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 14^th 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
--
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