Student Measurements of the Double Star STFA 28AB Compared with 18th - 21st Century Observations
Abstract
Five students participated in a summer double star workshop at the Lewis Center for Educational Research in Apple Valley, California. An 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 12.5mm Celestron Micro Guide eyepiece was used to measure the position angle and separation of the double star STFA 28AB which was found, respectively, to be 170° and 108 arc seconds. The results were compared to late 18th and early 19th century observations as well as the most recent ten observations listed in the Washington Double Star Catalog. The measured separation changed by 20 arc seconds between 1781 and 1800 and then did not change significantly for the subsequent 212 years. The authors suggest either a procedural error by Herschel or, if binary, the orbital inclination of the system may explain the change.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Double Star Observations
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013JDSO....9...37B