Chi Leonis 

William L. Schart
Star: Chi Leonis  
Date & Time: 3/23/2000 8:30 pm CST 
Seeing:  6 <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>  
Telescope: Orion 6" Dob.  
Magnification: 48x, 120x, 240x 
 		 Nothing doing at lower powers, Using the barlow and 240, I suspected something at about what I estimated about PA 210d. Published figures are 265d, but the error was consistant with some other estimates I made tonight, so I feel pretty good about this. Redshift 2 lists the separation at 276", but is Luis Arguelles' table for the 33 Doubles is Leo project has it at only 3", which matches what I see here. 
 
However, I thought I could see an extremely faint star, perhaps about mag 12, around PA 130-180, at about this separation. Could this be a triple system? 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
Richard Harshaw
Star: Chi Leonis (63 Leo; Kuiper 54; SAO 118648; HD 96097) 
Location of site: Northern Kansas City, Missouri (USA) 
94d 30m west longitude, 39d 15m north latitude 
980 ft above Mean Sea Level 
Date of observations (UT): 02:00 – 04:10, March 31, 2000, 
LT:  20:00 - 2210, March 30, 2000 
Site classification: suburban 
Sky conditions: 
Seeing: 4 to 8 out of 10. (This night there was high, thin haze in the sky, which in this part of the world normally means superb seeing, still air and the ability to push a scope to its theoretical limits.  But this time, the sky was turbulent, despite the fact that a front had passed by two days ago, and the back sides of fronts tend to be quiet here.  So the seeing varied greatly, from a deplorable 4-- 
stars that looked like breathing sponges-- to 8, crisp Airy disks and partial diffraction rings.  And this change could take place in as little as five seconds!  Frustrating experience!) 

Transparency-- 4 out of 10 
Limiting visual magnitude-- 3.5 
Temperature:  40 F 

Telescope: Celestron C-8 
Eyepiece: 7.4mm Plossl with Barlow (708 x) with diffraction mask. 
 

 A:  4.7 mag, F2III 
B:  10.6 mag 
C:  8.9 mag 
AB:  3.3" at 262 PA (both increasing) 
AC:  276" at 305 PA (PA increasing) 

First measures: 
AB:  in 1939, 3.0" @ 257 
Measures listed above are the 1979 set. 
 
Eyepiece:  7.4mm Plossl with Barlow (708 x) with diffraction mask. 

This pair was too close for use of the Micro-Guide for measurements, so only visual impressions are reported. 
 
Colors of white, ??, and white.  C was far too easy.  B was extremely 
difficult, being glimpsed only during brief moments. 
 
The trio is 94 light years away and 10.24 times as lumious as the Sun. 
 

 
 
 
Philippe de Jocas 
Star: Chi Leonis 
Date & Time: March, 24-25   
Seeing: fair to good, 4 to 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Location of site: Ottawa/Hull, Canada 
Site classification: Suburban  
Sky darkness: 4.4-4.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Temperature: 6-7C, , light Westerly winds and slighltly hazy skies 
Telescope: 6" f5 newtonian 
Magnification: 120x 
 
 		 Chi Leo and STF 1507. Everyone fits in my field of view at 120x. Chi 
showing itself as Daffodil colored. 
 
 
 
Alessandro Bertoglio 
Star: Chi Leonis 
Date & Time: May, 1, 2000, U.T. 22.30  
Seeing: 8 (Pickering A)     
Location of Site: Turin - Italy 
Site Classification: urban 
Sky darkness: 3.5 – 4 <limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 120mm, f=1800mm achromatic refractor 
Magnification:  
 
 		 Component  A
Colour   Yellowish white
Component  B
Colour   Obscure
 
A true hard challenge for medium instruments!
A brightness difference of more then 6 mag. is too great for my refractor (and for urban sky). For 
this pair I think best suited apo refractors or well made planetary newtonians. Sometimes, but I’m not able to confirm, looking at the right position angle (about 250 ) and only with 257x, I see indistinctly a very faint light just outside the diffraction ring of the primary star.

But I adore these challenges... And it’s only the first time I observe Chi Leonis...
Maybe a good seeing night in mountain country... Maybe...