December Moon
by Tom Thibault, Steve Siok & Jim Hendrickson
Telescope Operators:
Steve Siok– 8” Clark
Jim Brenek – 12” Patton
Tom Thibault – 12” Meade
Jim Hendrickson – Helper
Open: 7:00 – Closed: 9:00
The extremely bright full moon had risen, so the sky was bright. The cloudy day had mostly cleared, but the atmosphere appeared to continue to display a thin haze of moisture. Jupiter continued to be the prominent object in the sky other than the moon. The temps were in the mid 30’s, at opening and continued to drop throughout the evening. It appears to be time to break out the hats and gloves.
The visitors were rather sparse with approximately 8 – 10 visitors joining us that evening. The full moon, low temps, and holiday season most likely contributing to the low turnout. We had a couple of student visitors this evening, but none of the young children which normally accompany their parents at our Public Nights.
It was a tough evening for viewing, the brightness of the moon combined with the thick atmosphere washed out all but the brightest objects in the sky. Targets were limited to the moon, Jupiter, and a few star clusters. The star clusters were really not done justice with the high apertures and long focal lengths. Targets that evening were M29, M42, M45 and of course the full moon ad Jupiter.
