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.)

May 30-31: The Crescent Moon and the Big Dipper: The crescent moon is both lovely in its own right, and not so bright that it overwhelms other celestial objects. Take a look at its rough and rugged surface, and then stick around to see some the brightest galaxies behind the stars of the Big Dipper. (9:00 PM)

June 6-7: The Bay of Rainbows: One of the most distinct features on the gibbous moon is ancient, eroded, Ohio-sized crater which lunar mappers call sinus iridium, the bay of rainbows. It is just one of many lunar features visible tonight. (9:00 PM)

June 13-14: Two Bears and a Dragon: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Draco the Dragon are high in the north on late spring evenings. (9:00 PM)

June 20, 21:  The Summer Solstice:  Come learn about the movement of the sun across the sky and view it safely through our solar telescopes on this late-afternoon program at JGAP.  Stick around later to enjoy a view of a dark summer sky and learn the summer constellations.  The summer solstice alignment with our plaza’s features occurs this weekend!   Telescopic highlight in the evening: Messier 13, the Great Hercules Globular Cluster.  6:30 PM 

June 27, 28:  The Scorpion and the Snake Handler:  The two constellations of Scorpius and Ophiuchus (the 13th constellation of the zodiac) both involve celestial “creepy-crawlies”.  They have risen high in the south once it is fully dark.  Situated near the center of the Milky-Way, they are filled with brilliant “globular” star clusters.  9:00 PM

July 4-5:  Celestial Fireworks:  Some stars slowly die out and others go “Boom” like fireworks.  Come learn how.   We’ll be looking at a few dying stars including the Ring Nebula and the Dumbbell Nebula.  9:00 PM

July 11-12:  The Moon Illusion:   Does the full moon look big to you when it rises?  That’s a curious optical illusion. Come learn why we see it this way, and then experience it when the brilliant full moon rises after it gets dark. 9:00 PM

July 18-19:  Happy Birthday John Glenn (and Brian May):  We’ll be talking about the life and deeds of John Glenn, the Ohio native who became the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth.  He was born on July 18, 1921.  Afterwards we’ll be learning the constellations from the sky itself under dark summer skies. Guitarist/Astronomer Brian May was born on July 19, rock on!  9:00 PM

July 25-26: Our Home Galaxy: The Milky Way:   If you want to know what the Milky Way looks like close up, look around.  We live in a great spinning, slightly warped, disk of stars, 100,000 light years across.  Telescopic highlights on this moonless“dark sky” weekend  include: The Great Hercules Globular Cluster, The Ring Nebula, The Veil Nebula (the remnants of an exploding star) and M8 (a stellar nursery in which new stars are being born).  8:45 PM

August 1-2: The Half Moon Hangs Low, the Swan Flies High:   The first quarter moon is low over the souther horizon and sets behind the trees quite early.  Those who stick around will see Cygnus the Swan flying along the Milky Way, and dotted with fascinating celestial objects:  The “Blinking” planetary nebula (a dying star), Alberio (a lovely colorful pair of stars), and the curious Crescent Nebula (best seen in our big 28” telescope.).  8:45 PM

Program Saturday, May 30: ON

Tonight's program at JGAP (Saturday, May 31) is ON.

The forecast calls for a sky free of clouds (the water kind at least), and we have a lovely crescent moon to look at.

Alas, the forest fire smoke from central Canada looks like it will make our skies a bit soupy otherwise. Forest fires have become a perennial concern for us at JGAP, marring our view of the sky even when the forecast is "clear."

So, I don't expect the sky to be a "10" tonight.

The moon should be easily visible, however, smoke or no smoke. And it is always really amazing to look at.

See you there!.

Our parking

Because we have limited parking, free passes are required for our public programs on Friday and Saturday night. 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.

Solar Max is Here!

On the night if May 10, 2024 from around 9:30 to about 11:00 the sky at JGAP (and pretty much everyone else in the USA) was filled with pink, red and green lights, from high energy particles getting trapped in Earth's magnetic field and slamming into the atoms in our upper, tenuous, atmosphere.

Since that date, Ohio skies have been graced by two more strong displays.

Why are we getting so many aurorae lately? We are, as of this month, experiencing Solar Maximum, the time when the sun is at its most active and it is spraying out more of the atoms which lead to aurorae back here on Earth.

Here's some recommendations if you want to see an aurora in the future:

Go to Spaceweather.com and read the forecast. This will give you an idea of what is coming up and what activity is probable. When conditions are particularly favorable I’ll post updates on our Facebook page and here on this website.

For up-to-the-minute forecasts, check out this graph- the “auroral oval” of predicted activity regularly (refreshing the page each time), and, if you, you see that giant green and red blob has reached down to at least northern Ohio (assuming you're in Ohio) then something is going on and you should go out and look.

Here's the link: https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/.../aurora-forecast...

Note that auroral forecasts in the media are often given for events that will produce aurorae only for regions that are far north of Ohio. In other words, they are often overly optimistic. It is best to watch the auroral oval and go out when the forecast is good for your particular region.

Bright aurorae in Ohio are very rare, with dramatic displays occurring only a few times per decade, on average. The good news is that the strong displays that we see at our latitude are often the most colorful.

Where to go:

Find a place away from direct lights. Away from the city is best. JGAP might work, but we often get very, very crowded when events like this take place (Sorry.) Do not come during the program time (8:00 PM - 11:00 PM or so) unless you have a parking pass for the show or you will be squeezing out people who have already reserved spots. (Space is infinite, our parking is not.)

If the moon is half-full to fully-full (somewhere between first quarter and full moon on your calendar) then going far into the country will not get you much improvement, as the bright moon itself is a source of light pollution.

When to go:

The intense displays of auroae do not always last a long time (The May 10 display was strong for about 90 minutes. or so). If you get in the car and drive a long way (say, to JGAP) by the time you arrive things may have calmed down and you may miss the best part of the show. Get out as soon as you can, find a place that is as nearby as possible, but still dark,

Importantly, take driving time into consideration . Literally >hundreds< of people arrived at JGAP after 11:30 on May 10, having set out an hour before, and missed the show because it had died down by the time they arrived.

What to bring:

Surprisingly many modern cell phones (especially the ones that have "night photography mode" do a great job with displays like this, and might actually reveal color when your eyes see only a diffuse grey blob. (Turn the screen brightness way down, though). This is one astrophotography situation in which they work great! Other than that, just your eyes and maybe some warm clothes and a folding chair are all you’ll need.

Do not bring:

A flashlight. That will ruin your night vision and you won't see it as well. Or bagpipes.

Good luck aurora chasing!

Galaxy Season

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!

Get up-to-date information and astronomical news on our Facebook page

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:

Astropherics for Logan, OH

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.