8 Ursae Minoris (HIP 73136 / SAO 8127)
RA: 14 56 48.35 Dec: +74 54 03.3
Magnitudes: 6.94, 8.92
Separation: 171”
Position Angle: 32°
So 8 Ursae Minoris was pretty easy to find with the bright star Kochab being very near. The primary and secondary were incredibly easy to spot as there is a large separation between them and they are more than bright enough for me to spot from my light polluted back garden. One thing I did enjoy about this double is that I actually picked up a very vague hint of yellow in the primary star and whilst I have tried to show it in my sketch it is probably very hard to see the difference between it and the other starts which looked white.
Another nice aspect of the view is that variable star TT Umi is very close by towards the West of 8 Umi and has a lovely orange hue which I could clearly make out.
STF 1761 (HIP 66011 / SAO 7837)
RA: 13 32 01.67 Dec: +71 43 01.3
Magnitudes: 9.3, 10.1
Separation: 20.2”
Position Angle: 71°
The second double of the night was STF 1761 which was much fainter than 8 Umi but I was still able to make out both components. The sky wasn't the most transparent so it wasn't the easiest of views but it was obvious enough even if it was over shadowed by some of the brighter stars around it in the field of view. I couldn't pick out any colouring in the stars and it wasn't that interesting a view but at least it is another Ursa Minor double off the list.
STF 1859 (HIP 70783 / SAO 8027)
RA: 14 28 31.85 Dec: +73 03 18.3
Magnitudes: 8.63, 10.12
Separation: 19.8”
Position Angle: 234°
STF 1859 had a slightly brighter primary compared to STF 1761 which actually made it much easier to make out even if the secondary wasn't any different in magnitude. It was also much easier to focus in on it as the stars around it were not as overpowering in magnitude as I had seen with STF 1761. Once again though I still couldn't pick out any colour in the two components but I did enjoy watching them hover in the eyepiece.
