- OTEvents - Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers

Questions about Mars?
by Jane H Jones 26 Aug '05

26 Aug '05

Here at JPL, phones are ringing off lots of different hooks with members of the public asking about viewing Mars tomorrow night. I've even received calls from scout leaders planning "Mars Spectacular" viewing events. I wish there was a scout badge for critical thinking. :-( Some of you folks may be getting questions too, so I thought you might like these sound bytes. A misleading chain letter hoax has been going around since June 2005. The subject line of the chain letter is often 'Mars Spectacular". It's a recycled chain letter from 2003, but with the year omitted, and additional misinformation added. The "date" of the special viewing night, according to this email is tomorrow, August 27th. August 27th was the date of Mars Opposition 2003. Some people read chain letters, and without applying any critical thinking, assume they must be true. Then they forward them to everyone they know, who forward them.....on and on and on. The email is recycled and refers to Mars at opposition August 27th 2003, 2 years ago. Earth and Mars make a close approach every 2.2 years. Mars opposition in 2005 is October 30, 2005. NASA has this article about it: Beware the Mars Hoax http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/07jul_marshoax.htm Sky and Telescope Magazine has this: Don't get snookered by Mars Malarky. http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_1556_1.asp 2005 will be a spectacular year to view Mars at opposition, but not this weekend. Mars will be a beautiful reddish "star" in the sky early in the evening from late October 2005 through spring 2006. Suggest that people contact a local science center or astronomy club near that time for locations of Mars viewing events. If people want to see Mars right now (and avoid embarrassment if they planned an event Saturday night) they have to stay up late. Mars rises in the east at about 11 p.m. and is high overhead at about 3 a.m. The last three mornings, Mars and the moon have been sharing the sky, dancing together on the ecliptic plane of our solar system. Mars is gorgeous in the western sky at dawn every morning. There are two bright objects in the western sky right after the sun sets right now. Some people may think one or the other is Mars. They are not. Venus is the lower (and brighter) of the two and Jupiter is higher and 6 times fainter. These are the planets to view right now. Save Mars for later in the year. I created a Mars 2005 page http://www.otastro.org/Mars2005/ As Mars becomes visible earlier in the evening, we'll be planning more viewing events, and updating this page. Mojo and I are off the to the Oregon Star Party tomorrow morning. http://www.oregonstarparty.org/2005activities.htm We'll be back after labor day, and our next sidewalk dates are September 9th Pasadena and September 10th Monrovia. -- 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 Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

1 0

Sidewalk this weekend
by Morris Jones 12 Aug '05

12 Aug '05

First quarter Moon this weekend! There might be a chance for some Jupiter observing shortly after sunset if we find a spot with a good southwest horizon, but mostly it's a Moon weekend. Jupiter will be leaving the early evening skies quickly now. Tonight (Friday August 12): Old Town Pasadena, Colorado Blvd. near Delacey, 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Tomorrow (Saturday August 13): Old Town Monrovia, Myrtle & Lime, 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Sunset this evening is a 7:42 p.m. We can always see the Moon before sunset, but it looks better after. :) Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

Hear Cassini's Rings on Sunday
by Jane H Jones 11 Aug '05

11 Aug '05

Hello astro people I have quite an interesting job doing outreach for the Cassini Mission, and I get the most interesting things in the mail. A few weeks ago I received a music score and recording of a middle-school band composition inspired by the Cassini mission to Saturn, called "Cassini's Rings". I sent it out to everyone here at Cassini, and they just went nuts over it. One of my co-workers plays in the La Canada Community Band - he plays the euphonium and sits in front of the tubas, but I digress. He asked the composer for permission to premier it here on the west coast and the community band is doing just that this weekend. I'll be happy to pass on the conductors contact info once school is back in session for any of you who might be interested in sharing it with your own school bands. :-) So here's the scoop: Michael Oare, Director of Bands at Great Bridge Middle School in Chesapeake, Virginia was inspired by the Cassini Mission to Saturn. He created a composition for middle school band featuring a melody based on the 7 major rings of Saturn: D, C, B (Bb), A, F, G and E . Michael writes "The spacecraft studies Saturn, its moons, and its famous rings. The major rings of Saturn are named, in order of their discovery, for the first seven letters of the alphabet. The letters (notes) D, C, B (Bb), A, F, G and E form the order of the rings based on their respective distance from the planet, closest to farthest. The melodic material in Cassini's Rings is based on this seven-tone row." My co-worker (and fellow amateur astronomer) Steve Edberg from JPL arranged with the composer, Michael Oare, and conductor Sue Hamre of the La Canada Community Band to present this piece on Sunday August 14th at La Canada's Memorial Park. Where: Memorial Park is on the north side of Foothill in La Canada two traffic signals west of Angeles Crest Highway When: Sunday August 14th. The concert including this piece begins at 5:00 p.m. This concert is part of the concert series held at Memorial Park every summer Sunday. What to bring: chairs or blanket and a picnic dinner. 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 Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

1 0

2005 Perseid Meteor Shower
by Morris Jones 11 Aug '05

11 Aug '05

It's time again for the annual August meteor shower, the Perseids. Jane has written some good tips for observing the shower, and I've included them on the Old Town Astronomers front page -- but the best rendition is here on the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers page: <http://sfsidewalkastronomers.org/newsarticles/perseids> Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

KPCC Sidewalk Astronomy bit
by Morris Jones 28 Jul '05

28 Jul '05

KPCC has an audio stream of our astronomer-on-the-street interview for their program "Past Sunset." Go to the Past Sunset web page, <http://www.scpr.org/programs/pastsunset/> and scroll down for the "Sidewalk Astronomers" story. It might have been the best three minutes of the show. In any event, it's fairly short. :) Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

Jane and Mojo on KPCC tonight
by Morris Jones 26 Jul '05

26 Jul '05

Last week on Colorado Blvd. while showing Jupiter and the Moon, we were visited by a reporter from KPCC, the public radio station at 89.3 FM. She was preparing a story for KPCC's new evening program "Past Sunset" with David Cruz. Our story is scheduled to air tonight. The program runs from 7-9 p.m., and our segment should be heard a little after 8:30. It is a live show, so that could be unpredictable. We'll be hearing it for the first time tonight, so we don't know what to expect either. If some of you visited the telescope last Friday the 15th, you might hear yourself! Today's web page for the program includes a plug for the story: <http://www.scpr.org/programs/pastsunset/> Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

Sidewalk Astronomy July 15-16
by Morris Jones 14 Jul '05

14 Jul '05

Hello stargazers, Last weekend we had fabulous dark skies and wonderful weather for the Glacier Point star party in Yosemite National Park with the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers. We were joined by a writer and photographer from the L.A. Times "Outdoor" section, so watch for a feature article appearing there sometime soon. Our website has a little photo album from the weekend here: <http://www.otastro.org/2005-07-sfaa-yosemite/> We plan to bring telescopes out as usual Friday night, and set up as close to the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Colorado Blvd as parking spaces permit. At midnight, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" goes on sale. :-) So there will be lots of folks out late, we suspect, and the first quarter Moon will be high overhead. If you'd like to join us and hand out Moon cards, we'd love some company. It's a bit tight for additional telescopes on the Colorado Blvd. sidewalk -- two is plenty. Also if you're interested in meeting John Dobson, he'll be on the roof of the parking lot at the Barnes & Noble in Burbank Friday evening from 7:30 p.m. 'til midnight. <http://sidewalkastronomers.us/schedule/?id=1692> There are three local stargazing events this Saturday, and we'll be out of town on Saturday night anyway. If any of you want to bring your own telescopes to Library Park, Monrovia on Saturday night, we'll leave it on our schedule. Otherwise we'll cancel our local event and encourage people to attend these events instead: Three local events Saturday July 16 Eaton Canyon Nature Center 2005 Twilight Program 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. ($3.00 donation requested) http://www.ecnca.org/Cassini_Flier.htm Colorado Street Bridge Party http://www.pasadenaheritage.org/bridgeparty.html ($15.00 at the gate ) Telescopes in Education will be there in the park for this event. Read down to the "entertainment" section of the announcement for more information. Griffith Park monthly star party 2- 10 p.m.(free) Griffith Observatory Satellite in NE corner of Griffith Park. http://www.griffithobs.org/Special.html Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

Pasadena ON for tonight
by Morris Jones 17 Jun '05

17 Jun '05

Jane and I are going to give it a try this evening in Old Town Pasadena, though we'll probably have some interruptions from clouds. The NWS forecasters are hedging their bet on tonight's forecast by calling it "partly cloudy." We're catching the southern tail of a cold front that may help clear out the marine layer gloom, but bring some higher clouds of its own. We'll have a large gibbous Moon high in the sky early, and we should be able to show it in the telescope well before the sun sets at 8:06 p.m. A little after sunset we'll be able to show bright Jupiter high in the south. For the next several weeks, the sky will have two very bright star-like objects in the sky: Venus low in the west shortly after sunset, and Jupiter high in the south. Venus is slightly brighter, but it may not seem so against the twilight sunset glow. Right now, Saturday evening looks like a carbon copy of Friday. We'll give the sky another try in Monrovia. Details: Friday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. 'til 10:00 p.m., Old Town Pasadena, Colorado Blvd. near Delacey (somewhere between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave.) on the north side of Colorado. Saturday, June 18, 7:00 p.m. 'til 9:30 p.m., Old Town Monrovia, Library Park at the corner of Myrtle and Lime. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

Grand Canyon Star Party pictures
by Morris Jones 15 Jun '05

15 Jun '05

Jane and I are back from our week-long trek to the annual Grand Canyon Star Party. It was a great week full of canyon and sky! I've put a little photo album together on the OTAstro web site here: <http://www.otastro.org/2005-06-GrandCanyon/> We're planning some Moon and Jupiter viewing this coming weekend, if the June Gloom permits. I'll send a weather update tomorrow evening. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0

JPL Open House and correction ...
by Morris Jones 13 May '05

13 May '05

I meant to say this weekend is our last scheduled excursion *in May* -- we have plans for lots more sidewalk astronomy. :) Also of note -- this weekend is the annual Open House at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada. It's definitely worth the trip, but be aware that the event draws enormous crowds, so go early if you're going! The really best time is early Sunday morning. You should also be aware that JPL is a huge place and built into a hillside. Bring your comfiest walking shoes, lots of water, and be ready to climb a few hills. More information is available at JPL's web site, <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov>. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

1 0