Star Party this Friday - VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED

Good morning,

Rod is inquiring.... are you helping out at the Gonzalez E.S. Star Party this Friday?
Currently the start time is 6:30pm and I originally scheduled it to 9pm. However,
our contact, Kelly, was just asking me in email today to give him a start and end time,
so since Rod is RSVP, I'm leaving the times up to him.

If you are going to help out at this star party, Please let him know right away. Currently,
Rod and Don are the only two doing the star party and I believe this is an all school star
party, so many more telescopes are needed. Your help is needed, wanted, desired and very appreciated! Weather may be an issue, but please RSVP with Rod so he can have the help needed. Rod's Email is Rod_Sutter@yahoo.com. RSVP today!

Weather for Friday:
Zip 85353
Forecast as of Today, Wed 5/21
50% chance of rain
69% cloud cove
16mph winds

That doesn't sound good, but weather changes.

Here are the details for this star party:
Friday, May 23 6:30pm to 9pm
P.H. Gonzales Elementary in Tolleson, Arizona
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=9401+W+Garfield+St,+Tolleson,+AZ&sll=33.45568,-112.26286&sspn=0.016291,0.040083&ie=UTF8&ll=33.456848,-112.262785&spn=0.008145,0.020041&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

Address of school: 9401 W Garfield St
Tolleson, AZ 85353
6th grade

Kelly wrote:
I just wanted to make sure you had directions to the school. Coming
from the East Valley: 1) Take I-10 West
2) Exit 134 on 91st Ave toward Tolleson 3) Turn left on 91st Ave
(heading South) 4) Take a right on Van Buren
5) Take a right on 95th Ave 6) Our school- P.H.Gonzales- will be on
your right.

Rsvp's so far: Don, Rod HELP IS NEEDED!

WATCH THE WEATHER
RSVP so Rod will be able to let you know if party is canceled due to weather.
HAVE A SUPER STAR PARTY!

Terri,
Events Coordinator

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Naked Eye Comet 3/4 size of Moon

This info comes to us from our good friend Dennis Young.

There is a naked Comet in Sky at present in Hydra the water snake. Believe it or not it is already 3/4 size of the diameter of the moon!!!(coma). Comet C2007 W1- Boattini
Moon is 30arc minutes.. it is 20arc minutes at present.. It brighten unexpectedly to one full mag then predicted. It is now at 6.2mag.

More info... and sky location...at link below... (by the way an --EXCELLENT site for comets)...
look under second one down...

www.aerith.net

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

International Space Station

Space Weather News for 18 May 2008
http://spaceweather.com

ISS MARATHON: The 2008 "ISS Marathon"
gets underway this week
 when the
International Space Station spends
three days (May 21-23) in
almost-constant sunlight. Sky watchers
in Europe and North America can see the
bright spaceship gliding overhead two to
four times each night.  The ISS
is as bright as Venus or Jupiter, so even
 people in light-polluted
cities can see it.  Please use our new
and improved simple Satellite
Tracker to find out when to look:
 http://spaceweather.com/flybys

SPACE STATION MOVIE: Today's edition of
 spaceweather.com features a
must-see movie of the International Space
Station flying over Germany on
May 12th.  Although it looks like footage
 from a satellite or
high-powered telescope, the movie was made
 by an amateur astronomer using a
backyard 5-inch refractor.  As a result of
 ongoing construction (every
shuttle flight in recent months has added
a new piece to the ISS), the space
station is now a wide and easy target
for amateur-class telescopes.
 Catch the show at http://spaceweather.com.  

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Phoenix Mars Lander

For those interested who have access to the Science Channel:

There will be a live broadcast of the Phoenix mission landing on Mars.

The Science Channel will begin coverage Sunday, May 25th at 4:00 p.m. MST.

Peter

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

ISS This Tuesday 5/20 & Thursday 5/22

Received from Randy,

There will be a good flyover by the International Space Station of the
central Arizona area (Phoenix metro area) on Tuesday, May 20. Look
just above the horizon to the south-west at 8:48 pm MST. Within
a minute or so you will see a bright star-like light moving toward you.
It will be brighter than any star in the sky, at about magnitude -2.6.
Within 3 minutes, it will be nearly overhead, and two minutes after
that (a total of about 5 minutes from horizon to horizon) it will pass
into the Earth's shadow to the north-east.

Forgot to set an alarm to remind you to look for it - and miss it?
You'll get a second chance on Thursday night, May 22. On this night,
at 7:58 pm MST, look again toward the south-west. Within about a
minute it will appear, and 2 minutes later will be nearly overhead.
About 3 minutes after that (a total of about 6 minutes from horizon
to horizon) it will disappear near the horizon in the north-east.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Phoenix Mars Landing & 25th Anniversary of Sally Ride's First Spaceflight

Phoenix Mars Landing Preview Webcast for Schools

On May 25, 2008, the NASA Phoenix spacecraft will arrive at Mars. Phoenix

will be the first vehicle intended to land on the surface of Red Planet since the

Mars Exploration Rovers "Spirit" and "Opportunity" landed in January 2004.

Phoenix is a three-legged lander that will perform its "entry, descent and landing"

sequence and, if successful, will commence a three-month surface science mission.

Phoenix will dig down to an ice-rich layer that scientists calculate lies within inches

of the surface. The lander will check samples of soil and ice for evidence about

whether the site was ever hospitable to life.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will be conducting a live webcast

for schools on Thursday, May 22, at 9:00 a.m. PDT (12:00 p.m. EDT). This

webcast will preview the events of the entry, descent and landing, the path to Mars

so far, and the science mission.

Appropriate for 4th- through 12th-grade classrooms, the program will feature

information and video clips for 30 minutes. Four selected schools connected

through the NASA Digital Learning Network will engage in Q&A with JPL

staff for an additional 20 minutes.

For information on how to view the webcast live, visit

http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/webcast/.

To learn more about the Phoenix mission, visit

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/present/phoenix.html.

25th Anniversary Celebration of Dr. Sally Ride's First Spaceflight --

Earth Then, Earth Now: Our Changing Climate Educator Conference

The Earth Then, Earth Now: Our Changing Climate Educator Conference will

focus on understanding climate change and will celebrate the 25th anniversary

of Dr. Sally Ride's first space shuttle mission. How was Earth's climate

different 25 years ago? What changes are predicted over the next 25 years?

Participants will investigate the basic science behind our understanding of

climate change. They will also learn about the global impact of climate change

on the atmosphere, ocean, continents and ecosystems. The conference will

draw upon the latest science to present the story of our changing climate.

Dr. Ride will give a keynote talk, and leading climate scientists will give presentations.

The conference will also include hands-on activities, materials for the classroom

current ideas for facing our climate challenge and creating a healthier planet.

Participants will also learn about the wide-ranging career opportunities in this

expanding and dynamic field.

The conference is taking place on July 23-24, 2008, at the NOAA Science

Center in Silver Spring, Md. The registration fee of $60 covers teaching

materials and most meals.

For more information and to register for the conference online,

visit http://www.sallyridescience.com/conference.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Comet Boattini Brightens

This is an AstroAlert from Sky & Telescope.

May 16, 2008

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A faint comet discovered in Virgo last November is slowly brightening
as it approaches the Sun. Comet Boattini (C/2007 W1) has now
become dimly visible to the unaided eye for skywatchers in the
Southern Hemisphere.

While not exactly a barn-burner, and showing little or no sign of a tail,

Comet Boattini is now in Hydra and low in the western sky after sunset.

When the bright Moon leaves the evening sky next week, Southern

Hemisphere skywatchers will get a better view of this visitor.

As reported on IAU Circular 8945, issued yesterday by the

Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) at the

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Alexandre Amorim of Florianopolis, Brazil, found the comet to be

magnitude 7.3 on April 30th in 10 x 50 binoculars; its coma appeared

to him about 12 arcminutes in diameter. By May 8th, David Seargent

in Cowra, NSW, Australia, called it magnitude 6.4 to the naked eye.

On June 15th Comet Boattini swings 41° south of the Sun and enters

the morning sky. Then on June 24th it reaches perihelion, 0.85

astronomical unit from the Sun and 0.24 a.u. from Earth. Northern

Hemisphere observers will get their chance to see Comet Boattini

in early July, when it crosses Taurus and enters Cetus. But by then

it is expected to be fading from 7th to 8th magnitude.

This object is not to be confused with another Comet Boattini,

C/2008 J1, which is much fainter (magnitude 14) and currently

in Vulpecula.

If you received this AstroAlert by e-mail, be sure to check the

online version here for possible corrections or updates.

Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope
rsinnott@SkyandTelescope.com

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Space Weather News for May 15

Space Weather News for May 15, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

GLOBAL SATELLITE TRACKING: Spaceweather.com's
simple
Satellite Tracker
has gone global.  The tool now works not
only for US and Canadian
readers, but also for sky watchers in
countries around the world.  This
development comes as the International
Space Station is making bright and
frequent nightly apparitions over Europe,
Africa, the Middle East, parts
of Asia and Australia. If you live in those
areas, give it a try:
http://spaceweather.com/flybys

POLLEN CORONAS:  Warning, this story may
make you sneeze.  Swarms of
springtime pollen in the northern hemisphere
 are drifting in front of the
sun and making multi-colored coronas
(rings of light) in the sky.
 Unlike circular coronas caused by water
droplets in clouds, pollen coronas
have strange elliptical shapes dotted by
colorful bright patches.
 Pictures featured on today's edition of
 http://spaceweather.com show you
what to look for.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

2 cool links to check out

MS gives free tours of space

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1233667720080513

or goto www.worldwidetelescope.com for the download

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

ERUPTING PROMINENCE

Space Weather News for May 12, 2008
http://spaceweather.com

ERUPTING PROMINENCE:  Today, astronomers are
monitoring an unusually
active prominence on the sun's eastern limb. 
Even veteran observers are
impressed, using words like "amazing" and
"jaw-dropping" to describe
the activity they have seen. One onlooker
described the fountain-like
eruptions as "volcanic in appearance."  This
beautiful activity may herald
the approach of a new sunspot--or it may be
just a temporary upheaval,
here today and gone tomorrow. What happens
next?  Check
http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.  

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society