Just now I canceled yet another Public Night scheduled for Stephens Memorial Observatory. It was set for January 22. Weather for that night is expected to be cloudy to fully overcast with a predicted temperature of 13 (F) degrees at the scheduled starting time, and a 40 percent chance of snow! Just too much. I should have followed through with my resolution to not schedule any open nights for January or February due to the usually poor skies and winter weather conditions. Taking my own advice, I won't set up anything for the public until March!
Through a hole in the clouds I did get a naked-eye glimpse at Orion's sword the other morning. That's about all the astronomy I've done in a month or so. Sad, really.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Ugh! Winter off to a poor start!
This area suffered moderate to heavy cloud cover for the December 10, 2010 total lunar eclipse. I'd been looking forward to it --even considered gearing up to produce a live webcast-- but we were disappointed in the end. I didn't even get out of bed to look out the window. Those who did take a peek largely saw clouds or got brief glimpses of the partial phases of the event.
I had to cancel the December Open Night at Stephens Memorial Observatory due to illness. I was suffering from a stomach "bug" and was well-advised to not stand out in the cold. Skies were mostly-cloudy that night so I hope nobody was very disappointed we did not open.
We're hoping 2011 brings good things for the Hiram observatory: we've a good chance of a construction site for a new observatory and there are plans afoot for a kick-off event in a funding drive! More on all of that later, as developments come.
The next Stephens Open Night is set for January 22 and we plan to show off the Great Orion Nebula. Skies this month have generally been cloudy and snow is currently in the forecast daily -- we'll make plans and see if Mother Nature cooperates!
I had to cancel the December Open Night at Stephens Memorial Observatory due to illness. I was suffering from a stomach "bug" and was well-advised to not stand out in the cold. Skies were mostly-cloudy that night so I hope nobody was very disappointed we did not open.
We're hoping 2011 brings good things for the Hiram observatory: we've a good chance of a construction site for a new observatory and there are plans afoot for a kick-off event in a funding drive! More on all of that later, as developments come.
The next Stephens Open Night is set for January 22 and we plan to show off the Great Orion Nebula. Skies this month have generally been cloudy and snow is currently in the forecast daily -- we'll make plans and see if Mother Nature cooperates!
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