The Night Sky Naturalist

August 17, 2019
9:19 pm
by: Bob Vickers

The Great 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

To celebrate the total solar eclipse of 2017, the astronomy club I belong to (West Kentucky Amateur Astronomers) planned a three day festival at the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) Golden Pond Visitor Center & Planetarium. The festival started on Saturday 19 August and ended on the day of the eclipse, Monday 21 August.

Saturday was hot and humid but mostly clear. I opened up the observatory at the LBL Visitor Center about 10am and showed the public four groups of sunspots through the 16″ Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with mylar filter. There were also two small prominences visible through the Coronado Hydrogen-alpha Solar telescope. I estimate about 75-100 people looked through the scopes during the course of the day. Even more people (250-300) turned out for the evening program when we were able to show people Jupiter and Saturn as well as a few deep sky delights.

The next day, Sunday, was again mostly clear, hot, and humid. I operated the observatory scopes again and showed the same four groups of sunspots but two different prominences. This time there was a steady stream of people through the observatory all day and I estimated a total of about 700-800 visitors.

4:00am Eclipse Day. Not knowing what to expect as far as clouds, traffic, or crowd size, my wife, Melissa, and I got up at 4am and checked the weather forecast. 30% cloud cover was predicted for LBL. The previous day the prediction had been 17-23% but had gone up to 50% by the time we went to bed. We debated about chasing the eclipse to a better location but any place we could reach at that point had about the same forecast. So, we stayed with LBL and hoped for the best.

We did not run into any unusual traffic on the way and there were only light clouds along the eastern horizon. When we got to the observatory we met other club members who said that they had not seen any unusual traffic either. So, once again, I opened up the observatory to the public for solar viewing and people began to gather. We had the same four sunspot groups as before plus one new group and a small prominence.

11:55am First contact. The Moon’s silhouette first touched the edge (limb) of the Sun and began slowly working its way across. We watched as it covered the sunspots one by one. It began to darken noticeably as more people arrived. We heard many comments from people expressing their appreciation for the club taking the time to share the event with them. To the astonishment of some of the people in line waiting to look through the scopes, I projected a crescent Sun image onto the floor of the observatory through a tiny opening between my fingers (making a pinhole projector) and then directed them to go outside and look at the shadows of tree leaves on the ground where lots of crescent Suns were projected.

Projected solar crescents. Copyright (c) 2019 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

As the Sun was slowly covered by the Moon, its light began to take on a more golden glow.

Golden Pond Observatory after partial eclipse had begun. Copyright (c) 2019 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

1:08pm We closed the observatory to the public to allow everyone, including WKAA members, to enjoy the eclipse. The sunlight got even more dim and took on an eerie orangish color. I used my binoculars, which I had covered with filters, to monitor the eclipse progress.

Golden Pond Observatory as totality approached. Copyright (c) 2019 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

1:23pm The sky became very dark to the west-north-west due to the approaching shadow of the Moon. I saw no shadow bands on the sheets we had laid out for that purpose. The temperature was dropping but there was no noticeable breeze. Shadows were darker and more sharp-edged.

Shadows were lighter and fuzzy edged in full daylight before the eclipse. Copyright (c) 2019 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Shadows were darker and sharp edged as totality neared. Copyright (c) 2019 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

1:24pm Second contact. The “Diamond Ring” (the last bright spot of sunlight visible just before the Moon hides the Sun completely) suddenly appeared, quite bright, followed a bit later by Baily’s Beads (points of sunlight passing through gaps in the rough terrain along the Moon’s limb). Spontaneous applause and cheering erupted from all the people around me. This was the beginning of totality so I pulled the filters off my binoculars and looked. There was a pink prominence along the lower right edge and another dimmer one above it on the right edge. I noticed the bright star Regulus off to the left and when I looked with just my eyes I found the bright planet Venus some distance to the right and Jupiter even farther off to the left.

The corona was beautiful and put on a spectacular show of its own. It was especially vivid through the binoculars as I scanned its shape and details. The curving shapes of the coronal “rays” were very apparent, much wider at the base and coming to curving points farther out. The whole eclipse was quite beautiful, looking like a hole in the sky. In fact the inky blackness of the Moon’s silhouette surrounded by the corona looked very much like what I would imagine a black hole to look like.

Our surroundings were dark but not as dark as I though they would be. There was still a strange glow over the landscape from the corona and the temperature was now comfortably cool. I did not notice any wildlife behavior during the eclipse although someone told me later that they had heard crickets start to sing. I did not try to take any pictures of the eclipse itself (I was going to take a “snapshot” with my digital camera but I forgot all about it!) but professional photographer Shannon Hall, one of our club members, took several images. Here is a link to his Facebook page.

1:26pm Third contact. The two minute and 8 second totality at the observatory seemed like only 30 seconds. Baily’s beads reappeared, followed by the diamond ring and everything unfolded again in the reverse order. It got much brighter very quickly after the end of totality but we could still see the retreating shadow of the Moon appearing as dark skies to our east-south-east.

1:42pm We re-opened the observatory for the public. The 15 degree drop in temperature that we had experienced during totality was rapidly reversing. Through the scopes, we watched the sunspots slowly reappear one by one.

2:35pm Fourth contact. The trailing edge of the Moon slid off the face of the Sun and the eclipse was over.

Melissa and I left shortly thereafter to go home. We actually ran into more traffic going home than we did at any other time during the three day event but it still wasn’t that bad. I do believe that many people stayed home because they thought that a partial eclipse would be almost as good as a total. But anyone who has seen a total eclipse will tell you that there is no comparison. Still, I estimate that 1500 – 2000 people came through the observatory during the three day Eclipse Festival.

Was it what we expected? Pretty much. We had read and prepared enough to know most of what to expect, though no description or even pictures of previous eclipses could compare to living the moment. It was just too short to fully appreciate. It really did seem more like 30 seconds. We have a better understanding now of why some eclipse chasers count the seconds of totality they have personally experienced. Thinking ahead now to 2024….

Posted in Amateur Astronomy

January 2, 2018
11:26 am
by: Bob Vickers

2016 Perseid Meteor Shower

On the evening of 11 August 2016, I set my alarm for 2 a.m. which came all too soon. I peeked out the back door to see clear skies so I got dressed and went out for a better look. The air was warm and humid but it was clear, no Moon, and the Milky Way was clearly visible. I woke Melissa and we went outside to lie on blankets on the driveway and watch the Perseids. By the time we got settled on our blankets it was 2:20 a.m. and over the next 45 minutes we counted 58 meteors! That comes to about 77 per hour. This was a good bit better than the 57 per hour we saw last year but not quite to the “spectacular” prediction that I had read about. Most of the meteors were short, fast, and not very bright, although we did see 5-6 very bright and long ones.

A few minutes after 3 a.m. clouds appeared in the South and within 5 minutes it was completely overcast. At this point we decided to go back inside. It had been a good show despite the cloud-out and I’m glad we made the effort to see it.

Posted in Amateur Astronomy

January 2, 2018
10:49 am
by: Bob Vickers

Bells Bend Outdoor Center

Back on 13 May 2016, on a business trip to Nashville, Melissa and I took a side trip to nearby Bells Bend Outdoor Center. The center is located on the West side of Nashville, in an oxbow of the Cumberland River. It is an 800 acre park of scattered fields and hardwood forests crisscrossed by several miles of hiking trails. We stopped in at the nature center building to talk to the attendant and get a trail map.

Walking out the back porch where we saw several Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, we went a short distance down the Outdoor Center Trail.

Since the day was sunny and hot and our time was limited, we decided to keep our outing short. We turned right, went by the barn and back up the Loop Trail and Outdoor Center Trail to the building again. This made for a pleasant break in the day but we barely scratched the surface of the park. I want to return when I have more time to do some serious birding. A list of birds found in the park include Henslow’s Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Willow Flycatcher among many others.

Posted in Other Nature Studies, Uncategorized

December 9, 2017
7:25 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Galaxy Groups & Clusters – April through October 2016

On 28 April 2016, I observed GG&C Trio #17, a string of three well spaced galaxies, two bright and one dim. All three fit into the 21.3 minute field of view of my 9mm Televue Nagler. Both N2856 and N2854 were direct vision galaxies, both very elongated and becoming brighter toward the center. Neither had a stellar nucleus. N2857 was more difficult but was visible with averted vision as a roundish glow with very low surface brightness.

Next was Hickson compact galaxy group #60 on 6 June 2016. This is a difficult group and I could only see the “a” and “d” components which I could not separate. They appeared as a single fuzzy elongated patch with averted vision.

GG&C Additional Galaxy Group #23 (aka NGC 4065 group) is a rich field of several bright galaxies, four of which are direct vision. I observed it on 7 June 2016. N4065, N4061, N4066, and N4070 are all small, roundish, direct vision galaxies with either a stellar nucleus or bright core. N4076, N4072, N4074, N4086, N4060, and N4090 are all dimmer elongated galaxies visible at some level of averted vision.

Next, on 29 June 2016, I observed GG&C Trio #37, a nice string of three bright galaxies, two spiral and one elliptical. All three are direct vision and all three fit nicely into the 9mm Nagler field of view. I had visited this trio before in August 2004 while observing the Herschel 400 (one of which is N5982).

GG&C Abell #39 (Abell 2152) is another difficult cluster. I observed it on 4 September 2016 on a night of marginal transparency. Only two galaxies were visible that night: MCG +3-41-95 and CGCG 108-142. Both are small and round with even brightness and range from very dim to extremely dim. I will need to try this cluster again under better conditions.

3 October 2016 brought another Abell cluster (GG&C #43, aka Abell 2247). Using averted vision, I could only see two galaxies in this large but faint cluster: PGC 59174 and MCG +14-8-18. Both are members of a chain of galaxies called Shakhbazian 166. The former a small, faint, roundish galaxy with no discernable stellar nucleus and the latter not much more than a stellar nucleus in a very small halo.

Another large but faint cluster is GG&C Abell #2 (aka Abell 76) which I observed on 5 October 2016. On this night, I could only see 2 of the 42 galaxies listed as cluster members. These were two of the brighter Index Catalog galaxies, IC 1565 and IC 1566. Both are small and round, becoming brighter toward the center with quasi-stellar nuclei.

GG&C Trio #2 is an interesting trio consisting of a larger edge-on galaxy (N12 elongated north/south with two very small, round, and dim “satellite” galaxies (N127 & N130) just to the west and east. When I observed this trio on 29 October 2016, I was also able to see two additional nearby galaxies (N125 and N126), making a quintet!

Later that same night I bagged another trio (GG&C Trio #3) of three small galaxies (N138, N141, and N139), ranging from fairly bright to very dim.

Posted in Amateur Astronomy

August 26, 2017
8:29 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

On April 23 of last year, I looked out my window and saw two Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks on the backyard feeder. Never having seen one here before (or anywhere else for that matter), they were new life birds for me. One was a mature male with vibrant, well defined colors: black and white with a red triangle on the breast. The other one had less distinct markings with much more streaking. I took it to be an immature male. They were a little large for the feeder but managed to balance well enough. They seemed somewhat finch-like in their behavior, remaining on the feeder while eating. They had a curious habit of grabbing a mouthful of seed from the feeder, then moving their heads back and forth looking for danger while gobbling down the seeds. According to both Peterson and Sibley, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks are migratory here. They were probably heading north to Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, or even Canada, after wintering in Mexico. I just managed to get a picture of the mature male.

Posted in Other Nature Studies

January 29, 2017
3:11 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Ichetucknee Springs and O’Leno State Parks, Florida

Back in late March of 2016, Melissa and I drove to Florida again to visit our son and his wife and their newborn twin girls. While we were there, I took the opportunity to do some hiking in a couple of nearby state parks. The first one I visited was Ichetucknee Springs S.P. near Ft. White. I arrived fairly early on a cool, mostly cloudy day and decided to follow the Blue Hole Spring Trail. The first part of the trail crosses a nice long boardwalk and then follows along the heavily wooded edge of the Ichetucknee River. There were many bird species, including Barred Owls and Pileated Woodpeckers.

When I arrived at the Blue Hole Spring I immediately heard several Carolina Wrens making pretty loud agitated calls. Scanning around, I quickly discovered the reason for the ruckus–a Red Shouldered Hawk perched in a nearby tree.

I watched for a few minutes until he left his perch, giving his characteristic kee-yer kee-yer call, made a wide circle around the area, and flew away.

26,668 gallons of pure clear 72 degree water pours out of a cave entrance at the bottom of Blue Hole Spring every minute. It is a favorite location for cave divers (including my son.)

A couple of days later I returned to Ichetucknee to hike the Trestle Point and Pine Ridge Trails. Along the western side of the Trestle Point Trail, near some old phosphate mine pits, I thought I was hearing a Northern Parula Warbler. A little later, I met another birder who said he had heard it also. Unfortunately, I never actually saw the bird to confirm it.

The Pine Ridge Trail branches off of the Trestle Point Trail and enters a hardwood hammock of Laural Oaks, Sweetgums, Pignut Hickories, and Southern Magnolias.

Shortly, the trail leaves the hammock and crosses an ecotone or habitat boundary and enters a dry sandhill forest of Longleaf Pines and scrubby bushes. Millions of years ago, this area was actually Florida’s coastline. The sand is very deep here and does not hold moisture well.

After following the loop of trail through the Sandhill Forest I reentered the hardwood hammock where I came across a Barred Owl monitoring my hiking progress.

Coming back to the Trestle Point Trail, I took the eastern loop and followed the cool and shady path back along the Ichetucknee River to the parking lot. Looking forward to a return trip sometime in the future.

The day after my Ichetucknee trail walks, I visited nearby O’Leno State Park. I hiked the River Trail loop which mostly follows the Santa Fe River out to the “River Sink” where the water flows into an underground passage for about 3.5 miles until it resurfaces at “River Rise.” The trail begins at the suspension bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938.

CCC Suspension Bridge over Santa Fe River, OLeno State Park, FL. Copyright c) 2017 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Crossing the bridge offered a nice view downstream toward the River Sink.

Santa Fe River, OLeno State Park, FL. Copyright c) 2017 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

As I walked the trail upstream for a short distance I stopped several times to view the river through the lush greenery.

Saw Palmettos along the Santa Fe River. Copyright c) 2017 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Moving away from the river, I entered more of a sandhill forest again. Here there were dense thickets of Saw-palmettos beneath pine trees.

As I wound my way around the trail loop, I came across a leaning tree with Resurrection Fern growing on it. The fronds of this fern roll up when conditions are dry and revive when wet conditions return. (Hence the name.)

Resurrection Fern. Copyright c) 2017 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Approaching more of a wetland area near the river again, I found a small patch of Baldcypress trees and knees.

Although the intent of my walk was to hear and see birds, I came across remarkably few this time. Instead I came across some beautiful flowers which I believe to be Wild Azaleas.

I finally arrived at River Sink to the call and circling flight of a Red Shouldered Hawk and later, a Swallow Tailed Kite. The river strangely comes to a dead end here like a slowly swirling clogged drain and disappears into an underground passage.

Finishing the River Trail loop, I arrived back at the parking lot where I was honored by the presence of a foot-long Ringneck snake. A pleasant end to a pleasant walk.

Posted in Other Nature Studies

December 31, 2016
10:14 am
by: Bob Vickers

Jupiter Double Shadow Transit

On the evening of 14 March 2016 it was a clear and cool 55 degrees. I went out to the observatory to look at Jupiter for a while before going to bed and immediately saw two moons on the following side pretty far away from the planet. These were later identified as Callisto (the outermost) and Ganymede. I then saw another moon very close to the following limb of Jupiter and, just within the limb, a moon shadow which I initially thought came from that moon. After a little research in the March 2016 Sky & Telescope, I found that the moon was Io but the shadow was from Europa which was transiting the planet somewhere ahead of the shadow but unseen due to a lack of contrast between the sunlit moon and the cloud-tops of Jupiter. A little more research showed that a double transit was in progress starring Io and Europa and their shadows.

After a few more minutes, Io crossed the following limb as Europa’s shadow progressed toward the preceding side. After about ten more minutes the shadow of Io began to show itself along the following limb. I could still see Io as a bright spot along Jupiter’s Northern Equatorial belt. The shadows of Io and Europa were also along this belt. I looked as carefully as I could but could never see Europa.

I watched a few more minutes of the double transit but could not watch all of it. I had to stop and go to bed so I could get up at 5:45 am and go to work the next morning.

Posted in Amateur Astronomy

December 30, 2016
9:33 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Snowbird Partial Albinism?

On 22 January 2016 I awoke to a light snowfall. I estimated it to be about two inches deep when I went out to fill the bird feeder. Returning inside I looked out the window where several Dark-eyed Slate-colored Juncos were at the feeder and on the ground below. One of them, which I had seen before, had a white streak around the nape of the neck but another had an almost completely white head.

He had a dark splotch on the forehead and a dark gray “collar” around the front of his neck. Otherwise, he was marked like a Slate-colored Junco including the white tail bars, slate gray back, and flesh colored bill.

According to David Allen Sibley’s The Sibley Guide to Birds an aberrant plumage such as partial albinism results in some feathers being pure white. “Partial albinism often follows feather groups, so that white spectacles or an entirely white head might appear,” says Sibley.

I saw him once more the next morning but have not seen him since. I will be curious to see if he shows up again in 2017.

Posted in Other Nature Studies, Uncategorized

December 30, 2016
8:13 pm
by: Bob Vickers

The Great 2016 Sandhill Crane Expedition

Way back in mid January, Melissa and I drove to the Hiwassee National Wildlife Refuge near Dayton, Tennessee to see the Sandhill Cranes that winter there. The weather was cold but clear and the trees and fields sparkled with frost on our drive over. We drove I-40 to I-840 and around to Murfreesboro. From there we took back roads (which were really pretty good) to McMinville and crossed the southern Cumberland Plateau. We found heavier snow and frost on the plateau but the roads were still clear.

After about a five-and-a-half hour drive we arrived at the Hiwassee NWR overlook near where the Hiwassee and the Tennessee Rivers converge. There were Sandhill Cranes at the water’s edge to our North, in the corn fields to our West and flying overhead. Their “rattle-calls” were almost ceaseless . As I set up the spotting scope we made a conservative estimate of 1000.

In addition to the cranes, we could see a couple of hundred Mallards, a dozen or so Hooded Mergansers and Canvasbacks, about 30 Canada Geese, and maybe 20 Great Blue Herons.

While we were observing we met a nice fellow birder named Charles Murray who lived locally and was therefore familiar with the area. After we had been there a couple of hours, he suggested an alternate viewing location nearby at the Trail-of-Tears Park overlook so we followed him there. The view was not as open there due to the surrounding trees but you could see more of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers and the island where they joined. There we saw perhaps another 1000 Sandhills, mostly at a considerable distance flying in flocks toward the Hiwassee NWR to spend the evening. There were also quite a few on the sandbars in the river. Our friend Charles supplied a running commentary on the cranes and also pointed out a lone adult Bald Eagle in the distance perched in a tree along the river.

Before too much longer, it was getting too dark to see well so we decided to go to our Motel and have dinner. The following morning we arrived at the platform and set up. Again, about 1000 Cranes were visible, many flying overhead in groups. A large number were in a field on the other side of the bay.

Charles Murray showed up again and he helped Melissa and me to spot and identify Pintail, Redhead, and Canvasback ducks. The Mallards, Ring-Billed Gulls, Hooded Mergansers, and Canada Geese were still there but we did not see the Great Blue Herons.

By 10 o’clock there were a handful of people at the platform and we decided that we had seen all that we had come to see so we packed up our equipment and headed back toward home.

On the way back, Melissa and I decided to take a short side trip to Mousetail Landing State Park on the Tennessee River near Parsons, TN. There really wasn’t much of interest there but as we drove through the park we got a chuckle out of a sign we saw warning us of the steep road ahead.

No, it wasn’t really that bad!

Posted in Other Nature Studies

December 30, 2016
10:07 am
by: Bob Vickers

Galaxy Groups & Clusters – January through March 2016

Here are some more GG&C observations for early 2016.

The first three are from January 1st. Abell #1 (Abell14) was pretty challenging and I could only see two of the six listed galaxies and both were extremely dim.

Hickson 22 was a revisit from 22 February 2014. Due to better weather I was able to add two more NGC galaxies (N1189 & N1190) to the one I had seen before (N1199).

For Hickson 23 I was able to see the three brightest galaxies out of five.

The next night (January 2nd) I observed Additional Galaxy Group #4. This is a fairly compact group ranging in brightness from two direct vision galaxies (N80 & N83) to extremely dim (PGC1384). Twelve galaxies were visible.

Hickson #1 was observed on the next night (January 3rd). I was able to see three out of four listed galaxies. Oddly enough, the dimmest listed galaxy (P1618 at mag 16.5) was the easiest to see because of its brighter stellar nucleus.

On February 12th I observed both Trio #11 and Trio #12. The first is a fairly tight group of three galaxies (N1721, N1725, & N172 plus a more distant fourth galaxy (N1723) not part of the trio. All were direct vision.

Trio #12 consists of two close interacting galaxies and one more distant edge-on galaxy. An interesting trio, all fairly bright.

I observed Hickson #27 on February 27th but could only see one extremely faint galaxy (P14863 at mag 15.7) of the five listed.

Posted in Amateur Astronomy

December 29, 2015
4:51 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Catch-Up Post #3

I have added twelve sketches to my Galaxy Groups & Clusters page, beginning with Additional Galaxy Group #1 (AKA IC5370 group). This is a small, irregular chain of five galaxies, all of which were only visible with averted vision.

GG&C Additional #1 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Next is Hickson 99, a fairly tight grouping of five galaxies of which I was able to see three. The B component (U12899) was visible with direct vision, while the A component only showed as a dim, very elongated north/south streak with a dim field star near the southern tip.

GG&C Hickson #99 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Hickson 100 showed me two of its four components. The brightest member, visible with direct vision, is NGC 7803, which has a large, elongated halo running east/west. It becomes brighter toward the center and has a dim stellar nucleus.

GG&C Hickson #100 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Additional Galaxy Group #2 (the NGC 3 group) consists of five galaxies in a scattered grouping, all of which are averted vision objects. NGC 3 is the brightest member. It is elongated east/west, becomes brighter toward the center, and has a dim stellar nucleus.

GG&C Additional #2 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Additional Galaxy Group #3 is a fairly tight but uneven group of ten galaxies of which I managed to view eight. It consists of a couple of brighter galaxies and several dimmer ones, all visible only with averted vision.

GG&C Additional #3 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

I viewed the Trio #13 (NGC 2379 Trio) earlier this year and it turned out to be a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. NGC 2379 (small and concentrated) was easy enough as a direct vision object, but the two other galaxies in this string, NGC 2375 and NGC 2373, were very hazy and diffuse spots. All three seemed dimmer than the listed magnitudes.

GG&C Trio 13 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Abell #14 (569) is a rather large and loose cluster. I observed the “center” of this cluster, which is a crooked string of one or two brighter galaxies and several dimmer ones. The two brightest galaxies are NGC 2329 (which has an elongated halo running north-northeast/south-southwest with a brighter core and a dim stellar nucleus) and UGC 3696 (which is smaller but also has an elongated halo running northeast/southwest).

GG&C Abell #14 (569) – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

I was able to observe seven out of the nine galaxies in Additional Group #12 (NGC 2340 group), a “U” shaped string of galaxies with one bright NGC galaxy (NGC 2340) and six dimmer IC galaxies. NGC 2340 is fairly large and bright with an elliptical halo, a bright elongated core, and a dim stellar nucleus.

GG&C Additional #12 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

I could only spot a handful of galaxies in the Abell #15 (576) Cluster. They are just a scattering of five very dim galaxies visible only with extreme averted vision. I am also unsure of the designations for a couple of them.

GG&C Abell #15 (576) – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Abell #22 (1185) is a large cluster of 82 or more galaxies with a clump of brighter galaxies toward the middle. Its distance is listed as around 433 million lightyears. The only direct vision galaxy is NGC 3550. It is a large, roundish cloud with no nucleus and fairly even in brightness. NGC 3561 and NGC 3561A together are part of Arp 105 (The Guitar). I could not see any other detail of The Guitar. Nor could I see another feature called Ambartsumian’s knot (a small tidal dwarf galaxy at the base of The Guitar). (See Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for 22 November 2005.)

GG&C Abell #22 (1185) – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

I viewed three of the Hickson 84 galaxies, a very dim and compact group.

GG&C Hickson #84 – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Abell #38 (2151) (AKA the Hercules Cluster of Galaxies) is a bit overwhelming due to the shear number of galaxies (87 listed). I concentrated on the center, a long rectangular group of fairly dim galaxies. Although these are the brighter galaxies for the most part, they are still at least an AV3 (object seen more than 50% of the time) or dimmer. I will have to revisit this cluster in the future and try to pick off some more faint fuzzies.

GG&C Abell #38 (2151) – Copyright (c) 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Posted in Amateur Astronomy, Uncategorized

April 10, 2015
8:15 pm
by: Bob Vickers

Kayaking on the Santa Fe River, FL

At the end of March, Melissa and I drove to Florida again to visit our son and daughter-in-law Dan and Sunny. While we were there Dan and I went kayaking on the Santa Fe River which is very near where they live. It turned out to be a great outing. Dan and I got up about 7am and left for the river a little after 8am. We had already loaded their two kayaks into his truck the night before. It only took about ten minutes to drive to the river access on Highway 27 just north of High Springs.

Dan at the Santa Fe River - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

It was a pretty cool morning with a temperature around forty degrees and when we got to the river it was shrouded in mist. As we put the kayaks in and started on our way the air was full of birdsong–Chickadees, Titmice, Cardinals, and many more I couldn’t identify (or even see due to the thick woods and undergrowth).

Santa Fe River - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

We started up the river in the cool shade and mist–Cypress and Live Oak trees adorned with Spanish Moss. As we gradually made our way up the river the sun rose higher above the treetops and began to light up the mist from behind.

Mist on the Santa Fe River - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

The river water felt warm to the touch and it almost looked like the river was steaming. It was then that I began to notice little whirls of mist that looked like miniature tornadoes or dust devils. Call them “mist devils.” As we watched we began to see dozens of them spread out at random up the river. As the warm air from the sun-heated river began to rise, the mist devils would form. Some were long and narrow, maybe six inches across and six to ten feet high. Others were shorter and wider. They would form, whirl for a while, then dissipate as others formed to take their place. As we made our way upstream we probably encountered hundreds of them. Out of curiosity, I stuck my hand into one but could only feel a very gentle movement of air. Within another few minutes the mist was gone and along with it, the mist devils.

As the mist disappeared and the sun streamed onto the river, basking turtles began to climb out onto logs sticking up out of the water. They ranged in size from three or four inches across to a foot or more.

Basking Turtles - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

To begin with, only a couple at a time would climb out but as the morning wore on I began to see more and more of them.

Hey! Get your foot out of my face. - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

Eventually, on one log, I counted sixteen turtles crowded onto every available square inch of surface. If we passed too close they would unceremoniously flop into the water. I’m not sure what kinds of turtles these were but there seemed to be at least a couple of species. (According to my Peterson Guide, these may have been Florida Cooters and/or Suwannee Cooters.)

Rush hour traffic on the Santa Fe - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

There were several Red-shouldered Hawks, some just over the trees, some soaring high overhead. We saw one of a pair carrying sticks to a tree-top apparently to build a nest. There were Crows and Turkey Vultures and even Belted Kingfishers but we did not see any wading birds on the entire outing. The one new bird we did see, I later identified as a Swallow-tailed Kite, a large hawk-like bird with black and white wings, a white head and body, and a deeply forked swallow-like tail. We actually saw several of them soaring over the river. Their call is a harsh and high-pitched peerie-peerie-peerie sound. Another new bird for my life list. These birds and the mist devils were worth the trip by themselves.

Highway 441 Bridge - © Copyright 2015 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.

We made it through a couple of challenging rapids, past the Highway 441 bridge and turned around at Treehouse Spring. Next trip, I would like to start at the 441 bridge and paddle upstream to River Rise.