Date Time: Aug 16, 2015 2100-2300hrs
Weather: Before dark, some high fog moved through. After dark around 2130, mostly clear, hazy around the horizons. Nice breeze before dark, no wind after dark, 10C very humid, lots of moisture, no bugs.
Attendance: Mary W., Grace W. and Myself.
Equipment: Canadian Telescopes, 80 ED/APO on Vixen Alt-AZ mount, Rigel red circle finder, 12mm and 9mm eyepieces.
Objective: To observe with our guests form Ontario.
Highlights:
- Observed the International Space Station twice. First time, 2115hrs, before dark in bright twilight, going from NW to NE, very high and bright enough to cut through the high hazy fog. Both Mary and Grace observed this one. Second pass-over, at 2248hrs, came out of the west heading SE, but faded out of sight in the SW. Managed to get telescope on it. It passed very quickly through the field of view, without time to observe much detail.
- Observing with telescope started after 2200hrs when it was completely dark.
- Observed Saturn, low in the SW with 12mm and 9mm eyepieces. Hazy conditions led to poor viewing, but rings and separation between the rings and planet easily seen. Mary was very impressed!
- Mary and I viewed M57 with 12mm eyepiece. It was in the Summer triangle, high overhead. The ghostly smoke ring popped out with averted vision.
- Spit Alberio, also in the Summer Triangle, easily with 12mm eyepiece. Mary noted the color differences between the two stars, "one is red, the other is blue."
- Observed M13, in Hercules high in the west, with 12mm eyepiece. It showed up as a bright patch, with individual stars hard to pick out, possibly due to the hazy conditions,
- M71 in Sagitta high in the SW showed up as a smudgy cloud in 12mm eyepiece.
- No satelites, other than ISS, or shooting stars were seen
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