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Here’s a report on my recent outing to Bootland Farm (near Stewartville, ON, about 75 km west of Ottawa). I observed meteors for a few hours until the morning twilight. The sky was clear with below-average transparency, and the low +7C (44F) was cool enough to keep the bugs away. It was very humid and damp; I was glad that I had my boots. In the three hours that I observed, I saw 21 meteors (including 2 anthelions, one eta Aquariid, one possible Tau Herculid and 17 sporadics). The brightest meteor was a +1 yellow-orange sporadic. The possible Tau Herculid seen was a +4 slow meteor that seemed to become nebulous or fragment. The crescent Moon rising in the east in the morning dawn, along with the Jupiter, Mars and Venus grouping was quite pretty. The weather is looking fairly promising for tomorrow night’s potential Tau Herculids outburst, but scattered thin clouds and cirrus might mean a road trip to hunt for the clearest dark skies. May 24/25 2022, 05:05-08:15 UT (01:05-04:15 EDT) Location: Bootland Farm, Ontario, Canada (Long: -76 deg 29’ West; Lat: 45 deg 23' North) IMO session: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=84007 Observed showers: Anthelion (ANT) - 16:56 (254) -23 eta Aquariids (ETA) - 23:13 (348) +04 May Camelopardalids (CAM) - 08:08 (122) +79 Tau Herculids (TAH) - 13:56 (209) +28 05:05-06:05 UT (01:05-02:05 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.15; facing N55 deg; teff 1.00 hr ANT: one: +4 Sporadics: five: +2; +4(2); +5(2) Total meteors: Six 06:05-07:05 UT (02:05-03:05 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.20; facing N55 deg; teff 1.00 hr ANT: one: +2 ETA: one: +2 Sporadics: eight: +1; +2; +3; +4(3); +5(2) Total meteors: Ten 07:05-08:15 UT (03:05-04:15 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 5.64; facing N55 deg; teff 1.16 hr TAH: one: +4 Sporadics: four: +2; +3(2); +4 Total meteors: Five Total meteors for this session: 21 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

Hello all, I joined Raymond Dubois and Shane Finnigan (near Renfrew, ON) to observe and photograph the total lunar eclipse of May 15/16 2022. It was a beautiful eclipse even though the clouds interfered for a good part of the totality. Here’s my images using a Canon 6D DSLR with a William Optics 80mm f/5.6 refractor: https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20220515-Total-Lunar-Eclipse-Renfrew-ON/ (please scroll down the web page to see all the images) Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

I enjoyed a pleasant night of observing at Shane Finnigan’s property, near Renfrew (about 80 km west of Ottawa), with the company of Raymond Dubois and Shane to view the post-maximum Lyrids. (Unfortunately, the previous night was overcast for the peak rates). Hearing the sounds of the frogs, owls, birds and the country fresh air is always good. While chatting with Shane and Raymond, while the radiant was still very low, I casually saw a 30 degrees long Lyrids earthgrazer! Not too long after, a very slow +3 meteor came about and appeared to have radiated from the h-Virginid radiant. I watched meteors for two and a half hours, from 11:25pm to 1:55am (local time). The sky had some passing cloudiness that delayed the start of my session, but after that, the clouds were thin and scattered, and were only a minor nuisance. I counted 12 meteors (6 Lyrids, one anthelion and 5 sporadics). The brightest Lyrid was a blue -2 meteor with a one second train. It appeared that the Lyrids activity tapered off even as the radiant climbed. Unfortunately, my session was cut short when the sky became overcast just before 2am EDT. April 22/23 2022, 03:25-05:55 UT (23:25-01:55 EDT) Location: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada (45°25’48"N 76°38’24"W) IMO session: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=84006 Observed showers: h Virginids (HVI) - 13:28 (202) -10 Alpha Virginids (AVB) - 13:39 (205) +04 Anthelions (ANT) - 15:04 (226) -17 Lyrids (LYR) - 18:17 (274) +33 eta Aquariids (ETA) - 22:00 (330) -05 03:25-04:25 UT (23:25-00:25 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.09; LM 6.10; facing E60 deg; teff 1.00 hr LYR: four: -2; -1; +3; +5 ANT: one: +2 Sporadics: one: +2 Total meteors: Six 04:25-05:25 UT (00:25-01:25 EDT); 2.5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.20; facing E60 deg; teff 1.00 hr LYR: one: +2 Sporadics: two: +3; +4 Total meteors: Three 05:25-05:55 UT (01:25-01:55 EDT); 2.5/5 trans; F 1.07; LM 6.20; facing E60 deg; teff 0.50 hr LYR: one: +3 Sporadics: two: +3; +5 Total meteors: Three Total meteors for this session: 12 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

On the following night, I went out again for the Quadrantids. The timing for the maximum activity was not well positioned for North America this year (predicted during the late afternoon hours with a low radiant). Nonetheless, I saw this as an opportunity to hunt for earthgrazers. The weather was marginal but the Lennox & Addington Dark Sky Viewing Area (about 170 km south-west of Ottawa) seemed more or less favourable. I decided to take a chance and head out in the mid afternoon, for an early observing start. Once at the site, I quickly setup and started observing just after 6:00pm (local time) in deep twilight. The temperature was milder than the previous night at -12C (10F) but with a -22C windchill. The sky transparency was good at the beginning, but the traffic on nearby highway 41 caused a lot of flashes of lights in my eyes. I moved my chair in a different position and that helped. My first QUA was seen 12 minutes into the session; a 45 degrees long earthgrazer that travelled from Draco to Cepheus, and flared in and out three times! Four more earthgrazers were seen during the first hour. The radiant was less than 10 degrees high in the NNW. The brightest meteor of that hour was actually a -1 yellow-orange anthelion that travelled 40 degrees! During the second hour, I saw 10 QUAs, and nearly all of them were earthgrazers! The most impressive was a 70 degrees long QUA at 8:09pm (local time) seen going from Ursa Major all the way to Orion! It wasn’t the brightest meteor at +3 but the path length made it very impressive. Just 30 seconds later, another QUA earthgrazer appeared, this time a +5 that shot 30 degrees! Seeing all these earthgrazers was impressive considering that the radiant was at its lowest point in the sky, near the northern horizon (less than 5 degrees high). Surely, the QUAs must have still been somewhere near full tilt at that time. Unfortunately, my session was cut short just after 9pm (local time) when a wall of clouds/haze quickly rose up from the west and obscured the entire sky. I checked the weather satellite map and it didn’t look good. There was more clouds than expected coming. I decided to pack it in and go to sleep in the car. I was a long way from home, and not too keen on driving back home fatigued at night. I woke up just after 4am (local time), and immediately noticed the sky overhead was quite clear! I decided to head back out and attempt another sign-on. The sky was now very different with the QUA radiant situated almost overhead. I was curious to see what the QUAs would be up to, now several hours past the expected maximum. Not surprisingly, the QUAs rates were very low with only 6 meteors seen in a little over one hour. The brightest meteor was actually a sporadic that reached -3 seen shortly after I signed-on. At 5:31am (local time), the sky clouded over again and I sign-off. In all, I saw 39 meteors (including 20 Quadrantids, 2 December Leonis Minorids, 2 December chi Virginids, one anthelion, one January Leonid, one December sigma Virginid and 12 sporadics). January 3/4 2022, 23:05-10:31 UT (18:05-05:31 EST) Location: L&A County Public Dark Site, Ontario, Canada (Long: -77.116 West; Lat: 44.559 North) IMO session: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=84004 Observed showers: Anthelions (ANT) - 07:32 (113) +22 alpha Hydrids (AHY) - 08:24 (126) -08 Omicron Leonids (OLE) - 08:44 (131) +11 sigma Hydrids (HYD) - 09:45 (146) -04 January Leonids (JLE) - 09:50 (148) +24 theta Pyxidids (TPY) - 11:19 (170) -28` December Leonis Minorids (DLM) - 11:35 (174) +25 December chi Virginids (XVI) - 13:18 (199) -15 December sigma Virginids (DSV) - 14:28 (217) +02 Quadrantids (QUA) - 15:16 (229) +50 23:05-00:15 UT (18:05-19:15 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.38; facing N55 deg; teff 1.17 hr QUA: four: +3(2); +4(2) ANT: one: -1 Sporadics: four: +2; +5(3) Total meteors: Nine 00:39-02:03 UT (19:39-21:03 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.03; LM 6.47; facing N55 deg; teff 1.20 hr QUA: ten: 0(2); +2; +3; +4(2); +5(4) Sporadics: two: +2; +3 Total meteors: Twelve 09:15-10:31 UT (04:15-05:31 EST); 3/5 trans;

I decided to head out despite the cold (-26C, -15F) for a late night session to catch the Quadrantids several hours before their predicted peak. The sky was very clear but windy, so I drove to Johnston road, near the town of Bourget, about 50 km east of Ottawa. The trees on one side of the road create a good wind protection - reducing the windchill factor. Without that, the wind would have made the session unbearably cold. I was well prepared with my winter sleeping bag, insulated mat, heaters, down parka, and multiple layers of clothes. The site was quiet, with not a single car going by. I observed exactly two hours, from 3:15am to 5:15am (local time). I saw 35 meteors (19 Quadrantids, 3 January Leonids, 2 December sigma Virginids, one anthelion, one December Leonis Minorid, one sigma Hydrid and 8 sporadics). The QUAs hourly visual rates were 9 and 10. These low rates were well expected so far ahead of the maximum; one that is usually a sharp, narrow peak. Many of the QUAs were on the faint side. The brightest were two QUAs reaching +1. January 2/3 2022, 08:15-10:15 UT (03:15-05:15 EST) Location: Bourget, Ontario, Canada (Long: -75.104° W; Lat: 45.434° N) Observed showers: Anthelions (ANT) - 07:32 (113) +22 alpha Hydrids (AHY) - 08:24 (126) -08 Omicron Leonids (OLE) - 08:44 (131) +11 sigma Hydrids (HYD) - 09:45 (146) -04 January Leonids (JLE) - 09:50 (148) +24 theta Pyxidids (TPY) - 11:19 (170) -28` December Leonis Minorids (DLM) - 11:10 (168) +28 December sigma Virginids (DSV) - 14:28 (217) +02 Quadrantids (QUA) - 15:16 (229) +50 08:15-09:15 UT (03:15-04:15 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.10; facing NE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr QUA: nine: +1; +2; +3(3); +4; +5(3) JLE: two: +3; +5 ANT: one: +1 DLM: one: +5 HYD: one: +3 DSV: one: +5 Sporadics: seven: +2; +3(3); +4(2); +5 Total meteors: Twenty-two 09:15-10:15 UT (04:15-05:15 EST); 3/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.10; facing NE55 deg; teff 1.00 hr QUA: ten: +1; +2; +4(4); +5(4) JLE: one: +5 DSV: one: +5 Sporadics: one: +5 Total meteors: Thirteen Total meteors for this session: 35 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

Hello again, For the Geminids 2021 peak night, Raymond Dubois joined me for an excellent night of observing at the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve (NFDSP), located about 160 km west of Ottawa near the town of Plevna. The weather looked especially promising, although the waxing gibbous phase (10 days old) was up until 3:00am (local time) that night. From past experience, the Geminids have often put on a good show even during moonlit or moderately light polluted skies. I was also hopeful that the timing for the predicted peak would favour seeing high rates on this night. In terms of temperature, this was one of the most comfortable night that I’ve ever had for the Geminids! It was unusually mild for this time of the year, here, with a low of only -4C (25F). This made setting up equipment a breeze. Usually for the Ottawa region we would expect to have temperatures of -20C (-4F) or colder on clear nights in mid December. The sky was nice and transparent, and the fence near us kept the Moon’s glow out of sight after 1:30am. A large number of cars arrived during the night, with a group of about 20 people coming to view and photograph meteors. They remained in the parking area, and again the fence shielded our eyes and cameras reasonably well. I took my time setting up my cameras. My plan was to start observing later at night when the Moon would be lower. Yet, the moonlight did not seem to hinder the Geminids too much. Several meteors would catch my eyes, many bright ones too! I signed on at mmidnight (local time) and I’m glad I did because the Geminids were already producing visual rates of better than one per minute! My first hour had 65 Geminids, followed by another 60 in the second hour of my watch. A good number of negative magnitude GEMs were seen, including a -4 blue-green beauty that shot 30 degrees into Ursa Major, seen just after 1am (local time). The rates further increased to 80 GEMs seen in the third hour, with the Moon about to set. Then, the fourth hour was glorious, with dark mag 6.5 skies, and a visible winter Milky Way. Activity was high and superb… with 130 meteors seen (of which 110 were GEMs)! My fifth “hour" was cut short and lasted only a little over half an hour, due to clouds and haze that gradually covered the sky, but still yielded 50 GEMs. All in all, in over four and a half hours of observing, I saw 411 meteors (365 Geminids, 8 sigma Hydrids, 5 Comae Berenicids, 4 Monocerotids, 4 December Alpha Draconids, 3 December Sigma Virginids, 2 eta Hydrids, 2 December Leonis Minorids, 2 Ursids, one November Orionid and 15 sporadics). Ouf! It can be a bit of a challenge keeping track of so many active radiants active in mid-December, though I’m not complaining! A total of 7 fireballs were seen. The finest was a mag -5 GEM near the end of the night, that shot down into Orion and created haloes with the haze rising in that direction. Another GEM fireball, this time a -3 seen just a few minutes earlier, fragmented and had a vivid blue-green color. My photography consisted of two cameras setup to track the sky for a period of about 5 hours, until the end of the night. Here’s one of two composite images. This one is of 98 Geminid meteors, captured on December 13/14 2021, between midnight and 5am (local time). Canon 5D and Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 (set at f/2.0), ISO800 (prior to 2:30am local time), ISO1600 (after 2:30am local time). Hundreds of 30 seconds exposures were taken, and the images with meteors were then combined together digitally: https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20191213-14-Geminids-NFDSP-Ontario/i-FWnvM3v/A The second composite is of 200 Geminid meteors, captured on December 13/14 2021, between midnight and 5am (local time). Canon 6D and Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, ISO800 (prior to 2:30am local time), ISO3200 (after 2:30am local time). Hundreds of 30 seconds exposures were taken, and the images with meteors were then combined together digitally: https://pmartin.smugmug.com/Astronomy/20191213-14-Geminids-NFDSP-Ontario/i-7KRZSGp/A It was a fabulous night, and it was great to have Raymond’s company. Observation

I returned to Moosecreek on the following night to observe meteors for another three hours, this time much earlier in the evening, for a much higher Draconids radiant. The sky transparency was not quite as good as on the previous night. During this session, I saw 19 meteors, including four South Taurids, three October Camelopardalids, one Draconid and eleven sporadics. The best meteor was a -1 golden October Camelopardalid that moved across 30 degrees! The only Draconid that I saw a very faint +5 meteor between Cepheus and Cassiopeia. October 8/9 2021, 00:23-03:30 UT (20:23-23:30 EDT) Location: Moosecreek, Ontario, Canada (Long: -75 deg 02' 57" West; Lat: 45 deg 15' 13" North) IMO session: https://www.imo.net/members/imo_vmdb/view?session_id=84002 Observed showers: Draconids (DRA) - 17:32 (263) +56 Southern Taurids (STA) - 01:54 (02) +07 Orionids (ORI) - 05:29 (082) +14 epsilon Geminids (EGE) - 05:51 (088) +30 October Camelopardalids (OCT) - 11:09 (167) +79 00:23-01:24 UT (20:23-21:24 EDT); 1.5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.08; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr OCT: two: +3; +4 Sporadics: three: +2(2); +3 Total meteors: Five 01:24-02:24 UT (21:24-22:24 EDT); 2/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.25; facing N60 deg; teff 1.00 hr OCT: one: -1 STA: one: +2 Sporadics: two: +1; +5 Total meteors: Four 02:24-03:30 UT (22:24-23:30 EDT); 1.5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.13; facing N60 deg; teff 1.10 hr STA: three: +1; +2; +4 DRA: one: +5 Sporadics: six: +2(2); +3(2) +4; +5 Total meteors: Ten Total meteors for this session: 19 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

Hello all! I hope everyone is well! I am catching up on some older reports! Here’s a two hour session I did last October at the Moosecreek site in an attempt to look for Draconids. Although nothing special was predicted to happen, I always enjoy trying to spot these elusive meteors. It was already quite late when I arrived at the site, and the Draconids radiant was quite low around midnight local time, so I didn’t expect to see much. Indeed, only one possible Draconid candite was seen — a slow +3 meteor that was seen in the north-east. The South Taurids were however quite active with seven meteors, in addition to a couple of early Orionids, one October Camelopardalid and six sporadics. Altogether, seventeen meteors. October 7/8 2021, 03:27-05:30 UT (23:27-01:30 EDT) Location: Moosecreek, Ontario, Canada (Long: -75 deg 02' 57" West; Lat: 45 deg 15' 13" North) Observed showers: Draconids (DRA) - 17:32 (263) +56 Southern Taurids (STA) - 01:54 (02) +07 Orionids (ORI) - 05:29 (082) +14 epsilon Geminids (EGE) - 05:51 (088) +30 October Camelopardalids (OCT) - 11:09 (167) +79 03:27-04:27 UT (23:27-00:27 EDT); 2.5/5 trans; F 1.00; LM 6.20; facing NW60 deg; teff 1.00 hr STA: three: +3; +4(2) Sporadics: three: 0; +4; +5 Total meteors: Six 04:27-05:30 UT (00:27-01:30 EDT); 2.5/5 trans; F 1.05; LM 6.20; facing NW60 deg; teff 1.05 hr STA: four: +1; +4; +5(2) ORI: two: +1; +2 DRA: one: +3 OCT: one: +3 Sporadics: three: +2(2); +3 Total meteors: Eleven Total meteors for this session: 17 Clear skies, Pierre Martin Ottawa, Ontario

Hello all! This could be a very significant meteor outburst!!! Stay tune for more... - Pierre ================= THE TAU HERCULID METEOR SHOWER: In late 1995, Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann exploded. Next week, some of the debris might hit Earth. Above: NASA images of Comet 73P still crumbling years after its initial breakup. [more] Multiple forecasters agree that a meteor shower could erupt on May 31, 2022, when Earth runs into one or more debris streams from Comet 73P. The display could be as intense as a meteor storm (1000 or more meteors per hour) or as weak as nothing at all. No one knows how much debris is inside the approaching streams, so meteor rates are hard to estimate. Whatever happens, people in North America are in a good position to see it. Almost the entire continent will be in Moon-free darkness when the shower peaks. Maximum activity is expected around 1:00 am Eastern Daylight Time (05:00 UT) on Tuesday morning, May 31st. The shower's radiant (the point from which all meteors stream) will be almost straight above Baja California. Above: Altitude contours for the shower's radiant. Baja California is favored with zenith observing geometry. Image credit: Jérémie Vaubaillon [more] This isn't the first time Earth has sampled debris from Comet 73P. In 1930, at least a handful of meteors were observed shortly after the comet's discovery by German astronomers. They emerged from a radiant near 4th magnitude star tau Herculis, so the shower has since been called "the tau Herculid meteor shower." NASA cameras also detected minor tau Herculid activity in 2011 and 2017. Based on past performance, the tau Herculids seem unlikely to produce a good show. For nearly a century the shower has been a dud. The X-factor this year is fresh material from the comet's catastrophic breakup. If the new meteoroids reach Earth--and that is a big IF--shooting stars will fly from a point near the bright star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes, which is much easier to find than dim tau Herculis: sky map. To learn more about the tau Herculid meteor shower, we recommend this comprehensive paper by Joe Rao, a lecturer at the Hayden Planetarium in New York. Also, a new analysis by Jérémie Vaubaillon of the Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Computation of Ephemerides in Paris raises the possibility of two additional outbursts on May 31st resulting from debris shed by Comet 73P in the years 1892 and 1897. It all adds up to a date with the night sky at the end of the month. Don't miss it!

The sky's transparency wasn't great and the seeing was less than average, but the eclipse was still fun to follow. I was astounded at how dark the environs got as the event moved from full moon to no moon. Here are my photos: 2022-05-15 - 16 - Lunar eclipse | Flickr

Hi, I’m new to the group and in the Ottawa valley. Im wondering if anyone has suggestions for good places to purchase a telescope or if anyone were selling a used one. I think I’d like to get a dobsodian telescope so my little ones have a great experience looking at the night sky. Thank you, cheers!

Hello all, This Saturday is Astro Day and the event will be back at Chapters (Silvercity Plaza) in the east end for the first time since 2019! it goes on all day from 10am to 10am outside on the parking lot area. There is still lots of room for scopes and setups (solar and nighttime viewing) and it's not too late if you would like to join us! : ) All setups are welcome, but please see Jim Thompson's message below. He only ask that you let him know if you plan to attend, so that he knows who's coming, ensure enough space, etc. Email him at top-jimmy at rogers dot com (replace the "at" and "dot"). Alternately, reply here and I will let him know. We plan to have a BBQ with food and drinks (small contributions for costs welcome). Would anyone have a BBQ propane hookup for a standard tank? The location is heavily light polluted but it is primarily a public outreach event. Solar and lunar observing will be the highlights. The weather looks good. Lets hope is stays that way! Clear skies! Pierre ========== Hello all! I hope you are all getting ready for the big day. So far I have around 10 people signed up to attend with telescopes. If you are planning to attend at some point through the day, but have not told me yet, please let me know. Below are a few bullet point notes regarding the planning so far: - As mentioned previously, Rio-Can and Chapters have both given approval for the event. - The Chapters store manager has also indicated that we may use power from their loading bay during store hours like we have done in previous years. If you need to tie into 120VAC, be sure to bring some long extension cords with you. - Once Chapters has closed for the evening, around 7pm, we will switch to my small gas powered generator. - I will block off the section of parking lot right beside Chapters that we have used traditionally on the evening before the event. Depending on the number of people with scopes that show up, we may or may not allow some cars to stay parked in the lot as opposed to parking elsewhere in the complex. - I plan to arrive around 8-8:30am on Saturday to start setting up my telescope, and the display area being coordinated by Andrea. - Michel Godbout has offered to bring his portable BBQ in case volunteers want to cook up some hot dogs or hamburgers to eat through the day. - Some people will have setups with cameras, some with eyepieces. How simple or complex a setup you want to bring is totally fine. - In all the years I have participated in the event it has been windy. Plan accordingly with regards to your telescope setup, clothing choices, etc. - Plan for everything under the Sun weather wise! Bring: warm extra layers, toque, gloves, sun hat, sun glasses, sun screen, water and snacks/food. - The long range forecast is for rain on the 7th and 8th. There is still lots of time for the forecast to change, so stay tuned. - I have one large "OAOG Free Star Party" sign. Pierre, do you have the two smaller ones? - Some members are concerned over the slowly increasing COVID numbers. If the pattern follows what happened in 2020 and 2021, the springtime bump should crest in the next week or so, and then quickly decline into June. My plan is to proceed with the event unless city or provincial public health restrictions say not to. We are an outdoor event where social distancing can be maintained and we can be wearing a mask, so the risk level in my opinion is low. That said, I completely understand if some members find the risk level too high - please just let me know whether you plan to attend or not so I know who to expect. - If anybody has any questions, please let me know! Cheers, Jim T.

Hello all, I'll be doing a presentation at this Friday night's RASC Ottawa meeting (on the Zoom platform) about the upcoming Tau Herculids meteor shower on the night of May 30/31, 2022. This meteor shower that you might have never heard about might be spectacular, and the circumstances are ideal for visibility from Ottawa (if the sky is clear). For details and registration, see below. The meetings are open to members and the public too! https://ottawa.rasc.ca https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5416489423714/WN_VFha84J3SKKXC_CRe3R8LA Clear skies! Pierre

It was about $40 for a square foot of Thousand Oaks solar film, and the embroidery hoop was $5. I used a 9" circle of film in an 8" hoop. It sits nicely inside the lip of my 8" sct. All it needs is a wedge opposite the screw. I intend to straighten the film out and use heavier cardboard for the flange. Even though this is proof of concept it is usable as it sits. Of course no clear skies of any kind soon :)

I received this email today from NYAA Starfest. -ad ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from Team Starfest March 30, 2022 Greetings Attilla: ITS PARTY TIME!!!!!! STAR PARTY TIME, that is!!!!! Dust off your telescope. Break out your camping gear. Join us and your friends as we celebrate the revival of STARFEST and 40 years since the first STARFEST was held in 1982. Mark August 25 - 28, 2022 on your calendar and plan to attend STARFEST 2022. Please share this information with your family and friends. We are still working on the details. The program for 2022 will be announced, and registration should open in mid-May. We look forward to seeing you in August. Until then, we wish you all the best and great observing wherever you are! If you have had a change of mailing and/or email address, please let us know by replying to this message and we will update our records. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's hope those 190nm wide parasites leave us alone long enough to attend.

Some beautiful photos of the night sky from the Atacama desert in Chile. Trailer is here: https://cielo-thefilm.com/ The entire film can be watched free if you have a library card here: https://ottawalib.kanopy.com/video/cielo I found it a bit slow in many places, but some amazing images. Best – Michael

Hello all, Here’s some important information for doing the Messier Marathon this year. The two toughest evening objects (M74, M77) will not likely be visible in the twilight this year due to the Marathon taking place a bit later than usual. But the morning objects should be a little easier :) At the moment, this Friday night shows possibilities! The weather models are not consistent however at this point. The GFS and ecmwf show clearing at 9pm Friday. The CSC shows clearing not until 4am Saturday morning, while the NAM shows it to clear as early as 8pm on Friday. We will have to wait until late today and perhaps tomorrow at noon to see what will happen. Information about Messier Marathon 2022 at Pit Road (lots of useful information): /g/oaog/files/Messier%20Marathon/Messier_Marathon_2022.pdf Printable objects log check-list in the optimized order, and times, that they should be seen: /g/oaog/files/Messier%20Marathon/MARATHON-2022-list.pdf Those interested, please do tell to get an idea who is coming at Pit Road (south of Cobden, about 2 hours drive west of the city). Clear skies! :) Pierre

Venus Saturn and Mars rise together. Theyre within a 6 degree circle. Could be fun sight for people capable of waking up that early (not me). For the especially masochistic, comet 22P/Kopf (mag 9.5) is in the same 6 degree circle.