March 2008 - OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

Lights Out - Walk About Pasadena
by Jane H Jones 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

Join the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers at the San Rafael Branch Library in Pasadena Saturday March 29 from 7-9 p.m. The address is 1240 Nithsdale Road, Pasadena, CA 91105. There are map and public transportation links on the library webpage http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/Library/sanrafael.asp Weather permitting, we'll be aiming our telescopes at Saturn, Mars and stars. The weather forecast is for mostly cloudy followed by patchy fog, unfortunately. So if it's too cloudy to view through telescopes, we'll still be there to answer questions about sidewalk astronomy, telescopes, light pollution, Saturn, Mars and more. Our friend, Poet Robert Eklund will be at the library too, reading from his new book of poetry called "First Star I See Tonight". From the City website: Lights Out * Walk About Pasadena is our city's unique take on Earth Hour 2008, a global campaign to turn lights off from 8 - 9 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2008 and raise awareness about the impact of energy use. It's our way of making the connection between conservation and community. The dome and façade lights at City Hall will go dark for an hour at 8 p.m. on March 29th, signaling to all that energy conservation and a sustainable environment make for a better, stronger community. The City will also host several no/low light events that many Pasadenans can walk to in under 20 minutes. Whatever your plans may be that evening, the City encourages you to try walking to your destination. It's an easy and healthy way to connect with your environment and your neighbors. More city-wide events can be found here: http://cityofpasadena.net/ I hope to see some of you out at the San Rafael Branch Library on Saturday night! If not , I hope you can enjoy one of the other events or create your own lights out event. 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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Just in from watching the three satellites pass near Saturn
by Jane Houston Jones 26 Mar '08

26 Mar '08

Mojo and I stepped outside at 7:55 p.m. and waited a few minutes for the first of three satellites as they passed from West to East. We saw all three. The ISS - the 2nd of the three was much brighter than the shuttle.When the shuttle - the third satellite, passed halfway between Sirius and Saturn we saw a sun glint - which brightened the illumination for just a second. It was a great view! I hope some of you also stepped outside for this fun view! Jane -- 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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Interesting space station/shuttle/ATV pass tonight
by Morris Jones 25 Mar '08

25 Mar '08

We should have a very unusual pass of three bright artificial satellites tonight, which I certainly plan to look for. All three will enter the sky from the southwest and cross toward the east. Start looking at about 8:00 p.m. to the left of where the sun set an hour before. At their peak altitude they'll be in the south east. By 8:10 they'll be past. First up will be the ATV (the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle) on its way to the ISS. It will be its highest in the sky at about 8:04. Following that, and brightest, will be the International Space Station, at peak altitude at 8:08. Only a few seconds behind, and just as bright, is space shuttle Endeavour, recently undocked from the station and on its way to a landing tomorrow. These behave very differently from airplanes. They'll look like very bright moving stars. If it blinks, shows a red light, or stays close to the horizon, it's an airplane, not a satellite. The station currently has a permanent crew of three aboard, and the shuttle is returning with seven astronauts. For custom predictions of visible satellite passes at your location (other than Los Angeles / Pasadena) visit here: http://www.heavens-above.com Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

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Cancel tonight's Monrovia sidewalk astronomy
by Jane Houston Jones 15 Mar '08

15 Mar '08

We're cancelling the sidewalk astronomy event in Monrovia tonight due to a 40% chance of thunderstorms. Our friend Bob Eklund is still (as of this morning) planning to hold a viewing event in Memorial Park Sierra Madre tonight. So if this is local for you there is a slight chance that at 7 p.m., if there is anything to see, you can see the moon from Sierra Madre! Last night in Pasadena, as thousands of folks were enjoying the first night of Pasadena Art Weekend we had 350 people stop for a look at Saturn and Mars near the first quarter moon for some performance art with telescopes! Early on, we were joined by a bevy of bicyclists, complete with camera crew, and later by bagpipes and drums, and kilts, oh my! Just a typical Friday night on Colorado Blvd. Here are a few pictures from last night: http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2008-03-14-sidewalk/index.html Jane -- 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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Sidewalk astronomy, looks good tonight, bad Saturday
by Morris Jones 14 Mar '08

14 Mar '08

Tonight's forecast is "mostly clear," and Jane and I plan to be in Old Town Pasadena from about 7:00 p.m. 'til 10:00, or until we're too cold or hungry to stay. :) While we never know exactly where we'll be, it's always somewhere on the two-block stretch on Colorado Blvd. from Fair Oaks to Pasadena Ave., and usually on the north side of the street. If we find street parking (we usually do), that's where we set up. If not, we can unload near Barnes & Noble, or near One Colorado, and hand the astro van off to valet parking. With the moon and Saturn being very far north in the sky, you might find one or both of us hauling our big dobsonian telescopes across the street for a less obstructed view. We should have great views of the first-quarter moon almost overhead in the sky, and Saturn mid-way up in the east. I often use the analogy that looking up at the sky from the surface of the earth is like looking up from the bottom of a swimming pool. It could be a lot more like that tonight, with upper-level winds bringing us tomorrow's clouds and rain. Which brings up the point that Saturday's forecast is not looking good for sidewalk astronomy. If the "conditions on the ground" look different tomorrow night, I'll update you right here. Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

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