Beta Cephei

 
Mary Flanagan
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: 12 Jul 2002 00:31 CDT
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: 8 <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: Apple Valley MN, USA
93d 14m 25s W; 44d 45m 17s N
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: ~ 4.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: 12.5" f/5 Dobsonian 
Eyepieces: TV Plossls: 32mm, 15mm
Magnification: 106x		 This was a bright little white semicolon. 106x.
 
 
 

 

 
Tim Leese
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: 14/15 July 2002, 00:15 UT
Seeing: 6-7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency:  <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: Northwich, Cheshire. UK.
53º 15' N -2º 33' W
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 4.2 ( UMi ) <Limiting magnitude>
Conditions: Clear and still sky, Milky Way on view after midnight ( local time )
Telescope: 200mm f/6 Newtonian reflector.
Mount:  Vixen GP.
Eyepieces:: 18mm Orthoscopic, 9mm Orthoscopic, 6mm Orthoscopic
Magnification: X67, X133 ,X200
 		 18mm Or---  Another classic double star to observe with a blue white 
primary and a faint bluish companion. Using X67 magnification showed 
off this double at it¡¯s best. I like this one!!
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
Steve Bodin
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: July 19 and 20, 2002
Seeing: 3 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: fair
Location: Silverdale WA, USA
47N,123W
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 4.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: Meade 107D on ETX mount
for visual and 17.5 inch DOB for video
Eyepieces: 24mm Koenig, 19mm Televue,
10mm Homebuilt, 7mm Ortho
Magnification: 42x, 52x,100x,143x
Additional: PC164C video		 White and blue AB colors, just split at 42x but best at 100x. This looks like a double in a small scope. The Bigdog DOB also found a faint pair to the west, but I can't find these stars in any catalog. Maybe it was the off chance of two minor planets in conjunction, but that seems improbable. My Starry Night pro version does not show any stars at this location. This requires a revisit soon. Measurements: AB 13.4 sec at 250 deg PA,  the interlopers, about 10-11 mag,  AC at 173.1 sec and 283 deg PA, and the faint pair CD 12.2 sec at 142 deg PA.












 

 
John M. Ryan
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: Wednesday July 24, 2002: 10:00UTC
Seeing: 6-7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: 4+ <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: Barreras, Salamanca, Spain.
Site classification: Rural, Suburban
Sky darkness:   <Limiting magnitude>
Conditions: Full moon, medium wind with temp. about 15º C. 
Telescope: Zeiss 63mm Telementor
Eyepieces: 10mm ortho, 16mm ortho & 25mm H.(Zeiss eyepieces)
Magnification: 83X, 52X, 33X 
Harshaw Scale: 2 <1-5; 1 best>		 Found and split this with the 25mm at 33X. Fairly wide double with a very dim secondary. I was happy to find this double and split it because with the full moon and the secondary at near 8 mag I had no trouble with the small rerfractor in seeing the secondary. Better view with the 10mm at 83X. Primary white and the secondary has a tint of blue. 

Ambience: The night before I had been viewing the moon, venus, Mizar, Albireo with the Zeiss Telementor and tonight I decided to use it for finding and splitting some doubles from the Cepheus list. With the full moon there was plenty of ambient light, the village was lit up and people were strolling and enjoying the cool summer night. Three small groups stopped by to get a look at the moon and the first double from the list. The Telementor is a marvel of a small telescope. It has fairly accurate setting circles but no drive motor. After aligning the mount using the bright star Altair to give me my polar position it was easy to find the doubles. I would set the position in the setting circles and tonight I had to hunt in the area a small amount to find the double. As Tom Teague has pointed out using the adjustment screws to maintain the double in the eyepiece becomes second nature. The Telementor is becoming the diamond of my telescope collection.
 

 
Bob Hogeveen
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: July 24, 2002 (23.00)
Seeing: 3 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: 7 <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: La Grave (Hautes Alpes, France) 
Site classification: Rural
Sky darkness: 3 <Limiting magnitude>
Moon: Full Moon in Sgr
Conditions: 
Telescope: MK67 - 6" f/12 MCT 
Eyepieces:: 40mm Pentax SMC XL, 30mm Ultima, 20mm TV plossl
Magnification: 45x, 60x, 90x 
Harshaw Scale: 1 <1-5; 1 best>

Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: July 29, 2002 (23.00) 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: 5 <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: Annen, The Netherlands, 53N, 6E 
Site classification: Village backyard 
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude>
Moon: 3/4 moon below horizon
Conditions: 
Telescope: 80mm f/6 refractor, C11 
Eyepieces:: 30mm Ultima, 10mm plossl
Magnification: 48x, 90x 
Harshaw Scale: 1 for C11, 3 for 80mm  <1-5; 1 best>
 

 An extremely beautiful double. In the wide field of the 40mm Pentax Beta can beseen with a pinpoint companion in a rich field. Fieldstars form the shape of awineglass with Beta floating almost exactly in the middle of the glass. At 70xthe pair shows best but the foot of the glass is cut of and the pair issurrounded by a semi-circle of bright stars along the edge of the field.90x show the colors best: A is blue-white and B a bit more bluish.A showpiece that I will recommend to all my fellow-observers. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The pair is split with the 80mm using 48x, but the view lacks the sparklingbrightness of that with larger scopes.With the C11 @ 90x the pair is wide and bright and beautiful, especially thedifference in magnitudes makes the pair very attractive.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
William Guyot
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: 2002/07/28, 01:00=>03:00
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency:  <1-10, 10 best>
Location of site: La Garandie, near Clermont-Ferrand, France
Site classification: Rural, Suburban
Sky darkness: 3.5  <Limiting magnitude>
Moon: there was a bright moon
Temperature : 20°C
Wind : near nothing
Telescope: Takahashi Mewlon 210 not very well cool down at the beginning.
Eyepieces: 
Magnification:  71x		 The main component was very blue. The vision was wonderful.

 

 
Luis Argüelles
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: 11, August, 2002, 
1:45am local time
Seeing: 5->3 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 6
Location of site: Sena de Luna, Spain
Elevation: 1,200 m.
Site classification: Rural
Temperature: 18ºC
Humidity: ~ 35%
Sky darkness: ~5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Takahashi FS-102
Mount: Vixen GP w/Skysensor 2000
Eyepieces: 20mm Eudiascopic
Magnification: 41x
HS: 1 <1-5 Scale (1 best)>		 Perfectly split with the 20mm Eudiascopic at  41x. Seeing has went down to 5. The main component is a pure white while the secondary, maybe because contrast, appears as yellow-orange to me. 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
Inge Skauvik
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: 21.Aug.02 2300 - 2400
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: Lousy
Location of site: Haavik, Norway
Site classification: Suburban
Temperature: +15ºC
Sky darkness: 4.0 <Limiting magnitude> 
Conditions: No wind
Telescope: 8-inch Portaball with Zambuto mirror
Mount: Dobsonian type
Eyepieces: 16 mm Konig, 7 mm Ortho, 5 mm
Ortho, 2.8x Klee Barlow (all University Optics)
Magnification: 75x		 Easy double with unequal components. I was surprised, though, how
appealing this double is. The fainter component appeared more bluish than
the primary. I find this typical for unequal doubles, even when the
primary is an A-star, and the secondary belong to the classes F and G.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Luis Balanzino
Star: Beta Cephei
Date & Time: Sat-Sun Aug 24-25, 2002
21h to 23h UT 
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Transparency: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Location of site: Göteborg, Sweden 
57°43' N, 11°58' E 
Site classification: Suburban 
Temperature: 20º C 
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude> 
Moon: Aged 16-17 days 
Conditions: moderate light pollution
Telescope: Russian TAL-1 equatorial reflector 110mm f/7.3
Eyepieces: 25mm and 10mm TAL Super Plossl, 15mm TAL Kellner, 3x TAL 
Barlow 
Magnification: 32x, 54x, 80x, 161x, 240x
   		 One of the first doubles I observed in the northern sky, together 
with Polaris, Mizar and Eta Cassiopeiae and since then a favourite of 
me. I like very much bluish pairs like this. Bright and wide, the 
primary is white or slightly bluish, the companion deep blue. Nice 
split at 54x, better at 80x.                             
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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