Program Saturday, August 30: ON
Hello all,
The program for the evening of Saturday, August 30 is ON. Our focus will be on the first quarter moon, which will shine brightly in the south at sunset.
It starts at 8:00 PM.
Parking for our weekend programs
Because we have limited parking, free passes are required for our public programs on Friday and Saturday nights. Passes for upcoming programs can be found at:
http://registration.jgap.org
If the date you wish to go is marked “full” note that we often release additional passes for programs on the Wednesday before each weekend.
Space is infinite, our parking area is not.
Please be considerate to others when driving in after dark and turn your high beams down. This helps keep our observing field dark.
Note: If (and only if) you are staying in the Hocking Hills State Park Cabins, or the Hocking Hills Lodge, you may walk over for the program without a pass.
02. Astrophotography
The Milky Way is Back
The Milky Way with a Perseid Meteor, Brad Hoehne
WiIth the summer comes the summer Milky Way. At this time of year, in the evening, the night side of the Earth faces the chaotic, busy center of our home galaxy,
Those who want to see it well should visit on clear, moonless nights from July through early October. (The bright light of the moon washes out its faint glow.)
The best time of the year is late August, when its milky glow arcs high overhead as soon as it is fully dark.
Image by Alex Mullins
On most clear, moonless, evenings, you’ll find folks taking advantage of the dark skies at JGAP to shoot images of the night sky.
This pastime is known as astrophotography.
All are welcome to bring cameras and telescopes to JGAP to try their hand at this.
If you get a good image, why not share it with us by using our Instagram hashtag: #jgastropark
Upcoming Programs
We do programs on Friday and Saturday nights from March through November, weather permitting.
Because we have limited space for cars, free parking passes are required on program nights.
Space is infinite, our parking area is not.
https://registration.jgap.org/
If the date you wish to go is marked “full” note that we often release additional passes for programs on the Wednesday before each weekend.
(The JGAP grounds are open for individual stargazing on non-program nights. Please feel free to come on in. Parking passes are not required. You may bring chairs, telescopes, cameras and tripods if you wish.
August 29-30: The First and Last Apollo Missions: The lunar terminator, the line between night and day, is perfectly situated this weekend to allow us to see geography that surrounds the first and last Apollo Missions (11 and 17). 8:00 PM
September 5-6: Aristarchus and a Rainbow: The Brightest crater on the moon is striking in small telescopes, as is the Sinus Iridium, the “Bay of Rainbows”, both of which are seen well this weekend. 8:00 PM
September 12-13: Saturn Rises: The planet Saturn has returned to the evening skies and will rise above the trees at the eastern edge of our field once it is fully dark. Also, the Milky Way arcs high overhead on this dark sky weekend. 7:45 PM
September 19-20: The Little Constellations: Between the more well known star patterns are many diminutive constellations: A wolf, a Dolphin, a small horse, and an errant arrow. On this dark sky weekend, we’ll be exploring some of the gems they contain. 7:30 PM
Predicting the Weather
The Clear Sky Clock
The chart below is an hour by hour prediction of how clear the skies will likely be over the coming two days. Cloud cover and transparency are the critical data points. In general, dark blue is best. If both transparency and Cloud Cover are indicated as dark blue, then skies are likely to be clear and filled with stars. Lighter colors are proportionally worse.
In recent months, the predictions of the Clear Sky Clock have been somewhat unreliable, so use at your own risk.
Clear Outside
The forecasts from the website Clear Outside have proven very accurate and reliable in recent months and give a great indication of what sort of clouds to expect, if any.
ClearOutside forecast for the Hocking Hills
Astrospherics
Another great site for predicting conditions on an hour by hour basis is Astropherics, whose model of late is better than that of the Clear Sky Clock. Access JGAP’s location with this link:
Weather.Gov
Finally, the best site for predicting the weather is the site from which all the data comes from in the first place, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast page. The best forecast for JGAP is the Logan, Ohio hourly pinpoint forecast. Find it here.
The most critical part of the forecast is the blue line which represents the predicted cloud cover for that hour. Generally 50% or higher is not good.
Incidentally, Weather.gov is a product of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has suffered devastating cutbacks in recent days that may undermine its very existence. NOAA provides data that commercial services call upon for their own forecasts as well as conducts research that helps improve forecast models in the future. Please consider speaking up for it.
Support the Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park
Do you love the Hocking Hills State Park? Would you like to help projects that make HHSP an even better place? Do you love JGAP?
Then consider joining The Friends of the Hocking Hills State Park, an organization that supports projects like JGAP and other enhancements to the most beautiful park in Ohio.
http://www.friendsofhockinghills.org/
Join our Facebook and Instagram Communities
We have a Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/JohnGlennAstronomyPark/?ref=bookmarks
… and an Instagram Page
https://www.instagram.com/jgastropark/
On both we are regularly featuring items of astronomical interest.
If you have questions that you’d like addressed in these feeds, feel free to Facebook Messenger them to us!
“The greatest thing we can do is inspire young minds...”
- John Glenn
