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November Star Party
We had a near perfect nigh at last month's star party. The temperature was in the upper 40's with hardly any breeze. The skies at the Snipes Farm are terrific, and we had an above average turn-out. Attending were: Nichole Long, Josh Crosby, Jeff Schaub, Robert Rock, Russell Whigham, Phillip Hosey, Tom Danei, William Baugh, Alan Cook, Susie Jensen, and Darlene & Donnie Snipes. Leonids
Julie Ross and I went to Hart’s field for this year’s Leonid meteor shower. We arrived just before 2:00am on the morning of Nov. 17. We quickly laid down a makeshift bed and snuggled under the blankets (I used to do this in my teens but not to observe). It was a bit chilly but the sky was about as good as it gets here. For the two hours we observed, we saw approximately 100 different meteors collectively. Of these, I would say 18 were 1st magnitude or brighter. Many left a glowing trail in their wake. About three or four were -1st magnitude. I noted about nine sporadic meteors. There was no storm, but with a chance of one I was not going to miss the opportunity. All and all, it was very nice. Julie had rouse me up about 4:10am as I was about to drift off. I didn’t feel tired that day at all. Don’t forget the Geminids on the night/morning of December 13/14. It has been the best shower, in my opinion, during the years past. As for Hart’s field, there were no signs of construction seen. Tom 
COURTESY US AIR FORCE & UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO Leonids
Nov 17, 1999 - 2130 - Nothing
We'll try again next year.
Views of the Leonids from Arizona
Although the much-vaunted Leonids put on a muted display, much below some expectations, some observers in the Alpine, AZ area reported some interesting sightings. Patrons at the Gila National Forest combination Bar/Roadhouse/Campground in the far eastern/central part of the state, saw some brilliant fireballs from midnight to 3am. The most amazing sighting was of an object that went horizontally from West to East, emitting a shower of sparks, loud noises and a strong smell of burning. Patrons who saw it described it as a terrifying sight, although one backpacker who had run out of money and was more or less sober expressed the opinion that it was a wedge-tailed hawk, which had unwisely landed on high-tension wires, which stretch alongside Rt.191. Further research on this sighting is being conducted by Ph.D. students from the University of Arizona, who are currently searching out those patrons present on the evening in question, and then attempting to replicate the level of sobriety experienced by each at the time of the sighting. The University will gratefully accept all donations of spirituous beverages, so that the witnesses can be properly interrogated in the right state of mind, by interrogators in a like state. The Transit of Mercury:
With a beautiful Fall day greeting me on Monday, I anxiously waited for 2:00pm to roll around. That’s when I got to leave work. I thought about the event during the day, noting how rare it is indeed. I think the last time was in early 1990’s (1992 ?) , and that was favorable only for the blessed living in wonderful Australia. As I was planning and thinking away, it occurred to me that it has been quite some time since I’ve "just " looked at the sun anyway (with a telescope equipped with a solar filter ). How long has it been for you ? Well, I arrived in Millbook just about 2:45pm. The transit was to begin at 3:10-ish. Please note this times are approximate. I had Julie Ross’s 8-in custom dobsonian- set up in 60 seconds(including solar filter). I use the scope’s shadow to point my way to the sun. When the shadow is smallest the scope is aimed quite close to the sun. I sat in the chair and centered the sun in the field of view. I was using Julie’s 15mm Panoptic giving me about 70 power. There was a very nice grouping of sunspots to the right of the center, with a few others scattered on the left side. I carefully scanned the perimeter of the sun looking for a small, round dot. I noticed something near a sunspot to the lower left. Nah, that’s just part of the sunspot. Mercury hadn’t appeared yet. I kept myself busy by studying the large grouping. Very nice! Lot’s of detail. I popped in a 9mm Nagler (102x). That’s better. Then I scanned around. It was very close to the time. Suddenly, I noticed a spot just on the edge of the sun’s lower right edge. I watch it closely. After a minute, I realized it was moving. Mercury took quite a few minutes to finally pass completely in front of the sun(7-8min. )There it was-appearing as a perfectly round, solid black, but small disc. This was nice. Julie pulled up about this time. She came over and took her first view of the sun (and Mercury, too). She was impressed. "What are those black spots on it ?", she asked. We walked through a tour of the sun. Julie noted the appearance of Mercury right away. We went back to 15mm eyepiece. Her daughter, Katie, joined us a few minutes later. I showed Katie Mercury and the sunspots. She was filled with questions. She expressed her understanding and pleasure of the event with a "Cool". We took turns watching the progress of Mercury and bouncing around to the sunspots. We had to move to scope a few times due to the sun sinking in some branches. After about 20 minutes of this, Katie yelled out, "Hey, I think it’s leaving !" I took a peek and saw that it was, indeed, just at the edge. In a few minutes, the disc hit the edge and then slowly slipped off the sun. This event was very much "Cool !" Tom McGowan (Dave Palmer scanned in a couple
of photos of the Mercury transit, they're on his astro page)
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