October 2015 - OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

Cancelling Sidewalk Astronomy tonight
by Jane Houston Jones 25 Oct '15

25 Oct '15

It's a little too hazy to drag us off the sofa and out to a mediocre sidewalk astronomy night. And none of the other astronomers are available tonight, it seems. In the meantime: Try really hard to wake up early tomorrow morning! There is a great planet lineup worthy of a wake-up call this week. The lineup of the three planets just above the rising sun in the east has been visible all month long, culminating in a tight cluster of the planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter from now until month end. Sunday morning, the brightest of the two Venus and Jupiter are very close together -- from our earthly vantage point. Don't miss Mars below the two bright ones. Fainter, but worthy of a look! Just use you eyes, binos if you have them. So step outside, look East and enjoy the show! Here's the lineup go.nasa.gov/1VHmy2E <https://t.co/uSm8UUS5YC> -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @NASAInsight What's Up podcast #99 Sept Eclipse! https://youtu.be/jXMZmEOGLRc

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Nice ISS Pass (SoCal) Tonight (Fri. 10/23), Sidewalk Astro Saturday night
by Jane Houston Jones 23 Oct '15

23 Oct '15

Hi everyone, a few of us will be out for Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday night at Monrovia's Library Park from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. or so. And tonight (Friday the 23rd), look up from 7 p.m. until 7:06 p.m. to see the International Space Station The maximum altitude will be 59° above the horizon (90° is overhead) at 7:04 p.m. The Space Station will travel from the Northeast to the East-Southeast, dissappearing into the shadow of the earth at 7:06 p.m. Hope to see you tomorrow, and good luck tonight!! Max at 7:04 PM, 59 degrees above the NE. Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 18:58:53 0° 316° (NW) 2,308 1.1 -10.8° Reaches altitude 10° 19:00:59 10° 320° (NW) 1,448 -0.1 -11.2° Maximum altitude 19:04:11 59° 42° (NE) 466 -3.3 -11.9° Enters shadow 19:06:34 17° 119° (ESE) 1,117 -1.6 -12.4°

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Mojave Star Party cancelled due to rain and risk of flash floods.
by Jane Houston Jones 16 Oct '15

16 Oct '15

Sorry everyone, but based on the weather outlook, including the torrential rain/flooding in southern California (Death Valley, Highway 58, I-5 yesterday) and a dismal forecast for today through Sunday, we are cancelling the Mojave National Preserve Star Party slated for Saturday night. We'll reschedule in the spring. Take care, stay safe and dry and we'll see you out under an urban sky soon, if we have a telescope quorum, we may be out next Saturday, Oct 25th, I'll let you know. We're also cancelling a potential Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy event tomorrow night, as the local forecast is fog. Flash Flood Watch through Sunday evening: http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=CAZ524&warncounty=CA Weather forecast: Centered on Cima, a little north of Black Canyon Campground: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=35.2378&lon=-115.4992#.ViE-P2t… * Today (Friday) * Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. Northeast wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. *Tonight* Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South southeast wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. *Saturday* Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Southeast wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. *Saturday Night* Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. *Sunday* Scattered showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. South southwest wind 7 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA @jhjones What's Up #100! My Top Ten! https://youtu.be/DebUcfb0lmE

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