Archive for September, 2010

Tonight was the first annual International Observe the Moon Night. What? You didn’t know? Oh, sorry Seattle, I kinda didn’t want to get your hopes too high … the forecast wasn’t that great. I apologize profusely.

It is, of course, raining.

We took a photo anyway (and submitted it for judging! I hope we win a side award for “funniest” picture of the Moon or something.):

(c) Jason Enevoldsen. This is the ACTUAL location of the Moon, not just a random chunk of cloudy sky.

You can submit your photos too. In fact, the photos don’t have to be from exactly tonight – anytime between August 24th and September 23rd will do. Maybe you took one a couple weeks ago, or maybe you can snap one in between the clouds during the first half of this week.

Anyway, I love these international observing events like the Great World Wide Star Count, and I hope there are more. A lot of them take place over a week or a month, which works better for us here in the Pacific Northwest, we can just choose the cloud-free night and go observe them. Meanwhile, when it is raining like tonight, stargaze through your computer and live vicariously through the good weather of others.

And don’t miss my fall equinox sunset viewing. I’ll be there if it is cloudy, but not if it is REALLY raining.

~ A l i c e !

It’s time again! Add it to your calendar – the quarterly sunset viewing at Solstice Park is coming up in just a couple weeks!

• When: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 7:07pm (so come at 6:30pm)
• Where: Solstice Park (or, if you’re not in Seattle, wherever you have a view of the western horizon!)
• Who: Everyone welcome, as usual.

Sunset on June 11, 2009 Credit: Jason Gift Enevoldsen

Come watch the autumn equinox sunset at Solstice Park in West Seattle on Monday. We’ll see if the sunset lines up with the placed marker. I’ll be there even if it is cloudy, but not if the weather is miserable.

If it is clear we’ll bring a telescope or two to take a look at the Moon after the Sun goes down – and maybe Jupiter if we stay until it is dark enough.

If you’re interested – here’s the timing of various celestial events on Saturday from Seattle, courtesy of the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department:

Sun and Moon Data for One Day

The following information is provided for Seattle, King County, Washington (longitude W122.3, latitude N47.6):

Wednesday 22 September 2010 Pacific Daylight Time

SUN
Begin civil twilight 6:25 a.m.
Sunrise 6:56 a.m.
Sun transit 1:02 p.m.
Sunset 7:07 p.m.
End civil twilight 7:38 p.m.

MOON
Moonrise 6:10 p.m. on preceding day
Moon transit 12:11 a.m.
Moonset 6:23 a.m.
Moonrise 6:28 p.m.
Moonset 7:27 a.m. on following day

This event is my part of the NASA’s Solar System Ambassadors program, and thanks to West Seattle Blog for publicizing the last few!

Everyone is welcome, see you there!

~ A l i c e !