I finally made it out and got some viewing in. I have to say it was
fantastic for a change. No turbulence and clarity was unbelievable.
Thanks for the heads up!

Forrest


-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Howell <paul@...>
To: southern_maine_astronomers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, Jul 8, 2009 4:02 pm
Subject: [southern_maine_astronomers] Unusual seeing


Hi Everyone - 



Well we certainly have paid a price for the stubbornly (!) persistent
low-pressure system that has made its way (at a walking pace) from
Ontario to us over the past month. However, there is a silver lining. 




Atmospheric seeing (the wiggling of starlight that messes up detailed
views of things) correlates very well with the jetstream. Typically, we
in Maine are more or less directly beneath the jetstream and we have
the seeing to prove it. Premier places like Arizona, southern Florida,
and Hawaii typically are well away from the jetstream. 




Starting tomorrow night, we get a rare treat. The dissipating low
pressure system will move off into the gulf of Maine (taking its clouds
with it) and block the jetstream for a day or two.  For that period, we
stand to get Arizona, or even sea-level Hawaii-esque seeing. I have
attached two jetstream forecasts, one for the start of tomorrow night
(0h UT, 7/10) and one for Friday (0h UT, 7/11). 




If you have been itchin
g to get that great view of Saturn in the early
evening or Jupiter later on, this might be a good time. Of, if you are
an imager, perhaps now would be a good time to try imaging that small
planetary nebula at long FL!




-Paul







Thursday evening:






Friday evening: