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!”

Before the Dawn

 Stepping outside after waking in the early morning, I notice at once, the shadows. The moon, just a few days past full casts shadows into the yard giving an appearance of almost daylight. Darkness is prevalent in them. No details are present, only shapes and suggestions. Clouds drift quickly by.

    It is quiet, peaceful. An occasional car breaks the silence passing on the highway in the distance. Acorns fall every once in a while, their sharp loud noise, startling. I take a seat on the chair sitting on the porch to relax and watch.

    A cloud drifts in front of the moon darkening the shadows even more. The trees are just silhouettes, two dimensional, framing the sky above. To the east in a patch of clear sky Jupiter stands proudly by itself, a couple brighter stars standing a few degrees away. The clouds then slowly reveal Orion sitting below to my tired eyes.

    Sitting in the moonlight, even though the moon is covered by clouds, my seeing improves.  I can see the watering cans sitting beside me, the speckling of the paint on the porch, the cracks between the slabs of the sidewalk and the sticks placed in the garden months ago to hold back the overgrowth.

    The neighbors' lights are all off, no porch lights disturb the darkness. Dim lights show through here and there, nightlights escaping from with-in.

    The moon disappears, the clouds hiding even its shape. A mere brightness is all that remains to remind me where it is. Jupiter and Orion have gone also, covered by the advancing clouds. Though the moon is gone, the scenery is still visible.

    Traffic on the highway has increased, the sounds becoming a steady hum, hiding the silence of the night with the noise of the day to come. Cars pass by on closer roads, a motorcycle, an airplane passes overhead and then the drone and lights of a helicopter passing by.

    Jupiter and the moon peek through holes for a minute or two before disappearing again in the thickening clouds. In the eastern skies a faint orangish hue touches the clouds, just barely noticeable.

    Twenty minutes later, the clouds have dissipated, and the moon and Jupiter are visible once again though most of the stars have faded away. Pinkish clouds sit off in the east. The sky is now blue as compared to the near black of before.

    The background noises are now continuous, traffic, planes, the cracks and bangs of the manufacturers located below me.

    As I watch as the remaining stars slowly disappear, a flock of geese passes somewhere above and behind me. Only two stars remain beside Jupiter and then, they are gone also. The yard is brightening. Dawn is nearing. The brakes of a delivery truck squeal as they are set and a bang sounds as a ramp is attached to it. The noises of the day have successfully eradicated the silence of the night. Watching as the clouds return to cover the moon and Jupiter once again, I decide, it’s time to go back inside and maybe make a cup of coffee; the day is well under way!

And Then The Sky Turned Dark!

 The solar eclipse of 2024, “The Great American Eclipse” was something that I had been looking forward to for years, if not decades. Seeing that it would pass so close to my home, I knew I had to see it.

    As the years passed by, it wasn’t constantly on my mind but yet, it never was far from it, especially in the past couple years. Astronomy magazines were writing stories about it and as the event came closer, the news stations started picking up on it. Local city governments started warning about the possible influx of people and motels and hotels started raising their rates. Eclipse mania was rising.

(Locations of various AAAP members during the eclipse)

    Ann Marie's brother and sister-in-law have a farm in Indiana, only a few miles away from the centerline of the eclipse. The decision was made to observe from there, they were gracious enough to welcome us to their home. Our "reservations" were made well over a year before.

    I tried my best not to worry about the weather because that was the biggest deal-breaker. If the clouds moved in or it was raining, there was nothing we could do but except it. While we were driving west across Ohio, we drove through rain and the skies were cloudy. Occasional patches of sunlight raised my hopes. We drove over on a Friday, four days before the big event.

    There was a definite police presence on the highways. Signs warned about the upcoming event and suggested staying late after the eclipse to avoid traffic jams. Entering Indiana, we saw t-shirt stands with eclipse shirts for sale along with ads for various eclipse events. 

    Saturday was beautiful, clear skies and warm temperatures. I caught the thin moon rising in the morning. A couple geocaching trips were made during the day. That evening I set up my telescope and we had an impromptu star party. Jupiter and its moons hung on the edge of the western horizon with Orion close behind. The Beehive Cluster was easily seen by eye. 

    It was a late night, the dark skies overhead had plenty of things to visit!

    Sunday morning, the day before the eclipse, I attempted to see the thin crescent moon, but was unsuccessful. The brightness of the morning and the thinness of the moon thwarted me. The next day the moon would be new, and nearly touching the sun as they rose, I’d have to wait until the afternoon to see the moon, during the eclipse!

    The weather was less than desirable. We went hunting for morels and saw a double rainbow in the afternoon. The rainbows were a foretelling of what was to come!

    Monday morning was clear with only a small bit of fog, off in the distance, over top of the river. I still didn’t want to get my hopes up. Some friends of the family flew in (using their own planes) to view the eclipse with us. We ended up with eleven of us at the farm, sitting outside the house, patiently waiting as the moon slowly drifted in front of the sun.

    We did an experiment with a colander, allowing the sunlight to shine onto a paper plate held below it. All the bright spots reflected the image of the partially eclipsed sun, even the rectangular spots!

    The temperature dropped enough for us to notice it and the sky took on a darker appearance as the moon worked its way across the suns disc. A couple people said how it looked as if a storm was coming and how they felt a bit disorientated. The colors of the patio furniture got more intense, and the shadow of my pen seemed sharper as I scribbled notes. We could see the moon's shadow before it hit us, it moved towards us at a tremendous speed. 

    And then the sky turned dark! Real dark, night-time dark. Looking up, the first thing I noticed was Jupiter and Venus sitting on either side of the pair. The area surrounding the sun was brilliant white with spikes. Using binoculars, I could see a bright pink dot on the lower portion of the moon. It was a prominence, a flare coming off of the sun. The pink color was caused by the hydrogen that was burning in it. Others around me saw it also, confirming my skeptic observation.

Totality, taken by Sarah Balzer

I felt emotions rushing through me. I seriously felt as if I might cry. I didn’t know whether to jump up and down or to laugh, yell or scream. I think I might have done a bit of all of them.

We had just over 4 minutes of totality and it proved to me that time is not constant. It was over before we realized it; time had sped up during this experience, no doubt about it!

    While the moon slowly continued past the sun we all started talking and comparing our experiences. Phones were used to check pictures and to contact others to see what they thought about the eclipse. In the yard, the bees were returning to their hives.

    It was nice sharing the experience with others! We all became a community together, people from all over coming together to experience this show that our universe was putting on for us! The word camraderie popped into my head.

    Later that evening, after the sun (and moon) had set, I set up the telescope again and we had another nice dark evening of star gazing. We packed our gear the next morning and after another wonderful meal, Ann Marie and I returned back to the Pittsburgh area. Coming back we heard more eclipse tales on the radio. We had no problems with traffic but we did see a lot of policemen, same as when we were coming out.

    We made it home a bit before sunset and I didn’t even check to see what the sky was like, I had a bed waiting for me! The trip was a life event, something I doubt if I’ll ever see again. I waited a long time to see this and believe me, I wasn’t disappointed!

Making Memories

 Thanksgiving is a time for memories. Most often good one, families sitting together sharing meals, visits with relatives and friends. For others it might simply be watching movies or sleeping the afternoon away after a really big meal.

    I’m thankful for the fact that memories are still being made in my family. If I might entice you to come along with me, I’d like to take you back, just a couple days, to something that I know will stay with me for a long time.

    My daughter and her family haven’t been to Pittsburgh in nearly three years. Their oldest child is just over three and he now has a younger brother. It was Thanksgiving and the family was coming out to visit Pittsburgh. Everyone was excited and their schedule was rapidly filling up. Ann Marie and I were anxiously looking forward to our time with them in the days ahead.

    The house had been cleaned, rugs swept and washed, baseboards wiped and shelves dusted. Piles of books and papers scattered around the house were put away and the recently washed clothes had been put in their proper drawers and hung in the closet. If I say so myself, the house looked better than it had in a long time!

    One of the things I wanted to do was to show Mateo, my first grandson, the planet Saturn through a telescope. We both share a love of the planets. While he is only three years old, he knows their names, the order in which they orbit the sun and he feels bad that Pluto has been designated down to being only a dwarf planet. Some children gravitate towards dinosaurs; Mateo has been pulled towards the stars! Of course, a lot of what children find fascinating comes from what their parents present to them, after that, it is their own minds and imaginations which take over. This wise young lad also has a fascination with trains; his parents are leading him well!

    The day was looking great, not a single cloud was in the sky. The house was clean, cookies were cooling on a rack on the kitchen counter and the makings of hot chocolate sat beside them. I went outside and set up the telescope. Night was coming! Now all we needed was “the family”.

    I popped outside a couple times, looking to see if I could locate Saturn. The first time out I could see Jupiter, nestled in the limbs of a tree. Saturn would be further west, unencumbered by branches but unlike its brighter neighbor Jupiter, it wasn’t visible yet.

    Going back out again a half hour later, the ringed planet was visible. I turned the scope and lined it up. There it was, yellowish in color, just a small object in the wide eyepiece I was using, but the rings were visible!  Young children often have a difficult time focusing through telescopes and binoculars. It is something they have to learn how to do, some pick it up quickly while others need to practice. I wanted to present Mateo with the largest view of the planet as possible; a stronger eyepiece was needed.

    Luckily the air was nice and steady; the views with the higher-powered eyepiece looked great. Just as I was focusing on the planet, I bumped the scope. The planet slipped away, right as their car pulled up. The time required to remove two children from car seats gave me the time to relocate and center the planet!

    After exchanging hugs and kisses we took a quick look through the telescope and then we went in for cookies and hot chocolate. (There are priorities!) Mateo said he saw the rings and I’m happy to go with that! Inside, he ran around the house, having fun spinning the world globes. We sat around the table and talked while we snacked. What a nice evening, spending time with people you love, people you haven’t seen in a while, making memories!

    The family had other obligations later on so this night’s visit just a short one. As they were leaving, I moved the telescope over to Jupiter. The planet was a nice sized orb in the eyepiece, bands could be seen crossing its surface and the four brightest moons were in a nice line. Mateo saw them and counted the moons. The telescope was set so that he would be able to easily look into it; the adults had to crouch down a bit. But, this was for Mateo, not us!

    After my daughter’s family had left, Ann Marie and I tore the telescope down and put it away. Even though there were no clouds to be seen in the sky, I was floating on “cloud nine”!  I had shown Mateo Saturn, he had seen the planet’s rings and, he had seen Jupiter and its moons. In reality, to him, I think the most interesting thing he saw was the red buttons on the control paddle. It isn’t important, as long as he remembers the night.

    I can only hope that someday, way off in the future, he will think back to this night and possibly tell his own child about it as he shows them Saturn though his own telescope. Making some more memories!

    One more thing, just before they left after dinner a couple nights later, a train went past. Mateo and I went outside and watched as it crossed the intersection below the house. How’s that for a memorable ending to the visit?

Could the Day be any Better?

 The fall foliage is just past its peak here in Pittsburgh. The recent rains have stripped a lot of the leaves off of the trees and littered the ground with their colors.

    Saturday was spectacular. The temperatures were rising again, and the clouds had all disappeared from the sky. After doing a few chores around the house, it was time once again for another adventure.

    There was a star party planned for the evening and so I did a couple geocaches hidden along the trails in Deer Lakes Park. I bought a hoagie for my dinner and then spent some time in the woods.

    This has been a poor year for star parties. I missed a couple due to prior obligations and a bunch of them had been cancelled due to rain and cloudy weather. Saturday’s party was almost guaranteed, it was going to be good! 

I was the second person to arrive at the observatory. I opened up the Brashear room and prepped the scope for the party. 

    A short while later, Rowen Poole arrived and using mathematics, the setting circles on the scope and pure skill, he found the planet Saturn, while the sun was still in the sky! A line soon formed as people heard we were looking at the ringed planet.

    You always know when a person fixes their eye on Saturn, there is always some sort of exclamation! It is one of the things I look forward to! The kids really enjoy seeing Saturn, many came back numerous times to see it again as the night progressed. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway, the planet looks much better when the sky is dark! The mere fact that we could see it during the day was exciting, how many people can say they’ve done that?

    The other scope in the observatory was showing Jupiter. We couldn’t see it yet, the eastern skies are blocked from where the scope is located. We watched the ringed planet for another hour or so before we had a chance to move it to another celestial object.

    We looked at M-57, the ring Nebula, we observed Albireo to show the color differences in stars and we looked at Epsilon Lyrae to show some close double stars. The Andromeda Galaxy was in the scope for a short while and then we jumped over to Jupiter.

    When the line dwindled a bit, Rowan searched out a few fainter objects. One was a galaxy that I could hardly see yet he found it with no problem. The Brashear scope is an 11” refractor, built in 1909. It doesn’t have any “go-to” functions on it. Finding objects to observe requires knowledge of what you’re looking for, along with the area of sky it is in. Having good eyes helps also!

    The crowds came and went. We saw numerous people at different times. A nice sized meteor skimmed the northern wall of the observatory causing a couple gasps. Two or three satellites were seen during the night. One couple brought up a new telescope that they couldn’t “figure out”. A quick look discovered what they were doing that was wrong, a little tutorial and they were on their way, happy again. That’s what we do here, make people happy!

    A bit after eleven the crowd started to thin, the noise decreased and when I went outside, the members had packed their scopes and were preparing to leave. Most of the public had left also. In the east, the Pleiades and Mars were getting higher and Orion was climbing over the hills in the distance.

    We watched as one of Jupiter’s moons passed behind the planet. There were 6 of us watching, taking turns as the moon got closer and closer to the planet. One of the group was a young girl, about 6-8 years old along with her father. What a great thing to watch at such a young age. Hopefully this will be something she will tell her children about some day in the future!

    The occultation of Ganymede was the final thing we observed. We closed down the room and said our good-byes. There were a couple other club members still observing on the other scope as I drove away.

    Pulling up in front of my house, Orion was higher in the sky. I said good night to him and went in to bed. In the morning when I woke up for Church, he was slipping behind the hill to my west. In the east, in the brightening sky was a thin sliver of the rising moon. The entire disc could be seen, illuminated by earthshine. It was a fitting start to the day, especially after such a nice evening, the night before!

Sometimes You Win and Sometimes...

 I consider myself fairly lucky at getting most of the photographs I envision. It probably ranges a bit higher than 50%. When things go right, it’s wonderful, but when things go bad, it seems as if everything is going downhill.

    I’ve recently had a string of good shots, the “photography gods” were smiling down on me. But I knew it wouldn’t last for long. This is one of the "joys" of amateur photography, you try your best and sometimes it works. The longer you keep trying, the better your chances get!

    On the 2nd of July, I was looking forward to what would have been a great shot, well at least in my mind.  The Chinese space station, Tiangong, would be coming out of the west and would be passing directly across the face of the moon! The moon would be only a few days past new, only 11% illuminated. This would enable a longer exposure without overexposing the moon. The longer exposure would also enable the camera to record a longer pass of the bright satellite as it neared and passed over the moon.

    I checked my sources and then rechecked. I did a run through on Stellarium and they all showed that the space station would be going right across the moon as seen from my home. By moving just few miles away, the chances of a “moon hit” was decreased. This was only a prediction, there was always the chance of a miss! Still, how could I not be excited?

    During the day, things were looking good, the skies was mostly cloud free. I charged the battery to the camera, set the gear by the door and then laid down for a short nap.

    Waking up, I looked outside and saw that the blue skies had morphed into grey. It didn’t damper my enthusiasm though, I still had hopes.

    Disappointing would be a good word to describe what I saw at the appointed time. The sky was grey except for a bright patch to the southwest, the reflection of the city’s lights on the clouds. Some fireworks were being shot off, but that wasn’t what I wanted to see! The moon couldn’t be seen at all and neither would the space station. I watched a few aerial displays and then headed back into the house. "Ya gotta remember, you don’t always get what you want!"

    This was my second failure in two days. The day before I had set up to catch the same satellite as it passed close to the bright star Vega. I had the camera set up with a nice composition with some trees in the foreground, a couple test shots had been taken, all was ready. All that was needed now was the space station. I watched the western sky, waiting for it to come up out of the trees. Then, there it was! I moved over to the camera and watched as it crossed the sky, nearing the target.

   Just as I touched the shutter release a neighbor started up his truck and its lights flooded the camera. I attempted to shield the lens but it was futile; the lights had destroyed the chance to catch the pairing. As I watched the satellite drift into the trees in the east, my neighbor put his truck into gear and drove away, leaving me in darkness once again, never knowing what he had done. Well, that’s life, there was no sense getting upset because that wouldn’t solve anything. I’ll catch it again in the future. 

Jupiter and the road to Wagman

    I know that there will be lots of other successful shots to come, I can’t let one or two destroy my will power. These future shots are the ones I’m looking forward to!

     You have to remember; mistakes and problems can sometimes turn out for the better! Ann Marie and I made a wrong turn the other day while on a short road trip. As we navigated the back roads returning to our route, Ann Marie spotted a red fox running through a field. She would’ve never seen it if we had taken the correct turn! It all worked out in the end.

    In the meanwhile, I’ve been thinking. These types of things tend to happen in threes, I guess I have another one coming. Sometimes you win and sometimes… ya don’t!

A Special Day

Today has always been special to me. I’ve always looked forward to it! This morning, it started out around 3:45 as my alarm rudely awakened me from a great dream. Looking out the window, I saw darkness. Opening the door and stepping outside, I was treated to a view of numerous stars in a cloud free sky.

    Oh Yes!!

    I could’ve set up the telescope but I thought watching the planets come up over the horizon might be a better, and easier, way to go. I opted for a short drive to the near-by hill top with the camera, tripod and my binoculars. The view there is always superior to my front yard.

    About 20 minutes later with a warm drink in hand I was parking the car. It was quiet and there were stars everywhere. My observing spot is fairly light free. I could see stars pretty low to the horizon and that’s tough here in Shaler!

    I set up the camera and took a couple test shots and then scanned the stars with my binoculars. The moon had set about an hour before I arrived so there were no problems with it hiding the stars.

    Jupiter had just risen above the horizon when I arrived and Venus would soon be breaking out so I concentrated on that section of the hillside. It was easy to see where it would be rising, the other three planets, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter made a straight line right to where it would be showing up.

    Venus showed up a couple minutes after its predicted time of arrival. Suddenly…there it was behind the trees and then it was shining free. It is amazing how quickly they rise when you have a reference point to compare them to! I snapped a few shots and then went back to exploring the sky with the binoculars

    As the sky brightened, the International Space Station passed off in the north. I had hoped it would be close enough to Venus to get a picture but by then the sky was too bright. Watching it in binoculars would just have to do.

    The birds were starting to wake up, soon joggers would be out and I was ready to refill my coffee cup. I made it home in time to see the sunrise.

    I said this day was special to me. It isn’t because of the stars or the planets. Not even the ISS made it special. It’s because on this day my daughter Chelsey was born!

    She just had a new son, Nico, who arrived a couple days before Mothers Day and her birthday. Yes, I’d have to say that our lives are truly blessed. It’s going to be a great day. This day always is!

.

Up on the Hill

        Silhouetted trees surrounded me on all sides. It was Thursday night, I would probably have the hilltop to myself.

         In the west, Venus was shining brightly as it slowly dropped down into the treetops, to the left; Jupiter and Saturn were sitting proudly in the southern sky. The evening was still as the sky darkened. One by one the stars appeared until it was impossible to determine which one came next. Suddenly it seemed, the sky was filled with dots of light.

        While standing and watching the day disappear, I couldn’t help but notice the sounds. Insects were starting their evening songs. Off in the distance a few dogs barked at something, then a voice yelled at them to be quiet. A few cars drove by, the noises of their passing intruding into the songs of the insects. After they pass, the quiet returns. A couple deer snort over the hillside, heard but not seen.

        I had set up my telescope and was waiting to watch Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons pass behind the planet. With about a half hour to go, the moon was getting close, The movement was slow, very slow! I’d watch the sky for awhile and then look through the telescope to see where the moon was.  With about five minutes to go, the slender dark space between the moon and the planet became difficult to see. Then it finally happened, the two appeared to touch. Watching carefully, I saw the moon shrink in size as Jupiter covered it, until just a small bump remained.

        The moon was lined up with the darkest band of clouds on the planet and because of this contrast, I could easily see the bright yellow moon as it slid behind the planet. When it finally disappeared completely, I checked my watch; the time was right when it was predicted!

        It is amazing to watch something happen a little over 396 million miles away. The light of the sun took over 35 minutes to reach the planet and almost that same amount of time for it to reflect back to me.  Wow, I was looking just a little bit back into time. My observing as the night progressed, viewing other stellar objects, would take me further back.

        I turned the scope over to Saturn and marveled, once again, about how cool it looks. It appeared as if a ball had just fallen into a hole. A small shadow was visible on one side of the rings, adding to the 3 dimensional look. Separate sections of the rings could be seen at times, when the seeing improved.

        A young couple passed me, going over to a different section of the hill to do a little stargazing of their own, in private. No words were spoken, I don’t even know if they saw me. The sounds of the insects had fallen away, forgotten, drifting into the background. Traffic on the roads in the distance had decreased. Far away, a train traveled along the river, its whistle faintly drifting to the top of the hill. Every so often, I’d hear another snort from a deer or bits of conversation from the couple over the hill. It was a perfect night!

        I spent it visiting places I hadn’t been to in years. It was easy to find fainter objects with no moon or lights to interfere. The clarity of the sky helped me in my search.

        By 11, the grass was getting rather wet and dew was starting to cover the telescope. I decided it was almost time to pack it up. The couple must have thought the same, I said good night as they passed and I think I startled them. They came over and I showed them Saturn and Jupiter. They had never looked through a telescope before and they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. (I love when this happens!) I told them about the upcoming star parties and they said they would be back. Then I was alone once again, on the hill top.

        I turned the telescope to the Andromeda Galaxy before I tore things down. This is really time travel, the light takes about 2 ½ million years to get from there to here. Time travel to the extreme! Returning to the present, I started disassembling the scope. Once everything was in the car, I stood for awhile to enjoy the view. I knew when I got home, I wouldn’t be able to see half of what I was seeing then. With a final look, I got in the car and started for home, happy and content!

A Chance Encounter

 

        Clouds were drifting through the sky as sunset approached. Overhead I could see Vega. I had hopes for an eventual clearing…so I went to take a nap!

        Waking a bit after 11 I went outside to see a nice clear sky. Jupiter and Saturn were right in my “window”.  My front yard is framed by trees. Saturn was heading towards the trees to the west and Jupiter had just appeared out of the trees to the east. Best of all, most of the neighbors lights were off!

        I set up the scope and aligned the finder scope. My first observation was of Saturn. The image moved in and out of focus a bit as the telescope acclimated to the slightly cooler temperature. It settled down rather quickly and I was treated to a nice crisp, steady view of the ringed planet and its brightest moon, Titan. I was using a 12.5mm Coulter Optical eyepiece which gave me 12X. Before the planet slipped behind the trees I put a doubler on it for awhile.

        When I moved over to Jupiter, there were only three of its bright moons visible. I figured the fourth was either behind or in front of the planet Curious about where the fourth moon was, I consulted The Observers Handbook. I quickly found out that the fourth moon, Ganymede, was transiting across the front of the planet. Best of all, I saw that it was due to reappear in about 12 minutes!

        This is one of the reasons I like to have reference materials close at hand. I could’ve looked this up on the computer but I would have ruined my night vision in the process.

        I went to the telescope and put a Meade Ultra Wide 4.7mm eyepiece in the focuser. This gave me 32X.

        One of the first things I noticed was a sharp black dot near the center of the planets disc. Situated between the two darkest cloud bands, it was the shadow of Ganymede!

        I kept a close eye on the edge of the planet’s disc. As the time neared, (12:36AM) I started to see a bump grow. It increased in size until a little after 12:36, I could see a sliver in-between it and the planet.

        Not long after watching this, I started to tear down my set up. Jupiter was heading towards the trees and my scope was covered with dew. In all I had observed for a little over an hour and in that hour I had watched the universe in motion! As so often when observing you are looking at objects that are set in place. They are so far away you can’t see any movement at all except for the spinning of our own planet. Watching the transit of Ganymede was cool, happening upon it at the right time was lucky!

        After putting my equipment away, I went outside to check if I had left anything behind. The sky was starting to cloud over again. Seems I timed it just right! I returned to my bed because I had important dreams waiting for me!

        (Excuse my amateur drawings, they were taken from my notes)

P.S. The A.A.A.P. is scheduled another star party on September 11th, at the Wagman Observatory! You might want to mark that on your calendar!

You Never Know What You Might Find!

        Frank and I hit the road again, this time to do some geocaches and to take some pictures. So, basically it was the same as most of our adventures. We left early in the morning, in the darkness, as is usually the case.

        The full moon and Jupiter were slipping over the hill by my house when I first woke up. The pair was just four degrees apart and contrasted nicely with the black silhouetted trees on the hillside. They had disappeared when Frank arrived but we quickly located them as we drove along roads with a better western view. Looking to where we could go to get a nice shot of the pair, we ended up on Bigelow Blvd. with the city peeking through the trees.

        We stopped and took a few pictures as the moon sank down into the clouds. You can see Jupiter, an orange colored dot to the right of the moon. 

As it set, the full moon turned red.

        We continued on to Highland Park where our first two geocaches were.  Saturday was International Geocaching Day, so we had to find at least one during the weekend! We found one of the two. Try as we might, we couldn’t figure out where the second cache was hidden. We will get it some other day!

Frank signing the log.

        There were five more caches on our "to find" list, these were hidden in Alleghany Cemetery in Lawrenceville. All was going fine until we pulled up to the gate. It was closed! The gates didn’t open until after 10. Since it was only around 8 when we arrived, we had some time to kill. Across the street from the entrance is Barb’s Country Kitchen, so we stopped in for some coffee and breakfast. That took up about a half hour…

        Hopping into the car we went searching for some photo opportunities. We recently had talked about visiting the Seldom Seen Greenway Trail, so that was our next stop. This short trail goes through an interestingly designed brick tunnel, built in 1902. Saw Mill Run goes through it also.  On the far side of the short tunnel are two railroad trestles, one of them still in use. 

        Coming into the parking lot we heard bag pipes! Starting into the tunnel, we met Mychael who was walking back and forth under the arches playing a set of pipes. We stopped and talked a bit before we continued on. Scottish music followed us out onto the trail.

        I guess he likes the sounds in the tunnel? Who would’ve guessed we would run across a bag piper in our travels, let alone be serenaded as we hiked along the path.  You never know what you might run into when you go exploring!

        We both got some nice photos while we were there and then we returned to the cemetery.

        The gates were finally open! The Allegheny Cemetery is huge; there are 300 acres and about 15 miles of roads in it. Many famous Pittsburghers, such as mayors, sports celebrities and musicians are buried here. It would be easy to get lost inside it. Looking at all the trees and woodlands in it, it is tough to imagine it is situated inside the city.

        We did 3 of the 5 caches here and nearly did a fourth but because I entered a wrong number, we lost out on that one. It was what is called a multi-cache. This one brought us to a monument on which were 4 poems. Using those we had to solve two simple arithmetic problems and use the answers to find the “final” cache. Transposing the numbers will unfortunately NEVER lead you to a find!

        The day was getting hotter as we searched and after climbing a rather steep hill and taking a couple falls, I was ready to call it quits for the day. We had gotten a few caches and enjoyed the searches for the others, even if we didn’t find them.

        We headed for our homes, satisfied with another fun day of caching and photography. We watched the moon set, got some nice photos, the weather was great and I only got 10-20 mosquito bites. Best of all, we got a small bagpipe concert while we were hiking; once again, you have to keep exploring your surroundings, you never know what you might find!

The Sounds of a Saturday Night Under the Stars

 

                Across the street, a neighbor had built a bonfire in his back yard. His kids were running around and yelling, glad to be outside. I’m sure, a few marshmallows were being toasted and burnt. Down the street a party was in progress. Country music drifted into my yard along with a few laughs every so often. Chances are there was a fire down there also. The air smelled good, like summertime.

                In my yard, I was sitting behind the telescope having my own little star party. Drifting around Orion, passing through the Pleiades and whatever constellation struck my fancy. Thanks to some creative (?) parking of my car, the yard was dark. So was the sky, there would be no moon to bother with tonight.

                Double stars, galaxies, some nebula's and a couple star clusters populated my eyepiece. A couple satellites drifted through my field of view as I sat, amazed at what came through my optics. I had no plan, I was just enjoying the view.

                Even though it was cold, the seeing was great. I forgot about how numb my fingers were getting. I also forgot about any stress that had been hanging over my head, the tensions of the world drifted away as I sat in my front yard and traveled light years into the past.

                While I drifted through the stars, I listened to the sounds of the neighborhood. They were the sounds of normalcy. It sounded great and it made me feel wonderful!  

 

Jupiter is there, click on the picture and look close!

                This morning the time was set ahead an hour so after what seemed like a short amount of sleep, I got up for Church. Before I got there, I stopped at the local cemetery and watched the sun brighten the sky in the east. Jupiter was sitting about 10 degrees off the top of the hill. As I watched, all the stars faded and it became the only thing I could see in the sky. I didn’t see the sun come over the horizon, I had a more important place to be! I did see the results of its appearance though. Bright orange sunlight slowly descended on the wall behind the altar during Mass. 

The day is off to a good start!  It’s Pi Day! I think we will bake a pie today to celebrate.