30 November 2008

Sunspots Observed

There have been some spots this month but they are mainly smaller spots than I can see with my small binocular. I saw spots on only two days this month.

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
Feb	3.25	9	0.36	8.25	7	1.18	11.25	12	0.94
Mar	5.25	10	0.53	8.50	12	0.71	13.75	16	0.86
Apr	6.25	19	0.33	5.75	7	0.82	12.00	19	0.63
May	6.50	18	0.36	2.25	5	0.45	8.75	18	0.49
Jun	5.25	20	0.26	12.00	8	1.50	17.25	21	0.82
Jul	5.05	15	0.37	15.25	10	1.53	20.75	17	1.22
Aug	5.00	18	0.31	2.00	3	0.67	7.50	18	0.42
Sep	5.00	18	0.31	2.00	3	0.67	7.50	18	0.42
Oct	6.00	18	0.33	6.00	5	1.20	12.00	19	0.63
Nov	0.75	3	0.25	1.50	1	1.50	2.25	3	0.75
TOTAL	48.25	150	0.32	68.50	66	1.04	116.75	170	0.69

Climate Summary for November 2008

Temperature

There were four days this month when the low temperature was equal to or higher than the normal high temperature for the day and four days when the high temperature was equal to or less than the normal low temperature for the day.

	High	Mean	Low
Above Normal	days	days	days
Normal	days	days	days
Below Normal	days	days	days
Temperature Extremes	° F		° F
Maximum Deviation	° F -° F	° F -° F	° F -° F
Mean Monthly Temperature		° F

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Precipitation

Days with measurable precipitation
Days with a trace of precipitation
Maximum one day precipitation	in
Monthly Total	in

image

Snowfalll

Days with measurable snow
Days with a trace of snow
Maximum one day snowfall	in
Monthly Total	in

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Heating Degree Days

Above Normal	days
Normal	days
Below Normal	days
Maximim on a day	degree days
Minimum on a day	degree days
Maximum Deviation	degree days - degree days
Monthly Total	degree days

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Cooling Degree Days

Above Normal	0 day
Normal	0 day
Below Normal	0 days
Maximim on a day	0 degree days
Minimum on a day	0 degree days
Maximum Deviation	0 degree days -0 degree days
Monthly Total	0 degree days

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2008 Hurricane Season Summary

I didn't keep track of the forecast for the season to know how close they came to getting it right.

Storm Tracks

Storm Length and Intensity

Storm Intensity

Active Storms per Day

Storm Distribution During the Season

Maximum Speed and Barometric Pressure

I wanted to see how tight the relationship was between wind speed and pressure so graphed the six-hour statistics and came up with a what looks like a Hertsprung-Russel diagram.

22 November 2008

Today is the first day this winter that the temperature hasn't risen above freezing mark.

20 November 2008

Today is the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station. On this date in the year 1998 the first component of the ISS, the Zarya control module, was launched by Russia.

16 November 2008

I was watching NASA TV when the Shuttle performed its Terminal Initiation burn took place. They had been showing images of the Shuttle and the Moon taken from an external camera on the ISS. The Shuttle just looked like a pulsing light and there wasn't much detail in the Moon. They said they were about 20 seconds from the burn so I started a countdown and right on schedule there was a flash of light from the Shuttle. It didn't last lone and I don't know if I saw the whole burn or if the auto exposure on the camera stopped the lens down so I didn't see the whole burn. It was still mildly interesting to have seen it in real time.

There have been some problems with the Shuttle that NASA is watching. There was a piece of heat shield blanket that was lost. It was 4" wide by 1-1.5' long. NASA says it came from an area of the shuttle that is "not of great concern" [emphasis mine]. They have had blanket problems before and gone outside to remove a piece of protruding blanket and I think filled in a gap left by missing blanket on another occasion. I haven't seen anything saying if they are considering a repair this time around. They are also having trouble with the KU band microwave antenna. That antenna is used to send TV back to earth and also as a radar antenna for rendezvous and docking. The antenna was successfully used rot rendezvous but they are still experiencing problems using it for TV. Other than that the mission is going perfectly.

14 November 2008

I got online in time to see the Airstream driving the astronauts out to the Pad and stayed with the stream until after MECO.

The decision to launch seemed risky to me. They found that the closeout team had failed to secure the frame that seals the end of the white room against the shuttle and it was flapping around in the breeze. With 16 minutes remaining in the final hold they were asking if there was enough time to get someone back up there to secure the frame. They didn't seem to think that there would be a problem with it impacting the Shuttle since there is a railing that it would bang into first. I wonder if it might bang into the railing with enough force to tear something free or break something that would then become a projectile that could impact shuttle tiles as it fell. They seemed to feel that the risk was acceptable and launched without trying to secure the frame. There were no immediate reports of adverse affects immediately after launch.

12 November 2008

Observing Location	White Plains Rd @ Morris Park Ave, Bronx, NY Lat.: 40° 50' 42.32" Long.: -73° 51' 58.21"
Observational Period	0730-0745 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 41° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.39" Hg Rising Feels Like Cool Clouds low on the horizon Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Vir Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081112.0730 EST Comments Distance Light Time 0.990 AU 8ms Angular Size 31' 22.5" Altitude 8.0° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 3.10° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 102.40° Parallactic Angle (P) 21.97° Carrington rotation number (CR) 1076 Nothing Seen The sun looked nice with a light gray scrim passing in front of it.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

10 November 2008

Observing Location	BLC
Observational Period	1500-1515 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 54° F Wind Moderate Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.79" Hg Rising Feels Like Brisk Transparency Good Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 200810.1500 EST Comments Distance Light Time 0.990 AU m 14s Angular Size 32' 21.7" Altitude 16.1° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 3.30° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 124.65° Parallactic Angle (P) 22.40° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2076 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

9 November 2008

Observing Location	PKR
Observational Period	1200-1215 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 56° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.75" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool Transparency Good Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Lib Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081109.1200 EST Comments Distance Light Time 0.99 AU m s Angular Size 32' 21.2" Altitude 32.7° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 3.42° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 139.47° Parallactic Angle (P) 22.67° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2076 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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Observing Location	MO
Observational Period	1800-1930 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 50° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.85" Hg Steady Feels Like Very Cool There are not many stars visible tonight. I lost Jupiters moons while observing them. There is boiling across the face of the Moon. I had to do a lot of refocusing. Earlier in the day there were some stripes of clouds visible and I wonder if they are still around but not illuminated enough for me to see them. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie Celestron Omni 20mm (21x) Celestron Omni 2x Barlow
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Jupiter Constellation Sgr Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081109.1815 EST Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 60.3° E Distance Light Time (from Earth) 5.55 AU 46m 10s Distance (from Sun) 5.13 AU Angular Size 35.5" x 33.2" Magnitude -2.1 Central Meridian I/II 271°/41° Altitude 24.9° Moons Starry Night Starter graphic Io and Ganymede appeared as one or I was only seeing Ganymede. At high power none of the moons were visible.

Target Moon Constellation Psc Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081109.1825 EST Comments Lunation 1066 Phase Waxing Gibous Age 11d 23h 10m Distance Light Time (from earth) 371,219 km 1.24s Elongation 134.8° E % Illuminated 85.7% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 52.5° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 232.5° Libration in Latitude -4° 19' Libration in Longitude -6° 42' Magnitude -11.6 Angular Size 32.19' Altitude 42° 13' Virtual Moon Atlas graphic Terminator In Shadow Feature Diameter (km); Class In Sunlight   Philolaus 70; 1 >>>   Anaximenes 80; 5 >>>   Carpenter 59; Old >>>   Anaximander 67; 5 >>>   J. Herschel 165; Extremely Old >>> <<< Babbage 143; Extremely Old     Harpalus 39; 1 >>>   Sharp 39; 1 >>>   Mairan 40;1 >>>   Prinz 46; Old >>> <<< Valles Schöteri 168 >>>   Aristarchus 40; 1 >>>   Herodotus 34; >>>   Marius A >>>   Marius 41; 5 >>> <<< Reiner 29; 1     Suess 8 >>> <<< Hermann 15     Hansteen 44 >>>   Billy 45 >>>   Mersenius 84; 3 >>> <<< Henry 41; Old     Cavendish 56; 3 >>> <<< Vieta 87; 2     Fourier 51; 2 >>> <<< Schickard 206; 5 >>> <<< Wargentin 84; 5     Naysmyth 76; Very Old >>> <<< Phocylides 121; 3     Nöggerath 30; Very Old >>>   Schiller 188; 3 >>>   Segner 67; 3 >>>   Zucchius 64; 1 >>>   Bettinus 71; 1 >>>   Kircher 72; 1 >>>   Wilson 69; Very Old >>>   Casatus 108; 2 >>>   Newton 78; 1 >>> <<< Morteus 111; 1 >>> The most striking features are in the area of Schicard. there is an area of flat terrain to the east of Schicard that appears to surround the crater and looks to be circular as though it is a walled plain or drowned crater. I get the same impression from an area southwest of Schiller which extends south to include Segner. There is a nice indication of relief inside the north rim of Schiller – is it an indication that libration is to the north. [the Moon is actually tipped up somewhat] There are lots of chalky white spots between Sinus Medii and Mare Nectaris. I don’t see any libration features on the eastern limb. Other features noted: Herigonius 15; Young Norman 10 Wichmann 10; Young Dorsa Rubey 100 Flamsteed 20; 1 flamsteed P Encke B 11.5 km Encke 28; 5

3 November 2008

I decided to look more at the length of sunlight, and eariest and latest sunrise and sunset relative to the solstices and start and end of daylight saving time.

I started with the event that is going on right now. It charted out pretty cleanly.

Then I went back and worked on the Summer Solstice events. First I found that I had to input data for one more month to cover the switch from Standard Time to Daylight Saving Time and the longest day of the year. When I got all of the data inputted and applied some conditional formatting to the spreadsheet to identify the date(s) of earliest sunrise, latest sunset and longest daylight I found that there was a lot of overlap between them.

Eariest Sunrise	12-16Jun08
Longest Day	15-16Jun08 18-25Jun08
Latest Sunset	22Jun08-3Jul08

This made it harder to color code the chart to identify the days. And yes, there is a short day in that run of longest days.

2 November 2008

We just switched from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time. The Sun had been waking up about a minute earlier each day and going to bed about a minute earlier. Because of the time change the Sun will wake up almost an hour earlier today (0627 EST) than it did yesterday (0726 EDT). The Sun won't wake up as late as it did yesterday again until after we have returned to Daylight Saving Time again in April. On the days during the winter when the Sun wakes up the latest (30Dec08-9Jan09) it only wakes up at 0720.

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Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	0945-1000 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 42° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.53" Hg Rising Feels Like Cool There are stripes of very thin cirrus clouds in various parts of the sky. The cloud cover is even more obvious in the filtered binocular. Transparency Good Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Lib Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081102.0945 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 0.992 AU m 15s Angular Size 32' 17.7" Altitude 21.7° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 4.19° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 233.55° Parallactic Angle (P) 24.16° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2076 Nothing Seen There is a new bipolar, Cycle 24 group (1007) showing up in the upper right quadrant of the SOHO images.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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A piece of garbage thrown overboard from the ISS back in Jul07 is about to reenter earth's atmosphere. The Early Amonia Servicer is the size of a double-wide refrigerator and ways 1400 pounds.

detail from a NASA graphic

It is expected to be completely incinerated as it passes through Earth's atmosphere and pose no threat to earth. The trajectory places reentry in the "early hours" (0346 UTC) of 3Nov08, ±15 hours. Given the high degree of uncertainty about the time of reentry it is impossible to say where it will take place, on which orbit, or even if it will be during the "early hours" of the 3rd. But if it reenters at 0346 UTC the EAS Ground Tacks, at The Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies, shows that it will occur over the Pacific Ocean SW of Baja, Mexico, while on an ascending pass. That would place reentry at ~1946 PST tonight or about 30 minutes after the end of Astronomical Twilight.

Space Weather has a Satellite Tracker application, but it does not show any visible passes of the EAS over the Bronx.

1 November 2008

November

From the Latin word novem, "nine", because it had been the ninth month of the early Roman Calendar.

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Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	0845-0900 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 54° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.23" Hg Rising Feels Like Mild It is really quite pleasant out. There are streaks of altostratus that look like they are building into a stratus deck. Transparency Fair Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Lib Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20081101.0845 EDT Comments The sun looked nice behind the thin clouds but they would have obscured any small spots, had there been any. Distance Light Time 0.992 AU 8m 15s Angular Size 32' 17.2" Altitude 12.9° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 4.30° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 247.29° Parallactic Angle (P) 24.35° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2076 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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I checked out the STS-126 mission timeline and, given good weather, we should have a chance of seeing it at MECO as it passes NYC but the subsequent ISS passes prior to docking are both short and lot altitude so it is doubtful that we will have a chance of seeing the two craft flying in tandem.

Date	EST	Event
14Nov08	1955	Launch
	2003	NYC flyby
		MECO
16Nov08	1710	Docking
127Nov08	1049	Undocking
29Nov08	1314	Deorbit burn
	1418	Landing

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It seems like all of a sudden all of the trees in my neighborhood are at near peak fall coloring. It wasn't like this when I went out this morning.

?	could it be the return of milder weather after the recent rainfall or was it just their time to turn color