Autumn Observing

I think autumn is my favorite season.  The weather cools off just enough so that you don't have to sweat outside.  The air temp is just right so that you can shut off the AC and open all the windows in the house, and the leaves on the trees begin to turn beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow.  But the nights; the nights get a chill in the air, the humidity lifts, the sun sets earlier and the sky gets darker as the sun dips ever further beyond the horizon. 
It seems the entire past week has been nothing but clouds and rain, so it goes without saying that there's pretty much been no observing.  The exception would be just a few minutes of observing some variable stars for reporting to the AAVSO.  If you have clear skies, take advantage and get out there.  Jupiter is up over the horizon around 7:30 PM  nowadays, so no excuses; and be sure to see Uranus nearby.  You'll at least need binoculars to see Uranus.  With an 8" mirror you can easily resolve the blue planet - pretty cool (I've seen all 8 of our planets in the scope this year).  Don't forget to look for Comet Hartley 2 while you're out there.

With Cassiopeia high in the sky after dark, this season is a good one to see such objects as the Double Cluster in Casseiopsia (a naked eye object if your skies are dark enough) and the Andromeda Galaxy (also a naked eye object, how cool!).  Check out Cygnus, in which you can find open clusters M29 and M39. The Milky Way is also right overhead after dark, and once you let your eyes dark adapt, lay down and just stare upward, it's such an amazing sight - you'll probably spot a few meteors while you're at it. 
Speaking of meteors, late in October we'll have the Orionids meteor shower (as well as the Hunter's Moon); not as spectacular as the Perseids, but we had clouds on the Perseids maximum night, so I'm really looking forward to this next shower.  I'll post more details about this shower at a later date.
Enjoy these Autumn nights (hopefully without the rain).

A Moment with the Universe

I felt compelled to share this. 

It was 10:10 PM last night.  I had decided to take a break from the computer and walked upstairs to grab myself a drink. Entering the dark kitchen, I noticed the pale blue moonlight pouring across the floor, gently bathing the room in a soft lunar glow - I smiled and approached the window and tilted my head upward. I gazed in wonder as my eyes settled upon Jove and Luna, which hung so majestically between a gap in the treeline. In that very moment, a meteor streaked eastward, passing between the two. It was magical.

Moments like these are my reward for looking toward the night sky.  They allow me a unique glimpse of the universe; to feel connected to it (as we so often don't in our modern lives), and to feel humbled.

Amateur Documents Impact on Jupiter

Anthony Wesley, the amateur astronomer who imaged the 2009 impact on Jupiter has done it again.  This time capturing video of the impact.

The impact site reaches the bright limb of Jupiter at around 06/04 02:52 UTC. It crosses the central meridian around 05:15 UTC and reaches the evening terminator around 07:22 UTC.

Read more here.
See the video here.