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[Centaur]

This year’s International Observe the Moon Night is scheduled for September 22. Thanks to Paulie for alerting me.

I’ve determined that for most North Americans (including Chicagolanders) during that evening the Moon will occult (cover) magnitude +3.8 Mu Sagittarii. That may have been more coincidental than intentional as far as the event schedulers were concerned.

I’ve created three occultation preview graphics for my lunar webpage: www.CurtRenz.com/moon . I’ll place a more detailed article on that webpage after my New Moon spotting challenge becomes outdated.

If you would like occultation immersion and emersion data for your location, please reply to this thread with a longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone. Photos and descriptions of the occultation would be welcome additions to this thread.

[Centaur]

"The International Observe the Moon Night Team consists of scientists, educators, and Moon enthusiasts from government, non-profit organizations, and businesses throughout the United States and across the globe."

The above quote is from their website: observethemoonnight.org/

Worldwide participation in the event is conveniently scheduled for a Saturday evening: 2012 SEP 22.

[Paulie pchris00]

I'm going to try to feature this occultation during my InOMN event at Valparaiso's Central Park Plaza to help show the Moon's motion.

The park's location is:
41 28' 03.74" N
87 03' 42.82 W
773 ft elevation

[headdunce]

That's the first day of fall!

I'll be at my camper -
Fremont (WI)
Latitude: 44º: 15'
Longitude: -89º: 8'
Elevation 868ft
CST

[Centaur]

Sept 18, 2012 18:58:24 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I'm going to try to feature this occultation during my InOMN event at Valparaiso's Central Park Plaza to help show the Moon's motion.

The park's location is:
41 28' 03.74" N
87 03' 42.82 W
773 ft elevation

Paulie, be sure to say "Hi" to all of my Indiana friends!

Zenith Angle (ZA) is the location of the star on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.

20:22:06 CDT – ZA 024.3° – Immersion

21:24:14 CDT – ZA 263.7° – Emersion

[Centaur]

Sept 18, 2012 21:22:40 GMT -6 headdunce said:

That's the first day of fall!

I'll be at my camper -
Fremont (WI)
Latitude: 44º: 15'
Longitude: -89º: 8'
Elevation 868ft
CST

HeadDunce, be sure to say "Hi" to all of my Wisconsin friends!

Zenith Angle (ZA) is the location of the star on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.

20:21:41 CDT – ZA 018.1° – Immersion

21:15:25 CDT – ZA 278.5° – Emersion

[headdunce]

Thanks, I hope the clouds and rain don't mess things up

[Centaur]

Sept 20, 2012 20:41:49 GMT -6 headdunce said:

Thanks, I hope the clouds and rain don't mess things up

I put in the fix for you, HD. I used my influence with the weather gods to change their forecast from showers to partly cloudy. Sorry, I couldn't press my friendship with them any further.

[headdunce]

You did! It was a 50% chance of rain last I looked, now it's only a 10% chance!!! Thank you!

www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Fremont+WI+54940:4:US

www.accuweather.com/en/us/fremont-wi/54940/astronomy/2158647

[Paulie pchris00]

Sept 20, 2012 21:00:11 GMT -6 Centaur said:

I put in the fix for you, HD. I used my influence with the weather gods to change their forecast from showers to partly cloudy. Sorry, I couldn't press my friendship with them any further.

Curt, you and I are six star gods. We should be able to manipulate the weather to our liking, but I haven't mastered that yet. I'm still trying to learn how to shoot lasers out of my eyes.

[Centaur]

The weather outlook continues to improve! The Sun is shining right now, and the Chicagoland forecast for tonight now reads "fair".

Friends have asked me to publish my occultation predictions for the Harper College Observatory in Palatine. So here is the data.

Zenith Angle (ZA) is the location of the star on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.

20:21:16 CDT – ZA 022.9° – Immersion

21:21:22 CDT – ZA 268.2° – Emersion

[Paulie pchris00]

Last minute change of plans.

A festival at the downtown park in Valpo has Lafayette St. closed, leaving no practical parking situation. I might investigate a few other parking options around the park, but I'm not optimistic. I may wind up out at Conway, and do a virtual InOMN event, complete with occultation results, via Google Hangout. If I wind up at Conway, I'll post a link for the Hangout here. If I manage to get into Central Park Plaza in Valpo, I won't be heard from until after InOMN is over.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I'm really tempted to work this event tonight...but dunno yet.

It's clear and crisp out...shame not to enjoy it.

If I do...it'll be as the Chicago Astronomer and not part of the Adler crew - which will be setting up scopes tonight.

[Paulie pchris00]

Sept 18, 2012 21:59:58 GMT -6 Centaur said:

Paulie, be sure to say "Hi" to all of my Indiana friends!

Zenith Angle (ZA) is the location of the star on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.

20:22:06 CDT – ZA 024.3° – Immersion

21:24:14 CDT – ZA 263.7° – Emersion

Had a nice crowd in downtown Valpo tonight. Had given some serious thought to heading out to Adler, but glad I stayed in town.

I didn't get either the immersion or emersion timed down to the second, but my phone said 8:22 PM at immersion, and 9:24 PM at emersion. Checking my phone just now, it is perfectly in sync with the official U.S. time.

www.time.gov/widget/

I have a feeling that if I could have timed it down to the second from my phone, it would have been spot on. I'll have the full report and pictures up tomorrow, but the time on my camera was set to less than a second from my phone. Position angles looked good, too, although I had no way to measure them other than guessing.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomers work the
"International Observe the Moon Night"

22 September 2012

I had not intended to work this event, as my weekends are kinda tight now, but looking at the clear skies and the crisp temps was very tempting and pulling me out. (Many a time, I have regretted not setting up on a clear night). It wasn't till 7:00 pm that I decided to load up the van with the C11 and head out toward the Adler area - where the museum was holding a rare night time observation session for this world wide event.

Arriving on the scene, Chicago Astronomer Bill was already set-up at our usual Chicago Astronomer spot with his reflector and focused on the Moon, while the Adler crew for the night was set-up along the South Entrance with various scopes. The Doane Observatory was open and a respectable number of visitors were making their way to the area for some lunar viewing.

My fellow Adler scope crew members stopped by to say hi and check out the C11 - which always impresses. I recently wrapped the C11 in a band of black & white Chicago Police hat band checkers for a nice play on light and a homage to my history with the Dept...

After setting up, (with our visitors waiting), I slewed the scope toward the Moon...to the delight of our fans. Starting with low magnifications, I kept the whole lunar sphere within the FOV in the Main scope and a even wider FOV in the attached 90mm finder scope. I would switch to a higher magnification only for our guests who truly enjoyed the views and asked questions about lunar formation and astronomy.

Bill was doing his thing and was attending to our visitors smartly...

I had some very nice people come and join us who were really interested and enjoyed discussing astronomy and related topics..

Adler security crew member Paul, (above), participated much with us as he worked the event and watched over the area. He was taken by the C11 and wanted to know all about it....

I like that and hope he can join us often.

A very nice couple and I had a extended conversation on astronomy, space exploration and cosmology. We got around to discussing orbital/magnetic mechanics and I referred to galactic numbers, (referencing the Hubble Deep Space Images), and made mention that Andromeda is heading right for us. Asked if we can see it, I slewed to it and asked Bill to target the galaxy, ('cause he can do it in no time flat!). I explained that they will not see the glorious images that are in the magazines, but instead, witness a slight dim cotton ball object. They enjoyed it and were excited that they viewed a galaxy first hand. I had some people hanging about the scope who also wanted to see Andromeda, so I allowed them a peek.

Their reactions confirmed my standing rule about Deep Space Objects and the general public - They do not mix well. Comments of "I can't see anything", "I only see a smudge" and "Is there anything else I can see?" The marvel of our closest neighboring galaxy is lost with most...and I only reserve it for those who request it and can appreciate it...

I did target the E.T. Open Star Cluster for some, and they did dig it, but soon enough...I went back to the main object of the evening....

Using the Tablet, I displayed the Apollo 11 landing site and then centered it in the FOV of the eyepiece. Some who were really excited about viewing the Moon asked if I could zoom in tight on interesting objects on the Moon. so I did, using a 10mm 2" eyepiece and a 2x Barlow...and slewed about the lunar surface, picking out sunlit mountain peaks from the crater shadows. Smiles all around.... ;D

The Adler crew were sending over their visitors to me and picked up a business card while asking if this was "The Beast". (Some stated that the views in the C11 were significantly better than the 20" scope in the Doane.) I had one chick who was insistent on buying my N.A.S.A Sweatshirt, but I elected to hang onto it.

I did observe, as did others, the magnitude +3.8 star Mu Sagittarii close to the lunar limb, but did not have the opportunity to actually see the Moon occult it.

The evening was a chilly one, but it was ok. We had about 50 visitors by the time we packed up at 10:15 pm.

Looking back, I had a good time and glad I ventured out to share the Moon with the public on this International Observe the Moon night...

[Centaur]

Sept 22, 2012 22:38:02 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I didn't get either the immersion or emersion timed down to the second, but my phone said 8:22 PM at immersion, and 9:24 PM at emersion.

Glad that you had a good time with the Valpo crowd, Paulie. Thanks for the timing corroborations

[Centaur]

Sept 23, 2012 10:03:26 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

I did observe, as did others, the magnitude +3.8 star Mu Sagittarii close to the lunar limb, but did not have the opportunity to actually see the Moon occult it.

Glad you had a good time with folks attending the event at the Adler, Joe. Perhaps someday you'll be able to witness an immersion into occultation. Your next big chance will come on October 6th. Book a trip to Perth, Australia, and you'll catch an occulatation of Jupiter! Then on October 12th comes the occultation of asteroid 15 Eunomia. That will be a daytime event here in Chicagoland, but it will occur at night on the west coast. My lunar webpage now features these spectacles: www.CurtRenz.com/moon

[headdunce]

No luck in Fremont Wisconsin, clouds and rain after all.

[Paulie pchris00]

After worrying all last week about the forecast and possibly not having access to my sidewalk observing location in Valpo because of the fourth annual World Cultural Fest- the first time it was held at Central Park Plaza- things turned out all right in the end. I wish I could have had a better parking space, but I managed to get everything I needed hauled out and set up.

www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/valpo-international-center-holds-world-cultural-fest/article_e538da95-352f-5199-81b1-9cd736300cfc.html






The Moon over the amphitheater and World Cultural Fest activities.




I couldn't see the amphitheater stage because of the tents set up in the middle of the park.




Another event tent set up in Lafayette Street, where I usually park.




Newly dedicated statue of Orville Redenbacher, whose popcorn plant was right outside of town. All night I heard, "That [statue] is creepy as [insert whatever profane four letter word you like- I heard them all]."






Set up, caffeinated, and ready to go.






I attached Apollo mission patches and the InOMN logo to my Dob to help draw attention.


Right away I saw Andy and his son Joe. I've been seeing them for years at astronomy events hosted by Valparaiso University, and had seen them there the night before. We talked about the Moon, InOMN, astronomy, and Andy's experience covering the transit of Venus at VU as a photographer for one of the local papers.




Astronomy enthusiasts Andy and Joe pose with me.


I was pretty busy, but used the down time to get lunar shots, including the Lunar X, which I don't think I'd ever seen before. As the immersion time of Mu Sagittarii drew closer, I started documenting its progress toward the dark lunar limb.






The "Lunar X."










The Caucasus and Apennine Mountains, casting nice shadows and jutting into the daylight beyond the terminator, drew quite a few comments.





As Mu Sagittari drew near the Moon- or rather the other way around- I started pointing it out. I was able to document it approaching the dark limb. In the final minutes before immersion I was able to convince a couple of ladies that I would let them look as soon as I finished my science observation. Mu Sagittarii had a bluish color to it, so I removed my neutral density Moon filter and replaced it with my #80 A blue filter. That helped cut down the lunar glare without badly dimming the star.








Just before immersion at 8:22 PM CDST.


Right after Mu Sagittarii disappeared behind Luna I noticed a cloud starting to block the Moon. For a few seconds I worried that the cloud might have obscured Mu Sagittarii, but now I'm pretty sure the disappearance was behind the Moon, not the cloud.








A cloud slightly covered the Moon just after the immersion of Mu Sagittarii, but quickly moved on.






The sky quickly cleared, and Mu Sagittari was indeed gone from view.


The rest of the night was slower than it began, but I had times when quite a few people were gathered around. By myself and with two telescopes, I couldn't keep an eye on both of them at once. Twice I found that somebody had moved my go-to far off from the Moon, and caught one lady leaning on it. I have yet to do as Joe does in those situations- oh, nothing to see, too bad- but I'm getting close. It was a mistake to think that I could handle two scopes solo, and I won't be doing that again.

Mostly though, I was having fun. And even though I couldn't see the stage, I could hear the final act of the night, Planetary blues band. When they finished playing at 9:00, the crowd, already dwindling as the temperature dropped, started to clear out. That left me mostly alone to observe the emersion of Mu Sagittarii, and pack up in peace.






Planetary provided tunes.








Waiting for Mu Sagittarii to reappear.






Not yet.






After emersion, visually confirmed, but too near the bright lunar limb for my camera.












Five minutes of lunar orbit as compared to Mu Sagittarii.




The "Lunar X" is now gone.






Fourteen minutes after emersion.


This was my second clear International Observe the Moon Night, and third attempt since its inception in 2010. With Hillary and Calumet Astronomical Society member Jeff to help me out, last year was easier, and a little more fun. I still enjoyed myself. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get any other astronomers to join me, but I understand that observing the Moon from a busy city park is a radical idea. I, however, think it's a great concept, and let about 100 people see our Moon, most for the first time through a telescope. I can't wait for InOMN 2013.


pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2010/09/international-observe-moon-night.html

InOMN 2010.


pchris00pnc.blogspot.com/2011/10/inomn-valpo-oct-8-2011.html

InOMN 2011.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Good documentation of the session and of the Occultation.

I did not have the chance to record the immersion, but I'm glad you did.

Good job man.

[Centaur]

Thanks for your fine report and great photos, Paulie. I hope you said "Hi" to Orville for me.