ASTRONOMY UPDATE (13 October 2009)
Dennis Mammana
Make plans now to join us
in beautiful Borrego Springs for the upcoming 44th Annual Borrego
Days Desert Festival. To help celebrate our recent designation as California's first International
Dark Sky Community, our Festival and parade theme this year is Starry Starry Nights,
for which yours truly will be the Grand Marshal. To learn more
about the many exciting Festival events, visit: http://www.borregospringschamber.com/BorregoDays/
Astronomy on the Web, on TV and in the sky
01) Hubble's Servicing Mission on
PBS' NOVA (October 13)
02) Amazing zoomable poster of 50 years of
space exploration
Some fun programs coming up this next week:
03) One People, One Sky! photo exhibition opening reception
(Friday, October 16)
04) Desert Stargazing for Beginners class
(Saturday, October 17)
05)
Sunday
Stargazing at the Springs (Sunday, October 18)
For a complete list of all upcoming programs, visit: http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations.htm
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01) Hubble's Servicing Mission on
PBS' NOVA (October 13)
In May, a team of astronauts visited the Hubble Space Telescope
to install new instruments and make repairs. For two years leading up to
Servicing Mission 4, filmmakers from the PBS documentary show NOVA followed the
mission, capturing the adventure from astronaut training to spacewalks.
"Hubble's Amazing Rescue" premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 13 on
PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hubble/.
Check your local listings for times and channels.
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02) Amazing
zoomable poster of 50 years of space exploration
National Geographic has put together a really nice zoomable poster on the history of robotic space exploration. It looks a little psychedelic from a distance, but zoom right in and follow the different missions to the various locations in our solar system, and see where the missions currently underway — like New Horizons, on its way to Pluto, and the venerable Voyagers that we hear from occasionally–are presently located. http://books.nationalgeographic.com/map/map-day/index
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03)
One People, One Sky! photo exhibition opening reception
(Friday, October 16; 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.)
After successful runs in France,
India, Italy, South
Africa, Korea,
Chile, Algeria and other exotic venues, this stunning
photographic exhibition comes to Borrego
Springs, California.
It presents the world's great landmarks against the backdrop of stars, planets
and celestial events, attesting to the truly unified nature of Earth as a
planet. Featured in this show are unique images from TWAN (http://www.twanight.org), an international team of 29 of the
most highly-acclaimed night sky photographers, including yours truly as one of
only seven team members from the U.S.
Join us for the exciting opening reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 16.
For more information, email (kayl...@cableusa.com) or
call Kay Levie at 760.767.5252 or
visit: http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations/exhibitions.htm#TWAN_BAI_EXHIBITION
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04) Desert Stargazing for Beginners class
(Saturday, October 17; 12:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.)
This full-day class is designed for
beginning stargazers interested in exploring the enjoyable and mind-expanding
hobby of amateur astronomy, and includes telescope viewing of some of the
wonders of the desert sky (weather permitting). Advanced registration is required. For more information or to
register, call 760.767.4063 or visit http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations/courses.htm#DESERT_STARGAZING_FOR_BEGINNERS
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05) Sunday Stargazing at the Springs (Sunday, October
18; 6:30 p.m.)
We'll start with a light dinner and your choice of beverages followed by a
fun-filled preview of the October night sky, then it's out to the Astronomy Park and Observatory for some great
telescope viewing of the desert sky (weather permitting). No RV is
necessary to join the fun!
This month's program is titled Giant Worlds of Gas, in which we'll gaze outward toward
the giant planets that now appear in our evening sky--Jupiter, Uranus and
Neptune--and even beyond, toward some of the stars that are home to their own
planetary systems.
Admission is $15. For more information and tickets, call 760.767.0004 or
visit: http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations/lectures.htm#SUNDAY_STARGAZING_AT_THE_SPRINGS
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As you requested, I am sending these astronomy notices to you.
Please let me know if your e-mail address changes, or if you ever prefer not to receive these postings. And feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and encourage them to subscribe. Remember, I will never sell, trade, lend, or leak your e-mail address to any other individual or organization-only those who request inclusion are added.
To read these missives online, visit the archive at: http://groups-beta.google.com/group/MammanaGrams
If you wish to reach me, you can do so not by replying to this site, but by my e-mail address: mam...@skyscapes.com
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DENNIS MAMMANA
www.DennisMammana.com
www.twanight.org