0301-AstronomyReport

> 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!