11 February 2005

Observing Location	Parkchester, The Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1800-2000 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	When I arrived home on the subway at around 1800 the sky was a deep blue. I could see the moon out to the west from the subway platform. When I got to the house and was looking to the east and south the sky was darker and the brighter stars were starting to appear. By 2000 when I was heading down to Central Park it had clouded up and not much was visible at all.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Moon
Constellation	Psc
Category	Lunar
Time	11Feb05; 1800 EST
Comments	When I got off the train the moon was hanging around 30º up to the west. Earthshine was visible on the limb up around 10:30 but none could be seen near the center of the moon or around the horns. At that time the moon was just over 3 days old.

Target	Orion
Constellation	Ori
Category	Constelations
Time	11Feb05; 1815 EST
Comments	Betelgeus caught my eye as I was walking into my block. When I got in front of my building I could see Rigel and the Belt stars in the darkening sky through a gap in the buildings across the street.

Target	Sirius
Constellation	CMa
Category	Stars
Time	11Feb05; 1815 EST
Comments	Sirius was shining over the street and low on the horizon. It was the only star in the area.

Target	Moon
Constellation	Psc
Category	Lunar
Time	11Feb05; 2000 EST
Comments	When I got back on the subway platform to head down to Central Park the moon was low on the western horizon but now on the north side of the subway platform. There was a dull crescent of brighter cloud there where the moon was shining through. My notes indicate that I had reservations about going to Central Park since there were no stars visible and the moon not directly visible. But since I had already paid my fare I persevered.

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2115-0045 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	When I arrived at TotL things were not looking great. Peter was there but had not set up yet. While we were talking and deciding what to do it really clouded up to the point where nothing could be seen. We could see a search light sweeping the bottoms of the clouds out to the south. We stood around and talked and about 2300 hrs things started to break up and I even set up my tripod for the last 1.75 hours. Looking back over my list of naked-eye sightings we really did see a fair amount without using any equipment. The Christo Gates are up all over the area but the fabric has not been released yet so they weren't much of a problem. In the area of the gate onto the lawn there aren't any gates and you can look over the ones to either side to see most of the sky but when the fabric is blowing in the breeze that may change things. I think TPO might be a better observing location for the duration of the installation but the security people tended to spend more time driving around that area than up at TotL. Their lights are a pain for astronomy too. They really make conditions in the park unsafe for pedestrians. At many locations there isn't much more than a vehicle distance between the gates and they stop in the path and make pedestrians squeeze between their vehicle and the gates.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie 7x35 binoculars - Peter
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac

Naked-eye Limiting Magnitude Observations

Star Magnitude Betelgeus α Ori 0.52 Bellatrix γ Ori 1.60 Alnitak ζ Ori 2.07 Alnilam ε Ori 1.70 Mintaka δ Ori 2.25 σ Ori 3.80 η Ori 3.38 42 & 45 Ori #.## θ Ori #.## ι Ori 2.79 Saiph κ Ori 2.08 Rigel β Ori 0.10 Castor α Gem 2.00 Pollux β Gem 1.16 Alhena γ Gem 1.95 Tejat Posterior μ Gem 2.90 Propus η Gem 3.30 Capella α Aur 0.10 Al Naz ε Aur 3.01 Hoedus II η Aur 3.19 Haedi ζ Aur 3.77 Menkailnan β Aur 1.92 θ Aur 2.64 Aldeberan α Tau 0.87 Hyadum I γ Tau 3.67 θ1 Tau 3.86 &theta2 Tau 3.42 Arcturus α Boo 0.00 Izar ε Boo 2.72 δ Boo 3.49 Nekkar β Boo 3.52 Seginus γ Boo 3.05 Mufrid η Boo 2.70 Cor Caroli α CVn 2.92 Chara β CVn 4.28 Ras Elased Australis ε Leo 3.00 Ras Elased Borealis μ Leo 3.90 Adhafera ζ Leo 3.46 Algeiba γ Leo 2.00 Zosma δ Leo 2.58 Denebola β Leo 2.16 Chort θ Leo 3.36 Regulis α Leo 1.37

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planets
Time	11Feb05; 2300 EST
Comments	Saturn was one of the first objects to burn through the clouds to the south, being high up where we were looking through less atmosphere. It formed a crescent with Castor and Pollux that I did not recognize and asked Peter about a couple of times. To my eye it doesn't appear to be that much brighter than Castor and Pollux so is just another star although a little bigger.

Target	Bootes, The Herdsman
Constellation	Boo
Category	Constellation
Time	11Feb05; 2330 EST
Comments	Arcturus rises about 2130 right now but the constellation gets to be visible around 2330. I was able to pick out all the major stars of the Kite asterism save ρ Boo Arcturus α Boo Mag 0.00 Guardian of the Bear Guaridan of the North Izar ε Boo Mag 2.72 Girdle Loincloth   &delta Boo Mag 3.49   Nekkar β Boo Mag 3.52 Ox-driver   ρ Boo Mag 3.60   Mufrid η Boo Mag 2.70 Solitary Star of the Lancer The genitive form of Boo is Bootis.

Target	Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs
Constellation	CVn
Category	Constellation
Time	11Feb05; 2330 EST
Comments	I was able to see both of the primary stars of CVn naked eye. Chara, β CVn, was the dimmest object I saw all night making my naked eye limiting magnitude 4.28 at that moment in time. There are only two prominent stars in the constellation: Cor Caroli α CVn Mag 2.92 Charles' Heart Chara &beta CVn Mag 4.28 Beloved The genitive of CVn is Canum Venaticorum

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Vir
Category	Planets
Time	11Feb05; 2330 EST
Comments	Jupiter was rising through the trees to the east. It is very bright.

Target	Coma Berenices Cluster
Constellation	Com
Category	Deep Space Objects
Time	11Feb05; 2400 EST
Comments	This is a huge very open cluster. It is so big it won't all fit into my field of view. I counted about 30 stars in my field without straining. Peter located it in my binoculars. If you follow a line from Alkaid at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper through Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici and go about that distance again it will be at the top of Coma Berenices. It is also about half way between Cor Caroli and Denebola, the tail star of Leo.

Target	M35
Constellation	Gem
Category	Deep Space Objects
Time	12Feb05; 0015 EST
Comments	An open cluster at the foot of Castor. It resolved into a small patch of about 10 faint stars. In my field of view I had a bright star near the bottom of the field and a dimmer star near the top and a small cluster of faint stars to the right of a line connecting the two brighter stars. There were some other groupings of stars on the edges of the field that looked to me like open clusters but there is nothing else showing in Planetarium so they must not be associated. The Milky Way passes through Castor and Pollux's feet so it is not surprising that this would be a rich star region.