Tag Archives: Clark Reservation

Bob Piekiel Hosts Observing Sessions At Baltimore Woods (And More!) – 2018 Observing Schedule

Posted on February 24, 2018 6:49 pm - - Leave a Comment

This event list will be added to as the year progresses. Check back often!

I’m pleased to have obtained the official schedule for Bob Piekiel’s growing observing and lecture programs for the 2018 season. For those who have not had the pleasure of hearing one of his lectures, attending one of his observing sessions, or reading one of his many books on scope optics (or loading the CD containing the massive Celestron: The Early Years), Bob Piekiel is not only an excellent guide but likely the most knowledgeable equipment and operation guru in Central New York.

Notes On Baltimore Woods Sessions:

The Baltimore Woods events calendar is updated monthly. As such, I’ve no direct links to the sessions below. Therefore, as the event date nears, see the official Calendar Page for more information and any updates on the event.

Also…

* Registration for these events are required. Low registration may cause programs to be canceled.
* $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
* To Register By Email: info@baltimorewoods.org
* To Register By Phone: (315) 673-1350

Baltimore Woods:

* January 19 (Fri.)/20 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Winter skies at their finest, The area surrounding the constellation Orion has more bright stars and deep-sky clusters than any other section of the sky. Still good views of Uranus.

* February 16 (Fri.)/17 (Sat. weather alternate), 5:30-8:30 p.m.

This is a good chance to see the elusive planet Mercury, right after sunset, plus the area surrounding Orion, one of the brightest in the sky. We have to start early to catch Mercury. We might still get a good view of Uranus.

* February 24 (Sat.)/25 (Sun. weather alternate), 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Solar viewing program – see our nearest star with specially-equipped solar telescopes, showing sunspots, flares, and eruptions.

* March 16 (Fri.)/17 (Sat. weather alternate), 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Goodbye to winter skies, but still great views of Orion. Maybe a few Lyrid meteors as well.

* April 13 (Fri.)/14 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Hello to Spring skies. Watch as the seasons change both on the ground and the starry night. Orion will be setting, and being replaced by Leo the lion.

* May 11 (Fri.)/12 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Spring skies will be in full view, plus Jupiter is at opposition, meaning it will be its closest, biggest, and brightest for the entire year. Venus will also be visible at the start of the program.

* June 22 (Fri.)/23 (Sat. weather alternate), 9:00-11:00 p.m.

It gets dark late this time of year so our best viewing targets will be bright planets and the moon. Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn will be visible. When it gets dark we will begin to see some of the southern Milky Way.

* July 20 (Fri.)/21 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00-11:00 p.m.

PLANETS! Venus, Jupiter, Mars (which will be at its biggest, brightest, and closest until 2035!), Saturn, and possibly a quick glimpse of Mercury at the start of the program. Plus, a good view of the first-quarter moon, and then the southern Milky Way as the moon sets and the sky gets dark.

* August 12 (Sun.)/13 (Mon. weather alternate), 8:30-11:00 p.m.

The annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the year’s finest, the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune! There is no moon in the sky so we will have fabulous views of the summer skies and southern Milky Way. Bring a lawn chair to sit and watch for meteors.

* August 25 (Sat.)/26 (Sun. weather alternate), 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Solar program – See our nearest star close-up with special telescopes that reveal flares, sunspots, magnetic storms, and granulation.

* September 7 (Fri.)/8 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Still a good view of the lingering summer skies, and the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune!

Green Lakes:

* May 18 (Fri.)/19 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Spring skies will be in full view, plus Jupiter is at opposition, meaning will be its closest, biggest, and brightest for the entire year. Venus will also be visible at the start of the program.

* July 7 (Sat.), 7:00 p.m.

Telescope Workshop! Tentatively at the reserve shelter, but check with Green Lakes the day of to make sure they don’t move the location depending on the weather.

* July 13 (Fri.)/14 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-10:00 p.m.

This is the best view of 5 planets we will get for the summer: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, plus great views of the Milky Way when it gets dark.

* August 6 (Mon.), 7:30-9:00 p.m.

A special additional “telescope workshop” is being hosted due to popular request/demand at the well-attended July 13th event!

* August 17 (Fri.)/18 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-10:00 p.m.

The 1st-quarter moon is visible,plus and still great views of the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and maybe a peak at Uranus and Neptune. We will also have great views of the heart of our Milky Way galaxy and the many bright clusters and nebulae visible there.

* September 28 (Fri.)/29 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Still a good view of the lingering summer skies, and the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune!

Chittenango Falls:

* June 15 (Fri.)/16 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:30-10:30 p.m.

Bob Piekiel Returns To Chittenango Falls! Meet at the ball field by the main upper parking lot. It gets dark late this time of year so our best viewing targets will be bright planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. We’ll also get to see a skinny crescent moon at the start of the program. When it gets dark we will begin to see some of the southern Milky Way.

Marcellus Library:

* August 14 (Tues.)/15 (Wed. weather-alternate), 7:30-9ish p.m.

This summer we will have a view of all bright major planets in the evening sky at once, and Mars making its closest approach to earth until 2035. The moon will also be visible, along with Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn.

Clark Reservation:

Awaiting 2018 scheduling.

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Bob Piekiel Hosts Observing Sessions At Baltimore Woods (And More!) – 2017 Observing Schedule

Posted on November 23, 2016 12:12 pm - - Leave a Comment

This event list will be added to as the year progresses. Check back often!

I’m pleased to have obtained the official schedule for Bob Piekiel’s growing observing and lecture programs for the 2017 season and have added them to the CNYO Calendar. For those who have not had the pleasure of hearing one of his lectures, attending one of his observing sessions, or reading one of his many books on scope optics (or loading the CD containing the massive Celestron: The Early Years), Bob Piekiel is not only an excellent guide but likely the most knowledgeable equipment and operation guru in Central New York.

Notes On Baltimore Woods Sessions:

The Baltimore Woods events calendar is updated monthly. As such, I’ve no direct links to the sessions below. Therefore, as the event date nears, see the official Calendar Page for more information and any updates on the event.

Also…

* Registration for these events are required. Low registration may cause programs to be canceled.
* $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
* To Register By Email: info@baltimorewoods.org
* To Register By Phone: (315) 673-1350

Baltimore Woods:

* January 20 (Fri.)/21 (Sat. weather alternate), 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Winter Skies at their finest, and great views of a large, crescent Venus. No other area of the sky contains as many bright stars, clusters, and nebulae as the area surrounding the winter constellation Orion!

* February 10 (Fri.)/No weather backup, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

A penumbral eclipse of the moon. This is kind of an odd-ball program, as most penumbral lunar eclipses go unnoticed. The moon passes through the earth’s partial shadow and turns a bit of a dim brown color. Interesting to see IF you know what you’re looking at (plus winter skies, but the faint objects will be obscured by the moon).

* February 18 (Sat.)/19 (Sun. weather alternate), 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Solar viewing program, plus great daytime views of Venus and the moon.

* March 3 (Fri.)/4 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Goodbye to winter skies, Maybe still a peek at Venus, and Jupiter will be rising in the east.

* March 31 (Fri.)/April 1 (Sat. weather alternate), 6:00-9:00 p.m.

This is our best chance to see the elusive planet Mercury, plus Jupiter will be rising as Mercury will be setting. Spring skies will be replacing the Winter constellations.

* May 19 (Fri.)/20 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. (meetup.com event)

Spring skies offer a large number of galaxies to be viewed, plus interesting star clusters, and the giant planet Jupiter will be visible all evening. We may also get a look at Saturn later in the program.

* June 16 (Fri.)/17 (Sat. weather alternate), 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. (meetup.com event)

Just because it gets dark late doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the night sky! Saturn and Jupiter will be easily visible, plus an early look into the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy near the end of the program.

* July 21 (Fri.)/22 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. (meetup.com event)

Summer skies at their finest, looking at the rich star fields near the center of the Milky Way, plus a farewell to Jupiter. Saturn will be visible all evening, and maybe even a peek at Mercury early.

* August 12 (Sat.)/13 (Sun. weather alternate), 8:30 – 11:00 p.m. (meetup.com event)

The annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the year’s finest. Plus great views of the heart of our milky Way galaxy, and the ringed planet Saturn. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit back and watch for meteors while not looking through a telescope. We may also be able to get good views of Neptune.

* August 26 (Sat.)/27 (Sun. weather alternate), 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Solar observing! Using specially-filtered telescopes, come and see our nearest star as you’ve never seen it before. View sunspots, solar flares, and magnetic fields on the sun’s surface.

* September 15 (Fri.)/16 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Goodbye to summer, hello to fall skies and a good view of Uranus and Neptune, our two outermost planets that often go overlooked. Our last chance to see some of the summer Milky Wand its bright clusters.

* October 20 (Fri.)/21 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Fall skies, with their galaxies and clusters, plus great views of Uranus and Neptune, and maybe a few meteors from the Orionids, which peak about this time every year.

* November 17 (Fri.)/18 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Hello to winter skies. A 1st-quarter moon starts the show, and as it gets darker, a first look at the area of the sky preceding Orion, with its many galaxies and brighter star cluster. Still good views of Uranus and Neptune. PLUS the Leonid meteor shower!

* December 13 (Wed.)/14 (Thur. weather alternate), 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

The Geminid meteor shower – “Nuff-Said.” The Geminids are caused by asteroid Phaethon 3200, and unlike most other meteor showers, begin their display much earlier in the evening, so no need to wait til pre-dawn! Also our first views of the area surrounding Orion, with some of the brightest nebulae and clusters visible in the northern hemisphere.

Green Lakes:

* January 14 (Sat.)/15 (Sun. weather alternate), 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Come view our nearest star, the sun, close up in special telescopes that give interesting views of solar flares, eruptions, and sunspots. At the parking lot behind the main office building.

* February 17 (Fri.)/18 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Come see the winter skies at their finest! The area around the constellation of Orion has more bright stars, nebulae, and clusters than any other part of the sky. At the parking lot behind the main office.

* July 7th (Fri.), 7:00-9:00(?)p.m. – CHOOSING AND USING A TELESCOPE Workshop

Got a telescope as a gift but not sure how to make use of it? Thinking about purchasing one and wondering what are the best choices? Have a telescope and want to be able to take great pictures through it? Want to learn more about the night sky? Come to our first telescope workshop (Bring your own scope if you have one!) and let our astronomer Barefoot Bob show you the ins- and outs- of these wonderful pieces of equipment.

– This program will take place rain or shine, clouds or clear skies. It will be at the nature center (Susan – you may want to clarify the location here) if raining and at the field next to the Frisbee golf course if dry.

– Space will be limited, so please pre-register. This program takes place one week prior to our first public astronomy observing program which is scheduled for Friday evening July 14th.

* July 14 (Fri.)/15 (Sat. weather alternate), 7:30-10:30 p.m.

See the summer skies as we look directly into the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, plus the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. We may also get a peek at Mercury just before sunset!

* August 18 (Fri.)/19 (Sat. weather alternate), 8:00-10:00 p.m.

Summer skies one more time, and the rich star fields of the core of our Milky Way Galaxy, along with the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune.

* November 5 (Sunday), 1:00-3:00 p.m.

A telescope workshop! This will include some outdoor hands-on work, but will start indoors with some explanation of telescope types, eyepieces, mounts, and camera attachments.

Clark Reservation:

* July 28 (Fri.)/29 (Sat. weather alternate)

There is a 1st-quarter moon low in the sky that will set and leave the skies dark for the later half of a program. Mercury, which we hardly ever get a chance to easily see, is at best viewing for the summer, as well as good views of Jupiter and Saturn. This is also the time to see the summer skies at their finest, as we look directly into the heart of the Milky Way.

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Session Announcements: Bob Piekiel’s Summer 2016 Observing Schedule (With Event Links)

Posted on July 4, 2016 9:51 am - - Leave a Comment

UPDATE: Saturday, July 9th, 5:00 p.m. – There’s supposed to be an open pocket of clear sky tonight, so Bob is going ahead with the Clark Reservation session. As a bit of advanced warning, Bob was informed late yesterday that Clark Res may be charging a $5 admission fee to the park for the event (due to the +75 people we had last year).

UPDATE: Friday, July 8th, 4:00 p.m. – Tonight’s Clark Reservation session has been rescheduled to tomorrow (Saturday, July 9th) due to cloud cover. Update to follow Saturday afternoon.

Greetings, fellow astrophiles!

In the interest of a little more advanced notice for scheduled events, this page is meant to help you get your own schedules synchronized with upcoming nighttime and solar sessions hosted by Bob Piekiel (with his fellow CNYO’ers serving as wing-observers). Pending additional announcements, the list below fills out his Summer Roster (now with meetup.com and Facebook Events included).

2015august27_clark_halfcrowd

The attending crowd at last summer’s Clark Reservation session.

For the record, seven sessions in two months counts as a whole lot of fantastic CNY astronomy outreach!

July 8/9 – Bob Piekiel @ Clark Reservation, 8:00 – 10:30 p.m.

* Free and open to the public
* nysparks.com/events/event.aspx?e=126-16053.0
* facebook | meetup.com

Planets, stars, and a crescent moon! The summer skies are at their finest, when we can look directly into the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and see it’s many rich star clusters and nebulae. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars will be visible. We might even get a peek at Mercury.

July 22/23 – Bob Piekiel @ Baltimore Woods, 9:00 – 11:00 p.m.

* Registration for these events are required. Low registration may cause programs to be canceled.
* $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
* To Register By Email: info@baltimorewoods.org
* To Register By Phone: (315) 673-1350
* facebook | meetup.com

Summer skies at their finest, with the many rich star clusters and nebulae visible in the direction of the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars will be visible.

July 29/30 – Bob Piekiel @ Green Lakes, 8:00 – 10:30 p.m.

* Free and open to the public
* facebook | meetup.com

The summer skies are at their finest, when we can look directly into the center of the Milky Way galaxy, and see it’s many rich star clusters and nebulae. The Delta Aquarids meteor shower peaks that night, and Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars will be visible. We might even get a peek at Mercury.

August 12/13 – Bob Piekiel @ Baltimore Woods, 8:30 – 11:00 p.m.

* Registration for these events are required. Low registration may cause programs to be canceled.
* $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
* To Register By Email: info@baltimorewoods.org
* To Register By Phone: (315) 673-1350
* facebook | meetup.com

The annual persied meteor shower, one of the year’s finest. Bring a blanket or lawn chair to recline on while not looking through a telescope. Great views of the summer Milky way, with the planets Mars Jupiter, Venus and Saturn visible.

August 13/14 – Bob Piekiel @ Clark Reservation, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

* Free and open to the public
* facebook | meetup.com

Solar program! Using special telescopes, come and see solar flares, prominences, sunspots, and magnetic storms on our nearest star, the Sun!

August 26/27 – Bob Piekiel @ Green Lakes, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

* Free and open to the public
* facebook | meetup.com

Summer skies again, Plus a stunning conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the west on those nights, and Mars and Saturn also.

August 27/28 – Bob Piekiel @ Baltimore Woods, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

* Registration for these events are required. Low registration may cause programs to be canceled.
* $5 for members, $15/family; $8 for nonmembers, $25/family.
* To Register By Email: info@baltimorewoods.org
* To Register By Phone: (315) 673-1350
* facebook | meetup.com

SOLAR VIEWING PROGRAM. Using special telescopes, come and see solar flares, prominences, sunspots, and magnetic storms on our nearest star, the sun!

Posted in: Public Observing - Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Very Full August For Observing In CNY – Events List And Links To Facebook/Meetup Calendars

Posted on August 2, 2015 8:23 pm - - 2 Comments

NOTE: As Always, check back here on the afternoons of each observing session for final announcements and/or weather-calls!

Greetings fellow astrophiles!

This post is one part bulk announcement and one part organizational test. August is full of scheduled observing sessions in the area just before everyone’s summer shifts back into school mode and we start back into doing more lectures. In order to let social media do some of the promotion work for us, we’re cramming all of the sessions into our Facebook Group Calendar and Meetup.com Events Listing.

This month is dominated (by the outdoorsy type, anyway) by the annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaking on August 12/13. Those big on “super-things” will be made aware by news agencies of the August 29th Full Sturgeon SuperMoon – which to me sounds like a jam band (the Sturgeon Moon is actually derived from many of the NY tribes who fished the Great Lakes – noting that this time of year (marked by the full Moon around towards the end of Summer) was prime for sturgeon fishing).

Venus and Jupiter set earlier and earlier each day, but we do gain Mercury in the same location. Expect a few pics trying to capture all three to appear on your Facebook feed. The night belongs to Saturn this summer and fall, with observers able to look in the direction of Pluto (and those with really big mirrors (I mean in the +25″ range) may even be able to see it. In fact, it’s right between the easily-findable stars Xi1 (5th mag) and Xi2 (3.5 mag) Sagittarii), see Ceres soon after, and, if they wait until after 11 or so, even scout out Neptune.

The Events List is summarized below, with links to our Facebook (FB) and Meetup (MU) calendars, as well as to the locations themselves and any additionally relevant information. AS ALWAYS – nearly all of these events are weather-pending, with an alternate scheduled for either the next day or, for Clark Reservation, the next week.

Feel free to RSVP by either/both of the links (including those listed for each event by the hosts) – and note some potential overlap on the 13th!

1. (FB/MU) August 8(Sat), 9 p.m. – ??? * Friends Of Rogers in Sherburne, NY

One of the few CNYO sessions ever beyond Onondaga and Oswego County, some of us will be taking our scopes on a short excursion down to Sherburne, hopefully to (1) take in a little more of the Southern Sky than we have previously, (2) catch some early shooters from the Perseid Meteor Shower and (3) introduce some Sherburne residents to some prime late-Summer observing. This event is a bit of a drive (about an hour) and, if interested, some of us may be able to arrange car pooling (depending on the sizes of the scopes being brought down).

2. (FB/MU) August 11 (Tue), 6 – 8 p.m. * Marcellus Free Library

Marcellus Free Library is hosting a How-To Fair this evening. Like the same session we ran a solar session at for Liverpool Public Library, this event will host several local organizations showing how to do any of a number of activities. To this session, Bob Piekiel will be hosting a Solar Viewing Session (weather-permitting). I’ve still several pairs of solar glasses available from our International SUNDay attempt that I’ll be giving away to attendees.

3. (FB/MU) August 12(Wed)/13(Thu), 9 – 11 (or later) p.m. * Baltimore Woods Nature Center

NOTE: BW charges a fee to all events to help support the maintenance of and other programs at its Nature Center ($6 for BW members, $9 for nonmembers). They also request that you RSVP with them so that they can keep a head-count of how well-attended their activities are (but Bob will also keep track of registered and last-minute attendees). Registration info is available at:

events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ear3qbwsa598223a&llr=zznsoncab

Bob Piekiel will be opening the gate this evening in hopes of a busy and early Perseid Meteor Shower session. We’ve had some excellent past sessions from the parking lot and front clearing of BW and hope for similar this year. Bring a blanket, reclining outdoor chair, and plenty of bug spray.

4. (FB/MU) August 13(Thu)/20(Thu), 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. * Beaver Lake Nature Center

CNYO returns for its twice-yearly observing session at Beaver Lake Nature Center, which is free with your general Beaver Lake admission fee. Beaver Lake requests prior registration so they can keep tabs on attendees (and event interest). Registration info is available at:

events.onondagacountyparks.com/view/160/stargazing-with-the-cny-observers

5. (FB/MU) August 14(Fri)/15(Sat), 8 – 10:30 p.m. * Green Lakes State Park

Bob Piekiel and I return to Green Lakes State Park for a second S’mores & Stars session (S’mores start at 7:00, observing after 8:30). Additional info is available on the Green Lakes Calendar at:

nysparks.com/events/event.aspx?e=76-13818.0

6. (FB/MU) August 15(Sat)/16(Sun), 1 – 3 p.m. * Baltimore Woods Nature Center

NOTE: BW charges a fee to all events to help support the maintenance of and other programs at its Nature Center ($6 for BW members, $9 for nonmembers). They also request that you RSVP with them so that they can keep a head-count of how well-attended their activities are (but Bob will also keep track of registered and last-minute attendees). Additional info is available at:

baltimorewoods.org/programs/website-calendar/

7. (FB/MU) August 21(Fri)/22(Sat), 8 – 10 p.m. * Clark Reservation State Park

Bob Piekiel returns to the Syracuse outskirts for a nighttime session in Jamesville. This is an excellent starter session for new observers, as the city lights simplify the sky considerably by washing out many of the faintest stars (excellent for those wanting to learn the constellations).

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CNYO Observing Log: Clark Reservation And Baltimore Woods, 18 July 2015

Posted on August 2, 2015 12:19 pm - - Leave a Comment

Greetings fellow astrophiles!

Bob Piekiel and I have continued to make the most of the Summer for hosting observing sessions. While the Sun is good anytime, the Summer Nighttime Sky certainly makes for a worthy complement to our Winter sessions. Instead of crisp, clear (and cold!) conditions and close-ups of some of the most impressive objects in the Nighttime Sky (everything in Orion alone is worth dressing up for), we trade boots for sandals (or less), slap on the bug spray, and scour into the heart of the Milky Way for a host of fine objects to our zenith and points south. As Summer weather is also easier to brave for most, we enjoy larger turnouts and introducing others to the greater outdoors.

Clark Reservation, 18 July 2015, 1 to 3 p.m.

sunspots_1024_20150718

The Sun from Saturday, 18 July 2015 (from NASA/SOHO)

While the Sun is always busy, those phenomena which causes us to spend beaucoup bucks on equipment were in short supply on the surface that afternoon, with tiny-ish sunspot 2386 the only significant feature to scout around. The presence of Bob’s Coronado H-alpha, He, and CaK scopes did noticeably open up the feature window for some of the more subtle objects.

2015august2_solar_group_IMG_8230

Bob and attendees at along his observing array.

The whole session ran a hot two hours. About 15 people made rounds to the scopes, with a few people making second rounds (some to see again, others returning after some of the clouds had moved on for their first viewing). As a true testament to Syracuse weather conditions, we went from blue sky to heavy cloud cover to a quick sprinkle and back to blue sky in a 10 minute window at 2:30.

Baltimore Woods, 18 July 2015, 9 to 11:30 p.m.

Unfavorable conditions Friday night made for a Saturday observing double-feature. We had some hold-over from a Baltimore Woods concert (featuring Joanne Perry and the Unstoppables) that ended at 8:00 p.m. (while it was still far too bright to do any observing. Even the Moon was a tough catch) and a patient wait for, um, one person’s mirror to warm up after a heavily A/C’ed drive from downtown Syracuse.

2015august2_venus_moon_IMG_0036

Venus and the Moon caught just at the tree line. The elongated view of Venus is not an exposure artifact (1/200th second at that), but is because Venus was, at that time, a medium-thin crescent. Click for a larger view.

The evening turned out excellent for Public Viewing. Venus and the Moon (see above) were an early, close catch due to the high summer tree line (Jupiter was too far below the tree line by the time it was dark enough to be interesting in a scope, although Bob did get one quick view of it earlier after aligning his Celestron Nexstar), after which Saturn, Antares, and Arcturus were the next catches.

Despite a band of slow-moving clouds to the South early on that threatened quite a bit of celestial real estate, the skies cleared nicely for a full 2.5 hours of observing. With a healthy variety of kids and adults in attendance, there was as much discussion as their was observing. A few of the kids in attendance knew just enough to know what they wanted to see, making for a fun game of “stump the scope owner.” My observing list through my New Moon Telescope 12.5 Dob was as follows:

* Saturn – Several times for several waves of attendees, and the Summer and Fall’s highlight planet.

* Albireo in Cygnus – Part 1 of a “test your retinal cones” survey, with everyone able to get at least a little orange and a little blue out of this binary.

* Zubeneschamali in Libra – Part 2 of a “test your retinal cones” survey. Bob, er, found a way to get 100% agreement on the apparent green-ness of this star (a much better percentage than at our Green Lakes session), courtesy of a particular screw-on filter.

* Herschel’s Garnet Star in Cepheus – Part 3 of a “test your retinal cones” survey. The Garnet Star has become a favorite for 2015 viewers, as the dark amber/red color jumps out to everyone (no subtlety, or filters, to be found).

* Alcor and Mizar in Ursa Major – A binaried binary, with one binary itself binary of binaries. Not only do you get to stare at six gravitationally-bound stars, but you get to explain the differences between optical, true, and spectroscopic binaries with a single shining example.

* M57, The Ring Nebula in Lyra – Old amateur astronomers pride themselves in being able to discern all kinds of detail from dim, fuzzy objects. I tend to talk down the impressiveness of some objects to make sure new viewers spend a little extra time pulling detail out (we’re not Hubble, after all). Everyone present for the Ring saw the donut easily at low magnification and were happy to spend extra time giving another, even fainter look at high power (which made for a great part of the whole session in my book).

* M13, The Globular Cluster in Hercules – Second only to Saturn in “woah” moments, M13 never disappoints visually. After you add a little bit about its size and history, several people insisted on taking another, more informed look at it.

* M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici (but just-just off the handle of the Big Dipper in Ursa Major) – Just off the last handle star of the Big Dipper. I had one request to see something outside of the Milky Way. With the Andromeda Galaxy in the direction of Marcellus and Syracuse (and the night already getting long for many of the kids in attendance), I tested some eyesights (and imagination) on this faint pair of galactic cores in collision.

* To that list we added one decent shooting star, just enough of the 300 billion other stars in the Milky Way to make out its cloudy band through Cygnus and down to Sagittarius, and one timed Iridium Flare (see below).

2015august2_iridium_IMG_0048

An 11:09 p.m. Iridium Flare caught below the bright star Arcturus (for the record, caught at its brighest first, so the satellite is going from the left to the right in the image). Click for a larger view.

August has rapidly become a busy month for observing, with several sessions planned around the Perseid Meteor Shower. Keep track of the website for whether/weather announcements. We hope you can join us!

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