6 January 2006

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2030-2200 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, where you could see it, and the clouds were lit from below so were all white -- a very nice sight. The air was crisp and the skyline looked tack sharp. But the clouds were a real bother. When I got out of my meeting it didn't look like it was going to be possible to see anything, but since I was in the neighborhood and had brought all of my equipment I figured I should walk through the park just in case. When I got to TotL (after a longer walk that I remembered) The clouds were passing by quickly with some nice gaps in them so I set up the tripod and binocular. Then I had to wait a while for one of those gaps so I could see something. A lot of the time I was able to switch from one target to another as conditions changed but sometimes I just had to wait. By 2200 EST it was completely overcast and it didn't look like there was any chance of it breaking up so I packed up and headed home. By the time I got to the subway it was mostly clear again. Where you could see between the clouds it was spectacular. I didn't notice any boiling over the Moon but the winds were gusty so I am sure it was there. Transparency Fair Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Moon
Constellation	Psc
Category	Lunar
Time	6Jan06; 2030 EST
Comments	The moon was at First Quarter this afternoon and appeared as an almost perfect half circle laying on its side next to ζ Psc. The terminator passed just east of the Caucusus Mountains and Ptolomaeus. The Universe Today calendar suggested looking for the Serpentine Ridge on the floor of Mare Serenitatis which I did but I did not see it. I think the terminator was too far east for it to appear.

Target	Orion's Sword
Constellation	Ori
Category	Asterism
Time	6Jan06
Comments	When there were no clouds covering the sword the views were some of the nicest I have seen from TotL. There were lots of tiny, dim stars out on either side of the Sword. Nebulosity was observed around the Trapezium but not as much as I have seen on other occasions. I did not see any nebulosity naked-eye. The Trapezium itself was split into three components. Starry Night Starter Version graphic

Target	Saturn and M44
Constellation	Cnc
Category	Planet and Deep Sky Object
Time	6Jan06; 2100 EST
Comments	It looked like about 3.5°-4° from the tip of the Beehive down to Saturn. The stars of the Beehive were dim but shone through thin clouds. The formed a broad equilateral triangle with its apex pointed down toward Saturn. The Beehive filled most of the top half of the FOV and then there was noting most of the way do the bottom where Saturn was situated.

Target	Mintaka, δ Ori
Constellation	Ori
Category	Double Star
Time	6Jan06; 2130 EST
Comments	The secondary was easily seen above the primary. It is moderately separated (52") and much dimmer.