31 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	0815-0830 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Overcast Temperature 67° F Wind Calm gusting to Light Breeze Humidity High Barometric Pressure 29.94" Hg Falling Feels Like Mild Clouds and haze of varying density are moving across the sun from SW to NE. They are predicting heavy thunderstorms and tornadoes for this afternoon and the air already feels moist. Chances of seeing the launch of STS-124 this afternoon seem to be nil. Transparency Poor Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080531.0815 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 26s Angular Size 31' 35.7" Altitude 29.2° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -0.69° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 122.76° Parallactic Angle (P) -15.49° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen. It is doubtful that I would have been able to have seen any spots smaller than Jupiter sized ones through the moving clouds.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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Sunspots Observed

There were a few sunspots from Cycle 24 that appeared int eh SOHO images but they were all too small for me to see them with the binocular.

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
TOTAL	23.50	65	0.36	27.50	36	0.76	51.00	79	0.65

Climate Summary for May 2008

30 May 2008

Observing Location	CDLD
Observational Period	0930-0945 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Broken Temperature 67° F Wind Calm Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 30.13" Hg Rising Feels Like Mild The cloud cover is cirrus and haze 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 Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080530.0930 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 26s Angular Size 31' 36.0" Altitude 43.5° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -0.80° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 135.30° Parallactic Angle (P) -15.84° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

29 May 2008

Observing Location	CDLD
Observational Period	0930-0945 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 58° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.19" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild 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 Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080529 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 26s Angular Size 31' 36.3" Altitude 43.4° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -0.92° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 148.53° Parallactic Angle (P) -16.20° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

The shuttle is still on schedule for liftoff on Saturday. It looks like there might be a chance to see it flying near the ISS on Sunday and it will be four minutes behind ISS on Saturday night but that is a very poor pass. I will have to crunch the data tomorrow when there is more information available on CalSky.

There was a great image posted on Space Weather today that shows the Phoenix lander parachuting to the surface of Mars taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It is amazing that things like this can be done. the image

28 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1130-1145 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 59° F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.23" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild Transparency Excellent 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 2008 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 26s Angular Size 31' 36.6" Altitude 64.5° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.03° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 160.66° Parallactic Angle (P) -16.53° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

Target Moon Constellation Aqr Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080528.1140 EDT Comments The moon was very faint and appeared to be Last Quarter (actually 2257 EDT last night). Starry Night Starter graphic Lunation 1056 Phase Waning Gibbous Age 23d 3h 21m Distance Light Time (from earth) 380095 km 1.27s Elongation 83.6° W % Illuminated 44.6% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 194.0° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 14° Libration in Latitude -2° 08' Libration in Longitude -8° 39' Magnitude -9.9 Angular Size 31.44' Altitude 18° 00' Virtual Moon Atlas graphic

26 May 2008

Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	1115-1200 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 72° F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Moderate Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.99" Hg Falling Feels Like Warm The wind is gusting wuite strongly every minute or so. There is no boiling around the Sun’s limb but seeing is adversely affected by the wind buffeting the scope. Transparency Excellent Seeing II
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie CelEDTron Omni 20mm (21x) CelEDTron Omni 2x Barlow - w/Baader AstroSolar filter film w/Baader AstroSolar filter film
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080526 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 37.3" Altitude 64.2° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.27° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 187.13° Parallactic Angle (P) -17.23° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

I brought the Blackberry 7101 and my Brunton Eclipse with me today to compare the GPS fixes. The Brunton was able to find satellites and get a fix several minutes faster than the Blackberry and the Blackberry lost satellites while the Brunton was still getting fixes. They use different ways of telling you how accurate the fixes are so I can’t directly compare them but have graphed the several fixes I was able to get with each devise.

Latitude	Longitude
Brunton Eclipse
40° 50.187’	-73° 51.513’
40° 50.174’	-73° 51.1498’
40° 50.170’	-73° 51.481’
Blackberry 7101
40° 50.1924’	-73° 51.5028’
40° 50.1828’	-73° 51.5272’
Actual Location
40° 50.1726’	-73° 51.5078’

I can't be sure with this much data, but it looks like the Blackberry might be a little more accurate while the Brunton seems to be more reliable

25 May 2008

Observing Location	McGraw Ave @ Unionport Rd, Bronx, NY Lat.: 40° 50' 8.58" Long.: -73° 51' 21.23"
Observational Period	0345-0400 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 55°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.06" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool Mag 6 stars kept coming and going in the binocular. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Golden Gate 7x35 binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

0332 EDT	Astronomical Twilight begins

I didn’t see any sign of the approaching Sun or of twilight of any description.

Target Iridium Flare Constellation Aqr Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.0341 EDT Comments The object was to see this Mag -7 Iridium flare but I didn’t get up when the alarm went off so didn’t make it to a viewing location until after the flare had occurred.   Heavens Above CalSky Time 0341:48 EDT   Alt. 28°   Az. 114° ESE   Mag. -7   Surface

Target Moon Constellation Sgr Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.0345 EDT Comments The Moon looked slightly gibbous with a lit up irregular cloud surrounding it. Lunation 1056 Phase Waxing Gibbous Age 18d 19h 26m Distance Light Time (from earth) 391,853 km 1.33s Elongation 133.6° W % Illuminated 68.3% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 165.4° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 345.4° Libration in Latitude 1° 41' Libration in Longitude -6° 43' Magnitude -11.4 Angular Size 30.49' Altitude 25° 29' Virtual Moon Atlas graphic

Target Jupiter Constellation Sgr Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.0350 EDT Comments I could not split the moons with my hand-held 7x binocular. The planet looks like a bright Saturn, elongated along the equator. Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 131.5° W Distance Light Time (from Earth) 4.47 AU 37m 10s Distance (from Sun) 5.20 AU Angular Size 44.1" x 41.2" Magnitude -2.5 Central Meridian I/II 60°/44° Altitude 27.8° Moons Starry Night Starter graphic

Target Neptune Constellation Cap Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.0355 EDT Comments Something popped into view faintly a couple of times where Neptune is supposed to be and there isn’t supposed to be anything brighter there. Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 99.3° W Distance Light Time (from Earth) 29.9 AU 4h 8m Distance (from Sun) 30.0 AU Angular Size 2.24" Magnitude 7.9 Altitude 24.8°

0418 EDT	Astronomical Twilight ends Nautical Twilight begins
0458 EDT	Nautical Twilight ends Civil Twilight begins
0530 EDT	Civil Twilight ends

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Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	1400-1430 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 76° F Wind Calm gusting to Light Breeze Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 30.05" Hg Falling Feels Like Mild Transparency Excellent Seeing I
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie CelEDTron Omni 20mm (21x) CelEDTron Omni 2x Barlow - w/Baader AstroSolar filter film w/Baader AstroSolar filter film
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.1415 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 37.6" Altitude 64.3° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.38° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 198.84° Parallactic Angle (P) -17.54° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 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	McGraw Ave @ White Plains Rd
Observational Period	2045-2145 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 66° F Wind Calm gusting to Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.05" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild Thick cloud on the western horizon to 5-10° elevation; stripes of cloud elsewhere. Some of the stars are disappearing when a thin cloud passes but I think I am seeing more tonight between the clouds than I did last night from the same location. Transparency Fair-Good Seeing II-III
Instruments	Golden Gate 7x35 binocular – Charlie Going for aperture to try and pull out M44
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

2015 EDT	Sunset Civil Twilight begins

Target Saturn Constellation Leo Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.2045 EDT Comments Saturn is following Regulus down the ecliptic. Starry Night Starter graphic Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 87.9° E Distance Light Time (from Earth) 9.29 AU 1h 17m Distance (from Sun) 9.31 AU Angular Size 17.8" x 15.8" Ring Angular Size 40.4" x 6.81" Ring Inclination 9.7° Magnitude +0.7 Altitude 54.4° Meridian graphic

2047 EDT	Civil Twilight ends Nautical Twilight begins

Target ISS Visible Pass Constellation Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.2103 EDT Comments The ISS seemed brighter than Mag 0 and I was surprised to see it at twilight given my prior experience of not seeing brighter Iridium flares close to sunset.     Starts Max. Alt. Ends H A e b a o v v e e    s   Time 2103:13 EDT 2105:47 EDT 2108:22 EDT Alt. 10° 28° 10° Az. W NNW NE Mag -0.1 C a l S k y Time 2101:01 EDT 2105:44 EDT 2110:29 EDT Alt. horizon 28.3° horizon Az. 257.2° WSW 332.6° NNW 48.0° NE Mag 0.7 -1.5 -0.5

Target Mars Constellation Cnc Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.2110 EDT Comments Mars is bracketed between Acellus Australis and Asutralis Borealis. I think there is a patch of wispy sky E of Mars that should be M44 but it is very faint and only just detected. There is a faint point of light outside of M44 (η Cnc) forming an equilateral triangle with the Acelluses. Starry Night Starter graphic Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 64.1° E Distance Light Time (from Earth) 1.84 AU 15m 16s Distance (from Sun) 1.66 AU Angular Size 5.1" Magnitude 1.4 Central Meridian 257° Altitude 38.8°

Target Orion Constellation Ori Category Constellation Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080525.2115 EDT Comments I could see Betelgeuse NE and just above the buildings. I found Belatrix nearly right below Betelgeuse. Altitak, Alnilam and Mintaka were setting into the buildings. I was surprised to see any of Orion this late in the year.

2127 EDT	Nautical Twilight ends Astronomical Twilight begins

I stayed out until 2145 EDT, by which time my back was getting sore, hoping to get a better view of M44 and Mars as the sky got darker but it didn’t help. I may need to bring the scope out. Mars and M44 will just fit in the low power FoV but I will loose the Aselluses which are 3.3° apart.
[Mars is drifting away from M44 and they will not be in the same FoV beyond tomorrow night. I think I have missed my chance.]

2213 EDT	Astronomical Twilight ends

24 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	0830-0845 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 56° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.95" Hg Rising Feels Like Slightly Cool Stratus clouds are low on the horizon to the north. Transparency Excellent Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080524.0830 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 38.0" Altitude 31.6° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.53° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 215.24° Parallactic Angle (P) -17.96° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 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	White Plains Rd @ Cross Bronx Expressway, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	2245-2305 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 63° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.03" Hg Rising Feels Like Mild Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Mars Constellation Cnc Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080524.2245 EDT Comments Mars should have been a nice sight in the binodular just to the upper left of M44, but I couldn’t see the cluster. Asellus Australis (Mag 3.94) was easily seen but there was only a hint of something over at Asellus Borealis (Mag 4.66). Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 64.1° Distance Light Time (from Earth) 1.84 AU 15m 16s Distance (from Sun) 1.66 AU Angular Size 5.1" Magnitude 1.4 Central Meridian 280° Altitude 20.6°

Target Sextans Constellation Sex Category Constellation Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080524.2250 EDT Comments I had hoped to locate the three main stars of the constellation by using Regulus and 31 Leo (Mag 4.39) as pointers but I couldn’t find 31 Leo so the Mag 4.5 – 5 stars of Sex were out of the question

Just before the flare was due to occur the street lamp out in that direction went out and I could finally see Denebola (Mag 2.14) and Algieba (Mag 2.01) naked-eye.

Out to the west it appeared darker. I identified Cygnus and Lyra. Overhead I wasn’t able to see alcor.

Target Iridium 45 Flare Constellation Sex Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080524.2301 EDT Comments It appeared big and bright; moving up and to the right at ~45° angle.   Heavens Above CalSky Time 2301:59 EDT 2301:39 EDT Alt. 23° 23.5° Az. 247° WSW 246.9° WSW Mag. -7 -6.0 Surface   MMA0

23 May 2008

Observing Location	McGraw Ave @ Virginia Ave, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	0800-0815 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 54° F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.87" Hg Rising Feels Like Cool The clouds are low in the western horizon. Transparency Excelletn Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080523.0800 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 38.4" Altitude 25.7° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.64° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 228.75° Parallactic Angle (P) -18.30° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

21 May 2008

Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	1030-1045 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 58° F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.52" Hg Rising Feels Like Mild There are a few fair weather cumulus clouds low on the southern horizon. [As forecast it clouded over as the day progressed and we had a shower in the afternoon. It seems like we got more than the trace of precipitation where I was that was reported in the daily climate summary for Central Park for yesterday. Transparency Excellent Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080521.1030 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 39.1" Altitude 53.8° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -1.87° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 253.83° Parallactic Angle (P) -18.91° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Nothing Seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

19 May 2008

Observing Location	CDLD
Observational Period	09030-0945 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 52° F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Moderate Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.49" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool There are fair weather cumulus low moving to the SE and stationare cirrus above them. The wind is gusting briskly. They are saying a chance of rain this afternoon but it doesn’t seem likely. 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 Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080519.0930 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 40.2" Altitude 42.4° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -22.2° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 249.07° Parallactic Angle (P) -19.85° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Space Weather says groups 994 and 996 are still there but I still can’t see them. Active Regions Explorer says that 996 has increased in size by at least 50% and that 994 has either stayed the same size or increased or decreased in size by less than 25%.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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NASA has just confirmed that they intend to launch on Saturday, 31May08 at 1702 EDT.

There are seven future shuttle launches that are required to complete assembly of ISS. There are two contingency flights to launch spare parts if necessary and one launch for repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. They feel good that they will be able to get all of the seven required flights off the ground before the shuttle fleet is required at the end of FY 2010.

1 in 20 probabliity that the Soyuz would be required for an emergency landing over six months but they don't have an assessment of it's reliability for a normal return. So they will risk having to use the Soyuz in a possible emergency while it would not be an acceptible craft for routine use.

At the end of the press conference I got a strong impression that NASA's primary concern is more with schedule than with safety.

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Observing Location	McGraw Ave @ White Plains Rd, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	2310-2325 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 53° F Wind Calm Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 29.70" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool I had wanted to go out to observe the Moon tonight but it was still windy when I went home around 1900 EDT so I decided not to go back out after dinner. But it is calm and clear. The Moon is washing everything out, I see very few stars and couldn’t even tell what constellation the Moon was in. Transparency Excellent Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye – Charlie I planned to bring the binoculkars out with me to look at the Moon and looked right at it while getting ready but forgot to pick it up when I was stuffing my pockets
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Moon Constellation Lib Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080519.2310 EDT Comments Lunation Phase Full 58m Age 14d 14h 51m Distance Light Time (from earth) 404,735 km 1.35s Elongation 175° W % Illuminated 100.0% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 90.0° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 270.0° Libration in Latitude 7° 11' Libration in Longitude 0° 48' Magnitude -12.5 Angular Size 29.52' Altitude 20° 12' Virtual Moon Atlas graphic I was looking at the Moon remarking how round it was thinking it would be not be full until tomorrow or the day following when, in fact, it was full less than an hour ago.

Target Iridium 3 Flare Constellation Crt Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080519.2321 EDT Comments The flare was earlier and farther west than predicted. Unless I caught it much after its brightest, it also wasn’t as bright as predicted, at least on Heavens Above. The magnitude extimate from CalSky is more realistic but possibly still generous. I saw it as a bright gold flare moving horizontally to the west at ~245°.   Heavens Above CalSky Time 2322:50 EDT 2322:48 EDT Alt. 24° 24.4° Az. 237° WSW 237.1° WSW Mag. -6 -4.1 Surface   MMA0

I am reasonably certain that this is just coincidence but in looking at the flare listings I noticed three flares that drift earlier in time, up and to the west on the next three days,

Date	Time	Alt	Az.	Mag	Satellite
19May08	2322:50 EDT	24°	237°	-6	Iridium 3
20May08	2316:52 EDT	25°	239°	-6	Iridium 76
21May08	2310:56 EDT	27°	240°	-1	Iridium 46

18 May 2008

Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	0900-0930 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 58° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.50" Hg Falling Feels Like Warm When I checked the weather this morning they were saying clouds would increase and that there was a 90% probability of precipitation this afternoon but the patch of sky I could see from my bed was blue so I decided to go out early and make a sunspot count before conditions went south. There were a couple of small cirrus clouds around when I got to PSC. By the time I was set up and had the Sun in the eyepiece – that went a lot quicker today than usual – there was a constantly moving, thin veil of cloud over the Sun. By the time I was packed up cloud cover had increased to broken, light cirrus. As well as the constantly changing texture of the Sun’s disk due to the moving clouds there was very light boiling on the limb. Today is another day when it feels warmer than the forecast indicates. Transparency Good Seeing I
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie CelEDTron Omni 20mm (21x) CelEDTron Omni 2x Barlow - w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080519.0900 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 40.2" Altitude 36.7° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -2.22° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 294.34° Parallactic Angle (P) -19.86° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 On Friday Space Weather was indicating three tiny groups, two in one hemisphere and one in the other, that had just appeared and did not have numbers as yet. It was cloudy and rainy yesterday and I didn’t think to follow up on them so don’t know if they have disappeared or have grown, but I didn’t see them even with the increased magnification. The moving clouds between my telescope and the Sun weren't helping me any.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

17 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	0800-0815 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 50° F Wind Gentle Breeze gusting to Moderate Breeze Humidity High Barometric Pressure 29.58" Hg Rising Feels Like Warm It feels a lot warmer than the thermometer indicates. The benches are mostly wet from the rain overnight. Transparency Excellent Seeing I
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080517.0800 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 25s Angular Size 31' 40.6" Altitude 25.1° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -2.34° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 308.13° Parallactic Angle (P) -20.16° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2070 Yesterday there were three tiny, as yet unnumbered groups widely scattered over the Sun’s visible disk in the SOHO images. If they are still there they are still too small for me to see them at 8x with hand-held binoculars.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

14 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1115-1130 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Light Haze Temperature 67° F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.08" Hg Falling Feels Like Warm It appears clear but if you look closely there is a thin haze over most of the sky. 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 Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080514.1115 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 24s Angular Size 31' 41.7" Altitude 60.2° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -2.67° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 346.01° Parallactic Angle (P) -20.97° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Nothing seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

12 May 2008

Come Take A Trip In My Airship I once loved a sailor. Once, a sailor loved me. But he was not a sailor, who sailed on the wide blue sea. He sailed in an airship; Sailed like a bird on the wing; And every evening at midnight, he would come to my window and sing: Chorus: Come take a Trip in my Airship, come sail away to the stars! We'll travel to Venus, we'll sail away to Mars! No one will see while we're kissing No one will know as we spoon. So come take a Trip in my Airship, and we'll visit the Man in the Moon! One night while sailing away from the crowds, we passed through the Milky White Way. While idly drifting and watching the clouds, he asked if I'd name the day! Just by the Dipper, I gave him my heart, the sun shone on our honeymoon. We swore to each other, we never would part, and we'd teach all the babies this tune.

mp3 file

11 May 2008

Observing Location	Home
Observational Period	0245-0305 EDT When I went to bed I had set the alarm for 0230 EDT to get up to see a bright Iridium flare. My neighbor was entertaining one of his very vocally appreciative girlfriends so I had a lot of trouble getting to sleep and wasn't all that interested in getting ou at 0230 but did anyway. It was still noisy when I got back so I documented the observation and was still disturbed when I tried to get back to sleep at 0400 EDT.
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 55°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.88" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool It seemed a little murky down around Jupiter. I could only find Nunki in the Teapot. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Jupiter Constellation Sgr Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.0245 EDT Comments I had checked Planetarium and knew that the satellite should appear between Jupiter and Altair. When I left the apartment there was a bright object low over the buildings across the street that could only be Jupiter so I just moved up the block a bit to find a place where I could see all the sky above the houses and below the trees that included both Jupiter and Altair. Jupiter looks a little golden. I was not able to see any moons in the small hand-held binodular. Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 118.6° Distance Light Time (from Earth) 4.64 AU 38m 36s Distance (from Sun) 5.20 AU Angular Size 42.4"x39.7" Magnitude -2.4 Central Meridian I/II 126°/210° Altitude 18.6° Moons Starry Night Starter graphic

Target Aquila Constellation Aql Category Constellation Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.0250 EDT Comments I could easily see Altair and Tarazed and then found the tip of the right wing, Deneb el Okab, and the heart, δ Aql.

Target Cygnus Constellation Cyg Category Constellation Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.0250 EDT Comments I saw three bright stars in a large right triangle (Deneb, Sadr and Glenah Cygni) and had to look in Planetarium to see what they might be. After I knew what constellation I was in I could locate the break of the right wing.

Target Lyra Constellation Lyr Category Constellation Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.1150 EDT Comments I saw and teo of the stars of the parallelogram, probably Sheliak and Sulafat.

Target Iridium 34 Flare Constellation Aql Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.0302 EDT Comments I was checking the location where the flare should occur in Planetarium and when I looked up it was already in progress moving from horizontally R to L above and to the left of Jupiter and as bright as Jupiter and already fading. I followed it for a good while as it faded a good distance below Altair.   Heavens Above CalSky Time 0302:22 EDT 0302:23 EDT Alt. 28° 28.1 Az. 132° 131.6° Mag. -4 -4.2 Surface   MMA0 front antenna

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Observing Location	PSC The trees are in full leaf and the number of benches where I can see the sun at this time of day is now greatly diminished.
Observational Period	1300-1315 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered to Broken Clouds Temperature 61°F Wind Gentle Breeze gusting to Moderate Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.86" Hg Falling Feels Like Fair The gusts make it feel cool. The clouds are cirrus thickening and lowering to stratus in anticipation of rain tomorrow. 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 Ari Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080511.1300 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 24s Angular Size 31' 42.9" Altitude 68.0° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -3.00° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 24.72° Parallactic Angle (P) -21.75° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Nothing seen.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

7 May 2008

Observing Location	TXM
Observational Period	1300-1315 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds with Haze Temperature 73°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 29.93" Hg Falling Feels Like Very Warm The sky is blue but has a bit of a disky brown tinge to it. The clouds ate cirrus. 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 Ari Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080507.1300 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 24s Angular Size 31' 44.6" Altitude 67.0° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -3.44° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 77.62° Parallactic Angle (P) -22.71° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Neither SOHO nor I are seeing anything today.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

6 May 2008

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	0915-0930 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Clouds Temperature 61°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.00" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild 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 Ari Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080506.0915 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 23s Angular Size 31' 45.2" Altitude 37.7° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -3.56° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 92.90° Parallactic Angle (P) -22.97° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Nothing seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

5 May 2008

Observing Location	CDLD
Observational Period	0930-0945 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 57°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.12" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild Transparency Excellent Seeing I
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 20080505.0930 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 23s Angular Size 31' 45.6" Altitude 40.4° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -3.67° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 105.98° Parallactic Angle (P) -23.18° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Spaceweather shows Group 933 in the southern hemisphere but I can’t even find it in the high resolution SOHO image.   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	White Plains Road @ Cross Bronx Expressway, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1930-2015 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds increasing to Broken Clouds Temperature 61°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.99" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular - Charlie Naked-eye – Charlie Cokin P 003 Red photographic filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target First Crescent Moon Constellation Ari Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080505.1930 EDT Comments Lunation 1056 Phase First Crescent Age 11h 11m Distance Light Time (from earth) 356,499 km 1.19s Elongation 8.3° E % Illuminated 0.4% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 227.4° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 47.4° Libration in Latitude -6° 09' Libration in Longitude -1° 33' Magnitude -4.9 Angular Size 33.52' Altitude 10° 48' Virtual Moon Atlas graphic I hadn’t really expected to see this moon, but went out this morning prepared to attempt it anyway. When I left the library it looked too cloudy (I was able to look directly at the sun without discomfort) to have a chance but after I got home I went back out anyway. Peter had sent an email saying that it would be a world record as well as a team and personal one if we got it. Conditions had further deteriorated by the time I got to my observing location and continued to get worse as I stood there waiting for the sun to set. After the sun was gone I thought I saw clear patches of sky through the binocular but when I looked naked eye it was evident that I was looking at stripes of darker or lighter cloud.

1955 EDT	Sunset Civil Twilight begins
2026 EDT	Civil Twilight ends Nautical Twilight begins
2103 EDT	Nautical Twilight ends Astronomical Twilight begins
2143 EDT	Astronomical Twilight ends
2144 EDT	Moon sets

3 May 2008

NASA is saying that the problems they have been having getting External Tanks produced on time is going to lead to a postponement of the HST Servicing Mission. While no new date has been announced BBC News reported on 1May08 that the launch is likely to slip 4-5 weeks which would place it in the late Sept08/early Oct08 timeframe. Spaceflight Now says that the likely launch date is 8Oct08 or possibly later, with STS-125 slipping from 16Oct08 to 15Nov08, STS-119 from 4Dec08 into 2009 with delays to subsequent launches.

NASA says that construction of the ISS is expected to be completed before the Shuttle fleet is retired before the end of FY10 on 20Sep10. The current flight schedule places the last construction flight in Jun10 so there are only about 100 days in the slush fund.

The ET that is intended for the ISS construction flight following the HST Servicing Mission (that would be STS-119) is going to be the rescue mission tank for STS-125 (the HST mission). If there is a problem with the Shuttle on the HST mission they can't go to ISS, where there are enough supplies for them to hang out for several months, and wait for rescue so a rescue mission would need to be launched quickly before the meager life support supplies on board the Shuttle run out.

STS-124 is expected to be launched on schedule at 1702:05 EDT on 31May08, with the launch window extending through 14Jun08 (launch occurring about 22 minutes earlier for each day of delay). Docking with ISS should occur around 1300 EDT on 2Jun08 and undocking around 1200 EDT on 10Jun08. If the launch goes off as scheduled it will be too early for us to see the fly-by. CalSky is predicting some possible visible passes before docking so it might be possible to see a tandem pass, but none of the passes predicted are really favorable. There may be some more ISS altitude boosts before the launch of STS-124 so it is still too early to tell. Landing at KSC is scheduled for 1137 EDT on 13Jun08. Master Flight Plan Launch Window

1 May 2008

May

Named for the Roman goddess Maia, who oversaw the growth of plants. Also from the Latin word matores, "elders," who were celebrated during this month.

Maies, month of the goddess Maia or of the elders (matores) or of growth.

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1 May

Ireland	Beltane
Isle of Man	Shenn da Boaldyn
Scotland	Bealtiunn
Wales	Galan-Mai

Reawakening of earth; return of warmth, life and vegetation

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I have been doing some reading on quantum physics and had to get out the dictionary to make sure I understood the meaning of nugatory, which the author uses a lot. On the opposite page was a table comparing french and American numbers with the similarly named numbers in the British and German systems. I knew that the British meant something different when they talked about a billion, but I wasn't aware how different things get. Each name change signifies an increase of by a factor of a thousand (3 zeroes) in the French/US system while the corresponding increase in the UK/German system is by a factor of a million (6 zeroes). Below 1,000 the systems are at parity.

French/US Equivalent	Zeroes	Name	Zeroes	UK/German Equivalent
10 hundreds 1,000	3	thousand	3	10 hundreds 1,000
1,000 thousands 1,000,000	6	million	12	1,000,000 thousands 1,000,000,000,000
1,000 millions 1,000,000	9	billion	12	1,000,000 millions 1,000,000,000, 000
1,000 billions 1,000,000,000, 000	12	trillion	18	1,000,000 billions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000
1,000,000 trillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000	15	quadrillion	24	1,000,000 trillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000
1,000 quadrillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000	18	quintillion	30	1,000,000 quadrillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000
1,000 quintillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000	21	sextillion	36	1,000,000 quintillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000
1,000 sextillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000	24	septillion	42	1,000,000 sextillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000
1,000 septillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000	27	octillion	48	1,000,000 septillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000
1,000 octillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000	30	nonillion	54	1,000,000 octillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000
1,000 nonillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000	33	decillion	60	1,000,000 nonillions 1,000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000

That means that as the names of the numbers get increasingly larger the disparity between their respective magnitudes becomes even greater.

Things like this can lead to the loss of satellites if you are not aware and attentive.

30 April 2008

Observing Location	E 172 St @ Howard Ave, Bronx, NY Lat.: 40° 49.908’ Long.: -73° 52.471’
Observational Period	1230-1245 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 52°F Wind Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.06" Hg Steady Feels Like Cool 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 Ari Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20080430.1230 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.01 AU 8m 22s Angular Size 31' 40.0" Altitude 64.5° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -4.17° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 170.42° Parallactic Angle (P) -24.13° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2069 Nothing Seen. There was nothing on SOHO either.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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Sunspots Observed

There were a few sunspots from Cycle 24 that appeared int eh SOHO images but they were all too small for me to see them with the binocular.

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
TOTAL	17.00	47	0.36	25.25	31	0.81	42.00	60	0.70