Gail and I arrived at the gate at 7:20pm and I was switching the locks when Mike Griswald drove up. ?I?m not a member,? he kindly informed me. ?Not a problem,? I replied. ?You soon will be!?
Down by the boat launch we found the parking lot surprisingly dry and firm for this time of year so decided to set up there. Mike assembled a nice Stellarview Nighthawk 80mm refractor, with an 18mm Televue Radian, on a quick and easy alt-az mount, and we had brought our 6? dob and binoviewer set-up. As we were aligning finderscopes Ann Tekatch pulled in. From her collection she?d brought her ?scope of the week?, a Meade 80mm f11 refractor, also on an alt-az mount. Within minutes we were all aiming at our first target ? the Moon.
Gail found an interesting crater beside the terminator, near the South Pole. Using the Virtual Moon software she identified it as Newton. One of the older craters, Newton is about 82km wide and 8000m from rim to floor. Mike and I came across the crater Clavius almost at the same time. Clavius contains an interesting subset of craters, evenly spaced in an arc, and graduated large to small like a set of measuring cups. Inside the arc is a dome-like feature that is an eroded massif (mountainous region).
Ann then went hunting for the Davey crater chain, and after referring to Ruckl?s Atlas of the Moon, and Charles Wood?s Modern Moon, soon found it and showed us a thin bright line across the floor of the crater Davey. Bumping the power in our binoviewers to 210x, we were just able to distinguish the line of small craters as a linear series of bright dots.
Humidity was fairly high, yet the clouds that had covered our drive to the park had gone East and the sky steadily improved. The wind had died down considerably from earlier in the day and the record-setting temperatures of the afternoon were still a few degrees above freezing.
Mike?s scope gave us a nice wide field view of the Pleiades, and after Ann had finished her sketch of the crater chain she switched ep?s and gave us a sharp view of Saturn. We were spoiled by the all of the fine optics on hand and soon found 4 of Saturn?s moons despite the low altitude of the planet and the fair to middling transparency.
Even with the bright Moon, you can?t ignore the Orion Nebula and we were soon comparing views of the Trapezium. But at this point, the air over the park reached the dew point and within moments all surfaces were wet. It was time to pack up.
After a long cold winter with all too infrequent observing opportunities, it was nice to share some photons with friends. Thanks Ann. Thanks Mike. We had a good night.

Glenn

A group of astronomy students from Mohawk College were out at Binbrook Conservation Area, for a night of observing. A beautiful but cold night offered good viewing, and several club members were at the park that night as well.

Venus showed a beautiful, thin crescent, and not to be outdone, Saturn showed some equally thin rings. Not surprisingly, the views of Saturn actually elicited gasps and exclamations from the first-time observers! Jim W. showed some clusters and asterisms through his fine 8″ scope and Andrew B. offered up some excellent deep sky views through his 12″ Lightbridge. Don brought along his refractor and Jackie made everyone feel at home. My refractor offered up some wide field views as well, and before the night was through they (and we) had seen M81 and 82, the Double Cluster, The Pleiades, the Beehive, M42 and a smattering of other objects. Of particular interest was a view of the minor ‘dwarferoid’ planet Ceres, and all 6 stars in the Trapezium! Ann called in her contribution on her cell phone and pointed out the Lunar X on the first quarter moon. It was a beatiful sight and we all enjoyed finding it (I almost called this blog entry an ‘X File’).

One student brought her own scope and another brought a pair of big binoculars. All brought a great deal of enthusiasm that was certainly matched by the HAA members present. The mixing of these two great groups made for a really fun night for everyone.

Recently, while reading some forum posts on the website, Our Dark Skies, I learned of an upcoming opportunity to view an optical feature on the moon called the Lunar “X”. During a narrow window around 1st. quarter moon, sunlight illuminates some of the crater ridges near the craters Werner, Purbach, Blanchinus & La Caille, forming the letter “X”. I’ve never seen or heard of this feature and I was curious to see if I could view it. Using an 80 mm f/11 refractor with a 24mm eyepiece (about 38x), I was able to spot the white “X” about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the moon along the terminator. It was small but obvious. I made a sketch of the view.

The Lunar “X”

For more information on the Lunar “X”, check Wikipedia: http://the-moon.wikispaces.com/Lunar+X

Ann T.

UPDATE

Here is a picture of the Lunar X that I took tonight, after Ann brought it to our attention, and you can see how closely it matches Ann’s drawing. Thanks Ann, it was really worth seeing.

John G.

The Lunar X

Great photo, John! I’m so glad you were able to photograph it. The “X” is only visible for about 4 hours at 1st. quarter. Its appearance began at about 2230 UT (5:30 EST) last night, so you caught it just before it disappeared.

Ann T.

Whether you consider it the largest resident of the asteroid belt, or the smallest dwarf planet in the solar system; either credential should merit Ceres a look while it makes its closest pass to Earth since 1857. It won’t be this close again until 4164.
The next couple of nights are particularly ideal because:
a) it just might be clear out, and
b) Ceres will be less than a degree from the close double star 54 Leonis – meaning that if you can find the double, the aster-dwarf-planetoid should be in the same FOV of a low-power eyepiece.
The components of 54 Leonis are mag. 4.5 and 6.3, and Ceres will be about mag. 7.
You can use this chart to locate it, or reference John Gauvreau’s accurate forecast in February’s Event Horizon.

Glenn

I stacked and processed the sequences of images I took of Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) on February 23, 2009, when it was beside Saturn. Here are a couple of results:

Saturn and Comet Lulin, by Bob Christmas

Larger versions are now in my HAA Gallery:
HERE and HERE.

Bob Christmas

Were it not for a large system below Lake Erie doing some cross-border hopping, last night would have been a lot more fruitful for this backyard observer than it was.
I’d spent the afternoon making up a hit list of targets but ended up chasing sucker holes instead. But the evening wasn’t a total bust as Anthony Tekatch dropped by to join Gail and I, and we had nice views of the Moon and Venus, both showing a beautiful crescent phase. Comet Lulin, in the 6″ dob was a small grainy fuzz spot, and Saturn was a small olive on a toothpick – Martini’s anyone!
However, I was successful in one quest, and that was to see the fifth, “E”, star in Orion’s Trapezium. This we did with the 12″ dob. The seeing was somewhat turbulent but, surprisingly, it could still be seen even when a cloud passed over (under?) the nebula. The E star is mag. 10.3 and nestled between A & B which are the two stars in the Trapezium that are closest to each other. Apparently, a sixth star, “F” can also be had on a good night, but F is fairly tight to the C star and would need a fair bit of magnification in steady air to split the two.
If you want more information on the Trapezium, the following link will take you to an excellent web page on the subject:
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/B_WINTER/TRAPEZ.HTM
So, the next time you have the Great Orion Nebula in your sights, see if you can go a little deeper and pick up some bonus stars.

Glenn

Everyone is invited to the Spectator Auditorium on April 3rd for the monthly meeting of the
Hamilton Amateur Astronomers club. Our distinguished list of speakers and demonstrations is sure to please.

This month following John Gauvreau’s interesting and informative preview of what’s in the sky in April,
Bob MacDonald of CBC Radio’s “Quirks and Quarks” will be addressing the club on topics astronomical, in a way that only he can.

It’s sure to be an enjoyable evening for everyone.

After the meeting, there will be observing of Saturn in the parking lot if the sky is clear enough.

The meeting gets underway at 7:30 PM and will be finished before 10 PM, but the astronomy outside may
last a good deal longer.

Here’s a map of the location:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.259999,-79.892535&spn=0.001344,0.003001&t=h&z=19

Members of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be sharing an evening of Astronomy, telescope equipment demonstrations, and viewing of Jupiter, the Moon, and other celestial objects. The Brantford tourism center also has a fine auditorium and there will be several informative talks during the evening.

We will be setting up October 24th, rain or shine, at 7 PM, and will remain until about 11 PM. Note that daytime clouds often dissipate as evening approaches, so plan to come regardless.

Here’s a map of the location:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.167869,-80.243124&spn=0.001346,0.003001&t=h&z=19

Come early to see what it takes to assemble and set up a telescope, or come on time and get a good look through those same telescopes. Either way, enjoy the talks, indoor demonstrations, and handouts.

If you have a telescope, bring it along: we can help set it up and point it at Jupiter for you.
If you have binoculars, by all means bring them too. Binoculars are an excellent and easy to use way to get more from the sky.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, we will also have some handouts to interest
children and adults.

Members of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be sharing an evening of Astronomy, telescope equipment demonstrations, and especially viewing of the year’s most attractive Meteor Shower, the Perseids.

Each year around August 11, there’s a noteworthy increase in meteors coming from the direction of the constellation Perseus. Since August is usually warm and fair, it’s an ideal time to bring an air mattress,
and perhaps a warm blanket, and just stare at the sky, watching for the big ones.

We are fortunate to be able to invite the public to the Binbrook Conservation Area, after normal hours, for this ever-popular free event. Starting at about 8 PM, we will assemble on the hill by the pavillion. After some short talks about what’s in the sky that night, and how best to watch for meteors, the sky will darken and the show will begin.

Because the park is open for business beforehand, you will have to come at 8 PM, on August 11, with
a rain/cloud date of August 12, or, if you have already paid to be there for the day, simply remain, and come to the pavillion. We will let you out at 11 PM when the evening winds down.

Here’s a map of the location:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.100137,-79.835914&spn=0.001347,0.003001&t=h&z=19

Although meteor showers are not much for Telescope viewing… (in fact, you will notice that most meteors seem to shoot across the sky while you are looking the other way in a telescope), you can still bring
binoculars for a peek at the sky while waiting for the meteors to show.
Binoculars are an excellent and easy to use way to get more from the sky.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, we will also have some handouts to interest
children and adults.

Members of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be sharing an evening of Astronomy, telescope equipment demonstrations, Solar Observing during the afternoon, and viewing of Saturn, the Moon, and other celestial objects. Astronomy Day is scheduled to coincide with the best time to observe the Moon.

Solar observing from 2-4 PM, at Van Wagners Beach Park,
(see map for the afternoon here)
http://www.amateurastronomy.org/sites/confedpark/confedpark.jpg

will be followed with more activities in the evening, at a different park.
We will be setting up on the lawn at Bayfront Park, (Known to Google as Harbourfront Park), on May 2nd, with a rain/cloud date of May 3rd, at 8 PM, and will remain until about 11 PM.

Check back here on May 1st to see which date has been chosen. Note that daytime clouds often dissipate as evening approaches, so we will be checking the weather predictions carefully. If it rains, that’s a different story.

The park is at the junction of Bay St and Harbourfront Dr (near Strachan St E).

Here’s a map of the location:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=43.269136,-79.869334&spn=0.001318,0.003001&z=19

Come early to see what it takes to assemble and set up a telescope, or come on time and get a good look through those same telescopes.

If you have a telescope, bring it along: we can help set it up and point it at Saturn for you.
If you have binoculars, by all means bring them too. Binoculars are an excellent and easy to use way to get more from the sky.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, we will also have some handouts to interest
children and adults.