One of those nights

August 17 Waxing Gibbous Moon after Everyone Went Home

It was one of those nights: the subject of our Open Night at Stephens Memorial Observatory was mainly Earth's Moon. The sky was partly-cloudy with clearing in the northwestern sky appearing to be progressing to the southwest. It was incumbent upon me to show up at the observatory since often the Moon shines through thin clouds or openings and can be seen through the telescope.

I arrived at Stephens about a half an hour early and actually followed a couple up the path to the building -- they were visitors who were, it seemed, more interested in the telescope than in the Moon. Well, that's fine, we're always happy to show off the Cooley Telescope. They watched as I uncovered the big refractor and prepared it for whatever the evening might present. Meanwhile the sky did not clear.

Over the course of the night, with official opening at 9:30, we had 16 visitors! This was somewhat surprising considering that, during most of that time, the Moon was a featureless disk or a dull glow in the cloudy sky. As thin spots in the overcast came we would cease upon the opportunity and get fuzzy views of the Moon and a few craters, not much else. Then we would wait as heavier cloud cover floated over.

Of course at around 11:00 PM, with a die-hard young couple our last visitors, the sky finally cleared and Luna showed forth in all its glory. The telescope delivered its usual amazing views of Earth's nearest neighbor in space, but to only three of us. Yes, one of those nights.

Photo Notes: The waxing gibbous Moon at 11:22 PM, August 17, 2013 as photographed through the Cooley Telescope at Stephens Memorial Observatory. Handheld afocal (camera held to eyepiece) photograph using a Canon PowerShot G11, ISO 400, f/8, 1/500 sec., image darkened to bring out detail. Photo by James Guilford.