For the past three years we've brought Sidewalk telescopes to the Gilb
Museum of Arcadia History for their spring soiree. The museum is located
at 300 W Huntington and the event hours are 6-9 p.m. Saturday April
28th. Sunset isn't until 7:30 p.m. but the moon is our only target and
it will be a fine target before sunset. Wine and cheese, art exhibit,
history and astronomy, plus music and henna artist.
https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/city-departments/museum
If you want to join us to enjoy your local museum, the event is free and
open to the public, so come on down!
May 5 there will be a Vandenberg launch visible from San Luis Obispo to
Mexico's Pacific coast! InSight, NASA's next lander on Mars will launch
May 5 at 4:05 am (3 hour window), then several minutes later each day
for about a month, if launch is no go on the 5th. Here is a great video
from JPL showing the visibility from Santa Barbara, LA and San Diego,
plus links to live coverage of the launch.
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/launch/watch-in-person/
It will be just as nice from your back yard in Monrovia as long as you
can see north to south 1/3 up from the horizon at 4 am! InSight will
launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex-3 or SLC-3,
and ride atop an Atlas V-401 rocket provided by United Launch Alliance.
Mojo and I are heading to Lompoc to watch, but there are almost better
chances to see it at home due to coastal fog on the central coast. Go
Atlas V, Go Insight!
--
Jane Houston Jones
Solar System Public Engagement
What's Up April:
Moon,Mars,Saturn plus Lyrid meteors
https://youtu.be/f2svvMGSwW8
NEW! FaceBook Watch What’s Up video page!
https://www.facebook.com/NASAWhatsUp/
Our astronomer Gary provides this great (but unfortunate and untimely) weather report for tonight. It looks like the clouds will obscure the only object we could be looking at, plus it's hot and muggy, so we are voting to cancel tonight's event.
"There’s a stationary high pressure region sitting off the coast and everything is rotating counter-clockwise about it. Today’s warm temps are pulling moisture out of the ocean and Gulf which is then moving North to our cooler air and condensing to form clouds. Forecast seems unlikely to clear but the forecast is also kind of hazy (if you’ll forgive the pun)! Gary
--
Jane Houston Jones
Solar System Public Engagement
What's Up April:
Moon,Mars,Saturn plus Lyrid meteors
https://youtu.be/f2svvMGSwW8
NEW! FaceBook Watch What’s Up video page!
https://www.facebook.com/NASAWhatsUp/
There are a lot of astronomical events coming up! Saturday night we'll
most likely be moving to another corner of Library Park because our
corner will be used by a check-in booth for the Monrovia Wine Walk
http://www.cityofmonrovia.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/4937/
The registrants will be collecting their tickets near our usual setup
area and they've almost asked us to move (I called about it -- talked
to two people about it, but the person who would call me back with a
decision in an hour never did). I tried. So if you don't see
telescopes on that busy corner, walk around the Library Park block.
Primrose/Lime corner looks promising, we'll check it out tomorrow when
the wine even gets started.
We'll have a great moon view, and no planets Saturday night. But all
this wind and cooler weather may mean an exceptional moon viewing night.
If you are up early Saturday or Sunday morning, you might see some Lyrid
Meteors, early am hours, and the moon will wash some out, but observing
from home: just get to an area where the moon is blocked, and look up!
What's Up April (linked in my signature line, has the info:
May 5th: launch of a mission --> to Mars, InSight will be visible from
Central California to Mexico. 4:05 a.m. on Cinco de Mayo with a launch
window until June 8th. I talk about it in May What's Up video, because
Mars and the moon will be visible in the sky at the exact time of the
first launch opportunity on May 5th. How cool is that? To see an
interplanetary launch from SoCal if you have a West and South
unobstructed horizon). I worked on InSight for three years, and it is
near and dear to my heart. :-)
Next Mojave National Preserve star party the following weekend, May
12th. RSVP here as the free group campsite gets crowded.
https://www.facebook.com/events/159520131414032/
I thing that's all for this month.....
--
Jane Houston Jones
Solar System Public Engagement
What's Up April:
Moon,Mars,Saturn plus Lyrid meteors
https://youtu.be/f2svvMGSwW8
NEW! FaceBook Watch What’s Up video page!
https://www.facebook.com/NASAWhatsUp/
