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Observation Notes:
My first attempt at measuring this double star on April 10th was foiled by a sudden deterioration in seeing. So I hit it again on the 12th when I was able to enjoy the interesting color contrast of this close double under more stable air. The primary shone with a brilliant cyan hue while its companion buzzed with a dull orange color. I measured a PA of 226 degrees which compares to a 1995 value (Wycoff+, 2006) of 228 degrees. I came up with a separation of 3.4 arc seconds in the astrometric eyepiece, compared to a 1995 measurement of 3.14 arc seconds. I did not measure the widely separated C and D components, but catalogued values can be found below. The B star itself is a tight double with a 1988 WDS measurement of 83 degrees / 0.1 arc seconds.
| Subject | 38 Lyncis (STF 1334) |
| Classification | Multiple Star |
| Position (J2000) | Lynx [RA: 9:18:15.6 / Dec: +36:48:08]* |
| Position Angle* |
A-Bb: 226° [2008.3 my measurement]; 228° [1995.1(Wycoff+, 2006)] Bb-C: 212° [1909 WDS] Bb-D: 256° [1879 WDS] |
| Separation* |
A-Bb: 3.4″ [2008.3 my measurement]; 3.14″ [1995.1(Wycoff+, 2006)] Bb-C: 87.7″ [1909 WDS] Bb-D: 177.9″ [1879 WDS] |
| Magnitudes* | A: 4.0; Bb: 6.6; C: 10.8; D: 10.7 |
| Spectral Types* | A: A2 |
| Date/Time | APR 12, 2008 – 9:15 PM MST (APR 13, 2008 – 04:15 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, Arizona, USA – Home |
| Instrument | Orion Skyview Pro 6LT (150 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | 10 mm Sirius Plössl + 2X Barlow (240X) 12 mm Meade Astrometric EP + 2X Barlow (200X) |
| Conditions | Clear, first quarter moon |
| Seeing | 6/10 Pickering |
| Transparency | NELM Mag 5.0 |
| *References | The Washington Visual Double Star Catalog, 1996.0 (Worley+, 1996); Double stars in astrometric catalogs (Wycoff+, 2006); Catalogue of Stellar Spectral Classifications (Skiff, 2005) |