| Observing Location | TotL | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observational Period | 2015-2115 EST | ||||||||||||||||
| Atmospheric Conditions |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Instruments | Naked-eye - Charlie | ||||||||||||||||
| Observing Party | Charlie Ridgway |
Peter had sent me an email forwarding intelligence from John Pazmino that this lunation is the last time the Moon will pass through the Pleiades until 2024. I thought I might find him out to observe the Moon and M45 even if the transit was over so walked up to TotL on the park drive past Drip Rock in case he decided to observe there but didn’t find him at either location.
When I got home I checked the Moon’s location in Cartes du Ciel and found that the transit had been a daytime event. While I was in the program I figured out how to record a video which I was going to include here but I can't get the file size small enough to upload it.
- Gemini is rising laying on Pollux’s side. I can see ι Gem (Mag. 3.79), ε Gem (Mag. 2.98), ζ Gem (Mag. 3.79), ξ Gem (Mag. 3.36), ν Gem (Mag. 4.15), μ Gem (Mag. 2.88, ε Gem (Mag. 3.28) and 1 Gem (Mag. 4.16).
- Auriga is ~50° up in the NE. ε Aur (nominally Mag 2.99) and &zetz; Aur (Mag. 3.75) are close enough in brightness that I am having trouble deciding which is the brighter but if I were forced to pick one I would have to give the nod to ε Aur. η Aur (Mag. 3.17) is definitely the brightest of the trio.
- The Moon is to the upper left of Arcturus. I don’t see any sign of M45.
- Orion is just starting to come out of the trees with only Betelgeuse in the clear. Later I saw Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka through the trees and Rigel in the clear. I also saw π2 Ori (Mag. 3.19), π4 Ori (Mag. 3.69) and π5 (Mag.3.72) in the shield.
- In the SSE I occasionally see η Eri (Mag. 3.89) and at roughly the same altitude in the SSW over Citicorp β Cet (Mag. 2.04)
- Jupiter (Mag. -2.3) was near the apartment building with two towers in the W. (I think it is the one where John Lennon lived.)
- Cygnus is setting into the dormitory tree. I can only see Deneb (Mag. 1.25), ε Cyg (Mag. 2.46), γ Cyg (Mag. 2.20) and δ Cyg (Mag. 2.87).
- Vega is behind the tree near the lamp to the west of the observing location.
- Cassiopeia is high overhead. I can see all five of the main stars, η Cas (Mag. 3.44) and ζ Cas (Mag. 3.66).
- Perseus is next to Cas. I can see all three of the steeple stars, α and δ Per, β and ρ Per, and ε Per (Mag. 2.89). I also occasionally see some of the Alpha Perseus Association and something out between α and β Per. I don’t see any of the fishhook.
- Pegasus is high in the WSW.
- Andromeda is stretching out high overhead with only the strong chain visible.
- The Little Dipper (UMi) is hanging from Polaris
- I can’t find hide nor hair of the Great Bear (UMa and the Big Dipper).
- The first bend of Draco is above the tree by the western lamp.
- Aries is high overhead to the SE.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On the way home I stopped off at the obelisk (Cleopatra’s Needle). The elements have weathered away all of the hieroglyphics on the western face and it is dark enough that had there been anything remaining I think I would have had trouble “reading” it. The south face has had the two western columns of hieroglyphics erased but the eastern column is mostly readable. I can see it well enough to describe the glyphs. The eastern side is easy to read all the way to the top of the tower due to the moon shining on it. The northern side can be read well and it is easy to see all the glyphs even though the Moon isn’t shining full on it.
It is amazing to think that the ancient Egyptians were able to not only move something that big but stand it vertically without modern machinery.
