Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 21, 2013 0:16:21 GMT -6
A Chicago Astronomer Blue Moon Session
20 August 2013
20 August 2013
I had not intended to conduct a public session this Full "Blue Moon" evening, but it was an opportunity to meet fans and new friends who might stroll by our Observation Site - for a peek at the Moon. The Adler was locked down tight and as usual, Chicago Astronomers serve lovers of the night sky.
I arrived solo a bit after 8pm and set-up away from our actual spot - and decided to image the Moon from the parking apron - after all, it was just me for tonight. Immediately, I met Christina and family, a long time fan of ours..
Soon enough, as it always tends to be...we had a small crowd gathered about the C11 and all were in awe of the Full Moon...
With the gathering crowd, my place under the street lamp was so ill suited for sky lore and guiding...so I had my new friends help me carry the C11 to our spot just a few feet away...in darker conditions. This enabled us to better observe the sky and get a better view of the ISS that was to pass in about an hour.
You could already observe that the Moon was no longer full and already starting to show features along the western limb...
Familiar summer objects as Alcor/Mizar, Vega, Arcturus were points of instruction and delight. At 9:35 pm, there was an expected International Space Station fly over...and a good one too...
Flying almost over head, our crowd were all excited about viewing the ISS naked eye. In this poor experiment of exposure, one can see the ISS trail coming up from the NW and disappeared close to zenith. There also was an expected -7.3 flare of an Iridium satellite, but it never manifested...
We continue with the session...
At about 10:00pm, I called it and broke down the site....happy that I came out at the very last minute and even solo and no crew at this session....I always have a fun time with fans, friends and a scope...
