Dreary weekend, astronomy wise

We were really hoping to get in some sidewalk time this weekend, with an excellent first-quarter Moon nearly overhead in the sky, and Saturn keeping up its grand appearance. At least we were able to get in an excellent school visit -- science night at La Fetra Elementary in Glendora last Tuesday evening. We had a perfect night with clear skies and good seeing. Over 300 kids, parents, and teachers stopped by for looks at Saturn. So we're rained out this weekend. Next week (Easter weekend) we'll be visiting Anza-Borrego state park, staying at the Borrego Springs resort, and hopefully setting up telescopes to view and show the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and maybe a few interesting deep sky objects. During the day we'll be enjoying the desert wildflowers. New information is available on the web site <http://www.otastro.org> about April sidewalk astronomy, and summertime dark sky astronomy in the national parks. Jane and I plan to visit Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite on several occasions this summer with telescopes and step ladders in tow. If you're planning to get out from under the Los Angeles light dome this summer, drop me a note and I might be have some suggestions for viewing the universe beyond this little solar system. I'll paraphrase a quote by John Dobson: A park ranger wondering about the use of telescopes in his park asked, "Do you believe the sky is part of the park?" John replied, "Oh certainly not! The park is part of the sky!" Best regards, Mojo -- Morris Jones Monrovia, CA http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org