Hello to all our OTAstro list!
My August What's Up is Up on the JPL and NASA websites. It's about
the Perseid Meteor Shower mostly, and is aimed at the general public
- with some good easy to understand graphics aimed at the general
public.
Here is the place where they are archived permanently (this is the
link to bookmark), on the JPL Education page
http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html This link
includes video formats that are useful for astronomy clubs,
classrooms, museums and planetariums, plus this month I added links
to some lunar and meteor educational material - these are aimed at
grades 4-12.
The best time to view the Perseids will be Monday morning before
dawn, but that's not really convenient for most people. Saturday
night/Sunday Morning will yield many meteors especially after 2 a.m.
, with horizon skimming meteors at midnight, before Perseus rises
very high above the horizon. If you go someplace dark, you'll see
more than you will in the LA Basin, and if you can't get away, just
put some space between you and the light sources - a side of a house
or trees can help some. You will see them everywhere, but if you
mentally trace the shooting stars to their "source" you'll be looking
in the direction of Perseus, in the NE Sky.
Local dark sky spots will be up I-5 at the Templin Highway turnoff,
Mt. Pinos - on Frazier Peak, and up towards Mt. Wilson - but there is
still a lot of LA glow up here. The Desert East of us affords darker
and drier skies.
The Andromeda Society of Yucca Valley hosts a monthly star party at
Joshua Tree National Park's Hidden Valley picnic area Saturday Aug 11
- http://www.andromedasociety.org/
The Pomona Valley Amateur Astronomers will be at JTNP's cottonwood
Springs campground Aug 11. Later on in August, Mojo speaks to the
club's general meeting at Harvey Mudd College on the 31st.
http://www.pvaa.us/calendarpage.asp
The Peninsula Astronomy club of Northern California will be up at
Glacier Point at Yosemite this weekend - if you could possibly get
up there, it's magical for meteors. Mojo and I will be there the
following weekend with one of our Northern California Astronomy clubs
- the San Jose Astronomical Association. Most weekends, some club is
hosting free star parties for the public at Glacier Point.
http://www.aanc-astronomy.org/yosemite.html
If you observe the Perseids and would like to contribute your
observations, here's an ongoing meteor observing program you might be
interested in: http://aurigids.seti.org/ . I'll be participating in
this airborne mission observing the Perseids and Aurigids with the
same group Mojo and I have worked with for almost 10 years counting
the exciting meteor showers.
Oh, and since we'll be at Yosemite on our usual sidewalk astronomy
weekend of the 17th 18th August, check the OTAstro website
http://www.otastro.org/ for dates and details. I think our usual
group will be in Monrovia without us on Saturday the 18th, but
probably not in Pasadena on the 17th.
Jane and Mojo
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
Last December Dr. Chris Lintott, co-host of Sir Patrick Moore's"The
Sky at Night" TV show joined the sidewalk astronomers in Monrovia.
With Chris, were series producer Jane Fletcher, and the camera and
sound crews. I brought out my homemade 10-inch f/7.3 Dobsonian
telescope, Stardust, and a couple of other homemade scopes for the
evening. Our segment (with John Dobson), is on this month's show,
which you can see here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/spaceguide/skyatnight/proginfo.shtml
Click on July's episode - a Sting in the Tail - the show starts out
with information about the constellation Scorpius.
Here is our photo album of the evening:
http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2006-12-02-dobson/
In other TV news, on the US History channel is a show called "The
Universe"
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=54036.
Each show (there is one about Cassini) runs several times so check
your local listings. The DVD can be ordered from this website too.
I've watched a couple of them, both Jupiter and the moon feature some
Cassini colleagues, and they're great!
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
The weather looks lovely for sidewalk astronomy tonight and tomorrow.
The weekend features a lovely first-quarter moon and Jupiter.
Tonight we'll be looking for space near the Barnes & Noble on Colorado
Blvd., between Delacey and Pasadena Ave. It's Harry Potter release
night, we like to try to expand on some of the astronomical themes from
the books for all the young wizards and muggles.
Tomorrow night we'll be at our usual corner in Monrovia, at Library
Park, Myrtle & Lime.
Drop by and say hello!
Jane's great monthly video "What's Up" is still available from the JPL
web site. We're both delighted that it's been featured for the past
week on the main NASA home page as well, at <http://www.nasa.gov/>.
If you use iTunes, you can subscribe to the free NASA podcasts from JPL,
and have her two-minute monthly video downloaded automatically. It's
fun watching it on my iPod. :)
This link goes directly to this month's video:
<http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/whatsup/whatsup20070713/>
And the current one is always available here:
<http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/>
Cheers,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org
"What's Up - July" , the monthly amateur astronomy themed podcast is
up on the public JPL website http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/. I'm the host
of the video. It's geared to members of the public. I put in some
pictures from our June trip to Kaibab, GCSP and Bryce - hope you all
like it! Jane :-)
What's Up for July is all about the moon, and I think it can be used?
Be sure to step outside on the 16th and have a look at Saturn, Venus
and the crescent moon! See you on the sidewalk the weekend of the
20th-21st.
Here's What's Up for July will be archived here, but it's in the
process of getting on the page now and we're on our way to Yosemite
in 15 minutes.
http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
The video is only 2 minutes long and is packed with great amateur
images of planets and more. You'll find some simple (aimed at the
general public) downloadable sky charts, links to NASA amateur
astronomy networks, and this is where the What's Ups are archived.
There are several different download options for museum, planetarium,
astronomy club, classroom and National Parks :-) use. And you can
download these right onto your video iPOD too. If you use them in
any way, let me know!
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
Here's a good article about the moon illusion from NASA's Science@NASA series
"On Saturday night, June 30th, step outside at sunset and look
around. You'll see a giant moon rising in the east. It looks like
Earth's moon with the usual craters and seas, but something's wrong.
This full moon is strangely inflated. It's huge!
You've just experienced the Moon Illusion"...Read the whole article here
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/27jun_moonillusion.htm
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
Mojo and I have often set up our sidewalk telescopes at local
bookstores when a popular book such as one of the Harry Potter
series is released. It's especially nice when there is a midnight
(or evening) book release which coincides with a first quarter moon.
Wizards and muggles alike set aside their differences and stand
peacefully in line for a look at the moon.
July's first quarter moon Friday night happens to coincide with the
release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Donna Smith of the
LA Sidewalk Astronomers is wondering if one or two telescope
operators could help her out at the Barnes and Noble in Burbank on
Friday the 20th. The event starts at 6 p.m. and the book goes on
sale at midnight. They set up the telescopes up on the roof.
If you have telescope and will travel :-) let Donna know. She's
interested in having kids there - kids with telescopes, that is.
Contact Donna directly. Her email is dsmith1055(a)earthlink.net, if you
are interested in bringing a telescope to this event.
If Burbank is not convenient for you, why not ask your own favorite
bookstore if they'd like to have your telescope out on that night.
The moon and Jupiter will make great targets! Mojo and I will try to
set up our telescopes near the Colorado Blvd Barnes and Noble,
parking permitting. Our two telescopes are plenty for that busy
sidewalk.
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
Normally we don't send this many emails to our list, but it's a really
great weekend for astronomy.
First of all, we have great weather, warm with clear skies, and fairly
good seeing.
Second, we have a great array of planets. Venus and Saturn are setting
quickly in the west, and this will be our last month for Saturn.
Jupiter is rising low in the south east, and the moon this weekend is
high with lots of detail. Something for every telescope we should have
out on Saturday night!
Third, we have a great pass of the International Space Station. It will
enter the sky from the northwest, cross between the Big Dipper and the
north star, then pass all the way across the sky to the east, just above
the rising summer triangle. It'll be first visible at 8:50, reach its
highest altitude of 58 degrees at 8:53, then disappear at 8:55.
So join us in Old Town Monrovia Saturday night. Sunset is late, but we
can see the moon before the sun sets. We should be at Myrtle & Lime
from about 7:30 'til 10 p.m.
And just to follow up on the landing of the space shuttle, I did indeed
step out my front door in Monrovia to hear a nice "boom boom" pair of
sonic booms from the shuttle on approach. Five minutes later it was on
the ground. That was a first for me!
Finally, pictures from the Grand Canyon and Bryce are here:
<http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2007-06-grand-canyon/>
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org
A bunch of us walked outside the Space Flight Operations Facility
here at JPL http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/iged/sfof.html a few
minutes ago to watch and listen for the STS117 as it passed the LA
area on it's way to landing at Edwards Air Force base.
A couple people from the Cassini Team were there, since we work in
this historic building, and several folks had their laptops in their
arms with the NASA commentary and imagery running. We could see the
shuttle on the screen, but could not see ourselves. But we did hear
the subtle and very low double sonic booms, and minutes later, the
shuttle had successfully landed.
In case you were wondering.....why does the space shuttle have a
double sonic boom?
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec97/874604921.Eg.r.html
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
I have no idea if we'll be able to see or hear anything, but space
shuttle Atlantis will be landing at Edwards AFB at 12:49 today. I
expect it to pass north of the city, on the other side of the San
Gabriel mountains.
There could be a couple of good sonic booms from the shuttle!
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org
Here's a friendly reminder that this is the weekend for our moon and
planet sidewalk astronomy!
But first, there was a good (but low to the horizon) ISS/Shuttle
pass last night. at about 9:30 p.m.
The brighter Space Station led the way, followed several seconds
(and about 15 degrees away) by the fainter shuttle.
Anyway, look up the shuttle and ISS passes for tonight and the future
on this website http://www.heavens-above.com/ . Sorry I forgot to
mention it, but I figure those who enjoy these satellite passes are
already checking this website, especially when there is both a ISS
and a shuttle to see.
Tonight there is a good ISS pass at 9:44 p.m. (that's for Monrovia
and environs) - the space station will reach a maximum elevation of
69 degrees at 9:47 p.m. It's good to check the website shortly before
the viewing to see if anything changed. maybe the shuttle info will
have been updated (it still shows planned reentry of this morning,
which has changed).
Back to Earth - Friday night we'll be in Pasadena someplace on
Colorado Blvd between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Avenues from 7:30 to 10
p.m. Saturday, we'll be at Myrtle and Lime Streets in Monrovia about
the same times. We expect large crowds because of the warm weather.
Mojo and I attended both the Grand Canyon Star Party and the Bryce
Canyon Astronomy Festival last week, and conducted our own small star
party in the Kaibab National Forest in-between the two bigger events.
Here's our pictures for those who like vacation pictures.
http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2007-06-grand-canyon/
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program
JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205
Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435
jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov
Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html
