15 January 2005

Observing Location	#6 Subway platform at Parkchester, East 177th St, The Bronx, NY
Observational Period	0600-0605 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	It was cold and clear overhead with dense clouds on the SE horizon.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Five Morning Stars
Constellation
Category	Planets
Time	0600-0630 EST
Comments	Saturn below and left of Castor and Pollux. The twins were doing a headstand in the SW. Jupiter Very bright and high up in the S. Spica looked very dim by comparison. It is the brightest think in the sky Mars dimmer than Antares and about the same luminous gold color in the binoculars. Both appeared ruddy naked eye. Dschubba was visible above Antares and looked white. Venus Low on the horizon in the SE just above the roof of an apartment building and a dense deck of cloud. It was bright but not as bright as Jupiter. Initially I thought it might be a plane because of some twinkling but there were no nav lights. Mercury Not seen naked eye but easy to spot with the binoculars on the edge of a cloud. Tiny but brighter than most stars.

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Observing Location	East 86 St & Lexington Ave
Observational Period	0700-0710 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	The sun was up and the sky was pretty white. It was still cold and a little bit blustery.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Venus and Jupiter
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Planets
Time	0707 EST
Comments	Looking E along 86 St Venus was seen in a light gray sky above the water tower of a tall apartment building. Jupiter was recovered with the binoculars but not until image stabilization was turned in. It is much dimmer than Venus and looks much smaller.

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Observing Location	The Great Lawn, Central Park, NY
Observational Period	0815-0930
Atmospheric Conditions	In photographic palance I think this would be termed cloudy bright. There was a general haze with some thicker stripes in it but there were distinct shadows being cast.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars with Baader solar filter film
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Solar
Time	15Jan05; 0914 EST
Comments	720 is HUGE. My initial reaction was WOW!. It looks like un upside-down Y with two nodes on each arm and one on the base. There is a wide penumbra around the entire complex. Off to the right is 718 which is composed of two widely separated spots. The loser spot has a couple of very small spots training it. These are much smaller spots than 720 but still nothing to sneeze at.