Observing tonight?

[ellenvega]

Friday night looks good weather-wise, and Eagle Bluff may potentially be open.  Dean will know for sure tomorrow.

[bdavidson]

Same question. Wouldn't mind going out tomorrow evening.

[ellenvega]

Dean says Eagle Bluff will be AVAILABLE tonight with parking lot lights off.  He plans on being there. Skies look to be good!

[darkskyjim]

is it open tomorrow night? i get up weekdays at 5:30am
jim

[ellenvega]

Not sure. Dean's plans have changed. He's not going out tonight.

[Q]

I plan on just setting up out here near the lake tonight then decide tomorrow about EB.  You're welcome to come out here if you'd like.  Attached directions if interested.

[bdavidson]

Just wondering if anyone will be out at EB?

[fealeybob14]

NEW SUNSPOT GROUP!
The sun has been quite quiet these days.  But today I noticed a small sunspot group rotating into view as shown below.  The SOHO imaging link https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/realtime-update.html is a nice way to check on the daily changes on the sun.
Edit: Photo file reduced in size to better  view.

[fealeybob14]

Hi Bill !
The quote attributed to Blake got my attention.  As a Door's fan I was familiar with the quote and that it was attributed to Jim Morrison.   This link http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/11/17/rock-doors-between/ suggests it should be attributed to Ray Manzarek an erudite member of the Doors!

[Mike C:\]

So I decided to try my hand lunar imaging last night just to see how things turn out. With some adjusting, I think they came out pretty decent.
I used my 80mm and my 8 inch OTAs along with my Canon 70D.
Enjoy.

[fealeybob14]

Hey Mike; did you use a moon filter, or was the atmospheric haze (from the Canadian fires ?) enough of a bright light filter?  Last night I could barely make out Saturn and Polaris due to the haze.

[Mike C:\]

Yeah, I couldn't get the focus I was hoping for. (I was mostly paying with my guide camera that night.)
I did play with my moon, polar, and UHC filters, but these photos are filter free. I forgot to mention I did play with some exposure and contrast settings in Photoshop.

[Mike C:\]

I did a little work on the patio last night and tried to get some images of NGC-6992 with my UHC/LPR filter. Still learning how to use filters. Got a few photos in before the clouds rolled in.
Enjoy.

[drneilmb]

Friday's weather forecast looks good in Decorah and Rochester. If there will be people at Eagle Bluff, I'd love to drive up and share time looking at the skies with other people. Does anyone think they'll be observing this weekend?

[Mr.Gorp]

If the weather holds, we'll have the 2017 StarBQ, just south of Spring Grove. Expect more updates on Wednesday/Thursday.