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Harry Potter astronomy, dark sky stargazing coming up

by Jane Houston Jones

Hi astronomy enthusiasts, in honor of the new Harry Potter movie coming out next week some of your intrepid Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers got together and compiled "The Harry Potter Objects" - a literary astronomical project connecting characters in . K. Rowling's books to their astronomical counterparts. We read the books and made a list of the astronomy names, like Sirius Black and Draco Malfoy. Then we researched both the astronomical objects and the Potter characters. Next we took our telescopes, binoculars, star charts and green laser pointers out of the city to our dark sky observing spots over many months and located the objects. It was a ton of fun and finally we wrote it up for you to enjoy! Here it is: http://tr.im/HPsky Also, we're inviting you to join us at a dark sky outing next weekend. On July 17th and 18th some of us are taking our telescopes to the Warner Springs Ranch. http://www.warnersprings.com/ Each month the ranch offers a free star party to their guests and local folks. They usually just have one or two astronomers ,and one of them is a colleague of mine at JPL. she thought we might like to try it out. It is a one third shorter drive than to our usual desert spots.You don't have to stay at the ranch to stargaze with us, but we are staying there for the Saturday night public star party (a few of us will be there Friday night also). There are camping areas neaby - Oak Knoll Campground is about 15 miles away on Palomar Mountain, I am told. http://www.warnersprings.com/ Astronomy is weather permitting, of course. The 4 of us who worked on the Harry Potter Observing Project will all be there Saturday night, and we'll be happy to point out the summer objects from the project list. :-) The Milky Way, subject of my July 2009 Whats Up podcast will be beautiful from Warner Springs. Hope to see some of you there! Email me if you have questions, but contact the ranch for logistics and/or reservations. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: 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/

17 years, 1 month

What's Up for July? ISS from the city, Milky Way away from city lights

by Jones, Jane H

Hi astronomy enthusiasts! Mojo and I have been away for a couple weeks on a family cruise to Alaska, but we are home and now our eyes are once again turned upwards to enjoy the local night sky. You can still view Saturn lower in the west and look for Jupiter rising in the east! For SoCal residents there are some pretty good evening passes of the International Space Station this week. Look in the Southwest (Saturn will be bright and low in the SW too) and the ISS will be traveling from the SW to the NE less than halfway to the horizon. Go to the Heavens Above web page and click on the date of the pass if you are interested more detail. You may see a small satellite following the ISS - that is the Progress Resupply Vehicle! Here's the local Heaven's Above page: http://is.gd/1qaTZ The good ISS passes are at: 7/7 9:35 P.M. (ISS passes near Saturn W to E) 7/8 8:24 P.M. (the best south to north) 7/9 8:49 P.M. (look closer to the horizon below Saturn) What else is up? The Milky Way is beautiful, and well worth a trip away from city lights - more on an outing we're planning soon. The Milky Way is the subject of my monthly podcast too. You can view it here in many formats: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-archive.cfm And here http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html And here on Youtube with other JPL videos here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews&view=videos That's all for now! 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 Saturnobs http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/Education/saturnobservation/ What's Up June: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html

17 years, 1 month

Cloudy tonight - no sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia

by Jane Houston Jones

It doesn't appear the clouds are going to clear for tonight's first quarter moon viewing in Monrovia, so this is the official cancellation. And since next month's first quarter moon falls on the fourth of July weekend we're cancelling those observing sessions, too. Monrovia has a wonderful fourth of July celebration, so for those local to our town, enjoy the fireworks and festivities along Myrtle Avenue on Saturday the 4th. And visit the new Monrovia Library at Myrtle between Palm and Lime Street - it's spectacular! Back to the moon - I just posted my very first astronomy article on my blog. It's called "A day in the life of the moon" and it got me started with astronomical writing , lunar observing and sketching nearly 20 years ago. It's here, along with some other musings and sketchings http://jane.whiteoaks.com/ Jane, Mojo and the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA Website: 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/

17 years, 2 months

May Gray in Pasadena

by Morris Jones

This persistent marine layer makes it difficult to see the sky, even the bright moon tonight. So we're going to call off sidewalk astronomy in Pasadena tonight, and see if it's any better tomorrow in Monrovia. Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

17 years, 2 months

Oops, sent telescope request to large email list, not astronomers

by Jones, Jane H

Sorry everyone, I hit the send button too soon! I meant to communicate with only our small group of telescope wranglers who do bring telescopes to support non-profit or public events like this one, when time (and skies) permits. But since I accidentally sent it out to everyone on our event list, the event I referred to is a wonderful play being offered this past weekend and next weekend May 22, 23, and 24th at Caltech. Check it out if you have the time! Details: The Theater Arts at Caltech (TACIT) presents five outdoor performances of Bertolt Brecht¹s Life of Galileo on campus at Gates Annex Patio beginning May 15. Presented by Caltech Performing and Visual Arts, the event is priced at $18; $9 for seniors and students; $5 for youth. Caltech, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and group discounts are available. TACIT presents Brecht¹s Life of Galileo on May 15, 16, 17 and 22, 23, 24. All performance times are at 8 p.m. except Sundays at 7 p.m. and the exception of May 16, which features a special alumni performance beginning at 6 p.m. TACIT¹s staging of Life of Galileo coincides with the International Year of Astronomy and celebrates the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the telescope. http://pasadenanow.com/main/2009/05/12/caltech-presents-brian-brophy-directe d-life-of-galileo/ 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 Saturnobs http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/Education/saturnobservation/ NEW!!What's Up for May: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm

17 years, 2 months

FW: would like to book you and your telescopes

by Jones, Jane H

I had already replied that the logistics of setup (hauling telescope from parking on street to lawn, then move cars, then repeat to take down) was not good for us. And I thought I put them in touch with Vahrun at Caltech. Notice she says Mars is up. Eek! 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 Saturnobs http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/Education/saturnobservation/ NEW!!What's Up for May: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm ------ Forwarded Message From: "Tanner, Angelle M" <angelle.m.tanner(a)jpl.nasa.gov> Date: Sun, 17 May 2009 23:29:54 -0700 To: "Jones, Jane H" <jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov> Conversation: would like to book you and your telescopes Subject: RE: would like to book you and your telescopes Hey, do you think you and the others might be interested in setting up telescopes for this weekend's Life of Galileo performance? We did not do the ren faire this weekend so there was no time. We have performances on Fri, Sat and Sun at 8, 8, and 7pm. Saturn is up and so is Mars. Steven Collins (JPL) is the lead and he is amazing! Ya'll should at least come to the show. Angelle ----------------------------------------------------------- Angelle Tanner SBAR/JPL 626-354-1296 -----------------------------------------------------------

17 years, 2 months

Public Celebration of IYA2009 in Pasadena on June 6

by Jones, Jane H

Hi again Old Town Astronomy fans! Here is news about a really cool event - and the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be participating with our telescopes! If you'd like to help out (by handing out bookmarks or aiming a solar-safe telescope, or just hang out and learn what to say and do at a large public astronomy event) email me by May 31 and I'll see if there is a spot for you to help out. Thanks, Jane PS I have this "press release" in a PDF format, which I can send to you for community posting if you'd like. PPS It's an IYA event, not a sidewalk astronomy event. I'm just working on the JPL activities and the telescope activities, not the entire event. (whew) Public Celebration of IYA2009 in Pasadena on June 6 Contacts: Douglas Isbell U.S. Single-Point-of-Contact for IYA2009 Phone: 520-991-0380 Email: disbell(a)astronomy2009.us Jake Noel-Storr Rochester Institute of Technology Phone: 585-475-2521 Email: jake(a)cis.rit.edu USIYA09-04 May 12, 2009 Public Celebration of International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Pasadena on June 6 The public is invited to a celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) on Saturday, June 6, from 4-8 p.m. at the Pasadena (Calif.) Convention Center, followed by public stargazing with small telescopes on the convention center plaza until 9:30 p.m. A variety of fun, family oriented, hands-on activities and exhibit booths will be provided, including solar observing and a 100-foot scale model solar system, presented by organizations attending the subsequent summer meeting of the American Astronomical Society, with special additions from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Representatives from the popular Astronomy Cast podcast and the Galaxy Zoo citizen-science project will be among the exhibitors in the indoor “AstroZone.” Special indoor presentations will be made using a portable planetarium and a digital data immersion environment from the Rochester Institute of Technology. For updates on exhibits and organizations at the event, visit the AstroZone Web site at www.imascientist.org/astrozone. For more information on the SCUBE digital immersion environment, see insight.cis.rit.edu/SCUBE/. “Pasadena and greater Los Angeles is one of the world’s leading centers of astronomy, both historically and today,” said Douglas Isbell, the U.S. single point of contact for IYA2009. “We look to this public event on June 6 to help us get the second half of the International Year of Astronomy off to a stellar start, as we anticipate the distribution of many thousand copies of our new Galileoscope telescope kit around the world, and several exciting citizen-science projects.” Driving directions to the Pasadena Convention Center and information on parking is available at the Web site pasadenacenter.com/-directions.html. The outdoor astronomy activities and bazaar will be held in the central plaza marked by a rose and purple background on the street map posted there. The telescope viewing, and some of the afternoon outdoor activities on June 6 are weather dependent. The planet Saturn, in particular, will be well positioned for viewing that evening. Small telescopes for public viewing will be provided by members of the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers (www.otastro.org). Commemorating 400 years since Galileo first used a telescope for astronomical research, IYA2009 is designed to help the citizens of the world to rediscover their place in the Universe through viewing the day- and night-time skies, to appreciate the impact of astronomy and basic sciences on our daily lives, and to better understand how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society. Astronomers and educators in 140 countries aim to stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science, especially among young people, under the central IYA2009 theme‚"The Universe, Yours to Discover." Major IYA2009 events to come include collaboration with the Year of Science 2009 in July (www.yearofscience2009.org/themes_astronomy/celebrate/), featuring a public imaging contest using NASA’s MicroObservatory network, globally connected star parties focused on observing the Moon on August 1 and Jupiter (and its moons) on October 23-24, the Great World Wide Star Count from October 9-23, and further expansion of the new Portal to the Universe Web site (www.portaltotheuniverse.org). To learn more about IYA2009, visit www.astronomy2009.org. Additional information on the U.S. plans and programs for IYA can be found at www.astronomy2009.us. The U.S. IYA2009 program is supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA, and by private donations. The American Astronomical Society is the U.S. liaison to the IYA2009 program via the International Astronomical Union. Key U.S. partners include the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA. 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 Saturnobs http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/Education/saturnobservation/ NEW!!What's Up for May: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm

17 years, 2 months

Diary of Hubble Grapple today

by Jones, Jane H

I've been following Twitter and NASA TV at work watching the historic "Grapple" of Hubble by shuttle STS-125, Atlantis this morning. It was very exciting and so I thought I'd share it with you all. For those of you not near your TV, computer, or don't follow NASA on Twitter, here is a little diary of the past hour and a half. Fr NASA 9:10 a.m. Pacific: To watch the shuttle capture Hubble at 12:56pm ET and for the first views of the telescope in 7 years, go to: www.nasa.gov/ntv Fr NASA 9:10 a.m. Shuttle Atlantis performed a small mid-course correction burn during approach to Hubble. Grapple is set to occur at about 12:54pm ET. Fr NASA 9:10 a.m. Pacific Atlantis is now closing in at 1.2 feet/sec and is just under 700 feet from Hubble. Fr Spaceflight Now 9:30 a.m.: Atlantis is now 300 feet directly below Hubble. http://tinyurl.com/o3urko Fr NASA 9:30 a.m.The Hubble team at Hubble's control center is doing commanding sequences to prepare it for Atlantis, which is about 250 ft beneath Hubble. NASA abt 9:30 a.m. Less than 24 minutes to grapple! Watch with Mission Control as Atlantis lines up w/Hubble: www.nasa.gov/ntv DishNet Ch. 123 DirecTV Ch. 283 Fr NASA 9:40 a.m. To watch the shuttle capture Hubble at 12:56pm ET and for the first views of the telescope in 7 years, go to: www.nasa.gov/ntv Fr NASA 10:05 a.m. Atlantis now closes the final 100 feet, moving at a speed of only a tenth of a ft/sec. The estimated time of grapple is 1:05pm ET. Fr Spaceflightnow 10:09 a.m. Hubble coming into view of the camera mounted at the end of the shuttle's robot arm as the shuttle inches closer. http://tinyurl.com/o3urko Fr SpaceflightNow 10:14 a.m. The shuttle's robot arm is now reaching out to grab the telescope. Fr NASA 10:15 a.m. The Hubble Space Telescope has been captured by space shuttle Atlantis' robotic arm. It now will be moved into the shuttle's cargo bay. Fr alexismadrigal(Wired Science) 10:15 a.m. Hubble is the hottest tin can of all time. http://twitpic.com/53ouw Look at her all lit up. Spaceflightnow 10:45 a.m.Communications regained with Hubble. Everything looks good for berthing the telescope in the cargo bay. http://tinyurl.com/o3urko Scifri (Science Friday) at 10:47 a.m. Atlantis crew has been given a 'go' to start work on pulling Hubble into its berth in the shuttle bay. PeterKingCBS 10:50 a.m. Atlantis astronaut Megan McArthur operating robot arm to bring Hubble into shuttle's cargo bay for its makeover. Gyeehill (JPL friend) at 10:50 a.m. Atlantis can see the Baja peninsula and soon Southern Cal. (((( waving ))))) Hi! Astro_Mike !!!!!!! Watch NASA TV on your computer: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html?param=public Watch NASA TV www.nasa.gov/ntv, DishNet Ch. 213, DirecTV Ch. 283 Now I'll return you to your regular programming. Hope you enjoy this play-by-play. :-) Jane Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones 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 Saturnobs http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/Education/saturnobservation/ NEW!!What's Up for May: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm

17 years, 2 months

Clouds tonight

by Morris Jones

While there are partly cloudy spots around L.A. county, the Monrovia end of the San Gabriel Valley seems to have a permanent knot of clouds backed up against the mountains. So with little chance of any sky, we're going to call off sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia tonight. We'll try again soon ... Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org http://twitter.com/mojo_la

17 years, 3 months

What's Up? Rain and clouds tonight

by Morris Jones

No sidewalk astronomy tonight in Pasadena, due to clouds and the threat of rain. I'll hold off on tomorrow 'til we get closer. BUT while there might not be much sun today, you can learn about observing the sun on Jane's May "What's Up" podcast: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup.cfm Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org Twitter: http://twitter.com/mojo_la

17 years, 3 months

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