Observations

Visual Magnitude Estimates Exercise
Date: 4/28/10
Time: 9-10 PM
Location: Venice
Conditions: Clear, some clouds in West
Observations:
Eta Ursa Majoris: 1.9
Beta Leonis: 2.3
Gamma Leonis: 2.1
Zeta Leonis: 3.5
Lambda Leonis: couldn't see it
Epsilon Virginis: 2.7
Eta Virginis: couldn't see it
epsilon Corvi: 3.1
Epsilon Bootis: 2.6
Beta Bootis: 3.6

Date: May 1
Time: 8:10-8:50
Location: Venice
Conditions: Clear, still a little light near horizon
Observations:
Venus low in West near Aldebaran, both around 10 degrees high
Orion: low in West, can see Betelgeuse but not Rigel, which is blocked by trees
Canis Major: In SW, Sirius easily visible
Auriga: In WNW, Capella blocked by a small cloud, about 25 degrees high
Ursa Minor: Polaris and two other stars visible in N, Polaris is about 25 degrees high
Ursa Major: could see 5 of 7 main stars in Big Dipper
Castor and Pollux visible high in the West
Procyon: about 40 degrees high WSW
Mars: about 65 degrees high in the W, reddish tint, bright very close to Regulus
Saturn: about 60 degrees high in the SE

Date: May 15
Location: Venice
Conditions: partly cloudy
Time: 8:45-9:45
Mars: Bright and red in the west, about 55 degrees high
Regulus/Leo: about 60 degrees WSW, bright. can see general shape of Leo
Saturn: about 65 degrees high in the South, in Virgo
Arcturus: found by using arc of Ursa Major, about 55 degrees in the East
Spica: about 45 degrees in SSE, found by moving from Arcturus to Spica. Could see other stars around Spica but couldn't make out Virgo
Ursa Major: could see all 7 stars in big dipper, could see overall structure of bear
Hercules: could easily see keystone in ENE about 35 degrees high
Procyon:low in West, about 10 degrees high, hardly visible
Castor and Pollux: about 25 degrees high WNW, couldn't see all of Gemini because it was too low
Ursa Minor: could see 4 stars in little dipper

Date: May 22
Time: 9:05-10:05
Conditions: Clear
Location: Venice
Observations:
Moon: Waxing Gibbous, about 55 degrees SSW, could see a lot of lunar surface features
Saturn: SSW about 65 degrees, only about 10 degrees separating the moon and saturn. in Virgo, used binoculars and could see very faint line that appeared to be rings.
Spica: about 50 degrees high in the South
Mars: red and bright, about 40 degrees high in the West
Arcturus: almost directly overhead, by far the brightest star in surrounding area.
Regulus: about 5 degree separation with Mars, about 45 degrees high, a little south of west
Procyon: just visible over the horizon in the West, only star visible in Canis Minor
Castor and Pollux: WNW about 25 degrees high
Polaris: about 25 degrees in the North, could see 2 other stars in Ursa Minor
Vega: was very low when first started observing, by end of observation time it was about 25 degrees high in the NE
Deneb: In NE, could hardly see it because it was so low
Alberio: ENE, about 10 degrees high
Summer Triangle: could easily see Vega, barely see Deneb, could not see Altair
Northern Cross: could see Deneb, Alberio, and one other star. the others were either too low or too dim.