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Happy New Year from Michigan!
I hope you all had a great holiday season. Santa brought me a solar filter for my 8" dob, which I got a chance to look through yesterday. I didn't see anything but black, and then my wife told me that the instructions that came with the filter said I had to look through the scope during the day, not at night ::). Cool sunspots, and clouds blowing by! Then the cloud cover completely took over :'(
Haven't been out at night for several weeks, as the lake affect keeps us cloudy on most nights during the early/mid winter months. Well, just wanted to say hello and wish you all a peaceful and starry 2015!
Bernie EngelsTo all those that I have had the privilege of stargazing with, I regret to inform you that I will be moving back to Holland, Michigan on the 3rd of September :'(
My family and I have enjoyed living back here in my home state, but my wife has been utterly miserable working at Mayo (I prefer to call them the borg collective), and I have been unable to find a full time job. My wife took a job with a hospital in Grand Rapids, MI,(her home state) and I hope to get my old job back at Holland Hospital. Our kids will be returning to the same school that they were in before we moved here in 2012, so not too much of an adjustment for them.
I was hoping to make it out to the Flatin Farm for the big bbque, but I will be up in the cities for a "farewell" bbque with my extended family.
My thanks to all of you that answered my countless questions as I embarked on this awesome hobby just 2 years ago, especially Jeff, Dean and Randy. It has truly been a pleasure
I will check in from time to time on this site and see how you are all fairing(a parting little clear sky pun :D).
I wish you many AGNFA!
Bernie
p.s. my new email address(as of 9/4) will be sbengels@frontier.netRandy, after hours of tech "help" from Google, Samsung, and Skysafari, let me confirm that it is VERY buggy. It simply will not work on my Samsung Tab4 tablet. I'm bummed because Google Skymap falls woefully short in comparison… 🙁
Thanks for the info, Randy! I will have a look at Skysafari.
Jeff, looks like we may have to wait a few nights to get a clear sky for ISS gazing…Can anyone recommend a good app for my Samsung tablet? I've been using Google sky map on my android phone, but would like something a bit more advanced for the larger screen.
Thanks in advance!I will be on vacation just south of Grand Rapids, MN with the family, but the scope is goin with (I may have to tie my wife to the roof rack if she protests). Hopefully I can find an open field within a mile or so of the cabin we are staying at…
Clear skies to all who find their way out this weekend 🙂Lastest satellite clip showing considerable clouds coming up from Iowa…
Not sure if, given the humidity right now, they will dissipate after the heating of the day is past.I sure would like to get out as well. I may have schedule conflicts, but not sure at this point. Weather forecast sounds pretty good…
My wife's mom will be in town from Michigan this weekend, so I will be lucky if I can get my scope out on the front steps tonight.
Like my mama always said, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what the cosmos will show you" (or something like that).Sorry I couldn't come out last night. How was EB? Who was there?
I stayed in my neighborhood, set up the scope in the park, and let the kids have a look at the planets. Not sure who got the biggest kick out of Saturn, the kids or their parents! Also, my wife and I saw the iridium flare at 8:52. Did anyone else see it? I couldn't believe we could make it out, being as light out as it was 😮
Jeff, I was able to find M81/82 and 104. Thanks for your "tutelage" last Sat.I met Jeff N. out at Keller WMA about 9p.m. (he was already asleep in his lounger). Beautiful evening with clear skies and light winds. The evening began with an impressive iridium flare which was -4 mag, but sure seemed brighter than that. It lasted a good 5 or 10 seconds.
As darkness fell, we proceeded to train our scopes on the planets. I was impressed with how good the "seeing" of Saturn was at 9:30, given its low angle on the horizon. The other planets were also quite nice to view.
Next, we checked out the Leo triplets(sounds like someone Fonzie dated from Happy Days :D) , M81,82, the Sombrero galaxy, and a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head…
We took little breaks here and there to discuss the local fauna that were quite vocal(barred owls, whippoorwills, coyote, and possibly Elvis), and also pondered the reason why the DNR had cut down most of the trees along the road, which now let in the passing headlights and the farmer's yard light from across the road.
Next we checked out of few globs, including M13, M92, and a 3rd that I can't recall. Finally, we turned our attention to the SE horizon, as the moon was due to arrive. It was quite striking as it rose behind a stand of large trees, which were just beginning to bud. We did notice, however, that the quality of the atmosphere had deteriorated, restricting the best viewing to binoculars or naked eye viewing.
It was a fairly brief but very enjoyable evening, and I hope for good weather next weekend to do it again 🙂Jeff: I am planning on heading out around 8 p.m. to set up a tarp(block the farmer's light). Don't know if it will help or not…
Anyone planning on stargazing this weekend?
I was thinking on going out to Keller for a few hours. Sat. looks to be the better night, with moon not up until 11:30…
