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Click Here for Yucca Valley Clear Sky Clock
Next Events
Click on the SCDVA link below for upcoming star parties!!
Click here for more info!!
What's Up by Sam Davidson (for February)
Yes, there will be a star party on February 13, Valentine's Day weekend. It will be held at the Joshua Tree Lake/Campground
at 2601 Sunfair Rd. about four miles north of the airport.
Shh, there will be an added attraction related to Nikola Tesla, the genius who was responsible for Edison-like innovations,
such as man-made lightning and three-phase AC distribution of electricity over long distances. For updates to this event
see the link to SCDVA on our website, www.andromedasociety.org.
Welcome our proverbial neighbor, the red-orange planet, Mars. It'll be up all night as it rises like a full moon, slightly
north of east. The star Pollux, the brighter half of the Gemini Twins, is right above Mars. Because we are on the inside track,
catching up to and bypassing Mars, it'll appear to be moving backwards (retrograde motion) and will appear stationary next
month. The orange glow must be a hint of warmer days ahead. If you view Mars in binoculars you'll be rewarded with a great
sight, just southeast of it, the Beehive Cluster.
As Jupiter heads for the sun here comes Venus. With sharp eyes and a good view of the southwestern horizon you may be
able to see them both on the 16th, less than a degree apart, about 15 minutes after sunset, below the very thin crescent moon.
Venus will soon grow into the beloved "evening star."
Enjoy the wintry sky of Orion with its Belt pointing to Sirius. And the rest: The Twins in Gemini, Capella in Auriga,
Regulus in Leo and Aldebaran in Taurus. A warm sight on a cold winter night.
If you missed all the hype about the full moon last month, not to worry. The moon will be at perigee (nearest point)
on the 27th, so the next night's full moon will be nearly as large and bright as last month's.
The ISS (space station) will not be visible over the Basin this month; the flyovers will be back again in early March.
To keep up with the latest info on Sky's the Limit, the observatory/nature center being built in Twentynine Palms, click
on the logo!!!
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| Southern California Desert Video Astronomers website |
About Us
The Andromeda Society of the Morongo Basin is a club composed of amateur astronomers who meet regularly to enjoy the desert
night skies and learn about its wonders. Meetings, open to the public at no charge, are held in the Yucca Valley Community
Center on the third Friday of the month, except during the summer.
Free star parties are held nearly monthly on Saturdays, usually just before the new moon, at Hidden Valley Picnic Areain
the JT National Park. The parties start at twilight and besides telescope viewing a tour of the sky is given by members. There
may be an admission charge to the park. The club and park rangers co-sponsor these events.
Membership is open to anyone with an interest in astronomy. No equipment or knowledge is necessary. Club members are entitled
to reduced rates for astronomy magazines.
How to contact the Andromeda Society:
Mail address, P.O. Box 8, CA 92286
Sam Davidson, Corresp. Secretary, 760-228-1977, samdstar@verizon.net
Orv Hunter, Membership Chairman, 365-5810, orionman@juno.com
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