TomN
sage
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 263
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I am bummed as it's over 100 degrees all day long and transparency at night of late is absolutely terrible... I just gave up as it's just so terribly hazy. Just whining..... 
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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Patricko
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/30/07
Posts: 1533
Loc: SE New Mexico USA
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See my report here to cheer you up 
Lousy Conditions
Hi Everyone,
Took the 80/900mm refractor out before the Sun set to view Luna as the clouds
were already rolling in. Once Sol was gone fairly dense high clouds had moved
in. Beta Lyra and Gamma Lyra could not be seen and they were near the zenith!
Deneb, Sadr, Vega, Altair, and Arcturus were the only stars that I cound see
with the naked eye.
Be that as it may I still managed to find and split Izar, got a good look at
Stephenson 1, split Zeta Lyra, and observed the Ring Nebula! I tried and tried
to catch the 13mag star near M57 but conditions just would NOT allow it. A few
times I thought that it was suspected but that is even questionable.
Anyways, I'm glad to have gotten out regardless of the horrible sky conditions.
Even the Moon at 40% full was scattering considerable light throughout the
atmosphere due to all the moisture. Still it was better to have seen something
rather than nothing. Those 12th mag planetaries will have to wait for another
night. 
CS,
Patrick
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Clear skies,
Patrick
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION
60MM TELESCOPE CLUB!
"You can always have better, but will you ever be happy with what you have?" - Me, myself, and I
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Brian Schmidt
sage
Reged: 01/25/09
Posts: 202
Loc: Roswell, GA
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I feel your pain. The humidity is killing the transparency here in Georgia too. Fall is coming soon...
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Brian
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Bill Weir
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 1297
Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada
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As I've stated before, "Livin on the wrong side of the continent I guess" Here on the west coast, the temp has been close to that (right now my old cigar store thermometer says 90º) but the skies have been great. Last night I logged the globular cluster Pal 10 and the night before it was Djorgovski 2. Man I love where I live.
Sorry.
Bill
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6'' Orion SkyQuest
12.5'' f/5 Custom Truss Dob
William Optics 80mm ZenithStar ED II
f/5 25" newtonian on a giant GEM, any time I want
Observing sessions grand total for 2008, 121.
So far in 2009, 92
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Dain
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/24/05
Posts: 1596
Loc: N.Y. Adirondack Mnts. NGC 4565...
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Tom, no worries. As another mentioned, that nice fall season is going to feel great when it comes. I'm sure you'll be posting right away here then.
Bill- I'm definitely on the right side of the continent, weather its cloudy nights or clear nights...I love where I live.  
Clear Skies to All!
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Best,
Dain
Adirondack Mountains (my true dark sky site)
@ Cedar River Flow
Local Site
Clear Skies?
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HellsKitchen
sage
Reged: 09/05/08
Posts: 356
Loc: Melbourne Australia
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Could be worse....here it's been nothing but clouds for months on end. 
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S 38º 00' E 145º20'
Custom 12" F/4.6 dob
10" GSO dob
Intes M500 Mak
4.5" Meade Newtonian
Set of Vixen LVWs + TV barlows + powermates
Astronomik 0III, UHC, H-beta filters
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rocco13
Got Milk?
Reged: 07/29/06
Posts: 2647
Loc: Phoenix, Arizona
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The last two nights here have been very clear...unusual for July. The guilt of passing up not one, but two clear nights has been eating away at me, since I've only been out with a scope once since Memorial Day. But after a high of 115 today, as I sit here and type this at 10:15pm, it is still 104 degrees outside, and don't feel like sweating on the eyepiece for the next hour or so. Maybe next time.
I lucked out this year and got a few good nights observing in May, so I got to spend more time in Sagittarius and Scorpius this year than ever before. So I'm not too upset at not being out there in the heat.
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Rocco
Zhumell Z12
Super C8 (1984 vintage)
Celestron 102 f/5
and a cheap pair of binoculars
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skyward_eyes
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/12/06
Posts: 2101
Loc: Arizona
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The other night was fairly good here in AZ. I had my 16" up to 1218x on Neptune and was able to pull Triton out of the muck and sky glow of Phoenix! The next night has a little turbulance, probably becasue I brought home my new Explore Scientific 14mm. Go figure.
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www.skywardeyes.webs.com
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Hrundi
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/06/08
Posts: 1236
Loc: Estonia
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I'm starting to get happy again.
I might not have 100f+ temps here, but it's still way too bright. I think tonight is the first night of astronomical twilight.
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TomN
sage
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 263
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Thanks for the messages of support, and the reminders that there have been many great nights earlier this year. I tend to want to wait for perfect conditions and we don't often get them. I did have the pleasure of spending a few nights high in the Idaho mountains this summer where the naked eye Milky Way was unbelievable!
Still sometimes I find myself wishing for the cold clear skies of winter..... 
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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RAKing
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/28/07
Posts: 2083
Loc: West of the D.C. Nebula
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You don't mention where you are located, but here in Northern Virginia there is no escaping the humdity.
Winter or summer - it's like looking through a swimming pool. 
I think we are allowed three good nights in the spring and three in October. I don't want to miss them. 
Cheers,
Ron
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Time spent looking at the stars is added to your life.
Tak FS-128, C925-CF, C6SE, other stray cats and refractors.
A-P Mach1 GTO
Zeiss orthos to Ethos - and some stuff in between.
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David Castillo
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/09/06
Posts: 882
Loc: Carmel Valley, Ca
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Dude, someone must have scored big on the astro equipment and brought on this massive meteorological poo.
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Dave
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16260
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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Doldrums indeed. What is transparency? Is that when you can almost see where the full moon is through the clouds?
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Ted
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Brian Schmidt
sage
Reged: 01/25/09
Posts: 202
Loc: Roswell, GA
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Rocco,
I was out in Sedona on our honeymoon not too long ago and man, I was wishing I had my scope. In AZ you are truly blesses with dark skies of which I am most envious. 
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Brian
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TomN
sage
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 263
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Last night I made some magnitude estimates of the extinction we are experiencing due to the haze. Stars of about mag. 3.5 are generally visible, some mag. 4 at or near zenith. Within a few degrees of the horizon, nothing is visible. So I would say about 2 magnitudes at the zenith, then a sin(theta) function from there. Ouch.
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16260
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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Tonight a few of us CNers were to have a star party. It was canceled because of clouds. As of 9:00 PM the moon is no longer visible.
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Ted
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TomN
sage
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 263
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I feel your pain....
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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John Kocijanski
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/22/03
Posts: 1663
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For me it has been clouds and rain. It has been the wettest summer I can remember so far here in NY. I don't think the temperature has hit 90 once.
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Deep Space Observer 10 * SPC-8 * C102 HD f/10 * XT 4.5 * Orion/Moonlite 80ED * PST *
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