The Tour Test

 After a few days of extreme cold, both Ann Marie and I were dying to get out of the house. We needed to go outside and breathe some fresh air. The temperatures had moved up into the 30’s and we decided to take a ride.

    We left around 8 in the morning; the sun was just over the horizon but sadly it was hidden by thick clouds. This didn’t hamper our excitement, we had a trip to take.

    We were going north, through Butler. I had been writing about iron furnaces and had put together a “tour” that visited 4 different iron furnace sites. On this drive we would be checking to ensure my directions were correct. The last thing I would want to do is to get someone lost in the wilds of Pennsylvania!

    As is always the case, we made sure to have some high test coffee with us. We stocked up at the Vintage Coffeehouse located on the main drag of Butler. Friendly and outgoing people run it and to make it even better, their coffee and snacks are exceptional!

    Fueled up we continued heading north on rt.8 until we reached Harrisville. This was where my “tour” starts. We also did a few geocaches on the way to help the time and miles pass quicker. A few miles east of Harrisville, we came to the Marion Furnace.

    This furnace had been built about 175 years ago and had only produced iron for a little over ten years. This furnace sits in an idyllic spot, it’s one opening almost touches the small stream flowing past it. Ferns and bright green plants surround it making it look almost like a passageway into the underground. In the winter it looks quite different. The stream was frozen over; there was no cracking noise as I walked on it. Getting to the furnace was easier also because the thick snow helped avoid slips on the hillside and the weeds and vines were pushed down, not springing up at different heights just waiting to grab you.

    Our next stop, not counting the geocaches, was above the town of Emlenton. We pulled over on the side of the road and followed the deer trails into the woods. We passed where a barn and another building used to stand. Their foundations were made out of nice stone, possibly from the furnace situated below them.

Date unknown

    This was the Stapely Furnace. It just looks like a pile of rocks but there are many stone walls scattered all around it, if you look closely, you can see the curved brickwork of the inner furnace near the top. Built in 1835 this furnace wasn’t built beside a stream that could power a waterwheel, they used steam to power the bellows that helped raise the heat of the furnace. The outer stonework was missing from this furnace in 1966 leaving only the inner sections visible. The structure has collapsed further since then. When I was here last, the “jagger-bushes” were thick and by coming in the winter, I not only avoided getting caught in them but I didn’t lose any blood either!

    Back in the car we continued a short distance further and then turned onto a dirt road. This would lead us towards the west and to the Rockland Furnace.  The road was still covered with snow and ice but it had been cindered and in places, sanded. We were cautious going around bends and down hills but really had no problems at all.

    The road going DOWN to the furnace was passable and there was a nice wide spot to turn around and park. I made a short trek towards the furnace but the rocks and the path were icy and I didn’t want to risk a fall so I quickly returned to the car.

    We continued our trek, heading now towards Kennerdell. We stopped at the overlook before going down to cross over the Allegheny River and eventually return to rt.8. Here we turned to the north and the town of Franklin, the county seat of Venango County. It was well past lunchtime and our coffee cups were drained. 

    Franklin is a wonderful town, on the drive into it you pass a group of well kept Victorian style house, some very nicely painted and up kept. The town itself has wide sidewalks, no parking meters and a nice variety of stores and restaurants. We ate lunch at Benjamin’s Roadhouse across from a wide park and got some coffee from Iron Furnace Coffee. A fitting place to fuel up during our trip! The coffee was strong and had that wonderful coffee aroma and taste that you can only get in some shops.

    We stopped at a bookstore in Franklin, one of two on our trip but unfortunately, both were closed. We headed towards the south and home, but there was one more stop to make. About 7 miles out of town we pulled over on the side of the road and I climbed over a deer fence and worked my way down to Victory Run. The Victory Furnace sits across the stream at the bottom of the hill. I have been here many times and I always enjoy visiting the site.

    The Victory Furnace was built 1843 and probably only operated about 7 years. It may have been put back into blast for a couple years just before the Civil War but there aren’t any documents to prove it. The furnace sits on a shelf near the intersection of two streams. The snow hid some things from me such as a watercourse coming from the one stream and any slag. Supposedly there are the remains of a charcoal house on the hillside above it, but that will have to wait for another visit! The furnace is in fairly nice shape though it does have a crack running up its front and the lintels in its single opening are cracked. It is a nice, quiet spot to visit and reacquaint yourself with old iron history!

    We returned to Harrisville, the “tour” ended up being about 80 miles long.  There were only a couple small corrections that needed to be made! With only a couple short stops on our way back to Pittsburgh, we arrived home about 9 hours after we left. We put 180 miles on the car in the process. It was an exciting and fun way to spend a winter day!

Fingers Crossed

 (1/13/25, Noon) 

Coming back from the eye doctor’s office, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue. My eyes had been dilated and I was wearing those stylish plastic sunglasses that are held in place by placing them behind your glasses. The dark tint enhanced the color of the sky! I couldn’t help but get my hopes up, even though I knew better! I had tried to find three geocaches earlier in the morning but couldn’t find any of them. The fourth that I had in my GPS…I decided to ignore, it just wasn’t my day.

    Later this evening, the moon will pass in front of the red planet Mars, an occultation. I have been looking forward to seeing this for a month or two but I have been trying not to think about it. By getting excited about this would make it an even larger let-down when the clouds move in. I know what Pittsburgh weather is like, believe me!

    Astronomical occultations are when one heavenly body, such as the moon, passes in front of another stellar object. These are things that I look forward to; I find that it is exciting to see actual movement of a stellar object in real time. The stars and planets are all moving but rarely is it as obvious as when you are watching through a pair of binoculars or a telescope and can see the two objects getting closer, and closer together. The moon frequently occults stars but they are usually faint and harder to watch. The moons of Jupiter are often occulted by the planet and that also is exciting to watch. I find it fascinating that someone was able to calculate when these events would be happening!

 This evening’s moon will be full so it will be extremely bright.  Mars is easy to see in the night sky but sitting very close to the moon will make it difficult to see without some optical aid. By using a telescope with a drive on it, hopefully I will be able to use a powerful enough eyepiece so that only a small portion of the moon’s bright surface will be visible.

    I have started making my list of things to take with me. I find that by making a list, there will be less chance of forgetting something important. There is nothing worse than driving for a long distance and discovering one of the most important things I wanted to bring was left at home. I’ve done it before; my camera memory left sitting in the computer or batteries left in the charger, these lists help me, considerably!

    It is going to be cold, so I'll need to dress for that. I’ll bring along a hot beverage and maybe a snack.  My journal and a couple pens, the camera, binoculars and my eyepieces are just a few more of the things on my list. It will continue to grow as the day wears on.

    The sky is still clear, not a cloud to be seen…eight more hours to go. My fingers are crossed!

(Written 1/14/24, 9:00AM)

    Well. Let me tell you about last night. I prepared for a night at our clubs observatory by dressing for the occasion. I wore long underwear, top and bottoms, heavy socks over my regular socks, a winter jacket, gloves and a nice thick alpaca tousle cap to keep my head warm. All the gear I had on my list was in the car, and it was almost time to leave. 

    The moon was rising from behind the trees on the far side of the valley, there were no clouds in the sky at all, things were looking good! There was one more thing to do before hitting the road, watch the International Space Station pass over my neighbor’s houses.

    It was just past 6 and the sky was cloudless. I set up my camera and waited. In less than a minute, I saw it coming from behind one house and rising up to pass over another. A couple neighbors passed by and I pointed the satellite out to them. I’m not sure how excited they were, but I was!

    A quick stop was made for a large cup of coffee and then a drive through the countryside followed. The moon was getting higher and it was easy to see the scenery on the sides of the road. Mars could be seen sitting below the moon whenever I stopped to look.

    A fellow club member, Jody was at the observatory when I arrived. Together we opened the roof and exposed the telescope to the cold air, Eric showed up soon after. 

    Using the Brashear 11” refractor, I pointed it first at Venus. It appeared to be about 50% illuminated. After a quick look we moved the scope over to Saturn. This was a much more important view as far as I was concerned. The planet is just a couple months away from when its rings will appear edge on.

     I couldn't help it, I was ecstatic...the view was spectacular! The seeing was nice and steady. A couple light bands could be seen crossing the planet, but the most exciting thing was its rings. 

    The planets rings appeared like two golden bars on either side of the planets disc. Just below the bars was a thin black line crossing the planet, what I am guessing was the rings shadow. (Excuse the poor drawing, I wish I could’ve gotten a picture!) Off to the side was the largest of its moons, Titan.

  The brightness of the moon lit up the interior of the observatory, the red lights were useless this evening!

    The moon rose up over the observatory’s roof about 30 minutes before the occultation was due to happen. I put a high power eyepiece into the focuser and centered it on Mars. (14mm, 295X) We were able to see the markings on the planet’s surface and the northern ice cap. During periods of extreme clarity we were able to glimpse the southern cap as well.  

    As I watched, the moon eventually entered into the eyepieces field of view. Just a small section but as I watched, it got closer and increased its size in the eyepiece. Slowly it got closer and closer. As it neared, it seemed to increase in speed though this was just an illusion. This effect was really noticeable when the moon was only a “planet diameter” or two away from Mars. It was there one moment and gone the next. It was dramatic watching the planet as it was cut in half and then disappeared behind the moon!

    Yells and high fives were shared after it happened!

    I thought how amazing it was to see this planet, looking so small beside our moon, which looked so big. Mars is about half the size of the earth!  Mars is about 61 million miles away from us while the moon is only about 239,000 miles away. Quite a difference!

    Jody and Eric left soon afterwards but I stayed to watch the reappearance. Approximately an hour and 13 minutes later the planet showed up again, just as predicted.

    I then shifted the scope over to look at the planet Jupiter. The planets moon, Europa was nearing the planet. I watched as it finally appeared to touch the planets disc and then cross over in front of it. It “touched” Jupiter in nearly the same spot as Mars had disappeared behind the moon. In a weird kind of way, it was as if I was watching the event all over again. I watched until the moon had completely crossed onto the planets face, a bright dot sitting below one of the colored bands decorating the planet’s surface. Then I updated my journal and started to close things down.

    The temperature was a balmy 19° as I loaded my car. The wind made it feel even colder.

    Driving home I was almost tempted to turn off my headlights since the moon was so bright. (But I didn’t!!) The day had started out badly but it sure had taken a turn for the better!  The Pittsburgh weather gods had smiled on us all this evening! I finally uncrossed my fingers as I pulled up in front of my house.

“To see an occultation during a night of observing is sort of like putting a dollop of vanilla ice cream on a slice of warm apple pie, oh…so comforting!”