59 Orionis 

Craig M. Carver
Star: 59 Orionis 
Date & Time:  11/27/98  2320 LT 
Seeing:  5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site:  Randalman, NC  (Lat 36.07, Long 79.79, Elev. 500 ft) 
Site classification: Rural 
Sky darkness:  5.1-5.3  <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 6" Maksutov 
Magnification: 95x 
A white star with a faint (approx mag 10) companion. Both are optically paired with another star of mag 7 about 3' away. 

 
William L. Schart
Star: 59 Orionis 
Date & Time:  1/6/99 8:40 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> 
Telescope: Orion 6" Dob. 
Magnification: 32x
 
 
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 2/2/2000, 9:57 pm CST
Seeing: 7 <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, 72x, 98x  
Located by star hopping from Alpha Ori. Easily identified as it a relatively bright and quite widely spaced. Measured PA of 290 degrees and sepearation of 2' 52". Both stars appeared yellowish-white to me. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Forms a Y-shaped asterism with 3 other stars, including 60 Ori. At first this appeared as a very wide spaced double, but at 98x I detected a very faint companion which turned out to be the true secondary. (What appears to be the bright companion is SAO 113311.) Its faintness made measurements difficult, as when close to the lines in my reticle EP, the illumination all but drowned it out. I resorted to trying to line it up at a distince from the reference line, and obtained a PA of 222d, but this is pretty shakey. Separation 40”. Once I had found this faint star, I could clearly split it in the 48x Ep 

 


 
Chuck Layton
Star: 59 Orionis 
Date of Observation:  Jan. 11, 1999 
Time of Observation:  0730 UT 
Seeing (1 - 10, 10 best):  5 
Site classification: Suburban 
Limiting Mag. (naked eye):  4.8 
Magnifications Used:  76X 
Instrument Used:  20cm f/6 Eq. Newtonian 
Observed Colorations of Components:  Primary - bright yellow, come - white. 
Other comments: Wide pair.  Bright yellow primary is pleasing. 

 


 
Dave Mitsky
Star: 59 Orionis 
Date & Time: 1/27/99 05:50 UT 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparency: ~ 6 
Location of site: ASH Naylor Observatory (http://www.msd.org/obs.htm) 
near Lewisberry, PA 
Site classification: Rural 
Sky darkness: < 5.0 <Limiting magnitude> moonlight 
Telescope: 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain 
Magnification: 118x, 202x 
A wide (36.5") double which was easily split with the 5" f/5 finderscope.  The primary is a 6th magnitude A5 star; the comes is 9.5 magnitude at a position 
angle of 204 degrees. 

 


 
Ilario Melandri
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 13/Dec/1999 – 19.16 UTC 
Seeing: 3 <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: 5.5  <Limiting magnitude>
Temperature: +2C 
Telescope: 150 mm f/15 achromatic refractor 
Magnification: 140 x (eyepiece Plossl Clavé 16 mm)


 

 
Randall Heckman
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 12/31/99 AT 2:30 UT 
Seeing: 4 
Location of Site: Heckman Observatory 
40 37' 10" N and 99 03' 50" W 
Site Classification:  Rural 
Sky Darkness (Limiting Magnitude):  5 
Telescope:  8" Orion Dob 
Magnification: 70x 

 

Separation (Clear or Toughing): Clear 
Magnitude Comment: The secondary was much dimmer and was at the limit of my averted vision. 
Color Comment: White 
General Comment: The secondary was really dim. It would seem that at magnitude 9.7 the secondary should be easier to see. 
 
 
 
 

 


 
Richard Harshaw
Star: 59 Orionis [H V 100; V1004 Ori; ADS 4555]
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): 0245 on 12/31/99
Site classification: suburban
Sky conditions: 
seeing-- 7 out of 10 
transparency-- 8 out of 10 
limiting visual magnitude-- 5 
Temperature: 43 F 
Telescope: Celestron C-8 
Eyepiece: Micro-Guide (160x) 
 
I made five sets of measurements with the Micro-Guide illuminated reticule eyepiece and got an average of 37" at PA 206. (If you want the measurements themselves, reply to this posting.) The companion was very difficult to measure against the soft glow of the reticule. 

I noted colors of White and ??. 

The system is 353 light years away and thus about 37 times brighter than the Sun. 

Star A is a spectroscopic binary with a 2.7405 day period and is also a Delta Scuti variable. 

Measurements from 1984: 
6.1m (A5) primary 
9.7m companion, 36" at PA 205 (both appear to be fixed) 


 
Philippe de Jocas 
Star: 59 Orionis   
Date & Time: January 22, 1h00-7h300 UT 
Seeing: 3-4 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>.
Location of site: Ottawa/Hull, Canada
Site classification: Suburban 
Sky darkness: 4.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Temperature: -25C 
Telescope: 6" f5 newtonian
Magnification: 90x
 
I did it at 90x but it took averted vision to locate the companion;once that was done I was able to hold it steady. 

 
Jim Brownfield
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 26/01/2000, 6:30 p.m.- 11:30 p.m. EST 
Seeing: 3 – 5 (improving) <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>.
Location of site: Huntsburg, Ohio, USA
Site classification: Suburban 
Sky darkness: 6 mag., could see ST 855, going to 5th mag. star Rho  <Limiting magnitude>
Other observing conditions:  83% humidity, 16 degrees F. with 12" snow on ground going to 84% humidity, 4 degrees F.
Telescope: 13.1"/F4.5 Dobsonian, with 5" aperture mask for the brighter pairs
Magnification: 47x
split at 47x 

 
John M. Ryan
Star: 59 Orionis
Date of Observation: 30/01/00 22:15UT 
Location of Observation: Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Spain 
40º 36' N, 6º 32'W, Elev. 800 Meters 
Seeing: 7 to 8. Best so far this new year based on the Luis Arguelles method (0 - 10, 10 best)  
Site classification: Urban
Limiting Mag. (naked eye): 5
Instrument: Meade 8"SCT  
Magnification: 80x, 167x
Separation (Clear or Touching):Clear Split 
Magnitude Comment:Bright and very dim components in accordance with the data. 
Color Comment: Both components tend to be white 
General Comment:After 52 Ori this was a relief to split an easy one again. At first I noted an equal magnitude star just to the west but the distance according to the data was too much, I then noticed the dimmer component just SSW of the main component. The dim component was about at an angle of 190º based on eye sight which was close to the listed angle of 204º. Will have to get into the microquide and angular measurements as soon as possible. 

 
Jay Zimmerman
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 02/09/2000, 0240 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of Site:  Carbondale, IL, USA 
Site Classification: Suburban/near rural 
Temperature: 28°F (-2.22°C) 
Sky darkness: 5.1  <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 97mm, f7 apo 
Magnification: 80x 
 
80x was needed (with AV) to see the secondary, not to split the star. I could only see the secondary with direct vision by booting the magnification to 192x. This was not a good night for viewing low magnitude stars - a lot of turbulence up there!  Colors: A = white; B = 
 ?. 
 
 
 
 

 


 
Bill Becker
Star: 59 Orionis
Location of site: Casper, Wyoming Elev. 5200' 
Date of observations: Feb 16 2000,  3:55 UT 
Site classification: Suburban 
Sky conditions
Seeing: 7 
Magnitude limit (naked eye): 4.0, Moonlight 
Telescope: Quantum 4 Maksutov 
Magnification: 85x 
Easy split, primary seen a pale yellow leaning to white, no colour noted in secondary. 
 

 


 
Francisco Manuel Rica
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: Several dates
Seeing: --- <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Extremadura, Spain
Site classification: Suburban 
Sky darkness: --- <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: In some measurements, S/C 13" with CCD ST 7 
Magnification: ---
 59 Ori has been officially measured in 5 occasions. 
 These measurements was take between 1.878 and 1.984. (see Table II) 
 

 "A" COMPONENT 
 ------------------------- 
 The primary component is SAO 113315. It is a yellow star (A5m spectral 
 type) at 5.89 magnitude located at about 350 light-years. This is a 
 variable star: V1004 (a spectroscopy binary). Variying between +5.91V 
 and +6.05 in 2.74 days. 

 "B" COMPONENT 
 ------------------------- 
 The second component, with 10.39 magnitud (Tycho), is GSC 117 1528. In 
 Tycho catalog, the B - V index color is +0.44.  I studied what spectral 
 type could 59 Ori B is. According to several catalogs a +0.44 index 
 color B - V correspond to an early-medium F spectral type, and so this 
 is a gold-yellow star. 

 MY MEASUREMENTS 
 ------------------------------- 

 I have made 5 measurements (see Table I). Three of them was obtained by 
 DDS images. 
 Two of them was obtained by an S/C 13" with CCD ST-7 + V filter. 
 The primary component are vey bright and this difficulted an accurate 
 measurements. 
 I fit all measurements (10 measurements) to a line (I considered an 
 optical). 
 This fits indicate : 

         59 Ori:    AP at about 205 degree at XX century, and 
                     D at about 36.5 arcsg. at XX Century 

 My most recent measurements 

 Table I. Measurements of 59 Ori 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Epoch                      AP      D           Notes 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 1955.886                  204.1   35.9         Digitized Sky Survey 
 1983.850                  205.6   36.1         Digitized Sky Survey 
 1990.807                  205.7   36.5         Digitized Sky Survey 
 2000.027 (= 10/Jan/2000)  205.8   37.20        S/C 13" CCD ST-7 
 2000.129 (= 16/Jan/2000)  205.7   37.18        S/C 13" CCD ST-7 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 

 Table II. Offical Measurements of 59 Ori 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Epoch        AP         D           Notes 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 1878.180     205.8      36.6       Burnham, S.W. (WDS) 
 1899.640     204.1      36.5       Baranov, W.A. (WDS) 
 1911.800     205.1      36.9       Burnham, S.W. (WDS) 
 1925.100     203.6      36.5       Opik, E. (WDS) 
 1984.360     204.8      35.6       Sturdy, K. ( Webb Society) (WDS) 
 1991.250     205.8      36.5       Tycho Catalog 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 PHOTOMETRY 
 ---------- 

 I made V photometry and differential photometry of 59 Ori B. The bright 
 companion difficulted this study. I used two CCD image taken by S/C 13" 
 CCD + V filter. The software used was Astrometrica 3.23. I calibrate 
 GSC magnitud using two standard photometry sequences. My results: 

 Table III. Photometry Study of 59 Ori B 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Date          V magnitud  Dif. Photometry   Notes 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 10/Jan/2000    +10.86V     1.06             20 seconds exposition 
 20/Jan/2000    +10.85V     1.06             10 seconds exposition 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 No variation of bright was detected. 
 

 WHAT TYPE OF DOUBLE STAR COULD 59 Ori COULD BE? 
 ----------------------------------------------- 

 According to Tycho catalog A member is a A5m star with +0.7 absolute 
 magnitud. 

 We know that the difference between A and B aparent magnitud is 4.5 
 magnitud. So if the components of this double star have a common origin 
 (located about the same distance) the magnitud abosolute difference 
 must to be 4.5 too. Well, this occurs if B component is a sub-dwarf 
 star (called VI class luminosity). 
 


 
John Clemmer
Star:59 Orionis
Date & Time: March 6/2000 1930 EST  
Seeing: 7, quite steady <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Location of site: Priceville, Ontario, Canada
W80 41'41"  N44 10' 40"
Site classification: Rural 
Sky darkness: 6+/10ths 5th mag. if I'm lucky tonight <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: Televue Pronto
Magnification: 12x 

 
 

40mm 12x

 
G.E.O.D.A Group
Star: 59 Orionis
Date & Time: 11-III-2000, 18.30-21.30 UT
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of Site: Manises, Valencia, Spain. GPS coordinates: 39º 29' 36" N, 00º 27' 56" W.
Site Classification: Urban-Suburban
Sky darkness: 3 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Meade 10" LX-200 SCT
Magnification: 200x
Published measures are the mean of two observations made from two different observers.

d = 43.8; PA = 207