Astronomy Night: Tomorrow!

[Jeffrey Alexander (Arlington Astronomy Nights)]

Hi all,

I’m excited to announce the next Arlington Astronomy Night, coming this Saturday, Sept 8th starting at about 8:00pm in Robbins Farm Park. Jupiter will be setting not long after the Sun goes down in the West, but Saturn is now high in the southern sky as the stars come out. Joining Saturn, the red “star” that you see in the south is Mars. A months-long dust storm covering much of the surface of the planet is finally dissipating. Those who came to the last Astronomy Night saw Mars only as a red/orange disc with no visible features.  Come again to compare the view and see if you can make out the true surface of the planet!

This is the last currently scheduled Astronomy Night of the year.

For those who haven’t been to an Astronomy Night before, here’s the scoop.  I, and frequently a few others, show up at the benches in Robbins Farm Park and set up telescopes for anybody who wants to take a look.  We’ll point at different objects as they become visible over the course of the evening.  We’re typically out for at least an hour, and usually longer if the sky is still clear and people are coming by.  If you have a telescope, bring it along!

Astronomy Nights are free, open to the public, and fun for all ages(*). You can find all the information about Astronomy Night at http://arlingtonastronomy.org/

Events are “neither rain nor shine” — if it is overcast or raining (or sunny!) we won’t be able to see anything.  If you're interested in getting weather updates as we get closer to the events, consider joining this announcement mailing list: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/arlington-astronomy

Please note: it will be dark in the park!  Bring a flashlight, but please keep it aimed at the ground while you're in the park. Parents, please help your children remember this rule. It takes your eyes a while to adjust to the dark, and you'll see more in the sky once your night vision is working. Keeping your flashlight pointed at the ground helps everybody keep their eyes adjusted to the dark. Red light doesn't hurt night vision as much so a red flashlight or red cellophane over a flashlight helps a lot! Consider using bug spray too.

Hope to see you in the park under clear skies!

Jeff
(*) Our youngest astronomers may have a hard time looking through the telescope with just one eye, or looking without touching the telescope. It is pretty late for the under 4 crowd anyway, but if you bring them, please try to help them cover an eye and keep from moving any telescope they look through. Thanks!