Observations by xtozaj@webtv.net

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Observations by xtozaj@webtv.net:

Jupiter (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 60-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: good
Time: Sat Sep 25 04:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 481

Tonight, I was able to resolve Jupiters 5th closest moon, (which I have researched and discovered to be 112,500 miles from Jupiter's surface). It was detectable, although its albedo was much lower than the four major moons. It was positioned the alloted distance from Jupiter. I caught this moon with 144X and had a clear view of same. This was my first ever sighting of any moon other than the "Big Four." Anyone know the name of this moon?

Saturn (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 60-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: good
Time: Sat Sep 18 04:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 478

Tonight, after observing Jupiter I turned the ole eyepiece on Saturn. For the first time through my small scope, I was able to distinguish the Cassini Division. There was obvious separation between the A and B rings. The seeing here was quite steady and this was the best observation I have ever had of Saturn. I could not resolve any moons. Had a great night of planet watching.

Tonight, observed Jupiter for the first time since last fall. It was extremely bright and was easy to spot naked eye. All 4 giant moons were plainly visible as were the northern and southern equatorial bands. We had extremely low humidity here (around 20%) and the seeing was quite good. Jupiters disk seemed somewhat brighter than this time last year. It is coming to opposition soon.

Other (Other)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 10X50-mm binoculars   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Sep 6 02:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 475

Observed the "Summer Triangle" of Deneb, Altair, and Vega in my rarely clear summer Florida sky. Nothing great to report other than I got to see the sky again after a 3 month absence!! Clear Skies All!~~~.....

Tonight, had the first opportunity to observe the late summer Milky Way. The sky in North Florida has been poor for the past 3 months. Way too much cloud cover and moisture! Tonight, the sky was crystal clear. I observed the "double double" in Lyra with my binos. Although this is not a noteworthy siteing....it is for me the first real opportunity to observe ANYTHING in 3 months.Looking forward to observing Saturn and Jupiter soon.

M13 (Hercules Cluster) (Globular Cluster, in Hercules)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Jun 9 06:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 459

Got a great low power ob of M13 in Hercules. I could not resolve individual stars with my small scope, but still got some resolution of M13 as a "fuzzy." I was able to stretch my magnification to the limit of my small refractor (144x), but my Barlow (2x), just isn't worth having!

Other (Other)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 10x50-mm binoculars   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri May 14 02:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 456

Tonight, Had a great sight seeing tour of the early summer Milky Way. We observed about 40 galaxies in the Virgo- Coma cluster with binos. We also enjoyed seeingCorona Borealis and Hercules. Got a good ob of M13 with binos. I always enjoy the early summer asterisms and constellations. Also obed Scorpius rising. Ran out of gas and wanted to wait for Sagittarius to rise. Will catch it soon. Take Care my late night friends and clear skies.

Mars (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: fair   Seeing: good
Time: Sat Mar 27 16:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 451

Tonight, I again tried in vain to resolve the red planet. I used 144X and got a much larger disk, but no features whatsoever. It is becoming easily apparent that Mars is moving closer to opposition. I was suprised to see that Mars seems to be somewhat (15 degrees or so) south of the ecliptic. It was moving quite briskly some 60 degrees behind (east) of the waxing moon. It was quite brilliant and its red hue was very obvious, even naked eye. Mars is a planet that I have never had much luck with in resolving features....however, I hope you have better luck........maybe I need a larger scope!! Clear Skies.

Tonight, observed Mars moving along the ecliptic some 40 degrees east of the full moon. It was a great disappointment. Although Mars isn't coming to opposition until late April, I was still amazed at how small and featureless it is with less than 50 days to its closest approach to Earth in some time. With 175x it was only a radiant "dot." This is the maximum useable power on my small scope and I had hoped for some degree of resolution. Well, I enjoyed the hunt and I did get some good obs of M42, M44, and the moon. Clear Skies, everyone!

Venus (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Feb 5 12:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 443

Observed Venus tonight. The planet showed a nearly full disk. Seeing was good considering how low it was to the horizon. The planet was very brilliant and moved quickly through my eyepiece. Observed at 90x and 125x. Looking forward to its rising higher in the coming months.

Saturn (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jan 15 01:40:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 437

Observed Saturn as it was setting. Noted the obvious change in ring position from Fall to Winter. My scope is too small to resolve any moons, however the planet was quite brilliant. Will miss the "Ringed Beauty", as it sets earlier in the evening. Looking forward to observing Mars and Venus in the coming months. Clear Skies, everyone.

M44 (Praesepe) (Open Cluster, in Cancer)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Jan 15 03:30:00 1999 UT   Obs. no.: 436

Tonight, the sky was jet black. I had some concerns on dew setting in on my binos and scope. I got my obs. before this became an issue. I observed M44 and it was awesome. I noted some 100+ stars in the field. Cancer is certainly one of the more obscure constellations, given the low magnitude stars that that make up this naked eye asterism. It is a fine open cluster.

Jupiter (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Thu Nov 26 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 421

Tonight, after enjoying a great Thanksgiving dinner, we looked toward the setting planet, Jupiter. We have seen this gas giant several times through binos and my telescope. What made tonight's observation different was the location of Jupiter's moons. Io and Europa seemed so tidally locked that they appeared as "binary" moons. They were so close to one another it looked like they would crash!. Equatorial bands on Jupiter were very evident. My small scope would not resolve the "Great Red Spot", however it's moons were awesome. Clear Skies, everyone!!

Meteor (Meteor)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: naked eye   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Tue Nov 17 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 420

Tonight, we prepared for the meteor shower which, unfortunately, was a big disappointment. Spotted an avg. of 12 per hour, mostly extremely short-lived and with very little residuals. However, we did spot one which streaked yellow and then green and left an obvious smoke train. Maybe next year. Still got some great obs. of Orion and the Trapezium through my scope and binos.

Moon (Moon)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri Nov 6 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 416

Tonight, we went on a crater hunt on the nearly full moon. Observed clearly the eastern limb and the accompanying craters. Especially noteworthy was Crater Purbach and Stoflor. The contrast was excellent tonight as was the "seeing." Tonight's moon was as brilliant as we have seen it in recent months. We are under a severe cold front and therefore had a great opportunity to observe Luna.

Beta Per (Algol) (Variable Star, in Perseus)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 90-mm refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Oct 31 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 413

Tonight, observed the Demon Star and looked for variabilty. Observed the star for 2 hours and did not see any recognizible difference in magnitude. I did not notice the eclipse, however, I will continue to search for same! Clear Skies, everyone!

M33 (Pinwheel Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Triangulum)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 10x50-mm binoculars   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Sun Oct 25 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 412

The "Pinwheel Galaxy" was apparent, although it was extremely faint and not much detail was seen. As a "faint fuzzy", it does not rival M31. However, just locating it with binos was a feat worth noting! It seemed to be lost within the light of the "Milky Way." My wife, who observed M33 through my binos noted that it "would have been better in a darker sky!" I agree! Clear skies everyone!!

M45 (Pleiades) (Open Cluster, in Taurus)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Sun Oct 25 05:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 411

The Pleiades and all the accompaning asterisms within Taurus were great. The luminosity of the "Seven Sisters" was awesome. Especially noteworthy was Eta Tauri. It outshone the other sisters by a least 1/2 magnitude (through binos). The Hyades was also beautiful. Although Taurus is most known for the Pleiades, observers who enjoy open clusters, may like the Hyades for their perfect position as the "horns of the bull!"

Mars (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Oct 19 06:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 407

Tonight, we looked into Leo and spotted Mars. It was a big disapointment. Although sighting it was easy, the apparition was very poor. Through my scope it appeared as a small red dot and was featureless. The best part of tonights observation was the appearance of several meteors from the Orionids. Spotted approximately 30 per hr. Strangley, the radiant appeared to move from SE to NW throughout our observation period of about 4 hrs.

Saturn (Planet)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri Oct 9 02:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 404

A great observation of this gas giant tonight. Although my scope would not resolve any moons, the apparition was noteworthy. The planet, which is reaching opposition, was especially brilliant. The rings were tilted south and toward the observer. The planet is a gem in any size scope.

M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) (Galaxy, in Andromeda)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 10x50-mm binoculars   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Fri Oct 9 02:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 403

Observed Pegasus rising and with it a wonderful observation of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. Observed it with 10x50 binos due to its altitude. Noted a wonderful "dusky spot" in the heavens. Obviously, a galactic sighting. Will endeavor to locate same in the future earlier in the evening, so that I can put my scope and some power on this beauty! Don't miss this early fall asterism! P.S. Ain't astronomy grand!!?

M42 (Orion Nebula) (Bright Nebula, in Orion)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Wed Sep 23 07:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 398

Observed M42 clearly with 3" refractor. Excellent "seeing" this observation period. Betelgeuse and Rigel were especially noteworthy! Also noted the "Hyades." Early fall asterisms seem to move across the sky quite quickly even though I know the season makes no difference!! The Pleiades was also very brilliant and easily observable. I always enjoy observing these Fall beauties!! Aldeberon was especially beautiful tonight. A good observation session this morning!

Moon (Moon)
Observer: Marylin F Keel (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 03-inch refractor   Location: Malone, Florida, USA
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Fri Sep 4 04:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 383

Tonight, we observed the nearly full moon and checked our moon chart. Had a good observation of Sinus Iridum and Mare Imbrium. We looked for and saw shadow on crater wall of ARCHIMEDES. Crater hunting fell off soon after we started our hunt. Moisture set in and we resolved to look again, hoping for better "seeing" later this weekend.

Other (Other)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: 10x50-mm binoculars   Location: Marianna, Florida, United States
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Sat Aug 22 08:00:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 381

While using my 10x50 binos to observe setting stars, I noted a strange grouping of approximately 30 stars that seem to form a spider. The central (body) star is about 2 apparent magnitudes (resemblng Polaris, naked eye). Small "chains" of low magnitude stars radiate from the central star to form all 8 "legs." I have given this grouping the name "Spiderra." It is located due west of Lyra and is 20-30 degrees from the western horizon at 2:30am cdt. My 90mm scope would not get all the stars in one field of view, so if you have a larger scope try low power or binos.

Other (Other, est. to be in Sagittarius, Est. RaDec 18:19"h/-28.5d)
Observer: Mike Pierce (e-mail: xtozaj@webtv.net)
Instrument: naked eye   Location: Marianna, Florida, United States
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Tue Aug 18 01:30:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 378

Observed naked eye asterism (Sagittarius) in it's full glory! It's beginning its downward turn over the horizon to the west. What a beautiful sight. Will miss ituntil next year. The "Milky Way" is obvious and I enjoyed estimating the Galactic Center. Stars are quite bright. After checking my star charts, I learned the names of some of Sagittarius' stars, Nunki, Kaus Borealis, and Kaus Meridionalis. Looking forward to fall naked eye asterisms!

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