Comet Swan 25F Search

Location:  Prince of Wales, NB, Canada

Date Time:  April 10, 2025 0430-0700hrs

Weather:  Light breeze, mostly clear, light ground fog, hazy, very cold -4C with -8C windchill reported, and humidity 99%.

Equipment:  Binoculars, cellphone camera, and Canon Rebel with 75-300 & 18-55mm lens.

Objective:  To view and image a newly discovered comet C/2025 F2 Swan which is low in the pre dawn sky, in Pegasus near Alpheratz.

Report:

• A Very bright, Waxing Gibbous 94% illuminated Moon in the mid high western sky shone like a spotlight, putting clear shadows on the ground.  Not good for faint comet finding.
• It took a while to find a place where I could see low on the NE horizon, where Pegasus was rising.  When I found a clear place to see Pegasus, I scanned around Alpheratz with binos and thought I seen a fuzzball, but when I took long exposure images images of that area of sky with camera, the comet didn't pop out in images.  After processing, the comet still didn't show up.  Might have not been looking in right place or the comet isn't bright enough at this time.  I feel as though I was looking in the right area, though.  There's plenty of images and maps available, and the comet being close Alpheratz makes it much easier to locate.
• Shortly after first light at about 0530, a bright star appeared on the horizon that I thought was a powerline tower light. Coincidently, Venus rose and was sitting atop a tower for a while. I realized it wasn't a powerline tower light when it began to slowly rise.  It was Venus.  

Looking for Pegasus

Found it but not the comet

Venus!  Sagittarius! 

Mars, Moon & Jupiter (Updated)

 Location:  Lower Westside, Saint John, NB, Canada

Date Time:  April 2, 2025 2100-2130hrs

Weather:  Cool, -0.5C, 39%, no wind, hazy, but mostly clear except for paper plant smoke blowing south-westward across western horizon.

Attendance:  Benson and Myself.

Equipment:  Canon Rebel with 18-55 & 75-300mm lens.

Objective: Benson and I to observe Jupiter and the Moon.

Report:

• As I was setting up tripod, Benson noticed a deer nearby.
• The Moon and Jupiter were high in the western sky, less than 5 degrees apart.

Moon & Jupiter.

Facing West, Sirius, Orion and Jupiter.

Waxing crescent 28% illuminated.

• Mars was next to Pollux and Castor in Gemini.

Procyon lower left
Beehive Cluster upper left
Mars next to Pollux, upper center left.

• From Richard Hinckley Allen's "Star Names Their Meaning and Lore"---- Procyon "Alpha, Binary, 0.4 and 13, yellowish white and yellow."  "Euphratean scholars identify it with the Kakkab Paldara Pallika, or Palura of the cylinders, the Star of the Crossing of the Water-Dog, a title evidently given with some reference to the River of Heaven, the adjacent Milky Way;  and Hommel says that it was the Kak-shisha which the majority of scholars apply to Sirius."  Further research leads me to think this means the star which proceeds Sirius.  An interesting name for a star that lies in an area of sky rich with amazing constellations and bright stars like Orion, Sirius and the Gemini Twins. An easy star to over-look.

Jamaica Trip 2025

 Location:  Resort Montego Bay, Jamaica

Date Time:  February 23-27, 2025

Weather:  Evening weather was 27C and very humid, mostly clear.  Early morning, before dawn weather was 25C, very humid and mostly cloudy.  South western sky, where Southern Cross was in the mornings, stayed cloudy for all mornings I was there.

Equipment:  Cellphone camera & binoculars.

Report:

• On the first evening  I could see the second brightest star in the sky, Alpha Carinae or Canopus.  According to Richard Hinckley Allen in "Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning" Alpha Carine, -0.4, white.  Paraphrasing, Canopus is Arabic for The Rudder.  "The slackened rudder has been placed beneath The hind-feet of the Dog."
• Canopus appeared very bright, very low, directly south, far below and to the left of Sirius, which is the brightest star in the sky.  Orion was very high in the western sky, almost over-head
•  While attempting to view Omega Centauri and The Southern Cross, both in the south western, predawn sky.  This area of sky was covered by cloud every early morning I was there.  It actually rained most nights.  On two occasions I did observe Alpha Centauri, the third brightest star in the sky, and Beta Centauri, very, low in the southern sky, just to the left of the wall of clouds.
• Again, according to RHA in his "Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning" Alpha Centauri, Binary, 0.2 and 1.5, white and yellowish.  "Baily's edition of Ulug Beg's catalogue gives this as Rigil Kentaurus, from Al Rigil al Kentaurus, the Centaur's Foot ..."
• The Big Dipper goes below the northern horizon from here, but also comes 

Partial Solar Eclipse (Observing Only No pictures)

Location:  Saints Rest Beach and Hwy 1 near mile marker 168, west of Bloomfield exit, NB, Canada

Date Time:  March 29, 2025 0715-0730 Saints Rest Beach, Saint John, NB

                                      0755-0813 near Bloomfield Marsh, Hwy 1, NB

Weather:  Mostly cloudy, very windy and cold in Saint John and at the beach.  Temps were -6C with reported windchill of -10C and 100% humidity with forecasted possibility of snow.  

Attendance:  Edward O, and Myself.

Equipment:  Eclipse Glasses.

Report: 

• Saints Rest Beach - We couldn't see the eclipsed sun from first parking lot, but could see that second parking lot was lit by sun so we went to it.  By the time we got there the clouds took over.  We we couldn't see the sun with the eclipse glasses.  We waited for the fast moving clouds, which were blowing from North to South across the eastern horizon, to part enough to see the eclipse, which was underway at that time.  Ed noticed that there was clearing to the NE so we decide to try for Hampton on the chance of catching a glimpse.
• The area of sky where the sun was was covered still at Hampton, so we decided to continue as there was still time, if we could find clear skies.  We continued along the highway and finally caught a glimpse of the sun as we approached Bloomfield Marshes.  We pulled over on the Hwy just before mile marker 168.  As we were slowing down to stop Ed exclaimed, "Sun Dog"!  Sure enough, there it was, to the left of where the Sun was, an amazing sight, that I've only seen once before.  It's an atmospheric optic, and we could only see the left part of the halo, as clouds covered the right part of the sky was cloudy.
• We pulled over safely and put our eclipse glasses on and could clearly see the eclipsed sun from inside the vehicle.  The left part of the sun was eclipsed, like a cookie with a 20% bite out of it.  The NE section of the sun was eclipsed.  We stayed and observed the eclipsed sun with eclipse glasses until the moon moved off the sun at 0813 hrs.  We were very lucky to observe this, due to challenging weather conditions.
• Here is a quick ABC News video with images.