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Spare a thought for Mu Librae

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5 years 9 months ago #107119 by flt158
Spare a thought for Mu Librae was created by flt158
Everyone is observing Jupiter at the moment.
And everyone is noticing, if they have wide field eyepieces, that Jupiter is a quite a few degrees northeast of Alpha Librae (Zubenelgenubi) which is a very wide double.
But almost directly north of Alpha Librae is Mu Librae.
Double star observers on this forum will love admiring this true binary.
stelledoppie.it gives us good information on it.
Its magnitudes are 5.6 and 6.6. The separation is slowly but surely widening for some years to come.
It is now 1.95". The PA is 6.7 degrees.
My William Optics 158 mm apochromatic refractor sees A and B at 112X.
Although at that power, there is only the tiniest gap between.
It is much more satisfying at 140X, 167X and 225X.
I have difficulty finding out what the spectral class for either star.
But I have no problem figuring out the colours of Mu Librae.
A is orange, and B is blue.
Feel free to disagree.
I would love to read what others think of their experiences through their telescopes of Mu Librae.

Clear skies to all,

Aubrey.
The following user(s) said Thank You: michael_murphy, mariosi

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5 years 9 months ago #107134 by flt158
Replied by flt158 on topic Spare a thought for Mu Librae
Saturday evening 30th June I hugely admired this lovely binary Mu Librae once again.
The sky conditions were not as good this time round; but still a lovely view splitting it at 112X and 140X.
That is what always thrills us double star enthusiasts, i.e, when a double star has the slimmest of a black gap appears between 2 stars.
But then I thought I ought to check out if there are any other double stars near Mu Librae and Jupiter.
And indeed there are! Three of them are truly gorgeous.
1. Zubenelgenubi (Alpha Librae) is a genuine true binary. Magnitudes: 2.7 and 5.2, The separation is a very wide 231". PA: 314 degrees. Both stars white to me. Split at 11X and 40X. That's the easy one out of the way.
2. BU 346 is a splendid true binary 85' south of Alpha Librae.I find it tantalizingly split beautifully at 112X. Magnitudes: 7.5 and 7.9. PA: 277 degrees. The 2 stars look like "eyes" looking back at me. It is the first time I observed this wonderful binary. It won't be the last time. The primary is yellow.
3. Lastly HU 477 is very dim and a smidgen 22' north of BU 346. Magnitudes: 9.8 and 9.8. PA: 211 degrees. Extremely faint but beautifully split at 112X. They seem to "point" downwards to BU 346.

There are other doubles in the area but trees prevented my progress.

Warning: you will need a low southwest horizon. But when you torn yourself away from Jupiter, each of these are very much worthwhile to observe.

Thank you for reading
and clear skies to all from Aubrey.

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