Thought I would go a little of the beaten road tonight. Here are the moon rise and set times for the next week: 

This is the week I usually plan to get out to one of my dark sites once or twice, preferably twice. Well, here is the forecast for this same days near one of my favorite dark sites: 

I am hoping now to get out either next Friday night or Saturday night as the weather during the week is looking hard and it is Thanksgiving. Saturday is new moon so either would work. We'll see what the weather brings but I'll have to dress warm as the low around 15 is even colder out in the desert, probably down to between 5 degrees and 10 degrees.  The good news is I can get there by 4pm, set up, and observe from 6pm to 10pm and then pack up and head home. You have to love late fall and winter observing!!!! We'll see how the dirt roads hold up. 

This led me to thinking what do I do when the weather is cooperating with observing? What do I do on those cloud nights? Well, sometimes now, more often than note, I just enjoy my family. My grandkids live with me and I love spending time with them! I also still really love and like being with my wife of 36 1/2 years, so we hang out and do things together. 

In terms of astronomy, here is what I do.  First, I make sure my observing session is planned for my next dark sky trip(s). I know what I am going to view and I have made my observing list in Sky Tools 4. That reminds me I need to do a review of Sky Tools 4 soon! Look for that! I also tune up my telescopes to make sure they are performing optimally. I clean them up (not the mirrors, my mirrors are fine and I don't think they need to be cleaned often) by cleaning up the wood, polishing them up, and sanding and revarnishing if needed. 

Next I check the batteries in all my equipment with a battery component I have that tests how much juice is in them. I replace the ones that need to be replaced. I then move on to my eyepieces and check them and identify if I need to clean any of them. I also spend time on Starry Night 7 to just play around and see how my next observing session will go and make sure I write down any tricky star hops. Between Sky Tools 4 and Starry Night 7 pro I feel comfortable when my next session comes. 

Next, I move on to organizing my tools and what I take out into the field. I am getting to be a minimalist now. I take out only what I need for that session. Finally, if the weather is bad the entire new moon period, I spend time practicing my sketching, usually taking one object a night and practicing sketching it for about 30 minutes using The STScI Digitized Sky Survey images LINK as a reference. 

If I know I am going after faint objects, I spend time looking at what others have done in observing, those that I trust and make their information available. So for me, a cloudy week at new moon may disappoint me, but I have many other things I do. I also do watercolors and pastel painting so if I feel I need a release, I may just work on an art piece during this time also. I adjust as circumstances arise. What do you do during those cloudy nights? Feel free to leave a comment if you wish. 

 

Light Options for Observing

 I've posted on this way back in 2014 LINK. However, I thought I would update my recommendations on red lights to use while observing. 

1. Photon Freedom Micro

My first choice is the Photon Freedom Micro LED keychain flashlight, Black w/ Covert LINK. I own 8 of these, 4 in red light, 2 in green and 2 in orange. They have never failed me in the field and I find the adjustable light perfect for helping me keep my night vision in tack. The one's I have own I have had for 10 years and yes, I have had to replace the batteries but that is all. Replacing the battery is tricky the first time but my backs have never fallen off after replacing them. I LOVE this item! 

2. Rigel Starlite Mini Compact Variable Brightness Red LED Astronomer's Flashlight

I own two of these and I like them a lot. I have modified them with a piece of red plastic put over the light to dim it just a little bit. The light is adjustable. The only compliant is the 9 volt battery is replaced by removing the front of the light and sometimes it doesn't want to fit on nicely.  I haven't had mine fall off as some have in the field, but I am careful when I change out the battery. 

3. Rigel Starlite Water-Resistant Variable Brightness Red LED Astronomer's Flashlight

I own one of these and I prefer this one over the Min Compact ones I have. Adjustable and the dimmest light allows you to see your charts without impacting your night vision. The brightest setting is two bright but good for take down after observing. However, I usually use a white light when I break down. 

4. BlackDiamond Spot 400 headlamp 

I still own 3 BlackDiamond Spot Headlamps that are 10 years old and still work outstanding! This is what they look like: 

I recently purchased an updated Spot 400 and like it ab out the same. 

The Spot 400 gives you the option for white light or red light. White LED outputs up to 400 lumens on max setting, 200 lumens on medium and 6 lumens on low. Red LED night vision has dimming and strobe modes, and is quickly activated without cycling through the white mode. All I have to do is hit the button and it changes over to red and stays on red until I hit the button and move it to white. It is a go to and you'll usually find it on my head or nearby.  

I haven't purchased update red lights for over 10 years now as mine are still going strong. I invested and my investment keeps on going (except for the Spot 400).  Having a good and dim red light is critical for sketching and for observing.  

Resources from the Night Sky Network

I want to take a minute and share some resources from NASA's Night Sky Network. There is a lot that is offered over there and here is a list of some of them. 

Presentations for Meetings, Class Visits and Cloudy Nights: LINK 

News and Resources: LINK 

Night Sky Planner for Today's Night: LINK 

Latest Articles: LINK 

Large Magellanic Cloud: Dwarf of the Milky Way or Survivor?

NASA on November 14th release this article on whether the Large Magellanic Cloud  is in orbit around the much larger Milky Way Galaxy or in actuality, is a survivor from a close encounter with the Milky Way. The article points out that the Large Magellanic Cloud has survived a passage near the Milky Way, which  has blown away most of the spherical halo of gas that surrounds the LMC. However, not all the gas has been torn away, there is enough that the LMC is still making new stars.  How do we know that? Because there are star forming regions still to be found in the LMC. A smaller galaxy would only have aging red stars left and in the LMC that is not the case. 

However, the LMC for its mass, is about 10 times smaller than other galaxies of the similar mass. This shows most of the gas in the LMC has been blown away by the encounter with the Milky Way.  The Milky Way in the article acts like a blow dryer, pushing a lot of the gas from the LMC out away from it and that gas will eventually come into the Milky Way. Fortunately for the LMC, not all of its halo will be lost so it will continue to make new stars as it moves away into deep space away from the Milky Way. 

This image from the article shows what is meant from the research down from using Hubble. 

I haven't done the article justice and invite you to click the link above and take 5 minutes to read the article. It is amazing to me how as we gather more knowledge about the universe around us, how our perception and paradigms and knowledge continue to grow and be expanded! 

Free Astronomy Textbooks

Well, I have a very old textbook on Astronomy. The problem is I can't find the box I stored it in. So before buying a new one, I decided since we live in the digital age to find out if there are free resources available. There are. Here are some that you may want to consider to further your own knowledge or to use as a reference.

1. Free Astronomy Books: LINK

2. American Astronomical Society Textbook Astronomy 101 published 2017 free downloand: 

Link 1 is to their website where they discuss the book LINK 2 is to where you download the book. 

3. Hubble has free downloadable ebooks at this LINK. They contain good basic info and stellar images that would be great for outreach! 

4. UC Berkeley free downloadable books LINK. The are: 

     Exoplanets editor Sara Seager 2011

      Planetary Sciences by Imke de Plater & Jack J. Lasseur

 5. Astronomy 2e Online Textbook LINK 

6. Astronomy for Mere Mortals LINK (PDF) 

I hope that may assist someone in furthering their knowledge of our solar system and universe! 

Globular Clusters in Messier 31: The Andromeda Galaxy

 So on my observing projects I have the following: 

1. Abell Planetary Nebula

2. Planetary Nebula by Season 

3. ARP Galaxies by Season 

4. Now I am going to add Globular Clusters in Messier 31: The Andromeda Galaxy. This is a late summer/fall observing project and may not get into full gear until next fall. 

I want to consolidate in one place some of the resources that are out there for observing Globular Clusters in Messier 31: The Andromeda Galaxy. Some of these references have links that are no longer valid as a FYI. Here we go. 

1. Adventures in Deep Space LINK  Globular Clusters in the Andromeda Galaxy.  The excel sheet is excellent here as is the LINK to the Atlas of the Andromeda Galaxy. 

2. Robert Glender's Gobular Star Clusters of M31 LINK. 

3. PDF Field Guide to M31's brightest Observable Globular Clusters LINK  and Main Observing Chart M31 LINK. 

4. CloudyNights Article: SW: Deep Andromeda - Satellite Galaxies, Star Clouds and Globular Clusters of M31 LINK 

5. Phil Harrington's Cosmic Challenge article on CloudyNights: Cosmic Challenge Globular clusters

in M31 LINK. 

Here is some information from the Excel Sheet: 

Bottom line, see how many you can or want to attempt to observe and go for it! Push your limits of yourself and your telescope and find out which you can observe and enjoy the fun of chasing them down! 

 2Follow* * * * *

Cosmic Challenge: Globular clusters in M31