Next sidewalk opportunity
(weather permitting):
Sat., Aug 14, Pasadena
Fri., Aug. 20, Monrovia
The most recent What's Up
NEW Your Mars in August defense kit
Bringing Astronomy to the Sidewalk in Pasadena and Monrovia
Visitors to Old Town Pasadena enjoy views of the first-quarter moon through Jane's 12.5-inch reflector telescope.Being a Sidewalk Astronomer isn't really about “joining” anything — it‘s about embracing a philosophy and acting on it.
Ask John Dobson how he became interested in astronomy, and he‘ll answer, “I was born!” People have a natural fascination with the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, but to most it‘s something they read about in a magazine or see on television.
We stop people on sidewalks and let them see the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, or the spots on the Sun. For just a moment, they have a personal connection with the universe around them, and sometimes life seems a little better after that.
We call it “urban guerilla astronomy.”
What's Up home page from JPLUpcoming Events
Many of our sidewalk events are planned only a few hours in advance. We will send a notice to our events email list on an afternoon when we plan to be observing.
That said, there are some patterns to when we can be found.
We typically set up telescopes in Pasadena on Colorado Blvd. somewhere between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave. on Friday evenings, and in Monrovia at Myrtle and Lime on Saturday evenings. For us to set up telescopes, the sky needs to be clear, there needs to be something to see (Moon, Jupiter, or Saturn), and we need to be available that evening.
Weather is always a factor. Our telescopes, big as they are, can not see through clouds. On an evening when we plan to be out observing, we will generally give it a try if there is a better than even chance that we'll get to view the Moon or planets. Occasionally a thin layer of haze will make the sky appear overcast, but the Moon will still show through.
There is never any charge to look through our telescopes.
July 2010
Watch the march of the planets this month at sunset low in the western sky. Mars and Saturn are less than 3 degrees apart from July 26-August 3rd. Venus will be nearby, too. Summer is prime Milky Way viewing season, so run, don't walk, out of town on the moon-less nights (the 3rd-14th are good). Pack some binoculars and go surfing through the starry waves spanning the sky from south to north.
New! Feature of the month The moon phase will look close to Galileo's famous third quarter phase lunar sketch on July 3 at 17:33 UT. That's during the morning hours (10:33 a.m.) on July 3rd here in the Pacific time zone. You can actually see the moon in the morning around this lunar phase but the contrast against the daylight washes out the view. Still, have a look! Moonrise on Saturday the 3rd is at about midnight and about 1:30 a.m. on the 4th, so this is a get-up-before-dawn kind of viewing window. Either July third or fourth before dawn will give a close approximation to the view Galileo saw, and your binocular view will be close to his telescopic view. It is my favorite lunar phase, and well worth an early wake up. If you miss is this month, don't worry, it happens every month! There is a link to the modern dates to recreate Galileo's views in my blog linked above. JHJ
- Friday, July 16, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., Pamela Park, Duarte
- Saturday, July 17, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., Myrtle & Lime, Old Town Monrovia
Likely upcoming dates
- Saturday, August 14, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., Old Town Monrovia
- Friday, August 20, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., Old Town Pasadena
New telescope owners: We'll be having a small clinic for people who need to learn how to set up and use their telescope on Saturday, June 19, 6:30 p.m., in Monrovia at Library Park. Reservation required! Contact us here.
Old Town Astronomers are members of JPL's Saturn Observation Campaign.
A bronze Mark Twain from Monrovia's Library Park studies the Moon Atlas with Jane. Dark Sky Star Parties
The Sidewalk Astronomers have a grand tradition of setting up telescopes in national parks over the summer. For many urban dwellers, an excursion to a national park is the only opportunity to see the Milky Way for themselves. A sky full of stars can be staggering to someone who lives under the L.A. light dome.
We love to get away from the city lights, and love to invite park visitors to spend a little quality night time under a star-filled sky with our telescopes. Jane and I love to set up our big telescopes in Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, and especially Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite: One of the "best-kept secret" events at Yosemite National Park during the summer is the weekend star party at Glacier Point, high above the Yosemite Valley. The park invites a different club from Northern California to bring telescopes each weekend that isn't near a full Moon. Club members get a free campsite for the weekend, and park visitors get a free star party.
For a taste of the Glacier Point star parties, visit Mojo's photo album from 2002 with the San Jose Astronomical Association. If you plan to visit Yosemite National Park in the summer, consider an evening at Glacier Point on a Friday or Saturday evening. Bring warm clothes and a picnic dinner, and enjoy the setting sun as it lights Half Dome from the stone amphitheater. Most clubs present a short slide talk on astronomy, and the ranger will do a constellation talk out at the point. Bring a flashlight to help see your way along the trails, but cover it with your hand so you get only as much light as required.
Dates for 2010 have not yet been posted, but watch this link for more information.
Grand Canyon: Every June for a week, visitors to Grand Canyon National Park are able to enjoy beautiful telescope views and astronomy talks at the annual Grand Canyon Star Party. Astronomers travel from across the country to set up on both the North and South Rim visitor areas. It'll be held in 2010 from June 5-12.
Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, Utah: June 2007 was our first visit to this fabulous event. It'll be held in 2010 from July 7-10. Follow this link for more information.
Joshua Tree: During the winter season, we're delighted to join the Andromeda Society of Yucca Valley, California, for their dark sky star parties in Joshua Tree National Park. Star parties are held in the Hidden Valley Picnic Area, easily accessible from the entrance gate in Joshua Tree, north of the park.
Feature Articles
- A Ten Planet Night
Jane writes an observing report from a desert night that featured ten planets.
- Snakes, Tortoises, and Stars
Story and photo album (with some ultra-cute tortoise video) of our "Herping Star Party" in Mojave National Preserve, April 25, 2009
- NASA Video on Star Parties for IYA 2009
This three-minute NASA video produced for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 features astronomers from the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers at our observing site in Monrovia.
- Song, Telescope Man by Robert Cesarone and Northern Cross
Bob Cesarone of JPL moonlights as an acoustic musician, and wrote this song some years back for his favorite telescope man, John Dobson. This link is direct to the MP3 file.
- Crepuscular Rays at Bryce Astronomy Festival 2007
Jane's article on this fascinating sky phenomenon we saw at Bryce Canyon.
- 2007 Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon Trip
Jane and Mojo travel to the North Rim and Bryce Canyon for a week of astronomy with John Dobson and Barry Peckham
- Sidewalk Astronomers on Weekend America
Weekend America did a story on Jane, Mojo, and John Dobson for International Sidewalk Astronomy Day, May 19, 2007. The web site also features an article by Jane.
- Photos from International Sidewalk Astronomy Day
A short album of photos from Myrtle and Lime in Monrovia, May 19, 2007
- Our Sidewalk Flier — in PDF format
This is the flier we have at our telescopes for visitors.
- Building a Dobsonian Telescope
Complete plans from Ray Cash and the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers
More feature articles...
Jane Houston Jones and Morris "Mojo" Jones
Jane Houston Jones and Morris "Mojo" Jones at the Glacier Point star party in Yosemite National Park.Meet our fellow astronomers here
Jane and Mojo have been setting up telescopes on sidewalks ranging from Hawaii to Florida since 1990. As amateur astronomers, they've participated in meteor observing missions for NASA, and appeared on national TV and radio programs.
Jane and Mojo kept the Sidewalk Astronomers active in San Francisco, the birthplace of the worldwide Sidewalk Astronomers, until relocating to Southern California in late 2003. They immediately saw the potential of Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia as the perfect location for sidewalk astronomy, and bought a home there in January 2004.
Among their list of awards and accomplishments, minor planet 1992LE was designated 22338 Janemojo in their honor.
Jane works for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena managing public outreach and informal education for the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan.
Mojo is a software engineer at Fox Audience Network, and operates his own internet server for friends and family as a hobby.
Telescopes for Schools and Educational Functions
Drop us an email if you would like to have the Old Town Astronomers bring telescopes to your school or civic event. Contact us to discuss dates that are best for informal astronomy in the city. As a guideline, dates near the first-quarter Moon are the best early-evening astronomy. Don't forget to consider the time for sunset!