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Omega Centauri, a Couple of Comets, and a Slew of Galaxies

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 2024 March 16 (a.m.): Omega Centauri, a Couple of Comets, and a Slew of Galaxies What do I do when it’s a weekend with good weather for deep-sky observing, but the First Quarter Moon is washing out the evening sky? Well, if I’m up for it, I just observe during the morning instead.  Just after midnight on the morning of March 16th, I drove out to a dark site at Willow Valley Reservoir, in eastern Klamath County on the Oregon-California border. There is a light dome from Klamath Falls to the west, and a tiny light dome from Lakeview to the east, but overall this is a great site with wide-open horizons. The reservoir itself was full. Google Earth has a satellite image from 2017 that shows it flooding the access road. It wasn’t that high this time, but as I turned in to the parking area I stopped to make sure I wouldn’t be driving into the water. The Moon wouldn’t set until 2:18am, so I left my scope out for a while to cool down while I rested in the car. It wasn’t that cold, abo...
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Meteor Shower Year in Review for 2023

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During 2023, I was able to get out on 12 different occasions to observe and count meteors. This is better than most years, and I attribute that to increased effort as well as some fortunate weather. The Moon didn't impact as many shower peaks in 2023 as in most years, so that was favorable. The good weather didn't always land on the exact peak date of the shower, so several of my sessions were away from the peak but while the shower was producing noticeable activity. The showers on my Major Meteor Showers of 2023 outlook that I didn't pursue were the Quadrantids and the Eta Aquariids, both wiped out by bright moonlight. As I'm working on my 2024 outlook and plans, I figured I would relive this past year. I submitted my observations to the International Meteor Organization when conditions permitted, and it turns out that I spent just shy of 34 hours counting meteors (and/or waiting for meteors to count 😀). I logged 1463 meteors during these sessions. I spent more time...
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Major Meteor Showers in 2024

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  A bright Geminid from the evening of December 14, 2023 This is still in DRAFT status. Check back soon if links or formatting are wonky. -WS Jump to Quadrantids , Lyrids , Eta Aquariids , Southern Delta Aquariids , PERSEIDS , Orionids , Leonids , Geminids It seems that fewer amateur astronomers are actively watching meteors/meteor showers these days. Meanwhile, there is still a lot of public interest, some from folks in rural areas who have a longstanding but casual relationship to the night sky and like to watch the Perseids or Geminids, and some from people who have never seen a meteor shower before but have seen something about an upcoming meteor shower in their news feed. My aim with this meteor shower outlook each year is to pinpoint the best times (if any) to watch the major meteor showers, and also to provide pointers about what to look for and how to increase the number of meteors you see and hopefully the satisfaction you receive from being out under the stars watching fo...
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Annular Solar Eclipse: October 14, 2023

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Chiloquin, OR Early morning was promising: 8:02am through a solar filter After an hour of nothing: 9:15am, filtered only by clouds from here until 10:08am 9:17:16am 9:17:30am - Predicted beginning of annularity 9:17:32am 9:17:38am 9:17:56am 9:17:56am: The color remix 9:18:37am: A pseudo-total eclipse 9:19:58am: "Ring of Fire" in subtle color 9:19:58am: "Ring of Fire" with saturation and contrast dialed up 9:20:38am 9:45am 10:08am with no clouds through a solar filter
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