Binary Star Orbits. III. In which we Revisit the Remarkable Case of Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Abstract
Two of the most challenging objects for optical interferometry in the middle of the last century were the close components (FIN 332) of the wide visual binary STF2375 (= WDS 18455+0530 = HIP 92027 = ADS 11640). Each component of the wide pair was found to have subcomponents of approximately the same magnitude, position angle and separation and, hence, were designated by the tongue in cheek monikers "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" by the great visual interferometrist William S. Finsen in 1953. They were later included in a list of "Double Stars that Vex the Observer" by W.H. van den Bos (1958a). While speckle interferometry has reaped a rich harvest investigating the close inteferometric binaries of Finsen, the "Tweedles" have continued to both fascinate and exasperate due to both the great similarity of the close pairs as well as the inherent 180 ambiguity associated with interferometry. Detailed analysis of all published observations of the system have revealed several errors which are here corrected, allowing for determination of these orbital elements which resolve the quadrant ambiguity. A unique software filter was developed which allowed subarrays from archival ICCD speckle data from 1982 to be re-reduced.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA523085
Entities
People
- Brian D. Mason
- Harold A. . Mcalister
- William I. Hartkopf
Organizations
- United States Naval Observatory