[ngcles]

Hi Coen & All,

Well it just shows to go ya -- I have long regarded Pictor as probably the most arid "desert" in the far southern sky. My total log entries for Pictor are just 10! (Mind you, Hydrus and Octans are hardly larger)

But you've made the desert bloom. Well done!

I must say, I was quite surprised how few pairs I've got observations of in Pictor. The sum total is -- 1 (that you also include in your notes) -- Dunlop 20 or Theta Pictoris (fairly nearby to Beta Pictoris).

My note of Dunlop 20 from 1997 using 25cm is:

x86 34' TF. Mags 6.3 & 6.8 Sep 38.2" PA 287. Wide and easy pair about 40-50" in PA 290. A is about 1/10th mag Br than B. Both are cold white.

So I saw the colours a little different to you -- but hey, colour is a very subjective thing when viewing through any 'scope. The spectral types are A0 (V) & A2 (V) indicating that both stars are similar to Sirus in nature -- ie as white as the driven snow. But remember always to say it how you see it! If that's how you see it, that's the way it is for you!

I've already commented about the NGC 2257 thing the other day, but just looking at your observing note, you indicate the object you saw was about 30 arc-mins diameter -- this certainly does not fit NGC 2257 which is only a bit over 1/10th that size. So it would seem likely you didn't see NGC 2257 I'd reckon.

As for the cattle-dog issue Rob K -- Coen has hit the nail on the head. As each observer makes discoveries he/she makes a new catalogue which is eventually published. Often we see one observer by accident include pairs previously discovered by others -- so there is quite a bit of cross-over. I'm not the double star expert (or any other sort of expert either I assure you) by any means -- to get a definitive (and comprehensive) answer the man to ask is Enchilada!

As noted the closest thing to a RNGC for double star observers is the WDS. Just use a search engine to locate a downloadable WDS and you will get a huge file!


Best,

Les D