Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers: Web Updates & desert viewing July 3rd

I've just updated the otastro.org website with July and August dates for our sidewalk astronomy events. On July16, a few of us will be at Pamela Park in Duarte for a new venue tryout from 8-10 p.m. July 17th is our Monrovia sidewalk date, same hours again - from 8-10 p.m., and just like last month, it will coincide with Monrovia's free movie in Library Park. Both movies and stargazing start "8-ish", but we'll target the moon before it gets dark at 8 p.m. Wow, see stars AND Star Wars! What could be more perfect? Tomorrow night, that's Saturday, July 3rd, a few of us are heading out to the hot desert for a night of stargazing. The moon will rise at about 1:30 p.m. but it will be the third quarter moon, a beautiful lunar phase too few stay up late enough to see. It will be hot. At Desert Center, CA (the closest town) temperatures are predicted to range from a high of 102 to a low of 75. We'd welcome people to join us on our little piece of astro-heaven - 2 miles of washboard dirt road off the I-10 freeway. Wear sturdy rattlesnake and cactus needle-proof hiking boots, and dress for warm weather, but bring a jacket. There are no facilities on this unimproved stretch of BLM land I do bring a PET (portable environmental toilet). And bring plenty of water. We'll leave at 3 p.m. from Monrovia so email before then if you need details or a map.We will arrive by 7 p.m. There is room for half a dozen cars in very soft sandy ground (trucks and RV's have sunk into the sand). But seriously, most people will be staying home readying for Fourth of July festivities, so I have prepared a home-observing project for you all, and it doesn't even require a telescope. Why not try to see Galileo's famous third quarter lunar view Saturday or Sunday morning after midnight and before dawn? Galileo made a series of lunar sketches in 1609, and on December 18, 1609 (4:00UT), he sketched this view of the lunar surface. http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/08/31/chasing-galileo-22-day-old-moon-compar… This is the same view you will have over the next two mornings. :-) So step outside this weekend and aim your binoculars at the moon, and get a sense of Galileo saw 400 years ago. If you are interested in observing all of Galileo's views, here is a table of modern dates to complete the project. I did it and it was a great learning and observing project. http://www.pacifier.com/~tpope/Reproducing_Observations.htm You can see the third quarter moon in the daytime, too, tho' the contrast isn't as great in the bright sun. The moon rises at about midnight tonight and sets at about noon, then a smaller crescent rises later each morning until new moon phase in the 10th. Have a safe and sparkly weekend, everyone! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA What's Up July 2010? Dark Nebulae! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://is.gd/c3r1i Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn http://twitter.com/otastro Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/