The Hidden Companions

Recently, I have been studying about double stars and their movements. Double stars either orbit each other or one orbit the other which is stationary with respect to it. I finding more about the companions of Sirius, Rigel and Albireo. I find Sirius B more interesting as it has an unusual orbiting system. The companion of Sirius known as the "pup" is a white dwarf.

The pup was first discovered in 1862 by an 18-inch telescope. It was later found out that Sirius B has a high temperature and density and is small in size. Hence, it was concluded that it is a white dwarf. For many years astronomers tried to get a magnified view of Sirius B. Even the largest Telescope could only produce a white dot. This is due to its small size and the extreme brightness of Sirius. X-ray telescopes are able to capture a bright image of Sirius B as it stores large amount of energy. Even Hubble telescope is only able to capture a dot of Sirius B.

Is it possible to find the pup through an amateur telescope? It is not totally impossible as research has shown that the separation between Sirius and its companion is increasing. The separation will be maximum by 2022. Secondly, it shines at 8th magnitude which is within the limit of an amateur telescope. If an amateur astronomer is skillful enough in using a telescope with a wide aperture, clean lenses and no glare, it would possible to spot it. However, it is not that easy as we think. By 2022, there may be someone who will spot Sirius B through a amateur telescope.

Currently Sirius is the brightest star viewed from our solar system. Sirius could have appeared even brighter 125 million years ago before Sirius B had turned into a white dwarf. It would be similar to that of alpha centauri. The two stars, Alpha Centaurus A and Alpha Centaurus B being close together makes it the single star which is the 3rd brightest form Earth. Probably Sirius would have appeared brighter than Jupiter 125 million years back.

For now, I will be trying to spot the Companions of Rigel and Albireo. It will be difficult due to the several factors (eg:limiting magnitude) in my country. Nevertheless, I will give it a try and take some photographs.