got an all time fave?

[ving]

Inspired by a talk by a member of my astro society I have once again found interest in double/multiple stars. He gave a really interesting talk... well ok it's not everyones cup of tea, and explained the different types and formation, etc.

I now feel inspired to create a "ving catalogue of doubles/multiples for newbie" or something with a similar name :P. but in the mean time I thought I'd share with you all one of my all time faves, Rho Ophiuchus.
Rho Oph has 4 stars making it a multiple. Funnily enough they form a triangle! Satra A and B (or 1 and 2 depending on where you are from ;)) form the brightest point of the traingle.
The area is also rich in nebulosity, and wide field astro pics of the antares/ rho oph area are really pretty.
Rho Oph can be split quite easily under low power to get the triangle shape but to split stars A and B moderate powers are needed (3 arc seconds apart).
in a large telescope a certain whispyness can be see of the nebula in the area.

heres a link to the area, as you can see there is plenty in the area to gawk at
http://www.carbonar.es/s33/portador-sierpes/zona1.jpg

[ving]

oh yeah, i fogot to mention, post your favourite object here... cluster, star, neb, planet.....

or comment on mine. what ever you like :)

[davidpretorius]

ok, i am spoilt with starry night, where do i look for this little multiple on this link????

Also i now know why you like this area of the sky, a great new constellation!

[ving]

AAAAAhahahahahaha!!!!!!
its in the G of the ving constellation :P

its near m80 dave :)
right near the head of scorpio.

[vespine]

I'm a complete newb, I can still probably count the number of observing sessions I've had on my fingers, so my favorite objects so far are very easy. I'm sure as my experience and appreciation grows they will probably change but at the moment my 2 fav objects are:

Omega Centauri is absolutely sublime! When I'm looking at it I feel like it wants to suck me in.

My other fav at the moment is Tarantula nebula, just because it has a stunning amount of visual detail, M42 is obviously brighter but much less intricate in my opinion.

Overall for the time being I am enjoying looking for nebulas in my scope the most. Not to hijack this thread but does anyone have a 50 brightest nebula list or something? :)

[rickericn]

All Time Fave?
The Orion Nebula has fascinated me ever since I was a kid - and I never fail to find something there I hadn't noticed before...
That's the coolest thing about astronomy... appreciation grows with experience.

-Rick

[davidpretorius]

Well, the seeing wasn't great and i found some doubles in the area. I was trying to remember this chart from earlier in the day. I was searching in the complete wrong direction.

Fingers crossed, i will try and image this 4some tonight at around 208x and then try and split the close ones.

Got me interested vingo!!!

[ving]

and thats what its all about dave ;)

[Rodstar]

Hey Ving, have you checked out the Eagle Creek Observatory website? It has a list of 46 colour-contrasting doubles worth checking out. I have made a list of about 20 of them to look at this weekend. Some of them are sure to become favourites of mine....I will post some of the better ones after the weekend.

Does Rho Ophiucus have any colour contrast in it?

[ving]

hi rod :)

rho oph does have colour contrast in it. white, blue and yellow. depends on the size of your scope tho as to what you see :) nup havent seenthe eagle creek obs site... linky?

I have been at somewhat of a loss as to what i am doing in regards to doubles. I was just looking at them, and while looking at them was fine I want more... I am still looking at some cost effective way to study them in some way...
in the mean time, when i get a chance I will be creating (as stated in my first post) a beginners list of double to get people interested. i'll post it here. not sure of the format or anyhting yet, maybe contellation by constellation :)

[Rodstar]

Ving, I am hopeless with technology, and am not sure how to post the link directly. The web address is www.eaglecreekobservatory.org/eco/doubles.

I haven't gone to the site since October 2005 (at that time I printed off screeds of info which I keep in my Double Star folder in the plastic sleeves), so I don't know if it is still there.

Eagle Creek provides the best doubles for each constellation, which in some cases runs to close to 100 doubles! There are many hundreds of doubles to work through over the course of the year, to your heart's content. That is the way I am doing it; systematically, one constellation at a time.

I have also been finding the articles in Australian Sky and Space very helpful. The last three editions have covered Orion, Canis Major and Musca. All of them are very good, and worth working through.

[Rodstar]

Oh, look! The link came up of its own accord! The wonders of modern technology!

[ving]

:lol:
thanks rod :)

thats quite a list they have there :)