15 December 2006

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1145-1200 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Broken Clouds Temperature 50s F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Feels Like Mild and moist The sky was clear to the east but down to the south there were clouds. Up until the time I started observing there were distinct shadows then the clouds got thicker. They were moving quickly past the Sun and I got a few glimpses through gaps but mostly observed through thinner patches of cloud before they got thick enough to extinguish the Sun. The air feels moist and if it were a bit warmer I would call it muggy. If it were colder I would be anticipating a wet snow. It is supposed to clear off some but there is the possibility of some showers. I will not be surprised if Columbia calls off public observing tonight. Transparency Poor Seeing I
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Oph Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.1145 EST Comments Heliographic Latitude (B0) -0.97° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 313.45° Position Angle (P) +9.97° Carrington rotation number (CR) 251 Group 930 has moved over to the western limb foreshortening zone and appears stretched.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 1 3 13 Total 1 3 13 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots) Group 930 Heliographic Latitude -10° Heliographic Longitude 6° Mcintosh System Dho I can still see two smaller spots beneath the large spot, all surrounded in penumbra and facula.

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Observing Location	Columbia University
Observational Period	1900-2145 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Overcast becoming Scattered Clouds Temperature 40s F Wind Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Feels Like It got a little raw Early in the afternoon Columbia sent out email saying they were canceling tonight’s public observing session then around 1700 EST sent another message saying it was back on because there was an approaching break in the clouds. We tried observing but the clouds covered up the targets before we could get the scope on them so decided to pack it in after about an hour. We went out onto the roof to do some naked-eye observing because one of Irv Robbins’ students from The College of Staten Island was there and needed to see five more objects this weekend for her class (the college requires observing and has an observatory but doesn’t have provisions for people to observe on campus so they have to travel to one of the AAA or Columbia observing sessions). While we were looking the sky cleared off and Neil and Peter brought out the 12” Dob which we used for about an hour. The temperature started to drop noticeably around 2100 EST and it looked like a cold front was moving in from the N. While I was on the way home on the subway I saw people getting on with wet umbrellas and coats. It didn’t look like it had rained heavily or for long, but the sidewalks were thoroughly wetted by the time I got home. Transparency Opaque becoming Fair Seeing V becoming II
Instruments	16" Meade ScT 12.5" Orion Dob
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Neil - Columbia grad student/td>

Target The Pleiades, M45, NGC1432 Constellation Tau Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.1930 EST Comments This is the only object that we got to see in the 16” scope and it was much too large for that scope. The star colors were obvious and all about the same which is to be expected since they are all about the same age. We also observed M45 out on the roof both naked-eye and in the Dob.

Target M35, NGC 2168 Constellation Gem Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments I tried to find this in the Dob but have trouble locating it with my binocular and scope so don’t know what it looks like or how big to expect it to be in their scope. I was actually on it and suspected that I was but couldn’t be sure. I wasn’t seeing enough stars naked-eye to be sure where the finder scope was pointed. Neil slewed around a bit and finally got it and it was the same FoV I had first lighted on. The stars were widely spaced and not terribly bright.

Target Mintaka Constellation Ori Category Double Star Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments I dropped the scope down to Mintaka just to see something a little different on the way to M42. In that scope the stars are widely spaced. They appear white and blue to me. The woman who was there thought Mintaka appeared yellow.

Target Orion Nebula, M42, NGC 1976 Constellation Ori Category DSO: ENeb Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments The nebulosity was visible when viewed directly but the fish mouth was much more pronounced when viewed with averted.

Target Andromeda Galaxy, M31, NGC224, & M32, NGC221 Constellation And Category DSO: SpGal Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments Neil suggested going after M31 because it was high in the sky. I couldn’t identify Andromeda until Peter showed my generally where Pegasus was. Then I found the strong chain of stars heading straight up past Cassiopeia. I didn’t want to drive since I wasn’t sure where I was going so Peter tried and got confused going the wrong direction off the Great Square. We eventually got there and M12 looked like a pea with a bright center and a less bright edge. To the north of it was a pair of stars and to the north of them a single star that was slightly fuzzy which was M32. It is not an easy constellation to spot.

Target M103, NGC581 Constellation Cas Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments Peter found this one as well. He calls it a pair of crossed slippers while Neil says it is a small triangle. To me it looked like a baseball cap with a long bill or a ladle. There was one bright star at the top of the field with an orange star beneath it. Beneath the orange star about half the previous distance is another dimmer star and then two more stars off to the right of the orange star and the one beneath it that form the crown of the cap or the bowl of the ladle.

Target Double Cluster, NGC869/NGC884 Constellation Per Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments The sparser round cluster is filled with stardust that I don’t remember resolving to this extent before.

Target Owl/ET Cluster, NGC457 Constellation Cas Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments Neil said this is his favorite cluster. It looked very nice tonight and I recognized it immediately. The owl was standing upside down and there were lots of faint stars all around the body, arms and legs.

Target Spica Constellation CMa Category Star Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20061215.2115 EST Comments This was the last object of the night. The star was low over the roof of an adjacent building that was venting steam. As the steam passed in front of Sirius it would shrink and grow and change colors in response to the varying amount of moisture between us an dit.