OTEvents

otevents@otastro.org

1 participants
498 discussions

by Morris Jones

Hello stargazers, Last weekend we had fabulous dark skies and wonderful weather for the Glacier Point star party in Yosemite National Park with the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers. We were joined by a writer and photographer from the L.A. Times "Outdoor" section, so watch for a feature article appearing there sometime soon. Our website has a little photo album from the weekend here: <http://www.otastro.org/2005-07-sfaa-yosemite/> We plan to bring telescopes out as usual Friday night, and set up as close to the Barnes and Noble bookstore on Colorado Blvd as parking spaces permit. At midnight, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" goes on sale. :-) So there will be lots of folks out late, we suspect, and the first quarter Moon will be high overhead. If you'd like to join us and hand out Moon cards, we'd love some company. It's a bit tight for additional telescopes on the Colorado Blvd. sidewalk -- two is plenty. Also if you're interested in meeting John Dobson, he'll be on the roof of the parking lot at the Barnes & Noble in Burbank Friday evening from 7:30 p.m. 'til midnight. <http://sidewalkastronomers.us/schedule/?id=1692> There are three local stargazing events this Saturday, and we'll be out of town on Saturday night anyway. If any of you want to bring your own telescopes to Library Park, Monrovia on Saturday night, we'll leave it on our schedule. Otherwise we'll cancel our local event and encourage people to attend these events instead: Three local events Saturday July 16 Eaton Canyon Nature Center 2005 Twilight Program 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. ($3.00 donation requested) http://www.ecnca.org/Cassini_Flier.htm Colorado Street Bridge Party http://www.pasadenaheritage.org/bridgeparty.html ($15.00 at the gate ) Telescopes in Education will be there in the park for this event. Read down to the "entertainment" section of the announcement for more information. Griffith Park monthly star party 2- 10 p.m.(free) Griffith Observatory Satellite in NE corner of Griffith Park. http://www.griffithobs.org/Special.html Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 7 months

Pasadena ON for tonight

by Morris Jones

Jane and I are going to give it a try this evening in Old Town Pasadena, though we'll probably have some interruptions from clouds. The NWS forecasters are hedging their bet on tonight's forecast by calling it "partly cloudy." We're catching the southern tail of a cold front that may help clear out the marine layer gloom, but bring some higher clouds of its own. We'll have a large gibbous Moon high in the sky early, and we should be able to show it in the telescope well before the sun sets at 8:06 p.m. A little after sunset we'll be able to show bright Jupiter high in the south. For the next several weeks, the sky will have two very bright star-like objects in the sky: Venus low in the west shortly after sunset, and Jupiter high in the south. Venus is slightly brighter, but it may not seem so against the twilight sunset glow. Right now, Saturday evening looks like a carbon copy of Friday. We'll give the sky another try in Monrovia. Details: Friday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. 'til 10:00 p.m., Old Town Pasadena, Colorado Blvd. near Delacey (somewhere between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave.) on the north side of Colorado. Saturday, June 18, 7:00 p.m. 'til 9:30 p.m., Old Town Monrovia, Library Park at the corner of Myrtle and Lime. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 8 months

Grand Canyon Star Party pictures

by Morris Jones

Jane and I are back from our week-long trek to the annual Grand Canyon Star Party. It was a great week full of canyon and sky! I've put a little photo album together on the OTAstro web site here: <http://www.otastro.org/2005-06-GrandCanyon/> We're planning some Moon and Jupiter viewing this coming weekend, if the June Gloom permits. I'll send a weather update tomorrow evening. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 8 months

JPL Open House and correction ...

by Morris Jones

I meant to say this weekend is our last scheduled excursion *in May* -- we have plans for lots more sidewalk astronomy. :) Also of note -- this weekend is the annual Open House at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada. It's definitely worth the trip, but be aware that the event draws enormous crowds, so go early if you're going! The really best time is early Sunday morning. You should also be aware that JPL is a huge place and built into a hillside. Bring your comfiest walking shoes, lots of water, and be ready to climb a few hills. More information is available at JPL's web site, <http://www.jpl.nasa.gov>. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

Weekend Astronomy

by Morris Jones

It's shaping up to be a good weekend for sidewalk astronomy. Jane and I will be in Old Town Pasadena tonight, and Old Town Monrovia tomorrow night. May is the last month this year for good Saturn observations, and this weekend is the last scheduled sidewalk excursion for the Old Town Astronomers. This is your last chance for a good look at Saturn for a while. Every evening Saturn appears a bit lower in the west as the Earth swings around the Sun in its orbit. In a couple months we'll begin seeing Saturn again just before dawn, and it will spend several months visible in the early morning sky -- not a time when we're on a sidewalk with telescopes. :) Luckily the Earth keeps revolving around the Sun, and we'll catch up to Saturn again early in 2006. Saturn requires about 30 years to orbit the Sun, so it won't have moved a whole lot in the year we take for our orbit. That's not the end of the planets for 2005 though! Jupiter will continue putting on a great show for the next few months in the early evening. Tonight Jupiter's Great Red Spot may be visible in the early part of the evening. Seeing the giant storm is difficult, because the coloring is very subtle. But if the atmospheric turbulence ("seeing") is still, you just might see the eye-shaped disturbance. Meanwhile Venus is slowly climbing higher in the evening sky, and for the rest of the year it will be the brilliant evening star in the west after sunset. Next month the sky will have two very bright "stars," Venus in the west, and Jupiter high in the southeast. The six-day-old crescent Moon will be putting on a great show all weekend. If you look at the Moon tonight, the brightest star nearby is actually the planet Saturn. Notice on Saturday night how far the Moon has moved away from Saturn, and bingo, you just noticed the Moon's orbit around the Earth. :) Later this year, shortly after Halloween, we'll be looking forward to catching up with Mars, as the Earth does every 27-months. We'll be planning some special viewing times for that special occasion. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

Cancel Saturday -- too many clouds

by Morris Jones

The sky is worse than it looked a couple hours ago, and from the satellite and forecast discussion, it doesn't appear to be getting any better. So we're scrubbing sidewalk astronomy for tonight. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

On for tonight in Monrovia

by Morris Jones

We may have a few clouds to dodge, but we're going to give it a try this evening in Monrovia. Jupiter and Saturn from 8:00 p.m. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

Telescopes tonight (Friday 4/29)

by Morris Jones

The forecast isn't perfectly clear, but I have reason to expect that we'll be able to get some good views of Jupiter and Saturn this evening. Jane and I will set up in Old Town Pasadena, on Colorado Blvd. probably between DeLacey and Fair Oaks. (We're opportunistic about parking!) Sunset will at about 7:35 p.m. Big bright Jupiter will show up in the east probably 15 minutes after sunset, with Saturn slightly west of overhead shortly afterward. We'll stay out 'til 10:00 p.m. The Moon isn't in the evening sky tonight. It'll rise about 2:00 a.m. If your sky is clear tomorrow morning, look for it any time before noon in the southwest. It's fun finding the Moon in the daylight! I'll send an update about Saturday evening tomorrow, after another look at the weather forecasts. If there's a good chance for clear skies, we'll set up in Monrovia. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

Weather this weekend

by Morris Jones

One of the interesting things about astronomy as a hobby is that you can't always observe. Sometimes you're just forced to take a night off. As recently as this morning, I thought we might have clear enough sky to show Jupiter, Saturn, and the almost-full Moon this evening in Pasadena. Since then the forecast has deteriorated, and it's pretty cold and breezy out. There might be a window of viewing between the clouds, but it's generally not hospitable out. The Saturday evening forecast is fully clouded out. So instead of doing our favorite performace art in Old Town, we'll be holed up with a movie and a martini at home. :) Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 9 months

Pictures from a great observing night, and we made the Star News

by Morris Jones

Last night was a very special evening on our favorite Monrovia street corner, Myrtle and Lime. With a forecast for nearly perfect sky conditions, Jane and I brought out our very best telescopes. The sky delivered, and over 250 folks had some stunning views of the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter. The photo album is available on the OTAstro web site here: <http://www.otastro.org/2005-04-monrovia/> Also check the front page of today's Pasadena Star News, below the fold. There's an article about the Saturn Observation Campaign, and some pictures from our sidewalk evening of Friday, April 15, on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 10 months

Jump to page:

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

OTEvents