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by Jane Houston Jones

Well, no chance of sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia tonight. Bu behind those clouds are some gorgeous views of the planets Saturn, Mrs and Jupiter. Learn what's up this month in my monthly podcast https://youtu.be/M7RtIa9zBYA, transcript here (and feel free to share!) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1427 Tonight's weather isn't this "reverse clearing" but still, this is a very interesting chance in our May Grey/June Gloom weather - clearing at the coast, high fog lingering up against the mountains. http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/05/18/60754/la-s-may-grey-unusual-this-year-t… And just as a reminder, our free dark sky star party in the Mojave National Preserve is June 25th - just two weeks away. Weather permitting, the Milky Way will be glorious! A few links and info I have sent our to several of you who plan to attend: Our star party is held at the Black Canyon Group Campground (close to the Hole-In-The-Wall visitor center and campground) in the middle of Mojave National Preserve. about 170 miles from Monrovia. A*RSVP* is required, but there is no charge for the event -- the RSVP is for # of tents/cars. There is a facebook group and you can RSVP there https://www.facebook.com/events/695749230564590/, or you can call or email our wonderful coordinator from the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy David Lanfrom dlanfrom(a)ncpa.org or 760-219-4916 - he is the best person to answer more questions. The directions are here -- the last quarter mile is not paved: https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/directions.htm Directions to Hole-in-the-Wall From I-40:/ Exit Essex Road and drive north 10 miles to the junction with Black Canyon Road. Hole-in-the-Wall is 10 miles north on Black Canyon Road. And here is a zoomed in version of the area centered on the Black Canyon Campground -- https://www.google.com/maps/@35.04204,-115.3879753,2413m/data=!3m1!1e3 It is a very large group campsite, with plenty of parking. Arrive before sunset (which is at 8:08 p.m.), and there will be a potluck beginning at about 6 p.m., with rangers from the National Park Service, members of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy and the sidewalk astronomers and all our guests all sharing the potluck, and a few saying a few words to the group. There is a large firepit, covered pavilion with 8 picnic tables, trash/recycling critter-proof cans, a pump with water for washing dishes, and pit toilets, which you can see if you zoom in close on the google map. You can also see the circular parking area and the large sandy/brushy area for tents. So bring a tent, sleeping bag (or car camp), pot luck or bring something to eat for dinner, there is room for camp stoves on the picnic tables if you want to cook. The Conservancy provides lots of drinks, chips, some food, there is always vegetarian food, but you can bring your own. A local family often makes tamales (both meat and vegetarian), and/or soup or stew, again veg/meat. All the guests come up and spend time at the telescope, white flashlights are not appreciated at the telescopes, we suggest not using the flashlight at all at telescopes. As your eyes adapt you can see very nicely without lights. But our star party is very informal, and we just ask people to cover flashlights with your hand, and turn them off at the telescopes, no cell phones or iPads or other light emitting devices up at the telescopes preferred. Most people spend time at the tables eating or snacking, or talking and storytelling at the big fire pit, Dogs are permitted and there are usually several -- some on leashes and some not, all very nice dogs. Kids are welcome. -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up June 2016: Saturn opposition, planets and a comet! https://youtu.be/M7RtIa9zBYA

9 years, 7 months

ISS Pass Tonight (Thur SoCal)

by Jane Houston Jones

We’re into a season of nice evening ISS passes for Southern California. Here’s the best evening Heavens-Above.com passes through Sunday. This is a nice high pass by Jupiter travelling SW to NE. Best from 9:34 p.m. until 9:41 p.m. tonight! You can also get emails with details for your latitude/longitude at https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ Thursday – Jupiter gets a flyby Date: 26 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 21:32:26 0° 228° (SW) 2,302 0.6 -17.2° Reaches altitude 10° 21:34:30 10° 230° (SW) 1,446 -0.4 -17.5° Maximum altitude 21:37:45 78° 316° (NW) 413 -3.3 -18.0° Drops below altitude 10° 21:41:00 10° 44° (NE) 1,453 -0.5 -18.5° Sets 21:43:05 0° 46° (NE) 2,315 0.5 -18.8° FRIDAY Date: 27 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 20:39:48 0° 213° (SSW) 2,300 0.5 -8.5° Reaches altitude 10° 20:41:55 10° 206° (SSW) 1,445 -0.6 -8.8° Maximum altitude 20:45:01 44° 133° (SE) 568 -3.0 -9.4° Drops below altitude 10° 20:48:08 10° 60° (ENE) 1,452 -0.8 -9.9° Sets 20:50:16 0° 53° (NE) 2,314 0.3 -10.3° Sunday Date: 29 May 2016 Orbit: 402 x 404 km, 51.6° (Epoch: 26 May) Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Brightness Sun altitude Rises 20:30:29 0° 233° (SW) 2,303 0.8 -6.6° Reaches altitude 10° 20:32:34 10° 237° (WSW) 1,447 -0.2 -7.0° Maximum altitude 20:35:47 61° 318° (NW) 459 -2.7 -7.5° Drops below altitude 10° 20:39:00 10° 40° (NE) 1,454 -0.6 -8.1° Sets 20:41:06 0° 44° (NE) 2,315 0.4 -8.4° Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist What's Up May 2016: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

9 years, 8 months

Bad news (clouds tonight) good news (Mojave Star Party June 25th)

by Jane Houston Jones

We Sidewalk Astronomers have been watching the satellite images to assess tonight's weather all week. Nearly all the astronomers are busy tonight -- being a full moon weekend, that's when we spend the weekend with family and stuff like that. So we are reluctantly cancelling, tho' we never really announced we'd try for tonight, and it would have only been one or two of us anyway. But if you are at home and it is clear or only partly cloudy, step outside as close to midnight or as late as you can stay awake tonight -- we wouldn't be out doing sidewalk astronomy this late anyway. The full moon (moon at opposition) rises at about 8 p.m. and Mars is at it's 26 month opposition a few hours later. Mars won't get very high -- only about 35 degrees above the horizon about midnight. The moon will be just to the left of Mars, and Saturn will appear below the duo. Check out the Sidewalk Astronomers facebook page to see the star charts. You don't have to be on facebook to see the public star charts. https://www.facebook.com/Old-Town-Sidewalk-Astronomers-1619991271586682/?fr… I also wrote this in addition to my podcast linked below: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ Good news, Mojave National Preserve Spring Star Party rescheduled for June 25th. I guess that is officially summer, but just barely. Same routine, RSVP and so forth. The fall date has also been set, for those of you who like to plan in advance. It will be November 5th. The campground is also reserved the night before but the astronomers usually only set up telescopes on the Saturday night.. -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up May 2016 podcast: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

9 years, 8 months

Sidewalk Astronomy cancelled tonight

by Jane Houston Jones

The streets around Library Park are closed to cars and parking for this weekend's Monrovia Days celebration, and there will be activities and booths in the park and on the adjacent streets around our Myrtle and Lime Street sidewalk astronomy corner. We'll reschedule Sidewalk Astronomy for next Saturday night, May 21 and share the light from the full moon, and Jupiter with you next week instead. To find out more about tonight's moon, here's a nice writeup about understanding the first quarter moon. Sidewalk astronomers typically pick the Saturday nearest the first quarter moon for their events. http://earthsky.org/moon-phases/first-quarter See you next weekend, and we are trying to reschedule the Mojave National Preserve star party, and we'll let you know when the date is finalized. -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones What's Up May 2016: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

9 years, 8 months

Mojave star party cancelled due to rain, What's Up otherwise

by Jane Houston Jones

Sadly, our Mojave National Star Party this weekend has to be cancelled. The weather prospects are this: our site appears to be right on the the southern edge of most of well known cloud and rain activity -- 20% chance of thunderstorms Saturday night. This chance of desert shower cells may creep up on us in the Mojave desert and we would not have the time to get all of our telescopes out of the rain. And tents would get it too. For those of us leaving our telescopes out and using our vehicle as a camper....well, not good (for the telescopes). 60% here in Monrovia right now and it is raining pretty hard. (10:30 p.m.) We have been studying the weather for 2 days and have sadly reached this decision with concurrence from the National Park. Saturday night WX: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. West southwest wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Friday night, when we were planning on arriving: 50% read it for yourselves, tho we look at many weather data. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=35.2378&lon=-115.4992#.Vywprj_… We'll work on a rescheduled date...maybe sooner than the fall. And we welcome people to join our Amboy Crater nights - cars OK, no camping spots on the lava, bhut overnight in cars/vans in parking lot OK. In other news, Monday is a transit of Mercury -- Mercury is passing across the sun as seen from Earth. Happens 12 times each century. The time is from sunrise, when the sun rises Mercury is already crossing the face of the sun. For us west-coasters, it will be visible from sunrise to 11:30 a.m. My video and blog here tell the story. Steve Edberg, another JPL colleague and well known amateur astronomer, scientist and teacher and I put together this blog <https://webmail.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?REF=CrAHlsTqrONd0nk4dtbkIiq_lqp…>https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/2016/05/04/ten-facts-about-mercury-and-th… And my monthly podcast covers the transit (and Mars) this month: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ-qbykREXE I'll reach out personally to the people I know were planning on attending, and also to suggest some of our less-public dark sky events. You are all welcome to attend our not public events, mostly just a few telescopes, several doing astrophotography (aka no eyepiece view and no flashlights) but there are usually at least one or two telescopes available for viewing. Our site for these is Amboy crater, no campsites, a car park, toilets, and agreat 1 mile one way am hike to the crater -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up May 2016 podcast: Mercury transit, Mars closest approach https://youtu.be/TQ-qbykREXE

9 years, 9 months

ISS pass tonight - moon and Jupiter too!

by Jane Houston Jones

In addition to our telescopes at Myrtle&Lime Streets in Monrovia tonight, those local to LA will get to see the International Space Station pass over. Time: Sat Apr 16 8:43 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 46°, Appears: 16° above NNW, Disappears: 39° above ENE If you are not local to LA use Spot the Station to find out when and where to look: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ Looking forward to seeing many of you (but not all 619 of you on this list) tonight!! Jane and the Sidewalk Astronomers -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones What's Up April 2016: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter + Lyrids https://youtu.be/af0zVX8nIBc

9 years, 9 months

Saturday Sidewalk Astronomy, two National Park dark sky events coming up

by Jane Houston Jones

Hello stargazers! Saturday April 16th your local Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be out in Monrovia, at the corner of Myrtle and Lime from 7p.m. to 9:30 p.m., or so. We'll be sharing views of the moon and Jupiter. The wind will mean the views will not be stellar (aka wobbly views), but the people and questions will be awesome, and the view OK. My April What's Up video is here - and although Mars is a treat, it's an after-midnight treat for early risers. https://youtu.be/MmTINt3vCSwna So join us tomorrow night! If you can't, our 15th Mojave National Preserve star party is May 7. The info is here, http://mojavepreserve.org/index.php/site/article/star_party_in_the_mojave_n… contact me to enquire about rideshareing. A few people are actively looking to share the cost and driving to Mojave National Preserve. Free campsite and entrance, but RSVP, as there are only so many campsites. Then in August - August 12/13 (Perseid Meteor shower weekend) Mojo and I and maybe a few other Old Town Astronomers will be sharing telescope views for the public at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Getting there is on your own, but Bridalveil Campground is the closest Yosemite campground to Glacier Point. The astronomers from the San Jose Astro Club are on park service volunteer duty (we are members of that club), but every non-full-moon weekend from July 4 - Labor Day features a northern California Astronomy club free star party at Glacier Point. So make that part of your National Park Tour this summer! Two things the Sidewalk Astronomers are world famous for is astronomy on the sidewalk -- a la Myrtle and Lime Streets, and National Park Star Parties. We make it a point to do both every year. Our star parties are always free. No one should have to pay to see their universe. Join us in the park - Library Park and our favorite National Parks (Mojave National Preserve and Yosemite National Park), or at a local school or park. -- Jane Houston Jones What's Up March 2016: Jupiter, its moons, their shadows https://youtu.be/MmTINt3vCSw

9 years, 9 months

No Foolin' - ISS pass tonight 8:08 p.m. & Mojave and podcast news

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi astrofans Step outside tonight at 8:08 for a nice pass of the ISS 49° above the horizon at its highest! Get your own alerts here https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ Thu Mar 31 8:08 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 49°, Appears: 10° above WSW, Disappears: 11° above NE My April Podcast appears today so it doesn't get mixed up in any April Fool spoofs. https://youtu.be/af0zVX8nIBc And our semi-annual Mojave National Preserve star party is May 7th. It is free, and the Black Canyon Group Campground is reserved for us for the 15th time courtesy of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy and the National Preserve and the National Preserve. http://mojavepreserve.org/index.php/site/article/star_party_in_the_mojave_n… We'll turn our gaze (and our telescopes) away from the Milky Way and peer out at galaxies in May. We won't ignore the planets, either - it will be just a few weeks from Mars Opposition, and Mars has not appeared as large as it will be in May since 2005! Jupiter will also be putting on a great view, and we always keep a list of visible comets to show under the dark Mojave skies. It's osur favorite event, made even better by sharing with our friends like you. There are always a few people looking to share rides to the desert. I have one woman who would like to share the expense (and the driving) with another woman. Let me know if you are interested and I'll put you in contact with her. Any others - you can always post your intent on our OTAstro Facebook account. https://www.facebook.com/Old-Town-Sidewalk-Astronomers-1619991271586682/ or send me a private note. That's all for this month, literally! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones What's Up April: Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Lyrids! https://youtu.be/af0zVX8nIBc

9 years, 10 months

Sidewalk Astronomy in Monrovia

by Morris Jones

Tonight the public forecast calls for "partly cloudy," and the Clear Sky Chart suggests not entirely transparent skies, but steady seeing. I'm going to anticipate a good viewing evening from the corner of Myrtle & Lime and try setting up a telescope. Sunset is at 7:03, and we'll try to be there from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. We'll have a lovely gibbous moon, and Jupiter near opposition. With a good seeing forecast, I'm going to plan to bring out the giant 7-inch refractor -- a special treat. It should be pleasant weather, a little chilly, light winds. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

9 years, 10 months

No sky tonight ...

by Morris Jones

No sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia tonight. It's not raining, but it's very unsettled in advance of the next storm. Monrovia is pretty well clouded out right now. We may try again next weekend, and may try for a special event on a Monday evening soon. We'll let you know! Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

9 years, 10 months

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