Messier 40, also known as Winnecke 4. Basically it’s a double star, and an optical double at that!
It was discovered by Messier while he was looking for a nebula reported in the area by Johannes Hevelius. He couldn’t find it so he catalogued this double star instead. Most have been a slow night or something…
And why did I bother imaging it? Well it was in the only patch of clear sky there was and I only had a few minutes before it clouded over. Still, it’s another Messier object to add to my list 🙂
| Object ID | M40 / Winnecke 4 Double star, Ursa Major Mag. 8.4, Size 0.8′ |
| Details | 2018-09-14 through gaps in cloud |
| Telescope | 200mm f5 Newtonian, MPCC IDAS P2 LPR filter |
| Camera | Canon 600D |
| Exposure(s) | 5x20s darks, flats |
| Capture | APT |
| Processing | Nebulosity 4, Photoshop |