The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA) will host a public star party this Saturday (Sept. 9) from 8:00 to 10:00 PM at the Medina County Park District’s at Letha House Park (West). The club’s observatory will be open and CAA members will offer viewing through their personally-owned telescopes.
The weather forecast is looking good for Saturday. If skies are clear, Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune will be visible at dusk. Later, Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune will be visible.
The waning Gibbous Moon will clear the horizon at 10:15. When the sky grows dark enough, and before moonrise, there about 30 Messier objects visible. Messier objects include such things as brighter star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies.
August 26: Day’s End – Letha House Park – Photo by James Guilford
After a day featuring fair skies, the evening saw a layer of clouds slide in messing with our Public Night. The slender crescent Moon slowly disappeared into a light smudge. Later, a few stars showed up overhead but, overall, not much to look at. We hope for better weather on September 9, at 8:00 PM when we will host our next Public Night at Letha House Park and our Observatory.
The Cuyahoga Astronomical Association (CAA), in cooperation with Cleveland Metroparks, will host an Eclipse Watch event at Edgewater Park, on Cleveland’s western Lake Erie shore, from 12:30 to 4:00 PM, Monday, August 21. The event will be free and open to the public, no reservations required, to observe the day’s solar eclipse. In case of rain, the event will be canceled.
Eclipse at Maximum – Edgewater Park, Ohio, August 21, 2017 – SkySafari 5 Simulation
The Edgewater Eclipse Watch will include:
Telescopes equipped to safely view the eclipse, tended by CAA members
Eclipse viewing glasses provided by AstroZap, one per group, please!)
Non-profit organizations, including Cleveland Metroparks, with family activities.
Additional activities to be announced!
The venue for the Edgewater Eclipse Watch will be at the west end of Edgewater Park’s lower level parking lot (see map below). Telescopes and other activities will be in the grassy area adjacent to the parking lot. Visitors may come and go as they please during the event.
Here is where the Eclipse Watch will take place. Click to visit Google Maps for a more complete map and directions.Timing of Our Partial Solar Eclipse, August 21, 2017 – Via SkySafari 5
Millions of people will enjoy this eclipse of the Sun, some portion of which will be visible from everywhere in the continental United States; it’s even been dubbed “The Great American Eclipse” and “The National Eclipse.” Locations along a relatively narrow strip of land stretching from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest to the Atlantic off South Carolina will enjoy the full glory of a total solar eclipse. Here in Northeastern Ohio, we will see a deep partial eclipse with, at its peak, the Sun reduced to a brilliant crescent in our early afternoon sky.
CRITICAL: Vision safety is a major concern: It is important to note: even during the maximum point of our partial eclipse it is not safe to look at the Sun without proper vision protection. According to a statement from NASA, “The only safe way to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun is through special-purpose solar filters, such as ‘eclipse glasses’ or hand-held solar viewers. Homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones, are not safe for looking at the sun.” Here’s a quick video about how to safely view the eclipse via WKYC and our own Jay Reynolds.
A solar eclipse takes place when our Moon comes between Sun and Earth casting its shadow on Earth’s surface. The illustration below shows how the depth of Moon’s shadow varies depending upon how much of Sun is covered. The small black dot indicates the area where all of the solar disk is covered and where a total solar eclipse is in progress; outside of that dot, a large shaded area shows where various levels of partial coverage — the partial eclipse — is visible.
Diagram of the Solar Eclipse – Image Credit: NASA
This video from NASA shows how eclipses work and why they don’t happen every month. Spoiler: Moon’s shadow “misses” the Earth most of the time…
We had one of our most successful public star parties for the Medina County Park District last night (July 29) at Letha House. I don’t have an exact count, but I think 100 or more guests came for the event under great clear skies and mild temperatures. The parking lot was full. Lots of young families came with children, many of whom got their first look at the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and other objects through a telescope.
Waxing Crescent Moon dominated the sky for the CAA’s Public Night. Photo by James Guilford.
Many thanks to all who helped! Observatory Director Jay Reynolds had a busy night showing the night sky with our 12-inch and 8-inch scopes. Education Director Nora Mishey spent the whole evening in the building, talking with folks about her educational astronomy displays, sharing home-baked cookies, and discussing our club. Three platters of Nora’s cookies quickly disappeared.
“First-light” observing with the just-completed eight-inch Meade. Photo by Alan Studt
We had 14 scopes at the event. Two of them were brought by nonmembers who hopefully will join our club. I was busy during the evening talking with people and showing the Moon with my scope, so I may not have a complete list of members who helped. If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Watching the Space Station. Photo by James Guilford.
A big thank you for helping to VP Tim Campbell, Bob Wiersma, James Guilford, Alan Studt, Rich & Nancy Whisler, Bill & Carol Lee, Carl Kudrna, Dave Nuti, Chris Christie, Bruce Lane, Jay Reynolds, Nora Mishey, and me. If you were there and I missed you, please let me know.
