Eclipse: Tired, dirty, and happy

The Sun at Maximum Eclipse - 2:32 PM EDT - Note Sunspot at Lower Left

Yesterday (August 21) millions gathered along a thin path crossing the continental United States to watch a total eclipse of the Sun. Those with favorable viewing conditions along the path of totality enjoyed an amazing sight and experience. Totality fell close enough to a west-to-east center line across the continent that at least a partial eclipse was visible to anyone with access to clear sky.

Since, with some self-doubt, I had decided not to travel to the path of totality, I organized the Hiram Eclipse Watch event. With the support of the Hiram College Physics Department, it took place on the campus of the college.

I set up two telescopes: a six-inch Meade refractor with a Baader Planetarium Safety Herschel Wedge, and a 90mm Meade refractor with a Thousand Oaks glass/metal filter. I also went equipped with my Canon EOS 50D camera, 400mm telephoto, and 2X teleconverter (>1,200mm focal length equivalent), and white light film filter. Physics staff ran a Lunt Ha scope and an experiment recording temperature and solar energy changes during the eclipse.

Progressing Toward Maximum - Silhouette of the Moon Moves Across the Solar Disk

Summarizing, despite last-minute worries over cloud cover, we had clear to partly-cloudy skies for the duration of our 80-percent partial eclipse. An estimated 375 visitors came out to share the experience, and by all reports had an excellent time. Some families even brought blankets and enjoyed a picnic on the lawn in the shade of old trees!

Detail from Above - Look Along Moon's Edge and Notice Bumps: Lunar Mountains and Ridges in Silhouette

It was very hot and fairly humid and I labored in the sunshine erecting and operating the telescopes, rationing out eclipse viewing glasses, explaining the eclipse event and solar features, and making a few photographs of my own. By the end I was dripping with sweat and very tired but had to rush home to process and upload a photograph of maximum eclipse to a newspaper.

By the end of day, I was was tired, dirty, and happy.

The (Ravenna) Record-Courier - August 22, 2017 - Page 1

On astrology, I always say...

At a recent observatory Public Night a visitor asked if I could recommend books on "astrology" and I told her no. There are, however, many excellent books on astronomy. As I always say, astrology is astronomy's illegitimate parent.

Worth the risk, this time!

Simulated view of Saturn and some of its moons as they appeared at 10:15 PM EDT, June 16, 2012. Image generated using "Gas Giants" for iPad.

The afternoon and evening of June 16 offered up skies that were mostly-cloudy to overcast. I thought there was little chance we would be able to provide Public Night visitors with views of Saturn at Stephens Memorial Observatory. I arrived at the appointed hour and the sky looked poor but, in the distance, there appeared to be clearing. Just as twilight grew dim enough for Saturn and neighboring Spica to appear, the clouds thinned. A little late, the celestial pair began to twinkle through the milky sky and, with the help of a sharp-eyed attendee, was able to aim the telescope and immediately get decent views. Starting at low power then, at last, boosting the magnification to 208X, those who ventured out under doubtful skies were rewarded with fine views of the ringed world. Sightings of moons were difficult though one or two could be spotted near Saturn. We spotted Rhea and Enceladus, as best I can determine, in the high-powered, narrow-angle view. Despite the sky conditions, Saturn shown through and many of the same features seen on the previous night could again be seen! There were glimpses of atmospheric banding, Saturn's shadow was seen on its rings, the "F" ring was visible against the planetary disk, and --this surprised me-- we were getting glimpses of the Cassini Division within the ring system. While the Saturday night sky was not as clear as Friday's, the seeing was steadier which made up for some of the deficiencies. Temperature was about 80 degrees F. Only eight visitors passed through our doors but everyone got very nice views of Saturn, 858 million miles distant, and left happy they took the chance on the sky. Sky conditions did not allow views of fainter objects. Saturn began to fade from view at about 10:30 as clouds thickened, no other visitors arrived, so we closed up.

Ugh (again)! This weather!

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.

Good Night at the Observatory

Tonight's public night featured the Moon and we had at least 80 people. Folks were very enthusiastic and why not... the views were great, especially for young children because the Moon was very high in the sky favoring short people looking through the eyepiece. Early arrivals also saw Jupiter, latecomers also saw Luna at 122 magnification and some of the stars of the Pleiades.

A mother visited again with her young daughters... one a burgeoning scientist. They were the last to leave the grounds. The young lady was enthralled by our views of the Moon, to be sure, but also loved the blue stars of the Pleiades. As they left I also pointed out a very few major constellations that had great stories in Greek mythology... something her school class is studying: Cassiopeia, the Pleiades, Orion.

Before heading home I checked out another potential site for a new observatory. The sky there was much "wider," being unobstructed by property line treelines. The ground was very wet, however, giving some worry. An exciting location, otherwise.

It was a good night at the Observatory.

October Open Night

We had another good Open Night Saturday (Oct. 10). We started out with a local Cub Scout group seeking to earn their Astronomy Belt Loop awards. The two (one kid was very late arriving to make it three) boys and their dads got a look at the Observatory and telescope, we reviewed terms and computer images ranging from "planet" and "star" to "galaxy" and "universe" and, with adults arriving at about 7:30 for the 8:00 opening, segued into the evening's observing just before 8:00. Those adult early arrivals shared in the Scouts' lesson and all seemed attentive and interested. A good number of College students were in attendance for the Public segment including a group of four who seemed particularly interested in the telescope and what we were seeing. There was much "texting" and iPhone photography! In all something just over 33 people visited and looked through the scope.

Skies were clear but seeing was only fair to good with even the temperate zone cloud bands at Jupiter only faintly visible, not at all like September's views! I had some difficulty locating M31 in the dark gray sky but views of it were good. Andromeda's getting too high in the sky now to comfortably observe through a large refractor so that's the last time we'll offer it as a subject til next year. Then we looked at the Perseus Double Cluster and more than one person thought it looked like scattered diamonds filling the field of view... beautiful. It would look better at even lower magnification but I haven't a longer focal length eyepiece!

As I exited the Observatory at about 11:00 and began trudging (with something like 40 or 50 lbs. of gear) to my distant parked car, I gave the clear, eastern sky one last glance. There, hanging not far above the village center, was the beautiful Pleiades star cluster. Memories of boyhood and my first realization that the "Seven Sisters" was something different, something special, came flooding back. I stood, admiring the view for a bit longer then, shifting the loaded baggage on my shoulders, headed up the sidewalk smiling.

Public Night July 11

This was the first Public Night at Stephens Memorial Observatory since the dome shutter mechanism was repaired. Weather during the day made the night's activities doubtful. The region had suffered strong thunderstorms with plenty of lightning, rain, and wind. As predicted, however, the storms departed the area as quickly as they came and left us with a sultry evening and clear/clearing skies. The first of our 25 visitors for the night arrived early and helped dump the office dehumidifier tank --probably about 20 gallons-- and more visitors gathered as night fell. Daylight Saving Time has pushed twilight well beyond our 9:30 start time so we stalled until about 10:00 when stars began to become visible followed by our true target for the evening: globular star cluster M4 in the constellation Scorpius. As the skies darkened we could begin to see tiny, diamond dust-like stars resolving in the center of the cluster's diffuse cloud-like appearance. Despite that, star clusters aren't a sight that "wows" the public but our visitors paid polite attention and expressed interest in what they were seeing. We also viewed stars Antares and Altair, the latter impressing even yours-truly with its colorful brilliance. At 10:45 a thick bank of clouds moved in to cover the sky and put a stop to our improved seeing. A modest success, this night, but I can hardly wait to show people Jupiter and the Moon in a month or two; they're real crowd-pleasers!