Corner of Myrtle and Lime, again, dusk to about 9pm, weather permitting.
Probably the last chance to see Jupiter from the sidewalk this year. That's the moderately bright "star" to the east-northeast. Higher and brighter is Venus. The crescent moon should be in their vicinity the next few nights.
Mars is the brightest "star" to the east, about half-way up the sky by the time twilight ends.
That means four possible targets this weekend. Hopefully, we'll have enough telescopes to show them all to you!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Moon, Venus and Jupiter
If you're been out after sunset the past few weeks, you've undoubtedly seen Venus and Jupiter, even if you didn't know it. Venus is the crazy bright "star" about 1/2 way up from the horizon to zenith (straight above) at sunset, to the southwest. Jupiter is the nearly-as-bright "star" about a fist-width (ten degrees) east of Venus.
On the 25th of February, the moon will be quite close to Venus, making it an even more striking sight. On the 26th, the moon will be near Jupiter.
Meanwhile, Mars is rising an hour or so after sunset. It's distinctively orange, not nearly as bright as Jupiter or Venus, but still pretty obvious, to the east, and rising higher as the night gets later.
The means on our next sidewalk astronomy night (probably on the 25th in Monrovia, corner of Myrtle and Lime), we'll definitely have the moon, Jupiter, and Venus to see. Mars may get high enough over the buildings for us to see before we call it a night.
Next month, Mars, for sure.
It's not a very favorable apparition, though, so it'll still look pretty small, even through a moderate-sized telescope.
On the 25th of February, the moon will be quite close to Venus, making it an even more striking sight. On the 26th, the moon will be near Jupiter.
Meanwhile, Mars is rising an hour or so after sunset. It's distinctively orange, not nearly as bright as Jupiter or Venus, but still pretty obvious, to the east, and rising higher as the night gets later.
The means on our next sidewalk astronomy night (probably on the 25th in Monrovia, corner of Myrtle and Lime), we'll definitely have the moon, Jupiter, and Venus to see. Mars may get high enough over the buildings for us to see before we call it a night.
Next month, Mars, for sure.
It's not a very favorable apparition, though, so it'll still look pretty small, even through a moderate-sized telescope.
Monday, January 2, 2012
December 31 Outreach in Monrovia
Shot from last Saturday's sidewalk astronomy night in Monrovia.The next sidewalk astronomy night in Monrovia will probably be in late January.
Monday, October 31, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
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.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
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.
Friday, September 9, 2011
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.
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