Well I have been a silent observer on this thread and it motivated me enough to have a look last night. I enjoyed seeing Alcore, Mizar A and B as well as HD116798. All of these are indentified in my copy of Sky Safari Plus. In fact, I read in the info on Mizar that both A and B are also double stars as well although not resolvable visually, only spectroscopicly. So Mizar is actually a quad system. I assumed that what was being discussed was something else that I did not observe. I was a bit tickled to realize I was looking at the same "mystery companion". On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 2:33 PM, Siegfried Jachmann <siegfried@jachmann.org> wrote:
You mean after all this, the star was the normal companion star to Mizar? The companion about the same brightness as Alcor? On Apr 22, 2015 3:18 PM, "Rob Ratkowski" <ratkwski@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Don
I have the Plus version so I think having the missing B companion set me loose. We did check on a Pro version but didn't expand the field. It is a curious thing as to why such a bright and important star is not shown on the Plus version. Thanks for helping me solve this mystery and showing a small problem in the app.
Aloha Rob
Sent from Rob's iPad
On Apr 22, 2015, at 10:02 AM, Don J. Colton <djcolton@piol.com> wrote:
Hi Rob,
My version of SkySafari Pro shows the companion if you continue to enlarge the image but not initially. See http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/m http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/mizar-a-fresh-look-at-an-old-friend... izar-a-fresh-look-at-an-old-friend03252015/ for an eyepiece view at 45x close to your binos. I think the problem arose because you had a data source that showed a .5" separation instead of the correct 14".
Clear Skies,
Don
-----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rob Ratkowski Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 1:32 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved)
Hi Don
The image at One Minute Astronomer is what I see though it is not shown on my SkySafari app. Then I guess I was seeing Mizar B in the binos and C9.25. Patrick did a set of exposures at .01, .1, .5 and 1 sec, nothing was seen. If you see it in you binos, then the mystery is solved. Thanks!! but it does make me wonder why it's not shown on my app.
Aloha Rob
Sent from Rob's iPad
On Apr 22, 2015, at 9:17 AM, Don J. Colton <djcolton@piol.com> wrote:
Hi Rob,
The .5" companion does not exist as far as I can determine. The 14" companion is visible easily at 20x in a 60 mm spotting scope. Patrick's image was just overexposed so you didn't see the two stars. Check out this image http://oneminuteastronomer.com/8187/mizar-polaris/ scroll down you can easily see Mizar A and B and Alcor.
Clear Skies,
Don
-----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rob Ratkowski Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:58 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved)
Hi Don
I have Mizar's companion being listed at .5" separation @ 218* and mag 3.9. Where did you find Mizar A and B?? But then at 14" I should as well as Patrick be able to see it. I have Uranometria 2000 and SkySafari on my iPad plus access to many other charts on line. I did find info about the Mizar system at Domeof the sky.com that states the 14" separation for the B component. Friday I knew that what I was seeing was not the companion even if it was at 14" separation, the binos cannot resolve that close of a pair, but we saw something.
Aloha Rob
Sent from Rob's iPad
On Apr 22, 2015, at 8:33 AM, Don J. Colton <djcolton@piol.com> wrote:
Hi Rob,
I am not talking about Alcor. Mizar A and B not Alcor are separated by 14".
Clear Skies,
Don
-----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rob Ratkowski Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:28 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved)
Hi Don
I easily see Mizar and its visual companion Alcor easily. I also see the SAO that forms a triangle, what I am seeing is CLOSE to Mizar. If I were just starting out in astronomy I would be making mistakes, but 20 active years plus an interest back to when I was 12 makes me know what I'm seeing and having 2 others see the same object confirms that it's not an illusion. If the weather clears I'll get an image Thursday night and post it. The BT100 binos are mounted on a HD tripod and in July I will have the Losmandy AZ8 mount for them.
Looking up, Aloha Rob
Sent from Rob's iPad
On Apr 22, 2015, at 6:34 AM, Don J. Colton <djcolton@piol.com> wrote:
Hi Rob,
I can see the companion to Mizar in my 15 x 50mm image stabilized binoculars. It is not .5" but 14" of separation. Maybe you saw them split. They are easy at 20 x. When referring to distance of separation between SAO 28748 I should have clarified that it was one minute of RA. Dawes limit for a 100 mm scope is 4.56/4 = 1.14". Even at low power splitting Mizar should be easy.
Clear Skies,
Don
-----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rob Ratkowski Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 10:02 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved)
Hi Don
I know that star and that is not it. What I am seeing is close to Mizar, about 1’ and SSE. Sao 28748 is 8’16” from Mizar. Friday at the STEM Conference in Wailea I saw the triangle but close to Mizar was this other star and I didn’t remember it being there. The companion to Mizar is at .5” and shouldn’t be seen in BT 100 binos. I saw the star again last night in the binos and in the C9.25 under different magnifications. This is a very odd thing, I appreciate the help in trying to solve this oddity.
Aloha Rob
> On Apr 22, 2015, at 5:41 AM, Don J. Colton <djcolton@piol.com> wrote: > > Hi Rob, > > I observed Mizar with a 15" reflector last night. There was an 7.9 magnitude star SAO 28748 about one minute southeast of Mizar at 1:28 AM MDT. It forms a triangle with Alcor and Mizar. Since the handle of the Big Dipper rotates the cardinal directions of the star with respect to Mizar also rotates. Perhaps this is the star you saw? > > Clear Skies, > > Don Colton > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Utah-Astronomy > [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of > Rob Ratkowski > Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2015 12:06 AM > To: Utah Astronomy > Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mizar (solved) > > Well it's still there!! I guess about 1' separation, I put in 9mm > EP's > (58x) and still there. Swung over to Sirius and no reflection, back > to Mizar and I shook the binos and the 'x companion' moved in sync. > Other bright stars and no ghost companions. And then the clouds came in. > I'll wait a bit and maybe we'll clear, I'll get the 9.25 ready > though seeing is about 5 tonite > > Rob > > Sent from Rob's iPad > >> On Apr 21, 2015, at 7:01 PM, Wiggins Patrick <paw@getbeehive.net> wrote: >> >> Just imaged Mizar again but this time with the scope and camera rotated 180 degrees. >> >> No sign of anything unusual. >> >> Bummer... >> >> patrick >> >> >>> On 21 Apr 2015, at 15:27, Rob Ratkowski <ratkwski@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Oh well, it is curious though that scopes and binos see the same >>> reflection. I'll set up the 9.25 still at home and have a look >>> again, maybe even image it if we have a clear evening >>> >>> Aloha >>> Rob >>> >>> Sent from Rob's iPad >>> >>>> On Apr 21, 2015, at 10:53 AM, Wiggins Patrick <paw@getbeehive.net> wrote: >>>> >>>> Sorry Rob, but the replies I'm getting from the pros on the other list I'm on are like this one: >>>> >>>>> I neglected to compare the 1-second image with the 5-second image. >>>>> When you do so it is clear that both Mizar components are >>>>> getting reflected, and both move together between the two >>>>> images. Too bad it’s not real. L >>>> >>>> Oh wel, maybe next time. >>>> >>>> patrick >>>> >>>>> On 21 Apr 2015, at 10:21, Rob Ratkowski <ratkwski@hawaii.rr.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> If we ever get out of the trade showers I can look again. >>>>> >>>>> R >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Utah-Astronomy mailing list >> http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronom >> y >> >> Send messages to the list to >> Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com >> >> The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. >> >> To unsubscribe go to: >> http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronom >> y Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on >> "Unsubscribe or edit options". > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > > Send messages to the list to > Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com > > The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > > To unsubscribe go to: > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". > > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > > Send messages to the list to > Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com > > The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. > > To unsubscribe go to: > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy > Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".
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