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If the skies look good I might stop by after work tonight, which would be late: 11:30ish. The weather does look good for Sat. and Sunday nights, also. (if not better)
Yes, I'm watching that big bolus of rain now in SW Minnesota sliding this way…
I guess I'll decide if I'm making the treck down to EB after supper tonight.
Sunday may be a better fit. If folks are going tonight, I'm in, but the weather people are also talking about wind and high dew points until this front passes.
I'll probably make a decision around 8:30 p.m.
The Eagle Bluff CSC shows bad transparency and seeing from 10pm on tonight.
May not be getting any of the rain though.But I'm bowing out for tonight. Just not good enough.
However, I'm open to either Saturday or Sunday nights.I agree. The Twins game is in a rain delay, the skies are getting really high and hazy off to the west and even my trees in a well protected area of Spring Grove are blowing around like crazy. I am an NO-GO for tonight.
Tomorrow looks real good, but I have to tend bar at the Legion. No one else will do it and I bet it will be a very slow night.
Sunday still looks good with lower temps and better dew points. If anyone wants to go to Eagle Bluff then, I'm in. If not, I will be out at the Flatin Farm.
What a bummer for yesterday 🙁
Anyone up for Keller tonight (Saturday)? We talked with Jerome and are planning to be there after 10. It won't be a real late tonight, as we're planning on Eagle Bluff tomorrow.
The participating members of the RAC had an absolutely INCREDIBLE night at Eagle Bluff July 3/4!! Randy got there first, me second, the Mr. Gorp group of Chris, Julie, sons Adam and Joe next and Capt. Kirk at 1 a.m.
The summer sky was gorgeous! Excellent seeing and transparency, a little dew, but not bad. We saw Saturn with Titan, Rhea, Enceladus, Iapetus and Hyperion. Gamma Virginis was still barely visible in a low power FOV.
Antares and M4, M80, M51 and NGC 5195, those two fine double stars in eastern Lyra that Capt. Kirk and Ellenvega nailed, (Vega and Altair in Randy's scope were both blinding and beautiful), M5, M22, M24, Collinder 399 the Coathanger, M16, M8 the Lagoon and M20 the Trifid (best look I've EVER had of that!) Zeta Aquarius, Gamma Andromeda, Beta Andromeda and NGC 404, the Andromeda Galaxy, M27, M57, NGC 7331 and the Deerlick group of galaxies, M11 the Wild Duck cluster, a dozen (at least!) satellites, including 3 in two minutes, Jupiter rises at 2:03 a.m., lots of meteors, mostly faint, but one very nice mag. 2 through Draco and Ursa Minor at 3:01 a.m. and we finished the night with the Helix Nebula (NGC7293) and (durmroll, please……)
PLUTO at 3:30 a.m.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to Randy, another one off the astronomical bucket list!
What a night! A Glorious Night For Astronomy!
AGNFA indeed!
The following night we were treated to some amazing crepuscular rays over Lake Pepin just before the fireworks display began at Lake City.
I'm going out tonight.
Remember that tomorrow night we amateurs in central and western North America have a shot at seeing the Purbach's Cross feature on the Moon.
The night of July 6 did not work out for me. I had high thin clouds here and did not observe. I did sleep out on the deck and woke up on the deck to see stars at 2 p.m.
Tonight was a different story. I got out there at 8:30 and had 9 locals to see Purbach's Cross on the Moon. We had to battle partly cloudy skies, but good Lord, what a night! It was a night of laser pointing, astronomical story telling, looking through the telescope and lots of WOW's and thank you's. Mike Schmidt's relatives from Virginia have very rarely seen skies like this and tonight wasn't all that good!
Purbach's Cross was the best I've ever seen. (Not saying much since when I saw it in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the NCRAL 2009, I had more than a dozen astronomers crowd me out after I pointed it out to them.)
But Saturn stole the show, everybody loves Saturn, and as fleeting as Purbach's Cross is, too bad. The public liked it, but did not appreciate seeing it like I did. That just goes to show….GIVE THEM SATURN and they won't forget it.
One young lady from Virginia named Jess, was pretty sharp on astronomy. Her Dad has a decent scope and she has the potential to be a good amatuer. It was AGNFA!
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