ASTRONOMY UPDATE (07 October 2009)

1 view

Skip to first unread message

Dennis Mammana

unread,

Oct 7, 2009, 1:27:19 PM10/7/09

to Mamman...@googlegroups.com

Make plans now to join us in beautiful Borrego Springs for our upcoming 44^th 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/    More on this next week.

Some fun programs coming up this next week:
01)    Celestial Overnight in the Anza-Borrego Desert (Sat/Sun., October 10/11)
02)   A Celestial Time Machine at Borrego Springs Resort (October 15)
03)   One People, One Sky! photographic exhibition opening reception (Friday, October 16)
04)   Desert Stargazing for Beginners class (Saturday, October 17)
05)   Sunday Stargazing at the Springs (Sunday, October 18)f
For a complete list of upcoming programs, visit: http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations.htm

Astronomy on the Web, on TV and in the sky
06)   White House Star Party tonight (Wednesday, October 7)
07)   Collision with the moon (Friday, October 9)
08) ISS passes over Southern California this week at dawn

Join me for some exciting Cosmic Adventures:
09)   See the Northern Lights… from Norway! (Nov 9-17, 2009)
10) African cosmic safari & annular eclipse (Jan 8-19, 2010)
11)   Total solar eclipse cruise… to Paradise! (Jun 28 — Jul 12, 2010)

Or journey with other terrific lecturers:
12) Art, Astronomy & History in Paris (Sept. 17-24, 2009)
13)   Easter Island & the Grand Patagonia Sunset Total Eclipse (July 3-12, 2010)
14)   The Grand Patagonia Sunset Total Solar Eclipse (July 6-13, 2010)

One additional note… if you’ve never been to the Anza-Borrego Desert—or even if you have—join Huell Howser on a fun desert Road Trip. For more information, visit: http://www.calgold.com/roadtrip/Default.asp?Series=100&Show=1074 and be sure to tune into your local California PBS station this week:

Thursday, Oct. 8^th – 8:00 p.m. PDT on KPBS, San Diego
Thursday, Oct. 10^th – 7:00 p.m. PDT on KCET, Los Angeles
Thursday, Oct. 15^th – 7:00 p.m. PDT on KVIE, Sacramento

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

01)    Overnight Campout in the Anza-Borrego Desert (Sat/Sun., October 10/11)

Time’s running out! With the desert weather at its most spectacular, this is a great time to gaze deeply into a clear, dark desert sky and reach up to capture the stars. If this is something you’ve always wanted to do, here’s an event you won’t want to miss!  Join me on a fun overnight campout and a fascinating tour of the heavens with eye and telescope. And photography buffs will enjoy trying their hand at creating beautiful nighttime sky portraits with only camera and tripod. (http://www.californiaoverland.com/celestial-popup.html)

Weekend includes exciting excursion into the Borrego Badlands with an expert guide and storyteller, all camping gear, gourmet chuck wagon dinner and full hot breakfast the next morning. All you need to bring is your curiosity and sense of adventure!

Advanced reservations are required. For more information or reservations, call Joe Raffetto toll-free at 866.6.EXPLORE or 760.767.1232, or visit online at California Overland Desert Excursions (http://www.californiaoverland.com/) for all their overnight excursions (http://www.californiaoverland.com/overnight.html).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

02) A Celestial Time Machine at Borrego Springs Resort (October 15)

Nothing in the heavens appears as it is now. All is an illusion—a vision of ages long past. Join us for a truly inspiring voyage of discovery—to other places and other times—some so distant that the light we see began its journey long before humans walked the face of planet Earth. This is a journey you won’t soon forget! http://www.dennismammana.com/presentations/lectures.htm#COSMIC_TIME_MACHINE

This terrific package at the Borrego Springs Resort includes: one night’s deluxe accommodations (10-15-2009), indoor slide program followed by naked-eye and telescope viewing with expert amateur astronomers (weather permitting), buffet dinner, transportation to viewing site, celestial party refreshments, all tax and gratuity. Non-hotel packages are also available.

For more information, please visit: http://www.borregospringsresort.com/featuredpromotions.asp or call 888.826.7734 for reservations. These programs are popular, so don’t wait!

And to read about a recent sky event there, check out this recent article by one of the participants: http://www.sandiegoinsidertours.com/blog/index.php/category/desert-life/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

03) One People, One Sky! photographic 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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

06) White House star party tonight

As part of the International Year of Astronomy (www.astronomy2009.org), the President and first lady will host the first-ever star party at the White House tonight. About 20 telescopes will be set up on the White House lawn, and will be aimed toward Jupiter, the moon and selected stars. Tonight’s weather forecast for DC is “mainly clear” (http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/USDC0001?lswe=Washington,%20DC&from=searchbox_localwx)

If haven't been invited, you can still participate by watching on NASA TV (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html), or streaming live on the White House website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/), starting at about 5 p.m. PDT.

To learn more, visit: http://www.universetoday.com/2009/10/05/star-party-at-the-white-house-and-other-upcoming-events/ and http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/White-House-to-Host-Star-Party/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

07) Collision with the moon

Before dawn on Friday morning, October 9, you can watch a pair of spacecraft crash into the moon. The purposeful impacts are the climax of NASA's LCROSS mission to unearth signs of water in lunar soil. If you’ve got a decent sized telescope—10 or 12 inches or so—you might give it a shot. To read more about this once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity, visit: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/05oct_lcrossvg.htm?list717892 and http://www.spaceweather.com/ If you don’t have a telescope sufficient to watch the show, visit NASA-TV (http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html) and enjoy it online or on TV beginning around 3:15 a.m. PDT.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

08) ISS passes over Southern California this weekend at dawn

The International Space Station (ISS) will make series of brilliant flybys over Southern California--and many other locations—at dawn this weekend and early next week.

To find exact times and directions for your location in the world, visit: http://www.heavens-above.com. I recommend free registration so you can visit from time to time and keep your location on file. Here you can select your town from a database or add your own latitude and longitude. Once in the site, scroll down to "Satellites" and then click "ISS". And, for a challenge, why not try looking for ISS in broad daylight: http://www.feedblitz.com/t.asp?/15163/148409/http://www.universetoday.com/2009/06/17/iss-now-visible-in-daytime/

Fans of ISS might also be interested in this site: http://www.issfanclub.com/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

09) See the Northern Lights... from Norway! (Nov 9-17, 2009)

Cross the Arctic Circle with me as our ship, the MS Midnatsol, coasts along the richest archipelago in Norway--up to latitude 69°N. During our remarkable journey from Kirkenes to Bergen we'll check out the heavens each night to seek out and photograph the mystical dancing colors of the aurora borealis--the northern lights. This is sure to be ONE POPULAR TRIP! For more information and full itinerary, call 877.707.7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit: http://www.melitatrips.com/norway/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *|

10) African cosmic safari & annular eclipse (Jan 8-19, 2010)

Join me and “Astronomy” magazine Editor David Eicher for an exciting trip into the bush of Africa, for a remarkable safari and an even more remarkable annular eclipse of the sun. For more information on what is already becoming a very popular trip, call 877.707.7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit:   http://www.melitatrips.com/africa/index.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

11)   Total solar eclipse cruise… to Paradise! (Jun 28 - Jul 12, 2010)    (WAITING LIST NOW BEING FILLED)

Join me and “Astronomy” magazine Senior Editor Rich Talcott in the glorious South Pacific as we explore the magnificent Marquesas Islands and the Tuamotus on a state-of–the art freighter, the Aranui III. In the balmy South Pacific evenings, we’ll turn your gaze skyward—toward the exquisite Southern Cross and the spectacular Southern Milky Way, and on July 11 toward the great total solar eclipse—the most remarkable sky show you’ve ever seen! Space is VERY limited. For more details on this rapidly booking trip, call 877.707.7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit:  http://www.melitatrips.com/marquesas/index.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

12) Art, Astronomy & History in Paris (Sept.. 17-24, 2009)

Join astronomy historian Dr. William Sheehan—author of MARS: Lure of the Red Planet and In Search of Vulcan—for seven nights in Paris, and an incredible art, astronomy, and art history vacation. In addition to visiting the historic Meudon Observatories during the week of the Société Astronomique de France and International Astronomical Union’s celebration of Mars observations, you’ll experience all things French: food and wine, Gothic cathedrals, sun-dappled paths, vineyards and villages, art, history and science. For more information and full itinerary, call 877.707. 7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit: http://www.melitatrips.com/france

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

13) Easter Island & the Grand Patagonia Sunset Total Eclipse (July 3-12, 2010)

From Easter Island's mysterious solitudes, where you’ll pass among heads frozen in time and forever as inscrutable as their long-vanished makers, you’ll journey in imagination to the star-studded entrails of the Southern Hemisphere sky. Then to the Patagonian steppes, fjords, and soaring peaks, you’ll travel in the footsteps of Charles Darwin to view the remarkable total solar eclipse—at sunset! For more information and full itinerary, call 877.707.7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit: http://www.melitatrips.com/easterisland/index.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

14) The Grand Patagonia Sunset Total Solar Eclipse (July 6-13, 2010)

Few places on Earth are more beautiful than Patagonia and Buenos Aires. And tie that in with a spectacular sunset total solar eclipse from El Calafate, and the journey is one you’ll never forget. For more information and full itinerary, call 877.707.7827 or 408.279.5589 (Pacific time), or visit: http://www.melitatrips.com/patagonia/index.html

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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