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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, 11 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, 11 months

Views last night great, tonight better!

by Jane Houston Jones

Mojo and I had a wonderful night of Saturn, Jupiter and lunar views last night on Colorado Blvd. And the views tonight in Monrovia from 7 - 10 will be just as good, possibly even better! First we aimed both telescopes at the moon, while waiting for the sun to set at 7:30 p.m. and for darkness to envelop the sky. The seven day waxing moon rose at mid-day and set at midnight. It was a night to see the great mare, or seas, which are smooth lava filled basins on the lunar surface. http://www.shallowsky.com/moon/hitchhiker.html I often get asked by people who look through a telescope at the moon "Where is the Apollo 11 landing site" in the Sea of Tranquility, or Mare Tranquillitatis, and this is one of the areas I pointed out last night. Here is where the landing sites are, for you armchair observers. :-) http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=804 Apollo 11 is marked with a green arrow with "11" on it. Tonight is the eighth day of the lunar month, and one of my favorite lunar features is best seen tonight and tomorrow night. It's called the straight wall or straight fault. It looks like a hairline crack on the moon surface. One side of the fault is lower than the other, and the wall casts a shadow that stretches the entire 120 km length of this amazing feature. Saturn, lord of the rings will be beautiful tonight, and we should see several of its moons through the telescope. When the air is steady, the features become easier to see. On this map you can see the Cassini division, a dark gap between the outer A ring and the middle B ring in Saturns icy ring system. It takes a moment to see Saturn and take in the view and the details. Sometimes, with fewer people waiting in line for views, our guests feel comfortable staring at Saturn for a minute or two and this is how you can see more ring detail and some of the dark belts and bright zones on the gas giant planet itself. http://stars5.netfirms.com/satnori.jpg Titan, the largest moon of Saturn will be easily visible. Today JPL's Cassini Spacecraft made its closes flyby of Titan. Next week some amazing pictures will be available on the Cassini Mission (which is where I work) website http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm If Saturn is the jewel of the Solar System, mighty Jupiter is king. Jupiter rises in the eastern sky at sunset, so we wait until later in the night to observe it, after we've looked at the moon and Saturn. But once it rises above trees and city buildings, those of you who take a look will be in for a real treat tonight. Jupiter's great red spot, a great anti-cyclonic storm similar to a hurricane on earth rotates onto the visible planet at about 9 p.m.tonight. So from 9 to 10 p.m. viewers will be able to see a disturbance in the darker southern belt of the planet. We'll be sure to point it out. It's not red or bright but at 3 times the size of earth, it's a storm worth watching. All four of the Gallilean satellites, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto will be visible tonight. I like to ponder about Galileo seeing these four moons for the first time over 400 years ago. Here's a sketch showing Jupiter features http://www.shallowsky.com/jupfeatures.html Lastly it was great to see some of you from our list last night, and hope to see more tonight! We'll be repeating our outings in Pasadena and Monrovia for the next two weeks. Weather permitting of course. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 11 months

Sidewalk Astronomy, Old Town Pasadena, Tonight

by Morris Jones

Despite the grey sky we seem to have right now, the forecast is optimistic for clearing tonight. The first quarter Moon will be high and bright, and very close to Saturn in the sky. Jane and I will be setting up about 7:00 tonight somewhere on the north side of Colorado Blvd. between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave. There's also a chance you'll see us in a weekend edition of the Pasadena Star News. More about that if it happens. We're expecting a photographer this evening. :) More news later ... Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

20 years, 11 months

Two nights for the sidewalk

by Morris Jones

First, Jane and I are going to set up in Monrovia tonight (Saturday) to give out looks at Saturn and Jupiter. Despite having a thin overcast most of the day, we're expecting it to clear soon. Then tomorrow (Sunday) evening, we're going to join Dan Goods, JPL's Artist in Residence, who will have a display at One Colorado Blvd. in Old Town Pasadena. This is a nice alleyway between Fair Oaks and De Lacey. We're going to set up telescopes on Colorado somewhere near the exhibit. Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years

Sidewalk astronomy tonight

by Morris Jones

Yes, I know it's Thursday, but by happy circumstance, Jane and I are planning to be in Old Town Pasadena tonight with telescopes. We should have good views of Saturn to offer in the early evening, and good views of Jupiter as well after about 8:00 p.m. Look for us on Colorado Blvd. in the vicinity of Delacey Street between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. tonight. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years

Dreary weekend, astronomy wise

by Morris Jones

We were really hoping to get in some sidewalk time this weekend, with an excellent first-quarter Moon nearly overhead in the sky, and Saturn keeping up its grand appearance. At least we were able to get in an excellent school visit -- science night at La Fetra Elementary in Glendora last Tuesday evening. We had a perfect night with clear skies and good seeing. Over 300 kids, parents, and teachers stopped by for looks at Saturn. So we're rained out this weekend. Next week (Easter weekend) we'll be visiting Anza-Borrego state park, staying at the Borrego Springs resort, and hopefully setting up telescopes to view and show the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and maybe a few interesting deep sky objects. During the day we'll be enjoying the desert wildflowers. New information is available on the web site <http://www.otastro.org> about April sidewalk astronomy, and summertime dark sky astronomy in the national parks. Jane and I plan to visit Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite on several occasions this summer with telescopes and step ladders in tow. If you're planning to get out from under the Los Angeles light dome this summer, drop me a note and I might be have some suggestions for viewing the universe beyond this little solar system. I'll paraphrase a quote by John Dobson: A park ranger wondering about the use of telescopes in his park asked, "Do you believe the sky is part of the park?" John replied, "Oh certainly not! The park is part of the sky!" Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years

Not encouraging for Saturday 2/26

by Morris Jones

The conditions don't look very promising for sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia this evening, but Jane and I plan to visit our favorite corner (Myrtle & Lime) and take a look. Last night was delightful on Colorado Blvd., with about 325 visitors before the fog formed about 9:30. The web site has a new article by Jane about our observing session in Joshua Tree earlier this month. We plan to return to their dark skies on March 5. <http://www.otastro.org/joshuatree/> Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years, 1 month

Sidewalk Astronomy Tonight

by Morris Jones

It was a real treat to see stars again last night, if only for a little while. Jane and I set up a pair of telescopes at JPL outside Von Karmann Auditorium for their public lecture series. About a hundred people stopped by for a look at Saturn after the lecture, and before the fog made it totally invisible. Tonight there's also a chance for fog on Colorado Blvd., but there's also a good chance for some looks at Saturn. Jane and I will be on the north side of Colorado Blvd. tonight from about 6 'til 10. Sunset tonight is at 5:45. The waning gibbous Moon rises at 7:25, and should clear the buildings for us to get a good look after about 8:30. Tomorrow evening in Monrovia at Myrtle and Lime. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years, 1 month

No sidewalk astronomy this weekend, maybe next

by Morris Jones

With the nice Moon phase, we were hoping to be out in Pasadena and Monrovia this weekend, but (a) we can't see through the clouds, and (b) rain isn't good for our telescopes. :) We're going to try again next weekend. The Moon will be large and three or four days before full. This past week we were the guests of Santa Fe Middle School for their Founder's Day celebration. The forecast wasn't good for Tuesday evening, but just as the event was wrapping up and people would be coming out to the telescopes, we caught a break of clear sky between the storms. About 200 kids and parents got great looks at Saturn, the first quarter Moon, and even the Pleiades star cluster. I've added a fascinating article by Jane on observing Saturn's moon Iapetus to the web site. Keep dry this weekend! Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

21 years, 1 month

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