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Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy tonight cancelled due to cloudy weather

by Jane Houston Jones

Tonight's weather forecast: Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Probability of measurable precipitation 30 percent. Southeast wind 5 mph. Low 51. Tonight's Clear Sky Clock shows all white - and that means 90% cloud cover: http://cleardarksky.com/c/MnrviaCAkey.html Luckily we had two great sidewalk astronomy nights this week. On Tuesday night LA Sidewalk Astronomer Donna Smith and I set up two homemade reflector telescopes in front of the Glendale Library. We showed a pretty crescent moon and Saturn to nearly 200 people who came to the library either to hear John Dobson's talk or who were at the library.. Last night Mojo and I set up telescopes on Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, and in-between the passing clouds we managed to have some decent moon views to show to the over 200 passersby. By 9 p.m. the moon was totally obscured by cloud, so we left early, and it looks like tonight will be worse, weatherwise. Our next outings, both in Monrovia Possible: Saturday Feb 3. The moon will be one day past full, and won't rise until 7 p.m. so if we do some viewing it will be from about 7:30 - 10 p.m. Confirmed: February 10 - 76-10 p.m. Special Saturn viewing night from about 7:30 p.m. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

17 years, 10 months

Dobson speaks at Glendale Library tonight

by Jane H Jones

Sorry for the late notice - I thought I sent this first event notice a couple weeks ago, but I didn't. This first event is tonight, and I'll be setting up my own homemade 10-inch Dobsonian reflector http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2006-12-02-dobson/slides/IMG_3850.html at the library in Glendale - I made the telescope in John Dobson's telescope making class in 1988. :-) Near the the bottom of this email are our own sidewalk events in January and February. :-) Tonight: Jan 23 - John Dobson will be doing an auditorium and parking lot talk - demo of several of his telescopes at the Glendale Public Library (GPL) Tuesday Jan. 23rd, 7 p.m. GPL is on the corner of Louise and Harvard near Colorado and Brand essentially downtown Glendale. Rain date is Jan 30. Here is the library link: http://library.ci.glendale.ca.us/authors_artists_friends.asp#dobson A few other local Dobson events are below. If you want more info about John's schedule, here is the link: www.sidewalkastronomers.us - click on schedule. Jan. 25 - The Sidewalk Astronomers will be at Nightengale Middle School at 3311 N. Figeroa in Los Angeles on the evening of Jan 25th for Science Night. Jan 26 - Join the Sidewalk Astronomers at Samuel's Florist on the evening of Jan 26 from 6 pm unitl 9 pm. 921 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA for more information call 818-846-1722. Jan 27 - John will be at the Griffith Park Star Party. http://www.griffithobs.org/ Star Parties are listed under the "Public Programs" area. http://www.griffithobservatory.org/pstarparties.html The Griffith website states: Those wishing to attend public star parties held at the Observatory will need to secure a timed entry and shuttle reservation for the date and time of the event. To make a reservation, please click here. Jan 28-29 John is giving talks at the Vedanta Center in Hollywood, but I don't have any additional info at this time. If you are interested in this, contact Donna at dsmith1055(a)earthlink.net Here are the next few Old Town Sidewalk Astronomy events: Jan 26 - Old Town Pasadena 6-9 p.m. (we set up on Colorado Blvd between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Avenues, depending on parking) Jan 27 - Old Town Monrovia - Library Park, Myrtle and Lime Streets, Monrovia 5-9 p.m. Feb 2&3 possible near-full-moon sidewalk nights. Saturn is close to the moon Friday night, close to Regulus Saturday night. Feb 6 - if you want to bring a telescope to school, let us know. We'll be doing our 4th annual event at a Monrovia middle school on Tuesday Feb 6th. This is the school's PTA Founders Day, and several hundred students, parents and staff will have a look through the telescopes when they are not indoors at the honors program. Telescope viewing begins at 5:45 p.m. and the event will be over by 7:30 or so. Saturn and Venus will be the observing targets. Our two telescopes are usually enough, but we would welcome a school star party veteran, with telescope. :-) Feb 10 - Saturn Observing Night - in conjunction with the JPL Cassini Mission to Saturn's volunteer program http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/experience/gallery-archive-stories.cfm, we'll join amateur astronomers all over the world showing the planet Saturn on this night! Monrovia 6-10 p.m., later if there are still interested viewers. Feb. 26 Science Fair at a Glendora Elementary School. Again let us know if you'd like to bring a telescope to Glendora for Science Fair night. Again, veterans of school star parties, let us know if you are interested in helping out. 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 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 Cassini Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

17 years, 11 months

Telescope day

by dsmith1055＠earthlink.net

Please change the date of the telescope workshop from December 16 to December 17 - We will be working on scopes from 1 pm until 4 or so. We'll be working in Burbank at 921 W. Olive Ave, the phone number there is 818-846-1722 or 800-987-6737. Donna

18 years

Telescope work day December 16

by Jane H Jones

Some of you met Sidewalk Astronomers John Dobson, Bob Alborzian and Donna Smith last Saturday night in Monrovia - they were helping out with the telescopes in addition to Todd and Caroline, and Mojo and me. It was a really fun night and our friends Bob and Donna really enjoyed our Monrovia sidewalk gang. John's next Southern California "event" will be his annual visit to Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, between Christmas and New Years. Before the annual Death Valley trek, the Sidewalk Astronomers homemade telescopes usually need a little "repair" in Donna's workshop. If you are interested in helping, watching, or spending some time with John and the gang, you can do so by attending the "Work Party" on Saturday December 16th contact Donna Smith dsmith1055(a)earthlink.net 818-846-1722 This is a great way to see the not-so-mysterious construction details of the telescopes. Donna says that four telescopes - 8, 10, 12 and 18-inch reflectors on Dobsonian mounts - will be in the shop for some minor surgery. :-) If you are interested in attending the Death Valley Astronomy program on one or more nights (or days), here are some details from Donna - ask her directly if you have any questions. Furnace Creek - arrive Dec. 26th in the afternoon, John speaks that night at the visitor center. We leave the morning of Dec. 30. For camping information call 800-365-2267 and for lodging at the Furnace Creek Ranch/Inn call 760-786-2345 and the number for the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is 760-786-3200. We will have sun scopes out daily and telescopes out nightly. We have plenty of scopes, if someone wants to swing by on their way to/from Vegas and doesn't want to tote a scope. Lodging might also be available at Stovepipe Wells or Armagosa - which are 20 to 30 minutes from Furnace Creek. Here are a few astro happenings this week and next: Tonight, December 8th - watch Saturn accompany the moon across the sky. December 8-14 - 45 minutes before sunrise: Watch Jupiter, Mars and Mercury come close together in the southeast at dawn. Look very close to the SE horizon, less than 10 degrees above the horizon. Mars is the dimmest of the three planets. Watch from now until the 14th of December as the trio comes closer together. The three planets fit in a one degree circle on the 10th. This is the closest observable "bunching" of three bright planets for the next 25 years! No telescope needed, this is a view for the unaided eyes or binoculars. Check back on the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers website http://www.otastro.org/ in a week or two. We should have our next dark sky and sidewalk dates listed, plus a photo journal from last Saturday night, plus a cute song about John Dobson on the website. 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 Cassini Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

18 years

Sidewalk astronomy in Monrovia Saturday December 2

by Jane Houston Jones

Holidays and family events usually keep us busy this time of year, but we are expecting a special surprise guest to join us on the sidewalk in Monrovia on December 2. We'll have a big lovely Moon just two days from full to show. The giant planets will return to the early evening sky very soon, but not for another month or so. Our special guest has been with us before on the sidewalk, and he is there with us in spirit each month as we aim our Dobsonian reflectors skywards, beckoning all within earshot to "come see the Moon." Yes John Dobson will be with us this weekend. If you haven't met John, stop by to say hello! For those who haven't heard of John, he invented the Dobsonian telescope mount and founded the Sidewalk Astronomers. Mojo and I used to bring John out on the San Francisco sidewalks before we moved south, so it is a special treat when his visits collide with one of our sidewalk astronomy nights. Elsewhere in the solar system in December: Three planets grace the dawn during the first part of December. Jupiter, Mercury and Mars can be spotted in the southeast low in the sky before sunrise. Mars is much dimmer than the other two planets. Look for them from December 7-14. The three planets fit in a binocular view, getting closer between December 9 to 11. On December 10, these three planets bunch closer than any three planets will during the next quarter century! Saturn rises by 10:00 p.m. at the beginning of December and by 8 p.m. by the end of the month. On December 9th the Moon rises close to Saturn. The bright Moon will obscure the annual Geminid meteor shower on December 12-14. Hope to see you on Saturday night between 5 and 9 p.m. We'll skip Friday night in Pasadena this month, and resume our normal schedule in January. We'll just have the one target, the nearly full moon to view this month. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

18 years

There's a little black spot on the sun today

by Jane H Jones

The lyrics of "King of Pain", by Sting & Police starts like this: There's a little black spot on the sun today It's the same old thing as yesterday But today there is a different little black spot on the sun! It's the planet Mercury passing between the Sun and the Earth!! Today, November 8, the planet Mercury passes inferior conjunction with the Sun, where it is in between the Sun and Earth. Because of the tilt of the planetary orbit, Mercury is usually not QUITE aligned, but passes either above or below the solar disk. This time, however, the planet passes right across the Sun for a "transit." Transit seasons are early November and May. November events are separated by intervals of 7 or 14 years. May transits (which take place with the planet farther from the Sun) are rarer, and can, but don't have to, recur in 14 years. (Transits of Venus are far rarer. There were none in the twentieth century; the last one was in 2004, the next in 2012.) Unfortunately, Transits of Mercury are NOT visible to the naked eye, even with appropriate filters, but are readily visible with the telescope. However, they should be viewed by projection only; do not even try without professional-level knowledge or help. The event begins at 1:12 PM CST (2:12 EST, 12:12 MST, 11:12 AM PST, 9:12 AM Hawaii), and lasts for about 5 hours as the planet slowly moves in orbit. Only the western US and Canada will witness the whole thing before sunset. The timings of such transits were once used in attempts to local times and thus longitudes. This description courtesy of Jim Kaler: http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/skylights.html Since this is a telescopic event, and then only through solar safe telescopes, I thought I'd provide our OTAstronuts with a virtual viewing of the transit. I'll be here at JPL, with three solar-safe telescopes, Mojo is at work with one additional safe telescope, and our frequent sidewalk astronomy telescope operators Gary and his daughter Elizabeth are setting up a solar safe telescope at Elizabeth's school today. So sit back, and use these links. The transit begins at 11:10 a.m. here on the west coast and ends at 4:10 p.m. If you miss this one, don't worry, it'll happen again in 2016! APOD (Astro Photo Of the Day) - simulated transit of Mercury http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ A nice animation and description http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/20oct_transitofmercury.htm A webcast - one of many, you can probably find others if this is busy using your favorite search engine: http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit/ A nice visual description, shows size of Mercury - looks fine on the screen, white text doesn't show up on printed copies: http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit/what.html I am using this handout: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/tran/TM2006sun.GIF Todays sunspots here - the sunspot image also shows size of Earth and Jupiter for a great size explanation. :-) http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/ Finally, this transit is not visible everywhere on Earth. The transit will be widely visible from the Americas, the Pacific Ocean, eastern Asia, and Australia US map here http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/tran/TM2006map.GIF Global view here http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/image1/TM2006Nov08-Fig2.GIF 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 Cassini Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm

18 years, 1 month

Short Moon observing tonight in Pasadena

by Morris Jones

The Moon is back in the evening sky, and the Santa Ana winds are making the sky very clear for us! Having a good clear sky tonight is a good thing, because this time of year, the first quarter Moon is in the part of the ecliptic that's furthest to the south. Tonight's Moon will never get any higher than 28 degrees above the southern horizon, and that happens at 5:20 p.m.! After that, it's all downhill. We plan to be out in Old Town Pasadena tonight, on Colorado Blvd., somewhere between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave. Let's say about 6:30 p.m. 'til 9:00 p.m. Because of the Moon's low altitude in the sky, it's a little hard to predict when it will disappear below the buildings. But if it does, it'll leave more time for a cocktail later. :) We'll be back tomorrow night in Monrovia, at Myrtle and Lime, with a slightly larger, slightly higher Moon, 6:30 'til 9:00 at least. Meanwhile, if you're interested in our vacation pictures and trip report from Ireland and the U.K., just click here! <http://photo.whiteoaks.com/2006-10-uk/> Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

18 years, 1 month

Dark sky excursion this weekend

by Morris Jones

If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be out under a truly dark sky with some knowledgeable observers, this Saturday night is your chance. The weather forecasts look perfect for a comfortable night of observing from our favorite remote desert location, about 155 miles east from Monrovia on I-10. It will just be a few of us. If you'd like to come, you're free to arrive whenever you like, and leave whenever you like. You'll want to bring food and lots of water, something to sit on, and clothing layers for when the air turns chilly. Jane and I will have a camp toilet available. Certainly bring binoculars and a telescope if you have one! Sunset will at 6:00 p.m. Jane and I will plan to arrive at about 5:00 p.m. It's a great spot for a light picnic dinner. You can pitch a tent if you like; Jane and I usually doze in the car for a few hours. It's especially fun to rise well before sunrise and enjoy the still air of the morning sky. I allow about two and a half hours for travel from Monrovia. Traffic is sometimes a little heavy on the afternoon trip on either 10 or 60. If you'd like to attend (Dan Gollnick and Tom Traeger, I've already heard from you), please send a reply to this note, and I'll follow up with specific directions. It would be good to provide me with a cell phone number or other contact in case the weather turns inclement. (Right now the only threat would be high winds.) Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

18 years, 2 months

Starry Nights Festival in Yucca Valley this weekend

by Morris Jones

This weekend features an annual event that Jane and I have enjoyed, the Starry Nights Festival held in Yucca Valley. The event features talks at the Hi-Desert Nature Museum on astronomy topics, and David Levy will be the featured speaker on Saturday afternoon. Then they offer telescope viewing under the very dark skies of Yucca Valley through the Andromeda Society's member's telescopes at Machris Park. The museum will offer free shuttle buses to the park from the museum in Yucca Valley. On our previous visit to this event, the big floodlights of the park were off, there was plenty of dim red light to see by, and society volunteers were serving hot cocoa. All the information, including a program and map, is here at the Town of Yucca Valley's web site: <http://yucca-valley.org/departments/museumlecture.html> Jane and I will be there Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening at the star party with our big dobsonian reflectors. Next weekend, October 21, we're also planning a dark sky night just for our friends and fans of the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers, in the beautiful remote Colorado Desert south of Joshua Tree. I'll send another note with more information about that soon. With the giant planets gone from the evening sky for the rest of the year, it's a great time to soak up the faint deep sky objects from our beautiful desert locations! Cheers, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers http://www.otastro.org

18 years, 2 months

Astronomers in the U.K.

by Morris Jones

Hi all! Jane and I are visiting London and Dublin for the next two weeks, but sidewalk astronomy goes on! Dave Hasenauer and our other intrepid sidewalk astronomers will be in Monrovia at Myrtle and Lime this Saturday, September 30. They should have a lovely first quarter Moon to show; the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn won't be in the evening sky again 'til next year. Last night we had dinner and an overnight visit at the home of Sir Patrick Moore in the south England coastal town of Selsey. At 83, he's still doing his show "Sky at Night" for the BBC! He doesn't get around so well these days, but he's as talkative as ever. This morning the BBC crew arrived to tape an episode of his program. We got to explore his fine old thatched-roof home, talk lunar astronomy, look through his amazing collection of astronomical writings and sketches, and meet his beloved cats. We were joined by astronomer and Patrick's co-author Chris Sinnot and local astrophotographer Ian Sharp. We tried using Patrick's 15-inch fork-mount newtonian to observe, but the early evening sucker holes gave way to an overcast sky. The "Sky at Night" crew from BBC is planning a trip to the States in early December, and they plan to join us in Monrovia along with John Dobson for our regular sidewalk astronomy night. I'll send an update when there are more details. Tomorrow we visit Stonehenge, and Wednesday we're off to Dublin then Birr Castle for the Whirlpool Star Party. More updates later ... Reporting from London, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org

18 years, 2 months

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