Houston Astronomical Society

Plan for January 2018 has been posted in topic "January 2018 Observing Plan". Post your observations in topic January 2018 - Post Observations Here.

Used to be able to tell time based on sun position. No sundial, just glanced up and knew it was around 3:30 pm on a winter afternoon. Not turning into an astro-Luddite; I love technology. But I don't want to lose the immediate, human connection to the heavens. More is more.

In preparation for Jan 1, 2018, I'm going to make a mental map of the earth-bound geographic coordinate system for all locations I'm most likely to find myself: backyard, HAS Dark Site, daughter's home, etc. My front door e.g., faces NNE with Polaris 30 degrees up, a hook 'em horns distance over the chimney in the opposite cul de sac. As the year progresses, will be able to see the celestial globe turning in mind's eye, night or day, in RA and DEC.

More prep:

Clean binocular lenses and otherwise check them out

Dust off my cheap but good grab n go AWB reflector, decide which alt-az mount/tripod to use, fit a red dot finder (I like the Rigel QuickFinder), clean two eyepieces, collimate. The AWB uses a helical focuser, now that's a throwback

Gather Pocket Sky Atlas, red light, clipboard, astro notebook. Will transcribe notes inside house, no computer, cell phone apps etc for this project. You do what you prefer, of course

Familiarize myself with hand measurements most used to gauge alt-az measures on the sky: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/measuring-the-sky-by-hand.html

Monthly prep:

Study Observer's Handbook 2018 for the month

Update cell calendar with can't miss dates

Post observing plan on Backyard Observing Program forum

Planning's half the fun.