20 June 2005

Observing Location	Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York, NY
Observational Period	0715-0815 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	It was cool wit a light breeze. The flag at the top of the castle fluttered anthe anemometer was spinning slowly. The wind vane pointed to the north. There were clouds on the north and east horizon up to about 45º. They would pass in front of the sun and I was not even able to locate the sun through the silar filter. I had to interrupt my sketching to wait for the sun to clear. When the sun rose above the clouds there was no sign of haze although atmospheric boiling was evident on the upper and lower limbs. Transparency Good Seeing Fair
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars with Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Tau
Category	Solar
Time	20Jun05; 0725 EDT
Comments	779 SW quadrant. 779 Keeps hanging on as it rotates closer to the leading limb. I was able to see many more small spots today light bridges between some of the larger spots. The trailing portion of the group has a penumbra but I did not detect one around the leading component. The void areas between them appear to have merged. 780 SE quadrant. This group is now about half way out to the meridian. I counted four small spots in this group today. When it was covreed by thin clouds I detected a void area surrounding them.   Groups Spots R Northern Hemisphere 0 0 0 Southern Hemisphere 2 11 31 Total 2 11 31 NOAA Boulder Sunspot Number R = 10 * Groups + Spots

Target	Great White Egret
Constellation
Category	Fauna
Time	20Jun05; 0735 EDT
Comments	I was busy stiring a note in my scratch note book and heard a grating sound on the parapet between me and the castle. Whe I looked up to see what had had made it there was an egret standing there talking to me. (S)he was not nearly as big up close as (s)he appears in the binoculars, only standing 2-3' tall depending on how curled up the neck is. When the wind blew and the feathers on the neck ruggled it looked like there was black skin beneath them. At the shoulders there is a pillow of short feathers out of which flows a cape of long feathers that are mostly central spine and axial veins with little body to them at all. They are like an underdeveloped peacock's tail and are purely for show as they could contribute nothing to flight. The bird seemed unphased by my presence although we were only about a meter apart. I did not make any sudden movements to alarm it. Eventually it jumped off the parapet and flew to the far side of the pond in one long glide following the contour of the hillside and flairing just before landing.

Target	Progress 52 M transit of the Sun
Constellation	Tau
Category	Satellite
Time	20Jun05; 0746 EDT
Comments	Not Seen This transit took place seconds before the ISS transit. The satellite was small (2.3 arcseconds) amd the transit of moderate length (1.22 seconds).

Target	ISS transit of the Sun
Constellation	Tau
Category	Satellite
Time	20Jun05; 0746 EDT
Comments	Not Seen This was a moderate length transit (1.27) of the largest object up there (23.7 arcseconds on this pass). And still I missed it. The most likely explaination that I can come up with is that that size is the circle that would be requited to emcompass the entire space station and most of the station is spindly components sticking out in various directions which don't show up well in the binoculars against the bright sun if they are slightly defocused. I am hoping I have better luck on the 27th shen the ISS transits the Moon just before 0600 EDT (if the Moon isn't buried in the schmutz that low on the horizon).

Target	Iridium Flare
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20Jun05; 0803 EDT
Comments	Iridium 16 was to have flared at Mag -6.0 at Alt 47, Az 70º. I set myself up with my compass so that I was looking in the right direction then used the compass like a protractor to set the elevation of the binoculars estimating where the horizontal would be. The binoculars were pointing considerably higher than the sun which was itself higher than the elevation of the flare. I looked up naked-eye in the neighborhood where I thought it should be relative to the position of the sun and didn't see anything. The flare was only separated from the sun by less than 18º and may have been too close for me to see a Mag -6 object. I am wondering if I would have gotten better alignment of the binoculars if I had tipped my compass down to point at where the edg of the earth would be rather than holding it level pointing at an artificial horizon. I should see if I can find some documentation on the Web about how artificial horizons for sextants work.

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Observing Location	TotL The infield sprinklers started up at 2330 as usual and ran for about a munute. At midnight the ourfield sprinkers went off on the Great Lawn. By the time I left the sprinklers had not started on the north ballfields and none had started anywhere around the fince at the top of the Lawn.
Observational Period	2030-0030 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	When I arrived in the park it was nearly totally overcast with a deck of stratus clouds and I figured it would be an early night with the moon being the only thing to be observed. But conditions imptoved as it got darker and transparency was actually very good. Initially there was a lot of boiling all over the moon but that settled down too. It did cool off and the air began to feel moist and I had to put a pile vest on under my windbreaker. The wind was calm all night. Transparency Very Good Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Castor and Pollux
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planets
Time	20Jun05; 2045 EDT
Comments	The reason for going to the park was to Meet Tom clabough and observe the planets. Tom sent a late email saying he wasn't going to make it and there were clouds in the west until after the planets had set. Object Magnitude Mercury -0.50 Venus -3.90 Saturn 0.20 Pollux 1.16 Castor 1.60 Mercury is 4.6 times brighter than Pollux, almost 7 times brighter than Castor, and 10 times brighter than Saturn, all of which I have seen, but I still have not seen Mercury.

Target	Moon
Constellation	Sco
Category	Lunar
Time	20Jun05; 2050 EDT
Comments	The nearly full Moon rose before sunset to the about 5º SE of Antares at 14d2h37m and 98% illuminated. It was rising into a lowering deck of clouds and I didn't expect it would be there long. It appears to be full even through the binoculars but still has nearly two daysto ge before it is actually full. I observed a light area stretching between Aristarchus and Copernicus that had the appearance of a ridge with a crater near its center. Virtual Moon Atlas shows the light area but does not apply a name to it. The most likely crater for me to have seen is Bessarion B. The USAF/NASA LAC Chart 39) shows a ridge going through there with an unnamed crater on it but a little farther west than what I was seeing. Their best fit is probably also Bessarion A.

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Vir
Category	Planet
Time	20Jun05; 2115 EDT
Comments	Jupiter was observed through thinning stratus clouds. It appeared very big and round bu no moons were visible. As th clouds continued to thin the moons appeared one at a time and occasionally twinkled: Europa/Io, Ganymede then Callisto. Io and Europa are too close together to split them easily although it can be done in the binoculars. Jupiter has had an extra moon high and to the left all night. It is about 1/8 the distance to Porrima. I think it is bright enouth to be in Planetarium but is not so must be a Mag 6.5-7 star. Stary night says it is HIP61578 and is Mag 6.93

Target	Scorpius, The scorpion
Constellation	Sco
Category	Double Star
Time	20Jun05; 2125 EDT
Comments	I can just make out the ω Sco double off the upper claw of the scoprion if I block the moon from view. Antares looks very orange. β Sco gives the impression of being a double star but I can't split it. Planetarium Says it is a double but the components are too close to be depicted as distinct entities on the screen even at 1º FOV. Star Magnitude Combined 2.52 Graffius β1 Sco 2.64 β2 Sco 4.94

Target	ν Corona Borealis
Constellation	CrB
Category	Double Stars
Time	20Jun05; 2140 EDT
Comments	I stumbled on this double when I was trying to find M13 and was not sure which corner of Hercules I had in the field of view. It is right above ζ Her and just over a FOV away. It is a wide, bright, fairly equal, orange double. Star Magnitude ν1 CrB 5.22 ν2 CrB 5.41

Target	M13, The Hercules cluster, NGC 6205
Constellation	Her
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2148 EDT
Comments	I tried for this handheld but didn't find it and may have been looking at the wrong corner of the swuare of Hercules. On the tripod it was a large fuzzy patch that was easier to see with everted vision but also took direct. It forms a shallow triangle with vertical two dim stars just above the line between the two corner stars of the square and is closer to theupper dim star.

Target	NGC6231
Constellation	Her
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2150 EDT
Comments	An open cluster between the legs (I think) of Hercules and above M92. I saw a point of light that stayed fairly constant and2-3 others that appear and disappear as I rock the focus.

Target	M92, NGC 6341
Constellation	Her
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2155 EDT
Comments	A globular cluster between the legs of Hercules. I detected an area of soft focus that comes and goes in a clump of dim stars.

Target	M104, The Sombrero Galaxy, NGC 4594
Constellation	Vir
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2215 EDT
Comments	The sky was liiking crisp down over CPS so it took a look in Virgo not expecting to find M104.

Target	Cepheus, The King
Constellation	Cep
Category	Constellation
Time	20Jun05; 2225 EDT
Comments	I was able to see all of the stars but η Cep naked-eye. Name Bayer Magnitude Meaning   θ Cep 4.24     η Cep 3.45   Alderamin α Cep 2.46 forearm shoulder Alfirk β Cep 3.25 flock of sheep (a double star) Alrai (Errai) γ Cep 3.23 (shepherd)   ι Cep 3.54     δ Cep 3.90-5.09 variable     ζ Cep 3.37   Garnet Star μ Cep 4.10   Graphic from Starry Nights Starter

Target	NGC6939
Constellation	Cep
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun; 2235 EDT
Comments	A large Open Cluster at the top of Cepheus.

Target	NGC6946
Constellation	Cep
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2235 EDT
Comments	Mot Seen A spiral galaxy beneath NGC6939.

Target	The Garnet Star, μ Cep
Constellation	Cep
Category	Star
Time	20Jun05; 2245 EDT
Comments	I was using this a a jumping off place for a hop to IC1396 and was not aware that it was anything special. It is bright orange.

Target	IC1396
Constellation	Cep
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05;02250 EDT
Comments	Not Seen It has the symbol for a spiral galaxy but the comments in my Planetarium entry say it is an emission nebula. Either way I don't think I saw it. There were lots of dim stars around Yale 8281.

Target	M39
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2253 EDT
Comments	I did a lot of star hopping out through the tail of Cygnus and found several rivers of brighter stars there. Eventually I got over to M39 which is a fairly large triangular shaped cluster. I counted 9 easily resolved stars.

Target	M29, NGC6913
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Dep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2320 EDT
Comments	An open cluster just below the heart of the Swan. Sadr is faint yellow. There is a ring of empty sky about 1.5º wide then a ring of stars around it. I found a group of faint stars around a brighter star.

Target	Aquila, The Eagle
Constellation	Aql
Category	Constellation
Time	20Jun05; 2328 EDT
Comments	I identified all of the stars of Aql except for ι Aql and12 Aql naked-eye. γ Aql appears very yellow. Name Bayer Magnitude Meaning Alshain β Aql 3.73 Persian name for the constellation Altair α Aql 0.80 Arabic name for the constellation Tarazed γ Aql 2.74 Persian name for the constellation   δ Aql 3.38   Deneb el Okab ζ Aql 3.01 ?   λ Aql 3.46     12 Aql 4.04     ι Aql 4.38     θ Aql 3.25   Graphic from Starry Nights Starter

Target	M11, The Wild Duck Cluster, NGC6705
Constellation	Sct
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05, 2328 EDT
Comments	A globular cluster between Awl

Target	M26, NGC6694
Constellation	Sct
Category	Deep Sky Ogject
Time	20Jun05; 2343 EDT
Comments	A Globular cluster just off the center of the diamond of Sct.

Target	Sagittarius, The Archer
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Constellation
Time	20Jun05; 2345 EDT
Comments	I could barely make out the top of the teapot in the Moon's glare.

Target	Scorpion's Sting
Constellation	Sco
Category	Asterism
Time	20June05; 2345 EDT
Comments	λSco and υ Sco are just visible a couple of degrees above the trees.

Target	Moon
Constellation	Sco
Category	Lunar
Time	20Jun05; 2050 EDT
Comments	The east limb of the moon has a very angular profile along the terminator.

Target	Cassiopeia, The Queen
Constellation	Cas
Category	Constellation
Time	20Jun05; 2358 EDT
Comments	Cassiopeia is starting to point up at a 45º angle across the top of the W.

Target	Lyra
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Constellation
Time	20Jun05; 2359 EDT
Comments	Vega is near the zenith. In addition to Vega I could see all four corner stars and the ε Lyr double.

Target	Summer Triangle
Constellation
Category	Asterism
Time	20Jun05; 2359 EDT
Comments	All three stars of the summer triangle are easily visible high in the NE. Constellation Star Magnitude Vega Lyr 1.00 Deneb Cyg 1.27 Altair Aql 0.79

Target	M57, The Ring Nebula, NGC6720
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20Jun05; 2400 EDT
Comments	Not Seen There were bunches and bunches of stars in the neighborhood of M57 tonight. I didn't see anything that looked nebulous though.