Observing Reports
By Michael Amato
What Lowell really saw on Mars
Percival Lowell claims he saw spokes on Venus and canals on Mars. So, what did Lowell really see on these planets? I have read and I believe Lowell may have had a harmless condition of his eyes called spider veins. While other astronomers saw nothing, Lowell was drawing detailed sketches of “Venus’ Spokes and Mars’ Canals” which has led some people to believe the combination of spider veins in his eyes and his telescope’s poor optics caused him to see his own spider veins projected on the bright surfaces of both Mars and Venus. Giovanni Schiaparelli who saw “canalis” or “channels” on Mars also may have been a victim of spider veins and poor optics. Of course, telescopes with good optics would easily negate the effects of spider veins when looking at other planets. I found this to be a very interesting theory.
Perseids, an aurora, and more
During the morning of August 12, I got up at 1:45 am to watch the meteor shower. When I stepped out on the deck, I thought the skies were hazy, but the “haze” kept shifting in the sky. That’s when my groggy mind realized I was watching a green aurora. At about 2:00 am the aurora stopped and the sky was looking pristine. I settled down and saw a few bright bluish-white meteors streaking across a small patch of sky. I decided to get my 10×50 binoculars & my 5.1″ Newtonian Richfield Scope to view some interesting sights. I needed to use my binoculars to view the Mirfak Association because I couldn’t position my scope to observe them. I still enjoyed the view. Next, I observed the Pleiades both with my binoculars and telescope. M45 still remains my favorite target. While I was waiting for the Hyades and the Mars-Jupiter close encounter to clear the trees I relaxed and watched the meteor shower some more until my next targets, Jupiter and Mars finally appeared. After enjoying this close encounter with my naked eyes, I observed them with my binoculars and they really looked good together with Jupiter’s white color contrasting Mars’ red tinge. Aldebaran being close by completed the nice view. The real surprise was both planets fit in the same view of my Richfield scope. I saw Jupiter, Mars and two of Jupiter’s moons in the same field of view. Finally, the Hyades completely cleared the trees and I was able to scan the whole cluster with my scope. Later, when I arose at about 8:30 am, I put my Sun Spotter solar scope on the Sun to observe the two huge spots on the Sun’s face. One of the spots had a thick coating of facula around it. What an amazing morning of astronomy!
Supermoon and Saturn
On Tuesday night, August 20, I went on my deck to enjoy the conjunction of the supermoon and Saturn, which was only one-third of a degree away from the Moon. I first tried to view the conjunction with my naked eye but the Moon’s glare prevented me from seeing Saturn. However, my 10×50 binoculars provided me with a perfect view of this conjunction and it was spectacular. I then got out my 5.1″ Newtonian Richfield Scope and sure enough, I was able to see the Moon-Saturn conjunction which just barely fit into the scope’s field of view. It was something to see. Meanwhile, my brother Anthony also needed his 8×40 binoculars to see the conjunction from where he lived. He couldn’t see it naked eye either. Anyway, we were both happy with our results.
Lunar Eclipse
On the evening of September 17, my brother Anthony imaged the partial lunar eclipse from his home as both of us watched the eclipse from our own residences. It was a close call because we both thought it was overcast, but I went on my deck for the heck of it and the Moon was shining brightly. I called Anthony and he also went outside to view and image the eclipse. The Moon was already pretty dark from the penumbra shadow. With the partial phase staring at 10:12 pm, the real show was beginning. At 10:44 pm, the top 8% of the Moon was eclipsed and it was more impressive than I thought it would be. I am so glad the clouds parted for us that night.
