9 April 2006

Observing Location	Staten Island September 11 Memorial, St. George, Staten Island, NY We went back to St. George primarily because I wanted to get a series of GPS readings for the location where we observed the graze of Celaeno on 1April06 since the coordinates I got from my map are different from the location on the Google Earth map and my GPS coordinates were out in the water. Peter initially wanted to try observing other objects from there but then became ambivalent as he thought the area was too bright for good observing. I set my GPS on my bag over the spot where my tripod legs were and took readings every 5 minutes for an hour and averaged them to get a final position. It is interesting that the longitude readings changed more than the latitude readings. Time Waypoint Latitude Longitude 1715 EDT 570 40° 38.819' -74° 4.588' 1720 EDT 571 40° 38.808' -74° 4.586' 1725 EDT 572 40° 38.808' -74° 4.588' 1730 EDT 573 40° 38.807' -74° 4.590' 1740 EDT 574 40° 38.809' -74° 4.594' 1745 EDT 575 40° 38.808' -74° 4.585' 1750 EDT 576 40° 38.808' -74° 4.594' 1755 EDT 577 40° 38.804' -74° 4.584' 1800 EDT 578 40° 38.805' -74° 4.591' 1805 EDT 579 40° 38.808' -74° 4.593' 1810 EDT 580 40° 38.807' -74° 4.593' 1815 EDT 581 40° 38.809' -74° 4.590' Averaged 40° 38.808' -74° 4.590' A scater plot of recorded fixes The magenta square is the average of all positions. Plot of latitude variation over time Plot of Longitude variation over time I want to do this a few more times at different locations like near home and a TotL to see of the results are similar and try to see if there is a minimum number of readings and time interval between them that is needed to lock in a position. From the monument you have a 180° view low on the horizon from the NW down to the SE. When it gets dark there are pillars of light over central Manhattan, Coney Island and the St George ferry terminal. We initially set up in the late afternoon in the shoreward corners of the memorial. After I finished taking my GPS readings I moved into the SE corner with Peter where we had a nice view of the Moon. As it got dark the upward pointing lights of the monument came on and their light reflecting off the white resin surface of the monument made it feel like we were in a glowing cloud of light. It wasn't a harsh light to the eye but you had to cup your hands around the eyepiece to block it out. For the last half hour of observing we moved up into the walkway leading to the steps up to the Left Field Gate of the Richmond County Ball Park and from thence up to Richmond Terrace. There was an area where several of the street lights were burned out and it was fairly dark but the remaining lights seemed very bright and closer to us and anywhere I looked naked eye I had to hold my hands up to block their light. So overall I think viewing is more comfortable at the monument itself.
Observational Period	0515-2245 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	It was clear and a little cool. There was a light breeze off the water from the NE. There was no ring around the moon. Faint stars did not seem to be steady in Peter's scope. Transparency Excellent Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie Tacahaschi 102 refractor - Peter Celestron binocular - Kin
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Kin Lee

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Peg
Category	Solar
Time	20060409.1730 EDT
Comments	866 SW Quadrant Peter had been out in Central Park earlier in the day and reported seeing this spot on the Sun's limb but we were not able to locate it in my binocular. I did see three threads of void area in the granular structure where the spot had been. 869 SW Quadrant This spot is closest to the center of the disk and is composed of two small P spots and a larger F spot. I don't see any penumbra or disturbance of the granular structure around the spot. 870 NE Quadrant This is a large spot, considering its foreshortening, just rotating onto the disk. It is surrounded by a large void in the granular structure.   Groups Spots R North 1 1 11 South 1 3 13 Total 2 4 24 Groups * 10 + Spots = Relative Sunspot Number

Naked-Eye Limiting Magnitude Observations	We didn't make a naked-eye limiting magnitude assessment even though we were at that location in part to see how good the observing is from there.

Target	Moon
Constellation	Cnc
Category	Lunar
Time	20060409.1730 EDT
Comments	Peter wanted to get to the monument earlier than last time so we agreed to meet for the same boat. He had forgotten that last time we had gone over on EST and now it is DST. And we both arrived at the terminal early so left on the 1630 EDT boat instead of the 1700 EDT. So it is really an hour earlier and the Sun is going to sleep later anyway so we had plenty of time to watch the moon in low contrast conditions before it got dark. Some features were easier to see in my binocular and others in Peter's telescope. There were two parallel rays leaving Tycho toward Gassendi that looked like they had a depression between them. The area of Mare Imbrium just below the Alps and to the left of the Apenines is lighter in color than the rest of the mare floor and looks lumpy. The lighter color is an indication that it is not as flat as the rest of the floor. Aristarchus was just inside the terminator and did not appear as bright as when the terminator is farther away.

Target	ISS
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20060409.1820 EDT
Comments	Not Seen This was going to be challenging at Mag 2.1 in a late afternoon sky and a low level pass duration of under 30 seconds. Peter thought he saw something in the right azimuth but maybe a little high. He reported seeing appendages which didn't seem right for binoculars. I say it and got my binocular on it and it didn't fade. Eventually it appeared to have flags flying behind it that changed their position over time. The object moved across the harbor toward Brooklyn then changed course and headed past the tip of lower Manhattan back toward NJ. It seemed at one point to be a crescent with the horns pointing downward. I think it was probably a paraglider.

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Cnc
Category	Planet
Time	20060409.2030 EDT
Comments	I was looking around the moon to try and spot Saturn before the sky got black. The first time I spotted it it turned out to be a large cluster of red and yellow balloons that were hanging there fairly stationary. Eventually it got dark enough that the stars started popping out. Peter got his scope on it with stacked 2x and 3x barlows and we could easily make out both poles, the A, B and C rings, the Cassini Division and banding on the planet. I saw all of that and never even bothered to focus.

Target	Lacrosse 2
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20060409.2002 EDT
Comments	Not Seen This was a high, 10-minute pass of a Mag 2.6 satellite. I don't know how I missed it.

Target	M50
Constellation	Mon
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20060409.2100 EDT
Comments	I hopped to this cluster from Spica up through the nose of the dog and just kept going up. There were two resolved stars with a faint glow around them.

Target	M47
Constellation	Pup
Category	Deep Sky Object
Time	20060409.2115 EDT
Comments	I hopped here from M50 and was surprised at how large the object is. It is like a small beehive with many bright stars and stardust around and between them. I wasn't sure if I was looking at it or if I should be looking for something much smaller and dimmer.

Target	Iridium 21
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20060409.2159 EDT
Comments	Not Seen High up in a dark sky this Mag -6.5 flare should have been hard to miss, but I managed to do it.