| EVENTS 1. Total Lunar Eclipse, 12/9/92, 5 P.M.. Saw with Bill Harry in Moorestown, N. J.. See enclosed photos taken through Bills' 5 in. refractor. 2. Saw the planets Venus and Saturn in the same field of view. Saw from home in Willingboro, N.J., at 6 P.M., on 12/21/92. 3. Witnessed for the first time, "Sun dogs", and a "Solar halo". Saw on 2/9/93 at the job in Moorestown, N.J., at 12 noon. 4. Experienced an earth quake at 4:30 P.M., on 2/26/93. Was at home in Willingboro, N.J. in my studio. Wasn't very strong, but very noticeble. 5. "PERSEID METEOR SHOWER", 8/11/93, from my backyard in Willingboro, N.J.. Saw 12 meterors from 8:50 P.M., to 10:16 P.M.. Some were very brilliant. 6. First time seeing the "STRAIGHT WALL" on the Moon. Saw from home in Willingboro, N.J., on 10/24/93. Known as "RUPES RECTA". Saw at 8 P.M. with my 10 inch reflector. 7. First time seeing a Lunar halo on 10/29/93. Saw in Willingboro, N.J. at 11 P.M.. Halo measured 20 degrees and showed very strong colors. 8. "NOVA CASSIOPEIAE 1993", 12/30/93, 6 P.M.. Discovered by Kazuyoshi Kanatsu on 12/7/93. 23 hrs., 42 min., +57.5 degrees. Seen from home. 9. First time seeing "MESSIER" and "MESSIER A", on the "MOON", on 3/22/94, through my 10 inch reflector. Located in "MARE FUCUNDITATIS". "MESSIER" is 8.5 miles long and 5.5 miles wide and 7000 feet deep. Shows long ray lines from crater. 10. "ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE", 5/10/94, seen from my house in Willingboro, N.J.. It was cloudy, but I was able to see with no problem. Used my 2.4 inch refractor to project the suns image and a No.14 welders glass to observe the sun directly. See enclosed photos and drawings of my observations. 11. On 5/14/94, I watched "JUPITER" occult its moon "GANYMEDE". Time was from 10:30 P.M. on the 14th to 12:25 A.M. on the 15th. 12. On 7/20/94, I saw the results of "COMET SHOEMAKER-LEVY 9"s impact on the planet Jupiter. I was using a 14 inch reflector belonging to the Willingboro Astronomy Club. I went with Bill Harry. Observing time was from 8 P.M. to 10 P.M.. I saw belts from the very top to the very bottom of the planet. The planet took on color after observing for a minute or so. Northern belt was rust color, bottom belts were light red and the top of the planet was pink. I also saw the "RED SPOT", and it was also pink. The impact sites were large black balls and was very easy to see the rotation of the planet by opserving the impact sites and how they moved. See enclosed illustrations of my observations. 13. On 7/23/94, Willingboro, N.J., I observed Jupiters impact sites again with my 10 inch reflector. Black cloud balls were still easily visible. 14. Today, 12/29/94, I found the planet "VENUS" in Willingboro at 11:10 A.M. Also, The planet was very bright and easy to see. 15. 1/27/95, from my house at 6:30A.M., I saw the "Appulse" of the Moon and the planet "Venus". The amount of seperation from my location was less than 1 degree. See the January 1995 issue of "Astronomy" magazine. It was also joined by the planet "Jupiter" which was to the upper right around the 2 o"clock position. 16. 5/24/95, 4:45 A.M., from Willingboro, I saw Saturn with its rings edge on. Because of the positions of Earth, Saturn and the Sun, the rings are not visible. 17. Today, 6/28/95, I saw a "Solar Halo" at 12:30P.M. at the ship in Moorestown. Colors were decent and were strongest at the 7 o'clock position. 18. 6/28/95, from my house I saw Jupiter eclipse its moon Europa. The time was 09:35 P.M.. I stayed out for 2 hours and Europa had not come from behind the planet yet. 19. On this day, 7/18/95, at 10:35 P.M., I completed my M objects by finding M102, also listed as NGC5866. Most books have M102 as a repeat of M101. The "Observer's Sky Atlas" by E. Karkoschka and also a list taken from the March 1994 "Astronomy" magazine that list M102 and NGC5866 as the same object. Thus, I did not consider my Messier list completed until the object NGC5866 was found. MY MESSIER LIST IS NOW COMPLETE., 20. 10/15/95, On route 95 in the western part of North Carolina, on my way to Atlanta for fiber optics school, I saw the most southern celestial object so far in my career as amature astronomer. I saw the star "Canapus", in the constellation "CARINA". Known as "alpha" the star is Mag.-0.72 and is 150 light years away. Canapus is the second brightest star in our heavens and is in the southern hemisphere. 21. 11/22/95, I have been observing the planets, "JUPITER", "MARS", and "VENUS" for about a week now. I have for two nights seen all three planets in the same binoc. view. "JUPITER" to the right with "VENUS" and "MARS" to the left with "MARS" on the outside. Tonight, at 6:00 o'clock I saw "VENUS" and "MARS" half the distance of the full moon apart, which is 15 minutes. 22. 11/25/95, Tonight Bill Harry debuted his DS-16 telescope. The scope has really great images. We looked at the "Orion Nebula", and it was the best I have ever seen it through a telescope up to now. 23. 12/06/95, 9:15PM. The Moon displayed one of its' better halos. This one was 4 fists, at arms length long. I could see colors, with the red on the inside of the halo and blue on the outside. The halo was egg shaped with the narrow end on the bottom. 24. 12/21/95, Tonight I saw "NOVA CASSIOPEIA 1995". Located 1 hour 5 minutes 5 seconds and +54 degrees 7 minutes. This is the second Nova I have seen in "CASSIOPEIA". 25. 12/27/95, This morning at 6:15A.M. I could see the shape of the earth by seeing the shadow it cast because the sun was rising. The sun was below the earth but light from it could still be seen. It was a soft blue against the black sky. It wasfairly easy to see. It went from "DRACO" in the North East to "LIBRA" in the South East. 26. 4/3/96, Total lunar eclipse. The moon rose while in totality. Totality ended at 7:50 P.M., when the first light became visible again. This and just before totality are the two most enjoyable parts of the eclipse to me. The eclipse was over at 9:10P.M., when the moon became full again. The night was clear, there were a few clouds now and then, but nothing to ruin the night. Shadow lines were clear and crisp and the contrast of light to dark was excellent also. This eclipse was definitely worth watching. 27. Had a great morning. Found comet Tabur at 5:20 A.M. in "Ursa Major" With binocs. I also saw Venus and Mercury. 28. 11/1/96, Session at Norms. Saw M33 both in binocs and in my 10 in.. This was the first time I seen M33 in a telescope. 29. "ANNULAR SOLAR ECLISPE", 2/26/98, Saw from Moorestown N.J., at my job. Was not that spectacular, but was a elcipse all the same. Moon covered the sun from 5 o'clock position to the 9 o'clock position and covered the lower part of the sun. Eclipse was really a total in other parts of the world, but you know me, I am always happy to witness anything pertaining to this field. It has been a while since I have had something to put into my log. But, this is to be one of the best entries I have entered so far. July 23, 24, 25, 1998, Stellafane star convention, Springfield, Vermont. This is my second trip, but the convention in 1997 was washed out with clouds. this year the skies were like the ones you read about. I could see things naked eye that I need a telescope to see here at home. I saw the North American Nebula, M81 and 82, M4, M13 all naked eye and with ease. The Milky Way was something to behold. I have never seen anything like the sky there this year in my life. Working with Lane Davis, a gentleman belonging to the Willingboro Astronomy Club, I have 18 entries to put into my log. We used his 5 inch Meade Refractor and went through the sky seeing things I know I would have real trouble seeing at home, if at all. I saw for the first time, what they call an Iridium Flare. A satallite that flares up and just disapears. Bill Harry and I stayed at his ski clubs' cabin about 37 miles from Springfied. Near Mount Snow, the sky there was even darker than Springfields. I had a relly great time and can't wait until next years. Bill might go overseas for a total solar eclipse next year and might not make it, so I may have to go by myself. One thing is for sure, I'm going. Thanks to the help from Lane Davis and the companionship from Bill Harry, and Breeze Hills' skies this trip was an astronomers wish come true. Let us hope next years convention is as good. 31. Saw Iridium Flare #26, 11:02PM, Intensity -1 mag. Came from the west below Bootees. Saw on Breeze Hill in Springfield Vt. This was my very first Iridium Flare. 32. Tracked Mir twice from Breeze Hill, Vt., 9:45PM and 11:21PM, very large there. Even the stars are large on Breeze Hill. 33. 07/30/99. Went to the Stellafane convention in Vermont by myself this year.Bill went to France to see the total eclipse of the sun. Stellafane was a total wash this year. It rained or was cloudy Friday and Saturday. I left at 6:00 on Saturday and was really ready to do so. It stormed and lightning so bad on Friday night I thought the van was going to slide down the mountain. Better Luck next year I hope. A weekend like the one in 98 would be a blessing. 34. 11/18/01. Saw the Leonid Meteor Shower. Seen at Bradly Beach in Neptune, N.J.. From 4:10 A.M. to 5:48 A.M. I saw a total of 432 Meteors. Shower was fantastic. The first true meteor shower I have seen so far. Some were very bright and long. They left smoke trail that lasted over 5 minutes. Most came from Leo, but plenty were coming from every direction. Very, Very enjoyable. 35. 12/28/01. 4:02 A.M. Saw the occultation of Saturn by a Cresent Moon. Saturn was occultated by the dark part of the Moon. My first occulation of a Planet by the Moon. All my previous attempts were weathered out. 36. 11/19/02. Leonid Meteor Shower. Was out from 4 to 5 AM with my daughater devon. Devon saw 31 meteors and I saw 30. We saw 2 very nice bolids that left beautiful color smoketrails. We saw 3 "pops", meteors that come straight at you. These types have one bright flash and go out. Kind of like a blinking light that only blinks once. There was a full moon and lots of thin haze and some stringy clouds. A passenger plane left a sky long contrail that the moon lite up and believe it or not, was pretty cool to see in the sky. This was the last good opportunity for around 30+ years so I don't thnk I will see the next great shower, but I did see the one in 2001 and Devon should be well educated in Astronomy so she will get to enjoy the next great one. It was a joy watching her pointing them out and saying "there goes another one Daddy". 37. April 19, 2003. Watched the Transit of IO on Jupiter. First time out with my new 6 inch Meade LXD-55 refractor. Was easy to see in this scope. Also saw the Transit through a 18 inch reflector, and Jimmy Macks' new 12 Meade Smidt. This took place at Bastow, New Jersey, with the Willingboro Astronomical Society. 38. 10/27/2004 Total Lunar Eclipse. Seen from my home in Neptune, New Jersey. Very clear and cold, but excellent experience. 39. 11/9/04, Watched the Moon Occult Jupiter. First touch was at 11:07 AM. Was very easy to see during the daylight. Used 10 X 50 Binoculars. Seen on the Job in Moorestown, New Jersey. Seen Jupiter come from behind the Moon at 12:12 PM. Seen with Jimmy Mack, Norm Harbison. 40. 01/06/2006, 4:00 AM. Looked at Saturn in Cancer. Just above Delta Cancer. Binocular view shows Saturn just to the left of the Beehive Cluster. In my 12 inch, F5 Dob, I see Beehive stars that the binoculars don't see. And, they are in the same field of view as Saturn. With a 13mm Nagler with a 82 degree field of view, the edge of the Beehive was very close to Saturn. It was difficult to tell which were faint stars and which were some of the moons of Saturn. I used my 32mm, 2 inch widefield and the view was amazing. With power the Cassini division was very easy to see. 41. 1/25/2006, Saw the Moon 0.02 degrees from Antares in SCORPIOUS. Was a very pretty view with Jupiter to the upper right and Venus rising to the lower left. 42. 8/11/12/13/2007. PERSEID METEOR SHOWER. I went out on the morning of 8/11 from 3:30 AM to 5:00 AM and only saw 2 meteors. The peak was to be on the 12th so I wasn't upset at only seeing 2. I went out 11:30 PM on Saturday night, until 3 PM Sunday morning. This was to be the peak date. The morning of the 12th. I saw a total of 10 meteors. Dennis Holland, my neighbor who travels we me to observe the stars, sat with me in my back yard in Neptune, New Jersey and did a little better than me. He saw 14. Dennis and I went out again on Monday morning just a little after midnight. I think they were a day off on that peak date, because this moning was very good. I saw a total of 24 meteors. Dennis saw 28. Beat out in total again. The meteors were for the most part excellent, with a few that were extreemly bright and left a visible gray straight tail that went away almost as fast as the Meteor did. All in all, it was a great shower. I saw a total of 36 meteors for the weekend. Dennis saw 42. 43. 02/20/2008 Total Lunar Eclipse. Moon was in Leo. Saturn was very close by. It was very cold, clear and enjoyable. RETURN TO ASTRONOMY LOGS |