The skies over Monrovia are covered with marine layer right now. The
skies at Mount Wilson, on the other hand, are clear, sort of. Take a
look at the Mt. Wilson 150-foot towercam, and you'll see clear skies at
the peaks, but creeping marine layer almost reaching to the observatory.
http://obs.astro.ucla.edu/towercam.htm#imagetop
So, sadly, we're cancelling Sidewalk Astronomy tonight. Next Saturday
night, is a not-quite-full-moon, and we'll tentatively reschedule for
that night -- Saturday, October 27th, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
This cloud layer will also wash out meteor watching overnight, too, most
likely. The forecast calls for a slight chance of drizzle after 8 p.m.
Some of our astronomers will be heading east to catch some shooting
stars. If you are so inclined, take a look at all these astronomers
maps - the Clear Sky charts, and head for an area not showing white in
the hourly grids - those indicate cloud cover.
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/California_charts.html
Finally, since it's an indoor-stargazing and meteor-gazing kind of
night, here's a writeup about the huge meteor (probably a small
asteroid, actually) that broke up over northern California last
Wednesday night. There were reports from Long beach to Red Bluff, with a
sonic boom and a terminal burst - like a roman candle as the meteor
broke up into pieces. It broke up over Marin County, where I grew up!
Dr. jenniskens is out looking for dark pieces this weekend. if you find
one, take a picture and send it to him by email petrus.m.jenniskens
<http://petrus.m.jenniskens>@ nasa.gov
Over and out, Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
What's Up Podcast for Sept: Observe and wink at the moon
On Youtube: http://is.gd/kPUtSx
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones /CassiniSaturn /otastro
My Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/
Yosemite Video http://www.youtube.com/user/yosemitenationalpark?feature=watch
