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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago Astronomer Full Moon Rise Party 
Friday the 13th 2014

We have a great opportunity to enjoy observing a nice Full Moon rise over the distant horizon this Friday evening - which is also Friday the 13th.  The Chicago Astronomer crew often conducts Full Moon Rise sessions by the Adler area...but there is scheduled a concert at Soldier Field throughout the entire weekend, disrupting parking and access to the museum campus...and the gathering of sky lovers.  A shame really, since the area just south of the Adler building is a wonderful spot to enjoy the Moonrise.

So....

I have selected Montrose Harbor for our session, as we have been here before for Chicago Astronomer Star Parties and it does have a decent vantage view.  But unlike at the Adler area,  I don't control the area here and it is uncertain exactly where we will set-up scopes.  Most certainly along the Montrose drive curve - (See Above).  I do not know how the parking situation will be, but we never had a problem in the past.

Moonrise will be at 8:55 pm and I will arrive on-site at 7:30pm to scout the site and set-up Telescopes. We will remain till 10:30 pm....sharing the great Moon with our fans and friends.

The weather will be near perfect I understand, with a very low dew point and deep skies.  I would feel guilty not setting up a scope to take advantage of the full Moon on Friday the 13th. And as the next Friday the 13th full moon will be on Aug. 13, 2049....I elect that we should try this locale out and hope it works out for all of us.

[Centaur]

I won't be able to attend, Joe, but I wish you and the gang well. It's great that you host Full Moon parties. Montrose Harbor was near where I lived as a kid and should be a great site for your event.

I'll note that this month's Moon was actually fullest for Chicago observers last night (Thursday) at 22:36 CDT. Sources based on further eastern time zones would have indicated after midnight early this past morning (Friday).

I still create a guide to the best time each month for Chicago observers to view the fullest possible Moon at moonrise. It appears on my Moon webpage: www.CurtRenz.com/moon . Click the link on that page to "Full Moon Rising over Chicago - 2014". The data in red are for the ideal date each month. You'll see that June 12 was clearly best this month, not only regarding fullness but even more so regarding brightness. The brightness factor on June 12 was enhanced by the opposition flash that occurs during the hours the Moon is most nearly opposite the Sun in the sky.

My data are based on the fraction of the Moon illuminated for Chicago observers, and not the simplistic geocentric data based on ecliptical longitude found in most sources. Those other sources often utilize Universal Time or Eastern Time. In addition to time zone differences, what often misleads people comes when a Full Moon is fullest just after midnight, and it is wrongly assumed that the moonrise much later that day will be that of the most nearly full moonrise that month.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A lakefront blast with Chicago Astronomer fans 

for the Full "Honey-Strawberry Moon" Rise...

Setting up gear away from our regular observation site is always stressful....as uncertainties beyond my control abound.   But, this new locale at Montrose harbor was great...




Facing the lake, setting up on a curved spit of land, provided a nice vantage point for our scopes and a decent spot to catch the full Moon rise for our fans, friends and the opportunity to introduce urban astronomy to a new section of the public.  Arriving before 8pm, I was joined by Astronomers Tom, bringing his fork mounted 6" SCT and David with his 10" Dob.  I anticipated this session, although it was a bit chilly, I was quite comfortable...

I use the distant skyline to align my scopes and check collimation...

(Credit: David Lehocky)

While we were waiting for Moonrise and darkness, it always provides us with the chance to chat with the curious and those who are regulars to Chicago Astronomer events.  I used the iPad to demonstrate what would be seen, using the Lunar Map HD app, decribing various highlights and features to look out for...

And at 8:55 pm, someone in the crowd spotted the Moon cresting over the horizon...

Lines always form when we set-up scopes and tonight especially so.....

All our scopes had eager visitors waiting to take a peek at the "Strawberry Moon"...with gasps of awe and fascination...

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I kept the magnification low, using a 40mm 2" eyepiece, providing a comfortable 70x and keeping the entire orb within the field of view.  Atmospheric refraction was quite evident and observable well after Moonrise, squishing and distorting the lunar face.  We all had a steady stream of visitors....

Fans and friends stop by, ready to share the skies with us...

We only had till 10:30 pm till we had to break down the site, but we enjoyed a nice ISS pass to add to the evening's session....which included views of Saturn, Mars and Jupiter and even a binary or two...

I like this shot a lot.

It shows the utter thrill of a young woman who is viewing the Moon for the first time through a telescope...and another with me who has just observed the lunar face with her own eyes and shared her memorable experience with me.  Behind is support crew member Maria working and taking pics of the session.   Everybody has a great time at Chicago Astronomer sessions.

Astronomer crew for this uber lunar session...

Tom, David and myself

Stay tuned for the next Chicago Astronomer gathering of Astronomers, scopes and the cosmos....