Beta Delphinus
   
Bob Hogeveen
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 2 September 2004, 23.00 LT
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: 4 <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: Annen, The Netherlands
53ºN, 6ºE
Site classification: Village backyard
Sky darkness: 3 <Limiting magnitude>
Conditions: bright moon low in the southeast
Telescope: Celestron C11
Eyepieces: Plossl 10mm, LV 5mm
Magnification: 280x, 560x 

 

 Steve Bodin's message about Beta triggered me to try this close double right away. The situation seemed right for good seeing, the sky was hazy and quit, lit up by the bright Moon, low in the southeast. Using 280x showed me that
seeing was reasonable but not very good. The image was far from perfect and I couldn't detect any duplicity. Nevertheless I put in the 5mm LV eyepiece. The result was surprising and I immediately recognized elongation. The image was somewhat unsteady, sometimes totally blurred up, but sometimes showing two nice airy disks close to each other and surrounded by parts of diffractionrings. Only after this observation, which seemed to be obvious duplicity, I checked the PA which exactely confirmed my observation.

Still cautious about this high-power doings, and wanted to exclude the possibility of optical faults, I checked a nearby star of similar brightness at 560x. This star showed a very nice single image, no sign of fake-duplicity whatever. For me the confirmation of a succesful and positive split of this 0.6" double!
 

William L. Schart 
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 5th, September, 2004
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency:  ---
Location of site: Texas, USA
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 4.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Conditions: No moon
Telescope: C8
Eyepieces: 25mm, 17mm, 10mm, 6.5mm
Magnification: 		 About all I can claim here is possibly just a bit of elongation at highest power.
   

Dave Jenkins 
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 5 Sept, 2004
Seeing: 10 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 8 <1-10 Scale (10 best)>. 
Location of site:  Orem, Utah
Lat. 40.28 Long. 111.70
Site classification: Bright Suburban
Sky darkness: --- <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Intes MK-66
Eyepieces: 22mm, 7.4mm, 5mm
Magnification: 82x, 243x, 360x
 

Split barely at 360x with a UO 5mm.  Secondary just outside of airy disk ring around primary.  The secondary must be closer to 0.8” than 0.5”.  A good split nonetheless. Pretty site but only due to the very still air I’ve experienced this evening which is a rarity along the Western Rockies.  The MK66 has cooled nicely and is giving tight views.


 
   
 
  

Eddy O'connor 
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: September11th 2004
10.30 - 11.30 p.m. local,
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 7 <1-10 Scale (10 best)>. 
Location of site: Terara, New South Wales, Australia. Long.150.38 ; Lat 34.52S
Site classification: Suburban-Rural
Conditions: Temp. 10ºC
Sky darkness:  <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 8" Dob, F9; 16" Dob F5.1
Eyepieces: 16mm and 12mm Ortho
Magnification: 16mm and 12.5mm Ortho
 
 I knew this one was beyond me but there was history here. Burnham discovered this binary in 1873, with an orbit of 26.6 years and it is at its widest this year. A single pearl stone tonight. It will require larger ammunition later!

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 


Morgan Spangle 
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 2 September 2004
Seeing: 9 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 7 <1-10 Scale (10 best)>. 
Location of site: Purchase, NY
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: Very steady seeing and good transparency. A bit of high haze.
Sky darkness:  <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Borg 101ED refractor
Eyepieces: Tak orthos in a Borg turret: 18mm, 7mm, 5mm, 2.8mm
Magnification: 36x, 91x, 128x, 228x

 
 
 What a star!  It seems impossible, but I swear it looked like there
was alump in the right direction, something hanging like a nick on the lip of a
teacup. A great beauty, I'll have to revist it when I'm back at home with my
Mewlon 210 to see if I can split it...





 
 
 
 
 
   
 

 
Steve Bodin 
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 24,25 Sept 2004, 9 pm to 11 pm local
Seeing: 5-6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: poorLocation of site: Silverdale WA, USA
47N 123W
Site classification: suburb-rural
Conditions: temp 55F, damp. Bright moon
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Celestron C8
Eyepieces: DX-8263SL color video camera at prime focus, 3x and 6x
Magnification: app. 350x,1000x,2000x

    		Straight to the biggie, been observing this one for years, sometime split sometime not, but now at maximum and should be split. All depends on the seeing and mine has not been good 5-6 at most, and ' fast' seeing to boot! you know, the kind that rapidly moves not the slow seeing that fades slowly from good to bad. Imaged 4 time on the 24th and 25th with 6x barlow and got separation between .5 and .7 so, averaged 0.6 sec at 359.0 deg PA. Also imaged at prime focus to find the faint outer components, didn't investigate the literature to see if these are CPM companions or just background stars, but AC, hj 5545, 15.65 sec at 138.6 deg PA, AD, STF2704, 46.67 sec at 317.4 deg PA, AE, LBZ  1, 113.7 sec at 270.9 deg PA

 
 

Ilario Melandri
Star: Beta Delphinus
Date & Time: 8/10/2004
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency:  <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: S. Romualdo, Ravenna
Italy
 Site classification: Village backyard
Sky darkness: 3.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Conditions: 18ºC temp.
Telescope: 150mm f/15 refractor
Eyepieces: Plössl 6mm
Magnification: 375x

 

 Evident elongation in PA direction
 

  
 
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