31 July 2007

Observing Location	SIBL
Observational Period	1215-1230 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 79°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Feels Like Hot and a little humid Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Can Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070731.1215 EDT Comments Distance Light Time 1.015042 AU 8ms Angular Size 31'33.8" Altitude 66.0° Heliographic Latitude (B0) 5.73° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 184.06° Position Angle (P) 10.52° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2059 Yesterday Space Weather said there were two groups on the Sun, 965 and 966, that were tiny single spots on the SOHO image. I didn’t get a chance to observe them yesterday. Today I looked with the big binoculars and didn’t see anything. Checking Space Weather they are showing nothing but Active Region Explorer is showing that there is still some of 965 left.   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 & TotLwest
Observational Period	2100-2400 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 77°F Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Feels Like Very comfortable but buggy The night started out clear but it seemed like a haze built up and transparency diminished although there were no clouds around until about 2230 EDT and then it was a single stripe of cloud out to the NNW. There seemed to be a lot more mosquitoes around tonight, probably because the air was still. The temperature was very stable and with the air still it would seem that seeing should have been excellent but I had to do a lot of focusing and when the Moon came up there was boiling on the limbs. Tonight is the first time in a long while that I have heard the noise of Shakespeare in the Park coming from the Delacorte Theater. I hope it was a rehearsal because there was no sound of audience appreciation. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target C/2006 VZ13 (LINEAR) Constellation Vir Category Comet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070731.2100 EDT Comments The comet continues to fade and is moving lower in the sky where it is going to be in the schmutz earlier in the night. I think we have probably had our last opportunity of seeing it. When I arrived I could see Vindemiatreix naked-eye so I got on the comet right away although I had not planned on that. I found the correct FoV but could not see any sign of the Comet. I was hoping that Peter might make it up to TotL despite his jetlag and be able to see it but that didn’t happen. I finally gave up in the comet as the FoV was setting into the trees and moved over to Jupiter. Cartes du Ciel graphic

Target Jupiter Constellation Oph Category Planet Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070731.2115 EDT Comments Object Class Classical Planet Elongation ° Distance Light Time (from Earth) AU ms Distance (from Sun) Au Angular Size 41.9" Magnitude -2.4 Central Meridian I/II 160.08°/252.17° Altitude 38° Moons Starry Night Starter graphic Callisto and Io were out to the east and Ganymede was by itself to the west. My calendar showed Europa to be coming out of a transit at 2356 EDT and I was watching and saw something appear on the western limb at about the right place at 2354 EDT which I take to be the difference between the central meridian and our location (-4 minutes) and the delay in my seeing the moon in the glare of the planet. But looking in Cartes Du Ciel and Starry Night Starter I find that Europa went into transit at 1921 EDT and came out at 2155 EDT. That is a difference of two hours which I can not explain unless I made an error in converting UT to local time when I entered the information in my PDA.

Target Moon Constellation Aqr Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20070731.2240 EDT Comments Lunation 1046 Phase Waning Gibbous Age 17.61d Distance Light Time (from earth) 370,957 km s Elongation ° % Illuminated 94.7% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 120.1 Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 300.1 Libration in Latitude +1°08’ Libration in Longitude -3°00’ Magnitude -12.73 Angular Size 32.21' Altitude 13° Virtual Moon Atlas graphic I looked over on the western limb for any signs of Mare Orientale but didn’t even see Lacus Autumni or Lacus Veris. The terminator is passing through the center of Mare Crisium and just to the east of Cleomedes, Burkardt and Geminus and to the NE of Endymion. Down in the southern hemisphere most of Langrenous is in the terminator but the western rim is still well defined in sunlight. There are lumps on the western edge of the Moon from 11:00 down to 5:00. The floors of all of the craters around Grimaldi are darker than usual. Cruger is about the same tone as Grimaldi. Copernicus looks like it is surrounded by a wide ejecta blanket and worm-tunnel-like rays begin at the outer edge of the blanket and extend our broadly in all directions. I don’t see Copernicus itself. To the SW of Copernicus little Reinhold looks like a mini-Copernicus with an ejecta blanket and rays but neither are as extensive. Rays are visible from Tycho. Hercules and Atlas are showing some relief on their eastern sides.

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Sunspots Observed

Observing Hours for the Year To Date

	Day			Night			Total
	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg	Hours	Days	Avg
Jan	4.25	12	0.35	7.75	9	0.86	12.00	16	0.75
Feb	3.50	14	0.25	20.75	5	4.15	24.25	15	1.62
Mar	9.25	16	0.58	36.75	10	3.68	46.00	17	2.71
Apr	4.00	14	0.29	22.50	7	3.21	26.5	16	1.66
May	11.75	16	0.73	31.00	9	3.44	42.75	20	2.14
Jun	7.00	15	0.47	18.40	8	2.30	25.40	18	1.41
Jul	5.75	18	0.32	30.00	10	3.00	35.75	19	1.88
TOTAL	45.50	105	0.46	167.15	58	2.86	212.65	121	1.76