9:24 pm
-------- Original Message --------
From: HQ-spotthestation(a)mail.nasa.gov
Sent: May 23, 2017 9:57:13 AM PDT
To: jane(a)whiteoaks.com
Subject: SpotTheStation
Time: Tue May 23 9:24 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 83°, Appears: 10° above SW, Disappears: 10° above NE
--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
It'll be hot and clear tonight in Monrovia. Sunset is about 7:30. We'll
be showing views of the crescent moon and Jupiter from the corner of
Myrtle & Lime tonight from about 7:30 - 9:30.
Cheers,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Tonight (Wednesday) Greater LA folks will have a nice view of the
International Space Station passing over.
If you are outside of southern Cal, you can sign up to get your own zip
code based alerts here https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/. Here is a good
chart and explanation what and when you see the pass, and defines all
the pertinent terms:
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/message_example.cfm#AstronomicalHorizon
Tonight: : Wed Apr 12 9:07 PM, Visible: 2 min, Max Height: 43°, Appears:
16° above NW, Disappears: 43° above N
April 14: 8:58 PM, Visible: 3 minutes, Max Height 48°, appears 10°
above WNW , Disappears 47° SSW
BEST!!
April 15: 8:06 PM, Visible 6 minutes!!, Max Height 72°, appears 10°NW,
Disappears 14° SE
April 17: 7:58 PM, Visible 6 minutes also, Max Height 36, appears 10°
above WNW, Disappears 10° SSE
Telescope and Bino owners, have a look at Jupiter (after sunset in
East) and Saturn (after midnight to dawn in South) this month. Saturn
near the moon mornings of April 14-17.
You definitely would see some Lyrids if you were to be outside in fairly
dark area on the morning hours of April 22nd. Info on that is in this
month's What's Up video here! https://go.nasa.gov/2oFUfJz
<https://t.co/eYRbZMh8W0>
Over and out! Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @otastro
What's Up April? Jupiter Opposition, Lyrid Meteors
go.nasa.gov/2oFUfJz
We have a clear night for moon viewing tonight, so join us at our
usual spot at the corner of Myrtle and Lime Streets in Monrovia Saturday
night from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. for some great views of the moon.
Home armchair astronomers can step outside after 9 p.m. (better later)
to see Jupiter, or Jupiter and moons (binoculars) rising in the east.
Jupiter reaches opposition in a wee, meaning it is opposite the sun in
the sky, highest at midnight, but visible all night long. More about
Opposition in my monthly video linked below in my signature line. If
you want more planets, both Saturn and Jupiter are visible if you want
to set your alarm or wake up early in the morning, and you'll find
Saturn below and east of Jupiter.
After that, it's time to step away from the light pollution and join us
at our 16th twice-a-year free star party in the Mojave National
Preserve. Our fall star party was a big success and you can see for
yourself in this national park video: https://vimeo.com/199881467 Our
Spring event is May 27th,
Join us May 27th Black Canyon Group Campsite, Mojave National Preserve,
RSVP dlamfrom(a)npca.org - so we know how many campers will be there.
There is an adjacent area for campers, and kids and dogs are welcome.
There is a nice flyer on our OTastro website, in the upper right event
box. http://www.otastro.org/
Jane and the sidewalk astronomers
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @otastro
What's Up April? Jupiter Opposition and the Lyrid Meteor Shower
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1463
This would have been our evening to set up telescopes in Monrovia at
Myrtle & Lime in Library Park. But it seems we'll be dealing with clouds
and a rainy Sunday again.
If you're reading this somewhere with clear sky, there's a treat that
doesn't require a telescope. The moon will cross in front of one of the
brightest stars in the sky, Aldebaran, tonight. It's an early evening
event, with disappearance expected at 7:08 p.m. in Los Angeles, and
reappearance at 8:27 p.m.
We won't get to see the event tonight from Monrovia, but there's a great
description and graphics in Jane's "What's Up" podcast for March. Find
it here on the JPL web site:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1460
Sky and Telescope also has a good article for astronomy enthusiasts
here:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/aldebaran-occultation-march-4-2017/
For the next week or two, enjoy bright Venus in the western sky. If you
have a chance to observe Venus with binoculars or a small telescope,
you'll be able to see it shrink into a narrower crescent, all while
getting larger and wider as it swings towards the earth. Inferior
conjunction happens on March 25, and not many days after that it will
become the "morning star" instead of the "evening star."
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
If it wasn't raining, an unspectacular lunar eclipse would be nearly
over by the time the full moon rises at 5:32 p.m. tonight.
I wrote a little "Ten Things to know about the Penumbral Lunar eclipse"
article today.
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2017/02/10/10-things-to-know-the-february-…
<https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=hJ06W8fhgGGIwmpq46cN2jQFIEiqi…>
If you use the platform Tumblr, NASA has a nice product about the
eclipse here, and you don't have to be a Tumblr use to see it.
http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/157061320334/subtle-lunar-eclipse
<https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=rBy2H9omf2dAN486pO0nqzTGWS3EU…>
Finally, I really like the Time and Date website eclipse graphics.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2017-february-11
<https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=0K6xZpGe2cUCwBHrj-bdJdiKzJx1N…>
Looks like our next Sidewalk Astronomy night will be March 4 and there
will be an interesting celestial event. Around 19:09 PST on March 4,
the almost-half Moon occults the red giant star Aldebaran. This might be
a naked eye disappearance for the sharp-eyed. Everyone else should use
binoculars or a small telescope. You CAN do this at home. If you can
find the moon you have a chance to watch the moon pass in front of the
star. The time is the exact time for La Canada Flintridge, so it will
be a little different depending on where you are located. For those
coming to the sidewalk maybe we'll have one of the telescopes with a
videocamera attached and a monitor to view this special event, so more
people can see it. Here is a nice writeup of who can see this event.
The reappearance is on the lighted hemisphere around 20:27 PST and will
require binoculars or telescope. The color difference between star and
Moon will be striking. Thanks to Steve Edberg and Tom Traeger for the
heads up!
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @otastro
What's Up Feb? Use Venus and Mars to find the Zodiacal Light, plus two comets and the brightest asteroid. https://youtu.be/HT2htvbcmm8
New: Ten Things Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things
We are cancelling Sidewalk Astronomy in Monrovia tonight. If you do get
a clearing, here is a star chart for 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
tonight.https://goo.gl/ROgrsB
You could break out the binoculars and try looking at Venus and Mars and
the moon. Between the two planets is fainter Neptune. If you can see
below Venus you canalso try for Comet 45P for about an hour after
sunset, depending on your location andif you have a flat SW horizon.
Neptune is blue, comet is needle-shaped with the tail pointing up as it
is being blown by the solar wind!
We'll have news about our next Mojave National Preserve Star Party
(possibly April or May), next sidewalk astronomy night, future
Huntington Garden star party, and the Solar Eclipse next time. We now
have about 4 folks from our sidewalk Astronomy family joining us at the
Idaho Dunes RV Park. Toggle between the map, and the reservations pages
https://www.idahodunesrv.com/map.php and
https://www.idahodunesrv.com/reservations.php?month=August+2017 We are
in spaces 50-56, and you can several nearby spaces available.
Speaking of the Eclipse, NASA's Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter LRO
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-moon-data-provides-more-accu…
My two astro products (for my work at JPL) are What's Up and a new thing
called Ten Things. It's a list of ten interesting things happening in
the solar system each week. I sneak in a stargazing "thing" almost every
week, and this one features all the 2017 Meteor showers, so it's a
useful bookmark. :-)
What's Up January video:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2017/01/03/whats-up-january-2016
Ten Things http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things
2017 Meteor Showers:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2016/12/12/10-things-december-12
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @otastro
What's Up Jan? Comet, moon, Venus, Mars and Quadrantids ring in the new year!
https://youtu.be/e1QyhUqv1yE
New: My Ten Things Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/category/10things
