October 2007 - OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

Tricks and Treats
by Jane H Jones 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Do you need some eerie sounds to spook the little ghouls and goblins tonight? Why not play the Eerie and Bizarre Sounds of the Saturnian System. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/sounds/ ? Included are sounds of Enceladus, echoes from Titan's surface, speeding through Titan's haze, and sounds from the Lord of the rings, Saturn! There are even more spooky sounds of our solar system on the JPL webpage today http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm look on the New Multimedia section. And if you want to see a ghostly interloper in the sky tonight, take out the binoculars and see a comet from your own front (or back) yard! Here's where to look: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features.cfm?feature=1514 To the unaided eye, the comet looks like a fuzzy star, but in binoculars (or telescopes) it looks like a ghostly snowball with a bright center, much like the image shown on the link above. It was taken by Gary Spiers, who is one of our sidewalk telescope gang in Monrovia. Congrats on the picture! "To see the comet, all you have to do is step outside and look to the Northeast. You should be able to see the "W" that is the constellation Cassiopeia - it's standing on its end. One and a half "fists" away to the right is a bright star in the constellation Perseus. You probably won't be able to see all the Perseus stars, but the bright one - Mirfak - should be visible. It marks the top of a triangle, which is about the size of your thumb held at arms length away. The triangle's lower left corner is the comet!". We may set up telescopes for a special comet viewing night Saturday the 3rd. Stay tuned, we'll send an announcement if that plan firms up. October What's Up is about tricks and treats in the night sky. It starts out with some of those spooky sounds from the solar system. http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html

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Mojo to speak to Riverside Astronomical Society Sat. Oct. 27
by Jane Houston Jones 27 Oct '07

27 Oct '07

Mojo is giving a talk to the Riverside Astronomical Society Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. To set the scene, [from the web blurb] "Mojo's talk called "You Are Here" includes a brief travelogue of some of the many places in the western U.S. parks that Mojo and Jane have given this presentation, and the talk he most recently presented at Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon star parties. A nice writeup is on the RAS website http://www.rivastro.org/ras_meeting.html Location is La Sierra University, E. E. Cossentine Hall (Riverside, CA.) http://www.rivastro.org/ras_meeting_campus_map.html I highly recommend this talk :-) Pre meeting is at 5:00 PM - Coco's Bakery Restaurant 10098 Magnolia Riverside, CA 92503 (951) 687-3846 (call to join the dinner party) http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=10098+Magnolia,+Riverside,+CA+92503… -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

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What's Up October
by Jane H Jones 12 Oct '07

12 Oct '07

On Monday, Cassini celebrates 10th years since launch. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=783 Cassini rode into space October 15, 1997 atop a Titan 4B. Its mission: to orbit and study the Saturnian system for four years. Just this week we can read more exciting headline-grabbing results - this time about Titan's land of lakes and Iapetus' mysterious dark side. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm What better than a moon with a mysterious dark side for the October (aka Halloween) edition of "What's Up"? This month both Titan and mysterious Iapetus can be seen near Saturn, when looking through most any telescope. Rhea, Dione and Tethys are always easily visible, and they are not shown on the maps, but essily found in astronomy magazines, planetarium programs or you can ask and we'll help you out. Iapetus has an 89 day orbit, which takes it far from Saturn and the other moons usually easily visible though a telescope. But when the small moon is north or south of the planet it is easy to spot. That's when I try to encourage folks to have a look at this small (892 miles diameter) moon, which was discovered by Giovanni Cassini in 1671. Don't despair if you don't see it this week. The next good time to Iapetus to the South of Saturn is December 31. And to the north of Saturn November 23. And you'll also spot Iapetus easily for the week or so on both sides of these dates. Next year, when Saturn rises earlier in the evening, it won't be such a trick to see it. Here is where you'll find October What's Up, Cassini's Iapetus page, some Educational activities related to the Saturn system, plus star charts for viewing Jupiter, Mars, Venus and of course, Saturn, lord of the rings! http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html Next observing: Pasadena October 19, Monrovia Oct 20,m weather permitting. No Iapetus or Saturn, Jupiter may be too low to see until next year. Mars will begin peeking above the Eastern rooftops towards the end of our sidewalk nights. It'll be a moon night this month. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html

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