22 April 2007

Observing Location	McGraw Ave, Taylor Ave & Cross Bronx Expressway, Bronx, NY Lat.: 40° 50.055', Long.: 73° 51.945'
Observational Period	1015-1030 EDT
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/Welco gold shade 14 welder's filter - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Ari Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.1015 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.005166 AU 8ms Angular Size 31'52.4" Altitude 45.3° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -5.01° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 68.13° Position Angle (P) -25.41° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2055 Nothing seen   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

---

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2000-0030 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature Cool Wind Gusty early then Calm Humidity Low Feels Like Cool Transparency Good Seeing II - III
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie CelEDTron Omni 20mm CelEDTron Omni 2x Barlow ~24mm Kellner w/helical focuser Harry (The Kite) 6” DIY Alt/Ax reflector - Peter Fujinon 16x60 binocular - Tom
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac Tom Clabough

Target Moon Constellation Gem Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.2000 EDT Comments Lunation Phase Waning Crescent Age Distance Light Time (from earth) ,000 km s Elongation ° % Illuminated 36.74% Magnitude -11.69 Angular Size 32' Altitude 59°23’ The Moon has moved over between Castor and Pollux and is below their clasped hands (ι Gem) which was just visible in the Moon’s glare after the sky got dark. Starry Night Starter detail Hercules and Atlas looked nice up above Lacus Somniorum. I looked for Lacus Mortis but could not find anything that looked as foreboding as its description always reads. The Serpentine Ridge, Dorsa Smirnov, looks great. Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina are looking good along the border of Mare Nectaris. The central peak in Theophilus is in sunlight while the crater floor is in dark shadow. It looks like there is a wide canal connecting Cyrillus and Catharina. Between the craters and the mare I could see the middle wall of the Nectaris basin and what looked like broad, flat valleys on either side of it. The lower end Altai Scarp was visible emerging from the terminator. Gutenburg is a little fainter tonight but is still visible. I identified Fracastorius as a large crater with a broken wall in the SW wall of Mare Nectaris. It is actually mostly outside of Nectaris and communicates with it, almost like a sinus. LAC chart 97 detail I saw a ridge running across Mare Nectaris between Daguerre and Rosse which I do not find in the Virtual Moon Atlas and is not named in LAC. LAC chart 97 detail LAC chart 97 detail

Target Venus Constellation Tau Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.2000 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Phase Waning Gibbous Elongation ° % Illuminated 71.40% Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU ms Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size 16" Magnitude -4.07 Altitude 33°15’ It was too late to bother putting the scope on Venus so I just appreciated it naked-eye.

Target ISS Visible Pass Constellation Per, Cas, Cep, Dra, Her Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.2049 EDT Comments Tom arrived about 2015 and started trying to corral people to observe an ISS pass at 2049. It was a hard sell but for those who did stay it was well worth it. While the ISS pass was fairly pedestrian there was a meteor nearby right in the middle of the pass. All eyes went with the meteor and few returned to the satellite. 0.9 Time EDT Alt Az Mag Appears 2203:56 10° NNW Max Alt 2051:23 22° NNE Disappears 16° EBE

Target Lyrids Meteor Constellation Boo, Dra, UMa, Cam, Per Category Comets, Asteroids, Meteors Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.2050 EDT Comments While watching the ISS someone said WOW!, then everyone said WOW!!! It isn’t often when one person sees a meteor that it is there when others look where the lucky one was looking, but this wasn’t your ordinary meteor. It wasn’t as bright as Venus and might have been a little yellow. Its tail was probably longer than my fist is wide so 10°-15° long and I could see individual sparks along its upper edge. We were looking Manhattan north or NNE when we saw it below the handle of the Big Dipper and everyone turned to track it across the sky until it disappeared in the WNW below Capella. There was not one in the group who didn’t have a chance to see it and be suitably impressed.

Target Saturn Constellation Leo Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.2130 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation ° Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU hm Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size "x" Ring Angular Size "x" Ring Inclination ° Magnitude +0.34 Altitude 61°40' I saw three moons but not the Cassini Division in the Kite and didn't even look at it with SAR.

Target M81, Bode’s Galaxy, NGC3031/M82, Cigar Galaxy, NGC3034 Constellation UMa Category DSO: SpGal/IrrGal Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070422.#### EDT Comments I have forgotten what I was looking at, or for, but Peter suggested that M81 would be a better target for my scope and added that he would like to see it there so I made the hop. The newly replaced street light to our west was a real problem for my scope. Its light was shining into the front of the tube and into the bottom of the eyepiece. At some point I am going to have to build a shield for it. Anyway, after I got the FoV and had Peter confirm it he said he didn’t see anything. At the end of the night he also tried it with the Kite and I am not sure we saw it there either.