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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

Const: Gemini

RaDec: 7h34m +31°53

Scope: ST80

Setting: 150x, 1/2 stop-down

Double: AB: 50°

Image

Very beautiful split! Both appear white-yellow.

5:50AM

Target: δ Geminorum

Const: Gemini

RaDec: 7h20m +21°59

Scope: ST80

Setting: 150x

Double: AB: 250°

Image

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.

5:57AM

Target: ι Cancri

Const: Cancer

RaDec: 8h46m +28°46

Scope: ST80

Setting: 60x

Double: AB: 320°

Image

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

6:04AM

Target: ζ Cancri

Const: Cancer

RaDec: 8h12m +17°39

Scope: ST80

Setting: 150x

Double: AB: 70°

Image

Fairly easy split, both look a ghostly-white.

6:11AM

Target: M 48

Const: Hydra

RaDec: 8h13m -5°48

Scope: ST80

Setting: 60x

Image

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.