Sirius split at last

[DavidU (Dave)]

Following Sabs report I thought I would try to observe Sirius B.
Using my 12" at x260 with Sirius quite high I found that a steady periods it was quite easy to split.The 10 arc sec separation must help.
I am quite surprised at this split due to very light polluted skies.
I have tried a few times over the years with no success until now.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Good work Davo.

It pays off when you keep at it

Now describe it for those that have never seen it

[pgc hunter]

Nice work David. Light pollution doesn't matter here, as Sirius provides all the light pollution required to cause havoc! Success is largely dependant on seeing, but it doesn't have to be perfect. I find myself getting away with a split in very average seeing. Magnification is your friend here, the aesthetics of the star image don't matter, the aim is to blow up the seperation as much as possible.

What a thrill it is to split this notorious object for the first time!

[Dennis]

That’s a great achievement Dave – well done for your persistence and eventual success. I was out a couple of nights ago under thin cloud with an almost full Moon and imaged my easiest split ever. Who would have thought it could get that easy!

Cheers

Dennis

[Liz]

Well done Dave!! Always a tricky one.

[astroron (Ron)]

Well done Dave
The 16" is all set up to give a Siriusly big effort to see Sirius B
Cheers

[astroron (Ron)]

I have just come in from Observing Sirius B
It is so far away from the star I thought I was not seeing Sirius B
but after downloading images of the net I have definitely observed it
It is visible in my 9mm TMB and 6mm Radian.
Cheers

[DavidU (Dave)]

Yes it now does seem some distance away. Nice one Ron.

Originally Posted by astroron

I have just come in from Observing Sirius B
It is so far away from the star I thought I was not seeing Sirius B
but after downloading images of the net I have definitely observed it
It is visible in my 9mm TMB and 6mm Radian.
Cheers

[CometGuy]

Well Done Dave and Ron!

I've attached an image from tonight showing Sirius A & B, as well as a couple of nearby stars that should help with finding the Pup. North - East directions are +/- 10 degrees, scale should be fairly accurate. There is a mag 9 star about 2 arc mins east of Sirius that tells you which side the pup is on.

Terry

[mr bruess]

It is strange to call sirius b "pup".

The dogons knew about the sirius star system in ancient times .

[Liz]

Originally Posted by astroron

It is so far away from the star I thought I was not seeing Sirius B
Cheers

Siriusly, thanks for that Ron, I havent tried this for awhile, but you always think that they are very close.

Thanks for chart too Terry.

[CometGuy]

I went through some of my older images and found a wider angle shot of Sirius and matched up the orientation and scale with a closeup image showing Sirius B. Hence Sirius B Finder chart mark 2 .

The main view shows the starfield for a medium high power eyepiece (i.e about 0.5 degree wide). The closeup view showing Sirius B is also projected on the main view in its correct scale and orientation. I hope this helps people find the elusive white dwarf star.

Terry

[DavidU (Dave)]

Thanks Terry. I had another quick go tonight with the 12" and bang, there it was. My plan was to have a go with the 6" refractor but the clouds rolled in.

[pgc hunter]

Originally Posted by astroron

I have just come in from Observing Sirius B
It is so far away from the star I thought I was not seeing Sirius B
but after downloading images of the net I have definitely observed it
It is visible in my 9mm TMB and 6mm Radian.
Cheers

Cool! It's not all that hard once you know what to look for