Month: May 2017

May Public Night

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Bob Wiersma talks telescopes and astronomy with a family at CAA’s Telescope Night
Many thanks to fellow club members who joined me to help with our public star party at Letha House Saturday night.  In spite of partly cloudy skies, we had a good turnout with about 30 guests joining us for the program–including 5 or 6 guests who brought their telescopes from home to get help in using their equipment.
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Explaining the operation of a nice reflector kit received as a gift from man’s wife
CAA members who helped with the program included: Jay Reynolds, Rich & Nancy Whisler, Bill & Carol Lee, Tim Campbell, Bob Wiersma, Ray Love, Carl Kudrna, Suzie Dills, Gus Waffen, Dave Nuti, Nora Mishey, Dave Watkins, and Bruce Lane.
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Sisters learn about their telescope and aim for the Moon.
Apologies for missing anyone.  If I missed you, thanks for your help and please let me know who you are!
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Mother and son get a look at Jupiter courtesy of Jay Reynolds and the CAA’s big SCT.
Special thanks to Jay, who spent the evening showing guests the night sky in our observatory, and to Nora Mishey who greeted and talked with guests and managed our display of astronomical materials inside the Letha House shelter.
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Nora Mishey set up a fine and impressive display in the Letha House Park meeting room that most missed – the wonders of the sky were too alluring!
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This big telescope provided views of Jupiter and moon Io casting its shadow on an equatorial cloud belt; Io’s changing position was observed over the course of the evening.
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Simulated view shows Io casting its shadow on planet Jupiter – seen via larger scopes at the star party! – Simulation by Gas Giants iOS app.
Thanks again, folks!  See you June 3 for our next public star party for the Medina County Park District!  — William Murmann, CAA President

Spectacular view of Jupiter, courtesy Juno

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Photo: South Polar Region of Jupiter
South Polar Region of Jupiter

This image shows Jupiter’s south pole, as seen by NASA’s Juno spacecraft from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers). The oval features are cyclones, up to 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) in diameter. Multiple images taken with the JunoCam instrument on three separate orbits were combined to show all areas in daylight, enhanced color, and stereographic projection.

JunoCam’s raw images are available at http://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam for the public to peruse and process into image products. More information about Juno is online at http://www.nasa.gov/juno

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Betsy Asher Hall/Gervasio Robles

Saturday, May 27: Our First Public Night of the season!

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The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) will host our first public star party of the year for the Medina County Park District starting at 8 PM this coming Saturday, May 27. A program and the star party will take place at Letha House Park.

The public program will be a “Telescope Night” with the visitors invited to bring their personal telescopes to learn how to set up and use them starting at 8 PM.  After it gets dark, we’ll have the usual star gazing program between 9 and 11 PM.

Members: Any and all help will be appreciated!  Please bring a scope if you can and assist with the program.

CAA’s observatory is located at 5800-5994 Richman Road – Just North of Spencer Lake Road Spencer, OH 44275. Click here for a Google Map and instructions on how to get to the observatory.

Night Sky Network recognition

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Image: NASA/JPL Night Sky Network Logo

The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) has received recognitions from the Night Sky Network for its astronomy outreach efforts. The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of NASA’s missions to the general public, a partnership between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

“Congratulations to your club on 60 years dedicated to astronomy, observing, and outreach,” Night Sky Network officials wrote. “We salute your commitment to your community and enjoy hearing about all of the incredible events you host.” The letter continued, “Over the last decade we have been honored to partner with you … may our partnership continue for many decades to come and further the interest of astronomy for everyone.”

A separate mailing included award pins imprinted, “Night Sky Network Star,” and certificates to be used in recognizing outstanding CAA volunteers. “We deeply admire your outreach efforts and activities; bringing the love of the stars to the public is hard but rewarding work.”