SkyGuy's Blog

I got a very good look at the ISS at 4:36 this morning.Suprisingly harder to track with the big binos than I thought it would be.Of course not having them on a tripod would have made it easier.Very bright though.Tomorrow morning's pass will be even brighter.Both of Friday's passes will be even more brilliant at -2.4 mag.
You would be amazed at the number of satellites I pick up while just casually observing with these things.The other night I picked up seven.I know this isn't a fluke because I've heard others say the same thing.
This morning even before I set up my big binos I was scanning with my 10X50's and caught a flash of light to my left while I was checking out the Pleiades.It was almost like a very quick Iridium burst.Sure enough when I threw the binos to that part of the sky there it was,very faint but there.It gave out one more quick burst of light then settled down to a faint but trackable hue.Thing about it was that it wasn't an Iridium sat and the chart I use,from Heavens Above,didn't list it.Of course that chart cuts off at anything dimmer than mag 4.5 too.
Anyhow,I pretty much checked out the Pleiades and all of the open cluster stuff going on around Aldabaren until Mercury came up over the horizon at about 5:15.This may have been the last time for viewing it this go around.I'm glad I got one last shot in.

Skyguy,last night was one of the very few nights we've had all summer in which either haze or cloud cover hasn't put a damper on viewing.For instance I went out the other night and was gonna try the ol' trick of looking at the sky by reflecting it off of a mirror.First I got everything set up.Then I went back outside about an hour later and the mirror,my binocs,the table top,the side of the house and everything else outdoors was soaking wet.I tried wiping it off but I kept coming back instantly.
Well,knowing mountain weather like I do I decided to pack it up because when the dew gets like that it only means one thing....fog!Sure enough a half hour later it was foggy as hell and it stayed that way all night.Sure you can get an occassional,brief break in the clouds here and there but not enough for long enough to stand around waiting for it.
As for Jupiter I am looking forward to spending at least one good session checking it out.I have a spot near here with a decent southeastern view but I haven't had a chance to set up there yet.Like I said before I have no southern or western view here at the house.All in good time.Orion is another target high on my list too now that you mention it.
Now regarding the ISS it was just a bright dot.....a very bright and rather large dot.Perhaps I could make out some structure under ideal conditions but I don't know.The thing about my binos is that they are Individual Focus which means each eyepiece must be focused seperately.The focus I had,which wasn't bad at all,was where I left it.What I'll probably do is mark the points where the eyepi

Looking forward to hearing all about it.

Tonight and tomorrow Jupiter and the Moon should provide viewing treasures and pleasures!

SkyGuy

I was at their establishment several years ago to look at telescopes - including Astro-Physics. When I was there they had a well equipped showroom with knowledgable staff. They have been around for awhile.

SkyGuy