Not Your Typical Morning!

 It was tough getting to sleep. The anticipation was heavy on my mind. After rolling around a bit, tossing and turning, I got up and got dressed. I loaded my telescope and gear into the car and headed up to the Wagman Observatory.

    Arriving on the hilltop at 1, I found two other club members (Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh) in the field with their equipment, taking pictures of the sky. I opened the building and pointed the 11” Brashear telescope at Saturn. I invited the men in to take a look. We introduced ourselves and BS’d a bit while we enjoyed looking at the ringed planet. As always, it looked great!

    I had come up to watch the occultation of Jupiter by the moon. These events only happen every 13 years, give or take. The conditions were looking good this morning, the sky was clear and crisp, and the moon/Jupiter pair would be in a good position to observe them. Unfortunately, the event would be hidden from the Brashear telescope by the building, so I closed up and went outside to set up my gear.

 The camera came first. I took some pictures of the moon rising behind some trees on the horizon. Jupiter followed close behind.

    Setting up my telescope came next. Another club member, John Holtz, showed up and started setting up his scope. I had imagined that more members would be here but I guess that since it was a Tuesday morning, work may have played a part in it.

    By eye we could see the bright planet getting closer and closer to the bright arc of the moon. The moon was only 20% illuminated and paired with Jupiter, they looked like a poster!

    Through my telescope I could see the entire moon. The majority of it was a dark semi-featureless disc against the sky. The lit portion beautifully showed craters and mountains. Moving in on it was Jupiter. The planet's cloud bands could be seen. In front of the planet, closest to the moon were three of the Jovian moons and behind the planet, another one. This all could be seen through the eyepiece. It was overwhelming!

    The first moon in line, Europa disappeared into the bright arc and about a half minute later, Callisto disappeared. I lost sight of Io, the third moon in line and never saw it touch the lunar disc. Then came Jupiter! It took a minute for it to completely disappear. (4:20:56am by my clock) Finally, bringing up the backend was Ganymede.

    John and I compared notes and shared our thoughts while we waited for what we imagined would be the best part of the show.

    Just over an hour after Europa disappeared, it came back into sight.

    In my eyepiece I was looking at the dark section of the moon. It showed up nicely compared to the sky beyond. The bright section was hidden from view. I had an idea of where the moon would reappear but wasn’t sure exactly. I scanned back and forth. Then, suddenly there it was. There was no mistaking it; it looked as if a light had been turned on!

    Spectacular!

    Two minutes later Callisto appeared and less than a minute later, Io joined the train, slowly drifting away from the moon.

    Then the real showstopper came, Jupiter. It took a minute and six seconds to fully appear. (5:23:05am) It looked unbelievable; the cloud bands crossing its surface looked great against the dark arc of the moon. About a minute and a half later, Ganymede joined the parade. 

    I just stood there and watched as the moon slowly distanced itself from the Jovian grouping.

    Then it was time to break things down. We watched as the Chinese space station, Tiangong crossed the sky overhead. We saw a bunch of satellites and a couple meteors as the morning progressed.

    The morning was more than I had hoped it to be. Seeing the advancing moon covering over these bright objects was wonderful, but the reappearances on the dark side were the best. Watching Jupiter and its moons come out from behind the darkened side of the moon was not only extremely easy to see, it was also extremely memorable. It was like a science fiction movie but it was real life! Motion in space! I will remember this for the rest of my life! (I hope)

    What a great morning. Science and astronomy rocks!

The Selfish Observer

 

Sharing my love of astronomy has been part of my life for decades. Pointing out things in the sky out to neighbors, setting up my telescope at Halloween for the kids to look through or helping out at star parties, I always enjoy doing something astronomical. It is just what I like to do.

    There is a certain kick I get when I hear someone’s exclamation after seeing Saturn through a telescope. It’s fun to explain how Jupiter’s moons move during the night or how the moon can cover a star. Seeing people lined up waiting to get a look through a telescope is exciting. I can’t help but hope that some of them will continue on and become astronomers themselves. Hopefully, I would be a part of that decision. After a star party or even a simple astronomical interaction, I always feel good and am happy with the world.

    The astronomy club (3AP.org) recently had a pair of star parties, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. The first was clouded out. Star parties work best when you can see the stars!

    The skies on Saturday were deep blue with hardly any clouds. The observatory was opened at 4 and club members and guests started arriving soon after. One of the scopes was pointed at the sun and guests were able to see a couple small sunspots on its surface. They were told to stick around until dark, that was when the real fun would start. The planet Saturn would be the high point of the evening, everyone loves to view Saturn! Before long, the observatory started getting crowded.

    I kept thinking about seeing Saturn through the big scope as the evening progressed. I also thought about going home and using my own scope to see it!

    As the sky darkened, both scopes in the building were open and lines had formed. The room between them was filled with people talking and looking at the displays. Kids were running around having a blast while their parents attempted to keep an eye on them. Outside, members were showing people the views through their own scopes.

    Having been there for over 4 hours, I was ready to head back home. I’m not as young as I used to be and standing for that long puts a strain on my legs. I said my good-byes and tried my best not to drive over anyone on the way out. The members’ telescopes had plenty of people around them!

    I never had a chance to view Saturn so I decided when I got home to set up my scope in the front yard. Surprisingly, there were very few lights lit in the neighborhood. Porch lights shining on me is one of the major problems with observing at home.

    Within a short time I had the scope set up in a corner of the yard. Unfortunately, Saturn was still hidden from me by a tree. It would appear soon and so I just spent the time browsing. I looked off towards the west and visited some old familiar sites such as M-57, the Ring Nebula and Epsilon Lyrae, the Double-Double star. I easily found the Coat Hanger Cluster with my binoculars and then spent some time just pushing the scope back and forth, seeing whatever popped into my view. The sky was extremely clear, a rarity in Glenshaw.

    A car pulled up to a neighbor’s house and, of course, the lights shown directly onto my scope. It was time to take a small break; I went into the house for a drink.

    Coming back outside, Saturn was now above the tree so I turned the scope towards it. The next ½ hour was spent fixated on the ringed planet. The telescope provided me one of the best views of the planet I’ve ever seen through it.

    One of the nice things about long observations is that even though the view may look great, it often improves for a few seconds. What looked absolutely fascinating can suddenly become mind blowing! On this evening, it looked 3-dimentenal, it looked like a photograph. At times it appeared like a fine pen and ink drawing, the lines looked so delicate and exact! I couldn’t remember ever seeing the planet look this good when viewed from Glenshaw or through this telescope. This was a night to remember!

While observing this wondrous sight, I was thinking about the star party. Should I have stayed? Was I selfish coming home to observe by myself?

    Even though I enjoy sharing my hobby with others, there are times that I just want to be by myself. It can be extremely relaxing to be out under the stars with no one else around. Listening to crickets chirping, coyote pups yipping at each other and maybe the quiet footsteps of deer walking past, oblivious to your presence, these are all things that I’ve experienced. Standing in an unbroken field of snow with the stars sparkling on the snow crystals and watching the moon rise over a hilltop can be almost a religious experience. I’ll never get tired of seeing these things, and being there by myself gives me a chance to look into my inner being a bit.

    When observing at a telescope, being alone allows me to take my time, to relax and enjoy the view. I can take notes, experiment with eyepieces and if I choose to do so, just push the scope around to see what pops into view. There are no distractions and no time table.

    I had put my time in at the party. There were others that could do what I was doing, in fact, they would do it better! So this personal bit of observing wasn’t greed or a desire to get away from everyone…I’d like to look at it as a small reward. I’d done my sharing for the evening, now it was time to relax and enjoy.

By all means, I’ll always share my love of astronomy with others but whenever I get the chance to do some solo observing, I’ll grab it! The peaceful quiet of the night is one of the things that has always grabbed me, I can’t give it up! No, it isn’t greed, it’s more like love…

Early Morning Treasures

 Waking up at 2 in the morning is something usually done out of necessity rather than desire. As you get older, the truth in this statement becomes more and more obvious.

    On this morning, when the alarm sounded I was out of bed in a flash. I put on my glasses and without turning any lights on, went out to the front porch. It was bright outside, the cloud cover was reflecting the lights of the neighborhood and the near-by businesses back to the ground. This was disappointing in more ways than one!

    Going back inside, I turned on the computer and checked a couple weather sites and looked at some satellite views. I then made the decision to get dressed and take a drive up to the Wagman Observatory. I’d take a chance!

    There were two things that prompted me. One was to watch the dual passes of the two space stations orbiting the earth and the other was to view through the telescope, the planet Saturn.

    The first, the passes of the space stations; they are normally seen nightly crossing our skies and rarely at the same time. On this morning, they would appear, from my location, to head towards each other and cross paths only seconds apart!

    The second, Saturn has been hiding behind the sun and only recently reappeared in the morning sky. The Brashear refractor is placed in the observatory in a way that doesn’t allow a low eastern view and so to observe the planet, it has to rise high enough to clear the building. This means either wait a month or two longer, or come up early in the morning and catch it as it nears the meridian.

    Arriving at the hilltop at 3:15, the clouds were still thick but there were a couple dark spots in them. I pulled a chair from inside the building and sat down and relaxed. The sounds of the crickets were the loudest things I could hear. There were no cars going by at this time of the morning. It was extremely pleasant. The howl or cry of a coyote broke in occasionally. I watched the clouds drift by, sometimes lifting my binoculars to check out what looked like a hole. As the clock neared 4 I finally saw some stars, then it was as if the sky just gave up. Looking towards the northwest, I saw clear skies!

    I opened up the roof and prepared the Brashear 11” scope for some observing. My target was in sight, the brightest object in the southern sky, Saturn. It was just past the meridian, the imaginary north-south line that divides the sky. A perfect spot for observing!

    I used a 17mm eyepiece, a favorite of mine. It provides a 243 power view. As always, the view was spectacular. The planet often has a three-dimensional look to it. There were cloud bands visible on the surface of the planet and in the rings; a couple bands could be seen. There was shading on the edge which added to the three-dimensional aspect. On one side of the rings, the shadow of the planet cut through them, showing where the sun sat in relation to the planet. I pulled over a chair and just sat and looked.

    When observing by eye, the longer you look the more you will see. There are times when the view increases in sharpness, times when the air above settles and allows an extremely crisp view. It is these times that make the wait worthwhile. It was quiet… peaceful… and fulfilling.

    A little before 5, I went outside and set up my camera and tripod. According to Heavens-Above.com, the space station passes were due to appear at 5:08. Their paths would intersect around 5:12. The sky was beautiful! The winter constellations were sitting above the eastern horizon. Orion was lying on its side towards the south, Auriga and Gemini were a bit further north. The Pleiades looked wonderful further up in the sky. A couple shots were taken with the camera to determine speed and focus and then I put my hat over the camera to protect the lens from getting any dew on the optics.

    Tiangong was seen first coming out of the west at 5:09, heading almost directly overhead. Looking to the south, I saw the ISS moving towards Orion. Both were bright and easily seen. I went back and forth between them, watching their paths, watching as they neared each other. Looking at the ISS I saw a meteor flash near-by. The pair moved to a point where both were equal distances from the Pleiades. Tiangong entered Auriga and the ISS passed over top of Bellatrix, the shoulder of Orion, getting closer. 

    At 5:12, the ISS passed underneath the approaching Tiangong, the pair missing each other, from my viewpoint, by only a couple seconds. As I watched the pair starting to fade away, another meteor shot through the sky, almost like an exclamation point to what I had just seen!

    It was a great show! I couldn’t help but wonder if the crews on either spacecraft could see the other and exactly, how far apart were they?

    I put the camera gear away and went back into the observatory. I had put a doubler on the scope earlier which brought the power up to 486. I was able to see a couple more moons but there was a loss of sharpness with the increase of power. I removed the doubler and once again, just sat and looked. I find it hard to tire of looking at this planet. I attempted to draw a couple sketches of what I was seeing but my artistic abilities are severely lacking.

    I decided that I should take a look at the Orion Nebula before I left. It has been quite a while since I had looked at that. I loosened the locks on the scope and went to spin it around and I realized that it was useless, the sky had brightened enough that Orion had disappeared! The morning sun was nearing.

    I put things away, docked the scope and then closed the building. By 6, I was on my way back home. It was nice driving home from the observatory in the daylight as compared to the darkness of middle night. It was a great morning session, I felt invigorated and refreshed and ready for the day. What a wonderful way to start a day!

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?