In observational astronomy, a double star is a pair of stars that appear close to each other in the sky as seen from Earth when viewed through an optical telescope.
This can happen either because the pair forms a binary star, i.e., gravitationally bound to each other in a mutual orbit , or because it is an optical double, a chance alignment of two stars in the sky that lie at different distances.
The weekend viewing of a double star was for me more surreal and less scientific.
It gave me a feeling of the two most important people of my life watching over me. The two I owe my life to , literally also...
Here's a picture of a double star Albireo that I got after a search on www. This was the double star that I chanced upon in the clear night sky through the telescope at the observatory.
The “head” of the constellation Cygnus, the Swan, Albireo is a beautiful stellar pair, notable because it shows a striking amount of color — one star glows with a deep, yellow hue, while the other appears as a brilliant blue.
Courtesy: www images
