OTEvents

otevents@otastro.org

501 discussions

by Morris Jones

We often get questions from fans who have a telescope in the closet and aren't sure how to use it. We had good luck in San Francisco offering a "New Telescope Owner's Clinic" before their monthly city star party. I'd like to do that in Monrovia this Saturday. The best time to get acquainted with your telescope is during the day. We can help set it up, align the finder, and collimate a dobsonian. We can help you learn how to find objects, choose an eyepiece, and practice observing things before it actually gets dark. What we can't do is align a computerized telescope based on alignment with bright stars. If you are interested in doing this, please send me a reply to this email, and plan to join me in Library Park at Myrtle and Lime at 6:00 on Saturday. Bring your telescope and any supplies, along with an owner's manual if you have one. We'll be able to observe the moon even during the daylight. I'll bring a tool box and maybe a solar telescope. If I don't hear from you, I won't make plans to be there 'til about sunset. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

16 years, 1 month

Moon and planets this weekend

by Morris Jones

Weather looks good for sidewalk astronomy this weekend. We'll have a waxing gibbous moon, Saturn, and possibly a glimpse of Venus and Mars. We plan to be in Old Town Pasadena this evening (Friday), and Old Town Monrovia Saturday evening, 7:30 'til 9:30 p.m. In Pasadena, look for telescopes on Colorado Blvd., on the north side of the street, somewhere in the two-block stretch from Fair Oaks to Pasadena Ave. In Monrovia, we'll be on the corner of Myrtle and Lime, at Library Park. Saturn should be a treat, with the rings barely four degrees open right now. Venus is the brightest star in the west, following the sun into the horizon. It's in a gibbous phase right now, on the far side of the sun from earth. It will be fun to watch later in the year as it swings towards earth and changes to crescent phase. Mars continues moving further away from earth. While it's high in the sky, we don't expect to see more than a pumpkin-colored dot at this point. If you're up before dawn, as I usually am, look for bright Jupiter in the east, having risen just an hour or so before the sun. Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

16 years, 1 month

Clouds in the desert/great free talk Weds nite

by Jane Houston Jones

Just as I hit the send button, we looked at the Clear Sky chart for our desert observing location, and it went from "Clear" to "Cloudy" . :-( http://cleardarksky.com/c/DsrtCntrCAkey.html?1 So anyone contemplating a trip to see the stars, let's try again another time. Mojo and I are still heading out to Joshua Tree National Park for wildflowers but might do our stargazing at Disneyland tonight instead. ;-) Do look up tonight! Venus, Moon, Saturn and Mars are waiting! In addition to sidewalk astronomy next weekend, here is a great free talk: "Quest for a living World" moderated by "Bad Astronomer" Phil Plait. It's free and open to the public starting at 7:30 at the Beckman Auditorium. Here's the link http://events.caltech.edu/events/event-7421.html Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up March 2010? Saturn & 21Lutetia! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/bBUANa Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 1 month

Have you hugged a national park? It's National Park Week!

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi everyone, we're still up on cloud nine after last weekend's awesome star party at Mojave National Preserve! It was so great to see many of you over the weekend. There were at least 4 families from our astronomy list who joined us, in addition to the 4 families worth of astronomers. There were over 50 people there, and another 15 on Friday night for our first night impromptu star party. Many staff and friends of the Mojave National Preserve. http://www.preservethemojave.org/index.php Here is a set of pictures I took. Each of us took lots of pictures on the hikes, and Mojo has some spectacular panoramas that will make their way to a blog soon. I'm busy writing up a story about the Chuckwalla lizards of Amboy Cratrer and other tales myself. One park visit, so much to learn and share! http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2010-04-11-mojavejane/index.html. We're heading to our no-frills observing site off the I-10 Red Cloud Road between Chiriaco Summit and Desert Center in a few hours. But first we'll head up into Joshua Tree National Park from the south to check out the Colorado Desert wildflowers, and to hug one of our very favorite national parks. This week is National Park Week (in addition to Earth Week and National Astronomy Week) But this means there is free admission to every one of the nations National Parks April 17-25th. http://www.nationalparks.org/explore/?fa=national-park-week I hope you make it to one of our local parks this week! Find your closest ones on this link - there are 4 national parks within 100 miles of my zip code, and we're heading to one of them! Next weekend we'll be out on the sidewalks once again. We'll be in Pasadena Friday night and Monrovia Saturday night to share moon, Venus, Saturn and Mars (and maybe Mercury) with all of you who stop by! See you under the stars!! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up March 2010? Saturn & 21Lutetia! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/bBUANa Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 1 month

What's Up podcast for April: How to see the Space Station

by Jones, Jane H (1862)

What's Up for April? How and when to view the Space Station and more! JPL: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm YouTube http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/0/TfMiKZi0ba4 A lot of you know how to check for local ISS passes, or go out and watch the passes, but many don't know when and where to look, or what to expect you will see. This month's podcast explains how and what you will see. I hope you share this podcast with your friends, family and networks who may be unsure how to look, where to look, and when to look. It's a good-time topic this month, especially because there is a shuttle about to dock and then undock from the ISS. That means both the shuttle and station can be seen together in the sky by some lucky people, maybe you! :-) Speaking of this week, there is a very nice and high morning ISS pass tomorrow morning here in the LA area, about 5:25 with a bonus - fainter STS-131 passes nearby 4 minutes earlier. I attached those two charts (using the familiar Heavens Above website) for us locals. Others can follow the directions and find out when and where. :-) Jane PS: Final reminder about Mohave turtles and star party this weekend, weather permitting is here: http://www.preservethemojave.org/events.html Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov What's Up For April - The International Space Station! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm

16 years, 1 month

Dark sky star party April 10, Mojave National Preserve

by Morris Jones

Many of you who have enjoyed visiting our telescopes in the city wonder what it would be like away from the city. Folks who grow up and live in Los Angeles rarely get to see a true dark sky. We love to have people join us for dark sky excursions, but our favorite location in the Colorado Desert south of Joshua Tree could be considered "inhospitable" by many. In less than two weeks, on April 10, we'll be having a dark sky event with the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy. Free camping will be available at the Black Canyon Group Campground, and the MNPC is planning to provide drinks and light refreshments. Mojave National Preserve is a beautiful place with fabulous dark skies. We'll be bringing our biggest and best telescopes to introduce you to the galaxy clusters of spring in the early evening, and the Milky Way towards midnight. You can enjoy great desert walks during the day, and starry skies through the night. The event is listed here at the Mojave National Preserve web site: http://www.preservethemojave.org/events.html On the site you'll see a link to Mike Cipra to RSVP if you'd like to attend: mcipra(a)npca.org There's also a link to my blog about a previous trip to MNP last year with a group of herpetologists: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2009/04/26/snakes-tortoises-and-stars/ The location is about 200 miles from our home in Monrovia, and is an easy drive on good roads for the whole distance. The weather is quite variable, and as always, if it's cloudy or too windy we won't be able to set up telescopes. The odds are pretty good to have clear dark skies. Be sure to bring warm clothing for the evening in several layers. We always travel with hats and gloves even for mid-spring observing. Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

16 years, 2 months

Sidewalk Astronomy this weekend

by Morris Jones

It looks like we'll have clear skies tonight and tomorrow. We plan to have telescopes in Old Town Pasadena tonight, and Old Town Monrovia Saturday night. We'll have three targets: In the early evening the gibbous moon will be out and Mars will be almost overhead. A little later in the evening Saturn will be low in the east. The air is not forecast to be very steady tonight, so we're not likely to see much detail on Mars as it gets further away. We'll certainly give it a shot though. Look for us from about 7:00 'til 9:00 on both evenings. Friday night on Colorado Blvd. near Delacey, wherever we find parking; Saturday night in Monrovia at Library Park, on the corner of Lime and Myrtle. Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

16 years, 2 months

It's Saturn time!

by Jones, Jane H (1862)

Hi everyone, My favorite planet is daring you to step outside and look at it this month! It's easy to see from the city from now through July. In a dark sky, and through a telescope you'll see subtle cloud bands of custard, butterscotch and hazelnut crème, and the wafer-thin ring bisects the planet, allowing you to see its oblateness this month. What a tasty treat for your eyes! So it should come as no surprise that the topic of my monthly podcast for March 2010 is Saturn. But I also share the podcast with a challenging object, the 13th magnitude (nearly as faint as Pluto) asteroid 21 Lutetia, which is halfway between Saturn on the horizon and Mars (nearly overheard and the color of a blood orange). Here are several podcast viewing options: Many formats, educational activities to compliment the podcast, plus archives of all 33 podcasts back to April 2007 http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=324 YouTube, favorite viewing method of my parents :-) http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/1/1dIe5_SvToE NASA podcast page, easy RSS feed, Itunes http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html We'll be showing off the lord of the rings April 2-3 in Monrovia and Monrovia hopefully, after many rained out sidewalk astronomy nights. For those interested in a getaway, we'll be heading to the desert Saturday the 13th, weather permitting, undecided where, probably here: http://www.otastro.org/chuckwalla.html for those who can drive 300 miles round trip to see a planet. :-) The last 2 miles are a rutted dirt road not suitable for large trucks and campers, and there are no facilities and it's not that good for camping, but we love it. For a little longer drive but a nature bonus, you can also join us April 10 at Mojave National Preserve for a star party hosted by the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy at Black Canyon Group Campground. In addition to Saturn, it's spring galaxy season! You will need to RSVP (but there is no cost or anything) on the announcement page http://www.preservethemojave.org/events.html. There are plenty of closer-to-home spots to view Saturn than where we like to go, beside the sidewalks of Pasadena and Monrovia. Many of the local astronomy clubs have property or events. Pomona Valley, Riverside, Orange and Ventura counties, Yucca Valley, and many points S and E plus the Los Angeles amateur astronomers all hold viewing events each month. Griffith Observatory would be an excellent spot, with star parties every month too, usually on the same nights as our sidewalk astronomy. We all love to share the best moon view on the same nights, and this month Saturn and Mars make it a bonus! Here's looking at you, Saturn! Jane Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov What's Up For March - Saturn Opposition, asteroid 21 Lutetia! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm

16 years, 2 months

Snakebit for sidewalk astronomy

by Morris Jones

No offense to snakes ... :) Both Friday and Saturday look, as my grandpa used to say, "'pert near" impossible for sidewalk astronomy this weekend. Clouds, rain, and telescopes don't work well together. I'll update the list if anything changes. It sure would be good to get in a little observing while Mars is still high and bright. Maybe an opportunity will come up. Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

16 years, 3 months

April 9-10 Mojave National Preserve Star party

by Jones, Jane H (1862)

Join the Sidewalk Astronomers for a Spring Star Party at Black Canyon Equestrian and Group Campground in Mojave national Preserve April 10th (some of the astronomers will arrive on the 9th for a shorter informal star party that night). There is a small 10 x 20 ft level cement pad for the telescopes, with room for perhaps 6-8 telescopes, so let me know if you are not one of the usual astronomers but plan to bring one - it will be first come, first setup on the pad, but lots of room next to your tent for setup. There is room for about 30 people camping (10-15 tents), with nearby first come first serve spaces at Hole in the wall campground. The spring sky is magnificent in a dark sky and Mojave National Preserve offers one of the very best and darkest (and closest to us) sites in the United States! Mars and Saturn bookend the beautiful constellation Leo the lion, while dozens of spring galaxies are easy to find in the dark velvet skies. The faint winter spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy will glimmer like a gossamer veil of stardust in the western sky after dark. Mercury and Venus will be visible low on the western horizon just after sunset, too. And to the south, naturalists will enjoy identifying the constellations Corvus the crow and Hydra the snake. For pictures, stories and desert tortoise videos from last years event: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2009/04/26/snakes-tortoises-and-stars/- end blurb The SW Herpetologists will on hand too, for night and day forays to see Chuckwallas, and other reptiles, if you are interested in that. There is room for RV's in the parking lot, pit toilets and even running water near the covered picnic table pavilion for dishwashing. We have established a relationship with the Mojave National Preserve park staff, the brand new Mojave Preserve Conservancy, and the National Park Conservation Association and there will be a great pot luck Saturday night all with these folks. (join these groups and help preserve this preserve. :-) I have it on good authority that this should be a great time of year to see the desert tortoises and high desert wildflowers and blooming cacti. :-) Link http://www.nps.gov/moja/index.htm (click on map and campgrounds for more info and details.) This is a 200+ mile one way drive from near Monrovia. But the stars (and tortoises) are well with the journey. ;-) This weekend we're all scattering here and there for star gazing and so there is no "official" dark sky star party. If you crave a dark sky - we typically travel at least 100-150 miles one way to get out of the light dome of LA: Yucca Valley Andromeda Society Feb 13, Mar 13 Joshua Tree Lake/Campground at 2601 Sunfair Rd. about four miles north of the airport. Borrego Springs Feb 13, Mar 13 sponsored by ABDNHA Church Lane 1-760-767-3098 for directions Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov What's Up For February - 400th Anniv of Galilean Moon discovery http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm

16 years, 3 months

← Newer
1
...
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
...
51
Older →

Jump to page:

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

OTEvents