24 November 2006

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1055-1110 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 50s Wind Light Breeze Humidity Low Feels Like Nice Fall Day Transparency Excelent Seeing II
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/shade #14 gold welder's glass - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Sco Category Solar Time 20061124.1055 EST Comments Heliographic Latitude (B0) +1.70° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 230.65° Position Angle (P) +18.46° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2050 There was some wavering of the image going on they was not being caused by movement of the binocular. I could not detect any features on the Sun's disk today.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2015-0115 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 40s F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Fresh Breeze then becoming Calm Humidity Low Feels Like Cold I had dressed for the weather and it was clear enough out that I was considering staying until the police invited me to leave because the park was closed but by 1230 EST my feet were numb and so were by PDA batteries so I packed it in shortly thereafter. I had initially assessed transparency as Excellent but remember that I only saw six of the Pliades and didn’t see all of the Little Dipper so downgraded it to Good. Transparency Good Seeing I
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie Audubon 6x16 monocular - Kin
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Kin Lee

I have downloaded an extended star catalog and an updated comets file for Planetarium. Now I can display fainter stars than I can see with any of my or Peter's optics.

Target C/2006 M4 (SNOW) Constellation Aql Category Comet/Asteroid/Meteor Time 20061124.2033 EST Comments I saw what appeared to be two winking light sources, one more solid than the other. SNOW is supposed to be right next to a 7th magnitude star. They were setting into the trees already.

Target Neptune Constellation Cap Category Planet Time 20061124.2044 EST Comments There were two points of light where Planetarium said there should only be one star and the planet.

Target Uranus Constellation Aqr Category Planet Time 20061124.2057 EST Comments Wasn't sure I had it directly so had to jump out of Cap to confirm it. It appeared faint and gray to blue

Target (7) Iris Constellation Ari Category Comet/Asteroid/Meteor Time 20061124.2104 EST Comments It may have been detected but needed someone else to confirm it.

Target ζ Cet & 53 Cet Constellation Cet Category Double Star Time 2006 EST Comments 53 Cet is a wide double. A nice progression in magnitude drop from 3.74 to 4.2 to 6.7 as you scan from easy to west. ζ Cet looks a little gold while the 53 Cet double stars are white.

Target Menkar, α Cet Constellation Cet Category Double Star Time 20061124.2126 EST Comments Bright golden star Nice color and magnitude contrast with the blue secondary star above it.

Target Taurus Constellation Tau Category Constellation Time 20061124.2132 EST Comments I haven’t spent time in the bull’s feet, looking mostly at the stars of the Hyades, some of which are visible naked eye, but tonight when I was poking around in Cetus I saw a couple of stars nearby that turned out to be a foot and I decided to hop around the rest of that part of the constellation. Mythology The Sun used to be in Taurus in the spring so it is believed that the bull became the symbol for this constellation because it symbolized strength and fertility. In Greek mythology Zeus became a white bull in order to seduce Europa. She sat on his back and he swam away with her which is why the hindquarters of the bull are not depicted (they were submerged beneath the water). I don’t see anything in the Audubon field guide to indicate how the bull came to be called Taurus. When the Sun was in Taurus in the spring the associated Egyptian god was Apis, the Bull of Memphis. Stelarium graphic I knew I had seen this picture somewhere and just came across my 2005 Celestial Almanac by Ottewell. He paints the cover himself and has devited a page and a half to the legend and the constellation. Name Bayer Flamsteed Mag. Meaning Comment   ω Tau 3.61     5 Tau 4.14   cream colored   ξ Tau 3.73   blue   47 Tau 4.9/7.3   too close for me to split primary is gold   υ Tau 4.27   white   HIP18907 3.91   cream colored

Target Hayades Constellation Tau Category Asterism Time 20061124.2140 EST Comments A lot of the stars look creamier tonight than they did the last time I observed.

Target Leaping Minnow Constellation Aur Category Asterism Time 20061124.2147 EST Comments This asterism really doesn't remind me of a minnow although I can see how you can make it into one if you have to make it into something. At its heart are 5 pairs of stars in a line following the long axis of the constellation. The first 2 pairs, working from the center of the constellation outward, are bright white stars and form a parallelogram. The 3rd pair has the widest spacing and is also the faintest pair. The 4th pair is very unequal in brightness with the lower star appearing to be the brightest in the asterism and golden in color. This pair leans over more to the right than the parallelogram pairs do. The last pair is also faint and is kicked down lower than the rest. There is one more bright star a way off to the edge of the constellation that is a little fainter than the parallelogram and roughly in line with its bottom. there is also a faint star out on the inside end where the mouth of the minnow would be. Stelarium graphic This is a compact asterism that is easy to see and which I use to find the frog asterism (described below) below it.

Target The Frog Constellation Aur Category Asterism Time 20061124.2159 EST Comments Ben lays claim to having named this asterism the Cheshire Cat. I don't relate well to cats and it has been years since I have seen my Alice in Wonderland book so don't know the Cheshire Cat is supposed to look like. I used to think of this as a smiley face like we make on the internet with a colon and closing parentheses [ :) ] but the eyes have always been set too far apart and too close to the mouth for me. It took a while before I even recognized it as a smiley face. Recently I saw an exhibition on ehon, Japanese bookmaking, at the New York Public Library and am reminded of one of the books that has a picture of a frog in it. That is what this asterism is to me; a flattened head that is all mouth with two wide set beady eyes protruding above the water. Since asterisms are unofficial groupings of stars that mean something to the person who recognized them this is going to be the frog to me irrespective of how others see it. There is even precedent for asterisms being named differently by different people to wit, the most famous asterism in the sky, the Big Dipper, is called the Plough by the British (and they don’t even spell it the way we would if we called it that). Two fairly equally bright stars about .75° apart with a broken arc of six stars of varying brightnesses paralleling it. The four stars in the arc under the frog's left eye are the brightest ones. There is a gap in the arc where his tongue must be hanging out of his mouth. Then there are two faint stars. Stelarium graphic M38 is near the end of the arc with only two stars. Harmony Kingdom, Tongue and Cheek, ©1998 I have one of these little boxes that I bought in Puerto Rico and will get my own picture here as soon as I make one.

Target NGC1907 Constellation Aur Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2224 EST Comments To the east of M38 between HIP25733 and HIP25476. I am resolving more faint stars here than in M38

Target M38 Constellation Aur Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2226 EST Comments I can only resolve three stars here.

Target NGC1893 Constellation Aur Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2232 EST Comments I can see some stardust over a large area below the mouth end of the Leaping Minnow

Target Leaping Fingerling Constellation Aur Category Asterism Time 20061124.2236 EST Comments If the other one is a Leaping Minnow this one, being smaller, must be a Leaping Fingerling. It is below the Leaping Minnow and diagonally below the Frog's left mouth-corner Four stars in an upside down trapezoid for the body with two dim stars pointing diagonally down for the tail I stumbled upon it while trying to get to M37.

Target M37 Constellation Aur Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2242 EST Comments Below the Frog's right mouth corner and even with the Leaping Fingerling I could see an area of faint brightness that is easiest seen when slewing the binocular It may be trying to resolve when I put it at the right edge of the FoV.

Target NGC2129 Constellation Gem Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2252 EST Comments Detected I am seeing more than three stars at HIP28513 but can't tell any more than that.

Target M35, NGC2168 Constellation Gem Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2257 EST Comments I see a lot of winking faint stars close to TYC1881-01595-1.

Target Barnard’s Loop Constellation Ori Category DSO: Neb Time 20061124.2310 EST Comments I always look near Alnitak to try and see M78, but never do. Tonight there is a wash of white light just east of the star. It is too close to the star to be Milky Way but about where I would expect to find Barnard’s Loop. Peterson’s says the Loop shows up on long exposure photographs. I am probably not seeing the Loop but don't know what else it would be. I don't know of any buildings over there that would be throwing up that much light. Carted du Ciel graphic

Target M42 & M42 Constellation Ori Category DSO: Neb Time 200611242315 EST Comments I can see nebulosity at M42 but not at M43. M42 is not as intense as I have seen it on prior occasions.

Target M44, Praesepe, the Beehive Cluster, NGC 2632 Constellation Cnc Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2317 EST Comments The Beehive was rising into the big tree to the NE of TotL and looks a bit subdued tonight. It is still low in the atmosphere.

Target M45, The Pleiades, NGC1432 Constellation Ori Category DSO: OCl Time 20061124.2338 EST Comments Only six stars were seen even with the cluster near zenith. But none of them were winking tonight. Alcyone, 2,85m Merope, 4.14m Electra, 3.72m Maia, 3.87m Caelano, 5.45 Taygeta, 4.30

Target Columba, The Dove Constellation Col Category Constellation Time 20061124.2344 EST Comments This is my first time in the constellation. I saw a couple of naked-eye stars right above the trees in Manhattan East and investigated. Mythology This is a modern constellation created from stars that previously belonged to Canis Major so has no associated mytholory. Name Bayer Flamsteed Mag. Meaning Comment   ε Col 3.86       HIP26019 5.75     Phaet Phaed α Col 2.65 dove Arabic double star (NS) Wezen Wezn β Col 3.12 weight Arabic golden there is also a Wezen in CMa   γ Col 4.36       κ Col 4.37       δ Col 3.85       η Col 3.96

Target Canis Major, The Great Dog Constellation CMa Category Constellation Time 20061125.0003 EST Comments Canis Major was rising from behind the trees standing on his hind legs. I was not able to see the stars of the head naked-eye. Usually when I see two stars with the same Bayer designation and a subscript they are fairly close together. In CMa there are two duplicate Bayer designations; ν and ο. The pair of ν stars are fairly close together but one of the οs is on the dog's rump and the other on his belly. They are far apart even to the naked-eye. Mythology Originally the name Canis Major was used for the star Sirius. Because there were so many dogs in mythology we don’t know whose dog this really is – he is in effect a stray who has been adopted, among with Canis Minor, by Orion. Name Bayer Flamsteed Mag. Meaning Comment Murzim β CMa 1.98 herads Arabic   Sirius α CMa -1.44 the Dog Star brightest star in the sky   ν2 CMa 3.95       ο2 CMa 3.02       ο1 CMa 3.89     Wezen δ CMa 1.83 the weight Arabic There is also a Wezen in Col σ CMa 3.49     Adhara ε CMa 1.5/7.5 the virgins Arabic double star Aludra η CMa 2.4/6.9 from virginity Arabic wide double but a faint secondary

Target Saturn Constellation Leo Category Planet Time 20061125.0022 EST Comments Bigger than a star and not round; cream colored and bright.

Target Puppis, The Poop Constellation Pup Category Constellation Time 20061125.0029 EST Comments This is a faint constellation, at least the part of it that I could see tonight, and is just above the trees so not in a favorable position in the sky. Mythology This is another modern constellation, the stars having come from the obsolete constellation Argo Navis (the ship Argo) which must have foundered on the rocks because its stars still bear nautical names but are contained in three different constellations. This happened after Bayer had assigned his Greek letters to the stars so there is no α Pup. Name Bayer Flamsteed Mag. Meaning Comment   HIP36514 4.65       HIP36917 4.65       3 Pup 3.94       κ Pup 3.80       ο Pup 4.40     Azmidiske ξ Pup 3.3/5.3   wide double gold/orange There are bunches of NGCs in this part of the sky but it is too low on the horizon for seeing faint fuzzies. I looked for but did not find the following objects: NGC2482 NGC2453 NGC2452 NGC2467 – I see are the arc of 3 stars to its left and occasionally the nearby TYC 6561-0279-1

Target The Engagement Ring Constellation UMi Category Asterism Time 20061125.0051 EST Comments I can see six stars plus the diamond, Polaris.

Target M40 Constellation UMa Category Time 20061125.0055 EST Comments Not Seen These stars are below the limiting magnitude of my binocular.