30 May 2006

Observing Location	Bryant Park
Observational Period	2015-2030 EDT
Atmospheric Conditionds	Warm but cooling off; humid; breezy. Mostly clear with patches of light stratus. At 2030 the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees, the wind had picked up a little, dark clouds had moved in from the N and it looked like it was threatening rain.
Instruments	Naked-eye observing
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Tonight Mars, the crescent Moon, Pollux and Castor were lined up in a fairly evenly spaced horizontal line and I was hoping to see them. The weather forecast wasn't good for tonight, but it turns out that they were optimistic at that. When I stopped off in Bryant Park to do a little reading in the mild air on the way home and I saw the Moon I thought I might have a chance.

Target	Moon
Constellation	Gem
Category	Lunar
Time	20060530.2015 EDT
Comments	The crescent is very much thicker than when I last saw it. The terminator looks like it fades out more than it does when I see it iin a binocular or telescope. There is just the faintest hint of the dark limb; not much earthshine in evidence.

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2115-2300 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	By the time I got up to 86 St I hadn't seen anyone get on the subway with a wet umbrella so I got off to check conditions out. It was mostly cloudy but there were a few breaks so I headed over to the park. I started to have second thoughts about the enterprise when I saw some flashes of lightning but there was no thunder so I kept going. The sky was pretty much covered with clouds in the NW and fairly clear to the E. There was a general haze. I had wanted to see Mars, the Moon, Pollux and Castor all lined up but the clouds were thick enough there that I only saw the moon burn through a couple of times. I determined to stay until 2300 EDT to see if a Mag -1 Iridium flare would burn through it but a shield of couds came in and parked right over that portion of the sky at 2230. EDT. The temperature was very comfortable and the air did not feel too moist. The breeze was light to moderate.. I did get a few mosquitoe bites tonight but the time when they were active was short and there weren't enough of them to make it really bothersome.
Instruments	Naked-eye Observing
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Kin Lee

Target	Jupiter
Constellation	Lib
Category	Planet
Time	20060530.2115 EDT
Comments	Seen through a thin spot in the clouds

Target	Vega, α Lyr
Constellation	Lyr
Category	Star
Time	20060530.2116 EDT
Comments	Clouds are broken up to the north so it only has to shine through the haze; lots of flashing. I momentarily saw ε Lyr later on.

Target	Saturn
Constellation	Cnc
Category	Planet
Time	20060530.2125 EDT
Comments	Looks very dim through the clouds and haze

Target	Envisat
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20060530.2218 EDT
Comments	Not Seen This satellite was Mag 2.9 and passed close to the zenith where there were no clouds and the haze should have been thinner but we were not able to pick it up.

Target	Iridium Flare
Constellation	Leo
Category	Satellite
Time	80060530.2258 EDT
Comments	Not Seen I was going to have to guess the location of this flare based on my memory of a nearby flare two nights ago since I could't see any stars in the neighborhoood to get a landmark. But the clouds moved in and thickened so that it was unlikely that I would see the flare even if I had known right where to look. I stuck it out until 2300 EDt and there were a few small thin spots in the clouds, but not where I needed them.