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When I arrived, Glenn had already set up a solar system walk that disappeared to the far corner of the open field behind the Centre. There were 11 TV tables, some with heavy weights on them to keep them from blowing away, and each having an appropriate write up and photograph of a planet firmly attached with duct-tape.

I set up my binocular parallelogram and pointed it towards Pluto. It was too windy to use Glenn and Gail's 6" Dob but it made a nice addition to the display.

At times, the wind was almost gale-force behind the building. I did not think a wind could blow that hard on such a nice day.

Joe McArdle set up his 4 inch reflector, with a Baader solar filter, for views of the sun, and it was interesting to compare the magnification and contrast of Joe's neutral density filter to Glenn and Gail's Coronado PST.

Joe's telescope was able to track the Sun, while the Coronado had to be re-pointed from time to time.

I noticed that a part of my binoculars has snapped, making it difficult to retain focus on the left eyepiece. I guess this is my chance to adjust it so that the diopter setting on the right eye will allow travel through the range that works for me to use both eyes without the glasses, so it's good news that it broke, in a way.

G&G also had a nice little Starblast which was pointed at the "planets" along the walk. Lots of the kids who looked through it were struck by the fact that "it's upside-down"!

Everyone enjoyed a look at the Sun through the Coronado. I saw a couple of flares, and later in the afternoon one of them seemed to get a twin, nearby. My efforts to try afocal photography through the eyepiece were unsuccessful, although I did get a red circle.

There was some cake to share after everything was done.

I watched some of the raptor presentations. It was amazing to listen to the cameras click when the red-tailed hawk put out her wings to steady herself in the wind.

I learned how to pick up and carry a snapping turtle too.

On the astronomical side, about 100 people had a good look at the sun, and almost that many went for a solar-system hike, and had a look through the terrestrial telescopes.

All were advised what kind of scope not to buy, and many who already had telescopes mentioned they don't use them much because they cannot get them to align.

Many HAA brochures were handed out, and we had a chance to remind people about Astronomy Day on May 2.

Channel 17, WNED in Buffalo is broadcasting "400 Years of the Telescope" at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 26.

For more information on this documentary, follow this link: http://www.pbs.org/soptv/400years/.

Ann T.

If the weather cooperates (and it rarely seems to), there will be an nice conjunction at sunset on Sun 26 April 2009.

Just after sunset while it is still twilight, the Moon, Mercury and the Pleiades will be visible within a binocular field of view near Taurus. The Moon will be a whisper thin crescent, just coming out of new Moon and should be visible first (look for possible Earth shine on the "dark" side). The Mercury will pop out as a 1st magnitude "star", and then the Pleiades star cluster will appear. (sky map shown below)

(Taken from NASA website)

If you have a telescope set up, then you may be able to resolve Mercury into a crescent. But because it is nearing its relative maximum elongation (at the end of the month) as seen from Earth, it will be a fuller crescent than the Moon.

You don't even need a telescope or dark skies to enjoy this event. Just a clear view to the western horizon. Your eyes are enough to appreciate this presentation. But binos or a scope will always be quite welcome to help enhance the view of the terminator on the sliver Moon. And of course they will reveal hundreds of stars in the Pleiades instead of the 6 or 7 we can see from within the city with just your eyes. Always a beautiful sight.

This isn't a particularly rare event, but it is infrequent. So try and take advantage of it while you can. If the skies are cloudy on Sun, you could try again on Mon 27 Apr, but the moon will be slightly larger and further away. Still worth the view.

Reminder:
RaptorFest is this Sat 25 Apr (10am to 4pm) and the HAA will be present during the day with some scopes, binoculars and information about astronomy and the HAA. Come out to lend a hand or just give your support.

Details can be found here: RaptorFest

Update Tue 28 Apr 2009
Well the weather didn't cooperate on Sun as expected, but I did get some clearing on Mon evening. The clouds were coming in from the west before Mercury and the Pleiades became visible, but at least I was able to capture the 2 day old crescent moon. Here's a scaled down image.

2 day old crescent moon.

NGC 4565 by Bob Christmas

I posted some of the astrophotos I took up at Spectacle Lake in mid-April on my personal website (Click on the title).

Look for the thumbnail pictures labelled "new". Click on any thumbnail to enlarge.

Bob Christmas

Well, right now there's a beautiful occultation of Venus happening, but all I see are clouds.

A few hours ago my alarm went off and somehow I knew before I stepped outside that it was going to be clear. The air just had that feel to it. And sure enough, there was a sky that was just dark enough to show Arcturus in the west and Vega high overhead. Looking to the east I noticed Jupiter first, shining very brightly, and then, still behind some trees, I spotted Venus and the Moon in the predawn sky. Lovely!

I set us my scope and turned it to Jupiter first. The air didn't seem too steady and although it showed four moons and some bands, the view wasn't great. Perhaps the scope needed a few minutes to cool down (ah, the beauty of a small scope; it really does only need a few minutes and not hours like some larger scopes) but I wouldn't get a second look at Jupiter because already the clouds were coming in from the southwest.

Turning to the main event, I was able to get both the Moon and Venus in my wide field eyepiece at the same time. Both showed the same crescent phase and this symmetry certainly added to the aesthetic value of the view.

The Moon approaches Venus (in the larger image you can see the crscent phase of Venus clearly)

Most noticable was how much brighter Venus was than the moon. This shouldn't be surprising since Venus's albedo (surface reflectivity) is around .7 (making it one of the brightest objects in the solar system) and the moon's albedo is .12 (making it one of the darkest). Still, it was interesting to see it demonstrated so clearly in the eyepiece.

Unfortunately, those clouds just kept on coming, and true to the forecast the sky was completely cloud covered before the occultation started. It is now fully daylight and fully overcast. I'm sure the HAA has proven to be one of the more active groups around when it comes to grazing occultation expeditions, even though many of us have yet to actually see even one! Like Ann said, at least we're consistent. See you at the next one!

Maybe next time!

The weather forecast is looking rather marginal, but there may be a chance to view this rare occultation event.

Starting just after 9am on the morning of Wed 22 Apr, the thin crescent Moon will pass in front of (occult) Venus. Even though it is daytime, both objects are bright enough they should be visible. If you can take some time off from work or school, you might want to try this. You won't need any special equipment, your eyes are all you need. But if you have binoculars or a small telescope, they will make the sight more impressive. They will also allow you to see Venus as a crescent instead of just bright dot.

Caution: Since the sun will be up, please be very careful not to point your binoculars or your scope at the sun as this may cause permanent eye damage.

Ideally you might like to set up before sunrise so that you can more easily locate the Moon and Venus. But the forecast is indicating rain and clouds even at 5am. However there may be a break just around 9am which may allow us to see this event. Unfortunately I can't tell at this time if during the breaks, we'll have lots of high cirrus clouds which will block or obscure the view.

I've included a map below which shows the area which will experience the occultation. We are smack dab in the middle of the green lines. This means that we will see some of Venus covered by the Moon (Grazing Occultation). The light of Venus should brighten and dim as it passes behind the mountains and valleys on the Moon. If you are NW of the Green/Black line combination, then the entire surface of Venus will be covered (standard occultation). If you are SE of the single Green line, then you will see the Moon pass over top of Venus without being covered (conjunction).

Venus Moon Occultation Path

Here's a link to the page with the interactive Google map. This will allow you to zoom in or out as much as you want to find the best area.
Interactive Map

The Moon will approach Venus starting at about 9am. First contact should occur at about 9:10am. And the entire event will take about 10-15 minutes.

Sky and Telescope also has some info about this event.

To view this, it is best to find a open area with a good view to the East and South. Possibly a large park or shopping mall lot. If the conditions look promising, I'm going to try and set up at Lakeland Community Centre at 180 Van Wagners Beach Rd in Hamilton (east of the GoKarts).

Try to locate the crescent Moon first - it will be about 33degrees to the upper right of the Sun. Then look a little to the lower left of the moon and you should be able to spot the bright light from Venus.

Meteor Shower:
And also remember, if you get up early enough and the sky does open up for you, be on the look out for members of the Lyrid meteor shower which are peaking in the early morning as well. Unfortunately you are not likely to see these once the sun rises.

Good luck and good hunting.

As mentioned earlier by Chair Steve, on Saturday, April 25, in Winona, from 10am to 4pm, there's the annual RaptorFest festival. Some members of the HAA will be there with a daytime astronomy display. (Solar observing, and telescope and binocular demonstrations).

The binocular demonstration will be of special interest to bird watchers in that binoculars allow good views of distant nests to be shared.

Since it is also the dark of the moon, there may be an evening observing session at a location to be determined.

Here's a link to the Raptorfestival web site:

http://www.raptorfestival.com

Directions can be found here:

http://www.raptorfestival.com/Html%20Pages/Directions.html

For members who wish to set up equipment, the gate should be open by 9am. We'll be on the back (south facing) side of the building under the overhang.

Hope to see you there.

I posted three of my images on my HAA Gallery from my trip up north last week (April 2009). Links are below.

M81 and M82, by Bob Christmas

Galaxies M81, M82, NGC 2976 and NGC 3077 (excerpt shown above),

M101 (The Pinwheel Galaxy),

and Open clusters M46 and M47.

More images are coming soon to my own web site. Stay tuned.

Bob Christmas

11 people showed up last night for observing at the main site. We set up at the boat launch with 3 scopes on the dock and 2 in the parking area. The early arrivals where treated to a view of Mercury before it set. This, for me, was the last planet of the system to view through my scope.The rest of the night was spent helping knock the bugs out of a temperamental goto scope for one of our newer members, and sharing views of the night sky with the enthusiastic gathering. It was a fun time with several of us reconvening at Tim H. for coffee and conversation.

I arrived at Spectacle Lake Lodge on Tuesday, April 14, and I have had 3 clear nights under a dark sky. I have taken lots of images of several deep sky objects, including the open clusters M35, M36, M37, M38, M46 and M47, as well as galaxies M81, M82, M98, M99, M100, M108, NGC 2403, NGC 4214, NGC 4244 and NGC 4565. I will be posting some images soon.

One interesting thing happened when I imaged M38 in Auriga on Tuesday night (the 14th; see image below). I noticed a faint green fuzzy right beside M38, just to the left of the cluster (see image). It turns out, this was Comet Cardinal!

I knew this comet was in the general area, but I didn't know beforehand that it was right beside M38. Talk about a stroke of luck! Comet Cardinal is very faint however, about 11th magnitude. By the way, if you have a BIG scope, or if you take a long image exposure, you might be able to catch it tonight (Friday April 17) when it's right beside M36, another open cluster in Auriga.

If you check the main page of our website and look at the Clear Sky Charts for Hamilton and Binbrook, you will notice that we have very good observing conditions for tonight.

While nothing is being formally organized, we encourage any member to use the Alternate observing location on Tyneside Rd. There is a good parking area and park land available for setting up scopes and binoculars. There is pretty good visibility in most directions.

Here's a map to the location: Tyneside

There are usually several observers at this location on any night that conditions are good, so you are likely to run into members or other astronomers that aren't members.

One note of caution for personal safety though. This is an area open to the public. We have never heard of any problems from observers in this area, and many have used this alone or in small numbers, but bring along a cell phone in case of emergency. And it's a good idea to go with another observer. You might consider holding off setting up equipment until another arrives - which is almost certain to happen. It's great opportunity to get to know some other astronomers in our area.

Please feel free to take advantage of what is bound to be great seeing conditions tonight. And if you do go out, please post a note about your observing on the blog or email our observing director. observing@amateurastronomy.org

Over the weekend while you were all enjoying a lovely Easter dinner (I hope), I was enjoying a lovely night sky, and had some good observing. The Clear Sky Clock looks good for tonight, so I am hoping for more galaxies and double stars!

Jackie, Jim and I will be at the Alternate Site tonight for some warm spring sky observing. Join us and others there if you can, and remember, the alternate site is accessible to all members so show up whenever you like and we'll see you there!

As always, email me if you have any questions, reports, observations or photos. observing@amateurastronomy.org

Is anyone going to Binbrook tonight (Saturday night)?

Tim

Topic: DSLR astrophotgraphy

Speaker: Kerry

It's tonight, April 7, at the Burlington Arts Center, hosted by the Latow Photographers Guild,
at 7:30 PM. Join Steve G and others who will see the great range of possibilities for telescope-free
astrophotography, benefitting from the excellent optics and sensitivity of modern DSLR cameras.

Those of you who have heard her speak on this topic know this is not to be missed.

http://www.latow.com/

While most of the HAA crew were out at Grimsby, a few of us were many miles away bringing a little sidewalk astronomy to the other end of the Hamilton region.

Two telescopes and three HAA members attracted about 40 people outside of a Tim Horton's in Dundas. Jim single handedly managed a group of about 20 at once! Visitors were treated to views of the moon, Saturn, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades and Castor, as well as whatever star the younger visitors wanted ("I want to see that star!", was heard a couple of times from a youngster pointing at the sky). We were fortunate to have clear skies and a nearby supply of hot coffee and cider. One little fellow even claimed to have seen aliens through my telescope (green ones with three eyes). Although he encouraged me to look and see for myself, the aliens had unfortunately left by the time I got to the eyepiece. Maybe next time!

It was a fun and educational night for all!

A future astronomer gets his first look at Saturn.

A dozen HAA members and more than fourteen telescopes waited for clear skies that never came at Murray Street Park in Grimsby. Members of the public began arriving around 7:00 to check out the telescopes being set up and ask many good questions about astronomy and telescopes.

Views of the Toronto skyline (including the CN Tower) alternated with glimpses of the moon drifting in and out of clouds. A few lucky observers managed to catch Saturn and M42 for a few seconds, but as the clouds gradually thickened, the crowd thinned out and we packed up at about 10:00.

In total, it was estimated that we managed about 50-60 “Galileo Moments” tonight.

Ann Tekatch

Nice summary, Ann - indeed, what promised to be a nice observing session, early on, turned into a telescope clinic instead. There were many questions about the pros and cons of the different styles of scopes on hand, and the Moon made enough appearances that comparisons could be made.
Thanks to all the members and guests who turned out to make this a worthwhile evening despite the clouds.

Glenn

Jackie F. and I started "The 100 hrs. of Astronomy" a little early.I set up my scope at the Tim's in Dundas at sunset on Wednesday night.I had many curious folks come over to ask what I was doing. I explained to them that it was I.Y.A. and the 100 hrs. of astronomy was to start on Friday and I was concerned that the weekend weather may not be condusive to doing astronomy.I soon was busy showing people the Moon and Saturn in the still quite light sky's. As the sky darkened, I had two very interested gentelmen asking to see more. I made an attempt, and succeeded to show them M42,M45,M44,as well as the Double Cluster.This was surprising, as the light pollution at this location is extremly bad, as is the case with most sidewalk astro sites.Jackie showed up about 8:45 and helped me show many more of the neighbourhood people views through the scope, and answered many questions about astronomy. We packed up about 11:30 and had a total of 50 or so Galileo moments, and many great memories.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, observatories around the world are participating in the 100 Hours of Astronomy (April 2-5, 2009).

Today, Friday April 3, 80 observatories around the globe are participating in a 24-hour live webcast organized by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

(From APOD) The webcast event follows night and day around the globe to visit some of the most advanced observatories on Earth and in space, exploring the universe in visible light and beyond. The Gemini North Telescope (Hawaii, USA) and the large observatories at the summit of volcanic Mauna Kea are scheduled for the first stops in the program beginning April 3 at 09:00 UT. Others on the schedule include the Swift Satellite and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, the Himalayan Chandra Telescope (Hanle, India), and the 10-meter South Pole Telescope and IceCube Neutrino Telescope (South Pole, Antarctica).

Here is the link to the webcast.

If you miss some of the events, this link also has some recorded sessions for playback at a more convenient time.

And don't forget that the HAA is also doing our own things with our general meeting tonight (Fri Apr 3) and a public observing night in Grimsby (Sat Apr 4 - see Glenn's posting below). There may also be some sidewalk astronomy occurring over the weekend so keep an eye on this blog for details as they become available.

Members of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will be sharing an evening of Astronomy, telescope equipment demonstrations, and viewing of Saturn, the Moon, and other celestial objects.

We will be setting up in Grimsby on April 4th,

(note: the event was a success. there will not be a repeat of it on April 5)
with a rain/cloud date of April 5th, at 8 PM,

and will remain until about 11 PM.

Currently, the rain and clouds are forecast to clear out late Saturday afternoon making for a clear night.

There is a nice promo article in this week's Grimsby Lincoln News:
http://www.thegrimsbylincolnnews.com/news/article/246033

(The article does say it starts at 7pm - but G&G can be there for any early arrivals)

Those who come early will be able to see what it takes to assemble and set up a telescope.

If you have a telescope, bring it along: we can help set it up and point it at Saturn for you. If you have binoculars, by all means bring them too. Binoculars are an excellent and easy to use way to get more from the sky.

As part of the International Year of Astronomy, we will also have some handouts to interest children and adults.

Detailed directions can be found here:
http://amateurastronomy.org/sites/grimsby_murray/map.php

As the weather for the weekend is looking "iffy" at best, forecasting cloud and rain Fri. Sat. & Sunday,I am going to set up my scope at the park in front of the Tim Hortons on King St. in Dundas.If the sky is clear this afternoon as predicted. I should be there by sunset or shortly after. Please feel free to join me with your scope, or just stop by for a look through mine.