2022-11-04

• Condition: E6
• Location: Home, Spearfish: 44.49, -103.87

An early morning session! It's nice to be doing this at the beginning of the day when I feel the most refreshed. It was so cold this morning though, that I didn't stay out as long as I would have hoped.

5:38AM

• Target: α Geminorum[1]
• Const: Gemini
• RaDec: 7h34m +31°53
• Type: Star (Double)[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 150x, 1/2 stop-down
• Double: AB: 50°
• Image: ../images/2022-11-4_AlphaGeminorum.jpg[3]

Very beautiful split! Both appear white-yellow.

=> [1] α Geminorum (ID) | [2] Star (Double) (ID) | [3] ../images/2022-11-4_AlphaGeminorum.jpg

5:50AM

• Target: δ Geminorum[1]
• Const: Gemini
• RaDec: 7h20m +21°59
• Type: Star (Double)[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 150x
• Double: AB: 250°
• Image: ../images/2022-11-4_DeltaGeminorum.jpg[3]

This one is hard. I can only momentarily detect the sibling. It seems to pop in to view for a split second, then I can't see it for a while. No amount of micro-focusing seems to help, it's just so faint that it's hard to see.

=> [1] δ Geminorum (ID) | [2] Star (Double) (ID) | [3] ../images/2022-11-4_DeltaGeminorum.jpg

5:57AM

• Target: ι Cancri[1]
• Const: Cancer
• RaDec: 8h46m +28°46
• Type: Star (Double)[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 60x
• Double: AB: 320°
• Image: ../images/2022-11-4_IotaCancri.jpg[3]

Beautiful and easy. Primary is orange and secondary is a yellow-white.

=> [1] ι Cancri (ID) | [2] Star (Double) (ID) | [3] ../images/2022-11-4_IotaCancri.jpg

6:04AM

• Target: ζ Cancri[1]
• Const: Cancer
• RaDec: 8h12m +17°39
• Type: Star (Double)[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 150x
• Double: AB: 70°
• Image: ../images/2022-11-4_ZetaCancri.jpg[3]

Fairly easy split, both look a ghostly-white.

=> [1] ζ Cancri (ID) | [2] Star (Double) (ID) | [3] ../images/2022-11-4_ZetaCancri.jpg

6:11AM

• Target: M 48[1]
• Const: Hydra
• RaDec: 8h13m -5°48
• Type: Open Cluster[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 60x
• Image: ../images/2022-11-4_M48.jpg[3]

When I found M48 in my finder-scope and looked through my lens, the lens was de-focused to the point where there were circular corona's of light. The shape of the 'light circles' from the stars in and around M48 produced a distinct heart-shape in my lens. As I focused, I continued to see the heart shape in the cluster; though I'm not sure if it was a trick of my mind at that point. Very neat little cluster.

=> [1] M 48 (ID) | [2] Open Cluster (ID) | [3] ../images/2022-11-4_M48.jpg