Qt. 3 Sources-Simon Newcomb

http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/newcomb/SNewcomb.html

http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Newcomb.html

http://www.nndb.com/people/473/000103164/

Qt 3 Observations (Part 1)

Finally managed to type these up...

Friday, January 17, 2014                 9:00pm – 10:00pm

Location: Sarasota, Florida  

Instrument used: Binoculars

Weather: Good

Visibility: Fair – low lying clouds

Moon Phase: Full

Stars: Polaris, Castor, Pollux, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaren

Planets: Jupiter, Venus (possibly)

Constellations: Gemini, Taurus, Orion, Ursa Minor

Observations: I first spotted Orion making Taurus and Gemini easy to find. I also managed to find Ursa Minor by first finding Polaris.

Friday, January 24, 2014                 9:00pm – 10:00pm

Location: Sarasota, Florida  

Instrument used: Binoculars

Weather: Good

Visibility: Fair – low lying clouds

Moon Phase: Last Quarter

Stars: Betelguese, Aldebaren, Rigel

Planets: Jupiter

Constellations: Taurus, Orion

Observations: It was surprising that I had trouble seeing as much given the similar weather conditions to the last time I observed. The primary stars of Orion and Taurus gave them away but I did not see anything I could make out beyond them.

Friday, February 7, 2014                 9:00pm – 10:00pm

Location: Sarasota, Florida  

Instrument used: Binoculars

Weather: Good/Cold - Windy

Visibility: Fair-Good; some clouds

Moon Phase: First Quarter

Stars: Gamma Andromeda, Mira (?), Algol, Betelguese, Rigel, Aldebaren

Planets: Jupiter

Constellations: Andromeda, Orion, Pegasus, Taurus, Cassiopeia, Perseus

Observations: A great night for observations. To begin, I believe I saw Mira but am not quite sure, I could not quite tell if I was observing Cetus. I did, however, manage to spot the worm asterism clearly.

Friday, February 14, 2014               8:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: Sarasota, Florida  

Instrument used: Binoculars

Weather: Good/Cold

Visibility: Excellent

Moon Phase: Full

Stars: Polaris, Castor, Pollux, Betelguese, Aldebaren

Planets: Jupiter and possibly Venus

Constellations: Taurus, Ursa Minor, Gemini, Orion

Observations: Another night of great weather for observations. I enjoyed stargazing on the beach, the sky was beautifully clear. Orion is always an easy find but for the first time, I definitively saw Orion’s Belt. I surprisingly spotted Gemini and used it to find Taurus instead of the other way around.