I saw my first double star last night through a beginners' telescope handed down to me from a customer. I'm not absolutely positive of the 4:46 time. I know Venus was up fairly high because I had been looking at it and Aldebaran when I swung the scope around to the west and remembered a Raleigh Astronomy Club member showing me Alberio in his telescope. What looked through my binoculars like a generic white star, appeared as two stars, one faint white and another, clearly separated by a couple millimeters, fainter and very blue. It was really cool to get it in the field of view and see the pair again.
Earlier, around 1:20 or later am, I had been looking at the late rising Moon, Vega and a couple other stars in Lyra.
Every time I managed to aim the scope at an objective and get a clear magnified view I became more confident and eager to see something else through the magic tube.
When I remembered Alberio and got that I started to send an email to the RAC member who helped and encouraged me on my first observation outing. It was a real thrill which I knew he would be pleased to hear about. Instead I made a chart and will save the memory to tell him the next time we see each other at a club meeting.
I really like the group of people. Their love of astronomy and committment to forming a welcoming community is infectious.
