27 May 2006

Observing Location	TotL We started out just north of ballfield #2 on the perimeter walk and moved up to TotL after the moon had sunk behind the trees in the west. The infield sprinklers never came on tonight and around midnight we heard sprinklers come on way back by the police precinct. This was an unusual place and I was considering the probability of the sprinklers just inside the fence where we were standing coming on when they did. Fortunately we had time to move everything to the north side of the walk before they rotated over in our direction, and the wind, which was light, was from the north so the mist was blown away from us.
Observational Period	1900-0100 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Mild. When we started out there were clouds low on the western horizon. Later in the evening clouds started to build out of the NE and eventually filled most of the sky but then dissipated. Around the time the sprinklers came on the clouds were building again and we decided to pack it in. By the time we were all packed up the sprinklers had stopped and it was clear again. The sky was milky most of the night. Transparency Good Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie I suffered another bicycle-tripod calamity tonight. The bikers came through on their monthly ventral park tour and stopped to visit and look through the optics. Peter, having the biggest instrument, got most of the traffic but bicycles were parked everywhere. At some point a bicycle fell over next to my tripod. I didn't see that it had more than brushed the foot of the tripod and didn't think anything about it. A while later I bent over and it looked like the leg of the tripod was bent. When we tore down I wasn't able to collapse the lowest segment of that tripod leg. It took a lot of work but I eventually got the collar loosened and pulled the leg out and found an obvious kink in it. When we got out in front of the museum in brighter light I took it out and Peter and I examined it and found that not only is it bent, but the aluminum is cracked. It is at one of the milled detents where a nylon collar fits around it as a bushing. That is right where I suspected that the problem would be. I don't think it is repairable and will have to try to find out if the company is still in business nd can supply a replacement part. I don't remember the name of the manufacturer, only that they were in Westchester County. Takahashi 22x60 binocular - Peter Fujinon 10x50 binocular - Peter 6" DIY reflector - Peter Pentax 20x60 binocular – Kin
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Kin Lee

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Tau
Category	Solar
Time	20060524.1945 EDT
Comments	The spots were small. Each group was composed of a larger spot and a smaller one close above it that came and went as the atmosphere changed. There was a large area of plage on the trailing limb that may have had a spot in it but it was only a suggestion and was not counted. Groups Spots R North 1 2 12 South 1 2 12 Total 2 4 24

Target	Mercury
Constellation	Tau
Category	Planet
Time	20060527.2028 EDT
Comments	Mercury is 3.2 ° to the left of the Moon at Mag -1,3. Peter picked it up and it was obvious when he said where it was although I had just been over the area and had not seen it.. With all its light concentrated in one point it was easier to see, even naked eye, than was the Moon which was four magnitudes brighter. It was too small to show any detail though and was used only as an indicator for the location of the Moon.

Target	First Crescent Moon
Constellation	Tau
Category	Lunar
Time	20060527.2026 EDT
Comments	I I got this one first at 19h00m. 0.9% illuminated, Mag -5.1. This is a record for me for both the youngest and thinnest moons seen my previous records being 23h8m and 1.1%. It appeared as an upper smiling lip. It was thin in the center then became fuller on each side and gradually thinned into the horns.. The moon was near enough in brightness to the surrounding sky that I was not able to see it naked eye and it was even difficult to recover in the binocular at times. [The map below, which I copied from the Moon Watch web page, shows the likelihood of seeing the crescent. They mark the map in six zones: Easily visible Visible when atmospheric conditions are perfect May need optical aid to find the crescent Moon initially Will need optical aid to find the crescent Moon Not visible with a telescope Not visible, beyond Danjon limit According to the map NYC is in zone B, but based on my observations it is actually in zone D, which is in wester Europe and northwestern Africa.] Moon Watch graphic

Target	Mars
Constellation	Gem
Category	Planet
Time	20060527.2150 EDT
Comments	Castor, Pollux and Mars were just coming into view as we arrived at TotL. Mars continues to race across the sky and forms a thin, elongated triangle (scalene?) with the two stars. I thought it would probably be in a line with them tomorrow night but in stepping through Planetarium I found that that will not happen until Tuesday, the 30th when Mars, the waxing crescent Moon, Pollux and Castor will appear fairly equally spaced, at least in the small screen of my PDA, in a fairly straight line. The best alignment appears to occur at around 2210 EDT.

Target	Jupiter
Category	Vir
Category	Planet
Time	20060527.2109 EDT
Comments	The GRS was just rotating onto the disk. The NEB and SEB looked dark rust colored; the equatorial zone between them was more charcoal in color. The SSEB was visible. Calisto and Ganymede on the leading limb, Io on the trailing limb, and Europa Later in the evening the GRS had rotated past the meridian and Europa was seen coming from eclipse, first in the scope and then in my binocular. (2306 EDT)

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Cnc
Category	Planet
Time	20060527.2111 EDT
Comments	the Cassini division, disk shadow on planet, planet shadow on disk, and Titan were all seen in Peter's scope.

Target	ENVISAT
Constellation	Leo?
Category	Satellite
Time	20060527.2215 EDT
Comments	It was fairly bright and appeared high in the sky. I lost it as it was passing through the NNE and never recovered it, it having gone behind some broken clouds when I looked back for it.

Target	Cor Caroli (the Heart of Charles), &alpha: CVn
Constellation	CVn
Category	Double Star
Time	20060527.2339 EDT
Comments	Very unequal double; Easily split. I don't remember any great color difference.

Target	Lacrosse 5
Constellation	UMI - Dra
Category	Sattelite
Time	20060527.0035 EDT
Comments	Very bright and slow. Peter felt it was much brighter than the Heavens Above listing (Mag 2.9) and put it brighter than Deneb (Mag 1.25)

There was one bright satellite pass tht I was looking for and just didn't see. I missed a Mag -1 Iridium flare because I had set the time an hour too late in the PDA so the warning alarm went of 55 minutes after the flare.