December 2008 - OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

Burminco closing
by Jane Houston Jones 31 Dec '08

31 Dec '08

I just stopped by Burminco (Bugnham Mining Company) on Encinitas in Monrovia to pay my respects to the staff and family of George Burnham, who died at 94 last month. The obituary said the store would remain open through December 31, but the future was uncertain. The store is open today but it is definitely closing sometime soon. The store may or may not reopen at a different location. So this note is for all you rock and mineral lovers, collectors, teachers who may have purchased classroom materials at Burminco, or made up gifts or rock collections. You might want to visit today or soon! For information, call (626) 358-4478 or visit www.burminco.com http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_11196943 Jane Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up Podcast: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones Facebook: http://www.facebook.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/janehoustonjones

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What's Up for January? Venus! + Sidewalk Astronomy January 3
by Jones, Jane H 30 Dec '08

30 Dec '08

Our January 2009 Sidewalk Astronomy night will be Saturday January 3rd in Monrovia, weather permitting. We'll skip Pasadena on January 2nd due to the proximity of our observing location to Rose Parade route and cleanup, not to mention New Years Eve and Day events and recovery from same. We'll be set up from 6 - 9 p.m. Saturday night. If you wish to join us with your new (or never used) telescope drop us a line ahead of time so we can arrange to meet you earlier for setup. It's not easy to do a new scope setup after dark with a crowd nearby..... Each month during 2009 we'll be celebrating International Year of Astronomy in my 2-minute What's Up podcasts. January 2009 is all about Venus, the featured NASA IYA Celestial object. Here is where you can find the podcast on the JPL site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm It is also available on You Tube in 2 formats - which are easy to download if you have a slower connection (according to my parents) http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JPLnews&p=r&page=1 Here is the NASA IYA website: http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/observe.htm (What's Up isn't there quite yet) Don't forget to have a look at Saturn on New Years Eve! That was the December 2008 What's Up topic, available on both JPL and You Tube, or simplify and get it directly to your iPod via iTunes. :-) Thanks for a great year of public astronomy - we do this to share the wonders of the night sky with you! Jane, Mojo, Dave, Todd K, Caroline, Gary, Elizabeth, Catherine, Tom, Daphne, Katherine, Becky, Todd B, Scott, Ed and Roseann - your Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org/astronomers/ 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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Bad weather tonight
by Morris Jones 06 Dec '08

06 Dec '08

Clouds are rolling into Monrovia tonight, but we plan to make an effort to do a little bit of moon viewing. The moon is our only viable target tonight -- Jupiter and Venus are likely to be below the local buildings. Even if we get some views of the moon, they'll probably be through a layer of thin clouds. We'll try to start early, about 5:00, to have our best chance of getting in a few looks before the clouds get too thick. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

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December 2008 What's Up video is now available, weekend star parties planned
by Jones, Jane H 03 Dec '08

03 Dec '08

Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful moon and planet conjunction over the past few nights! We were lucky to have clear skies on Sunday and Monday nights! My December's What's Up Podcast is available in several standard and high definition formats on the JPL HD Video page now. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm Also on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=JPLnews&p=r&page=1 Next Sidewalk Astronomy event reminder: Friday night Dec 5th instead of telescopes on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, I'll be at Farnsworth Park in Altadena from 6-8 p.m. The address is 568 East Mount Curve Avenue, Altadena, CA 91001 626-798-6335. I'm doing a short JPL talk, followed by stargazing at the park's outdoor theatre. John Sepikas from PCC will be joining me with telescopes. Saturday night Dec 6th our whole Sidewalk Astronomers gang will be in Monrovia, Myrtle and Lime Streets for our monthly first quarter moon star party. 5:30 -8:30 p.m. (maybe a little later) Hope to see you at one or the other of these events, 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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