River Bend Farm: June 2023
by Jim Hendrickson
Our June River Bend night took place under partly cloudy skies that were also significantly affected by smoke from Canadian wildfires that has been an intermittent factor in our weather for the past several weeks. Fortunately, we had a bright gibbous Moon to view.
Telescopes were operated by Skyscrapers members John Kocur (70mm equatorial refractor), Bob Janus (8” Dobsonian), Francine Jackson & Jim Hendrickson (80mm refractor), and Ron Zincone (90mm Maksutov-Cassegrain), as well as local Uxbridge resident Mike (4” Newtonian).
With this being the week of the latest sunsets of the year, darkness wouldn’t come until nearly 10:00pm, but this particular night was selected because the presence of a bright gibbous Moon allowed observing to begin earlier in the evening, so setup time was around 8:00pm.
During setup, the sky was fairly gray with clouds, haze and smoke, with neither the Sun nor Moon visible. Within about 20 minutes, the ghostly glow of the gibbous Moon began to break the haze, appearing in a muted pinkish-orangish hue low in the southeast. It was almost a challenge to get a good focus on it at first, but it would soon gain contrast as the sky darkened and the Moon rose a bit higher. It was noted that crater Aristarchus appeared exceptionally bright, and a discussion was had about what figures could be seen on the Moon: Man on the Moon, Rabbit on the Moon, etc.
Besides the six telescope operators, about ten guests came to enjoy the sky. Two of the visitors inquired about Seagrave Observatory open nights, and regular friends Ruth and Marc Gravel arrived with a recently acquired pair of 10x50 binoculars, which Jim gave tips on focusing and using.
Soon after sunset, Venus became visible through thick haze, and presented a beautiful crescent phase through Bob’s and Ron’s telescopes. As darkness settled in, Venus had set behind the trees in the west, and the Moon retained a deep orange color due to the haze and smoke. The water on the canal pond was very still and presented a near-perfect reflection of the Moon. Several fireflies could be seen dashing about in the distance.
The next River Bend nights are July 21, August 25, September 15, October 27, and November 24.
