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by Jane Houston Jones

Another nice ISS pass - not as high as Wednesday night, but still! Signed, Jane Mojo and Gary in Yosemite! -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: SpotTheStation Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2015 11:57:05 -0400 (EDT) From: HQ-spotthestation(a)mail.nasa.gov To: United-States-California-Monrovia-PM(a)lists.hq.nasa.gov Time: Fri Aug 21 8:41 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 47 degrees, Appears: W, Disappears: SSE

10 years, 5 months

Weekend Update!

by Jane Houston Jones

Jane, Mojo and Gary are heading to our annual Glacier Point star party Friday and Saturday nights. If you can't make it don't despair, it happens every summer - with different astronomy clubs each weekend during the summer (except full moon weekend) http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/programs.htm These are the free programs at Glacier Point. Meanwhile back in Monrovia, our intrepid team of sidewalk astronomers will be holding down the fort from sunset (a little before 8:00 p.m. until about 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. depending on the crowd Saturday night. Last night many of you got to see the International Space Station fly over southern California (including some of us at the Hollywood Bowl). If I don't remind you, or I forget, just sign up here and you will get an email alert in plenty of time to tell all your local friends and family when to look up and wave at the astronauts. http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/ What's Up August covers the Perseids (It was awesome from a dark sky where I went) and the chance to see all the planets (and planets that have been demoted like Pluto, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Juno this month. It has really pretty graphics for the armchair astronomer, too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-R1tk775PI Oh and a note from my work. I work on the InSight Mission, launching to Mars in March 2016 (from Vandenberg AFB, just 4 hours north of LA!!) and we just announced our Send your Name to Mars campaign, where your name will be embedded on a micro "Plaque" and affixed to the instrument deck of our spacecraft. So your name will be on Mars! Here's the info: http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/ Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @NASAInSight WhatÕs Up for August? Perseids + 12 planets http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ

10 years, 5 months

Fwd: SpotTheStation

by Jane Houston Jones

Nice ISS pass tonite, LosAngelenos! -------- Original Message -------- From: HQ-spotthestation(a)mail.nasa.gov Sent: August 19, 2015 8:57:06 AM PDT To: United-States-California-Monrovia-PM(a)lists.hq.nasa.gov Subject: SpotTheStation Time: Wed Aug 19 8:51 PM, Visible: 3 min, Max Height: 58 degrees, Appears: NW, Disappears: E -- Jane Houston Jones (Mobile)

10 years, 5 months

Perseids tonight (and still decent rates for another week)

by Jane Houston Jones

Tonight is the peak of the famous Perseid Meteor shower, but the shower puts on a nice show from late September through August 24th, so don't despair if you can't be at a dark sight on a Wednesday night! If you want to see the most, get away from city lights, but if you can't get away tonight, just find the darkest place in your own yard or nearby, and face toward the darkest sky (or overhead). Time - the peak is 2 hours on either side of 1 a.m. Pacific - so from 11 p.m. - 3 a. m. is primo, but you should see some before 11, too. The radiant - Perseus, is in the NE sky beginning to rise after sunset, but it is not necessary to look NE - in fact if you look that way, you see meteors coming straight at you - meaning short streaks of light. Instead, look 90 degrees away and you'll see more meteors passing sideways -- with longer streaks -- flying past you instead of straight at you. (don't worry, by the time you see the streak of light, the meteoroid has burned up so nothing is really coming "at" you). Best Astronomy location in LA http://www.kcet.org/living/travel/socal_wanderer/night-sky/stargazing/8-pla… Next Sidewalk Astronomy is August 22 in Monrovia and August 21 and 22 in Glacier Point, Yosemite. Find out more about upcoming events on our website http://www.otastro.org/ Next Mojave Star Party is October 17th - details on the website above. My What's Up video about the Perseids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-R1tk775PI Follow observers worldwide as they report their Perseid counts to the International Meteor Organization. That's what I'm going to be doing tonight! http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2015/ Where in the world are Perseid observers reporting from: http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2015/#observers Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @NASAInSight WhatÕs Up for August? Perseids + 12 planets http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ

10 years, 5 months

What's Up? ISS tonight (from LA), Perseids & 12 planets this month too!

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi everyone - would you guess that we have over 550 of you on our email list? That tops our former Sidewalk Astronomy list from the SF days by over a hundred . :-) Tonight, for those of us in the Los Angeles region, we have an outstanding ISS pass. The International Space Station makes a long high pass, visible with your unaided eyes. Sat Aug 01 8:37 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 81 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: NE Nearly overhead! Also, Here's my 98th What's Up video on the JPL website -http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ <http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ> This month, I talk about the Perseids and all 12 planets - (including former planets Pluto, Juno, Ceres, Vesta and Pallas -- which are all visible this month) You will need binoculars, luck, telescopes and an experienced planet hunter to see some of them, and it may be possible to see all twelve in one night -- a fun project for us amateur astronomers with telescopes. <http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ>Here's my last attempt - ten planets!!! http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2010/06/14/a-ten-planet-night/ August's Sidewalk Astronomy in Monrovia will be missing a few of us because Gary, Mojo and I will be bringing our telescopes to Yosemite's Glacier Point where we will participate in the annual free star party with the San Jose Astronomical Association on August 22nd. (Also August 21st). If you plan a Yosemite trip this month, Each weekend (except full moon) brings a different Northern California Astronomy club to Glacier Point. Here's the remaining programs for this year and the website with all the Free Astronomy programs http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/programs.htm August 7-8: Santa Cruz Astronomy Club (SCAC) August 14-15: Peninsula Astronomical Society August 21-22: San Jose Astronomical Association September 4-5: Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (SVAS) Hope you see the ISS, Perseids and plenty of planets this month!! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @NASAInsight What's Up? August - my 98th podcast! Perseids+12 planets http://go.nasa.gov/1hcjVbZ

10 years, 6 months

July 25th Saturday night sidewalk astronomy- Saturn and the moon!

by Jane Houston Jones

Tonight? Moon and Saturn! Milky Way in a dark sky. Join us at our corner in Monrovia for coming on 12 years of stargazing at Library Park in Monrovia. Other things too, but if you can, try to make your way to a dark sky and look at the milky way. We can not show that to you from the city! (My 97th video, fyi) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTZpZuNnCtE -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Jane Houston Jones What's Up July? The Milky Way! https://youtu.be/MTZpZuNnCtE

10 years, 6 months

Sidewalk astronomy tonight

by Morris Jones

It's a hot clear night in Monrovia. We'll be at Myrtle and Lime from about 8:00 to 10:00. You might have seen that lovely show last night in the western sky put on by the crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter. We'll get a repeat tonight with a slightly different arrangement. The nearby moon will make a significant move against the background of the distant planets. It should also be a great night for Saturn, which is putting on a fabulous show this year. The rings are tilted toward Earth, making it possible to see the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. It's going to be hot and clear. Drop by for a look if you can. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://whiteoaks.com

10 years, 7 months

Sidewalk Astronomy cancelled tonight

by Jane Houston Jones

Sorry, but with the heavy clouds, significant "chance" of rain, cool temperatures and wind we're reluctantly cancelling sidewalk Astronomy tonight! We had to cancel a school star party last night, and had significant clouds at our Tuesday school star party too. It has actually just started to rain here in Monrovia at 3 p.m. Our next Sidewalk Astronomy is May 23, and don't forget June 13, our next Dark Sky Star Party/campout/potluck at Mojave National Preserve's Black Canyon Group Campground (near the Hole in the Wall visitor center. It's also raining at Griffith Observatory, but there are a lot of free inside events today and tomorrow celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope launch - check them out here http://www.griffithobs.org/. It's also clouded out up on Mt. Wilson right now! Instead, you might enjoy some of the Hubble Telescope 25th anniversary images including this gorgeous just-released image commemorating the anniversary. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2015/12/image/a/ Or some JPL Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews/videos I wish if the rain was going to make us cancel astronomy events, it would at least be a real downpour! -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight What's Up? April 4th lunar eclipse https://youtu.be/WaTqzp43UI4

10 years, 9 months

Lunar eclipse in the morning

by Jane Houston Jones

Like John Dobson always said when you need to wake up early in the morning: drink a glass of lemonade before you go to bed -- you need to wake up to rotate your telescope mirror pitch lap or take it off the mirror while making a telescope mirror. The same goes for waking up for a predawn lunar eclipse! Set your alarms (weather permitting for before 5 a.m. Saturday morning! Our west coast gets a total lunar eclipse in the morning before dawn! My video chart shows a 12 minute totality (via USNO & S&T) but depending where you measure the deepest shadow (the umbra) some websites and most of the media are saying less than 5 minutes (THE SHORTEST ECLIPSE OF THE CENTURY). (caps on purpose) So I summed up the different calculation methods here. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=2026 <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsolarsystem.nasa.gov%2Fnews%2Fwh…> Regardless, get your butt out of bed before 5am PT if you can. Totality is a few minutes before 5 am until a few minutes after 5 am. Pacific. Training for August 2017! Video of the eclipse and Whats Up for April: lots! https://youtu.be/WaTqzp43UI4 Hope we see it! -- Jane Houston Jones @jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight What's Up? April 4th lunar eclipse https://youtu.be/WaTqzp43UI4

10 years, 10 months

Fwd: SpotTheStation

by Jane Houston Jones

8:20 pm tonight! Sorry for late alert! -------- Original Message -------- From: HQ-spotthestation(a)mail.nasa.gov Sent: April 3, 2015 8:58:11 AM PDT To: United-States-California-Monrovia-PM(a)lists.hq.nasa.gov Subject: SpotTheStation Time: Fri Apr 03 8:20 PM, Visible: 5 min, Max Height: 79 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: NE -- Jane Houston Jones (Mobile)

10 years, 10 months

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