18 February 2005

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2030-2130 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Tonight was an Astronomy Meetup meeting night but there were only three of us in attendance and all wanted to do some observing so the meeting was very short. The ladies were not dressed for the weather so didn't last long. I hung out until the apple cider I got at Starbucks started to percolate then headed back home. Anticipating windy conditions and an abbreviated observing session I did not bring my tripod tonight so most of the observing was done naked-eye even though I had the Canons. The temperature was in the 20s and dropping quickly. The winds were moderate with some strong and pronged gusts wrapping the fabric around some of Chirsto's Gates. The fabric was constantly in motion sometimes extending out horizontally and flapping in the wind. Cloud cover was probably near 25% and fairly thick where it was although the moon burned through it.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Emily & guest (Meetup)

Naked-eye Limiting Magnitude Observations

Star Magnitude Faintest Object Seen 4.44 Polaris &aplha; UMi 2.00 Kochab β UMi 2.10 Pherkad γ UMi 3.07 Mizar ζ UMa 2.4 Alcor 80 UMa 4.03 Talitha ι UMa & κ UMa 3rd Leap of the Gazelle 3.16 & 3.62 Tania Borealis λ UMa & Tania Australis μ UMa 2nd Leap of the Gazelle 3.47 & 3.07 Cor Caroli α CVn 2.92 Ras Elased Australis ε Leo 3.00 Ras Elased Borealis μ Leo 3.90 Adhafera ζ Leo 3.46 60 Leo 4.44 Zosma δ Leo 2.58 Denebola β Leo 2.16 Chort &theta: Leo 3.36 Regulus α Leo 1.40 Subra ο Leo 3.54 Castor α Gem 1.60 Mebsuta ε Gem 3.00 Tejat Posterior μ Gem 2.9 Propus η Gem 3.30 Pollux β Gem 1.10 Alhena γ Gem 1.95 Betelgeuse α Ori 0.52 Meissa λ Ori 3.56 φ2 Ori 4.11 φ1 Ori 4.43 Bellatrix γ Ori 1.60 π3 Ori 3.21 π4 Ori 3.71 π2 Ori 4.38 Alnitak ζ Ori 2.07 Alnilam ε Ori 1.70 Mintaka δ Ori 2.25 η Ori 3.38 Rigel β Ori 0.10 Saiph κ Ori 2.08 Nair al Saif ι Ori 2.79 The Trapezium θN Ori 4.00 Running Man Nebula NGC1977 4.20 Sirius α CMa -1.50 Murzim β CMa 2.0 δ CMa 4.09 Nihal β Lep 2.86 Arneb α Lep 2.60 μ Lep 3.33 ε Lep 3.21 Aldeberan α Tau 0.90 θ2 Tau 3.42 θ1 Tau 3.86 Hyadum I γ Tau 3.67 Hyadum II δ Tau 3.78 Ain ε Tau 3.55 The Pleiades M45 1.4 6 seen Mirfak α Per 1.80 ι Per 4.07 δ Per 3.03 γ Per 2.95 Capella α Aur 0.10 Al Anz ε Aur 3.01 Haedi ζ Aur 3.77 Hoedus II η Aur 3.19 Menkalinan β Aur 1.9 δ Aur 3.74

Target	Constellations
Constellation
Category	Constellations
Time	18Feb05; 2100 EST
Comments	Most of the time was spent showing Emily and her friend what I could find. Most of the remainder in trying to identify as many constellations as possible without reference to Planetarium. The following constellations were located with a high degree of certainty. UMi Uma CVn Leo CMa CMi Ori Lep Gem Tau Aur Per

Target
Constellation
Category
Time
Comments