30 June 2006

Observing Location	Met Oval
Observational Period	1745-1800 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Scattered cumulous clouds and haze. Hot with a light breezes. I didn't notice any boiling. Transparency Fair Seeing Good
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular w/Baader AstroSolar filter film- Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Sunspots
Constellation	Gem
Category	Solar
Time	20060630.1745 EDT
Comments	897 The group is near the center of the sun but is hard to spot because it is two widely spaced small spots. The group is probably larger in extent than the other one but the area of the spots is much smaller than that of the other group's single spot. 898 There is only one spot apparent in this group but it is huge (according to Space Weather it is the diameter of the planet Neptune). It is still to close to the limb for me to see it without magnification though.   Groups Spots R North 1 2 12 South 1 1 11 Total 2 3 23

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Observing Location	Parkchester South Condominium Oval
Observational Period	1935-1950 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Partly cloudy, mostly low on the horizon to the W. NOAA has severe weather warnings posted for Passaic County but I can't tell yet what direction the storm is headed. It is still hot, hazy and humid. Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye observing - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target	Daytime Iridium Flare
Constellation
Category	Satellite
Time	20060630.1744 EDT
Comments	Not Seen Iridium flared at Mag -6.8. I estimated its position right on the edge of a cloud that was covering more of the sky all the time

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period
Atmospheric Conditions	It was not looking good to the W when I left Parkchester but I was out with most of my equipment (I forgot to move the Palm from my computer bag to my observing bag so am without my guide dog tonight) so kept going. When the train got to the high point around here where it crosses over the Bronx River (the only true river in NYC) it was very gray out over NJ. This may be a mistake, but they are saying chances of rain here are low, and all the forecasts agree that conditions will improve after sunset then equivocate for a while before improving again after midnight. I am on the subway already so am going to keep going and see what conditions are like in Manhattan when I arrive. By the time I got to 96 St people were starting to get on the subway with wet 9lothes and umbrellas. I got off the train at 86 St and the streets were wet but it was only raining lightly like it was stopping. To be safe I went around the corner and ducked into Barnes & Noble and browsed the books for a while. When I came out it was raining harder and there was a flash of lightning so I gave up and headed back home. Of course by the time I got there it had stopped raining. But it was still overcast with only a few rifts where a nice, blue, late twilight sky was showing through Transparency Seeing
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 -Charlie Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

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Summary of Observing Time for the Year to Date:

	Day			Night			Total
	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg
Jan	3.25	4	0.81	17.50	6	2.92	20.75	9	2.31
Feb	1.00	1	1.00	10.25	6	1.71	11.25	6	1.88
Mar	2.00	1	2.00	12.00	7	1.71	14.00	8	1.75
Apr	12.5	12	1.04	40.75	14	2.91	53.25	16	3.33
May	3.00	4	0.75	27.00	10	2.70	30.00	10	3.00
Jun	7.00	7	1.00	18.50	12	1.54	25.50	13	1.96
TOTAL	28.75	29	0.99	126.00	55	2.50	154.75	62	2.64

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Clear Sky Clock Accuracy for the Month of June 2006

This month CSC provided a correct forecast much more frequently than they have during previous months when I have tracked them. When they were wrong they were optimistic most of the time (65%) with observed conditions being worse than forecast.

Overall they have been right about 56% of the time. When they are wrong conditions are more likely to be worse (54%) or much worse (16%) than they forecast rather than being better (23%) or much better (9%). They seem to be biased toward optimism but that is probably good since you go out and grumble about conditions not being as good as forecast but still see something, rather than staying home and kicking yourself for it later when you find out it was a better night than was forecast. If you don't go out you don't even have a chance of seeing anything.

I forgot that I was supposed to be making this assessment again this month and missed the first four days of the month. In previous months I have missed a day here or there. In the grand scheme of things I don’t think the string of missing days amounts to a wart on a flea.