1520e 2012/07/18–19

1520e 2012/07/18–19 22:10:50–23:50 EDT Foxmead POD 8  28cmsc

Aligned telescope on Saturn and Spica, then Arcturus. Although I used the 22mm Nagler (127x) briefly, most observations tonight were with the 40mm University MK-70 (70x).
ε Bootis: yellow/yellow, close.
δ Serpentis: blue/blue, wide.
Antares: not split, poor seeing.
I then began a tour of bright Milky Way objects, using CPC1100's "Identify" command to identify groups of Messiers, and later double stars and Named Objects.
M4 (started using 22mm), M80, M19, M62, M9, M6, M7 (returned to using 40mm). M8, M20, M23, M24, M18, M17, M25, M22, M11, M26, M16, M27, M71, M56, M29, M57.
ζ Lyrae: blue/violet, wide.
ε Lyrae: white/white/white/white, close/wide/close.
Albireo: gold/blue, wide.
17 Cygni: white/dim red, wide.
61 Cygni: white/white, wide.
NGC7331: Deer Lick Galaxy.
NGC7662: Blue Snowball.
NGC6992/NGC6995: E half of Veil Nebula. Without OIII filter, I could just barely make out NGC6992. With filter in place, it was quite obvious, and I could then see NGC 6995 to the south.
NGC6888: Crescent Nebula: Faint with OIII filter.
IC5146: Cocoon Nebula: Very faint with OIII filter. First new deep sky object in over 4 years!
With the OIII filter in place, I went back to the gems of the summer Milky Way:
M17: Swan Nebula: Could now see a lot of nebulosity off the Swan's rear end.
M16: Eagle Nebula: Much larger in OIII filter.
M20: Trifid Nebula: Dark rift in centre really obvious in OIII.
M8: Lagoon Nebula: Huge in size with extensive dark area in centre.
I ended up by looking briefly for NGC7000 (North America Nebula) but all I could see was hints of nebulosity here and there in the field of view, since the Nebula is much larger than the 40mm eyepieces 1° field of view.

All in all, a very pleasant evening of observing after a long lapse. I've felt nervous about observing in the dark since the bad fall I had a couple of months ago. After tonight, I feel more comfortable. 23 Messiers, 5 NGCs, one totally new IC, and 7 double stars. I love GoTo!

Temperature = 11.5°C.

1519m 2012/07/14

1519m 2012/07/14 04:50–05:15 EDT Foxmead E window 3  ne

Crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Aldebaran in a quadruple conjunction this morning. Many small clouds on eastern horizon,but they finally cleared enough that all four objects were visible.

1518m 2012/06/23

1518m 2012/06/23 04:50–05:10 EDT Foxmead E window 9 10x50b ne

I caught both Venus and Jupiter this morning with my 10x50 binoculars. Once I'd spotted Jupiter with binoculars, I could see it naked eye.

1517m 2012/06/21

1517m 2012/06/21 04:50–05:30 EDT Foxmead E window 8 10x50b ne

Spotted Venus for the first time since the transit: it was a tiny skinny crescent in my 10x50 binoculars. I could not find Jupiter, which was only 7 degrees away (though I didn't check its location ahead of time). There were no clouds, but yesterday was very hot and humid (32°C) and the transparency this morning was poor, a kind of brassy haze on the eastern horizon.

1516m 2012/06/17

1516m 2012/06/17 04:50–05:30 EDT Foxmead E window 8–3 10x50b ne

Conjunction of Moon and Jupiter. Venus was too low at 04:50 to be visible. As objects rose, they became obscured by bands of cloud, so that I lost the Moon and Jupiter, and never saw Venus.

1515d 2012/06/07

1515d 2012/06/07 05:30–05:45 EDT Foxmead E window 8 10x50b ne

Scanning NE horizon for Venus without success. Gibbous Moon setting in W.

1514d 2012/06/05

1514d 2012/06/05 16:00–20:00 EDT Foxmead POD & SW field 8–3 28cmsc ne


Transit of Venus

40 members of the Barrie, Midland, and Orillia astronomy clubs gathered in the field southwest of the observatory to observe the transit of Venus:
Elgin Quesnelle
Nicole Quesnelle
Marilyn Morris
Holly Pattenden
Fracois ven Heerden
Len Morris
Gord Michener
Peter Ridout
Greg Rothwell
Doanld and Dorothy Macdonald
Muriel & Alex Sinclair
Jack & Vilda Reid
Paul Cornish
Richard Lane
Dave Robitaille
Jordan Robitaille
Bruce Irwin
Alma Cruise
Louise Gervais
David Hyndman
Craig Welbourn
Doreen Holmes & Keith
Marg Walters
Helen Renaud
Vicki Sherwood & Bill
Mary Moreau
Robert Strachan
Dale Langfield
Alexander March
Buzz & Adam March
Kinga March
Jayne Evans
Geoff Gaherty

While most of the observers were out in the field, I stayed in the POD with the 28cm SCT at 70x, with the Kendrick full aperture solar filter in place. I concentrated on Venus' appearance between first and second contacts. I missed first contact because I was concentrating on the wrong limb. After I detected first contact, I tried to see Venus off the solar disk, but without success. Venus was extremely sharp, with fairly good seeing. I could see no trace of any atmosphere. Clouds obscured second contact, so I could not see whether the Black Drop was visible. Once Venus was fully on the disk, I went down to the field where François van Heerden and Dave Robitaille had set up a hydrogen alpha scope and Mallincam to record the transit and display it on a monitor for the people gathered. There were several other telescopes set up by those present.

Shortly after second contact the clouds closed in for good, except for a brief instant around 20:00, when the Sun peeped through with Venus still in transit.