Weekly Note
Tonight’s sky seems to be promising for observing – all we have to do is hope we don’t have incredible wind gusts as we’ve have had recently – and the observatory will be open, beginning at dusk, which you might have noticed is coming later with each passing day. Jupiter will be leaving the sky rather early, as it is setting with the winter stars, where it is located right now. Saturn rises early in the evening, but tonight it is right next to the just-passed Full Moon, so it will be a little less than the perfect planet it is usually seen as.
There is a pass of the International Space Station this evening, beginning at 8:50, where it will appear out of the western horizon. For about five minutes it will travel toward the south, then disappear. We also have two passes of the X-37B, but, with the Moon as bright as it is, they may be difficult to view, but, we’ll try, anyway, beginning at 8:05, then later at 9:42.
For those of you who’d like to learn more about astronomy, we will be having the Introduction class beginning Saturday, May 11th, then running the 18th and June 1st. It will introduce you to the history of our beloved science, the planets, and finally, stars and galaxies. All classes begin at 2:00 P.M., and run for about 2 hours. For more information, come on down to Frosty Drew on a Friday evening, or call the organization and leave a message.
Don’t forget to put on your running shoes and join us for the 4th annual Frosty Drew 5K run/walk next Saturday, May 4th. This takes you on a scenic tour of much of Ninigret Park that’s not often seen, and is really fun for all. John Veradian will have us singing the run song, and winners take home apple pies. For more information, or to register, please visit the Frosty Drew website at http://frostydrew.org.
Also, the next University of Rhode Island/Frosty Drew planetarium presentation will be Friday, May 10th, on the URI campus, Upper College Road. The program will be Professor Philip Morrison’s Powers of Ten, updated with related background material supplied by Physics Lab Manager Steve Pellegrino. We will show it at 6:00 and 7:00 P.M., followed by a few minutes of The Skies of Frosty Drew, then all are invited to travel to the real skies after the program. Admission is $5.00, to benefit both the URI Planetarium and Frosty Drew Memorial funds.
Frosty Drew Observatory is located at the darkest skies in Rhode Island. Please help us to keep them as dark as possible.
-Francine Jackson
