16.8.11

A famous summer double

While the moonlight dominates I decided to carry on with some star imaging so an obvious target to attempt had to be the colourful double star Albireo in Cygnus. Unfortunately large patches of cloud made obtaining subs a tedious affair and I gave up after obtaining a dozen of various lengths as I had done with the Garnet. I always find Albireo a wonderful sight through an eyepiece with such a spectacular colour contrast between its component stars (spectral types K3 & B8). I was hoping the contrast would be more obvious on the final image which I again have kept flat with no boosting. It does help reveal just how intense the colour of the Garnet Star is. In 1976 it was discovered that the brighter component of Albireo is itself a binary star. Details: 10" f4.3 Newt. 12 x various exposures @ iso800 with CLS in DSS, FIV, CS2 & XAT.

No comments: