Greetings fellow astrophiles!
Several events are occurring in the next few days and next few weeks for those hoping for a respite from recent CNY weather. In rapid succession:
1. Bob Piekiel At Baltimore Woods This Friday (July 12)
The weather-alternate is Saturday, July 13th. Several CNYO Observing Logs have been produced from these sessions this year already (1, 2, 3, 4) and we hope for clear skies this weekend to take in some prime Summer views of Saturn, the center of the Milky Way, and the many clusters and nebulae therein. Details about this event (directions, fees, etc.) are available @ THIS Link.
2. “Star Search!” At Green Lakes State Park on Friday, July 26
The weather-alternate is Saturday, July 27th. This is a free observing session at one of the gems of our local state park system (although you won’t be able to appreciate much of it unless you get there early) hosted by CNY’s own Bob Piekiel. The poster for this event, start-end times, and directions are available @ THIS Link.
NOTE: While the temperature might beckon shorts and T-shirts, I bring you this word of caution from Dr. John McMahon: Green Lakes is one of the areas identified in Onondaga County where Black-legged Ticks (Ixodes scapularis) — aka deer ticks –have been identified as being abundant.
He (and I) refer you to the following NY Department Of Health sites for more info.
health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/ & health.ny.gov/publications/2813/
In short: Bug spray ( I will have a DEET-free bottle on hand) and long sleeved everything is the order of the night (including tucking pants into socks. Remember, it’ll be dark. No one will see you).
3. Ryan Goodson & New Moon Telescopes Present: The Evolution of the Alt-Azumith Telescope At MVAS, Wednesday Sept. 11
Mark your calendars! Ryan is presently scheduled to give a one hour lecture for the Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society on Wednesday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m. We do not know know if this will be open to the public or just to MVAS members, so you should consider joining and supporting this very active and very knowledgeable organization to our east. I consider their monthly newsletter – Telescopic Topics – to be one of the very best amateur astronomy club newsletters out there. This month’s edition includes Ryan’s article “Going Big” – posted on the CNYO site this past June 27th.
We will provide more details on the CNYO site as the date approaches.
4. Wave At Saturn Day – Friday, July 19 − 5:27 To 5:42 p.m. EDT
The Cassini Space Probe is set to image Saturn as Saturn occults (that is, passes in front of in a “greater than” eclipsed manner (although I’ve seen it described as “eclipsing”). This is not a transit, as the Sun will not be directly visible behind Saturn, and a transit requires that the “passing” object be smaller than the object being passed) the Sun (from the vantage point of the probe, that is) on July 19th. This is guaranteed to be a spectacular image of Saturn by all metrics (anyone who’s seen the image serving as this post’s banner knows what a remarkable combination Saturn and sunlight are).
It just so happens that this will occur (1) while the Earth will be in the field of view of the probe’s imagers and (2) while the North American continent is being illuminated by sunlight. The images below (from NASA/JPL-Caltech) summarize the situation on the 19th.
If we don’t host an official event (it is cutting it close to quittin’ time, after all), consider getting outside for a few minutes of Saturnian exposure and give your tax dollars a big wave.
