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[Paulie pchris00]

Friday morning, the autumnal equinox occurs at 6:05 AM CDST, or about half an hour before sunrise in Chicago.

South of the Adler, at the Moonrise site, there are four stones aligned to the cardinal directions. I'm going to go down there before sunrise, since the Sun is supposed to rise between the the stones on the equinoxes. My intent is to document the Sun rising due east. If anybody is free, please join me.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I'm there.

[Paulie pchris00]

Cool. I'll keep an eye on the overnight and early morning forecast.

Last year we had the Harvest Moon rising as the equinox Sun set. It was a pretty sight.

pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/09/equinox-harvest-moonrise-sept-22-2010.html

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Galaxy blocks, Just south of the Adler Building are supposed to be lined up on true cardinal lines...

It will be in interesting to see where the Sun rises on this morning....but the weather does not look good.

[Paulie pchris00]

I think I'm going to drive out in the morning regardless. Even if it's cloudy over the Lake, it will be a chance to document the first sunrise of autumn.

[Paulie pchris00]

I’ve wanted to do an equinox sunrise observation for a long time now, but it’s never worked out. Last Friday morning, however, I was free, and a quick check of the weather satellite looked promising. The plan was to get to Adler before sunrise. With the wide open horizon over Lake Michigan, all I needed was a clear sky to catch the Sun’s first rays of autumn. The rocks at the center of the spiral stones are supposed be aligned perfectly east-west, and I wanted to get pictures of the Sun rising right between the stones.

When I left home, I looked up and saw the waning crescent Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and the bright stars of the winter constellations. There were a few scattered clouds to the west, but not enough to consider staying home.

I got Adler just after 6 AM. Sunrise was at 6:40, about 2 ½ hours after the equinox. The sky was already starting to brighten, revealing clouds in nearly every direction, with the worst over the eastern horizon. I walked down to the Lake, then came back to my car to get my table, computer, and solar scope. Just as I had everything ready to carry to the observation site, rain came pouring down. Not cool!

I sat in my car Facebooking while the rain came down hard. By 6:25 the rain had let up, but hadn’t stopped. Around 6:35 the rain finally moved on. With no real hope of catching the Sun peaking across the Lake, I only took my “new” camera down the spiral stones, dodging puddles along the way. There was a channel 7 news crew parked on the other side of Solidarity Drive, and a group of women with Adler umbrellas briefly gathered as the rain fizzled out. I got the impression the women were there to see the sunrise too, but I wondered if the news crew was there for the equinox or news about the UARS satellite that was expected to fall out of orbit later that night.

I took plenty of pictures documenting the sky conditions, but never saw even a hint of the Sun. Rain could be seen falling in the distance over the Lake, but the clouds over the horizon never seemed to move. I waited almost an hour to see the Sun, but it was in vain.










I'm not sure why channel 7 was there.






Looking due east at 6:40 AM.






It looked like it was raining over the Lake.




Under a dark cloud, but no more rain.






A slight shade of pink on the horizon, but no Sun.






The sky looked clearer over the South Side and NWI.






The Sun should rise between these rows of stones on the winter solstice. I'm going to find out.


I finally found a clear sky driving home on the Dan Ryan Expressway. Only a few miles south I could have seen the equinox sunrise, and almost certainly would have seen it from home. Driving to the place that I thought would have the best sight line turned out to be a mistake. I drove right under the edge of a rain system that had developed after I checked the weather from home. Oh well. It happens, I guess. I’m not waiting until March for another sunrise observation, though. There are gaps in the spiral stones that are supposed to align with the solstice sunrises and sunsets. I hadn’t really noticed them before, but if the weather is looking good for the winter solstice, I’ll be back to document it.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A noble attempt Paulie...and very cool really.

Let's see if we can do this on the Sun's return trip.

[patrickm]

Nice try. I applaud your energy & optimism. Nice pics, too. Glad you finally got a new camera! I've never even read the sign next to the galaxy stones. Some empiricist I am.

(iOS spellcheck just changed a misspelled "empiricist" to "snoop oar.")

[magic612]

Looking due east at 6:40 AM.

Hey.... is that tree in the direct line of sight facing east? If so, better catch an equinox sunrise in the next few years before it gets blocked from view through the stones....

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I hear Paulie carries an ax in his backpack for just such astronomical obstacles.

No, for reals.

[Paulie pchris00]

Sept 28, 2011 15:47:55 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

I hear Paulie carries an ax in his backpack for just such astronomical obstacles.

No, for reals.

I carry a shovel, not an ax. I can dig up the tree by it's roots, and replant it farther north.

[patrickm]

Sept 29, 2011 17:50:06 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

Sept 28, 2011 15:47:55 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

I hear Paulie carries an ax in his backpack for just such astronomical obstacles.

No, for reals.

I carry a shovel, not an ax. I can dig up the tree by it's roots, and replant it farther north.

Paulie for President!!!!!!! My hero.