European Association for Astronomy Education

If you managed to find the two double stars we talked about in an earlier post, here are a couple of double stars a little more difficult to locate, but with some “wow” factor.

Among the best of all double stars and relatively easy to find is the last star of the string of bright stars that helps make the constellation of Andromeda. The second magnitude star, Gamma (γ)Andromeda (Almach), is stunning through a telescope, even a small instrument showing a superb pair separated by a good 10 seconds of arc.

Another relatively easy to find is Eta Cassiopeia, this double has a nice contrast with stars having yellow and orange colours.

If you would like to learn more about double stars, take a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_star/wiki/Double_star

Source: EurekAlert

Astronomers have found an additional star located in the Dipper's gripper that is invisible to the unaided eye. Alcor, one of the stars that makes the bend in the Big Dipper's handle has a smaller red dwarf companion orbiting it. Now known as "Alcor B," the star was found with an innovative technique called "common parallactic motion," and was found by members of Project 1640, an international collaborative team that gives a nod to the insight of Galileo Gallilei.

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