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Sun (Sun)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 4.5-inch equatorial reflector Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: none Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Fri Jul 4 20:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 829
Active region 10375, which is 10 times the diameter of the Earth, was easily visible without magnification through polymer solar eclipse shades. At 53 and 88x through a 114mm f/7.9 Celestron C4.5 Newtonian AR 10375, which has survived a previous transit of the visible disk, and newcomer AR 10400 made for a fine view of sunspot activity. Many small groups were seen.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.3, est. to be in Aquarius)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 14.5-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Hazelton, West Virginia, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: fair
Time: Wed Jun 25 08:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 825
Last week I traveled to the mountains of West Virginia to attend the Laurel Highlands Star Cruise (see http://www.lhstarcruise.org/ for further information). While there I observed Mars on several mornings through two 14.5" Starmaster Sky Tracker Dobs equipped with Zambuto mirrors. The use of an apodizing mask, Wratten #21 filters, and magnifications as high as 520x produced some stunning views. The SPC, Syrtis Major, and the gibbous nature of the planet were unmistakable.
Moon (Moon)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 4.5-inch equatorial reflector Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: fair
Time: Sat Jun 7 03:05:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 822
On this particular Friday night I was fortunate enough to have five minutes of partially clear skies to observe the Mt.Blanc/Alpine Valley lunar sunrise light ray (see http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/alpvalley.htm for further information) from my residence before the clouds that have been almost omnipresent this spring returned. I had been trying out my new 3-6mm Nagler zoom eyepiece on Jupiter and the moon with my 80mm f/5 Orion ShortTube achromatic refractor and 114mm f/7.9 Celestron C4.5 Newtonian off and on earlier that evening between sessions with the Virtual Moon Atlas. At approximately 11:05 p.m. EDT (3:05 UT 2003/6/7) I detected the ray. It appeared as a very thin and somewhat dim shaft of light just east of the terminator and southeast of Vallis Alpes (the Alpine Valley). I used 112x (8mm Tele Vue Radian) and 150x (Tele Vue Nagler zoom at 6m) to view the ray. Within five minutes the moon was awash with haze from the approaching cloud bank that soon brought an end to my casual lunar observing session.
Pluto (Planet, est. mag 13.8, est. to be in Ophiuchus, Est. RaDec 17h11m, -13d13')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 14.5-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Mifflintown, PA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Jun 2 04:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 817
One of the many objects that my friend Tony Donnangelo and I observed from a dark site in the Tuscarora State Forest on Sunday night was the planet/Kuiper Belt object Pluto. Pluto was not terribly difficult to see through Tony's Starmaster once it had been positively identified. To the east of Pluto's postion was a diamond-shaped pattern of four faint field stars. A field star to the west when added to the diamond formed an asterism that resembled the constellation Delphinus. Pluto was but a dim speck to the west of that star.
Other (Other, est. mag 5.0, est. to be in Corona Borealis, Est. RaDec 15h39m, +36d38')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Jun 2 02:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 818
Using the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at the ASH Naylor Observatory I observed some binary stars on Wednesday and Thursday nights last week along with Jupiter and Mars (on Wednesday) and a number of bright extended deep-sky objects (M11, M26, M22, M28, M21, M17, M16, M18, M23, M24, M25, M8, M20, M4, M10, M12, M14, M19, M27, and M57 on Wednesday night and M100, M99, M98, M66, and M65 on Thursday night). The transparency was poor but with the way the weather has been so far this spring one has to take what one gets. I used magnifications of 162, 202, and 259x. Struve 1835 in Bootes was quite nice. Also observed were Cor Caroli, 24 Comae Berenices, 2 Comae Berenices, and 39 Bootis. For those of you who haven't seen it before 24 Com is an excellent binary. In fact, some call it the Spring Albireo due to its similar contrasting colors. Last night (Monday) the transparency deteriorated rapidly. In addition to observing the young cresent moon, Jupiter, and a few extended deep-sky objects (M13, NGC 6210, and M57) I bagged Zeta Coronae Borealis (162 and 202x), which is a splendid double star. It consists of a blue 5.0 magnitude B8 primary and a 6.0 magnitude comes separated by 6.3" at a position angle of 305 degrees.
Jupiter (Planet, est. mag -2.2, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 11-inch refractor Location: Lancaster, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Tue May 20 02:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 814
On the evening of May 19th, 2003, I had the opportunity to watch a shadow transit by Io through an 1884 vintage 11" Clark refractor during a public observing session at the Grundy Observatory. The observatory is located on the Baker Campus of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and is open to the public on the third Monday of each month, weather permitting.I also happened to catch Io as it emerged from transiting Jupiter. Later Jerry McClune, the telescope operator, allowed me to train the 11" on the fine binary star Gamma Leonis after first giving me the appropriate instruction.Using the observatory's other instrument, a 16" f/13.5 Boller & Chivens classical Cassegrain, we visitors had views of Saturn, Izar, M49, M104, NGC 3242, M65, M66, M81, and M82. Unfortunately, Lancaster's light polluted skies made the job of discerning any detail in the galaxies difficult, as one might expect. The reflector's massive single-arm mount was equipped with a GOTO drive. Manual input of right ascension and declination was accomplished by setting analog dials. The telescope slewed to objects with surprising speed and accuracy.I certainly enjoyed my visit to the Grundy Observatory. It was great fun to do some observing with yet another large Clark refractor.
Jupiter (Planet, est. mag -2.0, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Thu May 15 02:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 812
I drove to the ASH Naylor Observatory (click on Naylor Observatory at http://www.astrohbg.org ) last night to help out with the spring introductory astronomy class. The class had already done a bit of solar observing with our old orange-tube 8" f/10 Celestron C8 before I arrived. Although the sun was getting fairly low in the sky I took a quick look and saw three smallish sunspots.I sat in on the class until the sky began to darken. I was awarethat a rather rare shadow transit by Callisto was underway and went out to see it through our 12.5" f/6.5 Cave Astrola. The shadow was clearly evident through a 15mm Edmund Scientific RKE (138x). Callisto and Io were closing in on a mutual occultation (see http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_771_3.aspfor further information) that eventually occurred at 12:11 a.m. EDT (4:11 UT 5/15).As the students started to filter outside I trained the C8 on Jupiter using a 13mm Tele Vue Ploessl (156x) and then opened the French Dome. The transit was displayed quite nicely at 202x through our 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain and a 32mm University Optics Koenig-II. After the students all had had a turn I increased the magnification to 259x (25mm U.O. MK-70), but the view was a bit soft given the seeing. A 28mm RKE (216x) provided a great view a bit later.We began looking at the 13-day old moon and other objects with the 12.5" Cave, the C8, and our 10" f/7 Cave Astrola. I swung the 12.5" to Saturn and then the 17". A few double stars (Mizar, Castor, and Algieba) were sprinkled in as well. Callisto's shadow reached the CM around 9:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 UT 5/15). Bob Young, the class instructor and the club's resident lunar expert, and I spent a few minutes on the moon (not literally mind you) as some clouds began scudding through. Reiner Gamma ( http://web.tiscali.it/no-redirect-tiscali/themoon/reinergamma.htm ) was a standout feature.So on the first semi-clear night in some time an enjoyable evening of observing occurred despite the bright moonlight and occasional clouds.
Jupiter (Planet, est. mag -2.2, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri Apr 25 01:47:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 806
I spent about two hours at the ASH Naylor Observatory (http://www.astrohbg.org) last night. The transparency was poor, with high clouds covering a good portion of the sky, but the seeing was very good indeed. Using the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain I had a fine view of the Great Red Spot transit of the central meridian. The atmosphere was steady enough that I was able to use magnifications as high as 404x (16mm Brandon). Other magnifications employed were 162 (40mm University Optics MK-70), 202 (32mm U.O. Koenig-II), 216 (28mm Edmund Scientific RKE), 259 (25mm U.O. MK-70), and 381x (17mm Pro-Optic Ploessl). The GRS crossed the CM at 9:47 p.m. EDT (1:47 4/25 UT). A dark barge in the North Equatorial Belt followed about half an hour later.Since the early night had not lived up to the forecasts, I didn't look at very much else but I did spend some time viewing Saturn (162 and 216x), Jupiter and M44 through the 5" f/5 finder scope, a few binary and multiple stars, and M67 (162x). I also witnessed a fairly bright flare low in the northeast at 10:48 p.m. (2:28 UT) from Iridium 80.
Jupiter (Planet, est. mag -2.3, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Apr 3 03:33:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 799
A number of Astronomical Society of Harrisburg members who gatheredat the Naylor Observatory (http://www.astrohbg.org) were treated to some extremely steady seeing on a very pleasant Wednesday night, 2003/4/3 UT. Those present were Bob Pody, Rob Altenburg, Ted Nichols II, Dave Gaskill, and yours truly. Saturn had its moments through the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain even though it is slipping closer to the western horizon with each passing day. Viewing Jupiter (162, 202, 216, and 259x), however, was a revelation. The GRS transit of the CM at 3:33 UT was one of the best that I've ever seen. The feature dubbed the "eyebrow" that abuts the GRS was plainly evident as were a barge in the NEB and the disruption in the SEB trailing the GRS. I counted 13 cloud belts and bands. If only the new Stellacam EX that ASH recently purchased had been working properly! (We also missed taping a great pass of the ISS on Tuesday night because of the malfunction.)The GRS was clearly visible through ASH member Bob Pody's 60mmUnitron achromat and a 7mm Pentax orthoscopic. Before that I beheld M42, M37, and M35 through Bob's great little refractor. Naturally enough the 12.5" f/6.5 Cave Newtonian did a fine job onJove at 258x (8mm Brandon). A bit later Rob put asteroid 4 Vesta intoview using the 12.5". Earlier I saw the fine binary star Epsilon Monocerotis and the variable star R Leonis thanks to Rob. One of the many deep-sky objects (including NGC 2362, h3945, M42,M65, M66, and NGC 4565) that I observed with the 17" was thebrightest supernova of this year, 14th magnitude SN 2003cg in NGC3169 (162, 202, 216, and 259x). It looked pretty much the same as it did on Monday night. For more on this recently discoveredsubluminous type Ia exploding star see http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/The temperature in the French Dome was a balmy 66 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of the session, a far cry from Monday night's low of 29 degrees.
Other (Other, est. mag ~14, est. to be in Sextans, Est. RaDec 10h14m, +3d28')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Tue Apr 1 06:15:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 798
Despite the weather forecasts a clear night materialized on Monday and my goal of viewing this recent supernova was realized. Here's a slightly modified version of the observing log that I sent to netastrocatalog this morning.Observer: Dave MitskyYour skills: Advanced (many years)Date/time of observation: 2003/4/1 6:15 UTLocation of site: ASH Naylor Observatory (40.1 degrees N, 76.9 degrees W, Elevation 190 meters)Site classification: ExurbanSky darkness: ~5.0 <Limiting magnitude>Seeing: 6 <1-10 Seeing Scale (10 best)>Moon presence: None - moon not in skyInstrument: 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain equatorial mountMagnifications: 162, 202, and 259xFilter(s): NoneObject(s): SN 2003cg, NGC 3169, NGC 3166Category: Extragalactic starClass: Subluminous type Ia supernovaConstellation: SextansMagnitude: ~14.0 Position: 10h14m, +03d28'Description:This recently discovered type Ia supernova was visible with averted vision. Its parent galaxy NGC 3169 and nearby NGC 3166, both Herschel 400 spiral galaxies, were easily seen. SN 2003cg was located within the glow of NGC 3169 - see http://messier45.com/cgi-bin/h400/i.cgi?n=3169&d=GX - making a sighting somewhat difficult. The supernova is situated 14" east and5" north of NGC 3169's nucleus. An 11.3 magnitude field star lies almost due east. For more on this object, including images, see http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/
Asteroid (Asteroid, est. mag 5.9, est. to be in Virgo, Est. RaDec 12h41m, +9d12')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: poor
Time: Thu Mar 27 03:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 794
I revisited asteroid 4 Vesta on Thursday morning after the skies cleared. The brightest minor planet was located west of a line between Epsilon and Delta Virginis, just south of Rho Virginis (see http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Bright/2003/00004.html for an emphemeris). Before the fog rolled in I did a bit of Messier galaxy hopping (M49, M58, M59, M60, and M61) since Vesta is currently located in the heart of the eastern portion of the Virgo Cluster. Observed earlier were Jupiter, M81, M82, and NGC 2903. The seeing was rather mediocre so I used only 162x.
Jupiter (Planet, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: poor Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Mar 19 03:00:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 788
After the ASH advanced astronomy class had ended I watched Io's shadow transit using the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at the ASH Naylor Observatory (see http://www.astrohbg.org/gallery/index.php?show=./visit/3b_17_inch.jpg&offset=0).The transparency varied from bad (mostly cloudy) to mediocre but the seeing was excellent. In fact, I was surprised at just how good it was. The shadow of Io was a sharply defined black spot that crept slowly along Jupiter's equator. I was able to push the magnification to as high as 404x (16mm Brandon) but 249x (26mm Tele Vue Ploessl) provided the best overall view. Other magnifications used were 162 (40mm University Optics MK-70), 202 (32mm U.O. Koenig-II), 216 (28mm Edmund Scientific RKE), 259 (25mm MK-70), and 381x (17mm Pro-Optic Ploessl). The size and brightness differences of the Galilean satellites were quite apparent.The shadow crossed the CM at approximately 3:40 UT. About 3 minutes prior to the end of Io's transit, which occurred at 4:01 UT, I could make out the shape of Io as it neared Jupiter's preceding limb. By 4:03 UT Io had pulled far enough away from Jupiter that I could see a gap. As the gap widened the fact that Io was casting its shadow on the cloud tops of its parent planet grew increasingly evident.
Moon (Moon)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: fair Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Mar 10 01:55:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 781
Principle Observers: Tony Donnangelo and Dave Mitsky Other Observers: Mike Snider, Joe Rossi, and Rob Altenburg Date: 2003/3/10 UT Location: ASH Naylor Observatory, Lewisberry, PA (76d53'4" west, 40d8'54" north) Elevation: 190 meters Seeing: mediocre Transparency: variable Dome Temperature: 30 degrees Fahrenheit Instruments: 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain, 12.5" f/6.5 Cave Newtonian Oculars: 17" - 32mm University Optics Koenig-II (202x) & 24mm Brandon (270x); 12.5" - 12.5mm orthoscopic (165x), 8mm Brandon (258x) & 13mm Tele Vue Ploessl with a 2x Barlow lens (317x) Time: 01:55 UT We observed this sunrise lunar light ray during a public observing session so it was not monitored on a constant basis. The ray, which was discovered by former ASH member Larry Smith in January, appeared as a narrow shaft of light stretching across the flat, plained area southeast of the crater Hind (Rukl #45), about 1 hour and 53 minutes before the predicted time of occurrence. It emanated from a break in a ridge located to tts east. An elevated area located to the west of the break was high enough to be illuminated and gave the false impression of a second ray. To the north, the rim of crater Hind Z was prominently illuminated. By 03:15 UT, 33 minutes prior to the predicted time of occurrence, the ray had broadened appreciably. Mike Synder imaged the ray using his Minitron color video camera, video monitor, and laptop computer. The ray was visible on the monitor but by then seeing and transparency had deteriorated so the image quality was poor.
Moon (Moon)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch other Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: fair Seeing: good
Time: Thu Feb 13 02:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 779
Date/Time: 2003/2/13, ~2:30 to 7:25 UTLocation: ASH Naylor Observatory, 670 Observatory Drive, Lewisberry, PA, USAInstrument: 17" f/15 classical CassegrainMagnifications: 162, 202, 216, 259, 381, 404, and 432xConditions: Clear to partly cloudy, windy, dome - temperature 20 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity - 56%Seeing: VariableWhile observing the moon I happened to notice a possible lunar sunrise ray in an area about two degrees west of the crater Clausius in Lacus Excellentiae. The ray, located at approximately 46 degrees W and 37 degrees S, was a moderately narrow triangle when I first saw it. By the time I last looked at the moon at ~7:25 UT the ray had broadened to the point that it was no recognizable as such.
Moon (Moon)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 12-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: fair Seeing: poor
Time: Sun Feb 9 02:20:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 778
I helped a friend wring out an ITE DeepSky Pro video camera on Saturday night (see http://www.itetelescopes.com/products/cameras/overview.php?p=D_SkyP). The relative humidity was a miserable 65% and the temperature was -14 degrees Celsius or less. All told I spent about 5 hours outside imaging the moon, Jupiter, and quite a few deep-sky objects using the camera and a 12" Meade LX200 SCT working at f/6.3. Despite my many layers of warm clothing I was as cold as I've ever been while observing. The numbing chill served to make working the camera and telescope controls a frustrating experience at times. Frost covered the table that held the monitor and camera controller and the SCT was more slightly sluggish by the end of the session. Unfortunately, C/2002 V1 (NEAT) was too close to the horizon to image by the time we got everything working properly. The Barrow lunar sunrise ray was visible through a 12.5mm orthoscopic eyepiece but not on the video monitor or the videotape upon playback. Another ray, one previously unreported, was visible just north of Barrow. Add this one to Tony Donnangelo's growing list of lunar ray discoveries. (Tony called me to inform me about this new ray.) One of the interesting aspects of Saturday night's moon was ab X-shaped area of illumination on the dark side of the terminator. Before tearing down the LX200 we had a look at the Curtius ray. The moon was close to the horizon by then and the seeing was horrible but I believe I saw that ray too. And so I witnessed three lunar rays in one night, a record for me. I did manage to image Io's reappearance from eclipse at 3:48 UT (2003/2/9 UT). Long before that we had watched Io beingocculted. Images of the moon and Jupiter were done with a lunar filter and the Sense Up control set at 2, the lowest level. At this setting Jupiter's equatorial belts were discernible but the Galilean satellites were a bit subdued. While we were imaging with the camera I happen to gaze overhead in time to see a fine -2 magnitude meteor streak across the zenith on a southwestern trajectory. Images of the following deep-sky objects were captured successfully: M31, M32, M35, M37, M42, M51, M65, M66, M81, M82, M103, NGC 457, NGC 869, NGC 884, NGC 2903, and Alcor-Mizar. We used the Sense Up control set at 96 for these images. Due to image scale and other factors the images of M37, M42, M82, M103, and NGC 869 were the most impressive to me. Some of the mages (M32, M81, and M82 for example) looked similar to those at http://www.lafterhall.com/avastellacamex.html
Comet (Comet, est. mag ~7.8, est. to be in Pegasus, Est. RaDec 00h32m, +19d10')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Jan 23 00:45:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 931
I had a look at C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) tonight (Thursday) at about 7:45 EST (00:45 UT 2004/1/23) through the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at the ASH Naylor Observatory. I used magnifications of 118, 162, and 202x. The U.O. 40mm MK-70 (162x) provided the best view. The comet was at 00h32m, +19d10' at the time. I noted a farily large and prominent coma. The twin tails that have been reported were not seen but a definite elongation was visible.
Comet (Comet, est. mag 6th, est. to be in Pegasus)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewisberry, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: poor
Time: Sat Jan 18 23:47:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 767
Last Saturday evening at approximately 23:47 UT I had the opportunity to observe Comet NEAT V1 with the ASH 17" f/15 classical Cassegrainat the Naylor Observatory shortly before high cirrus and the rising full moon spoiled the view completely. Magnifications used were 162(40mmn University Optics MK-70), 209 (31mm Tele Vue Nagler type 5), and 259x (25mm U.O. MK-70). C/2002 V1 (NEAT) was fairly bright but was hard to see through the 5" f/5 finder scope due to moonlight and poor transparency. Its large coma seemed asymmetrical and had noticeable condensation. The comet was soon lost in cirrus clouds so Dave Lassiter and Iturned our attention to his new Astrovid Color PlanetCam CCD Video System. Eventually we got all the bugs worked out and animpressively large image of Saturn appeared on the monitor. The seeing was rather poor but from time to time a sharp image of the planet ensued. The Cassini Division was easy to see as were thepolar hood and two southern hemisphere cloud belts. We pulled some tape and moved on to the Moon After Yule. The image scale produced by the 6477mm focal length classical Cassegrain resulted in a screen-filling image and slewing the telescope with the drive corrector proved tedious. I placed the camera in the 5" refractor and a much smaller and more aesthetically pleasing picture of the full moon flashed onto the screen.The clouds had grown worse so our final target was mighty Jupiter. The Galilean satellites were displayed through the 5" but disappeared when I lowered the gain to show the NEB and SEB. After a few minutes I moved the camera back to the focuser of the17". Even before I achieved best focus, which was somewhat difficult to do on all of the objects imaged, the GRS popped into view. It was pale but definitely pink in color. Unfortunately, there were noshadow transits or Galilean satellite mutual events to be seen.We also did some old fashioned eyeballing of Saturn and Jupiter at 259x. The GRS was just about in transit of the CM (the transit time was 2:27 UT) while all this was going on and was clearly visible through the eyepiece but was not as striking as it was on the monitor.
Moon (Moon, est. mag -11+, est. to be in Pisces)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 102-mm refractor Location: Hummelstown, PA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sun Jan 12 01:30:00 2003 UT Obs. no.: 763
On a bitterly cold Saturday night fellow ASH members Tony Donnangelo, Maura Smith, and I had a look at Ganymede and Europa after first observing the Hesiodus Lunar Sunrise Ray. We used Tony's Takahashi FS-102 apochromatic refractor at magnifications up to 234x. Prior to traveling to Tony's house Maura and I witnessed Iridium 54'sbrilliant -8th magnitude flare.The two Galilean satellites formed a very close pair separated by a few arc seconds at most. There were definite size and color differences between the two moons. After a much needed warm-up break we caught a glimpse of the GRS sometime around 2:30 UT as it approached the preceding limb. Early in the evening Tony observed a previously unreported triple sunrise ray in the crater Parry. Unfortunately, the event ended before Maura and I arrived at his residence. The Hesiodus Ray, bythe way, appeared similar to the several other times since 1994 thatI have seen it, i.e., as a slowly widening dim streak of light that gradually illuminated the floor of Hesiodus. Other lunar features were noteworthy. Rupes Recta was well displayed as were Tycho, Clavius, Plato, and several other craters. Eratosthenes wasstriking. Tony and I both noticed an unusual aspect of Alpetragius. The central peak was extremely prominent which made the crater look dimpled. Also eye catching were the many isolated peaks on the dark side of the terminator that were nicely illuminated. Tony and I also spent some viewing Saturn. The C ring was visible at the ansae along with a definite demarcation of the polar hood and two cloud belts. Before calling it quits at approximately 3:30 UT wemade a final check on the progress of the Hesiodus Ray.
Jupiter (Planet, est. to be in Cancer)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 80-mm refractor Location: Harrisburg , PA, USA
Light pollution: severe Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Wed Dec 18 09:12:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 737
There was a mutual event of the Galilean satellites on this chilly Wednesday morning. From09:12 to 09:16 UT Ganymede partially occulted Io. Io was reduced to15% of its normal brightness.I watched as Ganymede and Io drew close, seemingly merged, and thenwent their separate ways through my Orion ShortTube 80 achromat at 57and 114x using a 7mm Tele Vue Nagler type 6 alone and with a 2xCelestron Ultima Barlow lens.I also briefly viewed the just past opposition Saturn and the nearlyfull moon at 114x.For more on this mutual events "season" see the article by Jean Meeus in the December "Sky & Telescope" and on the Sky & Telescope web site (http://skyandtelescope.com/printable/observing/objects/planets/article_774.asp). There is a similar article by Richard Talcott in the December issue of "Astronomy".
Other (Other)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 42-mm binoculars Location: Harrisburg , PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Tue Dec 3 23:08:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 732
On a bitterly cold Tuesday evening I watched the passes of the STS-113 and the ISS from a baseball field near my residence and was richly rewarded for my, ahem, endeavor. The Space Shuttle appeared first in the northwest sometime after 23:08 UT and raced across the sky towards the bowl of the Little Dipper. The ISS was 41 seconds behind the Endeavor, which entered the earth's shadow in the north and disappeared at 23:12 UT. During the event I followed both spacecraft with my unaided eyes and a Celestron Noble 8x42 binocular. Two much dimmer objects crossed the sky in opposite directions a few minutes later. I believe they were Cosmos 1908, which traveled from the north to the south southeast, and Cosmos 1703, which tracked from the south southeast to the north northeast. They passed by each other at approximately 23:18 UT.While I was enjoying the great outdoors, I also turned my binocular gaze towards M45, Melotte 20, M31, M33, M15, M34, M103, Albireo, Omicron Cygni, and finally a zenith hugging M39.The sky was rather transparent. I was pleasantly suprised to be able to detect M33, however dimly, despite the ever increasing light pollution in the area.
Venus (Planet, est. mag -4.7)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 80-mm refractor Location: Harrisburg , PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Sun Dec 1 10:00:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 731
On Sunday morning the moon, Mars, and Venus formed a delightful triangle in the southeastern sky. I observed the event from my residence near Harrisburg using an 80mmm f/5 Orion ShortTube 80 achromat with a 30mm Celestron Ultima, 26mm Tele Vue Ploessl, an 11mm Tele Vue Ploessl, and a 2x Ultima Barlow lens and later with a 114mm f/7.9 Celestron C4.5 Newtonian with the 30 and 11mm eyepieces. All three celestial bodies fit into the ST80's field of view at 15x (26mm Ploessl). I also took some tripod-mounted and prime focus (through the ST80) shots with a Pentax K1000 SLR. Venus had waxed considerably since I saw it last on the morning of the Leonids. Using eyepiece projection with the 26mm Ploessl I snapped a few photos of the crescent planet through the C4.5.
Meteor (Meteor, est. to be in Leo)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewistown , PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: poor Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Nov 19 10:00:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 723
After Tony Donnangelo and I decided that it was probably not worthwhile driving to anywhere else in Pennsylvania or New Jersey I eventually ended up watching the peak of the Leonids from the ASH Naylor Observatory near Lewisberry. During the 04:00 UT peak I observed for short time from a nearby park but could see only two stars in east and the moon due to cloud cover. There was a great lunar halo but I would have been much happier not to see one on this particular occasion. I fell asleep on my futon watching Letterman and was ready to crawl into bed when I looked out a window and saw that conditions had improved somewhat. I must admit that I debated with myself forsome time whether I should just call it quits and go to bed or travel the 18 miles to the observatory.When I arrived there was one ASH member there who had gone north to a dark site but returned when the weather didn't pan out. We were joined by two more members and a non-member by the time the Leonid peak was predicted. In the meantime I prepared the French Dome and trained the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain on Jupiter (162 and 259x) and then Saturn (259x). The seeing was better than I expected with the high cirrus acting as a filter.At 10:00 UT I laid back in my lounge chair, covered myself with a sleeping bag, and began counting for the next hour. We were fortunate enough to have a hole surrounding the radiant more or less until dawn but conditions were far from ideal. My tally was 48 Leonids. These included several head-on meteors, three that left fairly good trains (one formed a neat arc momentarily), and one that was perhaps -3 magnitude. So while what we saw was far from a meteor storm it was certainly worth the drive and braving the lower than 30 degree Fahrenheit temperatures.Other highlights included an ISS pass at 10:10 UT, a moondog, and a very thin crescent Venus at 162x before closing up the dome. After that I used a pinhole lens in an unsuccessful attempt to see Venus as a crescent with my naked eye.
Moon (Moon)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector Location: Lewistown , PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: poor
Time: Thu Nov 14 03:05:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 720
After the introductory astronomy class that I help to teach had ended I did a bit of lunar observing under very unsteady skies from the ASH Naylor Observatory on Wednesday evening. Using the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at 162 (40mm U.O. MK-70) and 259x (25mm U.O. MK-70) Rupes Recta, also known as the Straight Wall, although a bit past its best illumination, looked quite good as did Clavius, Tycho, Hesiodus, and other craters. The views of Saturn were rather poor although the Cassini Division was visible and four of the planet's satellites. I also looked at M35, M37, M42, Sigma Orionis, and Struve 761 at 162x before closing up the dome for the night.
Sun (Sun)
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 102-mm refractor Location: Hummelstown , PA, USA
Light pollution: none Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Oct 21 15:30:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 699
Late Monday morning Tony Donnangelo and I observed the sun with his Takahashi FS-102, Baader AstroSolar filter, and Lumicon (RIP) Solar Prominence Filter. We used an original Masuyama design 26mm Meade Super Ploessl (31x), a 12mm Tele Vue Nagler type 4 (68x), a 10mm Tele Vue Radian (82x), a 9mm Tele Vue Nagler type 6 (91x), an 8mm Orion Lanthanum Superwide (103x), a 5.2mm Pentax SMC XL (158x), and a 3.5mm Orion Lanthanum Superwide (234x). Two notable prominences were visible in the light of H-alpha (see Paul Hyndman's excellent image at http://www.astro-nut.com/sun-ha-21oct02.dhtml). With the white light filter several prominent sunspots including AR 10162 and AR 10165 were seen. AR 10162 was large enough to seen without any magnification. Several facular areas were noted.
Other (Other, est. mag 13.5p, est. to be in Pisces, Est. RaDec 1h16.4m, +33d27')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 14.5-inch Dobsonian reflector Location: Tuscarora State Forest near Mifflintown , PA, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Tue Oct 8 06:30:00 2002 UT Obs. no.: 694
One of the many deep-sky objects that Tony Donnangelo and I observed while at this remote dark sky site was the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Andromeda II. Through Tony's Starmaster at 83 (22mm Tele Vue Nagler type 4) and 107x (17mm Tele Vue Nagler type 4) this member of the Local Group was small, round, and rather dim.
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