Psi Pisces (Struve 88)

 
Steve Bodin 
Star: Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: 13 Sept 2003 11:30pm to 1 am
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: Fair
Location of site: Silverdale WA, USA
47N 123W
Site classification: suburb-rural
Conditions: temp 45-50F, dry
Sky darkness: 4.0 due  moon <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: Celestron C8
Eyepieces: Video camera DX8263SL at prime focus
Magnification: app. 333x
 
 
 
 
 

Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: 14 Oct 2003, 10pm to 1 am local
Seeing:  4-5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: Fair
Location of site: Silverdale WA, USA
47N 123W
Site classification: suburb-rural
Conditions: Cool 45F, Dry, hi-clouds later
Sky darkness: 4 due bright moon <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 4 inch SCT
Eyepieces: not used
Additional: Video camera DX8263SL
Magnification: Appx. 150 at prime focus f10 
 

 Bright pair of equal mag stars and easy too. Both seem white in color. Measured at 30.49 sec and 159.1 deg PA.








Also on the Nexstar Doubles list, also a clean easy goto by the mount and a very good double for a small scope. Clouds closing in now, so no meaningful data taken.
 
 

 

 
 Ilario Melandri
Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: 22/9/2003 
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency:  --- <1 worst - 10 best> 
Location of site: San Romualdo, Italy
Site classification: Suburban-rural
Conditions: Temperature 18º C 
Sky darkness: 4.5 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 150mm (6”) f/15 refractor
Eyepieces: 16mm Plössl
Magnification: 140x
   

     

 
Eddy O'connor 
Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 
24th  2003
10.30-11.30 p.m local; UT +10
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 9 <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: Terara, New South Wales,
Australia, Long.150.38 ; Lat - 34.52. 
Site classification: 
Conditions: Temp 12° No Moon
Sky darkness:  <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 8" F9 Newtonian
Eyepieces: 16mm and 12mm Ortho.
Magnification: 
Harshaw Scale: 2 <1-5, 1 best>		 Mag. 5.3/5.5; Sep.30.1". This is a stunning small telescope object consisting of a wide Light blue pair. The dimmer of the pair has a hint of Green
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
PJ Anway 
Star: Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: Sept. 30, 2003, 11pm EDT (0300 UT)
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency:  <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: Munising Michigan USA
Site classification: Rural
Sky darkness: 6.0 <Limiting magnitude> 
Sky condition: clear - moon set 
Temperature: 42º F (5º C) 
Telescope: Zeiss 80mm/1200mm f/15 
Eyepieces: Zeiss 6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12.5mm, 25mm orthos 
Magnification: 48x		 Psi Piscium is another very equal pair. At 48X they split nicely into a silver-white pair of approximately the same magnitude. When I looked at them, I tried to imagine they are just as they were when Struve measured them over 180 years ago. It wasn't hard, cause they have not changed in separation or position angle since their discovery. When Olcott wrote his "Field Book of The Skies" in 1929, he said of Psi Piscium: "No change noted in 130 years"; so for over 200 years now, they have remained 30" and 160°. In his handbook, Crossley affirmed that they were a physical pair (a true binary system), easy to observe, but noting the unchanging physical properties he added - "yet the measurements are very discordant". Over a hundred years later they still seem quite odd. I think Smyth said it best when he remarked - " My observations tend to show fixity."


 

 
Luis Balanzino 
Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: October 2, 2003, 21h to 22h UT 
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 6 <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: Göteborg, Sweden 
57°43' N, 11°58' E 
Site classification: Urban area with
considerable light pollution 
Moon: in Sagittarius, not visible 
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude> 
Temperature: 10º C 
Telescope: Meade ETX-90 Maksutov (90mm f/13.8) on photo tripod
Eyepieces: 26mm Meade and 12,5mm TAL Plossl, 2x TAL Barlow 
Magnification: 48x, 100x, 200x		 Starting the observations with this pair. Beautiful, bright and easy, the components look white-bluish. "Open, but splendid" says Comellas. Very nice at 48x.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
Tim Leese
Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: 16 October 2003, 21:20UT
Seeing:  5 or 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency:  <1 worst - 10 best> 
Location of site: Northwich, Cheshire. UK
(53° 15' N -2º 33' W)
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: Clear sky but strong breeze blowing from time to time. Moon rising later
Sky darkness:  4.3-3.0 (Umi) <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: 200mm f/6 Newtonian reflector
Mount:  Vixen GP
Eyepieces: 18mm Orthoscopic
Magnification: X67		 A nice and bright white pair of stars easily separated on a 160-340 deg line. I found this to be an interesting view as there was a faint star nearby at about PA 110 deg.
 
 
 

 

 
William L. Schart 
Star:  Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time: 18th, October, 2003
9:00 pm CDT ->
Seeing: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 
Location of site: Texas, USA
Site classification: suburban
Conditions: No moon
Sky darkness: 4 <Limiting magnitude> 
Telescope: C8
Eyepieces: 25mm, 17mm, and 
10mm 
Magnification: 		 A beautiful, brilliant pair of saphire-blue stars, wide spaced, equal magnitude, and oriented pretty close to N-S. To the SW lies a much dimmer star, perhaps about twice the separation and at an angle of about 120° to the line of this pair, however I am unable to locare this in any of my charting programs to identify.
 
 
 
Morgan Spangle
Star: Psi Pisces (Struve 88)
Date & Time:  19 October 2003
Seeing: 7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>. 
Transparency: 8 <1 worst - 10 best>
Location of site: Larchmont, NY
(40.55.26N,  73.44.43W)
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness:  <Limiting magnitude> 
Temperature: 45-40 degrees F
Telescope: Meade ETX 125 OTA 
(127mm, 1905 f.l., f/15)
Eyepieces: 18mm Tak ortho; 9mm Tak ortho;
7mm Tak ortho;
12mm Meade Astrometric eyepiece, barlowed
with 1.7X TeleVue barlow. - PA estimates
noted below are using this eyepiece.
Magnification: 106x, 212x, 272x, 270x
 		 another bright white, wide pair, at 106X.
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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