to be observed by smaller scopers (10cm or less).
Some lists are outdated, e.g. Alpha Centauri used to be 14" separated in the nineties (I could resolve it at 17x power) but now I require at least 40x to resolve it.

How can I get such a list ?

mozzie
26-06-2012, 10:51 AM
don't know about a list but i use sissy haas double stars book does all sky and i find it very good...has a little explanation about each d/star your about to observe..gives you the r.a & dec so i can input into hand piece..hope this can help.

inline_online
29-06-2012, 04:29 PM
Hi,

I have a hazy recollection of an Excel spreadsheet that lists thousands of doubles across the entire sky. I'll have a look for it after work today and email you a copy. I know I have it somewhere as I printed out many of the pages to be used at the scope.

Failing that, there is also the Sky Catalogue 2000.0 Vol 2. This is a great reference source for doubles, variables, galaxies and quasars.

Cheers,
Dan

Robh
30-06-2012, 01:05 PM
If you are interested in southern doubles, I can refer you back to this thread.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=51509

Again, thanks to Enchilada for the work.

A good site, if you go by constellation, is the Eagle Creek Observatory website ...
http://www.eaglecreekobservatory.org/eco/doubles/
However, you will have to update the data. See below.

The most up to date and complete reference is the Washington Double Star Catalog.

You can download in excess of 100000 doubles here ...
http://ad.usno.navy.mil/proj/WDS/
It is in four sections RA 0-6hrs, 6-12hrs, 12-18hrs and 18-24hrs. But it is just not practical for searches.

I don't think there is much point in downloading large lists. By the time you got through a few hundred the list would be out of date anyway.


If you have an observing list, you can browse the catalog here for the most up to date data ...
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/all/wds.html
Select Browse this table at top left.
I usually untick pa date1, first date, class then tick pa date2, separation date2, comp1 mag, comp2 mag.
Then at item 4, enter name of star e.g. alp cen

Regards, Rob