2 January 2007

Damn!

Today was a perfect day to observe the sunrise Manhattan Henge and I forgot about it. Now I have to wait until December for the next one.

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Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1145-1200 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature Cool Wind Moderate Breeze Humidity Low Feels Like Cold It is perfectly clear out and is supposed to be warmer than usual for this time of the year but the wind is making it feel cold. Transparency Excellent Seeing II
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Sgr Category Solar Time 20070102.1245 EST Comments Heliographic Latitude (B0) -3.17° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 76.90° Position Angle (P) +1.43° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2051 I am not sure how to interpret what I am seeing. When I first saw 930/933 rotate back on 31Dec06 NOAA said I was seeing two groups there. Now there is a spot behind 933 that I am interpreting as part of it but it is far enough away that it could also be its own group. There is also another large spot that is still over in the foreshortening zone. I am going to say it is three spots.   Groups Spots R North 1 1 11 South 2 3 23 Total 3 4 34 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots) Group 933 Heliographic Latitude -3° Heliographic Longitude 38° Mcintosh System Cho Southern Hemisphere The spot is large with a smaller spot trailing it. There is a broad penumbra around the primary spot. Group 934 Heliographic Latitude +2° Heliographic Longitude 35° Mcintosh System Axx Northern Hemisphere This is a small group above the equator and trailing 933 slightly Group 935? Heliographic Latitude -6° Heliographic Longitude 17° Mcintosh System Csx Southern Hemisphere This spot does not appear on either the NOAA or the Rayben Systems solar maps. This spot is still too close to the limb to make out much detail on it but it is large and has a penumbra. There appears to be plage or possibly some small spots between it and the limb but it is only a hint of something there. It might resolve in SAR with a few more powers of magnification.

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I am starting to research lunar cratering and have come across an interesting web site canned thunderbolts.info that basically says that at least some of the theories of impact cratering are a bunch of hogwash. They propose, as many have before, that craters with central peaks and/or ray systems were caused by electrical discharges. They only thing I didn't find on the page was an explanation of where the other end of the spark was.

Other reports that are going to take some time to read through:

• Size of craters vs impact velocity
• Craters formed by dropping balls in to granular material
• Craterf formed by dropping steel balls into glass beads
• Origin f the Lunar Craters and Maria

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SpaceWeather.com posted a new numbered SOHO image late this evening and now they are showing that Group 930, which they previously said had been renumbered 933 is the second big group that I first saw this morning and called "935?". So Groups 933 and 934 are new this time around and Group 930 is a second timer.

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Observing Location	MetOval
Observational Period	2200-2300 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 44°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Low Feels Like Cold It if clear out but the near-full Moon is making the sky look charcoal gray. Transparency Excellent Seeing I
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Moon Constellation Gem Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070102.2200 EST Comments Lunation 1039 Phase Waxing Gibbous Full -0d10h58m Age 13d12g58m Elongation 172.56°E % Illuminated 99.6% Magnitude -12.6 Distance Light Time 375,000 km 1.25s Angular Size 31'55" Altitude 66.12° The Moon is uncomfortably high for binoculars. I figured with the Moon this close to being full there wouldn't be a lot to see so brought the binocular when I would have been better off with the telescope. I started reading Cherrington and there were three paragraphs about how the description of the terminator might not agree with what I was seeing because of the tilt of the moon and Earth. The first paragraph talked about drawing a line from Posidonous through Copernicous to the terminator. For me to reach the terminator I would have had to have drawn a line from Plato through Tycho. I put Cherrington away and just observed. Tycho Looks big and chalky white with a thin gray ring separating it from its rays. the rays of Tycho and Copernicus are prominent. Kepler has a broad, lopsided gray ring around it. The limb looks lumpy from around Bogislawsky over to Bailly. The order of apparent decreasing darkness of features is Plato Mare Tranquilitatis Mare Crisium Mare Serenitatis Mare Fecunditatis Libration is decreasing in the SW but I can still see Mare Australia although I don't have enough magnification to tell anything other than that it is there.

Target Saturn Constellation Leo Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070112.2225 EST Comments Distance from Earth 8.43 AU Distance from Sun 9.18 AU Elongation 137.98°W Ring Inclination 12.67° Magnitude -0.2 Altitude 21.72° The ring inclination has increased to the point that they look more like a plate now and not the former cigar.

Target Praeaspe, the Beehive Cluster, M44 Constellation Cnc Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070102.2230 EST Comments The stars of the Beehive are bright tonight and have a more orderly appearance than usual. The central stars look like checkers on a board.

Target M67, MGC6282 Constellation Cnc Category DSO: OCl Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070102.2235 EST Comments I saw more in the area than is indicated in Planetarium. It is sparse, at least in its brighter stars, which are the only ones I can see.

Target C48, NGC2775 Constellation Cnc Category DSO: SpGal Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070102.2250 EST Comments My Planetarium catalog says this is an obvious spiral galaxy. I suspect that the obvious adjective applies to the shape and not its visibility. I detected it, but nothing more.