1554e 2014/06/09/10 21:45–22:10 EDT Foxmead POD 8 28cmsc
Jupiter was blocked by house as sky was getting dark, low in the northeast. Mars was too blurry with 11mm Nagler (254x) so I backed off to the 16mm Nagler (175x). The disk is very small, 11 arc seconds and obviously gtibbous, but I could still see hints of dark albedo markings. The limb looked cloudy. No sign of polar cap, probably lost in limb haze.
Saturn was lovely at 175x, with Cassini Division plainly visible, plus a couple of moons. I hadn't made a chart ahead of time to identify them.
Finally I moved to the Moon, waxing gibbous, 11.4 days old. The Sun had just risen over Aristarchus and the Schröter Valley.
The mosquitoes were ferocious, as I expected, but I didn't feel like slathering on the Muskol, so I called it a night.
Temperature = 13.4°C
Monday, June 9, 2014
1553d 2014/06/09
1553d 2014/06/09 10:00–10:25 EDT Foxmead POD 8 28cmsc
I'm constantly amazed that I can turn on this telescope (Celestron CPC1100) after nearly 8 months of inactivity, tell it to wake from hibernation, then have it point within a few arc minutes of the centre of the Sun. There's a nice large sunspot group currently, plus some smaller spots. I first viewed with the 40mm MK-70 at 70x, but there were a couple of distracting spots in the eyepiece, including a tiny dead bug. I then switched to the 22mm Nagler at 127x, and the Sun fit snugly within its 82° apparent field of view, 38' actual f.o.v., enlarging the spots nicely.
I did a re-alignment on the Sun, and then slewed to Venus, which was nicely within the 22mm field! I centred it and used it as the second object for alignment. According to Starry Night, it is currently 85% illuminated and 31 arc seconds in diameter, about half what it was during the transit across the Sun two years ago.
The POD is full of dust, algae, and cobwebs, so I'll leave it open today to air out, and try some observing tonight, if the mosquitoes aren't too fierce.
Temperature = 23°C
Here's a picture of the Sun a few hours ago from Big Bear Solar Observatory in California:
I'm constantly amazed that I can turn on this telescope (Celestron CPC1100) after nearly 8 months of inactivity, tell it to wake from hibernation, then have it point within a few arc minutes of the centre of the Sun. There's a nice large sunspot group currently, plus some smaller spots. I first viewed with the 40mm MK-70 at 70x, but there were a couple of distracting spots in the eyepiece, including a tiny dead bug. I then switched to the 22mm Nagler at 127x, and the Sun fit snugly within its 82° apparent field of view, 38' actual f.o.v., enlarging the spots nicely.
I did a re-alignment on the Sun, and then slewed to Venus, which was nicely within the 22mm field! I centred it and used it as the second object for alignment. According to Starry Night, it is currently 85% illuminated and 31 arc seconds in diameter, about half what it was during the transit across the Sun two years ago.
The POD is full of dust, algae, and cobwebs, so I'll leave it open today to air out, and try some observing tonight, if the mosquitoes aren't too fierce.
Temperature = 23°C
Here's a picture of the Sun a few hours ago from Big Bear Solar Observatory in California:
Saturday, May 24, 2014
1552m 2014/05/24
1552m 2014/05/24 03:25:–04:00 EDT Foxmead N and E windows 3 ne
A new meteor shower with a radiant in Camelopardalis was predicted for 03:00–04:00 this morning. I woke up at 03:25 EDT (07:25 UT), and watched out my north- and
west-facing windows through 04:00 EDT (08:00 UT). Transparency was poor;
I could only see stars down to about magnitude 3.5. I saw nary a single
meteor. Just to prove I was awake, I did see a nice passage of the ISS
around 03:40 EDT (07:40 UT), confirmed on Heavens-Above.
Friday, May 16, 2014
51 years ago today...
...I made my first variable star observation for the AAVSO. Sara Beck at the AAVSO just sent me a scan of that first report:
The AAVSO is like an elephant: they never forget!
The AAVSO is like an elephant: they never forget!
Monday, March 31, 2014
1551d 2014/03/31
1551d 2014/03/31 12:55–13:05 EDT Foxmead observatory deck 8 4cmrr
Sun: Nice flare at 12:58 involved in sunspot group near centre of disk. Many small prominences along left limb. A couple of long filaments on right upper half of disk. 44x.
Image from yesterday from Big Bear Lake, inverted compared to view in PST (Coronado Personal Solar Telescope):
Flare in sunspot group left of centre (light in this image) and filament below and to left had both rotated further onto the disk today.
Furr came out and joined me, standing guard over the animal burrow at the corner of my deck.
It was good to be back out on the deck looking at the Sun!
Temperature = 9.1°C
Sun: Nice flare at 12:58 involved in sunspot group near centre of disk. Many small prominences along left limb. A couple of long filaments on right upper half of disk. 44x.
Image from yesterday from Big Bear Lake, inverted compared to view in PST (Coronado Personal Solar Telescope):
Flare in sunspot group left of centre (light in this image) and filament below and to left had both rotated further onto the disk today.
Furr came out and joined me, standing guard over the animal burrow at the corner of my deck.
It was good to be back out on the deck looking at the Sun!
Temperature = 9.1°C
Monday, January 13, 2014
1550m 2014/01/13
1550m 2014/01/13 06:00–07:35 EST Foxmead E window 3 ne 10x50b
Watching the sunrise through thin layers of clouds, looking for Venus, which passed inferior conjunction two days ago. Finally spotted at 07:33 it between two layers of clouds. It was visible as an extremely thin horizontal crescent in 10x50 binoculars, horizontal because it is directly above the Sun, still below the horizon.
Temperature = +0.9° C
Inferior conjunction was on January 11 at 7 a.m., so this was just slightly more than 48 hours later, not quite as close as my 1961 observation 27 hours before inferior conjunction, but still impressive. Venus rose at 07:15, 18 minutes before I observed it, and the Sun rose at 07:54, 21 minutes after I observed Venus.
Watching the sunrise through thin layers of clouds, looking for Venus, which passed inferior conjunction two days ago. Finally spotted at 07:33 it between two layers of clouds. It was visible as an extremely thin horizontal crescent in 10x50 binoculars, horizontal because it is directly above the Sun, still below the horizon.
Temperature = +0.9° C
Inferior conjunction was on January 11 at 7 a.m., so this was just slightly more than 48 hours later, not quite as close as my 1961 observation 27 hours before inferior conjunction, but still impressive. Venus rose at 07:15, 18 minutes before I observed it, and the Sun rose at 07:54, 21 minutes after I observed Venus.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
1549m 2013/12/12
1549m 2013/12/12 06:00–06:15 EST Foxmead E window 3 ne
I looked for Comet Lovejoy in a hazy predawn sky. I could see Arcturus and Alphecca, but couldn't make out the Hercules keystone, and didn't see the comet. I was rewarded with a nice Geminid meteor, though.
Tempertaure = –11°C
I looked for Comet Lovejoy in a hazy predawn sky. I could see Arcturus and Alphecca, but couldn't make out the Hercules keystone, and didn't see the comet. I was rewarded with a nice Geminid meteor, though.
Tempertaure = –11°C
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