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B00962 Eta Cassiopeiae Orange and violet The color contrast, best seen with good transparency, is very striking in a 350-mm at 145x, but not so in a 75-mm at 90x. This binary is only 6 parsecs distant. --Mullaney, McCall $ B02290 Gamma Arietis (Mesartim) Bright white and gray Easy in a 75-mm at 45x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B02452 Alpha Piscium Pale green and blue A tight pair in small telescopes. Though both stars look white in a 350-mm at 145x, other apertures give various color impressions. --Mullaney, McCall $ B02477 Gamma Andromedae (Almach) Orange, emerald?, blue Finest colored double, orange and blue, and beautiful in all apertures. The comes is also a very close binary, present separation 0.5 second, position angle 110 degrees. It is difficult in a 350-mm refractor at 600x, but at that magnification it is easy in a 750-mm reflector. --Mullaney, McCall $ B02952 Iota Cassiopeiae Yellowish, blue-white, blue-white A fine triple, with blue-white comites 2.3 and 7 seconds from the yellowish primary. It is somewhat difficult in telescopes smaller than a 150-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B03276 Gamma Ceti (Baten Kaitos) Pale yellow and blue Attractive, close pair. The color contrast is not obvious in a 75-mm, but more definite with a 150-mm or a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B03584 Theta Eridani (Acamar) Both white Brilliant star. Though it lies half a degree outside a -40 degree declination limit, it is one of the brightest doubles in the sky. It is easy in a 75-mm at 45x, provided seeing is good at low altitudes. --Mullaney, McCall $ B04705 W (32) Eridani Yellow and blue-green The color contrast is very vivid in a 350-mm at 145x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B06410 Beta Orionis (Rigel) Blue-white and white A blue-white supergiant star with a white, much fainter comes. Just resolved in a 75-mm (150x), the pair is beautiful in a 350-mm (145x). The comes has been reported by some astronomers as an exceedingly close binary. It seems elongated at times in a 750-mm refractor at 550x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B06655 Eta Orionis Both white Not easy in a 150-mm, or even a 250-mm, unless the seeing is good, and a close pair in a 350-mm at 290x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B06915 Lambda Orionis (Meissa) Pale white and violet An easy pair. --Mullaney, McCall $ B06931 Theta Orionis (Trapezium) All pale white This beautiful multiple system is imbedded in the Orion Nebula. Six components are visible in a 100-mm, and easy in a 250-mm at 160x. Many faint red stars are seen in this region with a 750-mm reflector at 600x. Color contrasts among the six stars are evident in a 150-mm, and easy in a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B06937 Iota Orionis White, pale blue, grape red A fainter version of Beta Orionis (Rigel). A hint of dim nebulosity around Iota is noted with 250-mm and 350-mm apertures. In the same field is the double Struve 747 (magnitudes 4.25 and 5.50, separation 36 seconds). --Mullaney, McCall $ B07031 Sigma Orionis A multiple star, three components being easily seen in a 75-mm, four with a 150-mm at 100x. The bright star has a very difficult, close (0.3-second) comes making this a quintuple system. In the same field a little to the west is the faint, coarse triple star Struve 761. --Mullaney, McCall $ B07089 Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) Topaz, yellow, light purple, gray Has a bright, close comes and a distant, faint one. A difficult group requiring good seeing even with a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B07557 Theta Aurigae Very unequal, close pair; an interesting sight in a 350-mm, but difficult in any telescope much smaller than 250-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B08412 Beta Monocerotis All yellow-white Finest triple star. The components form a slender triangle of 10 seconds' greatest extent. This group is easy in a 150-mm and a beautiful sight in a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B08804 12 Lyncis A triple system, nice in a 150-mm. The secondary is 1.7 seconds distant at position angle 90 degrees. --Mullaney, McCall $ B08833 Alpha Canis Majoris (Sirius) Brilliant white and yellow The brightest star other than the sun dazzles the eye with its brilliance in a 750-mm telescope. Under excellent sky conditions, the white-dwarf comes can just be seen in a 200-mm at 280x. In a 350-mm at 145x, it is easy when the seeing is good, but absolutely invisible in average or poor seeing. In a 750-mm reflector with a power of 600, the comes is not much plainer than in a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B09755 Delta Geminorum (Wasat) Pale white and purple Somewhat like Eta Cassiopeiae. --Mullaney, McCall $ B10120 Alpha Geminorum (Castor) Bright white, pale white, orange The two very bright stars form a close binary. The faint third star, a minute of arc away, is just visible in a 150-mm at 150x. Actually, Castor is a sextuple system, since all three visible members are also spectroscopic binaries. The Castor group is 14 parsecs from us. --Mullaney, McCall $ B10281 Kappa Puppis Both white Resembles Gamma Arietis (Mesartim). It is easy in a 150-mm at 45x. $ B11141 Zeta Cancri Yellow, orange, yellowish (changing) An attractive, but difficult, triple. Under average conditions, a 100-mm shows only two components. The three are well-resolved in a 250-mm at 320x, very easy in a 750-mm refractor at 550x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B12080 Iota Cancri Orange and blue Like Beta Cygni (Albireo). It is easily split in a 150-mm at 45x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B14177 Gamma Leonis (Algieba) Bright orange and greenish-yellow A beautiful pair; a fine sight in a 75-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B15537 Xi Ursae Majoris (Alula Australis) Subdued white and grayish-white A famous binary system with a period of 60 years. It forms a tight pair. --Mullaney, McCall $ B17027 Delta Corvi (Algorab) Pale yellow and purple A wide pair. The magnitude contrast is strong in a 350-mm at 145x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B17146 24 Comae Berenices Orange and blue-green Thes colors are vivid in larger telescopes. --Mullaney, McCall $ B17270 Gamma Virginis (Porrima) Both white One of the best-known binary stars in the sky, with an orbital period cited as 172 years. Its components are practically equal in brightness. Well seen in a 75-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B17556 Alpha Canum Venaticorum (Cor Caroli) Flushed white and pale lilac One of the best for small telescopes. Although some observers have seen color contrast in this pair, to others both members look blue-white. --Mullaney, McCall $ B18133 Zeta Ursae Majoris (Mizar) Brilliant white and pale emerald The finest double star in the sky for most moderate instruments. Its components are separated by 15 seconds; 4th-magnitude Alcor (g Ursae Majoris) is 12 minutes distant. The field is excellent for comparing what the naked eye can see with what a telescope reveals. Actually, Mizar-Alcor is a sextuple system, since each of the three bright stars is also a spectroscopic binary. The group is 27 parsecs from Earth. --Mullaney, McCall $ B18155 g Ursae Majoris (Alcor) The Mizar (Zeta Ursae Majoris)-Alcor field is excellent for comparing what the naked eye can see with what a telescope reveals. Actually, Mizar-Alcor is a sextuple system, since each of the three bright stars is also a spectroscopic binary. The group is 27 parsecs from Earth. --Mullaney, McCall $ B19856 Epsilon Bootis (Izar) Pale orange and bluish-green In good seeing, high power on a 75-mm shows the two beautifully-colored diffraction discs nearly in contact. --Mullaney, McCall $ B19991 Xi Bootis Yellowish and red A visual binary with a period of 150 years. Its colors are easy in a 350-mm. Xi Bootis is only 7 parsecs away from us. --Mullaney, McCall $ B20725 Mu Bootis (Alkalurops) A fine triple star, being a wide double whose fainter member is a 2-second pair. Best view is with 145x on a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B20941 Delta Serpentis Both white Offers a fine pair in a 75-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B21063 Zeta Coronae Borealis Bright bluish and bright greenish This double consists of nearly equal stars. The colors are delicate, but a 150-mm telescope or larger makes them definite. --Mullaney, McCall $ B21593 Xi Scorpii Pale white, pale yellow, gray A triple, part of an unusual double system. A pair of 5th-magnitude stars is 1 second apart, with a 7th-magnitude star 7 seconds off. In the same field is the 12-second pair Struve 1999. All five stars are travelling through space together. A 75-mm shows only four stars, but high power on a 150-mm splits the close pair, thus showing all five. There are hints of color differences in a 350-mm (145x). The stars are rather scattered in a 750-mm reflector at 600x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B21609 Beta Scorpii (Graffias) Pale white and lilac Resembles Zeta Ursae Majoris (Mizar). It is a nice sight in small telescopes. In a 350-mm the close and very difficult 10th-magnitude comes of the primary could not be seen. Beta Scorpii and Alpha Scorpii (Antares) provide an interesting dissimilarity in colors. --Mullaney, McCall $ B21771 Nu Scorpii A colorful double-double, a 2-second pair and a 1-second one about 42 seconds apart. A 75-mm telescope generally shows only a wide double, but sometimes resolves one of the pairs. At high power, but with difficulty, a 150-mm shows Nu quadruple. A 350-mm at 290x makes the magnitude and color contrasts evident, if seeing is good. --Mullaney, McCall $ B22157 Alpha Scorpii (Antares) Fiery red and emerald green A beautiful unequal double star. Because it is only 2.9 seconds from the bright primary, the companion is difficult in 150-mm and 200-mm telescopes under average conditions, but in good seeing a 250-mm shows it will. On a fine night with a 350-mm, this is perhaps the most attractive of all doubles. Even when Antares is not resolved, the comes can be recognized as a green tinge to one side of the red primary. The pair is a superb sight in a 750-mm refractor at 550x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B22351 16, 17 Draconis Form a triple somewhat like Mu Bootis (Alkalurops), but the brighter components are more nearly equal, and the primary has a close comes. Though nice in a 150-mm, the system is best seen in a 350-mm at 45x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B23277 Alpha Herculis Orange red and bluish-green The colors are very intense, even in a 75-mm telescope. The brighter comes is a semiregular variable. --Mullaney, McCall $ B23294 Delta Herculis White and purple Two unrelated stars at different distances from Earth. --Mullaney, McCall $ B23543 Rho Herculis Attractive in small telescopes. --Mullaney, McCall $ B23797 Nu Draconis Both white A pair of perfectly matched stars of equal brightness. This is one of the few wide pairs that is attractive in larger telescopes. --Mullaney, McCall $ B24538 95 Herculis Pale red and pale green A pair of bright stars, whose hues are delicate, but persistent in all apertures. Both stars look white to many observers. --Mullaney, McCall $ B24641 70 Ophiuchi Yellow and red A famous 88-year binary system. The colors are strong in a 75-mm (150x) and 350-mm (145x). --Mullaney, McCall $ B25466 Alpha Lyrae (Vega) Both blue-white Vega is a dazzling diamond. To the south lies the faint comes, rather difficult in less than a 150-mm. In large refractors having a slight "blue excess" in color correction, Vega is nearly pure blue, an amazing sight. Light from this star takes 26 years to reach Earth. --Mullaney, McCall $ B25666 Epsilon Lyrae Yellow, ruddy, white, white The well-known "Double-Double" rates as the finest multiple star. Both close pairs (2.3 and 2.7 seconds) are just resolved by 100x on a 75-mm in good seeing. Very easy with a 350-mm, which shows all four stars as white. --Mullaney, McCall $ B25991 Theta Serpentis (Alya) Both white An easy pair. --Mullaney, McCall $ B26953 Beta Cygni (Albireo) Orange and blue A beautiful pair. These colors are much more vivid in a 75-mm than a 350-mm, as is often the case with bright stars. --Mullaney, McCall $ B27347 Delta Cygni White and blue-white Offers a close binary with components very unequal in brightness. Can be split in a 75-mm with good seeing; a splendid sight in a 350-mm at 145x; very easy in a 750-mm at 550x. --Mullaney, McCall $ B28965 Gamma Delphini Yellow and pale green A pair of bright stars, appears delicately colored in a 350-mm. --Mullaney, McCall $ B29509 61 Cygni Both orange A famous long-period binary star. Both components are easily split in a 75-mm. At a distance of only 3 parsecs, 61 Cygni is one of the nearest stars. --Mullaney, McCall $ B30118 Beta Cephei (Alfirk) White and blue Offers an unequal double to users of 75-mm telescopes. --Mullaney, McCall $ B31398 Zeta Aquarii Very white and white Fine close binary. In a 100-mm the components appear in contact. --Mullaney, McCall $ B31419 Delta Cephei Pale orange and blue Easy in a 75-mm at 45x. The primary is a 5.4-day variable star, prototype of the Cepheids. --Mullaney, McCall @ Copyright 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 AstroSoft, Inc. Excerpts from copyrighted material are included by permission of Sky Publishing Corporation.