20101005 - Happy Anniversary Team TotL!

05 October 2003.

7 years of sidewalk astronomy, observing and sharing the Solar System and well beyond to other galaxies with Team TotL. I've had a wonderful time at the lawn with Charlie, Ben, Tom, Ken, Kin, V, Hawaiian George, Gregory, Debbie & Ben, Andy, Mitch, Carol, TimesUP, Alexander the mathematician, Mark, Hannah, Alberto & Genie, Didier, Stan, Alexandra, and Hugo, to mention a few. Wishing all the TotL'ers a great year, clear skies, and many opportunities to look up.

A timestamp that marks the beginning when TotL began at TPO, on the other end of the lawn.

We are still active, regularly observing from the top of the Great Lawn in Central Park.

TotL Observing Schedule

Top of the Lawn (TotL) astronomical observing sessions occur on clear, weekend nights (Fri - Sun) at the Great Lawn in Central Park. Meeting times vary but we try to arrive at or around sunset on the sidewalk at the north end of the Great Lawn. We've been known to stay until park curfew, at least a few hours past sunset unless the weather takes a turn for the bad early. The core group has been pretty consistent showing up over the years though our size waxes and wanes. This affects the number and variety of optics available.

I usually have a telescope setup while others may bring telescopes, tripod-mounted or handheld binoculars - and, we all have a desire to share. We don't hawk views to passersby but those that express an interest or ask, we invite them to the eyepiece and answers their questions. Many of them share stories of their experiences of the stars and planets.

A frequently asked question is how we alert others when we will be out. Currently, we don't. In fact, rarely do we contact each other and it's by chance we meet at TotL. This arrangement has been working for more than 7 years and even familiar, repeat visitors show up to say hello and take in what the season's sky has to offer. If we're not there at least there is a stunning view of New York's skyline and you have a large unencumbered view of the sky from the world's greatest urban park.

I think it's time to put together a notification system using email, google calendar, twitter, or the like. If you are interested send me a note to "tags_p" at yahoo and let me know what could work best for you.

Come out and see us sometime.

~peter

Bright light below the Moon

Session nmae: 20090130.1930

What is that bright light in the southwest sky below the Moon? On January 30th, a snow squall come in from the south while the crescent Moon and Venus shined brightly in a clear patch of sky.

TotL's southern horizon: a bright skyline that punches spikes of lights. Here the usual suspects are revealed by the clouds. Despite these incumbrances, we persist. In this perspective celestial south is just left of the Citigroup Center building.

Description of Top of the Lawn

John P. of NYSkies offered to host a description of our group since we provide astronomy observing to the public. The following is a slightly modified version found at NYSkies. Ben, Charlie, John, Kin, & Tom reviewed and contributed to the description.



Top of the Lawn, more commonly called "TotL" (pronounced "total"), is a loose association of urban astronomy enthusiasts who gather on the northern perimeter path of Central Park's Great Lawn. The core group of sidewalk astronomers equipped with binoculars, telescopes, and a passion for sharing our skies. We are in the Park all year round to observe each season's sky, typically on clear weekend nights.

In addition to the TotL team, there are regular visitors that include dog walkers, cyclists, and pedestrians. These folks come by with such regularity that they learned the fundamental motions of the night sky and how to identify various targets in the sky. However, all visitors are welcome to stop by for peeks and chat.

Defying popular belief, there are many celestial delights to see with the eye and small optics. Many objects are challenged by high background sky brightness. Others, like the Milky Way, can be veiled from sight. Despite this impediment, TotL members help you find the brighter objects in the sky, by eye and optics, and provide some details about them.

In general, solar system bodies are easy to follow from the city, they include the Moon, planets, major comets, and larger asteroids. Man-made objects can be easy to observe, like International Space Station, Space Shuttle, Iridium flares, and large space capsules from other countries.

We can see many bright open clusters, double stars, planetary stars, some nebulae, and globular clusters. Their number and place in the sky vary with the season. Our city sky challenges most galaxies beyond the Milky Way, yet the great Andromeda Galaxy can be observed in optics as small as binoculars.

TotL members gather for the informal purpose of sharing our fascination for the night sky. Passersby are captivated by the vastness of space and distances to other worlds. They look into the eyepiece with awe and wonder. For our group, these reactions and expressed interest are reward enough to share with the public.

A visit to TotL, we can help with the following:

- getting started
- learn how to get your bearings in the sky
- how to use a planisphere
- identify constellations and asterisms
- how to find various deep sky objects
- what to consider when buying equipment
- how to use your binoculars or telescope
- tricks and tips with daytime observing

Just show up – with or without optics. Travel instructions and the map below detail our location in Central Park. We just ask that you respect our equipment and be considerate of others. No expert knowledge is required; an interest and positive attitude are helpful.

Look for us at the northern perimeter sidewalk of the Great Lawn, Central Park. That is approximately at 85th St. in the middle of the park. One can enter the park on the westside from Hunter's Gate at Central Park West (CPW) & 81st St. or Mariner's Gate at CPW & 85th St. at the north side of each entrance, follow the sidewalk straight into the park, crossing the road, West Drive, towards the Great Lawn.

The M10 bus stops nearby at 84th and CPW and the B & C subway stops at 86th and CPW.

If one enters the park from the east, use the entrances north or south (Miner's Gate) of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and walk westward along the path. From the southern entrance one crosses East Drive under the bridge. From the sidewalk north of the “Met”, one follows the sidewalk into the park and crosses East Drive when traffic and the light permit. The sidewalk continues, leading into the Great Lawn.

M1, M2, and other buses run south and stops around 84th & 5th Ave while the 4, 5, or 6 subway stops at 86th & Lexington.

Once you arrive, walk north on the perimeter sidewalk around the Great Lawn. We'll be at the top, or maybe a little further east.

This map indicates meeting places relative to the Great Lawn, Central Park. The red circle indicates our primary meeting place. There are some events where the horizon is more favorable when observed from the blue circles, for example lunar eclipses from Turtle Pond Observatory.



A Google map

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