| Tim Leese | ||||
| Star:
Alpha Pisces
Date & Time: 20-September-2000 (23:55 UT). Seeing: 6-7 <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> 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, X240, X480
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Another "classic" double star system to observe for the
amateur astronomer. Using a magnification of X120 I could only just separate
these two close stars. More often than not they looked more like a "figure
of eight" at this magnification.
A higher magnification of X240 split the star into two components, the primary appearing to be a white colour with a blue/white companion. Even though the seeing was deteriating for longer periods of time I managed to observe using X480 for very short periods estimating the PA of the secondary star to be about 270-280deg. Ambience: To finish off a great observing session, the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Pleiades all got a look in before the clouds started to appear and spoil the fun. |
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| Ilario Melandri | ||||
| Star:
Alpha Pisces
Date & Time: 21/09/2000 – 21.25 UT Seeing: 4 <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: 5 <Limiting magnitude> Temperature: +13C Telescope: 150 mm f/15 achromatic refractor (lens by Romano Zen, Venice). Magnification: 140x (Plossl 16mm) |
Sep is decreasing, it will be 1.7” in 2020 with PA 257.
For the sep. of 1.8” at a distance of 98 light years, corresponds a distance of 54 Astronomical Units, something less than the diameter of Neptun’s orbit around the Sun. |
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| Tom Teague | ||||
| Star:
Alpha Pisces
Date & Time: 2000 September 23 (2340 UT) Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. Location of site: Chester, England (53 11 08N; 02 51 39W) Site classification: Suburban Sky darkness: 3 (thin high cloud) <Limiting magnitude> Telescope: 63mm Zeiss Telementor refractor Magnification: x53, x84, x140, x210 |
Here at last is Alpha Piscium. It finally rose above the obstructing
tree at about 2320 UT. There was quite a lot of cloud, and the transparency
was very poor. Ambience: the cloud has thickened and the wind
slackened. No wildlife, no fireworks. Just the distant sound of my
two teenage sons quarrelling over the TV - should it be tuned to the Olympics
or 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? I think they have compromised on Formula
1 motor racing.
Elongated at all powers except x53. Pear-shaped x 140 and x210, with occasional fleeting glimpses of comes tangential to primary. The narrow part of the pear (the comes) appears clearly fainter and somewhat bluish in colour. In the past, under excellent seeing conditions, I have been able to split this pair cleanly x140, but the conditions are disappointingly bad tonight. PA estimated at 280. |
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