Hi everyone!
Last night's pass of the International Space Station was fun to
watch from Myrtle and Lime Streets. We had a big crowd out to watch
with us.
There is another excellent pass tonight from the LA area. It begins
at 7:58 PM Pacific time, is 6 min in duration, with a maximum height
of 78 degrees, begining in the South-Southwest sky at 7:58 pm. The
International Space Station reaches its highest elevation at 8:01
p.m. and ends at 8:04 p.m. in the East-Northeast.
I signed up for an email alert from this website and get a notice
the day before the next pass. Here's the link.
I also use this website for more satellite passes and nice maps,
Heaven's Above, http://www.heavens-above.com/. I set up dozens of
our commonly used observing locations, but the SpotTheSyation email
is easy!
I also updated our Old Town Astronomers with hightlights of the
month (Lunar Eclipse in April 14) and upcoming event dates.
On the west coast the eclipse begins at 9:53 p.m. and ends at 3:38
a.m. If you just want to catch the total eclipse, set your
alarm clock for midnight on the West Coast. The total eclipse will
last an hour and a half from beginning to end.
Several people asked us last night about observing from a dark sky.
Our next public dark sky star party is on May 31, in Mojave National
Preserve's Black Canyon Group Campsite. It's highly recommended to
arrive before dark (sunset is at 8:30 p.m.), enjoy the potluck, set
up your tent in the large group campsite (RSVP required but there is
no cost), and visit the Hole in the Wall visitor center open 10-4
Saturdays, or take some of the nearby hikes. Then near 8:30 p.m.
we'll share views through an assortment of telescopes for as long as
there are people wishing to observe with us (or until we poop out).
We typically leave some telescopes up all night to catch special
views before dawn. More on that closer to the date. The Mojave
National Preserve doesn't have the Spring Star party flyer up yet (I
owe them a "what we'll see" writeup) but you can look at the
November 2013 flyer to get the flavour of the event. You can see the
park map here to plan your driving, where the visitor centers and
attractions are.
http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/camping-groups.htm
We drive from Monrovia by driving to Barstow, then I-40. Wen we get
to Ludlow it's 49 miles east past Ludlow to the Essex Road turnoff
on I-40. After 10 miles you bear right on Black Canyon Road. Follow
Black Canyon Road another ten miles to Hole-in-the-Wall
Campground/Visitor Center (to the left, and Black Canyon Group
campground to the right) The large group campground, with pit
toilets, a water pump, covered picnic tables, fire pit and flat
cement pad for telescopes is 1/4 mile further on a gravel road (not
suitable for motorcycles, we learned last year)
I'll let you know the RSVP # soon, but you can always send me an
email and I'll pass on any names/numbers to the Mojave National
Preserve Conservancy folks. Hope to see some of you this year! It's
a long drive, but with dark skies, a free campsite, and plenty of
daytime hikes nearby it's an experience you'll cherish as much as we
do!
See you on our next sidewalk date, May 3! Jane
--
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
@jhjones @CassiniSaturn @NASAInsight
What's Up For April? Lyrids, Lunar Eclipse, Mars at Opposition
http://youtu.be/DOS-LkdTTGE