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!”

And Then The Sky Turned Dark!

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

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

(Locations of various AAAP members during the eclipse)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Totality, taken by Sarah Balzer

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

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

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

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

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

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

Waiting for the Earth to Turn

 

Crickets chirp,

The stars sit motionless

In the sky.

 

Glances at my watch

Are fruitless,

Never seeming to change.

 

Watching the horizon,

A slight glow

Slowly erupts.

 

The tip,

An edge of

The crescent moon!

 

The camera clicks,

Time speeds up,

The moon dramatically

Rises across a distant hill!

 

The clock slows again

As the earth slowly

Turns towards Venus.

 

Patience…patience…patience…

                                                                                6.25.22    3:20AM

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!

.

Friday the Thirteenth

 

                Early in the morning my alarm woke me up, it seemed as if I had just gone to bed. In reality, I had been sleeping a whopping three hours. It was the beginning of another Friday the thirteenth.

                Coming home from work, the stars were visible outside my car windows. I was hoping that they would remain there until morning, I had some plans in mind.

                There was going to be a grouping consisting of the thin crescent moon and two planets rising above the horizon about an hour before sunrise. I was hoping to get a picture of them or if not that, at least get to see them. I had my list prepared, most of the items I would be taking were all ready in the car; my camera, tripod and the binoculars. I needed to make some coffee and I could leave.

                With my steaming cup in hand, I opened the door and saw…clouds. There were a couple stars visible in-between the bands but most of the sky was hidden.  My big decision was, should I go back to bed or should I continue on and hope that the clouds would clear up?

                I decided to continue on, why waste a perfectly good cup of coffee? My destination was the cemetery about a mile away from my house. Situated high on a hill above a wide valley it gives a perfect view to the east. Many a sunrise have I experienced there, sadly, I’ve missed quite a lot of astronomical events here also! Curse those clouds!

                Things off to the east were pretty well fogged in, bands of various thicknesses slowly worked their way across my shooting field. Every so often I’d see a glimmer of a star, Venus I imagined since it is the brightest object in that portion of the sky. I set up the tripod and put the camera on it just in case, there was still another hour until the sun came up. I got out my binoculars and started scanning back and forth. I didn’t see a thing…

                There was a period where Venus broke free of the clouds and shone like a spotlight through the clouds. Then it disappeared again. Behind me, in the west, Orion was dropping down behind some trees. The sky to my back was pretty much clear. I debated moving the camera but decided to take a short walk instead. Then a glow appeared!

                I pulled the binoculars up and saw a thin crescent moon. It was very thin, only 4-5% illuminated, but still bright enough to make it through the haze. I snapped a couple pictures before it disappeared again. Looking overhead, I saw that the clearing was slowly working its way towards the east, there was still hope!

             

               To make a long story short, the moon and Venus rose up above the clouds into the clearing sky and I did get a chance to see the planet Mercury situated below the moon. I didn’t get to see the trio together but I did see them separately. The sky was getting brighter and the stars in the west were fading so I packed up my gear and headed home. I watched the moon and Venus out my side window as I drove. At home, the pair was easily seen high in the sky, Mercury was still hidden in the trees.

                I brought the camera and my coffee cup inside, wrote some quick notes and then crawled back into bed. This Friday the thirteenth was off to a good start!

                A quick note about Friday the thirteenth, I have yet to have a bad one and truthfully, most of them have been really good. It does give me a chance to use one of my favorite words; triskaidekaphobia!   It means “fear of the number 13” Once you figure out how to pronounce it, it will become a word that sticks in your memory, that’s what happened to me!  Happy 13^th!