oldfruit Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Had the dob out last night though the sky was quite hazy from my back garden, and the sky looked a little washed out to be honest. Anyways i have been trying to observe Sirius b for a long time. Needless to say, it has not been a successful hunt, possibly until last night that is. About 9pm Sirius was down in the murk though still quite bright. I turned the dob towards it, put the 7mm Nirvana in, i noticed that it was partially obscured by my fence. When the image was dofocussed it was a large ring and it looked like someone had sliced straight across it so a portion of the ring was missing, almost like it had been squared off if you know what i mean. Anyway i focused on Sirius and amazingly could make out in moments of steadier seeing a small star vey close to Sirius appearing in the eyepiece in about the 2 oclock position. I would say that it appeared between 1/4 or 1/3 the width of Jupiter when viewed through the same eyepiece from Sirius a. This faint star popped in and out of view due to the seeing and the glare from Sirius but was most difinately there. So possibly maybe i managed to catch a brief view of the ellusive Sirius b. This could be due to my view being partially obscured, reducing the glare from the primary? I hope this is the case but will no doubt have to try again to see if i am able to repeat this observation another night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Sounds as if you're getting to grips with that Dob Mark, keep looking for that 'b' star it'll keep you busy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 What would you say is the minimum aperture needed to see 'the pup' ? Or is it down to seeing conditions ? I realise Sirius never gets very high.... I forgot to check Sirius last night Too busy looking at Jupiter ! It was only recently that i learnt that Rigel was a double. I've split that, although it was tricky, probably due to it's low altitude. It looked good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I remember reading that it can be seen with an 8" mirror on a good night, but it has always had a reputaton for being very difficult due to glare from Sirius A and the magnitude difference. I would think some have seen it in smaller apo refractors on very good nights. The orbit is about 50 years and it is approaching widest separation at around 10 arcseconds, which is a quarter of Jupiters diameter. From an orbit diagram I have looked at, and allowing for the orientation in a dob, I worked out that it should be at least in the upper right quadrant from Sirius A if I my brain is working right, although that view will obviously tilt it gradually as the night wears on, so 2 o'clock sounds good. I reckon you've been very lucky, seeing it, especially since it is always low down in the murk from the UK. Brilliant observation. I would love to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) I remember reading that it can be seen with an 8" mirror on a good night, but it has always had a reputaton for being very difficult due to glare from Sirius A and the magnitude difference. I would think some have seen it in smaller apo refractors on very good nights. The orbit is about 50 years and it is approaching widest separation at around 10 arcseconds, which is a quarter of Jupiters diameter. From an orbit diagram I have looked at, and allowing for the orientation in a dob, I worked out that it should be at least in the upper right quadrant from Sirius A if I my brain is working right, although that view will obviously tilt it gradually as the night wears on, so 2 o'clock sounds good. I reckon you've been very lucky, seeing it, especially since it is always low down in the murk from the UK. Brilliant observation. I would love to see it. Thanks for the info Pete. Whils i am quite confident i did observe Sirius b, i just thought i would post it on here to see if anyone else had similar experience. I know it is a v ery difficult thing to see and last night was the first and only time i have possibly seen it, despite trying most nights when Sirius is visible. Edited March 3, 2013 by oldfruit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angusw2 Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Sirius B is on my list of 'things I must see one day', so I found this very interesting, especially as I now have a scope that should be capable of seeing it. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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