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Sponsorship message that runs under the NASA content.

We are proud to sponsor NASA’s “Space Place” in the Gettysburg Times this school year. Check it out in today’
s paper.

[Update: Google calendar corrected for the October Sunday show. Now reads 10/5 at 4:00 PM. It had an incorrect date in the Google calendar only. – IC 8/27/14]

Greetings! Our Fall ’14 Sky this Month schedule is set. One Sunday at 4PM, Tue at 7PM for each month, just as it was last spring. Please note that some of the shows (e.g., the Sept 30 show for October) actually take place at the end of the month before their subject month. All of these shows continue to be free and open to the public in our 10-meter planetarium on the lovely Gettysburg College campus. See our web site for directions and more details.

The schedule is below, with links to other formats following.

We’re going for it again in July 23 at 9:30 PM! Description and links are below. Note that this is a Strawberry Hill, not Gettysburg College, program, and it is not free. 

Here is a photo from the site (the Summer Triangle rising over the trees around 10 PM). Very good skies for Adams County.

There are a few more at this link: http://goo.gl/ueIiVH
Stargazing at Strawberry Hill
July 23, 9:30pm
Explore the science and the stories of the July night sky with Strawberry Hill Naturalist and local planetarium director Ian Clarke. Pack a flashlight for the hike to our viewing location. But once we get there it will be lights out, so our eyes can adapt to the the relative darkness of a moonless night on the Preserve. Then Ian will guide you on a tour of the stars and planets you see. This month, that will include a special star group known as the “Summer Triangle.”

Dress in layers. You may find it warm as you hike, but chilly when you’re standing still at the stargazing site. The talk will be aimed at people using only their unaided eyes, but feel free to bring binoculars if you wish. Due to the hike, however, you should leave telescopes at home.

Please preregister at (717) 642-5840. $5 members / $8 non-members

Strawberry Hill web site: www.strawberryhill.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrawberryHillNaturePreserve

I (Hatter director Ian Clarke) will be leading a new astronomy program at Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve near Fairfield. The first of these public stargazing sessions is scheduled for June 25. Description and links are below. Note that this is a Strawberry Hill, not Gettysburg College, program, and it is not free. But you’ll be supporting a great local resource and enjoying a night hike to a true evening under the stars with a professional guide. Additional sessions will be announced later, but we are planning to hold them monthly around the new moon until at least October. You’ll see that we’ve planned in some cloud dates, but let’s hope for great weather!

New program! Stargazing at Strawberry Hill
Explore the science and the stories of the June night sky with Strawberry Hill Naturalist and local planetarium director Ian Clarke. Pack a flashlight for the hike to our viewing location. But once we get there it will be lights out, so our eyes can adapt to the the relative darkness of a moonless night on the Preserve. Then Ian will guide you on a tour of the stars and planets you see. This month, that will include the story of a star that may have come to us from another galaxy! Dress in layers. You may find it warm as you hike, but chilly when you’re standing still at the stargazing site. The talk will be aimed at people using only their unaided eyes, but feel free to bring binoculars if you wish. Due to the hike, however, you should leave telescopes at home.

June 25th, 9:45-11:15pm. Meet at the Preserve’s Nature Center.
$5 members / $8 non-members
Cloud dates (notification via Facebook, website, and email): 6/26, 6/27
June 25th, 9:45-11:15pm. Meet at the Preserve’s Nature Center. $5 members / $8 non-membersCloud dates (notification via Facebook, website, and email): 6/26, 6/27

Strawberry Hill links: Facebook, web site.

It’s almost time for our final show of the 2013-14 academic year. We’ll cover current astronomy news (such as an earth-sized planet discovered within a star’s habitable zone) as well as highlights of the summer skies. If your summer plans will take you outside at night, this is a great oppotunity to find out what you may see.

THE SKY THIS SUMMER

Sunday, May 4, at 4:00 PM
Tuesday, May 6, at 7:00 PM

The show will last about 50 minutes. Always free. All are welcome.

Show times:

Sunday, April 6, 4 PM
Tuesday, April 8, 7 PM

Lunar eclipse visible locally, opposition of Mars, and more!

Monday lab had some intersting times at the observatory on March 31. The sky was clear, moonless, and beautiful. We reviewed some celestial sphere terms from the first session, but the focus of the night was imaging.

First up, we did some afocal photography of Jupiter. That’s taking an amage with a camera through the telescope’s eyepiece. Here is a collage of student cell phone photos of Jupiter.

By John Laurine, Aleksandra Petkova, Kelly Johnson, Jared Leon.

Prime focus (camera replaces the eyepiece) photography proved a little more challenging, as some technical problems limited what we could do. But we did take a couple of successful images with our CCD camera.

M81. Galaxy 12 million light years away.

M42, Great Orion Nebula.

We were able to see Mars in the southeast by the end of the evening.

Finally, we tried again for a timelapse of circumpolar motion in the northern sky. Unfortunately, the camera stopped after a few minutes, but I finished the job at home: