Thanksgiving weekend provided some seasonably warm and clear nights for some good observing opportunities. Of course, seasonable warm on Arunah in late November means survivable, with overnight lows in the upper 20's.
Friday Nov 25 saw a small crowd on the hill to get in some great views of setting Summer objects like the ring and the veil, all of the autumn stunners like the great Andromeda galaxy, the double cluster, and M-15 globular, plus a chance to catch Orion rising over the distant hills.
Kevin's big scope and the club 17.5" dob delivered great views on a night that became increasingly transparent as the afternoon's high thin clouds dissolved away.
Big Jupiter high in the south proved stunning, as we all watched for the approaching Europe transit and shadow crossing.
Some stray meteors keep things lively. Barry, Kevin, Matt, and Ben L and the Amherst College students and I enjoyed a pleasant night on the hill.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
A Busy November Weekend
Seasonably mild temperatures and clears skies brought out lots of activity on the hill. On Firday night Ben L from Amherst College brought a group of students up to the hill, and reported "it was stunning and incredible... most of us hadn't seen a view like that before. One of the international students was particularly stunned. It was amazing."
On Saturday Ray Burk and I trimmed back some fallen trees from along the driveway. I also double checked the shower lines to make sure everything was drained.
Scott Masey and Joe Zuraw brought a group of scouts up for a late autumn camping experience. The scouts cleaned up the Towers Trail as a service project. Thanks guys!
On Sunday Joe fired up the tractor and added some gravel to fix some ruts on the driveway. The road is now in good shape, but as always, proceed with caution and go slow up the hill. Wet leaves can conceal rocks and ruts.
Barry Hervieux was up on Saturday night to move his camper to its winter home.
With a good forecast for Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully we are not through the 2011 observing season yet!
On Saturday Ray Burk and I trimmed back some fallen trees from along the driveway. I also double checked the shower lines to make sure everything was drained.
Scott Masey and Joe Zuraw brought a group of scouts up for a late autumn camping experience. The scouts cleaned up the Towers Trail as a service project. Thanks guys!
On Sunday Joe fired up the tractor and added some gravel to fix some ruts on the driveway. The road is now in good shape, but as always, proceed with caution and go slow up the hill. Wet leaves can conceal rocks and ruts.
Barry Hervieux was up on Saturday night to move his camper to its winter home.
With a good forecast for Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully we are not through the 2011 observing season yet!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Autumn to Winter back to Autumn
A freak October storm dumped over 30 inches of snow on Arunah Hill on October 29, just 5 days after a more typical October storm put down 3 or 4 wet inches of white. Kevin Collins reports that by Sunday, Nov 6, things were pretty much back to "normal" November conditions of the hill. The storm spared the hill much of the blow-down damage experienced by the valleys in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The road is passible, though please use caution!
-Ed
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