Astronomers in the U.K.

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