8 March 2010

Observing Location	BP
Observational Period	1945-2000 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 55° F Wind Light Breeze Wind Chill Effect 53° F Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.85" Hg Rising Feels Like Very Mild Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Mag 3. Orion was just past the tower of light emanating from the top of the Empire State Building.

7 March 2010

Observing Location	DR
Observational Period	EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear General Haze Temperature 54° F Wind Gentle Breeze Wind Chill Effect 51° F Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.95" Hg Rising Feels Like Very mild Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments	West Marine 7x50 Raiatea binocular - Charlie 7x50 binocular - Peter
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac

Conditions were not as good tonight as they were last night. Although NOAA was predicting no clouds and was reporting clear from Central Park the haze is more dense tonight than it was last night. It is milder out and I am comfortable in shorts and because I have added my foul weather jacket tonight feel nice and warm on top and hot while walking up there.

Target Iridium 49 Double Flare Constellation Cnc & Hya Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100307.1928 EST   Heavens Above CalSky   1st Flare 2nd Flare Time 1928:29 EST 1928:29 EST 1928:39 EST Alt. 42° 47.7° 45.2° Az. 133° SE 133.2° SE 137.2 SR Mag. -2 -2 -0.4 Surface   MMA1 Solar Panels Comments I picked up the satellite about the time it was passing under Mars and only saw the second flare.

Target Iridium 11 Flare Constellation Cnc & Hya Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100307.1932 EST   CalSky   1st Flare 2nd Flare Time 1932:51 EST 1933:01 EST Alt. 50.0° 47.1° Az. 135.6° SE 139.9° SE Mag. -3.6 -2.6 Surface MMA1 solar panels Comments We only saw one flare. I don’t know if we didn’t pick up the satellite in time to see the first flare or if this is one of those double flares where the first flare’s brightness doesn’t drop below the second flare’s brightness. This time difference between the two flares was only 10 seconds and I think I tracked it for longer than that before it flared so I suspect that the two flares merged into one prolonged flare. I don’t have a sense of how long the flare lasted but it did seem like it was brighter than mag -4.

Tonight the sky was only Mag 4 and I really had to work to get that.

Again tonight I feel that ε Aur is fainter than ζ Aur although they are very close in brightness.

I could see about 5 Pliades and could not see Pherkad Minor.

I located the Beehive Cluster, M44, and it seemed very subdued.

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Observing Location	BP
Observational Period	2030-2045 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Temperature ° F Wind Gentle Breeze Wind Chill Effect 48° F Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.95" Hg Rising slowly Feels Like Mild Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments	West Marine 7x50 Raiatea binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Mag 3. The lights shining down from the top of the MetLife building to illuminate the park are really washing out the sky.

While making my GLOBE at Night assessment I might have seen a meteor coming from behind the tower of the Bryant Park Hotel, but it was so brief an event I can’t be sure it wasn’t flying garbage lit by building lights. It was broad and bright white, and when it disappeared there was no trace of anything so I suspect it was a meteor. The Delta-Leonids, Gamma-Normids and Virginids are all active with the peak of the Gamma-Normids being the most proximate. The radiant of the Normids is well below the horizon. This was moving in the wrong direction to have been either a Leonids or a Virginids.

6 March 2010

Observing Location	DR
Observational Period	1945-2115 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Light Haze It had been hazy this afternoon, particularly when looking toward the Sun, so I suspected that there was still some haze around tonight. The sky was not a uniform color and some stars appeared and disappeared so I think there were some light, moving clouds that we were looking through. Temperature 49° F Wind Light Breeze Wind Chill Effect ° F Humidity Low Barometric Pressure 30.06" Hg Steady Feels Like Mild becoming Chilly When I left for the session the gadget on my computer said the temperature was still 53° F. I had thought about staying in my shorts but opted to put on long pants and a long sleeve T-shirt over my short sleeve t-shirt. I wore my heavy fiber pile sweather that I have been wearing alone into the mid-30s. I could have used another layer of fiber on top or at least my foul weather jacket to trap my body heat. The temperature seemed to drop markedly just before 2100 EST. When I got home the gadget was saying that it was 47° F. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	West Marine 7x50 Raiatea binocular – Charlie Galileoscope – Charlie Plossl, 1.5° FoV, 25x 2x Barlow Galilean, ## FoV, 17x Celestron 25x50 binocular - Peter
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac

I missed a mag -7 Iridium flare, a double Iridium flare, and an ISS visible pass tonight because I didn’t get out early enough and hadn’t brought along my printouts.

My main objective for tonight was to make a NELM assessment to be submitted to GLOBE at Night. Peter and I both felt that the limiting magnitude was between 4 and 5. Peter was thinking around 4.7. We did see Pherkad Minor which is mag 5.0. Peter saw 6 Pliades and I saw at least 5. We both detected M44.

I reread the Galileoscope instructions and figured out how to use the Galilean eyepiece to make a 2x Barlow for the Plossl so my secondary objective was to try and assess the quality of the image at 50x. A lot of time was spent trying to get the Barlowed scope centered on M42. I could get it there at 25X but when I inserted the Barlow the stars were no longer in the FoV. I could move the scope around a bit and get them to pass through the FoV but with the stock tripod head it is very difficult to move the scope in small increments. A geared head would have been a big help but it doesn’t make sense to spend $100+ for a tripod and $200+ for a geared head to support a $30 telescope (or even my $50 binocular). I wasn’t able to see anything that would permit me to assess the quality of the image at 50x. This telescope will be good for looking at big things like the Moon or, if filtered, the Sun. It will be usable at low power for the planets and bright stars.. Star hopping with i twill be very difficult. Peter and I both had trouble with the uni- power gunsite. I could see the notch in the front part of it but not the post near the ocular. After I ha dit put away I thought that I might have better luck with it if I tipped my head up to look through the bottom of my bifocal eyeglasses but then probably wouldn’t be able to see the star I was aiming for.

Target M42 Constellation Ori Category DSO: DifNeb Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306.2000 EST Size 85’x60’ Magnitude 2.9, 3 1/2 , 4 Surface Brightness 11/sq’ Visibility 6 Distance 1,600 ly Location Where is M13 graphics Cartes du Ciel graphic References The Observer’s Sky Atlas: E4 Deep Sky Observers Guide: 99-100 Comments I could see light nebulosity and after looking at the area in Peter’s binocular and having him talk me through what I was seeing I think I detected the two intermediate brightness stars of the Trapezium in the Galileoscope at 25x.

Target M34, NGC 1039 Constellation Per Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306:2015 EST Size 35’x35’ Magnitude 5.5, 5.2 Surface Brightness 12/sq’ Visibility 5 Distance 1,500 ly Age 177.4 My Location Where is M13 graphics Cartes du Ciel graphic References The Observer’s Sky Atlas: N4 Deep Sky Observers Guide: 120 Comments I looked at this open cluster in Peter’s binocular. It took a moment before I saw it and it appeared faint.

Target ε Aur Constellation Aur Category Variable Star Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100306 EST Comments At times I thought that ε Aur was brighter than ζ Aur and at other times I felt that they were equal. Using the binocular didn’t help much as it made the stars appear farther away from each other and consequently it was harder to make the comparison.

3 March 2010

Discovery has been rolled out to the launch pad to await its April launch to ISS as STS-131. The launch window is as follows:

5Apr10	0616-0629 EDT
6Apr10	0553-0603 EDT
7Apr10	0528-0541 EDT
8Apr10	0505-0515 EDT
9Apr10	0444-0453 EST
10Apr10	0417-0427 EST
11Apr10	0356-0404 EST
12Apr10	0329-0339 EST
13Apr10	0308-0316 EST
14Apr10	0249-0250 EST
Daylight Launch after the start of civil twilight
Twilight Launch astronomical twilight through nautical twilight
Night Launch before the start of astronomical twilight

Assuming a 5April10 launch the mission milestones are as follows:

7Apr10	Rendesvous, RPM, Docking
15Apr10	Undocking, Flyaround, Separation
17Apr10	Deorbit Burn
18Apr10	Landing at KSC

2 March 2010

NASA has determined that the magnitude 8.8 earthquake last week in Chile and its subsequent aftershocks have moved enough rock around on earth to change the angle of its rotation and consequently change the rate of its rotation about that axis. This has or will probably result in each day being 1.26 microseconds shorter.

CNN story

?	Is this change instantaneous or does it occur over time and, if the later, how long does it take?
	How far would the Space Shuttle miss the ISS or a satellite fired at the Moon miss its target if NASA did not factor this minute change into their orbital mechanics equations?
	How long will it be before enough error is accumulated in my planetarium softwares that their predictions become inacurate?

1 March 2010

EST     EDT modified NightCal graphics

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Observing Location	World Financial Center
Observational Period	1300-1315 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 46° F Wind Gentle Breeze gusting to Stiff Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.70" Hg Steady Feels Like Cold Transparency Excellent Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

It was supposed to rain some and be cloudy today but any clouds are up to the north. It looks clear. I haven’t seen anything to be able to judge seeing but with all the wind have to assume that it is not great.

Target Venus Constellation Aqr Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100301:1315 EST Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 11.84° E % Illuminated 98%% Distance Light Time (from Earth) 1.67 AU 13m 52s Distance (from Sun) 0.726 AU Angular Size 10.1" Magnitude -3.9 Altitude 44.85° Meridian graphic Not Seen I tried offsetting from the sun but was not able to see any points of light. Flare from the Sun was a problem which leads me to believe that my binocular does not have sufficient internal baffling.

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Observing Location	World Financial Center
Observational Period	1715-1830 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Isolated Temperature 45° F Wind Moderate Breeze gusting to Stiff Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 29.73" Hg Rising Feels Like Cold Transparency Excellent Seeing I
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Looking at the few clouds out over NJ which were being lit from below and behind by the setting Sun. I could see rain falling from their base which I assumed was virga since it was only visible about a third of the way from the cloud’s base to the ground. On the way home I could see a deck of cloud up to the north but don’t know if it was over northern Manhattan or the Bronx.

1746 EST

Sunset
Civil Twilight begins

Target Venus Constellation Aqr Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100301.1804 EST Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 11.88° E % Illuminated 98.0%% Distance Light Time (from Earth) 1.67 AU 13m 52s Distance (from Sun) 0.726 AU Angular Size 10.1" Magnitude -3.9 Altitude 6.77° Meridian graphic I tried again to find Venus before the Sun set but no matter how low it got I could not do it even with the binocular. It wasn’t until 1804 EST that I found her naked eye.

1813 EST

Civil Twilight ends
Nautical Twilight begins

Target Uranus Constellation Psc Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20100301.1830 EST Comments Not Seen Object Class Classical Planet Elongation 14.46° E Distance Light Time (from Earth) 21.1 AU 2 h 55m Distance (from Sun) 20.1 AU Angular Size 3.33" Magnitude 5.9- Altitude 4.62° Cartes du Ciel graphic By 1830 EDT Venus was sinking into a dirty orange region of the horizon and none of the guide stars I needed to find Uranus were visible yet so I gave up on her.

1845 EST

Nuatical Twilight ends
Astronomical Twilight begins

There was an ISS visible pass at 1914 EST that was low on the southern horizon where it would have been screened from this location by Financial Center skyscrapers. It wasn't a terribly bright event, -0.9, so I didn't bother walking down to South Ferry to observe it. When the alarm went off in the Palm along the way home I checked to the south but couldn't see low enough to make it worth while stopping to try to observe it.

1917 EST

Astronomical Twilight ends

28 February 2010

Sunspots Observed

This has been a good sunspot month. Spaceweather is reporting that this is the first time since Jan07 that there have been sunposts every day of a calendar month. I got to try to observe them on three occasions and was even successful when I went out with Peter and his refractor.

Observing Hours for the Year 2010

	Day			Night			Total
	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg
Jan	0.00	0	0.00	12.50	8	1.56	12.20	8	1.56
Feb	2.25	3	0.75	3.75	5	0.75	6.00	8	0.75
TOTAL	2.25	3	0.75	16.25	13	1.25	18.50	16	1.16