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I think I made a mistake reading people's observations of mars on Cloudy Nights. There were two objects that people reported being able to see visually in 8" to 10" scopes: "Olympus Mons" and the "Tharsis Montes" 3 Volcano Grouping. Most of the time it seems they were just seeing clouds above those objects. My question for the group: Has anyone ever seen any detail on mars visually other than the ice cap and albedo regions. I don't expect I ever will but it would be interesting to know if it was really possible. - Jonathan
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Lowers Nebula
7
Last night was a perfect night for imaging. Cool temps, good transparency and seeing. Here is a few hours on a less well known nebula - Sh2-261 Lowers Nebula. I haven't photographed this in quite a few years. Cheers Ian Lowers Nebula
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January BBAA Meeting Location Change
Since TCC is closed for the holidays, our BBAA meeting this Thursday, January 2, 2025 will be held at the Kempsville Recreation Center on Monmouth Drive in Virginia Beach, 7:30 - 9:00 pm. I don't know if it will be possible to record this meeting or have it on ZOOM, so you may want to plan to be present at the rec center. George George Reynolds "Solar System Ambassador" for South Hampton Roads, Virginia Back Bay Amateur Astronomers (BBAA) http://www.backbayastro.org
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YRSP Tonight 28 Dec: No-go
Tonight is a No-go ... but [don't forget] there's always next Saturday Night for our January Obs night. Happy New Year, Troy
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Saturday 28 December AND Saturday 04 January: YRSP observing night
Our monthly scheduled observing session at York River State Park is this Saturday Night, 28 December ¨C and in fact we¡¯ll have our January observing session on the following Saturday ¨C 04 January so please keep both dates in mind. Also, please ensure you read the ¡°New Note¡± (5 paragraphs below this one). Calendar Note: if there is another event on the VPAS or Back Bay calendars, this is an additional event and it does not supersede nor replace any other event. Address: 9801 York River Park Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188 Park Phone: 757-566-3036 Lat: 37.414639 Long: -76.713562 GPS Coordinates: 37¡ã 24' 52.7004'' N 76¡ã 42' 48.8232'' W The public is invited & this event is posted on the YRSP Website calendar. We ask that members of the public who are attending to please park in designated visitor parking & walk to the site so there is enough space for the amateur astronomers to transport & park next to their gear on the observing field. After outreach, the amateur astronomers take over and we have YRSP to ourselves as long as we wish to observe. Using my SQM-L, the sky at YRSP is as dark as it can get in this area. New Note ¨C please read: This month will bring a couple of small changes to the normal protocol. The first obvious change is that I¡¯ve been told a Ranger will be on-hand during every outreach period. Another change is I will no longer ¡®hold¡¯ the padlock ¡ the gate will be dummy-locked by the departing duty Ranger so if anyone leaves early, you¡¯ll have to open the gate, (re)close it and (re)dummy-lock it (just please do not lock the rest of us in). Observing Site: After entering the park (the entrance fee is waived for amateur astronomers), the participating amateur astronomers should drive to & enter the ¡®right¡¯ parking lot. At the back/riverside corner of the lot, take the ¡°No Admittance¡± gravel road/path (we are allowed to drive on it) to the observing site where you may park & unload. If you notice public outreach attendees driving to the observing site, please help me police the area by re-directing them to the visitor parking lots. Due to the proximity of the river, be prepared to battle dew. Consider bringing a lightweight tarp to cover your eyepieces and other accessories on your observing table. Those who have scopes susceptible to dew, you will likely need a dew heater. We¡¯ll observe until we get tired. We¡¯ll start at sunset ¨C click here for YRSP sunset/sunrise times. Forecast Links: Astrospheric CSC NWS A Go/No Go will be posted on the VPAS & Back Bay Groups on Saturday AFTN NLT (no later than) 3:00 PM. Cheers. Troy
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Anyone else noticed that R Leporis is very faded this year
Hind's crimson star is definitely not so crimson this year. This is the most faded I have seen in a couple of decades. Just an uninspiring yellow.
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Mars addendum
3
For anyone who might be new to Mars I should clarify a few observations when talking about Mars. Experienced folks may ignore this if you have looked at Mars for some time. When I say I saw places like Hellas, Syrtis Major, or other places on Mars you can't expect to see things with the detail you can on the moon. On the moon you can see the actual structural features, much like a pen and ink drawing. Mars is quite different. What you see there are pastel shades of say an Impressionist painting (smeared by seeing). No hard lines and certainly no craters and such. It is just too small and far away. Astro photos can fool you when you observe visually. They show detail unobtainable to the human eye using amateur telescopes of moderate size. Mars maps by say NASA are not much help either. The trick is to find a map or image that shows the general location on the planet of some reflection (albedo) feature and what the colors look like at the eyepiece. Good examples are the poles that stand out easily because they are so reflective. But the Hellas Basin is also light colored, big, and located at what could easily be mistaken as a pole. So to observe Mars some homework is sort of required. In large part the game is to figure out "what am I seeing"? Seeing is really important here as it easily smears out subtle shadings. Filters are also required to make out the subtle shadings. Know what to expect prior to going to the eyepiece. Dress warm :) But that's what makes Mars observing fun. Don't get discouraged if you look and go "what is he talking about"? Mars is worth the effort when you do get the magic moment and you know what you are looking for. There was a long line of very talented observers, with very big telescopes, who spent their lives chasing this planet and still didn't get it right but they had a heck of a trip.
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Mars tonight
I am belt folded stapled and mutilated. 1145 at night and I just wrapped up a couple of hours with Mars. Started the night with a few doubles but had a tough time getting into a rhythm. Mars got high enough to start about 9 or 9:30. Seeing was quite variable. The clouds cleared out around 8:45. I used the 4 inch SV with various EPs. The best was the Takahashi TOE 3.3mm oddly. Normally I quit power at the 4mm Zeiss but I have found sometimes when seeing isn't the best, push harder. At least it will be big and when it does settle you will see the details easier. The TOE 3.3mm gave 239X. A 30A Magenta Vernonscope filter was used for the observation. I did try some of the old 0.956 Orthoscopic EPs with an adapter. They work quite well in the F/8 scope but I needed more power than my collection of Zeiss and Takahashi older orthos could muster. Excellent quality though. Would work well on Jupiter. The pole was quite visible with a dark band around it which is listed as Utopia. The Hellas basin showed well also surrounded by a dark area of Mare Tyrrhenum. Syrtis Major was rotating on to the face when I quit. This is the first time I've seen Syrtis Major this year. The disc is getting larger now and you can positively do good work. Tonight required a lot of patience as seeing was very on off. When it was good for moments you could use the higher powers to see the detail. One nice thing about the old F/17 scope is the generous focus window. The modern faster scopes have a much narrower focus range. You had to be on focus tonight to see the best detail in this poor seeing. That makes achieving focus a bit of a challenge. Anyways very acceptable night even if it wasn't great.
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Thursday night, December 19th was the final Christmas Star program at the Chesapeake Planetarium in Chesapeake VA. Although the forecast was for clouds, the sky cleared long enough for us to show people Jupiter through our Celestron C-14. Dr. Hitt came back upon request to run his very popular program, a program he has presented five decades.
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DSC and GoTo mount batteries
6
A number of people report built in batteries having issues. Funny, my Lumicon Sky Vector DSC (remember those?) controller from the 1990's used a standard 9v battery and was so very simple. It never failed me in 20 years. 9v batteries are inexpensive and, and at least for me, easily lasted two nights, even on the cold winter evenings. But I've moved on from that device. I currently use a Nexus II that links the encoders on my telescope(s) to my iPhone. It has a built-in rechargeable battery and is great. I'm just glad a bought a spare Nexus II because when the battery does run down it DIES, with no warning. I also have a SkyFi controller from Simulated Curriculum that I use with my 10" Orion IntelliScope. It allows me hop from celestial object to object using my iPhone, instead of relying on the somewhat awkward and outdated Orion Object Locator hand controller. The battery depletes all by itself, even when turned off. Roy D. can attest to that. His does the same. We complain but just think of the amazing things these devices do. When I think back of the days of using paper star charts, I thank my lucky ~stars~ we have what we do today. Kent
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FW: Our Favorite Astrophotography Refractor 43% Off & Selling Fast!
Good deal on a 5-Element APO for Astrophotographers! From: High Point Scientific <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 11:06 AM To: Abraham J Goldstein <jeffgold1@...> Subject: Our Favorite Astrophotography Refractor 43% Off & Selling Fast! Don't miss your chance to save up to 43% on this fantastic astrophotography refractor. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? View in Your Browser This Limited Time Deal Is Selling Fast Don't miss your chance to save up to 43% on our favorite astrophotography refractor, the Apertura 75Q, before it sells out! With no need to factor in a back focus configuration to achieve a flat field, this telescope makes astrophotography easier. Simply attach a camera, achieve focus, and you are ready to start imaging the night sky! Delivering a high-quality, easy-to-use experience, the Apertura 75Q is as close as it gets to a perfect astrophotography telescope. Now on sale for $999.95, this refractor is selling fast. Order your Apertura 75Q before it's too late! Telescope $999.95 Telescope & 0.75x Reducer $1,099.95 The Apertura 75Q Petzval Refractor Named Best Wide Field Refractor Of 2024 Watch The Full Video LET'S GET SOCIAL Take control and only receive the emails you want. Manage Preferences or Unsubscribe. High Point Scientific 442 Route 206 Montague, NJ 07827
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For all BBAA and VPA Club members: An early morning trek to Windsor, VA will result in a rare Lunar transit of the International Space Station. This will happen at exactly 4:57 AM through this location. If you're a very early bird, come to the Dairy Queen in Windsor to witness and photograph the transit of the ISS over the Moon. Let's hope the weather cooperates! Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Time: 4 a.m. - 5 a.m. Eastern Location: Dairy Queen Parking Lot (Windsor) 61 W Windsor Blvd Windsor, VA 23487 Please RSVP on Night Sky Network Jeff G
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Last Night
2
All setup for last night and then ... the mount gremlins got me. Cold must have killed the internal clock battery on the G11. Oh well. Last Night
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I¡¯m excited to share that I¡¯ve just received observatory code W45 from the Minor Planet Center (MPC) for my home observatory! To achieve this certification, I submitted ephemeris data for six asteroids and one Near-Earth Object (NEO) over two nights, totaling 42 observations. These observations had to demonstrate a consistency of less than one arcsecond from their known orbits. With this certification, I can now contribute observations on new and existing asteroids, NEOs, and comets to help refine their orbital elements. If anyone is interested in getting their observatory certified¡ªwhether stationary or mobile¡ªfeel free to reach out. I¡¯d be happy to share insights and guidance. Clear skies, Ben Loyola Dark skies for all -------------------- Mike Alexandersen commented: Thank you for your observatory request. Your observations look great. Your observing site has been assigned the observatory code W45. Congratulations! You can start submitting observations using the code immediately. Original Submission ---------------------- COD XXX CON B. Loyola OBS B. Loyola MEA B. Loyola COM Long. 283 56 17.8 E, Lat. 36 43 44.2 N, Alt. 11m, Google Earth COM ObsAddr=3261 Wilderness Ln Virginia Beach VA 23456 COM ObsName=Benito Loyola Observatory TEL 0.36-m f/7.3 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CMO NUM 42 ACK MPCReport file updated 2024.12.06 13:47:30 NET ATLAS2 AC2 benito@... D8499 KB2024 11 30.11522 02 53 18.97 +16 41 00.7 19.8 r XXX D8499 KB2024 11 30.12331 02 53 18.62 +16 40 58.7 19.7 r XXX D8499 KB2024 11 30.13137 02 53 18.27 +16 40 56.7 19.4 r XXX D8499 KB2024 12 06.22175 02 49 27.36 +16 15 51.9 19.6 r XXX D8499 KB2024 12 06.23293 02 49 26.98 +16 15 49.2 19.7 r XXX D8499 KB2024 12 06.24411 02 49 26.61 +16 15 46.5 20.0 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 04.18610 03 01 27.76 +19 08 50.2 14.8 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 04.19728 03 01 27.28 +19 08 47.4 14.8 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 04.20847 03 01 26.79 +19 08 44.6 14.6 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 05.10484 03 00 49.99 +19 05 03.8 14.8 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 05.11605 03 00 49.52 +19 05 01.0 14.7 r XXX 00395 KB2024 12 05.12725 03 00 49.04 +19 04 58.3 14.7 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 04.18610 03 01 23.58 +19 10 12.4 18.5 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 04.19728 03 01 23.12 +19 10 10.3 18.2 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 04.20847 03 01 22.62 +19 10 09.1 18.1 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 05.10484 03 00 46.00 +19 07 50.3 19.4 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 05.11605 03 00 45.56 +19 07 48.1 19.0 r XXX 38296 KB2024 12 05.12725 03 00 45.06 +19 07 46.7 18.7 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 05.03546 03 17 40.57 +23 54 27.8 15.2 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 05.04668 03 17 40.07 +23 54 25.5 15.1 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 05.05790 03 17 39.57 +23 54 23.0 15.0 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 06.10375 03 16 54.81 +23 50 31.2 15.2 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 06.11495 03 16 54.29 +23 50 28.7 15.2 r XXX 00465 KB2024 12 06.12615 03 16 53.77 +23 50 26.1 15.1 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 04.22089 03 01 35.85 +23 29 55.3 14.9 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 04.23208 03 01 35.42 +23 29 50.2 14.9 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 04.24329 03 01 34.99 +23 29 44.9 15.0 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 05.07030 03 01 06.94 +23 23 28.8 14.9 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 05.08148 03 01 06.53 +23 23 23.8 14.8 r XXX 02648 KB2024 12 05.09267 03 01 06.11 +23 23 18.8 14.7 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 05.07030 03 00 58.66 +23 25 16.6 17.8 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 05.08148 03 00 58.06 +23 25 15.6 17.8 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 05.09267 03 00 57.42 +23 25 14.9 17.7 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 06.18746 03 00 01.24 +23 23 39.8 17.7 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 06.19913 03 00 00.62 +23 23 38.7 17.7 r XXX 55999 KB2024 12 06.21031 03 00 00.05 +23 23 37.6 17.6 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 05.00097 03 10 05.40 +35 18 14.8 16.1 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 05.01216 03 10 02.82 +35 18 00.9 16.0 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 05.02336 03 10 00.24 +35 17 46.9 15.8 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 06.13774 03 05 47.24 +34 53 47.4 16.0 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 06.14894 03 05 44.68 +34 53 32.7 16.0 r XXX 03200 KB2024 12 06.16014 03 05 42.11 +34 53 17.9 16.0 r XXX ----- end -----
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Dr. Hitt and I would like to thank members of the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers and the Norfolk Astronomical Socieity for brighing their telescopes to the Chesapeake Planetarim in Chesapeake, VA. The planetarium re-opened temporarily this month for The Christmas Star program, a program Dr. Hitt had presented over 5 decades. As the crowd exited the planetarium they were treated to views of Saturn, Jupiter, a pretty double star and of course, the moon through various telescopes.
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BBAA Dues Renewal
This is a blast email going out to everyone. Many of you receiving this message have paid in advance and do not owe dues at this time. If you are not sure, you can check with me. Astrobuddies, BBAA membership dues run through the end of the year. Dues remain $23 per year and allows the club to function and support out events. Your dues pay for our PO box, insurance, website, permits, printing of astro handouts, our cook out, your AL membership dues, etc. Dues can be remitted via paypal. http://backbayastro.org/store.php Although Paypal is preferred, you can also sent them end through the mail. Backbay Amateur Astronomers PO Box 9877 Virginia Beach, VA 23450 Those who have not paid by Dec 31st will have a 1 month grace period before being purged from the Roster, Astronomical League, and Night Sky Network. During the grace period, I will send reminders specifically to the people who are delinquent to make sure everyone who wants to re-up has ample opportunity. Again, please direct any questions regarding dues to treasurer@... Clear Skies, Rich Roberts BBAA Treasurer
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NASA Night Sky Network
Several weeks ago, NASA Night Sky Network quit working. I seem to remember you had to change your Password, but not Username. I managed to do so, and it worked, but now all I get in Username or Password incorrect. So, I changed it again. I received a message from NASA stating my Password has been successfully changed. Upon signing in again, the message comes up, Username or Password incorrect. I give up. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know offline. Kent
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Addendum to red spot.
With altitude, the spot is a bit easier but still quite small. It is darker against the disc but the most interesting thing is how the SEB seems to effectively stop at the spot. Normally the NEB and the SEB are fairly continuous across the disc though perhaps a bit different shade usually. Nothing new there but when the spot is on the disc now it looks like you have a continuous NEB and only a half of the SEB. The SEB is still continuous on the opposite side of the planet but not the red spot side. Perhaps the SEB is the most interesting change this year. Dynamic place, Jupiter.
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Jupiter red spot
Just saw it as it comes on the face. A bit of a challenge. The trick to finding it is to look at the SEB. It seems to truncate and just stop. That is where the red spot is. The spot does not stick out easily against the disc of the planet at the moment. Oddly it is almost an averted eye feature if that has any applicability to planets. May not. Anyways seeing is fairly poor though not impossible tonight. I used a 56 and no filter alternatively . Not sure which is the right way. Sometimes the small dot can stick out but tonight, at least, it disappears most of the time. David or anyone any thoughts? It certainly is different from the past decade.
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I'm in Johannesburg, enroute to Botswana, where I hope to use my Seestar to photograph very dark Southern Hemisphere skies. Yesterday I was in Manhattan, where I saw some spectacular astronomy-related manuscripts and books. Well worth your time if you're in NYC. Somehow I didn't get a photo of the spectacular earky-medieval copy of Ptolomy, including a map with his use of what we call latitude lines. Here are three other of the books in the library's Treasury. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure under applicable law. Any use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of this e-mail or the information contained herein by anyone other than the intended recipient is prohibited and may be a violation of state and/or Federal privacy laws. If you have received this e-mail in error, please delete any copies of it from your computer.
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Image Name
Sat 8:39am
Sat 8:39am