It is only relatively recently that I've taken an interest in double-star hunting.
It's fun and, at times, breathtaking! This documents double or multiple stars
I've seen.
The list below may be sorted! Initially it appears in a "career"
order, i.e. the order in which I've viewed them. However, you may sort the table
by constellation or by separation. Simply click on the "con"
or "sep" labels. Click again to reverse the sorted order.
| name |
con. |
sep. |
notes |
| ζ & 80 |
UMa |
708.5 |
aka Mizar & Alcor. aka Mizar AD. Naked eye double. Alcor is yellow. Pale yellow. Sidus Ludoviciana, between them, is white... |
| ζ |
UMa |
14.3 |
aka Mizar AC or Σ1744. Blue-white & blue-white. |
| θ1 * |
Ori |
8.8 |
aka Trapezium. Seen on a number of occasions. Stunning, particularly
if you can see the nebulosity. Recently tried to, within the city, with the SCT
and various eyepieces, to split the four main white stars, but was not successful.
Sep. ranges from 8.8 to 13.3. Feb '10, saw E star between A and B from city. Some report different colours! |
| ε |
Lyr |
210.5 |
The famous Double-Double. A fun yet challenging example. Good
for beginners and experienced observers. All white? Sep. for two pairs: 210.5 (or
3.5'). Low power or binoculars split epsilon in two stars. |
| ε1 |
Lyr |
2.1 |
All white? One pair of stars are the same colour; the other pair
are slightly different. |
| ε2 |
Lyr |
2.4 |
All white? One pair of stars are the same colour; the other pair
are slightly different. |
| α |
UMi |
18.6 |
aka Polaris. Funny, after all these years looking at Polaris
(to align scope). Yellow and blue, beautiful! |
| η |
Cas |
13.0 |
aka Achird. Yellow-light green and orange. Wow! Second viewing:
burnt yellow and dull orange. |
| β |
Cyg |
34.7 |
aka Albireo. The head of the swan. Warm yellow and blue-green.
It is very cool! |
| α * |
Gem |
4.2 |
aka Castor. The head of one of the twins. Two stars, bright white,
similar in magnitude, and very close together. Just see separation at 77x. Apparently,
there are 6 elements but even at 110x could only see the 2 main stars. Very nice! |
| γ |
Leo |
4.6 |
aka Algieba. Even though each star is a similar colour, a shimmering
gold perhaps, this double is stunning. One is slightly fainter than the other.
Viewed at 110x. On another occasion, spent more time: the main star is gold with
hints of light lime green; the companion is slightly white. |
| σ |
Ori |
12.4 |
A wonderful grouping of many stars. There's a single "pointer"
star (SAO 132412). Then there's a cluster of 3 close stars in the middle—sigma
proper. Finally, 3 stars at the end, more widely separated (SAO 132399, 400, and
401). Creates overall impression of a narrow triangle. Viewed at 110x. All seemed
blue-white (from city limits). Viewed from city and split sigma proper into 4 stars. |
| ε |
Boo |
2.8 |
aka Izar. A challenging target requiring stable air to split
at 110x power. Main star is gold. The dimmer secondary is overwhelmed by the primary
so it is difficult to make out colour. It's tight even at 217x in RASC Toronto
Centre C14. At 391x, colours are white and pale blue. |
| α |
Leo |
176 |
aka Regulus. Viewed it at 110x. The main element was very white
blue while the companion is a very faint pale red orangey colour. Widely separated.
They were 1/8th of the field apart. |
| α |
UMa |
381 |
aka Dubhe. Interesting. The main star is bright yellow gold.
The companion is pale orange. It is a very wide pair. They are approx. 1/3rd of
the field apart at 110x. |
| α |
CVn |
19.3 |
aka Cor Caroli or Σ1692. Heard about this... finally viewed. Lovely at
110x. The main star is very white blue and the nearby star is a pale yellow green.
They are fairly close. Still easy to separate at 40x in a Questar... |
| δ |
Boo |
104 |
The pair are about a 1/10th of the field from one another. Yellow
and pale blue green. |
| Σ1798 |
UMi |
7.5 |
aka HD 122189. Wow. Haas says "difficult but striking"
and she's not kidding. These two stars are very faint (Haas says magnitude 7.7
and 9.7). The brighter (ha) one is pale yellow; the fainter one is pale orange
/ brown. Quite close at 110x. |
| π1 |
UMi |
31.7 |
aka HR 5829. Yellow and orange with a medium separation, 1/40th of the field
at 110x. A nice pair. |
| 15 |
Aql |
39.1 |
A very interesting pair. They are dim so it is not easy to specify
the colours. The bright one seemed a dark, dark yellow; the companion looked a
ruddy rose red. |
| γ |
Del |
9.1 |
Bright yellow gold pair of stars, fairly tight at 77x. Similar
to γ Leo. In a 15" Obsession in Jul 2010, I thought the secondary showed a hint of green. |
| Σ2725 |
Del |
6.1 |
In the same field as γ Del, a similarly tight pairing.
However, these are dimmer. Dark orange and light pale blue. Evocative of ε
Lyra but more colourful and easier to spot. Pretty spectacular together... |
| π |
Boo |
5.5 |
A very close pair. Tough to make out the colours in unsteady
air. They are almost equal brightness. The bright one is perhaps light blue; the
dimmer one is pale orange. |
| ζ |
CrB |
6.3 |
A tight pair at 110x power. Pale green and pale blue? |
| Cr 399 |
Vul |
490 |
aka The Coathanger. Famous asterism. All white. Many of the stars
are 8 to 12' apart. Stumbled across this star hopping for Messiers! |
| 57 |
Aql |
35.9 |
A nice pair. But a bit off the beaten track. Almost equal in
magnitude. The brighter one is a pale lilac; the fainter star is pale yellow. |
| ο |
Cyg |
107 |
Wow. While the Omicron stars are not part of a single multi-star
system, they are still very neat. Bright central star is yellow fringed with orange.
This is 31 or Omicron-1. There is a pale blue star nearby. This is SAO 49338.
A more distant star (30) is white, between the other two in magnitude. Many faint
stars in the field. Power less than 77x would draw 32 or Omicron-2 into the field... |
| 61 |
Cyg |
31.1 |
A close pair. Yellow and pale green, perhaps. On another viewing,
at higher power, gauged both light gold. Almost equal brightness. Surrounded by
many faint stars. |
| γ A-BC |
And |
9.7 |
aka Alamak. A close pair of yellow (A) and blue (BC) stars, like a miniature
Albireo. About 1/3 of the separation of Albireo. Beautiful. Possibly more attractive. Haas shows a triple with the companion a very tight pair... See separate entry for splitting BC. |
| γ |
Ari |
7.5 |
aka Mesarthim. A rather close pair of bright white-blue-white
stars. Nearly identical magnitude and colour. On a subsequent viewing, I thought
they were yellow-white. Easy to split at 52x. They look like moth eyes! |
| 99 |
Aqr |
? |
Main star is yellow; companion is blue green. Noted as double
in PSA (star 99) but not in SA2K. Shows in Stellarium as "b2." Not noted by Haas. |
| 101 |
Aqr |
? |
Main star is blue white; companion is very pale grey. Noted as
double in PSA and SA2K. Shows in Stellarium as "b3." Not noted by Haas. |
| δ AC |
Ori |
52.8 |
aka Mintaka. A widely separated pair. Very attractive at low
power. Primary is white, perhaps a little yellow. The secondary (C star) is fainter and
a medium blue. |
| δ AB * |
Ori |
33.1 |
aka Mintaka. ST3 says its a quad. The AB pair is doable; the AD is not. Tried for mag 14 B star at 33" sep in Jan 2011 with C14. No joy. |
| ζ AB |
Ori |
2.6 |
aka Alnitak aka Σ774. I accidentally sighted the faint companion very
close to this star while going for δ. Oops. Similar colours but very different
brightnesses. Haas says it's a triple system. On another night, I specifically went to view it. Found the tight companion! A peanut at 77x, two stars touching at 111x. Black line shows between and colours change at 222x. Primary is white-blue; secondary B is dusty yellow. Part of a triple. Nice! |
| ι |
Cnc |
30.7 |
Specifically iota-1. A colourful, wide double surrounded by some fine white field
stars. A satisfying target in a faint constellation. Primary is straw yellow;
secondary is a bit fainter and medium blue. |
| ξ |
Boo |
6.3 |
A nice double at 110x. The main star is yellow; the seconary
is dark orange. |
| Σ1687 * |
Com |
12? |
Interesting double. There is a main bright yellow star. Nearby,
approx. 12" away is a blue star. Did I see two more faint companions to the
yellow? A quad?! Listed in Haas's book and Stellarium as 35 Com. Haas says it's a triple... |
| τ1 |
Hya |
66.2 |
Pleasing double with warm yellow main star and pale orange companion.
Widely separated, estimated 1/15 the field at 110x (86"). |
| Σ1291 |
Cnc |
1.5 |
aka iota-2. aka 57. Crazy close! Pale orange stars. Identical colour and brightness.
New record sep. Viewed again with C14 with 55, 27, 18mm. Not splittable with 55. Light orange stars. Equal brightness and colour. |
| ι |
Leo |
1.7 |
Very tight pair. Main is white-yellow; companion dim blue. |
| δ |
Crv |
24.9 |
aka Algorab. Wide double. Pretty at low power. I think the main
is white or pale yellow. Companion: colourless...? Subsequent viewing: a pleasing,
easily-split double at low power, 52x. The main star is yellow white and bright;
dim companion is pale blue. Roughly estimate PA at 220°. |
| γ |
Vir |
0.4 |
aka Porrima. Wow! Identical bright white stars, extremely close.
With steady air, black gap seen, two separate points. New record! Uh, the 0.4
separation is an old figure. This fast-moving binary is separating. Some say they
are about 1.5" apart (for May 2009). Eric said 1¼" apart (for
Jun 09). I measured at CAO on 5 Jun 09 with Celestron Micro Guide without Barlow:
2.6 to 1.8". Measured on 22 Jun 09: sep 1.49 to 1.52; position angle 30°. |
| β |
Sco |
13.6 |
aka Graffias (or Acrab). The north pincer. Pretty double with
gold and pale blue-white stars. Viewed again but described different colours.
Jul 09: easily split with the 27mm in C14 (at 145x). It was widely split with
18mm (at 217x). Main star was white-blue whereas the companion was darker blue. |
| Σ1639 |
Com |
1.7 |
aka HR 4719. Main star yellow; companion quite pale. |
| 12 |
Com |
65 |
Wide pair. Yellow and orange. |
| δ |
Ser |
4.0 |
Tight pair. The main is white; the companion is straw-coloured. |
| λ |
Oph |
1.6 |
Marfik is another tight double. |
| ζ |
Sge |
1.6 |
The main star is pale yellow; the companion is faint, perhaps
orange or blue. It changes colour as you stare at it... Viewed again in Jul 2010 with CAO C14 with 32mm eyepiece (122x): Attractive. Primary looks white; secondary looks white as well but is pale. |
| θ |
Ser |
22.3 |
aka Alya. A nice double, 2 identical white stars. Funny, the
notes in Haas's book say, "They seem like a pair of eyes..." The same
thought occurred to me. |
| κ |
Boo |
13.5 |
aka Asellus Tertius. Nice double. A bright white star and a pale
purple (OK, perhaps lilac) companion. Main star, at 217x in C14, is definitely
white. Companion shows a hint of colour at 391x. Jul 2011: white and pale yellow. |
| ι |
Boo |
38 |
aka Asellus Secundus. Main is pale yellow; companion sheds medium
pale orange, particularly at low power. Maybe cream and white? |
| ο |
Cap |
21.6 |
Two equal pale blue white stars. Medium separation at low power. |
| π |
Cap |
3.2 |
aka Okul. Unable to split from CAO in Aug 2008! Tried again Jun
09. Jul 09: Two stars. A tight double. 18mm eyepiece in C14 helped to easily split.
One time I thought the main star was pale yellow white; another bright blue white.
The companion was faint, pale orange. Could still split, for certain, when air
steady, with the 27mm. But it was not obvious at 71x with the Tele Vue Plössl
50mm. The main star can overwhelm the companion. |
| ρ * |
Cap |
? |
I saw three stars. The main star is a bright yet pale yellow.
A fainter companion is yellow. At 90° there is a pale aquamarine star. Tried
again Jun 09. Should sketch this... |
| β |
Cap |
207 |
aka Dabih. I saw a bright yellow and bright blue star. There
was also a dark blue star nearby (not related). They form an isosceles triangle. |
| 72 * |
Peg |
0.5 |
Unable to split with SCT 14" at CAO in Aug 2008! Jul 09:
2:19. Tried again with 27, 18, 13, and 10mm. No joy. Split on 14 Aug 09 in moments
on clear seeing at 301 power. Very tight. Same colour, same brightness. |
| 78 * |
Peg |
0.8 |
Unable to split with SCT 14" at CAO in Aug 2008! Jul 09:
Hints though... Very possible. Even at low power with 27mm did not think perfectly
round. In 1999, the separation was 0.8". The period is 630 years. |
| λ * |
Ari |
15-20 |
Main star is yellow. Difficult to confirm companion colour. Blue
or dark orange? |
| Cr 69 |
Ori |
65 |
Pleasing grouping of stars in the head / neck region of Orion.
In a row. Perhaps a stretched out S-shape. All bluish in colour. Contains λ
Ori. |
| λ AB |
Ori |
4.3 |
aka Meissa. Tight double like Castor. Easily seperated at 111x
power. Main is pale yellow; companion blue-white. Very faint pale third star nearby.
Lies among many other field stars. Should look again—it's a quad system!
Viewed 2nd time and saw faint star near lambda A and B... More detail sketch made
on 3rd view. Confirmed: all 4 stars seen: A and B are tight, C is south, and D
is a degree away. |
| λ AC |
Ori |
28.0 |
aka Meissa. Viewed 2nd time and saw faint star near lambda A and B... More detail sketch made
on 3rd view. Confirmed: all 4 stars seen: A and B are tight, C is south, and D
is a degree away. |
| λ AD |
Ori |
78.0 |
aka Meissa. Quite far away. |
| ι AC |
Cas |
7.3 |
Part of a triple! At low power, 52x, you can just split the main
blue-white star from a pale dusty orange companion. The PA of AC is 90° (my first estimates). Feb '10: quickly estimated PA: 100 for AC pair. 115 according to Haas. Haas states wildly different colours than what
I saw! |
| ι AB |
Cas |
2.9 |
Part of a triple! At 111x, I can split another pale, although
slightly brighter, companion. The Position Angle of AB is
225° (my first estimates). Feb '10: quickly estimated PA: 225 for AB pair. 230 according to Haas. |
| ζ |
Cnc |
5.9 |
aka Tegmen (or Tegmine). Another triple! Pleasing at low power,
52x The main and companion stars were the same pale yellow colour. The companion
maybe had a hint of orange. |
| ζ * |
Cnc |
0.9 |
Another triple! At high power, the main star does not look round.
But could not definitely split, even at 500x. Looked like a figure-8 (1 Mar 09). This close
pair was almost in-line with the distant companion, so while have almost the same
PA. Viewed from Toronto, High Park. |
| β |
Ori |
9.4 |
Fantastic! Rigel A is so bright, searing white-blue, it overwhelms
the view at low power. At higher power, you can easily spot the fainter companion
B. |
| β AB |
Mon |
7.1 |
At 55x, could see 2 stars, same colour. But companion star is
not round. A triple, woot! |
| β BC |
Mon |
2.9 |
At 111x, split companion! Now, all three stars are the exact
same colour. |
| ε |
Mon |
12.1 |
aka 8 Mon. A wide double at low power. Main star yellow; companion
dim yellow or pale orange. |
| α |
Her |
4.8 |
aka Rasalgethi. Lovely in the RASC Toronto Centre Celestron SCT
14. A brilliant shimmering orange star with pale blue companion. They seem relatively
tight but with the 18mm (217x) they are easily split. Tried measuring on Jun 09
with SCT 8" and Barlow: Sep. 6.9; PA 103°. |
| δ |
Cep |
40.6 |
Wow. Very pretty. Very wide pair, wide even at 36x. Yellow and
blue. The primary is a rather famous variable star... |
| α1 & α2 * |
Cap |
381.2 |
aka Algedi (or Al Giedi). Wow. One is a yellow-blue double. The
other is a single yellow star. Lots going on... Do a sketch next time. |
| α1 |
Cap |
46.0 |
One is a yellow-blue double (aka Algedi). |
| 16 |
Cyg |
39.1 |
A wide pair of faint white stars. Easily split at low power. |
| n/a |
Cyg |
- |
Fairy Ring. All stars are fairly faint. But there is an unmistakable
ring of double stars, yellow and blue, many aligned inward, i.e. pointing to the
centre. J2000 RA 20 03 40 dec +38 19 38. |
| α |
Lib |
231 |
aka Zubenelgenubi. Funny. Diane asked me, at the DDO Members'
Night, July 2009, if Zuben... was a double. I said I thought it was. I checked
my palmtop but I did not have it noted. But I was certain. I asked Gilles, with
his LX200 GOTO, to target it. We saw a very wide double (at 77x). The main star
was blue-white; the companion quite a bit fainter and white, if I remember correctly.
Haas disagrees with the colours: she says yellow and light grey. |
| 39 |
Boo |
2.7 |
Split in 27mm on C14 but tight. Tried 13mm but too blurry. Same
golden colour? Perhaps secondary is white or very pale blue. Almost equal in brightness.
The 18mm offered a good view. But it made the colours look similar. |
| σ |
CrB |
7.0 |
A nice double star. Same colours, both pale gold. Phil said "whitish,
the bright one is slightly more yellow." Similar magnitudes. |
| μ |
Cyg |
1.9 |
Very tight. Nice. Similar colours. Perhaps there's a hint of blue
in the secondary (oops, I forgot to note the primary's colour). Phil suggested
they were a full magnitude different. Haas says 1.5. Good view at 300x. |
| ζ |
Aqr |
2.0 |
aka Sadaltager (or Altager). Overall rather bright. A very tight
double. Nearly equal in brightness and colour. The main is pale yellow; the secondary
is pale white. |
| 12 * |
Aqr |
2.5 |
A nice double. Just able to split at 145x; easily split at 217x.
Different brightness. I thought exactly the same colour! S&T and Haas say
very different. Returned Aug 09. Colours seem pale yellow and dark yellow in large
aperture but yellow and white in small aperture. |
| 95 |
Her |
6.3 |
A gold and blue-white combination, widely separated. Smyth says:
"light apple green; cherry red." What?! |
| 16-17 |
Dra |
90 |
I can see how 16 and 17 Draconis would be a good bino double.
Similar colours and brightness. Nice. |
| 17 |
Dra |
3.0 |
Very cool at 217x. Easily split at 145x. Similar colours and brightness.
17 B is a little dimmer, perhaps with a touch of yellow. |
| μ |
Dra |
2.3 |
aka Alrakis. Ha! Exact same brightness and colour. Exact! A nice,
tight double. |
| ζ |
Lyr |
43.8 |
How about that... An easy wide double near ε. Good to show
before the Double-Double? Main was white-beige; compansion was pale yellow lime. At high magnification, the colours seem to be white and pale yellow. |
| OΣ525 |
Lyr |
45.1 |
aka WDS SHJ 282 or STT 525. Nice wide double. Classic colours:
pale yellow and pale blue. Haas says it's a triple. Revisited Jul 2011. Primary is yellow-white; secondary is light blue. |
| ν |
Dra |
63.4 |
aka Kuma. At long last. Nice easy wide double. Same brightness.
One is white; the other has a hint of yellow. aka Dragon's Eyes. Very good. |
| ψ |
Dra |
30.0 |
aka Dsiban. Might be a good candidate for an every-season double star list.
Wide pair. Surprisingly bright stars. Main is bright yellow; the companion? Dark
yellow or yellow with a hint of orange. Interesting. Revisited Jul 2011: light gold stars, slight difference in brightness. |
| 40-41 |
Dra |
18.6 |
Another nice wide double. Nearly equal colour and brightness.
Surprisingly close to Ursa Minor. Might this be another good year-round double.
Not very colourful... |
| Σ1694 |
Cam |
21.5 |
aka HR 4893. A wide double, equally bright stars. They have the same white
colour it seems. Again, not too exciting, although they can likely be seen year-round.
Listed incorrectly in Haas's book as 32. 32H is a correct alternate. Listed incorrectly
in Sky & Telescope's summer doubles list as 35! |
| 11-12 |
Cam |
179 |
Interesting. Bright star is blue white; companion is a deep orange.
Fantastic colour in the companion. There were widely separated. Now this would
be a good one to show off... |
| α |
Psc |
1.9 |
aka Alrescha. Wow. Very tight double. Two pure white bright stars,
the same colour. Companion is about 1/2 or 1 mag different. |
| ζ |
Psc |
22.8 |
Bright stars. The main is yellow. The companion is
slightly redder. |
| ψ1 |
Psc |
30 |
Equally bright, pale yellow stars with a medium separation. There's
a nearby blue star at a 120 angle to the yellow stars. It has a sep. twice that
of the yellows. View with ψ2 and ψ3 using binoculars. |
| φ |
Cas |
135.3 |
A wide double atop open cluster NGC 457. Pale white stars. |
| Σ163 |
Cas |
~33 |
Wow. Orange primary and very faint blue (maybe aqua) companion.
Wide pair, separation similar to Albireo. Both are faint. |
| ψ * |
Cas |
2.6 to 22.4 |
Reminds me of Polaris where main star is easy to spot but companion,
while widely separated, is very faint. Haas says this is a triple so I plan to
revisit... |
| τ |
Oph |
1.5 |
Very tight double (at 145x). Almost equal brightness, same colour:
pale yellow white. Noted by Haas as 69. |
| 70 * |
Oph |
4.7 |
Bright stars. Main is light gold. Companion fainter, slightly
darker. Very pretty at 145x. A fast mover! |
| ρ |
Her |
4.1 |
Nice double at 145x. Same colour? White with hint of blue. Slightly
different mag, approx. 1.0 difference. |
| μ |
CMa |
3.2 |
Very tight double. Two gold stars. Estimated PA 310°. |
| φ2 |
Cnc |
5.2 |
Attractive double at low power. Two equally bright, identically
coloured, blue white stars. Not far from Pollux. Estimated PA 225°. |
| 14 AC * |
Ari |
106.7 |
Wide double chosen to perform formal measurement. Didn't realise it was a triple. Found AC pair to be a very wide double, pale yellow and pale blue. Sep. based on direct measurement on CMG LS: 105.4. PA based on LCS exit angle: 261. Results with Teague's "advanced" method: sep. 103.9; PA 281. |
| κ * |
Gem |
7.2 |
Tried to split with 8" Dob with 32, 26, 10, and 6mm eyepieces in city. No joy. Haas says its "harder" than it looks and has "failed to do so." |
| Σ872 |
Aur |
11.2 |
Faint stars, almost equal in colour and intensity. At higher power, hints of colour, yellow and orange. Roughly estimated PA at 200°. Haas says it was 216 in 2004. |
| 78 * |
UMa |
1.3 |
aka β1082. Could not split in Toronto with Questar at 80x. Sep. value from WDS. |
| α * |
Sco |
2.5 |
aka Antares. Separation is doable but Haas notes the main and secondary stars are different by 4 magnitudes. Could not split in poor seeing at CAO. With SP-C8. |
| γ * |
CrB |
0.7 |
Could not split in poor seeing at CAO with SP-C8. |
| η * |
CrB |
0.5 |
Could not split in poor seeing at CAO with SP-C8. |
| Σ1932 * |
CrB |
1.6 |
aka HD 136176. Could not split in poor seeing at CAO with SP-C8. |
| β |
Lyr |
46.0 |
aka Sheliak. Near Ring Nebula. They are close at 17x but widely separated at 71x. Primary is brilliant white with a hint of yellow. The secondary looks green at high power. It is a pale, fainter star. At 122x, the secondary is quite distant. |
| M40 |
UMa |
51.7 |
Winnecke 4 (WNC 4). Wide double star. Separation number from wikipedia. Nearly equal brightness and colour. It is not listed in Haas's book. |
| ζ * |
Boo |
0.7 |
Could not split with C14 at CAO in Jul 2010. TLAO says there are moving closer together and in 2010 will be difficult... |
| Σ2470 |
Lyr |
13.6 |
aka HD 178849. Another "double double" in Lyra, with 2474. Easily split. Primary is pale blue white; the secondary is a slightly darker blue. Almost same position angle as 2474. |
| Σ2474 |
Lyr |
15.8 |
Another "double double" in Lyra, with 2470. Easily split. Light gold. Almost same position angle as 2470. |
| 5 |
UMi |
58.6 |
A mildly challenging double if the transparency is poor. The primary star was gold/orange. I could not detect any colour in the dim secondary. Widely separated. |
| κ |
Her |
27.4 |
A wide double, easily split at 145x. Both the same colour, straw yellow. Some refer to this as Marfik but that is normally applied to λ Oph. |
| 100 |
Her |
14.2 |
A medium double star. Exact same brightness and colour. Exactly the same. Both white. |
| Σ2349 |
Lyr |
7.3 |
Very interesting. The companion is so faint. The main star white with a hint of yellow; the dim companion seemed orange to me. Katrina initially thought it red. Roughly estimated PA to be 180 or 190. |
| β648 * |
Lyr |
0.8 |
Burnham 648 is curious. Where is the companion? There is a bright white-yellow star in the middle of triangle of dim, equal stars. Sep. value from CDSA. Tried again 9 Aug 2010: no joy. |
| η |
Lyr |
28.1 |
White and dusty rose. Widely separated at 196x. |
| θ * |
Lyr |
100 |
Light yellow to a dark yellow. Wide separated, twice eta. Gonna have to look again. CDSA sasys it is a triple! |
| γ BC * |
And |
0.4 |
aka Alamak. Tried to split the yellow star August 2010 with TV 9mm in SCT at CAO. With doubler, i.e. 444x, possibly saw peanut shape in diffraction rings... Is this the correct star? Or is it the blue? |
| 36 |
And |
1.0 |
New career split! Viewed with C14 at 217x and then 391x during nearly full Moon. It was a figure-8 at the lower power. Very tight pair. Yellow-orange. Equal colours. Equal brightness. At higher power, the stars were the same colour and exactly the same brightness. |
| 56 * |
And |
200.5 |
Super wide pair, at 217x, in C14. Equal in brightness. Citrus-orange and pale or straw-yellow. This is really a binocular double. So, for fun, try again at super low power. |
| 1 |
Ari |
2.9 |
Light yellow and robin's egg blue. Very tight together, at 55x, in C14. Easier to split at 144x. |
| ε * |
Ari |
1.4 |
Tight. Same brightness. Same colour, white. |
| Σ2588 |
Cyg |
9.9 |
Equally bright, equally coloured white stars. Measured PA and sep. with CMG on C14. |
| Σ761 AB |
Ori |
68.3 |
Similar colour and brightness, these 3 stars. Very near σ Ori. Sep. values from SkyTools3 Pro. Not listed in dsfst. |
| Σ761 AC |
Ori |
73.6 |
Similar colour and brightness, these 3 stars. Very near σ Ori. Sep. values from SkyTools3 Pro. Not listed in dsfst. |
| ι |
Ori |
11.3 |
aka Nair al Saif. aka Σ752. Very near the Great Nebula. A very nice triple! Lovely. A little hockey stick. Main star is pure white. B is pale yellow. Distant C, 3 to 4 times B, is a pale blue. A-B is 11.3" apart; Haas does not note C, 49.4" from A. Σ747 and Σ745 are in same low-power field! Lots of other field stars then inky blackness. |
| Σ747 |
Ori |
36.0 |
Easily separated at 145x. Pale yellow. Very similar. Near ι Ori. |
| Σ745 |
Ori |
28.6 |
Easily separated at 145x. Near Σ747 Ori. Slightly less separation. Much fainter stars. Not in dsfst. |
| θ2 |
Ori |
52.2 |
Bright companion B is easily split from A. It is to the east. To the south-east of A is the C star, about 2 to 3 times the distance. Near the Trapezium, of course. |
| ξ * |
UMa |
1.7 |
aka Alula Australis. A fast moving binary that I want to watch move for the rest of my life. It has a period of 60 years. Jan 2011, observed a tight double at 145x. Almost equal brightness. Straw yellow colour, both. Viewed again Jul 2011. Not round at 70x; cleanly split at 145x. Equally bright stars, white-yellow colour, equal colour. At 391x, while there was some colour aberations, the stars are still equal. Haas says 1.7 and widening; ST3 says 1.62 as of May 2011. |
| Σ2368 * |
Dra |
1.8 |
Two faint stars, close together, tight. Almost equal brightness. Hard to detect colour but they seemed equal. Viewed in Jan; best viewed in Aug. |
| Σ3125 * |
UMi |
2.1 |
aka SAO 16732. Could not split from The Overlook on 14 Feb 11 with SP-C8 and TV 9mm. Not in dsfst. |
| Σ1958 |
UMi |
29.6 |
aka SAO 16749. Spotted while trying to see 3125. Faint stars, white. Not in dsfst. |
| Σ1871 |
Boo |
2.0 |
Challenging split from The Overlook on 14 Feb 11 with SP-C8 and TV 9mm. Similar brightness and colour, bluish. From ST3. |
| PPM 50856 * |
Lyn |
5.0 |
Main star is mag 11 (which I could see) but the companion is mag 12 (could not see, from city). |
| HR 2764 |
CMa |
26.8 |
aka HIP 35210 aka h3945 aka 145 CMa aka The Winter Albireo. Main star is orangey, maybe citrus, but lighter than amber. Darker than the primary of β Cyg. The companion is pale, sky blue. Wonderful sight. Nice target for winter; but a bit off the beaten track. Low. |
| ζ AC |
Ori |
59.8 |
aka Alnitak aka Σ774. Widely separated at 55x. Primary is white; secondary C is dusty, grey, pale white. Primary star is not round... Part of a triple. First observed the AB pair some time ago. |
| 63 AC |
Gem |
135 |
Very wide double. Easily spotted at low power. Primary very bright. Companion C much fainter. |
| 63 AB |
Gem |
42.9 |
Wide double. Easily spotted at low power. Companion B similar brightness to C. Only this star is listed in Haas's book. The AC and AD companion data from ST3. |
| 63 AD * |
Gem |
3.9 |
Could not split from Colbeck in Mar 2011 at 222x. It too is a faint companion—probably lost in glare of primary. |
| HD 74348 |
Cnc |
23.7 |
Wide double. Main star is yellow; companion orange. Both are fairly faint. From ST3. |
| 54 |
Leo |
6.6 |
Wow, very cool. Bright stars. Main is white, maybe with a touch of yellow; the companion is much fainter, but still bright, with a hint of blue. Good showpiece pair. Easily split at 70x. |
| τ * |
Boo |
1.2 |
Could not split on 3 Jul 2011 at CAO with C14. |
| δ |
Lyr |
175.8 |
Very wide pair. Yellow with hints of orange in the main star; with a pale blue companion. Should be an easy target in binoculars. Not in Haas's book. |
| HD 112733 |
CVn |
35.9 |
Very near Cor Caroli. A faint double, wide, even widely split at 71x. In field with α CVn at 54x. Orange and blue. From TLAO. Not in Haas's book. |
| μ1 |
Boo |
107.1 |
When viewed at 54x, a wide pair is noted. Primary is pale yellow or pale white. Companion is quite dim, making it difficult to discern colour. White? |
| μ1 BC |
Boo |
2.2 |
High power (145x) splits the companion! B and C stars are white. The PA of the BC stars is almost the same at the A-BC PA; maybe different by 10°. |
| ν |
Sco |
40.8 |
aka Jabbah. At 54x, found a wide pair. Yellow and blue. Equal brightness. At high power, reminiscent of the Double Double, ε Lyrae: each bright star is a pair at right angles. Main pair is perhaps yellow-white. |
| ν AB |
Sco |
1.3 |
aka Jabbah. Yellow pair is very tight. Difficult to split with poor seeing. Viewed again. |
| ν CD |
Sco |
2.4 |
aka Jabbah. The blue pair is wider but the companion is super faint, making it a challenge to see. Viewed again. |
| 36 |
Oph |
4.7 |
Interesting. Very tight double at 54x. Two identical bright yellow stars. There are a couple of other bright stars nearby. SkyTools3 says it's a quad. Or more... |
| HD 125796 |
Boo |
1.6 |
An easy split. SkyTools3 says that they are 1.56 arc-seconds apart. I think they are equal brightness and colour. They are faint stars. |
| 38 * |
Lyn |
2.6 |
Not obvious at low power. At high powers, a kidney shape emerges, with two colours. One side was blue-white; the other side was orange. Viewed first time when very low. Must be very tight. The S&T table says 2.7" while Haas says 2.6. It seems tighter than that... |
| ξ |
Lup |
10.3 |
First impression was stars were yellow and blue, at 70x. At 190x, they both appear as yellow. Very similar in brightness. |
| 24 |
Com |
20.1 |
A nice wide double.
Colourful. Yellow is the primary and white-blue is the secondary. |
| ρ |
Oph |
2.9 |
A tight double of equal stars. OK, maybe one is slightly brighter. And only slightly whiter. There are two bright stars nearby. Must be related. dsfst only notes the AB pair. ST3 says it's a quintuple system. The tight pair, the primary is at the apex of the triangle. |
| OΣ525 AB |
Lyr |
1.8 |
aka STT 525. Haas says it's a triple. Revisited Jul 2011. Spotted a very faint compansion very close to the primary. It looks to be orange or yellow. |
| HD 197312 |
Del |
9.4 |
aka Σ2718. Nice little double star. Close together in the low power. Identical brightness. Hard to determine the colour. First impression: blue and yellow. But then they seemed to flip. Dim. Probably both white. Not in dsfst. |
| HD 203380 |
Cyg |
6.4 |
aka Σ2789. Near S 786. Cool! Another close pair (at the low power). Equal colour and brightness again (very similar to HD 197312). A very pretty scene at low power. |
| S 786 |
Cyg |
47.1 |
Wide. Near Σ2789. A bright colourful wide pair. Perhaps they are yellow and orange. Pretty. Use 70 power. |
| ξ AC |
Sco |
7.5 |
Used a loaner 20mm in C14 to split. Bright stars. These are part of a sextuple system! |
| ξ AB |
Sco |
1.01 |
Used a 27mm in C14 to split. Very near career split! Current data (Jun 2011) from SkyTools3. |
| ξ DE |
Sco |
11.8 |
aka HD 144087 and 144088 or Σ1999. A faint double. These are the D and E stars of ξ Sco. |
| ξ DF |
Sco |
80.7 |
Σ1999. A very faint star about 7 times the distance from D as the sep. of D and E. Almost in-line with DE. |
| HD 174005 |
Sct |
37.9 |
aka Σ2391. Yellow and blue stars. TLAO and Haas have us going after a double. A triple? SkyTools3 says the 3rd star is quiet faint. |
| θ AB |
Sge |
11.9 |
Nice double. No wait, triple. No wait, quad! The primary is yellow-white, B is orange or dusty yellow. D is hard to get any colour on, grey? D is beyond C at 166". |
| θ AC |
Sge |
89.0 |
The primary is yellow-white, C is yellow with a touch of orange. |
| HD 164492 * |
Sgr |
? |
H N 40. I saw a faint, medium-separated pair at lower power. Main star is white, maybe blue-white; companion is orange. Nearly equal brightness. SkyTools3 says it is a septuple system! Wow. Spotted a super faint star left of the brighter one. Much closer, about 1/3rd the distance. Almost the same line... |
| α AB |
Lyr |
~90 |
I didn't know Vega was a multiple star system! SkyTools says it is a quadruple star... The B star (aka PPM 81557) is mag 10.6. If it were closer, it would be impossible to see. |
| β |
Cep |
13.3 |
aka Alfirk. Easy to mistake for a single star, with such a faint companion, mag 3.2 vs. 8.0. The primary is white with a faint, pale orange secondary. Viewed at 55x, modest separation. A fine pair. |
| α AB |
Cep |
199.1 |
aka Alderamin (or Β1502). Whoa. Faint companions. Easy to miss in a bright sky. A triple (no, quad) system. B is farther than C. AC are not compared... From ST3. |
| α BC |
Cep |
19.9 |
B seemed brighter than C; ST3 says they are 11.4 and 11.1 respectively, on the chart, but 10.4 and 11.1 elsewhere. |
| α CD * |
Cep |
2.6 |
Could not split C and D with an 8" in the city. |
| ES 137 AB |
Cep |
45 |
aka HD 203374. A medium bright yellow star. There's a faint star nearby. A modest split, at low power, at 55x.
Is the companion blue? Hard to tell. |
| Σ2816 AC |
Cep |
11.7 |
aka HR 8281. Wow! A very cool triple with a cool double nearby, Σ2819! A lovely view in the 1 degree field.
The main star is white. Maybe with a touch of yellow. A faint star to the south west, slightly closer, is a darker yellow, hints of orange. That's C. |
| Σ2816 AD |
Cep |
19.7 |
The companion to the north, D, the bright one, slightly further, is dull yellow. |
| Σ2819 |
Cep |
12.7 |
aka HD 206482. Near the cool triple Σ2816! A lovely view in the 1 degree field. Medium tight. |
| Σ2843 AB |
Cep |
1.5 |
aka HR 8361.
Holy cow. Fantastically tight pair. Had use over 100x to get a clean split with poor seeing. Two equally bright stars? The southern one was slightly fainter. They both look the same colour to me, white, or white-yellow. A triple? |
| Σ2843 AC |
Cep |
55.4 |
ST3 reports it a triple. The C star is far away. It's faint at mag 9.9. It's the closest of the faint stars... |
| ξ |
Cep |
8.4 |
aka Kurhah or Alkurhah. A pretty double near a loose gaggle of stars. Very nice in a 1° or ½° field.
The main star is light yellow. At low power the partner looked blue; at higher power, it seemed the same colour. But it's about 2 mag fainter. Nice target. Easy to find in the middle of Cepheus. |
| σ * |
Cas |
2.4 |
Part of a large triangle. Lots of field stars around. And the lazy trapezoid of orange and blue stars.
In poor seeing, in the city, with 111x power, may have seen it! A faint orange companion to a white main star. |
| ψ AC |
Cas |
22.1 |
Nice. Easily separated at 55x. A bright primary and faint secondary. Like Polaris, with respect to differences in brightness. The main star is light gold. The companion waffles between deep blue and green! Amazing colour differences. Would not tolerate magnification higher than 77. |
| Σ3053 |
Cas |
15.0 |
aka HR 9094, aka HIP 207. It's a little Albireo. A lovely light gold primary star and a widely separated blue companion. Almost equal brightness. |
| Σ2840 |
Cas |
17.7 |
aka HR 8357. Nearly equal brightness stars, whitish in colour. May have very subtle tints: yellow and blue? Near some close colourful stars. From ST3. |
| η AB |
Per |
28.5 |
aka Miram. Beautiful! Light orange primary with a blue-green companion. Incredible colours. A number of bright stars in the 1° field. Near γ Per. Quad system. Haas only notes the AB pair. |
| η AC |
Per |
66.3 |
In poor transparency, could see fuzzy grey points to the west of A star. From ST3. |
| η CD * |
Per |
5.2 |
Viewed from 55x to 222x magnification with bright Moon in poor transparency. Could not resolve the C and D stars, at mag 9.9 and 10.4, even though I could see other mag 10 and 11 field stars. From ST3. |
| α AD |
Cas |
64 |
aka Schedar or Shedir. Very different magnitudes. Nice. |
| β1 AB * |
Cas |
1.4 |
Burnham 1. aka HD 5005. Holy cow! It is a 9-star system! ST3 showed companions up to AI! I had never seen that before. In the middle of a little open cluster NGC 281, no less. Unable to cleanly split AB in C14. Millie saw a bump. I wasn't sure. The A, C, D, and E stars seemed the same white colour. There's a wide double, STI 1454, nearby. Fascinating. |
| β1 AC |
Cas |
3.8 |
aka HD 5005. A bright star. Easily split. C is to the south-east. |
| β1 AD |
Cas |
8.9 |
aka HD 5005. Another bright star. To the south. |
| β1 AE |
Cas |
16.1 |
aka HD 5005. Faint companion. To the north. |
| STI 1454 |
Cas |
11.5 |
Stein 1454. A wide pair of white stars. In the same field with β1. From ST3. |
| Σ3037 AB |
Cas |
2.6 |
aka HD 223070. Lovely field. We found the AB pair tight. Formed a triangle with C and D stars. The main star was yellow while B was orange. Curiously, I thought the brightnesses of A and B the other way round to what the software was showing... ST3 says A is mag 10.95 whereas B is 8.87. |
| Σ3037 AC |
Cas |
39.5 |
The C star also looked orange. |
| Σ3037 AD |
Cas |
52.3 |
D was twice as far as C. D was very faint... Hard to ascertain the colour. Blue? Or yellow? |
| HD 52270 |
Mon |
6.5 |
A faint, tight pair. Equal brightness and colour. Or grey-shade... Soft white, both? |
 |
|
|
|
* To be revisited, so to confirm details, perhaps sketch.
Targets and data suggested by SkyTools3 are noted with ST3. Items tagged CDSA refer to the Cambridge Double Star Atlas.
Total on list: 205.
Total viewed: 188.
To revisit? 38.
