Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory

When:

Friday July 26, 2013 at 6:00 p.m.

Cost:

Free! Donations Appreciated.

Sky conditions are looking quite variable for tonight, be sure to check our Twitter (@FrostyDrewOBSY) for updates on sky conditions at the observatory before heading out. If you do get a small break in the clouds around 10:47 P.M., there is an Iridium flare low in the west-southwest, then a brighter satellite flare just nine minutes later, at 10:56, in virtually the same area of the sky.

Tomorrow, we’re hoping for great weather – and it looks as if we may have it – to celebrate our 3rd annual Sea Star Marketplace, where some of the best and most incredible artisans come out for all to see. You will have your choice of any type of crafts you like; are you looking for a unique gift for a birthday or anniversary, or early holiday shopping? You may find what you want right here on the grounds of Frosty Drew. In addition, we have two special guests: Dr. Giovanni Fazio, of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will return this year to update us on the latest in celestial happenings, giving two presentations, at 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. for all ages; then Kim Arcand, of NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, will be present to introduce you to a different part of the sky. She will also have copies of her latest book, Your Ticket to the Universe, available from 12:00 noon to 2:00 P.M. Tomorrow will be a great, full day for all – come enjoy Sea Star Marketplace and beautiful Ninigret Park. See you there!

Also, mark your calendars for Friday, August 9th, for the next presentation at the University of Rhode Island Planetarium. Featured will be “7 Wonders,” a tour of the best and most wondrous features in history. “Tour” what today is only a memory. The program, which is only $5.00 per person, to benefit both the Frosty Drew and URI Planetarium memorial funds, will be shown at 6:00 and 7:00 P.M., followed by “The Skies of Frosty Drew,” a short showing of what to look for when you leave the URI campus and drive to the real sky, or, as has happened lately, you will see what should be visible, if it weren’t for the clouds we’ve been having a little too much of lately.

At a recent conference for planetarium educators, I presented on how planetarium and observatory professionals should band together to keep the hope of dark skies alive. As Frosty Drew Observatory is located in the town with the darkest skies in Rhode Island, we will continue to thank Charlestown for its recent lighting ordinance, and work to ensure that other places in the state become aware of what this generation of children is losing by not seeing the beauty that is our night sky. Please help us to make sure the sky is available for our future generations.

-Francine Jackson

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Tonight's forecast is quite variable with some sources calling for mostly cloudy skies and others calling for partly cloudy skies clearing overnight. We can expect fog to roll in during the early morning hours. The bright 81% waning gibbous moon will rise at 10:22 p.m. and will surely chase us out with all that bright light. As of now, tonight's status is unpredictable and we will report status conditions on site to our Twitter (@FrostyDrewOBSY). Otherwise we will attempt to open at 6:00 p.m. with our solar viewing program, then around 8:30 we will direct the observatory telescopes towards Venus and Saturn. If skies cooperate we will later observe the bright Moon and possibly a few binary stars.

This weekend at Frosty Drew Nature Center & Observatory the annual Sea Star Marketplace is happening. This is a huge artisans festival that Frosty Drew puts on every July. Among all the artisan and crafty bustle, the Frosty Drew Observatory tent will have many great things happening: We will be showing the Sun and sunspots all day live from a telescope fitted with a white light filter and possibly a sun spotter. Many of the awesome photographs we have captured at the observatory and around the state will be for sale as prints or framed while they last. From noon – 2:00 Kim Arcand of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory will be signing copies of her book “Your Ticket to the Universe: A Guide to Exploring the Cosmos“. Then at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Dr. Giovanni Fazio of Harvard’s Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics will be speaking in the Sky Theatre on the evolution of stars and solar systems. For a schedule of events and listings of exhibitors, visit the Frosty Drew Sea Star Marketplace website and be sure to come out tomorrow for a fantastic sunny summer day in Ninigret Park!

The recently launched NASA IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) mission has returned its first photographs of the sun! IRIS launched on June 26, 2013 with the goal of analyzing the flow of energy and plasma through the chromosphere and transition region into the corona which is significantly hotter than the visible photosphere of the sun. This will help us better understand this mysterious region of the upper solar atmosphere and further our knowledge of what drives the solar wind which flows though out the solar system. Here is the photo that IRIS sent back. On the left in the photo is the same region of the sun photographed by NASA SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) which is producing the best images of the sun to date. On the right is the new image from IRIS showing way more detail. IRIS is only just starting it's mission and will surely have some quirks to work out. Principle Investigator on IRIS, Alan Title, stated “The quality of the images and spectra we are receiving from IRIS is amazing — this is just what we were hoping for”. Way to go team IRIS!

Tonight's temperatures will be way cooler than last Friday, though mosquitoes will be out. Be sure to dress for mosquito laden conditions!

-Scott MacNeill