FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020
links to double and multiple star sites
Belmont Society http://www.belmontnc.4dw.net
They have a cool double-star list in colour! Some of them seem off
a little. There are many drawings of the doubles as well. Other helpful
information for beginner and intermediate amateur astronomers (e.g.
the Greek alphabet with symbols) can be found on their site. The telescope
eyepiece articles are tremendously illuminating.
Note: This useful web site went off-line sometime in November 2006. It is
not clear if it will be resurrected.
Sky & Telescope's winter double stars
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/celestial-objects-to-watch/pretty-double-stars-for-everyone/
A collection of 42 pretty double and multiple stars. Assembled by
Alan Adler. His criteria is based primarily on their beauty: many
are contrasting colours; or else they are well-matched in brightness.
Note: I pointed out an error which has since been corrected. As well,
the Greek symbols were corrected in the HTML coding. [ed: After their
website revamp, all the links broke. Corrected.]
Sky & Telescope's summer double stars
https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/celestial-objects-to-watch/more-pretty-double-stars/
Another collection of 54 pretty double and multiple stars again assembled
by Alan Adler. Note: κ (kappa) Her is incorrectly shown as Marfik;
that moniker belongs to λ (lambda) Oph. Also, the Greek HTML
coding is not corrected. [ed: After their website revamp, all the
links broke. Corrected.]
Paul Baize's Colour Article http://www.southastrodel.com/Page029c.htm
A fascinating article by the late Baize on double star colour contrast.
Essentially, he debunks the spectacular and pronounced colour descriptions
applied to close groupings of stars, reminding us of their chemical
properties and that colouring, at the best of times, is very subjective.
Updated for new URL.
Wikipedia's Stellar Classifications
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification
A helpful article on the classification of stars. I particularly like the visuals
representing the colours of stars.
Joy of Double Stars
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/the-joy-of-double-stars/
A Sky and Telescope article by Tony Flanders. Unlike deep-sky objects,
double stars are usually easy to find and observe. He relays how much
he enjoys observing doubles, partly because it is quick and easy to
do inside city limits. [ed: After their website revamp, all the links
broke. Corrected.]
Double-Star Resources
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/stargazing/83756342.html
A companion or follow-up to his Sky and Telescope "Joy"
article. By Tony Flanders. Catalogues, books, web site links. [ed:
After their website revamp, all the links broke!]
Journal of Double Star Observations http://jdso.org/
A site encouraging the viewing of double stars for fun, for science,
for people now and future generations. The publish scientific papers
with double star measures.
Washington Double Star Catalog http://ad.usno.navy.mil/wds/
The official database of double and multiple stars, the WDS, is managed
by the US Naval Observatory. It contains discoverer, location, position
angle, separation values, etc. for over 127 000 systems.
Update: the main site is not available for maintenance.
http://www.astro.gsu.edu/wds/
In the meantime use the up-to-date catalogue hosted at Georgia State
University.
Star Splitters https://bestdoubles.wordpress.com/
A lively couple of amateurs, John and Greg, with long-focus refractors,
interesting in viewing double stars. Excellent reports, diagrams,
notes, hints, tips, and tricks.
Double Stars To Follow
http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/double-stars-to-follow/
Article on fast-moving binary double stars (e.g. ξ UMa and 70 Oph)
to follow over time. From the Prairie Astronomy Club. Adapted from
a four-part series by Martin Gaskell.
Double Star Observing Forum
https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/86-double-star-observing/
The active Cloudy Nights forum on double star observations. "Double
Stars, Rayleigh Limit and Dawes Limit; a place for observers with
split personalities."
Double Star Astronomy https://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/
There is an extraordinary amount of interesting information on double
star astronomy at Bruce MacEvoy's Black Oak Observatory web site.
He offers a primer on doubles (er, multiples; er, binaries), essays
on colour and orbital elements, and how to train your eye.
Stelle Doppie https://www.stelledoppie.it/index2.php?section=1
A database of double stars. Draws data from WDS, ORBIT6, HIPPARCOS,
and so on. Oh, and Gaia! Nicely organised. Visually presents plots
of binaries.
Double Star Section https://www.webbdeepsky.com/double-stars/
The Webb Deep-Sky Society is an active international group of amateur
and professional astronomers. The Double Star Section is managed by
Bob Argyle. There's an archive of their monthly double star targets.
They publish circulars with measures.
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