Viewing from Golden Pond

The Western Kentucky Astronomers Association (the local amateur astronomy group) had their monthly meeting last Saturday at Golden Pond Observatory, in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Kentucky.

Here's the Clear Sky Chart for this location.

On Saturday, the conditions were excellent. This is a pretty dark area for the east, with no major cities within an hour's drive. There is a noticeable light dome to the south and west, but the Milky Way is very obvious, even in winter.

There's also a planetarium that has both "real" astronomy shows and laser shows during various times of the year.

In addition to a small bit of outreach with Friends of Land Between the Lakes, we had plenty of time for our own observing. A club member gave me an easy tip for finding the Helix Nebula, and I was happy to discover how easy it was to find.

The Helix is a large, low-surface brightness object. It's roughly 1/2 degree in diameter. Without any filtration, you need to know it's there, or you'd easily scan right past it. With an O-III filter, it's huge, but somewhat hard to view because nearly all of the stars are also filtered out. With an UHC filter, the view was more pleasing.

Although I'm a short-timer here in western Kentucky, I joined the local astronomy group because I like their observing location and I find the members very friendly. I just wanted to do my part to help support them financially.

The next Western Kentucky Astronomers meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 19. That meeting will probably be early, because many club members are going to be helping with a Nature Station educational event for cub scouts. Check the WKAA website for updates. Their website is www.wkaa.net.

International Observe the Moon Night -- October 8

I have no idea how these dates get picked, but this Saturday, October 8 is International Observe the Moon Night. There are numerous events all around the world, including the regular Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers monthly event in Library Park, Monrovia, CA. That's at the corner of Myrtle and Lime, typically from dusk until about 9pm.

Mojave Preserve Star Party -- September 24, 2011

The semi-annual star party in the Mojave National Preserve is Saturday, September 24. Currently, that's what'll come up up if you click on the Mojave Preserve's "events" page, which is linked above.

Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy, Saturday, September 10

Even though I am temporarily out of the area, I do know my friends back home plan to be in Old Town Monrovia (corner of Myrtle and Lime, Library Park) this Saturday, September 10. Probably just moon viewing, however, Saturn is too low to reasonably see in the evening, and Jupiter is rising too late for public viewing. Gibbous moon will be well-placed, however. Not sure if my friends there will choose to try a few other objects that evening, as well. I suspect if you asked to see Alberio, someone would be happy to oblige. Typically, they're there from dusk until at least 9 or 9:30pm.

Viewed Comet Garradd Yesterday

This was from a "green" zone, with a limiting magnitude of around 6. Garradd is currently just north of the main arrow that is the constellation Sagitta. Sagitta is between Delphinus and Cygnus.

Garradd is relatively condensed, but still pretty dim. "Easy" in my 8-inch SCT, and apparent in my 70mm finder scope. But not very comet-like. The tail was not well-defined. Larger and brighter than M71, which is also in Sagitta. But that still means it's a mag 7+ object.

Outreach at Land Between the Lakes

I got to break my telescope out of the case, for the first time in over a month, and the first time under "dark skies" since last March or so.

Land Between the Lakes NRA lies between Lake Kentucky (dam on the Tennessee River) and Barklay Lake (dam on the Cumberland River), in southwestern KY and northwestern TN. It's bisected by U.S. 68/KY-80, while "The Trace" intersects that highway, and runs north to south through the Land Between the Lakes. Just south of The Trace is the Golden Pond Visitors Center and Planetarium. Just behind the planetarium is the observatory and meeting place for the Western Kentucky Amateur Astronomers. Their home page (which I linked above) has a photo of their new observatory, which contains a 16-inch Meade SCT on one heck of a stable pier and wedge.

During the summer, they had a nice regular program that involved telescope viewing after a late-evening planetarium show. I joined them yesterday.

Nice, friendly group of people. They made me feel very welcome.

We were all very optimistic about observing last night, because the day had been virtually cloud-free, with dry (for Kentucky) conditions.

While waiting for the public to arrive, I got to do a lot of personal viewing with my 8-inch SCT (which made the trip to Kentucky). My goto function is still pretty useless, and my battery pack would wear out after only a few big slews, anyway. As it was, even just doing the clockdrive work, it died after about an hour of viewing.

This still gave me about an hour of extended viewing, plus another hour or so of "gotta check and see if the object is still there" viewing. During this evening, I got nice (and long-missed) views of M57 (Ring Nebula), M13 (Hercules Globular), M20 (Lagoon Nebula) and M51 (Whirlpool Galaxy). I also looked again at M22 (globular in Sagittarius), M31 (Andromeda galaxy), M17 (Swan Nebula), M92 (the "other" globular in Hercules), the Perseus Double Cluster, M15 (Andromeda globular). I've see all of these before, but several are ones I have had some difficulty finding without goto, so it was nice to have success locating all of the targets I sought.

A club member had a short-tube 90mm refractor, and that gave an amazing view of the Veil Nebula, with a whole arc of nebulosity (several degrees in length) in view at once. Meanwhile, with the club's 16-inch SCT, I got my best ever views of M13 and M27 (the Dumbbell Nebula). I felt I could see actual color on the Dumbbell (greenish blue), and I could see a sort of spiral structure on M13 (with several dark lanes and threads of stars I had never really noticed before. (After seeing them obviously with the 16-inch, I could then see them in my own 8-inch, but that's because I knew what I was looking for).

It was my most enjoyable night of viewing in quite a while, and I wholeheartedly thank the WKAA club for their hospitality and eagerness in greeting a newcomer and sharing their knowledge and expertise with both me and the other first-time visitors and guests here in the Land Between the Lakes.

Two very successful nights. It was my first nights of outreach in quite some time, as we've had a string of clouded out dates the past few months.

Probably 80 or so unique visitors in Pamela Park, with many coming back 3-5 times or more during the 2 1/2 hours I and my colleagues were set up there. Great views of the moon and Saturn.

Yesterday in Old Town Monrovia was also busier that I've seen it in a long time. At times, the line was 5-8 people deep, despite the presence of 5-7 telescopes during the course of the night. I'd estimate 140-160 unique visitors for the night.

This may be it for my sidewalk astronomy in southern California for a while. I'm leaving to take a temporary job out of state in a few weeks. However, of course, the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will still be at it, setting up monthly in Pasadena and Old Town Monrovia.

July Sidewalk Astronomy Dates

Two likely in July, weather-permitting.

Friday, July 8: Pamela Park, Duarte. 2236 Goodall Avenue, Duarte, CA 91010

Saturday, July 9: Library Park, Monrovia, NW corner of Myrtle and Lime.

Both nights, telescope observing will start around dusk, with the moon and Saturn easily visible. Best viewing will probably be from 8:30pm - 9:30pm, though we'll probably be there a bit before 8:30pm and stick around a bit after.

We've had a heck of a bad run of clouds and threats of clouds and rain the past few months, so hopefully July will be good to us.

June 2011 Sidewalk This Weekend (June 11)

Weather-permitting, the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers should be out and about this weekend. On Saturday, June 11, they're scheduled for Old Town Monrovia (corner of Myrtle and Lime). Visit their page, www.otastro.org for more information.

JPL Open House

Saturday May 14 and Sunday May 15 are the 2011 dates for JPL's Open House. Details are here.

Monrovia Clouded Out

Unfortunately, the clouds have been building the past few hours, so it looks like we won't even be able to see the moon tonight. OTA has called off their Monrovia sidewalk night, but will reschedule for next week (Saturday, May 14).

BTW, next week is also the JPL open house. If you decide to go, I suggest you go early. The place gets pretty crowded pretty fast.

5th Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night

Saturday, May 7, 2011 is International Sidewalk Astronomy Night. Check around to see if there are any events near you. In Monrovia, the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers are planning to set up at their usual place, the corner of Myrtle and Lime. Saturn is now nicely placed as soon as it gets dark, while a crescent moon will add additional interest to the sky.

Aim to arrive around 8pm. The OTA crowd will probably be set up before then, and will probably stick around until about 9:30pm.

Trip Report from the Mojave, 3/24/2011

Well, those of you who were thinking of bringing your big telescopes to the Mojave last Saturday but were scared off by the weather forecast probably made the right call.

The wind blew hard on Saturday night. My dobbie friends elected not to set up, as their scopes took a beating the previous night at the same location.

However, my C11 set up is so heavy (40 pounds of counterweights!) that I figured it would at least be safe from tipping over. I left off the dew shield because dew is not an issue out here, and it would probably have blown off in about twelve seconds, anyway.

Still, we got Saturn in the lens as soon as it was dark enough, and, let's face it, for most non-astronomers, that makes the whole thing worthwhile, never mind that you didn't need to drive all the way out here to see it!

After that, there were some astronomy students who wanted to see the Orion Nebula, and I was happy to oblige.

Next, someone asked about the Pleiades. Pointed at them, too, although the finder scope actually provides a better context for the cluster than the main scope.

Next, I saw a fuzz ball way high up and decided to show the Beehive Cluster (again, showing better in the finder than the main scope, but providing another chance to compare naked eye to "binocular"-like views to big, massive telescope views).

After a fair amount of effort, I got M51 in view. Normally, you'd think this would be a piece of cake, but I had a surprisingly tough time finding it. The reason? Didn't realize until I packed up, but I had the "wrong" Telrad on my scope. I have two, one tuned for each of my SCT. This one was must be a degree or two off from the proper one--close enough not to be immediately noticed, but far enough to keep the desired target out of the field of view, even when you were SURE you had the telescope pointed at the correct spot!

Problem here was that the wind was blowing hard enough that it gave the term, "Dancing with the Stars," a whole new meaning. The stars themselves looked like faint fuzzies as they swirled withing my telescope. Brought the wind chill down a bit, too, and that encouraged many to seek refuge around the campfire (well-shielded from the observing pad).

So now, it was pretty much just me and "the last man standing," someone who once had a telescope and wanted to see what things would look like through a BIGGER telescope. He asked for a globular cluster. So we pulled out a the Telrad chart for M5 and tried to match the view with the sky.

Took a while, but it was fun. And we finally did track down M5 (which, I know, shouldn't be hard, but it's not an object whose location I have memorized).

Also took in the Leo Trio (easy--this is something I DO have memorized, and it's got those nice bright stars that might as well be landing beacons to guide you in!). M81 and M82, also (I think it wasn't until we got to here that I started thinking, "Huh, that's funny; I always thought they were more that-a-way."

The Sombrero Galaxy fit in here somewhere, too. I also tried but failed to find a globular out around Corvus.

Satisfied with his quick tour of the sky, my lone observer went to bed, and I fiddled around for about half-an-hour on my own, just enjoying the sky.

A little while later, I had an amusing visit from a young woman who had been with the group around the bonfire. She said she was actually here to "get away from that creapy guy near the fire. person wandered over, and I redid my quick tour of what I had seen earlier that evening. After she decided to call it a night, I also decided to take a short break. I ate half of a Subway sandwich, rehydrated, splashed some water on my eyes to wash out the dust and dryness, then headed back to the telescope for some alone time. "Hey," I said to myself, "I drove four hours for these skies, and a little wind isn't going to stop me from seeing what's up there." Besides, a series of weather and personal timing issues had kept me from dark skies for an unusually long period of time. It's actually possible that the last time I was under dark skies was at this same place, at their last "star party," six months previous.

Finally, as I was getting tired, I looked up at the sky, glanced at my star charts, and suddenly realized that Corvus was a lot further to the west than it was earlier. And, hey, what's that well to the east of Corvus? I think that's Centaurus. And what does THAT mean? OMEGA CENTAURI!

There are only three or four months out of the year that Omega Centuari is gettable from my latitude (depends on how late you're willing to stay up, or how early it gets dark). This means it's probably been since last summer that I saw it.

Can never get tired of the view, even though the wind was kicking up again, my eyes were watering from dry wind and dust, and no one was around to share in the view. Oh, well.

I put the telescope and eyepiece back into their cases (I only used my lowest power eyepiece, because the wind made even that view a tough one), brushed my teeth, and went to bed in the car. Out the back window, I saw Hercules. Further below, I saw Lyra, and thought of the meteor shower that was on-going. Nope, too tired for that.

Slept fitfully through the night, as the sound of whipping winds powerful enough to rock the car continued into the early morning hours.

Despite the poor observing conditions I had a grand time. It had been so long since I enjoyed dark skies that I had an unusually hard time getting myself oriented. Not the most pleasant of weather conditions, either. But the observers were enthusiastic and grateful, and I managed to get several hikes in over the weekend: Amboy Crater on the way in, and Table Top Mountain the next day. I've posted on Amboy on my hiking blog. I'm still writing up the Table Top Mountain hike. Should get that posted tomorrow.

Mojave National Preserve Dark Sky Observing

The weather is looking promising for this Saturday's astronomy outreach event in the Mojave Preserve. At least four good-sized telescopes should be there. There may be a few additional, depending on if the Cloudy Nights post generates any additional volunteers.

Saturday, April 23, Black Canyon Equestrian/Group campground. RSVP to dlamfrom@npca.org.

Outreach in La Canada

Pretty successful night of working with the high school students of La Canada HS. A number of them were at La Canada Elementary School to do some astronomy viewing. Turbulent skies meant lower powered views of the moon and Saturn than we were able to manage on Monday. But if you've never seen those things through a telescope, even a lower powered view is pretty cool.

Some little league players and their parents also got a peek at the moon, as their game wrapped up just around dark--too early to see Saturn, but just right for the moon.

Because we were working with a pretty small group of students, I had plenty of time to do some seeking of additional objects. Of course, the things I found are actually pretty bright, but I'm still not all that great at finding a number of these objects. I know their general location but can not always center in on them if there are lots of people waiting at the telescope.

In addition to the Orion Nebula (easy to find, from even the most light-polluted of locations (I managed a nice view of M35, an open star cluster in Gemini, M81 and M82 (two galaxies in Ursa Major), and the Pleiades (an bright open cluster in Taurus, that is visible without optical aid but is already dropping pretty low into the evening twilight).

My next event is on Saturday, for a local Cub Scouts camp out at a local park.

My friends with the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be in Monrovia on Saturday, at the corner of Myrtle and Lime. I think they will also be in Old Town Pasadena on Friday, on Colorado, near Delacey.

A week from Saturday (April 23), I intend to be in the Mojave Preserve, enjoying semi-dark skies (they'll be a waning gibbous moon putting a damper on things by around midnight or 11pm). That'll be at the Black Rock Equestrian/group campground. If you're in the area, swing by.

Two down, three to go

Busy week of outreach for me. Saturday was supposed to be a regular Monrovia night, although we got clouded out and scared off by the threat of rain.

Sunday was Duarte, where we set up behind the Duarte Museum, in Encanto Park. Relatively small group, but very enthusiastic and happy to have us. They also had a llama, which is unrelated to astronomy, but always fun to see.

Tonight, I'm helping with some elementary students in La Canada. Thursday, I'll be back in La Canada with some high school students. Saturday, I'm not sure. I may be working with cub scouts in Lacy Park, or at the regular (rescheduled) Monrovia night.

All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go

Monrovia sidewalk astronomy for tonight (Saturday, April 9) just got called. Unstable air means not only clouds, but a chance of showers. And showers and telescopes don't mix. :(

Hoping for better luck tomorrow in Duarte (Duarte Museum, at Encanto Park, 777 Encanto Pkwy, Duarte, CA 91010). That'll be a quickie--probably just from a little after 7pm until maybe 8pm.

Desert Wildflowers

Sounds like views are peaking in the area just south of Joshua Tree National Park. The Theodore Payne wildflower hotline report for last week is here. A few hot days like yesterday and today and that'll dry things up pretty quick, so this weekend is probably prime viewing. I may try to get out there early next week, combining some astronomy at night with wildflower viewing in the day.

April 2011 "Sidewalk" Events (REVISED)

Saturday, April 9: Regular sidewalk observing in Monrovia (Mytle and Lime).

Sunday, April 10: Duarte Museum, 777 Encanto Pkwy, Duarte 91010: Chamber of Commerce Potluck and "Star Night." Telescope viewing following Chamber potluck.

Friday, April 15: Regular sidewalk date for Pasadena (Colorado Blvd, near DeLacey). See Old Town Astronomers for more information.

Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23: Mojave National Preserve star party with Mojave Preserve Conservancy, Black Canyon Group/Equestrian campground, across the road from Hole in the Wall. Officially, it's a private event, but unofficially, if you show up and mind your lights, you're welcome to join the the after-dark viewing. Springtime is galaxy season.

Jupiter and Mercury

I posted something on my hiking blog about the current chance (for the next few days) to see Jupiter and Mercury, shortly after sunset.

It's not often that Mercury presents itself so well in the evening sky. Don't miss out! :D

Monrovia Clouded Out

Sorry to say there have been persistent clouds in the San Gabriel Valley all day, so tonight's sidewalk astronomy event in Monrovia has been cancelled.

Be looking us next month in Duarte and Monrovia. I'll post later with specific dates and times.

Sidewalk Astronomy in Monrovia, Saturday, March 12

I don't know if I'll make this one, myself, but the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers will be in Monrovia tomorrow, Saturday, March 12, 2011. Typically, they'll be there from dusk to around 9pm. This is at the corner of Myrtle and Lime.

I had an event today at St. Mark's in Hacienda Heights. This is the third year in a row for me there. They're a great group and I love doing outreach there. But now I'm pretty beat. I had a job interview in Ventura this afternoon, which meant a long drive before getting back just with just enough time to pack the car, take a shower, then rest up for about 30 minutes before heading out, again.

I have another outreach event on Monday in La Canada, but that, one the St. Mark's thing, was a private event.

The next public event should be in Duarte in April. I'll post more when I get more details.

Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy, Saturday, February 12

Usual place, usual objects--Jupiter and the moon, plus possibly a few other objects, depending on telescopes available. Dusk - at least 8:30pm.

Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy on Saturday, January 15

Weather-permitting, it looks like some of us will be setting up our telescopes this Saturday, from around 5:30pm - 8:30pm. This'll be at our regular location, at the corner of Myrtle and Lime.

It's been a pretty busy week. I did outreach events at local elementary schools both yesterday and Wednesday. Yesterday's was cool 'cause I got a free In-N-Out Burger for my troubles. :D

Two very different events. Yesterday was at McKinley Elementary School in Pasadena. Huge turnout, with the aforementioned In-N-Out Burger truck. I think the PTA had to spring for that. It seemed like about 200 parents, teachers, students and friends, with viewing from about 5:30pm until a little after 7pm. It was on a playground, so it was convenient for folks to get to and be around. However, the bright playground lights (and high clouds) limited us to just Jupiter and the moon. We also had a flyover of the International Space Station.

Thursday was not quite as boisterous. About 100 students, teachers and parents, on the relatively dark field of Palm Crest Elementary School in La Canada. The darker skies there increase the number of possible targets, but I had no breaks in the line, so I really couldn't re-target my telescope until pretty much everyone was gone.

I was fixed on Jupiter pretty much all night there, too. Near the very end, I moved on over to Uranus (which is currently very close to Jupiter) for a few moments, the Orion Nebula (which looks pretty nice from even a suburban location, once you get away from the immediate shine of lights), and the "ET Cluster," which is a nice littel open cluster in Cassiopeia. It gets its nickname because it has two brighter components that look a little bit like eyes, at the top of a smattering of other stars that sort of outline a skinny, long-limbed creature.

It had been a year or so since the last time I saw it, so I was looking forward to showing it to the kids yesterday at McKinley. But the clouds and lights made that impossible. Oh, well.

Both nights were still very enjoyable. It's nice to share the sky, and the expressions of pleasure and gratitude from telescope viewers is what makes doing this seem so worthwhile.

From the 210 freeway, take the Myrtle exit north about one mile, into "Old Town Monrovia." We'll be at the northwest corner of Myrtle and Lime, which is also the southeast corner of Library Park. Parking is usually plentiful in the public lots east of Myrtle, or along either Lime or Palm.

We'll mostly be viewing the moon and Jupiter, again. However, if there are enough telescopes and viewers, we may move over briefly to see the Pleiades star cluster, and possibly the Orion Nebula. You never know. And if you ask and we, we can also try to find other things.