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Saturn (Planet)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Oct 31 06:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1386
Viewed Saturn after midnight. As dark as it was there was still some difficulty seeing it. Upper atmospheric turbulance left the image "boiling." Even so, I could make out the gradually closing angle of the rings and 4 of it's brighter satellites. No Cassinni Division nor Equatorial bands could be seen.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2.26, est. to be in Aries)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Mon Oct 31 02:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1387
Mars looked awesome tonight! Faint markings could be seen all over the planet (though I did not have time to run the program to tell me what I was seeing). There was still a blue polar hood visible over the southern hemisphere confirmed by my father who had stopped by to visit. Also showed my father NGC 869 and NGC 884, M31 (which through 15x70 binos he claimed he saw M32 and M110) and M45. The Dumbell and the Ring Nebulas had already moved beyond the tall trees by the time he had showed up.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2, est. to be in Aries)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Oct 24 02:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1378
Due to the rain throughout most of the weekend I could only view on Sunday night. Started viewing at 9:00 PM. Observed M27, M57, M31 and M32, NGC 869 & 884, M45 and Mars. Started with the Dumbell Nebula. At 30x it was bright and easily spotted with my 15x70 binos as a circular smudge. Brought the telescope to bear which revealed a larger smudge. Again disappointment was the key word. I could not make out the apple core. Viewed at 30x. Moved on to M57 which again was very pleasing. Best power to view was 75x. It was easier to view tonight than last weeks viewing. Moving on to M31, I easily noticed the brighter of its 2 companions. M31 was bright and elliptical as is typical whenever I view this galaxy. No dust lanes were visible as I lack the aperature. I am envious of the large aperature telescopes that can pick out individual star clusters and dust lanes within other galaxies. I then moved on to the Double Cluster, NGC 869 & 884. Tonight was pristine as I could easily make out a limiting magnitude of better than 12 with these clusters at 30x. I then moved on to the highlight of the night, Mars. Once again, a stunning view revealing a T-shaped marking on the disk. I was viewing Sinus Sabaeus as a long dark bridge extending to the north (the bottom of the T) Moab and Aeria were bright areas in the Northern hemisphere pink in color. Dominating the southern hemisphere (within visibility) were Mare Serpentis, Iapygia Virdis, Syrtis Major & Minor and Mare Tyrrenhum. These southern regions had a definite blue hue to them at both 203x with a filter and 75x without a filter. No polar caps visible nor was Hellas visible. Ended the night at 9:40 PM at low power on M45 which barely fit in my FOV at 30x.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2, est. to be in Aries)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Oct 19 02:45:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1373
Tonight's viewing was the best yet for Mars! Using a combination of a neutral density and Planetary Contrast Booster, a triangular albedo structure could be easily seen covering the majority of the planet's disk at 203x. I continually spot Mare Erythraeum due to the Martian day being similar to ours. This time I also spotted Margaritifer Sinus to the west. The viewing was so well that the regions could be captured on my Meade Lunar / Planetary Imager without using a barlow (the LPI alone is 125x). Also viewed M31, M57 and NGC 869 and 884. Tried to spot Uranus but there was too much light to the south. M31 was viewed early in the night (7:30 EST)so there was so much light pollution I could not even pick out M32 nor M110. The Ring (M57) appeared rather easy at 75x but could not go higher on power for I would lose it in the glare. The Double Cluster in Perseus yielded 5 to 6 dozen starts in the 10 to 11th magnitude. All things considered a pretty good night.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2, est. to be in Aries)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Tue Oct 18 02:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1371
Viewing was difficult tonight with the location of the nearly full moon. Observed Mare Erythraeum region at 203x with both a neutral density filter and a planetary booster in combination in order to draw out details on Mars' surface. It worked suprisingly well considering the ever increasing glare from the moon. The surface markings were much easier to see so that I did not need to use averted vision. Still no polar cap visible.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -2)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Mon Oct 17 03:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1367
Took advantage of the clear weather both Saturday and Sunday this weekend to view Mars, Saturn, the moon and M42. Sunday's viewing was far better than Saturday's though both days were very windy. Viewing Mars at 203x Mar's ruddy orange color seemed to have a dark tan region that seemed to span the entire diameter. It almost appeared like a cloud belt on Jupiter with the GRS (though this was far less discenible). Not viewing my Mars previewer before looking in order to keep myself honest I made a sketch what I had seen at the eyepiece. It was indeed similar to what the program had shown me. The region was Mare Erythraeum (the bulge that looked like the GRS) and the "bridge" spanning across the whole disk was from Bosporos Gemmatus all the way to Mare Acidlium. No polar caps were spotted either night.
Mars (Planet, est. mag -1.5, est. to be in Taurus)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6 -inch equatorial reflector Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Sun Oct 2 09:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1348
My first viewing of Mars this year. Viewed at 4:00 in the morning. Mars was high overhead approx. 10 degrees off from the Pleadies. Viewing at 203x I could make out Mare Tyrrhenum as a light tan line through the orange-pink disk towards the northern limb. Though the sky was dark and there was not a cloud in the sky, the view flurried in and out of focus evry few seconds from turbulence. I will keep a close eye on Mars in the next few weeks.
Meteor (Meteor, est. mag -2, est. to be in Cygnus, Est. RaDec 60)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: naked eye Location: Horsham, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Fri Sep 2 02:17:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1299
Was outside last night admiring the first clear night in some time when a blue-white meteor flashed past. It was originating from the Cygnus region and heading Southwest. It was maybe visible for 15 degrees as it streaked approx mag -2.0. About a minute later, another meteor slightly less bright (mag -1.8 or so) but with the same coloring flared past heading due West. Also originating from the Cygnus region this one was visible for maybe 20 degrees or so.
Jupiter (Planet)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Jun 23 02:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1250
Tonight I decided to stop by a Cutler's Camera that is advertised in Astronomy magazines. I picked up a Baader's Planetarium Contrast Booster for $29 (reg. $65) and a Meade Electronic Eyepiece for $39 (reg $79)! I immediately went home to use my new purchases at sundown. By using the filter, I had seen colors and clarity on Jupiter I had never seen before. At 203x, the colors of Jupiter were the same as in books and magazines. I could count 6 belts on the planets disk. The GRS was just moving off the planets limb. Even through the electronic eyepiece the image was about the size of a tennis ball using a 20" TV as a monitor and 2 belts could be seen as well as the 4 moons. I tried it on Mars after midnight but the red planet was still too low near the trees. I will have to try again later. I highly recommend the filter to anyone. The difference in clarity, color and contrast is like night and day.
M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Canes Venatici, Est. RaDec 8.4)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars Location: Horsham, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Jun 8 02:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1243
Decided to take a drive 45 minutes north to Quakertown to see if I could find an area void of light pollution. I ended up at Nockamixon State Park. Viewing up at Ursa Major I spotted M81 and M82. Not as easy to view as in West Va. but still easily prominent. This time I remembered to view M51. Looking just off from the middle of the "handle" I spotted it easily. I could just about make out its spiral arms. With averted vision I could make out both galaxies together. The total size of the group (M51A and M51B) was rather large, but not as large as M101 which I spied next. All in all a good night for galaxy hunting at a location that is much darker than my backyard and is still easily traversible.
M87 (Galaxy, in Virgo)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars Location: New River, West Va., USA
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat May 28 04:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1238
In my previous log, I claimed I had seen Comet Temple 1. I now believe what I had seen was actually the giant galaxy M87. Panning through star atlases, it has come to my attention that the comet is presently in the Virgo region. Just off from this region is the Coma Berences Galaxy Cluster with M87 being the brightest and the largest. At @ 65 million light years, it is recorded in various books of mine as being easily visible in binos. Also, pictures in these books shows that it is a giant orange sphere due to it's stars being very ancient. It is predominatly populated by Orange Giant type stars. With what I have read and seen, I must alter my log. Sorry for the misinformation.
Comet (Comet, est. mag 9, est. to be in Virgo)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars Location: New River, West Va., USA
Light pollution: none Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat May 28 04:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1237
Went White Water Rafting down in West Virginia this weekend. The trip was phenominal! I decided to take my 70mm binos just in case the sky was clear. Was I ever so glad I had. The view was perfect. The town we were in was in the New River Gorge located 500 miles south of Philadelphia. I have never seen such a dark sky. There were so many stars I was actually having a hard time finding the constellations due to so many being visible. Limiting magnitude was probably better than 6.5. Using just the binos, I found more galaxies in 3 minutes than I have with my 6" telescope since it was bought over a year ago. Starting out in the Big Dipper, I "immediately" spotted both M81 and M82. Both were slanted at opposing 45 degree angles from one another with M81 on the right and M82 on the left. I could clearly see the spiral structure. I have tried time and again to see this pair from my home in Pennsylvania but to no avail. After catching my breath, I moved on to M101. This was another target I had tried in vain to seek for over a year. Also spotted this one immediately. At first glance, it appeared to have a rectanglular form. By using averted vision I picked up its elongated whirlpool shape. It was dim yet still easily visible. It's size was massive. Oddly enough I had completely forgotten to check for M51 (DOH!) I completed my viewing with Comet Temple 1. Viewing the star that appears to be Virgo's "Heart" I spotted an orange fuzzball (yes, I actually saw it's color!!!) that was a near perfect circle as if the comet was heading straight for me. There was no noticeable tail as if the comet was going to a particular side. Just a hazy large orange glow. My brother confirmed the color and the near perfect circle as if it waqs a planetary nebula in time exposure pictures. Next year we are planning to run a white water trip down the lower river basin. I think I will pack my 6" scope when we do. All in all, probably the best night of observing in my life!!! All this time I thought my telescope did not have enough aperature. All I really needed was an completely dark sky.
M44 (Praesepe) (Open Cluster, in Cancer)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed May 11 00:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1234
Started around 6:30 EST to check out the sun. Viewing at various powers between 30x and 75x I viewed Sunspot group 759 and 763. Group 763 looked like a group of about 3 dozen "tiny" sunspots (Mrcury sized?) spread out like a small island chain. Group 759 appeared as a single large sunspot whose penumbra nearly tripled the size of the umbra. I could pick up intrcate detail in this large sunspot. Afterwards I waited about an hour and a half to view the moon. Viewing at 30x and 75x the detail was astounding. I caught a rift on the face of the moon just off the termination line. It looked like a fault line in the moon's crust that can only be seen during this phase. Viewing some of the southern craters and mountains at over 200x always leaves me speechless. Around 8:37, Saturn blinked into view. Viewing tionight was not as good as the previous nights. There was a thin haze in the upper atmosphere so that viewing at 203x was difficult to see the Cassinni Division. I caught both Rhea and Titan, but because of the haze 2 other moons kept blinking in and out of view. Jupiter's view was not much better. All 4 Galilean moons were visible with Calipso in a WIDE orbit...possibly 10 Jovian diameters from the planet itself. I had to pan the scope in order to catch it at 203x. ALl that was visible on Jupiter was the 2 equatorial belts and the South Polar Zone. The north looked all beige. Tried for various galaxies again in the Coma region just off the tail of Leo, but the First Quarter moon drowned out everything in the area. Decided to end my night looking off of Gemini to spot M44 star clusted. Beautiful at low power I only caught about half as many stars as I should have due to the haze. Still impressive though.
Sun (Sun)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed May 11 00:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1231
Tonight's viewing was excellent. I started around 7:00 with my solar filter on the sun. Viewing at 30, 37 and 75x I saw the sunspot groups 758, 759 and 762. Group 759 was the largest I had seen in a while (though I missed last week's large sunspot group). Viewing 758 I saw dozens of smaller sunspots incorporated with the 3 major ones of that group. The penumbra was very defined on all the spots today. At about 8:30, the moon was starting to set in the Northwest. I viewed at 30x just to kill time before Saturn became visible. It was still a very slim crescent but I could see other major details on it due to Earthshine on the darkened side of the moon. About 15 minutes later Saturn became visible. VIewing at 203x I could see the Cassinni Division well. I could also see the peculiar angle that Saturns rings were pointing...almost straight up (north to south). Also visible were Titan and Rhea. Rhea was about 1 ring diameter from Saturn while Titan barely fit in my FOV swinging past at about 4 ring diameters. Lastly I swung the scope towards Jupiter. Tonight's view was even better than last night's. Not only did I see 4 bands on Jupiter, I also saw both the north and polar zones. EXTREMELY defineable the color of all the bands was olive-green while the planet itself has the typical beige hue. I did not realize that the polar zones extended as far as they did. The whole top and bottom of the disk of Jupiter (about 20 degrees North and South) were completely covered. Also, this is the first time, with such clarity, that the clouds appeared olive colored. Truly an awesome sight!
Jupiter (Planet, est. mag -1, est. to be in Leo)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: excellent Seeing: good
Time: Tue May 10 03:00:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1229
Simply beautiful view of Jupiter last night! The outside temperature became brisk and there was not a cloud to be seen. I started out with the M81/82 system in Ursa Major in my 70mm binos. Spotted them within a few minutes with binos, however after 20 minutes decided to give up with the telescope. I moved on to Coma Berences yet again to no avail. There seems to be some light pollution that is just enough to drown out the galaxy clusters there. Due to my frustration getting the best of me, I moved on to an easy object, Jupiter. I was awestruck by the clarity. It was easily among the best I have seen of the gas giant. I could easily make out 4 dark bands and caught a glimpse of a curl in one the the 2 major bands. Still have not been able to see the GRS yet. This view surely saved the night. While viewing Jupiter I also caught a brilliant White-blue meteor that left a trail of about 3 fist lengths at arms reach. An added bonus after missing out on the Galaxies.
Jupiter (Planet)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Thu Apr 28 02:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1223
Took advantage of the good seeing as well as mild temperatures to look at Jupiter. The planet was so easily visible that even my neighbor with bad eyesight could clearly see the 2 major cloud belts. GRS was not visible at the time I was observing, however there were 5 stars in jupiters FOV that were about 9.5 to 10.5 magnitude which made it look like 9 of Jupiter's moons were present. It was easy to spot Jupiter's moons from the stars in both their color and their positions parallel to Jupiters belts. I pointed this out to my wife and neighbor so they too could point out the difference. Shortly thereafter clouds moved in. (go figure...grumble...)
M81 (Galaxy, in Ursa Major)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Mar 16 03:30:00 2005 UT Obs. no.: 1185
Finally got out after 3 months of mud and snow converting my backyard into a swamp. The sky was incredibly dark and Ursa Major was almost directly overhead. I used the "y" and "a" stars in the bowl to point my way to M81 and M82. Found them relatively quickly but they were not as bright as I had expected. M81 appeared only about half as large as the Andromeda Galaxy and it was noticeably fainter by at least a magnitude also. M82 was visible not far off. Much smaller than its companion it was still somewhat easy to make out after initially finding M81. To make sure I am able to find it with my 6" scope in the upcoming weeks (when it gets alittle less muddy outside) I deliberately went back inside the house and came out later. Found it all 3 times with little difficulty. I will have to get a much better view if the sky is dark tonight and free of clouds.
Comet (Comet, est. mag 7, est. to be in Orion)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: good Seeing: good
Time: Mon Dec 6 02:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1125
Tracked Comet Machholz for about 10 minutes with 70mm binos. It's easy finding it now, even in moderate light pollution. I can't wait until it glows at 4th magnitude next month.
Sun (Sun)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Dec 4 14:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1124
Viewed the sun this morning with my 6" scope and white light solar filter. I got the last glimpse of Sunspot group 706 and 707 before they rotated off the visible disk. Now the only group visible, as of today, is 708. Not much activity visible in white light.
Comet (Comet, est. mag 7, est. to be in Orion)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Dec 4 03:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1123
Tonight's viewing was awesome! I viewed M1, M57, M31, M42, M45, Saturn and Comet Machholz. Staring at approximately 7:00 PM, M57 was in prime viewing position. The ring was nice but there was a good deal of light pollution so I could not go beyond 75x of the Ring. Using my 70mm binos I marveled at the M31 Galaxy for alittle while. The core was easily visible however the satellite galaxies were difficult to see. M45 was also a splendor in the binos as the whole cluster fit nicely in the FOV at 15x. I decided to wait for the night to wear on alittle more before continuing. I resumed my viewing at 10:00. Starting alittle south of Orion with my binos, I spotted Comet Machholz. It took about 20 minutes for me to finally find the comet with the scope. The comet appeared alittle less bright than M31 but only half as large. It's faint tail sprayed out in fan at about a 90 degree angle. This was the first comet I have seen through this telescope. I tracked it for about 10 minutes before moving on. Next I moved on to the Crab Nebula (M1). It was not as bright tonight as it was on previous nights. Barely discernable as a lowercased "s". I used averted vision to see any detail. My next stop was M42. As always it was a fine show in my scope at any power. I ended my stargazing with Saturn. The view tonight was much better than my previous viewing. Using a Saturn Satellite program I plotted what moons I was viewing at that moment. Visible at 203x were Titan, Dione and Rhea. Also the Cassini Division was very readily visible. There was also a singular dark, thick equatorial belt visible (much darker than the previous night). All in all, a phenomenal night for viewing!
M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Nov 29 03:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1119
The view of M42 tonight completely blew me away! At 30x the boundaries of the nebula were crisp. The stars looked like headlights of a car peering through fog. It was eerie to see how thick the nebula really was. The Trapezium was easy to seperate at 30x. The coloring was indeed a pale green (previous sighting last month appeared grayish). Boosting to 203x the nebula filled up a large portion of the FOV. Even at this magnification, the contrast of the nebula was unspoiled. A wonderful spectacle that I just can not ever get enough of!
Saturn (Planet, est. mag -2, est. to be in Eridanus)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Nov 29 03:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1118
Tonight was my first viewing of Saturn this season. Spotting it high in the East by 10:00 PM, I noticed that the angle of the rings was tighter and closer to edge-on since my last viewing of it last spring. 2 moons were visible though I am not sure which 2 they were. Also visible was a single equatorial belt as well as the Cassini Division. Viewed at 203x.
Sun (Sun)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 60-mm refractor Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri Nov 26 15:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1120
Since there was only minor sunspot activity, I decided to use my 60mm zoom refractor with a sunshield and projector. I captured an excellent projection image of sunspot group 706 and 707. Zooming up to 60x the penumbra on both groups became prominent. I will wait until there is more activity to set up my 6" reflector and my white light filter in order to get a better view when it is worthwhile.
M57 (Ring Nebula) (Planetary Nebula, in Lyra)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 6-inch equatorial reflector Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: light Transparency: excellent Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Nov 10 00:00:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1090
This night was very crisp and cold. Thanks to Daylight Savings ending, it was extremely dark by 6:30 PM. There was little wind and the seeing was just about as good as I have seen it. After allowing 30 minutes or so for the scope to cool down, I viewed M57. The Ring was beautiful! On previous observations, I could not use power beyond 75x due to either wind or seeing conditions. Tonight's viewing held steady at over 200x! The view was the best I had ever seen of the Ring. The hollow center was not only easily visible w/ direct vision...it was also very large. The elliptical shape was even easier to spot tonight than other nights when viewing with 75x. A truly wonderous sight that I will return to again and again.
Moon (Moon, est. mag -1)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars Location: Horsham, Pa., USA
Light pollution: moderate Transparency: fair Seeing: poor
Time: Thu Oct 28 02:15:00 2004 UT Obs. no.: 1084
Due to heavy cloud cover I resorted to using my binos and tripod rather than set up the reflector. The eclipse had just started and, in the first 20 minutes or so, it actually looked really ominous with all the clouds with a deep orange color around it's halo. The clouds started moving in much heavier after 30 minutes or so. With the moon's visibility waning and deep cloud cover I pasked up the binos by 9:45 EST. At that point it looked little more than a crescent moon. That will be it until 2007.
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