Hello Fellow OCA club members!
This Saturday I plan to open the gate at 7:30 pm, about a half hour before the sun sets around 8 PM. Today's weather report looks like this Saturday evening will be warm & clear and the 3rd quarter moon will not rise before midnight. First time visitors might want to get to BSC while it is still light so they can find their way down the dirt road and into the parking area. Remember that you take the 2nd farm gate on the left after turning on Black Star Canyon Road. If you come in after dark, you should drive in with your headlights off. The dirt road will be marked with red flashers and you can hold a flashlight out the driver’s window to light up the road directly in front of your car.
Satellites:
No visible ISS (International Space Station) or HST (Hubble Space Telescope) passes will take place this Saturday evening but we should see an Iridium Flare. It will be a bright (Mag -6) that will become visible 8:43 PM at 23 degrees altitude, NNW (346 degrees) .
Planets:
~Venus (Mag -3.8) sets at 8:41 PM in constellation Cancer and is bright enough to be spotted in the evening sky as the sun sets.
~Mars (Mag 1.6) continues to slowly dim as it now is over 209 million miles away in constellation Leo. It can be seen under Leo the Lion and will set about 10:04 PM.
~Saturn, (Mag 0.8) sets about 9:49 PM and is about 942 million miles from Earth and still moving below the body of Leo the Lion, inching ever farther from bright star Regulus (Mag 1.35). Several moons should be glowing bright enough to be seen.
~Jupiter (Mag -2.6) rises about 6:52 PM in constellation Sagittarius so will be visible for the entire star party and now is about 389 million miles away. Moons Calisto & Io will be very close together on the west side of Jupiter while Europa & Gaymede will be seen to the east.
~Uranus (Mag 5.8) will rise at 10:22 PM in constellation Aquarius.
~ Neptune (Mag 7.8) rises at 9:01 PM in constellation Capricornus.
