Bill's Sky

  On May 3, 2025, I caught a bright flash out the window that immediately drew my attention and made me think fireball. It was so bright that it  actually reminded me of a flare. I went outside to verify that it wasn't someone shooting off a firework.  It only lasted a couple of seconds before disappearing behind the Sapphire Mountains. It left an indelible image in my mind. The core was almost magnesium white, with a greenish tint around the edge. The smoke trail was easy to see, and only extended about 3 core diameters behind. The swirls in the smoke trail were visible and my immediate impression was how much it looked like some of the old artists renderings with fanciful curlicues. I had always seen those renderings as embellishments, but now realize they weren't!  I found out the next day that the Fireball had been reported to the American Meteor Society by 118 people, from southern Alberta to southern Colorado. It was caught on a coupel of videos, here is a lin...

  Crater Thaetetus The sky was mostly clear, but very bright and transparency was low. The Moon was at about 60% full waxing. Bright enough to cast visible shadows. There was also a lot of moisture in the air. The lights on the side of the truss company, about 1/2 mile away, had halos around them. Luckily no dew formed while I was out. Seeing was probably Antoniadi 3, possibly 3.5. I wasn't able to push magnification past 156x without turning Jupiter into a fuzzball of light. I was hoping it was better because I wanted to check collimation after the 'scope fell last time I was out.  With the sky so bright, I made Jupiter my initial target. I was only able to resolve the North and South  Equatorial Bands. Seeing was unsteady enough that at times they disappeared. The Galilean moons were easily visible. I had read that using the Moon filter on Jupiter can sometimes help bring out more detail, so I gave that a try. The only effect for me was a dimmer view. I spent quite a wh...