Sidewalk Astronomy tonight - tho' it may be cloudy

If you look at the sky from Monrovia right now, you'll see thick heavy clouds snuggling up to the the San Gabriel Mountains, with a few shafts of sunlight piercing through. But the conditions should turn from poor to below average by 8 p.m. - that means partly cloudy with wobbly views through the telescope. That being said, if you are nearby and want to see the moon, and possibly a poor view of Saturn, come on down to Library Park - we should be there from 8- nearly 10 p.m., unless it continues to be completely cloudy. Even a poor view of Saturn (from the eyes of this jaded long-time telescope wrangler) is still better than no view of the ringed beauty. We'll be showing Saturn for many months now, as it gets higher in the sky, so there will be more chances to see Saturn. A couple dark sky public events coming up will feature Saturn in a dark sky location. Join us (you'll have to RSVP for a camp site) at Mojave National Preserve on the evening of April 23. I know the 24th is Easter, but you can go on a desert tortoise photo hike, and maybe see some jackrabbits and spring blossoms on Sunday instead. :-) Maps, directions, and information about Mojave National Preserve will be found soon (not yet unfortunately) at the Conservancy's website http://www.preservethemojave.org/events.html. You need to contact David Lamfrom to RSVP for a campsite or ask questions at dlamfrom(a)npca.org <mailto:dlamfrom@npca.org> . The event is free, but it is being sponsored by the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy, and they will welcome your membership! Bring a potluck item, there will be a group potluck dinner before stargazing on Saturday night. If you plan to bring a telescope, you can let me know, but be sure to RSVP for a campsite with David too. Then in August, Mojo and I and other members of the San Jose Astronomical Society will be bringing telescopes to share with the public at Glacier Point, Yosemite. Only members of this club can bring telescopes, but all visitors to the National Park can partake of the views. Our weekend is August 26-27, 2011, but there is a different Northern California Astronomy club presenting weekend star parties at Glacier Point every weekend from July 4th to labor day, excepting full moon weekends, and subject to snow clearing the roads. So if your visiting the park this summer, check it out! Finally, check out my April podcast - it features Saturn this month :-) There are stunning views of Saturn in the video! YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/1/pBUkTMk-Icw More formats and educational links: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=804 -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA My What's Up Podcast for April: Saturn NASA podcast: http://1.usa.gov/ggypW3 Youtube site: http://bit.ly/hXVHK7 Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones /CassiniSaturn /otastro My Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/