Clouds returned on Friday, 15 December 2023. With several days of rain in the forecasts, Tuesday morning, 19 December, I put the Dome Cover ON. Received some rain (0.002") on Wednesday, 20 December. Rain (1.27") continued on Friday, 22 December. Saturday, 23 December, had more rain (0.36"). The morning of 25 December was a White Christmas. Well, sort of. Frosty the Snowman must have come by for a visit.

In an anticipation of some upcoming clear nights, I removed the Dome Cover on Tuesday, 26 December. Unfortunately, the clouds did not go away before the year ended.

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2023 was a fun year at Cassiopeia Observatory. I completed my Herschel 400 Project that I had started in October 2022 and started my Barnard Objects (dark nebulae) Project in September 2023. Two Comets, two California rocket launches, and a Partial Solar Eclipse were some of the highlights of 2023.

As I have said before, I worked on the Indiana University Astronomy Department Asteroid Program as an undergraduate student in Astrophysics 1966-70. During that experience I developed a love for asteroids. In 2023 I photographed two asteroids. You can see the images on the Asteroids & Dwarf Planets Astrophotography Album.

I published seven reviews in 2023:

    The Sky at Night (book)
    Clipper, Cosmos, and Children: Finding the Eureka Moment (book)
    AutoStar Bluetooth Adapter
    Total Eclipse Guide - Indiana (book)
    3-Axis Smartphone Adapter for Phone Scope Digiscoping
    The Barnard Objects: Then and Now (book)
    AutoStar/AudioStar USB-to-Serial Adapter

I was on three Internet live shows during the year: "Arizona State Parks & Trails star parties", "SFAA Smartphone Astrophotography talk", and "Seymour Eclipse Festival announcement". See the Cassiopeia Observatory Videos page to view the videos.

Here is Cassiopeia Observatory 2023 Montage.

Click image for larger version

This table and graph shows the total number of sessions and hours I spent in the observatory during 2023 and prior years.

So ends my 27th year of documenting my astronomical activities online and my 14th year at Cassiopeia Observatory.

My autobiography Finding my Way to the Stars continues to be available.

Click image to see information about the book

Watch the video trailer.

Clear Skies everyone in 2024!

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Comments are welcome using Email. Thanks.

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