If you look at the sky from Monrovia right now, you'll see thick
heavy clouds snuggling up to the the San Gabriel Mountains, with a
few shafts of sunlight piercing through. But the conditions should
turn from poor to below average by 8 p.m. - that means partly
cloudy with
wobbly views through the telescope.
That being said, if you are nearby and want to see the moon, and
possibly a poor view of Saturn, come on down to Library Park - we
should be there from 8- nearly 10 p.m., unless it continues to be
completely cloudy. Even a poor view of Saturn (from the eyes of this
jaded long-time telescope wrangler) is still better than no view of
the ringed beauty.
We'll be showing Saturn for many months now, as it gets higher in
the sky, so there will be more chances to see Saturn. A couple dark
sky public events coming up will feature Saturn in a dark sky
location.
Join us (you'll have to RSVP for a camp site) at Mojave National
Preserve on the evening of April 23. I know the 24th is Easter, but
you can go on a desert tortoise photo hike, and maybe see some
jackrabbits and spring blossoms on Sunday instead. :-) Maps,
directions, and information about Mojave National Preserve will be
found soon (not yet unfortunately) at the Conservancy's website
http://www.preservethemojave.org/events.html. You need to contact
David Lamfrom to RSVP for a campsite or ask questions at dlamfrom@npca.org . The event
is free, but it is being sponsored by the Mojave National Preserve
Conservancy, and they will welcome your membership! Bring a potluck
item, there will be a group potluck dinner before stargazing on
Saturday night. If you plan to bring a telescope, you can let me
know, but be sure to RSVP for a campsite with David too.
Then in August, Mojo and I and other members of the San Jose
Astronomical Society will be bringing telescopes to share with the
public at Glacier Point, Yosemite. Only members of this club can
bring telescopes, but all visitors to the National Park can partake
of the views. Our weekend is August 26-27, 2011, but there is a
different Northern California Astronomy club presenting weekend star
parties at Glacier Point every weekend from July 4th to labor day,
excepting full moon weekends, and subject to snow clearing the
roads. So if your visiting the park this summer, check it out!
Finally, check out my April podcast - it features Saturn this month
:-) There are stunning views of Saturn in the video!
YouTubehttp://www.youtube.com/profile?user=JPLnews#p/u/1/pBUkTMk-Icw
More formats and educational links:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/whatsup-view.cfm?WUID=804
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
My What's Up Podcast for April: Saturn
NASA podcast: http://1.usa.gov/ggypW3
Youtube site: http://bit.ly/hXVHK7
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones /CassiniSaturn /otastro
My Blog: http://jane.whiteoaks.com/