4/24/2023 0 Comments Jammit south of the sky![]() This finder chart is approximately oriented for early morning in the Southern Hemisphere's summer sky north is to the upper right. Most of the stars described here were first recorded by these two observers. Using his father’s "20-foot reflector" (with several 18¼-inch speculum-metal mirrors) and a 5-inch refractor, Herschel compiled a list of 2,102 pairs during a four-year period. However, the systematic cataloging of southern double stars really began in earnest when John Herschel arrived in Africa at the Cape of Good Hope in 1834. Dunlop discovered many attractive double stars and produced a catalog of 253 pairs based on observations he made between 18 with a speculum-metal, 9-inch f/12 reflecting telescope. Apart from some sporadic observations made in the 17th century, double-star observing in the Southern Hemisphere was born in the 1820s when Dunlop and Christian Carl Ludwig Rümker, under the patronage of Thomas Brisbane, came to Australia to catalog all stars of 8th magnitude and brighter south of declination –33° ( Sky & Telescope: June 2001, page 112). I have chosen some of my favorites to get you started.īy observing these stars you’ll be walking in the footsteps of some of the Southern Hemisphere’s most important astronomers, in particular James Dunlop and John Herschel. While most Northerners on a first-time visit to the Southern Hemisphere like to seek out well-known deep-sky treasures such as the Magellanic Clouds, 47 Tucanae, and Eta Carinae, I encourage visitors to add a sampling of the southern sky’s beautiful double stars to their observing lists. What is less often appreciated is that the southern heavens also harbor some impressive double stars. Two things that all Northern Hemisphere observers seem to know about the Southern Hemisphere sky are that it is home to the Southern Cross, and it is loaded with deep-sky treasures.
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