| Observing Location | Columbia University |
|---|
| Observational Period | 2000-2045 EST |
|---|
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| Cloud Cover | Scattered
to
Overcast
The NOAA automated weather station in Central Park reported that it was clear all night. |
|---|
| Temperature | 51° F |
|---|
| Wind | Calm
to
Light Breeze |
|---|
| Humidity | Moderate |
|---|
| Barometric Pressure | 30.08" Hg
Rising |
|---|
| Feels Like | Cool |
|---|
|
|---|
| Instruments | 12” Meade Dobsonian
- 1.25” Plossl 25mm, ~61x estimated
|
|---|
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway
Columbia Grad Students
hosts of the public
|
|---|
| Target | STS-129/ISS Visible Pass |
|---|
| Constellation | |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20091120.1802 EST |
|---|
| Comments | Not Seen
I stopped off on the way up to Columbia to try to catch STS-129 doecked at ISS flying past but did not see it between the buildings to the north from my vantage point on the SE corner of Broadway and 57 St.
| | | Starts | Max. Alt. | Ends |
|---|
H A
e b
a o
v v
e e
n
s | Time | 1803:07 EST | 1804:02 EST | 1084:02 EST |
|---|
| Alt. | 10° | 13° | 13° |
|---|
| Az. | NNW | N | N |
|---|
| Mag | -0.9 |
|---|
This pass was not listed in CalSky. |
|---|
|
| Target | SkyMed 1 Flare |
|---|
| Constellation | Peg |
|---|
| Category | Satellite |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20091120.1832 EST |
|---|
| Comments |
| Alt. | 66.5° |
|---|
| Az. | 218.7°
SW |
|---|
| Mag. | 0.4 |
|---|
| Surface | SAR Panel |
|---|
Observed from the island on the north side of 79 St at Broadway.
This didn’t seem to be much of a flare. I caught the satellite falling to the SE and it was as bright as it ever got and didn’t change intensity for a good while until it slowly faded into obscurity.
|
|---|
|
I attended a lecture on black holes given by one of the grad students who is working on an international project to detect gravity waves. He has an accent that sounds Russian to me and it seemed strange hearing him make jokes that I am used to hearing with an American or maybe British English accent.
| Target | The Pleiades, M45 |
|---|
| Constellation | Tau |
|---|
| Category | Ocl |
|---|
Time
yyyymmdd.hhmm | 20091120.2015 EST |
|---|
| Comments | |
|---|
I couldn’t get near the big scope that was on Jupiter which is what I wanted to see with an Io shadow transit in progress so I settled for the Pleiades in a 12” Dob out on the roof. The magnification was too much to show the cluster off well. I think I saw three bright stars at the field stop and some fainter stars scattered in the center of the field.
|
The clouds were getting thick and they had stopped observing with te big scope after I got on line for it and they were having drive problems with the small MCT and never managed to get it pointed at anything so I left early. It didn’t seem like the kind of night Peter would be schlepping a scope into TotL and when I got to Broadway and 86 St I couldn’t see any stars at all so I just headed home.
