December 95 Observations

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Dec 21, 1995 6:20 PM EST
Attempted to observe SW/3 but it was sooooooo cold and windy and my telescope was kiting around on its mount. Chasing the eyepiece was difficult enough without my eye watering at a rate of about a quart a minute, that observing was virtually impossible. No luck :(

Dec 20, 1995 4:20 PM EST
Observed the most vivid Sun pillar that I have ever seen. Looked like a big orange lazar beam sticking straight up out of the Sun. There was an equally bright pillar on the bottom side of the sun that terminated at the ground so it was not that long.
Dec 17, 1995 6:20 PM EST
73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (a first time look for me...my birthday too...)
1995 Dec. 17.94 UT: m1=8.7, Dia.=5.0', DC=1,...20cm f/6 L (48x,96x)
Antitail 12' PA *300; Tail 10' PA *120 G.Varros (Mt. Airy, MD, USA)
anti tail easier seen than tail
* = rough guess
Observed Saturn at 167X Saw 6 moons. Rings were faint but not real difficult.
Took a quick look at M81, M82 and NGC3077. They were low but easily visible. Cant wait till they get a little higher! Coming up on galaxy time of year.
Dec 14, 1995 7:30 PM EST
Under questionable skies (partially cloudy) I observed some geminids from central Maryland:
00:30-01:00UT DEC 15 observed 6 Geminids with 1 brighter than 0 mag.
01:06-01:26UT DEC 15 observed 6 Geminids with 2 brighter than 0 mag.
01:30-01:40UT DEC 15 observed 1 Geminid.
Total of 13 in one hour of observing. Saw no sporadics. Limiting magnitude was around 5.5 with clouds near all horizons up to about 20 Degrees alt. All 3 meteors brighter than mag 0 were heading west parallel to the northern horizon. Bagged at least two meteors on film.
Dec 8, 1995 4:00 PM EST
Took several photos of a sun dog on the west side of the sun. It was fairly decent. Supposed to get several inches of snow starting tonight and lasting thru tomorrow. Typical east coast storm but maybe fast moving.
Dec 7, 1995 7:00 PM EST
Saturns rings were easier tonight. Could see several are seconds of rings with the west side brighter than the east.
Dec 4, 1995 7:00 PM EST
Observer near ringless Saturn. Only a few are seconds of the rings were visible on either side of the planet and only using averted vision. The scope was not thermally acclimated. There were at least 3 moons on the west side.
Dec 1, 1995 7:00 PM EST
Observer near ringless Saturn. Only a few are seconds of the rings were visible on either side of the planet. The rings were easily visible using averted vision but when looking directly at them they were fleeting depending on the stability of the atmosphere. Four moons were visible. The two brightest on the west side and two dimmest on east.
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