Like Watching Paint Dry

 It’s quiet in the observatory. Two dim red lights illuminate the room; all the other lights have been extinguished to help preserve my dark-adapted eyes. The telescope rising from the center of the room appears as a large silhouette against the slight light of the sky. The brass pieces on it reflect the red lights.

    Crickets can be heard, they give the observatory a nice atmosphere. After a short while the noise disappears, fading into the background, becoming a sort of “white noise”. It is there but un-noticed. Listening carefully, far away I can hear a faint whine of some type of machinery, hardly noticed, hardly there.

     Looking through the telescope, the planet Saturn and three of its moons can be seen. Unlike the picture above, the rings are close to edge on and so, appear as only light bars coming off of each side of the planets disc. Occasionally a thin dark line can be seen crossing the planet a slight bit higher than the rings, the rings shadow! A slight bit of shading can be seen at either pole giving the planet a small bit of a 3-dimentional look.

    It is the morning of the 19^th of August, and I am here to watch the shadow of Saturn’s moon, Titan, cross the planet. This is an event that can only be seen when the planets rings are near edge on. The next time these occurrences will be visible will be in about 15 years, so I want to try to see them if possible. There will be five times it can be seen within the next couple months, one has already passed.

    Walking outside the observatory, the crickets are much louder, unmuffled by any walls. The trees and hills are all black against the dim band of light that goes around the horizon, allowing only the brightest stars to be seen there. In the east, the Pleiades can easily be seen, a nice grouping of stars. Orion will be coming along soon, a sure sign that winter is approaching. Below the hill a car slowly drives by and high in the sky, the faint sound of a jet engine announces the presence of a plane passing overhead.

    Back inside, the shadow of Titan can now be seen through the telescope. The moon appears to have moved closer to the planet, it sits above the rings on the right side. The shadow is close to the upper edge of the planets disc. It is difficult to see, I struggle at first to determine if it is the shadow or my imagination playing games with me. With no one else here, there is no one to verify it for me. I increase the magnification and put a filter on the eyepiece and suddenly the shadow and details on the planet’s surface sharpen up. I jot notes in my journal along with poor drawings in an attempt to make sure I remember these things.

    I sit and watch. Nothing seems to be moving but I know that's not true. Some might compare this to watching paint dry. The seeing has a tendency to improve at times, the view gets crisper, sharper, it is these periods I watch for. Slowly the shadow moves across the planet. I occasionally look up at the stars and they quietly gaze back down. Millions of other worlds hang above me. Sitting alone under them helps give me perspective, I’m not as important as I’d like to think I am.

    Sitting at this telescope I can’t help but wonder if somewhere up there, is there another life form looking at the stars above their world and wondering if I exist.

    Outside, the crescent moon, Jupiter and Venus have risen. To the right sits Orion, having just climbed over the horizon. I look through the scope for a bit longer and then close things up. Locking the door I hear some coyotes howling, a couple farm dogs bark back at them. I take a final look at the sky and then get in the car and start my engine. A small herd of deer standing by the edge of the road watch me drive past.

    I have one more thing to do before I go home. I want to watch the International Space Station make a pass overhead. Driving to a favorite viewing spot, I get out of the car and orientate myself. In the east, across a deep valley sits the moon, Jupiter and Venus. To the right is Orion, now much higher than when I saw him last. Right on time, as predicted, the ISS appears. I watch it as it soundlessly touches the upper shoulder of Orion and then slides over towards Venus, passing just underneath the bright planet.

    The horizon is getting brighter; sunrise isn’t far away. I have only another mile or two till I’m home again. It’s been another memorable, peaceful and quiet morning, the type of mornings I yearn for!

The Shadow Transit of Titan

I spent the early morning hours of Sunday watching an event along with three other members of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh. (3AP.org) Using the 115 year old, 11” Brashear Telescope at the Wagman Observatory, John Holtz, Mike Miller, Sean Matoon and I watched as the shadow of Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, crossed onto and across the planet’s surface. These transits occur about every 15 years.

    The astronomy club had two star parties this weekend and after the second one, after the public had departed, we aimed the telescope at Saturn. The seeing was pretty steady, the image wasn’t bouncing around at all and we had no problems increasing the magnification.

    Neptune was sitting within a degree or two of Saturn so we swung the scope over to it while we were waiting for the transit to start. The planet first appeared as a faint blue dot but by increasing the magnification we were able to see it as a round disc. We weren’t able to see any features on it. The shadow of Titan would be about 1/3 the size of Neptune, this could be difficult!

    As Saturn orbits the sun, our view of the planet's rings change. We recently passed through the ring’s plane where the rings appear to us as being edge on. This gives us a quite different view of the planet as to what we are familiar with.

Notesfrom a Reading Addict: Going, Going...

    When the planet is in this orientation, the shadow of Titan, the largest of the planet’s moons, can be observed crossing the planet’s surface. The moon orbits Saturn every 16 days so we have a chance to see this event a couple more times during the next month or two.

    Moving the scope back to Saturn and turning off all the lights in the room, we watched. Titan could be seen sitting below the planet’s rings on the right-hand side. The transit was due to start at 2:25 but we couldn’t see it until 2:30 when John first located it.

    Over the next hour and a half, we watched as the shadow slowly worked it’s way towards the meridian. We experimented with a variety of eyepieces, giving us magnifications between 243 - 939 power! While the viewing at 939X was nice, as would be expected, we opted for a lower power which gave us a much crisper image. We even tried using a binocular viewer which sadly, was difficult to use. It did give me a nice 3-D image of the planet!

    The shadow was dim and I had difficulty seeing it. The other three having much better eyesight could see the shadow much easier.

    We watched it, taking turns at the scope until a bit after 4 when we decided to close things up. Dawn wasn’t far away, our homes seemed even further. I pulled up in front of my house at 5.

    I think it was great seeing this. It is another astronomical event to tuck into my belt. It wasn’t quite as exciting as watching a solar eclipse or watching Mars slip behind the moon but it was right up there with them!

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!”

What a Wonderful Combination

Sitting on a set of cold hard marble steps, I paged through a 1910 version of Norton’s Star Atlas. The steps were far from comfortable but I wasn’t complaining. I was happy to be where I was.

    It was Friday night and I was helping out as a volunteer for the Allegheny Observatory’s open house. My chore was to direct the various groups of visitors between the 13” Fitz-Clark refractor and the next stop, an explanation by some students of how the new Keeler scope was being used for research. I was positioned at the top of the three-story set of marble steps leading up to the telescope. Beside my perch was a small set of steps which I was using as a seat between tours.

    At the top of these three steps was the entrance to the second balcony of the observatory’s library. Inside the door was a narrow balcony lined with books and journals. A thick pipe railing surrounded the opening. Three stories below was a gentleman describing and showing videos of the April total solar eclipse. Above was a glass ceiling. No light was coming through it but in my mind, the shelves were glowing!

    After directing a group into the dome of the 13” refractor, I had about 20 minutes on my hands before the next group arrived. In those minutes, I talked with other volunteers and walked around a bit, peeking through windows to see what I could see. I also went into the library and explored the bookshelves!

    The books on the third floor were a collection of various subjects. Placed in alphabetical order by author, I was taken for a journey between astronomy, the workings of light waves, the design and manufacturing of optics all the way into machine shop practices. There were also numerous volumes written in languages I couldn’t understand.

    Being a machinist by trade I started out with a book about jigs and gages written in 1901. Books such as this are always fascinating to read. Having line drawings of old machinery and equipment, they are filled with lots of rich information which often isn’t passed on to new machinists these days. It is information which is usually picked up through years of experience. There are mentions and examples of tools and tooling which are no longer used in the modern machine shops because of the advancements of technology. 

    From there I headed into the field of astronomy. Since this library was in an observatory most of the books dealt in some way or another in that subject. I would remove a book from a shelf, being careful not to damage any fragile binding or covers, open it slightly and peruse the pages. If it interested me, I’d mark the spot it came from and go and sit down and read for a bit.

    The Norton’s Star Atlas I mentioned before was one of the ones I had taken down. I have a copy of this book at home, written in 1989. I use it quite often. My copy was bought in 1990 and I had inscribed on the first page that the first observations using it was at 5AM on March 3^rd, 1990.  I was observing in Sagittarius. It also says, “It was a beautiful, warm morning, the way they all should be!” The 1910 version in the library was a lot thinner than my copy and it doesn’t have any of the glossy pictures that mine has but it does have the great sky maps.

 

    I also looked at a book called “Astronomy by Observation” written by Eliza A. Bowen. Written in 1890 it has some photos of plaster reproductions of craters on the moon made by Nasmyth and Carpenter. Listed on its’ back cover are an assortment of scientific books ranging in price from 60¢ to $5. Sadly, the price of books has risen just the same as groceries.

    I went in and listened to some of the talk about astronomy and the history of the 13” telescope. One of the stories told was about the time that the lens for the scope was stolen and held for ransom.

    The telescope was built in 1861 by Henry Fitz and was installed in the original Allegheny Observatory. (It was later moved to its present location in the new observatory in 1906) When it was built it was the third largest telescope in the country! In 1872 the lens was stolen. A note demanded money but the observatory director, Samuel Langley wouldn’t pay. He figured this would only lead to more “lens-nappings”. The glass was eventually recovered in a hotel in Beaver Falls. The lens had a large scratch on it and it was shipped to Alvan Clark to refigure and polish. This ended up making the lens even better than it was before it was stolen! Ever since the lens has been replaced in the scope it has been known as the Fritz-Clark telescope.

    Another book I looked at was called “The Elements of Theoretical and Descriptive Astronomy” written by Charles J. White. It was published in 1872. What makes this book special was that it had been owned by Samuel Langley! His signature was on the first page! To think I was holding a book once owned, signed and read by this important man was extremely exciting.

    I get the same feeling when I think that John Brashear walked in these same corridors and climbed the same steps where I was stationed! This building is living history!

    Once the last group had passed by I started saying my good-byes. I stopped in the basement and saw a glass negative taken using the 30” Thaw refractor. Just barely visible are two faint dots. This is a picture of the planet Pluto. The picture was taken on February 16^th, 1953. This negative was taken 23 years after the planet was discovered. The reason there are two dots on the negative is that they would take a picture and then move the scope a slight bit and then take another shot. This was helpful in determining the exact position of the object they were observing. History, isn’t it exciting?

    Talking with the people who run this facility, the students that do their studies and research here along with the various volunteers who helped pull this event off was a learning experience. There is so much to learn when talking with them; I can only hope that at least a little bit of their knowledge rubbed off on me!

    I left the building without looking through either of the two telescopes that were being used. The clouds were making viewing difficult but most of the visitors saw Saturn and that is always something to remember! Even though I didn’t do any observing, as I headed home I had a feeling that in a small way I had participated in the history of this building and that I had been submerged into history itself. Old books, history and astronomy; what a wonderful combination!

Going, Going...

    Saturn is known for its rings. They are visible even in a small telescope. I never miss the opportunity to view this planet; it is definitely my favorite, with Jupiter coming in a close second.

    Six months from now, the “Ringed” planet Saturn will become just plain old Saturn. Due to its orbit around the sun it will appear to us here on Earth, as having no rings!

    If you get a chance to take a look at the planet in the next couple months, by all means do it. The rings are bright, but they don’t look like rings right now. They are in the process of disappearing and appear more like a line drawn across the planet. As the planet slowly tips, the rings will be seen edge on and will appear to vanish. Like looking at a piece of paper edge on, it is very difficult to see.

    This won’t be forever; gradually they will get thinner and thinner until only larger telescopes will be able to see them. Then they will slowly start to reveal themselves again.

    This isn’t the first time this has happened, it last happened in March of 2009. In 1995 it happened twice with a third disappearance happening at the beginning of 1996. I dug out my notes from 1995 and on June 17^th, 1995, using a very good telescope, I had trouble seeing the rings without using averted vision. The next disappearance will occur in October of 2023.

    Right now, Saturn lies “about” 805 million miles away from us and its rings are only around a mile thick. This distance makes them extremely difficult to see edge on. In case you are wondering, presently it takes the light from the sun about an hour and 12 minutes to reach us after bouncing off Saturn’s disc. Another interesting fact is that Saturn takes 29.4 years to make an orbit around the sun! 

    On Saturday, September 14^th, the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh will be holding another star party at the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park! This will be a great time to take a look at the rings through one of the scopes that will be set up there. The planet Saturn will definitely be the focus of the night, along with the moon and other celestial objects. Bring your own scope if you have one, if you’re not sure how to use it, we will be happy to help you out! Come up to the hilltop and take a look at Saturn’s rings, before their gone.

For more info about the AAAP Star Parties, go to

3AP.org

Catching the Sunset

 Tuesday, 9/5

 With the low percentage of clear nights in the Pittsburgh area sitting high in my mind, I am once again working on an upcoming astronomical event.

    What I am hoping to catch in this project, is a picture of the sun going down behind the Wagman Observatory. There is a house about 6 miles away with a clear view of the observatory. Using a variety of on-line programs and even more important, the expertise of John Holtz, we have narrowed down dates to within 3 or 4 days. On these days, the sun will disappear behind the Observatory as seen from this house.

     Every night the sun sets in a different spot on the horizon. If you were to put a mark on a picture window at the same time every day for a year marking the suns position, you would end up with a figure eight shape, an analamma. The trick is to determine when the sun will set where you want it to!

    Naturally for this project, there are variables. The times for sunsets are figured off of a flat horizon. The observatory sits on a high hill, this could change the time or position of the setting sun. Another variable, an even more important one, is the weather.  I have ranted about this too many times to count. If something is going to occur astronomically, chances are it will be clouded over. I can live with a slight cloud cover; it might lessen the brightness of the sun. The clouds will act as a filter and allow a slightly longer exposure, making the observatory visible in the picture.

    Between then and now, I will make a couple lists. One will consist of all the items I’ll need to bring along with me and the other will be a timeline. By using these I will be able to arrive early enough to allow set up, find the observatory and to taking a couple test exposures. All the necessary equipment will be in the car. Making these lists are part of the fun of events like these, at least to me they are!

    Now, for the next 4-5 days, I’ll try my best not to think about the weather!

Thursday, 9/7

    Waking up, the open window beside me providing a comfortable cool breeze, I am greeted by the low rumble of thunder. Rain can be heard falling through the leaves of the trees. I close my eyes and just listen…and relax. What a nice way to wake up in the morning.

    The only thing that takes away from my relaxation is knowing that rain clouds are working their way across the city. Hopefully they will be gone by Monday…but, I said I wasn’t going to think about that! OK, time to make some coffee and to get the day started!

Saturday 9/9

    I wake up again to the sound of rain. A space station pass is due in a few minutes but instead of dressing and searching the sky, I close my eyes and let the rain carry me back to sleep.

    Later in the day, Ann Marie and I drive up to Wagman to make a couple measurements. I want to get accurate vector angle with my compass so that I will be able to duplicate its opposite angle when we are at the house. (angle +/- 180 degrees) While we are there, we also pick up a few brochures to pass along to the owner of the house; the telescopes, the observatory, star parties and a few publications about light pollution. Then we return home, make a veggie pizza, play some Scrabble and DON’T think about Monday! As the weekend continues, the clouds remain.

Monday- 9/11  The Big Day!

    I wake up at 5 to watch the Chinese Space Station pass through Orion. The sky is clear and my hopes are raised. After watching the pass, I spent some time scanning the sky with my binoculars before going back in and returning to bed. I need to be rested today! There is still a lot to be done.

    As the day progressed, the fog that showed up after I went back to bed slowly dissipated. I try my best not to look up! I made the call to the homeowner and told her we will be coming out and give her an approximate time of arrival. The car was loaded and the checklist was marked as each essential part was put in. Then I sat down and read a book. What better way to distract your mind than by reading?

    All was set and finally, it was time to get Ann Marie and Jim. We arrived at the house about 45 minutes before sunset, just as planned. The telescope was set up and some pictures were taken.

    It was very difficult to see the observatory with the bright light of the sun near-by. The observatory was in the shadows. Using the compass to point the telescope, I managed to find it on the first try! The problem would be, what is correct exposure? Digital photography really helps in situations such as these!

    The sun was getting closer to the horizon though it still hadn’t entered the camera frame. Once it did, I started clicking. Since the sun was so bright, I gave up hoping to see the observatory. The shapes of the trees were the only way I could tell where it was. I took the pictures and would fret over not being able to see the building later.

    Once the sun had set, the family who owned the house came out and we showed their grandson some of the sights around the area through the telescope. Before we tore the setup down, we were able to show him Saturn! He was very happy to see that. (It goes without saying!) After everyone had seen the ringed planet, the scope was taken apart and re-packed in to the car, and then we said our thanks and good-byes. We stopped for a celebratory dinner and then headed home.

You have to look closely to see the observatory in this picture!

It’s impossible to see in this one!

    My pictures weren’t quite what I had hoped for. The trees behind the observatory had foiled the silhouetted shot I had wanted to get, though early into this project, I knew it would never happen. I was happy to find the building from this far away and was happy to get the sunset shot. We were pleased that the weather cooperated with us. Though the picture wasn’t what I had hoped for, it was a learning experience. Maybe the next time with the moon instead of the sun…or maybe we could cut down the trees...the possibilities are endless. We shall see, we shall see!

Good Nights For Sharing Stars

The past weekend, the weather gods were smiling on us. The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh (AAAP) was able to hold four successful star parties, two at each of our observatories, Wagman and Mingo Creek. A few clouds drifted by, but the festivities went on, nevertheless.

    We had a thin sliver of a moon to look at on both nights. Since the moon was visible before the sun set, it was the first major attraction for the member's scopes. A couple members had solar filters and were able to show early visitors views of the sun's surface. At the present time the sun has lots of sunspots on it, making it an interesting view.

    The planet Venus was our next target. The planet Mercury was off to its right, a binocular view if you looked carefully. Since the planets were close to the horizon, we only had a short time to observe them before they dropped down into the trees.

    Mars was observed for a short while but we moved back to the moon since there was so much more to see on it.  As the sky darkened, we moved on to other objects such as Albereo in the constellation Cygnus and the double stars, Mizar and Alcor in the handle of the Big Dipper. A few Messier objects were shown and we watched a couple low passes of the International Space Station. A few guests were lucky enough to see some falling stars though we had nothing to do with that!

      We had a group of veterans visit along with families, students and daters. (I can only assume they were dating…) Everyone seemed happy to be there, some even coming over before they left to thank us for sharing the skies with them.

                                                                     

    My favorite moment was when a small girl took a look at the moon and told her Grampa, “WOW, look at all those craters!” I didn’t have to ask if she had seen it, we all knew it!

    At the Wagman Observatory, the crowds started thinning out after 11. A few waited long enough to see the ringed planet, Saturn, through the Manka reflector. In the Brashear room, we had to wait until the planet rose over the roofline before we could observe it.

    Let me tell you, as always, Saturn is worth the wait! The 11” refractor gave a nice, steady view of the planet along with 3 or 4 of it's moons. The rings are moving towards an “edge on” view, they aren’t as wide open as they were a few months ago but it is still spectacular!

    This is one of the fascinating things about astronomy, watching how the planets (and Moon) change. Saturn’s rings are moving towards a point where we won’t be able to see them.  Venus has phases that it goes through, just like our moon does. Both are currently thin crescents. Soon Jupiter will be visible again in the late evening skies along with it’s four brightest moons. It is always enjoyable to watch as the positions of these moons change over the course of an evening.

    Church was early the next morning, so after spending 15-20 minutes with Saturn, I closed up the Brashear room. A couple members were still out in the field, planning on spending the rest of the night. (I should say morning since it was after midnight.) I went home and crawled into bed for a couple hours before I had to get up again. I definitely had something to be thankful for in the morning. A couple more nights of good observing added onto all the other great things we have in life!

    Next star parties are in August…see ya there?

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!

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!

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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!