I had planned to get up to see some early morning bright Iridium flares but when I got sleepy last night I forgot to check my calendar and set an alarm so messed them.
| Observing Location | CT |
|---|
| Observational Period | 0930-0945 EDT |
|---|
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| Cloud Cover | Clear |
|---|
| Temperature | 65°F |
|---|
| Wind | Light Breeze |
|---|
| Humidity | Moderate |
|---|
| Barometric Pressure | 30.19" Hg
Rising |
|---|
| Feels Like | Warm |
|---|
It feels hot standing in the sun.
There are lots of contrails cluttering the sky.
|
|---|
| Instruments | Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie |
|---|
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway
|
|---|
| Target | Sunspots |
|---|
| Constellation | Ari |
|---|
| Category | Solar |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.0930 EDT |
|---|
| Comments |
Distance
Light Time | 1.01 AU
8m 22s |
|---|
| Angular Size | 31' 51.0" |
|---|
| Altitude | 38.0° |
|---|
Heliographic Latitude
(B0) | -4.76° |
|---|
Heliographic Longitude
(L0) | 251.35° |
|---|
Parallactic Angle
(P) | -25.08° |
|---|
Carrington rotation number
(CR) | 2069 |
|---|
Group 992 still appears in the SOHO image but it appears to be dissipating. I didn’t see anything.
| | Groups | Spots | R |
|---|
| North | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| South | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| R = (Groups * 10) + Spots) |
|
|---|
|
There was an article on Spaceflight Now on Tuesday that reported on the landing of the astronauts and cosmonauts returning from the ISS in a Soyuz TMA capsule that returned to earth in a ballistic reentry and made a hard landing. It contains a good description of how the Soyuz capsules work.
| Observing Location | Cross Bronx Expressway at White Plains Road, Bronx, NY |
|---|
| Observational Period | 2000-2015 EDT |
|---|
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| Cloud Cover | Clear |
|---|
| Temperature | 69°F |
|---|
| Wind | Light Breeze |
|---|
| Humidity | Low |
|---|
| Barometric Pressure | 30.10" Hg
Rising |
|---|
| Feels Like | Mild |
|---|
|
|---|
| Instruments | Naked-eye - Charlie |
|---|
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway
|
|---|
| 1944 EDT | Sunset
Civil Twilight Begins |
|---|
| Target | Iridium 39 Flare |
|---|
| Constellation | Crv |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.2005 EDT |
|---|
| Comments | Not Seen
| | Heavens
Above | CalSky |
|---|
| Time | | 2005:17 EDT |
|---|
| Alt. | ° | 10.8° |
|---|
| Az. | ° | 131.7°
SE |
|---|
| Mag. | | +0.3 |
|---|
| Surface | | Solar Panels |
|---|
|
|---|
|
| 2013 EDT | Civil Twilight ends
Nautical Twilight begins |
|---|
| Target | Iridium 80 Flare |
|---|
| Constellation | Crv |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.2014 EDT |
|---|
| Comments | Not Seen
| | Heavens
Above | CalSky |
|---|
| Time | | 2014:07 EDT |
|---|
| Alt. | ° | 14.3° |
|---|
| Az. | ° | 1354.1°
SE |
|---|
| Mag. | | -2.2 |
|---|
| Surface | | Solar Panels |
|---|
|
|---|
|
| 2048 EDT | Nautical Twilight ends
Astronomical Twilight begins |
|---|
| 2126 EDT | Astronomical Twilight ends |
|---|
| Observing Location | White Plains Road between Wood Ave and McGraw Ave, Bronx, NY
Lat.: 40° 50’ 05.61"
Long.: -73° 51’ 46.77" |
|---|
| Observational Period | EDT |
|---|
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| Cloud Cover | Clear |
|---|
| Temperature | 66°F |
|---|
| Wind | Calm |
|---|
| Humidity | Low |
|---|
| Barometric Pressure | 30.17" Hg
Rising |
|---|
| Feels Like | Warm |
|---|
There may have been a few stripes of cloud around.
|
|---|
| Instruments | Naked-eye - Charlie |
|---|
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway
|
|---|
| Target | Mars |
|---|
| Constellation | Gem |
|---|
| Category | Planet |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.1945 EDT |
|---|
| Comments |
Object
Class | Classical Planet |
|---|
| Elongation | ° |
|---|
Distance
Light Time
(from Earth) | AU
ms |
|---|
Distance
(from Sun) | AU |
|---|
| Angular Size | 6.0" |
|---|
| Magnitude | 1.1 |
|---|
| Central Meridian | 179.73° |
|---|
| Altitude | ° |
|---|
|
|---|
|
| Target | Saturn |
|---|
| Constellation | Leo |
|---|
| Category | Planet |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.1950 EDT |
|---|
| Comments |
Object
Class | Classical Planet |
|---|
| Elongation | ° |
|---|
Distance
Light Time
(from Earth) | AU
hm |
|---|
Distance
(from Sun) | AU |
|---|
| Angular Size | "x" |
|---|
Ring
Angular
Size | "x" |
|---|
Ring
Inclination | ° |
|---|
| Magnitude | 0.5 |
|---|
| Altitude | ° |
|---|
|
Starry Night Starter graphic |
|---|
|
|---|
|
| Target | MetopA Flare |
|---|
| Constellation | Cas |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080424.2000 EDT |
|---|
| Comments | Not Seen
CalSky advises
This is an experimental flare prediction. Brightness estimate may be unreliable. Please report a successful observation (object/site coordinates/date/measured time/accuracy/magnitude).
Relative to Gemini, I don’t think I was looking in the right place. I don’t see any of the stars of Cas and my sense is that my compass had me looking into Aur/Tau.
As its name implies, Metop-A is a weather satellite. It was launched by ESA and is managed jointly by ESA/EUMET/NASA. It is in a polar orbit.
An Introduction to the EUMETSAT Polar System
| | Heavens
Above | CalSky |
|---|
| Time | EDT | 2200:31 EDT |
|---|
| Alt. | ° | 18.5° |
|---|
| Az. | ° | 345.0°
NNW |
|---|
| Mag. | | -2.5 |
|---|
| Surface | | Left facing ASCAT |
|---|
|
|---|
|
