ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY POINTS TO THE HEAVENS.Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer After the thin crescent moon crescent moon Mary often depicted standing on or above moon. [Christian Iconog.: Brewer Dictionary, 726] See : Ascension sets Thursday night, dozens of people will stretch out on blankets and lawn chairs on a hill above Moorpark, their gaze fixed on the sky. There, they'll be able to see the annual Perseid meteor shower meteor shower, increase in the number of meteors observed in a particular part of the sky. The trails of the meteors of a meteor shower all appear to be traceable back to a single point in the sky, known as the radiant point, or radiant. , a cosmic light show of epic proportions. ``There could be as many as 100 to 200 flashes per hour, which is one of the highest rates of all,'' said Gerry Seck, a member of the Ventura County Astronomical Society There are numerous groups devoted to promoting astronomy research and education. See, for example:
Ranging from quick splashes of light to vapor trails of yellow, red or orange, the meteor shower is sure to be eye-catching, Seck said. ``It'll definitely catch your attention, and you'll get a lot of ooohs and aaahs from the crowd, and I think it'll be pretty fantastic,'' he said. Thursday night's event is one of many activities organized by the society, which draws some of its 150 members from the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , Orange County and Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. . Members make regular outings to the observatories at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. in Pasadena, Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large public park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is situated in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,210 acres (17 km²) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. , Mount Wilson and, a particular favorite, 8,000-foot-high Mount Pinos Mount Pinos is a mountain peak located in the Los Padres National Forest, on the boundary between the California counties of Ventura and Kern. It is the highest point in Ventura county at 8,831 ft (2,692 m). Its latitude and longitude are 34.8128°N and 119.1444°W. , near Gorman. In addition, the club publishes the Celestial Horizons newsletter, posts a Web site, loans telescopes to members and hosts meetings, children's activities and even a booth at the Ventura County Fair, Seck said. Astronomy is the study of the stars and planets and its purpose is to establish where we are in the universe and to further our understanding of the environment beyond the Earth, said Patrick So, an astronomer at Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in L.A.'s Griffith Park, it commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the , which draws 1.5 million visitors annually. And amateur clubs and societies, as well as individual astronomers, provide a valuable role by discovering things that professionals sometimes overlook, So said. ``Usually, professional astronomers are focused on a particular subject, whereas amateurs can focus on whatever they like,'' he said. ``Things like supernovas and comets are usually discovered by amateur astronomers. Mainly it's because of numbers - because there are a lot more amateur astronomers than there are professionals.'' The clubs fulfill another useful function, said So. ``They enable people who have a passion for astronomy to share their ideas and enthusiasm for astronomy,'' he said. ``Basically. it's like a club atmosphere where you can talk to people who have a similar interest to yourself and share techniques and information about equipment.'' Seck, 42, recalled getting hooked on astronomy back in 1991, when he attended one of the astronomical society's monthly starlight parties. ``A guy had a telescope pointing at Saturn, and I took one look at Saturn and saw its rings for the first time and I almost fell over. I never thought you could see something like that with a small telescope A small telescope is generally considered to be a telescope with an aperture of less than approximately 1.0 to 1.5 meters. Small telescopes dominate astronomical research in the fields of asteroid and comet discovery and observation, variable star photometry, and supernova ,'' he said. ``I couldn't imagine that that little spot of light in the sky would look like that, and I just had to see more,'' he said. The public is welcome to attend Thursday night's event, which begins at 10 p.m., said Seck. They should bring lounge chairs or blankets and wear warm clothes. Seck said the local club allows him to share his love of the heavens with others. ``It's the beauty and serenity of it just being out under the stars, quiet and dark. And really also the camaraderie of it being with other people who enjoy the same thing,'' he said. |
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