63 Geminorum 

Bill Reinehr
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: Jan 05, 2001 -  08:00 UTC    
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Pflugerville, Texas, USA  (30 degrees N.) 
Site classification: Suburban  
Sky darkness: 4.0 <Limiting magnitude>  
Temperature: 42° F 
Telescope: 6" MCT f/12 on Custom D 
altaz mount 
Magnification: 56x (32mm Sirius Plossl) & 82x (22mm Vixen SW) 
 		 A wide split – easily seen at 56x. Primary seemed yellowish, 
no color detected in secondary. NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula) in the same low power FOV. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Tomás Vazquez
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 6/1/2001, (TU): 21:49:26. 
Seeing: 4 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Sevilla. (Spain) 
37 24 N. 5 58 W. 
Site classification: Urban 
Sky darkness: 3 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Celestron C8” D:203mm. 
Reducer Focal: F/6,3. 
Magnification: ST-4 CCD Camera 
Time of Integration: 10 seconds. 
Software: 
Reading LUCAS 1.1 
Treatment: LAIA 3.1g 
Planetariun and Telescope Control Program: ECU: 
"Earth Cerntered Universe" 
Telescope Computer Interface: MICRO-GUIDER III. 
 
Position Image: North up, East left
 		 Description: 63 Geminis is a multiple star easy to separate, the main component (A) is of magnitude of 5.2 and the secondary (B) 9.4 this separated to 42.9" and with position angle AP: 324º. The partner (C) it is of magnitude 10.4, with a separation 145.9" and a position angle AP: 219º. 

Espectral Type: F5V+F5V. 
B-V: 0.39 
Proper motion: RA:0.058". Dec: -0.121" 
HR:2846. HD:58728. SAO: 79403. ADS: 6089. 
 
 

 
 
 
Luis Argüelles
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: Tuesday, 9th, January, 2000, 20:05 UT 
Site of Observation: Alto del Naranco, Oviedo 
Site Clasification: Suburban 
Seeing: 2-3 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Sky darkness: About 3 <Limiting magnitude>
Transparency: 6 
Temperature: About 11ºC 
Conditions: Very strong wind (maybe about 40 km/h) 
Observing Instrument: Hi8 Videocamera
Magnification: 18x 
Eye Piece(s): none
 		 The observation of 63 Geminorum has been made in a total Moon eclipse "environment". Since such event is a wonderful sight, I forgot to pay attention to this double. Nevertheless, I used my Hi8 Videocamera to take some images from the eclipse (well, "some" is not the word, I recorded almost 1 hour) and watching the images back at home, it was really easy to observe this star using "averted vision" in front on the TV set, although not as a double at only 18x, of course!
 
So I've discovered that the limiting magnitude of my videocamera is about 5.2.
 
 
Glen Chapman
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 2001/01/10  21.55 + 10 UT 
Seeing: -- <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Sydney, Australia 
Site classification: Suburban 
Conditions: Clear, crisp, little moisture in air. 
Temperature: 19C  
Sky darkness: -- <Limiting magnitude>  
Telescope: Celestron Star hopper 8” Dob 
Magnification: 50x 
 		 Very easy split at 50X in a very confused field. Found three other stars that where of similar mag to the companion. Confirmed correct star through a pinwheel measurement. No colour noted in either element. 
 
 
 
 
Tim Leese
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 14 January 2001( 22:00 UT )  
Seeing: 6  <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>  
Location of site: Cheshire. UK 
53° 15' N –2º 33' W  
Site classification: Suburban  
Sky darkness: 3-4 <Limiting magnitude>  
Conditions: Clear and cold with drifting high haze. 
Telescope: 200mm f/6  Newtonian scope  mounted 
over a Vixen GP mount (manual slow motion). 
Any Quoted PA or SEP using Celestron micro guide (CMG ) 
Magnification: X48, X120 
 
 
 

Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 14 February 2001 (20:00) 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>  
Location of site: Cheshire. UK 
53° 15' N –2º 33' W  
Site classification: Suburban  
Sky darkness: 3.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Conditions: Cold and crisp underfoot. No Moon visible 
Telescope: 200mm f/6  Newtonian scope  mounted over a Vixen GP mount (manual slow motion). 
Any Quoted PA or SEP using micro guide. 
Magnification: X120 X96(CMG) 
 

 With a magnification of  X120 this star seemed to be an off white or pale yellow colour with no colour determined for the secondary star observed at the listed PA. 
 
Using X48 revealed the same star patterns I observed during the recent lunar eclipse as seen from my location in the UK.  This time though I could see the companion at the listed PA and realised why I couldn't see it during the eclipse. 
The companion to 63 Gem was probably hidden by the bright limb of the eclipsed moon or as 63 Gem was so close to the moons limb the companion may even have been occulted by the moon. 

It was interesting to visit this star field, once again observing the "cradle of stars" as seen during the eclipse. 
 
 
 
As requested in a previous note (5330) in the 33-doubles e-files I revisited this multiple star system to see if I could observe the D star (HDS 1050) as listed in WDS as 9.09MAG, PA 97deg and SEP of 3.9sec. 
 
Previously I had been observing the trapezium in Orion and could see the E star using X120 so I thought that the sky was probably good enough to observe the D star listed for 63 Gem. 
 
Observing 63 Gem at X120 I could see the listed B star which in this eyepiece looked to be a  pale yellow colour as in my previous observation. 

Using the CMG at X96 I located the C star at the WDS listed PA and distance but using averted vision and X120 again I could just see another star popping in and out of view to the NE of the C star. 
 
I am not sure what magnitude this star  has. 
After all this, unfortunately, I couldn't find any sign of the D star as listed in WDS. Using all combinations of eyepieces and increasing the magnification to X480 failed to show the listed D star. 

As, dare I admit to this,  I hadn't  observed the Eskimo nebula before I soon found this object nearby to add this nebula to my list.  Not exactly the same view as published on the Hubble Heritage site but a good view all the same. 
 
 
 
Susan Delaney
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date and Time: 2001-01-22, 02:30 - 04:30 UT 
Seeing: 5/10  <1 worst - 10 best> 
turbulence with some steady periods 
Transparency: 9/10  not a cloud in the sky 
Location of Site: Fairfield, CT, USA 
Latitude: 41.12 N, Longitude: 73.15 W, 
Site Classification: Suburban 
Elevation: 25 
Sky Darkness: ~ 5 <Limiting Magnitude> 
Temperature: 22º F (-5.5º C) 
Telescope: Discovery 10" (25cm) 
DHQ f/5.6 Dobsonian 
Eye Piece(s): 22mm Nagler, 9mm Nagler 
Magnification: 64x, 158 
 		 Wide pair easily split at 64x. At 158x, this star appeared pale yellow and its companion seemed to be white. The planetary nebula, NGC 2392 (Clown or Eskimo Nebula) was visible in the same field. 
 
NGC 2392 - Gem - Clown or Eskimo Nebula 
In the same field as the double star 63 Geminorum. At 64x, this planetary nebula looked mimicked a very bright, bluish star with a small halo around it. A closer look at 158x revealed a central star surrounded by a bright halo that permeated outwards in a somewhat mottled, gray, hazy, glow. A bright star was located adjacent to the planetary in the 3:00 position. 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Jim Jones
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date and Time: 0400 UTC, 01/23/01 
Seeing: 4 <1 worst - 10 best> 
Location of Site:  Lake Oswego, Oregon 
Site Classification: Suburban 
Sky Darkness: 5 <Limiting Magnitude> 
Temperature: 44ºF 
Telescope: 8 inch LX50 SCT 
Eye Piece(s): 18mm Radian, 7 mm UO 
Orthoscopic 
Magnification: 112x,  285x 

 
 
 

 Est PA without instrumentation.....320d 

Seeing very bad.  I had to increase  magnification to increase contrast to the point where I could see the very dim companion. 
 
Companion was visible from time to time at 112x.  Through the ortho EP the companion was visible all the time, although it wasn't a pretty sight.  No diffraction rings...just fur balls. 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Rik Hill
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date and Time: 2001 01 25, 05:48 UT 
Seeing: ~1-2" 
Location of Site: Jim Loudon Observatory 
32º 10' 48.2"  N 
110º 46' 31.9" W 
Height above sealevel: 2875 ft. 
Site Classification: -- 
Sky Darkness: 6 (zenith) <Limiting Magnitude> 
Temperature: ~50F 
Hum.:<30% 
Telescope: Celestron 11 (f/9.6) 
Magnification: ~200x 
 		 Theta: 143 
Rho: 44.72 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Bob Vickers 
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 1/27/01 0244 UT 
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Location of site: Huntingdon, Tennessee 
approx. 35d 57m N, 88d 23m W 
Site classification: Rural 
Sky darkness: 6 <Limiting magnitude> 
Transparency: 8 <1 worst - 10 best> 
Temperature: 4º C 
Conditions: Breezy 
Telescope: 12.5" Orion Newtonian reflector 
on Dobsonian mount 
Magnification: 38x, 60x, 120x, 240x 
Eyepiece(s): Sirius Plossl 40mm, 26mm, 
12.5mm, 6.3mm 
  		 Star hop from Delta Gem. First impressions: Relatively unremarkable pair. 
Clearly split at 38x. Color: (A): yellowish-white. (B): almost too dim to discern color - maybe white? 
 
Ambience: My son and his girlfriend wanted to see a few astronomical sights so I 
started with Jupiter and Saturn which knocked their socks off! Then moved on to a couple of cool clusters: the Pleaides and the double cluster. No fifty cent tour would be complete without the Orion nebula. By the time I got to M35 in Gemini they were sufficiently dazzled (and cold) and went back inside, leaving me to an evening double stars. 
 
 
 
 
 
Eddy O'Connor
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: Monday, 29/01/01, 
10 -11.30p.m local; UT +11 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Transparency: 4/10 
Temperature: 22ºC 
Location of Site: Terara, New South Wales, Australia, Long.150.38 degrees; South 34.52. 
Site Classification: Suburban 
Sky darkness: 3.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Moon: 5 days old 
Instrument: 8" F9 Newtonian 
Magnification: 
Eyepieces: 25mm and 12.5mm Kelners 
Harshaw Scale: 2 (1-5, 1 best) 
 		 This star sits in a cluster near Delta Gem. The 5.5 and 9.5 mag. looked wrong tonight as the cirrus circled and too close for the listed 42.9" . The colours were Gold and Bluish/Violet. Stellar sleuths please confirm. 
 
Ambience: This evening followed an oppressive humid day when birds in my garden only took essential flights and remained quiet as monks starved of plainsong. A harmless furry spider large as my hand crept indoors to a safe wall and my neighbour's dog, Ruby, insisted on fetching a  thrown stick many times from the smooth river. Duck-egg blue skies by late evening and an encore from lingering cicadas did little to convince me of a clear night. 
 
Darkness took long and the sky never fully darkened despite the early departing Moon. By the time Gemini eased up in the sky at 11 p.m. mag. 3.5 stars were the seeing limit. Sweat glistened on the brow and mosquito cream ran down my neck. I was lucky to reach five doubles. I thought of all those in 
other parts viewing in freezing temperatures and those lying in total darkness under rubble in India. Does the vast night sky conjure up all this? 
 
 
 
William L. Schart
Star:  63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 1/29/01, 8:12 pm CST 
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Killeen, TX (Lat 31 N, Elev 600 ft) 
Site classification: Suburban 
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude> 
Moon: crescent 
Telescope: Orion 6” Dob on equatorial platform 
Magnification: 48x, 72x,120x 
 
 
 		 Easily found (at least when actually looking at the right connie). Forms a triangular asterism along with 61 and 56. The secondary is very faint, at the limit of my perception tonight. Primary is bright Y, but the secondary too faint to tell. No attempt at a measurement. 
 
The session started off very inauspeciously. I looked and looked and looked for 63 Gem without any luck. I couldn’t even see the triangular asterism of which it is a part. I thought that the moon must be having more effect than what I would have thought. Finally I backed off, put my glasses on and spent a minute or 2 looking at the sky and suddenly realized I had been looking in Auriga not Gemini!!! Boy, did I feel dumb! Once in the right connie, my ability to locate things improved. 

While looking around for 63 Gem in Auriga I came accross a double which at first I thought was my choosen target, but when I measured it, realized it wasn’t. I did some research later on that night, but couldn’t find out what it might be. It is located in the general vacinity of theta Aur, was O and B in color, with a separation of 16” in a PA of either 38° or 218°, depending on which was the primary. Maybe one of you can help me ID this pair. 
 
 
 
Ilario Melandri
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 2 February 2001 ? 21.19 UTC 
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>  
Location of site: Italy, Ravenna, San Romualdo 
Lat 44 32’N Lon 12 08’E 
Elevation: 0 m 
Site classification: Rural  
Sky darkness: 3.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Temperature: -2ºC 
Telescope: 150 mm f/15 achromatic refractor (lens by Romano Zen, Venice). 
Magnification: 140x (eyepiece OR 9 mm) 
 		  
 
 
 
Tim Leese
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 14 February 2001 (20:00) 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>  
Location of site: Cheshire. UK 
53° 15' N –2º 33' W  
Site classification: Suburban  
Sky darkness: 3.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Conditions: Cold and crisp underfoot. No Moon visible 
Telescope: 200mm f/6  Newtonian scope  mounted over a Vixen GP mount (manual slow motion). 
Any Quoted PA or SEP using micro guide. 
Magnification: X120 X96(CMG) 

 

 As requested in a previous note (5330) in the 33-doubles e-files I revisited this multiple star system to see if I could observe the D star ( HDS 1050 ) as listed in WDS as 9.09MAG, PA 97deg and SEP of 3.9sec. 
 
Previously I had been observing the trapezium in Orion and could see the E star using X120 so I thought that the sky was probably good enough to observe the D star listed for 63 Gem. 
 
Observing 63 Gem at X120 I could see the listed B star which in this eyepiece looked to be a  pale yellow colour as in my previous observation. 

Using the CMG at X96 I located the C star at the WDS listed PA and distance but using averted vision and X120 again I could just see another star popping in and out of view to the NE of the C star. 
 
I am not sure what magnitude this star  has. 
After all this, unfortunately, I couldn't find any sign of the D star as listed in WDS. Using all combinations of eyepieces and increasing the magnification to X480 failed to show the listed D star. 

As, dare I admit to this,  I hadn't  observed the Eskimo nebula before I soon found this object nearby to add this nebula to my list.  Not exactly the same view as published on the Hubble Heritage site but a good view all the same. 
 
 
 
Thad Robosson
Star: 63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 2/16/01, 03:00UT (2/17) 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Transparency: 4/10 
Location of site: Phoenix, USA 
33º 32.674N, -112º 08.029W 
Site classification: Decidedly Urban 
Sky darkness: -- <Limiting magnitude> 
Temperature: In the mid 60's (F) 
Telescope: 8"f/6 newt on an EQ mount  
Eyepieces: Vixen Lanthanum 10,15mm, 
Meade Super wide 32, 20mm 
Apogee 2x shorty barlow. 
Magnification: 63x 
 		 This is proof that looking at a "dull pair" (on paper) can be quite a find.  Expected 1 wide comp., but found (from closest to furthest) 320°, 210°, and 225°.  The 225° comp is the brightest after the A star, 320° is 2nd brightest, and the 3rd is just at visibility between direct and averted vision..  A lovely suprise. 
 
Ambiance: City noise, Traffic noise, airplane noise, Etc 
 

 
 
 
Giuseppe (Pino) Bandini
Star:  63 Geminorum 
Date & Time: 14 February 2001 - 18.27 UTC 
Seeing: 9 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Ravenna, Italy. 0 mts Altitude 
Site classification: Urban  
Sky darkness: -- <Limiting magnitude>  
Temperature: 11ºC 
Telescope: Celestron 8 
Magnification: 125 x (Plossl 16 mm)