[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
(meteorobs) Night sky views during the "Great Blackout of 2003"
A little off-topic, but I thought some might be interested in my
observations during the recent power failure in the Northeast US.
Interestingly, the family and I were back in my old stomping grounds of
Levittown (Long Island), visiting some old friends when the power went out. As
evening twilight was ending and prior to the rising of the waning gibbous
Moon I was able to glimpse that section of the Milky Way through Cygnus. This is
interesting because in the 15 years that I had lived in Levittown (1987-2002)
I never was able to see any part of the Milky Way.
But in comparing last Thursday night to blackout of July 13, 1977, (when
I lived in the Throggs Neck section of The Bronx), l thought it was rather
disappointing. There was noticeably less haze back in 1977 and back then I could
clearly see the Milky Way from Cassiopeia down through northern Aquila,
complete with dark rifts and the Cygnus Coal Sack. The LM was 5.4, based on the
naked-eye visibility of the star 24 Vulpeculae (I had a brief write up about
the sky quality in the October 1977 S&T, page 252 under the heading "When the
Lights Went Out").
Thursday night it was much hazier . . . probably with a LM I guesstimated
to be closer to around 4.5. Also, as Mars rose through the horizon murk it
looked "mercurochrome red" as did the waning gibbous Moon (looking like a
deformed cherry). Really too bad the sky couldn't be a bit clearer/cleaner!
I tried to get the neighborhood kids interested in the sky and Mars, but
they seemed more involved in chasing each other around in the darkness,
playing an improvised game called "Manhunt."
-- joe rao
The archive and Web site for our list is at http://www.meteorobs.org
To stop getting all email from the 'meteorobs' lists, use our Webform:
http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html