We had plans to set up telescopes for some lunar observing tonight in
Monrovia, but they've been dashed by cloudy skies and a chance of
thundershowers. Hopefully next month!
Meanwhile we'll be hoping for clear skies and calm winds for September
24th dark sky observing in Mojave National Preserve. We'd love to have
you visit out from under the L.A. light dome. Details are here:
http://preservethemojave.org/
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Hi everyone,
Mojo and I will make an impromptu, unscheduled sidewalk astronomy foray
tomorrow night September 3rd at Myrtle and Lime Streets 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
This month the first quarter moon phase falls on Sunday the 4th, and so
both flanking weekends offer some decent mooning —a slender crescent
this weekend, and a big fat waxing gibbous phase next weekend. I'll be
working at Kennedy Space Center next week for the launch of GRAIL – twin
washing machine-sized spacecraft heading to our moon. They'll fly in
formation very close to the moon's surface and measure the moon's
gravity. And I'll be at a star party at Brevard Community College
Observatory in Cocoa, FL next Friday night showing Grail's destination
with the local astronomy club! :–)
My monthly video is all about GRAIL and observing the moon. Next week,
the days surrounding the September 8th launch will perfect nights to
look at the moon and see where all 6 Apollo missions landed! Here's the
link http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=944 and
there is a great map of the landing sights on that page at the bottom.
We'll hand out some charts on the sidewalk both weekends, too.
Dark sky enthusiasts may want to join us in Mojave National Preserve on
September 24th. The Milky Way is high overhead, spanning the sky from
horizon to horizon. It's definitely worth the drive! The Mojave National
Preserve Conservancy website still shows our spring stargazing info
http://preservethemojave.org/ but just change the date to September
24th. Directions and RSVP contact are on the page, and they have not
changed. There is limited room for RV's so I'd definitely call if you
are bringing a large RV – there is plently of room for tents, but
everyone should RSVP. You only need to tell me your coming if you bring
telescopes, and want to share the cement pad. There's room for about 6
–8 telescopes Camping is free, courtesy of the MNPC, but you might want
to consider joining the conservancy and helping protect this magnificent
preserve. Last weekend we were at Yosemite's Glacier Point public star
party and we shared milky way views (plus a comet, supernova and more)
with 150 or so park visitors. A different astronomy club is up there at
Glacier Point right now and tomorrow night, too, in case you are heading
that way.
What else? I received a lot of questions about the August Perseids from
the media and enthusiasts alike. The full moon washed out the few
meteors we could possibly see from the city, and the same will happen
next year. So as a preemptive strike, I wrote up some tips in an article
called Post-Perseid depression? More showers are on the
way!http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2011/08/31/post-perseid-depression-more-showe…
I'm close to hitting the send button on a moon observing article, too.
It will appear as the top feature on my blog if I get it done this weekend.
Mojo and I both wrote our adventures at Kennedy Space Center for the
launch of Jupiter-bound Juno - apologies if I already shared that one.
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2011/08/11/the-nasa-tweetup-to-launch-juno/http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2011/08/14/mission-juno-launch-august-5-2011/
Until next month, over and out!
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://jane.whiteoaks.com/http://twitter.com/jhjones
What's Up For August? Jupiter and Juno
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews
You may have heard that the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks this
weekend, right along with the full moon. Sigh!
Sadly, the best time to look for meteors might have been last weekend,
when the moon set about midnight. The Perseids have a very broad peak,
so anytime a week before or after you're likely to see some Perseid
meteors. Next weekend the moon will be rising at midnight, again bad timing.
I'm often asked "where is the best place in Pasadena | Monrovia |
Glendale | Los Angeles | my town to watch the meteor shower?" The answer
is usually your own back yard. Any spot that is unobstructed by trees or
buildings, and has no lights that you can see, is a fine spot to watch
meteors. They are equally likely to appear in all directions, so any
direction is fine as well. More will be seen closer to the horizon,
where you're looking through more air, than looking straight up.
The best time to look is after 1:00 a.m. and before dawn twilight, when
your part of the earth is facing into the particle stream.
The problem is that within Los Angeles county, you're not likely to see
many meteors, indeed probably none.
From a truly dark site on a moonless night, the Perseids sometimes have
a rate approaching 100 meteors per hour, most of them faint streaks.
From within L.A. county, with or without moon, the overall sky glow
will wipe out 98 of those 100 meteors. You may catch a lucky bright one
if you can watch for an hour.
From a dark site with dry air, the moon will probably reduce the rate
by half. The glow of the moon will wipe out the fainter meteors, which
are the most numerous.
Last year there was no moon for the Perseids, and Jane traveled to one
of the darkest spots in the western U.S., Amboy Crater, about 200 miles
from home in Monrovia. She had a great night of counting meteors, seeing
a peak of 43 Perseids between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m.
She wrote a great report of her session on her blog here:
http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2010/10/26/the-perseids-from-amboy-crater/
I hope I didn't ruin your meteor watching plans, but this is one I'll
sleep through. :)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Be sure to take a look at the pretty triangle of first Quarter moon, Saturn to the upper right of the moon, and the bright star Spica to the upper left of the moon tonight. Tomorrow, the moon will be to the left of Spica. Even with your unaided eye, you'll see another star right next to Saturn. That's a pretty double star in Virgo named Porrima.
Stay up past midnight and you can watch Jupiter rise. If you want to see the asteroid Vesta, you will have to wait until after midnight too, and you'll need a dark location with good southern horizons. I had a look at Vesta over the weekend. It just took binoculars and knowing where to look. You can see where to look ( in the low southern constellation Capricornus) in my July What's Up video. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#grid/uploads (or if you are familiar with star charts, this one in Astronomy magazine is good: http://is.gd/jWxX1b) It will be a little brighter next month, but you'll still have to wait until nearly midnight or later for a good view of the constellation Capricornus.
This is the weekend for our public star parties and we'll be showcasing the moon and Saturn. Your Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be taking telescopes out to Pasadena's Old Town area Friday night – right on Colorado Blvd between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Avenues. Some others of our group will be out at Duarte's Pamela Park ( 2236 Goodall Avenue, Duarte, CA ) Friday night from 8-10 p.m. Saturday night we'll be showing the same two objects at Monrovia's Library Park. This will be the last month for decent evening Saturn viewing until next year.
Now, if you have a Harry Potter fan in the family, you might enjoy reading (or observing) all the astronomical Potter Objects. Sidewalk astronomers Caroline, Elizabeth, Catherine and I researched, field tested, and wrote a fun observing list a few years ago. I just dusted it off for the new movie coming out soon. I even added constellations for the Hogwarts houses: Gryffindor's Leo, Slytherin's Serpens (or Hydra, take your pick), Ravenclaw's Aquila, and Hufflepuffs … Badger? How about Vuplecula the fox, Lupus the wolf, or Lynx the Lynx as a badger constellation standin? http://is.gd/V51sxo
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
Phone 818-393-6435
What's Up For July? Asteroids
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews
June Gloom and the Catalina Eddy are bringing us persistent fog and
clouds in Monrovia. It's our sidewalk astronomy weekend, but alas there
is no sky to be had. Tonight's forecast includes a chance of drizzle. :(
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
http://bridgemojo.comhttp://otastro.orghttp://mojo.whiteoaks.com
This month we have a beautiful viewing target visible from our doorstep
and we are sharing it at Monrovia's Relay for Life - our local annual
run/walk to fight cancer at Monrovia's Recreation Park, 740 E. Olive
Ave., /Monrovia/, CA, 91016. Saturday, June 4, 2011 11 AM for 24 hours -
we'll be there Saturday evening - but the walk lasts for 24 hours.
Our target? Through the telescope we'll show you Saturn! Two thirds of
the way to overhead at 9 p.m. higher later. Look South from your
doorstep. Folks walking can have a look, and see a wonderful and
inspirational view, while honoring cancer survivors and remembering
those who died from this horrible disease.
I always have cancer on my mind, and want to do something about it.
Monrovia's Relay for Life is my "it". My husband Mojo is alive because
of successful prostate cancer surgery last year. My beloved sister
Wendy is alive thanks to early detection and surgery for breast cancer
last year, too. My friend Susan, a stage 4 breast cancer survivor of
IBC - Inflammatory Breast Cancer - is fighting her disease for the 4th
time - she is not yet 40 and she is fighting a new recurrance while
raising two young children. We need money, advocacy, and research,
friends, love and volunteers to keep my family and my friends and your
family and your friends alive. Together we will kick cancers butt.
Saturday night, June 4th Mojo and I, and possibly some of our other
Sidewalk Astronomers will be helping out at the Monrovia Relay for Life
in Recreation Park, Monrovia. Stop by for a look at Saturn while walking
around Monrovia's park with people supporting finding a cure for cancer!
Oh, my! So many places to donate or help kick cancer! You know what to do.
Donate, walk?stargaze Local
:http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=31412
Relay For Life national: http://www.cancer.org/
What I do personally - donate my body for research.
http://www.armyofwomen.org/
We all have many causes to support. We all have a connection to cancer.
We all have a connection to the universe. Let's connect those dots! Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
My What's Up Podcast-June: Cosmic Collisions and Craters
NASA podcast: http://is.gd/bSXeAl
Youtube site: http://is.gd/kPUtSx
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones /CassiniSaturn /otastro
My Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/
Last weekend we were clouded out on Saturday evening, and had hopes of
trying again this coming Saturday. It's still a slight possibility, but
the current public forecast is calling for a 20% chance of showers
Saturday evening. I'll send a final update on Saturday afternoon.
This weekend is JPL Open House, a busy time for lots of JPL employees
and volunteers. Preparing for open house is going to keep us off the
sidewalk for Friday.
If you've never been, I highly recommend spending a day visiting JPL!
The lab will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both days. Go early if
you can, and wear your most comfortable shoes. The lab has lots of
hills and long walks. Many of the most popular sites grow a bit of a
line by afternoon.
More information about JPL Open House:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/open-house.cfm
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
http://bridgemojo.comhttp://otastro.orghttp://mojo.whiteoaks.com
The clouds never cleared very much here, and the broken ones are filling in.
We're going to cancel tonight's Sidewalk Astronomy, and try again next
weekend. We'll have a bigger moon, and of course good Saturn.
May Gray and June Gloom caused by the "Catalina Eddy" often gives us
these kind of conditions this time of year.
Cheers,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
http://bridgemojo.comhttp://otastro.orghttp://mojo.whiteoaks.com
