I wish there was more to say and show from the past few weeks, but the weather has not been cooperating. Cloud-blanketed days and nights intermingled with furious snow bashings have created a mid-Winter with little time for anything beyond work and shoveling. But I keep my back deck snow-free in hopes that a prolonged break will come one evening and I can get either a telescope or camera out for at least a brief time.
There are a few matters to report. First, we are now in prime time viewing season for Orion. From the northern hemisphere, it’s high in the South around 8 to 9 o’clock. I very much want to take a wide-field view of this constellation, especially since I recently bought a better wide-field lens that I am eager to try out. I did catch a brief glimpse of Orion last night through a break in the clouds, but certainly not predictable or long enough to warrant getting equipment set up to photograph.
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Over the weekend, in between my snow removal shifts, I was up very late, around 1:30am, and noticed to the East that Jupiter was already visible through my trees. This is great news as it means opposition is rapidly approaching, and in another one-to-two months it will be available for observation and photography at reasonable evening hours once again.
Finally, all the snow in my area made we wonder if my neighbor’s buried outdoor lights would lessen the area’s light pollution for the time being. With a small break in clouds last night, I did look up for a few minutes, but did not notice any difference. My guess is that any mitigation of pollution due to covered lights is offset by the highly reflective white snow cover.
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