| Observer: | Tom Campbell |
| Location: | Iola, Kansas (Long: 95 30' W Lat: 37 55' N) |
| Equipment: | Focal 60mm Refractor |
| Eyepieces: | 20mm |
| Time: | 6:50pm - 7:00pm CST |
| Transparency: | Mixed |
| Seeing: | Unstable |
| Weather: | Cold |
Sadly, the other day I came to the realization that I hadn't yet done any serious observing this Century (or this Millennium, for that matter). And here it was the 18th of January already! The sky was clear this evening when I got off work, and I didn't have anything planned for the evening, so I thought I'd get a little observing in as soon as darkness descended.
About 6:30pm, I took a peek outside the window. I could see several stars peering back at me. What's more, the neighbor's porch light, usually shining right in my face, was off tonight! Perfect.
I hurried upstairs to get my gear. I donned my coat, then I zipped up my astro vest (a converted fly-fishing vest) over the coat. I quickly gathered up my eyepieces, barlow, filters, tape recorder, red LED light, and eyepatch, and stuffed them into various vest pockets. I draped my 10x50 binoculars over my shoulder, picked up my scope/tripod in one hand, and my clipboard in the other hand (already filled with star charts and my observing list).
The moment I stepped back outside, the first thought that struck me was, "What happened to all the stars?" In the fifteen minutes I spent getting ready, a front moved through, bringing a thin layer of clouds with it. The planets and a few of the brighter stars were still shining through a few sucker holes, but the rest of the sky was wiped out.
Well, I went to all this trouble, so I might as well take a look at the planets. After all, I had a handful of astro gear demanding my attention and I'd hate to waste a trip. I quickly set up and pointed at the most obvious target in the sky...
Because Venus kept dimming with passing clouds, I decided to keep my telescope at low power. I popped in my 20mm eyepiece (35x) and took a quick peek. At this low power, Venus was still pretty bright (most of the time), but I could definitely make out a quarter-moon shape to it. The bottom half of the setting planet was brightly lit and the upper half was completely invisible.
At this point, the sky was almost completely overcast. Even Venus and Jupiter were having difficulty shining through the thickening clouds. Disappointed, I headed back inside for the night. This time of year, there's just no predicting Kansas weather...