top of the lawn

20101005 - Happy Anniversary Team TotL!

2010-10-06T21:01:00.006-04:00

05 October 2003.7 years of sidewalk astronomy, observing and sharing the Solar System and well beyond to other galaxies with Team TotL. I've had a wonderful time at the lawn with Charlie, Ben, Tom, Ken, Kin, V, Hawaiian George, Gregory, Debbie & Ben, Andy, Mitch, Carol, TimesUP, Alexander the mathematician, Mark, Hannah, Alberto & Genie, Didier, Stan, Alexandra, and Hugo, to mention a few.

20100515 - Crescent Moon & Venus over NYC

2010-05-16T10:07:00.003-04:00

Session name: 20100515.1900Location: TotLObjects observed:Satellites: ISS, 1 unknown satellite through BootesSolar System: Moon, Venus, Mars, Saturn, meteor passing ArcturusDeep sky: M3, M13, M57, M65*, M66*, M81, M82 (* attempted, not observed)At sunset looking west over NYC, Venus and the crescent Moon.Session Details:Optics: Teleport 10" reflector; magnifications used 32x, 75x, 98x,

20100430 - Planets Continue To Please

2010-05-02T13:57:00.002-04:00

Session name: 20100430.1900Location: TotLObjects observedSatellites: International Space Station, Iridium 42 Flare, 2 unknown satellitesSolar system: Moon in Sco, Venus in Tau, Mars in Cnc, and Saturn in VirConstellations: Gem, Leo, Virgo, Lib, Sco, UMi, UMa, Boo, Com, CrB,Deep sky: M3, M44, M65*, M66*, NGC 2903*, Melotte 111* ("*" indicates attempted not seen)[public observing Saturn]SummaryThis

TotL Observing Schedule

2010-04-29T22:23:00.007-04:00

Top of the Lawn (TotL) astronomical observing sessions occur on clear, weekend nights (Fri - Sun) at the Great Lawn in Central Park. Meeting times vary but we try to arrive at or around sunset on the sidewalk at the north end of the Great Lawn. We've been known to stay until park curfew, at least a few hours past sunset unless the weather takes a turn for the bad early. The core group has been

21-hour Crescent Moon

2009-02-26T07:19:00.001-05:00

Session name: 20090225.1730Attempted a 21-hour crescent Moon from TotL but was clouded out on the western horizon. !! Above our heads, a deep blue sky surrounded us. With respectable altitude pearly white Venus shone brilliantly in our south southwest. Venus was spectacular in the bins, a perfectly shaped smile with that soft gradient evening terminator. Michele from the museum stopped by and

Comet Lulin from Battery Park, NYC

2009-02-25T06:01:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20090224.2130This was my second observation of Comet Lulin using the Tak 22x60 binoculars. An easy starhop from Saturn to xi Leonis (Leo) 5° northwest and finalky landing on 59 Leo** abour a degree and a half west..A very pale patch light could be seen by the experienced observers about one quarter to a third of a degree northeast of 59 Leo. The comet appeared to be at least 10',

C/2007 N3, Comet Lulin observed from Central Park

2009-02-22T09:35:00.004-05:00

Session name:20090221.2250Eyed Comet Lulin for the first time with a pair of tripod-mounted Takahashi 22x60 binoculars from Drip Rock in Central Park. The comet appeared as a very, very faint, featureless blob, however, it had an appreciable dimension. My guess is about 15 ~ 20 minutes of arc, not quite as large as a full Moon, as judged in a 2.1° field of view (FoV). At that size it surface

Saturday afternoon at the Great Lawn

2009-02-22T07:12:00.001-05:00

Session name: 20090221.1300Pedestrians approach with curiosity and take in views of crescent Venus through the scope and binoculars. Tom describes why Venus is in crescent phase.Many are astounded that Venus can be observed with the unaided eye in the day. Where do we look?Conveniently a plane flies nearby. Serving as a "landmark", we can use this to guide people where to look. In its absence, we

Venusspotting

2009-02-08T17:03:00.004-05:00

Venus spotted above building across the street from New York Public Library on 42nd and 5 Ave.Venus through tree branches looking Manhattan-southeast from Bryant Park.

Saturn and Gibbous Moon

2009-02-08T09:05:00.007-05:00

Session name: 20090206.2035Teleport ready for Urban skyLocation: Top of the Lawn, Central ParkSite Classification: UrbanDark Sky Scale, Bortle: Class 8, City SkySeeing Scale, Antoniadi: II/IIITransparency: PoorNELM:Weather: High cirrus clouds over entire sky, Moon carries corona across the sky; cold temps, especially with light breeze.Moon: 11d18h waxing gibbous, sunrise terminator.Equipment:

How many days hath the month?

2009-02-02T06:02:00.001-05:00

Source: Astronomy for Amateurs by Camille Flammarion, Figure 63

More Venus in the daytime

2009-02-01T18:29:00.002-05:00

Session name: 20090201.1420Click images to view larger size.Plane flying into Venus.Establish shot at Columbus Circle.Venus off the brim of Columbus' cap.The moon in comparison.

Venus in broad daylight

2009-02-01T10:45:00.007-05:00

Session name: 20090131.1345Location: Top of the Lawn, Central ParkSite Classification: UrbanDark Sky Scale, Bortle: Class 8, City SkySeeing Scale, Antoniadi: II/IIITransparency: GoodNELM: mag -4.5Weather: Clear sky, cold day; light breeze (Beaufort 2) sometimes increasing to gentle breeze.Moon: 5d11h waxing crescent, sunrise terminator.Equipment: Tak FS-102, 4" refractor; Tom C., tripod-mounted

Bright light below the Moon

2009-01-31T19:55:00.005-05:00

Session nmae: 20090130.1930What is that bright light in the southwest sky below the Moon? On January 30th, a snow squall come in from the south while the crescent Moon and Venus shined brightly in a clear patch of sky.TotL's southern horizon: a bright skyline that punches spikes of lights. Here the usual suspects are revealed by the clouds. Despite these incumbrances, we persist. In this

20090114 - Up in the sky

2009-01-14T18:52:00.003-05:00

This morning the Moon descended in the western horizon. Big and bright on a blue morning sky.Today Venus reached greatest elongation at 47° east of the Sun. This is the bright object many see in the NYC sky at twilight and well into the evening, setting a few minutes earlier than 9pm EST. Look south and southeast, it is the brightest light in teh sky and could be mistaken for a helicopter - or,

Binocular astronomy session from Central Park

2009-01-14T17:39:00.003-05:00

Session name: 20090109.2123Location: Top of the Lawn, Central ParkSite Classification: UrbanDark Sky Scale, Bortle: Class 8, City SkySeeing Scale, Antoniadi: --Transparency: --NELM: ~mag 4.7Weather: Clear sky, cold evening, light pollution beams from specific sources along the southern skyline radiated sharply up into the sky. Mostly calm air with some light breezes (Beaufort 2)Moon: 14d10h

Mare Orientale

2008-10-16T07:03:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20081015.2024Equipment: Takahashi FS-102 refractorLocation: Drip RockConditions: Scattered clouds, clear by Moon and calm air, mild temperature in the 60s.Seeing: AII - AIIITransparency: DecentTraffic flow: very low (qty - 5)Photo caption: Pete Lawrence's images of Mare Orientale on iPhone from Central ParkI was encouraged for this session after discovering the Pete Lawrence photos

Passersby and the Moon

2008-10-15T07:32:00.003-04:00

I never consider observing the Moon old hat. Some pedestrians remark with disdain, "Only the Moon." after I answer their original question of what am I looking at with the telescope. Regardless, I offer them some eyepiece time to observe the Moon at magnification 63x or 91x, whichever is available at the time. Their expressions belie their disinterest, they marvel at craters and dramatic

Autumn Sights

2008-10-15T07:32:00.002-04:00

It's Autumn and migration season for the birds flying south. All night long with regular frequency, we could see birds crossing the face of the Moon when looking in the telescope. Most would flutter across, wings beating, tiny compared to the disk of the Moon in the field of view. It appeared to be random trajectories, but watching them fly by most ingressed from the terminator side,

Schiller-Zucchius Basin

2008-10-11T07:28:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20081010.1900Equipment: Teleport 10" ReflectorLocation: Top of the LawnConditions: Clear night and calm air, mild temperature in the 60s but okay for t-shirt.Traffic flow: ---Objects observed: Moon, Jupiter, Callisto transit, Neptune, Albireo, Double Cluster, M31/32, M51.Photo Caption: Mark up of LO4-154H3; a filtered image sourced from Charles Byrne [1]Here or photo for larger

Observing Log refresh

2008-10-04T10:03:00.001-04:00

Session name: 20081004.0900I begin my sixth year of observing from the Great Lawn, first at TPO, now at TotL, with a fresh logbook - a black 3.5" x 5.5" Moleskine plain 192 page notebook that fits easily in my pocket. This is number 11 since adopting this notebook as my standard. I've used others like the larger 5.25" x 8.25" Moleskine journal with 240 blank pages and a landscape format called

Neptune - 162 years later

2008-09-27T09:16:00.006-04:00

Session name: 20080923.2100On 23 September 2008, 162 years passed since Neptune was first discovered in the telescope by Johnann Galle relying on predictions of mathematician Urbain Le Verrier.At an average distance of 4.5 billion km, Neptune takes 164.79 years to complete one orbit. For the Neptunian inhabitant, on July 12, 2011 Neptune will have completed one lap around the Sun since it was

Autumnal Equinox 2008

2008-09-21T21:38:00.003-04:00

Screenshot from Nokia N800 of John Walker's Earth and Moon ViewerAutumnal Equinox starts the clock to count off the next 89 days 18 hours to the Winter Solstice.

Description of Top of the Lawn

2008-09-14T13:58:00.007-04:00

John P. of NYSkies offered to host a description of our group since we provide astronomy observing to the public. The following is a slightly modified version found at NYSkies. Ben, Charlie, John, Kin, & Tom reviewed and contributed to the description.Top of the Lawn, more commonly called "TotL" (pronounced "total"), is a loose association of urban astronomy enthusiasts who gather on the northern

Urban Starfest 2008

2008-09-08T21:57:00.005-04:00

Session name: 20080907.1915Cheers to the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA) and the Urban Park Rangers for hosting Urban Starfest 2008.The New York City astronomy community and sidewalk naturalists assembled for our annual urban Star Party at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. A hearty turn out of optics that ranged from 12.5" reflectors to 3" refractors and tripod-mounted bins managed to satisfy

One of them nights

2008-09-01T13:01:00.006-04:00

Session name: 20080831.1950I'm easy to please. The ingredients of last night combined to make for a greater experience than the sum of its parts. There was proper mix of friendly interested people, clear skies, lube in my joints, and sky full of celestial gems. A fine recipe for joy.I arrived at TotL shortly after sunset. As passersby looked on at the Teleport reflector with curiosity and

Venus After Superior Conjunction

2008-06-22T13:17:00.004-04:00

Session name: 20080621.1545Screenshots from Planetarium for the Palm showing details of two sessions14 Apr 2005 is upper row; 21 June 2008 is lower row1,165 days ago >> 14Apr2005 Venus After Superior Conjunction - NYC, report submitted by Ben Cacace.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -This current session was the second attempt this week to spot Venus just past superior conjunction. After

Summer Solstice at the Sun Triangle

2008-06-20T21:45:00.004-04:00

Session name: 20080620.1230Friday marked the day of the beginning of the summer - "Happy Solstice!"A beautiful warm first summer day with scattered fair weather cumulus clouds sauntering across a pale blue canvas. Our Sun was a punch on that background sky, at times glaring, and the air was a little hazy.Ritual...Sun sighted along the summer solstice side of the Sun triangle.A few assemble and

May 2008 observations from Central Park

2008-05-26T10:16:00.006-04:00

This month there were many opportunities at the Top of the Lawn where more than a hundred people would get views of our sky. Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and our Moon have been the dominant objects. Diversions to nearby doubles and bright deep sky objects offered variety to the pedestrians' visual palate.Saturn continues to be the dominant object that stirs the general public. These past days, one

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-26T10:03:00.001-04:00

Blockhouse #1, Central ParkRemember those that lost their lives in battle.Memorial Day 2008.

Globe At Night results

2008-05-10T19:21:00.004-04:00

Click here to go to NOAO press release. If you didn't know (like me), the Office of Public Affairs and Educational Outreach of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory published results of the recent Globe At Night (GAN) event. This was the multi-night event where observers around the world assessed the darkness of their skies using charts and training provided by GAN organizers.Myself and

When is Manhattanhenge 2008?

2008-05-08T19:16:00.012-04:00

Manhattanhenge occurs at sunset, 8:18PM EDT, on the 28 May at an azimuth of nearly 300°. By definition, sunset occurs when the Sun's trailing edge descends below our horizon , so one wants to arrive prior to 8:18PM to watch it entirety. 300° azimuth is 30° greater, or more northern, than cardinal point west, yet it corresponds to orientation of the cross streets of the Manhattan grid. Cross

Astronomy in NYC

2008-05-08T07:53:00.003-04:00

The beginning of agrowing list that outlines astronomy resources in and around the city.ClubsAmateur Astronomers Association (AAA)www.aaa.orgNYC’s oldest astronomy organization with a diverse program of special interests.NYSkies Astronomy Inc.www.nyskies.orgThe premiere support group for home astronomy in New York.Public OutreachAAA - Observinghttp://www.aaa.org/index.aspx?lobid=936The AAA

36 hour Crescent Moon

2008-05-08T06:40:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20080506.1915Another image of the recent crescent Moon, age 35h 55m, taken handheld through 7x50 binoculars. The vertical line doesn't look like a good thing.How does one clean up the noise? I use gimp for cropping but haven't done any type of clean up.Directions.The Moon sets toward the 5:00~5:30 direction and is approximately Lunar East. Lunar North is near the cusp on the right

Crescent Moon and Bright Nights

2008-05-07T07:37:00.006-04:00

Session name: 20080506.1915This evening was much more fruitful. A teaspoon of the lunar disk, accompanied by ruddy-colored Mercury, settled into the trees on the western horizon after sunset. When the sky darkened during twilight and the mostly cloudy sky cleared to partly cloudy, a graceful, silvery curve appeared among the clouds.Young Sasha, around 6 years old, walked to the tripod and peered

Chasing a very, very, young crescent moon

2008-05-06T07:48:00.002-04:00

Session name: 20080505.1830This crescent moon had all the makings for a record. A personal record and one that would rank in an area where few have succeeded. A 12 hour crescent moon set in the west with best of all conditions - except the weather.The Moon is an Aries.The angle of the ecliptic by Aries is nearly vertical to the horizon when setting.The Moon is north of the ecliptic, increasing

Atmospheric Phenomena

2008-05-06T07:35:00.004-04:00

On the way home to prepare for this evenings crescent moon chase, I looked up frequently to the sky. The sky was so milky with cirrostratus and some altostratus clouds when looking west. Through sunglasses I noticed a rainbow arc above the Sun. I stopped to investigate it further. A quick measurement with spread thumb and pinky held at arm's length confirmed a 22° separation between Sun and arc.

2nd Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night

2008-04-13T09:22:00.010-04:00

Looking up at the International Space StationSession name: 20080412.1930Location: Central Park, Great Lawn perimeter sidewalk along the south side. Common name is Turtle Pond Observatory (TPO).Hosts: Tom C. with Fujinon 17x60 binoculars & myself with Takahashi FS102, 4" refractorNumber of passersby: ~100 persons, very possibly more; steady stream persisted for about an 60 ~ 90 minutes.Object

Scouting for ISAN v.2 location

2008-03-18T07:36:00.004-04:00

Columbus Circle, New York City.Given its location and the amount of ambient light it is not all that bad for a northeastern to southeastern exposure. Central Park, the foreground when looking opposite this view, is favorable to a low horizon across that eastern view. Saturn and the Moon were unaffected by bright lights. Naked eye limiting magnitude is somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0. The killer is

Performance observing kit

2008-03-02T16:05:00.005-05:00

This is my grab-n-go kit when I need a convenient, portable means to observe the heavens. By portable I mean easy to pack, light to carry, quick to setup and strike. This kit fits the bill 100% with very satisfying views, ranging from low power, wide field to greater magnification with a narrower field of view. It takes less than 5 minutes to pack everything up in the Kelty backpack which

M81 & M82 in binoculars from Central Park

2008-02-26T08:31:00.005-05:00

Session name: 20080225.2000I completed this short session observing the sky to the south. My light observing kit was packed up and the tripod collapsed. A turn towards the north revealed the Great Bear climbing vertically up a darker sky. I thought it novel when I glanced at the middle star of the bear's tail (the handle of the Big Dipper). Mizar and Alcor was an easy split.How sly. Teasing. I'm

Planets offer pleasing views

2008-02-25T23:23:00.007-05:00

Session name: 20080224.1900A cold session with a light breeze chilled exposed cheeks and shook the scope. Early in the session clear skies yielded slowly to accumulating clouds entering from the west. Thin, semi-transparent sheets gathered beneath Orion and ultimately coated a large part of the sky by 10PM EST. Over the course of the observing session a half dozen passersby and dog walkers

Globe At Night - 2008

2008-02-25T06:20:00.000-05:00

Globe At Night - 2008(magnitude charts )Naked eye observations to assess sky brightness around the globe is underway today.Globe at Night is the organization that coordinates the event, prepares instructions, provides training, magnitude charts, and circulars announcing the event. The comparative star charts enable you to assess easily your sky's transparency by comparing your observation of

2nd Annual ISAN & Yuri's Night

2008-02-24T15:08:00.002-05:00

ISAN logo12 April 2008 is the 2nd Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (ISAN), same day as Yuri's Night. Two celebrations, one for astronomy, another for manned space program.19 May 2007 was last year's date but we were rained out here. The following day it cleared enough where a few groups set up around the city to hold the first annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night from

Eclipse handout

2008-02-24T07:09:00.006-05:00

Click and then print larger image. Folding instructions below or at PocketMod.For the recent total lunar eclipse, I prepared a handout for the pedestrians. The objective was to provide information listed below, space availability was the governing factor. Not everything made it or was to be trimmed down to fit space.The handout consisted of:- brief description & time table of the event- Danjon

Set up for the eclipse

2008-02-21T22:22:00.002-05:00

Clouds did not diminish our ambition to watch and share. Bruce sets up the Scope that had a huge line all night long. The Tak refractor and bins cooling down. When the skies cleared we'd be busy all night long. Along the promenade wall there were more people sharing their optics. for the pedestrians to get a closer look. So much that once again I didn't take any photos of the eclipse or the

Fantastic Lunar Eclipse Event in NYC

2008-02-21T07:16:00.004-05:00

Session name: 20080220.2010This special session away from the lawn at Carl Schurz Park event was a terrific success. Overcast skies allowed the Moon too punch through thinning clouds during the beginning of the event. Over the duration of the eclipse somewhere between 150 ~ 200 people would come by - the skies cleared & cold temps - and share the experience of the full moon transform before our

Crescent moon alert

2008-02-07T06:29:00.000-05:00

Moon Watch at sunset tonight.Tonight at sunset 5:20PM EST, look for the new crescent moon a little greater than the width of fist off the southwestern horizon. A very young moon, the 18h35m moon rides atop a steep ecliptic which provides a greater elongation from the Sun than an inclined ecliptic, dramatically increasing chances of success. As the Sun sets below the horizon, the moon is setting

Comet 8P/Tuttle Second try with no success

2008-01-04T11:04:00.001-05:00

Session name: 20080103.1950Equipped with tripod and 22x60 binoculars I was unable to detect Comet 8P/Tuttle. The illustration shows a 20° field of view of the area where the comet is located. Ephemeris I used is MPC 60098. (Checking the link, I see it is updated.)Sky conditions were clear with a light air, temp was sub-freezing. The sky was bright above the Hampshire House and neighboring Essex

Getting oriented in the night sky with Orion

2008-01-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

Session Name: 20071229.1940Click picture for larger image or here for unmarked image.This image was taken at 12:40AM on 30 Dec 2007.For a cold December evening and the last observing session for the year, it turned out to be okay in the sky and on the ground. More familiar faces stopped by then newcomers. Kin and I would observe with Hawaiian George, Stan & Gee, and Carol & Doggie. Later Time's

Mars observation

2007-12-18T06:41:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20071217.1645This session about a dozen passersby stopped for views of an 8-day First Quarter Moon in Pisces and the little Mars at the foot of the Twin Castor. A light breeze, sometimes gusting to a moderate wind, rustled and darted dry leaves along the sidewalk. In the northeast sky and zenith, naked eye limiting magnitude was around magnitude 5 using my personal candlesticks in

The Hunter rises over New York City

2007-12-18T06:10:00.000-05:00

Session name:20071217.1645 City street lamps and Kin prove no match for the brilliant stars of Orion, the Hunter. Ahead the seven sisters flee, while the Bull's eye turns on Orion. Coming the rear his dogs follow. By the time we left, the Large Dog was obediently sitting on our manhattan-eastern horizon.

Trapezium & Mars form Central Park

2007-12-16T13:17:00.002-05:00

Session name:20071208.1945On this short session, Kin and I observed and shared the views of Mars to about a dozen pedestrians and dog owners. Most of the evening the sky background appeared bright to our south and up to zenith, a little haze seemed to fill the air diffusing the lights of CitiGroup building and Times Square. We commented that seeing was not so good and transparency was

Sitta carolinensis

2007-12-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

White-breasted nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis, in her classical pose. A common bird in Central Park, although my first observation and identification. Observed this female nuthatch alone spiraling down the trunk of a large Pin Oak (Quercus palustris Munchh.), stopping occasionally to poke her bill in the bark's crevice. I heard "cheep, cheep" from her, however, bird guides consulted describe a

Comet Holmes from Columbia U. Outreach

2007-11-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20071116.2015I headed up to Columbia University's outreach event to meet up with Kin & Charlie. Jan Kratochvil was giving a public lecture on digital imaging. I recently met Jan at the Urban Starfest. When I arrived Jan was the only one in the classroom as others were on the rooftop inside the domes. This allowed for some one-on-one where he showed & told of panoramic shots and

Small city. News spreads fast.

2007-11-17T18:41:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20071117.1330While passing through Union Square, heard some chess players chatting to one another while they wait for challengers and overheard them speak of the guy with the huge camera. "I don't know what he's photographing but he should be taking pictures of me." said one of them just before he chuckled.I looked around to see Lincoln inside of the park with others nearby. I asked

Urban Starfest 2007

2007-11-12T08:06:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20071110.1900The skies were clear for Urban Starfest, an annual astronomy event organized by the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA) and the Urban Park Rangers. Many of the AAA members showed up with their optics ranging from small to large. Refractors, reflectors, Schmidt-Cassegrain, and binoculars swinging from neck straps were shared with maybe 100 persons that passed

Comet Holmes shines above the street lamps

2007-11-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

Session name: 20071106.2000Skies cleared up after the rain where a naked eye limiting magnitude was in the neighborhood of magnitude 5. Comet Holmes continues to be seen naked eye from New York City, even from well lit spots in the city. Find some shade if you can and look toward Mirfak to see an obvious non-stellar object nearby.Artists' Rock, an outcrop of Manhattan Schist behind Artists' Gate

20071030 - 17P/ Holmes Observing Report

2007-10-31T11:51:00.000-04:00

Sketch in Moleskine notebook & astromick image on iPhone.Prior to a brief session, I attended the monthly planetarium show, Celestial Highlights, at New York's Hayden Planetarium. Comet Holmes was given some time both as an object in Perseus and in a series of slides given at the end of the sky tour.The presenter described Comet Holmes as difficult from the city with unaided eye but revealing in

Autumn Sky sans Milky Way

2007-10-30T23:03:00.000-04:00

Mars is seen moving eastward against the background stars. It is growing in size and brightness as Earth is catching up to it on our tracks around the Sun. Our closest approach this year, about 6/10 astronomical unit, occurs on 18 December where Mars appears as a ~15.9" diameter disk. On the 24 December, Mars is at its brightest of magnitude -1.6 when opposition occurs. Mars will still be with in

20071029 - Brief Observation of 17/Holmes

2007-10-30T10:36:00.000-04:00

20071029 - Brief Observation of 17/HolmesA very short session looking through the living room window with Fujinon 7 x50 binoculars hanging from my neck and hands cupped to my eyes. Unaided I see the familiar tall right triangle with comet 17/P Holmes at its lower left base star. delta Per is the right angle to the west and Mirfak, at tip of the hypotenuse, is the northwestern acute angle.The

With the gang - 17P/Holmes

2007-10-28T21:01:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20071027.1935Larger images: Marked up | UnmarkedCompare with this Perseus image from this post, where Comet Holmes is obviously unseen in the general area.The comet continued to capture out attention and interest. Under other circumstances a disappointing lunar occultation of the Pleiades past midway on our moonrise would have been center stage. But not. Not with the comet of

Small Addition : Away from the Lawn

2007-10-28T20:46:00.000-04:00

Small AdditionSmall Addition : Away from the LawnOut of pure geekiness I have mounted an ancillary content repository - a web server on a Newton MessagePad. I have attempted in the past to mount a newton personal data sharing (npds) server but abandoned after a short while. I can't for say for certain how long this one will last.For now the link above is to a Tracker server which my webserver

Rainy Friday

2007-10-26T18:53:00.000-04:00

Rainy FridayWas fortunate to get a chance with the Comet. Now the rain has come in.Seems that everyone's talking about it today. The following cloud signs tells us about the weather:Cirrostratus clouds usually mean rain is coming. And last night the Moon exhibited a halo, a sign of cirrostratus clouds high in the sky.The Amateur Naturalist's Handbook by Vinson Brown.Newton Messagepad 2100

17P/Holmes - Naked eye comet

2007-10-26T01:19:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20071025.2105A photograph of comet 17P/Holmes where a bright central nucleus outshines the surrounding ionized gases, the coma. The nucleus and the coma form the head of a comet. This comet lacks any tail.Observed the bright 17P/Holmes, my guesstimate is magnitude 2.3 ~ 2.5. It is less bright than Mirfak, brighter than delta Per, cheating towards Mirfak. Comparing to the few other

Full Moon at Perigee

2007-10-26T00:52:00.001-04:00

Session name: 20071025.2105ImageDescription - Full Moon at PerigeeCamera - NIKON CP995DateTime - 2007:10:25 23:10:02Weather - Broken Cirrus clouds, light breeze, cool tempsLooked at the Moon through the cirrus clouds in Tak bins. Beautifully large! Felt as if she filled the whole field of view (but really not at all). The south pole offered spectacular relief along the southern limb below Tycho.

Venus from Drip Rock

2007-10-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20071021.1145A warm Saturday afternoon at Drip Rock. Skies were clear and a light air, temp around 70° F. As has become custom, I was welcomed to the rock by a homeless women whom I have seen on recent sessions. Yards away down the slope of the rock before me were two young girls, one of them unclothed to her underwear to catch the rays of Sol. Unfortunately, she attracted the queer

Manhattan's cardinal points

2007-10-17T21:46:00.000-04:00

The New York City skyline appears when looking south from the Top of of the Lawn. The GE Building, formerly the RCA Building, sits squarely south of us. Get to the roof and you are on Top of the Rock.Celestial-south is left of the tree on the left border of the skyline image above. The western edge (right) of the Citigroup Center its pitched roof pokes out from behind the tree is about 185°

The Hero in Central Park

2007-10-15T22:55:00.001-04:00

Perseus the Hero and NELM.Rey's Perseus with less markup.Perseus constellation with no markup.Perseus is among my favorite constellations. The Hero.He serves as a reminder of when I started and conjures emotions of my first discovery - Alpha Persei Association! From left field of a Heckscher diamond, I looked above the buildings lining Fifth Avenue out into the eastern sky. Off the beaten path

The Bull in Central Park

2007-10-14T16:53:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20071013.2245Click Taurus the Bull for a large version. Here for unmarked version.When I arrived at nearly 11:00PM Charlie was already set up with bins pointing to a sky clouded with stratus and altostratus clouds. He remarked that the transparency was good in the cloud breaks. By 12:30AM ~ 1:00AM the sky cleared up nicely with not a cloud in the sky. Transparency appeared to be

Coulter CT-100

2007-10-13T10:53:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20071012.2000Weather: Cool temps at 46°F/7°C with gentle [3] to moderate breeze.Telescope: Coulter CT-100, 4.25" f/4 (FL=432mm)Mount & Tripod: Manfrotto/Bogen 410 on Manfrotto/Bogen 3221sEyepiece (magnification / fov): Kellner ~20mm (21.6x / 2°)The Coulter CT-100 reflector is one of the scopes I occasionally use to observe. Charlie has the same scope and has dubbed his S.A.R. Mine

Vallis Rheita

2007-10-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

This photograph shows features along the sunset terminator in the southeastern quadrant of the Moon.Click on image to study Vallis Rheita and nearby prominent overlapping and adjoining craters Janssen, Fabricius, & Metius. Vallis Rheita is the conspicuous gash just lower left of center inside the sunset terminator. It is a chain of craters that rips through the lunar landscape intruding on

Rhythms I can count on

2007-10-06T12:10:00.000-04:00

Individual birds fly silhouetted across the face of the moon at steady pace. Their frequency is such that I can step away from the scope to let others observe. It doesn't take long to see one of the birds fly across, little wings flapping laboriously to cross our field of view, sometimes two or three can be seen at once.It isn't uncommon to see to objects cross the face of the Moon. Many have

20070901 - Looking clear for this evening

2007-09-01T09:56:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning a waning 19 day Moon in Aries is setting in the west, it drops below the horizon at 11:25am. It rises again at 9:32pm, rising above the trees of TotL an hour & half later. I plan to be at the top of the Great Lawn, arriving at sunset and into the night. With such clear air maybe others will join.Jupiter and Moon will be obvious objects. Looking in Cassiopeia and Perseus,

many moons ago ... and recently

2007-08-21T18:00:00.000-04:00

Click image for larger marked up version.Came across a lunar photo taken by astromick "moon earlier this month" (displayed to the left). When I saw it , it struck a nerve. Looked familiar. It did because it resembles the same image on my desktop photo. My photo was originally posted in the "Team TotL Assembles" posted back in November of 2006.Overlooking the differences in quality, one can

20070818 - Venus from Drip Rock

2007-08-18T12:57:00.000-04:00

Session name:20070818.1020Last night, I was worried that air traffic controllers wouldn't let the plane land that carried my wife and daughter. It was storming pretty hard with heavy rain, darkened skies, and lightening bolts scrawled across the sky. In due time it did land and that brief, torrential storm was the remedy for hazy and overcast skies we had for the last couple days.I awoke this

20070813 - Globular Clusters were stunning

2007-08-14T19:02:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070813.2120Coming off a long and rewarding experience with the previous Saturday/Sunday session and knowing from the forecast that the week ahead was not looking good, I decided to observe this Monday evening again with the Teleport 10" reflector. I sent Charlie email but received no reply. Shortly after I arrived Charlie showed up with bins and tripod. As we setup in the usual

20070811 - 10" into the Fall sky

2007-08-13T16:56:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070811.1920Arriving at TotL before sunset with the Teleport 10" reflector is a sure way to gather a crowd. A congregation grows gradually while I leave the scope to acclimate to the outside temperature. People stop and wonder. The silvery, reflective cover that's velcroed to the side draws comments from cold beer to hot pizza. Soon enough even before it's dark a crowd of people

Crescent Venus

2007-08-11T12:59:00.001-04:00

Session name: 20070811.1030Crescent Venus snapped in the morning sky with a Nikon Coolpix 995 coupled to a Tele Vue Ranger (TVR) and Tele Vue plossl 20 mm eyepiece.A short session from Drip Rock where I started with the Sun using the Takahashi 22x60 bins. Detected one small sunspot in the upper leading quadrant of the solar disk after some effort. Otherwise, would have thought that the disk was

Difficult time with Comet C/2006 V13 (LINEAR)

2007-07-15T09:35:00.001-04:00

Session name: 20070714.2200I have not seen Comet C/2006 V13 (LINEAR) yet.Contrasting with a positive weather forecast, our urban dome was veiled with strips of cirrus and glossed with a haze. This session's's horizon, too, had a pinkish-brown hue, strong in manhattan-south-southwest. Yet, believing that persistence yields results, I arrived at TotL around 10PM EDT to find Hannah, Ken T., and Tom

Manhattanhenge July 2007

2007-07-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070712.1945The second occurrence of Manhattanhenge is Friday the Thirteenth, 13 July 2007 when the event begins approximately 8:20PM EDT and the sunsets 8:27PM EDT. The weather forecast for this date had not been promising so I took advantage of the clear skies this day.In the past I have observed Manhattanhenge with throngs of others at 34th & Park Ave. Along the sidewalks we

Daylight Astronomy: A dog owner's observations

2007-06-27T07:44:00.000-04:00

Over the course of years that I have been observing at the Great Lawn I have met a lot of people, perhaps in the thousands, sharing the eyepiece to bring the heavens a little closer to them. I look forward to seeing the familiar people and dog owners each session. It is a important part of the observing experience and emphasizes that the community of New York.This past Saturday I had gone out

rainbow over citi

2007-06-21T22:40:00.000-04:00

skyline looking east after the rain.what's a rainbow?

summer solstice

2007-06-21T22:30:00.000-04:00

medicinal properties of the sun

Venus Occultation, June 2007

2007-06-19T07:27:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070618.1205I missed the Venus occultation earlier in the day. Actually the probability was very low to see the ingress event because it occurred shortly after Moonrise at 8:54AM EDT. Work prevented observing the egress event which was at a better altitude to swing the likelihood to more favorable odds. Recently, the horizons have been hazy looking so I don't know if anyone

June's 21 hour crescent crescent Moon

2007-06-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070615.1810Appearance of crescent at time of sighting.(screenshot of detail below)I arrived early at TotL East to establish azimuth references on the trees along my western horizon with the setting Sun. The tree line rises from 7° ~ 9° in the area I was working with. This helps to determine where to look and I use the same technique with stars when marking a morning horizon for

June crescent moon alert

2007-06-10T19:31:00.000-04:00

previous post - forecasting crescents in 2007The time of the month for crescent moons is approaching. This month offers the second best bracket interval of the year for our location. If the weather permits then this interval could be as close as 39 hours between the two observations. Absolutely a personal best if it occurs. A confluence of events has to occur to have the right conditions and for

birds

2007-06-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

Black-crowned Night-heronsBlack-crowned Night-heron at the PondRecently, Cat Rock has hosted my sunset observing sessions and walking around the Pond is one route I take. I frequently see two Black-crowned Night-herons. It's become a game to find them against a backdrop of trees and shrubs. the stocky bird stands hunched on partially submersed tree limbs or nearby the lip of a drainage pipe (as

20070607 - Sun spots & sunsets

2007-06-08T08:08:00.000-04:00

Session name:20070607Sunset looking west on W57th St.This is a sunset one week past Manhattanhenge. The Sun continues a northerly march along our horizon until June 21st. On this day, Summer Solstice occurs at 2:06pm EDT, where Earth reaches its maximum distance from the Sun in our annual orbit. This point on the orbit is known as aphelion. Slowly the Sun begins a retreat southward on our horizon

20070528 - Manhattanhenge

2007-05-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070528.1900Sunset observed from 34th & Park Ave.The turnout this year was nothing like last year. Charlie & I shared our curb with a couple who came in from New Jersey. Across the avenue to our west, other photographers and sightseers watched the sun emerge and set in a hazy sky. Rather than filter the solar disk, the haze just smeared the light with a brighter center. The sun was

Update: Manhattanhenge on 28 May 2007

2007-05-28T09:30:00.000-04:00

20070528.2017 - Sunset for Manhattanhenge(photo from last year, read about it here)There is correspondence bouncing around Team TotL that Manhattanhenge May 2007 is tonight. Charlie referenced the Manhattan-henge article on the Hayden Planetarium website. I referenced a message from their email newsletter service star-struck. This article provides the following sunset dates for Manhattan-henge

20060526 - A couple of hours out on the Solar System

2007-05-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20060526.1835The weather forecast for the evening of this session was not too positive but at the time I decided to go it was partially clear. At times, I could see the light grow bright and shadows sharpened on the buildings outside of our windows. That was encouraging enough that I intended to scout Vista Rock for the Manhattanhenge sunset. As I left the house with the Bin

2007 May 30 - Manhattanhenge notification

2007-05-24T17:45:00.000-04:00

Manhattanhenge occurs May 30th, beginning at 8:10 p.m. It happens a second time later in the year on 13 July at 8:20 p.m. Any street that looks across town to the western horizon works. In the past, I have tried 34th St. & 57th St. This year I am considering Vista Rock Summit Rock, one of the highest elevations in Central Park and overlooks W83rd St.In a star-struck message from AMNH, Neil

20070520 - 1st International Sidewalk Astronomers Night in NYC

2007-05-21T23:00:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070520.1500Sunday was a tossed salad weather day. Early on it was partly cloudy with blue skies, quite a change from yesterday's weather of completely overcast skies with rain at times. ISAN was canceled for rain in NYC. Today, however, seemed to be a day of redemption. I braved the clouds and forecasts with the Tak102 nearby Turtle Pond Observatory (TPO) at the south end of the

20070508 - Left my game home

2007-05-09T22:45:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070508.2000I read albireo's blog with a degree of envy of how he effortlessly hopped & skipped across the sky. He describes the galaxies he observed along the way. Oh! and he popped in a filter to observe some nebulae. Not once but twice. M57 & M97.Me. I struggled this session. Sometimes it's like that, busted. Need a re-boot. Didier stopped by with his dog. She sat in the ball

2007 May 19 - Int'l Sidewalk Astronomy Night

2007-05-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

Reminder:2007 MAY 19, INTERNATIONAL SIDEWALK ASTRONOMY NIGHT.I plan to be at the southeast corner of the Great Lawn, Central Park setup by 8pm EDT. Later around 10:00pm, I'll move eastward towards Delacorte Theater, about 50 yards, for a better angle to observe Jupiter rising above the trees in our northeast..Objects I intend to show will concentrate mostly on the Solar System and, if possible,

Oh this is scary ...

2007-04-22T11:55:00.000-04:00

After a month of poor weather, we getting a streak of clear blue skies. Already two decent nights of observing and the forecast looks good for tonight and tomorrow. Wonder if I'll be drawn out tonight after our annual Cherry Blossom picnic with friends in the park.With Moon waxing and advancing eastward there's not much time left to starhop for the Virgo-Coma galaxies. Otherwise, I am waiting

20070421 - Details of the 4 1/2 day crescent moon

2007-04-22T11:45:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070421.1730After a day Moon advanced eastward in the sky, leaving Venus further behind. With the bold punch that Venus delivers, most people noticed her even in daylight. Noting the separation of Venus and Moon, figured it was a good time to calibrate my thumb-to-pinky angular distance. With arm outstretched, it was a *perfect* fit from tip to tip. I guessed 21° for my hand and

20070420 - A mix of galaxies with bright stuff

2007-04-21T16:04:00.000-04:00

Session name: 20070420.1900A wonderful session prepared with the finest ingredients: seasonable temperatures, clear skies, wonderful people, fraternity, and a fine scope.Over the course of this session, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that 4 dozen people passed by and took peeks. Moon, Venus, and Saturn with his 4 moons were shown to all of the new passersby and regular visitors. Highlights

It's for finding angels

2007-04-21T15:41:00.000-04:00

I arrived at TotL earlier than usual with the Teleport as sunset was still an hour away and darkness coming around 9pm. I came early to enjoy the weather and release a little cabin fever anxiety. The weather has been bad for a good spell. Setup for the Teleport was a snap.I was gathering my things together while the scope cooled down. From behind a woman approached asking, "What's that for?""