It looked like a nice nite was in store, and it was generally cloud free,
but some high haze or something seemed to lower the transparency. I
observed a bunch of cataclysmic variables in outburst, and Jupiter from my
backyard:
CN ORI 12.8
V1159 ORI 13.7
HL CMA 12.1
SV CMI 13.3
GZ CNC 13.8
X LEO 12.8
Not outburst
U GEM 14.1
PU CMA <13.8
VZ PYX <14.5
TW VIR <14.7
Its interesting that U GEM was very heavily covered both visually and by
CCD during its last outburst, Feb 20. Unfortunately Dr. Cannizzo of NASA
Goddard (who requested the intense coverage for his TOO RXTE campaign) was
unable to get telescope time! So, amateurs are watching again for him for
the next outburst. Goes to show how tough it is for the pros to get
observing time. Aren't we fortunate to be able to observe anything when we
want to?
Also, Jupiter was nice tonite. Seeing was decent, maybe 8/10 and the GRS
(or really GPS - great PALE spot) was approaching transit around 10:40pm.
Mike Linnolt
Received on Tue Apr 5 00:42:20 2005