Red Barn Observatory Nightly Reports and Observations (including SOHO)

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Observing Session 20070316

Tonight was the first clear night that I have had in several nights now. After about 45 minutes into my observing period, the wind began blowing very hard and even with all of my "fold-in" walls up and the roof partially closed, vibrations were still noticeable in the images.

I took about 30 images of 2003 BO72 (V=18.7) over a period of about an hour but three stars are in its path. I think I can get three good positions of this object.  Observations of this object are listed as "Very Desirable" between March 27 - April 26. At that time it will be ~19 magnitude.

Tomorrow is supposed to be very clear so I hope to have a good observing period.
 

New Reports and Observations Will Start From This Point

Friday January 26, 2007

This was the first clear sky all year!

Starting time around 0030UT finished around 0530UT.

Before it was completely dark, I observed Venus for a few minutes at high power.  I couldn't make much of it because it was just too bright but it was still nice to observe.  

Mostly just a bright disk.  I started by re-adjusting the telescope to change the focal length to f/5.  Once I done that, I found that I had to reset the finder scope because of the 

camera lens that I piggybacked on the LX200.  Now since the finder had to be reset, I had to remove the CCD again, and re-install an eyepiece.  

I tried to align with the CCD but it was taking too long.  Once I installed the eyepiece it only took a few minutes to set the finder scope.

Now that everything is set I re-focused the telescope and decided to try out the new focal length on an asteroid/NEO.  

Since the Moon is so bright, I chose a brighter object - 2007 AT2 at magnitude 17.4.  According to the MPC, at 0226 UT, 2007 AT2 will be at R.A. 05 20 49.8 and Decl. +11 23 27.

Here's some other information on the object.

Magnitude Sky Motion   P.A.

17.4      4.27         177.6

It's also on the Spaceguard Systems list of objects.

The telescope and camera are taking a series of 60 images at 40 second exposures.  The object is not showing up well but I think it will be okay.  

The resulting measurements turned out fine and I'll report five measurements of the object titled RBO0002.  Two of the measurements will not include a magnitude estimate.

     RBO0002  C2007 01 27.09558 05 20 49.67 +11 24 01.6          17.2 V      H68

     RBO0002  C2007 01 27.10737 05 20 49.87 +11 22 49.1          17.6 V      H68

     RBO0002  C2007 01 27.11091 05 20 49.97 +11 22 27.3          17.5 V      H68

     RBO0002  C2007 01 27.12150 05 20 50.16 +11 21 22.7          18.9 V      H68

     RBO0002  C2007 01 27.12503 05 20 50.19 +11 21 00.5          18.9 V      H68

I took 30 images of 2007 and stacked them to use on the website.

CCD temperature -25c

Exposures 40 seconds

binning 2x2

Asteroid Near Earth Object 2007 AT2

Sunday January 7, 2007--So far, no observing this year due to clouds and lot's of rain.  Clear skies are in the forecast.  SF

NEW YEAR 2007

Sunday December 31--It looks like the year is going out with lot's of rain and thunderstorms.  The forecast is showing rain throughout tomorrow afternoon.  SF

Saturday December 30--Clouds and rain moving into the area.  Sunday and Monday is supposed to be rainy day's.  SF

Thursday December 28--Clouds.  No observing...  SF

Wednesday December 27--I was able to get a couple hours work in tonight before the haze moved into the area.  The Moon is also getting bright and interfering with the images.  The new lens is working well but I still have some mounting issues to correct.  I may go ahead and purchase a piggyback mount instead of trying to build one.  An image of M51 was uploaded here and a quick search area was loaded here to give an example of the FOV and coverage.  The skies should clear by Tuesday but the Moon will be very bright.  SF

Tuesday December 26--The "simple" piggyback mount I put-together is giving me lot's of trouble.  I decided to stop trying to adjust the piggyback mount and build a new one tomorrow.  I've learned over the years if something does not work fairly quick, it will always give trouble.  SF

Monday December 25--I was able to connect my telephoto lens to my SBIG ST-7 and piggyback it on my LX200.  The resulting image produced is approximately 1.5 square degrees and should do well in comet hunting.  SF

Saturday - Sunday--Rain.  This is as much rain as we have had in many months.  It has rained non-stop for nearly three days.  No Observing.  SF

Friday December 22, 2006--A lot has went on since the last report I posted to this page.  I have installed MPO Connections on my computer and am in the process of setting it up to automate my telescope.  With it, I can spend my time searching through the images while it gathers them.  Script has to be written to command the telescope and camera.  It will slew and sync the telescope, and will auto-focus at your command.  With the script, MPO Connections will work throughout the night while I sleep.  It is a very powerful program and is well worth the money spent.

The past couple months I have mostly been working on NEO observations.  I now have 204 NEO observations reported to the MPC and with MPO Connections, I will get many more per night.  Hopefully, I can get back into the habit of keeping this page updated on a nightly basis.

Weather tonight:  Clouds and Rain - Temperatures in the upper 60s and very humid.

No Observing Last Night or Tonight.  SF 

Tuesday October 10, 2006--It's been nearly a month since I've made any nightly reports.  For the past two weeks, I've made very few observations due to vacation and other circumstances.  There's also been several cloudy nights other than those within the past two weeks.  I've setup my 10" telescope near the 12" SCT to begin visual comet searches while waiting for complete darkness.  Once the 12" SCT is automated, I can still use the 10" for visual searches while the 12" will continue to work on automated searches.  This will increase my comet hunting 2x and increase my chances of discovering my own comet.  Once the comet searches are completed for the night, the remaining hours of the night will be spent on NEOs and other objects in need of observations.  SF

Thursday September 13, 2006--A cold front passed through yesterday and brought lot's of rain.  Soon the temperatures will begin to drop and the skies will clear very well.  They cleared enough tonight that I was able to image 2006NM.  I took 25 images of it over a time frame of about an hour and managed to get five decent measurements of the object to report to the MPC (the measurements are below). 

If the skies clear tomorrow, I'll try for at least two objects.  SF

2006NM   C2006 09 15.09448 18 42 41.60 +29 20 27.0          16.0 V      H68
2006NM   C2006 09 15.10696 18 42 45.62 +29 20 56.8                           H68
2006NM   C2006 09 15.11534 18 42 48.35 +29 21 17.9          16.5 V      H68
2006NM   C2006 09 15.12170 18 42 50.38 +29 21 32.6          16.5 V      H68
2006NM   C2006 09 15.12904 18 42 52.78 +29 21 50.4          16.4 V      H68
 

Tuesday September 12, 2006--Now that the rain and clouds have thinned I was finally able to open up the observatory.  I imaged 2001 UV109, 2000 NL10, and 2006HR30.  They were all measured and reported to the MPC.  Rain is supposed to move back into the are tomorrow.  SF

Friday September 08, 2006--Nothing to report for the entire week.  No observing due to heavy rain and thick cloud cover for an entire week.  SF

Tuesday September 05, 2006--I haven't been keeping the nightly observations updated because I've been updating this website for the past couple weeks.  I'll start back tomorrow since it's raining tonight.  SF

Tuesday August 22, 2006--Rain and Clouds.  No observing.  SF

Monday August 21, 2006--Rain, Clouds, and Thunderstorms in the area.  No observing.  SF

Sunday August 20, 2006--Tonight I had enough time to image 2006 OS5 before the clouds rolled in.  I took a series of 25 exposures and stacked four sets of images (on the object).  The stacked images showed the asteroid better and produced a better set of measurements.  Once I noticed the image quality was fading, I walked outside and saw the clouds.  I closed up and went in by midnight.  SF

Saturday August 19, 2006--Most of the light rain cleared from the area today and the skies began to clear.  By dark, it was clear enough to open up the observatory and image some asteroids.  I ended out imaging asteroids 2004 TH10, 2006 OS5, 8201, and 112900 Tonyhoffman.  112900 was a tough object since it was at mag. 20.2 and I've never attempted an object that dim.  I ended out taking a series of 3 minute exposures of the object and used five of the best images for stacking.  Using Astrometrica, I stacked the five images (total of 15 minutes exposure) on the asteroid.  It was detected but barely.  I think a series of shorter exposures would have been better due to the very slight trailing of the object but I'll try again soon.  SF

Friday August 18, 2006--Clouds.  No observing.  SF

Thursday August 17, 2006--Tonight was a little clearer, mostly just a typical summer night.  Haze and fog made observing very difficult.  I tried for asteroid 5653 Camarillo but the sky was not transparent enough.  The haze became too thick so I closed up early.  SF

Wednesday August 16, 2006--Clouds and scattered rain.  No observing.  SF

Tuesday August 15, 2006--Clouds and scattered rain.  No observing.  SF

Monday August 14, 2006--Clouds near the horizon prevented me from searching for any comets so I decided to follow-up on another NEO.  NEO Asteroid 8201 at magnitude 18.3 was in a good location away from the clouds so I thought I would have enough time to get plenty of images.  I ended out with 13 images, each 45 seconds long.  The final image was collected at 02:27 UT.  Within 15 minutes after this image was obtained, thick clouds moved in, and covered the entire sky.  I closed up the observatory just before midnight.  I'll follow up on the object on the next clear night.  SF

Sunday August 13, 2006--The clouds moved out of the area long enough to get in a few hours of observing.  I managed to scan 10 search areas 3 times each covering a fair amount of sky, and I done it in a short amount of time.  That's covered a little more HERE.  The more I perform the comet surveys, the faster I get, so I should be able to expand my search areas and cover more sky in the same amount of time that I spend on it now.  I also followed up on asteroids 2100 and 2006 NM and have them ready to measure and report to the Minor Planet Center.  I'll do that tomorrow.  Clouds moved in shortly after 04:00 UT so I closed up and called it a night.  SF

Saturday August 12, 2006--Clouds and rain.  No observing.  SF

Friday August 11, 2006--Clouds and rain.  No observing.  SF

Thursday August 10, 2006--The skies were somewhat clear tonight and I had a little time to image two NEO's.  Asteroids 2100 Ra-Shalom and 2006 NM were in a good location to quickly get a set of images from each object before the Moon rises.  Both asteroids are NEO's, so in my opinion, they should have all the attention they can get.  I'll follow up on then on the next available clear night and upload the measurements to the Minor Planet Center.  Fog moved in just before midnight, and along with the moonlight, observing was just about impossible.  I closed up around midnight. 

Before working on the asteroids, I imaged four areas low on the horizon in search for any lingering comets.  There were low clouds near the horizon, so I couldn't spend much time in a comet hunt.  An hour or so after dark, the skies were clear but somewhat humid.  The heat and humidity that builds throughout the day lingers into the night, keeping the temperatures in the low 80s with a high dew point.  I closed up after 04:00 UT.  SF

Wednesday August 9, 2006--Rain in the area tonight, and total cloud cover.  No observing tonight.  I checked again at 03:00 and it was still cloudy.  SF

Tuesday August 8, 2006--Strong storms and heavy rain all afternoon.  I checked the cloud cover at ~22:00 and it was completely covered.  There was also lots of lightning flashes to my West.  No observing tonight.  SF

Monday August 7, 2006-- Today I received an e-mail from the MPC regarding my observatory code.  Everything went through smoothly and they assigned me code H68.  I just checked the cloud cover outside at 22:52 EST and it's still raining.  No observing tonight.  SF

Sunday August 6,2006-- I reported the second set of observations to the MPC today in hopes to obtain an observatory code.  Rain and thick cloud cover.  No observing tonight.  SF

Saturday August 5, 2006--The skies cleared tonight but there was some high altitude clouds in the general area.  The Moon is nearing full so there is a lot of light pollution.  Once I got the observatory opened up and the camera and scope setup and ready to go, it was approaching 21:30 EST.  Before I got started, I wanted to calibrate the camera with the scope once again because I haven't done it in a while now.  It took about 30 minutes to complete this and I ended out having to go into the calibration setup and manually enter the data for the camera.  After a few test shots and fine tuning, it was able to put any star I wanted to center on in two to three tries.  That was close enough since it only takes about a minute to do this on the average.   I started my first asteroid observations by 22:00 and completed the set of measurements by 23:45.  Due to a few clouds, some of the images were barely usable but I made due.  I managed to finish up on all of my observations to obtain an observatory code and the data will be reported to the MPC tomorrow.  Called it a night at 03:00.  SF 

Friday August 4, 2006--Thunderstorms and complete cloud cover lasting throughout the entire night.  One strong storm passed through knocking the electricity out twice, but it came back on shortly after.  No observing tonight.  SF

Thursday August 3, 2006--Clouds and scattered rain tonight, with strong thunderstorms in the area that are expected to weaken.  No observing tonight.  If I'm not mistaking, the 1000th Kreutz group SOHO comet was discovered today.  Karl Battams confirmations will probably be next week.  SF

Wednesday August 2, 2006--The Moon is half full and bright, but I went out and got several hours of observing in anyhow.  I began at around 21:30 EST and ended at August 3 ~02:00 EST.  In that time frame I imaged asteroids Tomeileen (2443), Mercedes (1136), Krylov (5247), and Tauntonia (581).  I was unable to finish Tauntonia due to it occulting a bright star (RA 15:54:33.18, DE -08:06:20.5)  and it would have been at least a full hour before it appeared out the other side.  At this time it was already nearing 02:00 (a little sleep is needed before work).

I made my measurements on the first three objects and this is the results:

Tomeileen (2443)

MPC Tomeileen was V ~ 15.6

Mercedes (1136)

MPC Mercedes (1136) V ~ 16

Krylov (5247)

MPC Krylov (5247) V ~ 15.8

Tuesday August 1, 2006--I had a lot of software problems tonight.  Everything needs to be updated including the asteroid elements.  I began operations at about 21:00 EST and gave up on it before midnight.  The sky was mostly clear even with the Moon high in the sky, but I couldn't operate the scope properly and accurately with software problems.  SF

Monday July 31, 2006--

Sunday July 30, 2006--

Saturday July 29, 2006--Thunderstorms (some severe) and cloud cover all night.  No Observing.  SF

Friday July 28, 2006--Rain and clouds.  No Observing.  SF

Thursday July 27, 2006--Patchy clouds.  I tried to image a few asteroids tonight, but after about 20 images, only a couple turned out.  The clouds were just too thick, so I called it a night just before midnight...  SF

Wednesday July 26, 2006--Thick cloud cover - light rain.  No Observing.  SF

Tuesday July 25, 2006--Rain/Clouds  I've been working on image processing over the past couple days and my images are really beginning to improve.  I think I'll be able to reach a slightly fainter magnitude with the correct processing.  SF

Monday July 24, 2006--Rain/Clouds  No Observing.  SF

Sunday July 23, 2006--Rain/Clouds  No Observing.  SF

Saturday July 22, 2006--Rain/Clouds  No Observing.  SF

Thursday July 19, 2006-There has been a lot of cloudy nights over the last three weeks.  I lucked up and managed to get three good nights observing in.  This gave me time to practice some of the techniques that I had stored in my head, and I actually came up with some nice images.  Comet P/2006 M3 and Asteroid 2003 YQ117 was the two objects that I was mostly interested in my attempts to photograph moving objects.  They both turned out well.  2003 YQ117 produced a nice "stacked" image so I posted it on my website.  It's not the best image ever taken of an asteroid, but it looked good to me.  I also found my 12th SOHO comet this week.  It started out as a very dim C3 comet and entered the C2 FOV for only 2 or 3 images.  SF

With any luck, the skies will clear up and I will get to practice a few more telescope techniques so I can go ahead and get my observatory code.  SF

Friday June 23, 2006--I've done very little observing the past couple weeks due to extreme temperatures and high humidity.  The two together causes the daytime sky to look more white than blue.  The only stars visible at night are the brightest (if they are even visible).  The few nights of observing I did get in was short and I still had problems aligning the scope.  For some reason it just won' t center on objects.  MOST of the time, it will get the objects in the FOV, but that's nearly useless when trying to center R.A. and Dec. for sky surveys. 

I also posted a "potential comet" in SOHO images today.  It's very low in the FOV of the C3 imager and IF it turned out to be real, it would be a bright Kreutz group comet (the first in a while).  But, it's probably noise.  The good thing about SOHO comets is, you can search for them even on the cloudy nights (if images are available).

No observing again tonight due to clouds.  SF

Monday June 12, 2006--No observing tonight...  Tropical Storm Alberto will be moving into the area tonight, but I hope that it will wash out this heat and bring us some clear skies afterwards.  SF

Saturday & Sunday June 10 & 11, 2006--This weekend I've been trying to come up with a way to obtain "exact-center" of my images.  I'm not sure if it's the software I'm using,  or my scope drives that are not accurate but each time I try to slew to an object, it's always a little off center.  Once I finally get an image centered and try to go back for re-imaging, the FOV is off center again.  So far, I've polar aligned the scope three times to verify that I have it centered and each time I've only had to make VERY minor adjustments to the mount.  I'll eventually get it.  SF 

Friday June 9, 2006-- The skies are a little hazy and the high temperature today reached ~94 deg. F.  This high temperature along with the constant high humidity and near full moon will have a large impact on the night sky, but it's still worth getting out and working in the observatory a little.

The Moon is really bright tonight being it's nearly full.  I imaged the area of 08:39:44.690 +19:16:30.22.  Since asteroids Olson 5166 and Ristiina 2698 were both in this area, I thought that I may be able to detect one of them.  Both asteroids were in the range of magnitude 17.22 to magnitude 17.92 and I wasn't able to detect either one.  The moonlight was just too bright to pick up objects this faint.  I still have to work on centering my images.  For some reason, the images are always off just enough to cause Astrometrica to fail to detect the coordinates.  SF 

Thursday June 8, 2006-- I finally got around to updating the Monthly SOHO Comet Reports page.  There has been a lot of SOHO comets discovered this past month.

Tonight I plan to Polar align the scope again but this time I will use the CCD to center on Polaris.  I think this will be better than using the eyepiece because it seems a little more accurate when its digitalized.  I'll also gather some very accurate dark frames for my images.  This will be done by taking 4 or more dark frames with the shutter closed on the camera and also with the dust cap on the scope to prevent any stray light that may pass by the shutter.  Once I get the dark frames saved, I'll "average" all of the frames with CCDSoft and save the final result for the images.  The dark frame has to be taken at the same temperature and exposure as the images that it will be reduced from.

Wednesday June 7, 2006--The past week or two I've been trying to improve my images and scope techniques.  Soon, I'll begin posting more information and get back to working on this website.

It seems that my images have been getting worse the more I take.  One would think that they would get better.  I've noticed the past few weeks that the images have been forming a large circle or halo around the entire outer edge but the center of the image would be nearly clear.  After doing a lot of research on the web, I concluded that the camera had moisture inside.  Located within the SBIG ST7 is a plug called a desiccant plug. It is the desiccant plugs responsibility to prevent moisture from forming within the camera by absorbing it.  If the images begin to show signs of moisture, then the desiccant plug must be baked.  This is done by placing the plug inside an oven at 350 deg. for 4 hours.  Once it cools down, it must be placed back into the camera "promptly"  to prevent it from absorbing moisture from the air.  A dummy desiccant should be used or some other means of sealing the camera should be in place while the desiccant plug is being baked.

I reinstalled the desiccant plug tonight and I will see tomorrow night if this corrects the halo problem.  SF

Friday May 26, 2006--The sky finally cleared!

Comet Hunting Report 20060527

Time 0230-0430 UT
Outside Temperature 83deg. F
Equipment ST-7 CCD 0.3 SC @ F3.3

The sky finally cleared after several hazy/cloudy days in a row.

Tonight's visual star magnitude was somewhere in the range of mag. 4.5.

I searched the area of R.A. 10 03 36 to R.A. 10 05 04 and Dec. +07 39 20 to Dec. +08 14 30 reaching star
magnitude to approximately 17.5. After reviewing the SkyCoverage Report, I noticed that this area (or near this area)
had been imaged a few days before.

My total time searching was approximately
two hours with no cometary objects in the small area of sky I searched.

I also imaged asteroid Pales 49 at magnitude 14 just to view the movement over a short period of time.
 

Thursday May 25, 2006--Cloudy.  Nothing to report.

Wednesday May 24, 2006--I found out that the object I've been chasing is C/2002 T7 (LINEAR).  Dr. Clay checked in on the object for me and he informed me that the object was indeed T7 (LINEAR) and my software was off a little.  He said "the Harvard/MPC datasets are based on epoch August 2006 and thus the actual position of the comet will be off until that date".   Either way, it was fun and an excellent experience because I did discover the comet--It was only a pre-named comet.

The SOHO comets have been busy lately.  Just from May 15 through May 22 there was 10 confirmed by Mr. Sungrazer.  Since then three more have been discovered by Guoyou Sun, Rob Matson, and Tao Chen.  Searching for SOHO comets is tough now especially for people with dial-up connections.  This time of year, everyone concentrates on the Kreutz group comets in C2.  SF

Tuesday May 23, 2006--Spent the night in the hospital last night...  That was not very fun and it caused me to miss a nights observing.  I guess that was fine since the skies were cloudy anyway.  SF

Monday May 22, 2006--I can't open the observatory tonight due to a visit with the Dr.'s office.  SF

Sunday May 21, 2006--The skies are very hazy and I don't think that I will be able to follow up on the object tonight, but I will try. 

The images turned out somewhat hazy, just as the sky, and there is no way to detect an object that faint with hazy images.  I'll try again as soon as the skies clear.  SF

Saturday May 20, 2006--I finally got a good set of images to work with my asteroid/comet hunt.  I imaged an area in Hydra and the results showed a potential new very faint comet.  It could be noise so I can't say that it's real just yet.  I'll follow up tomorrow night and see what happens.  SF

Friday May 19, 2006--I've been trying to get the Meade LX200 mount aligned for a couple days and I'm now finally getting close.  Each attempt I make gets the alignment a little better and the go-to's are also beginning to show more accurate.  I made an attempt to image several areas of the sky for a comet/asteroid search and the results turned out OK.  The scope isn't setup good enough yet to accurately go back to an exact location and the AutoStar program isn't the best program for searching for asteroids and comets.  SF

Tuesday May 16, 2006--After a day waiting on the correct cable to arrive through the mail, I decided to build my own.  It cost a total of about five dollars and worked perfect the first try.  When I got to Radio Shack to purchase the parts, I noticed they had 100 ft. rolls of six strand phone wire for only about four dollars a roll.  This wire is ideal for the serial cable I needed to build, so I bought two rolls of it.  Now, I'm waiting for nightfall and for the clouds to clear.  SF 

Monday May 15, 2006--Finally got the new scope "almost" set-up.  I've ordered the correct cable to connect the scope and camera to the computers and it should be here soon.  Several SOHO comets have been discovered the past two weeks and another one was discovered today by Guoyou Sun.  It was a Kreutz group comet visible in C2 only.  We've had a lot of clouds and storms lately but the skies are finally clearing. 

Tonight--I finally got an hour or so in comet hunting.  No luck though...  Once I got outside, Betelgeuse was still fairly high on the horizon so I searched this area for somewhere around thirty minutes.  There was nothing that even appeared cometary like.  Once I finished searching this area, I moved up to Gemini and searched the area around Alhena.  Again - nothing.  The new scope appears to need collimating, so I guess I will do that tomorrow, and also finish setting the scope up for computer control and also preparing for the CCD.  SF

Wednesday May 3, 2006--Hua Su discovered another comet today--this one was in the C2 images and was confirmed by Sebastian Hoenig.  It was a little further to the right in the C2 FOV than the last C2 comet was and that's a sign that the Kreutz path is gradually moving toward the center of the FOV. 

I may try for 73P in the morning hours if the clouds don't move in.  SF

Tuesday May 2, 2006--I finally ordered a new telescope for the observatory.  The new 12" LX200 GPS should be here by the end of the week or the first of next week at the latest.  With this, I should be able to obtain an observatory code and begin doing some actual (minor) astrometry and possible detection of asteroids and maybe with a little luck, even a comet.  SF

Friday April 28, 2006--Hua Su has discovered two Kreutz group comets this week with the second Kreutz comet that was found in the C3 images was a near tie between Hua and John.  We will have to wait and see if Karl will give them joint credit on this comet or will Hua get it.  I've been painting in the observatory this week so the scope has been moved from the observing area into the main part of the building.  I should finish the painting in the observing area this weekend and get the scope re-installed in the observing area.  IF all goes as planned, I may order a 12" LX200 this coming week.  I was planning on purchasing the 14" or 16", but I will "hopefully" get a 16" within the next year.  The 12" will help me get an observatory code and give me plenty of practice working with computer controlled telescopes.

Friday April 21, 2006--The plans for viewing the Lyrids have been cancelled due to rain and severe storms moving into the area.  Just my luck!  Tomorrow night is supposed to be clear with a high pressure system moving in.  This should cause the skies to clear very well.  If so, I will try for the Lyrids tomorrow night.

Adam Ambrus discovered a Kreutz group comet in C3 images today and I got the information loaded up on the main cometary web site.  It was his first SOHO comet so I'm sure he was proud of it.  It has actually turned out to be a "fairly" bright comet.  SF

Thursday April 20, 2006--The SOHO C3 Kreutz group comet post I made last night turned out to be noise so I retracted this morning.  I also made another SOHO post tonight, but this one was in the C2 imager.  It looked potential to start with but it was only noise.  ANOTHER-Retraction!  So far, NO SOHO comets this month.  I'll have to get busy if I want to find one this month.  Rain is very potential tonight as well as the rest of the week.  I hope it don't affect Saturday's Lyrids.  SF   

Wednesday April 19, 2006--I haven't done any mentionable observing other than quick and short sessions since the humidity has been up and the skies have been very hazy.  There has been a few SOHO comets discovered the past few weeks since my last nightly report and I have all of those posted on the main page www.cometary.net.  I posted a potential C3 Kreutz comet tonight at 21:37:08 up to image 0042.  Image 0142 was the next image available and following up from image 0042 to 0142, the "potential object" appeared more like noise but there was at least noise in the right vicinity of where the object would have appeared.  I will let it linger throughout the night just to be on the safe side.    If weather permits, I plan to observe the Lyrids this weekend and also observe comet 73P.  SF 

Tuesday, April 4, 2006--Tonight is the first clear night we've had in south Georgia in several days.  Too bad I'm unable to do any observing.  I reported a potential Kreutz group SOHO comet this afternoon, but it was only noise.  I thought it was a little "out of place" and slow, but it slowly brightened in four images as the SOHO comets usually do.  Again, no SOHO comets discovered lately.  SF

Saturday, April 1, 2006--M45 is getting occulted by the Moon tonight.  The skies are very hazy and the Moon appears to have a "dusty halo" around it due to the haze.  I took a few photo's of the event, but it was ONLY a few because I thought I was only wasting film.  I took the camera off and swapped it with a 26mm eyepiece.  I then saw  a couple stars in M45 get covered by the Moon.  We also viewed a few other objects but it was just too hazy to work at it long.  We quit and closed up the observatory around 21:45est.  I came in and searched a few SOHO images with no luck.  No SOHO comets discovered today.  SF

Friday, March, 31 2006--The skies were clear tonight but rain is supposed to move in towards the early hours.  I decided to let my oldest son Steven (10 years old) do most of the observing tonight.  He is still "fresh" on the subject of Astronomy, but he's learning.  The objects that he found tonight were M44 (The Beehive Cluster), M42 (The Orion Nebula), M45 (The Pleiades), Saturn and he noticed the two moons Titan and Rhea, he was able to center Sirius and Betelgeuse in the FOV in the 10".  We also saw one fast moving satellite move through the FOV and we were able to follow it for nearly 1 minute before allowing it to move on.  My plans tonight were to observe a few asteroids (especially "attempt" 712-Boliviana), but I let him use the scope tonight instead.  The asteroids will be there tomorrow.  Tomorrow, we plan to get up early and try to view 73P and I also plan to photo the Moon occult M45 if the weather permits.  No SOHO comets discovered today.  I went through most of the images (except a few)  today from March 30 2006 16:18 and made one report Mar 31 2006 15:27:03, but soon retracted at Mar 31 2006 16:29:54.  Calling it a night.  SF

Thursday, March, 30 2006--It's been cloudy nearly all day and the clouds are still hanging in tonight.  There are patches of clear areas within the clouds, but I'd just assume not try and search through holes.  The temperatures today must have been in the lower 80s.  I guess I will sit in tonight and search for SOHO comets.  Hua's comet of  Mar 29 2006 06:32:26 moved through the C2 FOV today and made quite an appearance.  As of 22:00, there are no signs of any SOHO comets, so I'm calling it quits for the night.  SF

At 21:20 EST I walked out to see if the clouds have cleared and it's now raining. 

Wednesday, March, 29 2006--No observing tonight (as I had planned to).  Clouds and rain moved into the area last night, but should be clear by tomorrow.  The temperatures have been nice though.  Hua Su discovered a Kreutz group comet this morning low in the C3 FOV Mar 29 2006 06:32:26.  This one should become bright before reaching perihelion.  Tony confirmed it at Mar 29 2006 09:15:29.  It looks like I need to "tighten-up" if I want to find another SOHO comet soon :-)  I did search through the images this afternoon from C3 19:42 and C2 20:54.  There was a small "smudge" (as comets sometimes make as they are first making their appearance) low in the FOV near where Hua posted his, so I posted it.  I don't think it's anything but I will let it linger for a while.  Hua's  comet  is brightening up well.  SF

Tuesday, March, 28 2006--Rob Matson discovered another Kreutz group comet today in the C2 images Mar 28 2006 04:16:15.  John Sachs confirmed it at Mar 28 2006 04:26:48.  SF 

Monday, March, 26 2006--The temperatures today were fairly nice (although there was frost on the ground early this morning).  A week or two ago the temperatures were reaching the upper 80's.  I finally got the newly installed door painted today and I also began completing the new paint job on the outside of the observatory.  I will be glad when it's finished because it's a LOT of work.  Another day has passed with no Kreutz comet discoveries, so we should be due for another one any day now.  Calling it an early night at 21:50.  SF 

Sunday, March, 26 2006--I spent most of the day today working on the observatory.  The new outside paint job is nearly complete, but there is still work to do before I finish it.  Hopefully I will finish it this week so I can start on the inside.  I plan to repaint the room where my telescope is mounted.  It's currently unpainted wood and I plan to paint the walls a "flat-off white" color and also paint the removable ceiling/roof black.

I didn't do any observing tonight as I didn't this entire week.  With the skies clearing this week and hopefully next, I plan to observe and sketch out a few asteroids over a couple nights and compare them to the surrounding stars, probably in the range of ~10-13magnitude.  My 10" reflector will pick those up fairly easy.  I also added a new page to the website called "Future Plans, Activities, & Observations".  I thought this would be a good way to keep me reminded of my weekly plans and ideas.  SF 

I checked a few SOHO images throughout the day and didn't see anything---checking the "Comet Reports" page, no-one else saw anything *real* either.  I'll be glad when the Kreutz path moves away from the obstruction in the C3 images because I'm sure some of the small Kreutz are being missed.  A few day's ago, I downloaded a few C3 FITS Files and processed them.  It appeared that the obstruction in the FITS images wasn't nearly as noticeable as it is in the gifs.  I would probably check all of the FITS files for small Kreutz comets if it didn't take 10 MINUTES!! to download each of them on my "dial-up only" connection.  SF

Saturday, March, 25 2006--Tony Hoffman found another comet tonight.  This one was a Marsden group comet in C2 only.  I confirmed it after the fourth image was available.  I compared this comet with Rob Matson's Marsden group comet that he discovered a few days back, and the paths of Rob's comet and Tony's comet in the C2 images were a near match.  Just to verify it wasn't a Meyer group comet, I checked the last Meyer comet that was also discovered by Tony on the 22nd.  It was easily determined that they were no match.  SF

Thursday, March, 23 2006--Nothing much mentioning today.  A cold front is slowly moving through.  It's supposed to clear up tomorrow, then get cold.  The temperatures are supposed to get in the 30s Saturday morning--we'll see...SF

Wednesday, March, 22 2006--No telescopic observing again tonight.  The sky is probably clear enough for some bright objects, but it is hazy.  It feels as if the humidity is on the rise causing the hazy skies.   I went through a few SOHO images (mostly C3) early this afternoon and didn't see anything.  I came inside just after 19:20 and noticed Tony Hoffman had posted a potential (fairly bright) Meyer group comet in C2 at Mar 22 2006 19:16:16.  It was confirmed by John Sachs as soon as it was visible in the fourth image.  SF   

Tuesday, March, 21 2006--The rain moved out this morning and the skies became clear, but I didn't open up the observatory and do any viewing tonight.  I guess sometimes we have to do other things too.  I retracted my SOHO comet post of Mar 20 2006 18:17:24 after nothing showed up in the C2 imager.  Michele T. Mazzucato discovered his first SOHO comet today at Mar 21 2006 09:44:38.  It was a Kreutz group comet.  If he felt anything like I did when I discovered my first one then he has been exited all day.  I also posted a potential Kreutz group comet moving into the C3 FOV at 18:26:01 102,839 0,0 (upper left).  Normally I don't report a comet in only two images (anymore) but it appeared to move into the FOV in the correct area and looked very potential.  After the next two C3 images were checked, it was gone.  It was only noise so I went ahead and retracted.  SF

Monday, March, 20 2006--No telescopic observing tonight.  Thick cloud cover and a chance of rain.  Temperatures tonight at 21:45 are in the middle 60s and there is a 60% chance of rain tomorrow.  I searched through most of the SOHO images for this afternoon (C2 and C3) and posted a potential Kreutz group comet in C3.  The last image that I reported was 20060320 2218 and the post was at Mar 20 2006 18:17:24.  After following up on the report, I'm almost positive that it was just noise but I will let my post linger until tomorrow just to make sure it doesn't show up in the C2 images.  The attachment for the ocular that creates the artificial eclipse is directly in the path of the Kreutz comets.  The path will soon work it's way back to the right side of the images.  Calling it a night early at 22:00.  SF