Double Stars - Hercules

  • Note:

    All images are at 1:1 scale taken with the same equipment (120mm refractor, 1000mm FL, Canon 450D DSLR) and same magnification unless stated. The Canon 450D gives equivilent to a 12mm EP, giving a mangnification factor of approximatly 80x. This means that the split between all stars can be compared against each other. Exposure times and ISO levels are adjusted to give best image of both components but on average they are 10 seconds at ISO 400


  • 22:06 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 79043A & HIP 79045B (Kappa Her, Marsic)

    A nice easy double to start with, magnitudes of 5.1 and 6.2, easy to split with a separation of 27" arc. Slight colour difference noticable with an light yellow primary and pale garnet secondary.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 08' 4.5"    Dec: +17° 02' 49.1"    PA: 013º     Separation: 27.4"


  • 22:11 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 80170 (Gamma Her)

    A bright primary at a magnitude of 3.8 makes it difficult to image the secondary at magnitude 10.1 without too much over exposure. Luckily with a separation of 43" arc, the secondary is just visible.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 21' 55.2"    Dec: +19° 09' 11.5"    PA: 228º     Separation: 43.0"


  • 22:20 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 80765A & HIP 80767B

    Not a very clear image of this magnitude 7.7 primary and 9.4 secondary. With a separation just under 14" arc, the image is not clear due to poor seeing conditions, however a colour difference is just detectable.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 29' 25.1"    Dec: +10° 35' 31.2"    PA: 019º     Separation: 13.8"


  • 22:25 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 80939A & B

    A true binary pair at 267LY distant. The image is not very clear at all, normaly a separation of 6.8" arc would just be split but in this case the magnitude 9.2 secondary can only just be detected against the 7.8 primary.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 31' 38.5"    Dec: +05° 26' 1.1"    PA: 313º     Separation: 6.8"


  • 22:30 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 80953A & B

    Another true binary pair at 225LY distant. A very bright primary of 5.7 against a secondary of 8.7 show a huge difference in contrast with the secondary barely visible but clearly split.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 31' 47.2"    Dec: +45° 35' 54.3"    PA: 196º     Separation: 16.3"


  • 22:39 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 81497 (42 Her)

    Another pair with a very bright primary at 4.9 and the barely visible secondary at magnitude 11.8, with a good separation of 27.2" arc.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 38' 44.8"    Dec: +48° 55' 42.2"    PA: 092º     Separation: 27.2"


  • 22:43 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 81575A & 81577B

    This almost equal magnitude pair, 7.6 and 8.1, make this an easy target to image. It resembles a pair of headlights in the dark.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 39' 36.4"    Dec: +23° 00' 5.7"    PA: 091º     Separation: 17.2"


  • 23:02 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 82780 (56 Her)

    A very different magnitude pair, 6.1 and 10.8 make the difficult to see against the glare of the primary, however the separation of 18" arc helps.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 16h 55' 2.2"    Dec: +25° 43' 50.2"    PA: 091º     Separation: 18.0"


  • 23:06 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 83478 & 83504

    A nice colour contrasting wide pair, magnitudes of 5.9 and 6.2, with a wide separation of 305" arc. I wouldn't normaly image such a wide double, but I like the contrasting colours with this pair. Note that the image has been resized to fit.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 17h 03' 39.3"    Dec: +13° 36' 18.8"    PA: 118º     Separation: 305"


  • 23:12 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 83568A & B

    Back to a true binary at 429LY distant, this pair has magnitudes of 7.4 and 9.3, with a 22.6" arc separation. There maybe a slight colour difference detectable.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 17h 04' 45.8"    Dec: +28° 05' 27.9"    PA: 231º     Separation: 22.6"


  • 23:33 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 88055A & 88051B

    A very distant optical double, the primary 2548LY and secondary 3882LY shine similar magnitudes of 7.3 and 8.4. The pair show excellent colour contrast with a white/yellow primary paired with a pale blue secondary. Visualy striking.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 17h 59' 3.6"    Dec: +30° 02' 56.2"    PA: 278º     Separation: 19.7"


  • 23:48 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 88415A & 88420B

    A bright white with a pale yellow secondary, this pair has magnitudes of 6.3 and 8.9 with a separation of 26.5" arc makes for a good optical pair. Distances of 526LY and 964LY respectively.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 18h 03' 8.9"    Dec: +48° 27' 51.6"    PA: 128º     Separation: 26.5"


  • 23:54 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 88637A & 88624

    This image shows the brighter components (A & G) of a 7 star system. Magnitudes of this pair are 7.4 & 7.6 respectively. I have shown these separate from the others due to their yellow/white and pale blue colour contrast.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 18h 05' 49.7"    Dec: +21° 26' 44.8"    PA: 239º     Separation: 132.8"


  • 23:54 BST      29-04-2013

    HIP 88637A, 88624, 88639, etc.

    This full image of the same 7 star system. Magnitudes range from 7.4 & 11.0 with varying colours visible. Especially striking I think is the deep red star to the left of centre. Separations range from 27.8" to 132.8" arc.
    Details: Constellation: Hercules    RA: 18h 05' 49.7"    Dec: +21° 26' 44.8"    AB-C PA: 175º     Separation: 27.8" A-E PA: 038º     Separation: 66.1"A-F PA: 356º     Separation: 112.3"A-G PA: 239º     Separation: 132.8"