- OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

A little observing from the desert
by Morris Jones 10 Aug '10

10 Aug '10

This past weekend was "new moon" when we often take the opportunity to get out from under the Los Angeles light dome and see the real night sky. This weekend's was a fun observing trip for planets, lightning, meteors, and a great night sky. I have pictures and an observing report here: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2010/08/09/sky-full-of-planets-and-lightning/ Next new moon weekend coincides with the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3-6, and we'll be joining the San Jose Astronomical Society in Yosemite National Park at Glacier Point for three nights of great observing in one of the best night skies on the planet. We'll have sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia next weekend, and Pamela Park the following weekend. More on that in a few days. Jane will post some more about the Perseid meteor shower later this week, and right now you can enjoy her What's Up podcast about the Perseids here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBc4dA37So The meteor shower is ongoing with a peak Thursday night / Friday morning, but good meteors all week. Mojo -- Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA http://bridgemojo.com http://otastro.org http://mojo.whiteoaks.com

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What's Up for August? Perseids, of course!
by Jones, Jane H (1862) 05 Aug '10

05 Aug '10

The Perseids will make summertime extra special this year because the moon will not interfere with the meteor show. Plus, as a bonus, a trio of planets plus the moon make a sunset appearance on the nights surrounding the peak of the Perseids on August 12-13. Our solar system is on display 24-7! This month's What's Up podcast features the Perseids, naturally! It has some nice animation of the why and where of meteors, and talks about all the upcoming comet and asteroid missions. It also touches on Mars in August, and offers a good night to use that Mars hoax email to practice some critical thinking skills. On August 12-14, the moon and Mars appear near one another for all to see and compare. On the Solar System Exploration website are all the many formats of the video. Including some with captions - perfect to show on a screen in a busy planetarium or museum without audio. I included some edible rocks and asteroid recipes this month in the education section. I've also linked to "the Fluxtimator" to see how many meteors you can see in your area. What's Up Video and Blog page: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm Here is the JPL YouTube page with lots of other content: http://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews For the past eight years, I've updated a Mars in August page, and this year I use it as a great way to teach critical thinking to the public. If you're interested, here it is: http://www.otastro.org/Mars2005/ Next month (September 2010) my video will be about the moon for International Observe the Moon night. http://observethemoonnight.org/ 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 What's Up For August? Perseids! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm

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Tonight's full moon ...
by Morris Jones 25 Jul '10

25 Jul '10

On the way home from the movies, Jane snapped a lovely picture of the full moon rising over Pasadena. I realized that there was a fun short beautiful astronomy lesson to be had in that one post. Did you see this lovely moon tonight as well? Read the deeper observations here: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2010/07/24/just-another-full-moon/ Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://mojo.whiteoaks.com Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers http://otastro.org

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Free telescope, Cassini videos, happy 400th Galileo's Saturn view
by Jane Houston Jones 20 Jul '10

20 Jul '10

I was asked by a colleague to see if anyone might want a free telescope, complete with eyepieces. I asked him to take some pictures, and I am offering it to our Sidewalk Astronomy email list first. When I saw the pictures of the telescope, I just had to tell a story about it, so here's the story and the free telescope offer. First person to call Steve and arrange pickup will get it. Don't call or email me with questions - I am out of the office and traveling until Monday. http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2010/07/20/free-telescope-to-first-caller/ Steve is also featured in this awesome video from Cassini today. It's comparing Titan's lakes to Death Valley's Racetrack Playa and the video is on this page. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/video/videodetails/?videoID=213 The YouTube version is here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#g/u Finally, back to the solar system. :-) I was in Washington DC last week as part of NASA's 400 years of Discovery - from Galileo to the Outer Planets exhibit in the U.S. House of Representatives Rayburn Office Building. The day of our event was also the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic look at Saturn. so I wrote this little piece about it for our NASA Solar system Exploration website. Ta da! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm Here is what the exhibit looked like: http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2010-07-15-DC/slides/IMG_7009.html Over and out, Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ http://twitter.com/jhjones What's Up for July? Dark Nebulae http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm

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Sidewalk Astronomy this weekend
by Morris Jones 16 Jul '10

16 Jul '10

Summer has definitely arrived in L.A., and it's promising to be a hot weekend! It's also the weekend of the first-quarter moon, when you see a roughly half-moon in the early evening sky. You might have noticed it growing from a small crescent this week as it passed by Venus, Mars, and Saturn after sunset on successive nights. This weekend we'll be serving up views of the moon, Saturn, and Venus to accidental astronomers at Pamela Park in Duarte, and Old Town Monrovia. Tonight instead of Old Town Pasadena, the astronomers will be set up in small Pamela Park in Duarte. L.A. is keeping several county parks open past sunset this summer. Look for telescopes there tonight between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. The park's official web page has its location just south of Duarte Blvd.: http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033233.asp&Title=Pamela%20P… Saturday we'll be at our usual spot in Monrovia at the corner of Myrtle and Lime at Library Park from 8:00 'til 10:00. Now here's a kick -- Monrovia is putting on free outdoor movies in Library Park this summer, and Saturday evening they'll be showing _Star Wars_. Last month this turned out to be a great combination activity, and we had one of our biggest turnouts in Monrovia. Between the hot summer day and the movie in the park, we should have good crowds this Saturday as well. Finally, if any of you still have a telescope in the closet that you've never quite figured out how to set up, I'll be happy to meet you in Monrovia at our Library Park location at 7:00 with my box of tools. Drop me a note if you'd like to do this. If I don't hear from you I won't be there. Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://mojo.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

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Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers: Web Updates & desert viewing July 3rd
by Jane Houston Jones 02 Jul '10

02 Jul '10

I've just updated the otastro.org website with July and August dates for our sidewalk astronomy events. On July16, a few of us will be at Pamela Park in Duarte for a new venue tryout from 8-10 p.m. July 17th is our Monrovia sidewalk date, same hours again - from 8-10 p.m., and just like last month, it will coincide with Monrovia's free movie in Library Park. Both movies and stargazing start "8-ish", but we'll target the moon before it gets dark at 8 p.m. Wow, see stars AND Star Wars! What could be more perfect? Tomorrow night, that's Saturday, July 3rd, a few of us are heading out to the hot desert for a night of stargazing. The moon will rise at about 1:30 p.m. but it will be the third quarter moon, a beautiful lunar phase too few stay up late enough to see. It will be hot. At Desert Center, CA (the closest town) temperatures are predicted to range from a high of 102 to a low of 75. We'd welcome people to join us on our little piece of astro-heaven - 2 miles of washboard dirt road off the I-10 freeway. Wear sturdy rattlesnake and cactus needle-proof hiking boots, and dress for warm weather, but bring a jacket. There are no facilities on this unimproved stretch of BLM land I do bring a PET (portable environmental toilet). And bring plenty of water. We'll leave at 3 p.m. from Monrovia so email before then if you need details or a map.We will arrive by 7 p.m. There is room for half a dozen cars in very soft sandy ground (trucks and RV's have sunk into the sand). But seriously, most people will be staying home readying for Fourth of July festivities, so I have prepared a home-observing project for you all, and it doesn't even require a telescope. Why not try to see Galileo's famous third quarter lunar view Saturday or Sunday morning after midnight and before dawn? Galileo made a series of lunar sketches in 1609, and on December 18, 1609 (4:00UT), he sketched this view of the lunar surface. http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/08/31/chasing-galileo-22-day-old-moon-compar… This is the same view you will have over the next two mornings. :-) So step outside this weekend and aim your binoculars at the moon, and get a sense of Galileo saw 400 years ago. If you are interested in observing all of Galileo's views, here is a table of modern dates to complete the project. I did it and it was a great learning and observing project. http://www.pacifier.com/~tpope/Reproducing_Observations.htm You can see the third quarter moon in the daytime, too, tho' the contrast isn't as great in the bright sun. The moon rises at about midnight tonight and sets at about noon, then a smaller crescent rises later each morning until new moon phase in the 10th. Have a safe and sparkly weekend, everyone! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA What's Up July 2010? Dark Nebulae! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://is.gd/c3r1i Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn http://twitter.com/otastro Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

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Fireworks and/or Dark nebulae!
by Jane Houston Jones 02 Jul '10

02 Jul '10

For those of you escaping the urban jungle this holiday weekend, pack a pair of binoculars and enjoy the glorious Milky Way after the sight of fireworks is over. A pretty march of the planets is underway too. Mars and Saturn are inching closer to one another (from out vantage point on Earth, that is) with Venus not too far away - all grouped in the western sky at sunset. The sky looked exactly like the images in this month's What's Up podcast at our recent desert outing. In fact, nearly all the astrophotos in July's podcast were taken on that June 12-13 night by Mojo from our dark sky astronomy location. Out next outing should be July 10. If you are interested in seeing an amazing summer sky through big and small telescopes, let me know. We haven't quite decided if and where we'll go, as the desert heats up in the summer, even at night! I have a new webpage for my What's Up podcast and occasional blog entries on our NASA Solar System Exploration website. Here's the new News and Events webpage, and from here you can get to this month's podcast and more. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm And join me and take a stroll through the new Solar System web content. My group at work has been developing, writing and coding it for a year now! There is great kids content! I double dog dare you to try these puzzles! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/puzzles.cfm YouTube version of the podcast is easier for some people so here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#g/u We'll keep you in the loop with regard to celestial happenings, and we both have some work travel this month. I get to go to Washington DC and be Galileo with my Galilean telescope replica. :-) -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA What's Up July 2010? Dark Nebulae! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://is.gd/c3r1i Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn http://twitter.com/otastro Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

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Sidewalk astronomy Saturday in Monrovia
by Morris Jones 18 Jun '10

18 Jun '10

Hi all! Because of other commitments, we're not going to be able to set up in Pasadena tonight, but the weather looks good for tomorrow Saturday evening in Monrovia. We'll be at the corner of Myrtle & Lime from about 8:00 'til 10:00 p.m. We should have good views on tap of the moon and Saturn, with possibly some looks at Venus. If there are still some folks who want help setting up a new telescope, drop me a note. I'll be happy to meet you on the corner at about 6:30 while it's still daylight. On "new moon" weekends like last week, we frequently travel out to the Colorado Desert south of Joshua Tree. Jane and I both wrote some great reports on last week's observing. Jane had a "Ten Planet" observing night, while I captured some fun astrophotos: Jane's Ten Planet night: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2010/06/14/a-ten-planet-night/ Mojo's pictures: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2010/06/13/observing-report-dark-desert-june-skie… Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://mojo.whiteoaks.com http://twitter.com/mojo_la Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

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What's Up for June? A planetary necklace!
by Jane Houston Jones 09 Jun '10

09 Jun '10

If you were to pick a weekend for all-night stargazing, this weekend would an excellent choice! From dusk on Saturday all the way to dawn on Sunday you'll be treated to a starry necklace of planets, all strung out along the ecliptic plane of our solar system. By midnight or so the Milky Way will begin to span the sky, too! It will be possible to see all 8 planets, 10 if you count Ceres and Pluto (from a dark sky, that is). ;-) Planetary jewelry is topic of the June what's Up podcast, by the way, which you can download from the Solar System Exploration website, complete with additional links. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm Also on the JPL website: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ and YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#g/u In addition to the great planet lineup, early risers will also see a comet, and an asteroid or minor planet, plus you can hunt for Pluto, now demoted to dwarf planet status, but still very special. To see the comet - Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) scan the NE sky with your binoculars 15 -20 degrees above the horizon - it will be near the brightest star of Perseus, Alpha Persei or Mirfak - ahhh, that was where the pretty Comet Holmes was just two years ago! It is on the edge of naked eye visibility, which is made difficult due to the low horizon + the nearness of dawn. Comet McNaught gets 1 degree lower every night after the 15th, until it is lost from our view as it reaches perihelion, or its closest approach to the sun on July 2nd. This weekend is the best and nearly the last time to see it. If you snooze through this one you will definitely lose! Minor planets? Dwarf planets? You betcha! Ceres and Pluto are to be found right smack in the thickest part of the summer Milky Way - in the "steam" rising from teapot-shaped Sagittarius constellation. Pluto skims the star cluster M24 and Ceres just stepped out of the Lagoon Nebula, M8. Both the "M's" are naked eye clumps in the Milky Way, and glorious in binoculars. Early morning just before looking for comet McNaught will be a fine time to hunt these two down from a dark sky with a good skychart or star tour guide. From the greater LA area you can still see the brighter planets and you can try for the comet. It doesn't rise until 2 am and the best time to see it will be when it is as high as it gets, just before the the crack of dawn. You need a pretty decent flat horizon (aka no mountains, hills, trees, buildings) to your Northeast. It will only be about 20 degrees above the horizon at its highest. You may see the comet, and some of the faint tail. You won't see the detail shown in astrophotos - those are time exposures, and our eyes don't have those settings, unfortunately. :-( Almost every month your Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers step away from the sidewalk, drive 150+ miles each way, take big and small telescopes out to some of Southern California's great dark sky locations. We are happy to take friends on star tours - but ask first as some of our locations only have room for a couple extra cars (also no trucks or RV's this weekend for example) You can enjoy the darker skies all summer long from many city, state and national parks with nothing more than a pair of binoculars! Pencil in these dates to check against your calendars - these are the dark sky weekends. The week before these is also decent. June 12, July 10, August 7th and September 4+11. September 4th some of us will be at Glacier Point in Yosemite serving up free public stargazing. Anyone in the park is welcome to attend and look through the San Jose Astronomical Association's member telescopes, if you are hiking in the day, bring layers for the night. Glacier Point has astronomy every weekend from July 4 - Labor Day, with different astronomy clubs from Northern California sponsoring each weekend, except for the full moon. Members bring telescopes, guests get looks all night long, weather and telescope operator endurance permitting, that is. That's all for this month, :-) Sky and Telescope comet charts http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/94277259.html Charts for Pluto, Neptune, Uranus - scroll to bottom http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance Ceres finder chart: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/94737944.html -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA My blog about Jupiter impacts: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ My What's Up podcast June 2010: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn

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New telescope owners (followup)
by Morris Jones 20 May '10

20 May '10

To follow up with Jane's post to the list, we'll be repeating the New Telescope Owner's clinic this Saturday in Monrovia, as described here: http://mail.otastro.org/pipermail/otevents/2010-April/000250.html If you're interested in attending, please drop me a note to reserve a spot. I try to keep it to one astronomer per new telescope, so we don't beat each other up. :) 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Library Park, Monrovia 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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