Lying beyond the glare of the stellar behemoth Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus, making up a glorious cosmic quartet, sits Omicron-1 and Omicron-2 Cygni. An orange K3Ib super-giant, Omicron-2 is an Algol type variable star — an eclipsing binary with a smaller, but brighter short period companion. By sheer coincidence Omicron-1 is also an Algol variable belonging to the orange spectrum — a K2II giant to be precise — but other than their apparent resemblance there is no physical relationship between these “twin” stars.
Sitting close to Omicron-1 can be found 30 Cygni and HIP 99676 also known as 31 Cygni b. The former is a white to blue white A5III giant while the latter is a blue white B9 star with no clear luminosity grading. Again, like Omicron-2, there is no association — except for a common optical axis within a populous field of the Milky Way — between these stars and Omicron-1.
The 25×100 binoculars easily revealed the orange hues of Omicron-1 and 2 while 30 Cygni appeared close to it’s spectral classification. HIP 99676 on the other hand posed a slight puzzle as it appeared a greenish white. Regardless this proved to be a beautiful grouping of stars which are well worth a look if you have the time to spare during an observing session.
Tags: 30 Cygni, Cygnus, HIP 99676, Omicron-1 Cygni, Omicron-2 Cygni, Strathspey 25x100
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What started out as a planned observation of Omicron-1 Cygni ended up as an impromptu study of Epsilon Lyrae. With the weather granting the first proper clear skies that I have seen in just over three weeks I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get out under the stars. With winds gusting at 21 mph and a temperature of 9°C — due to fall by 5°C — I opted to set up the 25×100 binoculars rather than the 5 inch refractor. Upon realising that my intended target — Omicron-1 Cygni — lay at a neck breaking altitude of 71° I decided to retreat to Epsilon Lyrae.
The beautiful multiple star — a quadruple system that lies 162 light years away — shared the same field of view as the dazzling main sequence star Vega. At higher magnifications the stars of Epsilon Lyrae— ε Lyrae 1 and ε Lyrae 2 — split into two further binaries that orbit one another no closer than 0.16 light years. This means that both systems would take many millennia to complete just one orbit.
I’ll definitely be returning here in due course to take in a view with the telescope, but I’m still intent on bagging that observation of Omicron-1 Cygni. Just watch this space!
Edit 07.10.09: Looking back on the original sketch of Epsilon Lyrae that I produced, I’ve had the feeling that I just didn’t give this celestial object the attention that it really deserved. So early on Wednesday morning — 07.10.09 — I revisited the scene of the crime and set to work making a fresh observation. Although there was a cold breeze blowing through the backyard the seeing higher up in the atmosphere was excellent — 1 on the Antoniadi Scale. I’m far happier with the detail that I’ve captured; I hope you enjoy what I have produced.
Tags: Cygnus, Epsilon Lyrae, Lyra, Omicron-1 Cygni, Strathspey 25x100, Vega
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Wednesday morning (22.04.09) offered me the perfect opportunity to return to the beautiful double star Albireo in the constellation of Cygnus. I kicked things off at 02:30 BST, and spent a fair amount of time just observing the system with the 12mm plössl which easily revealed the rich amber/yellow of Albireo A and, the vivid blue/green of the smaller Albireo B.
After about twenty minutes I decided to push the magnification up, but just as I was getting ready to insert the 6mm plössl something sped across the field of view. It all happened so fast that I just didn’t really get a chance to identify exactly what it was I saw, but if I were to guess I’d say it was a meteor — perhaps a Lyrid?
Although the higher magnification of the 6mm eyepiece compromised the seeing the view was wonderful nonetheless, and at times both stars resolved clearly in the eyepiece. While Albireo A retained most of it’s yellow hue the smaller B companion suffered some colour reduction, but it’s blueish/green glow was still vaguely evident.
Despite the alluring quality of this double star system I was beginning to succumb to the cold, but I didn’t feel ready to just pack up so I turned my attention to Messier 27 in Vulpecula. I’d spent some time with this deep sky object just over a week ago with the 25×100 binoculars, and I was curious to see just what the Celestron Omni XLT could pull from it. With astronomical twilight already well on it’s way I knew it wouldn’t be the best of observation to be had, but I persevered regardless.
After swapping the 6mm plössl around for the 25mm, and fifteen minutes of careful searching I finally landed on the diaphonous planetary nebula. My previous observation through the 25×100s revealed the nebula as “an opaque almost spherical white smudge”, but the view through the refractor exposed the subtle graduations as well as the “double headed shot” that the 19th century astronomer John Herschel had described. This really was a beautiful sight, but if it wasn’t for the fact that I was frozen to the core and, extremely tired I would have liked to have spent more time observing M27. Had I stayed out observing any longer the next door neighbors may have found me clinging to my telescope in a delirious stupor — hopefully things won’t ever come to that!
I’m glad I took advantage of the clear skies that morning because the weather since then has offered up nothing, but perpetual cloud along with periodic rain. Providing things clear up over the weekend I’m planning on spending some time working on the Binocular Messier Club list by hunting down a group of globular clusters in Ophiuchus. Hopefully I’ll have some new observations to report quite soon!
Tags: Albireo, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Cygnus, Lyrids, M27, Strathspey 25x100, The Dumbbell Nebula, Vulpecula
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The weather over the last few days has actually been quite decent and Sunday morning (19.04.09) delivered the clearest skies that I have seen in a while. In fact the weather conditions were so excellent that I can’t actually remember the last time they were this good. Despite the fact that an afternoon of hard play with my one year old son had left me running on empty I still managed to muster up the energy to rig up the telescope for a short session.
I wanted to take the opportunity to have a look at Albireo with the scope, but thought I’d save that for later, and instead opted to start things off by taking in another view of Saturn. The seeing was excellent, and sky transparency was spot on, but because the planet was only +18° above the western horizon there was zero detail to be had. However the three moons: Titan, Rhea and Iapetus were again all visible, but just like the previous observation I was unable to pin down any of the other moons. With this in mind I think that I’ll drop down to the 12mm plössl, and see if the reduced power makes any difference in resolving the other satellites the next time around.
With the time hitting 02:34 UT (03:34 BST) I decided to leave Saturn behind, and head out into galactic space to track down the double star Albireo. The last time I looked at this celestial gem was way back in November with the 25×100 binoculars, but this time around I was visually knocked off my feet. The view was absolutely gorgeous through the 12mm eyepiece, and the colours of both stars were unbelievably vivid. My only regret is that I didn’t produce a sketch, but I’ll definitely be returning to Albireo very soon to do just that!
I clung to this beautiful double star for almost an hour, but I finally gave in to the cold, and my tiredness at 03:24 UT (04:24 BST) just as nautical twilight was arcing across the eastern skyline. As I spent the next half hour breaking down the gear I was captivated by the ghostly light, and found myself in awe of the firey red glow burning along the horizon. Certainly a great way to end a good observing session — I remember thinking that I would have to stay up this late more often when out star gazing. I’ll just make sure that I have the coffee brewing in future to stop me from keeling over.
Tags: Albireo, Celestron Omni XLT 120, Cygnus, Iapetus, Rhea, Saturn, Titan
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Time, as they say, waits for nobody and when I look back towards the beginning of the month I am left wondering where all the time has gone. March began (01.03.09 & 02.03.09) by bidding a fond farewell to comet Lulin as it started the long journey back out towards the distant reaches of the solar system. Around this time I also logged the open cluster M47 from the Binocular Messier Club list with the 10×50s, but with an elevation of around +18° M47 offered a rather sketchy observation as it drifted through the southern sky glow. I had also tried to catch two other open clusters in this part of the sky: M46 (which is very close to M47) and M50 in Monoceros. Both remained hidden from view, again due to the sky conditions, but I am going to make every effort to catch these two objects before they disappear into the summer evenings.
Besides my Lulin and Messier observations, the beginning of the month (05.03.09 & 06.03.09) also offered me the perfect opportunity to study the cratered surface of the waning gibbous Moon and score a number of objects from the Lunar 100 list. The most notable objects included the Vallis Alpes, the crater remnant Hipparchus as well as the mysterious Bessel Ray and the ancient crater of Clavius. Aside from viewing a good many Lunar 100 objects I also took the time to explore many features beyond the scope of the list and I made wonderful observations of prominent impact craters such as Reinhold, Herschel, Eudoxus, Aristoteles and many more.
Beyond this point bad weather conditions brought things to an abrupt end for almost two weeks, so it was nearer to the end of March (21.03.09) before I managed out, this time turning my gaze towards two faint galaxies in Canes Venatici: Messier 94 and Messier 63. However, the immediate interference of a neighbor’s extremely intrusive light combined with the neck breaking altitude of +41° put paid to a more in-depth observation. I dare say that I will return to these two deep sky objects in the next few months when they are both in a better position.
Following on from this I then spent some time a few mornings later (24.03.09) hunting down three more Messier objects: the open clusters M29 and M39 in Cygnus as well as the planetary nebula M27 in Vulpecula. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions and I easily tracked down the two open clusters but the urban terrain combined with a low position in the sky unfortunately prevented me from viewing M27. In addition to my deep sky observations I serendipitously caught two satellites through the 25×100s as they shot over the eastern sky. After some digging around on the web I whittled my options down to two possible designations: A0-27 and ITAMSAT 1. I’ve never been very good at catching iridium flares or tracking satellites, so I still have some niggling doubts over the identities of the two space craft, but it seems as though A0-27 and ITAMSAT 1 are my best bet.
To finally wrap things up I took in a short view of Saturn and the cloud enshrouded Titan as they sat serenely under the watchful eye of Leo. Upon making this observation I originally thought that I’d also seen the small Saturnian moon of Iapetus, but later investigation revealed that it was in fact HP 54954, a 9th magnitude G class star about 365 light years distant. So unfortunately, no cigar.
In retrospect March has definitely been a celestial smorgasbord, but as MoonWatch week is upon us UK amateur astronomers I plan to spend much of my time gazing at the checkered lunar surface. Hopefully the elements will cooperate and grant me some decent Moon watching weather.
Tags: A0-27, Aristoteles, Bessel Ray, Bresser 10x50, C/2007 N3 Lulin, Canes Venatici, Clavius, Cygnus, Eudoxus, Galaxies, Herschel, Hipparchus, HP 54954, ITAMSAT 1, M27, M29, M39, M46, M47, M50, M63, M94, Monoceros, Moon, Reinhold, Saturn, Strathspey 25x100, The Sunflower Galaxy, Titan, Vallis Alpes, Vulpecula
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