Spring Sidewalk Astronomy

Jane and I have had a great couple of weekend excursions away from the L.A. light dome to visit with old friends in the sky. Just for fun, we playful astronomers like to see how many objects from Charles Messier's catalog of 110 deep sky objects we can observe in one evening. Because of the Sun's position in the sky in March, it's possible with practice and cooperation from the clouds to see "M" all between sunset and dawn. Jane and I made two runs at it these past two weekends, and here is Jane's story with some great desert pictures: <http://www.otastro.org/2006-04-01-messier/> We certainly haven't abandoned the sidewalks of Pasadena and Monrovia, and this coming weekend we should have some great Moon and Saturn views for accidental astronomers. If the clouds part on Friday and Saturday, except to see us: Friday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. 'til 10:00 p.m., Colorado Blvd. near Delacey, Old Town Pasadena Saturday, April 8, 7:00 p.m. 'til 9:30 p.m., Myrtle and Lime, Old Town Monrovia Given that we've (yawn) switched to Darkness Squandering Time, I don't yet have a good handle on sunset times and such. But we'll be there about sunset for a few hours. Close enough? :) (Maybe it's the lack of sleep over the weekends ... !) Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers http://www.otastro.org