25 December 2007

Observing Location	MO
Observational Period	0100-0145 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 39°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.09" Hg Feels Like Cold Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments	Minolta X-700 SLR – Charlie Minolta 500mm mirror lens Tamron 2x teleconverter Nikon CoolPix 990 digital camera – Charlie Fisheye Converter FC-E8 Wide Converter WC-E63 Tele Converter TC-E2
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Moon Constellation Gem Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.0100 EST Comments Lunation 1051 Phase Waning Gibbous Age 15d12h19m Distance Light Time (from earth) 361,923 km 1.2s Elongation 163.4° W % Illuminated 97.9% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 100.9° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 280.9° Libration in Latitude -4°02’ Libration in Longitude 5°16’ Magnitude 12.5- Angular Size 33.02' Altitude 74.55° Virtual Moon Atlas graphic I made the second half of my Moon pictures. There was supposed to be a graphic here showing the Moon low on the horizon superimposed on the larger Moon at culmination, but DuaneReade said my first set if images, which were shot through clouds, are blurred and their equipment will not scan them. I had them try again and they did get some images out but the size difference between the two moons is too small to be seen -- even for me to get them lined up the way I had planned. The only way I can get a pixel count on the moon heights is to bring the images into Photoshop and crop them (I thought I could get a cursor position in MS Paint but not in the Vista edition). Date.Time Expected (Arcminutes) Observed (Pixels) 20071224.1915 32'47" 416 20071225.0100 33'08" 419 Size Difference 21" 3 Culminating Moon Bigger by 1.06% 0.72% The digital images are terrible and I can’t figure out from the data with them what the magnification was to know which ones to match up as being approximately (I don’t trust the zoom to go to the same place each time which is why I am still using the film camera) the same size. They also all have the same date and time so I can’t be sure which of them were when the Moon was low and when it had risen. This project is going to have to be redone at another time (next December).

0108 EST

Moon Transits

Observing Location	In Bed, Parkchester, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	0600-0630 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 37° Wind Calm Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.16" Hg Rising Feels Like The weather outside is irrelevant, other than the cloud cover, since I am in my overheated apartment. Transparency Good Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

0538-0611 EST	Astronomical Twilight
0611-0645 EST	Nautical Twilight

Target Iridium 80 Flare Constellation Lyr Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.0613 EST Comments The satellite was bright and appeared below and to the right of Vega and moved to the east/south into Hercules. Alt. 21.4° Az. 63.5° Mag. -0.9

Target Iridium 77 Flare Constellation Vega Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.0625 EST Comments Not Seen Alt. 26.1° Az. 65.6° Mag. 0.5

0645-0715 EST	Civil Twilight
0845 EST	Moonset

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Observing Location	PSC
Observational Period	1330-1400 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Scattered Clouds Temperature 43°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.24" Hg Falling Feels Like Mild There are a few widely scattered cirrus clouds around. The breeze is very light. I see only light boiling on the Sun’s limb. Transparency Excellent Seeing II
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector w/Baader AstroSolar filter film - Charlie Celestron Omni 20mm (21x) Celestron Omni 2x Barlow
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Category Solar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.1300 EST Comments Distance Light Time 0.983 AU 8m 11s Angular Size 32' 34.7" Altitude 22.9° Heliographic Latitude (B0) -2.20° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 43.2° Position Angle (P) 5.36° Carrington rotation number (CR) 2064 Space Weather says the sun is blank but Active Region Explorer says Group 979 is near the trailing limb. I am not sure I should trust Active Region Explorer though since the site says the maps are being generated but have not been tested and they are showing Group 978 in the middle of the back side of the Sun.   Groups Spots R North 0 0 0 South 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 R = (Groups * 10) + Spots) The Sun is 0.001 AU closer today than it was yesterday. A thousandth doesn’t sound like much until you consider the size of an AU (~96 million miles) and do the arithmetic. Kilometers Miles 149,598,000 92,956,000 x 0.001 149,598 92,956 ~ 12 Earth diameters ~ 40% of the distance to the Moon ~ 1 Jupiter diameter ~54% of the diameter of Saturn’s rings

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Observing Location	Chief Dennis L Devlin Park, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1645-1700 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Broken Clouds Temperature 41°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.24" Hg Rising Feels Like Cold Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

1636 EST	Sunset
1636-1706 EST	Civil Twilight

Target ISS Visible Pass Constellation Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.1651 EST Comments Not Seen The sky is still to bright and there are clouds where it was due to culminate.   EST Alt. Az. Mag. Begins 1651 horizon 302.2° +0.8 Max. Alt. 1655 15.9° 227.5° +0.5 Ends 1659 horizon 163.8° -0.2

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Observing Location	St Helena’s RC Church, Olmstead Ave @ Benedict Ave, Bronx, NY
Observational Period	1700-1715 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Broken Clouds Temperature 39°F Wind Light Breeze gusting to Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.30" Hg Rising Feels Like Raw Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	Naked-eye - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

1706-1740 EST

Nautical Twilight

Target Iridium 52 Flare Constellation Cam Category Satellite Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.1713 EST Comments Not Seen Alt. 22.4° Az. 23.6° Mag. -1.3 The clouds were to thick for the satellite to shine through.

1740-1813 EST	Astronomical Twilight
1828 EST	Moonrise

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Observing Location	MO
Observational Period	2100-2215 EST
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 37°F Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Barometric Pressure 30.30" Hg Falling Feels Like Cold Wind Chill 32°F Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	SAR: Coulter CT-100 Newtonian reflector - Charlie Celestron Omni 20mm (21x) Celestron Omni 2x Barlow 25x30 “spyglass” telescope The spyglass is easier to use than the pocket telescope/microscope and has a sharper image although it is still dust filled. It is hard to hold it still enough to get more than an idea of marea and highlands. I don’t know how the pirates did it on a pitching boat. 8x Selsi StyleScope pocket telescope/microscope This is a cheap combination telexcope/microscope that I was given many years ago and came across in a drawer so I took it out to see what it would do. It is a tube within a tube construction, like the spyglass. You pull off the outer tube and use the inner for the microscope. It isn’t much. It is even more difficult to hold on an object and focus than the spyglass and produces a very poor image,
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Moon Constellation Category Lunar Time yyyymmdd.hhmm 20071225.2100 EST Comments Lunation 1051 Phase Age Distance Light Time (from earth) 368,860 km 1.23s Elongation 152.6° W % Illuminated 94.4% Morning Terminator Colongitude (λ E) 111.0° Evening Terminator Colongitude (λ W) 191.0° Libration in Latitude -2°47’ Libration in Longitude 6°56’ Magnitude -12.1 Angular Size 32' Altitude °<.40/td> Virtual Moon Atlas graphic Terminator In Sunlight Feature In Shadow <<< de la Rue   <<< Endymion   <<< Mercurius   <<< Lacus Spei   <<< Messala   <<< Bernouilli   <<< Geminus   <<< Burckhardt   <<< Cleomedes   <<< Mare Crisium   <<< Langrenous   <<< Lohse   <<< Vendelinus   <<< Laume   <<< Petavius   <<< Balmer >>> <<< Vales Palitzsch   <<< Palitzsch   <<< Hase   <<< Rima Hase >>> <<< Funerarius   <<< Fraunhofer   <<< Vales Rheita   <<< Biela   <<< Rosenberger   <<< Hagerius   There seems to be a slight bump on the limb below Grimaldi. The Barlow yields poor contrast and has flattened the Moon so that Tycho and its rays are hard to discern. Tycho’s rays appear to originate from the western edge of the crater rather than from within it. The ejecta blanket around Copernicus looks huge. There appears to be a white line where the crest of the Apennine Mountains should be.