Hi everyone!  The forecast is not very promising for tonight, with both poor transparency and possible clouds, so we are cancelling sidewalk astronomy.  Looking at last night and the fog this morning, it looks like a repeat of the same (according to astronomer Gary). 

Our next scheduled sidewalk nights are December 15th and Jan 12th. We'll also have an added event January 20th -- A Sunday night, when a total solar eclipse will be visible for much of the US. The eclipse begins at 6:36 p.m., reaches maximum at 9:12 p.m., and ends at 11:48 p.m. We'll be on the sidewalk in Monrovia at least until maximum, then you can finish watching from your own place. Here are the details. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/los-angeles?iso=20190121

Tonight/tomorrow morning is the peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower, if it is clear where you are before dawn tomorrow and you are in a dark spot, you might see some, tho the rates will be poor.  Next month, the Geminids will put on an impressive show on December 13th and 14th.

December’s Gemind meteors peak on the morning of the 14th at 12h 30m Universal Time, (or 7:30 a.m. Eastern Standard time, 4:30 am Pacific Standard time) and are active from December 4th through the 17th. The peak lasts for a full 24 hours, meaning meteor watchers around the globe will get to see this spectacle. If you can see the familiar winter constellations Orion and Gemini in the sky you'll see some Geminids. 120 meteors per hour may be seen from a very dark sky location during the peak, but only after the first quarter Moon sets around midnight your local time. Definitely check it out if you can!

That last paragraph is a "preview" of "What's Up" for December, which will go live December 1st (or probably the 30th of November). That will be my last project before I retire from JPL on December 3rd! I'm definitely not retiring from the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers or from sending out these emails to you. I look forward to many more star-filled nights, and sunny solar viewing days sharing our skies with you! Jane


    

    
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Jane Houston Jones
@jhjones @otastro
What's Up Podcast #137: Nov 2018  Planets, asteroid, comet, Leonids
https://go.nasa.gov/2zlrCaF
All 137 What’s Ups since 2007: https://go.nasa.gov/2usaBaB
Retiring Nov 30, 2018 to stargaze, play bridge, travel, more