So, Thursday, in the morning, it was looking like it was gonna be a clear day and night. In fact, the next few day's weather looked pretty good. But the best part was that I didn't have to work on Friday. Well, at least I didn't have to teach a course, at the typical 8:30 start time. I was expected at a client's to help repair their SOHO network. But it was no fixed time... So I could stay up late, sleep in, and still service them.
All that said, when I got home Thursday afternoon, I was tired. It had been a mildly stressful week. I started working for a new client this week, delivering computer training courses. While it was familiar products and courseware, it was still intense, lots of things to get right, all the while wanting to do a great job. On top of that was the NOVA course. This week I was to support Isaac. I was stressed about the technology, if the computer, projector, his presentation (prepared on a different computer), and the speakers would all work. I was concerned about the 3D Elmo projector from the Science Centre Education Department, whether it would actually be there. The week started off with a bit of anxiety: the Tuesday training gig for Nexient at a client of theirs near the airport... Well, there were a lot of challenges. Nexient made a number of mistakes which I spent a lot of energy trying to correct. In the end, overall, everything in the week went well. It just took a lot of concentration and attention. All I wanted to do when I got home Thursday was drink cheap red wine from Argentina and relax. But Monoceros was calling...
Stellarium showed that just after sunset I'd get a clear shot at the constellation, very low in the west, but in the sweet spot over the west neighbour's fence. This is my best sightline!
I had a quick dinner on the barbecue.
I phoned the neighbours to the east. Milo answered. He knew right away what I was calling about. He immediately offered to turn off the lights. Thanks.
As the sun set, I set up the tripod and mount. When the sun lowered, I installed the telescope. First time using the new light setup in the garage, I powered on the white light socket, which energises the extension cord. I screwed out the white bulb enough so that it went out; I turned on the new red light bulb socket. Nice. Hooked up all the electronic components, including the 8" dew heater.
I briefly panicked when I didn't see the dew shield. Oh yeah... I had left it at Mom's. I quickly assembled a make-shift shield using some 1/4" high-density foam.
I opened the umbrella on the picnic table and put all my astronomy boxes, paperwork, binoculars, etc. underneath. I put the weather station out early to acclimate.
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9:00 PM, temperature 8.5°C, 28% humidity. Time to chase some doubles.
I decided to visit an old friend, Castor. At low power, in the baader planetarium Hyperion-Aspherical 36mm, I found two white stars with a hint of blue just touching.
I noticed 2 nearby field stars as well (between magnitude 9 and 10). I made a tiny sketch so to record the position angles (although I don't think they're related). I made no attempt to gauge distances...
At medium power, with the Celestron Plössl 26mm, I could see a black line between Castor A and B.
9:28 PM. After chasing a raccoon away, I returned to λ (lambda) Orionis. Meissa is a nice double star. I can still see a faint star, with averted vision, nearby. Eric had suggested this, that I keep checking it, to make sure it is not a wanderer, some asteroid. I did another small sketch so to compare again against my earlier drawings and Paul's photos.
9:37 PM. Without further ado, I headed to β (beta) Monocerotis. With the 36mm, I could see two stars, of the same colour. But there was something interesting about the companion. I could tell it was not a single star, it was not round. Using high power, the Meade Orthoscopic 18mm, I split the companion! Wow. A very cool triple star! All three stars are the exact same colour.
Again, I made a tiny sketch so to nab the position angles.
Haas, in double stars for small telescopes, says they're exactly the small colour. But white. OK. The separations are noted as 7.1 and 2.9 arc-seconds. She quotes Mr. Herschel: "One of the most beautiful sights in the heavens." I agree.
That was worth it!
10:07 PM. I headed off to ε (epsilon) Mon. It was a tricky star hop. I tried a couple of times from β but I kept getting lost. I had to take a different approach. Using Pocket Sky Atlas, I hopped from Procyon, over to δ (delta) Mon, then 18 Mon, and finally to ε. I found a wide double at low power. The main was yellow; the companion was a dim yellow or a pale orange.
Haas does not list this star as ε; she shows it as 8 Mon. She goes it to describe this low-power binary as "striking." Smyth coloured them "golden yellow and lilac." Separation of 12.1".
Between the tenacious raccoon, the wine, and the psychic energy drain from the week, I was ready to pack it in. Somehow I convinced myself to take a break, recharge inside, and then see how I felt.
Stellarium showed that Saturn had just cleared the roof of the house. OK. Let's check it out. It's been a while.
10:42 PM, 8.1°, 29%. Saturn was stunning. That's what I wrote in my little notebook. But those words don't do it justice. The air was clear. The view was rock solid. I could see cloud bands on the planet surface, especially white bands near the equator. I could pick out the sharp yet incredible thin ink blank shadow of the rings on the sphere.
Titan, Dione, Rhea were all easy to see. Iapetus was way off to the side, easy to mistake as a star. I tried for Mimas and Hyperion but could not resolve them.
Wonderful view. I wanted to sit and stare. But I was yawning. I quickly put everything away and headed to bed.
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