Monday, December 20, 2010
Halley's Comet Pictures
Don't know if anyone reads this blog, but if you do, and you're interested, I posted a few shots I took of Halley's Comet on my hiking blog. It's here.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Possible Monrovia Sidewalk Astronomy on December 18
A couple of the regular Monrovia group has said they plan to be at Myrtle and Lime on Saturday, December 18. The weather forecast for that night is not looking very good, however, so I would definitely monitor the skies before heading out there.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Revised December Sidewalk
No telescopes in Pasadena this month.
Monrovia, only. December 11. Still coordinating on the times, but probably from around 6pm - 8pm.
Monrovia, only. December 11. Still coordinating on the times, but probably from around 6pm - 8pm.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
December Sidewalk Dates
Old Town Astronomers hasn't posted their sidewalk dates, but judging by the calendar, you should expect them to be in Pasadena (Colorado, near Delacey) on Friday, December 10, and in Monrovia (Myrtle and Lime) on Saturday, December 11. Expect telescopes from around 5pm until 8pm on both nights (longer if we're busy).
Jupiter is marching quickly across the night sky. It's now more or less due south by shortly after dark and setting towards the west by late evening.
If you get up before twilight, the amazingly bright "star" you see to the southeast is Venus.
Jupiter is marching quickly across the night sky. It's now more or less due south by shortly after dark and setting towards the west by late evening.
If you get up before twilight, the amazingly bright "star" you see to the southeast is Venus.
Friday, November 12, 2010
First Quarter Moon Weekend!
Yep, it's sidewalk astronomy weekend! Today, Friday, November 12, in Pasadena (Colorado Blvd near Delacey) and tomorrow, Saturday, November 13 in Monrovia, at the corner of Myrtle and Lime. Figure a bit after 6pm - 8:30pm, at least, both nights.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Huntington Library Event
I had a lot of fun at the Huntington Library event on Saturday. Events like this are a little bit different, because the sky is reasonably dark for a suburban location. There aren't dozens of street and store lights there like you have in Old Town Monrovia. That lets you try for objects beyond just the moon and planets. So, while we definitely did a lot of moon and planet watching, we had other things to see.
The moon was visible before dark, so that's the objects telescopes went to first. Once the sun went, I could see Venus, low to the west-southwest.
The thing about the Huntington is that there are a lot of trees and large buildings. Venus was quickly dropping behind one such building. I moved my telescope (carefully) a few times to give us an extra 10 or 15 minutes with the Evening Star. It's a narrow crescent, now.
Once I lost Venus behind the building, I returned to the moon. Jupiter was already up, but it was behind a large tree. From my location, Jupiter wouldn't become visible until almost 10pm.
One of the people who was enjoying our telescope asked about seeing other objects. She said she was hoping for some constellation viewing. So I grabbed my green laser pointer and spent a short five minutes pointing out the easiest constellations and asterisms of the fall sky: The Big Dipper, low and only barely visible above Dibner Hall. I did the old "Arc to Arcturus," then showed the Pointers, which we followed to Polaris. Not quite all of the stars of the Little Dipper were visible.
I then swung above, to point out the Summer Triangle, then the stars that contribute to the Triangle: Deneb and Cygnus, Vega and Lyra, and Altair and Aquila. For Cygnus, I then moved on up to the head of the Swan, Albireo. Then we got a little telescopic view of Albireo. Then a telescopic view of Vega. Then I scootched over to M57, the Ring Nebula.
Later, we moved on to M13, the Great Hercules Cluster.
As the evening wound down and I had another break in the visitors, I took a quick peek at Jupiter, then used my finderscope to pick out candidates for Uranus. By that I mean that I knew that Uranus was in the same finderscope field as Jupiter, and I knew Uranus should be about as bright as Jupiter's Galilean moons. So I moved the telescope to each star that appeared to be 5th-6th magnitude, increased the magnification, then checked to see if it appeared disc-like or stellar. I eventually did find the right one. That was pretty cool, although only a few folks actually got to see it.
The moon was visible before dark, so that's the objects telescopes went to first. Once the sun went, I could see Venus, low to the west-southwest.
The thing about the Huntington is that there are a lot of trees and large buildings. Venus was quickly dropping behind one such building. I moved my telescope (carefully) a few times to give us an extra 10 or 15 minutes with the Evening Star. It's a narrow crescent, now.
Once I lost Venus behind the building, I returned to the moon. Jupiter was already up, but it was behind a large tree. From my location, Jupiter wouldn't become visible until almost 10pm.
One of the people who was enjoying our telescope asked about seeing other objects. She said she was hoping for some constellation viewing. So I grabbed my green laser pointer and spent a short five minutes pointing out the easiest constellations and asterisms of the fall sky: The Big Dipper, low and only barely visible above Dibner Hall. I did the old "Arc to Arcturus," then showed the Pointers, which we followed to Polaris. Not quite all of the stars of the Little Dipper were visible.
I then swung above, to point out the Summer Triangle, then the stars that contribute to the Triangle: Deneb and Cygnus, Vega and Lyra, and Altair and Aquila. For Cygnus, I then moved on up to the head of the Swan, Albireo. Then we got a little telescopic view of Albireo. Then a telescopic view of Vega. Then I scootched over to M57, the Ring Nebula.
Later, we moved on to M13, the Great Hercules Cluster.
As the evening wound down and I had another break in the visitors, I took a quick peek at Jupiter, then used my finderscope to pick out candidates for Uranus. By that I mean that I knew that Uranus was in the same finderscope field as Jupiter, and I knew Uranus should be about as bright as Jupiter's Galilean moons. So I moved the telescope to each star that appeared to be 5th-6th magnitude, increased the magnification, then checked to see if it appeared disc-like or stellar. I eventually did find the right one. That was pretty cool, although only a few folks actually got to see it.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sidewalk Astronomy in September
Friday, September 17--The folks supporting PATS will have telescopes set up around Paseo Colorado on Friday. The Old Town Astronomers will probably also be set up along Colorado, separate from PATS. Visit http://www.otastro.org for more information.
Saturday, September 18--In Old Town Monrovia.
Possibly a glimpse of Venus as it is quickly diving towards the sun. Jupiter, a little later in the evening. Moon viewing during the whole evening.
Some Old Town Astronomers will also be set up September 18 for an event at the Huntington Library and Gardens.
By the Way, September 18 is also "International View the Moon Night." No, I don't know how they think of these things.
Saturday, September 18--In Old Town Monrovia.
Possibly a glimpse of Venus as it is quickly diving towards the sun. Jupiter, a little later in the evening. Moon viewing during the whole evening.
Some Old Town Astronomers will also be set up September 18 for an event at the Huntington Library and Gardens.
By the Way, September 18 is also "International View the Moon Night." No, I don't know how they think of these things.
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