A final Look at Comet Neowise ?

 

After an afternoon of anticipation, I loaded the car with my refractor, the eyepieces, the camera and tripod along with a couple other essentials and headed up to the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park. I picked up a chicken salad on the way for my dinner. Arriving at 8, I was the first one there. 

Arriving early gave me time to find a geocache that was hidden near the observatory. Once I had found that, I started setting up.  While I was putting things together a young couple came up the hill and strolled around. They came over and asked where the comet was going to be.  My “new friends”, Lynn and Nathan hadn’t brought anything with them, no binoculars, just a blanket. They were just hoping to see Comet Neowise before it disappeared from view.

After getting things aligned and focused, I showed them the first quarter moon. Asking them to be careful not to touch anything, they carefully gazed into the wide field eyepiece. (Masks were worn all night.) Both were duly impressed. A short while later I showed them Saturn and Jupiter. By now the sky was getting darker and we could start seeing the stars of the Big Dipper. Binoculars came out and people started scanning the sky.  By now there were about 20 people on the hill. Tom Reiland had arrived and set up in the observatory. Due to the Covid 19 problems, there is only one person per room allowed in the observatory. This meant no visitors, only one observer per scope.

Tom, having watched the comet almost daily, saw it first. I managed to locate it in soon after. I was trying to find landmarks so I could return to it easily when I heard Arlan. She and Patrick had returned to take another look at this visitor from outer space

Comet Neowise (7.25.20) 10:18PM  125mm  f5.6   5 secs.

I wasn’t able to locate the comet by eye but after seeing it a couple times using binoculars, I was able to return to it after looking away. It was almost directly under Alkaid, the first star in the handle of the dipper.  Dropping down I came to two stars in line with my decent and the comet was just to the right of the pair. By the time darkness settled in there were about 30 people on the hilltop. There were a lot of cameras with large lens and a couple people had brought their “department store” telescopes with them.

Patrick set up his camera to get a few shots. I took a couple shots also but wasn’t pleased since the brightness of the comet had dropped and the tail wasn’t as obvious as it was last Saturday. (7.18.20) Clouds and haze were slowly working their way into the section of sky the comet was located in.  A little after 11 the crowd thinned out. It got quieter and even though clouds were moving across the sky it was still a very pleasant evening. The temperatures were very comfortable and it was nice to just stand around and BS for awhile. Talking to friends while craning our necks to see anything that nature decided to show us is a common Wagman stance. While we talked a shooting star or two were granted to our waiting eyes along with an ISS pass. Saturn and Jupiter were soon covered over. I BS’d for awhile with Tom and John, two members I’ve known since I joined the AAAP and then I loaded my car and headed for home.

Back in Shaler, I could see the Big Dipper but I didn’t bother trying to see the comet. Most of the stars visible at Wagman were gone, hidden by the lights scattered all around my hometown. I had seen Comet Neowise once more and I seriously doubt if I’ll see it again. Pittsburgh weather is looking rather iffy for the next few days.  I spent an evening with friends gazing at the skies above us. I spent some time exploring the terminator of the moon and also took a look at Jupiter, Saturn and the Andromeda Galaxy and shared them with friends in the process. All in all, another great night!

Sunday night, 7.25.20, 11PM.  I saw it one more time from my neighborhood. While walking the dog, balancing against a stop sign. It was a faint blob, no tail that I could see but then again, I had a neighbors porch light shining on me. I couldn't relocate it from the house. I'm afraid it is gone to me...

A COUPLE FACTS: In case you were wondering, the comet got its name from the telescope which discovered it. NEOWISE- Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. It was discovered on March 27^th 2020.The nucleus of the comet is approximately 3 miles across and at its closest point, (7.23.20) it was about 64 million miles away from us. It is now heading away from us but don’t worry, it will be back in about 6800 years. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

The Rural Life

Every so often you find a book that really excites you. Full of good use of the English language and great subject matter, a book that pulls you in and won’t let go. When first picked up you never expected it to be as good as it is! Maybe it sat on a shelf for a month or two, patiently waiting to latch onto your mind, quietly waiting for a chance to grab your interest. Once it sank its fangs into your brain cells, you couldn’t wait to share it with others, recommending it over and over. This is one of those books.

                Ann Marie picked up The Rural Life, by Verlyn Klinkenborg at a sale. She doesn’t remember exactly when, it might have been an estate sale or at a used book store or most probably at a local library book sale. (Oh, I sure miss those sales!) It sat on a shelf for awhile and when she started into it, she knew right away it was a bit more than an average book.

                Written in 2002, this book is a compilation of a batch of Verlyn’s essays. Though written in different years, he put them together to take us through a year through his eyes. He starts in January just as the calendar does and starts out by telling us about why he has written a journal. Then he writes about the snow and the slush, his beehives and his horses. He blends these things together while telling about farm life and life in general. And so, the year begins.

                While reading this book every so often I ran into a sentence that is so special I wanted to write it down. I never did, I was too entranced to stop and look for a paper and pencil. Even though the stories bounce around from year to year they still fit together wonderfully. He describes laying in his yard and looking at the Andromeda Galaxy, the object that is the furthest thing man can see by eye. He discusses lights and how they hide the night sky from us and how important it is to lay back and imagine how vast the universe is. Later he tells us about insects and flowers growing in his fields, from huge to tiny, he does it all. Enjoying nature and sharing that enjoyment with us! At times it is almost poetic.

                He tells us how the woods turn green after the winter has stripped all color from the world, he tells about his fields and his gardens and he tells about the wonders of how mayflies are nowhere to be seen one minute and next, they are everywhere, much like morels, there right under your nose, but invisible to you until you glance the proper way. He tells these stories as a way of describing life and living. He has a wonderful mastery of the language!

                It is a book I couldn’t wait to finish but at the same time, I dreaded how close I was coming to the end of the book. December was approaching much too quickly! Soon the book will be returned to its owner, Ann Marie but I imagine I’ll be looking to purchase a copy for my own collection! It is that sort of a book. A treasure discovered hidden amongst the other books patiently waiting for their new owners to recognize them and take them home. I’m so happy Ann Marie found this one…or did the book find her?

The Comet Chase Continues

7.18.20

                After a wonderful night at Wagman Observatory last night, I decided to stay home tonight. It was a great night at Deer Lakes. I saw a lot of friends I hadn’t seen in awhile and made a couple new ones while I was there.

                The comet was visible by eye as were thousands of stars that can’t be seen from my light polluted back yard. I took lots of pictures and really enjoyed BS’ing with friends and other star gazers. We watched the International Space Station go overhead early in the evening and later as it passed off to the north of the observatory. A few shooting stars were seen also. Like I said, a great night

 



Shot from Wagman, 7.17.20  140mm  f7.1 @ 5sc. (7.17.20 10:04PM)

                Today was extremely hot and we basically hung out in the house, hardly moving unless necessary. After the sky darkened, I walked down my street and saw the comet with binoculars. I could see how it had moved. The two stars it is above tonight were the ones we used as pointer stars last night. Yesterday it was below and to the right of the pair.

                Instead of going up on a hill, I decided to go low tonight. I drove into the valley by my house and set the camera on the pitcher’s mound in the field at Lower Glenshaw Church. This gave me some foreground for my shots. I only stayed for about 10-15 minutes and then returned home. Gotta get up early tomorrow, it’s Sunday!

Shot at Lower Glenshaw ball field, 160mm  f7.1  5 sc. (7.18.20 10:11PM)

 

                Naturally, I’m looking forward to the next viewing of the comet. It is interesting watching it move through the sky! I hope you’re watching its passage also!

(note: by clicking on the pictures you can see a larger version)

My Search for Comet Neowise

 

                As I’m sure you know, there is a new comet in the skies, Comet Neowise. Here in the Pittsburgh area it isn’t quite as spectacular as it is in locations further away from cities, clouds and humidity. Still, this visitor from space is worth going out to see!

                I saw it first in the morning sky on July 9^th, around 5 o’clock. I was walking the dog with a pair of binoculars around my neck, checking the sky every few minutes. (Thank heavens no neighbors looked out their windows!)I knew it was to the left and below the bright planet Venus so I had an idea of where to look. The Pittsburgh skies provided a slight covering of clouds in the area I was looking towards. Finally, in-between two houses I saw it!  Try as I might I couldn’t see it by eye alone. Then, the clouds moved in again and it was gone.

                I went out a few more times as the days progressed, only to be greeted by clouds and more clouds. (There might have been a little rain mixed in there also) I did enjoy the time listening to the birds waking up. There is nothing like the fresh air, smells of flowers, birds chirping and the brightening sky in the early morning!

                The comet is visible in the evening skies now, under the Big Dipper, in the northwest. Since I work in the afternoon and evening, I miss these viewing hours. I’ve gone out a few times at work but our company is located in a valley and is covered with spotlights. Both are bad conditions for seeing something faint on the horizon!

                I had yesterday, Thursday the 16^th, off of work. We had some rain storms move through the area and ones predicted for the evening. I wasn’t expecting to be going out to search. When 9PM rolled around, I could see a couple patches of blue sky so I decided to take a drive.

                I found an open view towards the northwest along Middle Road, across the street from a house with all its outside lights lit. I pulled over and got out and started scanning the sky with my binoculars. No luck at all, there were big puffy clouds right where the comet should be. I waited and kept scanning. The Big Dipper slowly appeared and as I went back and forth, I found it! After looking at it for awhile, I got the tripod out of the car and set it up along with the camera. I couldn’t see the comet by eye so I had to take a few “trial” shots to locate it. That is the nice thing about digital cameras, you can see if your exposure or subject is correct. Once I located it, I took a bunch of pictures and then, feeling great, I headed back home.

 While I was taking pictures, I had to shield the camera from car headlights. The clouds were covering it up again as I left. I had been on the side of the road for about an hour. I kept expecting the police to show up. The pictures aren’t the greatest, but at least I got some. It wasn’t the best spot to observe from, but it did the trick!



                Now, I can’t wait to see what tonight will bring!

Back Again!

 

               The door was open! Sending an invitation to anyone walking by, come on in! I can’t remember how long it has been since the last time I was here. The store had shut down sometime in March. I would drive by just to see if any lights were on or if the window display had changed. It always was closed, just like the sign on the door stated.

                Going up the steps, a gate just inside the door stopped me. A small table holding a supply of face masks and hand sanitizer sat beside the gate. There were two people inside the store already, perusing the shelves, the current occupancy allowed.  Arlan, the owner stood at her normal spot behind the counter.

                I was excited! I was back again. Back at City Books on Pittsburgh’s North Side. To me it seemed as if it had been years since I was there last. But that was only in my bookstore starved mind. The virus affected many things and that was one of them!

                While I waited, Arlan and I caught each other up on what had had happened to our lives over the past couple months. The shop had been re-organized, additional shelves had been added to the walls and the center had been opened up. The counter had been moved closer to the door and some arrows had been placed on the floor. Not all the books were back on the shelves yet, re-organization is a very involved process!

                One of the things we discussed was the sentencing of the two men who had stolen rare books from the Carnegie Library. They had removed books and resold them , books which could cost up to $8 million to replace! They were sentenced to three or four years of house arrest (because of the pandemic, talk about good timing!) and one was ordered to pay $55 thousand in restitution. Basically a slap on the wrist! Arlan said it wouldn’t have been much different even if there wasn’t a virus scare, they were both white men!  What a shame, this has happened before. Maps and plates stolen from old books, volumes destroyed in the process and the criminals received a “firm talking to”. Some have even continued on in their book selling careers. Book stealing is not a serious crime according to the fines and sentences passed out over the years. It doesn’t matter how much the books were worth.

                Her stock hadn’t changed much, it had just been re-arranged. Still, even though I had looked over these books many times, I still found a couple I didn’t remember. This is one of the wonders of bookstores; you can explore the shelves from top to bottom, ceiling to floor and still, when you return you will find books unfamiliar to you!

                It happened to me today. The Story of a Stanley Steamer by George Woodbury. Printed in 1950, it tells the authors story as he tries to find and then reconstruct a Stanley Steamer automobile. (A car,not a vacuum cleaner!) Pulling the book off the shelf I realized that this was THE BOOK I had to take home with me. I hadn’t seen it in any of my previous visits. I know I had looked through the shelves it was located on, it must have been hiding from me, it knew the time wasn’t right. It just wasn’t needed the last time I was there, I had been looking for something different. Today, the time was right, it was time to go home with me!

                Making it an even better find, when I opened the cover to check the publishing date, I saw that it was signed by the author, sixty years ago! You never know what will catch your eye when you open the door to a bookstore.

                I took a couple photographs and browsed a bit more, all the while the conversation between Arlan and me never slowed down. I paid for the newest book in my collection, said my good-byes and then returned to the brutally hot streets and headed to work.

                Leaving, I glanced at the world globe sitting on the shelf. It reminded me about the wonderful world of books and how every bookstore is a world in itself!

                Arriving at work a few minutes early, I stopped by the near-by stream and gave the book a once over. I started reading the first chapter and fell right into the story.  Before I knew it I had to leave that world and return to my own. It was time to go to work.

                The morning news had been filled with bad things which had happened around the city, illnesses and deaths. Preventative measures businesses were being forced to adhere to, regulations about mask wearing and whether restaurants would be able to allow patrons to eat indoors. Never the less, I was able to find something good today! There is ALWAYS something, a flower, a babbling brook, a sunrise or sunset or a newly opened bookstore! My day was off to a great start!

A Blast From The Past

 

 

 

 

              While attempting to stay cool during this recent heatwave, I was looking at some folders on my computer. I thought it might be nice to revisit the year 2012. It was early in the day on August 11th and Frank and I were on a mission. We were going to chase the Nickel Plate 765!

 

              (Note: These “facts” are 8 years old and so, not all of them could be accurate. My mind has a way of changing things as the dates get further away!)

 

              We arrived at Baden, PA, location of the Conway RR Yard around 8 in the morning. As we were driving towards the community we could see the smoke from the engine. We pulled over and RAN across the street and took a few pictures as the train was leaving the Conway yards.

 

             The train was an employee appreciation ride, only Norfolk and Southern employees were on the train.  The rail fans of Pittsburgh could only watch as it passed by, there were no extra seats. The engine pulling the train was the Nickel Plate RR #765.

                This locomotive was built in 1944 and worked for the NPRR until 1963 when it was retired. The Fort Wayne Historical Society rebuilt it and uses it for excursions. It had been in the Pittsburgh area a couple times.

                Behind the steam engine was a newer locomotive, a Norfolk and Southern Heritage engine, 38100, painted with the Nickel Plate colors.  There were about 12 cars behind the engines.

                After taking shots at the Conway Yards, we turned around and started our chase, heading towards Pittsburgh.  We stopped at a bridge crossing the Ohio River in Ambridge, thinking that we’d take pictures as the train passed underneath us, but unfortunately, there was no road surface on the bridge. Just open girders, they were resurfacing the bridge. So much for that idea.

                As we drove along rt.65 we could see all the rail fans waiting for their chance to watch this vision of the past speed by.  We went to a spot in Glenfield to wait for its approach. There was a nice set of signals there which gave a nice look for pictures. Sadly, with the new signal system these lights have been removed.

                After it passed here we continued on to the North Side. The train would be going onto the Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge to reverse its direction. We met some of the NFS police while we were searching for a place to photograph from. There were a lot of them floating about and the places I’d normally shoot from weren’t available on the day.

               We followed the train later that day to Homewood, in Beaver County where it reversed at the wye there to continue back to Conway again. We joined lots of railfans standing on a bridge overlooking the tracks. Dads and moms, grandfathers and grandmothers who brought kids to see the train, people who lived during the times of steam reliving the past and people who just loved the noise and power of these huge machines.

                We took some shots and then headed back towards home, we didn’t chase it back to Conway. We had been on the road for quite awhile and we were ready for home. It  had gone by quickly and it was a great day, but we were tired. It was a fun ride and a fun chase and it was filled with lots of good memories! We were like a couple kids and there is nothing wrong with that! Ah yeah, great memories!

Moonrise July 4th

9:33PM, handheld 300mm, f9 @ 1/200 sec.

Capturing A Space Station

 

I had all the necessary details written on the slip of paper in my hand, plus a couple that were held tightly in my head.  It was 3:15 in the morning, on the 4^th of July. Any sane person would be sound asleep, rebuilding their stamina for the holiday ahead.  I had just rolled out of bed, leaving what seemed to be a good dream behind.

                The International Space Station was due to pass over my house in about 15 minutes. I have been getting up to watch its’ journey across the skies for the last 5 or 6 days. We have had a nice batch of clear nights. Unfortunately, the moon is increasing in size each night since it is nearing its full phase. It will be full tomorrow.  Luckily the brightness of the moon doesn’t hamper satellite observations…much.  

                Yesterday I got up early and on a whim, decided to try and photograph the stations’ path as it went by. I set up my camera and pointed it where I thought the station would be appearing. Of course, where I pointed it and where it went were two different places. I compared the path from yesterday to the predicted one for this morning and re-evaluated my viewing and shooting location. It is this information that I had held tightly (I hope) in my head.

                On the sheet of paper I have the times it will appear above my viewing location, where the highest point of its’ path will be and where it will disappear. There is also a crude diagram I drew of my house and the street and where the path will be above them.

                I get these details from a site called HeavensAbove.com. This site has details for a large variety of satellites which can be seen every night. They also give sighting details for launches if they would be visible from where you live.  They also have a nice batch of astronomy links!I have been using this site for years, using it to locate the Mir Space Station and the Shuttles that supplied it. Mir left our skies in 2001 so it has probably been over 20 years!

                I took my camera and tripod out into the neighbor’s driveway and set it up. I took a picture of Jupiter and Saturn to focus the lens. I didn’t want to have the camera “searching” for something to focus on when I was shooting so it remained on manual focus. I pointed it where I estimated the pass would occur and took a couple test shots. These shots helped me set my scene, level the camera and determine an exposure which would show the stars and the sky the same way they appeared to my eye. Once I determined where to point and how long to leave the shutter open, I sat on the near-by wall and waited.

                I first saw it as it flashed in-between the leaves of the trees. I waited until it cleared and took my first shot. 10 long seconds, then I took another. After 4 shots, I repositioned the camera a bit towards the right and took 2 more shots. Then the ISS drifted back into the trees close to the horizon. The pass was a little over a minute from my position. Not bad!

                I packed up my gear and went back inside. A quick look at the screen of the camera showed that I had caught it. I set the gear in the hallway and crawled back into bed. I’d check the shots out later. I had some sleep to catch now!

The shots were taken at f9 @ 10 seconds, the lens was set at 18mm. The ISO was set at 3200. The space Station was approximately 254 miles above me, traveling at approximately 15,500 MPH!