|
Sirius B
Spacing now is over 9 arcSec so a better chance than in prior years.
Even so it helps to have best seeing possible and be patient and look for a long time. If you know which side of Sirius A it is on the place attention there and look for an irregular bump that does not flutter around as much as other seeing related changes to the Sirius A.
For a Dob or SCT you should really take care to collimate with extreme care and be sure your optics are completely cooled down (especially for SCT it can take an hour or more!). Don't just pop out the SCT and have a look, it will likely disappoint.
A 5-6" high end APO refractor is easier than a non-masked bigger Dob.
If you have a really big Dob (> 16") then use a circular cutout to convert that Dob to a wonderful achromatic better-than-glass scope. People generally use a big piece of cardboard with a very clean edged circular cutout that fits between 2 of the spider vanes for a dob of 16" or more.
As has been stated, look in the very best of seeing conditions you can get and by the way, you can have a moon out as long as it is a fair distance from the pair. Go for the best of seeing for best chance. See SkippySky for seeing predictions.
|