20 June 2007

Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	1900-24-0 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds becoming Clear Temperature 76°F dropping to 69°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Feels Like Warm and humid becoming cool Today started out rainy but NOAA was calling for it to clear off and the temperature to drop tonight so I decided to give STS-117 and ISS another chance tonight. The air was very transparent but there was boiling apparent across the Moon in both Peter and my binoculars. Transparency Excellent Seeing II
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie Takahashi 22x60 binocular - Peter
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Peter Tagatac

Target Sunspots Constellation Tau Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.1900 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.016206 AU 8ms Angular Size 31'31.7" Altitude 14.4° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 1.68° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 2.90° Position Angle (P) -7.39° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2057 Nothing was seen.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

Target Moon Constellation Leo Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.1915 EDT Comments Lunation 1057 Phase Waxing Crescent First Quarter -~2d Age 5.84d Distance Light Time (from earth) 392,237 km s Elongation ° % Illuminated 35.0% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 337.5° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) Librating in Latitude +00°46’ Librating in Longitude +5°02’ Magnitude -11.52 Angular Size 30.46' Altitude 31°58’ The Moon has the appearance naked-eye of being nearly First Quarter. Palus Somni looks like a large butte. Theophilus, Cyrilus and Catharina are prominent a short way from the terminator. Rupes Altai is visible on the eastern end near Picolomini as a bright white line of varying thickness. It looks like a string of three large craters mimicking Theophilus, Cyrilus and Catharina on the south side of Rupes Altai. Hercules and Atlas look like dark dimples to the upper left of Mare Crissium. On the southern limb there is a pair of fairly equal-sized craterson an 11:00-5:00 line just off the terminator; then drifting to 2:00 about a crater diameter there is a large “ghost” crater with a terraced wall and near to it a small dark crater that appears to be on the top wall of a large square crater – like dark brackets to the left and right of the crater. [Probably Rheita and Vales Rheita (Rulk Atlas of the Moon plate 68. Cherrington lists the Rheita Valley on Day 4 and describes it in the section on various features The RHEITA VALLEY, near the southeast limb and about 150 miles southwest of the bright ray crater Stevinus, is a more readily noted example [than the Alpine Valley described in the prior paragraph]. A conspicuous feature of the three- to four-day moon, it appears as a black streak running south from the terminator almost to the limb, an apparent distance of 180 miles which stretches into an actual 300 miles when the effect of foreshortening is taken into account. The valley proper is straight, 230 miles long, about 15 miles wide, and some 2000 feet deep. From its south end another rectilinear groove 100 miles long and 9 miles wide continues in a more southerly direction. Before first quarter it is almost completely washed out because of lack of shadow on its floor. Two weeks later, when the sunset terminator falls across it, the valley again is seen easily through binoculars. It is usually black, but when the sun’s rays strike it at the proper angle it appears definitely brighter than its surroundings. While the Alpine Valley is evidently a relatively young formation, the Rheita Valley must be very old since several craters cover it and the walls of several more encroach upon it. I can see Mare Marginis and Mare Smythii and I think a bit of Mare Australis.

Target Venus Constellation Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 2007 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Phase Waning Gibbous Elongation ° % Illuminated 41.2% Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU ms Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size 28.2" Magnitude -4.4 Altitude 38° I scanned and scanned the sky with my binocular beginning as soon as the Sun dropped behind the trees looking for Venus and Mercury but found nothing then I picked up a point of light out of the corner of my naked eye and after considerable concentration located Venus naked-eye and then with the binocular. There is obvious phase and the rounded side of the planet if facing toward the Sun for a change. I can see a large flare of red from the top horn of the planet.

Target Mercury Constellation Gem Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2030 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Phase Waxing Crescent Elongation ° % Illuminated 3.1% Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU ms Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size 11.8" Magnitude 3.9 Altitude 13° Not Seen I searched all over the western sky but was not able to find any planets out there. I gave up at 2030 EDT to get set up for the Shuttle/ISS visible pass.

Target STS-117 & ISS Constellation Aur, Lyn, Cam, UMa, Dra, Lyr, Hur, Aql, Ser, Sct Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2119 EDT Comments Not Seen ISS was to follow STS-117 across the sky 15 seconds behind in time tonight, but there was no sky to see them in. STS-117 ISS Start EDT 2119:31 2119:31 Alt 10° 10° Az NW NW Transit EDT 2122:24 2122:25 Alt 50° 50° Az NE NE Mag -0.9 -0.4 End EDT 2124:49 2124:50 Alt 12 12 Az ESE ESE At 2122 EDT STA-117 and ISS will pass 1ithin 1.5° of Vega This became a major event with 25-50 people gathering around Peter and me at TotL. There were a bunch of them who were birders who had learned about the event from Marie Winn’s blog. There was a fleet of bicycles parked along the fence. Ken Brown (Kenturian) was there beating the crowd. The Shuttle appeared from behind the trees to the NNW and was bright and golden. Shortly after that the ISS followed along looking dimmer and a little blue. They arched up over Polaris and then back down passing slightly above Vega and disappeared in the trees to the E. It was a very nice visible pass. I was all set up for the event with my digital camera set up in movie mode and my film camera with a 500mm mirrored lens. When the pass began I already had Vega centered in the digital camera and planned to catch some stills with the film camera but wasn’t able to find the Shuttle with the camera mounted on a tripod. I might have done better locating the craft hand holding the camera but couldn’t get a decent picture at that focal length hand holding. I couldn’t see anything in the digital camera’s monitor but made a 30 second movie anyway. The movie captured one faint light tracking across the screen which was the Shuttle and was affecting exposure so that Vega and the ISS were not recorded. As soon as the Shuttle reached the edge of the FoV the camera reevaluated the exposure and both Vega and the ISS popped into view.

Target Jupiter Constellation Oph Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 2007 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation ° Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU ms Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size 45.5" Magnitude -2.6 Central Meridian I/II 110.13°/155.51° Altitude 21° Moons Jupiter looked very nice with its moons fairly evenly spaced on either side of the planet. As the night wore on Europa kept getting closer to the planet and eventually transited.

Target Saturn Constellation Leo Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2150 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 +0.6 Altitude 20° Saturn was obviously not round, and slightly yellow in my binoculars but otherwise unimpressive. I didn’t remark Titan.

Target USA 186 / KH Visible Pass Constellation Cyr, Dra Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2237 EDT Comments This was a fairly bright satellite that I picked up as it was passing through Cygnus and heading over into Draco. CalSky says US military reconnaissance spacecraft. Probably a member of the Keyhole constellation that provides optical high resolution images. Maximum magnitude was 2.4.

Target Meteor 1-31 Rocket Constellation Vir, Com, CVn, UMa Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2040 EDT Comments This satellite was tracking more or less S-N. I picked it up just before it passed Spica and watched it as it headed toward the handle of the Big Dipper. It was only Mag 3.7.

Target Envisat Constellation Cyg Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2045 EDT Comments I was looking for Alberio in the binocular and this satellite crossed the FoV right to left. I wasn’t able to recover it naked eye and CalSky says it was only 3.9m at its brightest.

Target Alberio Constellation Cyg Category Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2045 EDT Comments I moved out here just to see something different. The double looked just like it always does though, a bright gold star and a dimmer blue star.

Target M57, Ring Nebula, NGC6720 Constellation Lyra Category DSO: PlNeb Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070620.2330 EDT Comments Since tonight appeared to be an exceptionally clear night I thought it would be a good chance to try for M57 and asked Peter to talk me to it since I didn’t find it on my own. This is the first time I am sure I have seen M57 with my own optics from TotL. I didn’t see much, but I did locate the object. Peter reported that it appeared to him to be more nebulous in my binocular than in his, but for me it was just a faint dot of light. At the top of my field of view I saw a “hockey stick” composed of ν2 Lyr; ν1 Lyr; Sheliak, β Lyr, a close double star; HD174530 (BD+33 3215); and HD174296 (BD+33 3209) At the bottom of the FoV is bright Sulafat, γ Lyr Beneath Sheliak there was a line of three stars slanting off 11:00-5:00. Off to the left of that line is another brighter star that forms a triangle of the top three stars pointing down to the lowest star The last “star” in that line is M57 There is another star at the top of the line that came and went for me and Peter says he uses it as an indicator of how easy it will be to see M57. Both that star and M57 were not steady objects for me and M57 was easier seen with averted vision while I was looking up at the triangle.