| Observer: | Tom Campbell |
| Location: | College Station, Texas (Long: 101°56'W Lat: 33°47'N) |
| Telescope: | Zhumell 12" f/5 Dobsonian |
Here on the last day of the year, I was bemoaning the fact that I haven't had a single clear observing night for the month of December. My last report was on November 30.
This afternoon, the temperature rose to the low 70s and the cloudy skies began to clear a bit. According to the weather reports, there would be a bit of clearing before the next batch of clouds rolled in. I kept an eye on the sky as I took down my outdoor Christmas lights. The sky was partly clear in the west, but clouds were already beginning to move in.
The crescent Moon was all but hidden behind a thick veil of clouds on the western horizon. Luckily, Venus was still shining brightly, as was Mars above it.
I remembered reading about a conjunction of Mars and Neptune tonight. The clouds were rolling in quickly, but I tried to be quicker. I set up the Biggie Z in my driveway and didn't even bother plugging in the cooling fan. Venus was already dimming as the clouds began to take over the sky.
This actually worked in my favor. I swung the scope to Venus and it was glorious in its first quarter phase. No details, but it looked like a bright and beautiful moon at 136X. My wife was outside with me and enjoyed the view as well.
I must work quickly. The clouds were hungry and they were closing in on Mars.
I put in my barlow and quickly swung the telescope to Mars. At 340X, it was still a small orange-brown gibbous disk, with a bit of subtle Sirenum visible. My wife was also able to make out the detail on Mars, which confirmed that I wasn't just imagining it.
Now for the reason I bothered dragging out my scope: Neptune. I've never observed it yet, so this was a good chance to know I was looking at the right thing. It was just out of the field of view of Mars. It appeared as a faint star, with just a hint of a disk. It was a pale blue-white in color. Definitely not impressive: I've seen planetary nebulae that made better-looking planets, but at least I saw it.
I looked up at the sky. Mars was beginning to fade out as the clouds crept closer. The rest of the sky was already overcast. Time to put my equipment away.
A short observing session lasting about 20 minutes from setup to observing to takedown. Still, I was able to log my last major planet tonight, as well as finally get a December observing session in the books for 2016.