Astro-Blogging

New Astronomy Equipment Means Cloudy Skies

2008-01-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's that time again... time when budding and experienced astronomers alike have a bunch of new equipment that they're dying to test out. This time, however, corresponds directly with the time when skies are most likely to be cloudy... winter.

If you're like me, you have recently acquired some new astronomy equipment. Be it a telescope, eyepiece, filter, camera, or other such attachment. You're dying to get out and see what it can do under the darkest of skies. Winter, in some respects, is an ideal time to observe. It gets dark really early and stays dark until mid morning. However, a number of things need to line up before you can take advantage of this long dark spell. First and foremost, skies are far more likely to be cloudy in the winter than they are in the summer... or any other time of year for that matter. Secondly, even when skies are clear, this tends to lead to winters second draw back... its just plain cold in the winter. Sometimes, really cold.

So, what's an astronomer to do? Well, rest up :) Seriously. I've missed a couple of the few clear nights because I was simply too tired to head outside for the evening. You definitely want to make sure that this happens as rarely as possible. Additionally, update your list of online resources :) Sometimes, we need to get our astro-fix vicariously. Skies are always clear... somewhere. Someone is always feeling well rested and able to get out. Following is a list of a handful of sites that I like to visit whenever I need to have the itch scratched:
www.SpaceWeather.com
Astronomy Picture of The Day
Gemini Observatory
www.AdventuresInAstrophotography.com
Robert Gendler
Al Kelly
Another thing you might want to do is become active in your community's planning process. Light pollution is spreading rapidly and there are fewer and fewer dark sky locations to be found. Some people have to drive more than a day to get under truly dark skies. This is simply unacceptable. Checkout www.TheLightingPolice.com for some truly bad examples of outdoor lighting. The Lighting Police are working to reduce light pollution one bad installation at a time. If astronomers won't work to protect our night skies, who will?

Astrophotography Resource

2007-11-10T02:46:00.000-07:00

Just came across a cool new site devoted to astrophotography. Entitled, "Adventures in Astrophotography", the site takes you through one man's quest to become a real live astrophotographer. If you've ever taken images of the night sky, you know that this is not trivial. Low light levels and moving targets are not imaging targets for the faint of heart.

Here's an example of a pair of faint galaxies swiped from the site (it's ok, i'm providing a link)

Anyway, check out this great astrophotography resource (www.AdventuresInAstrophotography.com) when you can.

Moonrise

2006-11-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

This morning provided what just may have been the most spectacular moonrise of all time.

Meteors, Comets and Deep Sky Treasure

2006-10-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend marked the peak of the annual Orionid Meteor Shower... and what a peak it was. Timed to coincide with the October new moon, weekend skies were crisp and clear. Checkout this sweet shot by Brian Jolley. He's got an Orionid meteor streaking directly beneath Comet Swan. Wow!
Along with these solar system visitors were a large number of deep sky treats. The Hercules Star Cluster, The Ring Nebula, The Eskimo Nebula, etc. It was an absolutely wonderful night under the stars. And... to top things off, instead of camping, we ended up crashing at a friends very cushy "cabin". Thanks Tom!

More Great Astronomy Resources

2006-09-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

I came across the Von Braun Astronomical Society website the other day. They have a ton of really good astronomy resources on their site. I really like the way groups link to each other to provide users with an incredible array of resources all within a site. This group goes back to the mid-1950s when a local high school student made contact with Wernher von Braun. He formed the society and received significant input from von Braun and his colleagues. More information about the group can be found online at www.vbas.org

Meteor Shower Peaks Friday Morning

2006-07-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

The annual Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower peaks in the wee hours this coming Friday morning. Skywatchers under clear, dark skies can see as many as 10-15 meteors per hour. Checkout Spaceweather.com for more details.

Astronomy Blogs

2006-06-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

I've had the good fortune to stumble upon some high quality astronomy blogs lately. Its just amazing the number of folks who are passionate about astronomy. I think it is one of the coolest things you can do... setup on a clear night under some seriously dark skies. I just think its great to find some other like minded individuals out there.
On the Astronomy News side of the house, there is Tom's Astro Blog (www.tomsastroblog.com). Almost like clock work, Tom manages to find something truly interesting to write about. Observing events, Hubble Space Telescope discoveries, you name it. Tom seems to really be dialed in on these kinds of things. He recently wrote an article about light pollution. That's certainly a topic that readers of this site are familiar with. He covered the waste, the loss of the night sky, and all the usual stuff. What I enjoyed most, was the solutions that he offered. You can now buy outdoor lighting from a great new company, Starry Night Lights. This company sells nothing but ordinance compliant, night sky friendly outdoor lighting products. What a concept, huh? Put the light on the ground where its needed... and nowhere else. Duh! How'd we miss that one for 5 decades?
Another very cool astronomy blog is called The HobbySpace (www.hobbyspace.com). Here, you'll find a wide variety of astronomy related news, events and information. I think their tag line is very cool.... "Space For All". No doubt... the greatest outdoors. Kind of like the universe is your backyard.
Anyway.. when you get a moment.. be sure to pay a visit to these guys... I'm sure you'll bookmark them and check in regularly.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot

2006-05-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Skies were pretty good last night. The clear sky clock was listing it at 6-6-5 (clear, transparent, steady) on a 1-6 scale. While I wasn't able to push quite as hard as I'd have hoped for... I was hoping to get some decent views at 400x... I settled in at 250x. This allowed me to see quite a bit of detail on the planets surface. Tops on the list was Jupiter's Great Red Spot. It came and went with the seeing, but... when it was in view... it allowed for some of the best views of the GRS in recent memory. I'm hoping to catch the GRS on a night with a transit of some sort... with images in the 400x range. This would be pretty sweet. Hopefully, I'll be posting on just such a success shortly.

eta Aquarids Peak This Weekend

2006-05-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

The annual eta Aquarid Meteor Shower peaks between midnight and first light on Saturday morning. The radiant of the event is in the constellation Aquarius which will be above the eastern horizon shortly before sunrise. The eta Aquarid Meteors Shower are triggered by Earth cruising through the remnants of the famous Halley’s Comet. While not very numerous, the shower is expected to produce a few memorable "earthgrazers", meteors which streak brightly over an extended distance. These are most typically seen hugging the horizon (hence the name earthgrazers). Get out there and check it out!

The Lyrids Are Coming

2006-04-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

The Lyrid Meteor Shower that is. The annual event will peak tonight... with highest meteor counts likely between midnight and first light. A waning crescent moon will rise around 4:00am. It won't be much of a negative impact on viewing. In fact... since the moon is actually going through the same cometary debris field... sharp-eyed observers armed with a telescope might actually see meteors striking the dark side of the moon!

Crazy Weather

2006-04-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post. To tell the truth... I've not been able to do a whole lot of observing. I got out and did my GLOBE observations. Under less than ideal skies, I recorded mag 5 skies from my home in Park City, UT. Not horrible mind you, but far from where they should be. I'll even throw in a comment that on an ideal night, skies would likely be closer to mag 6 than mag 5, but... still clearly showing signs of degradation from all the development that is taking place in the area.
Under very moist skies, we saw a beautiful arc around the moon the other night. I'm always amazed that this feature is just a touch wider than my widest angle lens. Figures, huh? Find a cool shot... and need to play games to get it just right. Oh, Well....
So.... what's the weather looking like? More of the same... cloudy, rain and/or snow. At least this batch is coinciding with the approaching full moon. I mean... if it has to be stormy... it might as well do so when the moon is big and bright.

Light pollution is more than an astronomy problem

2006-03-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Many people are under the mistaken impression that light pollution is an issue that only concerns astronomers. While astronomers were among the first to complain about the growing effects of light pollution, they are not the only one suffering its affects. Most human beings... and even a large percentage of the creatures that inhabit the earth are also affected. Let's take a moment to see how.
Starting with the most obvious problem... light pollution is an incredibly wasteful problem. Think about it. Any light which is shining up into the night sky is certainly not accomplishing its intended task. Huge quantities of our declining energy reserves are consumed for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. The costs associated with this wasteful practice are simply staggering. $5-10 billion annually for the US alone... and this is only that portion which is shining straight up into the night sky. This doesn't even make a dent in the larger pie... lights which are shining down or sideways... but which are on all night long... even though the homeowner is not expecting company... or the business is closed. This number is many times larger. Anyway... back to light pollution.
Besides light shining up into the night sky... a major cause of sky glow... light pollution also takes the form of glare and light trespass. Glare is light shining in our eye making it difficult for us to see as we drive at night. The very lights that we turn on to enable us to see are actually making it difficult for us to see.
As bad as glare is, light trespass just might be worse. Light trespass is light shining across property lines. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. Light trespass invades our privacy... it makes it hard for us to sleep. Light trespass just might be killing us too. This is no joke. Light at night has been linked to numerous human ailments including certain forms of cancer. Light Pollution and Human Health have been getting a lot of coverage lately in the media, and rightly so. Recent studies have shown that light at night reduces the bodies production of melatonin... the bodies number one cancer fighting component. This has been shown as a direct link to increased risk of cancer. The finding proved that melatonin rich blood fights cancer cells and melatonin depleted blood promotes the growth of cancer cells. Think about that the next time your neighbors lights are shining into your bedroom window.
As if all of this weren't bad enough, light pollution is also a threat to wildlife. Numerous species are having serious difficulties coping with the increasing amounts of light we humans are shining into their habitats. Very high up on the list of affected creatures are sea turtles. Light Pollution and Sea Turtles simply don't mix well. All species of sea turtle that call Florida home are either threatened or endangered... and light pollution has been shown to be a major contributing factor. Let me explain further. Female sea turtles return to the same beaches to next year after year. If they return and find bright condos have been built on their nesting beaches, one of two things generally happens. 1) The female chooses not to lay eggs here... and is basically taken out of the breeding population. 2) The female lays her eggs, but... the odds of survival for the hatchlings are dramatically reduced. The reason for this is fairly simple (though perhaps not overly obvious). Sea turtle hatchlings generally hatch at night. Then, under cover of darkness, they look for the brightest horizon. This is generally the ocean with moonlight or starlight reflecting off of it. If, however, the inland horizon is brightest... because of light pollution from improperly lit coastal development, the hatchlings follow their instincts... and head away from the ocean. These hatchlings are then either run over by cars... eaten by predators... or die of exhaustion or heat exposure when the sunrises.
Sounds like a serious problem now, huh? Good. Fortunately, the solution is fairly simple and straighforward (whew!) By choosing to install only night sky friendly / sea turtle friendly outdoor lighting products... you can dramatically reduce the effects that a given fixture will have on the night sky, your health... and the wildlife around you. Night sky friendly lighting is wildlife friendly lighting is sea turtle friendly lighting. The characteristics that make a light night sky friendly also make it sea turtle friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights put all their light output down on the ground beneath them. They do not shine light directly up into the sky... greatly reducing sky glow. They also prevent their light output from crossing property lines... preventing them from shining into a neighbors windows... or into a sensitive wildlife area... like sea turtle nesting grounds. A simple way to determine if a light is "friendly" is to look at it when its turned on after dark. If you can see the light source (bulb), the light is not friendly. If you're just evaluating a fixture that's not yet installed.. you can make the same check. If the bulb is visible from any angle that's not beneath the fixture... the bulb is not friendly.
Night sky friendly outdoor lights used to be fairly difficult to find... but not any more. Night sky friendly lighting retailer, Starry Night Lights was founded this past year with one simple goal... to make night sky friendly outdoor lights as readily available as their less friendly counterparts. Simply point your web browser to www.StarryNightLights.com and checkout the largest selection of ordinance compliant, night sky friendly outdoor lighting products anywhere. Once you've found something that you like... you're only a point and a click away from having them delivered (for free) to your front door. How much easier can it get?

Secret Moon Friday Night

2005-12-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

The 2nd new moon of the month occurs tomorrow night (12/30). Known as the Secret Moon... or the Spinners Moon... the event is the opposite side of the coin from the blue moon... the 2nd full moon of the month. If you find yourself under clear skies this weekend.. .take advantage of the moon's absence... and go deep. The deep sky wonders of the winter sky are already well positioned for your viewing pleasure. If you're not an astronomer... that's ok. You can still get involved... by helping your astronomer neighbors to better enjoy their deep sky observing sessions. Simply turning out your outdoor lights will reduce light pollution and improve viewing conditions in your area.

Clear Skies Tonight!

2005-11-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

Looks like we're in for some seriously clear skies tonight. Clear, transparent & rock steady is what the clear sky clock is calling for. I already got some nice views of the planet Venus. It was sitting nicely in the saddle of the mountains to the west of me. I also got a quick peak at the planet Mars... sitting in the southeastern sky. I was less thrilled with the view of Mars... likely because skies are expected to steady significantly in the coming hours... allowing for some (hopefully) high powered views.
Given the quality of the views expected tonight... I'm breaking out the ObDob... and inviting a few friends over to observe with me. The plan is to go deep... at least Caldwell Objects deep. Caldwell deep being at least a bit more aggressive than the standard Messier Objects. Not too tough given the whole setup, but... I'm expecting a quite enjoyable night.
The upcoming Thanksgiving weekend is looking to be awesome as well. We're hoping to create a new tradition... and are going to dutch oven a turkey down at Zion NP. There I'm planning to get quite aggressive... and go after a few ARP's as well. These generally require darker skies... and more aperture than most.

Conjunction Tonight!

2005-11-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

The Moon and the planet Mars will be in conjunction (alignment) tonight. Look for the pair to rise in the east around 4:15pm. The Moon should be obvious immediately, while Mars will become visible shortly after sunset (5:10pm). As an added bonus, M45 aka The Pleiades Star Cluster will be sitting just a few degrees to the north (left). The trio might just fit within the field of view of a pair of wide angle binoculars? Regardless, The Moon & Mars should be stunning in your lowest power, wide angle eyepieces. If skies are clear here in Park City (questionable lately), I hope to capture a picture of the event. The accompanying image was taken a few months back when the two were in a widely split conjunction… say… 4 or 5 degrees of separation. The upcoming event should be within 1 degree if memory serves correct. Hope you can get out and view the event!

Fraser Valley Astronomical Society

2005-11-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of dealing with Peter and Paul over at The Fraser Valley Astronomical Society. Sorry.. no Mary in the picture that I'm aware of :) Anway... These are some really nice folks. This caused me to revisit their website. I've got to tell you... its chock full of information... especially relating to astronomy information. I also found some very interesting light pollution information. Anyway.. Back to the astronomy infomation. They had all kinds of information relating to Telescope and Mirror Making. If you get a chance... be sure to visit The Fraser Valley Astronomical Society website at www.fvas.net.

Gorgeous Deep Sky Views Tonight

2005-10-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

I just came in to warm up a bit... and thought I'd comment on the nights viewing so far. I hit a few of my favorite fall objects already this evening. Globular star cluster, M15 looked especially fine tonight. I cranked the magnification up to 200x and it was razor sharp. I was able to resolve stars right into its collapsed core. Very impressive.
After this, I hit The Veil Nebula and The Dumbbell Nebula. Both looked sweet as well.... though not as overwhelmingly as M15. I think it has to do with the reduced transparency in the night sky. There seems to be some moisture around that's just not letting all the light shine through.
From here, I went after NGC891... an incredible edge-on galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. Unfortunately, the reduced transparency made this object all but disappear. It reminded me more of a ghost... than a galaxy. I had to use "averted-imagination" to see this tonight :(
Wanting to raise the stakes a bit, I moved the scope a bit to the south and snagged some sweet views of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Finally, I got some early views of the planet Mars. I only hit it at about 100x, but... when skies steadied (briefly) I was able to see some nice detail on the planets surface. I'm hoping to get to at least 200x before calling it quits.

New Moon Weekend Ahead

2005-10-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

The coming weekend will take the moon to within a couple of days of new. Tomorrow's moonrise will occur around 3:20am... with an 18% illuminated waning crescent moon rising above the eastern horizon. This late rise and tiny phase will pair up to make this an awesome weekend for deep sky observers. The prime targets of the fall night sky have already moved into position. The Veil Nebula, Globular Star Cluster M15, The Andromeda Galaxy, The Double Cluster in Perseus... to name just a few.

As if that wasn't enough... the planet Mars is at its biggest and brightest for the next 13 years! Skywatchers are encouraged to head out shortly after sunset to see Mars rising a few degrees south of The Pleiades Star Cluster. Those of you with a telescope will definitely want to give Mars a little while to climb into a steadier part of the sky before planning any serious observations. After that, you should be in for quite a treat! Incredible details have been visible on the martian surface for the last several weeks

Under A Clear, Dark Sky

2005-10-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

I got out with a couple of neighbors last night to do a bit of observing. They were quite excited about the prospect... having seen the "canon" sitting on the driveway on a few occasions. I was excited, having seen how the sky was setting up for the evening. I saw the first downward pointing flashlight appear almost precisely at 8pm (our scheduled meeting time). Wayne came over looked at the scope... and asked about the size of the mirror. Apparently, he'd been discussing his evening plans with a buddy. He'd told him the scope was pretty big... and his buddy got excited and said... like what.. 10 - 12". When Wayne said 20 or so... his buddy almost pooped his pants. I told Wayne that this was a 25". I could see a smile appear on his face.
We began our night by spining the scope around to the west and snagging M57, The Ring Nebula. Wow! I always enjoy trips to the ring. So did Wayne. I gave a quick explanation about what we were looking at... when the second downward facing light appeared next door. Wayne's wife Susan was on her way over as well. When she got here, it was obvious that she was quite the resourceful woman. She'd been delayed looking for a second flashlight. Not finding one... she grabbed the next best thing... a telephone with an illuminated face. Whenever she hit a button... this thing lit up like a flashlight. We gave Susan a quick view of the Ring... and moved on.
Our next stop was one of my favorite globular star clusters... M15 in Pegasus. They were both impressed with this object... and rightfully so. M15 is an absolutely amazing object to view... especially in a 25" under dark skies. We continued hitting highlights of the fall sky for a little over an hour... when my 2 year old daughter decided that I'd had enough free time. At this point, we did a quick wrap up... of The Pleiades Star Cluster and the red planet, Mars. The Pleiades is actually too big to be viewed in the narrow field of view of the big scope... while Mars looked OK. It was still a bit too low for ideal viewing... but nonetheless showed a decent amount of surface details. All in all... a good night!

Goin' Deep Sky Tonight

2005-10-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Skies are again forecast to be clear and steady tonight. With that said, I'm gonna go deep tonight. Deep sky that is.
My primary objective tonight will be to track down a few of the gems of the fall night sky. Tops on that list is the biggest, baddest galaxy this side of the universe... The Andromeda Galaxy. Andromeda is the most distant object visible to the naked eye... and one of the finest deep sky objects out there. Visible as a faint smudge in smaller binoculars, Andromeda really comes into its own in telescopes of larger aperture... .especially when viewed under dark skies.
After viewing Andromeda, we'll likely hit M15... a beautiful globular star cluster in Pegasus. This is one of the finer globs in the night sky. It's also the best placed glob at this time of the year. I'll be just approaching the zenith as skies are darkening.
After going deep, we'll undoubtedly finish with some views of the red planet, Mars. Mars should be reasonably well placed for viewing by the time we're getting ready to wrap things up. A fitting end to a nice night under the stars. I'll leave the 6" setup on the deck... and set the alarm for about 5am... so as to get a view of Mars under even steadier sky conditions. I'm hoping to be able to hit it at over 300x. That would be a real treat... given its 20+" size.
Finally... there is a shot that the northern lights might show themselves at some point. Nothing's ever sure when it comes to aurora... not down here in Park City, anyway. But... aurora are a possibility... and always a welcome treat when they do show themselves.

Dark, Clear Skies Forecast For Tonight

2005-10-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

The evening forecast is looking stellar! As you can see from the accompanying Clear Sky Clock, skies will be crystal clear... and rock steady. Transparency will be a bit low, but... with 2 solid readings and one marginal one... I think it's definitely time to go deep. I may try to snag a few of the summer sky stragglers... like the Ring Nebula and the Veil Nebula. After that, I'll take in the incredible Andromeda Galaxy. This is THE jewel of the fall night sky. It is arguably the finest galaxy visible to northern observers... like me here in Park City. I'll also snag a bunch of other... lesser objects... before the moon rises... by which point... I'll switch my frame of mind to planetary observations... and the red planet, Mars.

The Planet Mars Takes Center Stage

2005-10-21T04:30:00.000-07:00

The red planet, Mars has taken over the nigth sky. It's currently at its biggest and brightest for the season... and for the next 13 years in fact. Mars is currently rising around 8pm... and is well placed for viewing by 10pm or so. Check out this sweet image taken by Larry Owens of Atlanta, Georgia, using a 14-inch Celestron. Pretty sweet, huh?
I've been out most clear mornings for the last couple of weeks... and only come close to a view like this once so far. But... I've certainly not given up :) Nope... not me. I'm hoping to get even sweeter views in the days and weeks ahead.
Of particular note in this shot is the visibility of a large dust storm running through the Valles Marineris... a huge canyon on the martian surface that is many times larger than our own Grand Canyon. This storm has just recently appeared... and has caught the eye.. and camera of many of the worlds finest astrophotographers.

Last Night's Conjunction

2005-10-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Skies cleared briefly last night... allowing me to snag a few quick pics of the conjunction between the planet Mars & the Moon.
The accompanying shot was taken with my Sony DSC-F717 digital camera and is actually a composite of two images. The first was a 1/4 second exposure... designed to expose Mars properly. The second was a 1/1000 second exposure designed to expose the Moon properly. The two were then combined using PhotoShop to create the displayed image.
I wish I'd have been able to see the pairing by morning... as they'd have been much closer at that point. Oh, well... I guess I should be happy to have seen any portion of the event... as forecasts were calling for significantly worse weather.

Conjunction Tonight!

2005-10-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Head outside shortly after dark and (if skies are clear) you'll see the red planet Mars rising alongside the waning gibbous Moon. The pair should be visible between 8 & 9pm... depending on your eastern horizon. Watch the pair cross the sky together in an event known as a Conjunction. As the evening progresses, the two will pull even closer.
Skies don't seem like they'll cooperate here in Park City :( So... I hope a bunch of folks around the world take and send in some pics of the event.

So so skies again :-(

2005-10-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

I was really psyched for some awesome views this morning. Unfortunately, skies (while clear) were not all that steady. I really couldn't get passed about 200x... and had issues even around this point. Stormy weather is forecast for the later part of the weekend, so... it could be well into the week before I'm again able to try to hit Mars hard.
We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

So so skies today... incredible skies tomorrow?

2005-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Seeing conditions were marginal this morning... perhaps a 5 out of 10. Tomorrow morning, however... skies are forecast to be absolutely amazing. The Clear Sky Clock for The High Meadows Observatory is calling for crystal clear skies, high transparency... and rock steady seeing. Perhaps a 6-5-6 morning.
At this point, I'm planning to get up a bit early... perhaps 5am... to beat the increasing affects of atmospheric heating & turbulence caused by the approaching sunrise. As an added bonus, The Planet Mars will be sitting just a bit higher in the sky... and closer to the zenith. The combination (I'm hoping) will allow me to push magnification levels a bit beyond Wednesday's 260x levels. In fact, I'm event going to ensure that The ObDob is readily accessible... just in case conditions allow for absurdly high levels of magnification.
With any luck, I'll be able to post tomorrow that my best views of Mars have been surpassed. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

More Sweet Planetary Views

2005-10-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I got out early again (6am). Skies were remarkably... and unexpectedly steady. I pushed Mars up to 375x... where views were mostly soft... then dropped back to 257x where they were mostly rock steady. I enjoyed viewing one of the major land masses... and some bluing near the north pole. The bluing is caused by icy clouds converging on the north pole at the onset of winter.
After enjoying some sweet views of the planet Mars, I spun the scope towards the south... and snagged some sweet views of the ringed planet, Saturn.
Tomorrow mornings forecast is calling for even better conditions.... lets hope so!

Morning Views of The Planet Saturn

2005-10-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

I got up (and out) early this morning.... setting the Argonaut up around 6:30am. I'd left it sitting by the front door... under the overhang... just in case. As luck would have it, skies were crystal clear... with first light well upon us.
I looked west and saw The Planet Mars... with The Constellation Orion chasing just behind it. I figured that from my vantage point, Saturn offered the best viewing opportunity. So... braving the cold (25* or so) I setup the 6" and my observing chair to the side of the deck... and spun it towards the southeast and The Planet Saturn.
Views of the ringed planet were pretty sweet. I went from 90x to about 225x... before settling back to a nice, comfortable 200x. At this magnification, views were pretty consistently sharp.
I instantly saw The Cassini Division... and the first real steady views allowed me to follow it completely around the exposed portions of the ring. This was already a good morning :-)
My next major observation (major to me, anyway) was when I noticed a tiny portion of the planet's disk visible above the rings. For the last couple of years, this had been hidden from view, due to the amount of tilt in the planet's orbit. But, Saturn is now swinging back in its orbit... and the tilt is declining considerably. It'll still be several more years before the ring is edge on (and hidden), but... it was one of the first times I've been able to see that portion of the planet in a number of years.

Second Light

2005-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Skies for first light were less than ideal... so the event turned out to be more of a "shake-out" cruise... with little actual observing. Last night's "second light" event turned out to be a much better event... and truly showcased the skies above The Two Mile Canyon Observatory.
By the time I got outside... around 10pm or so... skies were looking pretty sweet. I ran through the usual suspects for this time of year...
The Andromeda Galaxy looked absolutely stunning... with the first dustlane... and spiral arm clearly in view. I even managed to study a nice nebula/cluster area in the outer arm and seem some detail within in. This was gorgeous... and a true testament of what I had to work with... skies & telescope.

First Light Report

2005-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

The ObDob saw first light at its new home at the Two Mile Canyon Observatory last night. Skies were... ok. Intermittent clouds randomly dimmed my view from time to time... alternating my views of M15 between nice & not so nice. As the clouds would pass, the view would get dramatically brighter... allowing me to resolve stars right into the core. I made use of a 15mm TeleVue for views to about 200x.
Tonight's forecast is calling for clear, transparent and relatively steady skies. I'm hoping to hit The Andromeda Galaxy and The Planet Mars (among others).

First Light Tonight (sort of)

2005-10-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I'll be celebrating a sort of "First Light" event. First light for the ObDob at its new home... The Two Mile Canyon Observatory. Skies are forecast to be clear and fairly steady... with only the tiniest of moons setting shortly after sunset.
No doubt, we'll be taking a good look at the planet Mars as the night progresses. I'll be inviting a few neighbors over to start indoctrinating them on the ways of the sky... and the affects of outdoor lights on the sky. I'm hoping to win them over to the "dark side".
I'm also looking forward to testing out my new skies... and... with plenty of fall deep sky objects overhead... there'll be no shortage of observing targets.

Lowell Observatory Star Party Recap

2005-10-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

This past weekend's Lowell Observatory Star Party was a blast. For a host of reasons, my attendance at the event was limited to a few sweet hours, but... how sweet they were! We started with a handful of peeks through a 25" Obsession Dobsonian Reflector in a "goto" configuration. This was very cool! Through this beast, we got to see the wonders of the fall sky... including the Hercules Star Cluster through a Bino-Viewer (binocular). This was really impressive.
The highlight of the evening was (as expected) 90 minutes of time on the 24" Clark Refractor. This 32' tall beast was originally used by Percival Lowell to study the planet Mars. It was quite a treat... and an honor to use the same telescope as this giant of the astronomy world. Views if the red planet were simply stunning. This speaks wonders to the quality of workmanship that went into making this telescope some 110 years ago.
The accompanying shot was taken by Utah Skies member Brian Jolley using a digital camera hooked to the Clark Refractor using a ScopeTronix adaptor.

Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Nebula

2005-09-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Amateur astronomer Steve Mandel recently discovered a new nebula near the often viewed galaxy pair known affectionately as M81 & M82.

Dark Sky Friendly Outdoor Light Fixtures by Progress Lighting

2005-09-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Periodically, we like to showcase outdoor light fixtures that are both dark sky friendly and attractive. The thought being, if more of these high quality, dark sky friendly lights are installed... instead of the typical brass & glass glare bomb... there'll be more cool things to see in the night sky. With that said...
Here, we have a beautiful dark sky friendly outdoor wall lantern by Progress Lighting. This fixture, shown in Copper, is available in Antique Nickel, Copper, Guilded Iron. You'll immediately notice that the bulb is not directly visible at this angle. That's because, the bulb is mounted up inside of the fixture. This ensures that it won't be contributing to light pollution. It'll be a great first step towards implementing a dark sky friendly Outdoor Lighting plan... and it can be found in the metallic wall lights section of your favorite outdoor lighting retailer, Starry Night Lights.

Mars & The Moon (II)

2005-09-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

I got out briefly to view a couple of early risers last night. Mars & The Moon were sitting low in the east around 11pm. Views of the pair were nice, but... not too exciting. Skies were simply too turbulent and unsteady to really get much of a telescopic view. At 90x through the 6" Mak-Cas... I could just barely perceive the larger continental sized features on the red planet. All this, from an object that seemed to have the consistency of a cotton ball :-The Moon, at least showed off its usual battery of craters, valleys and mare. It too was seriously hampered by the turbulence. Views seemed comparable to observing through a fast moving stream.
Oh... did I mention... I also got a decent view of The Pleiades Star Cluster (M45). This looked probably the best of the three. At 60x, I could just about fit the entire cluster into the field of view. A 30x view would have given me enough sky background to recognize the true shape of the cluster. Nevertheless... I noted a hint of nebulosity around many of the stars. This was pretty cool (at least to me, anyway)
Oh, well... it seemed that... at least last night... the naked eye view to the east was by far the nicest. Mars was to the right... with the Pleiades to its left. Further left... and more towards the horizon was an almost last quarter Moon. SaWeet!

Mars & The Moon

2005-09-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

The red planet, Mars hung out with the Moon this past night. I watched the pair rise in the east around 10pm. Unfortunately, I didn't get the camera out for the event. Conveniently, the pair were high overhead when I awoke in the morning. Not wanting to miss the same event twice, I put the camera on a tripod and headed outside to snap the accompanying image.
The image is a composed from two separate images. The first was 1/1000 second exposure... designed to tame the brightness of the moon. The second was a 1/8 second exposure... designed to capture the color of Mars. The pair were then overlayed in PhotoShop.
Events like this are known as conjunctions... or alignments... and have been thought to convey all kinds of supernatural meanings through the years. Nowadays, we just see them for what they really are... the comings and goings of Earth's nearest celestial neighbors.

Scope Time

2005-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

I mentioned that we'll be observing with the 24" Clark Refractor used by Percival Lowell to study Mars. Here's a photo of the beast to put things in perspective. This thing has a 9770mm focal length. That's roughly 33'. Yikes! Can't wait to take long look through this monster :-)

Lowell Observatory Star Party

2005-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

We're planning a road trip next weekend to attend the Lowell Observatory Star Party down in Flagstaff, Arizona. To say we're excited would be quite an understatement. Four days under dark, clear (hopefully) Arizona skies should be incredible. As icing on the cake, we rented 90 minutes of observing time on the 24" Clark Refractor. This scope was used by Percival Lowell to study Mars. It should be incredible. A small bit of info in a confirmation e-mail they sent indicated that they've got eyepieces to power this scope to over 750x! Yikes!!
If you're planning to attend, the event runs Thursday 9/29 through Sunday 10/2. Regardless, you can expect a report to appear here shortly after my return.

Outdoor Lighting News

2005-09-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Several new blogs have been created recently that discuss Outdoor Lighting. No major surprise... they're mine. The reason for multiple blogs is to hit the various communities out there. Sure, you can search across providers for what you want, but... it seems that communities seem to favor their own. So... Google seems to pay closer attention to their Blogger-based blogs, while AOL seems to pay closer attention to they're journal-based blogs.
The first of these, was the Outdoor-Lighting blog. This was my first foray into outdoor lighting blogs. Its been enjoyable... and highly educational for me. The second of these is an AOL based blog... entitled... not surprisingly... Outdoor Lighting. The goal of these is to spread the word about proper outdoor lighting... by making available my Outdoor Lighting Guidelines.

Harvest Moon Rising

2005-09-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

I just caught a glimpse of the Harvest Moon rising. Ok... the official harvest moon is tomorrow. Tonight, it was only 97% illuminated. Still looked pretty sweet! Skies are forecast to be clear tonight, so... should be a beauty. Look for the moon to rise around 8:30pm or so. At this point, the moon will be with us all night long, so... don't fight it. Put on a moon filter and checkout Earth's nearest celestial neighbor. Details are spectacular in the tiniest of instruments. Even naked eye observations reveal a large bounty.

Aurora Watch Tonight

2005-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still slightly giddy from last Saturday night's auroras, but... forecasters are calling for a 70% chance of SEVERE geomagnetic activity tonight. Severe!!! This means that aurora will likely be seen much further south than is typical. Skywatchers at all latitudes should be alert for aurora after dark tonight!

Outdoor Lighting

2005-09-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

As light pollution blots out the stars for more and more individuals, I thought it important to add a mention of my new Outdoor-Lighting Blog. Those of you who like to get out and observe... or just get out and enjoy a star-filled sky... really need to get more involved in dealing with this issue. At the current rate, it won't be long before another generation is raised without ever seeing the night sky as it is supposed to be. Another great resource (targeting AOL folks) is my Outdoor Lighting Blog.

Park City Aurora!!!

2005-09-11T00:45:00.000-07:00

Aurora Borealis danced across the skies north of Park City, Utah. They started slow, but grew steadily in brightness. Initially, they were mainly green and close to the northern horizon. Eventually, pillars of light shot into the sky... repeatedly climbing higher and higher... till they reached Polaris. What a sweet display.
If you missed out... aurora are possible/likely throughout the weekend.

Aurora Watch

2005-09-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Giant sunspot #798 has so far fired off 6 powerful, X-Class solar flares in the last 5 days. Forecasters are calling for a 75% chance of more X-Class flares in the next 24 hours. Skywatchers are encouraged to keep an eye towards the northern horizon after dark this entire weekend. More information can be found on-line at Spaceweather.com.

Incredible Solar Flares

2005-09-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Sunspot #798 is returning from a trip around our star with a vengance. In the last 4 days, it has launched (4) X-Class solar flares. The most powerful of these was an incredible X17 event... the fourth largest ever recorded. If this can just keep it up for a few days... until it is Earth-facing... we could have one heck of a light show. Keep an eye on the northern horizon and on Spaceweather.com for the latest information.

Beautiful Conjunction

2005-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

The planets Venus & Jupiter were joined by The Moon in the western sky shortly after sunset last night. What a beautiful sight... a conjunction involving three of Earth's nearest celestial neighbors hanging out together.
The Moon will distance itself from the other two quickly... while the planets slowly separate.

Red Planet Overhead

2005-09-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got out this morning... around 6am or so... and the red planet, Mars was high overhead. I'd left the scope out... just in case... so it was setup and ready to go. Skies were ok... probably about a 6 out of 10. This allowed me to view sharply to about 175x. I pushed a bit past this... to about 225x, but... views were a bit mushy by this point. Dropping back to 175x gave me a fairly consistent view of the planet's surface. Details were readily apparent... though the south polar ice cap seems to have melted away :(
Mars is currently just over 14" in apparent diameter... on its way to around 20" later this fall. Views will only get better in the coming weeks and months... so be sure to get out there every opportunity you get!

Tiny Crescent Moon Tomorrow Night

2005-09-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

The Moon will be new tonight. That means that it won't be visible at all. A tiny one day old crescent moon will be found hanging low in the western sky shortly after sunset tomorrow evening. Those of you with an unobstructed horizon in that direction will have the best chance of spotting it. The next several nights will offer folks the opportunity to see what astronomers refer to as Earthshine. Earthshine is sunlight which reflects off the Earth and illuminates the otherwise non-sunlit portion of the Moon. Earthshine can be quite a dramatic visual effect. If you find yourself under clear skies the next several nights, be sure to look for the Moon and Earthshine.

Venus & Jupiter in Conjunction

2005-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

The two brightest planets, Venus & Jupiter will reach conjunction tomorrow night (9/1/2005). This should be a beautiful sight. Look for the pair low in the southwestern sky shortly after sunset. The pair are the brightest starlike objects in the sky... with Venus by far the brighter of the two. The pair will slowly drift apart over the coming days and weeks... as Venus continues to climb nightly... while Jupiter fades fast. The picture below shows the pair on Saturday night... when they were still several degrees apart. By Thursday's closest approach, the pair will be just over 1° apart. This is roughly the width of an outstretched finger.

Awesome Weekend Viewing

2005-08-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday started out kind of cranky... with clouds and scattered showers. Keeping faith in the Clear Sky Clock... and the hourly weather.com forecast, we headed for the high country. About 1/2 hour before sunset... the Sun began to shine :-) We were treated to a very nice sunset... and things only got better from there. We got a sweet view of Venus & Jupiter setting in the west... and things only got better from there too!
As darkness fell upon our 9400' campsite, the Milky Way was clearly visible from horizon to horizon. I readied the scope... and spent the next several hours "cherry-picking" goodies from the sky. Hercules, The Ring, The Veil, and countless other Deep Sky Treasures were on the menu.
Clear, dark skies... and lots of aperture. Observing doesn't get much better than that!

Clear Skies This Weekend

2005-08-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Skies were clear last night... and are forecast to be even nicer tonight. With that in mind, we're heading to my favorite High Uinta Observing Site. The few clouds that are expected should be vacating just as its starting to get dark. Yesterday was the last quarter moon... so, moonrise tonight won't be till 1am or so... giving 3+ hours of dark skies to go DEEP. Of course, I'll be taking The ObDob (pictured). It's the perfect instrument the for clear, dark skies I'm anticipating.

The Northern Lights

2005-08-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well... as Jerry Garcia once said... "have you seen the light?" Of course, we're talking northern lights... The northern lights were visible for a while early Wednesday morning (8/24). Even a very large and bright moon couldn't stop a sweet display of one of nature's most impressive sights. Reports are indicating that thing spiked just around sunrise here in PC. Figures, right? Anyway... There's a good chance for aurora again tonight... when the second of two coronal mass ejections reaches Earth. Skywatchers are encourage to keep an eye on the northern horizon after dark tonight.

Aurora Watch!!!!

2005-08-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

WooHooo!!!! Not one, but two Coronal Mass Ejections (CME's) are heading our way.... Sunspot #798 erupted twice and launched 2 coronal mass ejections towards Earth. Skywatchers should remain alert for aurora after dark tonight & tomorrow night (8/23 & 8/24). Given the waning phase of the moon, this could be perfect timing. A good dose of the northern lights would be just what the doctor ordered. Checkout these sweet aurora images I took back in November when the skies last lit up for me.

Spectacular Sunset!!!

2005-08-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

We caught one of the most spectacular sunsets last weekend. I finally got around to looking at the images on the computer and... all I can say is... WOW! Check this out and YOU be the judge. This was taken from our campsite in Utah's High Uinta Mountains.

Full Moon Rising

2005-08-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Did you see the full moon rising last night? Wow! It sure was a sweet site! I was sitting out on the back deck when it started to illuminate the clouds sitting just above the horizon. Moments later, the upper portion of the moons disk came into view. Slowly but surely, it crept higher and higher until it was fully illuminated. For a few moments, it seemed to hang... susended above the horizon. Then, it crept slowly behind some low hanging clouds. Nothing thick enough to block out the moons brightness... just enough to add to its visual appeal. After that, there was nothing but clear skies for it to cruise through. Shortly thereafter, we called it quits... and headed in. What a nice night!

The Moon & The Clouds

2005-08-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

I guess the fact that the upcoming full moon is coinciding with a serious amount of cloud cover (and precipitation) is a good thing. Hopefully, the following week/weekend will provide us with some clear skies to go with the waning phases of the moon.
I was out briefly last night. The Moon looked cool as it struggled to shine through the clouds. Eventually, it managed to simply climb over them for a while. The whole thing looked a bit eerie early on... but felt much nicer as the evening progressed. Hopefully, tonight will allow me to observe without the threat of a wet telescope.

Outdoor Lighting by Starry Night Lights (Part II)

2005-08-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned previously, we ended up purchasing 3 different types of outdoor lights for our home. Each is designed to fit nicely into the color/materials scheme of a specific area of this house. As I also mentioned, we purchased these lights online from night sky friendly lighting provider, Starry Night Lights (www.StarryNightLights.com).
This outdoor light fixture, the SPJ48-02 by SPJ Lighting is pictured here in "Raw Copper"... though we'll be getting it in "Rusty" which should have it fit nicely into the area we've planned for... the front entry. The front entry is wrapped in Montana Stone. I'm not sure what makes Montana stone any more special than Utah stone... or Wyoming stone, or any other stone for that matter, but... the rock contractor made it a point to point out that it was Montana stone. Anyway... we expect the fixture to match nicely with the colors found inside our Montana rock. Additionally, the night sky friendly nature of this closed top fixture will blend nicely into our mountain setting. (We're nestled comfortably into the trees on the side of a mountain at roughly 7000'). We'll need to take & display some photos of our house and its diverse lighting scheme when we're done. Then, you can be the judge as to whether or not it actually works. Regardless, we were determined not to mar the beautiful night sky above our mountain home... hence the lights chosen. If more folks would do the same, perhaps a larger number of people would actually be able to see the Milky Way at night :-\

Weekend Observations

2005-08-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend up in the High Uintas of northern Utah. Each evening started out looking pretty bad, but... things got better as time progressed. By 3am or so, skies were as clear as I think I've ever seen them. You could see stars through the trees, right down to the horizon. The Milky Was absolutely spectacular.... glowing from horizon to horizon. Then, of course, there were some very nice Perseid Meteor Shower leftovers. All in all, it was a pretty sweet weekend.
Temps? Well, that's another issue. We awoke to frost covered everything on Sunday morning :-\ Could have done without that for sure!

The Perseids & Beyond

2005-08-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Reports coming in are that this years Perseid Meteor Shower was a good one. I was out early... for a little while... and managed to view a couple of nice, long ones. A quick look at the Spaceweather.com Perseid Meteor Picture Gallery was enough to assure me that there were some awesome meteors this year!
If you missed the peak (which occurred this morning) you're not completely out of luck. Perseid meteors should be visible after dark for the next week or two. Of course, the closer you are to the peak... ie the sooner you get out and look for them... the better. Happy Hunting!

Mars (and Perseids)

2005-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Got out this morning for a little while. Views of Mars were OK at best (lots of moisture in the air)... Also saw a couple of Perseid Meteors. Skies are looking reasonably good for the next few days. Let's keep our fingers crossed for clear skies for the peak... which occurs on Friday morning (8/12) between around midnight and first light (5:00am).

Perseid Update

2005-08-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Perseid activity is definitely on the rise. I saw one nice one last night through some high clouds. If skies hold out... as is (sort of) expected, Friday morning's peak should be awesome. More information on The Perseids can be found at Gary Kronk's Comets & Meteors Showers Website.

Outdoor Home Lighting by Starry Night Lights

2005-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

We just purchased exterior lights for our new home online from www.StarryNightLights.com. The lights look beautiful, and should add nicely to the look of our home at night. No glaring lights... just proper illumination. What a concept, huh?

Anyway... we ended up using 3 different types of outdoor home lighting fixtures. We're not quite sure if that'll give the look we wanted, but... I guess there's only one way to find out :-)

We started with the JDG-1300W (pictured here), a beautiful exterior ceramic wall sconce by the Justice Design Group. It's a quarter sphere that'll shine all its light down. None should go up... or across property lines. We're finishing it in what they call Textured Faux California Gold Slate. This seemed like it would match nicely with the colors in our stone work.

Star Party & Perseids Report

2005-08-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend's Utah Skies Star Party was awesome. Skies were clear and steady all night long. We probably had around 75 people show up to do some observing. Among other things, we hit Venus & Jupiter, The Ring Nebula, The Veil Nebula, The Hercules Star Cluster and a bunch of stuff in Sagittarius & Scorpius. All in all, it was way cool!
As the night progressed, we saw a bunch of Perseid Meteors as well. The most spectacular of which (of course, I missed that one) crossed an estimated 90* of sky.

Clear Skies, Warm Temps, New Moon - Wow!

2005-08-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Should be an awesome night... and an awesome weekend of deep sky viewing. Conditions couldn't be any better! Plans are calling for me to get out each of the next several night with the big scope.
Of course, the highlight will be tomorrow night's Utah Skies Star Party. With the first good forecast for a star party this season, we should get a pretty good turnout.

The Perseids Are Coming

2005-08-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower is rapidly approaching. It'll peak in the wee hours of Friday morning (8/12), but I've already seen a few. This years event should be a good one, since the moon is going to cooperate with us. It'll be a waxing crescent at that point... setting before the shower really gets going. Those of you viewing from dark skies can expect to see in the neighborhood of 100 meteors per hour at the peak... pretty close to 2 per minute.
The Perseid's are probably the best known meteor shower... coming during the summer as they do. I'll be setting my alarm for 2:00am so that I can head outside for the best part of the show.

Friday Night Star Party

2005-08-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Utah Skies and The Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District will be hosting a star party this coming Friday night (8/5). Folks are invited to make plans to come out and observe the heavens through some of the finest astronomical equipment available to amateurs. On display will be a tiny sliver of a crescent moon... so tiny that we might not even find it :) Along with this, we'll take a peak at two of our solar systems brightest planets... brilliant Venus and giant Jupiter.

Once we're done with these, we'll go deep and explore the wonders of the summer night sky.

A quick sampling will likely include:

M13 - The Hercules Star Cluster

M20 - The Trifid Nebula

M57 - The Ring Nebula

NGC6992 - The Veil Nebula

Admission, as for all Utah Skies events, is free. Bring your friend... bring your telescope... or just bring your imagination.

Approaching New Moon Means Deep Sky Viewing

2005-08-01T05:19:00.000-07:00

Skies are expected to clear just in time for the upcoming new moon. This is fine by me. I live for those opportunities where I get to go DEEP!!! Having access to truly dark skies is something I hold near & dear. In the meantime, we seem to be in for a bit of weather (highly unusual for this time of year)
Anyway... if skies clear as expected this weekend... i'll be pointing the ObDob at some sweet summer time objects.

Aurora Watch

2005-07-31T00:30:00.000-07:00

A large coronal mass ejection (CME) was detected leaving the Sun early today. It is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our magnetosphere when it arrives tonight (or early Monday morning). I don't know about you, but... I could sure go for a nice light show. Checkout Spaceweather.com for the latest updates.

Night Sky Friendly Exterior Lighting

2005-07-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

I got tired of the fact that it was so difficult to buy good dark night sky friendly lights... that I decided to open my own darky sky friendly lighting store. Starry Night Lights is the first and only night sky friendly lighting retailer. We carry a large and growing selection of ordinance compliant, night sky friendly exterior lighting fixtures.
Outdoor home lighting should add to the beauty of your home while simultaneously providing you with enough light in the right locations so that you may navigate safely.

10th Planet Found

2005-07-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Astronomers announced the discovery of a 10th planet... orbiting our star far beyond Pluto. Initial estimates place the size of the as yet unnamed planet at 1.5x that of Pluto. No doubt, this'll ignite more debate over exactly what a planet is. Checkout Science@NASA for more details.

Dark Sky Weekend

2005-02-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Don and I headed down to Gooseberry Mesa this past weekend for some clear, dark southern Utah Skies. What an awesome campsite... observing site... mountain biking site... and weekend. Temperatures were pushing into the mid 50's by day... and dropping back to the low 30's at night. Just perfect for running a marathon.

I didn't have time to plan an observing list... so I ended up running a mini-Messier Marathon... eventually snagging 40 Messier's in marathon night sequence :-) While I was at it, I threw in a dozen or so Caldwell Objects just for good measure. The Caldwell's (in case you're unsure) are another list of sweet objects for amateurs to observe.

The Andromeda Galaxy, The Orion Nebula, Globular Star Cluster, M3... all looked awesome under the inky black skies. All the while, I ran through the list... notching Messier after Messier. He may have found quite a few comets in his day, but... undoubtedly, his greatest contribution to amateur astronomers is his list of throw-away objects... The Messier List.

Clear Skies Again

2005-01-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

The lack of clear skies... and pressing deadlines has quieted me down lately. Anyway... skies are looking awesome at the moment (4:30pm) The moon has just risen... and the scope is already outside :)
Woke up just before the alarm (5:15am). Skies were nearly perfect (except for an overly bright full moon). Anyway... Jupiter was sitting very near the zenith. Time to see what my new TouCam Web Cam can do.

Geminid Meteor Shower (Part I)

2004-12-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

I got out about 5:30 this morning... for close to an hour of frozen meteor watching. Without keeping any strict counts, I'd say they were coming about one per minute. Factor in that my observing location only showed me half the sky... and its probably safe to say were were near 100 meteors per hour. Not too shabby.
I was lucky enough to get a handful of really bright meteors... including one especially bright one that caught my eye while driving home last night. That was probably the brightest of them all (and it was warm in the car ;)
Temps this morning were in the teens... with slight to moderate passing clouds.
I don't know if there's some law of physics which dictates that meteors will somehow go around the area you're pointing your camera at, but... something was certainly at play.
We'll try again tonight... when the real peak is expected to hit.
If all goes well, I'll also snag a shot of Comet Machholz as well.

Comet Machholz

2004-12-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

We had a bunch of friends over last night... so I didn't get to take advantage of the beautiful moonless skies overhead. Well... I didn't get to completely take advantage of them.
I got out for a few minutes with my 10x50 bins and took my first quick peek of Comet Machholz. It was a very easy find just below and to the right of Orion.
In the binoculars, Machholz was a large, fuzzy object... without any real definition. I hope to get out tomorrow night with a scope or two. One for viewing... and one for imaging. The current weather forecast looks like it should cooperate.
APA

Clear Skies & Deep Views

2004-12-10T01:30:00.000-07:00

We didn't expect clear skies, but.. they showed up :-)
For several hours, my buddy Brian and I scanned the night sky for some early winter treats. In the 2+ hours that we were out we managed to visit a slew of Messier's... including M31, The Andromeda Galaxy and M42, The Orion Nebula. We also hit a couple of NGC's... including (one of my favorites) The Double Cluster in Perseus. Sweet!