Double Up

Hi all

I didn't have too much time last night, so it was just a quick dip into Leo for the following:

6 Leonis: A red 6th mag. primary is nicely offset by a white companion, with a sep. of 37 this pair is easily seen at low magnification. I believe that the contrast between the pair is pleasing to the eye.
3 Leonis: Orange contrasts with white in this pair, the secondary is 10.5, though the sep. is 25, making it easy.
7 Leonis: The white primary is joined by a dull red companion in a busy field of stars.
Alpha Leonis: Regulus, with a magnitude difference of 6.5 this pair of white stars might be difficult to split, however, with a sep. of 177 they can be split as low as 27X. At mag. 1.5 Regulus dominates the field, which is sparse.
Gamma Leonis: Magnificent, this burnished orange pair, at mags. 2.5 and 3.5 with a sep. of 4 must rank as one of the top five doubles in the sky. The sight simply takes the breath away, the colours are stunning as they blaze side by side and tempt you to look longer. Lowering the magnification to 27X makes the pair begin to merge and only enhances the seeing. Albireo has a serious rival.
54 Leonis: After gamma it seems disappointing to come back to white, this unequal pair sit in a sparse field. Easily seen at 63X with the primary outshing the companion by 2 magnitudes at 4.5 and 6.5.
83 Leonis: Back to orange, these are a pleasure at 63X, looking like dull embers, at 6.5 and 7.5 mag. and sep. of 28 they are visible at all magnitudes. A nice collection of white stars to the west.
88 Leonis: A nice pair of coloured stars here, the primary is orange and the companion a deep, dull red. I used 103X to get a better look at the pair and it's interesting to compare the colours, these colours I've never seen together before. Worth checking out.

Even now the memory of Gamma Leonis is fresh in my mind, I remember the first time I observed Albireo and the thrill I got, I got it again last night. It is one of the great moments of personal discovery that this interest we share throws up and I highly recommened anyone, whether you have an interest in doubles or not, to observe this, you will not be disappointed.

Leo offered a nice variety of colours, normally it's whites and yellows, but Leo's doubles showed a nice contrast. I look forward to going back to find more.

Couldn't agree more about Algeiba Paul, magnificent is the correct word. I would normally use about 180x for the best view.

Where the heck do you find these Paul?! I didn't know there were so many variable/doubles to be seen up there! What are you observing these with again?

Seanie.

Hi Seanie

Stevie supplied the excellent double star list offered at the website below:

astronomy.eaglecreekobservatory.org/doubles/

Well worth checking out, the cursor is great fun

I use a 127mm f/6.8 refractor with Hyperion EPs.

Here's another handy list I came across recently

www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat...d/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

Gamma Leonis: Magnificent, this burnished orange pair, at mags. 2.5 and 3.5 with a sep. of 4 must rank as one of the top five doubles in the sky. The sight simply takes the breath away, the colours are stunning as they blaze side by side and tempt you to look longer. Lowering the magnification to 27X makes the pair begin to merge and only enhances the seeing. Albireo has a serious rival.

Now thats interesting, to me those 2 look yellow and like you say they're right up there with Albireo. looks like its the case of different eyes seeing different colours.
One morning I watched these 2 and tracked them manually for a few hours with a small refractor, their colour made then very easy to see against the blue sky.