Keeping an Observing Log

Sky and Telescope magazine writer, Bob King, recently posted a great article on the Sky and Telescope website entitled "Pleasures of Keeping an Astro Journal". I could relate my experiences with keeping an Astro journal myself in so many ways to his article. I started keeping an observing log back when I was in my early teens at the same time I purchased my Astroscan 4.25" telescope from Edmund Scientific. The company had a special "bundle" deal with the telescope that included an observer's notebook.

Jupiter Observation from 1991.

After reading Mr. King's article, I pulled out the old orange, three-ring binder I that I now store all of my observing session entries I logged back in those days. The earliest entry was in July 1981, with the last one being logged in November 1992. As I flipped through the pages, it was interesting to see how my observing skills and recordings improved over the years. Around 1985, I ran out of Edmund's observing notebook blank pages. therefore, I created my own with a typewriter and a pencil compass. I included an example of my own observation form in this post with an entry of a Jupiter observation I made back in 1991.

There were times that I used a simple number two pencil as well as colored pencils for sketches, but for most of the observing sessions, I stuck to a pencil. For example, there was a week back in April 1982, my Insight Observatory Associate, Muir Evenden, and I were on spring vacation from high school. The nights that week were so exceptionally clear, we set up my Astroscan 4.25" telescope in my front yard just about every night that week. We used a star atlas called "Seasonal Star Charts" I purchased from Orion Telescopes and Binoculars. Muir and I found at least 15 new deep-sky objects that week that we have never seen before. We sketched those objects with a simple pencil and made drawings of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn one evening that week using colored pencils.

Jupiter and Mars as observed through

Astroscan 4.25" telescope 04/19/1982

I highly recommend keeping an observer's notebook. Not is it only fun, but you can detect detail in astronomical objects that cannot be detected with conventional imaging equipment. To quote Mr. King in his article, "There are many reasons to keep a journal. It's a low-pressure, low-tech creative outlet. Over the years, it's fun to look back at your Astro adventures to relive a moment. Writing and sketching prepare the mind and eye to see better and more deeply the next time we step up to the telescope."

Read More

A Pilgrim's Progress

On Saturday, February 7, 2015, a talk was given to the public at the Cotuit Library in Cotuit, Massachusetts.  Fellow Insight Observatory staff member, Harry Hammond and I gave a presentation entitled "A Pilgrims Progress" of amateur astronomy.  The event covered adventures that spanned over a 35-year period, as experienced by a couple of friends, showing their progress and pitfalls along their journey. The program was well-received by local residents of the town on an afternoon that was anticipating more snowfall in the Greater New England Area.

A "Pilgrims Progress" Talk was Given at the Cotuit Library.

Harry and I started the presentation with stories of how we both independently became interested in astronomy. From those stories, the talk evolved into sharing our passions, such as mine for visual observing and Harry's for astrophotography. We both shared a few anecdotes of our individual experiences in amateur astronomy as well as our experiences together. A few examples are being Charter members of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society back in 1985 to collaborating together on the Sacred Heart School's Observatory project via Insight Observatory in the summer of 2014.

As Harry covered his experiences with astrophotography, he explained the basics of how back in the day, simple exposures of the night sky could capture brilliant colors from deep-sky objects such as diffused nebula. Harry also touched on such methods of the (now antiquated) technique of "hyper-sensitizing" print or slide film to the new conventional methods for astrophotography utilizing digital and CCD cameras.

M20 - Trifid Nebula in Sagittarius

Imaged by Harry Hammond.

I concentrated mostly on sharing my visual observing techniques with the telescopes I owned and used over the past three decades. The highlight of the talk for me was telling the story of the "Personal High" of my experiences with amateur astronomy. The experience occurred on the morning of February 11, 1989, around 1:00 am when I independently discovered extragalactic supernova 1989B in the galaxy designated M66 in the constellation, Leo.

The purpose of the talk was to share, introduce and hopefully inspire some of the attendees to the fun and rewards that can come from such an exciting hobby.

Read More

Students, Parents and Staff Enjoy Comet Lovejoy

Students, parents, and a few staff members from the Sacred Heart School enjoyed comet viewing on the evening of January 20, 2014, at the Kohout-Dingley Observatory located on the school's campus in Kingston, MA. The event was planned and presented by Insight Observatory. The comet that was on display was Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2. The event featured a display of a 3-D model entitled "Anatomy of a Comet" that was designed and constructed by Insight Observatory's Creative Director, Paul Bonfilio. Paul greeted the attendees of the event as they entered the observatory and presented them with a brief lecture on what a comet actually is utilizing his 3-D model. After the audience listened to Paul's lecture, followed up with some questions and answers, the guests then proceeded up the stairs of the observatory to get a glimpse of this rare celestial visitor through the observatory's 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, operated by Insight Observatory's Project Developer, Michael Petrasko.

Insight Observatory's Creative Director,

Paul Bonfilio Explains the Anatomy of

a comet to students and parents.

The seeing conditions for viewing the comet through the telescope were only fair due to scattered clouds that rolled in over the course of the event. However, the thin clouds didn't hinder the observers from seeing Comet Lovejoy's nucleus and dust tail. Even though only a pair of binoculars would be more than ideal to observe the comet, the telescope's wide-field eyepiece provided observers to see about 50% of the comet in the field of view. It turns out that this evening allowed all of the attendees to get their first view of a comet ever.

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy using an 8" Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. The comet was discovered at apparent magnitude 15 in the southern constellation of Puppis. It is the fifth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy.

By December 2014, the comet had brightened to roughly magnitude 7.4, making the comet a small telescope and binoculars target. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye for experienced observers with dark skies and keen eyesight.

Astrophotographer Chris Schur captured Comet Lovejoy 
C/2014 Q2 with globular cluster  M79 on Dec. 28, 2014,
 from Payson, Arizona.

On 28−29 December 2014, the comet passed 1/3° from globular cluster Messier 79. It brightened to roughly magnitude 4−5 and became one of the brightest comets located high in a dark sky in years. On 7 January 2015, the comet passed 0.469 AU ( 43,600,000 miles) from Earth. It crossed the celestial equator on 9 January 2015 becoming better seen from the northern hemisphere. The comet will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 30 January 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU (120,000,000 miles) from the Sun.

Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2014 Q2 had an orbital period of about 11000 years. After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will have an orbital period of about 8000 years.

Read More