SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
massimo.difusco
Location of Photo:
Ferrara (Italy)
Date/Time of photo:
06/11/2023 00:00
Equipment:
Konus 200/1000 @950mm (f/4.8), Player One Poseidon-C @-5 °C, Sky-Watcher Eq6r Pro mount, SvBony CLS filter
Description:
Mizar and Alcor are two stars that form a binary system clearly visible to the naked eye, located in the "handle" of the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation Ursa Major. Mizar is the second star from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper, and Alcor is its fainter companion. The traditional name Mizar derives from the Arabic المئزر miʼzar which means "wrapper", "cover". Alcor, however, always derives from Arabic سها Suhā/Sohā, meaning “forgotten” or “neglected”, as a faintly perceptible companion of Mizar. Mizar, in reality, appears to the telescope as a double star and is a four-star binary system, i.e. it is made up of two pairs of double stars gravitationally linked to each other. Instead, Alcor is a binary system. Thus, the Mizar/Alcor pair together form a sextuple system located approximately 83 light-years from the Sun. A little curiosity: in ancient times, this double star was used as a test to understand if someone had vision problems, in case he were unable to visually separate the two stars.
