A quick sail across the galactic plane into Bootes & Lyra!
This Summer is already off to a bang- given the Summer Solstice was yesterday. I managed to fall and tear my MCL on memorial day so hopping around has proven to be wildly adventurous with the flip of a coin. Alas, I’ll make it with a lot of commentary on the situation- you can bet!
From the outset, my first thought was the crimp in my observing schedule. What might seem as a trivial activity for most has been and is one of my most therapeutic hobbies. I mean it! I’ll say it again- photons bouncing around an alien Sun crossing the expansive void between galaxies to land on the cones and rods in the retina of my eyeball for my brain to interpret the information…. FASCINATING!
So this year, I’ve set out to finally acquire some observing pins and challenges from the Astronomical League. I haven’t been as disciplined as I should have been all these years with my observing, instead choosing to just grab my scope and look at the headline-highlights. But now, I’m on a regimen and system that’s got me sailing through the galactic core. Which brings me to the point of this post.
Asellus Secundus, Asellus Primus, and Asellus Tertius. Double stars galore… all throughout Bootes and Lyra you can find a myriad of double stars. Given Alberio is up (my favorite double star) this time of year very close to Vega- and part of the Summer Triangle, I recommend getting out your binoculars, telescope, or just your naked eye to see these celestial beauties. I won’t post an image of that famous movie with a would-be hero standing in front of a double star sunset on a planet “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away”, but I bet you can see it in your mind’s eye. And so it is with the double stars… I dream of what might be peering into their double sunsets. What a thought! Perfect for summer dreaming.
Here’s hoping you make some time to get out and see the stars yourself!
Clear Skies,
matt