> Astronomy Report
>
> 02/29/2016
>
> Arthur Lillo
>
>
>
> Sky Conditions:
>
> Clear
>
> Wind Conditions:
>
> Calm
>
> Observation Start Time:
>
> 21h00
>
> Observation End Time:
>
> 23h00
>
>
>
> Summary:
>
> Thanks to the directions given by Peter, Mohammad and I did
> the
>
> collimation of the telescope to fix the problem we had
> during the
>
> previous nights, aiming at Sirius, the most brilliant star
> in the sky.
>
> Off-focus, the shiny dot looked more like a blue doughnut,
> and our job
>
> as overprepared space engineers was to move the hole to the
> center of
>
> the doughnut to fix the telescope. I hereby confirm that
> Hubble is now
>
> repaired and fully functional! (at last this space shuttle
> proved
>
> itself useful…).
>
>
>
> Mohammad and Camille were amazed when I showed them the
> details of
>
> Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere and the gigantic volutes of
> the Orion
>
> Nebula. So was I! At last we could enjoy the power of this
> cylindrical
>
> wild beast that we had tried to tame for four nights. I
> noted that the
>
> position of Jupiter’s visible satellites (Ganymede,
> Callisto, Io and
>
> Europa) has changed each night. I imagine how Galileo must
> have been
>
> flabbergasted by this discovery! After that, we explored the
> dense
>
> zone of the Pleiades, an open cluster that has given its
> name to a
>
> circle of seven classic French poets. Then the red
> supergiant
>
> Betelgeuse showed us its magnificent color; we mused at the
> fact that
>
> if ever it had the good idea of becoming a supernova just
> now (just
>
> 642.5 years ago in fact), we would lose an eye but become
> the proudest
>
> one-eyed men on Mars!
>
>
>
> Eventually, we installed a camera outdoor aiming at the
> Milky Way and
>
> we were able to shoot some incredible pictures. The long
> exposure
>
> reveals plenty of details, in a sky that was already packed
> with
>
> stars! The silence of the desert increased the vertigo that
> took us.
>
> Who needs of a flashlight when billions of hydrogen monsters
> show you
>
> the way?
>
>
>
>
>
> Objects viewed:
>
> Sirius, Jupiter and its satellites, Orion Nebula, the
> Pleiades,
>
> Betelgeuse, the Milky Way in general.
>
>
>
>
>
> Problems encountered:
>
> None at all!