October 18, 2010.
Observing from my back porch in northern Sarasota.
Viewing time 8:05 p.m.
In the east was a very bright waxing gibbous moon, approaching a full moon in a few days. Even further east and a tiny bit south of the moon was a very bright object that looked to be in two parts. At first I assumed that it was the International Space Station but after consulting with Heavens Above I realized that the ISS was only visible from around 6:40-6:45p.m. two hours previous. Therefore, I believe that the bright portion is possibly Jupiter with the lesser magnitude portion possibly a faint outline of Uranus located very close by.
October 22, 2010.
Observing from restaurant parking lot in northern Sarasota.
Viewing time 8:30 p.m.
In the East as we left the restaurant was a very full moon that brought about a family discussion about whether it was full or not. This forced us to go home and research to find that the moon was actually in its last waxing gibbous state, and tomorrow would be the full moon.
October 23, 2010.
Observing from my driveway in northern Sarasota.
Viewing time 8:00 p.m.
Finally, the long awaited day of the full moon had come. The moon was very bright to the due east and illuminated much of the sky around it making it difficult to see many other stars around. Along with this, many lights from my neighbor's houses were blocking further observation of lesser magnitude stars.
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