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by Jane Houston Jones

Saturday is International Observe the Moon night, and also Astronomy Day or both. For us, it's just our regular Saturday night closest to the first quarter moon -- the Saturday each month we bring the moon and planets (weather permitting) to the sidewalk. There are some other events Saturday the 8th in the bandshell on the other side of Monrovia Park, so come on down and enjoy the various afternoon and evening events by walking around the park! The big Library Park would make a great scale model of the solar system, with the sun at the fountain, wouldn't it? So come out and join us! When Oct 8 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Myrtle/Lime corner Monrovia CA Other events coming up: * Pasadena Astronomy Week Oct 16-22 http://www.cityofastronomy.org/events/ * Huntington Gardens Star Party Oct 28 (check their website) * Maybe dark sky at Amboy Crater October 29 RSVP with me for directions and tips * Mojave National Preserve public star party (free camping, RSVP) Nov 5 - the centennial celebration!! https://www.facebook.com/events/310376066006443/ Here is my monthly What's Up video, it's naturally all about the moon and Astronomy day this month!~ :-) Many formats on JPL website http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1442 YouTube: https://youtu.be/TwLaBKi3LaY Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nasa/ Tumblr: http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/151195307324/whats-up-for-october-2016 -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up Oct? Moon phases, Astronomy Day, Meteors, Saturn! https://youtu.be/TwLaBKi3LaY

8 years, 2 months

Nice ISS Passes tonight at 8:02 and 30th

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi everyone, and welcome to a few new members of our email list!! Tonight is a great chance to see the International Space Station (ISS) pass over southern California. You'll want to step outside and familiarize your self with where your SW horizon is. the station looks a bit like a moving n on-blinking airplane. It will be visible about 10 degrees above the horizon (90 degrees is straight overhead) at 8:02 p.m. by 8:05 it will be neasrly overhead -- 78 degrees high moving from SW to SE. BY 8:06 p.m. it will be dipping to 61 degrees above the ENE horizon and it will disappear as it enters the shadow of earth. There are a couple more, on the 28th two passes beginning at 7:10 p.m. and again 8:49 p.m. - but they do not rise above about 30 degrees above the horizon. One on the 29th 7:54 p.m. and another very good one on the 30that 7:02 p.m. reaching 78 degrees above the horizon SW --> NE and another one that same night at 8:41 p.m. only reaching 11 degrees above the horizon - those two days with two passes? That is how long it takes the ISAS to orbit Earth -- a little over an hour and a half! To get your own alerts -- I don't always remember to post these -- here is the NASA Spot the Station website to sign up for your own alerts. https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ As always, my monthly video can be found all over the place -- YouTube link below in my signature line. https://youtu.be/n_2rgiyJ5Pg Always on the JPL Video Page: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/ Now on NASA's Tumblr http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/149805004869/whats-up-for-september-2016 and Instagram accounts - two 60 second shorts are here on Instagram - just scroll a few pages for the tell tale star chart or title page. https://www.instagram.com/nasa/?hl=en Next astro events: Monrovia October 8, sunset - till 9 p.m.-ish. October 8th is Astronomy day all over the world and also International Observe the Moon night -- I talk about THAT in the October What's Up, which will be published Sept 29th because month-end is all about the Rosetta Mission end of mission. Google that for more info. For dark sky events, our next Mojave National Preserve star party - Free entrance to the park, free campsite, a potluck and free looks through our telescopes November 5th. And this weekend a few of us are going to Amboy Crater for sort of personal observing. If you are interested in joining us and looking through my telescope, I'll send directions, travel time (3 hours from Monrovia, not really a campsite, we sleep in our cars) But you could see some dark skies or bring your own equipment -- important to arrive well before dark, as there are no lights on Route 66 to see the turnoff. See you all under the stars, or planets or streetlights! -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up Sept? African Eclipse, Minor Meteors, Moon Neptune https://youtu.be/n_2rgiyJ5Pg

8 years, 2 months

Perseid tips

by Jane Houston Jones

The Perseid rates started to riselast week! This chart will be a fun way to see what worldwide observers are seeing in real time hour by hour. http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2016/. The best location is one devoid of any nearby light pollution, so if you are observing at home find the spot against a shielding wall without direct streetlights, motion sensor lights, etc. Mojo and I will be in Lockwood Valley Thursday night till dawn Friday morning, and at our annual "Stars Over Yosemite" star parties Friday and Saturday nights. Free with entrance to the park,every weekend excepting full moon thru Labor Day, a different astronomy club's members hosts the weekend events. Here are some tips and times. I cut out the pertinent few sentences, but the writeup is very good and written by a personal friend, Bob Lundsford who Mojo and I have worked with on NASA Meteor Counting Campaigns since 1998! Excellent graphics, too! http://www.amsmeteors.org/2016/08/viewing-the-2016-perseids/ * "Every year, the dust particles from the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet pass the Earth orbit and burn in our atmosphere (about 70 miles / 110km above us) from mid-July to the end of August. When the dust and ice hits our atmosphere at around 37 miles / second (59km/s) they disintegrate high up in the atmosphere after making a brilliant flash of light. Most of these particles are the size of sand grains, while a few are as big as peas. * *Maximum activity is predicted to occur on the morning of August 12^th *, when rates in excess of *1 per minute* may be seen from dark sky sites. On the morning of maximum the waxing gibbous moon will set between midnight and 0100 local daylight time as seen from mid-northern latitudes. This will free up the prime observing hours from interfering moonlight. * As the night progresses the Perseid activity will slowly rise as the radiant gains altitude in the northeastern sky. Not until after midnight will the Perseid radiant gain sufficient altitude to produce pleasing results. Anytime from moonset to dawn will be the best time to see the most activity. Perseid meteors will appear in every portion of the sky. I would suggest facing toward the direction with the flattest horizon, devoid of any trees or hills that may block you view of the meteors. If all directions are favorable, then face toward the darkest portion of the sky, opposite any terrestrial lights that may interfere with viewing. * The best Perseid rates will occur on a 5 night segment centered on August 12^th . So if August 12^th is cloudy you can still see good Perseid activity over the weekend. Just be sure to wait until the moon is low or has set before attempting to observe. * *The best night for viewing the Perseids will the morning of August 12^th .* This year predictions by Mikhail Maslov and Esko Lyytinen predict that we will cross a part of the stream which has shifted closer to the Earth’s orbit by Jupiter. Therefore rates could be up to twice as high compared to a normal Perseid display. Normal rates for this shower are usually around 60 meteors per hour as seen from rural observing sites. *Therefore this year rates could exceed 100 per hour.* Note that meteor activity is notoriously bunched, meaning that there are periods in which you will see no activity and other times when you will see several within seconds of each other. The quoted rates are an average over an hour’s time. Here is a great collection of locations from KCET blogger (and friend) Chris Clarke Inland empire https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/7-stargazing-spots-in-the-inland-empire <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=eOwE0CCBTZ3GhIcXBpM9q6AL_LP….> LA County https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/8-of-the-best-places-to-see-the-night-s… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=J9i_It53a5lppfzOjyAQVNuvkRN….> San Diego County https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/7-of-the-best-places-to-stargaze-in-san… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=XfzPduZ5-3zVti_faCvA95WvfI1…> High Desert https://www.kcet.org/socal-wanderer/9-mindblowing-stargazing-sites-in-calif… <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=7hJiRdGKSLn1Y5-BQe3rIOgQeix….> Finally, What's Up for August is about planets and Perseids: Video https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2016/07/29/whats-up-august-2016 Blog https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/meteors/perseids#! <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=yunUNv2tFN89Hq6paa8DUFdep01…> -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up August? Perseids https://youtu.be/0vE5Jr6HttU

8 years, 4 months

What's Up August? Part 1

by Jane Houston Jones

Busy month ahead. Tonight (Wednesday August 3) we are bringing telescopes to Altadena, CA's Descanso Gardens for their End of Summer Festival. 5-10 p.m. telescopes from about 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. https://www.descansogardens.org/programs-events/calendar/ Next week is the famous Perseid Meteor Shower. Friday morning peak, but good rates the days before and after too. We'll be at Glacier Point for public Star Party August 12/13 Perseids writeup https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/meteors/perseids Perseids podcast https://youtu.be/0vE5Jr6HttU Another nice version: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2016/07/29/whats-up-august-2016 Short Instagram version: https://www.instagram.com/p/BIlUTWghVTQ/?taken-by=nasajpl Awesome Tumblr version: http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/148352903509/whats-up-for-august-2016 More later, gotta pack telescopes for tonight!! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @otastro What's Up August? Perseids https://youtu.be/0vE5Jr6HttU

8 years, 4 months

Fwd: SpotTheStation

by Jane Houston Jones

Late notice 8:41 pm tonight Wednesday night)! Really high International Space Station pass! -------- Original Message -------- From: HQ-spotthestation(a)mail.nasa.gov Sent: July 27, 2016 8:57:16 AM PDT To: jane(a)whiteoaks.com Subject: SpotTheStation Time: Wed Jul 27 8:41 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 77°, Appears: 11° above SW, Disappears: 10° above NE -- Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

8 years, 4 months

Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday night in Monrovia

by Jane Houston Jones

A few of us will be out on the corner of Myrtle and Lime tomorrow night Saturday July 16. We'll have nice views of the moon, Saturn and Mars, and early birds may see Jupiter, either with the unaided eye (probably) or telescope ( trees/buildings). Upcoming dark sky events: August 12/13. Yosemite Glacier Point. Telescopes via selected club members only ( we are with the San Jose Astronomical Assn) this weekend) but all park guests welcome at the Glacier Point ampitheatre. If you are at Yosemite this summer, check the schedule ( no full moon weekend) Just come up, park an Mojave Star Party November 5th - Many list members attended June event. One comment: "So many kids for my daughter to play with" Another - kid with telescope wowed everyone. We do travel to dark sky areas - typically 90 - 200 miles one way most new moon weekends. If you want to join us, send me a note for more info on our dark sky events. Plan to sleep in car or drive 3 hours there/ 3 hours home. I will make a small list of who ever wants to join us for super dark skies, bring your own telescope or use ours. Many local asto clubs with less trvel. You can find. Finally, this month's What's Up features many astrophotos from Mojo - all taken at our favorite Amboy Crater dark sky locations. It's 180 miles from Monrovia, no camping (car camping ok, terrain is LAVA, so no place to pitch a tent. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1431 Tumblr http://nasa.tumblr.com/post/146998847019/whats-up-for-july-2016 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BHwlU3kgZwQ/?taken-by=nasa -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones What's Up July 2016: A Summer Road Trip to the Milky Way https://youtu.be/vQ9yrZuxSFE

8 years, 5 months

Telescopes in Monrovia tonight!

by Jane Houston Jones

Several of us are out of town or on vacation, or welcoming a new baby but Mojo and I want to get out with telescopes and show Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, plus the moon tonight. Sunset is at about 8 p.m. so wander by our Sidewalk Astronomy corner -- Myrtle and Lime streets in Monrovia between 8 and 9:30 p.m. It should cool to about 79 or 80 degrees by sunset. :-) -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up June 2016: Saturn opposition, planets and a comet! https://youtu.be/M7RtIa9zBYA

8 years, 6 months

Clouds and drizzle, not Saturn,

by Jane Houston Jones

Well, no chance of sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia tonight. Bu behind those clouds are some gorgeous views of the planets Saturn, Mrs and Jupiter. Learn what's up this month in my monthly podcast https://youtu.be/M7RtIa9zBYA, transcript here (and feel free to share!) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1427 Tonight's weather isn't this "reverse clearing" but still, this is a very interesting chance in our May Grey/June Gloom weather - clearing at the coast, high fog lingering up against the mountains. http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/05/18/60754/la-s-may-grey-unusual-this-year-t… And just as a reminder, our free dark sky star party in the Mojave National Preserve is June 25th - just two weeks away. Weather permitting, the Milky Way will be glorious! A few links and info I have sent our to several of you who plan to attend: Our star party is held at the Black Canyon Group Campground (close to the Hole-In-The-Wall visitor center and campground) in the middle of Mojave National Preserve. about 170 miles from Monrovia. A*RSVP* is required, but there is no charge for the event -- the RSVP is for # of tents/cars. There is a facebook group and you can RSVP there https://www.facebook.com/events/695749230564590/, or you can call or email our wonderful coordinator from the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy David Lanfrom dlanfrom(a)ncpa.org or 760-219-4916 - he is the best person to answer more questions. The directions are here -- the last quarter mile is not paved: https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/directions.htm Directions to Hole-in-the-Wall From I-40:/ Exit Essex Road and drive north 10 miles to the junction with Black Canyon Road. Hole-in-the-Wall is 10 miles north on Black Canyon Road. And here is a zoomed in version of the area centered on the Black Canyon Campground -- https://www.google.com/maps/@35.04204,-115.3879753,2413m/data=!3m1!1e3 It is a very large group campsite, with plenty of parking. Arrive before sunset (which is at 8:08 p.m.), and there will be a potluck beginning at about 6 p.m., with rangers from the National Park Service, members of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy and the sidewalk astronomers and all our guests all sharing the potluck, and a few saying a few words to the group. There is a large firepit, covered pavilion with 8 picnic tables, trash/recycling critter-proof cans, a pump with water for washing dishes, and pit toilets, which you can see if you zoom in close on the google map. You can also see the circular parking area and the large sandy/brushy area for tents. So bring a tent, sleeping bag (or car camp), pot luck or bring something to eat for dinner, there is room for camp stoves on the picnic tables if you want to cook. The Conservancy provides lots of drinks, chips, some food, there is always vegetarian food, but you can bring your own. A local family often makes tamales (both meat and vegetarian), and/or soup or stew, again veg/meat. All the guests come up and spend time at the telescope, white flashlights are not appreciated at the telescopes, we suggest not using the flashlight at all at telescopes. As your eyes adapt you can see very nicely without lights. But our star party is very informal, and we just ask people to cover flashlights with your hand, and turn them off at the telescopes, no cell phones or iPads or other light emitting devices up at the telescopes preferred. Most people spend time at the tables eating or snacking, or talking and storytelling at the big fire pit, Dogs are permitted and there are usually several -- some on leashes and some not, all very nice dogs. Kids are welcome. -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up June 2016: Saturn opposition, planets and a comet! https://youtu.be/M7RtIa9zBYA

8 years, 6 months

ISS Pass Tonight (Thur SoCal)

by Jane Houston Jones

We’re into a season of nice evening ISS passes for Southern California. Here’s the best evening Heavens-Above.com passes through Sunday. This is a nice high pass by Jupiter travelling SW to NE. Best from 9:34 p.m. until 9:41 p.m. tonight! You can also get emails with details for your latitude/longitude at https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ Thursday – Jupiter gets a flyby Date: 26 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 21:32:26 0° 228° (SW) 2,302 0.6 -17.2° Reaches altitude 10° 21:34:30 10° 230° (SW) 1,446 -0.4 -17.5° Maximum altitude 21:37:45 78° 316° (NW) 413 -3.3 -18.0° Drops below altitude 10° 21:41:00 10° 44° (NE) 1,453 -0.5 -18.5° Sets 21:43:05 0° 46° (NE) 2,315 0.5 -18.8° FRIDAY Date: 27 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 20:39:48 0° 213° (SSW) 2,300 0.5 -8.5° Reaches altitude 10° 20:41:55 10° 206° (SSW) 1,445 -0.6 -8.8° Maximum altitude 20:45:01 44° 133° (SE) 568 -3.0 -9.4° Drops below altitude 10° 20:48:08 10° 60° (ENE) 1,452 -0.8 -9.9° Sets 20:50:16 0° 53° (NE) 2,314 0.3 -10.3° Sunday Date: 29 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 20:30:29 0° 233° (SW) 2,303 0.8 -6.6° Reaches altitude 10° 20:32:34 10° 237° (WSW) 1,447 -0.2 -7.0° Maximum altitude 20:35:47 61° 318° (NW) 459 -2.7 -7.5° Drops below altitude 10° 20:39:00 10° 40° (NE) 1,454 -0.6 -8.1° Sets 20:41:06 0° 44° (NE) 2,315 0.4 -8.4° Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist What's Up May 2016: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

8 years, 7 months

Bad news (clouds tonight) good news (Mojave Star Party June 25th)

by Jane Houston Jones

We Sidewalk Astronomers have been watching the satellite images to assess tonight's weather all week. Nearly all the astronomers are busy tonight -- being a full moon weekend, that's when we spend the weekend with family and stuff like that. So we are reluctantly cancelling, tho' we never really announced we'd try for tonight, and it would have only been one or two of us anyway. But if you are at home and it is clear or only partly cloudy, step outside as close to midnight or as late as you can stay awake tonight -- we wouldn't be out doing sidewalk astronomy this late anyway. The full moon (moon at opposition) rises at about 8 p.m. and Mars is at it's 26 month opposition a few hours later. Mars won't get very high -- only about 35 degrees above the horizon about midnight. The moon will be just to the left of Mars, and Saturn will appear below the duo. Check out the Sidewalk Astronomers facebook page to see the star charts. You don't have to be on facebook to see the public star charts. https://www.facebook.com/Old-Town-Sidewalk-Astronomers-1619991271586682/?fr… I also wrote this in addition to my podcast linked below: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ Good news, Mojave National Preserve Spring Star Party rescheduled for June 25th. I guess that is officially summer, but just barely. Same routine, RSVP and so forth. The fall date has also been set, for those of you who like to plan in advance. It will be November 5th. The campground is also reserved the night before but the astronomers usually only set up telescopes on the Saturday night.. -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up May 2016 podcast: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

8 years, 7 months

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