Hi everyone!
Last night's pass of the International Space Station was fun to watch
from Myrtle and Lime Streets. We had a big crowd out to watch with us.
There is another excellent pass tonight from the LA area. It begins at
7:58 PM Pacific time, is 6 min in duration, with a maximum height of 78
degrees, begining in the South-Southwest sky at 7:58 pm. The
International Space Station reaches its highest elevation at 8:01 p.m.
and ends at 8:04 p.m. in the East-Northeast.
I signed up for an email alert from this website and get a notice the
day before the next pass. Here's the link.
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov <http://t.co/FnACewXJOw>
I also use this website for more satellite passes and nice maps,
Heaven's Above, http://www.heavens-above.com/. I set up dozens of our
commonly used observing locations, but the SpotTheSyation email is easy!
I also updated our Old Town Astronomers with hightlights of the month
(Lunar Eclipse in April 14) and upcoming event dates. On the west coast
the eclipse begins at 9:53 p.m. and ends at 3:38 a.m. If you just want
to catch the *total eclipse*, set your alarm clock for midnight on the
West Coast. The total eclipse will last *an hour and a half from
beginning to end*.
Several people asked us last night about observing from a dark sky. Our
next public dark sky star party is on May 31, in Mojave National
Preserve's Black Canyon Group Campsite. It's highly recommended to
arrive before dark (sunset is at 8:30 p.m.), enjoy the potluck, set up
your tent in the large group campsite (RSVP required but there is no
cost), and visit the Hole in the Wall visitor center open 10-4
Saturdays, or take some of the nearby hikes. Then near 8:30 p.m. we'll
share views through an assortment of telescopes for as long as there are
people wishing to observe with us (or until we poop out). We typically
leave some telescopes up all night to catch special views before dawn.
More on that closer to the date. The Mojave National Preserve doesn't
have the Spring Star party flyer up yet (I owe them a "what we'll see"
writeup) but you can look at the November 2013 flyer to get the flavour
of the event. You can see the park map here to plan your driving, where
the visitor centers and attractions are.
http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/camping-groups.htm
We drive from Monrovia by driving to Barstow, then I-40. Wen we get to
Ludlow it's 49 miles east past Ludlow to the Essex Road turnoff on I-40.
After 10 miles you bear right on Black Canyon Road. Follow Black Canyon
Road another ten miles to Hole-in-the-Wall Campground/Visitor Center (to
the left, and Black Canyon Group campground to the right) The large
group campground, with pit toilets, a water pump, covered picnic tables,
fire pit and flat cement pad for telescopes is 1/4 mile further on a
gravel road (not suitable for motorcycles, we learned last year)
I'll let you know the RSVP # soon, but you can always send me an email
and I'll pass on any names/numbers to the Mojave National Preserve
Conservancy folks. Hope to see some of you this year! It's a long
drive, but with dark skies, a free campsite, and plenty of daytime hikes
nearby it's an experience you'll cherish as much as we do!
See you on our next sidewalk date, May 3! Jane
<http://t.co/FnACewXJOw>
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For April? Lyrids, Lunar Eclipse, Mars at Opposition
http://youtu.be/DOS-LkdTTGE
There is so much to see this month in our night skies! Mars at opposition, a lunar eclipse and April's Lyrid meteor shower.
We can show you some of these objects on the Monrovia Sidewalk Saturday night, April 5th. We can show you Mars, which will be low in the eastern sky, but it's better later in the evening than our sidewalk hours.On April 8 Mars reaches opposition, in its nearly two-year orbit, when it's directly opposite the sun in our sky. This year Mars will be closer to Earth than it has been since 2007. Mars rises in the East in the early evening and is visible all night long.
We'll show you the crescent moon, but in another week you can see a total eclipse, but not during our public sidewalk astronomy hours. The lunar eclipse will be visible to everyone in North and South America
and the Pacific on April 14 and 15. On the west Coast the eclipse begins at 9:53 p.m. and ends at 3:38 a.m. If you just want to catch the total eclipse, set your alarm clock for midnight on the West Coast. The total eclipse will last an hour and a half from beginning to end.
Finally,this month's Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the night of April 22 and the morning of April 23. The third quarter moon rises an hour past midnight, brightening the sky. But the moon will only obscure the fainter meteors. Luckily, the Lyrids are known to produce bright meteors, many with persistent trains. I am betting some LA Urban skywatchers will see some. If not, watch my What's Up video to enjoy these objects vicariously, here: What's Up For April? Lyrids, Lunar Eclipse, Mars at Opposition
http://youtu.be/DOS-LkdTTGE
Hope to see some of you tomorrow night in Monrovia!
NOTE: Calendar for public dark sky National Park star parties: Next Mojave National Preserve Star Party is May 31, next Yosemite Glacier Point Star Party (Jane and Mojo will be there with our friends from the San Jose Astronomical Association) July 25, 26. But there are public star parties at Glacier Point each non-full moon weekend between July 4 and Labor Day. Members bring telescopes, public invited and at no charge. These two are some of the best dark skies in the country, and dedicated to public astronomy, and free of charge.
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For April? Lyrids, Lunar Eclipse, Mars at Opposition
http://youtu.be/DOS-LkdTTGE
Saturday, March 8 is the 7th International Sidewalk Astronomy Night.
Join your friendly Sidewalk Astronomers from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m at Myrtle
and Lime Streets in Monrovia for gorgeous views of the moon and Jupiter.
The Sidewalk Astronomers were founded by our good friend and inspiration
John Dobson, who died January 15 at the age of 98.
If you can't join us, I hope you'll all step outside Saturday night,
look up at the moon, or take that telescope out and show your neighbors
the moon!
My monthly podcast (the 81st since 2007) is about a rare occultation of
a star by an asteroid. There's great animation showing what will
happen. Sadly it's only visible from the east coast. Here's the link:
youtu.be/U78i1gLPeaY
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For March? An East coast asteroid occultation
youtu.be/U78i1gLPeaY
Jane will be at Myrtle & Lime in Monrovia tonight with her 10-inch
telescope, though the sky conditions are deteriorating.
We'll try from about 6:30 for an hour. As bad as the sky looks, it's
probably not worth a special trip.
March 8 will be our next sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
We'll attempt to see the moon and Jupiter tonight from Myrtle and Lime
Streets from 6:30 - 8:30, through hazy skies. We'll celebrate the life
of John Dobson, our friend and founder of the Sidewalk Astronomers, who
died on January 15, at the age of 98.
Mojo and I were lucky to have been at his 98th birthday party in
September 2013. I thanked him (again) for introducing me to the night
sky, public astronomy and science education over 25 years ago.
Tonight I'll bring the first telescope I made in his 1988 telescope
making class. Making that telescope, especially grinding and polishing
my first mirror, with his assistance, has led me on many unexpected
journeys, including the journey to Southern California ten years ago.
The first question I was asked on an interview for my job in Education
and Public Outreach for JPL's Cassini Mission to Saturn was "Did you
really make a telescope in John Dobson's class"? Really!
During my first week on the job, that same manager stopped by my desk
and asked: "I have a 6-inch telescope with a really dirty mirror, can
you clean it for me? Yes!
See you tonight, I hope! If not, watch February's What's Up, my 80th
monthly stargazing podcast.
http://youtu.be/KiSqDly3ZRs
25 years ago, when I was taking my first looks through my homemade
telescope, I never would have dreamed it would lead me here!
Thanks, John :-)
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInSight
What's Up For Feb? All the planets, Dawn & Rosetta
http://youtu.be/KiSqDly3ZRs
This little band of clouds had just the right timing to wipe out the sky
in Monrovia tonight.
If you can see the moon, and are desperate for a look, a couple of our
members are set up at Santa Fe Dam for another couple of hours, or until
the sky is hopeless.
Our next sidewalk astronomy opportunity will be February 7 in Monrovia.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
If you're in the Los Angeles area, tonight is a good opportunity to view
the International Space Station. It'll be passing just off the
California coast, flying from north to south.
It'll first appear low in the northwest at about 6:34 p.m. By 6:37 it
will be very high in the sky and very bright. At 6:38 it passes into
eclipse, that is to say, into Earth's shadow. (On the station, they'll
be watching a sunset, as they do every 90 minutes.)
The station is about 230 miles above earth, and currently has six
astronauts on board. Give them a wave as they pass!
It will be magnitude -3, brighter than the bright planet Jupiter at -2.4
which you'll see low in the northeast at the same time as the station pass.
To see the station, there are three requirements: 1. It must be passing
within 150 miles or so, 2. The sun must be down for you, and 3. The
station must be in sunlight. So usually the only times are near sunset
or sunrise.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
We'll be out sharing views of the moon and Venus tonight at Myrtle and
Lime Streets in Monrovia tonight. We'll be there by 6:30 for sure, now
that it gets dark earlier!
Read (and listen) to my info about the MAVEN Launch to Mars a week from
Monday, and an comet ISON update. I'll be attending the launch,
bringing agood luck banner to the MAVEN team signed by the InSight
Mission team (I am the outreach person for Insight, launching to Mars in
2016)
And don't forget our rescheduled Mojave National Preserve star Party
November 30. We'll have a gorgeous sky filled with the remnants of
summer constellations and the Milky Way, which make way for the
constellations of fall. Then in the hour before morning twilight, we'll
(hopefully) be up to look at a few comets. It's unlikely Comet ISON
will be visible (it passes nearest the sun on November 28th, and that
means even if it survives, it will be very near the sun, too close for
safe viewing. If there is a comet tail to be seen on the horizon, we'll
let everyone know before they go to bed saturday night.
Being November, It will be cold probably, but as John Dobson says "Many
are cold, but few are frozen"
I'll end with Mojo's three lovely comet images from our trip to Amboy
Crater last weekend. All three were imaged (and seen visually through
my telescope too) between 3:00am and 4:00am Sunday morning)
Comet R1
Lovejoyhttp://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/C2013-R1-Lovejoy-2013-11…
Comet S1
ISONhttp://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/C2012-S1-ISON-2013-11-02.jpg
Comet 2P (a periodic comet returning every 3 years) 2P Encke
http://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2013-11-02/2P-encke-2013-11-02-5min.jpg
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For Nov? Maven Launch Nov 18, Comet ISON races towards the sun
http://youtu.be/MwP1UVCH6ck
My 2013 - Year At A Glance Astro Blog
http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/
Due to the shutdown which ended last week, some of the National Preserve
groups and individuals who coordinate the star party were unable to do
so. We plan to reschedule the twice-a-year Mojave National Preserve star
party. The campground is already reserved, and it's possible a few of
the astronomers will be there on their own, but the pot luck, firewood,
invited members of the community won't be there.
If you want to know if there will be an astronomer or two, let me know -
and I'll get back to you before Friday.
Sorry about that! Tentatively planning November 30 - and spring 2014
will be announced well in advance, subject to campground availability.
As a conolation. here's a spooky observing writeup in time for
Halloween! http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/10/30/spooky-halloween-observing/
I'll update the Comet ISON opportunities soon (dawn, low in eastern
sky)! Hint: It's not visible to the unaided eye yet.
--
Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up? Juno Earth Flyby Oct.9, #IOMN, far side of moon NASA video
youtu.be/ReoS1xVQGVI
My 2013 - Year At A Glance Astro Blog
http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2013/01/07/whats-up-in-2013-at-a-glance/
