There are two givens in life…Death and taxes! Everything else is uncertain. One of the most uncertain segments of life is the weather. The summer in Lexington, Missouri is no exception. Because of clouds, fog or rain the observatory has not seen light for over a month. Plus my wife and I were out of town for a couple of weeks. I think Mid-July was the last time I opened up the observatory! Obviously there is little to report when the clouds are out!
Before this long hiatus I did some observations on a nova and sent them into the Center for Backyard astrophysics and the AAVSO. These are always fun since you know that your observation is helping to do science. While visiting Toronto Canada, I was able to visit with Dr. Brian McNamara and Dr. John Percy. McNamara is one of the world’s leading experts on black holes and Percy is a an expert on variable stars. These were very interesting conversations.
We are in the process of buying the house we have been renting and when(or if) that goes through I will begin working on upgrading the facilities for TRO. I would like to pour a concrete pad and add my 8″ LX200 to the other scopes. This one would primarily be for spectra and would sport an ST-7E Camera and Star analyzer grating. However, after buying the house it may be awhile before I can afford to upgrade the observatory. Meanwhile I will be waiting for a clear night!