On Friday the 6th we were between two weather systems. One brought light showers to us at sunrise, but then skies cleared out for most of the day. The other one was forecast to bring showers and isolated thunderstorms on Saturday. Even though rain was showing up on radar as close as Illinois, skies were mostly clear after sunset tonight. At dusk and then well after dark the Waxing Crescent Moon could be seen high in the WNW sky. It was almost 4 days past New Moon tonight and it showed bright Earthshine even without optical aid. It was a pretty sight!
Skies were still clear after 11:00 PM, so I put the 10” f/4 outside. This was my first time using it since the morning of March 29th; over 5weeks ago! Skies had been cloudy for so many nights that I forgot how late in the spring it was getting and how many summer constellations were already visible in the east. Vega was shining high over the roof of my house and Alpha Ophiuchi was also easy to see already. Saturn was already near the south meridian, sparkling not far away from Spica. The Big Dipper was high overhead. The only winter stars I could see to the west were Castor and Pollux standing side by side just over the Scotch Pines and Procyon further south.
I got started just before midnight. Skies were clear but there was some “murkiness” so I think some patchy thin high clouds were already overhead. At midnight the temperature was 52°F, the Humidity was 71%, and there was a light breeze from the Southwest. It was a little chilly but not uncomfortable. I was standing at the eyepiece outside on the patio in the back yard with Maple seeds crunching under my feet whenever I moved.
Here were tonight’s targets and results. I ended up making only 3 variable star estimates before the sky clouded up.
T Bootis = <13.2 magnitude at 12:01 AM (4:01 UT May 7). 135X used. Error plus or minus 0.1 mag. The 12.5 comparison star on the AAVSO chart was easy to see tonight and I didn’t have a tough time seeing the unmarked 13.2 magnitude star on this chart (ASAS 141307+1901.0). I had a lot of long looks at the area where T Bootis was supposed to be, but as usual I saw no trace of this star. As far as I know, I’m still one of just a few people in the world who regularly look for this object every year since Baxendell observed it in April 1860.
T Coronae Borealis = 10.3 magnitude at 12:12 AM (4:12 UT May 7). 78X used. Error plus or minus 0.1 mag. Tonight this star seemed to be between the 9.9 and 10.5 stars on the AAVSO chart, but closer to the 10.5 star. This star had a bright outburst in 1866 and then eighty years later in 1946. Both times it became an easy naked-eye object. I’m waiting to catch the next one, but tonight it was near its usual brightness.
R Coronae Borealis = 13.1 magnitude at 12:31 AM (4:31 UT May 7). 135X used. Error plus or minus 0.2 mag. This was a really difficult estimate to make because the star and the comparison stars were so dim. I finally decided that it seemed to be right in between the 12.8 and 13.4 comparison stars, but was a lot more uncertain about this one. This is actually the first time I’ve been able to see R CrB since its long fade-out started in the summer of 2007. Watching the recovery of this star should be something to watch all summer.
I went inside after 12:30 AM and hoped the clouds from the incoming storm system would hold off for another couple of hours so I could check the Serpens / Scutum YSO star field. I wanted to get in my first estimates for the year of “Skiff’s 2009 Star” (VSX J182726.0-043447) and VV Serpentis. However, these objects wouldn’t rise high enough to observe until 2:00 AM. By 1:00 there were a lot more clouds around and it was overcast an hour later, so I had to call it a night. I hope to get another shot at these tomorrow night if the rain and clouds move out in time, but the forecast isn’t looking too good.
Skies were still clear after 11:00 PM, so I put the 10” f/4 outside. This was my first time using it since the morning of March 29th; over 5weeks ago! Skies had been cloudy for so many nights that I forgot how late in the spring it was getting and how many summer constellations were already visible in the east. Vega was shining high over the roof of my house and Alpha Ophiuchi was also easy to see already. Saturn was already near the south meridian, sparkling not far away from Spica. The Big Dipper was high overhead. The only winter stars I could see to the west were Castor and Pollux standing side by side just over the Scotch Pines and Procyon further south.
I got started just before midnight. Skies were clear but there was some “murkiness” so I think some patchy thin high clouds were already overhead. At midnight the temperature was 52°F, the Humidity was 71%, and there was a light breeze from the Southwest. It was a little chilly but not uncomfortable. I was standing at the eyepiece outside on the patio in the back yard with Maple seeds crunching under my feet whenever I moved.
Here were tonight’s targets and results. I ended up making only 3 variable star estimates before the sky clouded up.
T Bootis = <13.2 magnitude at 12:01 AM (4:01 UT May 7). 135X used. Error plus or minus 0.1 mag. The 12.5 comparison star on the AAVSO chart was easy to see tonight and I didn’t have a tough time seeing the unmarked 13.2 magnitude star on this chart (ASAS 141307+1901.0). I had a lot of long looks at the area where T Bootis was supposed to be, but as usual I saw no trace of this star. As far as I know, I’m still one of just a few people in the world who regularly look for this object every year since Baxendell observed it in April 1860.
T Coronae Borealis = 10.3 magnitude at 12:12 AM (4:12 UT May 7). 78X used. Error plus or minus 0.1 mag. Tonight this star seemed to be between the 9.9 and 10.5 stars on the AAVSO chart, but closer to the 10.5 star. This star had a bright outburst in 1866 and then eighty years later in 1946. Both times it became an easy naked-eye object. I’m waiting to catch the next one, but tonight it was near its usual brightness.
R Coronae Borealis = 13.1 magnitude at 12:31 AM (4:31 UT May 7). 135X used. Error plus or minus 0.2 mag. This was a really difficult estimate to make because the star and the comparison stars were so dim. I finally decided that it seemed to be right in between the 12.8 and 13.4 comparison stars, but was a lot more uncertain about this one. This is actually the first time I’ve been able to see R CrB since its long fade-out started in the summer of 2007. Watching the recovery of this star should be something to watch all summer.
I went inside after 12:30 AM and hoped the clouds from the incoming storm system would hold off for another couple of hours so I could check the Serpens / Scutum YSO star field. I wanted to get in my first estimates for the year of “Skiff’s 2009 Star” (VSX J182726.0-043447) and VV Serpentis. However, these objects wouldn’t rise high enough to observe until 2:00 AM. By 1:00 there were a lot more clouds around and it was overcast an hour later, so I had to call it a night. I hope to get another shot at these tomorrow night if the rain and clouds move out in time, but the forecast isn’t looking too good.
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