Text 417, 68 rader
Skriven 2007-08-04 10:30:00 av John Pazmino (1:278/230)
Ärende: NYC Events 2/2 Aug   5/ 5
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Continued from previous message.

are about one hour's drive apart to allow you to visit both. Note that 
this year, for the first time, Stellafane opens on Thursday the 9th 
for a three-night run. If you sign up at the gate, you may attend ONLY 
from Friday. To take in the early open on Thursday, you must be 
registered in advance. 

Sky news 
 ------
    Thru hazy soupy skies we watched the Venus-Saturn conjunction on 
July 1st and 2nd. For many of us, the planets were the only objects 
visible, no stars. Most of us let Venus alone after then, helped by 
generally cloudy skies. 
    July 12th was the only day we got a view of the Manhattan 
Stonehenge sunset. Other, earlier, days were clouded out. July weather 
was round after round of thunderstorms, torrid sunshine, muggy and 
sticky nights. 
    gamma Virginis, now low in west, is just barely separated in the 
larger home telescopes. Recall that it was closed up during its 
periastron in 2005. I got a few reports of the stars resolving into 
two in larger telescopes and maybe in mid-size ones. If you can't get 
the two stars apart during this year's apparition, you surely will in 
next year's.
    Venus and Saturn are now gone. They are moving into the morning 
sky. I'm still on the case of 'greatest brilliancy' with some very 
interesting clues. More later, as pieces of this curious puzzle fall 
into place. 
    Jupiter is ruler of the south evening sky. He stays with us all 
thru the summer and early fall. Jupiter in spring 2007 erupted into a 
round of upheaval in his equatorial belts. With him in evening, we're 
getting full coverage of the new activity. 
    The lunar eclipse on August 28th is sometimes missed in lists of 
eclipses visible from the City. That's because mideclipse, the time 
usually keyed on for such lists, occurs after moonset here. Yet we get 
the early totality in a twilight sky. Mind the date/hour. Go out after 
the midnight between the 27th and 28th, NOT between the 28th and 29th. 
    Mars comes closest to Earth and is as big as the Moon! Yeah, 
right. We know that, but the untutored masses don't. They see the 
bogus Mars news story, go out on the 27th-28th -- the only date to see 
this amazing show -- and, yikes!, THEY SEE MARS! They look around and, 
WOW!, look at that BIG RED BALL, with the dark spots on it! THAT'S 
MARS!! 
    If you're giggling, don't. Just wait. 

 NYSkies 
 -----
    Astronomers are exploiting NYSkies as a quick, handy, friendly, 
and potent source of astronomy news relating to the City. And there is 
LOTS of astronomy stuff going on around New York! Since it revived on 
28 September 2001 (it was interrupted by World Trade Center) NYSkies 
became the definitive forum and public record for matters bearing on 
home astronomy in and around New York. 
    Joining NYSkies is easy. Send an empty email to this /Yahoogroup 
maillist at 'nysky-subscribe@yahoogroups.com'. Its posts are sent to 
you in your email and you post to it by email. It's that simple! 
    Or you may go to 'groups.yahoo.com/group/nysky'. If you are 
already signed up with Yahoo, you go and sign in and then 'join' 
NYSkies. If not, you have to go thru a silly 'registration' that's a 
one shot chore, valid for all groups you may eventually join. The 
files area of NYSkies are accessible only thru the website. 

[END OF PART 2 OF 2 PARTS]

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