Spot the Space Station over the Coachella Valley tonight

Spot the International Space Station over the Coachella Valley twice tonight! The first one is almost 7 minutes long and starts at 6:39pm. At 7 minutes long, this will appear to be a slow moving, but increasingly brightening star crossing the sky. It will appear in the Northwest at a 10 degree elevation and pass through the Little Dipper near the north star Polaris. Maximum elevation is 51 degrees, then it will start to fade away into the Southeastern sky. At a magnitude -3.6 it should be pretty bright, the Sun sets at 6:06pm so it will not be the darkest sky but I've personally seen the station pass by in daylight before, so no worries. 

The second chance tonight to spot the Space Station will be at 8:18pm, this one only last for 1 minute and will be low on the horizon at a max elevation of 11 degrees and reach a magnitude 1.0. If you have a unobstructed view of the Southwest, it will pass very near the planet Saturn. 

Mercury Transit of the Sun from the Coachella Valley 5-9-16

The Mercury transit of the Sun on May 9, 2016 did not disappoint in the Coachella Valley, California. The sky was clear, and the weather was wonderful. This was an amazing event to witness, and was my first Mercury transit ever seen. The last Mercury transit occurred in 2006 and the next one won't come until 2019. The first image is a composite showing the path of Mercury crossing the surface of the Sun. The next  picture is single frame exposure, and the last image is another single frame exposure with a bit of a zoom on Mercury. Enjoy, and happy stargazing!

Saturn over the Coachella Valley, CA 5-2-16

I got the telescope out early this morning to photograph an ISS Moon transit, but unfortunately it occurred at 6:42am and the Sun was too bright, so I was unable to catch it. I did however catch a beautiful shot of Saturn. Saturn is currently at an apparent magnitude of .17 and will peak in brightness at the beginning of June this year. This is by far my best image of Saturn to date, the surface colors look amazing, as does the famous rings. This was taken with a Celestron Nexstar 6se + Phillips spc900 webcam 24mm eyepiece 2x barlow 2000 frames stacked in Avistack.

Morning Moon setting over San Jacinto Peak 2-25-16

Early morning treat 2-25-16, the Moon was setting over the San Jacinto peak so I snapped a single exposure of the event with my LG G4. The early morning Sun was starting to rise in the east, and the Moon was beginning its decent over the mountain top to the west.

January List of Events in the Coachella Valley

The first month of 2016 will be an exciting start to a new year for astronomy enthusiasts. There is going to be plenty of celestial events, and interesting observations so keep your eyes on the night sky.

Unfortunately, El Nino is coming our way, and that means clouds and rain. Now this may sound great for obvious reasons, such as the drought, but it does not bode well for astronomy and astrophotography. Clouds make it generally very poor for stargazing.

First we have the annual Quadrantids Meteor Shower on January 3-4. You can catch the meteors starting after sundown on Sunday night, and watch them throughout the evening and into Monday morning. The best time for viewing is the actual peak, which starts at 3am and ends at the first light of the day. This particular meteor shower is above average, and NASA is estimating around 80 meteors per hour in areas with dark skies and little to no light pollution.

January 2-6 Spot the space station! Early morning hours seem to be the sweet spot for viewing the ISS in the Coachella Valley. Head on over to Spot the Station via NASA here to see dates/times and other information related to local sightings.

January 9th @ 7:00pm Star Party hosted by the Sun City Palm Desert Astronomy Club, located at the east greenbelt off Donny Circle, just south of Alliance Way in Palm Desert. More info here.

January 10th we have the New Moon, which is a great time to view the galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and other types of deep sky objects. Without the interference of the Moons glow, faint objects in the sky can be more clearly seen.

January 16th 5pm-8pm Star Party hosted by the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE DESERT, located at the visitors center. Directions and information can be found here.

January 24th is this months Full Moon,

January 27th @ 7:00pm is the monthly general meeting of the Sun City Palm Desert Astronomy Club. Located in the Tahoe Room at the Lakeview Clubhouse. This month, they will be talking about "Hubble and the Sagittarius Star Cloud". More info here.

Upcoming Star Party December 19 2015

The Astronomical Society of the Desert is holding a Star Party this coming weekend. They welcome anyone and everyone to come out and stargaze, from amateurs to professionals. The Star Parties are open to the public, and kid friendly. This is a great way to get your kids into Astronomy and the night sky. The fun begins at 5pm - 8pm at the Visitors Center, 51-500 Highway 74, Palm Desert, CA.  Phone: 760-862-9984. Directions and information can be found here.

Guests are more than welcome to bring telescopes, binoculars, and other stargazing equipment, also note that telescopes and giant binoculars are also provided by ASOD members. Please also make sure to dress appropriately, as it has been quite chilly at night lately. The forecast as of this post does not look great, but keep an eye out over the next week. Let's hope for clear skies!