21 September 2005

Observing Location	PSC The sun continues to move and the window for early evening observations from this location is shrinking. By around 1700 all of the benches are in shadow.
Observational Period	1645 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Hot with moderate humidity. Little wind and little boiling. Transparency Excellent Seeing Excellent
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocular with Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation
Category	Solar
Time	21Sep05; 1645 EDT
Comments	810 NE quadrant. I can make out a penumbra around the spot and a couple of tiny T spots behind it.   Groups Spots R Northern Hemisphere 1 4 14 Southern Hemisphere 0 0 0 Total 1 4 14 NOAA Boulder Sunspot Number ? R = 10 * Groups + Spots

Observing Location	TotL Tonight the sprinklers just didn't seem right when they came on along the eastern edge of the Lawn. Then shortly after midnight they started along the fence on the north edge and we got soaked. Not only were we picking up splash where the stream was hitting the fence but the wind was blowing strongly enough out of the south that nearly the entire path was soaked. We grabbed everything and ran to the north edge of the walk but weren't even safe there so eventually moved down near the robin dormitory to dry off and pack up.
Observational Period	2030-0030 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Tonight was a rare night. There were no clouds and not a lot of humidity so we were seeing a lot of stars. It was also cooler than normal and I could have used a long sleeve t-shirt. Transparency Very Good Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Kin Lee

My notes for tonight are kind of spare. I don't seem to have documented anything after Peter and Kin arrived. I remember looking at M27 and M52 in the telescope and looked at Mars and the Moon before the session was abruptly terminated. But I don't know what else we did for 5 hours. I enjoyed doing it though.

Target	M27, Dumbbell Nebula, NGC6853
Constellation	Vul
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	21Sep05; 2043 EDT
Comments	I hopped to this object high in the south and thought I might have it. Peter looked and said it was there faintly, but it wasn't where I was looking. After he told me where to look for it it briefly popped into view a couple of times but was very dim in my binoculars. Later Peter got the nebula in his telescope at low and medium power. At the higher magnification I could see two white fuzzies, the right one was larger but I think the left one was brighter. They appeared on a line from 11:00 to 5:00.

Target	M52, NGC7654
Constellation	Cas
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	21Sep05
Comments	I made a sketch of the starfield in my binocular but didn't see the object. We did observe it in the telescope later.