1 person. I've heard a rumor from a usually reliable source that the January Thaw has been postponed until Memorial Day Weekend. Whether my friend's prognostication is true or not, since the beginning of the year, there have been 10 Friday evenings: 1 clear, 4 unsucessful attempts to open, and 5 complete washouts. I wonder if we should convert the Observatory to a Meteorlogical Station.

Tonight as a case in point went as follows. I e-mailed a few folks who asked saying I doubted we'd open. By 6 PM I was sure it was a complete waste of time. By 6:45 I could see the Moon, Jupiter and a few stars. I drove over to FDO. In the words of the immortal Julius Caesar [with a few explanatory notes]:

• I came [big deal, already].
• I saw [very little worth looking at].
• I [was] conquered.

After waiting two hours, things hadn't changed a whit. I could still make out the Moon, Jupiter and a few stars. On our vaunted scale the night ranked about 0.3 - not quite opaque but close enough for government work.

-Les Coleman

Author:

Leslie Coleman

Entry Date:

Mar 7, 2003

Published Under:

Leslie Coleman's Log