20 May 2006

Peter wants to try for opposing crescent moons again this month and was asking what the oldest and youngest moons we have seen have been. I never kept track of that anywhere but in the individual blog posts. So today I got out planetarium and scanned each month during 2005 and 2006 around the time of new moon to see what I had recorded there. The summary data is below.

Last Crescent	First Crescent	Notes
	9Apr05 1940 EDT 1d3h8m 1.5%
	7Jun05 2026 EDT 1d2h40m 1.1%
3Aug05 0500 EDT 27d21h11m 2.9%		next to last crescent
2Sep05 0542 EDT 28d6h36m 1.8%
26Feb06 0632 EST 27d21h16m 3.7%	28Feb06 1800 EST 23h8m 1.4%	next to last crescent 59h27m between moons
	28Apr06 2000 EDT 1d4h15m 2%

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Observing Location:	Parkchester, Bronx, NY I started out on the White Plains Rd overpass over the Cross Bronx Expressway and finished up in front of my building.
Observational Period:	2215-2245 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions:	I think conditions were better at the time I was out than CSC was predicting. When I was able to shield my eyes from the street lamps -- not an easy task -- I was able to see quite a few stars. I probably should have gone to TotL but the forecast wasn't that good the last time I checked. Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments:	Naked-eye observing - Charlie
Observing Party:	Charlie Ridgway

Target:	Iridium 31 Flare
Constellation:	CMi
Category:	Satellite
Time:	20060520.2233 EDT
Comments:	Planetarium said the flare was supposed to appear directly over Procyon but it appeared south of there and was moving to the west. It disappeared just before getting over Procyon. It was supposed to have been a Mag -1 but didn't look that bright. But Procyon was only just visible unless you shielded your eyes from all the street lamps.

Target:	Envisat
Constellation:
Category:	Satellite
Time:	20060520.2233 EDT
Comments:	Not Seen Envisat is usually fairly bright. Tonight it was supposed to come out of the S, pass high in the W, and disappear in the NNW, at Mag 3.0. I think I should have been able to see it but the street lights were very bothersome.

Target:	Iridium 4 rocket
Constellation:
Category:	Satellite
Time:	20060520.2235 EDT
Notes:	Not Seen After not seeing Envisat I wasn't expecting to see this Mag 3.9 object but gave it a try anyway. This is the first time I can remember seeing an Iridium rocket listed. It was cominng out of the N, passing through E, and disappearing in the ESE. Maximum altitude in the E was 64 deg and shadow entry was at 53 deg.

Target:	Jupiter
Constellation:	Lib
Category:	Planet
Time:	20060520.2240 EDT
Comments:	When I left the house to go observe the Iridium flare Jupiter was the first thing I saw, shining through the leaves of the trees lining the street, so I stopped to take a look at it before going back upstairs. Just below and to the left of the planet was Zubin Elgenubi. Well above it and shining brightly was Bootes and I could see the kite's tail star to the right. About equal in altitude and a way too the right was Spica.

Target:	Lyra
Constellation:	Lyr
Category:	Constellation
Time:	20060520.2245 EDT
Comments:	Below Vega I could plainly see Sheliak and Sulafat (Mag 3.52 and 3.25 respectively) at the bottom of the parallelogram. I could intermittently see zeta Lyr (Mag 4.5) and the epsilon Lyr double (Mag 4.58) if I blocked out the street lights.

When I was getting ready to go out I picked up my red LED flashlight to protect my night vision -- a futile effort given all the street lights. Before leaving I tried to turn it on to test the battery and couldn't twist the front end to force contact with the battery. I thought the battery had probably leaked so got pliers and forced it open. It was hard work but I finally got the bulb container moving and it got easier all the time. Then all of a sudden there was a crack like a 22 caliber gun shot and the bulb holder was in one hand and the battery holder in the other. It appears that the battery had given off gas that built up enough pressure to bind the threads on the two pieces. I examined the battery and there was no leakage so I put it back in and the light was bright and did not dim when it was left on so I took it with me. When I got home I unscrewed the bulb holder to check the battery again for leakage before putting it away and again experienced the explosive release of gas although it was not nearly as loud, the case only having been closed for an hour. I checked the battery on my meter and it is just in the replace zone, plenty of juice to run a LED flashlight and more juice than is running my identical white LED flashlight. I replaced the with a used Duracell and checked it after an hour and no gas buildup. The battery that is giving me problems is a Red Cell brand battery that I bought in a 40 pack on sale at CompUSA for under $10. This is the first time I have had a problem with any of those batteries, but it is probably the first time one of them has been used in a waterproof environment. The flashlight is a CMG Infinity. It is a great flashlight as there are no moving parts. You screw in the bulb holder until it makes contact with the top of the battery pressing the bottom against the bottom of the battery holder which is milled out of solid aluminum. There isn't even a spring involved.