Upcoming Schedule of Events
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Several images shown on this website are by astrophotographer Robert Gendler. You can view these images in fantastic detail at his website. Click on the link below:
http://www.robgendlerastropics.com
Meet the volunteers that assist The Star Guide:
Dr. Bob Johnston, retired physicist and optical engineer
using his 9 1/4" Celestron Schmidt-cassegrain.
He is an complished astrophotographer.
Leonard Higgins, astronomer and retired teacher, with
his homemade newtonian telescope. He is an accomplish-
ed machinist and makes telescope parts at his home
machine shop. He has received a significant achievement
award for his homemade spectrohelioscope at the Riverside
Telescope Making Conference in 1998.
Meet Dale Rosemeyer, an accomplished astrophotographer.
He is shown with his 20" Obsession reflector which shows
gorgeous images of nebula, galaxies, and star clusters.
Dale usually brings this gigantic telescope to the observing
sessions.
Dan Parker and his daughter Sarah. Dan is an astronomer
who is very active in astronomy. He is shown with his
Meade LX75 6" refractor. His daughter uses a Televue
refractor. Both instruments show crisp images of the
planets and Moon. Dan also has a 20" Obsession
telescope which he may bring to observing sites.
New this year assisting me is Mrs. Jennifer Stanek, a
former JPL engineer who was involved in the Mars and
Cassini-Huygens missions. Her expertise in missions and
NASA discoveries is a welcomed addition to our observing
sessions.
I appreciate their services as volunteers to assist in
observing sessions for the public at Skyline Park and
other observing areas. They are all experts in selecting
equipment for observing. Their knowledge of the night
sky will take you to the edge of our galaxy and to
distances millions of light years away anytime of the
year. You will get a chance to meet them at upcoming
star gazing events.
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SOLAR GAZING EVENTS SOON TO BE ADDED FOR SCHOOLS AND THE PUBLIC
EVENTS WILL BE ARRANGED THROUGH LOCAL SCHOOLS TO OBSERVE THE SUN IN
THE HYDROGEN-ALPHA BANDPASS. A MEADE INSTRUMENT CORPORATION CORO-
NADO 40mm OR 60mm SOLAR TELESCOPE WILL BE USED TO SHOW SOLAR PROM-
INENCES, SOLAR FLARES, CME (CORONAL MASS EJECTION), AND SUN SPOTS IF
VISIBLE. THE TELESCOPES ARE TOTALY SAFE FOR VIEWING THE SUN. EVENTS FOR
THE PUBLIC WILL BE HELD EITHER AT SKYLINE WILDERNESS PARK IN THE DESIGNA-
TED PARKING LOT NEAR THE ENTRANCE OR AT THE NAPA COUNTY WINE TRAIN
PARKING LOT. EVENTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THE CALLENDAR AT THE BOTTOM
OF THIS WEB PAGE.
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THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Napa High School, Napa, California. Classes were requested by Janett Mendelsohn,
biology teacher, to present information on "The Origin of the Solar System and the
Age of the Earth." Students were 9th graders to 11th graders; 15 students in the
Early flight class: 7:00 to750am; 29 students from 8:00 to 8:56am; 29 students from
10:20 to 11:10am. Information on Relative Dating of the Earth was covered.
Geological events of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic deposits using
horizontal, superposition, cross cutting, inclusion, and faunal succession which
included the evolution of life fossils corelation to age was presented. The most
important information on the Earth's age was discussed using Radiometric Dating
(Radioactive Dating) using the half life of Uranium 238 (4.5 billion years.) Also
discussed was Uranium 235 decay (2.2 billion years), radioactive Nitrogen decay,
and Carbon 14 decay which is only used to determine the age in fossils due to its
shorter half life. This class was given at no charge to the school since it was part of
the Solar System Ambassadors Program for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory which is
a field center for NASA.
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Event held at Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa
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Observing the Sun: September, 2009
All dates are are listed on calendar at the bottom of web page.
Free material, courtesy of NASA from the Goddard Space
Center and JPL Solar System Ambassador Program, will be handed out.
Solar Gazing at Copia, the Mondavi Food, Wine, and Art Center, Napa, California. Location of events will be listed on calendar.
Sun Spots on the Sun's photosphere Prominences and Solar Flares
The JPL/NASA and Meade Instruments 4M Community Outreach Programs on
"Observing The Sun." This event is free to the public and is held on Saturdays
from 7:30am to Noon. The location this year for the Napa Farmers Market
will be at the Napa Wine Train Parking Lot. A Meade LX200 8" Schmidt-
cassegrain telescope will be equiped with an energy reduction filter to
observe Sun Spots. A Solar Telescope may also be provided to observe Solar
Flares, Solar Prominences, and Solar Mass Ejecta which can cause loss of
electrical grids at different points around the world. During Solar Maximum
around 2012, a Solar Super Storm may occur that can cause a loss of electri-
cal power for several days including the loss of cell phone usage, Internet,
and damage to satellites that provide GPS and other services to the world.
We certainly hope this does not occur. A Solar storm occured in 1998 when
Solar Mass Ejecta struck an area over Quebec, Canada, taking out electrical
grids resulting in a loss of electrical power to over 5 million people for several
days.
The Sun is beginning to go into its next maximum Sun Spot cycle which occurs
approximately every 11 years. This is your chance to learn how the Sun
causes Global Cooling and Global Warming. The dates shown above for May
are on Saturdays only. In late June, I will also publish dates for observing the
Sun on Tuesdays. Cancellations may occur depending on weather conditions.
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Solar Effects on Climate Change
Date to be announced for Valley Oak Second Chance School. 11am
until 1:45pm
Requested by Mrs. Julie Lovie, science teacher. The event and
program is part of the JPL/NASA Outreach Program. It is being
held at no cost to the school. A Meade LX200 8" Schmidt-
cassegrain telescope will be used to show students and teachers
the Sun's photosphere to observe visible Sun Spots. The telescope
will be equiped with a solar filter that rejects harmful light that could
damage the eye. A lecture with transparencies and a Power Point
Presentation will be given to discuss global climate change causing
Global Cooling and Global Warming resulting from Cosmic Rays
and particles resulting from the Sun, formation of clouds,
atmospheric changes, and ocean currents.
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The Next Star Gazing Party
Star Party, February 20th at Skyline Wilderness Park, Napa.
Notice: Weather conditons may cancel the event. If there is
no cloud cover or rain forcast by 5PM, the event will go on as
scheduled. See calendar at bottom of this page for dates.
For more details about star gazing events, see the listing
below for "Future Star Gazing Events at Skyline Park."
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CONGRATULATIONS to Mrs. Nancy Large of Napa the winner
of the auction for a Star Gazing Donation to support the Napa
Valley Nursery School to help raise money for the organization.
On her behalf, she was treated to a private star gazing event.
Although it was a little on the chilly side that evening, she was
able to see Jupiter, the Moon, and several deep space objects.
Her comments were, "I've never seen so many things in a tele-
scope."
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THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HELD BY CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON
2008.
was a success - well over 500 VIPs and local business representa-
tives were present. A donation for a private star gazing event was
awarded to the winner of the silent auction, a value of $300.00.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the importance of the up-
comming election. The event took place at the Trinchero Family
Estates/Winery in Saint Helena, California. I was asked to partici-
pate in the event and setup a telescope to observe the Sun and
gave out materials donated by my supervisor, Ms. Kay Ferrari,
JPL/NASA. Although the event was not part of my Volunteer Solar
System Ambassador Program, I was allowed to give out free material
supplied by JPL. A special package of material was also given to
Congressman Thompson at JPL's request.
Steele Hill, SOHO/STEREO Media Specialist, NASA Goddard Space
Center, provided free materials on the Sun. I used my Meade LX200
8" Schmidt-cassegrain with a Thousand Oaks Energy Rejection Filter
and piggy-backed a Coronado 60mm SolarMax telescope with a
Hydrogen-alpha filter that would show prominences, flares, Solar
Particle Ejections, and Coronal Mass Ejection. Although no solar
activity was observed due to solar minimum, I did discuss Global
Climate Changes caused by the Sun that creates Global Cooling and
Global Warming. The Meade Instrument Corporation provided the
Coronado Solar Telescope that will show the Sun in spectacular
detail. My daughter Laura Ann Banta assisted me at the event. The
following are pictures taken during the event.
The Meade LX200 8" with the Coronado 60mm Solar Max.
My daughter Laura Ann attending my booth and giving out
free material from JPL/NASA.
Congressman Mike Thompson introducing House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promoting the democratic
event and Senator Barak Obama for the next President of
The United States of America.
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On September 21, 2009, Solar Gazing for Napa High
School was held for Rob Kohl, science chair. The
pictures shown below were taken last year.
Programs for schools, non-profit organizations,
businesses, and the public are held at no cost.
Last years event: This was a JPL/NASA Outreach Program for
science students. The event included an LX200 8" Schmidt-
cassegrain fitted with an Energy Rejection Filter and a Coro-
nado SolarMax 60mm Hydrogen- alpha filter that allowed
students to observe solar prominences and flares that occurred
near the edge of the Sun's photosphere. Solar activity was
currently at minimum and sun spots were not observable. Free
material on SOHO/STEREO missions was given out to teachers.
A Meade LX200 8" Schmidt-cassegrain fitted with a Thousand
Oaks Solar Filter and a Meade Coronado 60mm SolarMax piggy-
backed on top.
Students from several science classes observed the Sun
Mr. Rob Kohl, science chair at Napa High School, assisting
students looking at the Sun. A total of 524 students, teachers,
and administrative personnel got a chance to see several solar
prominences.
On September 21st last year a total of 543 students including
teachers and administrative personnel were able to see the Sun
through a Meade Coronado 40mm Personal Solar Telescope
attached to the top of my Meade LX200 8' Schmidt-cassegrain.
Several solar prominences were observed through the 40mm
Solar Scope. No sun spots were visible. On the front of the
LX200 I had placed an 8" diameter Thousand Oaks Solar Filter
which only shows sun spots. Only the 40mm with its Hydrogen-
Alpha filter were we able to see the photosphere showing
prominences as the edge of the photosphere. In my opinion,
the Meade Coronado 40mm PST would be an excellant solar
telescope for anyone interested in viewing the Sun. The cost
of the PST model is only $499.00 plus tax. At this price
it won't break your bank account. You can purchase the 40mm
PST at Meade Instruments or at your local astronomy shop.
Scope City at 350 Bay Street in San Francisco has this tele-
scope in stock. Should you live in the area of the city Mendo-
cino along the Pacific Coast, the science center "Out of this
World" also carries the telescope.
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Napa Valley Museum, Yountville, CA.
Programs and dates to be announced.
February 6, 2010, I attended a workshop at the Space Sciences
Laboratory, U.C. Berkeley. Information was presented on the
WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission launched
December 14, 2009. The objectives were to discuss the survey
to locate asteroids that can not be seen visualy or by ccd
imaging including brown dwarf stars, planets, and stars being
created in gaseous/particulate clouds within our galaxy. The
intent is to present information and train students interested
in researching images taken by the WISE mission.
I am currently in the process of developing a program for Napa
High School Students which will commence in April. This
is an after school program to be held at the high school. There
is no cost for this program since it is part of my involvement as
a Volunteer Solar System Ambassador for JPL/NASA.
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Events held at Skyline Wilderness Park
Events are held near the Social Hall on the west side of the park.
Attendees are advised to park in the designated spaces
by the Social Hall. Dress warm, bring a folding chair, and cover
flashlights with red plastic or red cellophane to avoid interfer-
ance with observing. Telescopes will be provided. Attendees
may bring their own telescopes but should arrive at least one
hour early for setup time.
We will be using laser lights to point out constellations. I will
bring a laptop computer to show the night sky in a planetarium
program provided by Imaginova "Starry Night Pro." I do not sell
astronomy equipment or programs. If you are interested in pur-
chasing equipment or programs, go to the link at the top of this
page for "Marketing/Promotions." There are several business
that I support where you can buy programs. Scroll down to
"Starry Night" and click on one of the planetarium programs.
These programs are a wonderful way for anyone to learn the
night sky at any time of the year.
We hope to see you there. We will start observing as soon as
telescopes can be aligned with the celestial sphere. Weather is
always a factor and the event may be cancelled with a rain date
scheduled.
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Star Gazing for Browns Valley Elementary School
April 3rd, 2009
The event was part of the JPL/NASA Outreach Program.
The event was requested by Mrs. Nancy Brignolo for 3rd
Grade students. 43 students and 58 parents attended
including Principal Frank Silva. Students and parents
viewed the Moon and the planet Saturn. I presented all
students with stickers and hologram images of the
SOHO mission. Teachers received editions of National
Geographic with a poster on the Sun. Before looking
through the several telescopes on hand, students were
asked questions about the stars and their colors/temper-
ature. A poster was shown with the color of stars.
Mrs. Jennifer Stanek, former JPL engineer, assisting
students looking at the Moon.
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Solar Gazing for 3rd Grade students at McPherson
Elementary School, Napa. This event has not yet
been scheduled (pending arrangement.)
A JPL/NASA Solar System Ambassador Program.
This is special class for 28 students to observe the Sun
through a telescope with a rejection filter to block harm-
full light. Students will be able to observe Sun Spots on
the photosphere. The event was requested by Cathy
O'Conner, science coach for Amber Pierce, science
teacher.
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