Hodgson Observatory

The February total lunar eclipse was observed from the grounds of Hodgson Observatory by Nancy and Dick Hodgson. Fortunately early evening clouds cleared away prior to totality. Unfortunately the air temperature was minus 6 degrees F.with a light breeze from the east!  Fighting the cold Nancy managed to secure several digital photographs. Dick scrutinized the eclipsed Moon with an 8x32mm monocular, and gave mid-eclipse value of ~3.5 to 3.7 on the Danjon Scale.

Throughout January, observing efforts were hindered by continued adverse weather, including bitter cold. The New Moon Saturday gathering, like that in December, was not held.

Solar disc observations made with the 203mm (8-inch) reflector on January 17 (previously reported) and on January 26 showed no sunspots visible. On January 31, using 77x on this scope, a lone, nicely developed sunspot group was seen near the solar equator. It featured two major spots with three minor spots between them.

A search for Apollo asteroid 2007 TU24 was made with the 80mm f/11/4 refractor (23x) on Jan. 30 between 01h 24m and 02h 15m UT near the star Dubhe in Ursa Major. It was a calm, moonless night; temperature was minus 5 degrees F. (-18.3 C.). Seeing was average, ~6/10. The asteroid was 807,800 km from Earth at the time, but was too faint for the telescope wsed and was not seen. The extreme cold and frost was a complicating factor. It was a frustrating experience!