Where:

Frosty Drew Observatory

When:

Friday November 9, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.

Cost:

Free! Donations Appreciated.

Conditions look very good for observing at Frosty Drew tonight, but we regret to inform you that we did suffer a casualty within the observatory during the hurricane. Scott noted the dome had changed its position from where he has placed it the previous week, meaning the wind has moved the roof, causing problems with its motion. Therefore, there will be observing tonight, but only with portable telescopes on the lawn. Although we don’t have any passes of the International Space Station tonight, there is a very bright Iridium flare scheduled to dazzle us at 6:34 P.M.

Also, with the longer nighttime of winter, it’s time to again think of how fortunate we have to be able to show you the wonders of the night under the darkest skies in Rhode Island, and to realize how quickly our skies could be changed. With that in mind, we will again show The City Dark tonight, beginning at 7:00 P.M. Considered one of the best documentaries concerning the need for dark nights, this presentation, a gift from the Town Planning Commission, will be shown in the Drew Sky Theatre.

We’re very fortunate to have several observatories in Rhode Island open to the public. Next Wednesday, you have the opportunity to visit a new site. The W. Alton Jones campus of URI, which this year is celebrating its 50th year, will be opening its observatory for First Light ceremony next Wednesday, November 14th, beginning at 7:00 P.M. Both Scott and I will be there, plus avid amateur astronomer Jim Hendrickson. Tom Mitchell, the Director of Alton Jones, wants all of you to be a part of this celebration. Simply call the campus, 397-3304, or register on their web site at http://bit.ly/R3etW5.

-Francine Jackson

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Tonight's weather forecast is calling for mostly clear skies with periods of patchy clouds. The 15% waning crescent Moon will not rise until 2:34 a.m. giving us dark skies to observe all the fantastic deep sky objects visible during this season. We will open the observatory grounds tonight at 6:00 with views of binary stars, nebulae, star clusters, and Jupiter. At 7:00 we invite you to the Sky Theatre to watch The City Dark. Our observatory dome may be inoperable, but the skies are beautiful so we will have a great night of observation.

This Sunday (Nov 11) is the peak of the North Taurid Meteor Shower. This shower is expected to produce upwards of 7 meteors per hour from 10:00 p.m. till dawn with the most likely times being around midnight to 1:00 a.m. The super thin 2% waning crescent Moon will not rise until pre-dawn giving observers a great sky to view slow moving, bright Taurid meteors.

If the Taurid meteor shower is just to dormant for you then get ready for the Leonid Meteor Shower peak next Friday (Nov 16). The Leonid shower is famous because of the incredible display it put on in November 2001. Historically, the Leonid shower has put on mind blowing displays with the 1966 Leonid shower producing thousands of meteors per hour to the point where meteors fell like rain. Although this meteor shower is usually not that active. This year we can expect a rather boring 10-15 meteors per hour between 10:00 p.m. and dawn (Nov 17). The 11% waxing crescent Moon will set at 7:17 giving us a beautifully dark sky to observe the Leonid shower and a great photo op to shoot the thin crescent Moon which will be displaying a bright Earthshine.

Tonight's temps will be hovering around freezing point. Be sure to dress warm as Ninigret park gets COLD! Winter attire is a must tonight.

-Scott MacNeill