Bill's Sky

 19 March 2026 I walked outside at about 22:05 MDT just to see what the sky was like and if it might be worth taking the binoculars out. There had been a severe wind warning a few days ago so I had pulled the OTA off of the mount on the pier and put it away in the garage. Earlier in the day the sky conditions had been cloudy enough that I didn't expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised at how clear it had become. Just as I walked out to the driveway there was a bright orange meteor that tracked across a good part of the southern sky.It almost had the appearance of a fireball. The color was very striking. The track was angled toward the southeast. Because of that color it makes me wonder if I was actually seeing space debris burning up. Needless to say, I decided to go ahead and bring out the binoculars. These are 12x50 Nikons. In order to be stable and comfortable I brought out one of our "zero g" lounge chairs. Just today I had put the wrap that will be under the sidi...

  On May 4, 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 couple 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...