|
|
Date: 4:50-7:03 CDT, 28-Aug-2007 Location: Gott Observatory Attendants: Collin Smith, Don & Jan Fritz, Tom Heisey Equipment: Collin - AT80ED,
BO/TMB 6 & 8mm, Pentax XF 12mm, TV Plossl 15 & 20mm, Antares Elite Plossl 25mm Conditions: Mostly clear (distant northern clouds, humid, moist sky that began still but got windy as the sun rose) Don & Jan Fritz were already setup and observing M42, the Great Orion Nebula, when I arrived just after Luna slipped off the very last shred of her solar lilly whiteness for the dark Umbral shadows at 4:52 AM. Don's new scope is truly impressive, an Antares 5' F/6.6 achromat, with very little color for the short focal ratio of such aperture. It was refractor night, for sure. After noting the clarity and extension of the nebula proper in Don's refractor, we turned our attention to Luna, which gave a distinct deep dark chocolate color on its lower right portion, closer to the absolute darkness at the center of the Umbra. I used my Pentax XF 12mm, which was too much power for Luna in such delicate circumstances, and lost a lot of detail. Don put in his TeleVue 32 Widefield and made the image! This very low 26 power view was the exact right magnification, with all kinds of shadowy detail visible on the dark surface. With the moon diminished to a -2 magnitude, we turned our scopes up to the Double Cluster, now high over head in the northwest. Quite nice. We also caught Andromeda and attendants, M31, M32 & M110. Nicely framed in the Antares 25mm Elite Plossl. Andromeda was QUITE high, at the zenith and quite a difficult target in a refractor, but we managed it. Next was Mars. Still distant. Somewhat gibbous, mostly like Uranus. Interesting, colorful, and a bit boring due to the lack of detail. We then moved over to the Crab Nebula, M1. I 'discovered' a double star slightly further up between the horns of Taurus in the Antares 25mm Elite. Don very easily split the pair in his 5'-er with the Pentax XF 12mm. We then went back to Orion to try and get the E & F stars out of the Trapezium. Around this time, Tom Heisey drove up. The wind began to pick up a little bit, as the sun started to slighly lighten the eastern horizon at 6 AM. The air was just too unsteady for Don and I, and after trying with the BO/TMB 6mm in my scope and the Pentax 8.5mm in Don's we gave up. Turning back to the moon, I got a much nicer framing of our fair companion in the Antares 25mm Elite. Luna had a distinct yellow banding across the face in front of the ever whitening side as she slid back from Umbra to bright sunlight. Don used his Kellner 25mm and Heisey his binoculars as we watched crater upon crater was illuminated with the pale yellow-ish light, then bright white. Back to the east, we were startled by VERY bright Venus, beckoning to look at her curvy shape. The Venus crescent is certainly attractive right now, and I highly recommend a look at her these next few weeks, low in the East at dawn. Heisey noted the refraction the Earth's atmosphere provided to behold the beauty of the top of the sun streaming its bright eastern light upon us while simultaneously witnessing the top of the setting western moon. Like the bumper sticker says 'Keep Lubbock flat' Jan Fritz remarked how peaceful and quiet the dawn is at the Gott. And she & Don should know, since they also live in the country, but along the thoroughfare of the daily commutes for Buffalo Springs & Ransom Canyon residents. We've never observed there at daybreak before, and the Gott certainly is a peaceful, pastoral setting. For the Beauty of the Earth Although it began to get cooler as the wind picked up, I wasn't forced to put on my coat (a teeshirt and sweater -- with my open sandals and no socks!) The dew and general atmospheric humidity were factors, but couldn't stop us from enjoying the evening (though my feet got damp setting up and breaking down equipment) Afterward, Tom headed on to
work. Since I'd taken off the morning, I picked up Neetu and Don got his Mother,
and we all congregated at the Denny's on Q for breakfast, talk, and a laugh.
Curt Pfarr showed up and provided these photos taken from his backyard. Kyle
Vernon also added a shot of the eclipsed moon by the Crosbyton water tower.
Daily Toreador News Editor Josh Hull's article on the eclipse ... I enclose a few parting photos of the idyllic setting as our night gave way to day. I think the photo below sums up the many colors of this eclipse ... http://www.spaceweather.com/eclipses/28aug07c/John-Shirley1.jpg Clear skies,
|
|
|
