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What's Up February: Galileo's 400th anniv of Jupiter moons discovery

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi Old Town Astronomer astro enthusiasts! My NASA JPL¹s What¹s Up February Podcast: Jupiter¹s Moons + Education activities and a flyer are available here: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=304 A few months ago I was researching images of the Crab nebula and its creation in the supernova of 1054 for my November 2009 podcast. I played around with some starcharting software to see if I could recreate the view seen from the famous rock painting at Chaco Canyon - of a starburst and a crescent moon. By golly, the same shaped crescent moon appeared on my computer screen next to the supernova remnant! I included those charts in that November podcast! http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=244 For February 2010, I wanted to talk a bit about the discovery of the 4 Galilean moons. Using the same software (SkyMap Pro) I typed in January 7th 1610 and up popped a view of Jupiter near the constellation Orion, just as Galileo described in his letters. I felt a direct connection with the sky happenings of 400 years ago in Padua when I looked at those charts! I was totally surprised to compare Galileo's drawing showing 3 moons on his first night's sketch January 7, 1610 with my computer generated skychart. The planet and moons lined up exactly like his historic drawing! But the big surprise (for me) was that one of those moons in Galileo's drawing was actually a tight pairing of Io and Europa! Galileo's telescope could not split these two tiny objects. Sorry for the ramble. Galileo continued his Jupiter series of observations through March 2, 1610. 400 years ago today Galileo was out sketching Jupiter once again. On that night of February 5th, 1610, he saw all four of the Galilean moons, two on each side of Jupiter. Wow! You can download or view some educational materials about Jupiter, plus a 2-page flyer on the NASA Solar System Exploration website archive page along with the podcast here: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=304 Youtube format here http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#g/u The January 2010 What's Up topic was Mars Opposition and is still valuable this month. It shows when and where to see the Spirit, Opportunity and Phoenix sides of Mars with some February dates. :-) March's podcast will be about Saturn Opposition and a bit about Rosetta and visible asteroids. :-) Carpe Noctum! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up January 2010? Mars Opposition! http://is.gd/6krYj What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://is.gd/6WE77 Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 3 months

It's a wonderful night for a moondance!

by Jane Houston Jones

Tonight through Saturday night watch the gorgeous full moon rise. That bright orange object just to the left of the full moon tomorrow night (Friday the 29th) is Mars! If you have a look tonight you'll see the moon rises first, and Mars will appear to the lower left of the Moon. It is a wonderful weekend for a moondance! This is Mars' closest approach to Earth week! And you don't need a telescope to see the spectacle. Hopefully, we'll have clear skies. If so, just step outside and wave to the rover Opportunity when you look at Mars. Her side of Mars is facing Earth over the next two weeks. The rover Spirit, and HER side of Mars will be facing Earth towards the end of February.:-) I've updated my annual Mars Opposition webpage, and it is chock full-o-planetary goodness. Good Mars viewing information that is. :-) Here's the link: http://www.otastro.org/Mars2005/ Here's just one tidbit: *January 2010:* The diameter of Mars this year is a little smaller than it was last opposition in December 2007. It is at opposition on January 29th, and reaches its closest approach to Earth a few days earlier. View Mars all night, from sunset to dawn by month end, but your best views will be when Mars is higher in the sky, from several hours after sunset until after midnight. The (hours from) full moon rises 7 degrees below Mars on Friday night January 29th, offering a pretty side-by-side comparison until dawn. Mars won't be this big or bright again until 2014. Remember how the *moon and Mars* look side-by side this month. Then, in August, when that dopey Mars Hoax email comes back to haunt us, you can tell everyone you saw Mars in January 2010 when it was closest to Earth and it was definitely not as big as the moon. :-) In other news, if you are on Facebook, you can join JPL's "Friday Night with the Moon and Mars" viewing event. No, you don't have to go anyplace or do anything, it's just a fun "awareness" webpage for people to get all excited about Mars viewing. I hope some people will share their views and observations, tho'. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=455652415787&index=1 <https://ums.jpl.nasa.gov/owa/redir.aspx?C=a3cf8ac2513d460185ba7c9612e86b96&…> Finally, some of you have asked how Mojo is doing after his prostate cancer surgery last week. You can read more about it on his blog if you are interested. :-) http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/ He's doing really well, but it will keep us off the sidewalk for a little while. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up January 2010? Mars Opposition! http://is.gd/6krYj What's Up Podcast on YouTube: http://is.gd/6WE77 Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 4 months

ISS pass 2nite, Galileo Blog, look at Jupiter!

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi everyone, it seems like we haven't sent many email updates lately. Our team has been out on the sidewalk with telescopes, tho' and we look forward to more sidewalk astronomy in 2010! Mars Opposition is coming up at the end of January - that is when Mars is as big and as close as it will get this time around the sun. (Hint - it will not be that big and not that close, but is still awesome to view!) In the meantime, tonight there is a ISS pass at 5:25 pm tonight (that's the LA area Pacific time zone) from the WSW going to the NE. It will reach an altitude of 46 degrees above the horizon (halfway to overhead). Note where in the sky Jupiter is at the time - it is in the SW, and the ISS will be to the west of Jupiter. Click on today's date on this link for a star chart. http://is.gd/5SAXO And speaking of Jupiter, 400 years ago tonight, Galileo looked up in the sky near the constellation Orion and aimed his telescope at Jupiter. Jupiter was known to the ancients as a wandering star, but when Galileo aimed his small telescope at it, he saw not only the known "starry wanderer" but 3, then a few days later, 4 little objects orbiting the planet! That discovery changed history, and certainly is the beginning of the age of modern astronomy. go out and even with binoculars you may be able to see the little moons - 2 on either side of the planet. I should thank Galileo by looking up at Jupiter tonight. Because of his observation, 400 years later I get to write blogs about Jupiter and Tweet about Saturn in my job!! And speaking of my job, here is my special JPL blog entry for today - it's on the JPL website. http://blogs.jpl.nasa.gov/?p=61 And then, after you look at the ISS look to the southwest at Jupiter, and tip your glass of Chianti to Galileo. With binoculars, you may see the 4 little moons - two on each side of Jupiter tonight. You'll be recreating a view that startled and amazed Galileo 400 years ago tonight! Clear skies to everyone in 2010! PS my solstice blog, and Clarissa our cat's own blog are here if you need some silly reading material: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/2009/12/02/twas-the-night-before-solstice/ -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Websites: http:www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org My NASA JPL What's Up podcast: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 4 months

Monrovia sidewalk astronomy clouded out this evening

by Gary Spiers

Astronomers joke about a 'new equipment' curse - it is frequently cloudy after an astronomer gets new equipment. Looking at the cloud forecast for this evening and the next week there must be new astronomy equipment in the Pasadena/Monrovia area:) The weather for sidewalk astronomy at the corner of Myrtle and Lime in Monrovia this evening is not looking very promising. There is the possibility that the clouds will clear but it is slim. If you happen to be in the area and the skies have cleared feel free to drop by as some of us are planning to be there if it clears sufficiently in advance but please, do not make a special trip just for Sidewalk Astronomy this evening. We have been thinking about holding a set up clinic/workshop for people that may have received telescopes over Christmas. This would be held at a date in the near future, clouds permitting. It would start in the afternoon as daylight is easier to point out equipment features and then move into the early evening for some observing practice. If you are interested please let us know by sending an email to sidewalk(a)otastro.org and include the make and model of telescope. Wishing you a Happy New Year Gary -- Gary Spiers Pasadena, CA http://lambert-drive.smugmug.com Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

16 years, 5 months

What's Up for December? the Orion Nebula!

by Jane Houston Jones

My last What's Up podcast of 2009's International Year of Astronomy features The Orion Nebula. It takes the listener/viewer from Galileo's sketch of the Trapezium stars 400 years ago, on to Christian Huygens' first detailed sketch of the nebula itself and on to studies by the Hubble Telescope. You can find it here on the Solar System Exploration archive page, along with all the rest of the podcasts. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm On the JPLnews Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#g/u On the NASA podcast page: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html Each month in 2009 the podcast series explores the first observation of a celestial object honoring the IYA 9International Year of Astronomy) 400 years of telescopic observations theme. Here is a brief recap [from each written transcript] of the podcast series. The animations in each podcast show and explain these first observations, telling a great story spanning from the present back to prehistoric times! If you'd like any of the components (artwork, old sketches, current images, etc.) just let me know! It's been a really fun and educational project. As I did the research each month, I learned something new about these objects that I never knew before! January 2009 - Four hundred years ago, Galileo first observed the phases of Venus through a telescope. The prevailing belief was that the sun and planets revolved around the Earth. The phases looked similar to what he saw on Earth's Moon each month. February 2009 - Galileo's famous observations of the moon from 1609 were the first to be published and publicized in 1610. [good lunar phase animation] March 2009 - When Galileo aimed his telescopes at Saturn in 1610 he wasn't sure what he was seeing. He thought the rings were "handles" or large moons on either side of the planet. A few years later in 1612, he was astounded that the "handles" he previously observed had disappeared! And in 1616, the handles were back, but they looked different. This time he saw two half-circles on either side of the round globe of Saturn. April 2009 - In 1845, Ireland's Third Earl of Ross, William Parsons, used his huge telescope at Birr Castle in the center of Ireland to observe and sketch the spiral structure of the Whirlpool Galaxy. May 2009 - Galileo and Englishman Thomas Harriott both observed the sun and sunspots in 1610, but they weren't the first. Chinese and Korean astronomers wrote about sunspots almost three thousand years ago. John of Worcester, who was an English monk, made the earliest existing drawing of sunspots in 1128. June 2009 - It's [the Hercules Cluster] called M-13 because this object is the 13th of Charles Messier's 1764 catalog of celestial objects. But he wasn't the discoverer of this cluster! M-13 was discovered half a century earlier by Edmund Halley. July 2009 - The Milky Way - Ptolemy had identified the six brightest stars in the Pleiades, but Galileo saw 36 stars through his telescope. Through the next two centuries, astronomers used bigger and bigger telescopes to study and map the Milky Way galaxy. August 2009 - Have you ever wondered what makes these cosmic fireworks? Meteor showers are just the debris of a passing comet or sometimes the debris from a fragmented asteroid. [good meteor viewing animation] September - Jupiter also has four large satellites, three of which are larger than our own moon. These four moons were discovered by Galileo 400 years ago. You can see them yourself with a small telescope or even binoculars, and watch them move around the planet just as Galileo did! October 2009 - Astronomers have observed the Andromeda galaxy for over a thousand years. Persian astronomer Al-Sufi was the first to record and sketch his observations of what he called "the little cloud". In 964 he published this observation and many others in his "Book of Fixed Stars". Simon Marius first viewed the galaxy through a telescope in 1612. November 2009 - In 1758, Charles Messier was scanning the skies for comet Halley. He noticed a whitish light, shaped like the flame of a candle in the constellation Taurus. M1, the Crab nebula became the first entry in his catalogue of 110 comet-like objects. 700 years earlier, a "guest star" was visible in the summer sky of 1054. Ancient astronomers in both the old and new worlds documented a new bright star in the daytime sky. It was a supernova in the constellation Taurus and was visible with the unaided eye for nearly two years. December 2009 - This is the final month of International Year of Astronomy. But that shouldn't stop you from looking up next year. This month's target is in one of the most-recognizable constellations: Orion. January 2010 will be all about Mars opposition, first observations and the spacecraft studying this fascinating world! Here's to looking at What’s Up in 2010! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Websites: http:www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org My NASA JPL What's Up podcast: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 5 months

Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy Saturday

by Gary Spiers

On behalf of the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. This weekend we have the opportunity to do a second Saturday of sidewalk astronomy for the month. We try to arrange our sidewalk events for a first quarter moon however this month the first quarter moon occured during the week so last weekend was a little early while this weekend is a little late and the moon will be slightly more full than usual. When the moon gets close to full the lighting becomes flatter and features are not as interesting visually. However part of the moon is still shadowed from the sun by the Earth and the region where it crosses into shadow, know as the terminator, will provide interesting detail for us to view tomorrow. This will almost certainly be our last chance to get a brief glimpse of Jupiter until late August of next year. Tomorrow Jupiter doesn't technically set until after 10 pm however the buildings and trees around our location mean that it disappears from view much earlier than that - the best chance to get that last glimpse will be immediately after dark. There will only be a few astronomers out but we look forward to seeing you at the corner of Myrtle and Lime in Monrovia tomorrow Saturday, 28th November after 6pm. Obviously if it is cloudy we will not be there but the current forecast predicts a clear night. There will be no sidewalk astronomy in Old Town Pasadena this evening. Best regards, Gary -- Gary Spiers Pasadena, CA http://http://lambert-drive.smugmug.com/ Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/garyds

16 years, 6 months

Shuttle and ISS pass tonight 6:21-6:25 p.m.

by Jane Houston Jones

Watch the shuttle follow the ISS tonight! Sorry for the short notice - I just received the info myself. Begin looking in the NW at 6:20 p.m. tonight - it will be over by 6:25p.m when the ISS reaches 38 degrees above the horizon, less than halfway to the zenith overhead. The shuttle should follow - I don't know by how long, but I'd watch for a couple minutes. There are not too many shuttle missions left, so seeing each one is a treat! This is for southern California only. For other locations you can use the same website I do: http://www.heavens-above.com Happy hunting, and happy Thanksgiving too! Jane Event Time Altitude Azimuth Distance (km) Rises above horizon 18:21:33 0° 312° (NW ) 2,131 Reaches 10° altitude 18:23:33 10° 311° (NW ) 1,294 Maximum altitude 18:25:30 38° 304° (NW ) 536 Enters shadow 18:25:30 38° 304° (NW ) 536 -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Websites: http:www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org My NASA JPL What's Up podcast: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 6 months

Sidewalk Astronomy tonight in Monrovia

by Morris Jones

The weather looks good tonight for sidewalk astronomy. We'll be at the corner of Myrtle & Lime from about 6:00 'til 9:00, showing the crescent moon and bright Jupiter. It could get a little cold tonight, so we'll be adding clothing layers. Last weekend Jane and I did a little dark sky observing, and I grabbed a few images of some favorite fall and winter objects. Have a look here: http://mojo.whiteoaks.com/2009/11/21/pinwheels-horseheads-and-flaming-stars/ 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, 6 months

Leonids tonight!

by Jones, Jane H (1862)

Hi everyone! We saw a few shooting stars from the desert on Saturday night. It was in the 40's at midnight, but the sky was absolutely gorgeous! Mojo and I are working on a story or two combining his gorgeous images from that night. You'll see those in a few days. :-) But tonight is Leonid night! The Leonids are my favorite meteor shower, partly because I've been participating in meteor counting research as an amateur astronomer for a dozen years. But mostly because this shower is well documented in art, culture and history going back to the 900's. It looks like we'll have decent weather tonight for those who want to see a few shooting stars. If you want to see some of this historic meteor shower, the best time for us here in the US is from 12:30 am to 2:30 am. (that's Pacific time) Tuesday morning - aka in less than 12 hours from right now. The time usually recommended for meteor shower watching is the "hours before dawn" timeframe. But this time, because Earth will be plowing through a "denser clump" of meteor dust at that time, the rates will go up a little. Not like the storm years of 1998-2002, when thousands of meteors rained down on the Earth, but a nice reminder that our solar system is an amazing place Still, it won't be raining meteors tonight. Expect maybe 10-20 before midnight and maybe up to 30 per hour during the 12:30 - 2:30 am timeframe. An article recalling the 1999 and the 1899 Leonids is here: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=2289 Let me know if you see any! I'll pass on your report if you'd like to the Leonid ground-based team, observing from Kathmandu, Nepal. They are counting meteors (and there will be an outburst of maybe 300) right now where it's meteor time in Asia! http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/ 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 NEW! 2009 What's Up For November-The Crab Nebula http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm

16 years, 6 months

Taurids, Leonids, good views in dark skies

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi everyone, we are really looking forward to our weekend dark sky getaway on the 14th. Weather permitting, we'll be sure to see Taurids and Leonids and more, oh my! Mojo mentioned it to you all a few weeks ago. To repeat part of his invite: "We travel about 160 miles from home in Monrovia out I-10 to a spot on BLM land south of Joshua Tree. Most of us make a night of it, catching a couple hours sleep as we can, and enjoy breakfast the next morning at Chiriaco Summit. Some will leave around midnight to make the trek back." With the time change it gets dark early now, so that means you'd need to arrive before 5:30 p.m., It is dark in the desert, and you travel on a 2 mile dirt road, and you need light to park on soft sand with many pokey bushes and cacti. This site is unfortunately not suitable for large trucks or RV's. Let us know if you'd like to join us, and we'll send the map. Plan to bring plenty of water, a comfortable chair and layers of clothing for (possibly chilly) meteor observing after midnight to dawn. I'm toying with a Leonid morning trek (that would be Monday night the 16th until dawn on Tuesday the 17th) depending on the weather. Maybe Warner Springs, maybe all the way to our observing site. I get all sentimental about the Leonids as Mojo and I have been observing them as part of the NASA Airborne Meteor missions for many years. The bonus view will be Saturn in Leo - been a while since we've had a good look at the real Lord of the Rings. :-) Now, on to business! My What's Up November podcast is all about the Crab Nebula in Taurus and the Leonids get a brief mention at the end. Youtube http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/0/DSRP2XoLgxk - It is also on the JPL front page and lots of other places I mention every month. Blogging about the Leonids: I've been taking a trip down memory lane this week. You can read my story about flying through the 1999 Leonid Storm, and also an interesting (at least to me) article about the first airborne mission one hundred years earlier. It is the story of a woman astronomer (Dorothea Klumpke) observing the Leonids in a balloon! http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ Here's looking up! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Websites: http:www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org My NASA JPL What's Up podcast: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones http://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/

16 years, 6 months

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