tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36167304069838491002024-03-13T05:18:29.648-05:00People's AstronomyStories about astronomy & people.Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-46657704097544793522017-10-04T14:16:00.000-05:002020-01-28T08:54:46.001-06:00My Great American Eclipse Adventure, August 19-22, 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Great American Eclipse of August 21, 2017, was something
I'd looked forward to for seven years, when I first learned of it. After seeing
the path of totality, St. Louis was my first choice of observing location for
the eclipse, with southern Illinois also looking attractive. As the years
passed, and I learned more of this eclipse, St. Louis, being on the edge of the
path of totality, became less desirable. Carbondale, Illinois caught my
attention for being at the intersection of the paths of totality for both the
2017 and 2024 solar eclipses, and being near the point of longest totality for this eclipse, despite admonitions from my friend Chicago
Astronomer Joe Guzman to "avoid Carbondale."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It really wasn't until January 2017 that I started seriously
looking for eclipse observing locations. I looked for public parks on or near
the center line of the path of totality, spaces where I knew I should be able
to set up for observing. Right away I found Triple Creek Park in Gallatin,
Tennessee. The center line crossed through the park, and was within a fraction
of a second of the longest duration of this eclipse. It immediately went to the
top of my list, and stayed there until August. I found a few other suitable
locations in Tennessee and Kentucky, but really, my heart was set on Gallatin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even though I had Gallatin and a few other places in mind as
observation sites, my real plan was to have no plan, just contingencies. Since
weather could change my plans at the last minute, I thought my best chance for seeing
totality depended on being able to get to a wide swath of the path of totality,
and I was willing to drive anywhere from Missouri to Tennessee. I thought it
would be wise to get to southern Illinois on Saturday, check the weather
forecasts along the path, and make my decision to either stay put, or head for
clear skies late Sunday, if needed. Since I assumed that I would be alone, I
planned on just sleeping in my car at rest stops or truck stops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the final weeks before the big day, I convinced my
girlfriend, Dawn, to join me on my adventure to totality. With her, sleeping in
my car wasn't going to be an option. With a limited budget, and hotels and
campsites sold out months in advance, and prices greatly inflated for remaining
spots, I booked a camping spot at a private ranch in Ozark, Illinois, that my friends
Ian and Anna told me about. The ranch turned out to be less than ideal for
Dawn, but there really weren't any better options, and if we hadn't left our
campsite, we would have seen two minutes, thirty-nine seconds of totality. That
was really all I needed to know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The week before the eclipse, I started carefully packing the
trunk of my car. If need be, we would be entirely self sufficient except for
gas on the trip. Dawn and I both worked late on the night of Friday, August 18,
and tried to get some rest. I was too excited to sleep much, and spent a few
hours in the early morning Saturday with the final packing of my car. I wanted
to leave South Bend by noon to get to our southern Illinois campsite before
dark.. As we were getting ready to leave, Dawn asked if we could bring our dog,
Dalton. Of course. Even with the trunk and part of the backseat of my car
loaded, there was still enough room for him. As noon approached, everything
(and everybody) was ready and waiting in the Cruze, which was gassed up, and
decorated with an eclipse poster in the back driver's side window, so people
passing us on the highways would know we were chasing the lunar shadow.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The trunk of my Chevy Cruze before my Great American Eclipse Adventure.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Gassed up, loaded, and ready to go!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rather than deal with construction and greater traffic
volume on I-94 through Northwest Indiana, we left South Bend south on U.S. 31
to Indianapolis. At every stop light I could feel how heavy my car was, both by
increased stopping distances, and less quickness getting through the gears.
About an hour outside of South Bend, halfway to Indianapolis, it finally hit
me. Yes I had been excited for days, and even weeks, but suddenly it was all
very real. I was on my way to see the total solar eclipse I'd been looking
forward to for so long. This was really happening. I joked with Dawn that if I
started crying, she would have to drive (she can't drive a stick shift).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once I controlled my emotions, the rest of the drive was
smooth. We stopped about every two hours to let Dalton out, and top off the gas
tank. I had hoped to stop in Carbondale before arriving at the campsite, but
with so many stops during our trip, we wouldn't be able to go to the current
U.S. Eclipse Crossroads and still have time to set up our tent before dark.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sunset at the Harris Cattle Ranch Saturday, August 19, Ozark, Illinois.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Harris Cattle Ranch where we were camping was basically
having a festival that coincided with the eclipse. There were bands every
evening, and a bonfire and drum circles every night. I didn't mind, but since
it wasn't the peace and quiet that Dawn wanted, we camped towards the edge of
the property, as far from the party as we could get. Ian and Anna saw us drive
in, and walked over to say hi, and invited us to hang out later. We'd had a
long day, though, so I set up the tent, we made sandwiches, and settled down
with Dalton for the night. A few times I went outside the tent with a pair of
binoculars to admire the superb night sky, but mostly we watched old episodes
of "Game of Thrones" on DVD before going to sleep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was hot all weekend, so despite having little sleep the
previous few days, I woke up Sunday morning before sunrise. Immediately I went
outside to see if I could find the thin crescent Moon, my last look at it
before the big eclipse on Monday. Some clouds to the east slightly hindered the
search for Luna, but I did see it. The clouds in the east started turning pink
from sunlight while the Sun was still below the horizon, and in a few minutes,
clouds in the southwestern sky became illuminated in pink. It was a glorious
morning.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I woke up Sunday to the crescent Moon, my last look at it until it crossed the Sun on Monday.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shortly after sunrise, I set up a shade canopy, so that
while we were at the campground, we would have some cover from the blazing Sun.
After that I got out my Coronado solar telescope to have a look at our star.
The Sun had been rather inactive most of the year, as it neared the minimum
part of its eleven year cycle of activity. I was surprised to see quite a few
sunspots on the solar surface, but what better time for them to appear than the
day before millions of people would be viewing the surface of the Sun?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dalton watches me set up a shade canopy.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Setting up my Coronado solar telescope to look at the Sun.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since Sunday was pretty much a day to kill time, in the late
morning we took Dalton for a ride to Carbondale. I wanted to see what
activities were happening in Eclipse City, but my main purpose was to look for
postcards. Earlier in the summer, the United States Postal Service had issued
stamps commemorating the total solar eclipse that was about to cross the
nation. I had bought two sheets of stamps: one to keep, and one to use for
postcards I intended to send immediately after the eclipse ended. I just needed
to find someplace that sold postcards of Carbondale or southern Illinois.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was not having much luck with my search for postcards when
a chance encounter outside a shopping mall led me to the Carbondale Tourism
office. The tourism office had postcards and Carbondale eclipse glasses (more
on that later) for sale, as well as free eclipse related handouts and
brochures. When the lady in the office saw Dawn and Dalton waiting outside in
the heat, she said, "Bring that sweet puppy inside." Everybody was so
nice, and I took several selfies at what felt like the Carbondale eclipse
headquarters. We walked down the street, checked out some of the vendors, but
since I had fulfilled my main reason for coming into town, we were eager to get
back in the air conditioned car.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OMLzzihb44/WdUAwseyQiI/AAAAAAAAECk/rQOmRNMjCosdzuqWhjhzS0QseqgCsckBACEwYBhgL/s1600/20170820_102843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="1024" height="458" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3OMLzzihb44/WdUAwseyQiI/AAAAAAAAECk/rQOmRNMjCosdzuqWhjhzS0QseqgCsckBACEwYBhgL/s640/20170820_102843.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most of the electronic billboards in and near Carbondale had eclipse messages.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTl-d7blU88/WdUAwthn5VI/AAAAAAAAECk/uCn6ivx4GHEsZfQftqpepXGyF-5RU2S_gCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170820_102844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1024" height="448" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PTl-d7blU88/WdUAwthn5VI/AAAAAAAAECk/uCn6ivx4GHEsZfQftqpepXGyF-5RU2S_gCEwYBhgL/s640/20170820_102844.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Moonstock.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Welcome to Carbondale.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eclipse merchandise was everywhere in Carbondale, the current Eclipse Crossroads.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FnDTLGvhIDM/WdUAw8qiWeI/AAAAAAAAECo/zzunkgqG_ZIVIKf0mX0hqneljCD6o178QCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170820_113510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FnDTLGvhIDM/WdUAw8qiWeI/AAAAAAAAECo/zzunkgqG_ZIVIKf0mX0hqneljCD6o178QCEwYBhgL/s640/20170820_113510.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Carbondale eclipse glasses for my collection.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went back to campsite to eat lunch, sit in the shade, and
figure out what to do with the rest of the day. Since we were just outside the
Shawnee National Forest, a few sites nearby looked interesting to visit. But
first, after we ate, I thought I would take a few minutes to start addressing
the postcards I had bought. But there was a problem: I could not find them anywhere.
I had everything else from the tourism office, but no postcards. Where were
they? I had sixteen eclipse stamps, so I picked out sixteen postcards. The man
at the checkout said they were 3/$1, so I might as well buy two more. Since I
had picked up sixteen of the same design, I set them down on the counter, and
went to pick up two other designs to keep as souvenirs. I must have set them
down with the other postcards while I was paying for them, and then left
them at the tourism office. Cell service was at best spotty at the ranch
campsite, and I had no service at all while we were there. I couldn't call to
see if my postcards had been found, or even to find out how late they were
open.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead of visiting the nearby Tunnel Hill or Shawnee
National Forest, we now had to spend the afternoon driving back to Carbondale,
about 45 minutes away. I didn't even care if I had to pay for the postcards
again as long as the office was still open. I don't know if Dawn was upset with
me about having to waste our day driving back to Carbondale, but I wasn't too
happy with myself about it. Luckily they remembered me, and had my postcards
waiting for me as soon as I walked in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While we were in town, we stopped at a McDonald's, mostly to
take advantage of free wi-fi. We both had plenty of pictures to post to
Facebook, and I really needed to find updated weather forecasts for the
eclipse. While we were back in Carbondale, it looked like a thunderstorm was
moving in, and I really needed to know where I needed to be for a clear sky
Monday. The one thing that seemed most certain was that the forecast for
Nashville looked good. I was already thinking about leaving for Tennessee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd been to Carbondale twice, leaving behind some of my
money, but coming back with three eclipse T-shirts (two were a matching pair
for Dawn and me), nineteen postcards (must have miscounted, I only paid for
eighteen), two pairs of eclipse glasses, and a twelve pack of Pepsi in
commemorative eclipse cans. It was late afternoon, and we finally had some time
to explore the natural scenery of the area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Bell Smith Spring in Shawnee National Forest seemed to be the
most interesting local site to see, and it was one of the closest. The twelve
mile drive felt much longer, as much of it was down narrow, winding gravel
roads. It was still hot and very humid, and neither of us was really dressed
for a long walk in those conditions, but we hiked through the gorgeous ravine
to the spring. A large rock overlooked the pool below, and people were taking
turns jumping off the rock into the water 20-30 feet below. It looked like
certain suicide to me, and even if I had been dressed for swimming, there is no
way I would ever THINK about jumping into the water from that high. Since my
phone was almost dead, I held Dalton on his leash while Dawn took all the
pictures on our hike. If I end up in Carbondale for the 2024 eclipse, I'd like
to go back to the Bell Smith Spring again.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pEeKHbN7V6c/WdUA38XgejI/AAAAAAAAD_U/tqFOFACxUHE0O1InaOlN-BSlRLOOWPA9QCEwYBhgL/s1600/20914512_1410787372289896_4997030502528006197_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="533" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pEeKHbN7V6c/WdUA38XgejI/AAAAAAAAD_U/tqFOFACxUHE0O1InaOlN-BSlRLOOWPA9QCEwYBhgL/s640/20914512_1410787372289896_4997030502528006197_n.jpg" width="474" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bell Smith Springs, Shawnee National Forest.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We arrived back at the campsite just as the Sun was setting,
but much of the sky was still overcast with cirrus-type clouds. Soon I would
have to make a decision. Do I stay at the ranch campsite and hope the sky will
be clear tomorrow? Do we need to leave to find a clear sky? It felt like the
biggest decision of my life, with no room for error, and not enough information
to make a good decision. I took down the shade canopy, and packed what I could
in the car, just in case we needed to leave later. Around 9:00 PM my friends
Jayde and Mike arrived and set up camp next to us. More importantly, Jayde
brought news that there was a 20% chance of rain by 3:00 PM Monday. While that
was only a small chance of rain, I thought it meant a high likelihood of cloudy
skies during the eclipse. It was all I needed to hear. Well worth the bottle of
wine I'd brought her. I was going to leave for Gallatin, Tennessee in the
middle of the night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dawn tried to sleep, but I stayed up with Jayde and Mike for
another hour. We watched the stars through the haze and few scattered clouds,
tracked an oddly behaving satellite (or aircraft?), and talked about the
excitement of what we would experience in a few hours over a glass of wine.
Before it got too late, though, I said goodnight and wished them luck. I needed
to get some sleep, and fast. I needed to be two states away when the Sun came
up again. (Jayde
said on Facebook just after I arrived at Vol State that she and Mike were
leaving for better skies in Kentucky).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Somehow, I slept. Not long, and not well, but I did sleep. I
woke up before 2:00 AM, and as quietly as I could in our small tent, I started
packing what I could, letting Dawn sleep a bit longer. With everything loaded,
we were ready to make our escape to Tennesse just before 3:00 AM. But with my
car so heavy, and the grass of the ranch soaked with dew, it took several tries
to drive up the steep hill near the exit of the campsite. Finally the car made
it to the top of the hill, and there was nothing that would stop me from
getting to Tennessee by morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting on I-24, there were several semi trucks parked on
the ramp. It's not unusual to see trucks parked on highway entrance or exit
ramps at night, especially in rural areas, but this seemed more than usual. And
at other exits, I noticed the same thing. I wondered how many truckers were
going to take advantage of being in the path of totality, and try to see the
eclipse tomorrow?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wasn't long before we crossed the Ohio River into
Paducah, Kentucky. We got off at the first exit, and stopped at a Pilot truck
stop. I bought ice, pumped gas, and let Dalton out for a bathroom break while
Dawn took "the best shower this side of the Ohio." While I was
waiting with Dalton, a man from Milwaukee noticed the eclipse T-shirt I was
wearing, and asked what my plan was. He had been driving to Nebraska in his old
VW van, but turned around because of storms forecasted there. He'd stopped in
Paducah because of a vibration in one of the wheels. He thought it could probably
be fixed in the morning, but if not, was happy to be in the path of totality,
and would watch the eclipse there at the truck stop if he had to. But when he
asked if I-24 stayed in the path of totality through the rest of Kentucky, I
pulled out a map and told him that it looked like it was completely in the
path. I learned a lesson, although it had been in the back of my mind all
along: once you are in the path of totality, stay in it. If unexpected car
trouble or anything else threatens to end your trip early, it's better to settle
for less time of totality, or worse weather prospects than to be caught outside
the path, with no chance of seeing totality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once back on the road, we made good time through Kentucky,
and once we crossed into Tennessee, made even better time as the Sun was rising
off more or less to my left, despite traffic increasing. In fact, it seemed
that as the traffic increased, so did speeds. I probably averaged 72 MPH
through Kentucky, but at least 82 MPH on I-24 through Tennessee until we exited for I-65 north.
From there it was a quick trip back up to Gallatin, and more relaxed as most of
the morning traffic seemed headed for Nashville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although Triple Creek Park in Gallatin was my initial
preferred location for the eclipse, in early August I found out there was going
to be a concert there on eclipse day. I didn't want a lot of distraction for
the biggest astronomical event of my life, so despite being on the center line
of the path of totality, Triple Creek Park lost most of its appeal. Instead, I
found an observing event across town at Volunteer State Community College, so I
made "reservations" there. Although the reservations were only for
the college to get an estimate of how many people to expect on eclipse day,
they sent out an email to respondents stating that the parking lot would open
an hour earlier than the official opening of campus at 8:00 AM. We arrived
right at 7:00 AM, and found parking rather easily. It was eclipse day morning,
I was in Gallatin, Tennessee, and there was a blue sky all around. I could not
have been happier.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVoA-axDHI/WdUAz3IHMtI/AAAAAAAAECg/4IoeAcVJ9bsP_gQzTiK2fARGoAQQeSA8wCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_111204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVoA-axDHI/WdUAz3IHMtI/AAAAAAAAECg/4IoeAcVJ9bsP_gQzTiK2fARGoAQQeSA8wCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_111204.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Information tent. And eclipse glasses.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xZOCoBfLBus/WdUAyf_1xYI/AAAAAAAAECk/E-WjjIBxea4YAvg10EQGWcZVx05kss9sQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_074832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xZOCoBfLBus/WdUAyf_1xYI/AAAAAAAAECk/E-WjjIBxea4YAvg10EQGWcZVx05kss9sQCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_074832.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My 15th pair of eclipse glasses, and probably my favorite.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ow9qtvfUC0/WdUFOsJKS5I/AAAAAAAAEEc/xDFYRwYewUs49vgCnLXWd0k1ipAGvfrqQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20638210_10155630470512959_6922019429488443850_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="960" height="476" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ow9qtvfUC0/WdUFOsJKS5I/AAAAAAAAEEc/xDFYRwYewUs49vgCnLXWd0k1ipAGvfrqQCEwYBhgL/s640/20638210_10155630470512959_6922019429488443850_n.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My first nine pairs of eclipse glasses. And then I got SERIOUS about collecting them.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since we had Dalton with us, and weren't sure if the campus
was dog friendly, we staked out a spot near my car in the grassy median of the
parking lot, near a tree for shade. I explored the campus first, and found that
the school was giving away Vol State eclipse glasses. I took a pair for my
collection and one for Dawn. I later saw that they were giving away NASA
glasses, and took a pair of those as well. In the month before the eclipse- and
really all year- it became an obsession to collect as many different pairs of
eclipse glasses as I could. I started the year with two pairs I used for the
2012 Transit of Venus at Conway Observatory in Lowell, Indiana, and another
pair from the October 2014 partial solar eclipse at Valparaiso University.
Early in 2017 I got a pair of plain white eclipse glasses from Michiana
Astronomical Society at a science event at the downtown South Bend library and
another from the Notre Dame physics department. As the eclipse approached, I
got a pair that came with the August issue of <i>Sky & Telescope</i>, and bought several pairs at Lowe's, Toys 'R'
Us, and Walmart. I gave away five pairs to family, and ordered two pairs from
Great American Eclipse so that Dawn and I would have matching glasses. I
ordered yet another pair, a Tyler Nordgren design, through my Ozark, Illinois
campsite, and bought a pair for myself and my friend Joe in Carbondale. With
the two pairs I got at Vol State, we had 19 pairs with us during the eclipse,
16 of which were mine. I used them all during the partial phases both before
and after totality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since I had not slept much or well since the start of
eclipse weekend, I knew that I should take a nap before the eclipse began, but
I was too excited. Dawn fell asleep with Dalton on a blanket in the grass, but
I spent the morning addressing the postcards I had bought in Carbondale and affixing
the USPS eclipse stamps. When I was finished, I took one more stroll through
the campus to see what activities were happening. There were speakers and
demonstrations inside and outside. As much as I would have liked to have heard
some of the talks, I doubt if I would have learned much, and it would not have
been fair to leave Dawn and Dalton out in the heat alone for long. Having got a
feel for the building excitement around campus, I went back to my car and
finished my own preparations. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUcqAm8OmWc/WdUAyQxg4TI/AAAAAAAAECk/kvEwvxoZzm0oEwhKTy8fRlPLYM4j8RE6QCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_100117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="742" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUcqAm8OmWc/WdUAyQxg4TI/AAAAAAAAECk/kvEwvxoZzm0oEwhKTy8fRlPLYM4j8RE6QCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_100117.jpg" width="463" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Postcard I sent later, and my sheet of USPS Total Eclipse stamps.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkBttL8GYHk/WdUAzZDPixI/AAAAAAAAECg/AFhkS3KWbvAMtTP1PyIRbLjwDhxj9gR_gCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_110745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="681" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lkBttL8GYHk/WdUAzZDPixI/AAAAAAAAECg/AFhkS3KWbvAMtTP1PyIRbLjwDhxj9gR_gCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_110745.jpg" width="424" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My glasses from Great American Eclipse.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VJRFVZRaj0/WdUA0T3a9uI/AAAAAAAAECg/eNqqQNIU9CcOiYZdVSGNid82b4yl3xXrwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_111410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6VJRFVZRaj0/WdUA0T3a9uI/AAAAAAAAECg/eNqqQNIU9CcOiYZdVSGNid82b4yl3xXrwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_111410.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I want this 90mm Coronado hydrogen alpha solar telescope!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The serious astrophotographers were set up near the campus entrance, just on the other side of the trees from me.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been a solar observer since 2011, partly in preparation
for the Venus transit in 2012, partly because solar maximum was approaching,
and partly because of interest in NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission.
Working third shift most of that time, it wasn't always easy to keep an eye on
the Sun, but when I acquired a used Coronado Personal Solar Telescope in 2015,
observing in the hydrogen alpha wavelength really renewed my interest. I'd been
watching the Sun regularly all year, but with solar cycle 24 winding down, the
Sun had been fairly quiet all year. In the days before its big American show,
sunspot activity ramped up. There were at least five good sunspots visible in
my Coronado, and a couple of nice prominences. Two brothers, one from Texas and
one from Florida, were observing near us, and took an interest in the funnel
screen on my table top Dobsonian. I showed them the view of the sunspots and
prominences in the Coronado, and told them where I thought to look for the
prominences later during totality.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W99duZcH8qg/WdUA5VMFZuI/AAAAAAAAEAc/g8MSk2rlZxYuIbov0vP7i0z2uzFNq7qEACEwYBhgL/s1600/DSC00156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W99duZcH8qg/WdUA5VMFZuI/AAAAAAAAEAc/g8MSk2rlZxYuIbov0vP7i0z2uzFNq7qEACEwYBhgL/s640/DSC00156.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not going to lie: I got a little worried when I saw these clouds starting to pop up. It didn't matter that they're fair weather clouds.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before first contact.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At 11:59 AM CDST, the tiniest dent was seen in the solar disk,
signaling first contact. Between my cell phone and a cheap point and shoot
camera, I knew I wasn't going to get quality images of any detail on the solar
surface, but I could at least capture the march of the Moon across its disk. I'd
seen a partial eclipse of about 40% magnitude in 2014, so the early stages were
somewhat familiar. But as the Sun became a crescent, and steadily diminishing,
things got interesting. I was surprised to notice the sky appeared darker much
earlier than I expected. It was more than just darker, though. The sunlight was
less intense. I've read that colors seem more dull as the Sun gets dimmer, but
I disagree. It seemed they were more natural without the glare of the midday
Sun. We noticed the shadow crescents on the pavement beneath the trees. The pace
was quickening, and I thought I was ready for what was about to happen, but I
wasn't. There is no way to be ready until you've been through it, and maybe not
even then. I don't know yet.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tiny bite out of the Sun. The eclipse is under way.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The optics of my two telescopes inverted the image differently.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Highest temperature reading of the day.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shadow crescents through the tree on the pavement.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">About
fifteen minutes before totality, I started my car, and turned up the air
conditioning. After it cooled down, I put Dalton in the back seat. As much as I
would have liked to have seen his reaction to totality, there was a risk that
he might get out of control. He was in an unfamiliar place, after all, and the
conditions were about to get very unusual. I did not want to take a chance of
losing precious seconds of totality because of a bewildered dog. I'm pretty
sure he slept right through it. When I started my car, the headlights came on,
as they always do, but I didn't notice them at all. In the last few minutes before
totality, it was dark enough around us that they caught my attention, and I
turned them off.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Poor Dalton slept through totality.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">The sky is starting to look darker, not as bright.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started recording video a few minutes before totality to
capture my reaction. I had bought a phone app to tell me exactly when second
contact was coming, but I had forgot to turn it on. As the crescent Sun got
very slim, I took one more look in the Coronado. What I saw was amazing. I
called Dawn over to see, but it was too late. I realized it was Bailly's Beads, and then I heard cheering from the campus, and looked up. I just stared for quite a
few seconds, mesmerized. I should have known better, but I was expecting the
corona to look like the processed and polished photographs I've seen. Instead,
it was a glow around the perfectly round, perfectly black disk of the Moon
blocking the Sun. I don't remember seeing the spikes and streamers that I've
seen in eclipse images since, but it didn't really matter. It was absolutely
amazing. As my eyes adapted to the darker sky, I remembered to look for Venus,
and found it easily enough. Jupiter took a few seconds, but I found it, too. I
had thought about looking for Regulus, Mercury, and Mars, but they didn't seem
worth wasting precious seconds of totality for, now that I was in the lunar
shadow. I don't regret not looking for them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I looked around, seeing the famous 360° sunset all around me,
with the horizon relatively bright in all directions, and only the feeble light
of the corona overhead. I was staring at the black hole where the Sun should
have been again. I don't know if I remembered to look for prominences, or if I
just happened to notice them as they became visible before third contact. I did
see the one I'd pointed out to the brothers earlier, and called out to them
that I could see it, but that was it. The Diamond Ring and Bailly's Beads were
shining through the Sun's western limb. Totality was over. I put my eclipse
glasses on right away, but what I really wanted was to take them off, and see
that black disk surrounded by shimmering light again for a few more seconds. In
the seconds and minutes after totality that's all I wanted, and it's all I want
thinking about it again now. I want to see it again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0kg-7ojC1Ak/WdUA2G1d3NI/AAAAAAAAECg/htMNSayxZxAzpdzgf43yj2kF2JjUT1tmACEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0kg-7ojC1Ak/WdUA2G1d3NI/AAAAAAAAECg/htMNSayxZxAzpdzgf43yj2kF2JjUT1tmACEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132806.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totally eclipsed (over-exposed) Sun, and Venus at right.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ykStpvxyDgc/WdUA2Iw8TSI/AAAAAAAAECg/Ad55aEwWB1U9tg31PvxJlWKYiWkqO0MVwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ykStpvxyDgc/WdUA2Iw8TSI/AAAAAAAAECg/Ad55aEwWB1U9tg31PvxJlWKYiWkqO0MVwCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132842.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPIpkCZYziU/WdUA2XG8KgI/AAAAAAAAECg/JZbfiHBoYOUY_CeZDEacXvaM_nfuwFNEwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132844.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPIpkCZYziU/WdUA2XG8KgI/AAAAAAAAECg/JZbfiHBoYOUY_CeZDEacXvaM_nfuwFNEwCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132844.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3KaFmDA-K0/WdUA2R8JM8I/AAAAAAAAECg/W_NB8jJykjIS7mg9hCiIDcdKEufbxmVrwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3KaFmDA-K0/WdUA2R8JM8I/AAAAAAAAECg/W_NB8jJykjIS7mg9hCiIDcdKEufbxmVrwCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132849.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-CT6tEyHvc/WdUA2R5_s9I/AAAAAAAAECg/y8G8iLTyd_AW1A9ZGKxs9WptIn22i6x6gCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-CT6tEyHvc/WdUA2R5_s9I/AAAAAAAAECg/y8G8iLTyd_AW1A9ZGKxs9WptIn22i6x6gCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132904.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rp0csWO8G0I/WdUA2R6lGDI/AAAAAAAAECg/AB7WUfNS_5gzfrO90WnxIGdu4OWKcvfywCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rp0csWO8G0I/WdUA2R6lGDI/AAAAAAAAECg/AB7WUfNS_5gzfrO90WnxIGdu4OWKcvfywCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132938.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NiX5gF8qg7Q/WdUA2nVU3wI/AAAAAAAAECg/ZX7U1oCtNfUZdb_ev0z32vbHFx9hLJKmgCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NiX5gF8qg7Q/WdUA2nVU3wI/AAAAAAAAECg/ZX7U1oCtNfUZdb_ev0z32vbHFx9hLJKmgCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132940.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYGt7afR5kc/WdUA2h0Gn-I/AAAAAAAAECg/6P6KK1V4nxkHqyEYkvpTnvgCEJiNXd3WwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_132942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYGt7afR5kc/WdUA2h0Gn-I/AAAAAAAAECg/6P6KK1V4nxkHqyEYkvpTnvgCEJiNXd3WwCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_132942.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Venus during totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FGt78q57-jM/WdUA2vsFrxI/AAAAAAAAECg/6f1KjYA2q0AS4giX1eZ9DSsXf6MoL-UwgCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_133104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FGt78q57-jM/WdUA2vsFrxI/AAAAAAAAECg/6f1KjYA2q0AS4giX1eZ9DSsXf6MoL-UwgCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_133104.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IEKGZA6nH_I/WdUA25QsFSI/AAAAAAAAD-s/YfxbMFsqoWAHt6KQUrFV6S_glCaNiGM4wCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_133108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IEKGZA6nH_I/WdUA25QsFSI/AAAAAAAAD-s/YfxbMFsqoWAHt6KQUrFV6S_glCaNiGM4wCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_133108.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Nearing end of totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y1yq7YVbwUg/WdUA2740etI/AAAAAAAAECg/DtQT_A2YvhEg_YPVUgrA_ETX5f81FLZGQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_133157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y1yq7YVbwUg/WdUA2740etI/AAAAAAAAECg/DtQT_A2YvhEg_YPVUgrA_ETX5f81FLZGQCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_133157.jpg" width="518" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Temperature reading right after totality.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wdj61Y5S7-g/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wdj61Y5S7-g?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had brought a weather station with me to document the
temperature changes that come with totality. Above 80°F, I don't trust its accuracy, but at least it would
give me objective data. Plus, it was so damn hot, I didn't know if I would even
notice if it dropped a few degrees. Periodically I took pictures of the display
to record the data. I haven't really looked at all the readings, but I may have
recorded whether or not there was an "eclipse wind" that can
sometimes accompany totality. The highest temperature reading I saw before
totality was 103°F.
Less than a minute after totality it read 93°F. While I don't think it was actually that hot, the
available evidence- unreliable though it may be- says there was a ten degree
temperature drop through the eclipse.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O_vI4KUqaGA/WdUA5A_QBuI/AAAAAAAAEAU/QMcSj6bi9FEqaSOaKBTcXH01LdADmFjmgCEwYBhgL/s1600/DSC00154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O_vI4KUqaGA/WdUA5A_QBuI/AAAAAAAAEAU/QMcSj6bi9FEqaSOaKBTcXH01LdADmFjmgCEwYBhgL/s640/DSC00154.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My weather station. It did not agree with the temperature my car gave.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwbtOXH0RoQ/WdUA25odLcI/AAAAAAAAECg/O5JEOKgQeTsyDujabDW93axpYjyQqYIfQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20170821_133520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="1024" height="194" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwbtOXH0RoQ/WdUA25odLcI/AAAAAAAAECg/O5JEOKgQeTsyDujabDW93axpYjyQqYIfQCEwYBhgL/s640/20170821_133520.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My car said it was 20 degrees cooler than the weather station, but the car was running, and AC cranked.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Somehow I thought that I would find the egress portion of
the partial eclipse just as exciting as the ingress. I was so wrong. There was
a huge let down after totality. The parking lot started emptying immediately. I
couldn't yet imagine leaving before the partial eclipse was over, but at that
point I was only still observing because I felt I had to. It was still a
special conjunction, and it needed to be observed and documented, even if my
heart wasn't in it. But then Dawn said something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the weeks before the eclipse, I told Dawn repeatedly that
the two minutes, forty seconds of totality was the only reason for our trip. I
was trying to impress on her the importance of totality, trying to make sure
she would take it in as deeply as I knew I would. Soon after totality, she
said, "You got your two minutes and forty seconds. Can we go?" I
could have protested and stayed until fourth contact, but my heart wasn't
really in it after totality. We had been more or less cooped up in either my
car or tiny tent for over 48 hours, with each day of the trip reaching
temperatures over 90°F.
She was ready to go home, and so was I.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LusR2MXOERc/WdUEjQHnuxI/AAAAAAAAEEU/EDsdv_6UuJEJ5zXAzOU-bVpRk6j8QRbYwCEwYBhgL/s1600/DSC00213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1011" height="486" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LusR2MXOERc/WdUEjQHnuxI/AAAAAAAAEEU/EDsdv_6UuJEJ5zXAzOU-bVpRk6j8QRbYwCEwYBhgL/s640/DSC00213.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My final image of the eclipse.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before we left, though, I wanted to stage some photos.
Before totality I had used every pair of eclipse glasses I had. Now I wanted to
get a picture of myself observing the eclipse with each pair, starting with my
oldest pair and ending with my newest pair, sixteen pairs total.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2igak-SyONs/WdUEj9zlAkI/AAAAAAAAEEU/9mg78V250oMR0Ct60YlNImBmFKn9_krKwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337882234845.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2igak-SyONs/WdUEj9zlAkI/AAAAAAAAEEU/9mg78V250oMR0Ct60YlNImBmFKn9_krKwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337882234845.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Sky News</i>, May-June 2012, Annular Eclipse, Transit of Venus.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0h_b4NN1p4/WdUEj43PLyI/AAAAAAAAEEU/WtuG2LgDL3IFW37nMQHDMlIoVYT0--zMgCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337915568175.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0h_b4NN1p4/WdUEj43PLyI/AAAAAAAAEEU/WtuG2LgDL3IFW37nMQHDMlIoVYT0--zMgCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337915568175.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eclipser, Transit of Venus, June 5, 2012.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Er_tfaCWcUI/WdUEjxq-wCI/AAAAAAAAEEU/NaS5yJQtEM4fbhziOBoce9L4pCKcKbhyQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337928901507.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Er_tfaCWcUI/WdUEjxq-wCI/AAAAAAAAEEU/NaS5yJQtEM4fbhziOBoce9L4pCKcKbhyQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337928901507.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Partial solar eclipse, Valparaiso University, October 23, 2014.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bugCHeF16TQ/WdUEkOVnyVI/AAAAAAAAEEU/sW3BDAaV5Z4QJCMLdBcdqHqY-DdsDrNbQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337982234835.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bugCHeF16TQ/WdUEkOVnyVI/AAAAAAAAEEU/sW3BDAaV5Z4QJCMLdBcdqHqY-DdsDrNbQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411337982234835.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Plain white, Michiana Astronomical Society, February 4, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bEwC_E1Wq0Y/WdUEkOr5PAI/AAAAAAAAEEU/EQjxORXi48k_boRax6O3yV8_AE3yDHg0wCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338035568163.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bEwC_E1Wq0Y/WdUEkOr5PAI/AAAAAAAAEEU/EQjxORXi48k_boRax6O3yV8_AE3yDHg0wCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338035568163.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">University of Notre Dame Physics, April 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zyUvnaHvf34/WdUEkIGEDYI/AAAAAAAAEEU/lEgm5CN7eRwFbMRx1PkrwwUhmWFJLIPfwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338072234826.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zyUvnaHvf34/WdUEkIGEDYI/AAAAAAAAEEU/lEgm5CN7eRwFbMRx1PkrwwUhmWFJLIPfwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338072234826.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Sky & Telescope</i>, July 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ao7IaW6CZ-4/WdUEkacrc4I/AAAAAAAAEEU/D94DpKyoJ60ocNM25tahLoYl8KPzgvUuQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338102234823.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ao7IaW6CZ-4/WdUEkacrc4I/AAAAAAAAEEU/D94DpKyoJ60ocNM25tahLoYl8KPzgvUuQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338102234823.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lowe's, August 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InMlKXGkP9g/WdUEkeAnUpI/AAAAAAAAEEU/kZqspExo1JUMnpy7bx2jNvzqKt6oQDrpQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338148901485.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-InMlKXGkP9g/WdUEkeAnUpI/AAAAAAAAEEU/kZqspExo1JUMnpy7bx2jNvzqKt6oQDrpQCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338148901485.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lowe's, August 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XzesBcEsZc/WdUEkSIewqI/AAAAAAAAEEU/WMmQjpkwx0QnBNGqsoCBmoCOv-d0sSQfwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338185568148.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3XzesBcEsZc/WdUEkSIewqI/AAAAAAAAEEU/WMmQjpkwx0QnBNGqsoCBmoCOv-d0sSQfwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338185568148.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lowe's, August, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BuXZGUCRuNg/WdUEkgiyDfI/AAAAAAAAEEU/-nGIbDDwP0Upn_mZPY4XYO8xYhcdRE7ywCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338208901479.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BuXZGUCRuNg/WdUEkgiyDfI/AAAAAAAAEEU/-nGIbDDwP0Upn_mZPY4XYO8xYhcdRE7ywCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338208901479.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Toys 'R' Us, August 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFHzsbVm2XM/WdUEklUfpzI/AAAAAAAAEEU/7Wp-RF_0WwsoEK1bDJtrCyI4bPoeQEnowCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338285568138.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mFHzsbVm2XM/WdUEklUfpzI/AAAAAAAAEEU/7Wp-RF_0WwsoEK1bDJtrCyI4bPoeQEnowCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338285568138.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Great American Eclipse, August 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3nDVaggKxxw/WdUEknhcjPI/AAAAAAAAEEc/6FExwvLOreQ0tQRpFtscFy9jsdVgPOIpACEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338305568136.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3nDVaggKxxw/WdUEknhcjPI/AAAAAAAAEEc/6FExwvLOreQ0tQRpFtscFy9jsdVgPOIpACEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338305568136.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eclipse MegaMovie, La Porte County Library, August 14, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zatf4qMc1_w/WdUEkj0C6WI/AAAAAAAAEEU/ptjMaQAZGh4Pj5-zOs4cRFeGGxZqnuKiwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338342234799.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zatf4qMc1_w/WdUEkj0C6WI/AAAAAAAAEEU/ptjMaQAZGh4Pj5-zOs4cRFeGGxZqnuKiwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338342234799.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tyler Nordgren From Sea to Shining Sea, August 19, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-20u7o2zWDnU/WdUEk6WPtnI/AAAAAAAAEEU/Gr7M-b_Dx3grCq0gzkI5-k62MFgMSrfAwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338355568131.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-20u7o2zWDnU/WdUEk6WPtnI/AAAAAAAAEEU/Gr7M-b_Dx3grCq0gzkI5-k62MFgMSrfAwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338355568131.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Carbondale Eclipse, August 20, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YT2kZEyiGG4/WdUEk-Ib0jI/AAAAAAAAEEU/Jzsd1nCM71IZD6ODjptmpy9r8s9jjaeKgCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338385568128.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YT2kZEyiGG4/WdUEk-Ib0jI/AAAAAAAAEEU/Jzsd1nCM71IZD6ODjptmpy9r8s9jjaeKgCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338385568128.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Vol State, August 21, 2017.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAEOGPddNZY/WdUEk7v6GkI/AAAAAAAAEEc/i-uX2ZY95Y8u53NgYKQNZ-mZGF9GS5L1ACEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338418901458.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAEOGPddNZY/WdUEk7v6GkI/AAAAAAAAEEc/i-uX2ZY95Y8u53NgYKQNZ-mZGF9GS5L1ACEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411338418901458.jpeg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">NASA, August 21, 2017. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Su--NGADD9A/WdUEk9m27oI/AAAAAAAAEEU/0-fppCcDHy4-RFy2qNymdy--5pXJtpEpwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411340932234540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="576" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Su--NGADD9A/WdUEk9m27oI/AAAAAAAAEEU/0-fppCcDHy4-RFy2qNymdy--5pXJtpEpwCEwYBhgL/s1600/received_1411340932234540.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started packing, but slowly. I started with items not
essential to observing, until the only things left to put away were the
Coronado solar telescope and eyepieces. The Moon was about 2/3rds of the way to
fourth contact, but for me, that was the end of the eclipse. It was time to
leave, but I still had business to take care of in Gallatin.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We went to the McDonald's across the street from Vol State,
and the lady at the drive-thru said they had closed for a few minutes to see
totality, and she was still excited about it. Next we went a little further to the
post office. Dawn was looking for public mailboxes on the streets, but that
wouldn't work. Not today. My postcards had to be postmarked in Gallatin, August
21, 2017. I was about to run into the post office when I remembered that I
hadn't written a message on the postcard to myself. The other fifteen cards had
messages written before the eclipse began, but I left my own blank. I had put
away my purple pen, but found a black one in the door of my car. I scribbled a
short message to myself on the trunk of my car: I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN!!! The
lady at the counter was happy to stamp each of my postcards, and showed me
pictures she'd taken of the eclipse with her phone. They were pretty good. With
the postcards sent, it was time to gas up and leave Gallatin. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The eclipse was over, but our adventure continued. Continued
far too long, actually. The Great American Eclipse website had published
traffic estimates in the weeks ahead of E-Day. There was concern that people
might miss totality because of traffic jams. Occurring on a Monday, though, I
suspected that anybody who could would make a weekend trip of the event. My
guess is that eclipse traffic started trickling into the path of totality
Thursday, with more people leaving for their destinations each day. I never
really worried about traffic before the eclipse, since I knew if I had to
change locations- as we did- most of the final driving would be overnight. The
advantage of working midnight shifts. We all should have known the heavy
traffic would be AFTER the eclipse, when nearly everybody left for home at
once.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Using GPS, we headed out of Tennessee. On U.S. 31W, just
before entering Kentucky, we finally encountered a traffic jam. When we crossed
the state line, I could see I-65 to my left, a highway that is familiar to me
from Indianapolis to its termination at U.S.20/12 in Gary. I wanted to be on
that road, and got on it at the first entrance I could. It was okay at first,
but then everything came to a stop. For no apparent reason. And then we started
moving, slowly, in first or second gear, then 30 MPH, 50, 70, and then...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stop. This repeated over and over again. I only drove a few
miles before I stopped at a truck stop. I was tired. It was hot outside. The
long weekend with little sleep was catching up to me, and I no longer had the
excitement of anticipation to keep me going. I parked in the shade and tried to
rest, but it was no use. The noise from the highway and the air conditioning of
my car were too much to drown out. We got back on I-65, thinking maybe traffic
had eased, but it was just the same as before, maybe worse. Briefly I had a gorgeous
view of the setting Sun a little behind me on the left, but then traffic sped
up again, and I had to put my eyes back on the road. With darkness falling upon
me for the second time that day, I became completely exhausted, and we stopped
at a McDonald's to eat and a long rest, but again, I could not fall asleep.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After a couple hours, I tried I-65 yet again, but the
situation hadn't improved. And now there were signs warning of construction
ahead. I exited once again, determined to find a better way to get home. U.S. 31 was
again running alongside the interstate, with hardly any traffic on it. A quick
check of a map showed it took a longer route to Louisville, but as long as I
could drive in 6th gear, I didn't care. We were finally making progress through
the Bluegrass State. I never felt like was going to fall asleep at the wheel,
but damn, I was tired. The only thing keeping me awake was the sheer will of
wanting to be the fuck out of Kentucky. At last we were approaching Louisville
from the west, and when I had to merge onto I-65 to cross the Ohio River, there
were very few vehicles on it.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I got off of I-65 in Kentucky at the next exit. I'd had enough of going nowhere.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back in the Hoosier State for the first time since Saturday
afternoon, I made it sixteen more miles before I had to stop at another McDonald's,
the fourth one we'd been to since leaving the Vol State campus. This time I
managed to fall asleep, although it took an hour of trying to get comfortable
first. When I woke up two hours later, I barely had the energy to walk into the
truck stop to go to the bathroom and get a large coffee. The coffee was awful,
but it would get us home. It had to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were back on the road around 4:00 AM. Somewhere on I-465
just outside of Indianapolis it started drizzling, and continued to do so on
and off the rest of the morning. Daylight started breaking somewhere north of
Indy, although it was a cloudy and dismal light. Around 8:20 AM, I finally
parked the Cruze in our backyard and shut off the engine. Home. And our Great
American Eclipse Adventure was over.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">My odometer when we got home. It was 80,006 when we left. We'd driven 1,190 miles through four states in 68 hours.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, except for the trip home, the journey to totality
really could not have gone much better. For Dawn, I think she was miserable
most of the time, and I'm not even sure if she has a fond memory of totality to
make it all worthwhile. Dalton loves going for rides and pooping in new places,
so I think he enjoyed the first two days. But being stuck in the backseat of my
small car on the long ride home seemed to drain the energy out of him for a few
days after we were home. I
got some proper sleep, though not nearly as much as I wanted, and went back to
work that night. Back to reality. I wanted to be back in totality. At work that night I heard that the sky was mostly clear for
the eclipse at our campsite back in Ozark, but I don't regret leaving for
Tennessee. With limited information, and what I saw in the sky, I would make
the same decision again if I had to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've often heard that totality is a life changing
experience. At first I disagreed. I couldn't think of any way that it might
change my life. I still can't think of any way it will change my life. But I
think about it constantly. In the weeks since, I find myself thinking about it
all, the planning of the trip, driving down all those highways, the gorgeous
night sky of Ozark, Illinois, seeing the thin crescent Luna the morning before
the eclipse, the trips to Carbondale, the Vol State campus, and mostly, the
brief time that I was directly in the lunar shadow. I think about the total
eclipse that will cross Indiana in 2024, and also the annular eclipse of 2023.
It all goes through my head, often suddenly and unexpectedly. I read books and
articles on the August eclipse that I just didn't have time to read before
totality arrived. And if I read too much, or think too deeply, I come damn
close to crying, remembering it all. It was two minutes, forty seconds, but it
was so much more. It was three days in August. It was weeks, months, years of
anticipation, anticipation that was fully justified. It was my first totality,
and so far my favorite totality, at least for the next six and a half years. I
don't know where I'll be on April 8, 2024, I've only researched a few places in
Indiana so far, and there is still plenty of time to figure it out. But as long
as I'm still breathing then, I'll be somewhere in the path of totality, waiting
for the lunar shadow to find me again.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'll see you in the shadow!</span></td></tr>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-4293077511547189412016-11-20T19:02:00.000-06:002016-11-20T19:02:06.162-06:00Occultation of Aldebaran, October 19, 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Finally during this series of 49 consecutive lunations where someplace on Earth will see our Moon occult Aldebaran, the weather cooperated when Aldebaran was occulted over my girlfriend's home in South Bend, Indiana early on October 19.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ9tQyaHgTk/WDI_ih7gWOI/AAAAAAAACO0/j_jSIc99EwwBZMg9uE-VDH19rgyx1htyACLcB/s1600/Aldebaran-occultation-map-Oct-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AQ9tQyaHgTk/WDI_ih7gWOI/AAAAAAAACO0/j_jSIc99EwwBZMg9uE-VDH19rgyx1htyACLcB/s640/Aldebaran-occultation-map-Oct-2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/moon-covers-bright-star-aldebaran/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/moon-covers-bright-star-aldebaran/</span></a><br />
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Illinois astronomer Curt Renz's predictions for Chicago.<br />
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<a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/occultations.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.curtrenz.com/occultations.html</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html</span></a><br />
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Late that Tuesday night (October 18), as Aldebaran rose above my girlfriend's garage, I could see it naked eye, even though the Moon was closing in. Around midnight, however, the light from the nearby Moon was just too overwhelming to see Aldebaran naked eye, even by blocking out the moonlight.<br />
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Nearing 1:00 AM EDST, I went outside to the small enclosed yard between the house and garage and set up a borrowed 8" Dob that I used for the observation. Upon my first look through a 20mm eyepiece (60x) showed Aldebaran in view with Luna.<br />
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Not knowing an exact immersion time, I monitored the pair for the next half hour. As immersion was imminent, I let my girlfriend Dawn have a few looks. I wasn't going to attempt getting the exact time of immersion, but I did want to be watching as the star disappeared. After Dawn had one last look, I took one last image with my phone. As I tried to put away my phone, I fumbled with my phone, and missed the immersion.<br />
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I knew I had around forty minutes until emersion, so I warmed up with a cup of coffee, and for the first time that night, consulted Curt's predictions that I listed above. I also found his predictions for the 1 & 2 components of Theta Tauri, which had both been occulted earlier in the night. Even though I had missed those two occultations, I was able to track down the pair when I went back out to the telescope.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Waiting for emersion.</span></td></tr>
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<br />I no longer remember what time I observed Aldebaran emerging from behind Luna, but I had been watching intently where I expected it to return for several minutes. I was amazed as Aldebaran appeared and quickly brightened, happening in less than a tenth of a second, but very noticeable and striking. After Aldebaran emerged, I let Dawn see it again, before obtaining images.<br />
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Once emersion had been observed, there wasn't much reason to stay too long after. I finished up my imaging for the night, packed my equipment, and went inside. I apologize for the delay in posting this report, but it's been a hectic month, and really almost a year now of personal instability, for a variety of reasons. I was glad to escape for a couple of hours, and observe my first occultion of Aldebaran during this series.</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-35585700499543451692015-02-19T13:58:00.000-06:002015-02-19T14:03:50.356-06:00Mare Orientale, Finally<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My previous post was about observing the <a href="http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-best-look-ever-at-celestial-western_26.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">the celestial western limb</span></a> of our Moon with both favorable libration and illumination. I haven't been as lucky with the celestial eastern limb. Twice this year so far, in January and February, I've managed to observe Mare Orientale with favorable librations.<br />
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After waiting <i>so</i> long for a good phase and libration to see Mare Orientale, my chance came while I was at work the morning of January 16. This observation was during my 15 minute break, and I had to get out to my car, get out my telescope and set up, and try to get images as fast as I can. While my phone doesn't have much of a problem taking lunar pictures when the Moon is near full, it likes to overexpose the limb during the crescent phase. I had to combine my neutral density filter with my #80A blue filter, and turn down the exposure setting on my camera, just to <i>try</i> to compensate. It was cold, and the Moon was still low in the sky, with terrible seeing conditions. Saturn, though, was visible below the Moon, if you drew a line connecting the horns of the crescent, and followed it straight down.<br />
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In brief visual observing, I could see Lacus Veris, Lake of Spring, and beyond it, Mare Orientale on the limb. Being rushed, though, I didn't get any images worthy of posting if this weren't such a challenge just to get the necessary phase and libration. I'll let the photos tell the rest.<br />
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Then on February 13, we finished early at work, and were sent home at 3:00 AM. At first, I wasn't happy about it, but before I left work I remembered that it was a great morning to see Mare Orientale again, and the sky was clear. I couldn't wait to get home and observe.<br />
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Although I'd seen Mare Orientale in January, that was a very brief observation in the parking lot at work, with bad seeing conditions. This time the libration was even better for observing the Orientale region, and while seeing still wasn't very good, I had the time to wait, and it did improve a little as the morning progressed. Unfortunately, it was very cold, 1° F (-1° F wind chill) in Valparaiso, so I took several warm up breaks.<br />
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Visually, I was very pleased with the view, although I didn't manage to improve much upon my images from last month.<br />
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I was about to end the observation, but realized that I hadn't really observed much outside the Orientale region, so I scanned the lunar surface to see if anything interesting stood out. I then realized that there was something conspicuously absent. In the far south, near the terminator, I noticed a crater, later determined to be Casatus, that was surrounded by darkness, even on the day side of the terminator. I can't find much information about Casatus and surrounding craters other than size, but based on this observation, I have to think the region is in a basin deeper than the surrounding terrain.<br />
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Part of the eastern rim of crater Klaproth can be seen just above Casatus, but the northwest of Casatus is deep in shadow, even though it is on the day side of the terminator.<br />
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I love observing our Moon. No matter how well I think I know its surface, I always get surprised by something new, or seen in a new light, or in this case, a new lack of light.</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-68297647966814646922014-12-26T18:41:00.000-06:002014-12-26T18:41:47.347-06:00My Best Look Ever at the Celestial Western Lunar Limb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">How many times have we heard or read that the half Moon is the best time for lunar observing? I know the terminator is most striking at that time, but I really hate that advice. When asked when to best observe the Moon, I answer that it depends what you want to see. Only observing Luna near the half phase limits what can be observed, and I like to explore the entire disk, and when libration allows, sneak peeks of the far side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the night of December 6-7, the Moon was 99.8% illuminated when I started observing, but was already past full, so the celestial western limb was starting to show shadows as the Moon began to wane. With the Moon so recently past full, and a libration of over six degrees in latitude, I saw features along the limb that I had never seen before, or at least had never seen well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I observed over the course of many hours, and watched as features near the terminator disappeared into lunar night. While atmospheric transparency was never great that night, toward the end of the observation it was terrible, and water vapor in the air started turning the images very soft.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next time you think, "I'm not going to observe tonight because the Moon is full," remember that you might just see part of the lunar surface you've never seen before.</span><br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-40348464896478337062014-12-18T16:10:00.003-06:002017-01-10T15:22:22.696-06:00Galilean Moon Observation- November 30, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As usual, I'm late in posting. Thanksgiving weekend was mostly cloudy, but early that Sunday morning was finally clear. I went out to observe the Jovian system from about 4:00 AM until about 6:00 AM.<br />
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Observing notes: November 30. 2014<br />
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Weather- 3:37 AM CST 51°F- 46°F wind chill<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>5:17 AM CST Salt Creek Commons 52°F- 46°F wind chill<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wind- South 12 MPH; 24 MPH gusts<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Dew point 48°F<br />
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Here are Curt Renz's prediction times for Galilean events that morning.<br />
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<a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/jupiter.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.curtrenz.com/jupiter.html</span></a><br />
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Just missed Io shadow transit- ended 4:14 AM. Was observing before end of shadow transit, but not looking near limb, where shadows can be hard to detect.<br />
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Bad seeing, and got worse.<br />
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Watching as Europa separates from Jupiter's disk, after emerging from occultation.<br />
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All images are from my Galaxy SIII phone, afocally, and thus the poor quality. Also, Callisto, being so much farther from the Jovian disk was hard to image. I only captured it in a few images, seen below.<br />
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Io transit egress- first observed 5:25 AM CST.<br />
Io separation- first observed 5:30 AM CST.<br />
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And that wrapped up my first prolonged Jovian observation since late spring.<br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-81020404960485067342014-11-16T20:33:00.005-06:002017-12-28T19:53:42.014-06:00Sun Pillar, July 5, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.2px;">I didn't have much time for observing this summer, let alone going through any data and processing for web publishing, so now that I have a little more free time, I'm trying to go back and post some interesting observations from months ago. Bear with me, please.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">On July 4, Bill, Javier, and I spent the night observing at Conway Observatory, tracking down the historic close conjunction of asteroids <a href="http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2014/07/close-conjunction-of-ceres-vesta.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">1 Ceres and 4 Vesta</span></a>, among other things. As morning twilight brightened the eastern sky, Bill and Javier left. I was finishing closing the observatory, and was also about to leave when I noticed a beam of pinkish-orange light jutting above the horizon, about where the Sun should rise. I stayed at the observatory nearly another hour documenting this rare sight through photos. It could still be seen even after sunrise, and was even visible for awhile when I was driving home. I found it interesting to watch as the intensity and color of the Sun pillar changed over time. Here are some of my photos.</span></span></div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-85523914292871958832014-11-10T20:40:00.003-06:002014-12-06T15:33:52.036-06:00Total Lunar Eclipse from Conway Observatory, October 8, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I started intently watching the sky in
August 2007, and truly took up the hobby of astronomy in July 2008, when I
bought my 6" Dobsonian. There had been total lunar eclipses in October
2004, and March 2007, and I had seen parts of those, but not through knowledgeable
eyes. Since familiarizing myself with the sky, and the science and history of
astronomy, there have been four lunar eclipses that totality occurred with the
Moon over Northwest Indiana. In February 2008, heavy lake effect snow over
Valparaiso prevented me from observing any of the eclipse. That storm was a
narrow lake effect band, however, and other parts of the region had clear
skies, according to radio reports the next day. Then in December 2010, perhaps
the finest lunar eclipse of my lifetime was going to occur, on the winter
solstice, and with totality while the Moon was rather high. Again, it snowed. I
had planned to observe with Chicago Astronomers at Adler Planetarium, but the
snow made driving conditions dangerous, so I stayed home. Not quite a year
later, there was another <a href="http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2011/12/quick-lunar-eclipse-december-10-2011.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">December total lunar eclipse</span></a>, and while skies were
clear at Conway Observatory in Lowell, Indiana, the eclipse started shortly
before Moonset, and I could only observe the beginning of the partial phase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">That was the last total lunar eclipse
until April 15, 2014, and again, totality would be visible from Northwest
Indiana. It should have been a great eclipse to observe. On the 14th, I
frequently checked the forecast, and watched satellite images of a large system
casting cloud cover over Illinois and Indiana. The system appeared to be moving
through, and I was sure would pass before the eclipse began. After midnight, a
check of weather websites led me to look out the window, and see bright,
glorious moonlight. It was a cold night for mid-April, so I bundled up, went
outside, and...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SNOW!!! My friend Ryan, a meteorology
student at Valparaiso University had messaged me around that time that a lake
effect snow band had pop up unexpectedly, and was dropping snow over much of
the region. I was crushed. After waiting so many years for a total lunar
eclipse, and being snowed out for February and December eclipses, I really
thought snow wouldn't be a problem in the middle of April, but the winter of
2014 was possibly the worst of my life, with far too much snow, too often, and
far too many days of dangerously cold temperatures. And of course, another
snowstorm in April. Would I ever observe a total lunar eclipse without snow?!?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fortunately, the wait for the next
total eclipse was less than six months. The entire April eclipse would have
been seen from Northwest Indiana. While totality for the October 8 eclipse was
entirely visible in the region, the Moon would set with most of Luna covered by
the Earth's shadow.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #b4a7d6; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/total-lunar-eclipse-09262014/</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although the Moon wouldn't start to
pass through Earth's shadow until the early morning of Wednesday, October 8,
for me the experience began the evening before. I was driving to my Tuesday
night bowling league, when I noticed Luna above the horizon before I made a left
hand turn to the west. The sky was clear, the Sun was about to set, and even the
worst forecasts I'd seen had been rather favorable. I stopped at the park
across from the bowling alley, ran up the hill, and captured both the Moon
rising and the Sun setting. I had a feeling I was finally going to observe a
total lunar eclipse before I saw the Sun again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mid4VTRzEB4/VGFkbnmDxII/AAAAAAAABpU/CH00zFy1TP8/s1600/20141007_181608%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mid4VTRzEB4/VGFkbnmDxII/AAAAAAAABpU/CH00zFy1TP8/s1600/20141007_181608%2B-%2BCopy.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sun setting Tuesday, October 7, from Portage, Indiana.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon rising Tuesday, October 7, over Portage, Indiana.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Panorama of sunset and moonrise, Tuesday, October 7.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As a third shifter, I usually go to
work after I finish bowling, but not that night. Instead, I drove to
Conway Observatory. I wouldn't need its rather dark sky to observe the eclipse,
but I did want to take advantage of its wide open western horizon, since the
eclipse would be ongoing at moonset. Before setting up my telescope, I sat in
the heated control room, going over predicted times and graphs in magazines and
online. My chance was finally here, and I wanted to be prepared for what I was
about to observe. Then I unloaded my equipment, and took images of the Moon
while I waited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-eclipse image of 2014's brightest full Moon.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My telescope was set up not far from
the observatory's basement door, and I left a notebook inside, so that I could
take little warm up breaks during the night, and record as many moments as
possible. The night was chilly, getting down to around 40° F, but with breezy
conditions most of the night, it felt colder. I was bundled up, but had forgot
to bring gloves, which I would later regret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although Calumet Astronomical Society
members have access to Conway Observatory any time, it is located on county
park property. I didn't arrive until close to midnight, but there was nobody
there, and I was kind of surprised. Usually a full Moon, or publicized
astronomical events bring gawkers at all hours of the night. Except for howls
from coyotes a couple times during the night, everything was quiet at the
observatory. Almost too quiet, with no cars driving past, and even the air
traffic seemed to be lighter than usual. I hadn't planned to experience my
first eclipse alone, but now that the moment had almost come, it was fine by
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I was working two jobs through the
summer and into the fall, and had quite a few days that I was awake for 30
hours or more. This was another long day for me. By the time I was home and
climbing in bed, I'd been up for more than 35 hours. The October issue of <i>Sky & Telescope </i>had speculated that
the penumbra, Earth's outer shadow, might be visible on the Moon at 3:45 AM
CDST. Lacking sleep, I set an alarm on my phone for 3:50, sat down in my chair
next to the telescope, and took a ten minute nap.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I woke up, I immediately sensed
that the sky was darker. Earlier, the brightest full Moon of the year cast
brilliant light down on the observatory grounds, and the empty farmland
surrounding it. I could almost feel that the eclipse was about to begin. When
imaging the full disk of the Moon through my Dob my Samsung cell phone, I
usually need to use a neutral density filter and turn down the exposure
settings to keep the moonlight from overwhelming the camera. Although still
bright, and no shadow yet evident on the lunar surface, my camera phone could
tell the difference, as the neutral density filter was unnecessary when I took
images at 3:53. Just two minutes later I thought the Ocean of Storms on the
celestial eastern lunar rim looked darker, and with better contrast than it had
earlier. Of course, this would be where Luna was entering Earth's shadow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna entering the penumbral phase. Unlike most of my lunar images, this was taken without a neutral density filter.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">By 4:09 AM CDST, it was evident
telescopically that the partial eclipse phase had begun, and by 4:11, it was
definitely apparent by naked eye. I watched as the shadow reached Mare Humorum
at 4:20, and then the crater Copernicus at 4:36. All that time, the sky
continued to darken, as Luna received less sunlight to reflect back to me. By
5:00, I could still see my shadow cast by the Moon, but I could also faintly
see a hint of the winter Milky Way across the sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lunar limb starts to darken as partial phase begins.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View through the finder scope of my Dobsonian.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I noticed the first hint of red hue on
the Moon at 5:10. A few minutes later I could just barely see my shadow on the
ground. The Moon was almost totally engulfed by our planet's shadow. As
totality set in, I noticed a star off the lunar limb, magnitude 5.7 HD4628. I
also found Uranus off the lunar limb in the other direction, at about the same
magnitude. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking to the western horizon in the distance.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course, Jupiter was a nice treat in the east.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When the Earth's shadow started creeping across the Moon, almost everything I knew about lunar imaging no longer applied.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearing totality.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing red tint. Totality was much darker than I expected.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magnitude 5.7 star HD 4628 near the lunar limb. I also saw Uranus around this time, though it was too far from the lunar disk for me to image together.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Although the Moon became overall much
dimmer than I expected through totality, the northern limb never really went
dark. Also during totality, while turning to the east to see the morning
twilight starting to break at 5:47, I saw a brief, fast, long Draconid meteor
streak north to northeast, down toward that horizon. David Fuller had talked
about the Draconid meteor shower in his eclipse video, so I wasn't surprised to
see one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jupiter and morning twilight in the east.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clouds to the northeast.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A friend also trying to observe the
eclipse from Chesterton reported that clouds had moved in, and sure enough, as
the eastern sky continued to brighten, I saw a band of clouds off in that
direction. I even watched as a cloud passed over eclipsed Luna at 6:13. I was
so excited that I'd finally seen a total lunar eclipse, that I didn't notice
when totality ended. Morning twilight was growing ever stronger, and Luna was
now low in the western sky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totality is over. Seeing conditions deteriorated as the Moon got lower, and dew was starting to become a problem.</td></tr>
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<i><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sky
& Telescope </span></i><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">writer Alan MacRobert had included
in his eclipse article an observing phenomenon that I'd never heard of:
selenelion. A true selenelion occurs when the totally eclipsed Moon and the Sun
are above the horizon together. Totality had ended well before sunrise, but I
still thought it would be cool if I could see the partially eclipsed Moon at
all after sunrise. It was a close call, and hard to photograph with my phone,
but I did indeed see Luna- still partially eclipsed- as the Sun peeked above
the horizon, and for a short time after. Then Luna disappeared in the hazy muck
near the horizon, and my first total lunar eclipse was over. Success!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting to see if I could catch the partially eclipsed Moon and Sun above the horizon together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise before moonset! A partial selenelion! (Or whatever it would be called).</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partially eclipsed Moon still above the horizon after sunrise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luna is now lost to the horizon haze.</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I shared a few of my images online
during the eclipse, and saw some from my friends. Now that the eclipse was
over, I went inside the observatory to warm up, and share some details and more
images with my friends via the internet. Plus, my hands were freezing. Since I
forgot my gloves, and didn't want to waste a moment of eclipse time, I stayed
outside as much as possible. Now that it was daylight, I could see three large
cracks across my new phone. I took it out of its case because it was easier to
get pictures telescopically, but my numb fingers had dropped the phone several
times. Oh well. It was worth it. It was worth being cold. It was worth cracking
my phone. It was worth missing work. It was worth going too long without sleep.
I'd finally observed a total lunar eclipse, and it was all that I'd hoped for.
For its rarity and coolness, the Transit of Venus will probably be my favorite
observation I'll ever make, but as an experience, I think this eclipse has the
Venus transit beat. Now, on to the total solar eclipse of 2017!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-52663333723139417082014-10-30T21:12:00.002-05:002014-11-21T19:44:19.476-06:00Partial Solar Eclipse from Valparaiso University Observatory 10-23-2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I remember that in the summer of 1994 there was a solar
eclipse, and I watched parts of it with welder's glass. Since then, though, I
have not seen any part of a solar eclipse. From Northwest Indiana, the partial
solar eclipse we experienced on October 23 wasn't going to be a spectacular
event, with only about half the Sun being eclipse at maximum, and the Sun
setting shortly after maximum eclipse. Still, I was looking forward to it, and
when the forecast was mostly cloudy, with a possibility of rain, I wasn't very
optimistic. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/partial-solar-eclipse-october-23-2014-10062014/</span><br />
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When I got home from work Thursday morning, I needed to take
a nap. I wanted to wake up early so I could check weather forecasts around the
region, and check satellite images to see where the best chance of a clear sky
might be. I set a couple of alarms on my phone, went to sleep, and then slept
through nearly two hours of my phone going off every five minutes.</div>
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When I finally woke up, it was after 3:30 PM, and the
eclipse was going to start in about an hour. I hurried to get ready, but with
so little time, the only observation I could get to in time was at Valparaiso
University. I arrived at the V.U. observatory around 4:20, with about 15
minutes to spare. Professors Dr. Bruce Hrivnak and Dr. Todd Hillwig were set up
behind the observatory, and ready to host a public observation. There were some
eager visitors already there, but the sky was still cloudy. Dr. Hrivnak's wife
Lucy arrived a few minutes after me, and like me, she really wasn't expecting
to see much either. Then the Sun started to peek through a clearing in the
clouds that was opening up.</div>
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I hadn't bothered getting any equipment out of my car
because of the cloudy conditions, so I hurried to get my 60mm refractor that I
use for solar observing and Sun funnel screen. The funnel screen hadn't been
used in a long time, and the black electrical tape holding the screen in place
was worn, and needed to be replaced. At some point it had come undone, and left
a black mark across the observing screen, but there was no time to properly
clean it. I hastily re-taped the screen in place. There wasn't enough time to
get it nice and tight across the top of the funnel, but would do for this
observation, which might not last long.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not ideal conditions, but I was able to observe the beginning of the eclipse through the clouds to the west.</td></tr>
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Finally ready to observe, I found the Sun by using the
shadow method, and was impressed by the massive sunspot A.R. 2192. Lucy Hrivnak
gave me a pair of eclipse glasses, and I was surprised that sunspot 2192 could
be seen even without magnification. A small crowd started to gather around my
telescope for a look at our Sun. Then I saw a slight impression on the solar
limb, and the eclipse had begun. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First eclipse image on the Sun funnel screen.</td></tr>
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Like me, Dr. Hrivnak was using a small spotting scope to
safely project an image of the eclipsed Sun, while Dr. Hillwig had a full
aperture solar filter on a 6" SCT. Of course, they were also handing out
eclipse glasses to anybody who wished to see the eclipse. But like I found out
during the Transit of Venus, people really seemed to enjoy the funnel
projection screen. The fairly large image on the screen and being able to
observe in a group makes this a popular method for observing any solar event.
It also attracted the attention of Heather Augustyn of the <i>Times of Northwest
Indiana</i>. Heather interviewed me, and Times photographer John Luke got a shot of me
demonstrating the funnel projection system. Both the image and interview were
included in the online article, and in Friday's newspaper.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: John Luke- <i>The Times of Northwest Indiana.</i></td></tr>
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<o:p><a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/article_5ccd38c0-268c-586e-a587-d593f2fb3aeb.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/article_5ccd38c0-268c-586e-a587-d593f2fb3aeb.html</span></a></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small crowd observing the partial solar eclipse behind Valpo University's campus observatory.</td></tr>
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I watched as a small sunspot near the solar limb was
eclipsed by the Moon, but didn't time the moment of occultation. I was just
trying to enjoy whatever time remained of the Sun peeking through the clouds.
Right around 5:00 PM CDST, the Sun started to disappear behind clouds again,
and it looked like the end of the observation. I left my telescope set up just
in case, but took a few moments to document the crowd, the sky conditions, and
posed for a picture with professors Hrivnak and Hillwig. From that point all
telescopic observing was over. The Sun did show through the clouds briefly
around 5:30, but it was very low in the sky, and the sunlight wasn't strong
enough to cast shadows for aligning my telescope. I could sort of make out the
outline of the Moon through eclipse glasses, but clouds were also obscuring the
solar disk, making it hard to tell just how much of the Sun was eclipsed by our
Moon.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final eclipse image on the Sun funnel. Giant sunspot 2192 is clearly visible.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor Todd Hillwig oversees observing through a filtered telescope, while behind him, professor Bruce Hrivnak is projecting an image of the eclipse through a spotting scope.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with professors Hillwig and Hrivnak, and their friend.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do these eclipse glasses make me look cool?</td></tr>
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Even before the Sun had set, I packed my gear, signed the
observatory's guest book, and said goodbye to the Hrivnaks and Dr. Hilllwig. As
I left the campus, and turned west onto U.S. 30, the Sun was just above the
horizon, and just below the clouds gathered in that direction. I could easily
see the eclipse still in progress, and pulled over to try to get a picture. The
settings on my cell phone just aren't up to getting images of the Sun, even
while almost half eclipsed.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to get final images of the eclipse Sun, but my phone couldn't capture what I saw naked eye.</td></tr>
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Even though it turned out mostly cloudy, and I almost missed
the eclipse by oversleeping, I seem to have seen more total minutes of eclipse
than others in the region. I enjoyed it while I could, and look forward to a
trip south in 2017 to stand in Luna's shadow.</div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-26335530679827431272014-07-18T13:51:00.000-05:002017-01-10T15:27:53.940-06:00Sunrise on Crater Ptolemaeus, July 4, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As you may or may not know, <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/thread/3521/3-lunar-observing?page=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">I love lunar observing</span></a>. I can't seem to resist staring at Luna whenever she is up, and if I have the chance to get my telescope out, I can explore the lunar surface for hours. On the evening of July 4, I skipped attending Independence Day fireworks shows, and went down to Conway Observatory, to see <a href="http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2014/07/close-conjunction-of-ceres-vesta.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">the close apparent conjunction of asteroids 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta</span></a>, and other observations. Of course, the not quite first quarter Moon sent plenty of photons to my telescope's primary mirror.<br />
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Early in the evening, I noticed that the "Snowman" of Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel, were right along the terminator.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_204905.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_204905.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_204905.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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As Luna continued through her orbit, I compared views through two 5" refractors that my friend Bill was testing, and he had the power cranked. I noticed a streak of daylight starting to fall across Ptolemaeus, then went back to my 6" Dobsonian to photograph it.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_211027-copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_211027-copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_211027-copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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After that, I kept checking periodically to see how the light and shadows were falling on the crater floor of Ptolemaeus.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_212850-copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_212850-copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_212850-copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225428-copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_225428-copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225428-copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225459-copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_225459-copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225459-copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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Finally, just before 11:00 PM, only a couple long shadows from the eastern rim of Ptolemaeus were falling across the crater floor.<br />
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By that time, I had found the space rocks in conjunction in Virgo, and was observing them, looking for proper motion, and helping my friend Javier find them, so that he could image the asteroid pair. My lunar observing was pretty much over for the night, and Luna was already low, seen through turbulent atmosphere, where observing is worst, and imaging is nearly useless.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225736.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140704_225736.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2014-7-4%20Luna/20140704_225736.jpg" height="640" width="562" /></a></div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-41250880343915284272014-07-11T18:00:00.000-05:002017-01-10T15:29:39.595-06:002014's "Super Moons"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I got into the hobby of astronomy six years ago, I had never heard of a "Super Moon." In the last few years, though, it seems that at least one full Moon each year has been called a "Super Moon" by the media. This year we have a whopping <i>three "Super Moons." </i>As an avid lunar observer, I absolutely detest this term. It's misleading. Naked eye, I cannot tell a difference in the size of the full Moon from month to month.<br />
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Michael Bakich has a great article on "Super Moons" in the August 2014 issue of <i>Astronomy</i> magazine. While Bakich states that the term "Super Moon" "beats the astronomical term, perigee syzygy Moon," I disagree. Give me the geeky name, and let folks use their Google skills.<br />
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The first of these three 2014 "Super Moons" will be Saturday, July 12. Here in Northwest Indiana, the Moon will reach the moment of "full" at 7:04 AM CDST according to Arlington Heights astronomer Curt Renz, not long after the Moon sets. Of course, seeing it close to the horizon, just before it reaches full, it will no doubt look bigger because of the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/05/13/why-does-the-moon-look-so-huge-on-the-horizon/#.U8AE7_ldWSo" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Moon Illusion</span></a>. From North America, you could justifiably call either Friday or Saturday night's Moon "full," although Friday the Moon will be more fully illuminated.</div>
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Curt Renz has nice graphics showing the relative distances of the full Moons for 2014, seen below.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/2013-14Full-Moons-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 2013-14Full-Moons-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/2013-14Full-Moons-Copy.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/FullMoons2014-2015-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo FullMoons2014-2015-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/FullMoons2014-2015-Copy.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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For full resolution, and other Moon related graphics, go to <a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/moon.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">http://www.curtrenz.com/moon.html</span></a>.</div>
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It just so happens that I observed both the June 2013 perigee (closest) full Moon and the January 2014 apogee (farthest) full Moon. While I can tell that the June Moon appears slightly larger in my images, keep in mind these were taken at 60x magnification. With the naked eye, the difference is rather negligible. </div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20130622_212826-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20130622_212826-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20130622_212826-Copy.jpg" height="541" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20130622_224611-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20130622_224611-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20130622_224611-Copy.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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June 2013 perigee Moon observation at Valparaiso's Central Park Plaza.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20140115_201235-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140115_201235-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20140115_201235-Copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20140115_204920-Copy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140115_204920-Copy.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Perigee-Apogee%20Moons/20140115_204920-Copy.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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January 2014 apogee Moon observation in front of the Porter County Courthouse, in the extreme polar vortex cold.</div>
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For more on this year's "Super Moons," try the following articles.</div>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><a href="http://earthsky.org/tonight/july-12-supermoon-first-of-three-superrmoons" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">http://earthsky.org/tonight/july-12-supermoon-first-of-three-superrmoons</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><a href="http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><a href="http://www.universetoday.com/113004/would-the-real-supermoon-please-stand-up/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">http://www.universetoday.com/113004/would-the-real-supermoon-please-stand-up/</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3;"><a href="http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/a-trio-of-super-moons-grace-our-summer-skies/31491/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/a-trio-of-super-moons-grace-our-summer-skies/31491/</span></a></span></div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-79741668552797784252014-07-06T15:54:00.000-05:002017-01-10T15:30:28.538-06:00Close Conjunction of Ceres & Vesta Observed, July 4, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This weekend, asteroids 1 Ceres and 4 Vesta made a close conjunction, only 10' apart. I observed this at Conway Observatory in Lowell, Indiana on the night of July 4, 2014.<br />
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<a href="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/super-close-pairing-ceres-vesta/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/super-close-pairing-ceres-vesta/</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/Ceres_Vesta_2014_detail_f.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo Ceres_Vesta_2014_detail_f.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/Ceres_Vesta_2014_detail_f.jpg" height="365" width="640" /></a><br />
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For full details of the observation, and a GIF of the asteroids by my friend Javier, check<span style="color: #b4a7d6;"> <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/thread/4731/ceres-vesta-animated-conway-paulie?page=1&scrollTo=20771" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">here</span></a></span>.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/ceresandvestacorrected.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo ceresandvestacorrected.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/ceresandvestacorrected.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a><br />
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Javier's first image of the asteroids.</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-38673587363159030682014-04-24T19:10:00.002-05:002017-01-10T15:31:11.637-06:00Discovering Your Universe: The World of Public Astronomy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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My Astronomy Talk at Valparaiso University</h2>
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April 4, 2014</h3>
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In 2008, I was taking classes at Purdue University's North Central campus. For the spring semester, I took an introductory astronomy class. I was just beginning to watch the night sky on my own, and it seemed like the perfect time to take the class. It was great learning the science of astronomy at the same time I was learning my way around the sky. Our first class observation was cancelled due to weather. Since a visual observation was required for the class, and because it gave me projects to work on to learn the sky, I started doing some of the alternate observing projects, just in case our second observation session was also cancelled. One of those alternate observations was to attend an observatory open house at Valparaiso University.<br />
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On April 4, 2008, I made my first visit to Valparaiso University's observatory for an open house. I saw Saturn, the Orion Nebula, Mars, and globular cluster M3 for the first time in a big telescope. I've been back for observatory open houses when I can ever since.<br />
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In 2009, the astronomical community celebrated 400 years of telescopic astronomy with the International Year of Astronomy. The Valpo University physics & astronomy department incorporated the spirit of IYA's emphasis on public outreach by having public lectures before each observatory open house. They were enjoyed so much by the public, faculty, and students that the department continued holding public talks before observatory open houses, though scaled back to only one or two talks per semester. Professors Dr. Bruce Hrivnak and Dr. Todd Hillwig have given some of the talks, and hosted visiting lecturers from other universities and institutions. I've attended quite a few of these talks, though not all of them, unfortunately.<br />
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Earlier this year, Calumet Astronomical Society contacted Valpo University's Dr. Bruce Hrivnak about speaking at one of our monthly meetings. He graciously agreed, but also asked if some of our CAS members could give a talk about amateur and public astronomy before their observatory open house on April 4. I was asked soon after to participate in the talk. I couldn't resist.<br />
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I had about five weeks to create a presentation, and worked on it in most of my free time. I worked on it almost right up until the moment of presentation. I had no chance to rehearse the talk, but being focused on my own experiences in astronomy, I was familiar enough with the material that practice wasn't absolutely necessary.<br />
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On April 4, 2014, exactly six years after my first visit to V.U's observatory, I had dinner with Dr. Hrivnak and his wife Lucy before the presentation. During dinner, we discussed our different paths to astronomy, and our different methods of observing the sky. Though I only understand the basics, I'm fascinated by the work of astrophysicists. Never before have I such an opportunity to ask questions of an astrophysicist, or had one ask so many questions of me. It was both flattering and humbling.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/20140404_205431-Compressed.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 20140404_205431-Compressed.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/20140404_205431-Compressed.jpg" height="450" width="640" /></a><br />
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Richard Loslo of Calumet Astronomical Society was also speaking, though for some reason, his name wasn't included on the promotional flyer. I had no idea what Richard was going to talk about, and he had no idea what I was going to talk about, but as I watched his presentation, I knew that it would complement mine well. I finalized my PowerPoint slides on my lunch break at work earlier in the day, and had not rehearsed at all. I really didn't know how long my talk was going to be. Between the two of us we had fifty minutes. I nervously checked my watch while Richard was speaking, wondering if I would have enough time for my presentation. Through dumb luck, our timing was perfect.<br />
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My friend Chris from my atheist social group had offered to record the presentation, and did a great job producing this video of the talk. Eleven members of the atheist group came to support me, Steve from CAS, and my friend Jayde who teaches STEM on mock space missions at the Challenger Learning Center in Hammond. Jayde captured the picture below.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/user/pchris00/media/10171229_741616475869881_8219627243881356515_n-Compressed.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 10171229_741616475869881_8219627243881356515_n-Compressed.jpg" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/10171229_741616475869881_8219627243881356515_n-Compressed.jpg" height="404" width="640" /></a><br />
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I hope you enjoy the video. Thanks to Chris for donating his time and equipment. Thanks to Dr. Hrivnak for inviting Calumet Astronomical Society to speak at their astronomy open house, and thanks to all my friends who came out to see our presentation. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy night, so there was no observing afterward.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7P_PNhmBvQ&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7P_PNhmBvQ&feature=youtu.be</span></a><br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-22773425978597680572012-07-03T23:19:00.001-05:002017-01-10T15:32:30.287-06:00June 29, 2012 Chicago White Sox Campout<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love astronomy and I love White Sox baseball. When the two can come together, well, it's the most awesome feeling in the universe.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-29%20White%20Sox%20Campout/?action=view&current=SUNP0382.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-29%20White%20Sox%20Campout/SUNP0382.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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For the full story and hundreds of pictures, read the full thread at <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Annoucements&thread=3883&page=1"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">Chicago Astronomer</span></a>.</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-43282326133777740432012-06-11T09:51:00.000-05:002017-01-10T15:45:24.117-06:00Venus in Solar Transit from Conway Observatory.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I had been waiting for last Tuesday for nearly eight years. On June 8, 2004, I saw the Sun rise over Lake Michigan with Venus near transit egress from Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. Seeing that little dot in front of the Sun through nothing but a pair of cheap eclipse glasses changed my life. I knew I had to see the second of the pair eight years later. The desire to see the 2012 Transit of Venus is the sole reason I now call myself an astronomer. I had spent months, and really years, getting ready for this last of my lifetime event. Was I as ready as I would have liked to be? No, but I had all the tools I needed to observe the transit myself, try to get some (bad) images, and show the curious public something we’ll never see again.<br />
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I left home to pick up Hillary mid-morning, and we arrived at Conway Observatory in Lowell around 10 AM CDST. We were the first to arrive, but I had a feeling that there would be many more Calumet Astronomical Society members arriving before our public viewing started at 3 PM. We packed a lunch, and hung around the observatory all day, working on last minute preparations. Months ago, I had decided the best place on the grounds to observe the transit, and was determined to be set up there before anybody else. Until the early afternoon, I even had a sunshade canopy marking my territory, but the wind finally blew it over. Out in the middle of farmland, Conway has a tendency to have high winds during the day, but calm nights. Losing our canopy to the wind wasn’t completely unexpected. With mild temperatures and the steady breeze/wind, it wasn’t really necessary, so I put it away after it fell down. There were clouds scattered across the entire sky until around 11 AM. I wasn’t worried that they would ruin the show, but they blew out well in advance. There was a line of clouds to the east all day, but they were no threat to us, and I ignored them. To the south and west was nothing but blue sky.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0232.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0232.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0233.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0233.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0252.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0252.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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We were set up out on the edge of the grounds, where I hoped the very best view would be.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0253.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0253.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0344.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0344.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0345.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0345.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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The clouds stayed harmlessly to the east all day.<br />
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Chris, the president of the society, arrived around noon. I mopped the dirty floors (couldn’t hide them in the dark this time), made an offset Baader film solar filter for the 16” telescope, and charged batteries so I would have plenty of power for the day. I’d been saying for months that I wanted no surprises on transit day (except maybe seeing the Venusian atmosphere). Chris was in and out of the observatory until around 4:30 PM trying to get the Hunter Astrophoto Lab ready to run a live view of the transit on a flat screen TV. We even had plans for webcasting our event, but the internet connection was down. Chris and Dr. Shawn Slavin from Purdue Calumet tried all day to get the internet back up, but were unsuccessful. It was probably for the best. With working internet, I might have been wrapped up watching live webcasts from around the world and seeing images posted to the web instead of taking in the moment firsthand.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0241.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0241.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I'm getting excited!<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0242.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0242.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0243.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0243.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Time to check out the Sun pre-transit.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0244.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0244.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<br />
As CAS members arrived and set up their equipment, I tried to go around and get pictures with them. This was a big day, and I was going to enjoy it to the fullest, and try to chat with all my fellow astronomers before things got busy. I also spent time observing the Sun through members's telescopes, and the observatory telescopes.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0246.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0246.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Larry and Mike.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0247.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0247.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Jim sells eclipse glasses.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0250.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0250.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0251.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0251.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
The 6" refractor in the Hunter Astrophoto Lab gave the most amazing view of the Sun in white light that I've ever seen.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0256.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0256.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0257.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0257.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
To my knowledge, this was the first time the 16" telescope had seen the Sun.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0258.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0258.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0259.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0259.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0260.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0260.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Jeff is busy aligning on the Sun.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0261.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0261.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Saying hi to Jim.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0262.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0262.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Jim R. tries to hide behind his LX90...<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0263.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0263.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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...but can't hide behind his PST.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0265.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0265.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Larry and some early visitors.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0267.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0267.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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We catch Steve as soon as he got there.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0268.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0268.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Hillary was a little too slow in this pic...<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0269.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0269.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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...but joins Don, Steve, and me here.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0270.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0270.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Tom has a free moment.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0271.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0271.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Dave helped handle the crowd.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0272.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0272.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Chris was probably the busiest man of the day, but he stops for a quick shot.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0306.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0306.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I was glad to see Chuck out for the transit.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0312.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0312.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Gus handled the 16" telescope.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0316.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0316.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Mike with his home made Dob, and last minute solar filter.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0413.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0413.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I didn't see Craig until after the transit.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0352.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0352.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I had planned to have the ingress portion of the transit to myself, family, and friends. Historically, the ingress and egress were the important parts, and had rare phenomena to be observed. Ingress would take about 18 minutes to complete, leaving almost three hours before sunset with Venus fully in front of the solar disk. I didn’t think it was selfish to want the geeky moments to myself, as much as possible.<br />
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First contact was due at 5:04:18 PM CDST. With 3 minutes 30 seconds on my desktop countdown timer, I saw my friend Katie walking up. She was followed by my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and my friend Jayde and her family. I was expecting them, but not all at the same time, so close to first contact. Good: they would all get to see the cool stuff, too. The next few minutes are a blur in my memory, but when my alarm on my phone went off at 5:04, I was trying to get my little group up to speed on what to look for, and sneaking peeks in the eyepieces of both my telescopes, making sure they were aligned on the Sun.<br />
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It wasn’t until about 5:06 that I saw a small indentation on the solar limb, and I called out to my group that we had contact. Not long after, Jim R. also called out contact, much louder, alerting everybody that the transit had started. Soon I had random people walking up trying to look through my telescopes. I didn’t mind when I was busy with other things, but I remember butting a couple of people out of the way when I needed to observe. I was afraid that I might have been rude about it, but I’ve been told later that I wasn’t rude, just excited.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0238.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0238.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Lot of good this did me...<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0273.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0273.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0276.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0276.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0279.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0279.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Just a small indentation on the solar disk.<br />
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When Venus was more than halfway through ingress, I looked for the areola “ring” effect of the Venusian atmosphere, but to no avail. I saw the black drop for quite some time. I heard Jim R. call “surrounded by Sun," yet I saw the two disks connected for almost a minute beyond that. No wonder contact is so hard to accurately time.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0283.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0283.jpg" height="415" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0285.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0285.jpg" height="474" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0287.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0287.jpg" height="532" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0290.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0290.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0291.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0291.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0294.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0294.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Looking for second contact.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0295.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0295.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Venus fully surrounded by the Sun.<br />
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Once Venus was fully upon the solar disk things calmed down for awhile. The crowd was rather thin still, so I took off for a few minutes to check out the view from the big scopes. After popping into the Hunter Astrophoto Lab for a few seconds, I went up to the 16” telescope deck, and found my family. We posed for some pictures before I went back down to my telescopes.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0277.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0277.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0304.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0304.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Katie and Hillary.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0310.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0310.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0311.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0311.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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My mom and dad each check out the transit through the 16" telescope.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0313.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0313.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0314.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0314.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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L-R: my dad, my mom, my sister Dawn, and my brother-in-law Cecil.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0318.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0318.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Dawn told me later, "I didn't find it as exciting as you did, but I thought it was pretty cool."<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0322.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0322.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0323.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0323.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Dawn and Cecil find the reflection of their eyeballs in the eclipse glasses unsettling. (I did, too).<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0321.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0321.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I tried to image the transit through eclipse glasses, but failed.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0325.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0325.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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This picture is such a lie. I was sitting down for about one second waiting for the timer, and was right back up.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0332.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0332.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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My friend Jayde brought her husband Todd, and their son Trevor to see the transit. Jayde is a space enthusiast, and works teaching kids the value of a STEM education. All I can say is that in my opinion, she has the coolest job on this planet. She also makes homemade jewelry, and was wearing a special Transit of Venus necklace. I was glad to see her out there and meet her family.Todd got some better pictures of the transit than I did while going around to different telescopes.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=5986624215705278744791500853308n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/5986624215705278744791500853308n.jpg" height="487" width="640" /></a><br />
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Jayde getting a look at the transit through the 16" telescope.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=421395421570777874454104166599n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/421395421570777874454104166599n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=282716421570757874456679746319n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/282716421570757874456679746319n.jpg" height="640" width="455" /></a><br />
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Todd, then Trevor looking through eclipse glasses.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=481219_421570561207809_48830518_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/481219_421570561207809_48830518_n.jpg" height="640" width="578" /></a><br />
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Todd's images are better than mine!<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=3036804215706678744651748932670n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/3036804215706678744651748932670n.jpg" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=546468442819525736833474018854n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/546468442819525736833474018854n.jpg" height="640" width="427" /></a><br />
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Jayde and her specially made Transit of Venus necklace.<br />
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I saw a couple from Florida had come to see the transit. They were in town for their grandson’s graduation. Jerome had a telescope at home, but it wouldn’t help him see the transit here. They stopped by the observatory in the morning, not long after Hillary and I arrived. I took them on a tour of the place, and invited them to come back once the transit started. I was glad to see them back, and got a picture together.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0300.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0300.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0324.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0324.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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They were in town for a graduation, but still wanted to see the transit.<br />
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Exactly 24 hours before the transit began, I was at Valpo’s Central Park Plaza for a final mock transit session. Within an hour I was bored, and thinking three hours of showing Venus in transit was going to drag. Of course it didn’t, and although my excitement peaked around the black drop, it didn’t fall far from that peak for days. I watched the progress of Venus across the Sun, handled the crowd more easily, and tried to enjoy the moment as much as possible. I thought Conway Observatory was the best place in all of Northwest Indiana to see the transit, but the crowd was never as big as I expected it to be. I’d guess that we had around 250 visitors scattered throughout the three plus hours of visible transit. Not once, though, did I hear anyone say, “Oh, it’s just a dot.”<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0307.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0307.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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A little bit of a lull. We were never overwhelmed, but had a steady crowd coming and going throughout the transit.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0315.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0315.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0309.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0309.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Chris did a good job setting up a live feed in the Hunter building.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0331.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0331.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0335.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0335.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Strange but cool optical effects.<br />
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I noticed that even though I was set up farthest from the building- partly for the lowest horizon possible, partly to have as much time as possible to myself with the transit- that people coming in seemed to make a beeline straight for me. I mentioned it to Dave at one point, and he said that he was directing everybody he saw to me first. Dave liked my Sun Funnel on my 60mm refractor, and thought it was best to have me show the visitors exactly what to look for before sending them around to the other telescopes. The Sun Funnel was a very recent addition to my transit observing tools, tested for the first time only the day before. It needs to be improved for regular solar observing, but it did its job for the transit well, and was the biggest hit of the day.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0305.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0305.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Dave checking out the view on my Sun Funnel.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0297.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0297.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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A print media photographer. He wasn't used to the idea of being <i>in</i> the picture.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0327.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0327.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0334.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0334.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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All good things must come to an end, but I was surprised to see the crowd really thin out after 7 PM. Even some of the members were packing up to leave. Unthinkable to me, but to each their own, I guess. Soon, though, the Sun got low, and the shadows got long. My family had left (after bringing back a pizza!), and Hillary, Katie, and I had some time to hang out together. I still had people to attend to, but it was calm and relaxed compared to the excitement and tension surrounding ingress.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0341.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0341.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0367.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0367.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Katie stayed with Hillary and me for the duration that we had the transit.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0368.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0368.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0356.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0356.jpg" height="454" width="640" /></a><br />
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Another look with eclipse glasses with the Sun lower. There is a dot visible, but Venus should have been around 2 o'clock on the Sun.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0353.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0353.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0361.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0361.jpg" height="533" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0375.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0375.jpg" height="477" width="640" /></a><br />
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Far off to the west is a north-south flight corridor in and out of Chicago. In the still of the night, it’s not hard to notice, but even in fading daylight, it’s tough to see those distant planes. I saw one pass directly in front of the Sun while looking through my Dob, just barely missing Venus. I’d been taking advantage of the reduced glare to get transit images, and had just missed getting the plane in a picture. Not long after seeing that plane at the eyepiece, we saw a couple of them pass through on the Sun Funnel. I got decent pictures of one of them, again not missing Venus by much.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0378.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0378.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0380.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0380.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Fly-by sequence.<br />
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With the Sun sinking quickly, I saw one women hanging around with a camera, looking like she wanted to get a picture of my projection image. I told her, “You can’t wait. You have to get a picture NOW.” Right after that, Katie said she saw something in the eyepiece, and then realized it was a tree. Like Leo and Kate trying to stay on Titanic to the very end, I had to abandon my low sitting Dob first, then my go-to. In what I thought was a brilliant move, I repositioned my projection setup to take advantage of a break in the treeline. However, there wasn’t enough sunlight for quick alignment, and in the few seconds it took to find the Sun, only a tiny sliver of light hit my projection screen. Our transit was over, and I gladly surrendered the Sun to parts west, enjoying or eagerly anticipating their own Transit of Venus experience.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0370.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0370.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0406.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0406.jpg" height="475" width="640" /></a><br />
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Eclipse glasses again.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0404.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0404.jpg" height="510" width="640" /></a><br />
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Roll credits. Show's over.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0408.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0408.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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The day's last light on the Sun Funnel, but Venus is gone.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0410.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0410.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Afterglow.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0416.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0416.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0418.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0418.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Katie left with the Sun, but I took a little while to let it all sink in. Eventually, I slowly packed my gear, then closed the observatory roof. By the time I closed the building, only Hillary and I were left. We’d been there over twelve hours; the first to arrive, and last to leave. Perfect.<br />
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All day I had worried that Chicago Astronomer Joe might not see the transit due to a family emergency. It weighed heavily on me, this cruel twist of Fate, but I was able to put it out of my mind. I knew he would appreciate the thoughts, but wouldn’t want it to hamper the experience of any of his friends. I came up with the idea to sign and date one of the pairs of “eclipse glasses” that had “seen” the transit to give to Joe, not yet knowing that he’d had an hour to himself to see one last Transit of Venus. A tear of joy came to my eye when I saw him post a picture of the transit on Facebook later that night.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0236.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0236.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Joe, and all Chicago Astronomers, were represented.<br />
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We had one last transit experience while driving home. I had a feeling that Expedition 31 astronaut Don Pettit would observe the transit aboard International Space Station, and he did. While driving north on I-65, I looked to my left at 10:42 PM, and saw ISS coming up under Leo. I forgot to wave, but I wondered which orbit they could best observe the transit.<br />
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When I finally got home, I started perusing the transit pictures being posted to Facebook and elsewhere on the web, letting my own experience solidify in my memory. Jeremiah Horrocks was first to see a Transit of Venus, and I think has probably said it best:<br />
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“A most agreeable spectacle, the object of my sanguine wishes, a spot of unusual magnitude and a perfectly circular shape…”<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/?action=view&current=SUNP0342.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-6-5%20Venus%20Transit%20at%20Conway/SUNP0342.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-46209086513135481422012-05-22T17:46:00.000-05:002014-03-15T21:21:37.760-05:00Lunar Connection to the June 2012 Transit of Venus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I wanted to do this as a regular post, but it was going to take too much time to copy and paste everything together. Instead click the link in the title to see a post I wrote on <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Lunar&action=display&thread=3825"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Chicago Astronomer</span></a>. Now that the Moon is back in the evening sky for the last two weeks before the Transit of Venus, the idea is to observe some lunar features named after people who have contributed to transit science.<br />
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I hope you have some fun with Luna while counting down these final days until the transit, and clear skies on either June 5 or 6, whichever day ToV falls on in your region.</div>
</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-36900240862875275972012-04-28T07:43:00.002-05:002017-01-10T15:48:18.010-06:00Solar Observation 4-23-2012 (Prepping for the Transit of Venus)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Despite calling off a scheduled galaxy session at Conway Observatory Saturday, April 21, the sky looked halfway decent early in the night. I had some things to do, then went to Conway. By the time I arrived, clouds had moved in, and it turned out to be a sucker hole night, and not a good one at that. Mostly I figured I'd try to catch some Lyrid meteors, but that was futile (I only saw one). While waiting out sucker holes, I finished my full aperture solar filter for my 6" Dob.<br />
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I was anxious to test out my new Baader film solar filter Monday morning, but I needed to sleep more. When I woke up, I saw an email from Bill that he'd finished his Baader film solar filter, and also wanted to test it. We met at Conway around 6PM, long enough before sunset to do some good solar observing.<br />
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We each set up our own scopes with solar filters, and I also brought out the society's solar scope and Coronado. With a little bit of playing around with the Coronado, we were able to see some nice prominences and a few filaments. There was also a lot of sunspot activity.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0328.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0328.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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4.5" Newtonian with 2" masked Baader solar filter.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0329.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0329.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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6" Dobsonian with full aperture Baader solar filter.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0322.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0322.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Bill's CAT with a masked down Baader solar filter.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0324.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0324.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0326.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0326.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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5" refractor with Coronado H Alpha solar scope riding piggyback.<br />
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What really caught our eye, though, was a prominence near the solar north pole. It seemed to be sticking straight out of the solar limb like a whale when it comes up for air. I had to check the latest images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory for comparison.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0343.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0343.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0345.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0345.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=2012-4-23latest_1024_0193.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/2012-4-23latest_1024_0193.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a><br />
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The 6" solar filter easily outperforms the 2" filter on my go-to Newtonian. However, Bill and I both noticed that the image seemed "cloudy." The resolution was fine, but there was an appearance about the overall image like when an eyepiece starts to dew. I wondered if the inside of the OTA was hot? The telescope had been in my car all day, and then placed in the warm sunlight. The images in my 4.5" Newt and Bill's CAT looked fine, but those telescopes are lighter colored, and might reflect heat rather than warming up the optical tube. More testing will be necessary, and cleaning the optics wouldn't hurt.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0323.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0323.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Bill checking out the solar view with my Dob.<br />
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I like how Bill built his solar filter. Mine is a temporary job (just poster board and masking tape), but will work if I don't get around to something more permanent before the Venus transit. Bill's aperture mask velcroes to the full aperture filter. I'm working on an aperture mask, but it will just slide over the full filter.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0327.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0327.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Despite using visual observing Baader film, I was able to get decent images of sunspot groups, although it was hard to find a focus in the daylight. With practice, I think I can do an okay job of solar imaging without buying the photographic Baader film. I couldn't get recognizable solar images with my 4.5" Newtonian and 2" filter, I think because the mask was killing too much of the sunlight.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0332.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0332.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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As the Sun set, we had an interesting situation when the Sun dipped behind a distant bank of clouds. They dimmed the daylight enough so that Venus was visible at 7:24 PM, before sunset. We didn't see the sliver Moon until six minutes later, at 7:30 PM.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0348.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0348.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Bill targets Venus before the Sun was down.<br />
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Of course I observed the Moon and planets in the twilight, but I was much more interested in the Blackhawks game, and was listening over the internet. They were facing elimination (and lost). We watched when International Space Station passed by at 8:58 PM CDST, and got a little treat when a dimmer satellite seemed to pass right through it.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0353.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0353.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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First look at the young Moon.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=SUNP0355.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/SUNP0355.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Venus.<br />
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My only attempt at Saturn for the night. :'(<br />
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I saw our favorite comet of the last year (my favorite comet ever). I tracked down my second favorite galaxy, M104, before calling it a night and going to work. All the night sky observations were a bonus, as this was first and foremost to me a solar session.<br />
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After I got to work, I saw on Facebook that the aurora borealis was visible from the Indiana Dunes. I’d heard the possibility of aurora Monday night, but didn’t think much of it. I gave a few looks north while at Conway, but saw nothing. Farther north, on the beach, the sky is dark enough with a flat horizon, that the aurora was visible out over the Lake. It will be hard to plan, but maybe when we have some advance warning of an incoming solar storm, this would be a good place for an observation.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/?action=view&current=305605_10151560991180545_95531095544_23560415_2075399675_n.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-4-23%20Solar%20Observing/305605_10151560991180545_95531095544_23560415_2075399675_n.jpg" height="329" width="640" /></a><br />
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Photo credit: Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources<br />
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After this solar session, I'm one step closer to being ready for the June 5 Transit of Venus. I still have some procuring and preparing to do, but if those plans fall through, I will still be able to conduct a good observation, and put on a good show for the public. Everything is falling into place, just in time.<br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-36238117082237251762012-03-29T20:29:00.001-05:002017-01-10T15:50:50.085-06:00Messier Marathon March 16-17, 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I had never attempted a Messier Marathon before, let alone organize one. As the newly appointed Observing Director of Calumet Astronomical Society, I designated Friday, March 16 as a members observing night at Conway Observatory, with special emphasis on a Messier Marathon. I also invited a couple of friends from Chicago to join me for the Messier Marathon. Also, the Monday before the Marathon I was asked to have a training session for the observatory’s 16” telescope. I was okay with that, but also knew that it could easily interfere with the early part of the MM.<br />
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I arrived at Conway at 5PM to prep the observatory and look for any files that might be useful for the training session. I ate some burgers I picked up on the way, and made a pot of coffee to set out for the members. By 6:00 PM, members were arriving and setting up telescopes. I had already pulled out both of my scopes, and also an 8” loaner Dob from the basement storage. I was planning on doing the MM from the concrete circle, and thought I might want the extra 2” of aperture for some of the fainter targets. That would let the new trainees get familiar with the 16” telescope, and let me judge my progress with Jeremy, Bill, and John, who I knew were staying all night for the MM. At 6:30 I started the training class by going over the observatory rules and access policy. Just before sunset we were ready to go upstairs to open the roof and prep the 16” telescope. Just as Venus popped through the evening twilight, the trainees were ready to slew the telescope to their first target of the night.<br />
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Gear out, and ready for the night.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0055.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0055.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Craig solar observing.<br />
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Mike setting up.<br />
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Jeff setting up.<br />
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Larry sets up his truss tube Dob.<br />
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Quick solar observing for me.<br />
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Venus, Jupiter, and Mars shined down on us early, and most of my class had never seen them through the 16” telescope. I was done with the class when Bill and John arrived, so I gave John a quick tour of the place, and let him have a look at Jupiter, Mars, and M42 with the 16”. Wow, wow, and WOW. Yep.<br />
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Sunset.<br />
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Roger works the 16" LX200.<br />
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Jim and Jeff wait their turn.<br />
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Jeremy was already searching for the early galaxies, M74 and M77, which are difficult at best. I was almost set to go myself when somebody pulled me away again. A guy had stopped by curious about what we do and how to join. I showed him around and let him and his wife look at the bright planets that were up before getting back to the Marathon.<br />
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FINALLY. Observing time. I really wanted to start the night off right by catching the faint galaxies of M74, M77, and M33. Jeremy had all but given up on them, but managed to track down M31 and companions. I was struggling with it, and gladly had a look through Jeremy’s Dob for M31 & 32? At 8:33 PM. At 8:46 I thought I found M52, an open cluster in CAS. I wasn’t positive about it, so again, when Jeremy said he’d found it, I had a look at 8:54. I was pretty sure at that point that I hadn’t found 52 at all. Pushing 9:00 PM, two hours after sunset and I hadn’t logged a Messier of my own yet. That was about to change.<br />
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At 9:01 I logged open cluster M103 in CAS. This reminded me of mini versions of the summer asterisms Sagitta and the Coathanger. After struggling again on something (not sure what), I pulled out my binoculars for Suburu, M45 at 9:11 PM. Yeah, yeah, it’s easy, but I needed the confidence boost. Number 2.<br />
<br />
Somewhere around this time, from the other side of the observing circle, Larry asked me to come over and confirm that he had found our long-running icy friend Garradd. It was good to see the comet again, especially without having to waste time tracking it down. Ha! I saw a comet. Take that, Messier!<br />
<br />
Perseus was heading toward the northwest light dome, so it’s two Messier’s had to be checked off while I had lower magnitude guide stars to find them. I checked off planetary nebula M76 at 9:26 PM. It needs power, and an OIII filter helps, but it was visible without it. I don’t think I even starhopped to M34, but picked up the faint glow through my finder scope. Finally an easy one!<br />
<br />
Next I headed south of Orion to Lepus for my first globular cluster of the night, M79, at 9:42 PM. I stopped at the very familiar M42 & 43 just long enough to write them down, then on to M78, another diffuse nebula in Orion. I actually found M78 easily enough, but wasn’t convinced of it. I was expecting something more like M42 or M8. What I saw was two stars and a faint glow. I reworked my starhop several times, and kept coming back to it. When the others were seeing the exact same thing as I was, I logged it at 10:02 PM.<br />
<br />
For the very beginning of Frenchy’s list, I went up to the 16” scope. The 8” Dob I was working with would have done just fine, but this one is great with large aperture. Logged the Crab at 10:08 PM. I’d been working through the list for over an hour and a half, and had only logged 12 objects; two were naked eye objects, and three I hadn’t even found myself. Time to go on a roll, and Auriga was the perfect place to start that roll.<br />
<br />
M35, open cluster, GEM- 10:21 PM.<br />
M37, open cluster, AUR- 10:24 PM.<br />
M36, open cluster, AUR- 10:26 PM.<br />
M38, open cluster, AUR- 10:27 PM.<br />
<br />
Four clusters, six minutes. Much better. Added open cluster M41 below Sirius to the list at 10:28. Five in seven minutes. Heating up, but yet another open cluster, M93 in PUP, slowed me down again, not observed until 10:45 PM. M93 shares PUP with two more Messier open clusters, M47 & M46. M47 was logged at 10:50 PM. Although they are right next to each, I didn’t officially log M46 until 11:00 PM. I had no trouble finding it; I just felt that as long as I was there, it was worth the time to find the cluster’s hidden planetary nebula, NGC 2438. It was visible, but not discernible. Popping in an OIII filter dimmed the background cluster enough to reveal the faint glow of the dying star. Worth the time and effort, I think.<br />
<br />
From M46, I made my way up to open cluster M48 in HYA at 11:10PM. “Not too bad” is my only comment on the cluster. After that, M50 in MON should have been next. Looking at a chart now, it should have been a fairly easy find, but I gave up on it. Sitting between Sirius and Procyon, there just aren’t many bright stars between the Dogs to get a close starting point.<br />
<br />
I didn’t like giving up on M50, but I didn’t want to fall further off the pace. I was running behind the others, and felt pressured to catch up, even at the expense of a Messier object I’d never seen. I was quite happy to see M44, the Beehive Cluster next on the list. It was “too friggin’ big” for my 25mm eyepiece, so I took a nice look at the cluster through the finder scope, somehow avoiding back injury. After the Beehive, a short trip south through Cancer brought me to M67, a “small, tight” open cluster I’d never seen. I won’t be making the mistake of passing it over nearly as often now.<br />
<br />
After logging M67 at 11:28 PM, the Leo galaxies were next in the order of my observing plan, but I deviated from that plan. Ursa Major was swinging around to the darkest part of the sky it would be in. For some reason the Big Bear gives me fits, even M101, which is an easy starhop above the handle. I was going to need as many guide stars as I could get, so wanted to get through UMA before it headed into the background glow to the northwest. I started with the galactic pairing of M81 & M82 at 11:38 PM. Along the bottom of the Dipper, spiral galaxy M108 looks easy enough to target, but this dim, edge-on spiral is hard to spot. I found it at 11:46 PM. From there, planetary nebula M97 is practically right next door. This is a large planetary, but dim. Once again, I gave it a look with the OIII filter at 11:53 PM. The next target, spiral galaxy M109 is not much trouble to target, but “very dim.” Duly recorded at 11:57 PM, I moved on. As noted above, spiral galaxy M101 has some nice stars to point the way, yet I had to make this starhop several times before finding it at 12:06 AM.<br />
<br />
Here is where I started having doubts about Messieur Messier. I had conflicting data about spiral galaxy M102. One of my sources listed it as NGC 5866, but another said it was a duplication of M101. It wasn’t listed in the index of my star atlas, so I skipped it for the time being. Later, I would regret that decision, but I had doubts that it even belonged on the list.<br />
<br />
We’re all familiar with M51, just off the Dipper in Canes Venatici. There are three other Messier galaxies nearby in the Hunting Dogs. I started with M51 and companion at 12:08 AM, then started my starhop for M94 at Beta CVN. M94 forms the point of an isosceles triangle with Beta and Alpha CVN as the baseline. I lined up the finder scope at what I thought was the appropriate spot, and there it was. 12:12 AM. M63 is about 2° northwest of 4.73 magnitude 20 CVN. I found the galaxy at 12:15 AM. The last Messier galaxy of the Dogs is M106. It lies about halfway between Gamma UMa and Beta CVN. M106 has a visual magnitude of 8.4, but a surface brightness of only 13.6. I didn’t find it, and was losing time in the search.<br />
<br />
The next targets were worth seeing with the 16”, so I went upstairs for a look not only at the Leo galaxies, but a quick diversion to see the Red Planet. First, though, was a quick stop to the Sombrero Galaxy, M104. The Sombrero is technically a Virgo galaxy, but it’s just north of the border with Corvus, and I always start my starhop at Delta Corvus. Throwing high power at M104 reveals it’s famous dust lane. I shared the view, and logged the Sombrero at 12:45 AM.<br />
<br />
Moving to Leo, the next target was one of the easiest to find, at least this night. Spiral galaxy M96 shared the field of view with Mars. Cheating? Maybe, but I still needed to make up time. After observing Mars, I nudged to telescope southwest so that the galaxy and Mars shared the 40mm eyepiece of the 16”. It might be the first time I’ve ever seen a galaxy and planet together. M95 is just west of M96, so again I nudged the telescope over, and logged the pair at 12:53 AM. Next was M105, just northeast of M96. The cool thing about M105 is that it shares the field of view with galaxies NGC3384 and NGC3389. I saw them all at 12:56 AM. Below 70 Leonis lies the pair of galaxies M66 and M65. Again, I caught them sharing the field of view. It’s nice to check off two at a time, which I did at 1:00 AM.<br />
<br />
I went back down the observing circle to work the objects in Coma Berenices. First, though, I had M40 on my list. Again, I was cussing Messieur Charles. This is just a double star, and not a good one at that. Knowing that Messier first published his catalog at 45 objects, and with M42 through 45 being naked eye visible, I really feel that he was just padding the list for publication. I can’t prove it, but it makes sense. Of course, M40 wasn’t listed in my star atlas, but after some investigating, I’m pretty sure I tracked down the right double, and noted it at 1:12 AM.<br />
<br />
Around this time Jeremy was hunting M102. As I stated above, I had conflicting data on M102. One source listed it as a duplication of M101, while another said it was NGC5866. After hearing what Jeremy read from his source, I decided that I would try to hunt down NGC5866 in Draco. Still cussing and complaining about Messier’s observing skills, Draco had moved into the glow from the cities and towns to the northwest. I gave up on it, but will put a higher priority on it for my next Messier Marathon. But once again, I lost a lot of time on something I hadn’t even found.<br />
<br />
Before getting to the galaxies of Bernice’s Hair, at 1:29 AM I found the globular cluster M3 in Canes Venetici, near where it converges with Coma and Bootes. I love globular clusters, and M3 was only the second one on the list. Globular cluster M53 was in the area though, and observed next at 1:38 AM. M53 lies about 1 degree east of Alpha COM. Very faint, and now in the running with M107 as the worst Messier globular. The famous Virgo Cluster of Galaxies is concentrated in Virgo, but some of the physical members of the cluster spill over into Coma. M64 is the northern-most Messier member of the cluster, off by itself. I found it less than a degree from 4.9 magnitude 35 Comae. I had my first galaxy of the cluster at 1:47 AM, but I wasn’t quite ready to dive into the thick of them yet.<br />
<br />
The Messier objects of Hydra, M68 and M83 were near the central meridian, and about as high as they were going to be. Neither was very high above the horizon, so I had to take advantage while they were peaking. Globular cluster M68 lies about three degrees south of Beta CRV. When I found it 1:56 AM, I found no resolvable stars, but the transparency was terrible, especially that low to the south. At 2:04 AM I found the spiral galaxy M83. In my notes I wrote, “faint,” then started to write, “Wha…” but crossed it out. I think I was ready to badmouth Chuckie again…<br />
<br />
With Hydra knocked out, I was ready to tackle the Virgo Cluster. I really expected to run right through these galaxies. My experience of early morning February 19 touring some of the Virgo galaxies was relatively fresh in my mind. Also, I thought I was going to use the 16” LX200 to go through the cluster. Fate had other ideas, and left me spooked as well.<br />
<br />
Just as I was getting ready to go upstairs to the observatory, I turned around and swore I saw white light flash across the parking lot, like a car was pulling in. We’d had several cars turn in already, just to leave when the saw us observing. I was ready to let somebody have it for showing up uninvited after 2AM, but there was no car there to be seen. Freaky, but okay. We had lightning flashes later in the morning, so maybe that’s all I saw. I went upstairs to work the 16”, but the freaky would continue.<br />
<br />
On an equatorial mount with a wide field eyepiece, the Virgo cluster is easy to go through. Many of the galaxies can be found by slowly slewing in only one direction from the previous galaxy. This makes it very easy to galaxy hop through the cluster. When I used the LX200 for Mars and the Leo galaxies, the handset was behaving oddly. It was annoying, but usable. It acted like it was rebooting several times, and didn’t want to slew at the slowest control speed. With new members using the telescope earlier in the night, I thought maybe settings had been changed (inadvertently or not). Or perhaps dew, which was became a problem after midnight, was shorting the wiring. At any rate, I didn’t have the time to investigate. I was going to turn the power off and head back down to the 8” Dob, but first the 16” decided to slew of it’s own accord. I ran down to the control room, and flipped the power switch. I was freaked out. Spooky incident number two in just a matter of minutes. I was ready to get back outside, but as I opened the door, it looked like it was locked from the inside. WTF? I had just come through the door without a key! I hurried back down to the concrete circle with the feeling that Messier was messing with me for cussing him out! I know that sounds crazy, but I’d just had a little too much crazy. I needed coffee.<br />
<br />
Settled down and caffeinated (not at all an oxymoron to me), was finally ready for the Virgo Cluster. I did NOT want to do this with a Dob. I’ll try to spare every little detail, but I knew that I was going to be doing a lot of backtracking through galaxies, starting all over again, or both. First up was M98. I got REAL familiar with M98. I started at Denebola (Beta LEO), then went nearly due east to 6 COM. M98 is less than one degree from 5.1 magnitude 6 COM, the brightest star in the area. Also, being the westernmost of the 14 galaxies at the heart of the Virgo cluster, it made sense to use M98 as my starting point. I first saw it at 2:23 AM. Practically right next to it is M99. I didn’t log M99 until 2:34 AM, eleven minutes later. Nope, I did NOT want to do this with a Dob.<br />
<br />
Long story short, I was very methodical as I went through the Virgo cluster. I made sure that I was not mistaking one galaxy for another by confirming them through the galaxies surrounding each one. All told, it took me one hour, eighteen minutes to observe the fifteen Virgo Cluster galaxies starting with M98 and finishing with M61 at 3:41 AM, an average of one galaxy every five minutes. Not shabby, but I felt I could have done better. Again though, conditions were poor at the beginning of the night, and continued deteriorating through the night.<br />
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Virgo Cluster<br />
<br />
M98- 2:23 AM.<br />
M99- 2:34 AM.<br />
M100- 2:50 AM.<br />
M84 & M86- 2:58 AM. Shared field of view.<br />
M49- 3:05 AM.<br />
M87- 3:07 AM.<br />
M58- 3:09 AM.<br />
M89- 3:12 AM.<br />
M90- 3:16 AM.<br />
M59 & M60- 3:18 AM. Shared field of view.<br />
M88- 3:35 AM.<br />
M91- 3:35 AM.<br />
M61- 3:41 AM.<br />
<br />
When I finished the Virgo Cluster, Jeremy was having a look at Saturn. This was a nice planetary break after the intense concentration of finding the faint Virgo galaxies. I have to say, this was my best view of Saturn ever. Really. If I remember right, Jeremy was pushing unreal magnification, using his 3x Barlow and 8mm EP. The air was still enough to support it, though, and it was like looking at the system from Cassini. If Saturn looked this good every time, there would be no doubt what planet would be my favorite. Sorry Patrick.<br />
<br />
Now we’re pushing 4 AM, everything is soaked with dew, and we started seeing lightning flashes with no clouds in sight. By 4:30, though, I could see clouds in the lightning to the northwest against the dome of Purdue Calumet’s NIRO observatory. I closed the roof then, just in case a storm popped up.<br />
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After the diversion of Saturn, I was ready for some easy observing. I chose M29, an open cluster in Cygnus to resume the Marathon. Against the star rich field of the Cygnus Milky Way, this cluster isn’t impressive. Recorded it at 3:56 AM, and went to Lyra. Normally M57, the Ring Nebula, is one of the best objects to observe. For the Marathon, however, I was content to log it at 3:57 AM, and move on. Ditto for globular cluster M13 in Hercules, at 4:03 AM. The Little Brother glob in Hercules gave me some trouble, but I finally found it at 4:12 AM. Those two put me on a glob kick, though.<br />
<br />
M107 in Ophiuchus is an unimpressive, tiny, faint globular. It’s an interesting starhop (if you go the long way around). This might be the worst Messier glob, but I found it at 4:17 AM. I was going to try for the rest of the globs in Ophiuchus, but transparency was so terrible that I could hardly make out the naked eye stars of the constellation, let alone find dimmer stars for a proper starhop. I gave up, and went over to my constellation, the Scorpion. M4, just off Antares (Alpha SCO), was easy enough at 4:25 AM. M80 was harder, found at 4:32 AM.<br />
<br />
After closing the roof I decided to take all of my observing gear except telescope into the observatory basement to dry out under the heater. The sky was just too bad for serious observing, and I knew my Marathon was over. I managed to add six more objects to my list just to make my final tally slightly more respectable, but if I couldn’t find something in a matter of minutes, I skipped it. This was the summer sky, where I’m very much at home, and have seen most of it’s Messier objects repeatedly, as well as a good chunk of it’s NGC objects. For deep sky observing, nothing makes me happier than glob-hopping through the summer constellations, so I was disappointed that the sky wasn’t going to let me see my favorite treasures. I have all summer to get reacquainted, though. Slowly, and between cursory searches, I started closing down the observatory.<br />
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Ptolemy’s Cluster, M7, was a somewhat easy find at 4:53 AM. M7 lies about 5° east of Lambda Scorpius, and is naked eye visible under dark skies. With his shorty refractor, Bill showed me a wide field view that included M20, M21, and M8. Right after that I went after the big, bright M22. M22 is special to me. When I first bought my Dob in 2008, Jupiter was hanging out in Sagittarius. I had bought my Dob for lunar and planetary observing, thinking that the 6” aperture was too small for deep sky objects. One night at home I realized that I could see a hint of the summer Milky Way overhead. Immediately I started scanning the sky through my finder scope, and quickly saw M22 glowing. It was the first DSO I ever saw on my own, and to this day is one of my favorites. For the Marathon, I logged it at 5:29 AM. Lastly, I found globular cluster M28, about 1° northwest of Lambda SGR. That was my 74th and final Messier object of the night.<br />
<br />
By 6:00 AM, the sky was getting brighter in the east, and we started losing stars. We could also see just how thick the fog surrounding us was. We had warm temperatures all night, at worst only dipping into the upper 50’s. Some of the guys who were out for the members observing session chided us that it wasn’t a Messier Marathon unless it was 30° or colder. I almost would have welcomed a cold night if it would have given us a crisp, transparent sky. We fought for every object we saw, especially in the later hours. I was impressed with the observing skills of John, Bill, and especially Jeremy. I remember Jeremy’s first night at Conway last summer, using his binoculars and borrowing my Dob to observe. He’s come a long way since then, and was without a doubt the most intense observer throughout the MM. He was finding dim fuzzies right up until the morning sky became too bright. Thanks to all of them for staying out all night, and pushing me to try to get through as much of the catalog as I could. Maybe next year we’ll have more favorable sky conditions, and catch all 110. There are now only a small handful of Messier objects I’ve never seen, and those will get high priority to observe in the next year.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0102.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0102.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0113.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0113.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Morning fog all around us. We'd been observing through it for a couple hours, at least.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0114.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0114.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0116.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0116.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Purdue Calumet's NIRO observatory is barely visible, only about 100 yards away.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0108.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0108.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Apparently this mouse picked a bad time sometime during the night to try to sneak out of the building. :-/<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0117.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0117.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0120.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0120.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0121.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0121.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Foggy sunrise.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0105.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0105.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0106.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0106.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Our all night Marathon crew. L-R: Me, John, Bill, Jeremy.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/?action=view&current=SUNP0127.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2012-3-16-17%20Messier%20Marathon/SUNP0127.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Time to go.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Observations&thread=3750&page=1"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">More here.</span></a></div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-50661090061499897482012-03-02T15:41:00.000-06:002017-01-10T15:51:34.475-06:00Comparing Lunar Librations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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With an unexpectedly clear sky last night, I found myself observing the Moon (well before the <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Conjunctions&thread=3706&page=1"><span style="color: #8e7cc3;">occultation of Zeta Tauri</span></a>). I would have guessed the waxing gibbous Moon was about 8 days old at the time. I was caught up in observing and imaging what I could see, not what I might have expected to see.</div>
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Later that night, while looking through the images I'd taken, I realized that normally on an eight day old (it was actually nine days old, although I didn't know that yet) Moon, Rupes Recta- the Straight Wall- can be seen. I hadn't noticed it while observing, but I didn't specifically look for it. Later, while looking through my images, I saw that Rupes Recta was in full daylight, and therefore not visible. This led me to believe that libration had turned the visual western limb away from us. </div>
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I remembered that in early October 2011 I had noticed libration tilting the other direction, allowing me to see the "far side" along the visual western limb. I checked an image I took October 4 that is a similar lunar phase. Sure enough, the images from these two nights show a starkly different lunar landscape.</div>
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<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0283.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0283.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></o:p></div>
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October 4, 2011- 7:50 PM CDST.</div>
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<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/?action=view&current=SUNP0012.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/SUNP0012.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></o:p></div>
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March 1, 2012- 8:12 PM CST.</div>
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Wanting to know more about these two nights, I looked up some information from the Virtual Moon Atlas:</div>
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October 4, 2011- 7:50 PM CDST</div>
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<i>Distance- 383908km</i></div>
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<i>Apparent Diameter- 31.13’</i></div>
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<i>Lunation- 7.53 days</i></div>
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<i>Illumination- 59.3%</i></div>
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<i>Sub-solar latitude- -1.4°</i></div>
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<i>Libration in latitude- -2° 57’</i></div>
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<i>Libration in longitude- +7° 14’ </i> </div>
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March 1, 2012- 8:13 PM CST</div>
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<i>Distance- 391694km</i></div>
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<i>Apparent Diameter- 30.51’</i></div>
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<i>Lunation- 9.15 days</i></div>
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<i>Illumination- 60%</i></div>
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<i>Sub-solar latitude- +1.5°</i></div>
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<i>Libration in latitude- +1° 53’</i></div>
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<i>Libration in longitude- -6° 0’</i></div>
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Credit: Virtual Moon Atlas.</div>
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Although the phase looks very similar, VMA gives a difference in lunation of over 36 hours. The difference in illumination, though, is only 0.7%, close enough that even very skilled observers would notice little difference, in my opinion. The difference in libration in longitude, however, is over 13 degrees. Luna's visual western limb was indeed turned away from us last night.</div>
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For further comparison, I’ve found an image from October 5, and details from Virtual Moon Atlas.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/?action=view&current=SUNP0312.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/SUNP0312.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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October 5, 2011- 9:00 PM CDST</div>
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<i>Distance- 388667km</i></div>
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<i>Apparent Diameter- 30.74’</i></div>
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<i>Lunation- 8.58 days</i></div>
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<i>Illumination- 69.6%</i></div>
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<i>Sub-solar latitude- -1.4°</i></div>
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<i>Libration in latitude- 4° 09 ’</i></div>
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<i>Libration in longitude- +6° 39’</i></div>
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Credit: Virtual Moon Atlas</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While the lunation of 8.58 days on October 5 is still over half a day short of last night's 9.15 days, the Moon shows a much fuller disk, and was over 69% illuminated. It's a neat comparison, but I think October 4 better illustrates the difference in libration.</span></div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-22957562656648875192012-03-01T18:12:00.001-06:002014-03-15T21:21:06.715-05:00Galaxy Hopping 2-19-2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Carl Sagan might not have ever said "billions and billions," but I will. On the morning of February 19, I saw stars by the billions and billions. I observed 24 objects I'd never seen before, most of them galaxies in Leo and Virgo. All those galaxies are nicely placed to jump from one to the next, like intergalactic star hopping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm almost certain I doubled the number of galaxies I've ever seen. They are never high on my priority list, but if you get the chance under a moderately dark sky, with a fairly large aperture telescope, go galaxy hopping through Leo, Virgo, or Ursa Major. It's almost like shooting fish in a barrel; can't miss. And you get to count stars by the billions and billions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've never been much of a galaxy observer, but have hit up the easier ones like M31, M51, M101, M81 & 82, M66 & 65, and M104. I'd probably seen a total of less than 20 galaxies before Saturday night/Sunday morning. Here's my observing list from that session, with objects I hadn't seen before italicized:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto (from Chesterton, early in the night; the rest were after I arrived at Conway Observatory).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M42-12:05 AM</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bright meteor east-west through Hydra- 12:41 AM</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M93- 12:46 AM- open cluster in Hydra</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M68- 12:50 AM- dim, maybe loose globular cluster in Hydra (below Beta Corvus)</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M66 & M65- 1:19 AM- spiral galaxies in Leo, part of Leo Triplet</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NGC 3628- 1:21 AM- galaxy in Leo, also part of Leo Triplet</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mars- 1:24 AM</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saturn, Titan, and four small moons close in- 2:11 AM</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M95 & M96-2:29 AM- galaxies in Leo</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's where it got really fun. There is a cluster of galaxies west of Denebola, and reading my star chart well, I jumped galaxy to galaxy.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M105, NGC 3384, NGC 3389 (very dim)- 2:40 AM- galaxies in Leo</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NGC 3367, NGC 3377- 3:01 AM- galaxies in Leo</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NGC 3607 & NGC 3608- 3:12 AM- galaxies in Leo</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M104- 3:33 AM- Spiral galaxy in Virgo (on the border with Corvus). Possibly the second coolest galaxy after Andromeda. Averted vision dust lane visible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On to the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M98 & M99- 3:49 AM- galaxies in Virgo</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M88, M91- 3:53 AM- M88 spiral galaxy, M91 big, but dim, possibly elliptical galaxy</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M90, M89, M58, M59, M60- 4:00 AM- galaxies in Virgo</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M84, M86- 4:25 AM- galaxies in Virgo</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M87- 4:26 AM- giant elliptical galaxy in Virgo, the prize of the Virgo Cluster. Slightly disappointed, but glad to have finally seen it.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NGC 4361- 4:51 AM- planetary nebula in Corvus</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Moonrise 5:05 AM</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Summary: In about five hours of (cold) observing time, I saw 33 objects. Twenty-five of those I observed for the first time, and 26 were galaxies. I would have seen even more galaxies, but the finder scope on the 16" was somehow knocked badly out of alignment, and I had to waste precious time finding Mars and getting the finder realigned. Seeing stars by the billions and billions or in a single night is incredible to me.</span><br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-40938531306689166632011-12-14T14:39:00.003-06:002017-01-10T16:00:34.818-06:00Quick Lunar Eclipse, December 10, 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">December 10, 2011</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Conway Observatory, Lowell, Indiana</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve seen lunar eclipses before, in October 2004 (the night the Red Sox won the World Series), and was watching a few minutes March 3, 2007. I had never seen one through astronomer’s eyes, though. In January 2008, my interest in astronomy was fully reborn when I took an introductory astronomy course at Purdue University North Central. Conveniently, while I was in that class, there was another total lunar eclipse favorable for Northwest Indiana. I had every intention of catching it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Instead, on the night of February 20, part of the Valparaiso area was hammered with over 6” of lake effect snow. Weather reports around the region gave me reason to think the snow wouldn’t last, and that I might see something before going to bed. I constantly shoveled the quickly falling snow so that I would have someplace to observe from if and when the skies finally cleared. One of my ex-girlfriends even text messaged me that she could see the eclipse clearly through her window outside of Lowell. All of my work went for nothing, though, as the snow fell late into the night, after the eclipse was over.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Last year’s <a href="http://pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/11/upcoming-total-lunar-eclipse-december.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">solstice total eclipse</span></a> would have been one for the ages, with the Moon nearly as high as it ever gets, on the longest night of the year. Again, it was not to be. All of Northwest Indiana and Chicago were under snowfall. It wasn’t much snow, but the roads were treacherous. Driving to a more favorable location was out of the question.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, for the last total lunar eclipse until April 2014, I was treated to clear skies. The catch for this eclipse was that in Northwest Indiana, the eclipse didn’t really begin until just before moonset and sunrise. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I went outside around 2 AM CST for some lunar and planetary observing before the eclipse. I planned to observe from home, but Jupiter was already low in the sky. Jupiter was going to be disappearing behind neighboring houses, and I was almost certain the Moon would be setting in an even worse area to the northwest. I packed my gear and drove to Conway Observatory to take advantage of it’s low horizon in mostly open fields.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I arrived at 3:20 AM, and took my time getting ready. With the Moon setting so far to the northwest, I wouldn’t be able to use the 16” observatory scope, since the building would be blocking the view. I set up two of my telescopes in the basement, leaving the heat off so that they would be acclimatized when it was time to observe. I checked out Mars and Saturn with the 16”, but not for long. Accuweather said Lowell’s temperature was 12F, with a “real feel” of only 7F. It was too cold to stay out observing for long periods.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP03622.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP03622.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Twelve degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr…</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I sat in the relatively warm control room browsing the internet, and gathering details of the eclipse to assist my observations. After 5 AM, I took my 6” Dob outside to document the Moon before the eclipse began. After getting my initial lunar images, Mars and Saturn were briefly targeted before retreating into the observatory to warm up again. (I can’t stress enough that I was bundled in many layers, and I was still freezing). </span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0364.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0364.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0366.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0366.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0400.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0400.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Control pictures of the Moon, before the eclipse started.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Chicago area was just far enough west to expect to see anything at all. The Moon would enter the penumbra at 5:31 AM CDST, but of course, that is an unobservable event. Most predictions for the region said no noticeable darkening of the lunar surface would occur until around 6:45 AM. Moonset in Lowell was at 7:03 AM, and sunrise at 7:04 AM. Even as the Moon entered the umbra, daylight would be brightening the background sky, lending some uncertainty that much of anything would be observed. Nonetheless, at 6:19 I thought I could tell that the Moon was darkening slightly. I almost thought I was imagining the effect, but some of the pictures I captured had a “ghost” image of the Moon. Those images seem to confirm that the northeast lunar limb was indeed darker than the rest of the satellite.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP03642.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP03642.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Moonset: 7:03AM CST.</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Sunrise: 7:04 AM CST.</span></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwlaTI0eCNw/TukDuWuHSjI/AAAAAAAAATg/aV5rikxhW5M/s1600/12-10-2011_EclipseMap_341px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="547" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwlaTI0eCNw/TukDuWuHSjI/AAAAAAAAATg/aV5rikxhW5M/s640/12-10-2011_EclipseMap_341px.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.skyandtelescope.com/about/pressreleases/Watch-the-Dawn-Eclipse-of-the-Moon-Decnbsp10nbsp-2011-134917183.html"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Sky & Telescope</span></i></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m7Os56s9lMo/TukD_Le1QpI/AAAAAAAAATo/XofOXmH2lJg/s1600/LunarEclipse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m7Os56s9lMo/TukD_Le1QpI/AAAAAAAAATo/XofOXmH2lJg/s640/LunarEclipse.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html</span></i></a></td></tr>
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<o:p style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0409.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0409.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<o:p style="line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0410.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0410.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The southeastern sky beginning to brighten.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0413.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0413.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Can’t tell here, but I swore the Moon had started to darken slightly.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0421.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0421.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Moon over the NIRO observatory. The “ghost” image seems to show a darkening of the northeastern lunar limb.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0426.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0426.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Still brightening.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0429.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0429.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0432.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0432.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0433.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0433.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The partially eclipsed Moon over the 16” telescope, and the Hunter Astrophoto Lab.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0440.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0440.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Again, notice the ghost image of the Moon.</span></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0442.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0442.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0453.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0453.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0457.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0457.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, a tiny bite seems to taken out of the Moon.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0459.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0459.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">By 6:38 AM it was clear that a small bite had been taken out of the Moon. It was also clear that the Sun was racing up to the southeast horizon as quickly as the Moon was sinking to the northwest horizon. It’s amazing just how fast the Moon drops out of sight when you’re intently observing. With the Purdue University Calumet research observatory just to the northwest of Conway, I had a photogenic conjunction to capture. I also roamed to various points around the observatory to capture the disappearing Moon from interesting vantages. How many opportunities would I have to catch a partially eclipsed Moon setting over these wonderful astronomical facilities?</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0464.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0464.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0466.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0466.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Strong evidence of Earth’s shadow now, but the Moon wouldn’t be up much longer.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0467.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0467.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0469.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0469.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0471.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0471.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0474.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0474.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The combined effects of daylight and Earth’s shadow are starting to wash out the lunar surface.</span></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0475.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0475.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0476.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0476.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0478.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0478.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0479.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0479.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0480.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0480.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0484.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0484.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0487.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0487.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0489.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0489.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0490.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0490.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Just about to lose the Moon to the horizon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0491.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0491.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0492.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0492.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0494.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0494.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0495.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0495.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0498.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0498.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0499.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0499.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0501.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0501.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0504.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0504.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0505.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0505.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0506.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0506.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0508.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0508.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Moon was now gone from ground level.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0509.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0509.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0516.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0516.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0520.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0520.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I caught a few fleeting seconds of The Moon from the pedestrian ramp.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0521.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0521.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0522.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0522.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0523.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0523.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0524.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0524.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">How fitting that I saw Earth’s shadow, the Belt of Venus?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0525.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0525.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0526.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0526.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0529.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0529.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0533.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0533.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0534.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0534.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0536.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0536.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0538.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0538.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sunrise.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0541.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0541.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0548.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0548.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0545.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0545.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Frosty telescope.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>
Of course I also observed the eclipse while I could through my telescope. I have to admit, the view was disappointing, yet I couldn't tear myself away from the eyepiece until the Moon sank behind the trees in the distance. Even then I didn't want to let the moment end, quickly heading up the pedestrian ramp for a higher position, gaining another minute or so before our planet finally rotated too far east to see our companion. I waited for the Sun to peak over the opposite horizon, then went inside to look through my observations. I posted a few of my better images for the world to see, then browsed the internet for pictures coming in from around the world. While waiting for the Sun to melt frost off the telescopes, I did a short solar observation, then closed the roof and called it a session.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0550.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0550.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Cold astronomer checking out the eclipse online.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0565.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0565.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/?action=view&current=SUNP0566.jpg" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-12-10%20Lunar%20Eclipse/SUNP0566.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Checking out the Sun before heading home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I finally got to see part of an eclipse through astronomer’s eyes. Being so cold, I’m almost glad it was short, and just before sunrise. A totally visible eclipse would have either turned me into popsicle, or filled my 8GB SD card on my camera. It’s going to be a long wait until the next total lunar eclipse in April 2014. This was just enough to tide me over until then. Of course, we do have a partial eclipse early morning June 4, 2012. With the Venus transit June 5, those will be a busy couple of days.</span></div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-77866158038475069322011-11-17T08:28:00.000-06:002017-01-10T15:52:20.259-06:00Solar Filter Project, November 15, 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Never Look at the Sun Through a Telescope Without a Proper Solar Filter</span></b></div>
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When my <a href="http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=12296&src=goog"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b4a7d6;">Astrozap solar filter</span></a> film arrived last week, it was very tempting to go grab a pair of scissors and glue the film right across the opening of the closest available scope, especially since Active Region 1339 was crossing the face of the Sun. Obviously, it would have been stupid of me to rush right in. I missed direct viewing of AR1339, but I think waiting to make a correct filter was wiser.</div>
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The Astrozap film comes with instructions on making a filter cell, and I followed their advice. To make the cell, they recommended making two masks to fit over the aperture opening, with the filter being glued between them. For the front mask of the cell, I used the lid of a coffee can. The lid was slightly larger than the front of my 4.5” go-to scope, which meant that when the cell was completed, it would be a perfect fit. Since the lid was translucent, I needed the back mask of the cell to block sunlight. I used one of the sheets of cardboard I used for solar projection.</div>
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Since a full aperture filter is unnecessary and wasting filter film, I needed to make an offset hole to place the filter. (It seems obvious, but for anybody new to reflecting telescopes, you want to let the light through to the side of the secondary mirror. Put it right smack in the middle, and the secondary mirror blocks the light path, rendering your new solar filter useless). Now I had to figure out how big I needed the aperture of the filter should be. I held several household items to the front of the telescope. Vegetable and soup cans were too big; from the inside of the tube, they extended past the secondary mirror. Finally I found a bottle of baby powder that was almost the right size. The secondary mirror would be blocking the light path, but just barely. </div>
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I placed the piece of cardboard to the front of the telescope, and traced the outer perimeter of the optical tube. I cut the cardboard along that outline. It fit perfectly over the front of the telescope, and was slightly smaller than the inside of the coffee lid. Good. Now I used the baby powder bottle as a template on the cardboard aperture mask. I figured out where the hole should be located, and again traced out where to cut. This cut was trickier, but my small pocket knife did the job. </div>
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Astrozap recommends using strips of poster board glued together to attach the filter cell to the OTA. I happened to have an old sheet of poster board on hand. Three strips between the filter and cardboard made a snug fit, not too tight. I glued the strips inside the lid. Placing the cardboard into what was now the front of the cell, I traced the aperture hole onto the lid, and again cut it out with scissors.</div>
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At this point, I still hadn’t cut the film. I wasn’t committed to anything. I could wait and find something better, or I could cut, and live with it. I cut. I <i>should </i>have measured and marked the film, but I didn’t. I was reluctant to handle it any more than absolutely necessary. Instead I made incisions slightly larger than my aperture hole, and slowly extended them in straight lines until the two intersected. Now I had to complete the project.</div>
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I glued the filter to the cardboard, and when that dried, I glued the cardboard inside the front of the cell, the coffee lid. Done. I waited for the glue to dry, then tested it. Works great. Counted a whopping ten sunspots, the larger ones showing nice dark cores. The large sunspots even took magnification pretty well. Also, a yellow filter on the eyepieces spruces up the plain white image. Imaging seems to be tricky, but I haven’t played around enough to know if I’ll be able to get good images of the Venus transit, but I still have 200 days to figure that out.</div>
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Note: I did have to re-glue everything Wednesday. I don't know if I didn't use enough glue the first time, if it was the cold weather, or something else that caused the glue failure. If it doesn't hold this time, I'll have to try better glue.</div>
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The middle of the filter cell.</div>
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Both halves of the filter cell.</div>
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Double checking the fit over the OTA before gluing the cell together.</div>
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The secondary mirror just barely blocks the light path.</div>
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The completed filter cell.</div>
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Enjoying the view.</div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-27821631879551063702011-10-31T13:08:00.006-05:002017-01-10T15:55:10.990-06:00Io Transit, Ganymede Occultation, October 27-28, 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the reasons I love observing the Jovian system and our own Moon is that they give us some of the best chances to see the universe in motion, in real time. When I have the time, I love watching those four little dots dance around Jupiter, or watching the terminator creep along the lunar surface. Stellar occultations by the Moon are nice when you can get them, but one of the easiest ways to see our solar system in motion is through the Galilean Satellites. When Chicago Astronomer Curt informed us of not only an Io transit, but an occultation of Ganymede, and an occultation of Io’s shadow by Io itself, I was really hoping for clear skies. Mostly, the sky cooperated with me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">To get the best images I could, I used the 16” LX200 at Conway Observatory. I used my own 25mm 1.25” eyepiece with a 2x Barlow lens, because that particular eyepiece is easiest to use with my point and shoot camera. For most of the images I used a yellow filter (I think #12?) to reduce the glare from Jupiter, without dimming Io and Ganymede too much. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All timings are based on direct visual observations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Io’s first contact was at 10:19 PM CDST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Io’s second contact was at 10:23 PMCDST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ganymede was noticed dimming, entering Jupiter’s shadow at 10:43 PM CDST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ganymede was fully eclipsed at 10:45 PM CDST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Io’s third contact was at 12:27 AM CDST<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ganymede was observed at 12:29 AM CDST (I was watching intently as Io was crossing Jupiter’s limb, and didn’t observe the exact moment Ganymede reappeared). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Io’s fourth contact was at 12:32 AM CDST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-opgEBPXLj5I/TuDkUVufvbI/AAAAAAAAATY/wcnGvCMpFCU/s1600/JupOct27.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-opgEBPXLj5I/TuDkUVufvbI/AAAAAAAAATY/wcnGvCMpFCU/s640/JupOct27.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Curt's predicted events times.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5BIdXXpaNK0/TuDgqqwtnlI/AAAAAAAAATQ/ehuooLBTOqg/s1600/JupShad2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5BIdXXpaNK0/TuDgqqwtnlI/AAAAAAAAATQ/ehuooLBTOqg/s640/JupShad2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: small;">http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html</span></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Visual timings are hard, and the seeing conditions left a lot to be desired. Throw in freezing temps later in the night, and I spent a lot of time down in the heated control room.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the events.</span><br />
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-19144978394567526792011-10-31T11:50:00.001-05:002017-01-10T16:06:27.239-06:00Chicago Astronomers Wrap Up Season with Chicago Park District<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As always with a Chicago Astronomer session, do yourself a favor, and read the full account <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=StarParty&action=display&thread=3459"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b4a7d6;">here</span></a>.<br />
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When we do astronomy sessions for the Chicago Park District, I try to arrive early when traveling to a park I’ve never been to, in case I get lost. With the last Chicago Park District-Chicago Astronomer session of the year at Palmisano Park at 29<sup>th</sup> & Halstead, near the White Sox ballpark, there was little chance of me getting lost. I arrived early anyway, because I like to set up in daylight, and scout the surroundings.<br />
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Our set up site at 29th & Halsted.<br />
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I wandered around, and climbed the hill. The top of the hill would have put us above the pesky streetlights that hinder sidewalk observing, but it was agreed that it was too far to haul heavy equipment, and would cut down on foot traffic. And, it was kind of muddy. The top of the hill, though, provides a nice view of the city skyline, and the power plant smoke stack that we see so often in Joe’s alley observation pictures. I even caught a sundog just before sunset. </div>
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The downtown sky line from the top of the hill.<br />
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Not the best sundog, but still cool.<br />
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After the Sun set, I caught faint rays of sunlight glowing above the horizon. They're still hard to see in these pictures, but I've manipulated the color and contrast to try to show the rays better.<br />
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I started getting ready just before Rich arrived, with Joe following shortly after. Joe brought out the “sewer pipe” Dob for me to use. I had seen it in pictures, but never in action. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I’ll come back to it’s performance later. Even before full darkness fell, and before telescopes were ready for viewing, we started drawing a crowd. For the first time at a Park District observation, there were even visitors seeking us out.<br />
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The "sewer pipe" Dob makes a rare appearance.<br />
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Joe prepping the C11 mount.<br />
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Rich's 10" Dob is almost ready to go.<br />
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The sewer pipe Dob was heavy, and a bit awkward to carry, so it took both Joe and I to carry and set up. There was no sort of finder scope for the Dob, so Rich lent his Telrad to make finding things a little easier for me. Under so many streetlights, it’s difficult enough to find celestial delights; with no way to scout the sky, it’s almost impossible. We wrapped the Telrad with duct tape to attach it to the OTA, which worked for awhile. At some point though, it was bumped into, and never held just right after that, even when wrapping it with more tape. At that point, I gave up on the scope until Jupiter was up, which wasn't long after. The sewer pipe gave nice Jovian views, at both low and high magnifications. At the end of the night I recommended to Joe that the scope was worth trying to modify for more regular service. </div>
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I showed Albireo with the sewer pipe Dob until the problem with the Telrad. At that point, I capped it, and set up my own Dob. Within a few minutes, however, Jupiter had risen above the neighboring buildings, and I kept both scopes targeting the Jovian system the rest of the night. It was quite a bit of work to keep up with both scopes, but it cut down the waiting time. Also, being nearest the intersection, I think it fell to me to make first contact with many of our visitors, keeping me even busier. I felt up to the task.</div>
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The C11 always draws a crowd.<br />
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Bill made a brief visit, checking out Jupiter.<br />
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Think we had enough scopes showing Jupiter?<br />
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Patrick was able to snag some tougher targets with his go-to scope.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/?action=view&current=SUNP0111.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/SUNP0111.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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It's always good to make friends with Chicago Police.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/?action=view&current=SUNP0112.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/SUNP0112.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/?action=view&current=SUNP0113.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/2011-10-21%20CA-CPD/SUNP0113.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Rich handled the last of the crowd while the rest of us packed our gear.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
When Jupiter first rose, only three satellites were visible. When a fourth Moon emerged, it was correctly assumed to be Io. However, shortly after, I noticed a shadow on one of the cloud bands, and assumed that Io must have transited, and now it’s shadow was crossing the planet. After checking Redshift, I now know that Io was occulted behind Jupiter, and the shadow most likely belonged to Europa, or possibly Ganymede. It could not have been Io’s though. It was still fun to show the solar system in motion. </div>
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Patrick was the last of our astronomers to show up, and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him before we set up. Despite an almost non-stop stream of visitors, I snuck off at one point to check out what he was viewing. From a distance I figured it was either Andromeda Galaxy or the Double Cluster. I was treated to a quick peek at our neighbor galaxy. Ah, the benefit of a go-to scope under bright streetlights.</div>
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It was a cold session, but with the constant action, I hardly felt it. I did notice dew nearly everywhere, though. The time zipped by, and before I knew, Heather from the park district advised that we should call it a night and pack up. We were still drawing a crowd though, and Rich handled the late comers while the rest of us got ready to leave. We took a parting group picture, but for Patrick, his friend Jason, and me, our night of observing was about to begin in earnest. They followed me to back to Indiana for more viewing at Conway Observatory until the wee hours. The session at Palmisano Park, wrapping up the observing season for the Chicago Park District, felt like an overwhelming success, and I’m already looking forward to helping out again next year, if they wish to continue the program.</div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-68731072781523577822011-10-29T16:01:00.003-05:002017-01-10T16:04:38.184-06:00Columbia College, Chicago, 4 OCT 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Do yourself a favor: read the full story and see all the pictures at <a href="http://astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Annoucements&action=display&thread=3396"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #8e7cc3;">Chicago Astronomer</span></a>.<br />
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You're still here? Thanks, but you're missing out.<br />
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Sometime this past summer, the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Chicago's Columbia College contacted Chicago Astronomer Joe Guzman about a joint observation. Joe then asked me to participate, and I was honored to be asked. Originally scheduled for September 8 to coincide with the opening of the exhibit "Our Origins," it was pushed back to October 4 due to weather. The October session was tied into a talk by Kathryn Schaffer, PhD, entitled, "Beyond Visibility: Photography and our Connection to the Cosmos." After the lecture, guests would be invited to cross Michigan Avenue to Grant Park, where Joe and I would be showcasing the 8 day old Moon, and later Jupiter.<br />
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The plan was for me to meet Joe at his house, load my equipment into his van, and carpool to the downtown college. I arrived in the city way too early, so I drove downtown to try to get a glimpse of the observation site. When I finally turned onto Michigan Ave., it was from Harrison St. I didn't know it, but we later set up right across the street. As I was sitting at the light waiting to turn, I saw Chicago Astronomer Steve come around the corner. I honked and waved, but he didn't see me. What are the odds?<br />
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I showed up at Joe's house just in time to transfer my equipment and get to the college. Chicago Astronomer Support Crew Barbara and our Columbia College liaison Corrine were waiting for us on the southeast corner of Michigan & Harrison. Joe double parked on the street long enough for us to unload the gear, then left to park his van at the school parking lot. When he returned, he hurried to set up his scope, as my Dobsonian was ready to go in just the few minutes Joe was gone.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0278.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0278.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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What a backdrop! Michigan Ave, the Magnificent Mile! Grant Park!<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=067.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/067.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Two Chicago Astronomers, ready to show other worlds to the city. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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Right away there was a small crowd eager to see the Moon. We always get good crowds when we set up near Adler Planetarium, but this was different. The college students were full of energy, and were especially eager to soak up any insight we could provide, and gather plenty of lunar photons to their eyes. The enthusiasm was contagious, as passersby on Michigan Ave. stopped to get in on the action. Even they were more attentive than the more relaxed and casual visitors we encounter near Adler.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=008.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/008.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
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Right away I had an audience ready to see the Moon. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=006.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/006.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=014.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/014.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0280.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0280.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0282.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0282.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=003-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/003-1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=007.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/007.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=022.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/022.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0023.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0023.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
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Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=025.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/025.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=028.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/028.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=029.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/029.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=030.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/030.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=042.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/042.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=043.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/043.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=047.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/047.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0275.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0275.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=053.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/053.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=055.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/055.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=059.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/059.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=060.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/060.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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The night before, I noticed that libration had rotated the visual western limb towards us, allowing a small peek onto the "far side" of the Moon. I pointed this out at every chance, and used my 3' laminated lunar map to show what to look for.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0283.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0283.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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A favorable libration let us see the "far" side of the Moon.<br />
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Since early in the observing season, Barbara has been at many Chicago Astronomer sessions, making first contact with many visitors, allowing those of us with telecopes to attend directly to those looking through our scopes at the moment. I know she's done a great job facilitating viewing, but I finally had a chance to really notice it. Despite the almost non-stop viewing at my telescope, I was able to see Barbara pulling in the crowd, engaging them, and directing people to our telescopes. She allowed Joe and I to stay focused on the individual observing experience, instead of being pulled in many different directions at one time. Big thanks to Barbara for her effort.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0276.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0276.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Having Barbara on site to assist is a tremendous help.<br />
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Chicago Astronomer Tom dropped by for awhile, and helped document the event.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=024.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/024.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
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Tom got his camera ready while I changed eyepieces. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0023.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0023.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0024.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0024.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0028.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0028.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0029.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0029.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0037.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0037.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0040.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0040.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0041.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0041.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0033.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0033.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0045.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0045.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Tom Lee.<br />
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And of course, Chicago Police always come see what's going on. We're glad they do.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=049.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/049.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=048.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/048.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=050.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/050.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=052.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/052.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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Since most of our early visitors were aware that Jupiter would rise to visibility around 8:15, many waited around to see it. When it finally cleared a distant tree, I re-positioned my Dob a few feet south to get a clear view. We lost the Moon to the skyscrapers across the street soon after Jupiter rose, but for a few minutes I was able to go back and forth between them with ease. Joe wasn't so lucky. He had an obstructed view to the east, and we had to drag the C11 Beast a few feet so that he could capture the Jovian system.<br />
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Jupiter has always been my favorite planet to observe. Saturn and it's glorious rings are the obvious crowd pleasers, but with our especially attentive audience, the Jovian system was a joy to show off. It's low position in the sky didn't allow for good high magnification viewing, but at low power Jupiter was looking darn impressive. And those four little dots accompanying the gas giant got plenty of attention too, especially when I stated that their sizes roughly compare to our own Moon.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0285.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0285.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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Just before we lost the Moon behind the skyscrapers across Michigan Ave. For a few minutes I was able to go back and forth between Jupiter and Luna, but not for long.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0291.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0291.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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After the Moon dropped behind the skyline.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0287.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0287.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0288.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0288.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0292.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0292.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0293.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0293.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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We had to move the C11 a few feet so Joe could show Jupiter through the obstruction.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=057.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/057.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=046.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/046.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=SUNP0289.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/SUNP0289.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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By 9 PM, Corrine had told us that our obligation to the college was met, and that we could stay as long as we wished, or until the park closed. By that time, foot traffic was thinning out, and we decided to break down the site not long after 9:00. Joe and I parted ways with Barbara when her bus came, then we left too. To celebrate a successful observation with 78 visitors, Joe treated me to my first Maxwell St. hot dog. (If you have a Chicago style hot dog, chances are it's copying the famous Maxwell St. dogs). We sat there discussing how we got involved in public astronomy, and the future of the Chicago Astronomer organization. We both see big things ahead, but it will take a lot of work. The payoff, though, could be well worth it.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=023.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/023.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
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Joe with Corrine, the organizer from Columbia College. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=011.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/011.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=aa_MG_0025.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/aa_MG_0025.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
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Photo credit: Tom Lee.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=068.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/068.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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L-R: Joe, me, Barbara. The crew getting ready to wrap up a fun night. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=066.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/066.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Just before I dig in to my first Maxwell St. dog. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.</div>
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As Joe drove back to his house, he took me past a few locations that might be promising observation sites someday. After loading my equipment into my car, we hung around in the alley for a few minutes. Joe showed me the marks on the ground where he set up the C11 (to aid in polar aligning), and the view through the trees and power lines where he saw the M101 supernova last month. I also saw the Chevelle in his garage for the first time since it's involvement in a hit-and-run crash in June 2010. Running on little sleep though, I soon had to head home and get to bed. It was a high energy session, and one of the most fun times I've had sharing the sky with the public.<br />
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/?action=view&current=064.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-10-4%20Columbia%20College/064.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.<br />
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<a href="http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f101/chicagoastronomer/Astronomical/Astronomers/?action=view&current=001.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f101/chicagoastronomer/Astronomical/Astronomers/001.jpg" /></a><br />
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"Success!"</div>
Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3616730406983849100.post-55901468660786348262011-10-13T08:45:00.002-05:002017-01-10T16:10:23.275-06:00Equinox Sunrise, September 23, 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I think I'm finally ready to write my blog again after taking most of the summer off. I'm going to post some older stories, starting with this one to start autumn.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I’ve wanted to do an equinox sunrise observation for a long time now, but it’s never worked out. Last Friday morning, however, I was free, and a quick check of the weather satellite looked promising. The plan was to get to Adler before sunrise. With the wide open horizon over Lake Michigan, all I needed was a clear sky to catch the Sun’s first rays of autumn. The rocks at the center of the spiral stones are supposed be aligned perfectly east-west, and I wanted to get pictures of the Sun rising right between the stones. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">When I left home, I looked up and saw the waning crescent Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and the bright stars of the winter constellations. There were a few scattered clouds to the west, but not enough to consider staying home. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I got to Adler just after 6 AM. Sunrise was at 6:40, about 2 ½ hours after the equinox. The sky was already starting to brighten, revealing clouds in nearly every direction, with the worst over the eastern horizon. I walked down to the Lake, then came back to my car to get my table, computer, and solar scope. Just as I had everything ready to carry to the observation site, rain came pouring down. Not cool! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I sat in my car Facebooking while the rain came down hard. By 6:25 the rain had let up, but hadn’t stopped. Around 6:35 the rain finally moved on. With no real hope of catching the Sun peaking across the Lake, I only took my “new” camera down the spiral stones, dodging puddles along the way. There was a channel 7 news crew parked on the other side of Solidarity Drive, and a group of women with Adler umbrellas briefly gathered as the rain fizzled out. I got the impression the women were there to see the sunrise too, but I wondered if the news crew was there for the equinox or news about the UARS satellite that was expected to fall out of orbit later that night.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I took plenty of pictures documenting the sky conditions, but never saw even a hint of the Sun. Rain could be seen falling in the distance over the Lake, but the clouds over the horizon never seemed to move. I waited almost an hour to see the Sun, but it was in vain.</span></div>
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(Ignore the date and times on the pictures. I was using a camera for the first time, and didn't realize the date and time were not set). </div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0091.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0091.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0004.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0004.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0005.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0005.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0017.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0017.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure why Channel 7 was at Adler.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0002.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0002.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0007.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0007.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0022.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0022.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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These four stones are supposed to be aligned N-S, E-W.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0043.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0043.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0044.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0044.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0008.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0008.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Looking due east at 6:40 AM (sunrise time).</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0011.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0011.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0019.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0019.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0020.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0020.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It looked like it was raining over Lake Michigan.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0018.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0018.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0047.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0047.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br />
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I watched a ship travel north, most likely leaving one of our Northwest Indiana steel mills, or the Port of Indiana.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0035.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0035.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0045.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0045.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Still under a dark cloud, but it didn't rain again.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0032.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0032.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0042.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0042.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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A little pink on the southeast horizon, but no Sun.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0062.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0062.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Trying to make the best of a clouded out observation.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0027.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0027.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And, of course, the obligatory skyline pics.</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0028.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0028.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0049.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0049.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was a dreary morning. Other than a few joggers, these two birds were the only signs of life. </div>
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I saw this duck on the Lake, and snapped some shots as it flew away.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I finally found a clear sky driving home on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Only a few miles south I could have seen the equinox sunrise, and almost certainly would have seen it from home. Driving to the place that I thought would have the best sight line turned out to be a mistake. I drove right under the edge of a rain system that had developed after I checked the weather from home. Oh well. It happens, I guess. I’m not waiting until March for another sunrise observation, though. There are gaps in the spiral stones that are supposed to align with the solstice sunrises and sunsets. I hadn’t really noticed them before, but if the weather is looking good for the winter solstice, I’ll be back to document it.</span></div>
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On the winter solstice, the Sun should rise between these stones...</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0059.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0059.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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...and set between these stones.</div>
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Summer solstice sunrise position...</div>
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<a href="http://s263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/?action=view&current=SUNP0061.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii157/pchris00/2011-9-23%20Equinox/SUNP0061.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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... and summer solstice sunset position.</div>
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I will have to go back and verify these. :)</div>
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Pauliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282322838637098439noreply@blogger.com2