Public Stargazing
- Where:
- Frosty Drew Observatory
- When:
- Friday November 1, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.
- Cost:
- Free! Donations Appreciated.
Tonight's weather is looking rather grim for observation. The forecast is calling for cloudy skies, rain, possibly t-storms and wind. This is unfortunate as the 1% waning crescent Moon will not rise until 6:18 a.m. leaving what would have been excellent dark skies for all kinds of celestial viewing awesomeness. Regardless of sky conditions, Frosty Drew will open tonight with our annual presentation of Orson Welles's “War of the Worlds” 1938 broadcast starting at 7:00 p.m.. So stop in at Frosty Drew tonight for a post Halloween spook that freaked out 1.2 million Americans in 1938.
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Public Stargazing
Francine Jackson
Sky conditions aren't looking very good for tonight, so the Observatory most likely won't be opening for viewing. If there are breaks in the clouds early in the evening, there is a several-minute pass of the International Space Station beginning at 6:16, when it will appear just above the western horizon, then move toward the south, where it will disappear five minutes later. There is a fairly dim, but still within our sights, appearance of the Tiangong at 7:41, staying in our skies for about two minutes. And, very early, at 6:07 P.M., a flare of Iridium satellite #58 will occur, one of the brightest a flare can appear.
As tonight is the closest Friday to Halloween, we hope you can come to listen to the 1938 broadcast of Orson Welles's classic "War of the Worlds." First made on October 30th, 1938, this program not only created a classic example of mass hysteria, but changed the way in which programming was performed. Although Welles made it to only be a "trick" for the public audience, its repercussions can still be felt today. It will be played early in the evening, about 7:00, so please come listen with us. Also, costumed or not, you will be treated to candy.
Next Friday, November 8th, stop at the University of Rhode Island Planetarium for a look into the outer reaches of our solar system. Much has been made concerning one of our workhorse satellites, Voyager I, which left Earth in 1977 to rendezvous with Jupiter and Saturn, and has since been moving rather perpendicular to the plane of our solar system; just recently, astronomers have discovered that is has reached the "end" of our neighborhood. But, what does that mean? A satellite that has been orbiting the Earth, IBEX, was launched to try to learn just that. Come to the planetarium to be introduced to IBEX, and understand its mission. Programs will be at 6:00 and 7:00 P.M. The URI Planetarium is on Upper College Road, across from the Art Center. Admission is only $5.00, to benefit the URI Planetarium and Frosty Drew Memorial funds. After the program, which will include a live section on The Skies at Frosty Drew, all are invited, skies willing, to travel to Ninigret Park for a night of observing. The Moon will be at its crescent phase, beautiful enough to observe, but not too much to disturb many of the other objects waiting to be seen.
If skies are clear Sunday morning, Rhode Island will be able to observe the last portion of a solar eclipse which was total/annular across much of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. At sunrise Sunday, the Sun will not be its perfect sphere; it will have about a third of its surface still covered by our Moon. Remember: This is not enough for you to observe the Sun with your naked eyes. Never look at the Sun without proper protection. One reason we will be able to see this partial eclipse is because Sunday morning is also when your clocks are to be set back an hour (Fall back). Sunrise is just about 6:15, and the Moon will leave the Sun about an hour later, at 7:12. Again, if you do wish to observe the Sun, remember to use correct eye protection - specially-made eclipse glasses.
Frosty Drew Observatory is privileged to be located in Charlestown, which has the darkest skies in Rhode Island. Please help us to keep our skies dark.
-Francine
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Weekly Happenings
Scott MacNeill
Last week (October 18), NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) scored historic points after successfully transmitting data to Earth from the Moon at a rate of 622 Mbps. That is six times faster than the previous state of the art radio communication system to go to the Moon. LLCD is attached to the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) probe which is currently in orbit around the Moon studying the thin lunar atmosphere. This breakthrough technology uses a laser based terminal that is half the weight of comparable radio based terminals and uses 25% less power. Though many tests still need to be completed, the first results have far exceeded expectations of the LLCD team. Communications between LLCD and Earth are the longest two-way laser communication ever demonstrated, making LLCD the first step on our roadmap toward building the next generation of space communication capabilities, says NASA. With a follow up mission scheduled for 2017 called The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which will demonstrate laser relay communication capabilities for Earth orbiting satellites continuously, we are on the cusp of a new era of space based communications. Go NASA!
Comet C/2012 SI (ISON) has become visible in the early morning sky to those with good quality backyard telescopes. ISON, which is currently in the constellation Leo, should be visible with at least an 8” dobsonian telescope. Last weekend Frosty Drew Observatory obtained its first images of the highly anticipated comet which is brightening as it approaches the Sun for its November 28th close encounter. Comet ISON has been hailed the “Comet of the Century” which is a hefty tag line leaving much room for Murphy's Law to work wonders of woe. Our initial view last weekend revealed quite a sexy comet that is brightening as expected and appears to be in stable condition. If comet ISON survives its close encounter with the Sun (730,000 miles!), we can be in for possibly a beautiful naked eye comet for the holiday season. Here's to hoping for stunning comet ISON views!
-Scott