Christmas Eve Midnight

For many years it has been my personal tradition to be outside at
midnight on Christmas. I usually make both, but I only have to make
one... it's a busy time of year.
Tonight, I stepped outside at 11:55 to await the magical moment. I
walked out to the middle of the frozen field next to my house... the
ground was covered white with a thin layer of snow, rows of darker corn
stubble showing through. The night was cold, but not bitter at 23
degrees F. (-5C) A rather stiff wind from the southwest made it feel
colder, though. I lowered the flaps on my old rabbit fur trooper hat.
The sky was covered with clouds, with the occasional small hole showing
dark sky. At first, I could see no stars at all, but the full winter
moon rode high in the sky, lighting a bright halo on the clouds... the
"face" clearly visible. The sky was bright, the pine trees on the top
of the hill to my south, and the leafless trees around my house
silhouetted against it. Then I saw a bright star flickering through one
of the dark holes... it had to be Sirius. The clouds were moving east,
making the star appear to move west. I watched the sky, looking for
other stars, trying to identify them... one showed further west...
Rigel?... and then one turned up higher in the sky... I guessed Procyon,
but I wasn't sure. Soon, I noticed the entire sky was dark in the west.
The clouds above me were blowing away to the east... I watched for about
20 minutes as the sky cleared... soon, Orion stood high, just west of
the meridian, his stars made dim by the bright moon, but his pattern as
mighty as ever. I almost felt he blew the stars away on purpose, to
greet me on my Christmas midnight walk, as he has so many times before.
I could see now, the moon was in Taurus... Aldebaran was down below it,
and the Pleiades barely visible off to the west a bit. El Nath was
invisibly close to the full moon. I watched as the bank of clouds blew
further east, Castor and Pollux came into view, Saturn just below them,
and a little ahead. The clouds blew further east, uncovering Leo,
rising as he alway does on a Christmas midnight... The sky was now
completely clear, although brightly lit by the moon. I took a look to
the south... Comet Machholz was drowned out by the moonlight, but I
didn't see much point in getting binoculars tonight. The night was
beautiful, as they all are in their own way, but it was time to go back
in.
As I sit here typing, the stockings are stuffed behind the
fireplace, a string of lights decorates the stairway railing, and the
usual late night Christmas Eve business is taken care of. I'd better
hit the sack, because I've got a long drive tomorrow.
Merry Christmas to all,
Marty

Merry Christmas to all,
Marty

Marty,
thank you for a great posting!
All the best,
/Stefan, Sweden

Rod was saying
Me too. One of my "Traditions" over the
last 10 years or so has been to get out
on Christmas Eve and take a good long
look at M42.

Cool! I haven't made a specific observation, but I've been out under
the Christmas sky every midnight since some time in the late '60's.
Marty

Rod Mollise wrote:
M42...first Xmas Eve no-go in a decade, I believe. Ah, well...there was the
Rebel Yell!

Merry Christmas to all my s.a.a. buddies!

The moon was blowing the bhajexus out of M42 last night anyhow. Barely a
glow in the ST80 at 17x.

I had a fantastic Christmas Eve Midnight Walk. It was very clear and 10
degrees. A thick covering of ice here in North Middle Tennessee left over
from Thursday morning so I went out to enjoy the crystal cathedral generated
ice covered trees and bright moon light....It was magnificent! What a
magical walk. Unfortunately, no Naglers under the tree when I returned
;o)

Scott Smith
Ridgetop, TN


"Rod Mollise" wrote in message
...

The moon was blowing the bhajexus out of M42 last night anyhow. Barely a
glow in the ST80 at 17x.


That makes me feel a wee bit better! ;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

towels.



Holiday Youngster

One can easily adapt this recipe to ham, though as presented,
it violates no religious taboos against swine.

1 large toddler or small child, cleaned and de-headed
Kentucky Bourbon Sauce (see index)
1 large can pineapple slices
Whole cloves

Place him (or ham) or her in a large glass baking dish, buttocks up.
Tie with butcher string around and across so that he looks like
he?s crawling.
Glaze, then arrange pineapples and secure with cloves.
Bake uncovered in 350° oven till thermometer reaches 160°.



Cajun Babies

Just like crabs or crawfish, babies are boiled alive!
You don?t need silverware, the hot spicy meat comes off in your hands.

6 live babies
1 lb. smoked sausage
4 lemons
whole garlic
2 lb. new potatoes
4 ears corn
1 box salt
crab boil

Bring 3 gallons of water to a boil.
Add sausage, salt, crab boil, lemons and garlic.
Drop potatoes in, boil for 4 minutes.
Corn is added next, boil an additional 11 minutes.
Put the live babies into the boiling water and cover.
Boil till meat comes off easily with a fork.



Oven-Baked Baby-Back Ribs

Beef ribs or pork ribs can be used in this recipe,
and that is exactly what your dinner guests will assume!
An excellent way to expose the uninitiated to this highly misunderstood
yet succulent source of protein.

2 human baby rib racks
3 cups barbecue sauce or honey glaze (see index)
Salt
black pepper
white pepper
paprika

Remove the silverskin by loosening from the edges,
then stripping off.
Season generously, rubbing the mixture into the baby?s flesh.
Place 1 quart water in a baking pan, the meat on a wire rack

It's been a busy day and a lot of miles, but I got home and stepped out
again to enjoy the last few minutes of Christmas out in the night. The
temperature tonight was about the same as last night... 24 degrees F,
(-4.4C) still very comfortable for an Iowa night deep in December. The
wind has shifted to the north, and the cloud cover is heavier, the full
moon showing through only as a dim, featureless disc high in the sky.
Still, the moonlit winter landscape was beautiful. I stood for a while
in the middle of the frozen field and just enjoyed the night.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Marty

Scott was saying
A thick covering of ice here in North
Middle Tennessee left over from
Thursday morning so I went out to enjoy
the crystal cathedral generated ice
covered trees and bright moon light....It
was magnificent!

Few things on the surface of this planet can be more beautiful than the
mix of snow, ice, and moonlight.
Marty