Observing log for Friday 20 July 2018

The clouds held off...at least for a little while!

Here's what we managed to sneak in:

• The Moon was delightful through the 14-inch, being just a day past first quarter.
• We also observed Jupiter and Saturn through both the 14-inch and 8-inch scopes.
• I think at least a few folks got to see Venus through the 8-inch before it was lost to clouds.
• The beautiful double star Albireo showed up nicely through both scopes. Even with the clouds, the difference in color between the two Albirio A and Albirio B was apparent.
• Deep sky objects were out of the question, but I did make an earnest attempt to show NGC 6826, "the blinking planetary" before we closed up. I thought I could (maybe) see it, but the clouds had taken over by then.

Once again, big thanks to Maryam and Iadviga their assistance with the event.

And of course, thanks to everyone for attending and asking such great questions! I absolutely loved the enthusiasm of the kids, and wow, I was super impressed with their astronomical knowledge. You all make doing these events such a pleasure! :)

Observing log for 30 June 2017

The towering cumulus clouds stayed southwest of Rockville and the sky cleared! Seeing wasn't great, but we did manage to observe the following objects:

• A first quarter Moon
• The planet Jupiter
• The planet Saturn
• The globular cluster M13, (the Hercules cluster)
• The planetary nebula M57 (the Ring Nebula) located in the constellation Lyra
• Another planetary nebula, NGC 6826 (the "blinking planetary") located in the constellation Cygnus
• The double star Albireo, also located in Cygnus

Overall, not a bad night. Thank you everyone for your patience with the weather and the fantastic questions. It's an honor to get to share the observatory and night sky with you.

What we saw Friday night / Leo constellation info

We had a beautiful clear sky for our first observatory night of the season. Here's what we observed:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Jupiter
• Waxing gibbous Moon
• Mizar (double star in Ursa Major)

Through the 8-inch scope

• M42 (Orion Nebula)
• Waxing gibbous Moon
• Jupiter

Binoculars

• Alcor and Mizar (double star in Ursa Major)
• M44 (Beehive cluster in Cancer)
• Waxing gibbous Moon

Jupiter is currently in the constellation Leo, the Lion. The information sheet on Leo from the observatory night can be accessed here.

Many thanks to Kim and Ryan for operating the 8-inch telescope and binoculars, respectively, and thanks also to the MC Stargazer club members. These events would not be possible without the time and talent of Montgomery College students.

The upcoming spring and summer events are full, but we've added a wait list to the Eventbrite ticket reservations. If you are on the wait list, you will be notified by email if a slot opens up.

Upcoming events, guest night recap, and some links

Yesterday evening was our last official observatory guest night of the season, but there are a couple of other upcoming events that we'll be participating in:

This coming Monday 19 October, we'll be hosting a satellite event for the 2015 White House Astronomy Night at the Montgomery College Planetarium on the Takoma Park / Silver Spring campus. Details are here. Dr. Harold Williams and I will be there with students from MC's Engineering and Science Adventure Club and the MC Stargazers.

On Saturday 14 November we will be bringing a couple of our telescopes to the Croydon Creek Nature Center for a star party. To register, go to events (menu on the right-hand side of the screen), and then scroll through the dates until you get to 14 November.

Here is a recap of what we observed last night:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Albireo (double star in Cygnus)
• M57 (planetary nebula in Lyra)
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)
• NCG 6826 (The "blinking planetary" in Cygnus)

Through the 8-inch scope

• Waxing crescent Moon
• M13 (Hercules globular cluster)
• Epsilon Lyrae (a multiple star system in Lyra)

Last night I recommended several astronomical links to different folks. First, here's the link to the planetarium software package Stellarium. Stellarium is free and operates on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I've used it on all three platforms without issue. There is a mobile version ($2.49, last time I checked) as well.

I also use the website Heavens Above for astronomical and satellite data.

Finally, the US Naval Observatory's Data Services page is a fantastic resource and one I use frequently.

A clear evening for this past observatory night

It's been awhile, but we had clear skies this past Friday. We observed the following objects:

Through the 14-inch scope

• Albireo (double star in Cygnus)
• M13 (Hercules globular cluster)
• M57 (planetary nebula in Lyra)
• M31 (Andromeda Galaxy)

Through the 8-inch scope

• Saturn
• Waxing crescent Moon

Binoculars

• Waxing crescent Moon
• Brocchi's Cluster
• Antares (taking note of the twinkling from atmospheric turbulence)

Many thanks to Kim and Ryan for operating the 8-inch telescope and binoculars, respectively, and thanks also to the MC Stargazer club members. These events would not be possible without the time and talent of Montgomery College students.

The next two events are full, but we've added a wait list to the Eventbrite ticket reservations. If you are on the wait list, you will be notified by email if a slot opens up.

The MC Stargazer's club is planning to do some daytime solar observing events on the Rockville campus this coming October. I will post information when we have the details.