5 March 2005

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	1830-1900 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	It was nice and clear, mild temperatures and light wind. There was a white glow on the horizon but the sky was starting to get dark up where Mercury was. I saw deeper into Orion than I have seen for quite some time.
Instruments	16x70 binoculars - Tom
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Tom Clabough

Naked-eye Limiting Magnitude Observations

Star Magnitude Faintest Star Seen 5.29 μ Ori 4.14 52 Ori 5.29 Betelgeuse α Ori 0.70 Meissa λ Ori 3.56 φ1 Ori 4.43 φ2 Ori 4.11 Bellatrix γ Ori 1.60 32 Ori 4.22 π3 Ori 3.21 π4 Ori 3.71 π2 Ori 4.38 Alnitak ζ Ori 2.07 Alnilam ε Ori 1.72 Mintaka δ Ori 2.25 η Ori 3.38 Running Man Nebula NGC 1977 4.2 The Trapezium M42 & M43   Nair al Saif ι Ori 2.79 τ Ori 3.62 Rigel β Ori 0.10 29 Ori 4.16 Saiph κ Ori 2.08 3 Mon 4.97 μ Lep 3.33 ε Lep 3.21 Nihal β Lep 2.86 Algieba γ Lep 2.60 δ Lep 3.83 Mursim β CMa 2.00 ο1 CMa 3.89 Adhara ε CMa 1.50 σ CMa 3.49 Wezen δ CMa 1.86 Aludra η CMa 2.47 ο2 CMa 3.04 Sirius &alpha CMa -1.50 Aldeberan α Tau 0.90 θ1 Tau 3.86 θ2 Tau 3.42 Hyadum I γ Tau 3.67 Hyadum II &delta1 Tau 3.78 δ3 Tau 4.31 Ain ε Tau 3.55 ζ Tau 3.02 Alnath β Tau 1.67 The Pleiades M45

Target	Mercury
Constellation	Psc
Category	Planets
Time	5Mar05; 1830 EST
Comments	Joe Rao's article in Space.com indicates that you should start observing 45 minutes after sunset which would have been at 1837 but the planet was already easily visible to the naked eye at 1830 when I arrived in the park. It was at magnitude -1.0. More Mercury information.

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planets
Time	5Mar05; 1850 EST
Comments	We could see the planet and various moons around it.

---

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2130-0130 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Conditions had deteriorated markedly over the past three hours and got worse yet. Clouds were starting to roll in but did not become really bothersome until around midnight. The temperature was in the low 30s to high 20s with a light wind from the N-NW.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie Fujinon 7x50 binoculars - Ben 10" Teleport - Peter 8-25x25 binoculars - Ken
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Ben Cacace Peter Tagatac Ken (cyclist)

Target	Puppis
Constellation	Pup
Category	Constellation
Time	5Mar05; 2205 EST
Comments	Puppis was low on the S-SW horizon so was in an area og bad light pollution as welll as dense atmosphere. I was only able to find three stars. Star Magnitude Meaning Tureis ρ Pup 2.83   Azmidiske ξ Pup 3.36     Yale 2922 4.66

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planets
Time	5Mar05; 2230 EST
Comments	I got a brief look at Saturn in Peter's scope. I didn't look closely enough to see the Cassini division, shadow on the rings or banding on the planet, but moons were obvious.

Target	M3
Constellation	CVn
Category	Deep Space Objects
Time	5Mar05; 2235 EST
Comments	It wasn't very impressive in my binoculars. Just a fuzzy ball with nothing much around it. I got to it by hopping off of ρ Boo.

Target	Alkalurops, μ Boo
Constellation	Boo
Category	Double Stars
Time	5Mar05; 22 EST
Comments	A wide double off the left corner of the kite. The primary is white and the secondary orange.

Target	δ Boo
Constellation	Boo
Category	Double Stars
Time	5Mar05; 22 EST
Comments	A close double that is the left corner of the kite. The secondary is much dimmer than the primary.

Target	Coroa Borealis (The Northern Crown)
Constellation	CrB
Category	Constellation
Time	5Mar05; 2255 EST
Comments	I could only make out Alphecca, α Crb, naked-eye. With the binoculars I could see the whole crown.

Target	C/2004 Q2 (Machholz)
Constellation	Cep
Category	Comets
Time	5Mar05; 2300 EST
Comments	Machholz becomes less impressive all the time. It is now so faint that I have to star hop to it. It is just a slight blur in the sky.

Target	The Engagement Ring
Constellation	UMi
Category	Asterism
Time	5Mar05; 2300 EST
Comments	I wsa not able to find the ring tonight. I don't remember if I have seen it before in these binoculars or in the 7x binoculars.

Target	ν Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Stars
Time
Comments	This is the left eye of the dragon.

Target	16 & 17 Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Stars
Time	5Mar05; 2306 EST
Comments	This is a very wide double. It is Mag 5.4. I saw a spot of light where I suspected I would find the double star and pointed the binoculars at it and the double was nearly in the center of the field. There are no brighter stars close to it so I must have been seeing the double itself. One reference lists them at 5.4 and planetarium lists the individual stars at 17 Dra: 5.10 and 16 Dra: 5.55 so their combined light might be brighter than 5.0. [Ben reports: The combined mags for a 5.1 and 5.55 pair is 4.55. Since this is a very wide double I suspect the visual magnitude is less than 4.55 but greater than 5.4.]

Target	ψ Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Stars
Time	5Mar05; 2310 EST
Comments	A Mag 4.9 double at the second turn in Draco.

Target	M13
Constellation	Her
Category	Deep Space Objects
Time	5Mar05; 2345 EST
Comments	I was trying to find M92 in Hercules but Peter didn't think Hercules was up yet. After a long discussion about where things were we finally agreed on what could be seen. I had my binoculars where I thought they were but wasn't associating what I was seeing in them with what I was able to see naked-eye. I never did find M92 but was able to find the Mag 5.8 globular cluster M13 to the right of η Her. In the binoculars it was just a faint smudge. I came back to the M92 neighborhood later and neither Ben nor I were able to find it.

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Vir
Category	Planets
Time	6Mar05; 0010 EST
Comments	In my binoculars we could see all four Galilean moons. Ganemede was way out to the left, Io was a little closer to the planet than half the Ganemede distance. Io was very close to the planet and tended to get lost in the flare but could be picked out if you looked closely. Calisto was all by itself on the leading side of Jupiter. We had great views of Jupiter tonight in Peter's scope. The Northern and Southern Equitorial Belt were both very prominent. There were also to other belts closer to the poles which were not as pronounced. The southern one was easier to see than the northern. They were probably the South South or South South South Temperate Belt and North or North North Temperate Belt.

Target	Canis Minor (The Little Dog)
Constellation	UMi
Category	Constellation
Time	6Mar05; 0120 EST
Comments	I was able to see all the stars of the Little Dipper for the first time tonight. Star Magnitude Meaning Polaris α UMi 2.04 Pole Star North Star Lodestar Star of the Sea Stella Maris Cynosure Yildun δ UMi 4.38 Star   ε UMi 4.25     ζ UMi 4.34   Kochab β UMi 2.10 meaning unknown Pherkad γ UMi 3.07 two calves   η UMi 4.97   I also saw Pherkad Minor at Mag 5.04.

Target	Draco (The Dragon)
Constellation	Dra
Category	Constellation
Time	6Mar05; 0130 EST
Comments	We traced all the stars of Draco just before the police chased us out of the park.