Winter Solstice

The weather forecast gave us great doubt for the open night at Stephens. There was, however, an opening in the all-day cloud cover coming our way. Hiram College rented the StarLab portable planetarium and staged a Winter Solstice program earlier in the evening that led nicely into the Observatory's 7:00 PM opening. The sky, by then, had cleared and with temperatures of about 40 degrees (F) opening the dome was tolerable. Though transparency was only fair at best, the nearly-full Moon presented an interesting target and the Cooley Telescope did its usual job in knocking the socks off new visitors. The lunar image was glorious. Turning the telescope to Mars, however, really didn't reveal much. The not-so-good sky conditions prevented us from seeing any surface markings even though Mars was only four days past its closest approach in this opposition cycle (opposition to take place on Dec. 24). Hoping for better viewing conditions in January with Mars still fairly close. By 9:00 the sky had closed in completely hiding Mars, even from unaided eyes, and obscuring any detail from the lunar disk. Still in all we had about 48 visitors over the evening -- one of our best nights!

Comet Holmes flares up

October 27 & 28: A formerly very dim comet called Holmes (17P) flared up October 24th growing many magnitudes brighter -- it went from 12.5 to 3rd magnitude which is about 1 million times increase. It's currently outside the orbit of Mars and in the southern portion of the constellation Perseus. Saturday night, Oct. 27, a day of clouds, mist, and rain, I stepped outside to a clearing sky. It took me only a second to find Holmes and view it through my 10X50 binoculars. It was a beautiful sight, though to the uninitiated, it's just a big fuzzball. That is, of course, how it actually looked... a large, brightly glowing puff with a bright dot in the center; that's how comets look "head-on" with any tail streaming behind and away from the viewer. The glow was slightly yellow or golden... quite an unusual object. Sunday night I opened Stephens for a special astronomy class observing session. I spotted the comet in the big telescope at 7:45 PM and was surprised... Two bright spots were right in the middle of the cloud looking like they might be part of the comet, oriented directly across the nucleus from each other. I watched excitedly to see if there were any changes. Alas, as the evening wore on the bright specks appeared to move off center and away from where the nucleus lay confirming they were background stars and not a part of the comet itself. Only three students showed up but it gave me two hours in which to observe the comet and attempt some images using the old nine-inch scope. They're my first telescopic comet photos. Here's one that has been heavily "Photoshopped" but it basically shows what I saw... Comet 17P/Holmes moving with three background stars showing through its coma. The comet has the astronomical community excited and that has been fun all by itself. I'll probably offer a public viewing session for Friday, Nov. 3 when the weather is predicted to bring clear skies.

Photo: Comet 17P/Holmes as it appeared at 9:34 PM, October 28. Two stars shine through the coma like headlights through fog. Photo was made using the century-old Cooley Telescope (a 9-inch refractor) and a Canon Digital Rebel XT camera - 2 seconds at ISO 1,600. Photo: James Guilford, Stephens Memorial Observatory, Hiram.

Chilly glimpse of Comet Holmes

It was cold (about 30 degrees) and breezy at about 9:30 PM when I went outdoors to check on Comet Holmes. The weather lately has not been hospitable to observing what with clouds, rain, and even a bit of snow. Tonight the sky was briefly very clear overhead in North Royalton. Aiming into Perseus with my binoculars I fished about only briefly before spotting the cometary cloud. It has grown even larger than it was but has faded dramatically. Even with our "clear" skies light pollution and the dimness of the object made it impossible to see without the binoculars. Predicted weather for the next few days call for mostly cloudy with rain and snow so this glimpse at the sky is apparently about all I'll be seeing for a while.

Open night and photo attempts

I had scheduled an Observatory open night for Friday, Nov. 2. The weather and observing forecasts agreed that Friday night would be, at the very least, a very good night to view Comet 17P/Holmes and that's just the way things turned out. Friday night, for a good couple of hours after sunset, boasted an outstandingly transparent sky. Because the local daily newspaper, The Record-Courier, was kind enough to run our event announcement and our photo of the comet, we had a very good turnout. In all 37 folks of all ages came to see this most unusual celestial visitor. The century-old telescope performed outstandingly keeping good track on the moving object. We could see at least one background star shining through the huge coma. The sky was so clear that I could make out the Perseus Double Cluster (NGC 884 & NGC 869) with my unaided eyes! A glorious sky, indeed. Visitors asked many questions about comets and the Observatory and seemed to have a very enjoyable evening. The event closed out at 10 PM and I shot a number of sky photos with and without the dome in the foreground -- I need to process those images but they look very promising. With this entry is a medium telephoto shot of the triangle Comet Holmes formed with two of the southern Perseus stars. Got home rather late after a most enjoyable night under the stars.

In the picture: Comet 17P/Holmes floated through the southern portion of constellation Perseus in October and November 2007 as it flared to a million times its normal brightness. It became a naked-eye object and formed an easy-to-spot triangle where normally there was no such figure. The comet is the yellowish orb in the lower left-hand portion of the triangle, seen here near the center of the picture. Image recorded at 10:14 PM, Eastern Standard Time, Nov. 2, 2007. Canon Digital Rebel XT, 10 seconds, 112 mm, f/6.3, ISO 1,600. Photo by James Guilford

October Open night

Open night at Stephens Memorial Observatory: Arriving in the dark I met two of my regular attendees: a woman and her 80+ year-old-mother. They drive up from a place about an hour away for every one of these sessions, even when it's the same objects for observation -- in this case it was the Moon. The drive took less time tonight so they arrived early. By the time the event was over we had 19 visitors aged 4 years and up look through the century-old refractor; we might have had more visitors but there was a big Cleveland Indians baseball game on TV. Guests were treated to superb views of the first-quarter Moon, however, as the atmosphere was extremely clear and mostly steady. I don't think I've personally ever seen the Moon so clearly with my own eyes! Using a massive antique eyepiece that I'm really growing to love we viewed the entire Moon at about 40X. With a modern eyepiece we saw excellent details within craters along the terminator and in the lunar maria at about 100X. After closing (10 PM) I experimented to see how high I could push the power on the old scope. I went as high as 370X but the image was too soft. I did get acceptable results at 270X, however, which was a shocker. The telescope still isn't tracking well when pointed south, however, so I couldn't stay fixed on any lunar detail for very long. I couldn't find the planet Neptune --1.5 degrees from the Moon this night-- in the orb's bright glare so I turned the telescope away from the Moon and targeted the Perseus Double Cluster: NGC 884 & 869. They filled the great antique eyepiece with diamond-like lights delighting our guests more than I had expected. This night was also to be the peak of the Orionid meteor shower but I saw not one "shooting star." Best viewing was after Moonset but I wasn't about to stay up that late or get up very early -- things to do Sunday!

"Discovering" NGC 1981

They say there's a difference between looking at a celestial object and observing it. A case in point was this morning's appreciation of Orion. The weather was very humid and warm for October --about 72 degrees at 6:20 AM-- when I stepped outdoors on our westward-facing stoop to check out the dark morning sky. Despite the humidity, the sky looked clear and Orion floated high above our roofline. I decided to take a better look so fetched my 10 X 50 binoculars. Of course Orion's sword was the real target of the morning. I could easily see the cloud of M42, The Great Orion Nebula, which is a favorite to view using telescopes. I was surprised to note I could just make out the glow of the Trapezium with the handheld binoculars. The heavy air, it seems, was also very steady. Looking around in the field of view I appreciated the surprising clarity of the stars then noticed something I'd never really seen before... a loose group of tiny points of light just at the top end of the "sword." A star cluster? Beautiful, but was it really a cluster? I swung the binoculars around to check out a very bright star to the south --Sirius-- like a mercury vapor light in the sky. Then a quick look at brilliant red Betelgeuse in Orion and I headed back into the house ... had to get ready for work! Checking the books later I learned that the sprinkling of stars I had "discovered" for myself was, indeed, a cataloged loose open cluster: NGC 1981. The two-minute session with my binoculars may have been a quick look, but seeing the cluster was observation. A pleasing way to begin the day.

September open night

September 22 -- The Stephens Observatory open night went very well. We had 29 visitors, all ages represented, with a good number of them College students. The last little group, two college couples, arrived just before 11 PM closing. Most visitors got to see the Sagittarius Cluster (M22) -- the beautiful globular star cluster of about 70,000 stars -- which resolved into individual stars very handsomely, the Moon, and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) which was a struggle to find with so many people in the room! The Moon is always a big hit with the public: something we see very often but not with the kind of detail we see through a good, big refracting telescope. Our best views came through the big wide-field antique eyepiece (about 40X) but views at 110X through a modern eyepiece were crisp and thrilling. At one point in the evening I think we had around 22 people in the dome -- a 16-foot diameter room -- which may be some sort of record for us! The air was cool, the sky was perfectly clear (for Northeastern Ohio) and the atmosphere fairly steady (some shimmering of crater details visible at higher power).

Clear night, photo experiments

Having missed one night of excellent seeing Saturday night, I decided I must get out this night... the second very good night in a row! Went to Stephens and enjoyed about 2 1/2 hours of excellent skies. I practiced locating and observing the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with the big scope. Viewed the spectacular M22 globular star cluster in Sagittarius, and enjoyed seeing the Milky Way in the dark sky overhead. Attempted to image M31 and M22 through the telescope but it still isn't tracking nearly well enough for photography... not yet, anyway. Did take the camera outdoors and photograph the dome against the night sky and the photos were excellent as first tries! Sensitivity setting of ISO 1600, however, generated a lot of electronic noise amongst the stars. I'll use that rarely in future! One of the clearest skies in a while and I got to enjoy it in comfortable 68-degree conditions. Closed up at midnight. A good night.

Astronomy class visits observatory

I hosted the Hiram College Fall Semester Astronomy class at Stephens Memorial Observatory this morning at 9:00. They were given a brief history of the Observatory and telescope and we observed the Sun. The sky was mostly clear and temperature was around 70 degrees. Using the Cooley Telescope's relatively new Baader film filter, we observed, when seeing was good, granulation and a small sunspot group surrounded by faculae. The 12 students seemed to enjoy the visit and were encouraged to attend public nights. We'll also be hosting some student-only observing sessions.

Total lunar eclipse

Total Lunar Eclipse! This was the first lunar eclipse that I've observed that ended at totality with the sun rising which means I only saw the first half of "the show." Never mind, it was an excellent experience! It was well worth my getting up 90 minutes early! I watched the Moon move from the shade of Earth's outer shadow or penumbra and into the deep inner cone of darkness, the umbra. Within the space of a bit more than an hour Luna changed from a full, golden disk to a dull coppery remnant in the western sky. Sunrise erased the last traces of the spectacle from sight a little after 6:00 AM Tuesday, August 28.

At about 4:45 AM, I stepped out on to our western-facing porch and carried my camera (Canon Digital Rebel XT, set at ISO 400), already mounted to its tripod, down to the walk. From there I shot my first photos of the mostly-bright Moon; it was fully inside the Earth's penumbra at that hour and beginning to enter the umbra. I worked out the best exposure settings and tested the focus. Next I moved to the court at the end of our driveway apron, set up the tripod there, shot a few more images. From there I swung the camera around and got a few images of Orion rising above the trees... long time, old friend! Those shots, along with one of the Pleiades and neighboring Hyades star cluster, came out surprisingly well.



Progressively, stopping here and there, I began working my way up the hill stopping on the pavement several times to look up and maybe make another image or three -- no cars at all, thank goodness, just some guy on a bicycle who seemed surprised to see me. Then I took a non-stop hike to a place just across from the town square.



On a knoll beside a nursing home, overlooking the police station and the Columbia River valley beyond, I set up to stay til the end. Staff on break from the nursing home called across in the morning darkness, "is there a lunar eclipse?" "Yep," I yelled back, "and it's nearly in totality now!" "Wow, I thought it was," they answered after taking a peek, "but I didn't hear about it on the news." I tried different exposures, zoomed in and out, refined focus. In all, about 70 digital shots. None of the lunar images is truly sharp but several are "keepers."

Nonetheless, these are my best lunar eclipse images yet and certainly reflective of the visual experience. Next lunar eclipse is in February of 2008. I hope it's clear because that one should be a very good show for us Mid-Western North Americans! Next time, the camera rides a telescope!

Perseid meteors fizzle

The weekend's Perseid meteor shower was a bit of a bust for me. I didn't have much ambition and the sky conditions were rather hazy with a few passing clouds. Not great inspiration for staying up til all hours to watch for "falling stars." I stepped outside a few times Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights and bagged about six meteor sightings but wasn't inspired to head to darker skies. Tonight, however, was a beautiful night! The humidity and haze were down, it was nicely cool, and the sky was cloudless. I stepped outdoors at about 10:30, binoculars in hand, and decided to take a look around. The light-polluted sky was clear enough to display a good number of stars, Jupiter, with Antares nearby, shown brightly to the south, and, OH! a single bright meteor streaked north to south as I gazed skyward! Later I believe I spotted a very faint meteor headed in the same direction. Checking out the northeast sky with the binoculars and yes!, I was able to find the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with no trouble at all so we've got a shot at showing it off at the next observatory open house. In the binocular field of view the galaxy was a faint fuzz-ball, rather indistinct in the bright skyglow, but it was there! I was too tired to go to the club meeting tonight and too tired to haul myself out to actually observe. The sky, however, is a wonder to behold no matter how you behold it!

July open night -- Jupiter rules!

Tonight was a scheduled open house at the SMO. The weather (cloud cover) was extremely doubtful but there was enough clear sky that I felt I had to make the drive out and open the dome. Good thing I did! All told about 12 visitors stopped by over the evening with the last leaving after 11 PM -- they were the same two ladies who showed up as my first visitors at about 9:30! We had surprisingly good views of Jupiter considering sky conditions but a long wait for the Moon to climb out from behind the neighbor's trees. Cloud bands were fairly easy to pick out on the planetary disk. The four Galilean moons were also easy to see and point out to guests. No neutral-density filter necessary. When Luna finally rose high enough we had to wait for breaks in the clouds -- most people seemed to think the wait was worth it. Views at around 100X weren't very special --soft details, probably the atmosphere-- so I switched to a low-power, fist-sized antique eyepiece and the entire view was changed. We could see the entire nearly-full Moon in the field of view with good detail overall and excellent seeing at the terminator. Even thin clouds scudding across the lunar disk seemed to add, rather than detract. So not too bad a night. My Moon photo (below) apparently was published in Ravenna's Record-Courier newspaper... I've gotta try and get a copy!

19th and 2st Centuries meet

I went to Stephens Observatory and was able to use the 2-inch adapter to mount my Canon Digital Rebel XT camera to the century-old Warner and Swasey telescope with its 9-inch Brashear objective. All of the photos are a bit softer than I'd like but not surprising but two were fairly good. Quality suffered in part because of trees surrounding the site, the photos were all made in bright twilight. And the atmosphere was unsteady. I was at the limit of inward motion on the eyepiece holder so I couldn't experiment with focus. Still, this first success pleases me and I can hardly wait to try again under better conditions! Moon images were all made between about 8:40 and 8:45 PM when Luna moved behind high trees to the south-southwest of the dome. Didn't try Jupiter because it just didn't look good enough -- details barely distinguishable by eye. I did learn, however, that placing a neutral density filter at the eyepiece improved the quality of Jupiter's appearance to the point where, instead of a brilliant blank disk, I could visually make out the two major cloud bands. I took a long break and then went into my continuing efforts to learn aiming the telescope by celestial coordinates. I believe I succeeded in finding M22 by this method but had trouble with other objects. So there is a lot of work remaining. Spotted M9 with binoculars though dim objects were hard to spot this night. Saw one fast-moving satellite in the telescope's field of view. Surprising and delightful was seeing the Milky Way span the sky nearly overhead -- a wonderful way to end the evening (really the night) at about midnight. Came home and had to view my photographic efforts and that kept me up til about 2:00 AM. My favorite image is seen here. There's chromic aberration at the edge of the lunar disk but it isn't bad considering the optics of this 9-inch achromatic doublet are 107 or so years old -- uncoated and no filters! I sent a copy of this photo to a local newspaper to see if they'll use it and give us a bit of added publicity.

Solar photo experiment

At Chaunticlair this afternoon I experimented with my AstroZap Baader solar filter and coupling of my Canon Digital Rebel XT to the Meade 390 telescope. I had cobbled together pieces of at least two different camera adapters to come up with a short one that would fit the Canon to the 1.25-inch eyepiece holder of the telescope. The combination focussed easily but the images were a bit disappointing. I had hoped and expected (based on the Cooley Telescope experience) that I would see sunspot and granulation but didn't see any granulation at all! Visually the sunspot showed good detail --today Sunspot 961 was nearly dead-center on the Sun-- but didn't image well (1/1,000th second @ ISO 400). I'll keep trying! Tonight I used the 390 and took a look at the pairing of planets Venus and Saturn in the twilight sky. With the 32mm (about 31X) eyepiece I was just able to fit both planets in the same field of view and got a very nice look at Venus in crescent phase -- the best I've seen it-- with Saturn tiny but distinct. The twilight actually helped by controlling the contrast of brilliant Venus. Swung the telescope around and got a nice look at Jupiter, as well, viewed through openings between the trees here at home. At the end of the brief evening clouds began moving in as I attempted photographs of the Meade 390 pointing towards Venus and Saturn in the fading twilight. The image didn't turn out as well as one I had seen and was imitating but it isn't bad, either.

Camp Asbury visits observatory

This morning Stephens Observatory hosted a group of 18 from a local church camp, vising as part of a "Space Week" program. Despite the hazy, hot, and humid conditions, seeing was surprisingly good. I pointed the grand old 9-inch scope, with its nice new Baader solar filter in place, at the sun and shared the view. We had a nice spidery little sunspot (designated Sunspot 961) to look at and could also make out granulation in the solar atmosphere. (View similar to the SOHO photo at right but in white light, not orange.) I'd never seen granulation with my own eyes and enjoyed the experience as much as or more than did the kids ... though they certainly were an enthusiastic and bright group. Just before I left I learned a respected previous Observatory director, J.R. Andress, had sneaked in for a personal visit to see what I've been up to. He left a note in the Observatory log to that effect and that he liked what he saw; also leaving his contact info.

Open: Alumni Day and night

The sky had a thin covering of milky clouds all day. Still, I had announced a daytime SMO open house and nighttime stargazing session for Hiram College Alumni Day and I had to honor my commitment. The daytime, solar viewing session didn't do much. We had 12 visitors between 9 AM and Noon and we didn't look at the Sun -- the clouds made for an indistinct solar disk and the Sun itself was a blank showing no sunspots at all. Visitors, however, did seem to enjoy seeing the telescope and talking about it and the Observatory. The adult daughter of former Observatory director J.R. Andress stopped by with her dog and recollected spending many pleasant girlhood nights under the dome with her father. Time passed quickly. I closed up and headed home. The evening saw a somewhat thinner cloud layer. It was, however, in evidence. I headed to the Observatory knowing that people would see stars overhead and wonder why we weren't open for the evening if I didn't show up. I knew that whatever we might look at would run the risk of being quite unimpressive. As darkness fell more and more stars appeared but, as expected, close examination with telescope and binoculars revealed the filtering effect of those, now invisible, high clouds. Would anyone actually show up? Then the people started arriving. The Observatory dome was full of visitors before Jupiter rose above the trees. Still they waited patiently and expectantly as the bright planet inched its way into visibility. The view was not very distinct but, with patience, we could just make out Jupiter's two major cloud bands. The Galilean moons shown like golden stars in a pattern to the left of the planet. By the time the evening finished --with a man and his two young daughters, all on bicycles at 11 PM-- we had entertained 36 nighttime visitors between 9:30 and 11:00 PM. Even though Jupiter was all we could view on this night of murky skies, our guests left apparently happy and impressed. People do still love the starry realm and it's a pleasure to share it with them.

A good night to look at the stars

It was a good night to get out and look at the stars. I've not been at Stephens Memorial Observatory (SMO) for quite some time and have missed two excellent nights. Last night's sky conditions weren't as good as Saturday and Sunday night's but I wasn't up to going out. It's been a physically and emotionally draining week. I packed my observing kit into the car and took off for the dark(er) skies of Portage County. It's nearing summer solstice so twilight seems to go on forever. With trees tall around the observatory Jupiter, which rose before sunset, didn't clear the trees until a little after 10:00 PM. Seeing wasn't the best for that big, brilliant planet, but I could make out some of the colored bands of Jupiter's atmosphere. I went fishing for a couple of galaxies but never found them; I still have much to learn about aiming the big telescope! After a while I went back to Jupiter and, unfortunately, sky conditions weren't quite as good as earlier. In the mean time Scorpius had risen above the trees and, using red Antares as a guide, found the beautiful globular star cluster M4, 5,600 light years distant. In the eyepiece the cluster looked elongated vertically and not so densely packed as most of the globulars I've seen; I liked it all the more for that! I attached a digital camera to the century-old telescope and tried to image Jupiter but still am not happy with the results. Eyepiece projection produces soft images (maybe due to poor physical coupling) and the adapter is too long for prime-focus. I'll have to work on better coupling of the camera to the telescope and buy a short coupler. Closed up and left at about 11:30 PM with a sore neck (from looking up) but feeling refreshed. A last look back at the observatory building silhouetted against a very starry sky brought a smile to my face. A most excellent way to end the day!

Astronomy Day 2007

April 21, 2007: Astronomy Day -- I finished installation of the clock drive (hanging the drive weights) Friday afternoon and tested it during a private observing session that night at Stephens Memorial Observatory. Opened on Saturday (April 21) at 6:00 PM for open house hours as advertised, but nobody showed up. The observing session, however, was quite another matter! The cool spring air was nicely transparent offering our 51 guests (between about 8:30 and 11:00 PM) very good views of Saturn and several of its moons at a time when the shadow of the ring system falling upon the planetary body gave the image "a 3D effect," as one visitor exclaimed. Someone else exclaimed that it "looks like a picture." Viewers of all ages (myself included) also glimpsed atmospheric banding and, at 255X, the Cassini Division! The Moon impressed as well many saying they had never seen anything like it. The images, by the way, were quite exquisite. And the clock drive runs flawlessly and tracks very well though I can see it operates with some speed differences depending upon what direction it is tracking. Following the Moon, low in the west, the telescope held its aim for a long time. Not unexpectedly, several of the men were fascinated by the spinning governor and gears of the clock -- one man stood there for minutes watching it! The visitors were roughly half students and half non-students and members of both groups either went out and came back with family or friends or excitedly phoned them telling them to come visit. A very common question was, when are you doing this again! Apparently students learned of the public night from an all-campus email. The public got word from a newspaper article. It was a fine night for all involved.

Reinstalled Cooley clock drive

Spent the evening at Stephens Memorial Observatory (SMO) tonight and finally got the mechanical clock drive reinstalled. I still must hang the drive weights and test the system (especially running speed) but I believe the hard part is done. To celebrate I took a look at Saturn. That was a little difficult because it was very high in the sky. I wound up kneeling on the floor to observe. Skies were clear but not the most transparent. Still the view was very good at around 100X. There was a hint of banding in the body of the planet and I could make out the shadow of the planetary sphere falling across the ring plane. Too uncomfortable to view for long, though! The Moon had risen so I used the brilliant --BRILLIANT-- full disk to better align the finder scope. It will probably take two hands to do that job right, but aim is better than it was. I had two visitors: a man with his son who saw lights on and decided to see the telescope. They arrived just after I did so they got no observing and apologized for dropping in and distracting me from my work. Hey, it is great to have such interest in the reawakening of SMO! Closed up the dome at 9:45 PM and headed for home. The sky went from clear to overcast during my trip home so I guess things timed out just fine.

Comet seen and lost

Comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) has been thrilling skywatchers around the world for several days now. Discovered in August 2006, it continues to brighten as it approaches the Sun and it is now reported to be the brightest comet seen in 30 years. Our wonderful Northeastern Ohio cloud cover had hidden the view from us. Well, I saw it tonight! Briefly, thanks to the clouds clearing (mostly) around sunset. I went to the roof of the library (where I work) during my dinner hour taking along my camera and tripod. It was a beautiful sunset with orange and red colors illuminating jet contrails in the western sky. As the twilight dimmed and Venus sparkled to the southwest, I spotted Comet McNaught glowing a ghostly white between the orange jet trails. It was bright, even at about 5:30 when I first sighted it. Still, as the night fell so did the comet. Already low in the sky, McNaught sank behind the trees far to the west of the building before it really became photogenic, having been visible to me for only 10 minutes or so. Still, I saw it with and without the telephoto lens: my first comet of the year! So, with freezing (20 - 30 degrees F.) metal tripod in hand, I headed back into the building and back to work.