Despite our best intentions, once again the weather gods conspired against us and the clouds never parted to allow us to view the occultation.

Ann T with the ever enthusiastic Alex, Jackie F, Jim W and myself were at our usual observing site atop the hill at Binbrook Conservation area after 6pm. It was obvious from the moment we arrived that the clouds were going to be too thick to even see the moon, let alone the occultation. No equipment was brought out except for a compass to check for orientation and a camcorder to record our high, if misplaced, spirits. We waited up to the time of the event in hopes that we might chance upon a sucker hole in the clouds, but it never transpired.

Disappointed, but unphased, we retired shortly afterwards, some to one of the favourite coffee shops and others to home. We will continue to try until we get the right combination of weather and proximity to our area. Stay tuned to this blog for updates of the next event!

After a long stretch of poor conditions, I had to take advantage of the clear nights this past weekend.

Saturday night I just stayed out long enough to take a few quick snaps of the moon through my 28-300mm (@300mm) camera lens. I was pretty happy that the live preview on the canon 40D really helped to get a sharp focus with my ‘not so great’ zoom lens.

Sunday night I was on a mission to capture some winter DSOs. It was really mild and I figured this may be my only chance to do this before the cold winter nights decide to settle in. I set up in the evening, took a nap since the moon wasn’t going to set till after midnight. There were also some high clouds passing by overhead which I figured would be gone later in the night. I woke up around 12:30am to beautiful clear skies and a warm southwest breeze. I was so happy to be feeling refreshed and very awake.

All photos were taken with the Canon 40D and the SW 80mm Equinox, except M1 which was taken with the 6in SCT.

M45
23x180sec

M42 I am so glad to have finally captured this great nebula
15x180sec
21x60sec
20x30sec
20x10sec

M1 Crab Nebula… So tiny. I did a few sharpening routines to bring out some detail. This object needs to be imaged with a scope bigger than the 6in. Next time I’ll try it without the focal reducer.
18x180sec

KerryLH

UPDATE from Don Pullen

Here’s the much anticipated path information. I had some difficulty in generating the dynamic Google map page, so I’m just posting snapshots of 2 view levels. The green line indicates the path center, while the grey lines indicate the 5km outer-limit range of being able to see the occultation. The closer to the path center, the better chance you have of seeing the greater effect from hills and valleys. For those not aware, Lake Niapenco is name of the lake in the conservation area.

Image 1 covers more area:

Image 2 provides more of a close-up view of path:

The path runs right through the middle of Binbrook Conservation Area. Therefore we could observe from either the main site or the alternate. The trees which line the eastern part of the alternate site may block our view. So it looks like the preferred viewing area will be our regular spot within the park.

The transit will begin at approx 19:06 local time on Oct 22. The moon’s altitude will be 24deg with an azimuth of 126deg (it will be in the SE). It will be about 85% illuminated.

Bring your camcorder, shortwave radio, GPS and of course some binoculars or a scope.

UPDATE: Monday morning
The CSC is predicting some cloud rolling in this evening ahead of the rain. At the moment, it indicates we may get a thinning or maybe even some clearing of the clouds right around the time of the occultation. However, Kerry and the weather satellite images are a little less optimistic. There may be gaps in the clouds, but it’s going to be a close timing game as to whether we’ll be able to see both the moon and a magnitude 6.2 star through whatever cloud cover there may be.

At the moment, I’m still anticipating to head out to the main viewing site at Binbrook between 6 and 6:30pm to set up. I expect the gate will still be open at this time. But if not, I will open it when I arrive and put on the combo lock. Keep in mind that if the ground is soft and wet, do not set up on the grass areas – either set up on the road or in one of the parking areas (pavillion, boat launch area, etc).

I’ll also post an update later this afternoon in case conditions change drastically.

UPDATE: 5pm Monday
The CSC has changed their predictions for the area and it looks like we will have fairly steady but light cloud cover for the event period. The Weather Network forecast and the satellite images are indicating that we may get some clearing breaks up until about 8pm. But at least the rain won’t hit us for a few hours.

So I think we will still head out and take our chances. See you at Binbrook any time after 6pm.

Don

Did some imaging last week. It was a quick night out on the driveway that ended when the clouds rolled in around midnight.

NGC891 is a nice little edge on galaxy that I have been having difficulty seeing in the 6in SCT

M45… this is 3x2min with the 80mm scope. Actually all the frames had cloud cover but luckily I was still able to pull out some detail. I’ll have to attempt this one again.

KerryLH

Armed with maps, bearings, a compass, and a bevy of telecsopes and binoculars, we arrived at about 5:45 PM at the community center in georgetown. Thanks to Don’s use of the internet, and our previous research, we had a good idea where to set up and where to look, as well as how high the moon would be and when the event was due to happen. We had WWV radios which broadcast a ticking sound with extra info every minute, sufficient to synchronize commentary with time, and also a GPS for accurate locations of our positions.

I shot a zillion pictures of people scouting the best vantage point to use.
10 mega-pixels each. Perhaps there will be a short multimedia presentation next meeting to highlight the expedition… Occultation expedition O2007-alpha.

The sky showed signs of clearing. We decided to stay here rather than going west for a possibly clearer horizon, although the hay field across the street was also considered. A delegation was dispatched to ensure that a better vantage point was not available nearby. We thought up a cover story rehearsed in case the clouds rolled in, to explain why we set up our scopes. It’s too good a story to relate here… we may need it another time.

We scouted out some nearby hills and checked our bearings as to the best place to set up, and eventually decided to use a grassy berm on the northwest end of the parking lot. I set up my 3-inch finder-scope from the GWS, (sufficient for 7th magnitude stars, easy) and had at the ready 15×70 binoculars.

Alas the moon could not be seen due to too much sky-glow from the milky way, and perhaps a few clouds, so Jackie demonstrated the effect of an occultation using some down-to-earth props, including a round stool and a flashlight.

We had some chats with passersby who were out walking dogs or playing in the park.

Subsequently the sky cleared, enough to spot the summer triangle,
large and near the zenith, and Cassiopia. Ed’s 12 inch Big White Scope was there,
and we had a chance to check out the stars in his 8-24 zoom eyepiece. I was impressed with how sharp the stars were near the edge of the field. I will ask him to try it on my scope next time we go to Binbrook. People packed up early though, partly due to the lights in the parking lot, which i must say were full cutoff and therefore sky friendly. The lights in the sports fields were not switched on.

We reconvened at Kelsey’s in Milton and had our dinner, and safe trip home.
The round trip turned out to be shorter than a trip to Binbrook, for my starting point in Burlington.

I am looking forward to Occultation expedition O2007-beta, whenever that happens.

Well, as the old quote goes – the best laid plans of mice and men(and women)…. An intrepid group of adventurers set out on an expedition to the Georgetown area in search of an elusive grazing lunar occultation. Jackie F, John G, Jim W, Steve G, Ed S, Anne T and myself set out from the Hamilton area and arrived early enough to check out the primary observing site and a few alternates in hopes of finding the best view to the southwest horizon. After deciding on staying at the community park, the weather didn’t cooperate and remained cloudy throughout the entire occultation period. It teased us a few times with a number of breaks in other directions, but alas, no joy for us.

Not to be disenchanted, we set up anyways, hoping against hope that the skies would part for us at the last minute. Due to the absence of our lucky “weather-chick”, the skies failed to reveal the wonders that might have awaited us.

We were quite the sight with more than half a dozen of us set up along a hillette at the community centre. We had a few people interrupt their walks with their dog (or children – hopefully no “stoop and scoop” required for the latter group), stop by and wonder what the fuss was about. All of their good wishes were not enough to bring forth our quarry.

Jackie, the ever-eager crowd pleaser, wanted to ensure that we had a chance to see an occultation, so she managed to conjure one up for us with her many talents. Hopefully there will be some video to follow (and maybe some pictures from Steve or Anne).

Anyway, after enjoying the company at the observing sight, we decided to pack it in and try to occult some drinks and food at Kelseys in Milton on the way back home (thankfully everything disappeared and none reappeared – was that too gross to include in a blog??). While the observing session wasn’t as rewarding as we hoped, we certainly enjoyed ourselves. The HAA has a great bunch of observers and it’s always fun getting together – regardless of whether there are heavenly sights to see or not.

Undaunted, we’ll try again. Now that we have a better idea of what to look for and how to get information about upcoming occultations, hopefully we’ll be better prepared the next time Mother Nature chooses to let us observe another of her wonders.

Cheers & clear skies

Dear Organization,

On October 19, 2007 at 7 pm (central) Dr. J. Craig Wheeler, renowned astrophysicist and author, will lead an exploration of ideas at the cutting edge of current astrophysics. His extraordinary journey to investigate explosions of supernovae, resulting neutron stars, mysterious black holes, and elusive gamma ray bursts are far from science fiction. (Full summary below)

We would like to invite members of your organization and/or visitors of your website to view our Live Webcast of the lecture, October 19, 2007 at 7 pm (central). If possible, posting a link to this event on your website or forwarding the information to your members who may be interested in this lecture is greatly appreciated. Our webcasts are very high quality, and viewers can submit questions to the speaker through our website and the speaker answers the online questions in real time. The webcasting software we use requires viewers to download a small plugin, but it is very simple and quick to install.

A link to the details of the lecture and the webcast could be found at:
www.esi.utexas.edu/outreach/ols/lectures/Wheeler

What is the lecture about?

Dr. J. Craig Wheeler, renowned astrophysicist and author, will lead an exploration of ideas at the cutting edge of current astrophysics. His extraordinary journey to investigate explosions of supernovae, resulting neutron stars, mysterious black holes, and elusive gamma ray bursts are far from science fiction. These exotic objects in our universe make up the life cycle of stars, are the basis for planets and life, and measure the history and fate of our Universe. Dr. Wheeler_s lecture follows the formation of supernovae, their characteristic shape and its significance, as well as the resulting celestial objects formed by the collapse of a star. Along the way, Dr. Wheeler examines evidence suggesting that the Universe is actually accelerating. He also explains recent developments in understanding gamma-ray bursts – perhaps the most catastrophic cosmic events of all.

Under a beautifully clear sky, about ten HAA members played host to just as many cubs plus their leaders and parents. As the sun left a gorgeous pallet of russet shades on the western horizon, views of Jupiter with many belts and four moons started the show.
The cubs ran excitedly from scope to scope as the astronomers gave explanations of what they were looking at. Then, once it was dark enough, Glenn led a discussion of what could be seen in the night sky, and demonstrated how to find the North Star.
Since October 4th was also the 50th anniversary of the the start of the space age, he also spoke about rocket flight and satellites. To give the cubs some idea on the time span a few people admitted (with some difficulty) to being older than Sputnik.
As if to pay homage, right on cue, the ISS made a flyby to everyone’s delight. For the cubs, though, Ann and Alex Tekatch provided the highlight of the night when they gave everyone small light sticks. These actually proved very handy in keeping track of that very active cluster.
After a few more views of the Andromeda Galaxy and Albireo, the cubs gave the astronomers 3 cheers and departed.
The sky remained clear though moisture-laden. The remaining HAA members took in some more of the showpieces and experimented with different eyepiece combinations. Friday morning commitments meant an early Thursday night for most, but overall it was another great outing.
Thanks to all who came out 🙂

Update By Kerry

I arrived a little later so by the time I got setup and aligned the cubs were ready to leave 🙁 They certainly were a very happy and excited group. Hopefully we can do this again… it’s always fun showing kids the night sky. Anyway, as it started to get darker we were noticing how incredible the Milky Way looked. It was probably the darkest that I have ever seen it at Binbrook, and then it dawned on Tim H that the fog overlying the surrounding area and cities was cutting out a good amount of the light pollution 🙂 I measured an SQM of about 20.47. Better than the average 20.1-20.2. We all tried to soak up as many DSOs so that we could take advantage of the conditions. A group of us stayed out observing till past midnight.. and still no fog. Binbrook was like a little clear sky oasis. As soon as I packed up and headed out onto the road I hit the wall of fog, and it never let up during my entire drive home. After I got home Bill (my hubby) reported some cool sights with the fog overlying the town of Grimsby below and moments of wonderful dark clear skies at our home a top the escarpment.

While observing in Binbrook, I concentrated mainly on the southern objects since I can’t see them from home:
Helix nebula- really large and diffuse,
Sculptor Galaxy- a tilted spiral that looked fairly large, diffuse and elongated in the 6in. This would probably look a little better if I waited till it rose a bit higher.
Both those targets will have to be on my AP list for next time I go to Binbrook.
We also viewed the Saturn Nebula… and I am proud to report that it does look a little bit more than just an out of focus blue fuzz and this is only in my 6in. With averted vision you can sort of make out a bit of the Saturn shape. I am sure Steve’s 16in would show much more.

Today, 4 October 2007, marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Space Age with the launch of the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union. From the Soviet test facility in the Kazahk Republic, the Russians sent aloft on their R7 booster (bigger then anything the Americans had at the time) a 180 pound (80kg) satellite which shocked the world with its little beep-beep-beep signal.

In addition to the initial fears of nuclear strike capability by the Soviets, it also began an age of unprecedented space exploration. This rocket, along with Sputnik 2 (Laika the dog) a month later and subsequent responses by the Americans in 1958 were all part of a international joint plan started in 1955 to mark the International Geophysical Year (Jul57-Dec58) to send satellites into orbit and explore earth and its environment.

As astronomers, this event ultimately had a huge impact on our activities, since it eventually spawned explorers such as Hubble, COBE, SOHO, Chandra, Galileo, Voyagers, Cassini and many others which has resulted in seeing space in ways we never imagined 50 years ago. And it generated new technologies which we take for granted today such as GPS, Goto mounts, CCD imagers, etc.

To mark this occasion, I wandered outside last night at around 1:30am to just look up and reflect on the wonder of our favourite pastime, the changes we’ve seen in our lifetimes, and gaze into the infinity of our universe. Without any optical assistance, I gazed upon many constellations like Perseus, Cepheus, Pegasus, Cygnus, and others. I saw Mars shining brightly, rising slowly over the roofline of the house. I was able to enjoy a bright green meteor that lingered for several seconds after its passing. And the primary goal I was seeking – 2 satellites passing overhead.

It’s fitting that tonight, we’ll be meeting up with a Cub pack at Binbrook to introduce them to the excitement of exploring space. Maybe we will be planting the seeds for a new generation of space explorers.

Happy 50th Anniversary! I can hardly wait to see what the next 50 years will bring.

Finding yourself awakened in the middle of the night is often a stressfull event for people, with worries of how to fall back to sleep, how tired they will be the next day, and the stillness of the night giving room for all their anxieties to run rampant. Then there are we lucky few that call ourselves amateur astronomers, and see such opportunities to get outside and catch a glimpse of the night sky that seasons to come will bring.
This is how I found myself at 4am outside with my pair of 15×70 Oberwerk binoculars in hand. Thew was a low (and I mean very low) cloud wafting past and obscuring the escarpment, and although it didn’t reach the ground, it was obviously no more than a couple of hundred feet high. Then a sudden break revealed that there was nothing above this low cloud, and a crystal clear sky showed through with a brilliant number of stars against a dark background. The entire Little Dipper stood out easily, so that should tell you how good the sky was. My binoculars roamed around the sky as breaks in the cloud presented first one constellation and then another to me. There was no order or sense to my tour of the sky; I was guided by the holes in the clouds and found myself looking north to the Double Cluster in Perseus, but no, the Andromeda Galaxy was obscured. Now overhead to Taurus, and the Pleiades never look better than through a good pair of binoculars. Mars looks so bright and is so high in the sky. Through the binos it appears in the same field as M35, that wonderful open cluster at Gemini’s foot. There’s Orion cutting through the fog, and even partially obscured the nebula still shows. The winter constellations are showing off their wealth of bright stars and as the fog thins in the east the path I am following leads to an extra star that would be found among the spring constellations just rising. The fog is still filtering it, and at first I don’t recognize it as Venus, but as the east clears it shines forth brighter than 4th magnitude, and my binoculars show a small crescent. It shows a similar phase as the Moon, which is not far from the head of Gemini, and which is showing a rich landscape that, as good as the binos are, makes me wish I had brought my scope out. A good part of the sky is clear now, and I move to find a view of the south and Orion again. Yes, here is a chance to see him without the filter of the fog and again I lift my binos to the sword. Of course I’ve seen it through these binos before, but perhaps because I saw the thinned out version through the clouds earlier I was now amazed at the extent of the nebulousity! Sitting amidst the stars of Orion’s sword, it seemed so large, with the wings going off the sides of the nebula were so clear. It’s wonderful what a pair of binoculars will show. Of couse I have had views through large scopes that show intricate detail and colour, but this has to be one of my favourite views of M42. A parting glance at the now completely clear sky shows the winter Milky Way cutting through many of these constellations
That’s it. A half hour of my time and a little fog to dance around, and back in bed after a wonderful observing experience. Well worth being tired the next day. And if anyone asks why I am so tired, well I’ve got stories to tell.