We would like to highlight the exceptional work accomplished by one of our members. As you may know Michel Michaud has been busy photographing stars in the Pleiades. Last year Michel submitted a paper titled “Double Star Measurements in the Pleiades Cluster Using a DSLR Camera” to the University of South Alabama. This paper was subsequently published in the October 2012 edition of the Journal of Double Star Observations.
In his conclusion Michel states that:
“Five currently unlisted components which are excellent candidates to be double stars were found, and two unlisted new pairs.”
Following the publication of this paper the United States Naval Observatory, which maintains the Washington Double Star Catalog, assigned these five stars with the discoverer code “MCD”, Michel’s own.
WDS Discovr Comp EPOCH # THETA RHO Magnitudes Spectral Prop Mot 2nd PM DM Desig Note Precise
Identifier Frst Last Fst Lst First Last Pri Sec Type RA" DEC" RA" DEC" Coordinate
03457+2427MCD 1 2011 2011 1 131 131 2.5 2.5 13.8 14.2 -006+017 034540.87+242731.5
03473+2344MCD 2AE 2012 2012 1 41 41 8.9 8.9 7.03 12.7 -037-026 034717.16+234336.5
03499+2357MCD 3 2012 2012 1 182 182 9.1 9.1 9.9 12.7 G1 -002-015 034957.07+235711.4
03500+2351MCD 4AD 2012 2012 1 270 270 24.6 24.6 6.81 13.6 +020-046 +064-051 034958.04+235055.7
03502+2353MCD 5 2012 2012 1 108 108 9.6 9.6 13.2 13.2 035013.81+235307.9
You can access the full Washington Double Star Catalog
Michel’s paper is published in the Journal of Double Star Observations by the University of South Alabama.
It is remarkable that in this day and age amateurs can make this sort of contribution using commercial off-the-shelf equipment. We encourage you to download and read Michel’s paper.
Congratulations on your findings Michel.