68 Tauri (Kui 17)


 
Rafael Barberá 
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: 23/11/2001, 22:30 and 23:30 UT
Seeing: 6-7 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy: --- <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Manises (Valencia - Spain)
Site classification: Urban - Suburban
Sky darkness: 4.0 <Limiting magnitude>
Moon  : One quarter
Telescope: TeleVue 85
Eyepieces: Televue Ploss 20mm, Eudascopic 15mm,
Eudascopic 10mm, Eudascopic 5mm, Celestron Ultima Barlow (2x)
Magnification: 30x, 40x, 60x, 120x
No luck. At 240x I can detect nothing. DI=98.3 is very hight for a 85mmrefractor under sky 7/10 and a tired observer. Perhaps next night, but Ithink that this is a very hard one for me, because the dificult is for separation (1.4") and also for magnitude diference (4.2 and 7.5).

 


 
Dave Moore 
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: 14th November 2001, 21.36 GMT 
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy: 4 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Charminster, Dorset, UK
51ºN, 1ºW
Site classification: Suburban
Sky darkness: 4.5 <Limiting magnitude>
Moon: None
Bootle Scale: 8 
Telescope: 8" Meade LX-90 SCT f/10 
Eyepiece(s): 30mm Celestron Ultima, 26mm Meade Super Plossl, 12.5mm 
Celestron Ultima, 2x Barlow 
Magnification: 67x, 167x
No sign of any duplicity at 67x, and only just elongated at 167x. 
Putting the magnification up to 320x, reveals two stars with a very thin sliver of darkness between them. At this magnification, achieving a precise focus is difficult. Both stars are white and of slightly unequal brightness.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 


 
Tim Leese 
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: 8 December 2001, 23:50UT.
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy:  <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Northwich, Cheshire. UK.
(53° 15' N -2º 33' W)
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: cold with drifting mist.
Sky darkness: 3.0 ( UMi ) <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: 200mm f/6 Newtonian reflector.
Mount:  Vixen GP.
Eyepieces: 20mm Plossl, 9mm UO orthoscopic.
Magnification: X60 and X133.
Harshaw Scale:  <1-5; 1 best> 
Sorry,  I failed to split this double and couldn't see any signs that this star was a double. I will return to this one at a later date, sky permitting.
 
 
 

 


 
Eddy O'connor 
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: Monday, December 10th, 2001
10 p.m local; UT +10
Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy: 9 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Terara, New South Wales, Australia, Long.150º.38 ; Dec. S 34º.52. 
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: No Moon
Temp. 17ºC.
Sky darkness: --- <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: 8" Newt. F9
Eyepieces: 25mm K, 12.5 mm Ortho
Magnification: 144x
Harshaw Scale: 3 <1-5; 1 best> 
This star is also Delta 3 Tau. All stars in Hyades are 
easily found but splitting this object was a real test of conditions. 
Its components are mag. 4.2 and 7.5 with a 1.4" separation.
Comments: Set in an isosceles triangle of stars, 68 is not a clear 
split at X144. I could just glimpse separation in steady seconds but 
image was unstable. 
 
 
 

 


 
Bob Hogeveen 
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: December 13, 2001 
Seeing: 5 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy: 8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Annen, The Netherlands
53ºN, 6ºE
Site classification: Village backyard 
Conditions: Cold and windy and dry
Temp. --5° C
Sky darkness: 5 <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: Celestron C11 
Magnification: 187x, 400x 
Harshaw Scale: 4 <1-5; 1 best> 
Directly put 400x on this double, thinking of several failures to split it during the last weeks. The image was terrible, the bright A was a large spiky splash of light. Nevertheless the 7.5 mag B was reasonably well visible on the borders of the light of A, sometimes disappearing, sometimes showing clearly between some starry-spikes.
Going back to 187x improved the image somewhat. Being smaller the image looked better and sharper and B was still visible from time to time.
I suppose a major disco-party was going on in the 68 Tau system last night: 
Besides an overall white color of the stars there were all sorts of colors visible now and then in the image of the bright A...
 
 
 
 

 


 
Otto R. Piechowski
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: December 18, 2001, 9 PM EST
Seeing: 8-9 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>
Transparancy: 7-8 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Lexington, Kentucky
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: Fairly transparent sky, still
Temp: 40 degrees F
Sky darkness:  <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: 150 mm maksutov-cassegrain
Eyepieces: 7mm ortho, 5mm ortho, 4mm ortho and 2X barlow
Magnification: 257x, 360x, 450x, 514x, 720x, 900x
 
I was never able to see two stars, nor any figure eight or distinct bulge.

But, several times at the highest powers I had the sense of something "bumping" out one side.  Turning off the drive I discovered that this "bump" was following, and thus at around 90 degrees from the primary.  Returning to our 33-doubles page, its DI is reported as 98.3  Does that count as a capture?  What a beautiful night.  Saturn is an absolute postcard.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
Bill Reinehr  
Star: 68 Tauri (Kui 17)
Date & Time: December 21, 2001 03:15  UTC
Seeing: 9 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)> 
Location of site: Pflugerville, Texas
30º N Latitude
Site classification: Suburban
Conditions: Very still
Temp: 44º F
Sky darkness: 4.1 <Limiting magnitude>
Telescope: Vixen 80mm Fluorite, f/8  on Custom D altaz mount
Eyepieces: 6mm Vixen LV & 2.8x Klee Barlow
Magnification: 299x
   
      
No luck at any magnification. I thought I glimpsed the 2nd component creeping around inside the diffraction ring but seriously doubt it. I've also seen the Easter Bunny but not on this occasion. It was hopping rather than creeping.