I broke my leg on the evening of the 29th and am in a splint and on crutches for the next eight weeks. This is going to put a dent in my observing as I can't put weight on the leg or bend it so it will be difficult to get to an eyepiece even if I could carry the scope out. I got all dressed up tonight, which tool a lot longer than I had expected, and went out to observe the ISS and an Iridium flare. After I was all dressed I found that the ISS pass had been last night which was just as well because by then I was too late to see it if it had been tonight. I hobbled up to PSC and found that I had to stop every 10-20 hobbles so it tool a while to get there but I was in plenty of time for the Iridium flare. I think satellites are about the only thing I will be observing for a while.
| Observing Location | PSC |
|---|
| Observational Period | 1800-1830 EST |
|---|
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| Cloud Cover | Isolated Clouds |
|---|
| Temperature | 37°F |
|---|
| Wind | Light Breeze |
|---|
| Humidity | Moderate |
|---|
| Barometric Pressure | 30.46" Hg
Rising |
|---|
| Feels Like | Cold |
|---|
|
|---|
| Instruments | Naked-eye - Charlie |
|---|
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway
|
|---|
| Target | Iridium 46 Flare |
|---|
| Constellation | Aur |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20080131.1916 EST |
|---|
| Comments | Not Seen
???
| Alt. | 70.3° |
|---|
| Az. | 106.2° |
|---|
| Mag. | -4.1 |
|---|
The flare should have been near χ Aur (Mag. 4.71), which I did not see, and to the upper left of β Tau (Mag. 1.66) and Mars (Mag. -0.6), both of which were easily visible as were the Kids (Mag. 3.03-3.69). I was hoping it would be near mars to give a brightness estimate so was aware of what was going on around there and saw nothing. I don’t know what happened to it. |
|---|
|
Sunspots Observed
The Sun has finally developed some spots so I have done a bit of observing when the weather was conducive to that activity.
Observing Hours for the Year 2008
| | Day | Night | Total |
|---|
| Hours | Days | Avg | Hours | Days | Avg | Hours | Days | Avg |
|---|
| Jan | 2.25 | 9 | 0.25 | 2.75 | 5 | 0.55 | 5.00 | 13 | 0.38 |
|---|
| TOTAL | 2.25 | 9 | 0.25 | 2.75 | 5 | 0.55 | 5.00 | 13 | 0.38 |
|---|
