14 November 2005

Observing Location	Parkchester
Observational Period	1700-1730 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	It has been basically clear all day but is supposed to cloud over and start raining overnight. There is some thin cloud to the east and heavy clouds to the southwest. It is very pleasant out with no wind, the temperature in the high 60s and no perceptible humidity.
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocular
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Moon
Constellation	Tau
Category	Lunar
Time	14Nov05; 1700 EST
Comments	I was sitting at the computer working when something caught my eye out my basically east-facing window. Looking around I saw a pale yellow moon rising above the connected building. So when I made a trip to the library and dinner I took my binocular with me. By the time I got to a location where I could see the Moon and Mars without looking through tree branches it had lost its yellow tinge and was a silver-white orb. There was some cloud lit up around it which became more pronounced all the time. After dropping off my materials at the library there appeared to be even more cloud. After dinner the sky was much darker and the extent of the cloud had increased again. Now the Moon and Mars are well above the roof line of the adjoining building and the sky is lit up all the way from the moon down to Mars 3.4° away (center to center). To the naked eye the Moon looks full. But when I look at it through the binocular the limb in the lower left quadrant is not as sharply as it is around the rest of the Moon. Plato is very obvious and so are the rays.

Target	Mars
Constellation	Tau
Category	Planet
Time	14Nov05; 1700 EST
Comments	Mars was looking like a pale yellow dot compared to the Moon.

Target	Venus
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Planet
Time	14Nov05; 1710 EST
Comments	The sky was too dark for good Venus viewing. The planet was so bright that there was a lot of flare in the optics. It did look like it a small, bright first quarter moon. USNO graphic