A) Beginning Astronomy Class Tonight! Observing the Moon with Dave North
B) Houge Park Star Party Tonight?
C) Triple Transit on Jupiter this Saturday Night!
D) Next Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY! SJAA Auction! (April 4th, 12 PM)
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A) Beginning Astronomy Class Tonight! Observing the Moon with Dave North
Having trouble finding the straight wall? The San Jose Astronomical
Association Observational Astronomy Class is here to help you! This
informal monthly series will teach basic astronomy, the constellations,
the movement of the sky, and the use of the telescope. It occurs every
third quarter moon Houge Park Star Party
Night until November, except for this month when we hopefully get to see
the 1st quarter moon after the class! No Reservations needed and you can
join the class at any time. The class is a free public service provided by
the SJAA.
Tonight's (Friday, March 26) class starts at 7:30 PM in the hall at Houge
Park. Lunartic Dave North treats us every month with his article Mooning
in the Ephemeris newsletter and brings his lunar observing expertise to
this months class. The class finishes with a "Sky Tour" by SJAA President
Mike Koop, pointing out how to find the constellations and planets.
Weather permitting, after the class we will be pointing out the
constellations, in addition to viewing the moon, planets and other deep
sky wonders through telescopes.
Akkana Pecks Hitchhikers Guide to the Moon:
http://www.shallowsky.com/moon/hitchhiker.html
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B) Houge Park Star Party Fri March 26 Weather Permitting, 7 to 10 pm
Tonight, the SJAA hosts public observing session on the grounds at Houge
Park. Families are welcome to attend. Feel free to bring your scope and
share views with others. I have been looking at the latest weather
satellite picture and it looks like there is not much hope for tonight.
The clear sky clock shows little hope. But, the forecast says partly
cloudy so with any luck, the clouds will magically part just as the
Beginning astronomy class ends.
Come on out and join in on the fun!
Clear Sky Clock for San Jose:
http://cleardarksky.com/c/SanJoseCAkey.html?1
NRL Monterey East Pacific & US West Coast Images
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/sat-bin/epac_westcoast.cgi
Sunset: 18:25
Civil Twilight: 18:52
Nautical Twilight: 19:22
Astronomical Twilight: 19:54
Moonset: 00:26 on 2/27/2004
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C) Triple Transit on Jupiter this Saturday Night (March 27)!
It is eclipse season on Jupiter and this Saturday Night we will be treated
to a rare triple transit when the shadows of three of the moons will be on
the cloud tops of Jupiter! Tomorrow the Mirror Making Class meets at Houge
Park, so if anyone is interested in setting up there, let me know and I
will turn out the lights at 7 PM. Since this is not an official Star
Party, be aware of the possibility of the sprinklers turning on. Other
SJAA members and TAC observers will be meeting at Pacheco State Park, just
off of highway 152 in support of a public star party. Make sure not to
miss this event!
Event list generated by SJAA Member Rob Hawley:
Jupiter Events from 27 Mar 2004 to 27 Mar 2004
Time (LMT) Sat Event
2004 Mar 27 17:58 n/a Great Red Spot transit
2004 Mar 27 18:26 Sunset
2004 Mar 27 18:53 Civil Twilight
2004 Mar 27 18:58 CALLISTO Transit end
2004 Mar 27 19:23 Nautical Twilight
2004 Mar 27 19:55 Astronomical Twilight
2004 Mar 27 20:58 CALLISTO Shadow transit start
2004 Mar 27 21:44 GANYMEDE Transit start
2004 Mar 27 22:32 EUROPA Occultation disappearance
2004 Mar 27 22:58 Io Transit start
2004 Mar 27 23:32 Io Shadow transit start
2004 Mar 28 00:00 GANYMEDE Shadow transit start
2004 Mar 28 01:22 Moonset
Maps to Pacheco State Park:
http://www.darkhorizons.org/sites/pachecodetails.htm
Information on Pacheco State Park:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=560
See who is going to Pacheco:
http://observers.org/OI-calendar/
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D) Next Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY! SJAA Auction!
It's spring, and time for the annual migration of astronomical
paraphernalia from one garage to another! On Sunday, April 4, 2004, an
astronomical auction and swap meet will be conducted at Houge Park in San
Jose, sponsored by the San Jose Astronomical Association. The SJAA Auction
is a great opportunity for beginners to purchase their first telescope at
a great price! Experienced observers often find equipment they need for
their next observing project, from OIII filters to finders to star charts.
All kinds of interesting items are found in the auction. We will have the
auction first, followed by a swap, to allow people some additional
haggling time for those items that were optimistically priced by the
seller in the auction, or to sell those odds and ends items which were
better off being in a swap. It is an even year, so Kevin Medlock will be
our auctioneer. Those who have observed his performance in previous
auctions have learned to appreciate his skillful evaluation of classical
astronomical items on the spot. Great entertainment for all!
Registration and Item Preview starts at 12 PM with the auction starting at
1 PM. Do you have a large item such as a telescope to sell? Please email
the auction team at auction@sjaa.net with a description of the item and a
picture, if possible. We will add it to the auction website for some
pre-auction publicity. This allows the bidders to find out how much that
APO scope is really worth, so you will be more likely to sell it. So,
start looking in your closet to find those little used astronomical jems
to sell!
Auction Preview Site:
http://www.sjaa.net/auction04.html
Ephemeris Auction Article:
http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0403/f.html
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Directions to Houge Park:
Houge Park is in San Jose, near Campbell and Los Gatos.
>From Hwy.17, take the Camden Avenue exit. Go east 4/10 mile, and turn
right at the light, onto Bascom Avenue. At the next light, turn left onto
Woodard Road. At the first stop sign, turn right onto Twilight
Drive. Go three blocks, cross Sunrise Drive, then turn left into the park.
>From Hwy.85, take the Bascom Avenue exit. Go north 0.2 miles, and turn
right at the first traffic light, onto White Oaks Road. Run another 0.2
miles to the first stop sign, then turn left onto Twilight Drive. You will
now be passing the park. Turn right at the first driveway, into the
parking lot.
See Map at
http://www.sjaa.net/img/houge.jpg
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Clear Skies,
Mike Koop
President, SJAA
Email any comments, questions, or flames to
Koopm at best.com
Received on Fri Mar 26 13:28:54 2004
