23 June 2005

Observing Location	Parkchester South Condominium oval, The Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1645-1700 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Transparency Good Seeing Good
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binoculars with #14 welder's gold glass - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Tau
Category	Solar
Time	23Jun05; 1645 EDT
Comments	I checked SpaceWeather.com before I went out and they had sunspots marked that I couldn't even see in the high resolution images so wasn't expecting to see them with hand held binoculars. I did take the compact binoculars and welder's glass with me when I went to dinner and stopped off at the oval for a look. The small binoculars don't have the magnification or image stabilization of the Canons so are not the best for looking at small features but I wasn't expecting to see anything anyway so opted for compromised observing and light weight. I didn't see anything.

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Observing Location	Metropolitan Oval, Parkchester, The Bronx, NY
Observational Period	2045-2145 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	It was a little chilly with a constant breeze that picked up to moderate after sunset and was gusty at times. The sky was not a uniform blue so there was some haze in the air. Clouds started building around sunset. My eyes are really itching today and I suspected a lot of pollen is in the air but the weather maps don't support that. Whatever is causing it, it makes putting the binoculars to my eyes uncomfortable. Transparency Good Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Vir
Category	Planets
Time	23Jun05; 2048 EDT
Comments	Jupiter was high and behind me from my bench facing the Iridium Flare target area near Lyra so I moved across the walk. With image stabilization turned on I was able to see Ganymede and Callisto (dimmer) preceding the planet and Io trailing it by a about half the distance.

Target	Lyra
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Constellation
Time	23Jun05; 2055 EDT
Comments	Vega became visible naked eye and with the binoculars I could see the η Lyr double, ζ Lyr, γ Lyr and λ Lyr.

Target	Arcturus
Constellation	Boo
Category	Star
Time	23Jun05; 2102 EDT
Comments	Arcturus was visible high overhead, but no other stars around it. I didn't try to find anything else with the binoculars.

Target	γ Dra
Constellation	Dra
Category	Star
Time	23Jun05; 2114 EDT
Comments	γ Draconis became visible and with the binoculars I was able to see the rest of the head of Draco. The Iridium flare was to occur between γ Dra and Vega.

Target	The Big Dipper
Constellation	UMa
Category	Asterism
Time	23Jun05; 2115 EDT
Comments	All of the stars of the big dipper, including Alcor, were visible naked-eye high over my left shoulder.

Target	Unknown Satellite
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Satellite
Time	23Jun05; ~2125 EDT
Comments	I picked up a satellite moving past Lyra left to right or north to south. There is nothing listed in Heavens-Above.com going in this direction around this time. Orbitron shows ERS 2 passing through east at about this time but lower than I remember my bird. Since my notes are not good on either time or location this may have been what I was seeing.

Target	Unknown Satellite
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	23Jun05; 2127 EDT
Comments	I have a note of a satellite moving past Lyra heading north at this time. Heavens-Above.com lists the Spot 4 Rocket going from the SSE through ENE to N at this time at Mag 3.9. Orbitron shows Cosmos 1975, ERS 2 and ISIS 1 all out to the east at this time.

Target	Iridium Flare
Constellation	Her/Lyr
Category	Satellite
Time	23Jun05; 2133 EDT
Comments	Iridium 42 was listed to flare at Mag -8 for my location but this afternoon it has been reduced to Mag -7. I picked up the track as it was coming through Draco. It began to glare just as it was passing through the line between γ Dra and ν Dra. The flare was very bright, sending spikes in all directions to the unaided eye. It appeared to be a golden yellow in color. The flare lasted a couple of seconds and the track was followed into Hercules where it faded from naked-eye visibility.