Remember this rule - if it's clear outside, then go to the observatory, if it's cloudy then go to the classroom 705. If it's mostly clear then probably we'll still go to the observatory. If it's almost completely cloudy, we'll go to the classroom. If it's questionable and you go to the observatory and no one shows up by 7:15pm, then we must be in the classroom. And vice versa. OK, below is the nightly plan if skies are clear. (35%+ moon means a waxing (+) cresent moon 35% sunlit and therefore 65% of it is dark).Note that you should follow your lab book at all times! That means every class night you do your variable stars, watch for meteors, and try for binary stars and deep sky objects. There may be special events or opportunities which I'll highlight below, including eclipsing binaries and their predicted times of minima. If possible, I'll try to set up the photometer for some of these.
Sept 2: Intro to the course. 10+ cresent moon,
Sept 9: Twilight ends 8:45pm. 73+ moon in Sagittarius. Moon project!
Sept 16: 96- moon. Tough to do anything but variable stars and binary stars projects tonight.
Sept 23: no moon. Twilight ends 8:30pm. Perfect for deep sky astrophotography projects to begin
Sept 30: 3+ moon sets in twilght. Twilight ends 8:22pm. Perfect for deep sky astrophotography projects
Oct 7: 57+ moon. Perfect for lunar craters project, occultations.
Oct 14: Full moon - only variable stars, binary stars tonight. Algol eclipse tonight! X Tri eclipse 9:30pm
Oct 21: no moon. Twilight ends 7:50pm. Astrophotography projects.
Oct 28: new moon. Twilight ends 7:44pm. Astrophotography projects
Nov 4: 42+ fat cresent moon. Occultations, some astrophotography projects
Nov 11: 98+ full moon. Only variable stars, binary stars possible tonight.
Nov 18: no moon. Twilight ends at before class begins. Perfect for astrophotography all class.
Nov 25: new moon. Perfect astrophotography projects night
Dec 2: 23+ cresent moon. Occultations, astrophotography projects both possible.
Dec 9: 90+ moon. Variable stars, double stars projects
Dec 16: PotLuck and in-class final - convolve together our light curves, assign bonus points, turn in your lab book and framed astro photos.