#71 2015 Observing: Terrible but Improving

It has been a devastating first half of 2015 for amateur astronomers, though July did give 3 very fine nights.  With January and February ranking as among the coldest and snowiest ever in this part of Canada, we had to wait until March to begin serious observing.  March proved much colder than average, but it was clear and hardly any new snow fell, so progress was made.  Then came April.  And May.  And June.  They were dismal months for observing.  July wasn't as bad, though below average for clear nights.  As usual, most of the clear nights came well after new moon.

I accomplished very little in Leo this Spring, and the same with Bootes.  Minimal progress was made with the many galaxies in these constellations.  My summer work this year is in Hercules and Sagittarius, and it has been inching along.  Due to the late moonset observations this past month I was able to complete work in Cepheus, and continue along in Pegasus, now my main autumn constellation.  A summary of Cepheus will appear in these pages very soon.

I find myself becoming more and more frustrated with the "science" of meteorology, at least as it applies to predicting clear skies at night.  The county in which I live is a virtual peninsula, nestled between Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron.  Large bodies of cold water and warm air affect the atmosphere above me greatly, as  it does later in the season when it becomes warm water and cooler air.  However, one would think that the people who predict weather would know this, too.  Out of every ten nights that "clear" or "mainly clear" skies are predicted, we are lucky to grab two or three that actually work for astronomers.  Other times it becomes completely overcast, or remains so, or there are so many clouds with such a very small amount of good sky that it is not worth bothering.  I also find that the more weather websites I use to help me predict sky conditions, the more varied the forecasts become.  On any given "clear" night, I am liable to get predictions of:  Clear; Mainly Clear; Partly Cloudy; Fair; Overcast.  All for the same night, and all checked about an hour before heading out to the observatory.  Is it any wonder I am frustrated?

In happier news, loyal readers may remember that early last November I had eye surgery to remove a cataract in my left eye.  Though our health care system pays for the basics, I paid extra to get an upgrade on the new lens.  The enhanced lens is generally better for night vision than the "free" one, and will focus light to a point.  I must say that finding faint galaxies with the 12" is so much easier now.  I have a cataract developing in my right eye, and when I compare the two eyes now I frequently cannot see a faint galaxy with the right, only with the left.  There is a minimum one magnitude difference in brightness between the two eyes.  It took me a while to learn how to focus stars for my new left eye lens, but now it is becoming second nature.  In good skies I find myself picking off 14th magnitude galaxies if not with ease, then without the considerable difficulty I use to have.  This has saved me much time and frustration in the field.

With ten days to go before deep sky observations can resume, I will try to post my summary of work now recently completed in Cepheus, over the next several nights.  Stay tuned.
Mapman Mike