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by Jane Houston Jones

We'll attempt to see the moon and Jupiter tonight from Myrtle and Lime Streets from 6:30 - 8:30, through hazy skies. We'll celebrate the life of John Dobson, our friend and founder of the Sidewalk Astronomers, who died on January 15, at the age of 98. Mojo and I were lucky to have been at his 98th birthday party in September 2013. I thanked him (again) for introducing me to the night sky, public astronomy and science education over 25 years ago. Tonight I'll bring the first telescope I made in his 1988 telescope making class. Making that telescope, especially grinding and polishing my first mirror, with his assistance, has led me on many unexpected journeys, including the journey to Southern California ten years ago. The first question I was asked on an interview for my job in Education and Public Outreach for JPL's Cassini Mission to Saturn was "Did you really make a telescope in John Dobson's class"? Really! During my first week on the job, that same manager stopped by my desk and asked: "I have a 6-inch telescope with a really dirty mirror, can you clean it for me? Yes! See you tonight, I hope! If not, watch February's What's Up, my 80th monthly stargazing podcast. http://youtu.be/KiSqDly3ZRs 25 years ago, when I was taking my first looks through my homemade telescope, I never would have dreamed it would lead me here! Thanks, John :-) -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInSight What's Up For Feb? All the planets, Dawn & Rosetta http://youtu.be/KiSqDly3ZRs

12 years, 1 month

Canceled sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia

by Morris Jones

This little band of clouds had just the right timing to wipe out the sky in Monrovia tonight. If you can see the moon, and are desperate for a look, a couple of our members are set up at Santa Fe Dam for another couple of hours, or until the sky is hopeless. Our next sidewalk astronomy opportunity will be February 7 in Monrovia. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

12 years, 2 months

Space Station pass tonight

by Morris Jones

If you're in the Los Angeles area, tonight is a good opportunity to view the International Space Station. It'll be passing just off the California coast, flying from north to south. It'll first appear low in the northwest at about 6:34 p.m. By 6:37 it will be very high in the sky and very bright. At 6:38 it passes into eclipse, that is to say, into Earth's shadow. (On the station, they'll be watching a sunset, as they do every 90 minutes.) The station is about 230 miles above earth, and currently has six astronauts on board. Give them a wave as they pass! It will be magnitude -3, brighter than the bright planet Jupiter at -2.4 which you'll see low in the northeast at the same time as the station pass. To see the station, there are three requirements: 1. It must be passing within 150 miles or so, 2. The sun must be down for you, and 3. The station must be in sunlight. So usually the only times are near sunset or sunrise. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

12 years, 3 months

Sidewalk Astronomy likely rained out tomorrow

by Jane Houston Jones

The weather doesn't look promising for Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday night, so if you want to do some armchair astronomy this weekend, here are some great reading materials: NASA Begins Search For What Is Left Of Comet ISON http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-begins-search-for-what-is-left-of-… In Memoriam: Comet ISON http://www.isoncampaign.org/karl/in-memoriam Jane's What's Up for December: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm If the weather clears up, we'll send a note! -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight What's Up? ISON perihelion, Venus conjunction, Winter constellations http://youtu.be/_UlmGDoUI5YMy 2013 - Year At A Glance Astro Blog http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/

12 years, 4 months

Sidewalk astronomy tonight!

by Jane Houston Jones

We'll be out sharing views of the moon and Venus tonight at Myrtle and Lime Streets in Monrovia tonight. We'll be there by 6:30 for sure, now that it gets dark earlier! Read (and listen) to my info about the MAVEN Launch to Mars a week from Monday, and an comet ISON update. I'll be attending the launch, bringing agood luck banner to the MAVEN team signed by the InSight Mission team (I am the outreach person for Insight, launching to Mars in 2016) And don't forget our rescheduled Mojave National Preserve star Party November 30. We'll have a gorgeous sky filled with the remnants of summer constellations and the Milky Way, which make way for the constellations of fall. Then in the hour before morning twilight, we'll (hopefully) be up to look at a few comets. It's unlikely Comet ISON will be visible (it passes nearest the sun on November 28th, and that means even if it survives, it will be very near the sun, too close for safe viewing. If there is a comet tail to be seen on the horizon, we'll let everyone know before they go to bed saturday night. Being November, It will be cold probably, but as John Dobson says "Many are cold, but few are frozen" I'll end with Mojo's three lovely comet images from our trip to Amboy Crater last weekend. All three were imaged (and seen visually through my telescope too) between 3:00am and 4:00am Sunday morning) Comet R1 Lovejoyhttp://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/C2013-R1-Lovejoy-2013-11… Comet S1 ISONhttp://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/C2012-S1-ISON-2013-11-02.jpg Comet 2P (a periodic comet returning every 3 years) 2P Encke http://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/2P-encke-2013-11-02-5min.jpg -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight What's Up For Nov? Maven Launch Nov 18, Comet ISON races towards the sun http://youtu.be/MwP1UVCH6ck My 2013 - Year At A Glance Astro Blog http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/

12 years, 4 months

Mojave National Preserve star party postopned

by Jane Houston Jones

Due to the shutdown which ended last week, some of the National Preserve groups and individuals who coordinate the star party were unable to do so. We plan to reschedule the twice-a-year Mojave National Preserve star party. The campground is already reserved, and it's possible a few of the astronomers will be there on their own, but the pot luck, firewood, invited members of the community won't be there. If you want to know if there will be an astronomer or two, let me know - and I'll get back to you before Friday. Sorry about that! Tentatively planning November 30 - and spring 2014 will be announced well in advance, subject to campground availability. As a conolation. here's a spooky observing writeup in time for Halloween! http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/10/30/spooky-halloween-observing/ I'll update the Comet ISON opportunities soon (dawn, low in eastern sky)! Hint: It's not visible to the unaided eye yet. -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight What's Up? Juno Earth Flyby Oct.9, #IOMN, far side of moon NASA video youtu.be/ReoS1xVQGVI My 2013 - Year At A Glance Astro Blog http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/

12 years, 5 months

Fwd: FW: Exceptional Space Station Pass Tonight (Monday)

by Jane Houston Jones

Heads up! Very good ISS pass tonight over LA area. 7:45-7:51p.m. Also, Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday in Monrovia, it's International Observe the Moon Night! 7:00-9:00p.m. Myrtle and Lime streets. My monthly video is about it, plus about Juno spacecraft flying by earth for a Gravity Assist on Wednesday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReoS1xVQGVI&feature=youtu.be My video and JPL blog page (with a Comet ISON blog I wrote 2 weeks ago) http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm Oh, we saw Comet ISON yesterday morning! Here's my personal blog http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ Month at a glance, updated: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/ Whew! Very bright, right overhead (for LA). Free but you'll miss part of the Dodgers/Braves (or Falcons/Jets). Date 07 October 2013 Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 19:45:12 0° 226° (SW) 2,341 1.2 -16.6° Reaches altitude 10° 19:47:17 10° 227° (SW) 1,482 0.1 -17.1° Maximum altitude 19:50:37 86° 317° (NW) 420 -3.4 -17.7° Enters shadow 19:51:33 45° 43° (NE) 579 -2.9 -17.9°

12 years, 6 months

Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday

by Jane Houston Jones

Saturday September 14 is Sidewalk Astronomer founder John Dobson's 98th birthday! What better way to celebrate it than by taking our telescopes to the sidewalk and sharing the views of the moon (and maybe a last glimpse at Saturn for a while) with you! Mojo and I will be going to a birthday party for John tomorrow afternoon, so we'll be hapy to include your wishes if you have a message for John :-) Join us on the corner of Myrtle and Lime Streets from about 7 - 9 p.m. tomorrow night. Now for the links portion of my email :-) We have had some fine bloggers at the telescopes with us recently. Here is Elson Trinidad's blog about last month's Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy, with a detour to the dark sky for some Perseid perusing. http://www.kcet.org/news/the_back_forty/commentary/concrete-and-chaparral/e… And here is Chris Clarke's "8 best places to see the night sky in LA County" http://www.kcet.org/living/travel/socal_wanderer/night-sky/stargazing/8-pla… If you enjoy the written word as I do, you'll enjoy these two fine writers. :-) And my 2013 "At A Glance" astro journal has just been updated for September, clmplete with a link to my What's Up video for September - my 75th podcast in this series! http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/ See you Saturday, or if not, look up at the moon, and wish Sidewalk Astronomer founder John Dobson a happy birthday! -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ http://twitter.com/jhjones What's Up For Sept? LADEE Night Launch, ISON Spotted http://youtu.be/YMt5CIsr-D8 CometISON Toolkithttp://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ISON

12 years, 6 months

Sidewalk Astronomy tonight in Monrovia

by Jane Houston Jones

If you've driven down Myrtle Avenue in the past week and a half, you'll see a sad sight. The historic water fountain on the corner of Myrtle and Lime Streets took a direct hit from a car on August 7th a little before midnight, and the structure was totally destroyed, leaving the fountain and some of the granite foundation. Pictures here http://www.cityofmonrovia.org/citymanagersoffice/page/monrovia-wishing-well… But the sidewalk astronomers will set up a few telescopes tonight to show views of the moon and Saturn from about 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. More August sky info here in my monthly wrapup. http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/ -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA What's Up Podcast for August: Perseids, Comet ISON update http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm 2013 Astro Calendar: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/

12 years, 7 months

Moon and Saturn tonight in Monrovia

by Morris Jones

The forecast is clear, and we should have lovely views of a crescent moon, close to first quarter, and Saturn. Jane won't be there this week -- she's winging her way to Glasgow, Scotland, to attend an award ceremony for the Sir Arthur Clarke Awards. She's nominated in the "International" category, and we're hoping for a win, but the competition is stiff! We'll be at Myrtle & Lime, Library Park, from 8:00 'til about 9:30. Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

12 years, 8 months

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