--- diveboss@xmission.com wrote:

Other than the beer and hotdogs, what is the difference between an "East Coast" observing session and say, one, somewhere in the Midwest?

Diveboss, when I was living in the northeast, where it really rains, usually more than once a week, my astronomical nocturnal habits were built around the weather. You wait for the leading edge of a storm front to pass. Behind the front usually there is a pocket of clear stable air. That's when you would get your scope or binos out for couple of evenings, at least till the next storm front blows in. That would be "East Coast" type viewing. In the Intermountain West, particularly in the summer and autumn, we get used to having those long summers with no rain for weeks on end. If you miss a night, it's no big deal, because you know the weather will be good weeks, not just days. I don't even think about the weather as a factor, except in the spring rainy season. As to the beer thing, we'll have to do a poll. -:)

...

On bringing Jupiter and focus, Mark saw that Io was in mid transit egress (the 2:58 UTC event in the Handbook) and that there was a satellite shadow on the surface of Jupiter (the 1:28 UTC event in the Handbook).

Which satellite would that be? ;)

On the evening of May 3, I wasn't sure. After looking at it since then, it was the shadow of Io itself. Scanning the Handbook closer, it looks like there are three more single Io shadow transits later this month, similar to what we saw on May 3: May 11 03:22-05:33 UTC May 18 04:22-7:27 UTC May 27 Sunset-3:50 UTC If the weather cooperates, it's a cool thing to catch. As Io transits Jupiter, its shadow gives Jupiter and the Jovian moon a 3-D effect. - Canopus56 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Make Yahoo! your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs