7 November 2004

Observing Location	MacDonalds, Westchester Ave, Bronx, NY I didn't actually eat here. I was at the library across the street and wanted to see Venus but the elevated subway was in the way so I had to cross over into the MacDonalds' parking lot to make my observation before going to Blimpie.
Observational Period	1645 & 1715 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	I think there is some haze up there and I know there are scattered stratus clouds around. The temperature is very comfortable and there is little wind
Instruments	Naked-eye
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Moon
Constellation	Cap
Category	Lunar
Time	1645 & 1715 EST
Comments	The moon looked nearly First Quarter hanging over the buildings to the south. On my first observation right at sunset I could see the dark side of the moon. About 30 minutes later at the beginning of Nautical Twilight I was only able to see dimly a small portion of the lower darkened side of the moon. Mare Crisium was easily visible without visual aides.

Target	Venus
Constellation	Sgr
Category	Planet
Time	1645 & 1715 EST
Comments	When I first saw the moon on leaving my building I could not find Venus even though I knew where to look because there were clouds in that part of the sky that, although light, were blocking the planet. On reaching the library the clouds had moved on and I didn't even have to measure to see where to look for Venus. It was bright in the still light sky. When I got back home the sky was much darker and Venus appeared much brighter and bigger.

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	1930-0030 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	By the time I got to the park conditions had degraded considerably since my last observing the Moon and Venus on the way home from dinner. And they got worse over the next two hours. The Moon started out over CPS in light haze with a big ring or illumination around it out to a distance of about 3 moon diameters. By the time it was ready to drop behind the Time Warner building it was behind much thicker cloud and indistinct. But around 2130 EST conditions began to improve to the north and we got some pretty nice views up there. It was breezy requiring that you hold on to Peter's scope to stabilize the view. Transparency Variable Seeing Variable
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocular - Charlie Fujinon 10x70 binocular - Ben Teleport 10" Dobsonian Refractor - Peter Celestron 7x50 binocular - Kin
Observing Party	We started out observing tonight with each of us doing his own thing and little communication between us. Later, after the transparency had improved we spent some time around Peter's scope looking at Mars and Ben and I compared views of a few double stars in our respective binoculars. All of the regulars were out tonight. Charlie Ridgway Ben Cacace Peter Tagatac Kin Lee

Naked-eye Limiting Magnitude Observations	We did a little NELM check in the Hyades late in the evening. N E 4.8 Zenith W S Star Magnitude θ1 Tau 3.84 θ2 Tau 3.40 75 Tau 4.96 π Tau 4.69 71 Tau 4.48 HIP 21029 & HIP 21503 4.78 &6.50 δ1 Tau 3.77 δ2 Tau 4.80 δ3 Tau 4.3 4.4/7.6

Target	Moon
Constellation	Cap
Category	Lunar
Time	7Nov05; 1930 EST
Comments	Haze was obscuring the finer details of the Moon. The terminator was passing down through Mare Serenitatis. The craters Atistoteles and Eudoxus were just outside the terminator. The darkened surface of the Moon looked darkest just inside the terminator and appeared to get brighter the farther from the terminator you looked until at the limb it looked a dusty gray. This is probably a contrast effect with the brightly illuminated portion of the moon on the daylight face. sketch

Target	Mars
Constellation	Tau
Category	Planet
Time	7Nov05; ~2130 EST
Comments	The seeing came and went and the wind buffeted the telescope a lot but the views were nice if you waited them out. The dark band across the planet appeared to be farther toward the top (south pole) tonight. It had a decided downward curve part way across the planet from the trailing, eastern limb. At one point I picked up a thinner band over top of it. I was not able to see Sirtis Major which Ben and Peter saw rotating onto the disk from the western limb. sketch

Target	Alberio, β Cygni
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2140 EST
Comments	A tight, unequal double of differing colors -- gold/blue 35", m3.1/5.1

Target	31 Cygni
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05, 2155 EST
Comments	A very wide -- about a dime -- unequal double with a color difference -- gold/blue. The gold star has a dim secondary, probably HIP 99676. 336", m3.8/4.8 Planetarium indicates another wide double to the lower left of this one that I missed, ο Cyg, 101", m3.8/7.0, and will have to come back here.

Target	ω Cygni
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2200 EST
Comments	A wide, orange/white double. It is so wide that I wouldn't have associated the two stars had there not been an indication of it in Planetarium. 257", m5.4/6.6

Target	61 Cygni
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05, 2205 EST
Comments	a tight -- pin thickness -- unequal double. 31.9", 5.2/6.0

Target	79 Cygni
Constellation	Cyg
Category	Double star
Time	7Nov05; 2210 EST
Comments	A wide -- about size of a pea -- dim, unequal double. 150", m5.7/7.0

Target	γ Delphini
Constellation	Del
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov04; 2225 EST
Comments	Looks slightly elongated, not split. 9.6", m4.5/5.5

Target	1 Equuleus
Constellation	Equ
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2230 EST
Comments	Dim, not split. 10.6", m5.4 (6.0/6.3)/7.?

Target	ψ Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2240 EST
Comments	A tight, unequal double in which I did not detect and color difference. 30.1", m4.6/5.8

Target	78 Camelopardalis
Constellation	Cam
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2250 EST
Comments	A very tight, slightly unequal double 21.5", m5.3/5.8

Target	40 & 41 Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2255 EST
Comments	Fairly equal, very tight double. 18.8", m5.7/6.0

Target	75 Draconis
Constellation	Dra
Category	Double Star
Time	7Nov05; 2255 EST
Comments	A wide, unequal double with no color detected. Not split. 197", 5.4/6.6 [I was probably only looking at one of the stars trying to split it and not seeing the real companion far away.]

Target	Crab Nebula, M1, NGC1952
Constellation	Tau
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	7Nov05, 2345 EST
Comments	At low power in Peter's scope I thought I saw a brightening in the area where he and Ben were seeing the nebula. It is nothing I am very confident of having seen last night.