FOG Blog
Well, that was fun!
We had a number of FoG members turn out tonight and we had three telescopes on the go. Mars was a bit of a blob - but we got to see Mars! Saturn was nice and crisp, with rings and Titan visible. Vega, Deneb and Altair kept watch right over head. Thanks to all the visitors who came by, including several families and Girl Scouts! We hope to see y'all at our October 17 meeting.
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We have our meeting schedule through the school year.
Visitors and new members welcome! All meetings will be at 7:00 PM at Mark Morris High School, in the LGIC (Large Group Instructional Center) on the west side of the building. Dates: Oct. 17 Nov. 14 Dec. - Christmas party; date and location to be announced Jan. 16 Feb. 20 March 20 April 17 May 15 Our usual agenda: club business, Sky Report, educational video or lecture, light refreshments. The Daily News had a story about Friends of Galileo watching the transit of Venus in 2012. Click to read the story. FOG Members and Friends, Due to the ongoing teacher's strike in Longview, Steve Powell has been unable to secure our meeting room for the September 19 FOG meeting. So instead, Bill Norvell has graciously reserved the President's Room at Canterbury Park (1335 3rd Ave, Longview) for our September 19 meeting. This is the same location where we held our August meeting. Hope to see you there! Thanks, Ted Gruber FOG Vice President / Program Chair Join us for a Star Party! Friends of Galileo members and guests are welcome to see what we can see in the night sky. At past events, we've seen planets, galaxies, and shooting stars. We even arranged to have the International Space Station fly overhead! Bring a telescope if you have one, but it's not required. See you there! Where: Mike's (contact us for directions) When: set up any time after 7:00 PM on Friday, September 7. Alternate: the forecast isn't great for Friday so we may move the date to Saturday, September 8. Confirmation: Ted will send out an email on Thursday. FOG Members and Guests:
Despite the forecast for poor air quality last night, the skies cleared reasonably well by late evening and we had a few people show up looking for the sidewalk astronomy event. Unfortunately, they had no way to know that we had cancelled it earlier that day. So if the skies are reasonably free of smoke tonight, Greg and I will be outside Starbuck's (808 Ocean Beach Hwy, Longview) around 8:30pm-9:00pm to try sidewalk astronomy again. Please join us if you can bring a scope, or just want to attend. Now that the club has its new website, I'll mention it in my next CRR sky report column, and ask readers to check the website for last minute "go or no go" decisions when we announce future public viewing events. Thanks, Ted Gruber FOG Vice President / Program Chair It was a beautiful drive to the star party at Mount St. Helens last weekend. The event was coordinated by members of the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club (Longview, WA), Rose City Astronomers (Portland, OR) and the Mount St. Helens Institute.
Friendly people when we arrived, and - what scenery! Now, it's one thing to see diagrams or photos of the stars and galaxies and planets, and to read explanations of just what the "ecliptic" is. But looking at photos in print or online is just not the same. Just after sunset, we saw Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars arcing in the sky from horizon to horizon. To see the planets in such a magnificent clear sky, with the volcano below, that was stunning! And that was the beginning of the show. Later, we turned to telescopes brought to the mountain by club members. They helped me see the Ring Nebula (2,300 light years away!) and the Andromeda Galaxy (2.5 million light years - the light left there long before there were humans here!). But thinking about light years is very abstract. What really got me was seeing the planets lined up just after sunset, and later seeing the rings of Saturn and the cloud bands of Jupiter, even the Red Spot, with my own eyes (and a bit of magnification!). After spending most of my life in the Big City, here I was away from city lights, with people who had the telescopes and the knowledge to help me see for myself large parts of our solar system. And, up there on Coldwater Ridge, the skies were big and clear enough I didn't look at one little bit or another but I could see the span of the solar system. With my own eyes. Thanks, everyone! Roy We had a terrific Star Party at the Coldwater Ridge Science & Learning Center, hosted by Friends of Galileo (Longview), Rose City Astronomers (Portland), and the Mount St. Helens Institute..
Guest speakers, a portable planetarium, crafts for kids, a solar system walk, solar viewing, and a great dinner. All that was before sunset! Then we saw Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars laid out on the ecliptic in a clear sky, with Mount St. Helens below. We saw meteors and galaxies, and the International Space Station flew by us to see what was going on. Great fun! |
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