"Astronomy in the Park" Star Parties are free and open to the public; however, some of the Parks charge an entrance fee of $7.00 per vehicle until the Park closes. If an attendant is in the Fee Station, LVAS members should tell the Attendant that you are there for the Star Party. Click here or see the Events Calendar for future Public Star Party dates in 2011.
Note: Because we use special video cameras in some of our telescopes, viewing the night sky at our public star parties is accessible by those that may have difficulty viewing through the eyepiece of a telescope (ADA friendly). We invite you to join us in viewing the wonders of the night sky.
Other Notable Events
International Space Station in the Las Vegas Skies
There are no bright passes of the ISS for the next 10 days. Normally, the upcoming brighter passes over our city will be posted in the table below. For additional passes, see the link to Heavens-Above.com below.
Date
Magnitude
Duration
Begin
End
Altitude
at
Start
Direction
Yellow Highlight = brighter than -2.5 magnitude and greater than 5 min duration
* = Magnitude greater than 2.0
** = Durations greater than 4 minutes
Be sure to check for the most current prediction information. The information above is updated at least weekly, but predictions may change slightly as the date for the pass approaches, so checking the Heavens Above website will ensure you have the most accurate and up to date information about upcoming passes. A magnitude of -2.8 is between the brightness of the planets Jupiter (-2.1) and Venus (-3.9), with Venus being the brighter planet. Both planets are in our evening sky right now, so you can use them to determine how bright the ISS will be.
Iridium Flares- an interesting phenomenon where sunlight is reflected from the large aluminum antennae on Iridium communication satellites to your observing location on the ground. Heavens-Above.com can predict Iridium Flares for almost any location. Below are links to Heavens-Above.com predictions for selected sites of interest to LVAS members:
April is upon us and besides our deadlines for taxes there are a few other notable events. Saturn will appear at its brightest on April 15th. On the 15th Saturn reaches opposition. Opposition is when Saturn and the Sun are in opposite positions in the sky, hence the name opposition. The planet rises in the east at sunset, hangs within the constellation Virgo the Maiden,
and sets at sunrise. Because every opposition occurs when Earth lies closest to Saturn, the planet appears bigger and brighter than at other times, peaking at a magnitude of 0.2. April provides another great month for watching planets! Four of the five visible planets – Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn – come out at nightfall. Mercury rises in the east before sunrise. Jupiter sets in the early evening so don’t procrastinate as my favorite planet will be gone for another season shortly. As Saturn is in such a great position for viewing this month, here are some fun facts about our ringed neighbor:
- Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, and more than 750 Earths could fit inside of it. - Saturn is the only planet less dense than water, and it weighs only 95 times as much as Earth. This means it would float, if you could find a body of water big enough. - It takes Saturn about 29 years to orbit the Sun, but a little less than 11 hours to rotate completely. - During opposition, Saturn lies about 800 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. - From Saturn, the Sun appears 1 percent as bright as it does from Earth. - Saturn’s quick rotation flattens it slightly, so its polar diameter is only 89 percent of its equatorial diameter. - Saturn’s famous rings tilt at an angle of 27.3° with respect to its orbit. They can be as thin as 33 feet (10 meters) thick, and are made almost entirely of ice. - Saturn’s odd weather systems have created an unusually regular hexagon atop the north pole, one of the most curious features in the solar system
Finally a reminder of the upcoming annular eclipse in May, David Blanchette has taken a road trip to scout out sites for viewing the eclipse. David documented his findings and you can read them here: http://www.lvastronomy.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=358&sid=0e9461383ed01ce36671dc53f021bdfc I hope you all can join us. Thanks David for the report.
Clear skies to all,
Jim
Need Some Help With Your Scope?
Do you have a new telescope or one that hasn't been dusted off in quite a while and need some help using it? If you can't make it to our next "Astronomy in the Park", give me a call and let's arrange a time to get you a little help. I'm typically available before and after our monthly meetings on the 1st Thursday of each month and before each of our "Astronomy in the Park" outings, but I'm willing to come to you to get you up and operating. I just need some prior notice to arrange a time to meet you. Give me a call at 702-461-1390 or send me an email at
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Last Updated on Thursday, 03 May 2012 15:58
Society Meetings
Monthly LVAS meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Planetarium at the College of Southern Nevada, Cheyenne Campus - 3200 East Cheyenne (See Map). Following a short welcome and business session, a presentation on an Astronomy topic of interest is normally presented by an LVAS member or special guest. Occasionally, the program is the Planetarium presentation of the month.
Next Meeting
Thursday, 3 May, 7:30p.m.
Executive Board Meeting at 6:45 in Student Lounge
Presentation will be:
"Understanding Eclipses"
CSN Planetarium
Provides Family Acitivity
Needing an alternative weekend family activity? The CSN Planetarium provides three shows suitable for families. From 4 May through 30 June the Planetarium will be showing "Ice Worlds" at 6:00 PM and "Experience the Aurora" at 7:30 PM Friday and Saturday evenings. The Saturday afternoon matinee at 3:30PM is "Zula Patrol - Under the Weather". A short "Spring Stargazing" feature, hightlighting the seasonal wonders of the night sky, follows each presentation. Check out the new DigiStar 4 Projectors with 4 times the brightness and resolution of the previous projector system. Come see the interesting shows and the life-like presentation of the night sky. Immediately following the 7:30 shows, guests are invited to view the planets and other celestial objects through the Planetarium's telescopes in the Observatory compound. Right now, the giant planet Jupiter highlights the evening viewing, but soon Saturn will be in our early evening sky. All tickets are $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for Seniors, Students, and children. Discounts are also available for multiple shows and groups. For more information about the CSN Planetarium, click on the Planetarium banner below.
Green Laser Safety Reminder!
This is a reminder to LVAS members that own and use green lasers to be extremely safety conscious when the lasers are being used. In the light of recent incidents of pranksters painting aircraft and other moving vehicles with green lasers, it is imperative for members of the Astronomical Community to exercise extreme caution and good judgement when using green lasers to point out celestial objects. Users should always be conscious of aircraft activity and when possible, use a spotter (another watching person) so that an aircraft is not accidently painted by a green laser. Anytime an aircraft, regardless of the distance from the observing location, is spotted moving toward an area of the sky where a laser is being used, the laser must be turned off or moved away from the aircraft until the aircraft departs that area of the sky. Astronomers using green lasers to guide their scopes to celestial objects should be especially careful to not leave the laser turned on while obsserving. At no time should an Astronomer surrender control of a green laser to anyone other than another Astronomer, especially not to children who may not understand the consequences of improperly using a laser. Remember - it is a Federal Offense to paint an aircraft, any moving vehicle, or a person with a laser of any type - punishable by up to 20 years of imprisonment.
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