Below is the NOAA forecast for HRPO's planned viewing time of 12pm to 2pm... precipitation potential, 15% sky cover, 47% relative humidity, 80% temperature, 21˚C surface wind, SE 18 km/h Danko's Clear Dark Sky states that during HRPO's viewing time the transparency rating will be "too cloudy to forecast" (0 out of 5) and the seeing rating will be "poor" (1 out of 5). If the sky is clear, HRPO personnel will attempt viewing until 1:30pm. The 23 December 2023 day rating is... EXCELLENT VERY GOOD GOOD FAIR POOR BAD Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 23rd, 2023, 11:42 am ..read more

Heading out of the inner Solar System, this comet posed with some photogenic galaxies in the constellation Grus. This image is from Dan Bartlett and was obtained on the thirteenth. Although Grus rises completely above the Baton Rouge horizon, it stays below twenty-three degrees. It culminates in mid-October at about 10pm CDT. 21 December 2023 APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231221.html Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 22nd, 2023, 9:23 pm ..read more

It's a solargraph! From Northern summer to Northern winter (2022), José Zarcos Palma grabbed the Sun's path in the sky. Solargraphs can be obtained with a homemade pinhole camera and photographic paper. Needed is a place where the camera can be mounted for six months with little fear of it being moved. 22 December 2023 APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231222.html Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 22nd, 2023, 9:08 pm ..read more

Coast to Coast AM Executive Producer Lisa Lyon has released a statement that Ian Punnett died yesterday "after a brief illness". Punnett had been involved in the live overnight show since 2000; he studied journalism at Arizona State and Kansas State. More information: https://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/ ... r-21-2023/ Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 22nd, 2023, 7:03 pm ..read more

Thursday 14 December: R3 (Strongest Solar Flare of Solar Cycle 25) This past Thursday, for about two hours centered on 7am CST, an X2.8 flare emerged out of Active Region 3514. Southern Louisiana was just within the area of "highest impact". I will be requesting reports from the Baton Rouge Amateur Radio Club and perhaps the American Red Cross. More information: https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/stron ... r-cycle-25 Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 16th, 2023, 7:35 pm ..read more

In November 2016 Cassini captured a beautiful shot of a crescent Enceladus. Name after a character in Greek mythology (what a surprise), this moon has a diameter comparable to Arizona. 16 December 2023 APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231216.html More information: https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/enceladus https://www.space.com/20543-enceladus-s ... -moon.html Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 16th, 2023, 7:19 pm ..read more

Sunset is at 5:05pm CST. Twilight ends at 6:32pm CST. The front gate and main building will be open at 7:05pm. Below is the NOAA forecast for HRPO's planned viewing time of 7:30pm to 10pm... precipitation potential, 15% sky cover, 78% relative humidity, 98% temperature, 15˚C surface wind, N 11 km/h Danko's Clear Dark Sky states that during HRPO's viewing time both the transparency rating and the seeing rating will be "too cloudy to forecast" (0 out of 5). Tonight's 20OGS operator was to be BREC Program Aide Judah Santiago. However, the 20OGS is undergoing a diagnostic check by LSU's Departmen ..read more

Was there any doubt that the occultation would make it onto the APOD? Sebastian Voltmer did some good work in Mexico, capturing the fading of the star Betelgeuse as 319 Leona literally cast a shadow onto the Earth's surface. Those who couldn't be in the occultation track could view remotely due a few well-placed cameras. 15 December 2023 APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231215.html Statistics: Posted by Christopher K. — December 15th, 2023, 9:46 pm ..read more

I'm not quite sure what happened to many submitted pictures on the Forum. It could be that this incarnation of it no longer supports JPGs and other picture formats. I'll ask the current overseers in BRAS. In the meantime, the Reflector (the newsletter of the Astronomical League) is saying that NASA is saying that the James Webb Space Telescope has detected a jet stream over 4800 kilometers wide. The stream speeds along at over 500 kilometers per hour and is positioned about forty kilometers above the main cloud deck. For any who are interested in receiving the Reflector, a membership in the ..read more

Sunset was at 5:05pm CDT. Twilight ends at 6:32pm CST. The front gate and main building will be open at 6:50pm. Tonight's lecture ("Apollo 8 55th Anniversary") begins at 7:30pm. Below is the NOAA forecast for HRPO's planned viewing time of 8:30pm to 10pm... precipitation potential, 3% sky cover, 57% relative humidity, 89% temperature, 15˚C surface wind, E 14 km/h Danko's Clear Dark Sky states that during HRPO's viewing time both the transparency rating and the seeing rating will be "average" (3 out of 5). LSU physics professor Colin Turley is the 20OGS operator; he will attempt viewing (weath ..read more