Weather permitting, we'll be out with telescopes in Monrovia next
Saturday the 28th. Starting at about 6 p.m. for 2 -2.5 hours....
The weather scared us out of taking the 3 hour drive to Amboy Crater
tonight. We'll post observing intents to go there on this list in case
any of you would like to join us. Amboy Crater is BLM land, there really
isn't a place to camp on the lava, but there is a huge parking lot and
pit toilets. So people with telescopes often just observe all night and
pack up in the morning. It's ok to leave before dawn by parking away
from the telescopes - on the way out of the parking lot facing out, and
careful use of car lights. We're a friendly bunch.
There are closer places to observe but none with 360 degree views clear
down to the horizon or located with the darkest skies. Amboy is the
closest place with a "black" pin on this map:
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/prov/California_map.html?Mn=meteorites . We
also go to Glacier Point in Yosemite once a year - if anyone wants to
combine star gazing with a Yosemite trip. More about that when we find
out our date this year. But anyone can head up to Glacier point any
non-full-moon weekend Jul through Labor Day and enjoy looks free looks
through dozens of telescopes set up by sponsoring astronomy clubs
And as a reminder our twice a year Mojave National Preserve Star parties
will be on Saturday June 13th 2015 and Saturday October 17th 2015. The
Black Canyon Group (near Hole in the Wall campground and the visitor
center) will be available Friday night as well. Bring a pot luck item
to share if you want to. After we know how many people are bringing
telescopes, we can let you know if there is room for more - the
telescope platform is rather small - with room for half a dozen scopes
for the public star party.
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For February? PlanetPairs <3
http://youtu.be/NR8HCsog5MM
Look west just as soon as it gets dark tonight (Friday) and tomorrow
night too and see a pretty pairing of Mars and Venus! They are closer
than they've been in half a dozen years. Tonight you'll see the slender
crescent moon just below the pair, and tomorrow night the moon will be a
little bigger crescent above the planets.
Here's a little blurb I wrote about along with this months What's Up
video. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
Also, we have selected dates for both the spring and fall Mojave
National Preserve star parties!
The Spring MNP Star Party will be Saturday June 13th 2015 and the Fall
MNP Star Party will be Saturday October 17th 2015. If you haven't joined
us, sometimes lead time will help with you planning. This is a dark sky,
free group campsite in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve (for a
limited number of tents, and there is a RSVP but it is free) a communal
pot luck, some brief words from the Mojave National Preserve
Conservancy, the Rangers, and ahem, me. Then telescopes!
It won't get dark in June until about 9 p.m, but we couldn't make any
dates fit all of our schedules when the campsite was available until
June. That's why we went ahead and selected the fall date ahead of
time. More on that later. For now, get outside and look up, if it is
clear!
Also, three of us may be going to Amboy Crater for dark sky observing
tomorrow. Shoot me an email if you plan to join us - we would leave
around noon- 1 p.m. from Monrovia to set up before dark. There are some
dark sky observing rules about lights, so let me know if you want to
join us, and I'll fill you in.
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For February? PlanetPairs <3 http://youtu.be/NR8HCsog5MM
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It's a clear and slightly chilly night expected in Monrovia. The
crescent moon will be out early, and later Jupiter might clear the trees
to the east.
While tonight's sky is expected to be very transparent (dark), the other
atmospheric feature that affects astronomy is scintillation, a measure
of how turbulent the air is. Astronomers have a technical term for this:
"seeing." The seeing tonight is not expected to be very good, because of
different layers of air temperature and upper level winds.
That's what gives the slightly watery effect you notice when you view
the moon or planets through a telescope, and it gives stars more of a
twinkle when you look up at the night sky.
Notice the brightest star Sirius tonight due south, and see how it
flashes and changes color as its light passes through the turbulent air.
It's a little like looking up at the sky from the bottom of a deep
swimming pool.
But "seeing" is highly variable! If you look for a while, you will have
moments when you're looking through air that isn't turbulent, and you
can see fine detail: mountain peaks and lava tubes on the moon, cloud
belts and swirls on Jupiter.
Come take a look if you can.
Jane and I have a family engagement tonight so we won't be there, but
Todd and Dave and maybe some others are planning to set up from about
6:00 'til 8:00.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Mojo and I were talking last night while observing a fairly bright
comet, which is visible near the familiar constellation Orion.
So we thought we should take telescopes out Saturday night. But this
morning we looked at the weather forecast, and sadly we are expecting
clouds and even a chance of rain this weekend. If that changes, we'll
let you know, with short notice, probably on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, if it's clear where you live, definitely step outside with
your binoculars and you too can aim your binos at C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy. Its
color is unmistakeable. It will appear as a ghostly faint fuzzy
blue-green patch much bigger than a star in your binoculars. If you can
Identify Orion, the comet is moving North, from parallel to Orion's
knee, Rigel. It's now close to the Belt stars, and in a week will be
near the Pleiades. I've seen it every night from my front door using 7 x
50 binoculars Here is where to look all month long (for both northern
and southern hemispheres)
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=1945
In two weeks, three of Jupiter's moons will scoot across the visible
disk of Jupiter, preceded by their shadows - a triple shadow transit!
It's a telescopic viewing opportunity (maybe you'll spot one of the
shadows through good binoculars) and our Monrovia Corner isn't well
suited for this event since it goes on until 11 p.m. on Friday the 23rd
of January. Jupiter won't rise above the buildings until 9 p.m. or so.
Jupiter is the sole topic of my January What's Up video, you can enjoy
it here, and marvel at the images of moons, shadows, eclipse and
occultations, all contributed by amateur astronomers around the world,
and this month, from one of our local sidewalk astronomers, Jon
Philpott! His images appear at 45 seconds into the video and one
features a backyard telescope view of Jupiter and the other showing the
4 galilean moons, two right next to each other, with an overexposed
Jupiter to see the moons better. Here's the YouTube ink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWlYTppifhI, and more video formats are
here. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
There are lots of other naked eye planets to view this month. That's
Venus shining brightly in the west at sunset, with faint Mercury nearby,
and Mars above. Jupiter is king this month, visible all month long. You
can see Saturn at dawn, too!
Thanks all for this month from Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini & InSight Missions
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For January? Jupiter
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
or
http://youtu.be/YWlYTppifhI
Jane and I are in transit from the east coast right now, but a couple of
astronomers are thinking of setting up telescopes at Myrtle & Lime
tonight. It's going to get cold later on, so you might catch them early,
around 6 or 7. There will be a nice crescent moon and possibly a little
Venus.
Jupiter rises bright in the east later in the evening, but probably too
late for this month's observing. Next month Jupiter should be putting on
a good show.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
We have two problems with sidewalk astronomy tonight in Monrovia. (a)
Jane and I are both road weary from holiday travel, and (b) the weather
conditions are expected to deteriorate.
We only had one target this month anyway, but it is a nice moon. If it's
clear where you are, go have a look!
We'll try again in January. :)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Mojo and I were considering taking some telescopes out to Myrtle and
Lime Streets Friday night for Halloween, but the forecast doesn't look
good enough.
In lieu of that, here is my annual Spooky Observing List, including
scary named lunar features visible on the moon this week.
http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/10/30/spooky-halloween-observing/
We are still going on with our twice-a-year Mojave National Preserve
Star party, tho the forecast is for up to 18 mph winds, and temps
dipping into the 30's at night. So bring layers for your layers. :-)
Details here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/242322077/Mojave-National-Preserve-Star-Party-Nov…
The same day, over at the Kelso Depot within Mojave National Preserve is
MojaveFest, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the California Desert
Protection Act, which established Mojave national Preserve. The fest ,
9-5 p.m. features food, kids activities, ranger-led talks and guided
walks, book signings and dance performances. -
http://www.nps.gov/moja/upload/Mojave-Fest-Flyer-for-web.pdf
What a great way to experience Mojave National Preserve, with the
preserve during the day, and they sky above the preserve at night!
Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For Oct? Eclipses, near misses
http://youtu.be/gj9MshXoUy0
Hi everyone, sorry about the cancelled sidewalk astronomy night Oct 4.
None of our astronomers were available that night. Mojo and I were in
Hawaii, where we attended the Hawaiian Astronomical Society's monthly
in-town star party, however. We observed one planet, one star and three
moons (2 of Saturn's, and our own moon) in spite of heavy clouds, nearby
rain, and even a flood warning over central Oahu.
Tonight Tuesday the 7th, look for a 6 minute long ISS pass beginning at
7:03 p.m., reaching a height of 74 degrees, nearly overhead! It appears
in the SW and disappears in the NE.
That's not all! There is a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday morning. If
the sky is clear, the entire event should be visible to the unaided eye
from the West Coast. The particulars are as follows (all times are
Pacific): partial eclipse begins 2:14 a.m., totality begins 3:25 a.m.,
greatest eclipse 3:55 a.m., totality ends 4:24 a.m., partial eclipse
ends 5:34 a.m. All before sunrise!
And that's not all either! There's a partial solar eclipse later in the
month (visible in the afternoon of October 23rd). I'll send out another
email with save viewing tips before the 23rd., but my monthly podcast
gives some details. You all know never to look directly at the sun with
special solar filters or glasses, of course.
I cover all these things in my monthly What's Up podcast, plus Comet
Siding Spring's close encounter with Mars on the 19th. It's unlikely
that the comet will be visible, but I show where to look. If it does
make an appearance and I see it, or think you can see it with
binoculars, I'll be sure to let everybody know.
Another exciting month of astronomy is underway!
What's Up Video: http://youtu.be/uPQh0JwfEh4
or many versions here, and check out September - it is still relevant:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm
What's Up for October flyer, suitable for sharing
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/docs/Whats_Up_October_2014.pdf
Mark your calendar for November 1. Although this should be our monthly
sidewalk date, it was the only Mojave Campground opening for our
twice-a-year dark sky star party. Details here
http://www.mojavepreserve.org/, and although the November flyer is not
on the website, the May 31 flyer has directions and RSVP info. Free
campsite, Bring your own potluck, breafast on your own, RSVP is just so
the park knows how many people are coming.
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For Oct? Eclipses, near misses
http://youtu.be/gj9MshXoUy0
From Los Angeles tonight, just a few minutes before 8 p.m., there's a
high bright pass of the International Space Station.
It will appear low in the southwest about 7:54, and by 7:56 it'll be
very high in the sky, slightly to the west, moving from southwest to
northeast.
It will be very bright, looking like a moving star. Just after 7:57, it
will pass into earth's shadow, and slowly fade out of sight in the
northeast.
If you see it, be sure to wave at the astronauts!
For other passes and satellite information, I use http://heavens-above.com
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com