Hello everyone! A few people have been asking me if it's worth braving the cold tonight to attempt observing the Geminids meteor shower. Tonight is the peak, and the sky is expected to be clear around the Ottawa region... although it'll be cold (down to around -15C to -18 plus windchill). The Geminids have long been my favourite annual meteor shower. It is consistently active every year, produces a lot of bright, colourful meteors that move gracefully through the winter constellations, and under the best observing circumstances, they can reach up to 100 or more meteors per hour! The Geminids are also visible all night. For the Ottawa region, the radiant is low at 6 pm (local time), so only low rates can be expected. By 10 p.m., the radiant near the bright star Castor is 40 degrees high, and already plenty of Geminids can be seen. The radiant reaches its highest point in the sky at 2 am, and Geminids will appear to drop down in all parts of the sky. Unfortunately, this year's Geminids will be severely hampered by a nearly Full Moon. Only the brighter meteors will be visible. On the plus side, the weather forecast for tonight looks excellent (but cold). During the 2022 Geminids, a 74% gibbous moon was up for most of the night and reduced significantly the sky darkness during the optimal viewing times (that is when the radiant is high up near the peak of the shower). Despite the Moon's presence, I went to a dark sky site east of Ottawa. I was fortunate to have good sky transparency — free of any clouds, humidity or haze. I could see stars as faint as 5.4 (normally can see up to 6.2 from the same location on moonless nights). It was also quite cold with the wind. Was it worth it? OH YES! During the best observing hours, I had visual rates of 48, 52 and 62 Geminids per hour! Sometimes, I would see 2 or 3 meteors within a few seconds, and a few minutes of inactivity. But I was impressed at seeing so many meteors with a bright moon in the sky. In 4.5 hours of actual viewing time, from midnight onwards, I counted 287 meteors — exceeding my expectations! I'm not so sure that I would expect to see as many meteors tonight as the Moon will be even brighter. Tonight, the Moon will no doubt reduce significantly the display and wash out most Geminids. The fainter meteors will be invisible. In my opinion, a good proportion of Geminids are bright enough to punch through the moonlight! It really helps to have a good open view of the sky, away from trees, buildings or other obstructions. Rural sites will also have an advantage by having less artificial light pollution — therefore, less total light pollution to contend with. According to the IMO, the nominal peak time of the 2024 Geminids is predicted at 01h UT (which translate to around 8 p.m. EST) on the evening of December 13 (tonight!). The peak is quite broad, and can last several hours, followed by a sharp drop in rates. During the early evening, the radiant will be a little low, and the Moon will be very high and hard to avoid. It might be a better strategy to wait until 10 or 11pm, for the radiant to be much higher. Facing the north or east and looking a little lower will keep some of the moon's glare behind you. If you look towards the north around 11pm, any Geminids will appear to drop down towards the horizon. Geminids that appear further away from the radiant also tend to have longer paths. These can be easier to spot than the short Geminids near the radiant. One more strategy is to skip the first half of the night, and get up to watch during the last hour or two before dawn (say 4 a.m. onwards). The moon will still be up but much lower over the western horizon. For instance, the Moon will be only 17 degrees above the western horizon at 5 a.m. It will then be easier to avoid its glare. There is also a possibility that the Geminids could switch to brighter meteors and fireballs late tonight as the Earth starts to exit the stream (an effect known as "mass sorting"). In a nutshell, the Geminids are considered to be the best annual shower, along the Perseids and sometimes the Quadra

Obituary information for Attilla Gabor Danko See https://www.ottawacremationservice.ca/obituaries/Attilla-Gabor-Danko?obId=33918646

A new chat has been created: Obituary information for Attilla Gabor Danko See https://www.ottawacremationservice.ca/obituaries/Attilla-Gabor-Danko?obId=33918646 He will be missed. By: MikeZ <mike.zeidler@...> View/Join This Chat Do not reply to this message to post to the chat. You can participate in chats only through the group's website.

Lets get a new listowner of OAFs at groups.io. ive been doing for a while. volunteers? attilla danko, attilladanko@..., danko@...

Planet Pi - Numberphile - YouTube Asteroid (161693) Attilladanko -- that's pretty close to the Golden Ratio (1.618...)

One of the caps for my 22 mm Nagler EP has disintegrated. I used to get replacement EP caps (might be the one that disintegrated) from Focus Scientific, but RIP. Does anyone know how to get replacement caps?

Hi Paul, How was the RASC star party last weekend? I was not able to attend. I have not seen any reports. Mike On Sep 18, 2024, at 9:58 PM, PolyWogg <thepolyblog@...> wrote:  I haven't seen any posts in a long time of people setting up at Chapters...not that there was much to see at that time for planets of late. Just curious if people are still doing it...I attended the RASC start party this last weekend, still haven't set up my scope for night observing in a long while so whetting my appetite with other people's scopes :) Paul

I haven't seen any posts in a long time of people setting up at Chapters...not that there was much to see at that time for planets of late. Just curious if people are still doing it...I attended the RASC start party this last weekend, still haven't set up my scope for night observing in a long while so whetting my appetite with other people's scopes :) Paul

Salut les OAFS, I'm wondering if anyone has a copy of the Xerlox books by Harry Adams - there was one for Messier and one for finest NGCs. Mine is rather «magané»... I wonder if perhaps there is a pdf of this most elegant set of maps. Merci! Pat

I have public dem to do for my club on a new solar telescope nad also have some kind of gadjet for putting my cell in back of the coronado taht gime me beautifull images I plan to shar the images whit the cell software https://support.google.com/android/answer/9286773?hl=en#zippy=%2Cshare-content-with-someone do someone in the grop are interested to help to start this new way to share observation I need tester whit androide or maybe and other metod better whit route and wyfy

Hello all, In case anyone else is interested in observing tonight, FYI I'm planning to observe at FLO for a few hours. I'll likely arrive around 9:00 and observe until after midnight, as conditions allow. Matt

Hello all! Raymond and I are heading out to the Irvine Lake Airstrip (aka Nirvana) to observe the Perseids tonight. We plan to arrive before dark to setup, and stay the night until morning. Road map for Nirvana: https://www.google.com/maps?q=45.029722,-77.264200&hl=en CSC for Nirvana: https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/Rod1ArsrpONkey.html The road going in to the airstrip area has been repaired a few years ago and is now much easier to access. It is a very dark site, about 2.5 hours west of Ottawa. If you would like to join us, it's recommended to arrive before dark. But no worries if you are arriving later. Company is welcome! P.S. Fantastic auroras last night!!! Here's a few iPhone shots I took from Orleans that I posted earlier today on the OAOG's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OttawaValleyAstronomy Clear skies! - Pierre

Hello all! The sky is expected to clear up this evening, with good sky transparency at Bootland Farm after midnight. The forest fire smoke particles in the atmosphere have also appear to have mostly dissipated (for now). I plan to be at Bootland Farm to do meteor observing from about midnight until morning. A few friends might be joining. All are welcome! I am unsure how good the weather will be for the Perseids peak nights next Sunday and Monday nights, and meteor rates are already kicking into high gear! : ) For those of you new to the group, you can find the maps, and instructions for the Bootland Farm site in the files section of the group... https://groups.io/g/oaog/files/Maps/Bootland%20Farm Clear skies! Pierre P.S. Weather also looks good for tomorrow night, but I haven't decided where to go observing.

Hello all! Very nice Perseids seen last night! Raymond and I will be setting up at Bootland tonight, staying from evening until morning. All are welcome to join us! Maps and driving directions available here in the groups files section: https://groups.io/g/OAFs/files/Bootland%20Farm%20dark%20sky%20site%20%28near%20Stewartville,%20Ontario%29 Note: possibly very dewy and quite tall grass, bring water proof boots. Clear skies! Pierre

Hi all, I will head over to Bootland Farm tonight for meteor observing from about 1am to 4am. The sky is expected to clear at around midnight with very good transparency. If you are up for some late night viewing, come on over! : ) Note that the grass is quite tall in the field. I also recommend good boots as the field will be wet from all the rain. Cheers! - Pierre

Hello all, The year's most popular meteor shower is about to peak! These past few nights, meteor activity is kicking into high gear, as Earth encounters more and more of the dust left behind by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. At the peak, the rates can exceed one meteor per minute under dark skies, well away from city lights. The night of maximum activity this year will be the night of Sunday August 11 into the morning hours of Monday August 12. The exact peak time is expected to occur between 13-16 Universal Time (or 9am-12pm EDT) on August 12th. Although this occurs during daylight in Eastern North America, the Perseids have a relatively broad maximum with quite high rates of meteors several hours before and after the peak. In fact, secondary maximas are possible too well away from the main peak time, and these can be difficult to predict accurately. During the 2021 Perseids, a surprising outburst of meteors of Perseids, nearly twice as strong as the normal peak occurred on the morning of August 14. I was fortunate to witness and photograph that event with ideal sky conditions. At this time, the weather forecast isn't looking promising for the Sunday/Monday night in the Ottawa region, so I would strongly recommend observing a night or two before, or after. The Perseids will remain very active on those nights. The Perseids are popular because they occur during the mild summer nights, are easily seen by people at campgrounds and at cottages, are active on multiple nights and produce a high proportion of bright, colourful meteors. As always with meteor shower observing, getting away from city lights and into the countryside with an open horizon and no light sources will vastly improve the experience. No telescope is required — all you really need is a reclining lawn chair, a few blankets and then looking up with your eyes. Perseids are visible all night but the rates will be highest during the hours after midnight. This year, the Moon will be near First Quarter near the peak night. The good news is that the Moon will set early, leaving several hours of dark sky viewing, allowing more meteors to be seen. Here's the setting times (for Ottawa) for the next few nights... - August 10: 10:40pm - August 11: 11pm - August 12: 11:26pm - August 13: 11:59pm Weather outlook: A very useful weather forecasting took is the Clear Sky Chart, which is updated twice per day (noon and midnight) and shows how clear the sky is predicted to be in the coming nights. The darker blue "squares" = good clear skies. https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/Ottawakey.html Night of Friday August 9/10: As the large weather system moves east late in the evening, the sky is expected to clear up quickly at about 2am EDT for Ottawa and at about 1am EDT for sites located west of the city. The sky transparency is expected to be very good once it clears. Due to all the recent rain, fields and grassy terrain may be very wet. But the sky clarity could make an outing worth it! Night of Saturday August 10/11: We can expect quite a good clear night around Ottawa after 10 or 11pm. This might be the best opportunity to see Perseids this year! Night of Sunday August 11/12: The peak night is looking poor at this time, with mostly cloudy skies. There is a possibility for holes (small openings) during the night, so a last minute outing is not out of the question. Night of Monday August 12/13: This night should still be very active, and the forecast shows just a few residual evening clouds followed by very clear skies from 11pm onwards! I feel that this night is looking promising! The weather is also looking good for Tuesday night August 13/14 but that may change. Note that the weather can often change unexpectedly so these forecasts could change. It is best to review the latest model updates on the afternoon that you are planning to do an outing. The short term forecasts are more accurate (usually). More details... Here's an article on "Perseid meteor shower 2024: when, where and how to see it": https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html Here's another excellent article

Hello all, As some of you are aware, Tom Bootland, the owner of the property in Stewartville (past Arnprior) which has graciously permitted us to use for dark sky observing, has recently passed away. It was for us a surprising and very sad news. Tom has given us access to his property for the past 20 years, and every year, he has maintained/mowed large grassy area for us to setup and enjoy the sky. In return for giving us, amateur astronomers, open access to observe from Spring to Fall, our presence has helped deter unwanted trespassers. I have since been communicating with his wife Charlene. Charlene would like to continue to grant us access to the property, and her two sons will continue to mow the field on a regular basis. As always, the maps and instructions for access to the site are available in the groups files section. If you have trouble getting to them, please let me know and I can share them with you privately… https://groups.io/g/oaog/files/Maps/Bootland%20Farm Tonight, I will be heading out to Bootland Farm for some post moonset observing from about 12am to 4am. A few of you have mentioned interest during the RASC meeting and I thought I would the group know in case others are interested in joining us! I plan to do mostly meteor observing but I may bring my new’ish TV np101 and try out new eyepieces. And also take a few images. There is plenty of room for a good number of cars and setups at the field. If you would like to join us, do bring plenty of mosquito repellent as I expect the warm night will be very buggy. Bring also good boots or tall water resistant shoes as the field might not yet be mowed. Clear skies! Pierre

I'm a bit late to the party posting this but I thought I'd go ahead and share another take on the 2024.Apr.8 Eclipse. There are some bookmarks in the video description in case the video feels a bit long: https://youtu.be/U4Igt51zgrQ Taken in Murphysboro, IL with Sony a6500, Williams Optics Zenithstar 61, on a poorly-daytime-aligned Celestron AVX mount. Murphysboro is very close to Carbondale, IL which was the crossover point for the 2017 & 2024 eclipses. They sold stickers saying: "Twice in a lifetime". We had a really good time camping at the Big Muddy Brewery for 4 nights after doing a u-turn on our way to Texas and heading to IL instead. Thanks for watching! Peter.