4 June 2005

Observing Location	Parkchester South Condominium oval, Parkchester, The Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1830-1845 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Clear and warm. Light wind.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars with Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Tau
Category	Solar
Time	4Jun05; 1830 EDT
Comments	772 In the southern hemisphere just crossing the meridian. A large sunspot group with no penumbra or visible void surrounding it. The dars spots appeared to be connected by a rope which may be smaller spots, penumbra, or the edge of the granular structure of the photosphere which often appears to me to be a line. 773 Also in the southern hemisphere and about 2/3 of the way from the meridian to the eastern limb. Also a large group with no penumbra or void surrounding it. 775 Sunspot 775 had just recently rotated onto the earthward face of the disk. It looks large but since it is on the limb it is foreshortened so is likely very large. I didn't sense a penumbra but there was a void in the gransular structure surrounding it.   Groups Spots R Northern Hemisphere 1 1 11 Southern Hemisphere 2 6 26 Total 4 8 37 NOAA Boulder Sunspot Number 78

---

Observing Location	Parkchester, East 177 Street subway platform on the #6 Line, the Bronx, NY
Observational Period	2040-2045 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	There were mares tales all over the horizon up to 20-30º. It looked like going downtown to observe might have been a mistake. Still nice and warm with no perceptible humidity and only light wind.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Venus
Constellation	Gem
Category	Olanets
Time	4Jun05; 2040 EDT
Comments	Venus was shining brightly in a bright blue sky among salmon-colored mares tails. I estimated it to be about 13º up at the time, planetarium says it was 10º and right next to M35. I got my binoculars on it briefly before the train came in but they really didn't do much for the view.

---

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2100-0330 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	There were a few whisps of clouds early in the evening that gave way to bands of thin cirrus and eventually totally clear skies. Thre was a lot of humidity in the air so transparency was not that great. The temperature was very comfortable only dropping as low as 68º. Wind was impreceptible untl the sprinklers went off then it was obviously from the S. Mosquitoes were not a problem at all.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binoculars - Charlie Fujinon 7x50 binoculars - Peter Celestron Oceana 7x50 binoculars - Kin
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Kin Lee

Target	Venus
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planets
Time	4Jun05; 2105 EDT
Comments	My first sighting was from Lexington Avenue and 86 St immediately upon exiting the subway. Venus was hanging low on the horizon right over the sidewaly and a few degrees above the trees. By the time I got over to Park Ave the geometry had it below the tree line.

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Vir
Category	Planets
Time	4Jun05; 2125 EDT
Comments	Jupiter looked very nice close to Porrima about 45º up and just past the meridian. There were three moons off to the east (trailing) and one preceeding the planet on the left. Ganymede and Europa were close to eachother and got closer as the night progressed. Starry Night Starter graphic for 2125 EDT. Starry Night Starter graphic for 2325 EDT.

Target	Regulus
Constellation	Leo
Category	Stars
Time	4Jun05; 2128 EDT
Comments	Regulus looked very bright in the binoculars. It looked like a comet with three tails extending to the west. After I wrote that note down I came back to the eyepieces and was not able to reproduce the phenomena either with or without image stabilization turned on. I suspect there was just a patch of very transparent air between me and the star which was causing it to flare in the binoculars.

Target	Scorpius
Constellation	Sco
Category	Constellation
Time	4Jun05; 2138 EDT
Comments	Sco is rising just south of the tall trees north of the path in the NE corner of the Lawn. He is standing on his tail. Antares appears to be winking to the naked eye

Target	M65, M66 & NGC3628
Constellation	Leo
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	4Jun05; 2145 EDT
Comments	Since Regulus appeared to have been in clear air before I gave the Leo Trio a try. I can't say that I saw any of them but there was a star ~Mag 6.7 out wherre I would expect M65 to have been. There was another star of about the same brightness up around where NGC3628 should have been. My Planetarium star catalog only goes down to Mag 6.6 so I don't know what other stars are there.

Target	Iridium 15
Constellation
Category	Satellites
Time	4Jun05; 2251 EDT
Comments	We saw many satellites last night, both naked eye and passing through the field of view of the binoculars while observing other objects, but the most impressive was this Iridium flare. The satellite came into view to the north of Deneb and moved to the east brightening quickly and then dimming equally as quickly. Heavens-Above.com listed it as Mag -5.

Target	M57, The Ring Nebula
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	4Jun05; 2315 EDT
Comments	Peter thinks he saw it and I think I probably did. But it was not obvious at all.

Target	M6, Butterfly Cluster
Constellation	Sco
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05, 0100 EDT
Comments	We did this one hand held after the sprinklers stopped to the south. I resolved a paralelogram with one star off to its right. Starry Night Starter image

Target	M7, Ptolemy's Cluster
Constellation	Sco
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0105 EDT
Comments	I can get this cluster in the same field of view with M6. I easily resolved 15 stars in the cluster. Starry Night Starter image with M6 in the upper right and M7 in the lower left.

Target	The Teapot
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Asterism
Time	5Jun05; 0110 EDT
Comments	I was able to make out the whole teapot over the southern end of the Met. Sagittarius is The Archer but the asterism used to depict him in modern times is a teapot with the handle to the east, the spout to the west and a knob projecting up from it's top. Neither the α nor the β stars (dimmer stars than any in the asterism) are part of this asterism and are infact a good distance below it and seperated from it by Corona Australis (CrA). Star Bayer Magnitude Meaning Kaus Australis ε Sgr 1.87 southern star of the bow Nash Alnasl γ2 Sgr 3.01 the Point Kaus Meridionalis Kaus Media δ Sgr 2.72 middle of the bow Kaus Borealis λ Sgr 2.83 northern star of the bow   μ Sgr 3.88     ψ Sgr 3.19   Nunki ο Sgr 2.04 ancient Babylonian name   τ Sgr 3.34   Ascella ζ Sgr 2.62 armpit A depiction of Sagittarius from the 1920s.

Target	M22, NGC6656
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0115 EDT
Comments	A Mag 6.5 globular cluster to the left of the top of the Teapot. It was an obvious smudge in the middle of a triangle of stars. Starry Night Starter image with M22 in the middle of the triangle of stars in the upper left. λ Sgr is in the lower right.

Target	M25
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Objects
Time	5Jun05; 0125 EDT
Comments	I easily resolved 6 stars in this Mag 4.9 open cluster which lies to the left of the know on the top of the Teapot. Starry Night Starter image of M25 with 21 Sgr in the lower right corner.

Target	NGC6530
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Space Object
Time	5Jun05; 0150 EDT
Comments	To the right of the knob in the top of the Teapot. I found it while looking for M8, the Lagoon Nebula. It appears as a line of stars that has stacked stars in the middle and brighter single stars at each end. M8 appears embedded in the cluster but is actually behind it.

Target	M8, The Lagoon Nebula
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0150 EDT
Comments	Both Peter and I sensed something on the left end of NGC6530 near the three stacked stars. We missed thebulk of the nebula which is taround the two stacked stars. Starry Night Starter image of M8 shining through NGC6530.

Target	M21, NGC6531
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0200 EDT
Comments	M21 is in the same field of view with M8 and NGC6530. It is a Mag 7 ope cluster to the right of the know of the Teapot. Starry Night Starter image of M21 in the upper left and the Trifid Nebula in the lower right.

Target	M20, The Trifid Nebula, NGC6514
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0200 EDT
Comments	Not Seen

Target	M28, NGC6626
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0215 EDT
Comments	A globular cluster just to the right of the top of the Teapot.

Target	M24, Milky Way Patch
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Objects
Time	5Jun05; 0225 EDT
Comments	We identified a rich starfield in a large equilateral triangle of stars that we believe to be M24. The triamgle was much richer in the lower right portion with lots and lots of tiny sand grains of light. The large triangle had 2-3 stars on a side. It is between the knob of the teapot and the lower point of the diamond of Sct.

Target	M18, NGC6613
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0235 EDT
Comments	A Mag 8 open cluster between the knob of the Teapot and the lower point of the diamond of Sct. Starry Night Starter image with M18 in the lower left of the field and M17 in the upper left. Peter and I both looked at this and thought we saw it but my field diagram does not look anything like the Starry Night Starter sky chart. My diagram is somewhat similar to the field of view they show for M24. But I don't know how dim the stars I marked down were and they may not sppear in Starry Night Starter. I will go with Peter's assessment.

Target	M17, Omega Nebula, NGC6618
Constellation	Sbr
Category	Deep Sky Objects
Time	5Jun05; 0235 EDT
Comments	Not Seen

Target	M11, The Wild Duck Cluster, NGC6705
Constellation	Sct
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0245 EDT
Comments	A Mag 7 open cluster between Sct and the head of Aql. Peter described it is looking like a comet with a head and three tails sxtending to the right. I could see a central concentration of light in the lower left and a wash that faded in a wedge shape to the upper right. Starry Night Starter image with M11 labeled in the lower right but not shown at this zoom level (~10º before cropping and resizing in Photoshop). β Sct is in the upper right corner and 12 Aql in the lower left.

Target	M26, NGC6694
Constellation	Sct
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	5Jun05; 0255 EDT
Comments	A Mag 9.5 open cluster to the left of the center of the diamond of Sct. Peter and I both saw a soft spot in a triangle of stars but we didn't agree on exactly where it was. It was very faint.

We got stymied in our observations several times last night. Early on we had to contend with some clouds that seemed to always be in the wrong place. Then at midnight the sprinklers on the Lawn went off and ran for 40 minutes. The wind, which we had not noticed at all, blew a mist up over the path. Much more of the path got wet tonight than on my last observing session here. At 0115 The sprinklers on the north ballfields started going off and some of them spray out onto the path as well. Finally at 0330 the police came by and told us they couldn't make exceptions to the park rules for people stargazing or looking into the windows of the apartments on CPS and in the future make sure we are out of the park by 0100 when it closes. I think we were probably ratted out by the helicopter that flew over the reservoir shortly before. We were getting into some good observing at the time too.